(Ebr i. 1. BtU iCUirary Nortli (EaroUita &tatp Imofratti} S4v/ R6 v.l . ».**,wJ«f."W^'' 1 i 55549409 V THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE DATE INDICATED BELOW AND IS SUB- JECT TO AN OVERDUE FINE AS POSTED AT THE CIRCULATION DESK. Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2010 witii funding from NCSU Libraries Iittp://www.arcliive.org/details/factsforfarmers01robi O^Uy^ Oi^ p-<~^^t^ qJou!7?L 'I^lS^^^^l JICTS FOR FARMERS; ALSO FOR THE FAMILY CIRCLE. A COMPOST OF RICH MATERIALS FOR ALL LAND-OWNERS, ABOUT D03IESTIC ANIMALS AND DOMESTIC ECONOMY; FARM BUILDINGS; FAIIM Cr.OPS, TOOLS. FEIfCES, FERTILIZATION, DRALMNG, AND IRRIGATION. Illustnitcli toitlT .steel ingtuiiiiigs. EDITED BY SOLOIST ROBINSOIS^, AGRIUCLTL-RAL BDITOK Of TiUi NEW TORK "TRIBUNE," AND AUTHOK OP SEVERAL POPULAR WORKS. VOLUME I, NEW YORK: JOHNSON AND WARD, PUBLISHERS, No. 113 FULTON STREET. 1805. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1803, by A. J. JOHNSON, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of tlie United States for the Southern District of New York. DAVIES & KENT, 1S8 William Strtet, JV. 1'. PLATE I. (The Fko.nti9pieok.) This is the genial face of a fanner, engaged in a work of love for his calling. It is placed here in opposition to the wishes of the author. He has been persuaded to allow his face to be seen by those who purchase this collection of things useful to a very numerous class through the solicitation of the publisher, who knows that it will be a satisfaction to them to see how their old friend looks at the age of sixty. An old friend he will seem to those who read his earnest appeals for agricultural impi'ovement twenty or thirty years ago. As a writer and lecturer upon agri- culture, and extensive traveler to observe its condition in the United States, few men are better knovtrii than the original of this portrait. Therefore this likeness will be, the publisher believes, highly appre- ciated as well by those who look upon a familiar face as those who see it here for the first time. The author was born a farmer, and will probably end his days where he now lives (a few miles out of the busy hum of the city), in the peaceful quiet of his "home in the country," where this volume of fiicts for farmers has been prepared as a last legacy of his good-will to the brotherhood. Like other farmers' sons of New England, he learned to follow the plow there, though in early life he became a Western pioneer, and while a prairie farmer, became widely known as a writer advocating agricultural improvement, and more widely, in 1841, as the origin- ator of the National Agricultural Society, and ea'-nest advocate of State and County societies. His connection with the New York Tribune since 1850 wiU make this picture interesting to all its readers. It is for these reasons that the publisher has incurred the expense of its production. •• ^m^y PREFACE. THE AUTHOR TO HIS READERS. "Facts for Farmers?" "What facts?" "What new theories have we here in a jionderous volume ? Is it iilled with dry dis- sertations about what farmers should or should not do?" "What does this author know about farming ?" The author answers — the last question first. Nothing. Who does? He does not advance new theories. He only collects old ones. He has made a ponderous volume, not of dry dissertations, but of short, ci-isp facts. The book is full of little things ; glean- ings from many fields ; from all the agricultural papers ; from con- versations of farmers ; from talks at farmers' clubs ; from books a little ; from personal experience much ; — from the memory of a long- life devoted to the practice and study of agriculture, this volume is born. It is the fruit of years of labor in a great and good field. It certainly contains much that will be useful to all classes who till the earth, or live in farmers' houses. It should be in every rural home, as a work of reference. It is arranged in the most con- venient form for this purpose. Each chapter comprises one general subject. Each section embraces a separate branch. Each num- bered paragraph is complete in itself, and conveys an item of infor- mation. Each subject is completely indexed. As a whole, though containing much, it is not an encylopedia of agriculture. It does not pretend to teach all that a farmer should know. That must be learned by daily perusal of agricultural papers and books. PREFACE. Tliougli not perfect, farmers will find this book a useful one. If not invaluable, I hope it is one that they can not afford to do with- out. In its compilation, the author has enjoyed many facilities and much experience : he has also labored under many difficulties, while daily engaged as an agricultui'al editor of a great daily and weekly paper. You will find here stored up for future use many of the valuable little items that you have read approvingly in the Tribune, and many from other sources, useful to every farmer's family, and worthy of preservation. Usefulness instead of elegance has been aimed at. I have given more facts than theories. I have often given the opinions of several upon the same subject, and, as some of these vaiy, I leave the reader to adjust differences. In trying to avoid diffuseness, I have left much for inference, and purposely treated subjects iu such a manner as to induce readers to make further research. A word of explanation. At thq end of the volume you will find a list of agricultural papers, which the author had read for years previous to the commencement of this compilation. Also a list of individuals, some of whom are eminent authority in agricultural knowledge. From all these he has drawn matter, sometimes with, and sometimes without, credit to individ- uals, when facts have been condensed from their articles. Con- ciseness has been a study ; else, how could twelve hundred subjects be crowded into a thousand pages ? Those whose articles I have used, must not complain that I have pruned too closely, or failed to give credit in all cases where credit is due. I freely acknowledge my obligations to all. This book is one that may be opened at any page, profitably, to occupy five minutes' leisure. It is printed in such large, clear type that it can be easily read. The author and publisher hope that it will be. Then it is illustrated as no agricultural book published iu America ever has been. Look at the many large, handsome. PREFACE. steel engravings ! These alone are worth the cost of the whole volume. Farmers ! you ai'o earnestly invited to read, if nothing more, the titles and contents of chapters, and their subdivisions of sections. If you do that, and find nothing that promises instruction, lay the volume aside. If so far it is promising, turn over its pages, glanc- ing at the black-letter titles of paragraphs. Of one thing be as- sured ; lengthy as the volume appears, it is not made so by extreme dilution ; the last chapter is better than any that precedes it. Throughout, no subject is lengthily treated ; no subject is treated that does not contain something useful to some one ; something that you can not always remember, but which you should always have at hand, convenient for frequent consultation. To those who know the name of the author — and the number is large — I hope this book will be a welcome bequest. I hope it will be the means througli which that name may live in love and honor with your children and children's children around many an American hearthstone. Of the author's portrait, a word. It is the publisher, and not the author, who inserts it. It represents him correctly, as he is at the age of nearly sixty. In conclusion, I earnestly hope these Facts will be an acceptable offering to a very large number of those whose prosperity I would promote, for I am one of the Buotheriiood of American Farmers. To them it is commended, with the love and respect of their old friend, SOLON ROBINSON. New York, May 1, 1863. CONTENTS. PAGE 13 19 31 51 5G 60 81 97 123 157 176 203 218 275 CHAPTER I. DOMESTIC ANIMALS. Section I.— INTRODUCTION TO FACTS ABOUT STOCK Sec. II.— swine Tliis section embraces facts about the best breeds, and best mode of feeding, gross and net weight, etc. Sec. III. — COWS : What is a good cow, and how to choose one; food necessary; health; Sec. IV. —BEEVES : Eeeord of the largest known, and their weights Sec. v.— STATISTICS OF THE NEW YORK CATTLE MARKET, and Improvements in Sec. VI.— FEEDING CATTLE AND CARE OF FARM STOCK : Selecting calves ; shelter ; training ; kindness ; value of kinds of feed ; use of salt ; watering ; diseases of cattle. . . . Sec. VII.— sheep HUSBANDRY : Breeds of sheep ; care and management ; weight of hay Sec. VIII.— HORSES AND MULES : History of the horse ; varieties ; how to use ; proper tize ; color ; diseases ; treatment of colts ; how to shoe horses ; breeding horses and Sec. IX. — POULTRY ; Full description of all kinds of poultry, and proper treatment CHAPTER H. SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. Sec. X. — BEES : Their history, use, and value, management, and reasons for keeping Sec. XL— BIRDS : Reasons for preserving ; their food ; and laws for protecting Sec. XII. — ENTOMOLOGICAL : Wliat are insect.^, and what kinds mfest and injure various crops, and how to detect friends from foes, and various remedies Sec. Xin.— wild AND TAME ANIMALS OF THE FARM : Dogs, cats, rats, mice, moles, rabbits, squirrels, gophers, skunks, toads, goats, camels, and breeding fish for family use . CHAPTER HI. TUE FAEMERY. TUE BUILDINGS, TAEDS, WELLS, CISTEENS, AQUEDDOTS, AND STIJUCTUEES NECESSAET TC CAEET ON THE BUSINESS OF THE FARM, BEIKFLY DESCEIBED. Sec. XIV.— farm-houses : They should be convenient, roomy, light, ventilated ; their in- . viii CONTENTS. Sec. XV.— cellars, CHIMNEYS, AND ICE-HOUSES ; How to Imihl them, and their Sec. XVI.— the BAKN AND ITS Al'PURTENANCES : Location, size, and use of barns ; Sec. XVII.— WA'IT.R FOR THE KAKMERY : Cisterns, size, cost, and how to build ; ,ique- ducts and wells, how to construct ; hydraulic rams 308 Sec. XVIII. -STACKING AND STORING GRAIN ; CORN CRIRS, PIGGERIES, AND PIG FEEDING ; SMOKE-HOUSE, AND CURING BACON ; FRUIT-DRYING HOUSE. 318 Sej. XIX.- ECONOMICU. FARM RUILDINGS : Balloon frames, concrete walls, and other cheap styles of building ; how to make balloon frames, and their cost 32-5 Sec. XX.— ROOFS AND ROOFING : Paints and whitew.i.«h for farm buildings ; nails ; mor- tar ; farm gates ; sawed shingles, their value, and hciw to preserve shingles 332 Stc. XXI. -LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS: Protection of farm buildings from fire ; windroills and their use "... 842 CHAPTER IV. DOMESTIC ECONOMY. Sec. XXII.— the FOOD QUESTION: Quantity, quality, variety, adaptation, adulteration. changes produced hy cooking, water for cooking, and effect on health 3-')l Pec. XXIII -^THE BRE,\.D QUESTION : Varieties ; quality ; how to make bread and yeast, Sec. XXIV.— SUBSTITUTES FOR BREAD, in green corn, dried corn, pop-corn, hominy, and Sec. XXV.-EXCERPTA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR HOUSEWIVES : Economy of lights; use of tea, coffee, and sugar; preserving fruits, pork, hams, and beef; remedies Sec XXVI.- DOME?!TIC WINES, CIDER, AND PRESERVES : Rules of wine-making from various fruits, and cider and vinegar making 419 Sec. XXVII.— HYGIENIC : Prep.aratiiin of food for the sick ; remedies for poisons, bites, Sec. XXVIII.— ITIE DAIRY : Butter and cheese making ; how much milk for a pound of CHAPTER V. THE gaehen and its fkuits. Skc. XXIX. -pleasure and PROFIT OF GARDENING : Origin and history of veg- Sec. XXX.— GARDEN CULINARY VEGETABLES: Protection from insects; value of va- rious things for food ; chiccory culture ; what should be grown in the garden ; number of Skc. XXXI. —THE IXOWEK GARDEN: Varieties and cultivation of flowers ; suitable soil and pi eparatifin ; lists of choice flowers ; flowers grown as a crop ^>00 _ CONTESTTS. ix PAQK Sec. XXXII. — LAWNS : How to make and how to keep them ; trees and plant.s suitable for Sec. XXXni.— HOT-BEDS : Cold frames plant protectors ; how to make and use hot-beds . 62i Sec. XXXIV.— small FRUITS OF THE GARDEN : Currants, varieties and cultivation ; strawberries, variety and growth ; raspberries ; blackberries ; quinces 030 CnAPTER YI. THE OKCHARD. Sec. XXXV.— propagation, PLANTING, AND CULTIVATION OF TREES : Time to Sec. XXXVI.— the AET OF PRUNING, GRAFTING, AND BUDDING : How and when to prune ; how and when to bud and graft ; how to make wax 570 Sec. XXXVII.— APPLE AND PEACH TREES: Their general management; select list of apples, and descriptions ; peach-trees, how to grow ; how to treat an old orchard 579 Sec. XXXVIII. — CHERRIES : Best varieties ; soil, situation, and cultivation ; history, use. Sec XXXIX.— PEARS : Soil, situation, cultivation, and varieties ; select list of sorts; when to gather and how to ripen ; is the cultivation profitable 601 Sec XL.— plums, NECTARINES, APRICOTS, MULBERRIES, AND OTHER FRUIT : How to transplant fruit ; choice selection of plums 012 Sec. XLI.— MISCELLANEOUS M.ATTERS ABOUT FRUIT CULTURE : Cranberries as a crop ; how to grow them ; best varieties ; cider-making 021 CHAPTER VII. THE VINEYARD. Sec XLH.— HOW TO PLANT AND CULTIVATE VINES : What sorts to plant ; history of varieties ; profits of culture ; grape-growing in California 030 Sec. XLIII. - CULTURE OF GRAPES FOR WINE : Rules for wine-making ; wine from various kinds of grapes ; rules of a French wine-maker ; rules of American wine-makers 657 CHAPTER VIII. C E R E A I, I A . Sec. XLIV.— wheat, RYE, OATS, BARLEY, MILLET, BUCKWHEAT : Preparation of soil and fertilization ; quantity of aeed ; harvesting, stacking, and storing ; thrashing and cleaning ; profits of wheat culture ; oats, how and when to sow ; cultivation of barley ; buckwheat ; millet 067 Sec. XLV. — INDIAN CORN: Its history; product; profit as a crop; when to plant, and how to cultivate ; great yield per acre. North and South ; how to store corn, and how to _ CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. THE GKASSES, THEIR CULTIVATION AND USE. p Seo. XLVI.— mowing and pasture lands : Seeding land ; varieties of grass ; what is grass ; what kinds arc rgcommcuded for culUvation ; clover, its cultivation ; harvc-st- ing seed Sec. XLVIL— haying AND HAYING JLVCHINES : Hay caps ; stacking ; how much hay land should produce, and how much it is necessary to provide ; how to measure hay in bulk CHAPTER X. EOOT CKOP8 AND SUGAE CROPS. Sec XLVIII.— potatoes, TURNIPS, BEETS, CARROTS, PARSNEPS, ONIONS : How to plant and cultivate, and how much thuy should produce ; Iiistory of the potato ; charac- ter of varieties ; importance of the crop ; what seed should be used, and how planted ; suhstitutL'S for the potato ; sweet potato culture ; turnip culture ; carrots as a crop, and sowing and cultivation ; onions as a crop, how grown, and profits 78j Sec. XLIX.— CHINESE SUGAR-CANE, AND SORGO-SUGAR MAKING : Preparation and time of planting cano; soil and situation; harvesting; manufacturing, and yield and profits as a crop ^"'-- Sec. L.— MAPLE-SUG^VR M^VKING : Tapping trees ; spouts, buckets, and boilers ; process of manufactuj'c ; cost, yield, aud profit of maple-sugar 8C5 CHAPTER XL FORESTS AND FENCES. Sec. LI.— trees AND TREE PLANTING ; WOOD OR COAL FOR FUEL : What trees to phrnt, and how and where ; descriptive list of trees; value of various trees ; how to make timber durable ; how to season fuel 845 Sec. LII. — FENCES : Their cost ; kinds most economical ; laws regulating ; how to make hedges, stone walls, wire fence, and farm gates ; how to kyauize fence posts ; waste of land aiound fences ; portable fence, its use 801 CHAPTER XH. FERTILIZATION. Sec. LIII.— THE ART, USE, AND ECONOMY OF MAKING, SAVING, AND APPLYING MANURES AND FERTILIZING FARM CROPS : Color, fineness, and moisture of ma- nure affects its value ; nitrates, muriates, sulphates, lime, plaster, and bones, how to apply ; guano, its history and use ; muck, its value ; sea-weed and other matters ; value of salt ; special manures for various crops ; soiling to save manure ; manuring with clover ; water, its value as a fertilizer 877 CONTENTS. CHAPTER Xm. IRRIGATION. DRAINING. PLOWING. FARMING TOOLS. PAQR Sec. LIV.— irrigation AND TILE DRAINING : Value of irrigation ; its practice in Italy and otlier countries ; what lands are most benefited ; tile draining, its importance, cost, practice, and pi-ofit ; how and what land should be drained ; the mole-draining plow. . . . 904 Sec. LV.— plows AND PLOWING : History of cast-iron plows ; subsoil plows, and their use and value ; steel plows and steam plows ; other farming tools ; labor saved by using farm machinery , 917 CHAPTEE XIY. SOUTHERN STAPLE CROPS COTTON, CANE, RICE, TOBACCO. Sec. LVI.— mSTORY, GROWTH, AND MANUFACTURE OF COTTON : History of the cotton gin ; upland cotton ; sea island cotton ; how cotton is grown, picked, and pre- pared for market ; profit of the culture ; flax cotton 928 Sec LVn.— sugar cane CULTIVATION: Statistics of its culture in Louisiana ; yield of sugar per acre ; cost of making, and how it is made 943 Sec. LVllI. — RICE : Its cultivation, production, and preparation for market ; yield per acre ; value and profit ; statistics of rice plantations ; upland rice 948 Sec LIX. — ^TOBACCO : Its history, cultivation, production, and profits ; exports and con- sumption of tobacco ; eifect of cultivation upon the soil ; its culture in New York and Connecticut ; rules for cultivation, curing, and packing 953 Sec. LX.— CULTIVATION OF HEMP, FLAX, AND OTHER FIBROUS PLANT'S : Hemp ; soil and climate ; how it is sown, harvested, and yield per acre ; cost and profit ; effect upon the soil ; flax cultivation ; how to prepare the soil, sow the seed, and quantity per acre 965 CHAPTER XY. GLEANINGS OF THE FIELD. Sec LXL— MISCELLANEOUS TTEMS OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE TO FARMERS : This last chapter embraces many things not classed under other titles, such as temperature for seeds to germinate and grow ; nutriment in food substances ; weights and measure of grain ; measuring land ; proverbs and maxims for young and old farmers, farmers' wives and children ; maxims of health ; things to be thought about ; how to dress skins, fix pumps, mend pipes, and prognosticate the weather ; farmers' clubs ; farm laborers ; farm accounts ; farm economy, and finis 971-1010 INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS Plait. I. — Likeness of the Author - Frontispiece. Platk II.— Frontispiece of Chap. I. , illustratrating the subject of Domestic Animals Page Vi Plate in. — Frontispiece of Sec. III. This Plate Is intended to answer the question, " What is a ETOod Cow ?" It also exhibits different breeds of Cattle 31 Platk IV. — Different Breeds of Cattle — Durham, Devon, Hereford, .\yrs!iire, Dutcli, and AI- demey Bulls and Cows H Plate V. — The Milk Jlirror, showing how to select a good Cow, and form of Teetli at dif- ferent Ages 48 Plate VI. — Breeds of Sheep and Swine 81 and 10 1'i.ATi; VII. — Frontispiece of Sec. VIII. — Portraits of celebrated Horses, and Illustrations of different Breeds 07 Pirates VIII. and IX. — Illustrations of the Teeth of Horses at all Ages, showing how to judge the Age from One to Eighteen Years lOG Plate X. — Frontispiece to Poultry, Sec. IX 123 Plate XI. — Turlteys, Ducks, Oeese, Swans, and Pea Fowls 140 Plate XII. The Bee-Keeper at his Work 15" Plate XIII. — ^Tlic Farmery of Fanner Snug and Farmer Slack— Frontispiece of Chap. III. . 275 Platk XIV.^Frontispiece of the Garden and its Fruits, Chap. V 461 Plate XV. — Frontispiece to the Flower Garden, Sec. XXXI 500 Plate X.V1. — Frontispiece to the Orcliard, Cluap. VL — A Dessert fit for a Fiirmer — .V Rural Scene and rich collection of Fruit 555 Pl.\te XVII. — Frontispiece to Chap. VIII.— Ccrealia, representing Insects injurious to Wheat ; also Grapevine Pests 007 Plate XVIII. — Frontispiece to Sec. XLV. — Illustrations of Insects wliicli are injurious to Farmers, and others which are l>cncficial 709 Plate XIX. — Frontispiece to Chap. IX. — The Grasses 748 Plate XX. — Frontispiece to Chup. XIV. — The Cotton Plant and Cotton Field- Gathering the Crop 928 Plate XXI.— Insects injurious to Cotton and Corn 912 Plate XXII. — Frontispiece of Sec. LIX. — Tobacco in all stages of Growth .and Curing for Market 953 PLATE II. (Page 13.) Every American farmer will look upon this picture with pride. It is a fitting illusti'ation of a chapter upon Domestic Animals. It contains representatives of a well-stocked farm, assembled in the farm-yard on the south side of one of the farmery buildings in one of the sunny days of spring, which are so well calculated to make such a collection of well-fed animals feel, as these look, full of gladness. There is no danger that such liogs as these will destroy young lambs and poultry. Here we sec the sheep and lambs, goats and kids — goats that yield valuable fleeces, which are described in this chapter — the work-horses and brood-mare and colt — the mules and their progenitor, who is in an attitude of war Avith a well-fed heifer that is absorbed in admiration of the peacocks on the roof of the poultry-house. How surlily the bull looks upon the white- faced cow, which is deeply interested in contemplating the two hens that the cock has just called to enjoy a few grains of corn ! By tlie earnest looking of one cow and two horses, we judge that they see their good friend and master approaching. Geese, ducks, turkeys, rabbits, and pigeons, and a boat on the water, enhven the scene, which, altogether, is one of tranquil beauty. It is a scene to con- template and admire. It teaches a lesson. ' It will stimulate many a young man to a determination to become the owner of such a' one, or something equally worthy of the artist who desires to represent American farm life. It will stimulate all, we hope, who look upon this pictorial index of this chapter to read it carefully. FACTS FOR FARMERS. CHAPTER I. DOMESTIC ANIMALS. SECTION. I— INTllODUCTION TO FiVCTS ABOUT STOCK. HE very foundation of all farm improvement is the domestic animals which consume the coarse products of the farm, such as are not fit for human food, or grown ill greater abundance than is needed for that purpose, which, being so fed, are converted into milk, butter, cheese, beef, pork, mutton, wool, leather, and the many other valuable animal products. But above all are animals valuable to the farmer, because they convert the coarse products of the farm into manure, without which the owner can not produce food for his own sustenance. Viewing, then, as I do, successful farming as based upon stock, it seems to me very fitting that I should make the treatise of it the leading chapter of the volume. And as swine are more univereally kept by all classes of Americans, and the flesh more universally used every week in the year, it will be very proper to make this branch of farm-stock the leading subject. I am not going to give learned dissertations upon stock-breeding, nor, in fact, long essays upon this or any other subject, but such little fugitive facts as come to hand, in short paragraphs, consecutively numbered for reference, with black-letter titles to each subject, to attract attention, and so arranged that facts may be gathered at a glance, and valuable information obtained during leisure moments which might otherwise be lost. Many of the statements given are not only for the purpose of giving interesting information — such, for instance, as the weights of the largest animals ever slaughtered — but as an incentive to others to try to produce the like. It is not to be expected that a man who never saw a bullock of over 12 cwt. should attempt to make one of 36 cwt. ; nor will lie be likely to make the attempt before he learns the important fact, that the particular breed which he has kept all his life never attain tliat weight. It is for the purpose of inciting improvement that I give some statistics Li brary ^N' estate College 14 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Coap. I. of the New York livestock market, which I have been familiar with for many years. Farmers slioiild knuw that there is a certain market for all the meat-giving animals they can produce, and what they realize, as well as what varieties sell best. I have purposely adopted a dcsnltory method, because I tliiuk it will be more satisfactory to my readers, whom I do not expect to read the work in consecutive order, and because I find it more convenient to pick up the fugitive facts and jot them down in a sort of mosaic-work, something as nature does its autumn tints, which are now glowing before my window in the full eifulgence of an October sun. And here, too, as I look abroad upon my neighbors' fields, and at their cattle gnawing the short pasture, and running after every chance apple dropping from the trees, and then stretcliing up their necks, looking for more, and browsing off the lower limbs of tlic trees, I am forcibly reminded that this is not a profitable method of keeping larm-stock. Day by day the milch cows fail to give the supply that good pasture will always give in this good butter-making month of October ; and day by day the flesh of all the animals is wasting, so that, by-and-by, when the cold and storms of November force their owner to bring them into winter quarters, they are not in such a condition that he may carry thcui economically through. There is a great error in farming, that the scene before me forcibly reminds me of — it is the error of keeping any kind of iarm-stoek upon short pasture, and most jjarticularly in autumn, so that they come to winter quarters falling off in flesh, rather than gaining, which is tlio condition tliat all animals should be in when brought from the pasture to the stable or feeding lot. Some of the farmers of the Eastern States of the kind just alluded to, who keep their stock upon the shortest possible pasture, and consequently generally have scrubby animals, and always meet with great difficulty in wintering those, would learn a useful lesson if they would visit the blue- grass pastures of Kentucky, and see in what luxuriant feed the sleek Durhams of that region are kept. They would there learn one of the secrets of value of that breed, and why they attain at three years old a size and weight of beef never equaled at six years old by tlie scrub breed common in Virginia and in the liilly regions of Oliio and Indiana, which are sometimes designated in the New York market as " pony cattle," or " old stjdc," and averaging, when fat, about six hundred pounds in the beef. A similar scrub breed is known in Kentucky as " mountain cattle,'' and the same style is very common in North Carolina, Georgia, and other Southern States, wlicrc I liave often seen full grown steers, and fat, killed ibr beef at four years old, that would not average four liundred pounds of beef. These cattle were treated, too, all their lives, just like too many of the same class in all the New England and Middle States — like those now before me, eking out their existence upon the scanty herbage of autumn, in a closely-cropped summer pasture, and never fed with forage prepared for winter, until the owner is driven to it by an early winter storm. Sec. 1.] CATTLE OX A MISSISSIPPI STEAMBOAT. 15 Such is not the right way to keep stock ; but so long as men will keep it thus, it is not of much advantage to try to improve the breed. Tliere is a great want of information, not only upon the subject of improvements in the kinds of stock, but in the modes of keej^ing it. It is not my intention, in this chapter upon domestic animals, to attempt to give all this information, but only a few brief hints, which may lead to reflection and improvement. Above all things that will tend to improvement, are annual visits to great cattle-shows, where the varieties in the bi'eeds of cattle may be studied, and judged as to which -would be the most profitable, or whether either would be more so than the old-style breed at home. It would be of great importance, too, to all farmers to travel more. How strange it would seem, at first sight, to a Yankee farmer, who had occupied a forty-acre farm all his life, to see a thousand hogs, and half as many bullocks, all turned into a grand-prairie corn-field, of a size large enough to cover his entire farm and that of twenty or thirty of his ueighboi-s! His first exclamation would probably be, " Oh, what a waste !"• His subsequent opinion would be about like this : " "Well, after all, I begin to believe that is not so bad a way of harvesting corn as I thought it was." And this is not the only curious thing that he might see in relation to farm-stock in traveling through the West. He would see the same bad management as at home, about bringing the stock into winter quarters, for they are too often allowed to run in a corn-field, after the grain has all been harvested, living upon the dry stalks until after tlie first snows of winter. He might also see some very amusing, as well as instructive things, in connection with cattle. Shipping cattle o?i a Mississippi stcamhoat, as I once witnessed, afibrded infinite amusement; and I am disposed to giv^e a photograph of it, before I take up the more practical details of farm-stock. Engagements for boats to stop and take cattle on board at various landings are frequently made before leaving port, and it often happens that the boat reaches these points in the night ; and tlien a scene occurs which might employ a more graphic pen than mine to describe, or which would have been a fit subject for Hogarth to paint. I will try to give my readers some idea of such a scene, although one so common on the Mississippi it rarely meets a passing notice ; yet it is full of interest. The steamer left St. Louis about sundown of a dark day, during the latter part of which the rain came down in torrents, corresponding to tlie size of the great river they were destined to fill. Of course mud was a component part of all the little tributary streams ; but it did not discolor the great river — that is always muddy. At ten o'clock we saw a light on the right bank, and run in for it. Tliougli the rain had ceased, the night was dark — one which gave tlie pilot but little chance to see any but the most prominent landmarks. 16 DOMESTIC AKIMALS. [Chap. I. "Whose place is this?" sung out tlie captain, wlien he had approached as near the light as lie thought safe — for in time of "a fresh," the master of a boat always approaches shore with great care. " Why, dis is my massa's place ; what boat dat ? If you is de Heniy Clay, den dis nigger mighty glad, 'cause, gorra, cap'en, hab been watching all dis two free nights for de old Clay." " Have you got your cattle there ?" "All in do lot— gorra brcss you, den you is de Henry Clay, sure — right here by do light." " Is the water good in shore ?" " Why, spec him is good for the steamboat, but not very good to drink." " IIow deep is it near the bank ?" " Oil, Lord, massa, dat mor'n dis nigger knows for sartin, 'cause him mighty deep." "That will do. Forward there. Get your lines ready. Light them torches — let's see where we are. Call all hands ; hero is a hundred head of cattle to be got aboard." In a few minutes the lights flashed a bright glare over the boat and shore, bringing to view a scene worth a long journey to behold. The torches are composed of " light wood," which is the concentrated pitch of old pine trees, of the long-leaf variety — the richest of all the family in turpentine. This wood is split in small pieces and put in an iron frame, with a staft" not unlike the common hod used to carry mortar, so it can be carried about or stuck in the ground, where by a little replenishing it will burn for hours, giving a light unequaled by any other portable contiivance I ever saw. In the present case, it disclosed more mud than anything else. The whole bank was alluvial claj' loam. The face was steep, and sixty or eighty feet high. The boat, made fast to stakes driven into the soft earth, lay within twenty feet of the shore, between which and the guards was a gangway made of long planks lashed together, about six or eiglit feet wide, without side-railing, or anything to prevent springing down in the center. The cattle were in a yard on the top of the bank, where, around the watch- lire, huddled about a dozen sleeiiy negroes, amongst which the anxious face of massa soon made its appeiirance, having been awakened at his house, two miles distant, by the tremendous noise wliicli is made by one of these river steamers, by the pulls of her high-pressure engine. " Ilalloo, Captain Smith, is that you ? I might have known it, though, for no other fool would come hero in the night for such a job as this. What are you going to do — hold on till morning T' "Hold the !" "Well, I might just as well as hold you. I do believe, if the Clay's engine should break going up stream, the boat would not stop — there is steam enough in the captain to keep her going." Evidently pleased with this compliment, he jumped ashore, with that most encouraging of all words, " Come, boys," and floundered up the muddy Sso. 1.] HANDLING A AVILD STEER. 17 road, to greet his planter friend with one of those hearty shakos of the hand which alone is equal to a whole volume on the man's character. "Well, captain, you see how it is. I am all ready ; the cattle are here, wet, wild, and muddy, and the bank awful. I couldn't help it. It would I'aiu, and the river is on the fall. I doubt whether your men can stand on the slippery bank. My boys will take down some of the gentle ones, but Lord help you M'ith two or three ; we had to bring them in with the dogs." " So much the better, then, tliat the road is wet — they will slide tlie easier. Hopes and men will bring them down ; don't you fret, colonel." " Well, well, I'll leave it to you ; I'll risk the cattle, if you will your neeks. Better wait for daylight, thougii — what say?" " Never ! what should I do with that surplus steam you say I carry ? Wait — no ; I intend to have them all aboard, and win half of them playing poker with you before morning; and at daylight 1 am going to take in Tom Kilgc'-e's, at Rocky Landing. So bear a hand, boys. Stir up your lights, and rouse 'em out, one at a time, and often." In a few minutes tliere was a line of men and bullocks from the top of the bank to the boat. The first dozen or two came down very orderly to the end of the gangway, where, if they hesitated, a rope was tlirown over so as to encircle them behind, and two or three stout fellows at each end gave them material aid about coming on board. Tiie owner said Ave should see fun directly, but not caring to participate in it personally, he took care to make himself one of the spectators, in a safe, comlbrtable position on board the boat. Upward of half were brought down without giving us a taste of the promised amusement, though the whole scene was exceedingly interesting. At length they got hold of one of the animals, which the colonel said was wilder than forty deer, and vicious as an old buck in running time ; and then there was fun. lie was a great, long-legged, five-year-old steer, of the mouse color, long taper-horned Spanisli cattle, who had never before felt the weiglit and strength of a man's hand upon his heretofore unrestrained wild-woods liberty. Round and round the yard he went, carrying or dragging through the mud as many negroes, sailors, and firemen as could find horn, car, nose, or tail to hold to. Finally they got a rope round his horns and drew liini up to a stake at the edge of the bank, to wait till others were caught to lead down first, thitdving that he would better follow than take the front rank. He did follow. When about a dozen or fifteen head were on the way down, the wild one was cast off from his moorings and led np to the edge of the bauk„ wlien just at that moment the engineer blowed off steam, at wliich the frightened animal leaped forward on to the slippery path, Inst his foothold, and down be went against the ne.xt, and the next, and so on ; like a row of bricks, one tumbled or slid against another, upsetting men and beast, till the whole came down like an avalanche upon the end of the platform with such force that the strain upon the mooring line of the bow drew out the stake, when the strong current almost instantly swung her off shore so far, before the men could get hold of the line and make fast again, that the platform 18 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. dropped off into the water, and with it eight or ten men and steei-s, among which was the one that caused all the mischief. I must say the fun was not 80 great as the fright, for a minute, as it did not take much longer to finish off the greatest feat of " slidhig down hill" which I have witnessed since tlie halcyon days of hand-sleds and boyhood upon the snow-clad, wintry hills of my native land. Tiiat all were got out safe was owing to the instant thought and action of the mate, who sprang ashore with a polo which he placed in the wheel, so as to prevent the cattle from floating down past the stern, where it would have been impossible for them to get up the soft, tilijjliery bank. As it was, some of them were in the water over an hour; the catamount, as the colonel called him, being purposely left until the last, and severely threatened with being towed to New Orleans. But when he was at length taken out, tliere was not a more docile animal in the herd ; he had been completely subdued. The whole affair, though fraught with danger at first, afforded all hands a scene of most uproarious mirth. Even at the time when it looked as though half a score of men might be killed in the grand tumble, it was almost impossible to avoid laughing, the whole thing was so extremely ludicrous. One big negro fellow, finding himself hard pressed b}' tlie bullock he was leading and half a dozen more behind him, either for sport or to save his shins, jumped upon the animal's back and came down witli a surge into the water ; but he never let go till he had him safe ashore again, where he met some of the most hearty, though rude congratulations of his companions, for his skillful feat of horsenuinship on an ox. Finally, in spite of mud and peril, the grand entertainment of shipping cattle on the Mississippi was concluded, and the boat was ofl' before daylight for the next landing, where the operation was to be repeated. Owing to better ground and a difterent plan adopted, this was not quite so entertaining. The cattle were yarded in a lo:ig, narrow pen, M'hich came near the shore. A rope being passed over the horns of the forwartl steer, with the other end through a snatch-block on the boat, a dozen or fifteen men would lay hold of it, while two men by the tail to steer, and one on each side to keep him on the gangway, would have the fellow out of the pen and eliding up the planks before he knew what he was bellowing for. As in all cases where science and skill direct human efforts, the labor was lessened and business expedited. And so in all cases where science and skill are exercised in regard to all kinds of domestic animals, success may be looked for. And now, after this little incidental digression from the main intent of this chapter, in the exhibition of a life-like scene on the Mississippi, we will begin to arrange our facts in order and shape for useful reference, always aiming more at the practical than ornamental. As we shall arrange each subject under its separate and proper head, we will begin the chapter upon domestic animals with that kind in most universal use. Sec. 2.] SWINE. 19 SECTION IL-SWINE. eeding Pigs and Faiting Pork. — Next to procuring a good breed of swine — that is, a breed suitable to the purposes for which it is required — the best way to feed the stock liogs, and the cheapest and best way to fatten them, is the most important master for a farmer to consider. No man can say, " My breed is the best of all," unless he specifies for wliat purpose it is best for. A good grazing breed would be best for some situations ; quite the contrary for some others. Tiie Berkshire, Essex, and Suffolk have each been denomi- nated " the gentleman's jjig," because well fitted for keeping up in close pens, one or two to a family ; while a much larger breed is required bj'' the great corn-growere of the "West. And this brings us to the next most important question. 3. Corn and Pork— Uow much Pork will a Bnsliel of torn make?— This is one of the most important questions that can be asked by every man who raises a bushel of corn or feeds one to a liog. Yet it is a question that not one in ten can answer. To see the ignorance of mankind upon subjects of most importance to them, makes us ready to exclaim, Does anybody know anything about anything? In conversation with many farmers, we have not yet found a man who could say how much corn it i-equired to make a hundred pounds of pork, and consequently could not fix upon any relative price of one or the other, at which it would be profitable to feed corn to hogs. In some experiments made by Henry L. Ellsworth, at Lafayette, Ind., in warm weather, with thrifty young porkers in a pen, fed with corn in the ear, if we remember aright, he gained 12 lbs. of pork per bushel of corn. Samuel II. Clay, of Kentucky, gained 17^ lbs. per bushel, feeding the corn in the form of cooked meal. As a general thing, we should like to know if corn, fed as it usually is in the "West, averages six pounds of pork to the bushel of shelled corn. We have received several answers to this question, but they only proxi- mately settle the point. Leroy Buckingham, of Cadiz, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., says, a pig that weighed 52 lbs. when commenced with, fed on the spare milk from one cow and 800 lbs. of raw coin-meal, weighed 364 lbs. (live or dead not stated) when killed at seven and a half months old. He thinks each bushel of corn made about 20 lbs. of pork. The two following letters we print entire, and commend them to the careful attention of all farmers, although they do not contain all that is necessary to be known upon the subject : 20 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. 1. "Glenn's Falls, N. Y., Oct. 23, 1858. "Sir: You think it important that farmers should know how much pork a harrol of corn will make. It is an important question, and I am sorry to say I think there are ten lawyei's and mechanics to one farmer that can answer the (question correctly. I once made a very accurate exj^eriment in Kew York; the first day of September I weighed into the pen two hogs, a year and a lialf old, and three pigs, six months old. I measured old corn accurately, and had it ground. At night I wet with boiling water (to a consistency that would run freely) meal sufficient for the next day's feed. The hogs had no slo])s from the house — nothing but the meal and water. I killed them the first of December, deducted five cents per pound for what they weighed the fii-st of September, and found, at six cents per pound for the pork, they had paid ninety-eight cents per bushel for the eoni, which would give about sixteen and one third pounds of j)()rk to the bushel. One year gincc I fatted fifteen old liogs and tliirty five pigs on India wheat ai;d potatoes. I measured the feed accurately, steamed the potatoes, and mixed the meal in while hot, twelve hours before feeding. At five cents per ]>oi:i,d for the ]>ork, they paid firty-two cents per bushel for the India wheal, and fifteen cents for the potatoes. Of course the relative value of the wheat and potatoes is guessed at in that experiment. I "worked" tlie hogs in ihe manure business, carting in muck, weeds, etc. I got 15 cords of manure although less pork' — I suppose for the working the hogs. I would like much to know if any one (especially in the Western States) has made tlic exj>eri- ment of turning hogs into the corn-field, with free access to watei', and let them help themselves. "If any otiier class of business 7ncn knew as few facts in rcgai'd to their business as farmers do, they would all fail every year. New Mausu." A. G. Perry, of Newark (State not named), weighed a thrifty pig, five nionlhs old, 15011)s., and then fed it 50 lbs. corn meal, mixed with hot water, thin enough to answer ibr victuals and driidv. This was eaten in six and a half days, and the gain was 18 lbs. A correspoiulent writes from Norlh Cliatham, Columbia Co., N. Y. : "Tlie 2-ith of August I put up a sow to fatten — a large proportion Suffolk — lier weight, 235 lbs. Price on foot, 4 cents per pound. For food from August 24th to October 4th, gave her 309 lbs. rye bran. Rye bran is Avorlh here $1 12| per 100 lbs. October 4th her weight was 295 lbs., making CO lbs. increase from the bran. From October 4th until November 17th I fed her 10 bushels, by weight 560 lbs., of marketable corn. Killed her Nov. 17tli. Her live weight, just before killing, was 413 His. Increase from the 10 bushels corn (or 5(50 lbs.), being 118 lbs. pork — it taking a fraction more than A\ lbs. corn for 1 11). pork — and is a fraction less than 12 lbs. ]>ork fi-om 1 bushel of corn, making the increase per day a little less than 23 lbs. The present ])rice of corn here is 70 cents jier busliel, and the pork 7 cents per pound, being barely a paying business." Ssa 2.] SWINE— PROFIT OF FEEDING. 21 J. J. Carter, of Ilornville, Chester Co., Pa., says that B. P. Kirk kept a debt and credit account with his pig. He fed 49^'j bushels of corn, at GO cents a bushel, and added the tirst cost of the pig, at two months old, $5, making a total of $31 46. At 17 months old the animal weighed 649 lbs., and sold for 71 cents a pound, making §18 67, giving a profit of $11 21. A little bran was fed, but that was reduced to the equivalent of corn, and coimted as above. The breed of hogs common in Chester County is one of the best in the world. The hogs arc of a white color, medium-sized, easily tatted to weigh 300 to 100 lbs. at 10 to 15 months old, and have small bones, fine-grained flesh, large hams, well marbled, and large leaves of kidney fat. It is a distinct American breed, and one of the best for farmers who desire to graze their hogs in part, and then fatten them easil}^ upon honsa-slops, apples, potatoes, and coarse grain. Even for large fnrmers, and for making pork upon a large scale, there are not many, if any, breeds of swine iu this country superior to that known as "Westchester, or Chester County (Pa.) hogs. And as I consider it an important fact that farmers should know where to get a real good breed without paying fancy i^rices, I am glad of the ojiportunity to make this breed better known. D. C. Nye, of Lexington, Mass., iu reply to an inquirer in the Genesee Farmer^ writes that — "The Chester County hogs are distinguished for their early maturity, great facility for fattening, and are very quiet and docile. They are well covered with bristles, and, unlike the Suft'olks, can endure the heat and cold. The Chesters will jirobably make as much pork (and of a sujierior quality) on a given amount of food as any other breed — some of them, when well fed, having attained the weight of six or seven hundred pounds." Another correspondent of the same pajier says, in addition, that the thorough-bred Chester hogs are always white, and that "they are peculiar in being fit for slaughtering at any time." But to proceed with the subject of feeding hogs. The second letter is very much to the point. It says : *' In answer to your question, ' How much pork will a bushel of corn make?' I send you the result of two experiments, made some years ago, while occupying a farm in the northern part of Chester County, Pa. " My first experiment was with five very ordinary pigs that I bought of a neighbor; weighed, October, 1851, 219 lbs ; fed on corn and cob meal, boiled into mush, of which they consumed in 30 days 279 lbs., and gained 87 lbs. live weight "In the next 32 days tliey consumed 375|lbs., and gained 75 lbs. live weight, making a gain of 157 lbs. in 62 days, having consumed 651| lbs. of corn and cob meal, which is equal to about 9i bushels pure meal; or one bushel pure meal cooked made 16.8 lbs. live weight. "My second experiment was with a lot of five very superior pigs, of the Chester breed; they weighed, Feb. 7, 1S53, COoIbs; consumed in 9 days DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. 252 lbs. corn and cob meal, scalded, and gained 78 lbs. In the next £ days they consumed 1:^5 lbs. whole corn, boiled, and 128 lbs. of corn-cob meal, scalded, and gained 57 lbs. "In the next t) days they consnmed 278 lbs. corn-cob meal, scalded, and gaisied 70 lbs., making a gain in 27 days of 205 lbs. on a consumption of C5Slbs. corn-cob meal, and 125 lbs. wliole corn. Assuming that 70 lbs. of the cob-mcal contains 5G lbs., or one bushel jinre meal, ■we have 9| busliels of pure meal and 2} bushels whole corn, making a consumption of 11 J bushels nearly, and a gain of 205 lbs. flesh; or 5Glbs. of pure meal, scalded, made 17.41 lbs. of live weight. "The above surprising gain for food consumed was the result of very careful feeding, clean and warm bedding, and a tight house. " RicHAKD TuATCHEE, Darby, Pa." Thomas Iloag, of Somhanock, N. Y., lias sent us a detailed statement of the feeding of ten pigs, out of a litter of twelve from a native-breed yearling sow, taken from her at seven weeks old, and fed till slaughtered, at forty weeks old, with the following substances, with estimates of expense added : Pasture $3 00 Wood used in boiling food 2 00 Extras 2 CO Value of pigs at seven weeks old 80 00 2121 bushels of com, at 75 cents $1.59 38 G;! bushels of oats, at 45 cents 28 35 r^iiil for crrinding 14 79 1:! busliels of small potatoes, 12i cents. 1 63 (i loads of pumpkins, at $1 6 00 20a lbs. of carrots 1 00 Total $2-18 15 These hogs weighed, dressed, 4,066 pounds, and sold, (in 1853), at Lansingburg, N. Y., at $7 50 per cwt $304 95 Kough fat, 175 lbs •. 17 50 Total $322 45 Total cost 248 15 Balance S74 30 This is the amount of profit, or, rather, pay for labor, and tli,e spare milk of four ordinary cows fed to tlieni, and not estimated as above. At six cents a pound the result would have been 4,000 llw., at G cents $243 90 Eough fat 17 60 Total $261 46 Cost 248 15 Profit $13 31 This certainly docs not give a very flattering picture of the probable profits of pork-making in this section of the country, where every kind of feed is salable at high prices. Other letters were subsequently received, from one of which we gather the following information : Wm. Renick, of Circleville, Ohio, a large farmer, and long engaged in the raising of cattle and hogs, writes more extensively than we can tiiul I'oom tor. Mr. Renick thinks that farmers are not ignorant of the fact " Imw luiu-h ])ork v»-ill a bushel of corn make," and says: Seo. 2.] SWINE— GAIN IN FEEDING. 23 " Probably nine tenths of our best practical farmers could, without lie?ita tiou, give you an approximate answer in general terms." This is exactly what we supposed, and that they would give nothing but an approximate answer in general terms, because there is a general lack of positive information upon this and many otlier important matters connected with the farming interest. Mr. Renick gives the gain upon five liogs fed by himself in the common rough method of the West — tliat is, turned into the corn-field, 200 head together. Three of these hogs weighed, at seven months old, liOlbs. each, and two older ones weighed 125 lbs. each. After feeding 120 days, the three weighed 280 lbs. net average, and the two 185 lbs. " Now, say that hogs on an average will eat 20 bushels of corn per hundred head per day for the first 60 days, 16 bushels for the next 30 days, and 12 bushels per hundred head per day for the last 30 days, and we have 21 bushels per head for the whole time of 120 days (though this is under rather than over the mark), and we have a production in the case of the three hogs of 101 lbs. of gross pork for a bushel of corn, and but a small fraction over 5 lbs. per bushel for the two hogs." Now, this is exactly in jiroof of what we originally stated. It is all guess- work. Mr. Renick further says : "The large feeders of hogs and cattle are oftentimes greatly mistaken in their calculations in regard to the quantity of stock their corn will feed, sometimes largely overrunning, and again falling largely short of their calculations." Tills is not to be wondered at, when it is considered that no one pretends to have any settled rule of action, but buys as many leau cattle or hogs as he guesses he can fatten. Mr. Renick thinks the most common answer to the question M"ould be something like this : "That hogs fed in the ordinary way will gain from one pound to one and a half pounds per day, and tliey will consume some twenty bushels or more of corn in three and a half or four months ; that it all depends upon the quality of the hogs, quality of the corn, weather, and other contingencies." The gain varies from five to twelve pounds gross per bushel. So he says: " AVe will compromise the matter by guessing that, all things favorable, one bushel of corn, fed in the ordinary way, will make seven pounds gross weight." It is, after all, then, nothing but guessing. And we guess that feeding corn, where it is worth a dollar a bushel, as it frequently is in and about New York, won't pay while dressed hogs are sold from the hooks, as they gener- ally are, at seven or. eight cents a pound, and the average price of live hogs is less than six cents a pound. With our arithmetic we can not figure up any profit for a farmer hereabouts to keep a single hog more than he wants to eat up the milk and house-slops, and a little waste grain ; and probably that could be more profitably fed to poultry. The greatest advantage from feeding grain to make pork in all the New England States must be looked for more in the manure than in the meat. Where manure must be purchased, it may be profitable to purchase corn- 24 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Ciiap. I. meal to convert into manure through the pig-pen manufactory. The next jiaragrapli is to the point in this connection, of feeding pigs to make manure. 4. Working Pigs. — "We once recommended farmers to make their pigs working animals. To this a writer in an agricultural paper objected ; l)c- cause, as he alleges, the same amount of food consumed by an idle Img will- nuike 12 pounds of jiork as easily as it will make S pounds if the animal is allowed to exercise his natural propensity to root. In this we entirely agree, and iiavc often contended that when a Iiog is shut up to fatten, if lie was coiiiined in a slip so narrow that he could not turn round, having one side of his narrow prison nuide so as to be moved out as he increased in bulk, lie v.otild fatten faster than in any other position. Kow, will the writer, who thinks that we differ from him in opinion, read over again the article that ho criticises, and see that it is the pig-pen, and not the fatting-hog pen, that we were talking about. Our facts are not intended to be elaborated into proofs and arguments for farmers, but rather as texts for thinking men to think over and reason upon with themselves and neighbors. Our opinion is, tiiat all the swine family should be kept imprisoned, if not in close pens, certainly in strongly fenced lots ; and in all the Eastern States, where manure is so valuable, it is very doubtful wliether a farmer can ali'ord to let any of the family out of the pen — which, as we before hinted, should be a great manure manufactory — except, perhaps, for a sliort season to eat clover, peas, or glean a stnbble-lield. If there is a greater neighborhood nuisance tlian hogs in the highway, we have j'ct to liud it out; and as we would always keep "Mr. Pig" in tlie pen, we recommended to make him woi-k in the manuiactory, furnishing a part of the mateiials to be worked, and tlie farmer the remainder. In his immediate preparation for death we don't care how idly he spends the last of his days. As long as farmere will pei-sist in making tlie flesh of swine their leading article of food, we shall contend that the flesh of an animal that has worked liis way up to a mature age, and is then fattened ready for slaughter, Avill make more healthy food than tlie oily fatness of one always kept in a state of obcsitj- and idleness from his birth to death. It is this great physiological fact that causes the flesh of the wild hog to be sought after and eaten with gusto. "We fully agree with the orthodoxy of E. M. Brewster, a model farmer of Griswold, Conn., who says if he was to fatten a half-dozen liogs upon a flat rock, he would be sure to have two rings in each nose. The latitude that we desire our readei-s to give to our suggestions is just this : to make a distinction between working and fattening animals, and make tlie pig a useful one. " Keeping pigs eighteen months to fatten tlieni the last tliroc is not a paying business. Feed a decent pig loell from weaning until eight months old, and you M'ill get 250 lbs. to 300 lbs. of pork, and you do not usually get 50 lbs. more for those ten months older. There can be no question but an animal can consume much more to produce in eighteen months about the same quantity of meat which is made by another in half that length of feeding. If the object of raising a hog is to malce pork, that end should be N. C. State College Seo. 2.] COOKING FOOD FOR SWINE. 25 kept steadily in view — his swiueship should see it, and cat for it." This is our view exactly. Winter none but autumn pigs, keep tliein in pens, and always growing. "To kesp a pig growing, one must keep liiin ealing, and eating about all the lime. To do this, there is nothing, like ' change and variety' — now a little corn, then a little milk, a few boiled potatoes, a few raw a'pples — now a pudding, then a dish of greens — anything to keep them eating and stuffing when awake, even if it does rer^uire a little extra atteu- tion." 5. Cooking Food for Swinei — Circumstances must govern the feeder. If corn is worth but twenty-live cents per bushel, it is plain that it will not pay to expend much money either for cooking or crushing it ; bnt where food is iiigh, a small c[uantity saved pays for considerable labor, etc. It will hardly pay to expend dear labor upon cooking cheap roots to make low-priced poik. It has been proved that crushed barley, soaked in cold water 4G hours, gave more increase of weight to sheep than when not soaked ; but crushed malt did not. The figures are: Four sheep in 10 weeks ate 2S01bs. of crushed barley not steeped^ and 3,867 lbs. of mangel-wurzel, and increased in live weight SI lbs.; while four sheep, with barley crushed and steeped, ate 280 lbs. and 5,321 lbs. mangel-wurzel, increasing lOlJ- lbs. Four sheep, with crushed malt, not steeped, ate in 10 M-eeks 22X5 lbs., ^"^ 3,755 lbs. mangel- wurzel, and increased 8i lbs. ; wdiile lour sheep, with malt crushed and steeped, ate 226ilbs. malt and 4,458 lbs. mangel-wurzel, and gained only 78 lbs. In the above experiment, the question is, Did the additional 20ilbs. pay the extra trouble and extra feed of roots? An experiment in Ii-eland, lately made, proves that hogs gained more upon raw than cooked vegetables. Eight hogs were selected and divided into two lots, as evenly as could be, and put in to fatten, on the 27t!i of November. Each lot was fed regularly three times a day, having each 12 lbs. of bran and barley meal, the only diiference being that one lot had steamed )-utabagas, and ihe other pulped or rasped ruta bagas. The experi- ment was continued 39 days ; the lot having cooked food ate 408 lbs. bran, etc., and 10,920 lbs. ruta bagas, and increased 103 lbs. ; while the lot having u7icooJced food ate 468 lbs. bran, etc., and only 5,460 lbs. ruta bagas, and gained 110 lbs. Sanniel II Clay, of Bourbon, Ky., has been experimenting in feeding several lots of hogs, changing them from raw to cooked, and from ground to unground foo J, with the following results : One bushel of dry corn made 5 lbs. 10 oz. of live pork ; one bushel of boiled corn made 14 lbs. 7oz. of pork; one bushel of ground corn, boiled, made in one instance 16 lbs. 7oz., in another nearly 18 lbs. of pork. To get the value of corn, estimate the ])ork at 8 cents a pound ; we have as the result of one bushel of dry corn, 45 cents' worth of pork ; of one bushel of boiled corn, 115 cents' worth of pork ; and of one bushel of ground corn, 136 cents' worth of pork. 6. Pig Feed— Roiled Weeds. — A widow, who was short of feed for her pig, said, in presence of her little boys, that she thought she would have to sell 2G DOMESTIC AXIMALS. [Chap. I. it, for she had so little to feed it with, and could not afford to buy feed One of tlie little fellows promptly answered tliat he knew what would be good to feed piggy with, and of which they had plenty. " What is it, my son ?" " Greens, mother — boiled greens. Tiiey are good for us, why not for pigs? And we can gather tlieui, and pick up wood and boil them in llie big kettle out doors, and it will be real fun." So it was settled that pig should cat greens — all sorts of weeds boiled ; and cat them he did, and liked them, and fatted on them, with the small addition that could be made of bran and house-slops, mixing the slops and greens together. This is a hint worth remembering and acting upon. Tlie weeds were destroyed, the boys employed, the pig kept growing, and the boys had the satisfaction of feeling tliat they had been usefully employed. 7. Hog PastMffSi — It being generally understood that hogs live by " special providences" until it is time to fat them, there is little attention }Kiid to tl'.e most economical way of growing them up. Certain it is that a good, casv-keeping variety will make commendable ]irogro3S on grasx. It may be safe to calculate that a good-sized, thrifty pig will gain in six months, on grass, 100 lbs. or more. If an acre of grass would keep three hogs and add 100 lbs. to the weight of each, that would be $12 for the acre of pasture, reckoning the 300 lbs. gain at four cents a pound, live weight. Instead of being forced to bite twice at a short, dirty, dried, and battered spear of June grass by the roadside before getiing any off, imagine a clean and comely Suffolk in a fresh, green pasture of clover, four inches high, filling himself with evident relish. 8. The Pig-Pen aud its VaiUf< — As a manure-maker, there is no animal ecpial to the hog, provided he is furnished with sui able facilities. The caiing and sleeping apartments of Mr. Pig shoulil always be a good frame building, with a ])lank floor and shingle roof, and it will in many places be found economical to give him an iron eating trough. His house should be cleaned out every day, and washed as often as necessary to keep it clean. All the washings and cleanings should go into an adjoining ])en, which may as well be made of fence rails, on account of cheapness and convenience of removal, into which the tenants of the hog-house nnist be invited by a little corn, scattered in every da}', to induce them to mix up a compost of tlieir own oil'al with sods, mold, leaves, weeds, and all sorts of trasli. This pen should be equal to ten feet square for every two hogs, and so long as it is worked every daj^ it will not much injure by exposure to the weather; but it should afterward be covered, and it should always have stuff enough i)ut in it to keep the hogs from getting into a very muddy condition. If you have not mold enough to entirely absorb the ammonia, you must use plaster or charcoal dust. It must be kept sweet, or you will lose much of its value ; and whore manure is valnalile. if yon neglect to use your swine for the purpose of increasing it, you will lose about all the profit of making your Sko. 2.] SWIKE— FEEDING TIIE^ UONEY. 27 own pork. There is another Avay in which you can make the pig-pen valuable. If you have a spot of ground that you want to euricli and work deeply and thoroughly for fruit-trees or for garden vegetables, plant it with Jerusalem artichokes, and tlieu ya:-d your hogs upon ir, taking care to give them room enougli, so as not to necessitate tliem to make a quagmire. Ao-ain, you may use these animals to advantage if you have a piece of grass laud infested with grubs. Fence off a piece, and shut your swine in upon it for a few days without feed, and if they leave a sod unturned or grub uneaten it will be a wonder. It is the best preparation of such a spot for a hoed crop, or for sowing again in grass, that can be given. There is no good reason why the pig should be always kept in idleness or miscliief. Let him be trained to be useful in his life as well as at his death. 9. Ilay Seed for HogSi — \con-esY>ondijntoi the Coimf/'t/ Genile?nan vfvltas: In addition to the grain and meal given to growing hogs in the sty, they should have a daily allowance of green clover, or in winter, when this is not available, a liberal allowance of hay-seed from the barn, mixed with their slop, which they will eat with avidity. He knows of no mode by which so great an amount of growth and weight can be induced, with equal cost of food, in the winter season, as by this liaying system. 10. Cinders for Pigs.— J. J. Meelii, of Tiptreo Hall, England, says, in publishing his experience in fattening swine, that among other things, he has learned the fact " that pigs are very fond of coal-aslies or cinders, and that you can hardly fat pigs properly on boarded floors witliout giving tliem a moderate supply daily, or occasionally." lie says : " In the absence of coal-ashes, burned clay or brick-dust is a good substitute. If you do not supply ashes, they will gnaw or eat the brick walls of their sheds. I leave to science to explain the cause of this want. It is notorious that coal- dealers, whose pigs have access to the coals, are generally successful pig feeders. Those who find that their pigs, when shut up, do not progress favorably, will do well to try this plan. A neighbor of mine found that a score of fat pigs consume quite a basket of burned clay ashes daily. We know that there is an abundance of alkali in ashes." 11. Parched f orn and Honey for Hogs. — A correspondent of the IlujJiland Democrat, published at Peekskili, N. Y., furnishes that paper with the fol- lowing communication : A few years ago I chanced in Albany to meet a farmer who is noted for raising unusually heavy hogs. The year before he had brought to market one tliat weighed over 700 lbs., and said that year that he should have one of 900 lbs., or near that mark. As tliere always ceems to be a cause for every effect, I was anxious to know the course lie pursued. ''Well," said he, ''you must first select the riglit kind of a critter. Get the right breed, and then pick out the good-natured ones from the litter ; I can't afford to feed a cross critter ; I sell them when they are pigs." " How can yoii judge ?" said I. "Well, if you watch them when they are feeding, you will find tliat some pigs are allers fighting about their victuals, and 28 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. souse go in for eating. Tliere is as mucli difference in pigs as there is in folks." " "Well, when you have selected the right kind of a pig, what next is important ?" " Well, then you must have a nice place for the critters to live iu, and feed thcin on the right kind of victuals." " What kind of food ?" " Well, the best and cheapest kind of food I have found, when it comes time to put on the fat, is j>arc/u'd corn. I generally manage to buy a barrel ov two of Southern honey, if it is cheap, which I mix with the parched corn, f..r my fatting h.)gs." 12. Feeding Standing foru to Hots— iu the Field— or Gathered, Ground, a;!d Cooked— Comparative Advantages of these Methods. — The method often [iriicticed by large farmers of turning fattening hogs into the fields of s'aiiding corn, if properly conducted, has its advantages over that of gathering the corn and feeding it dry to the hogs in the jien. The earlier in the season the process of fattening swine is begun the better, after the grain has reached a certain period of maturity, whether it be rye, oats, or corn, because all farm animals, and hogs in particular, will fa'.ten much faster in warm than in cold weather. And the grain between the periods of its doughy state and full maturity, or rather, before it becomes dry, is more easily digested, and assimilated, and converted into flesh and fat than when it has passed into its dry state. It is clear, then, that the sooner the hogs are turned into the field after the grains of corn are fully formed, and while yet in the milk, the more speedily they will fatten ; for if the weather be dry, the coi-n hardens very rapidlv. A very interesting experiment in feeding hogs is detailed by Mr. James Buckingham in the Prairie Farmer. On the Ctli day of September (in ordinary seasons corn, at this date, is too far advanced to commence feeding to the best advantage), the hogs, 1S9 in number, were weighed, and footed up in the aggregate 19,600 lbs. A movable fence "was used, confining the hogs to an area sufficient to aflbrd feed for two or three days. The entire field, thus fed, contained 40 acres, with an estimated average of 40 bushels ])er acre. The consumption of this corn gave- a gain of 10,740 lbs. The hogs, when turned into the corn, cost three cents per pound, equal to §588 ; worth, when fed, four cents per ])ound, or §1,213 CO — giving a return for each acre of corn consumed of $15 G4. Adding to this $1 per acre for the improvement of the land by feeding the corn on the field, making the actual gain per acre $16 6i, equal to 40 cents per bushel, standing in the field. The whole cost of corn per acre, exclusive of interest on the land, is set down at $3 65. By way of comparing the advantages of ground and cooked food over that which was merely ground, and that which was nnground, Mr. B. put up three hogs into separate pens. To one he fed two and a half bushels of corn in the ear, during a period of nine days, feeding all he would eat ; this Sec. 2.] SWINE— EXPERIMENTS IN FEEDING. 29 gave a gain of 19 lbs. ; anotlier ate in the same time one and three qxiarter bushels of corn, ground, and gained also 19 lbs. ; and to the third he fed one bushel of cnm, ground and hailed, which gave a gain of 22 lbs. Bj' tliis it will be s;'eii tliat one and three quarter bii^iliels of corn, when ground, will give a gain oi Ik'sh equal to two and a half busliels of iinground corn, and that one biishtd, wlien ground and cool-ed, gave a gain greater tlian either. Tlio comparative results of these tliree methods of feeding may thus bo set down : one busliel of corn, ground and cooked, is equal to nearly tliree bushels when fed dry and unground ; and one and three quarter bushels when ground and uncooked is equal to two and a half bushels wlien fed whole. Or it may be seated thus : one bushel of dry corn in the ear makes Si lbs. of pork, which at four cents per pound is equal to 33 cents per busliel for the corn ; while one bushel of corn, ground and boiled, makes 22 lbs. of pork at four cents per pound, and is equal to 88 cents per bushel for tlie corn. This I'esult about sustains our calculations made upon the experiments by Mr. Samuel II. Clay, of Kentucky, as appears in ^ 5. It is worth}' of remark for those who wish to feed corn in the field, that had the hogs been turned into the field when the corn was in the milk, it would liave given a result more nearly like that of the hog fed ni)oa ground and cooked food. The obstacles which seem to be in t!ie way of adopting an improved method of fattening hogs result from the imperfect apparatus used for ])rcparing the food. Sending corn a long distance to mill to be ground, and then to coo.k .he meal in an ordinary kettle, even if it holds a barrel, will ])rove an expensive operation, as all have found who have undertaken it. But to realize the full advantages of feeding prepared food, a complete grinding and steaming apparatus must bo erected on a large scale, with the view to perform the grinding, cooking, and feeding with the greatest facility and at the least possible cost. This may be done to advantage by employing steam for grinding, using the same boiler to furnish steam for cooking the meal. 13. Ori?ia of t!ic Chester foanty Hogs,— It is stated that Captain James Jefleris, a eea-ca])fain, somewhere about 1820,, or a little later, in one of his voyages from England, brought over a pair of ]iigs of the Bedfordshire breed, which he sent to his fai'm on the Brandywine, whence the breed has been disseminated, and lost its original name. Some of the characteristics of the Chester County liog are, large size, remarkably symmetrical form, easy keeping, comparatively little offal, great depth and length of carcass, and producing large quantities of lard. Spring pigs are often put in market at nine or ten mon'hs old, and weighing at that age from 200 to 250 lbs. This weight is of course produced liy good feeding and proper attention. 14-. To frevcut Sows KiHing their PIgSi— A correspondent of the Muiuf. Farmer speaks of several cases of sow.-: destroying their ju'gs — which, indeed, is not unusual — and conimcnds as an c.isy and su''e ])revention, " to give 30 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. tlie sow .nboiit half a pint of good ruiu or gin, which soon produces intoxica- liiin, and the drunken mother becomes entirely harndess toward her young, and will ever accommodate her poiitiou to the be^^t advantage of the pig-^, ntaining this disposition ever afterward." The editor eonlirms tliis statement fiom cases witiiin his own knowledge. 15. Pift-Brcfdiu,!^". — Notwithstanding the fact that more people are iiHerested in the breeding tif pigs than of any otlier class of domestic animals, the atten- tion paid to improvement of the stock is very small. How few farmers know that the sow should always be larger than tlie male, and that he should always be of the most perfettt form; of good color, and perfectly sound and liealtliy, because almost invariably the pigs take the qualities of the sire in- stead of the mother ; that is, his good or bad points will preponderate largely over those of the sow. Farmers, please think of this fact, and profit by it. 16. Large UogSi — Isaac Harrison, of Burlington County, N. J., fatted, ki 1858, 32 hogs that averaged 5G9 lbs. each; and William Taylor, of Ocean County, fatted 30 that averaged 537 lbs. each. Tliomas Hood, of Ocean County, fatted 41 that averaged 533 lbs. each. So says C. W. Hartsliorn, iif Burlington County, who sends us a list of weights, among which are very few under 500 lbs. ; the lightest that we notice weighs 428 lbs. 17. Gross and Net Weight of Swiue. — The rule of ascertaining the net weight of fat hogs is to deduct one fifth of the gross weight. It is an easy way to make the calculation, or reduction of gross to net weight, by using tiie decimal 8-10 as a multiplier, cutting off one right-hand figure of the l)roduct, to show the net sum. Thus: 10 hogs Aveigh 2,729 lbs. ; multiply by. 8, which will make net 2,183.2 lbs. K you have the gross weight of a drove of hogs at home, which you may liave taken to market and sold at net weight, and wish to ascertain how the net and gross compare, take your sum of the net weight, say 2,183.2. Divide by 8-10, and j'ou will find the quotient 2,729. This will be found a very convenient and useful rule. Sometimes a person may be offered one sum as a gross price, and another as a net price of the same lot, and would like to know at once which otler is the best. This is (juickly done. You have simply to apply the same rule of division by eight tentlis to the price, instead of weight. For instance suppose the offer is — as it sometimes is in New York — $5 25 per cwt. gross, or $G 50 net. Divide §5 25 by 8-10, the quotient will be $6 56.2, showing that it will be six cents and two mills per cwt. gross to the owner's advantage to sell at $5 25 gross. 18. Salting Meat Marm. — C. Eovie, of Gnllprairie, Michigan, asks : " "Will pork cin-e, if packed before tlie animal heat is all out of it ?" He then answers : " Last year I killed my hogs and packed them while warm. I have some of the pork now, and I never ate any sweeter pork than this is. Tlie most of farmers think pork salted, while warm, will not keej)." We have tried the experiment repeatedly of salting pork as soon as we could cut it up after dressing, and certainly prefer it, as it will, when dry- salted, cure much quicker. PLATE III. (Page 31.) This plate is intended to answer the question : ' ' What is a good cow ?" It shows a model cow, without regard to breed, as described in ^ 45, and a portrait of the " Oaks Cow," which was one of the most remarkable of the early age of stock improvement as a great butter producer. She gave 467 pounds from May 15 to December 20, 181G. Another portrait gives the side view of what is taken as a model of a good dairy cow. The Dutch dairy cow is also con- sidered a model, not only of that breed, but of a form that shows a good cow for milk. The Hereford cow and bull, and Devon cow and bull, also give good studies, and make up a picture no where else to be found in such compact form and such beauty of execu- tion. in A Good Diity Cawr A Good Milrii rT llUKKDS •.r l'ATTI.K.rT»«1'XlTKl> STATKS . Seo. 3.} COWS. 31 19. Species of Auimals. — ^Tlie Bevue Horticole, of Paris, gives a very inter- esting iiccount of a discussion in the Academie upon the species of animals. The primitive source of animals is lost ; tlie fossil bones of the horse are identical with those of the present day. There is no account of anything new in animal life since the Mosaic account of creation. 20. Animal Strncture. — " Tiie bony frame-work of the animal owes its so- lidity to phoiiphate of lime, and this substance must be furnished by the food. A perfect food must supply the animal with these three classes of bodies, and in proper proportions. What proportions are the proper ones we have at present no means of knowing with accuracy. Tlie ordinary kinds of food for cattle contain a large quantity of vegetable fiber or woody matter, which is more or less indigestible, but which is indispensable to the welfare of herbaceous animals, as their digestive organs are adapted to a bulky and rough food. The addition of a small quantity of feed rich in oil and albuminous substances to the ordinary kinds of food, has been found highly advantageous in practice. Neither hay alone, nor concentrated food alone, gives the best result. A certain combination of the two presents the most advantages." The above is the view of an eminent professor of agi-icultural chemistry' (S. "W. Johnson), and it contains a great fact that should be adopted into the every-day practice of every farmer, and not only for his stock, but his own iionsehold. Every animal of a higher organization than a worm needs a diversity of food to make up a healthy animal structure. SECTION III.-COWS. \ HAT is a Good Cow ? — This is a question that many owners of cows can not answer, because there is no standard. Every one has his own, and one person may recommend a cow on sale as positively good, that is not half as valuable as one that comes only up to the standard of another person's idea of good- ness. Besides, one cow may be good for producing milk for sale by the quart ; another good for making butter, where that alone is the object ; a third one may be good for a cheese dairy and very poor for butter; and a fourth not good for either purpose, and should at once be turned out for beef. Farmers do not experiment enough with their cows to ascer- Jp tain these facts. We have known one cow discarded from a butter dairy because she gave less milk than another, when one was to be sold, without any other proof that the rejected one was not equally 32 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. Chap. J. good. For butter-making, vre think a cow which gives 14 quarts of milk a day, when fresh, and 14 lbs. of butter a week, a good cow, and that tliat might be adopted into use as tiie meaning of a good butter-dairy cow. A good many cows, it is true, go above tlmt, but they should be ranked as extra good. A cow that gives 12 or 14 quarts of milk a day, and 10 lbs. of butter a week, might be called a fair medium cow ; and one tliat gives 8 to 12 quarts a day and 6 or 7 lbs. of butter a week, should be called com- mon, and all below that inferior, as in fact they are ; and so is a cow that gives 15 or 16 quarts of milk a day that yields only a pound of butter, and there are many of this description. Tlie lowest rate we ever lieard was 3 (piarts of milk for 1 lb. of butter ; but that is very rare, the average being over 12 quarts. It would be an excellent ]ilan for some leading agricultural society to establish a standard for a good cow. We think a cow that comes up to the standard of that owned by Otis Hunt, of Eaton Village, N. Y., will pass for a good one. He gives the following statement of the amount of butter made from her: "Amount made from April 8 to July 8, 191 lbs. ; amount made during the month of June, 74 lbs. ; amount made during the year, 516 lbs., besides furnishing all the milk and cream used in a family of four persons (and occasional visitors) all the time." The breed of this good cow is given as " native," and the quality of milk and butter excellent. 22. Garget in fOMS. — A letter from Fort Independence, Castle IslaVid, Boston Harbor, Mass., says: "Within the last two years I have pureha-^ed at dliFerent times three cows, say about one every six months. After they are on the island a few months they becou'ie ' gargety ;' therefore I should think the complaint is brought on from eating some weed peculiar to this island, which is limited in extent, say about thirty acres." No, sir ; it is because they have not eaten some weed — a weed called poke or scoke, producing the " scoke-berries" that robins and school-children are both fond of gathering in the fall. This scoke is the natural cure for garget. It is said that the diseastc never atiocts cows th;it run in ])astures where it grows. We have known the dried roots sell for $2 a lb in Vermont to feed cows, and to make little plugs to insert in the teats to cure the garget. It is there known by the name of gaPL'ct root. {jiJnjtolacci dtcan.t is fed to each, and it is simply a question of, will it pay, in manni ing one or feeding the other. Indian corn will add to the quantity and quality of the butter to a very sensible degree. Sec. 3.] COWS, AKD THEIR FOOD. 33 and it is simply a question of easy solution, by experiment, whether it will add to the profit of the Luttcr-maker to buy corn at one or two cents a pound, and convert a portion of it into butter at 25 cents a pound, or whatever llie market price of corn and butter may be, and another portion of it into fat, and another portion of it into manure, for that is the natural result of the chemical change produced in the laboratory of the cow's stomach. The same result will follow any otiicr kind of feeding. Good jjasture will produce an abundance of milk, often as much as the cow can carry ; but does it follow that even then it will not be profitable to feed her Avitli some more oleagi- nous food to increase the quantity of butter, just as it sometimes ^^roves profitable to feed bees, to enable them to store more honey ? It certainly does appear to us that the value of a cow feeding xipon ordinary winter food may be almost doubled by making that food suitable for the purpose of increasing the quantity of milk, if that is the object, or the quantity of butter, if that is the purpose for which the cow is kept. Farmers generally understand that they can convert corn into beef, pork, and lard, and some of them know exactly at what price per bushel it will pay to convert it into these substances ; but does any one know at what rate it will pay to convert corn or any other grain into butter, or any other kind of feed into any of the dairy products ? Is the whole business a hap-hazard one ? We fear so. Some persons know that they can increase the salable value of butter by adding the coloring matter of carrots to it. Does any person know the value of a bushel of carrots fed to a cow to increase her value as a butter- / producing laboratory? Experimental proof upon this point would be far' more worthy of agricultural prizes than it is to see who can show the largest- sized roots ; for by a few carefully-conducted experiments we should be able to increase the value of a cow almost at pleasure. 21. Pasture — How many t'ows to aa Acre. — In Cheshire, England, which is a great grazing county, the land that has been under-drained and top- dressed with ground bones, will carry one cow to each acre througli the summer, but the land not thus treated will only carry one cow to two acres. The dressing of bones upon pasture land is 12 to 15 cwt. per acre once in seven years. But even if not repeated at that time, it still continues better than it was before the bones were applied. Now, how many acres of pasture, on the average, does it require in this country to the cow? "Would it not be economy to improve our pasture lands up to the Cheshire standard ? 25. Food Consumed by a Cow. — It is generally estimated that a cow needs each day three per cent, of her M'cight in hay. Tliat is, if she weighs 8 cwt., which a fair-sized cow will do, in working order, she will require 24 lbs., or its equivalent, of hay. For five months' feeding — 150 days — you will require 3, GOO lbs. In the New England States the feeding period averages nearer six than five months, and therefore two tuns of liay should be allowed for each cow. 26. Feed, Exercise, and Shelter have a powerful influence upon the health 34 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. and comfort of all doincstic animals, and upon none is it more marked tlian upon the most valualjle of all, the cow. Every judicious farmer, who has an eye only to his purse, will see that his cows are bountifully supplied with proper food to produce the largest flow of milk, and rich in cream, and that his meadows and jiastui-es are free from noxious weeds, that will impart a disagreeable taste to the milk and butter. A mixture of timothy and white clover is the most desirable pasture for the dairy ; and the best and sweetest butter is generally produced in May and June ; for then kind Kature sends up a spontaneous supply of rich, juicy food, and the air is cool and pure, and all things combine to render the dairyman's task easy and delightful. But when the sun has scorclied the vegetation and imi)aired its nutritive properties, and the temperature of the atmosphere is like an oven, then there is need of skill to counteract the opposing influences of nature; and the task, though diflicult, can be accomplished, and a cool atmosphere created in the milk-room, and proper food supplied, as the reward of well-directed labor. Every farmer should jiractice, at least on a small scale, growing extra feed for his cows, when pasture fails. One of the easiest things grown for fall feed is cabbage. It gives an immense amount of food per acre. 27. Feedillg Cows for Butter-iflakiag. — A writer in the Farmer and Gar- dener (Phila.) says: "The use of corn and cob-meal in my practice has produced more fat tlian butter. The best feed I have tried is two bushels of ship-stuiF to one bushel of ground corn. In the use of corn fodder, I have foimd great advantage in not only cutting, but steaming it. Many cows will not eat it witiiout its being steamed. ' Turnips are good enough, if the taste they impart to the butter is not objectionable. Pumpkins add largely to the quantity of milk, but the cream, in churning, is always frothy, and requires a longer time to be converted into butter. " My plan of feeding is as follows : I always let my cows go dry about the first of the new year, giving them, by this plan, a rest of some two months. During this period of rest I feed them on hay, corn fodder, and straw. As soon as they begin to spring, I add four quarts of meal to eacli cow, which, after being mixed with the long straw and fodder, is steamed, and fed a litde ivarn^. Until tlie calves are separated from the cows, this amount of food is given once a day, after which time I feed them three times a day." 28. Health of Cows. — A sickly cow not only yields a diminished profit, but she yields sickly milk, and sickly in a higher degree than her flesh. If a cow eats anything that has a strong or disagreeable odor, it appears in her milk. If she eats anythijig medicinal, it comes out in her milk. If she is feverish, her milk shows it. If she lias sores about her, pus may be found in her milk. If she is fed upon decayed or diseased food, her milk, since it is derived from her food, will be unhealthy. It is as impossible to make good milk from bad food, as to make a good building from rotten timber. Seo. 3.] COWS— DIRECTIONS FOR SPAYING. 35 If there is anything wrong about her, it will appear in the milk, as that is an effective source of casting it froni her organism. These facts should at all times be well impressed upon the minds of dairy- men, but more especially in the cold season of the year. Closely confined in tlieir narrow stalls tlirough the long winter, where tlie air is not always fresh and pure, nor water and exercise always had when desired, nor their food always free from foul medicinal weeds, as thistles, daisies, white top, etc., cows are very likely to vary from a perfectly healthy condition ; spring cheese will be faulty enough, do the best we can — that every dairyman knows. The health of the cows should not, at any rate, be allowed to become a cause of deterioration. Green food should now, if it has not been before, alternated as often as possible with the dry ; for this purpose, beets, carrots, turnips, potatoes, cabbages, parsneps, and apples are valuable. Ventilation and Avatering should be promptly attended to, and salt and meal, made by pulverizing burned bones, should be kept where daily access can be had to them, if desired, nor should their strength and flesh be allowed to fail for the want of a sufKciently nutritious diet. The best flavored butter and cheese can not be made from cows that are badly fed, or ailing, or poor. As bad health in parents transmits a tendency to disease in the offspring, it is important that every kind of animal we desire to continue on our farms should be kept vigorous and healthy. As an unhealthy animal can not consume food to as good advantage as a well one, it is again economical to avoid disease. 29. The Amount of Hay required for Cows— The Cost of Milk.— Otis Brig- ham, of "Westborough, Mass., after seventy years' experience in farming, says, in the New England Farmer, that good cows will eat, on an average, 20 lbs. of hay per day when giving milk, and 15 lbs. when dry — not by guess-work, but tested by actual weighing, for months at a time. Then it is easy to calculate the cost of milk. In the neigliborhood of New York, the average value of hay is one cent a pound, and the quantity of milk hot over six quarts. At three and a half cents a quart, it will pay the hay bill, and one cent a day over. If other feed is given, the increase of milk must pay for that. The manure will be worth at least the cost of attendance and milking. If the milk is worth more than three and a half cents, it gives a profit; and if less, a loss. 30. For Ktckitig Cows. — ^Take a short strap, and fasten the ends together. Next prepare a pin of some soft wood, about six or eight inclies long, one and a half inches in diameter. Take the cow by the off fore-leg, and double it at the knee-joint close ; pass the strap or loop over the knee, pressing it back until you can insert the pin between that and the knee-joint, and she can not kick. 31. Directions for Spaying Cows. — Dr. Dadd, veterinary surgeon, in the American Stock Joiti'nal, says that the milk of spayed cows gives more cream than ordinary milk, and that tlie butter made from it is more delicious in taste. The milk is also invaluable for nursing infants. He thinks there is 36 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. no danger in performing tlio operation, if slcillfully clone, and the animal init tukIlt the inflnencc of sulphuric ether. Dr. Riggs, a veterinary surgeon, does not approve of giving chloroform to cows. He says: "It is no easy task to give ether or chloroform to animals generally, and it is usually quite as distressing to them as so slightly painful an operation as spaying. Tlie operation of casting is a very awkward one, and needless, and interferes with tlie case, if not the certainty, of the opera- tion. The ovaries are attached near the back-bone ; hence, -when a cow stands up, the pauncli and intestines fall away from them, and leave clear working space ; but when she is thrown upon her side, the case is different, and wlien the cow is in good flesh, there is none too jnucli space anj' way." Dr. liiggs allows the cow to stand up, her head tied short, and an assistant hold.s her by the nose with clasps; a rope is tied loosely about her hind legs, to keep her from kicking ; an assistant pushes her uj) against a partition or wall, and another aids in the first part of the operation. Thus, the cow is not at all alarmed or uncomfortable. The skin is folded so that the hair can be shaved off where the cut is to be, and thus a straight line, three quarters of an inch wide and five inches long, is laid bare. The skin is then drawn up in a fold, at right angles, to this line and in the middle of it. The operator grasps this fold on one side of the shaved line, in his left hand, and his assistant grasps it on the otlier side ; then, with a single, well-directed stroke, with a sharp knife, he severs the two thicknesses of hide exactly in the shaved line, letting go at the same time ; a straight, clean cut through the skin is seen, and the cow suffers almost no pain at all — not so much as that produced by the blow from a whip. If the cut is made slowly, it is the most painful part of the operation. There is little feeling in the tissues forming the walls of the cavity of the abdomen, and when these are cut tlirough, the hand may be easily introduced. The cow winces a little when the edges of the skin are rubbed, but shows no signs of pain. The removal of the ovaries appears very casj', but it is not. If the opera- tor has a strong, sharp thumb-nail, he can work or cut them loose; but if not, or if the ovary is strongly attached, the operator is obliged to do as the books say — "in short, ^m// them away" — and in this is the great danger to the cow ; internal hemorrhage or inflammation is apt to ensue. Dr. Riggs avoids all this by the use of the " steel thumb-nail." This is simply a sharp knife, shaped like and bound upon the thumb-nail of the right hand. Tliere is no danger of cutting in the wrong place. A clean cut does not produce bleeding, as was feared at first, and it greatly simplifies and shortens the operation. Dr. Riggs has never operated upon a cow with this instrument when she struggled or attempted to get down, but once, and then she was a little nervous, and came down upon her knees, but soon got up again. Usually there is no struggling throughout the operation. 32. Calomel for Cows. — A correspondent of the yl7H('/vV«« J^armcr writes : "I wish you wo\ild say to your readers that calomel, in one ounce doses, Avill Sec. 3.] COWS— DAIRY STOCK. 37 cure a cow of almost any disease. At least, let me give my experience. I have two fine, valuable cows ; they have had, it seems to me, some of the worst diseases tliat prevail — hlack-tongue, murrain, dry murrain, c;c. — and when I saw they were dying, I mixed one ounce of calomel in dry corn-nieal, which they would lick up, and it has never failed to cure." 33. Keep fows GentlCi— If you milk out doors, with the cow loose, provide good stools for each milker. See that they are never used to pound the cow with ; and never allow man or woman to kick or pound a cow in the stable or milking yard. If gentle means will not make a cow gentle, harsh means never will. It may be necessary to reduce a cow to obedience by a little punishment — to teach her, as you would a horse or ox, that you are master; but to accomplish this, never use anything but a light lash or smart switch, and never use that in anger. An angry man is a fool, compared with a sensible cow. 34. Ayrshire Cows. — In Massachusetts, the improvement of dairy stock by the introduction of Ayrshire blood has become so apparent, that no argu- ment could induce those acquainted with their value to return to the hazards (vf native breeding. We could point to farmers in Essex, Middlesex, and Vcircester counties, who, under the most prudent management, avail tliem- sclv^es of every opportunity to introduce Ayrshire blood into their herds, and our own observation teaches us that the importations of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, of Capt. Randall, of New Bedford, and (ithers, have been vastly beneficial to our dairy stock. The bulls of this broed can be traced wherever they have been, by the good stock they have left behind them. One of them was kept upon a secluded farm in Essex County, and rendered it famous for its fine dairy cows. Another gave superior character to the herd of one of our well-known farmers, and to all the dairies in his ncighboi-hood. An imported Ayrshire cov/, not far from us, has produced, through a variety of mixtures and pure breeding, a little herd of cows and heifers of tiie highest uniformity of excellence. 35. Poor Butter Cows. — Tlie Ft'i!roximity to the vulva, as seen in difierent breeds of cows. They are very common on cows of bad milking races, but are verj- rarely seen on the best milch cows. They consist of one or two ovals, or small bands of up-growing hair, and serve to indicate the continuance of the flow of milk. The period is short in proportion as the tufts are large. They must not be confounded with the escutcheon proper, which is often extended up to the vulva. They arc separated from it by bands of hair, more or less large, as you will find from careful examination." It requires some skill to determine the exact size of a milk-mirror, since it is not equally m'cII defined in all cows, being at first sight apparently large in some, which, upon close examination, will show faults — that is, that tlie escutcheon of out-growing hairs is broken by tufts of down-growing hairs. Mr. Flint says: " We often find cows whose milk-mirror at first sight appears very large, but which arc only medium milkers ; and it will usually be found that lateral indentations greatly diminish the surface of up-growing hair. Many errors ■ are committed in estimating the value of such cows, from a want of attention to the real extent of the milk-mirror. " All the interruptions in the surface of the mirror indicate a diminution of the quantity of milk, with the exception, however, of small oval or elliptical plates, which are found in the mirror, on the back part of the udders of the best cows. PLATE V. (Page 48.) Tins is a very instructive picture to every young farmer, and there are a good many old ones who may make of it a vahiable study. Many persons are not aware that the age of a suckling calf, week by week, can be told by examining the teeth. Look at these drawings and see how easy it is to learn the art — an art which every farmer's boy should undei'stand. So the age of a cow, as well as a horse, can be told from year to year, by looking at the teeth, more cer- tainly than by the horns. For this purpose this plate possesses great value ; but it has a greater one in the illustration of what is now well known as the "milk mirror," which is described at ^ 54, and much more fully in Guenon's work, from which the theory is derived. In this plate the mirror is represented by coloring the pic- ture so as to show the field of upturned hair around the udder in its most fully developed form upon No. 1, and quite defective in No. 4. By studying these, and comparing them with living cows, something of the theory may be learned. It is very fully illustrated in Flint's work upon milch cows and dairy farming. It is .a subject worthy of the attention of all farmers. Sko. 8.] COWS— THE MILK-MIRROR. 49 In a fat cow, with an inflated udder, the mirror would appear larger than it really is ; while in a lean cow, with a loose and wrinkled udder, it .appears smaller. Fat will cover faults ; this is a fact to be kept in mind in selecting a cow ; because good fatting qualities are not the qualities which the purchaser is desirous of obtaining. " These marks, though often seen on many good cows, should be considered as certain only when the veins of the perineum form, under the skin, a kind of net-work, which, without being very apparent, may be felt by a pressure on them, when the milk-veins on the belly are well developed, though less knotted and less prominent than in cows of the first class ; in fine, when tlie udder is well developed, and presents veins which are sufficiently numerous, though not very large. " There are cases where a knowledge and careful examination of the form and size of the mirror becomes of the greatest importance. It is well known that certain signs or marks of great milkers are developed only as the capacities of tlie animal herself are fully and completely developed by age. The milk-veins, for instance, are never so large and prominent in heifers and young cows as in old ones, and the same may be said of the udder, and the veins of the udder and perineum, all of which it is of great importance to observe in the selection of milch cows. Those signs, then, which in cows arrived at maturity are almost sufiicient in themselves to warrant a conclu- sion as to their merits as milkers, are, to a great extent, wanting in younger animals, and altogether in calves, of which there is often doubt whether they shall be raised ; and here a knowledge of the form of the mirror is'^f immense advantage, since it gives, at the outset, and before any expense is incurred, a somewhat reliable means of judging of the future milking capacities of the animal, or, if a male, of the probability of his transmitting milking qualities to his oflFspring." 55. What Kind of Cows to Buy.-^' In buying dairy stock, tlie farmer gen- erally finds it for his interest to select young heifers. Tliey give the promise of longer usefulness. But it is often the case that older cows are selected, with the design of using them for the dairy for a limited period, and then feeding them for the butcher. In either case, it is advisable, as a rule, to choose animals in low or medium condition. The farmer can not ordinarily afibrd to buy fat; it is more properly his business to make it and to have it to sell. Good and well-marked cows, in poor condition, will rapidly gain in all flesli products when removed to better pastures and higher keeping, and they cost less in the original purchase." 56. General Conclusions. — We have now devoted all the space that we can afibrd to the subject of cows. We have given them a large share of our attention, because we consider them of more importance than any other single branch of our domestic animals.- They not only furnish a great amount of food, in milk, cream, butter, cheese, and meat, when done fur- nishing milk, but they are the foundation of prosperity in American farming. " A good cow may produce a bad calf," but it is only a may-be — it does not 50 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. hold as a rule. It is therefore very important to select good cows, and keep none but good cows — certainly never breed from a poor one. We shall now give some important facts relative to other branches of neat stock. And first we refer the reader to the following facts concerning bulls of various breeds. 57. The Ayrshire Bull. — In comparing this with those of other breeds, it should be borne in mind that the Ayrshircs are not bred for beef, in their own country, as much as they are for dairy purposes. For working oxen, they are of fair quality, but not the best. For feeding purposes, they should be crossed with Durhams. " It is the opinion of good breeders, that a high-bred short-horn bull and a large-sized Ayrshire cow will produce a calf which will come to maturity earlier, and attain greater weight, and sell for more money, than a pure-bred Ayrshire. This cross, with feeding from tlie start, may be sold fat at two or three years old, the improvement being especially seen in the earlier matu- rity and the size." 58. The Jersey Bull. — So far as beauty is concerned in the sexes, the males of the Jersey or Alderney stock have the largest share. It is a somewhat curious physiological fact, that the Alderney cows in this country produce two or three times as many bulls as heifers, so that bulls can gener- ally be purchased at lower prices than cows. "The bulls are usually very different iu character and disposition from the cows, and are much inclined to become restive and cross at the age of tmee or four years, unless their treatment is uniformly gentle and firm. In all portraits of Jersey bulls, they are represented as handsomer animals than they are generally considered by American farmers. 59. Short-horn or Durham Bull. — Tliis breed has been more largely imported and bred from in the United States than any, in fact all, othere. It is the great beef-producing breed o^ the West, particularly in Ohio and Kentucky. " The desirable characteristics of the short-horn bull may be summed up, according to the judgment of the best breeders, as follows: He should have a short but fine head, very broad across the eyes, tapering to the nose, with a nostril full and prominent; the nose itself should be of a rich flesh-color; eyes bright and mild ; ears somewhat large and thin ; horns slightly curved and rather flat, well set on a long, broad, muscular neck ; chest wide, deep, and projecting; shoulders fine, oblique, well formed into the chine; fore legs short, with upper arm large and powerful ; barrel round, deep, well ribbed liome ; hips wide and level ; back straight from the withers to the setting on of the tail, but short from hip to chine ; skin soft and velvety to the touch ; moderately thick hair, plentiful, soft, and mossy." This picture gives only a fair impression of the fine form of the best animals of this breed. CO. The Dutch Bull. — The form of Dutch and Durham bulls is not unlike. W. W. Chenery, of Watertown, Mass., whose name has since become famous Seo. 4.] BEEVES. 51 as being identified with the alarming cattle disease prevailing iu Massachu- setts in the summer of 1860, is one of the largest importers of the valuable stock known as the Dutch breed. 61, The Hereford Bull.— This always fairly represents this good breed of cattle. Good, at least, for beef, and excellent for working oxen. Their beef rates highest of all in the London market, and the few grades which have been brought to New York have been higlily esteemed. The objection to them is, that they do not come so early to maturity, or, rather, to a salable condition, as the Durhams. The breeders of Herefords contend that the keeping that will starve Durhams will keep the Herefords in a thriving condition. 62. The Devon Bull. — In color and form a Devon bull is perfect ; always of a pure bay-red color, of medium size, and progenitor of the handsomest working oxen in America. The deficiency in size of the pure Devons, for working oxen, is made up by crossing upon larger animals. These grade oxen make as fine beef as any brought to the New York market. SECTION IV.-BEEVES. \ ross and Net Weight of Beef Cattle. — ^The ordinary rule of ascertaining the net weight of beef cattle from the live weight on the scales varies, accord- ing to quality, size, and age, and after all, is no rule at all, because it is entirely a matter of agreement between the parties at the time. It also depends upon the locality. In New York, the net weight of the beef in the quartere only is wanted. In Boston, the hide and fat are included, counting those products equal to one quarter of the beef, or, rather, calling the whole five quarters. Tliere the net weight of a fat bullock is estimated at 60 to 68 lbs. of each 100 of live weight. In extra fine animals the per-centage is higher. In New York, where the hide and fat are left out of the calculation, the bullocks are estimated at 55 to 60 lbs. net to each 100 lbs. gross; and if the animal is very fine, the estimate runs from 61 to 61 lbs. net to each 100 lbs. gross. Extraordinary animals sometimes dress 65 or 66 lbs., and even higher, and ordinary and lean stock run from 55 down to 47 lbs., though not often below 50 lbs., or one half the live weight at home. The common practice at the "West is, to weigh fatted cattle some hours after feeding and a little exercise, and calculate the net weight at 55 lbs. per 100 of the live weight. 52 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. 64. The Lai^est Bollock— The Great Massachnsetts Steer.— The question of " what is the greatest weiglit of any bullock ?" we definitely answer and place on record in the following notices. The heaviest alive and dead was sold by John Sanderson, of Bernardstown, Mass., in February, 1S62, to Bryan Lawrence, butcher, Centre Market, New York, by whom he was publicly exhibited, killed, and weighed. His live weight "at home was 36 cwt. Here, when very empty, 33 cwt. His dead weight was, fore quarters, 743, 732—1,475 lbs. Hind quarters, 496, 502—993 lbs. Total, 2,473 lbs., after shrinking a week. This is within 2 lbs. of 75 per cent, of live weight. This steer liad been kept in a small yard and stable, eating meal and hay two years ; was eight years old ; a cross of Durham and native Vermont stock. He girted back of shoulders, 10 ft. 8 in. ; forward of liips, 11 ft. 8 in. ; hight, 6 ft. 3 in. ; length from horns to tail, 9 ft. 8 in. ; breadth across hips, 3 ft. 6 in. Tliis is the largest bullock of which we have any certain record. TVe also place upon record the weights of several other remarkable large bullocks. All stories of bullocks of 40 cwt. we disbelieve. 65. The Washington Ox. — Tlie ox George "Washington was 5 years, 9 months, and 14 days old when slaughtered, in the year 1840. His live weight was 3,204 lbs. Weight of one fore quarter 612 " Weight of the other fore quarter 698 " Weight of one hind quarter 487 " Weight of the other hind quarter 477 " 2,174 lbs. of beef — 70 llis. per cwt. of lire weight. Measurement from button to root of tail 9 fl. 7 in. Girth 10 " 4 " Hight 5 " 9 " From hip to hip 2 '• 9 " The ox Red Jacket, killed March 5, 1851, Weighed alive 3,080 lbs. Weight of meat '. 2,114 " Lota, 31 per cent. The OX John Hancock, killed the same time, Weighed alive 2,910n«. Weight of meat 1,946J " Loss, 33 per cent. Robert L. Pell's two-year-old heifer, fatted at Pellham Farm, 30 miles up the Hudson, Weighed alive 2,000 lbs. Weight of beef 1,380 " Loss, 31 per cent. 66. A Big Ox in Olden Time. — "We print, as we find it, the following extract from " Thacher's Military Journal of the Revolution," under date of June 24, 1779: " I have just had the satisfaction, with a number of gentlemen, of viewing a remarkably large /"at ox, which has been presented by some gentlemen in Connecticut to his Excellenc_v, Gen. "Washington. He is 6 ff. 7 in. high, and weighs on tlie hoof 3,500 lbs., the largest animal T ever beheld." 67. The Ox Leopard. — ^An ox called "Leopard," raised and fed by Dr. 1 ! Sbo. 4.] BEEVES OF GREAT WEIGHT. 53 "Win. Elmer, of Bridgton, N. J., was slaughtered, Feb. 24, 1832, at the age of 6 years and 8 months. His live weight was 3,360 lbs. Size — length from nose to rump, 10 ft. 6 in. ; from nose to end of tail, 15 ft. ; girth behind fore shoulders, 9 ft. 8 in. ; around the body, 10 ft. 9 in. ; around the brisket, 10 ft. 3 in. ; length from shoulder to rump, 7 ft. ; along the back from liorns, 9 ft. ; width across the hip, 2 ft. lOi in. ; hight of fore shoulder, 5 ft. 6 in. ; behind, 5 ft. 8 in. ; circumference of leg below the knee, 1 foot. 68. Two Big Oxen in Pennsylvania. — We have a letter from James Stewart, Pennsylvania, and another from Andrew M. Frantz, giving the weight of two bullocks heavier than the Washington. One known as the " Lancaster County Ox," Mr. Stewart writes, " was owned and fed by Emanuel Landis, near this city ; was a lialf-bred Durham, deep red, large fore quarters, long, fine horns, and was over seven years old. Wm. F. Miller, of Lancaster, purdiased him for $800, and slaughtered him on the 22d of February, 1858. This ox weighed : Live weight 3,387 lbs. Net weight 2,409 " Weight of one fore quarter 747 lbs. Weight of the other fore quarter 760 " Weight of one hind quarter 469 " Weight of the other hind quarter 442 " 2,418 lbs. Deduct weight of hooks for weighing 9 Total net weight 2,409 lbs. " The Berks Ckiunty ox, that was butchered some years ago in Philadelpliia, weighed as follows : live weight. 3,350 lbs. Net weight ,... 2,388 " Weight of one fore quarter 7321bB. Weight of the other fore quarter 728 " Weight of one hind quarter 464 " Weight of the other hind quurter 464 " Total net weight 2,338 lbs. "There has long been a generous rivalry between the farmers of Berks and Lancaster counties in regard to which could grow the fattest and largest oxen. As it now stands, Lancaster is ahead, but we may look out for some- thing ere long greater still from Old JSerJcs, for the resources of that county are astonishing, as even politicians can testify. "There was another steer butchered in this city, in February, 1856, by David Killinger, owned and fed by Abram Landis, of Manheim township, that netted 2,108 lbs., but that weight, and greater, has been frequently attained in this State, and even in this county. The first two (whose weights I liave given) I will not say are the largest cattle ever slaughtered, even in Pennsylvania, but they are the largest that have ever come under my obser- vation, and in regard to whose weight there was no dispute. I, however, entirely concur with the writer in the Tribune, that there never was an ox fed to the weight of 4,000 lbs. gross. An animal that will weigh 613 lbs. more than the one butchered in this city in February last, has certainly never been yet produced." 54 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. Mr. Frantz sajs the Berks County ox was fed by a man named Soetz, and was slaughtered, he thinks, in 18i6. If so, his weight should have been known here and remembered, but it was not by one of the butchers and others that we thought likely to know, of the many of whom we sought information. We liavo often heard of heavier bullocks, but lack the proof, as in the case below. The above figures are now matters of record, where they can be referred to in future. 69. The Saratoi^a Bis Bullock» — Since writing the above, we see the fol- lowing in the Country Gentlcvian of May 27, 1860 : " The Saratoga County Fres& says that J. M. Cole, of Saratoga Springs, slaughtered an ox, in 1817, whose live weight was 3,520 lbs. ; dressed, 2,567 lbs." Let Mr. Cole give us the vouchers. If he has made an ox of that weight, he has probably beaten the world, and shoidd give the world the proof. It wants to know certaiidy the weight of tlie heaviest bullock. 70. Weights of the Crystal Palace Show Cattle.— The following are the net weights of the nine head of fat bullocks, exhibited as a show at the Crystal Palace. Some of them were full-blood Kontuck}' and Ohio Durhams, and others, grades of that bloofl. They were bought by Jim Irving, of Washing- ton Market, and fairly weiglied as follows: Tlie best pair weighed — one, 2,178 lbs. — and his quarters, 60-1 and 612 lbs. for the fore quarters, and 480 and 482 lbs. for the hind quarters. Tlie other weighed 2,066 lbs.— the fore quarters 570 and 568 lbs., and the hind ones 470 and 458 lbs. Another pair weighed together 3,680 lbs. The old cow, which was excessively fat, weighed 1,460 lbs., dressing, it is said, 73 lbs. per cwt. Tlie best steer dressed 72ilb6. per cwt. The other four head weighed 2,024, 2,003, 1,930, and 1,860 lbs. Forty head of Illinois grade Durhams, five and six years old, sold in 1858, in the New York market, averaged 22 cwt. each alive, and one hundred head averaged over 20 cwt. each. 71. The liaxtun Steei". — The Ilaxtun steer was raised by E. Ilaxtun, in Beekman Township, Dntcliess Co., N. Y. lie was out of a cow bought from a drove that came from near Cleveland, Oliio, which was probably three fourths Durham, and a full-bred short-horn bull, of Mr. Sheaf's (Dutchess County) importation. The steer was called jfths Durham, part of the blood appearing to indicate a descent from the long-horn of the old Kentucky importation. Ilis color was nearly all red, having some whitish roan spots, and he was, notwithstanding his great size and fatness, one of the liaud- somest-formed fat bullocks we have ever seen, and as firm on his legs almost as he ever was, and was in appearance as fresh and healthy as ever, taking his rations regularly. His feed was 14 quarts a day of meal, made of two parts Indian corn and one part oats, and as much hay as he would eat. His feeding commenced in the fall, after he was four yeai-s old, and he was seven years old the spring before he was killed. Ilis weight at home, Dec. 1, 1859, was Seo. 4.] BEEVES OF GREAT WEIGHT. 55 3,472 lbs. He was probably weighed full at that time ; bnt after a railroad passage of 75 miles, he was weighed here, Jan. 9, 1860, before he was filled up with food and water, and his fair, honest weight, as given by David Allerton, who weigiicd him, was 3,452 lbs. Three days afterward, weighed upon the same scales, by the same man, with scales carefully balanced, he weighed 3.418 lbs. Afterward, upon two other scales, his weight was 3,419. He was sold Jan. 10, 1860, to Wm. Lalor, of Centre Market, for $850 ; and was slaughtered and dressed at Pattei'son's slaughter-house, Jan. 19, by the same man who dressed the Washington, and hung until Jan. 26, when the quarters were weighed, under the careful supervision of Barney Bartram, John Harris, John M. Seaman, and James L. Stewart, and in the presence of a large company of lookers-on, many of whom were considerably interested, having invested largely in the way of bets upon the net weight. The following was the result: fore quarters, 700 and 668 lbs. — 1, 368 lbs. ; the hind quarters, 482 and 469 lbs.— 951 lbs. ; total, 2,319 lbs. This was 2| lbs. over 67j lbs. per cwt. of the last live weight. The shrinkage was esti- mated at 50 lbs. ; but he was hung just the same length of time as the Washington, and, like him, has had his hide stuffed and form preserved, being, up to that time, the largest bullock ever brought to New York. The fatting of this steer has been one of the most perfectly successful experiments to produce a monstrous animal, so evenly formed and faultlessly shaped, that no one could say where he could be improved. 72. Other Large Bullocks.— A pair of oxen, called the " Cayuga Prize Oxen," was also sold in the New York market, the same week, for $700, wliicli was considered remarkable ; their live weight, however, was 2,865 lbs. each ; they were six years old. The Michigan Farmer of Jan. 20, 1860, says : " We lately gave an account of several fat cattle which were killed in tliis city on the week before the New Year. The pair weiglied 6,437 lbs., or 3,218 lbs. each. The net weiglit was estimated at 68 lbs. per cwt." Of some others the Farmer said: "The actual yield of the cattle killed by William Smith, in this market, was &Q lbs. to the 100 lbs. of live weight, or 2,150 lbs. from 3,218 lbs. It will be seen by this, therefore, how those great oxen killed in the Detroit market approximated to what is considered the largest and fattest animal ever killed in the United States." We have a letter before us from Isaac Hubbard, of Claremont, N. H., who is ninety years old, but not too old to read with interest the accounts of these fat bullocks. He says that, seeing an account of the Haxtun steer, which interested him very much, induced him to give the history of a fat bullock fed by him twenty odd years ago. The calf was dropped Jan. 4, 1833, and was then estimated to weigh 100 lbs.; Jan. 4, 1833, he weighed 874 lbs. ; Dec. 3, 1833, 1,280 lbs. ; Jan. 5, 1835, 1,800 lbs. ; Dec. 26, 1835, 2,350 lbs.; Feb. 15, 1837, 2,910 lbs. In Oct., 1838, Mr. H. sold him, and he was conveyed to Hartford, Conn., and weighed 3,370 lbs. This steer was bought by Paran Stevens, since of 56 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. great hotel notoriety, and was extensively exhibited in this country ae " the largest ox ever seen." Perhaps some persons in this State may remember the exhibition of this mammoth ox. In 1840, this great show animal was sent to England for exhibition there, and, it is said, attracted much attention. From there he was taken to France and Belgium, and exhibited as the great bullock of the world. He was brought back to England and slaughtered, but his weight at the time, either alive or dead, was not published, but it was less in this country than tiiat of several whose \reights we have published. This is one of the great 6liow bullocks which have been exhibited and advertised as weighing over 4,000 lbs., a weight that never has, so far as we have any satisfactory records, yet been attained ; and although we believe that 4,000 lbs. is above the limit that can be attained by one of the bovine race, we would not discourage the efforts of those who have made noble attempts to improve this class of livestock, both in form and quality, and who will not be content until the utmost possible limit of weight is accomplished. The name of Mr. Hubbard's steer was " Olympus," in this country, but in Europe he was exhibited imder the name of " Brother Jonathan." He was of the " native stock," common in New Hampshire ; his color a dapple-bay or red, a little changeable in the sun, with white spots on the face and legs. It is not, however, generally profitable to feed such great bullqcks as we liave noticed ; but, to see what has been done, it will always be an interest- ing matter of reference. So will be the matter we shall give in the next section. SECTION V-STATISTICS OF THE NEW YORK CATTLE JilARKET, umbers of Bntchers' Animals Annually Sold in New Torkt — Farmers are very justly accused of a neglect of statistical information in relation to the business upon which all their prosperity depends. In the very important matter of furnishing the cities with bullocks, the producers had no means of forming estimates of the needed supply, until we instituted reports of the cattle markets of all the prin- cipal cities, and particularly the city of New York, wliich is an enormous consumer of fresh beef. To this market we have devoted many years, attending almost every weekly market, and have given tiie farmers statis- tical tables of immense value to tliem. We now embody some of this useful statistical information, can stand as a table of permanent reference; and we earnestly it to all who are engaged in agricultural pursuits. where it commend Seo. 5.] STATISTICS OF THE NEW YORK CATTLE MARKET. 57 ANNUAL RECEIPTS FOR TEN TEARS — 1854-1863. Tears. Beeves. tows. Calves. Sheep. Bwine. Ann. Totals. 18.54 169 864.... 13,131.... 68,584.... 555,479.... 252,328.... 1,059,386 1855 185564.... 12,110... 47,969.... 588,741.... 318,107.... 1,152,491 1856 187 057 . 12,857.... 43,081.... 462,739.... 345,911.... 1,051,645 1857 162,243 ... 12,840.... 34,218.... 444,036.... 288,984.... 942,321 1858 . 191874.... 10,128.... 37,675.... 447,445.... 551,479.... 1,238,601 1859 . 205,272.... 9,492.... 48,769.... 404,894.... 399,665.... 1,068,092 1860 226,933.... 7,144.... 39,436.... 518,750.... 323,918.... l,llli,181 1861 222,835.... 5,749... 32,868.... 512,366.... 559,421.... 1,333,239 1862 239,486.... 5,378... 30,465.... 484,342. ... 1,148,209. .. . 1,907,880 1863 264,091.... 6,470.... 35,709.... 519,316. ... 1,101,617. .. . 1,927,203 Total 2,055,219. . . . 95,299. . . . 418,774. . . . 4,938,108. . . . 5,289,639. . . . 12,797,039 Av. pr. year . . . 205,522.... 9,530.... 41,877.... 493,811.... 528,964.... 1,279,704 WEEKLY AVERAGE OF ALL ANIMALS FOR TE.N TEARS — 1854-1863. Tears. Beeves. Cows. Calves. Sheep. Swine. Totai. 1854 3,257 253 1,315 10,682 4,852 20,369 1855 3,565 233 922 11,322 6,117 22,069 1856 3,597 247 828 8,898 6,650 20,224 1857 3,120 245 658 8,539 6,557 18,119 1858 3,680 195 724 8,604 10,605 28,809 1859 3,947 182 841 9,709 7,686 22,365 1860 4,364 139 758 9,976 7,229 21,465 1861 4,285 no 632 9,853 10,758 25,637 1862 4,518 101 574 9,138 21,664 36,000 1863 5,079 125 687 9,987 21,185 37,062 The increase of bullocks in this decade is 55 per cent. Cows have fallen off more than half, and calves nearly the same. The supply of sheep remains nearly stationary, but swine have increased enormously. The fol- lowing is the estimated number of pounds of meat, derived from slaughtered animals in 1863, and the wholesale value. In the estimate, cows are added to the bullocks, because tlie most of them, eventually, go to the butcher. Beeves— 270,561, av. 700 lbs. uet 189,392,700 lbs. at 9jc. per lb. net S17,513,821 75 Veal— 35,709 calves at 75 lbs 2,678,176 " at 10c. per lb. net 267,817 50 Sheep and lambs— 519,316, at 42 lbs.... 21,811,272 " atlOc.perlb.net 2,181,127 20 Swine— 1,101,617, at 150 lbs 105,242,550 " at 6^c. per lb. net 10,740,765 75 Total 379,124,697 lbs $30,708,535 20 It is also very important for farmers to know where the supply comes from. Of 210,384 bullocks sold in 1803, the si.x following States furnished the respective numbers, viz. : Illinois, 118,692 ; New York, 28,985 ; Ohio, 19,269; Indiana, 1-1,232; Michigan, 9,074; Kentucky, 0,782. As the same proportion holds good for all the cattle received in New York, it will be soen that Illinois furnishes 56i per cent. True, a good many credited to that State come from Iowa, Missouri, and other States. The proportion of hogs from Illinois is probably greater than upon beef cattle. The great bulk of pork from the hogs slaughtered here is packed and sent to other places for consumi:)iion ; large quantities of it to Eurojic. A small portion of the beef is packed and sent abroad. The great bulk of it, and all the veal and nearly all of the sheep, and a vast quantity besides that comes in ready dressed from the country, goes to furnish fresh meat to the cities of New York and Brooklyn, three small cities in New Jersey, and several towns within fifty miles, ships in port, and most of our armed ships and forts and soldiers on the coast between Hampton Roads and Key West. 58 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. Estimated average price of beef cattle per net pound each year, 185-1—63 : 1854, cents full; 1855, 10 cents; 1S56, 9i cents nearly; 1857, lOi cents nearly; 1858, Si cents nearly; 1859, 9 cents; 1860, 8 cents full ; 1861, 7 J cents; 1862, 7§ cents ; 1863, 9i cents. Up to March, 186-1, prices liave ranged troiii 9 to 16 cents a pound net, which was higher than before since 1857. During 1863, the live-weight price of corn-fed hogs ranged from -1 to 7 cents per pound. In February, 1864, it reached 8^ and 9 cents per pound, which was tlie highest price for "Western stock ever attained. That all who read this page may see what an immense interest is involved in the live-stock trade of the country with New York city, we add the fol- lowing calculation of number of pounds of meat and estimated value: cossrjm-iox or ten teah-s — 1854-1863, Beeves— 2,160.518 hc.^ av. 700 lbs. net. ..1,505.302,600 lbs. at 9 cents per lb. net. . $135,482,034 Calves— 418,7(4 head av. 75 lbs. net 3I,40K,050 " atlOcentspcrlb.net.. 3.140,8(15 SbeepandlanibB-^,938,108hea(lav.421bs. 207,390,530 '■ atlOcentspcrlb.net.. 20,73y,li:):i Swine— 5,289,0.39 head av. 125 lbs 001,204,800 " at Ccentsperlb.net.. 39,672,2«8 Total 2,400,305,980 lbs $199,034,7|;0 Average per annum for the ten years 240,530,598 " 19,903, 173 Farmers, look at these figures. They teach you an important lesson ; one well worthy of being placed upon this permanent record, to remind you and your children of the great importance of the live-stock interest of the country. You sec by the tables the rapid increase of the trade, and the enormous sum that it amounts to in ten years. Lest you should be confused by the sum in numerical figures, let us repeat it in words. Two billions four hundred and five millions three hundred and sixty-five thousand nine hundred and eighty-six pounds of meat, amounting to one hundred and ninety-nine millions thirty-four thousand seven hundred and eighty dollars. This is the sum that New York city has disbursed to the farming interest for fen years' supply of meat, derived frojn the slaughter of twelve millions seven hundred and ninety-seven thousand and thirty-nine animals. These statistics enable us to realize the vast resources of America. T!ie country is now feeding a million of men in the army, fighting for freedom, full rations of meat, and sending nearly two millions a year of animals to the city shambles of New York, for which the city is sending back to the country twentj^ millions of dollars. This is the greatest meat-eating country in the world ; it produces all that it consumes and a great surplus to send abroad. 74. Cattle Transportation.— Nearly all the stock sold in the New York market is transported upon railway cars. "We assume that the beeves for ten years' supply have paid a tariff of $10 a head average to railroads, making the sum of $21,505,180; calves at fifty cents a head, $209,387; sheep at seventy-five cents, $3,703,681 ; hogs at $1 25 each, $6,612,048. Total $32,030,296, as the estimated amount paid for the transportation of animals butchered in New York for ten years. Improvement is needed in transportation. Animals arc forced to stand without food or water two or three days, or as long as their tired legs will Seo. 5.] STATISTICS OF THE WEW YORK CATTLE MARKET. 59 sustain them, and when they fail, as sometimes they do, the fainting creature falls and is trampled to death. We must have an improvement in cattle-cars. It certainly would not be difficult to construct them so that cattle should stand with heads to one side, where water could be given them in a trough by means of hose ; and if this can not be done, it must be made a criminal oifense to keep the animals on a car more than 30 hours without water. In fact, it would be better for all parties if the number were limited that a car should contain, and that in no case should the stock remain on the cars over 30 hours, without being unloaded, rested, fed, and watered. Tlie present practice is a loss to owners and an injury to consumers, by making the beasts feverish and unhealthy, besides being an outrageous act of cruelty to animals. The whole commu- nity is interested, and should cry out against the wicked practice, which is enough to make humanity shudder. 75. Comparative Measurements of CattlCi — Inquiries are often made in regard to the relative size of diiferent breeds of cattle. It is not easy to give a very definite answer to questions of this kind ; but as several of the leading breeds of this country were derived from England, where they are bred in greater numbers than they are here, an idea of their comparative size may be had from certain measurements taken of prize animals at the English shows. We give the following tables in reference to Short-horns, Herefords, and Devons, which toolj prizes at the shows ,of the Royal Agricultural Society, in 1858 and 1859. The first was prepared for the Society by Mr. Robert Smith. CLASS. Avel Short HORKa. j rs Aged bulls 4 Yearling bulls 1 Bull calves Cows 3 Two-year-old heifeiB.2 Yearlings 1 Heretobds. Aged bulls 4 Yearling bulls 1 Bull calves 10 ^ 5i CLASS. Averi Hehefoeds. yra- Cows 7 Two-year-old heifers. 2 Yearlings 1 Average Girth. Devons. Aged bulls 3 6 7 5 YearUng bulls 1 -6^ 6 2 Bull calves 8| 5 2 5 8 3 Cows 6 2i 6 Dj 104 7 0} Two-year-old heifers. 2 6 € 10 lOJ 5 ll| Yearlings 1 7} 6 1 The next table was furnished by Mr. Thos. Duckhara, the editor of the "Herd-Book of Hereford Cattle." As far as it goes, it comprises measure- ments of Short-horns and Herefords, which received prizes at the Warwick show that year, the rank of the awards having been according to the order observed in the table. CLASS. Averi Shoet-hokss. ys- Aged bulls 4 4 Yearling bulls. Bull calves Cows 4 Average Girth. CLASS. Averag Herefof.ds. }■"• AgedbuUs 2 " 4« 4 9i lOJ 0' Yearling buUs . Bull calves . . . , Cows. Average Girth. 60 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. 76. The Improvement in Breeds and Weig^hts or Cattle. — What has raised the average weight of beef cattle from 500 to 800 lbs., and some individuals up to 3,600lbs. ? "What has raised the crops of corn to double their former yield, and in several instances produced over 190 bushels of corn to>the acre — that was in Kentucky ; but in the State of !New York whole lields have averaged 100 bushels. In Connecticut, 13i bushels of ears of corn have been I)roduced upon half an acre, at an expense for culture and harvest of less than $3. What lias induced men to root up old orchards of natural fruit, " five to the pint," and plant pippins, bald wins, greenings, russets, etc., some of which have been sold from $8 to $20 a barrel, and retailed at a guinea a dozen? What has induced ingenious men to devote the best energies of their minds to inventing plows, harrows, drills, reaping-machines, and every other implement of husbandry, while every class of domestic animals has also been improved — neat cattle probably the most of all? The answer is, the publication of just such facts as we are now giving, which tend to show what has been done by some men, and may be done by others. This encourasres us to continue our labor. SECTION VI.-FEEDING CATTLE AND CARE OF FARM-STOCK. electing Calves for Rearing. — Use judgment in selecting such heifer calves as are to be reared. Select only those whose mothers are good milkers, and whose sires have come from good milking stock ; at the same time, the calf itself should have characteristics that indicate an aptitude to develop good milking qualities, viz. : small, fine head, ratlier long in the muzzle; bright eyes; tliin, tapering neck; small, well-shaped legs ; long body ; large hind quarters, set wide behind ; soft skin ; tine hair — the color of which is immate- rial ; and, above all, the milk-mirror or udder veins should be large and well developed. The raising of bull calves for breeders had better be left to those who have time and means to devote their attention to it, who procure the best animals to begin with. It would be no loss to the country, were the numerous specimens of scrub bulls, too often seen, condemned to perpetual exile. But there is no reason why a portion of the male calves, at least, should not be reared as bullocks, either for the team or the butcher; and it is important that such as are reserved for this purpose should possess certain points indicative of future excellence, viz.: well-shaped head; small cars; short, thick neck; deep brisket; broad chest and shoulders; fine bone; long Sec. 6.] FEEDING CATTLE AND CARE OF FARM-STOCK. 61 body, well rounded behind the shoulders ; straight back ; wide loins ; full quarters ; tail thin and tapering ; skin soft, and not too thin. It is too often the case that animals are selected for rearing from being of pretty color — that takes the fancy of some member of the family — or the calf of some pet cow of the dairy-maid, without attention being paid to its promise of excellences. Not unfreqnently valuable calves are fattened for veal, simply because their color is unpleasing to the eye. This is about the most important branch of the stock-raiser's business. Too many persons pursue the careless mode of the person who wrote the following item : " In the spring of 1858 my two cows had bull calves, which I determined to raise for sale, and so gave them a good chance to grow, adding an extra in the shape of a handful of barley meal, with their feeds of milk. They grew finely, or rather Bobby did, for Billy, taking a sudden dislike to sour milk, had rather slim rations for the last six weeks befoi-e weaning. I told him he might starve if he liked, and took no special pains to humor his fancies. In September I had an offer of $6 for Bobby, and concluded to let him go, but the buyer was behind time about two Aveeks, and thought the additional keeping worth nothing, so I did not turn him off. So, of course, Bobby was kept, and grew up to propagate the race of Bob calves." 78. Calves — Give them Sheltert — It is almost impossible to winter calves without shelter ; if they survive the winter, they are mere skeletons, and have to be lifted up before spring, and never make anything but poor, raw- boned, unprofitable stock. Sheep are many times allowed to pick up what they can get for half the winter; but the dead lambs, and probably dead sheep, that lie scattered over the fields, tell the profit of such a course. When protected, all food not required to maintain the natural waste of the system goes toward increasing the growth of the animal. To obtain perfect form, animals should be kept continually growing until they arrive at maturity. They are often turned out in the spring so poor that it requires half the summer to make them as good as they were the fall before — a loss of three quarfeis of the year iii the growth of the animal. A grazier lately said to us, in speaking of such a lot of cattle that he bought, "It took the whole summer to soak their hides loose, so that they could begin to grow. They seemed as hard and dry as a pair of old boots, and in some spots as destitute of hair." 79. Training SteerSi — At the Maine State Fair, a boy of fifteen years, from the town of Woodstock, had a pair of three-year-old steers, whicli obeyed him as an obedient boy will his parents. By a motion of his hand they would go forward, halt, and return, go to the right or left, kneel down, and perform other things, much to the surprise of some older farmers, who are in the habit of putting the brad through the hide. At a New York State Fair there was a perfect Barey of an ox-tanier, wlio practices breaking steers for farmers, and as he never treats them inhumanly, he soon has them under perfect control, and as bidable as well- trained children. 62 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. 80. Unruly AnimalSi — As a general rule, our domestic animals arc never unruly, cxcej)! wlicn taught to be so. For instance, some persons, in turning stock from one Held to another, only let down a few of tlie top rails or bars, and force the animals to jump over. Too lazy to put up as well as to let down, they leave the gap lialf closed, as a temptation to the stock to jump back again. A few practical lessons of this kind make stock unruly. Care- lessness in regard to putting up fences when thrown down, or in repairing weak spots, confirms the habit. A writer says his practice has always been to teach his cows, calves, sheep, and hogs to go through or under, rather tlian over, the bars or fences, always leaving a rail or bar up at the top. Taught this way, they never think of jumping, and he has never been troubled with unruly animals, even when his fences were low. 81. Kindness to Brutcsi — No man can afford to be unkind to his domestic animals, because animals which are treated tlie most kindly arc the most gentle and obedient, and also thrive the best; hence, no one can afford to use them unkindly. By kindness, mingled with firmness, the most ferocious animals are subdued, and it is vain to suppose that the same means would not be eflectnal in training domestic animals. Surel}', no one should degrade himself by continuing a practice wliich is both unprofitable and inhuman — a practice that makes man the brute instead of the quadruped. There is no economy in half starving any stock through the winter, and causing them to take all the storms without any shelter ; but, on the contrary, it is a clear waste and loss to the owner. 82. Shelter for Cattlet — Next to the necessity of an adequate supply of food for stock, comes the iinjwrtance of shelter. It needs no argument to prove the truism that animals can not live without food; and it is just as certain that our domestic stock, artificially susceptible to the storms and changes of our Northern climate, can not thrive without proper shelter. It seems now to be well settled, that a due degree of warmth is equivalent, in a measure, to food ; and Ave all know that an entire abandoii to ease and comfort, while in a state of rest — a perfect freedom from apprehension of any kind, which may arise from a lack of food, or from exposure, or any other cause — is neccssarj' to the maximum of thrift or usefulness. On old, improved, rich lands, it would be policy in the farmer to stable or yard his cattle and horses during the whole year ; but I should prefer yarding in the summer season, as more air and room for exercise would be allowed, both of which would be conducive to the health of the animals. One acre of land, in good condition, sown to corn, and cut and fed from the time it begins to tassel iintil it begins to glaze, will keep six head of cattle during the time, and perhaps more — say two montiis — while it would have taken six acres of pasture to keep them the same length of time. On farms where the pasture is generally the roughest, poorest part of the farm, and that whicii could not be applied as profitably to other purposes — on such lands the cattle must be allowed to get their own living in summer. Tlic above are excerpta from several excellent essays in the Genesee Sec. 6.] FEEDING CATTLE AND CARE OF FARM-STOCK. 63 Fanner, and might have been much more extended, only that we have a great many other good things to glean from other sources. 83. Straw for Cattlei — Mr. Johnson says, in a letter to the Genesee Farmer : " You say that I put straw in my boxes for my cows. This is not so. No man ever saw me feed straw to cattle, at least for the last twenty -five years. K they choose, they can eat the straw spread out for litter, but I never compel them to eat straw. I know cattle can be fatted on grain and straw, but I don't think so profitably as part grain and part hay, or part oil-cake and part hay. Grass is the natural food of sheep and cattle ; and hay made from grass, if properly made, puts on fat, even if very little else is fed. I am satisfied that either cows or fatting cattle do much better in yards, with auijile sheds and plenty of straw for clean, dry beds. I can not feed any kind of stock profitably unless they have such beds." 84. Wintering Cattle. — There is yet a good deal of wisdom to be learned upon this subject, even by those whose talk is of bullocks, and particularly in wintering calves. The one great error is in neglecting them in autumn, after the frost has destroyed the 'sweetness of the grass, and allowing them to commence getting poor before winter feeding is commenced. Tliere is no error more fatal to success than such neglect. It is often the foundation of disease that the animal never recovers from. Tliere is no condition so good for an animal going into winter quarters as a thriving fatness; and if that can be kept up till mid-winter, the danger of starvation upon very light feed in the spring is greath' diminished. It is one of the worst things in all farm economy to neglect feeding stock in the fall, because it is not yet time to begin to fodder. You had better begin in July, if your pasture fails, so that your animals begin to lose flesh. All that is saved of fodder in the fall, iipon the plea that "caltle can shift a wliile longer," exactly verifies the old saw about " saving at the spigot and wasting at the bung." 85. Feeding Pumpkinst — A subscriber sends a long communication against feeding pumpkins to cows. The writer's reasoning is not entirely sound, and does not agree with our own experience and observation. As a general rule, we are quite sure that pumpkins increase rather than diminish the quantity of milk ; and instead of making neat stock grow poor, we have fattened large numbers of cattle on pumpkins alone. There is one suggestion in our correspondent's letter, however, which may be worthy of attention. He refers to the fact that the seeds of pumpkins have a decided diuretic (urine- producing) eflect upon the human organs, and that if they have the same eflect upon cows, the excessive flow of urine must necessarily reduce the flow of the milky fluid. He advises that when pumpkins are fed, the seeds should be taken out. The idea is plausible, and worth being acted on. 86. Keeping Stocli Warm, and Variety of Food. — Man craves a variety of food ; that is, a variety of substances, either one of which would sustain life, but would not be satisfactory. Nature demands the variation, and the mix- ing together tlie several substafices. Why ? Simply because no one will give all the elements that go to make up the animal economy. One article 64 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. furnishes phosphate for bones, which another article is destitute of, yet it may contain matter tliat will clothe the bones with muscle. Food that con- tains neither fat nor sugar will be found sufficient to keep up the animal heat. Food that contained all the elements of bone, muscle, fiber, fat, and heat-producing qualities, might be so concentrated as to be unhealthy. A man fed upon pemmican, would have a disposition to eat straw, husks, and twigs, or gnaw the bark from trees, to get something to distend the stomach and enable it to perform its functions healthily. Let this be thought of in feeding domestic animals. It will furnish an easy rule for your guidance. Judge them by yourself, and act accordingly ; you will find it an easy and sure road to success. We do not for animals, quadruped or biped, recommend a variety of food at the same meal — only a change from time to time, so as to give variety, and consequently all the elements neces- sary to produce growth. Never neglect to give your cattle water until you learn to do without it yourself, and never ofier them drink where you would vomit if compelled to slake your own tliiret. Never leave a horse, a cow, a sheep, out in a cold winter storm, until you arrive at that condition of unfeelingness that you could endure it yourcelf. When you think 3-ou could find comfortable shelter under a common rail fence, you may leave your cattle there. No domestic animal can ever reach the highest state of perfection its nature is capable of unless always kept in a healthy, growing condition, in an equable climate, or in warm shelter if the inhabitant of a cold one. Farmers do not i)ay sufficient attention to the warmth of their stock, but Buflor them to roam about in the open air, exposed to the inclement weather. The amount of exercise is another most important point to attend to. The more an animal moves about, the quicker it will breathe, and the more starch, gum, sugar, fat, and other respiratory elements it must have in its food ; and if au additional quantity of these substances be not given to supplj' the increased demand, the fat and other parts of the bodv will be drawn upon, and the animal will become thiimer ; also, as before observed, every motion of the body produces a corre-sponding destruction of the mus- cles which produce that motion. It is therefore quite evident that the more the animal moves about, the more of the heat-producing and flesh-forming principle it must receive in its food. Ilence we sec the propriety of keepino' our cattle in sheds and yards, and not suffering those (particularly which wc intend to fatten) to rove about, consuming more food, and wasting away more rapidly the various tissues of the body already formed, and making it more expensive and difficult to fatten them. 87. Fattrnin;; Cattle upon Hay. — Speaking upon this subject, a committee of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, of which John Brooks and Paoli Lathrop are members, remark : " Fattening cattle in winter upon hay alone is a resort of many farmer?, and where hay is plenty and distant from market, the practice is not iucon- Seo. 6.] FEEDING CATTLE AND CARE OF FABM-STOCK. 65 sistent with economy. If well attended, good animals consuming four per cent, of their live weight of good hay daily, will gain daily two pounds of flesh. Suppose the flesh gained to be worth 16 cents, it will be equal to $8 a ton for the haJ^ The better practice, however, is to give only three per cent, of the live weight of the animal in hay daily, and an equivalent for the other one per cent, in Indian meal or roots. The gam would be greater for the same cost of food." Another remark worth quoting is the following : "The best age for feeding cattle for beef is from four to eight years. Young growing cattle may be fattened, but it will require more food in pro- portion, and longer time." 88. How to Feed Roots. — There seems to be much diversity of opinion as to the value of turnips, carrots, etc., for feeding. One man feeds his hogs a great amount of them, but neglects to provide a bed secure from the intru- sion of cold winds and snow, and then wonders they do not grow ; or feeds a cow four bushels per day, and wonders she does not fat. How could she ? She is almost physicked to death, and her urinary organs are injured by over-exertion ; and although she is thoroughly littered with straw, still her feet are in the water ; and when she lies down, her side is wet. After many trials in a similar way, many have come to the conclusion that root feeding is an unprofitable business in our climate. If hogs must sleep in snow-banks, give thetn corn by all means, and give them plenty of it. If cattle can not be stabled, or kept so sheltered that they may be dry, then roots will not give one half the return they would under a judicious system of management. After many trials of fattening sheep and horned cattle, and feeding store stock of all kinds with roots, I came to the conclusion that they are all valu- able when properly fed witli liay and grain, but that their relative value to grain is often overrated in tliis country of cheap corn. Roots, unless cooked, aie not economical food for swine. The great error in relation to feeding roots is, that they are too much fed to the exclusion of grain. A farmer lias shoats to winter, or horned cattle to fatten ; he first feeds his turnips, carrots, beets, small potatoes ; next his corn or meal. This is wrong. The corn should be fed from the first. A dozen shoats of 100 lbs. eacli would profitably receive a bushel per day of roots, if cooked with corn. A fattening ox should have one busliel, or not over two, per day, with six or eiglit quarts of meal. Cows should have one half bushel per day, whether being milked or not. That amount will bring them out, iu the spring, fat and ready to do good service at the pail, provided, of course, that they have hay and stalks in due proportion. Calves and yearlings should always have one fourth bushel per day, with a very small allowance of grain. The above is partly from the Stoeh Joui'nal, and the following from the Workijig Farmer j both of wliich are good authority. We beg again to remind our readers, particularly those who are engaged 66 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Ciiap. I. in dairy and etock farming, to appropriate a full aniouiit of land to root- growing. Carrots, beets, turnips, parsneps, may all be raised witli protit wherever stock is to he fed. For horses, carrots arc invaluable. For milch cows, tliey not only furnish a milk of superior flavor, butter of fine color and odor, but, when used as a portion of tlieir food, they guarantee a healthful condition. Tlie power of the pectic acid of the carrot to gelatinize all veg- etable matter held in solution in the stomach, puts its contents in such a condition that the peristaltic motion of the intestines can manage it. Flat- ulence is prevented, and thorough digestion secured. The dung of the horse fed partly on carrots, never contains tlie undecomposed shell of the oat, nor large amounts of starch unappropriated ; and it is for this reason tliat a bushel of oats and a bushel of carrots will do more for the horse than two bushels of oats ; and not because the carrot contains as much flesh- making material as the oat, but because it causes all the flesh-making ma- terial of the oat to be appropriated, instead of being voided witii the excretia. For cows and oxen, otiier roots may occasionally be substituted with profit, as variety to all animals is pleasing in tlieir food ; and no one root should be so continuously used. Since the introduction of pulping machines, pulped roots mixed with cut hay, cut straw, and other cheap material, add much to the economy of the f;irm as well as to tlie licalth of the cattle. 89. Feeding Linseed and fotton-seed Oil-fake. — Never having had per- sonal experience enough in feeding oil-cake, having always preferred corn- meal, to give an opinion which we would ask others to rely upon, we select the following from a lecture by Prof. Yoelcker, before the meeting of the council of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, in June, 1S60. It is worthy of attention from all cattle-feeders. lie says : " It is not my object, in giving a practical turn to the lecture to-day, to record any experiments of my own, or in any way to presume to teach the feeder of stock in what way he may best expend his money in the puichase of food, but I shall endeavor simply to give to the practical man some indi- cations whereby I hope he will be enabled to form for himself a trustworthy opinion respecting the relative value of dilferent cakes, and likewise what is perhaps of more iin})ortance to him, to introduce some remarks which will enable Iiim to distinguish a good from a bad cake ; and in conclusion, shall allude briefly to the various substances with which oil-cakes are at the pres- ent time often largely adulterated. 90. Fat iu Food< — "Let me first point out to you some peculiarities in the composition of oil-cakes. A reference to their composition is necessary to the understanding tlie remarks which will follow. I would then observe, that what ciiaracterizes oil-cakes, distinguishing them from all other articles of food ])re-eminently, is the large amount of oil that is left in the cakes, obtained by expression of the oil-seeds. If you glance at the diagram (see table on page 71), you Avill find that they contain a considerable quantity of oil — from C to 12 per cent. ; and in some instances, as in the decorticated cotton-cake, even 16 per cent, of oil. I may observe at once that the value Sec. 6.] FEEDING CATTLE AND CARE OF FARM-STOCK. 67 of oil-cake in a very great measure depends upon the amount of oil which is left in the cake. And I may further say, that the tendency of the manufac- turer at the present day is to produce an inferior description of cake, inas much as improved machinery enables him to sr^ueeze out more oil than formerly, and thus to render the refuse less fattening, less valuable to the feeder of stock. I am very much inclined to believe that the oil is by far the most valuable constituent of all oil-cakes. I am aware that it was the fashion, not many years ago, to measure the feeding properties and even the fattening qualities of articles of food by the amount of nitrogenous or flesh- forming matters ; but these views are not supported by any practical experiments, nor, indeed, by the every-day experience that we liavc respect- ing not only human, but cattle food. We pay more for food rich in starch, mucilage, and matters capable of producing fat, than we pay for food which, like bean-meal, is extremely rich in nitrogenous matter, but which does not produce so much butcliers' meat. It is a matter of much importance to the farmer to know how much he gets back for the money he expends in the purchase of food. I have no hesitation in saying that more money is made by the purchase of food rich in oil, starch, or sugar, than in the purchase of food which contains an excess of nitrogenous matters. 91. Flesh hi Food. — "Still, we ought not to leave unnoticed that the flesh-forming matters are very important indeed, and that oil-cakes are peculiarly rich in them. In one sense they are perhaps most essential — per- haps even more essentially necessary than the other constituents of food which produce fat, or are employed in the animal economy to keep up the animal heat. They are more important in this sense ; whereas the animal or- ganization has the power to make fat from gum, sugar, nmcilage, and even from young cellulose or young vegetable fiber, it has not the power of making a particle of flesh. Unless, therefore, food is given to animals which contains ready-made flesh, an animal can not grow, and the other constituents of food remain unavailable. It is in this sense that the nitrogenous matters of food are extremely valuable ; but in a purely practical sense they are not so val- uable as the oil, starch, or sugar of food, because by spending a certain amount of money in food, we do not get so great a return in the shape of butchers' meat by purchasing these flesh-forming matters as by purchasing feeding substances rich in oil or starch. However, in speaking of the relative value of the various constituents, especially tlie oily and the flesh-forming constit- uenis, we are not to overlook that the quantity of nitrogenous matter which is not applied for tlie formation of flesh, passes through the animal, and is ol)tained again in the dung, with the exception of a small quantity tliat escapes by evaporation through the skin or through the lungs. A certain quantity of nitrogenous food evaporates through the skin, or with the per- spiration ; but by far the largest proportion, according to some experiments, nineteen twentieths, of the flesh-forming or nitrogenous matters of food are found again in the dung ; according to otliers the amount is seven eighths. But, speaking in round numbers, I think we are not far wrong iii saying that 68 . DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. we may fairly expect tliree fourtlis of tlie nitiogcuized matters of oil-cake back again in the mamire ; .iiid periiaps we are safe, likewise, in asserting tliat fully one lialf of tlie money valne of rape and the best cotton cakes is ob- tained back again in tlie manure. So we must not put down these constit- uents, which arc called nitrogenous, as useless, because they alone do not produce much butchers' meat ; nor must we estimate the value of oil-cake entirely by tlie increase in the live weight of cattle fed upon the cake, but also, and chieflv, I believe, by the increased value of the manure which is l)r()duced througli the instrumentality of oil-cake. 92. Bone in Foodi — " I will now direct attention to the inorganic matters or ash of oil-cakes. These inorganic matters may be called bone material ; for the ash of oil-cakes is particularly rich in i)hosi>hates of lime, or the ma- terial of which the greater \>a.i-t of the bone is composed. Now, the large proijortion of oil ; next, the large pri-yjtortion of flesh-forming matters; and third, a considerable proportion of bone material are characteristics that confer a i)articular value upon oil-cake, either directly as food, or indirectly as useful material for increasing the value of farm-yard manure. For let me observe, that oily matters and substances tliat make butchers' meat arc the most valuable constituents in all feeding materials, and therefore also in an oil-cake. On the other hand, the flcsh-forining constituents and the bone- forming materials — in other words, the nitrogen and the phosphates of tlie cake — are the two most valuable fertilizing constituents. "\Vc have thus in oil-cakes, in a concentrated state, materials that produce butchers' meat, and, at tlie same time, yield the most valuable fertilizing constituents. There is no other description of food which unites these useful properties. 93. LiilSfFll-fakei — " You are all aware we disiinguisii chieily the follow- ing kii\(ls of linseed-cake : English cake, American cake, and foreign cakes. Among foreign cakes there are various descriptions. There is the Baltic, the Marseilles, the Naples cake, and various others. We have here an ex- cellent specimen of good English cake. The English cake is made now of two qualities, thick and thin cake ; the latter is made in imitation of the American barrel cake, of which specimens are before you. You observe how closely the tliin English cake resembles the American bari'el cake. The latter has gained much favor, and therefore the manufacturers in England liave found it to their advantage to imitate the form in which it is sold. In the first place, notice that the American cake occasionally is as bad as English and foreign cakes. It is not every description of American cake which is good, but generally speaking, as it comes into the market, espe- cially the barrel cake, it is of a very superior character. But the question whether it is generally superior to the English cake or not, is one which is not very readily decided ; you may get English cake quite as good, if "not be' tor, than tlie American cake. '• Soiue years ago it was the fashion to buy the English cake in preference to any oilier, but it is now the fashion to buy the American barrel cake. I can only account for this by the fact that the English cake, being produced Seo. 6.] FEEDING CATTLE AND CARE OF FARM-STOCK. 69 in good quality, was rapidly consumed; the American cake was usually scut in a very damaged condition to this country, coming as it did in bat^s • our sharp American friends very soon found that they must send their cake here in a good condition. They dried it previously to sending it over and imported it in barrels, and this improved condition of the American cake greatly increased its reputation, which has been kept up ; so that at the pres out time in most markets, American cake, especially the barrel cake, fetches a iiigher price than the English. But a reference to the diagram will show you tliat there is no essential diiFerence between good English cake and good American ; indeed, if anything, the advantage is in favor of the speci- mens of English cake. The difference is extremely small. There is the same quantity of oil in both cases. The proportion of flesh-forming matters is rather larger in the English than in the American. There is the same amount of ash in both. Tlie proportion of sand hardly amounts to one pey cent, in tlie English cake, and in the American it is only a half per cent. Tliese differences are extremely small and unimportant, so that you may get, and often do get, as good English cake as American. And occasion- ally, also, you get bad American cakes ; but on the whole, the exporters of American cake are very jealous as to the kind of article they send to this country, especially if they go to the expense of packing it in barrels. 94-. Cotton-CakCi — " We distinguish now principally two kinds of this cake • — the one made of the whole seed, and the otlier of the shelled seed. The difference in the two qualities of cake will at once become intelligible by an examination of tlie seeds, or the raw materials from which the cakes are made. The decorticated or shelled cake is made of the kernel of the cotton seed ; the whole cake, in which we recognize an abundance of the husk, is made of the entire seed ; and inasmuch as the cotton seed contains full half its weight, and some descriptions contain as mucli as 60 per cent, of the hard husk, we must not expect that the cake made of tlie whole seed should be 60 valuable as the decorticated cake. There are several specimens of cotton- cake on the table. There is very little value in the husk itself; tlie difference in the two kinds of cotton-cake, then, arises from the different mode in which they are made. The one, the decorticated cake, is made from the kernel ; the other kind is made from the whole seed. The difference in the compo- sition of the two kinds of cake is very great. The decorticated cotton-cake contains 16 per cent, of oil (more than any other description of cake), while the whole-seed cake contains only 6 per cent. The proportion of albuminous or flesh-forming matters in the decorticated cake amounts to 41 per cent. • in the whole-seed cake it is only 23 per cent, or just one half. So with respect to the other constituents, the proportion of woody fiber is very much larger in the whole-seed cake than in the other. The husk in the whole- seed cake for a long time was a great impediment to the general use to which cotton-cake is now applied in this country. I remember when tlie first cargoes of cotton-cake came into England, before the decorticated cotton-cake was known; trials were made of it, which proved quite unsuc- 70 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. cessfiil. People (lid not like it at all, and I believe the cotton-cake would never have been extensively used if it had not been for the invention of a very useful machine, ])atented in America, by means of which the hard husks can be removed from tlie kernel. The use of this machine gives us a superior oil and a superior cake. The cot;on-seed oil made from the kernel alone is a very useful anicle, and so is the cake, whereas tlie oil expressed from the whole seed is dark brown in color, and can not be used except for the commonest piirjioscs for which oil is employed. The difference in the value of the two descriptions of cake is so great, that I almost think two tuns of the oil<'ake, made of the whole seed, do not go further than one tun of the best decorticated cotton-seed cake. Moreover, there is a certain danger in using the whole-seed cake. Several cases of so-called poisoning have been brought under my notice within the last year or two. Animals that have freely partaken of tlie whole-seed cake have died suddenly, and people have imagined that there was something injurious in the husk; but examination has shown that the effect produced is very much like that which is occasionally produced in the case of boys who die from inflammation of the bowels in countries where cherries are very abundant. Being very greedy, and eating the cheri-ies with the stones, they get a stoppage of the bowels, and so die from inflammation. There is nothing poisonous in the husk of the cotton-seed, and when given judiciously, no injury will result; but if aninuils are supplied with an unlimited quantity of dry food with the whole seed, ihere is indeed a danger. The hard husk is indigestible, and may roll togetlier in sucii large masses that inflammation of the bowels will ensue. There is no such danger, however, in the use of decorticated cotton- cake. The decorticated cake occurs of various degrees of qualify. And allow me to observe, with respect to all kinds of cake, that not only the composition, but, even in a higher degree, the condition of the cake, deter- mines in a great measure its value. I have here a specimen which you would hardly recognize as of the same description as another specimen also on the table, of a very beautiful character; it is the same kind of cake, only it is in a bad condition. I say, then, the condition of a cake determines everything. 95. Condition of f ake> — "Some time ago I was very much gratified in finding what great care Mr. Stratton, of Eroad Ilinton, a celebrated sliort- horn breeder, takes in selecting the very best of American barrel cake for his stock. "We often forget that animals have appetites as we have, and that they like food in a good condition better than food in a bad one. The com- position of two samples of the same food may not vary much, yet the prac- tical effect produced by them may vary exceedingly. There is nothing remarkable in this, for we know that if we get good, wholesome bread, which is one or two days old, we do well upon it ; but if it remains in a damp cellar and gets moldy, stale, and moist, it loses its fine flavor, and in this condition may do us harm. So it is with stale, Tuoldy cakes. Animals never do well on very old cakes. In examining, therefore, the different Sec. 6.] FEEDING CATTLE AND CARE OF FARM-STOCK. 71 cakes, we ought to examine particularly their condition. I allude especially to tlie examination of cotton-cake, because every pierson has the means of examining its condition with very little trouble. It is not so easy to examine the condition of linseed ; it presupposes an extensive acquaintance with various descriptions of linseed-cake. You must have seen a great many samples of cake before you can give a trustworthy opinion. Not so with decorticated cotton-cake. In this the color affords an excellent criterion as to its freshness. The freshest cotton-cake is as yellow as mustard. I hold a piece of cake in my hand, the exterior of which is brown ; but if I cat away a portion, you will observe that the interior is bright yellow — very different from the part that has been exposed to the air. This was an excellent cake when we first got it for feeding purposes, and we are feeding it extensively on our farm at Cirencester. When we lirst had it, it was of a bright yellow color ; but you observe how it has since changed. From this we may learn a very useful lesson, that we may take the color as a guide to the condition and age of the cakes. If we are . presented with a cake which is as brown as the specimen before me, and if you find on cutting it that the brown color has penetrated deep into the interior, we may at once conclude that it is a stale old cake. The deeper it has penetrated, the older the cake, and the more it lias suffered by bad keeping. If it is kept in a damp place, its color and condition are rapidly deteriorated, COMPOSreiON OF LINSEED AND OF OIL CAKES. lin«,.pH. Mi.««r,i Cotion-secd cake Poppy- Linseed. ^'^^^I^' Eape-eake. M";^» ^ made of .eJ whole seed. cake. Water 7.50 12.44 10.68 11.90 11.19 11. G3 Oil 34.00 12.79 11.10 6.69 9.08... . 6.75 FleBh-forming matters 24.44 27.69 29.53 23.48 25.16 31.46 Heat-giving constituents 30'73 40.95 40.90 62.14 48.93 38.18 Inorganic matters (ash) 3.33 6.13 7.79 6.79 6.64 12.98 100.00 100.00 100.00 100 00 100.00 100.00 9G. Salt for Stock. — A great deal has been written upon the use of salt for animals, and much reasoning employed to prove various positions ; but very few accurate experiments have been made. Loose and general observ- ations have been the basis for most of the opinions formed. A certain quantity of salt is unquestionably useful ; an excess is as certainly hurtful. The proper amount is what we want to have determined. All ordinary food of animals contains more or less salt — as, for example, a tun of barley or oats straw, and of some kinds of hay, contains six pounds of salt ; a tun of carrots contains four pounds. We can not, therefore, speak of animals eating no salt — they all partake of it, but we wish to know the right quantity. The Genesee Farmei\ from which we have frequently extracted useful facts, and to which we are indebted for the next half dozen, says of salt for cattle feeding for the shambles : " We have had our doubfs whether it was good economy to allow animals feeding for the lutcher the free use of salt. Salt is doubtless conducive to health, favoring the formation of bile, and aiding in carrying effete matter 72 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. from the system ; but there is no reason to suppose that it favors the accu- mulation of fat. Liebig, indeed, asserts that ' the absence of common salt is favorable to the fonnation of fat, ^ and that the ' fattening of an animal is rendered impossible, when we add to its food an excess of salt, although short of the quantity required to produce a purgative effect.' Ilecently, however, in allusion to experiments made since tlie publication of the work in wliich the above sentences occur, Liebig says: 'Salt does not act as a producer of flesh ; but it neutralizes the injurious actions of the conditions which must be united in the unnatural state of animals fed or fattened in order to produce flesh ; and the advantages attending its use can hardly be estimated too highly.' " Boussingault is also in favor of salt. Two lots of steers were fed tliirteen months, one with and one without salt. The average weiglit per head of the salted lot, at the commencement of the experiment, was 995 lbs. ; at the end of thirteen months, 2,090 lbs. Increase, 1,135 lbs. They consumed per Iiead 15,972 lbs. of hay. One tun of hay, therefore, produced 14:3 lbs. of increase of animal. "The second lot, which received no salt, averaged at the commencement of the experiment 896 lbs. ; at the end of thirteen months, 1,890 lbs. Increase, 994 lbs. They consumed per head 14,553 lbs. of hay, or one tun of hay produced 137 lbs. of increase of animal. "The steers receiving salt produced six pounds more increase for each tun of hay consumed than those which were not allowed salt. This may be considered only a slight advantage, and in France did not pay the cost of the salt ; in this country, liowever, where salt is much cheaper, its use will doubtless be profitable. Boussingault remarks : 'The salt exercises no con- siderable influence on the growth, yet it appears to exert a beneficial effect on the appearance and condition of the animal.' Up to the first fourteen days no perceptible dift'erence was observed between the two lots ; but in the course of the month following, the difierence was visible, even to the impracticed eye." With such good authority, it is presumed feeders will continue the use of salt; but let us give them this one word of caution — do not give it in excess. If you can not get rock-salt, or if that is too expensive, mix fine salt with soft clay,^and dry that in large cakes, and lay them under cover for the cattle to lick. 97. Ilock-Salt. — We reiterate that rock-salt is not only the most econom- ical, but the most convenient for the farmer to salt his cattle, since it can be placed where they can lick it at their leisure, and there it will remain, sum- mer and winter ; the rains have very little effect upon it while in a lump, as it comes from the quarry, it being really what its name indicates, a piece of rock. When broken fine it dissolves easily, but not before. A farmer who has the least idea of economy should learn how much he can save in a year, or a lifetime, by the simple operation of substituting rock- salt in place of that in ordinary use for farm-Stock. A lump of rock-salt Sec. G.] feeding CATTLE AND CARE OF FARM-STOCK. 73 may be placed in any out-door situation, wliere cattle can go and lick if whenever their appetite inclines them to do so, and it will not waste by exposure to dew or rain, because it is not hygrometric, as is the manufactured salt in common use. Another thing in its favor is this — your stock, with salt always before them, will never eat too much. Neither will they eat it too fast, as they almost always do Avhen salted with tine salt ; nor waste it by scattering it in the dirt, or leaving, it to dissolve and sink into the earth. Another difSculty is obviated by the use of rock-salt constantly within reach of stock, and that is, the hooking and punching of the weaker animals by the strong ones, ih fighting their way to the once-a-week, or perhaps once- a-month, salting-place. Rock-salt is a mineral as much as marble, and almost as solid and hard, and is quarried out of mines, like coal or other mineral substances. The most extensive salt mines are at Ci'acow, in Poland, where there are regular cartways, streets, and villages of miners' huts, where men, women, and children, and domestic animals live deep down in the earth. Our principal supply of rock-salt comes from Cheshire, England, where there are extensive mines. In its mineral state, the salt is of a slightly reddish color, and dingy white, and some of it needs to be melted and purified for culinary pnrposes. The purest portion may be reduced at once to powder by breaking and grinding, and is then quite white. The salt known here as Liverpool salt is refined rock-salt from the Cheshire mines. A lump of rock-salt as big as a man's head may be fixed by pins npon a rock or block, where the water will not stand around it, and it will remain until all licked away by the cattle's tongues. In case of stock in stables, a lump may be placed in each manger. 98. Bones for Animais. — A good deal has been lately said abont feeding animals with bone-meal. We give several opinions upon the subject : E. C. "Wright, of Gallatin County, 111., states, on the authority of the Eev. John Crawford, of Crawford, in that county, that the bones of swine dying with what is called hog cholera, decay as rapidly as the flesh, and that portions of the skin outlast the bones. He wants scientific men to give attention to this strange consumption of the solids, and thinks that it may bo the means of suggesting a remedy for the disease so fatal and so pecuniarily distressing to a vast number of farmers in the West. Now, as we know that feeding bone-meal to animals and phosphate of lime to plants that need it, has proved beneficial, is it impossible or improbable that feeding it to swine suflerlng from a disease that produces the effect described, may not be the means of curing or preventing the disease? Dr. Waterbury says : " There are some new theories in relation to feeding phosphates to animals. It is possible that this may have some effect. There is an idea prevailing that feeding material that makes bones will increase their size. It is a subject well M'ortliy of more attention." Prof. Mapes states that, when a calf is deficient in bone, that is, too weak to stand, feeding bone-meal to the cow that suckles the calf will furnish it 74 DOMESTIC AlOMALS. [Chap. I. with the necessary material. Tliis fact is well known to many farmers, and that cows eat old bones with great avidity. "We also know that physicians are using a solution of phosphate of lime in their practice, and there is no doubt it may be administered to domestic animals with equally good ctiect; and whether, in the case named, it worked a cure or not, it is well worth trying. Many things much more simple have produced wonderful results. 99. Water for Stock. — See that your stock have an abundance of clear, good water in hot weather. If it is pnmped from wells, it should always be standing in boxes or troughs, so that stock can have access to it. Select, for hot days, fields with plenty of shade trees in them, to protect stock from the burning sun. Pastures should always contain shade trees, and they should be planted, if not there. Mr. Strawn, the great Illinois farmer, has successfully tried this method of keeping water on a stock farm : Dig a basin five or ten rods square, and ten feet deep, upon a high knoll ; feed corn in the basin to your hogs and cattle, until it is well puddled by the tramping of their feet, which will make it almost wafer-tight. Mr. Strawn says the rains of a single winter sufficed to accommodate several hundred head of stock, and that it had been dry but once in twelve years. For watering at the barn, in all situations where digging wells is expen- sive, cisterns should be provided, if running water from some brook or spring can not be brouglit in pipes, or sent iip by a water-ram. 100. rhaffing Food for Stock. — Tliere is no disputing the fact that chafling food, particularly all coaree foi'age, will pay well, where it is as dear as it is in the vicinity of New York. At the State Fair Farmers' Club, at Elmira, October, 1860, the following opinions were given upon the subject : A. B. Dickenson said : " On good hay you can fat cattle, but you can not upon corn-stalks, but they are better than poor hay. I can not make an acre of corn-stalks as good as an acre of grass. If you want to raise a big crop of corn, put on barn-yard manure year after year on grass, and afie:- ward plow it in and make it mellow and rich, sixteen inches deep, and then corn will never exhaust the soil. Corn-stalks must always be chaflfed to obtain their full value." Col. Butterfield, of Utica, said: "Up to two or three years ago, I thought l)ut little of corn-fodder. I then cut the top stalks; now I cut up by the ground, and my cattle do first-rate on corn-stalks till March. To get the greatest benefit from corn-stalks, they must be chaff'cd and steamed." Hon. T. C. Peters, of Darien, N. Y., said : " I grow corn for fodder as well as grain, and cut up from the ground, and chaS" the stalks for feeding. Tliere is no other feed for milch cows in Avinter equally valuable if it is well cured and flien chaffed ; and if steamed, it is still better." Mr. Lyman Barnard, of Steuben County, said : " I cut up my corn from the ground, and cut the stalks up fine in a stalk-cutter, and mix with cut straw, and I find my cattle and horses do as well, or better, than tipon good timothy hay." Seo. 6.] FEEDING CATTLE AND CAKE OF FARM-STOCK. 75 Mr. Plumb, of Onondaga County, said : " We don't raise any crop as val- uable as corn, and we do raise good wheat. I foddered 150 sheep and 12 cows till March upon ten acres of corn-stalks, allowing the stock to run at a straw-stack besides. I raise the large eight-rowed yellow corn with a small oob, and like it better than Dutton corn. It yields better than any white corn." It is the opinion of some really scientific men we have conversed with upon the subject, that in all places where hay usually sells as high as $20 a tun, and power is not unusually expensive, that it would pay, not only to chaff all hay, stalks, straw, etc., but actually to grind these substances into meal — not very fine, to be sure, but so that none of the particles would be more than an eighth of an inch in length. We saw, a few years ago, the model of a newly-invented mill that was most admirably well calculated for doing such work as reducing hay and straw to meal. It was the invention of Mr. Blanchard, of Boston. Flint, in his " Dairy Farming," in speaking of feeding milch cows, says : " One of the best courses is, to feed in the morning, either at the time of milking — which I prefer — or immediately after, with cut feed, consisting of hay, oats, millet, or corn-stalks, mixed with shorts, and Indian, linseed, or cotton-seed meal, thoroughly moistened with water. If in winter, hot or warm water is far better than cold. If given at milking-time, the cows will generally give down the milk more readily. The stalls and mangers ought always to be well cleaned out first." 101. Nutritive Value of Various Kinds of Fodder.— The following tables will be useful, as showing the relative value of various substances : , — rer centage of Nitrogen , Net. equivalent. Dried. Undried. -1. Meadow hay 100 1.34 \Ab 2. Red clover hay 75 1.70 1.54 3. Rye-straw 479 0.30 0.24 4. Oat-straw 383 0.36 0.30 5. Wheat-straw 426 0.36 0.27 6. Barley-straw 460 0.30 0.25 7. Pea-straw 64 1.45 1.79 The following is the composition of these several substances, in which their relative value will more distinctly appear : Water. Woody fiber. ^tafgCh^ Gum, 6J»'en.Al; Fatty matter. Saline matter. 14 30 40 '. 7.1 2to5 5tol0 14 26 40 9.3 3 to 6 9 12 to 15 45 38 1.3 ....... — 4 12 45 ....... 35 1.3 0.8 6 12 to 15 50 30 1.3 2 to 3 5 12 to 15 50 30 1.3 — 5 10 to 15 25 45 12.3 1.5 4 to 6 From these tables it will be seen that, taking good English or meadow hay as the standard of comparison, and calling that one, 4.79 times the weight of rye-straw, or 3.83 times the weight of oat-straw, contains the same amount of nutritive matter ; that is, it would take 4.79 times as much rye- straw to produce the same result as good meadow hay. 76 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. Chap. I. NUTRmVE EQUIVALENTS. (PttACriCAL aot Tueorbticai..) AST1CLE3 OF POOD. THEOKtTiCAL VALUES. English hay. K<'»I clover hay K--ti clover (green) . .. Hj— ilraw <)a'.-3traw C trrol-leavea (tops). . . tiwediah turnips M.ingel-wurzcl Willie siliciaa beet . .. (Carrots rolalocs Potatoes kept in pita.. Beans Peas IniHan corn i;u.kwbcat Harhv Oaia.'. Rye Wheat. 01-cake (linseed) 70.9 8.94 91.0 1.S3 M.fi 1.4-3 87. « 2.40 7.1.9 1.50 7(1 « 1.18 7.9 5.50 8.6 4.20 i,s.n 2.00 la.-i 2.40 13.2 2.02 12.4 2.22 11. ■) 2.27 in..-i 2..S3 13.4 6.00 AOLT. Pbuk. g? i il4- ■3 i * ^ tz •^ 1= =5 '■ '■ I.IU 100 •_ l.-SS 88 l.M 75 ] to 6.03 .64 811 .24 479 1 to 24.40 .80 «,'<.■{ 1 to 12.50 .S5 185 — .17 (!76 — — 1 to 7.20 .18 669 .80 8~2 1 to 7.R4 .86 819 1 lu 9.'0 .80 lij cxpertmenu f««dlus, acconllut to 84 5-12 &1J 58 1112 89} 6S 1-16 I "" 38 5-6 1 300 ' — 800 250 j 201 1 _ 40) : 250 4I-.0 250 t S.'.3 ! SCCf Oats in the bundle, well cut up, straw and all, make excellent, cheap feed for horses or other stock ; in many cases it is much better than threshing them. For heavy teams hard at work, a little sound corn-meal mixed wet with them, makes a feed that can not well be beaten. It is a highly econ- omical and satisfactory way of feeding, both to man and beast, M-here oats sell at a low price by the bushel. 103. A Treatise ou Feeding. — A valuable treatise on feeding, wliich miglit be studied with profit by all farmers, has been made by Mr. Ilorsefall, an English farmer, and published in the journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, which may be found complete as an appendix to Flint's " Dairy Farming." 103. Soiling Cattle* — Soiling is a term ajiplied to the practice of confining animals to the stable, and growing a green crop, such as sowed corn, sorgo, wheat, rye, or oats, clover, etc., which is cut up as needed, and carried to the animals, instead of allowing them to have the range of the pastures. Mr. Pliilo Gregory, of Gliester, Orange Co., N. Y., sowed a patch of half an acre, with corn for fodder, making the rows thirty inches apart. With the product he kept tiocntij-fivc cows for six uvcks without other food. The most extensive and successful system of soiling is ])ursued by Hon. Josiah Quincy, Jr., of Boston, who has published a small volume giving details of his practice. One of the great advantages of soiling is the saving of manure, the quantity being largely increased over that made by an equal number of cattle at pasture, or fed in the ordinary way. "We recommend any one disposed to attempt the soiling system to road Mr. Quincy's book. 101. Diseases of Tattle. — We shall not attempt to give a treatise upon the Sbo. 6.] FEEDING CATTLE AND CARE OF FARM-STOCK. Y7 diseases of cattle and the remedies ; for this, we must refer the reader to Dr. Dadd, veterinary surgeon, Boston, and his valuable writings, as well as several other good publications, not forgetting the Stoch Journal, New York. We will give, however, the following sensible remarks upon one of the most common diseases, or symptoms of disease, from Thos. E. Hatch, Keene, JST. H. 105. The Horn Ail. — Mr. Hatch says: "'Horn Ail,' or 'Hollow Horn,' is an absurd misnomer for an imaginary disease in many cases, and for a symptom of fever in others. Many a farmer has reluctantly ' cut off one inch,' or more, from the tail of a beautiful animal, when it was turned out to pasture, under the erroneous impression that it would do better, ' for the hair hung in curls,' although the animal was in perfect liealth and good condition, and needed no remedy of any kind. In fever, the degree of arterial excitement is estimated in part by the heat at the base of the horn, which is very thin, and covers the most Avascular bone in the animal, thereby displaying symptoms of great value to those capable of appreciating them. " But even in fever there can never be the slightest occasion for ' cutting off one inch of the tail,' nor for pouring hoiling water upon the horns of a suffering animal until he ' dodges.'' A cathartic of epsom or glauber salts, sulphur or linseed-oil, combined with ginger, red pepper, or any stimulant aromatic, will do all the good, and much more, than the slight bleeding from the cut can do, and not leave the animal to thump its sides the remainder of its life with a mutilated stump, a living monument that all the darkness of the dark ages has not yet passed away. "The hope tliat I may be the means, in a single case, of preserving intact one of the beauties of the bovine race, to the unfortunate animal suffering from 'Horn Ail' or 'Tail Sickness,' is the only apology that I can offer for this communication. I would as soon knock off the horn, or slit the ears of a favorite animal, as to ' cut off one inch of the tail,' and should have as good physiological reasons for so doing. Tlie disfigurement in either case would be about equal, but the inconvenience which the animal would suffer from the loss of the long, silky brush so kindly furnished by nature, espe- cially in 'fly time,' would be immeasurably greater." The Ohio Kercuma, an ounce to a dose, given in wliisky a few times to a cow with this disease, is recommended as a valuable cure. In our opinion, good feed and warm stables as a preventive are worth more than all the cures. 106. Cure of Scours in Cattle. — An English farmer recommends the use of acorn-meal as a sure cure of diarrhea in horned cattle, sheep, and lanib«, and young stock generally. He says : " I sent the dried acorns to the mill to be ground into flour, and when I found symptoms of scour or diarrhea in my cattle, I ordered two handfiils to be mixed in a bran mash, and given warm immediately, and to continue it once a day, until the disease disappeared. This proved a never-failing cure — insomuch that I never had any trouble from the disease afterward ; and my neighbors, seeing this, had recoui-se to me for a little of my acorn 78 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. flour, when the disease appeared in their cattle, which, of course, I was glad to give thcin, the result being the same as in my own case." 107. To Cure Lice on Cattle. — Some farmers have great faith in the efficacy of onions for ridding cows or oxen of lice. Mr. Roe, of Orange County, N. Y., claims to have found them an infallible remedy in his prac- tice. They also give a tone to the stomach, and are especially valuable in hot weather, when working cattle will lie in the shade at noon-time, and refuse to eat. Mr. Roe uses the " scullions," or small, unsalable onions, and those which become soft or sprouted toward spring. He gives a feed of half a peck once a day, at noon, and says that two feeds are sufficient to extirpate any number of vermin. A correspondent recommends the following remedy for lice or ticks : " One tablespoonful of sulphur to one pint of salt, mi.K thoroughly together, and feed to cattle or sheep once a week, in quantities, as wc usually feed cattle, for two months in succession, and there will be no ticks or lice on them." 108. Cattle Poisoned with BrinCi— Many farmers have learned to their sorrow that old brine, placed within the reach of hogs, cattle, and perhaps other farm stock, will cause death ; and as there are others who may not have learned this fact, we now place it on record for their benefit. We will also give the results of certain investigations made at the Veterinary School, at Ayort, France, by M. Reynal, which throw additional light upon the subject. It is ascertained that the poisonous projjcrties of brine are not immediately acquired ; but it assumes this condition only after it has been in contact for several months with the meat, when, if mixed with the food of stock, even in small quantities, it will produce death ; but when hogs and other stock can get to it, unmixed with food, its effects are still more speedily fatal. The poison acts as a local irritant, exciting violent intestinal congestion and inflammation. It likewise increases the secretion of the skin and kidneys, and exerts a direct effect upon the nervous system, giving rise to trembling, loss of sensation, convulsions, etc. The salt of the worst brine may be saved in a pure state by boiling the brine and carefully skimming off all the scum. The remainder may then be used as brine, or reduced to salt by still more boiling. 109. Cattic Poisoaed by Wild Cherry Leaves. — It is not an unusual thing for cattle to be poisoned with the leaves of the common wild cherry-tree, which are almost sure death if eaten in a wilted state, unless a remedy is immediately administered. Tlie most convenient, read3' remedy which a farmer can use is hog's lard and molasses, mixed in about equal quanti- ties, by melting the lard and warming the molasses. It should be given in doses of a pint or a quart, by means of a black bottle, pouring it well down the animal's throat. 110. Overstockine; the Farm. — Tliis is about the worst practice in farming, as regards stock, either in summer or winter. It is not only unprofitable to keep useless animals, such as liorses or oxen, but if you are overstocked, the whole must deteriorate. There is nothinff about a farm that has a more Sko. 6.] FEEDING CATTLE AND CARE OF FABM-STOCK. 79 distressed appearance than half-starved animals, and there is nothing about farming that is more unprofitable. Even the manure accumulated from such stock is far less valuable than that saved from -well-fed animals. The most important tiling in farm-stock is a good team, and that should be the first consideration. Have a team or teams sufficient to do all your work, except some particular things, such as threshing, and for such extra work have a standing arrangement, if possible, with a neighbor to exchange team work. You can not afford to keep any extra team. You may be overstocked in any other kind of animals with less damage than working ones, but you can in no way afford to do without enough of them, and the better they are, the better it will be for you. Farm-stock must be adapted to circumstances to be profitable. "When milk sells at two cents a quart, at or near the farm, milch cows are profitable stock, because if one average five quarts a day, her milk will bring $36 50 a year, and some of the milch dairy cows near New York double that. The average we have heard estimated at $45 for all the cows kept on a farm. We have known the profit of grazing a herd of fatting bullocks through the season often to range from §38 to $40 a head, but we could not recommend every one to go into the business, because it requires skill in buying, keeping, and soiling that all do not and are not likely to possess. In all cases farm-stock should be adapted to circumstances, and there is certainly a want of judgment in this respect that is amazing. Men in Mississippi have tried to raise fine-wool sheep suited to Vermont, and men in "Vermont have tried to use mules for farm- work, instead of their own hardy breed of horses, because they had read that they were much the most economical for fiirm-work in all the Southern States. The pastures of New England are noted for their sweet grass and excellent red cattle ; and tlie blue-grass fields and fat Durhams of Kentucky are equally noted, and all should know that it would not serve either section to advantage to exchange breeds of cattle. The adaptability of stock to the farm is a subject that we do not wish to dictate upon, but we ask reasonable men to take counsel with reason, and apply that ni all cases to their own circumstances. 111. Imported vs. Native Stock. — Eobert Purvis, of Byberry, Penn., has a farm in a high state of cultivation, one of the best in Pennsylvania, and cojisequently, in our opinion, his ideas are entitled to a share of our respect. He says : "For many years I have made it my business, as it has been my pleasure, to do what I could to promote the improvements of farm-stock. My chief attention has been given to cows, hogs, and fowls, though I have not been unmindful to other varieties. Of cows, I have raised the Durham, Ayr- shire, and the Devonshire ; of hogs, the Berkshire and tlie Suffolk ; and of fowls, a great variety. I have confined my attention chiefly to those of for- eign growth or origin. That I have succeeded as well as others, may be inferred from the fact that at the various shows I have taken a fair share of the premiums. Nevertheless, my success, though encouraging, has not been 80 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. altogether satisfactory ; that is, it has not proved to me that any of these foreign breeds, whether of cows, hogs, or fowls, are the best that we can liave in this country, or are just the thing we want. On the contrary, it has demonstrated to me quite the opposite, viz. : That before we can attain the desii-ed success in this field of experiment, we must give more attention than wc are now giving to animals which are the growth of our oicn soil. .Kot tliat I would nndervalue the advantages of importing the best varieties of foreign breeds, for too- much praise can not be rendered those public-spirited men who spend their money liberally in bringing to our shores the best specimens tliey can obtain of European animals ; but, at the same time, too little credit may be given to others who are doing what they can to improve our native breeds. " I don't know how it may be with others, but according to my experience and observation, there is an tcnvari/iiig U-^ulency in all imported stock to deterioration. Whether it is owing to the climate, or soil, or whaf, I don't pretend to eay ; but this tendency to dep;enerate in all foreign animals, whatever pains may have been taken with them, has been, according to my knowledge, witliout an exception. Now, assuming this to be true, wliicli, nnderstand me, I do not aver, the- question arises : "Would it not be better for US, in trying to impi'ove onr stock, to make our selections for the purpose without regard to the animal's origin ? In milch cows, for instance, ought we not to choose the finest-looking animal and best milker we can find, whether native, imported, or mixed? and ought we not to see that the oflP- spring are the product of a sire chosen on the same principle? Is it not likely, and does not experience, so far as it has been made, show that the tendency of this sort of breeding is to a continual improvement in the stock? I would ask the same questions in regard to hogs, fowls, horses, sheep, and al! other kinds of animals. In otlier words, ought we not to make more ac- count of our native breeds, and seek, by judicious crossing and care in other respects, to attain tlie ei^ which we have not yet reached in the matter of stock-raising ?" Do farmers generally sufficiently ajipreciato the reason why imported or liigh-bred cattle look so much better than the natives? Is it not because one class is high-fed as avcU as high-bred, and treated with the greatest pos- sible care, while many of the poor natives are treated with the greatest possible neglect — exposed to storms, summer and winter, and kept upon sliort pasture while it is possil)le for the animals to get a living, and then grudgingly fed coarse herbage to carry them alive through the winter. With such treatment, the poor natives have no fair chance to compete with the pampered stock lately imported ; yet, witli equally good treatment and constant care in breeding, we believe as good cattle may be raised up out of some of the natives as can be found among tliose imported and maintained at such great extra expense. At least, we believe that if as much care had been bestowed on our native stock as lias been on tlic imported breeds for the last thirty years, the natives would now be nearly equal to the imported. PLATE VI. (Page 81.) The subject of feeding swine is treated of in Section II., but to enable readers to understand the style of the different breeds, fed to a condition for show, we have preferred to direct his attention to this picture rather than to a written description. Upon the left hand he will see representatives of the Berkshire, black and white. In the center are the beautiful white, thin-haired SufiFolk, and on the right the black, thin-haired Essex, a favorite breed in England, lately introduced into this country. Indeed, all three of these named are favorite English breeds. On the right, in the rear, an American breed, the Chester County, is represented. All that is known of the history of this breed is Ijriefly told in ^ 13. Tliis picture of four families of swine is equal to any other ever printed. It is worthy of careful attention. Above the swine, as they always should be, in the estimation of farmers, are the sheep, showing good representatives of the three great ftimiUes of long wool, fine wool, and medium. On the right, the long-wool variety, luider the name of Cotswold, are well repre- sented. In the center, the pair of merinos stand as fair types of the fine avooI, and are handsome portraits of the large-sized sheep of this variety. The noble South Downs on the left show what this breed looks like. Their black faces and legs and round, full bodies are characteristics of the family. Altogether, these four families of swine and three of sheep make a pictui-e that is not to be passed lightly over. Seo. 7.] SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 81 Wliy should we import hogs ? All the improved English breeds arc made up. And why we can not just as well make a breed here that shall suit our circumstances, and need no acclimathig, we can not imagine. Tlie fecundity of pigs gives the breeder a greater facility in improving his hogs than he possesses with any other large domestic animal. Let hiin have an object in view and steadily pursue it for a few years, and success and great profit are certain. SECTION VII.-SHEEP HUSBANDRY. reeds of English Sheep.— At a recent meeting of the Central Farmers' Club at London, Mr. Charles Howard delivered an address on the tubject of "The Merits of Pure-Bred and Cross-Bred Sheep." '•^~s In this address he gave the origin and mei-its of several of the " established" breeds. We condense as follows : I. SoTTTHDOWNS. — " Tlie South, or Sussex Downs, are de- scended from small, gray, and dark-faced sheep which were found on the hilly and mountainous districts through- out England. John Ellman was the original improver. He was followed and surpassed by Jonas Webb, who has made the Southdown perfect. Tlie peculiarity of this sheep is its supe- rior quality of mutton and wool. Average weight, from thirteen to fifteen months, is 126 lbs. ; weight of fleece, 6 lbs. The ewes are capital breedeis, and generally produce one third twins. They are best adapted to elevated situtUious and bare pasturage. Among the nobility and fancy farmers they arc regarded as tlie elite of sheep. II. Hampshire Dcwns.-^" This valuable sheep has been established from various crosses, commencing with the century. Tliey present as great a uniformity in wool, color, and general appearance as their smaller but hand somer cousins, the Southdowns. Tiiey have risen into favor rapidly. They arc very liardy, and of good constitutions, and good wool-bearers, the aver- age fleece being 6 to 7 lbs., of early maturity, and have plenty of lean as well as fat meat, and will graze to almost any weight you may choose to make them. The ewes are good breeders and sucklers. HI. Leicesters. — "Tliese originated with Bakewell. To this breed all other long-wooled sheep are indebted for their improved shape and greater disposition to fatten. Their chief characteristics are, great aptitude to fatten with a comparatively small consumption of food, and early maturity; fleece, 7 lbs. ; carcass, at fourteen or fifteen months, 140 lbs. They are not very good breeders, and it is a rare thing to have more lambs than ewes. IV. The Cotbwold. — "This is one of the oldest of the established breeds. 82 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. They were originally heavy, eoai-se animals, with a thick, heavy fleece, well adapted to the bleak, iininclosed Cotswold hills. Tiiey are now very hardy, and will succeed well in almost any situation, and produce a great amount of wool and mutton at an early age. They sometimes reach 86 lbs. to the quarter. The average weight of an ordinary flock when tit for the butcher, • at fourteen or tifteen montlis old, is about ISO lbs., and the weight of wool of the whole flock would be about 7i lbs. each. Many of these sheep are now being exported to Australia to produce mutton for tlie miners. V. LiNcoLNsniuES. — " As the western part of Great Britain is famous for its Cotswolds, so is the northeastern esteemed for the heavy-woolcd and large-framed Lincolns, to which district they especially belong, and where for many years they held their own. They, like the Cotswolds, have been improved by an admixture of Leicester blood. Tlie present improved Lin- coln sheep partakes largely of the pecnliariiios of the Cotswold and Leices- ter, having the expansive frame and nobility of appearance of the one, with the quality of flesh, compactness of form, beauty of countenance, and pro- pensity to fatten of the other ; but they far exceed either in weight of fleece. Three-year olds sometimes weigh OOj lbs. to the quarter, and yearlings 71 lbs. The weight of wool of an entire flock, under fair average management, is about 8|lbs. each; weight of carcass at twenty-eight months, 100 lbs. Tlie Lincoln breeders consider the mutton excellent, having less fat and a greater proportion of fine-grained, lean flesh than the Leicesters. The ewes are good breeders, but, like the Cotswolds and Leicesters, they are not good sucklers. VL SiiKOPsmEES. — "These are crosses. Their merit consists in their su- periority over any other breed in their own country. Tlicy possess h.irdincs.s of constitution, excellent quality of mutton, and are prolific bi-eeders ; but they are not equal to other breeds. VIL OxFOKDSiiiRE Downs. — "Tliis breed of sheep was produced twenty, seven years ago by crossing the Hampshire, and in some instances South- down cAves, with Cotswold rams, and then putting the crosses together. They drop their lambs in February, and at thirteen or fourteen months old they are ready for market, weighing, on an average, 140 lbs. each, with a fleece varying from 7 to 10 lbs. The ewes are good mothers, and produce a great proportion of twins." We might add here, as these last two breeds are crosses, that Mr. IToward stated, at the conclusion of his experience and address, " that from a judicious pairing of cross-bred animals, it is practicable to establish a new breed alto- gether," and for some locations better fitted than most of the existing breeds. 113. Production of Sexes among Sheep. — The Journal (T Agriculture Pra- tique has a paper giving a variety of facts on this subject — from which the deduction is made, that the sex depends on the greater or less vigor of the individuals coupled. This has long been known and acted upon. It is fur- ther stated, as shown by careful observation and experiment, that more males are born among the first and last births in a flock reared by a single Sko. 7.] SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 83 rain, than among the lamljs bom in the intervening i)eriod, when the male is weakened by excessive exerlion; and that the ewes wliicii prodnce males are on an average lighter tlian thoie which produce females, and lose more weight than the latter during the nursing period. Thus vigor in the male tends to produce males, but more from tlie weaker than tlie stronger ewes ; and the opposite fact in regard to females tends to keep up the equilibrium, and secure the perfection and preservation of the species, by confining the reproduction of either sex to the most perfect type of each respectively. 114. First Importation of Meriuos.— The first importation of Spanish sheep into the United States took place in 1801. Four were sliipped by Mr. Dides- sert, a banker of Paris, three of which perished on the passage. In 1802 a large importation was made by Col. Humphreys ; and in 1809, '10, and '11, tlie Hon. "Wm. Jarvis, the American consul at Lisbon, sent home large and valuable flocks to his farna in Weathersfield, Vt. 115. General Care and Management of Sheep. — Tliere are not many men in this country more capable of giving information upon this subject than T. S. (4old, of Cornwall, Connecticut. In the series of Yale College lectures, in the winter of 1859, '60, Mr. Gold gave a lecture upon sheep husbandry, in which he made tlie following points, wortliy of note by all sheep farmers : " Thrift. — It should always be the object of the flock-master to keep his sheep in a thriving condition. The quality of the wool, as well as its quan- tity, and the general productiveness of the flock, demand this system. " Shelter is the first necessity in providing for wintering sheep success- fully. The Southdowns will bear exposure better than any other class, of sheep. Tlie open fleece of the long-wooled parts on the back wlien wet, and admits the water, which completely drenches the animal, so that his abund- ant fleece is no longer a protection from cold. " Economy in feeding demands shelter for all sheep, as not only less food is required, but also it is better preserved from waste. Water-soaked hay, or that whicli is in any way soiled, is always rejected. The improvement in the qualify of the vxcmure forms another argument in favor of shelter. That this is not only healthful but grateful to the sheep at all seasons of the year, we see in the fact tliat even in summer they will seek their winter sheds at the approach of a storm if tliey are within their reach. " Ventilation is of jjaramonnt importance as connected with shelter; and to insure this, sheds open to the south are to be preferred. A stable with an open window will answer for a small number, but the crowding of a large flock in such a place aficcts the organs of respiration, and may result in serious disease, and sliould never be tolerated. "The best form of rack has posts three feet high in the corners, a bottom of boards, the sides and ends of two boards each, and the lower one the widest, with narrow perpendicular strips nailed on to keep the stronger sheep from crowding the weaker. The spaces are larger in their perpen- dicular than their horizontal opening. The size of these, as well as the width of the rack, must be in proportion to the size of the sheep. Not more 84 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [CniP. I. than one Inindred of the fiiic-wooled sheep should be confined in the same yard, wliile tlie long-wooled will not thrive with more than twenty-live. A hofipital, enug and comforfahle, should receive any slieep that may be weak fnim ago or disease, until, by careful feeding and nursing, they can be re- turned to the fl\ lbs. per day, a ewe about 2 J lbs., yearlings, etc., in that proportion — taking the average of a full-grown ram at 110 lbs., of a ewe at 73 lbs., the weight of each varying, according to age, size, and condition, between 105 and 125 lbs. as regards the full-sized rams, and from 70 to 85 lbs. as regards the full-grown ewes. The weight of a wether varies between 80 lbs. in lean condition, and 110 to 115 lbs., if strong and fat for t!ie butcher. One pound of good meadow hay is considered equivalent to 1| lbs. of oat, pea, wheat, or barley straw, libs, of turnips, or 2 lbs. of grains in die wet state, as delivered from the brewery in winter. When the time for stabling for Avinter arrives, the sheep-master has his supplies of straw, hay, and turnips allotted to him on the basis of the above calculation, and he is bound to make them serve out the proper time, under-feeding being as much guarded against as over-feeding and waste." 86 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. Another writer says: "The usual rate of the consumption of food is at the rate of Si lbs. of hay daily for every 100 lbs. of live weight. If we take the average of Hocks, the live weiglit of lUO common sheep would be about 7 500 lbs., or from tliat up to 8,000 lbs. It is rare that a M-hole flock of fine-wooled sheep will average more than 70 lbs. for each head, though it may be that tliis weiglit is exceeded in some instances. At the rate mentioned, a flock of 100 sheep should use up or consume 280 lbs. of hay per day, or a total of 25 tuns in the winter season tliat lasted 180 days. This would also equal 504 lbs. to each single sheep ; or it may be stated as a general rule, that a full-grown Merino sheep, averaging in live weight from 75 to 100 lbs., will consume during the winter season a quarter of a tun of hay, or its equiv- alent, if comfortably kept. If grain forms a part of the ration, of course some of the hay may be saved ; but if the animal is to be kept growing wool, it will need is full ratio of hay, and a little grain, too." lis. Changiu? Pasl?irCi — Some shet'p-farmcrs arc very particular about changing pastures. This is right, if llie inclosures are small. If there is a wide range, it is of no particular advantage 1o confine slieep to one portion of it, and then shift them to another. 119. Feedius Sheep vsi Beeves. — 'Mechi, wlio is a highly cnliglitened and practical Englisli ngricullnrist, says lie is convinced that beef must sell at 20 per cent, higher than mutton to make tliem pay alike. He also remarks, that lie agrees with a friend of his, who says, that he who keeps many bul- locks will never need to make a will. Our observation in relation to the comparative profits in this country coincides with Mr. Mechi. Thos. Ikdl, of Monmouth County, N. J., makes the following statement in regarp in a pen, with feeding-racks, and freedom to lay under cover or out in the open weather. Their own instinct governs them about seeking shelter when it storms. I feed the flock once a day upon hay, and once a day upon wliolc stalks of Indian corn cut from the ground as soon as it is hard enough to ripen in the shock, when the shocks are well cured, and afterward the corn is husked and stalks stored for winter. T!ic sheep trim them of leaves, and the dry stalks nuike good bedding for them. I watcli my ewes and take them out of the flock as the time aiqiroaches to drop their lambs, and put Sec. 7.] SHEEP HUSBANDRY. tlieiii in other yards, wliere they are fed on grain and good hay, and I sel- dom lose a lamb. I graze my tlock upon less than eighteen acres of good pasture, which has been made to produce sweet grass by the apjjlication of greon sand marl, by which I have renovated a worn-out farm. By the end of July I have my lambs, which are largo and fat, and M-ell marked with the Southdown characteristics, all off to the butcher — this year at $4 75 eacli, selling the whole lot to one man. I could have sold them in small lots so as to average $5 a liead. The ewes, after the lambs are taken off, become fat upon grass alone, so as to bring the best market price of tliat class of sheep in September. I have just sold all off, and find tliat the 100 liead which 1 purchased at $3 50 one year ago, have yielded me in wool. Iambs, and old shccj) $7 50 a head over the cost of the stock. Last year I realized $7 a head profit, or rather, I got that for keei>ing 100 head of sheep one year, and I think that sum may be safely calculated upon every year. And besides this ]:!ofi?, I find my sheep are enriching my land and are more advan tagcoi;s in every way than any otlier kind of stock. Every farmer keeping sheep should have a lot of movable fence, and inclose small plots — say half an acre at a time — of the poorest parts of tlie farm, such as gravelly knolls, upon which to yard tlie flock nights. The only drawback to keeping sheep upon hundreds of farms near New York is the worthless cur dogs. In New Jersey we have a good law which gives out of the general tax $5 a head for all sheep killed by dogs. Tliat insures every common sheep, but does not warrant me in keeping full-blood Southdown or other valuable breeds. The State of New York needs a stringent law against dogs to protect the interest of farmers who keep sheep, particularly in the coimties near the city." The above statement of Mr. Bell is a very encouraging one, and would doubtless encourage many of the farmers convenient to the city market to adopt the same course if the State Legislature would protect tliem against dogs. Tlie question resolves itself into this simple form : Is it of more gen- eral advantage to the State to grow wool and mutton than it is to grow dogs — dogs, too, of the most worthless sorts ? It is one of the rarest things in tlie world that a sheiaherd dog or a good house watch-dog ever kills sheep. It is only the meanest, prowling, thieving, worthless curs, of no value to their owners, that destroy sheep. Let ns have a law to annihilate them, and then eveiy man can keep sheep with the same results as Mr. Bell. Mr. Carpenter, of Elmira, said : " A neighbor of mine makes just about the same average upon his flock of grade Southdowns. He shears six pounds of wool per head, and he sells his lambs at $4." Samuel Tliorne, of Dutchess County, N. Y., pursues the same course, with the same results, as Mr. Bell. Mr. Wade, of Canada "West, says : " Tliat he prefers the long-wool sorts, because they are more hardy. The mutton sells readily, and the wool, though not worth so much a pound as the fine-wool sorts, weighs so' much more that the value of the fleece is equal. We don't grow much corn, but we feed a great many roots, and feed well. It is foolish to try to 88 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. keep any animal upon low diet. We feed anything that sheep eat best, and I fatten principally upon turnips and hay, with a little meal. The long-wool Bliuep are better adapted to Canada ^tlian the line-wool. "We shear eight pounds of clean wool per head. The Coiswold variety are preferred ; they liave stronger constitutions than the Leicester sheep." Gen. Harmon, of Monroe County, s;iys : " I commenced with fine-wool sheep, forty years ago. I then tried Leicosterehire, and then came back to Merino. I have less than 200 acres, and grow 30 or 40 acres of wheat every year ; the land improves by sheep. My average weight of fleece is five pounds. I keep 330 head, and get over S700 a year for wool and increase. I stable 50 sheep in a room 14 by 40 feet, without change in the winter. I wash my sheep clean and let them run six or eight days, and then shear. I don't breed from gummy sheep. I iced in board-racks, -with straight sticks, so the sheep can put in their heads. Tliure are about 25 acres of reclaimed land on my farm that will keep sheep alive, but -won't fat them. My farm is limestone, and I prefer fine-wool sheep to any other for profit ; and I con- sider sheep twice as profitable as cattle upon any grain farm. I never breed from ewes less than three years old. I don't like the cross of Lei- cester bucks upon fine ewes. I have sold of wool and sheep over $'J00 a year." Lewis F. Allen, of Black Eock, says : " I have kejit sheep twenty-five yeare upon a clay loam, natural to sweet grasses, limestone formation, on the Niagara River. There is no general rule as to the profit of keeping sheep. All depends upon circumstances. In Canada I have seen the best long-wool sheep I ever saw, but these sheep arc too fat for eating. You might as well dine ofl" a cake of tallow as such meat. Such sheep may be profitable in Canada. With me those sheep require good shelter. They are not kept warm by their long fleeces. My sheep sheared five to eight pounds of wool. I don't approve of feeding many roots except to breeding ewes. Tiiey are likely to scour sheep ; at least they do mine. " On some soils it may be best to plow in clover ; on other soils it is not. As to mutlon sheep, I have fed Southdowns, and the cheapest way that I can make mutton is upon gi'ass, and wethers of 150 lbs. bring five cenis a pound gross at Buffalo. I would keep mutton sheep if I had a good farm on a railroad. I can always sell my lambs at $2. Jfy Southdown fleeces bring §1 50 average. Southdown mutton is the best we have, and the sheep always sell well for mutton. The fine-wool sheep mutton is apt to taste of the greasy wool. Tlie iferino shee]-) are a hardy race of sheep, but they are not a good breed to feed for mutton." Mr. Bowen, of Orleans Count}', says: "I have bred both coarse and fine sheep. I have raised coarse-wooled sheep that weighed 150 lbs. each at one year old. I find the coarse-wool breed the most ]irofitab]e. My sheep average six pounds of wool, that sells at 31 cents a lb. My sheep are a cross of Cotswold, and are closc-wooled and hardy. I live on a gravelly loam, wheat soil, and 1 think it desirable to increase the stock of sheep in Sec. r.] SHEEP HUSBANDRY. this State. A field of clover fed off by eheep will yield more wheat than if not fed ofF." Mr. Pettibone, of Vermont, says : " If a man keeps but few sheep he should keep a mutton hreed. If he keeps a large flock, or say 200 or 300, he should keep line-wool sorts. The trouble in sheep-breeding is in letting them run down in October. I winter 300 head, and 100 ewes will give lUO lambs. I use 400 acres, but many of them are on the mountain, and valued at only $7 an acre. I do not let all my ewes breed. I keep my sheep in very close winter quarters on hay. I feed breeding ewes one peck of corn a day to 100 head. In eleven years I have not had a lamb die, and ewes are kept without grain, but always with water and salt by tbem. There is a material diflereuce in the value of the fleece, according to the way sheep are kept. I prefer always to have my sheep fixt. In January I select my ewes, and never sell the choice ones. I have a ewe tluit has produced eighteen lambs and shears four pounds of good wool. I do not select the most gummy sheep for my use ; they arc much more tender tlian those less gummy. Still, you must have greasy wool if you have fine wool. I feed generally twice a day— sometimes only once. The sales of my wool last year produced over $2 a head for my flock, and the average for fifteen years has been four and three quarter pounds, such as sold this year at 50 cents a pound. My land is limestone clay loam. I have picked out and sold twenty wether lambs to a neighbor Avho sheared eiglit pounds a liead, and sold two sheep for mutton at $3 50 a head. A flock of 300 head of sheep ought to average five pounds of clean wool. I select in the fall eight or ten wethers, and feed them with meal through the winter, and give them good grazing in summer, and kill through the summer, and the tallow averages 10 or 12 lbs. and the meat 10 or 15 lbs. per quarter. The pelts sell at 75 cents. A three-year old wether, pure Merino breed, often weighs 75 lbs. I have sheared 14 lbs. of wool per head from bucks, which sold for 50 cents a lb., and 8 lbs. of wool from ewes." A. B. Dickinson says : " I have sheared 11,000 sheep in a year, and know something of them. The man who raises sheep for mutton had better raise the largest kind, for they produce the most money, though they may not make the best kind of mutton. For wool, I would keep none but the line-wooled variety of sheep, but I would not keep the gummy sort, because the clean wool will always produce the most money. Li washing sheep, I am sure that the wool can always be made cleaner when the sheep are washed in a vat than in a stream. If 20 sheep will weigh 20 cwt., they M'ill eat just about as much as two bnllocks of tliat weight — that is, if they are ma- ture sheep. Young sheep eat more, according to live Aveight, than old ones." Mr. Johnston bought thirty Lcicesters one fall, put them in his yards, fed them each twelve ounces of oil-meal with wheat straw, and Jio /^ay, all winter. In spring he sheared from them five pounds of wool each, pastured them all summer, kept them over until the following February, and sold 90 DOMESTIC AKIMALS. [Chap. I. tliein for nine iloUars and ticcnty cents each. Tliey cost him two dollais. Blieep fed with oil-cake meal or grain eat but little salt, make richer maiuirp, more wool, and more carcass. He gives usiialK' one pound of oil-meal when feeding with straw, and half a pound with hay. ]f there should be any signs of foot-rot in the fldck, he pares the hoof, and rubs into the s far as pedigrees are at- tempted to be trucLHl. was the " Darley Arabian," brought from " Araby the blest" by a Mr. Darley. That horse was the sire of Flying Childers, and grandsire of Eclipse, one of the most remarkable horses ever on the Knglish race-course. He was not what would be considered a handsome horse, by a breeder of Morgan stock, but his fleetness and endurance were beyond com- petition, and his stock have followed in his footsteps. He died at the age of twenty -five years, after having begotten a greater number of prize-wiu- ning colts than any other horse that ever lived. If a horse can trace back to old Eclipse, or any of his famous colts, there is no mistake about his being " thorough-bred." So he would be if he traces back to the "Godolphin Arabian," a Barb that was introduced into England at a later jierio 1 than the D.irlev Arabian. There should be some definite rule established amonij horse-breeders and Sec. 8.] HORSES— ENGLISH BREEDS. 99 our several State agricultural societies as to how far back and to what stock the pedigree of a horse should go to make him eligible to a prize as a '' thor- ough-bred." 131. Eng^lish Hunters. — Tliis is a term given to a breed of English horses which are higli up in thorough-bred blood, with a strain of other blood possessing great powers of endurance. Tlie head of a hunter of perfect form is small ; his neck thin, particularly below ; a firm and arched crest ; jaws wide, and very ligiit on the bit. 132. An Englisb Coach-Horse. — The type of this variety is the " Cleveland Bay," some of which have been imported into this country, and have left their mark upon the finest coach-horses we have iu the United States — such as are to be found more abundantly in Central New York, than in any other locality. 133. Eng^Hsh Roadsters. — ^Tlie term more common for this class in En- gland is "Hackney" — a term seldom heard in this country, and if heard, would be more likely to be understood as meaning a " hack-horse." The nearest type of a hackney that we have, as a distinct breed, is the Morgan horse. Youatt says : " A hackney is a hunler in miniature. His bight should rarely exceed fifteen hands and an incli. He will be sufficiently strong and more pleasant for general work below that standard. He should be of a more compact form than the hunter, of more bulk according to his hight. It is of essential consequence that the bones beneath the knee should be deep and flat, and the tendon not tied in. The pastern should be short, and less oblique or slanting than that of the hunter or race-horse. Tlie foot should be of a size corresponding with the bulk of the animal — neither too hollow nor too flat, and open at the heels. The forelegs should be jierfectly straight; for a horse with his knees bent will, from a slight cause, and espe- cially if overweighted, come down. The back should be straight and short, yet sufiiciently long to leave comfortable room for the saddle between the shoulders and the luck without pressing upon either. Some persons prefer a hollow-backed horse. It is generally an easy one to go. It will canter well with a lady, but it will not carry a heavy weight, or stand much hard work. Tlie road-horse should be high in the forehead, round in the barrel, and deep in the chest." 13-i. The English Dray-Horse. — Tliere is a variety of horses known as the dray-horse, or more generally in this country as the English cart-horse ; a very heavy, strong, slow-gaited horse, originated by a cross of the Flanders or ISTorman horse Mith the Suffolk Punch, a sorrel horse of fifteen or sixteen hands high, with low, rounded shoulders ; thick on the top ; low back ; deep, round chest ; long back ; high croup ; large, strong quarters ; full flanks ; round legs, and short pasterns. This is a good description of a strong work-horse. We have something like it, though rather increased in size, in the Pennsylvania wagon-horse. 135. Morgan Horses. — Tlie most distinct strain of American horses — in fact, the only one which assumes the character of a race — is that now widely 100 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. known as the Morgan. Tlie origin of this race is given in the following ex- tracts from letters written by a son and a relative of the original owner of the old Morgan horse: TLo following is an extract from a letter of Justin Morgan, originally furnished for the Cultivator (vol. ix., p. 99), dated Stockbridge, Yt., March 1, 1843. After stating that his father owned the horse from which the race of Morgan horses sprung, he says : " I will now relate the facts relative to said Morgan horse as I recollect them. My father, Justin Morgan, brought said horse, or rather said colt, into Randolph, Vt., in the summer or autumn of 1795. Said colt was only two yc;ii-s old when my lather brought him to Randolph, and had never been handled in any way, not even to be led by a halter. My father went to Spriiigtield, Mass., the place of his nativity, and the place from which he removed lo Randolph, in the spring or summer of 1795, after money that was due to him at that place, as he said ; and instead of getting money, as he expected, he got two colts — one, a three-year-old gelding colt, which he led ; the other, a two-year-old stallion colt, which followed all the way from Springfield to Randolph ; having been, as my father said, always kept with and much attached to the colt he led. Said two-year-old colt was the same that has since been known all over New England by the name of the Morgan horse. My father broke said colt himself, and, as I have before remarkuJ, owned and kept him to tlie time of his decease, which took place in March, 179S, and said horse was five years old the spring my father died ; and, as before stated, soon after my father's decease, he passed from my father's estate into the possession of Wm. Rice, of Woodstock, Vt. I can not state positively that my father purchased said colt in Springfield, Mass., but I am very confident that he purchased him in that town or in the immediate vicinity, on Connecticut River." "We next ofler an extract from a letter of John Morgan (see Cultivator, vol. ix., p. 110), in which it will be seen that the material points set forth by Justin Morgan are confirmed, and some further light given in regard to the blood of the first Morgan horse. John Morgan resides at Lima, New- York, and is, we believe, a relative of Justin Morgan, Sr., and was a near neighbor of the latter previous to his removal from Springfield to Vermont. In reference to the colt above desciibed by Justin Morgan (2d), John Mor- gan says : " lie was sired by a horse owned by Sealy Norton, of East Hart- ford, Conn., called the 'True Briton, or Beautiful Bay.' lie was kept at Springfield one season by the said Justin Morgan [Sr.], and two years after, I kept him two seasons. This horse was said to have been raised by General Delancy, commander of the refugee troops on Long Island, and rode by him in the Revolution. It was said that one Smith stole the horse from the General at King's Bridge, while the General was in the tavern ; ran him across the bridge and took him to the American army, near AVhite Plains, and sold him to Joseph Ward, of Hartford, Conn., for $300. It was also said at that time that he was sired by the imported horse called ' Traveler,' Sko. 8.] nORSES— THE MORGAK BREED. 101 said to have been kept in Kew Jersey. Ward was a mts-chant, and kept tlie liorse three or four years for a saddle and carriage horse, and then traded him off to Norton, and Norton kept him for marcs wliile he lived. The description of the Morgan breed given by Mr. G. Barnard {Cultivuior, vol. ix., p. 33), answers well to the stock of ' True Briton.' I have always under- stood that Morgan kept the colt for a stallion at Randolph, and was very celebrated for his stock." The above statements of Justin and John Morgan comprise, as we believe, the true history, so far as it is known, of the origin of tlie far-famed Morgan horses. From tlie position of the Messrs. Morgan, they have had the best jjossible facilities for obtaining correct information on this subject, and we are not aware of anything which should hinder their statement from receiv- ing full credence. " Of the old Morgan's progeny, three became famous as stallions, viz., the Slierman Morgan, the Woodbury or Burbank, and the Chelsea. Of these the Sherman Morgan was greatly the most distinguished. I have ascer- tained to a certainty that he died in the winter of 1835. Black Hawk was sired by him." 130. Black-Hawk MorganSi — Fifteen years ago, S. W. Jewett, of Vermont, wrote of these as follows : " I believe the Morgan blood to be the best tliat was ever infused into the 'Xorthern horse.' They are well known, and are esteemed for activity", iiardiness, gentleness, and docility throngliout the New England States ; well adapted for all work; good in every spot, except for racers on the turf. They are lively and spirited, loftj' and elegant in their action, carrying them- selves gracefully in the harness. They have size in proportion to hight ; bone clean; sinewy legs; compactness; short, strong backs ; powerful lungs; strength and endurance. A mixture of the Morgan blood, tliough small, may be easily known from any other stock in the country. There is a re- markable similarity prevailing in all of this race. They are known by their short, lean heads, wide across the face at the eyes ; eyes lively and prom- inent ; open and wide in the under jaws, large windpipe, deep brisket, heavy and round in the body, broad in the back, short limbs in proportion to size, broad quarters; a lively, quick action; indomitable spirit; move true and easy in a good round trot ; fast on the walk. Color : dark bay, chestnut, brown or black, with dark flowing wavy mane and tail ; head u]), and move without a whip ; about fifteen hands high ; action powerful and spirited. '•They are highly celebrated for general usefulness, make the best of roadsters, and live to a great age. In fact, they are the perfect ' Yankee harness horse.' " The Morgans are very like the noble Arab, with similar eyes, upright ears, high withers, powerful quarters, hocks well placed under their weight, vigorous arms and flat legs, short from the knee to the pastern, close jointed, possessing immense power for their size, with great fire and courage. But a few of the Morgans, however, evince extraordinary speed. 102 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. " It is eaid that the best stock of horses in the New England States are found among tlie progeny and descendants of the Sherman Morgan, wliicli was owned hy Mr. Bellows, of Vermont. " Tlie figure given on another page is a portrait of Black Hawk, ' a colt of the Sherman Morgan, which was got by the old Justin Morgan horse. The dam of Black Hawk was a three-quarter-blooded English mare, raised in the province of New Brunswick. She could trot a mile in less than three minutes, and weighed 1,025 lbs., and was in every respect a most perfect aninial.' " Black Hawk was bred by Mr. Mattliews, of Durham, N. II. lie is a jet-black color; weighs, in good flesh, 1,01011)3.; his hight is fifteen liands and one inch. A line drawn from the hip even with the ham, just below the setting on of the tail, is four inches longer than the back, or the distance from the hip to the withers. A line dropped perpendicular from the nock, parallel with the fore leg, is nineteen inches forward of the junction of the withers. The distance between the hip and the ribs is only one and a half inches. He has a broad and vigorous arm, fat and clean leg, large mnsclcs, short from the knee to the pastern, large windpipe and nostril, well open when under motion. He is one of the best i)roportioned and most elegant moving horses that can be produced. He is perfectly sound, a close-jointed, clean-limbed animal, and carries a beautiful waving head, mane, and tail. His legs are flat and hard, clean from long hairs on the fetlock ; his eyes stand out prominent ; his disposition kind aud playful. He keeps fat with very little feed of oats and bran, three quarts of each daily, and five or six pounds of timothy each day. " No fault can be found with the horse, nnlcss it be in his size ; however, his stock are suflicicntly large for roadsters and for general usefulness in this State." 137. The Faults of the Morgan HorsCi — Of the Morgan horses as they were at the lime Mr. Jewett wrote, particularly the Black Hawk strain of the blood, we have no fault to find — we rather indorse his statement. But fifteen years have wrought a change. As a general thing, Morgan horses have been bred too much in-and-in, and without regard to size. They are no longer " lofty" in proportion to the weight, but, on the cotitrary, arc " squatty," and to the eye of a good judge of horses, far less attractive than they were formerly. What is needed, is an infusion of blood of a taller race — such as gave character to the Black Hawks. Wherever they have been crossed with Messenger stock, Cleveland Bay, or othei'S of similar form, the improvement has been marked, and some of the very finest roadsters and carriage-horses have resulted. The Morgans, crossed upon other good breeds, do not improve those as much as it improves theirs. It is still a favorite breed of horses in New England, but not as much so as it was some years ago. The uniform color of the family has been a great recommenda- tion, and there has been also a greater degree of general beauty in the Mor- gan family of horses than in any other ever extensively bred in this country. Sbo. 8.] HORSES— SIZE OF ROADSTERS. 103 We shall now give a few useful items for owners of horses of whatever breed, mongrel or thorough-bred. 138. Driving — The Start. — The first mile is the most important of the jour- ney. More horses are injured in the start than in the balance of the whole — As the China breed, which we have described, can not be said to be ornamental around a genteel farm-hous© or rural residence, we will name some which are so, and at the same time are, at least some of them, very valuable for all domestic purposes. The general appearance of the various sorts may be judged from reading the short notes Sec. 9.] POULTRY. 129 wliicli we append. The most oraamental thing about a yard full of fowls is to have them all of one variety ; for instance, Dominiques, all looking so much alike that individuals would be hardly distinguishable. The Pheasant-Malay is the name given to a variety of imported fowls, wliich are esteemed by some as quite desirable, particularly as ornamental stock. They are called good layers, good sitters, and good mothers. The cocks have black tails, and black on the neck and wings. Full-sized eggs v\-eigh two ounces each. The newly hatched chicks are yellow, with a black mark down the back. Some of the hens are described as of a pheasant color, with long velvety black necks. Gudderland fowls is the name of another variety ; they are jet black in the plumage, without combs, and small wattles ; bodies short and plump ; legs long and feathered ; eggs large, white, oval-shaped, and rich. The hens are not esteemed good layers nor sitters. This variety comes from the north of Holland. The Dorlcings. — This, in our opinion, is one of, if not the, best varieties we have in this country for the every-day purposes of farmers. It is the sort mostly used for caponizing in England. There are white, gray, and brown Dorkings. The legs are white or flesh-colored, smooth, and terminate in Jive toes. They feed well, to a good size, and the flesh is considered partic- ularly delicate. The cock's comb is large and erect, and deep serrated, free from top-knot ; wattles, large. They are noted for hardiness ; are prolific, and chickens easily raised. The eggs are large, pure white, very round, and nearly equal in size at the ends. The chicks are brownish yellow, with a broad stripe down the middle of the back, and a narrower one on each side ; feet and legs yellow. Black Spajiisk is the name of a variety of very ornamental as well as useful fowls. The plumage is glossy black ; the combs of both cocks and hens large and red ; and their general appearance spirited and handsome. They have a singular mark, which distinguishes the variety — it is a white mark on each cheek, not of feathers, but a fleshy substance, which in the cocks is very conspicuous. The hens are great layers, but not inclined to sit. Tlie eggs are large and white, and so is their skin and flesh, which is tender and juicy. The chicks are black, with a white spot on the breast, and are long in getting feathered ; so none but early spring chickens should be attempted, and these must be obtained by setting hens of another variety upon the Spanish eggs. Game Fowls. — There are several distinctly marked sorts of game fowls — ■ black, white, gray, and brown, all having the same general cliaracteristies, the most marked of which is pugnaciousness. The general size is 3^ to 5i lbs. Tiie eggs are smaller than the eggs of the most common fowls, uni- formly shaped, and cook rich and delicate. In form the game fowl is tlio handsomest of the race. The head is thin and long ; eyes large and full ; beak stout and crooked ; long neck ; body compact, short, and round in the breast ; thighs thick, stout, handsome, taper-sliaped ; legs long and thick 9 130 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. and colored like the beak; feet thin, broad, strong, with very long claws. Tlie cock walks with a proud, defiant courage, and appears always ready for a fight. It is a good variety to breed from for domestic purposes, if care is taken not to allow cocks of any other sort upon the premises, and not to allow cocks ever to be pitted against each other. The Mexicans appear to have a variety of game fowls quite distinct from the English varieties. It was first introduced into the United States in 1S44, by General "Waddy Thompson, of South Carolina. The cocks and hens have but few marks to distinguish one from the other. The original stock are pheasant-colored, and in some of those bred iu South Carolina, black tail feathei-s, and a tendency to gray or light j-ellow j^lumage. This variety are great fighters ; they have strong, muscular frames, and are quick and firm in action. The cocks have large lustrous eyes and strong bills and upright combs. The hens are good layers and sitters, and good nurses. This is the breed of game-cocks patronized by General Santa Anna, who was the great- est cock-fighter iu Mexico. The Java fowl is a very large variety, of black color, said to be found, though probably not pure, on Long Island, and around Philadelphia. They are sometimes called Saddle-backs, on account of being so bi'oad across the rump. The Jersey Blue is the name of a variety quite common in New Jersey, the excellence of which is so great, that anything particularly good is figura- tively spoken of as " one of the old blue hen's chickens." The color is light blue, sometimes approaching a dun ; legs generally dark, and sometimes lightly feathered. Cocks weigli 7 to 9 lbs. ; and hens, 6 to 8 lbs. The Poland foivh take their name, not from Poland, but from a resem- blance to the tuft of white feathers worn by Polish soldiei-s. They are glossy black, except the top-knot, which resembles a full, white rose. Like the Black Spanish, the Polauds are great layers and bad sitters. The skin and flesh are wliite, and good for the table. The cocks weigh 4 to 4} lbs., and hens, 3 to 3i lbs. Their form is plump, and legs not very long, being well- proportioned and liandsonic-shajjed, and they are ])articularly ornamental to a country seat. The eggs are of good size^ and white, but though abun- dant, are not as rich as some others. Another variety of the so-called Poland fowls arc white, with black top- knots ; and another sort are gold-spangled. These are exceedingly orna- mental ; the crest being large, golden, and brown ; legs, light blue, and toes partially webbed. The Silver Polands are spangled with silver instead of gold, and the hens are the most ornamental. Even the chicks of this variety are pretty. The Poland variety of fowls are only fit for neat places, where they can run upon grassy yards or lawns. In dirty pens the crest becomes loaded with dirt, and blinds the jjoor birds. Where they can run at large around the house, even if the hens were not, as they are, such good layers, they might well be kept for ornament alone. Sko. 9.] POULTRY. 131 The Spangled Haniburg fowls are another ornamental variety, witli top- knots and beautiful plumage, both gold and silver spangled. The weight of male birds is about 4i or 5 lbs., aud the hens, 3 or Sj lbs. The cock stands twenty inches high, and heu eighteen inches. The Bolton Gray is another ornamental variety, and also a very useful one, the heus being excellent layers. They are said to have come from Holland to Bolton, England. Tlio color is remarkable ; the ground work pure white, delicately penciled with black over the body. The neck is white, and heads surmounted with large, red, serrated combs. The weight of cocks may be 4 to 4i lbs., and hens, 3 to 3j lbs. They belong to the small-sized varieties, but are the most perfect patterns of neatness and sym- metrical beauty of the domestic fowl family. The chicks are white, except a dark streak on the head and back of the neck, which seems curious, as, when grown, the necks are white and bodie? marked with black. The cliicks are rather hard to raise. The eggs are small, tapering at one end, and pure white. The Sill-y fowls are also classed among the ornamental, and comprise sev- eral varieties, originating in India. Some have white plumage, with dark skin and bones. The combs of some are black, with black plumage and black bones ; and the feathers are so unlike feathers, the hens get.tlie name of silky. They are not considered a valuable bird. The Frizzled fowls is another variety, but not one that we can recommend any one to cultivate. This sort may be known by the description given to us when wc first saw any of the kind in our boyhood, and asked the reason of their singular appearance, and were told that the chickens got turned in the shell in an earthquake, which upset things generally and turned the chickens' fcvitliers wrong end foremost. That is the appearance of the pure breed. Every feather looks as though it had been curled and turned wrong end foremost with a pair of sucli curling-tongs as the girls used to frizzle their hair with in olden time. To onr mind, the Frizzles are ugly beasts, not worth raising on account of any good qualities, and only to be indulged in by those who can afford to keep curiosities. The Cuclioofowl is a variety found in some English farm-yards, and per- haps in this countiy. It has a barred plumage, somewhat resembling the breast of a cuckoo. The general color is a slate blue, tinged with white ; the comb is small ; the iris of tlie eyes, bright orange ; feet and legs, light flesh color; so that it will be seen that the breed is rather an ornamental one. The birds grow to a large size ; the eggs are very white, smooth, and about two ounces weight. The Blue Dun fowls originated in Dorsetshire, England, and are rather an ornamental variety, under size, slender made, with higli, deeply serrated, single combs. Sometimes the Blue Dun cock is gold or scarlet spangled, and very pretty. The hens are good layers, and make good pets. The cocks are rather gamy. The hens are good mothers, and the chicks are real little curiosities. This variety is esteemed for the table. 132 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. The Large-Crested fowl is another old Eiif^lish ornamental variety, tlic crest boin£; larj^er than the Polands, and the fowls of various colors, some of them very brilliant white — more dazzling than the white Guinea fowl, which gives them and the homestead where they are kept a very lively appearance. When dressed for market, their ajjpearance is very clean and attractive. Tlicir general good fjiialities make them favorites upon many a farm in England. The BantamH are also rated among the ornamental fowls. Some of them arc really so. The Sebrights have beautiful plumage of a delicate speckled dark and golden color. There are also black, white, and nankeen colored bantams. Tlieir model is perfect and plumage beautiful, and of only about a pound average M-eight for the hens, and one and a quarter to one and a half pounds for cocks. They are great pets with many persons in England, and are held at fabidous prices. The bantams are good layers, and good sitters, and good mothers. Some of the cocks are very gamy. We de- cidedly approve of keeping bantams as ornaments of the farm-yard. And we recommend that the feather-legged variety be avoided, as they are not 60 neat in muddy weather in their appearance as the naked-legged sort. The color is a mere matter of taste. Tiie Dominique fowl is not only an ornament.al variety, but a veiy good one for evcry-day purposes on the farm. The true color is a peculiar ar- rangement of white and blue, that gives a sort of greenish tint to the plumage. The combs are double ; the wattles small ; tlie legs white or yel- low. The Dominiques are hardy ; above medium size ; very domestic ; and the hens are good layers, and most excellent sitters and mothers ; the eggs good size and quality, and the birds excellent for the table. There are many other sorts of ornamental fowls not entirely worthy of recommendation for domestication in this country — among which is the Bankiva cock, from the East Indies, of the bantam order, but twice as large as the common bantams. The Forlccd-Tail cock is another India variety, something like the Bankiva cock. This is a wild sort in Java. Sonerat''s wild code is also an Indian variety, which lias been attempt- ed to be domesticated on account of its beautiful plumage, whicli is a deep gray, tinged with lighter gray on the edges, with deep green tails ; beak, legs, and feet yellow. 183. Chicken CoopSt — " Anybody knows how to make a chicken coop." No he don't. Not one farmer in ten can make a decent chicken coop. Conse- quently, old barrels and boxes are substituted. They may be "good enough ;" they are not ornamental, and for ornamental poultry you should have orna- mental coops. To make a convenient, light coop, take half or three-eighth- inch boards, six inches wide, and nail them upon posts exactly like siding on a house, if that is the way your house and farm buildings arc sided, so as to have a uniformity. If buildings are boarded up and down with battens, make coops in the same way. Board three sideA-lose, and the other side fix Seo. 9.] POULTRY. 133 ■with slats two inclics wide and two inclies apart, with extra slats that can be shoved in between, being held in place by a bar in front at top, and one at bottom. One of the other slats should also be made movable, so it can be raised to allow the hen to go in and out. If the coop id double, which we prefer, make a movable slat for each room. The dimensions of a double coop may be two feet long, one and a half feet wide, one and a half feet high on the back, and two feet in front, with a close partition in the middle. Make the roof of live pieces of boards — one at each end and one in the mid- dle, nailed fast, and two others hinged and buttoned down on the others, so as to make openings about six inches wide into the coops. One room is for the nest 'and one for the brood. If two liens are very docile, they may oc- cupy one coop. Outside of the front slats nail a little trough, one foot long, to serve both rooms for water, which will be comeatable outside and in. These are the dimensions of a coop of the smallest size, which will be so light that a child can move it from place to place. It should have a floor ; and if rats are troublesome, it can be set up from the ground, particularly at night. The dimensions in length may be increased as much as desired. Set it face to the sun, and in case of storm, or in cold nights, close all the slats, leaving open a hole in each end, high up, about two inches square or round, for ventilation. If you wish to raise your chickens without a mother, line one room of the coop with old carpet, and put a board, covered with woolly sheep-skin, about six or eight inches square, in one corner, just high enough for tiie chicks to creep under, and look well to them for a few days, and they will do better than with a bad mother. As they grow large enough to go out of doors, let them in a.small yard, in front of the coop, to scratch and bask in the sun. The best fence for such a yard is wove-wire, one and a half or two feet high. With nice, warm, dry coops, early chickens can be raised almost as sure as late ones, and where grown for sale, will generally sell for as much when half grown as late ones will full grown. Stoves in Chicken- Houses. — It has been found profitable, in raising early chickens, to use artificial warmth. A small, Avarm room, warmed in cold weather by a stove, so as to keep the temperature at about 55 degrees, will allow you to set your hens in January or February, and get chickens which will sell, when the size of quails (say 75 cents a pair), for as much as old fowls. These warm-house chickens must not be allowed to run out in the cold or wet grass, but will be benefited by allowing them to run out in the sun. If we made a business of raising poultry for market, we would set hens in a stove-room all winter. A tun of coal, costing say six dollars, would wami a room all winter, large enough to raise two or three hundred chickens, which would sell in the city markets, certainly at twenty-five cents apiece, when the size of quails. 18i. Set Hens Earlyt — It is a great object to set bene as early as possible in spring, as early chickens will begin to lay in October, and give eggs in November and December. Be careful to give your early sitters a warm, dry nest. After the hen has been sitting ten days, examine the eggs to see 134 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [CnAP. I. if all are gooJ, and throw out the bad ones. To tell wliich are good, hold an egg up to a hole or crevice of a dark room, and look at it, and if all below the vacuum in the butt is dark-colored opaque, it is in a fair wa}' to liatch. If it is light-colored and yellowish, so that the sunlight can be seen through it, you may throw it out at once ; and if all are so, you can dismiss the old hen with your thanks for her good intentions. " Double eggs" rarely hatch, and when they do, arc just as likely to pro- duce two distinct chickens as a Siamese one. Nests should be made shallow. If boxes are used, not over live inches deep. 185. Periods of Incubation. — A common fowl hen sits 20 days ; a Guinea fowl lieu, 251 days; a duck, 26 days; a turkey hen, 27 days; a goose, 29 days ; a musk duck, 32 or 33 days ; a pea-hen, 27 to 29 days. To hatch healthy chicks in these periods, tlie birds must have good warm nests in a sheltered situation. Chickens have been hatched in nineteen days, and the period has been prolonged to twenty-seven days. 180. Weights of Various Breeds of Fowls aad other Poultry: Lbs. Oz. Black Polish cock, three years old 5 " hen, " " " 3 " piiUet 2 Golden Polish cock 5 " hen 3 Another hen 3 Golden Polish pullet 2 Malay hen 3 Creole (Silver Hamburgh) hen 3 Black Nondescript hen 4 Globe-crested Polish hen 3 Silver Polish hen 3 Garae-cock 4 " hen 3 Young Blue Dun cock 3 Blue Dun hen 3 Large Dun Hybrid hen 3 Pheasant-Malay cocks, two years old, average each 7 " cockerel, five months old 7 " hen 5 " pullet, seventeen months old 5 " (crossed with Dorking hen), four years old 5 8 Speckled Surrey hen, two years old 5 12 Spanish hen 5 Two Dorking cocks, each 7 " hens 6 8 " " 6 12 Cock turkey, two years and a half old. . 17 12 Hen " one year and a half old ... . 10 Turkey cock, sixteen months old IG " hen, three or four ye.ir8 old .... 8 Mu.sk dr.ikc (molting) 9 White China gander, si.x years old .... 12 White China goose 11 Common China goose, Cynoides, she years old 10 Cochin-China cock, about sixteen months old, molting Cochin-China hen, " " "..4 Malay cock, about sixteen months old . 6 " hen, " " " " . . 4 Pheasant-jVIaftvy cock 5 " " hen, molting 3 Game-cockerel, about five months old . 4 Golden Hamburgh cockerel, just arrived from a long journey, about five months old 3 " pullet, " " " 2 Cochin-China cockerel, six months old. 4 Another, " " " . 4 Silver Hamburgh cockerel, after travel- ing, .about live months old 3 " pullet, " " " " 2 Black Polish hen, molting 3 Golden Hamburgh, " 2 Andalusian cockerel, four months old . 3 pullet, " " " .. 2 Black Spanish cockerel " " . . 2 " pullet, " " " . . 2 Silver Polish cockerel, four months and a half old Golden Poland pullet, about five months old White-crested Golden Poland pullet, " 8 4 14 3 2 3 3 8 2 Gi 2 11 2 11 2 Mi 187. Capons and Po.ulardeSi — These are terms applied to emasculated cocks and pullets. Every person who makes a business of poultry raising to supply a city market, sliould learn the art of making capons and poulardcs, because they will always sell for nearly twice as much as other fowls. Seo. 9.] POULTRY. 135 The instnuiients used to perform the operation are few and simple, and inexpensive, and tlie art easily learned. A set of first-class caponizing instruments is included in tlie following list : a scalpel, 62^^ cents ; silver retractor, $1 50 ; spring forceps, 874 cents ; spoon, with hook, 75 cents ; double silver canula, §1 75 ; total, $5 50. A nnich cheaper set of instruments would answer all practical purposes. The proper age for caponizing chickens is from one to three months. The cock is confined upon a table by weights upon the M-ings and legs, with the right side up ; the feathers are then plucked off a spot on the right side near the hip joint, about an inch across, where the incision is to be made, by which the parts are exposed that are to be removed. The operation takes but a few minutes for a skillful operator. 18S. Pea-Fow!s. — Of all the ornamental poultry ever kept on a place, the pea-fowls take the lead, and well they miglit, for they are the most useless, and a very expensive luxury. They will not bear confinement ; will not even roost in a liouse, but occupy the tops of the highest buildings or tall trees. And for mischief, from which they can not be restrained, they excel all the feathered tribe. They are cunning beyond belief. They will watch opportunities to visit the garden and steal fruit, and be out before they are suspected. Driving them out with all possible marks of ill-treatment has no effect upon them, as it does upon other poultry. The pea-fowls will bear a repetition of abuse every day, and every day return to their thieving. So no one who has a garden and lawn in one inclosure should attempt to keep pea-fowl ; nor where there is any chance for them to get into mischief. A gardenless mansion may, and should have numbers of pea-fowls. A single pair makes but little show, while a flock makes a most dazzling, splendid appearance. Peahens are two or three years in coming to maturity. They then lay four to seven eggs, whicli require twenty-seven to twenty-nine days' incubation. Peahens always steal their nests, and their eggs must never be touched, if you wish the hen to incubate them. Tliey may be taken and incubated under a common f )wl, or, better, under a turkey, and then the peahen may find another sly place and lay again. The peacock has the . reputation of being a bad father, and killing his own progeny. Therefore the hen hides from him as well as from men. 189. Turkeys. — Every farmer can and should keep turkeys, and as there arc several varieties, he should get the best and keep no other. Turkeys are less mischievOTis than most other poultry, and in some cases tlicy are of great assistance to the farmer in destroying insects. The tobacco planters keep turkeys purposely to assist them in ridding the plants of the destructive worms. The turkey is a much more recent introduction to the poultry^-yard than the other varieties. It is said that the black sort was carried from its na- tive wilds of America to England, and that the American stock has been all drawn from the M'oods, and that the difi'erent sorls have come from a Southern and Northern race. We think, though, that it has come from 136 DOMESTIC A^^MALS. [Chap. I. mixing the black wild variety with a white or party-colored one imported from the other side of the Atlantic. We prefer the pure black breed, for it gives us the largest and hardiest birds, and we think, also, the handsomest. The pure whi;e turkey, it is true, is quite ornamental, but it is not as hardy a sort as the black. As for yellow or party-colored turkeys, we would not have them on a place a moment longer than necessary to fatten, kill, and eat them. The wild hen turkey is wild in the extreme, while the tame one is so do- mestic that you may rob her secret nest every day of the new-laid egg, yet she will return again and again until she has finished her season, and then commence her period of incubation upon the empty nest. Now, if you have a nest prepared under cover, with the eggs in it, you may bring home the hen and put her gently upon her eggs, and she will manifest great satisfac- tion, and after carefully examining and placing them all right, will sit upon them as though the nest was all her own. Thirteen eggs are enough for an ordinary-sized turkey, and if she has a good nest she will cover that number, 60 as to give all a fair chance to hatch. It is not necessary to turn the eggs, as some persons do — the hen attends to that — nor look at them until about the time the four weeks are up, when it will be well to remove the chicks as they come out, or else take out all the shells and rotten eggs, if there are any, to give the chicks room, for they generally are better oft' in a good nest than out of it. Shut the hen in a coop, where the chicks can bask in the sun, and not get in the wet grass. You need not feed much the first day ; a few bread crumbs will answer. Tlien give all they will cat of hard-boiled egg, chopped fine ; chopped meat, fat and lean ; curds, boiled rice or hom- iny, with cress, lettuce, and green onions. Don't stuff them with pepper- corns. The idea that that is necessary is all stufi". Liver, boiled and chopped up, is good food ; so is barley meal and suet. Melt the suet and pour over the meal and mix, and then crumb up when cold. Many green things may be chopped up and mixed with milk and water and meal. Don't try to cut up feed very fine. The young turkeys, you will find, can swallow big lumps. After ten days you may let the hen run, if the weather is fine. In bad weather they arc apt to take cold, and cramp, and die. Care and high feeding arc all that are needed to raise turkeys. We knew a woman in Louisiana who raised fifteen hundred out of sixteen hundred hatched. She had an old negro woman and a boy to attend to the Avants of the turkeys, and in wet, chilly weather the young broods were all gathered into a log-cabin, warmed by a generous wood fire. We have also before us another example of successful turkey raising by a woman, that is worthy of attention by some other fiirmcrs' wives, who may go and do likewise. Lydia Eldridge, of Andover, Mass., writes her expe- rience in raising turkeys, under date of Dec. 25, 1858 : " Last spring my husband jnirchased a farm in this town, and I obtained one turkey, and she laid 2-1 eggs, liatched them all out at one litter, and I raised them all. Yesterday we dressed the last of them. The united weight Sko. 9.] POULTRY. 137 of the whole, when dressed, was 212i lbs. ; 198 lbs. were sold for a shilling a pound, New England currency, amounting in the aggregate to $33. The whole number at that price would have amounted to $3.5 41. Now I think that is doing quite well, and if anybody among your army of readers can do better than that, I think they deserve a premium ; but until that is done, I think I can claim the palm." And, in our ojjinion, she is fairly entitled to it. We hope, however, that some other woman will try to win it from her by fair conapetition in this ap- propriate field of woman's labor. And here is another of the same sort, which should tend to encourage other women to attempt the same plan to make a little " pin [feather] money." It is to encourage others that we collect and publish these facts. " J. E. Alton, of Quinsigamond, Mass., writes us that Mrs. M. Bennett, of Auburn, Mass., had a three-fourths wild turkey, of very large size, which laid 11 eggs, all of which she hatched and raised. At six months old the united weight of the eleven was 220 lbs. Some of the male birds weighed 34 lbs., and the lightest hens 17 lbs. One male sold for $7, and the whole for §55." These, however, are fancy prices ; but at the steady market prices of dressed turkeys, which will average 10 cents a pound wholesale, in New York, and considerably more for choice birds, the raising and fatting of turkeys is a profitable branch of farming. It is true that young turkeys, from the time they are old enough to turn out to range for themselves, are voracious eaters, and would desti-oy some crops, and so would swine, if permitted to run at large. The farmer finds it profitable to keep a lot for swine, and so would he to devote a whole field to turkeys ; and if he will do that, where they can forage for themselves, they will need very little attention, and will not be likely to get into much mis- chief. If rightly managed, a flock of turkeys will do more good than harni on a farm, for they are great destroyers of insects. It will be found profit- able to plant cabbages, turnips, bagas, peas, oats, wheat, and clover pur- posely for the turkeys to feed upon. This can be managed on a small scale to advantage by using a movable fence. We have no doubt about the fact that a turkey farm would be as profitable as a sheep farm, or a milk farm, or a beef or pork-making farm. In all new sections of country, where mast is abundant, turkeys will fatten upon it entirely ; and in all sections where field feeding is practiced, there is no better stock to run in a corn-field than turkeys. Even where corn is worth a dollar a bushel, it has been found profitable to feed it to turkeys to fetten them for market. One considerable item in the account in all the old States would be the value of the manure made from such feeding. The most important fact in turkey raising is not to overstock yourself, for then your flock of turkeys will become pests to yourself and neighbors — a set of marauding, piratical thieves. 138 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. 1. A writer in the Germantown Telegraj)h furnishes that journal with the fol- lowing statement : " Much has been published of late in our agricultural journals respecting the alimentary j)roperties of charcoal. It has been repeatedly asserted that domestic fowls may be fattened on it without any other food, and that, to-, in a shorter time tlian on the most nutritive grain. I made an experiment, and must say that the result surprised rae, as I had always been rather skeptical. Four turkeys were confined in a pen, and fed on meal, boiled po- tatoes, and oats. Four others of the same breed were at the same time con- lined in another pen and fed with tlie same articles, but with one pint of tinely pidverized charcoal mixed daily with their meal and potatoes. Tliey also had a plentiful supply of broken charcoal in their pen. Tlie eight were killed on the same day, and there was a difierence of one and a half pounds each in favor of the fowls that had been supplied with charcoal, they being much the fattest, and their meat greatly superior in point of tenderness and flavor." Ii. II. Avery, of TVampsville, Madison County, X. Y., is entitled to the first prize of honor for improvement in the breed of turkeys. From a cross of the American wild turkey, made fourteen years ago npon the best domes- ticated birds of pure black color that could be obtained, and by careful at- tention to breeding since that time, he has suceeodod in producing a male bird of superlative beauty, of glossy black plumage, which, at two and a half years old, weighed 3i lbs. alive ; and a female bird, two years old, weighing 20i lbs. alive ; and a female bird, one year old, dressed ready f >r the spit, 15i lbs. weight ; and as the stock has been continuously improving both in size, beauty of form, and plumage for years, it is impossible to determine any limit. lie has lately procured a pair of pure wild birds from Canada for the purpose of infusing a new strain of wild blood into his stock whenever he sees a chance to improve. The ordinary weight of male tur- keys, two years old, as they are ])repared for the market, will not exceed 15 lbs., and a female of 8 lbs. is accounted a very good one. Just after the election of Mr. Buchanan, a cock turkey from Mr. Avery's farm, that weighed 35 lbs., was bouglit at $1 a pound, and sent to the Pres- ident to serve as one of the members of his (kitchen) cabinet ; and another of still larger size was presented to President Lincoln. Turkeys grow big in Illinois, according to a correspondent who writes from Stebbinsville, who says that 28 to 36 lbs. is not an nncommon weight for a wild turkey, and one old gobbler that he shot weighed 41 lbs., and spread a tail over nine feet around the circle. He thinks some of the brag " im- provers of the breed" had better send for some of the Illinois M'ild stock for a cross upon the biggest in all Yaiikeedom. B. F. Langworthy, of Alfred Center, objects to our directions to scald tur- keys. He says : " Scalded turkeys and chickens sell about two cents a pound less in Bos- ton than those picked dry — do not look as well, and certainly will not keep Seo. 9.] POULTRY. 139 as long, nor jjlease the customer as mucli ; while the advance price will amply pay for the difference of time in dressing." On the contrary, in Kew York, dry-picked poultry does not sell as well as that wliicli is scalded. 190. The Guinea-Fowl. — A union of two breeds of fowls is seen in some measure unite 1 in the Guinea-fowl. It appears to have some of the charac- teristics of tlie turkey and the pheasant. Its head is bare like the turkey ; its body and plumage, and general form and appearance, somewhat like the pheasant. Tiie plumage of the most common sort in this country is of a bluish ground, delicately spotted with white. The wing feathers are nearly white. There are also fowls of this family entirely white. The greatest ob- jection to the Guinea-fowl is the almost continual noise they make, which to some is intolerable. It is about as musical as the sharp squeak of a grind- stone or old cart. The noise is, however, tolerated for their good cpialities, which are not a few. Their noise tends to keep off hawks and other pests of the poultry-yard. They are very ornamental, and give a place a lively, pleasant appearance. Their flesh is pretty good for the table ; they are good layers, and their eggs are large, and rich, and good for cookery, but not so good as common hens' eggs for the table. The young chicks are hardy, and very pretty. There is no prettier sight in connection with poultry than a fine Guinea-hen with her brood. The lien sits a month, and nine eggs are enough for her to cover. The eggs may be hatched under a common hen, but a good sitter must be selected, because the time is longer than her own. Hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, bread crumbs, chopped meat or suet, are good food for young chicks. Some per- sons procure maggots on purpose to feed chicks. Any kind of small worms are devoured greedily by the young Guineas, which are real cormorants. They will eat a dozen times a-day, and a full supply of food is one of the great secrets of success in raising these as well as turkeys. There is no domestic hen that gives such a bountiful supply of eggs all the year round as a Guinea-hen ; consequently they are not good sitters, and other hens have to be used when it is desired to increase the stock rapidly. 191. DuekSi — Wherever suitable conveniences exist for keeping ducks, they are not only ornamental to the farm, but profitable. Some of the vari- eties are particularly ornamental — the little "Wood duck the most so of all. The Pintail duck is a very neat-looking bird. The Aylesbury sort are pure white. The plumage of the drakes of some of tlie wild sorts which have been domesticated, is very beautiful. A few ornamental ducks might be kept upon almost every farm, and furnished with artificial water. "We would never raise but a single brood or two a year, except we had natural water. A drake and pair of ducks, with their progeny, would cost but little, and the amount of good they would do is incalculable. They are great destroyers of slugs, snails, worms, and all larvae ; and if you should see an old duck pitch into a nest of young mice, you would learn what good she can do in that way of ridding the farm of pests. 14:0 DOMESTIC ANIMAI^. [Chap. I. Ducks' eggs are not esteemed for the table, but are ia cookery. The birds when well fatted are always salable, or good for liome consumption, and pay as well for the com they eat as anything in the poultry-yard. In selecting a variety of ducks, the purposes for which they are to be bred must be considered. If for ornament, select the prettiest. If for scaven- gers, we would use the common gray duck and drake with green head. The best white duck is the Aylesbury. It has yellow legs and feet and flesh-colored bill. White ducks should never be kept except where water and grass are both abundant. In the water or on a lawn they are pretty. In a muddy yard they are not so. There is a great variety of colors, but we recommend you to confine yous to ii single color, whether -white, black, gray, blue, or slate. Tlie featheis of ducks are as good as geese featliers, and some housewives pluck them in the same way. The duck sits thirty days ; and the hen should be confined an equal length of time, where the ducklets can go out, and into natural ov artificial water. You can not feed them too much, and they are no way dainty. Wiicn large enough, give them a wide range, bringing them home at night. The best food for grown ducks is Indian corn, and tlie best ducks for the table are domesticated wild ones, fatted on corn, or wild ones that have had a full range in corn-fields. Beech-mast also makes the flesh of wild ducks excellent. 192. GecsCi — As geese are generally kept by farmers, they are neither profitable nor ornamental, but, on the contrary, an unmitigated nuisance, Ijcfouling grass and water, door-yards and roadsides, and always poking their heads through holes into mischief Geese never slionld be kept upon or about any f;xrm, except in a lot appropriated to their particular use. A man who would turn out a flock of geese upon the public highway to pirate their living, we would not trust about our hen-roost of a dark night. If geese are kept on a large scale, where water is good, and pastured like any other stock, and finally fatted for market, upon the same principle that pigs are fed and fatted, we will insure the largest profit from tlie geese, particularly if the best breeds are selected. Tiie Chinese or IIong-Kong geese and the Bremen geese arc much larger varieties tlian tlie brocd common in this country. The Bremen geese have pure wliite plumage, witli clean yellow legs and bills. They attain to great weight and age — twenty or thirty years, and as many pounds. The flesh of a young, fat Bremen goose is esteemed above all the domesticated ti'ibe, and the feathers are salable at the very highest rates. This breed is very prolific, laying twelve or fifteen eggs a year, and tlie goose are good sitters and nurses. Tliey are somewhat inclined to commence laying too early in the season. To prevent this, shut the whole flock in a dark room, about the twentieth of February, and feed and water once a day, and allow them an hour out once a week to wash and have a rim. In a few PLATE Xr* (Page 140.) Here is another picture, more beautiful, if possible, than ISlo. X. It comprises some of the most ornamental, and some of the most substantially useful birds that help to adorn our landscape. Many who read this book will have no opportunity to see the graceful swans that adorn the ponds in Central Park, New York. Let them study these hfe-pictures. The peacock is more common, yet many will get their first idea of its appearance from this picture. The Hong-Kong goose is also rare, and so are some of the ducks, and in many places the Guinea fowls arc unknown. The turltey is com- mon, still his likeness adds to the beauty of this scene. Seo. 9.] POULTRY. 141 days after they are let out of jail, tlic geese will make nests and begin their Avork. The e"ggs should be removed carefully every day, and deposited in cotton in a dry, temperate room. Tlien when all your flock are ready to sit, which they will be about the same day, have capacious nests filled with chaffed straw, in which place twelve eggs for each goose. Where a good many geese are kept, it will pay to have an attendant, who should be careful to allow only one sitter to leave tlie nest at one time. When one comes off, sliut the doors of the other boxes till she returns. Tiiis will prevent con- fusion of getting on the wrong nests. By attention, nearly all the goslings of a large flock may be brought out in one day. Goslings should be left in the nest twenty-four hours after the}' hatch, par- ticularly if the weather is rough ; and as they are tender animals, they should be carefully nursed for a month, allowing them a small pool of water to bathe in, and plenty of green grass. The whole anscr family belong to the graziers. It is not necessary to feed goslings on much grain. The white China goose is as pure white as the Bremen, and should not be mistaken for that — -the Bremen is preferable. Tiie Brent and Sandwich Island goose are both very small varieties, well suited to situations on the salt water. Tlie Berwick goose is said to be a great weed-eater. The Canadian or wild goose variety are quite ornamental upon a well- watered location. This breed are greater worm and insect eaters tiian any other variety of the anser family. The hens do not lay until two years old in their domesticated state. 193. SwanSi — This variety of ornamental birds has been but little culti- vated in this country. Tiio greatest collection is at the New York Central Park. This bird, of all others, puts the finishing stroke to the landscape inclosing a still lake oi- pond. There are white and black swans ; both are magnificent, but the white ones are the most showy on the water, where they float by the hour as still as the water beneath them. Although domestic and tame, swans are apt to go astray— to prevent which the last joint of one wing is skillfully dissee el. They are weed-feeders, but in places wliere they are generally kept they re- quire feeding. Their feed is most abundant in foul, shallow water, and they are often seen abroad at night in pursuit of food. Besides vegetables, they eat minute insects found in the water, and probably fish-spawn. The hen birds are very curious about their nests, and will select them, if possible, in some low bushy islet or headland, and under favorable circum- stances will liatch eight or nine young cygnets — the name which young swans are known by. The male birds allow no intruders about tlie nests or young. A man would find a terrible antagonist if attacked by a swan while swimming. The cygnets, when fixt, are esteemed a great delicacy upon the table, stuflPed with the lean part of a round of beef, seasoned merely with cayenne pepper and salt, and served with ricli gravy and currant jelly. j 142 DOiTESTIO AimiALS. [Chap. I. { 19A. The Pleasures of Poultry Raising.— Besides the profit of a wcU-con- I i ducted i)oultrv business, there is an actual pleasure attending it over that of keeping any other kind of domeslic animals. Although the aim' appears always to be profit, we think if those wlio can keep poultry would look at it in another point of view, they would be better satisfied if it did not always putj. One advocates having u lawn and a flower garden attached to his house, saying that it will give new life and beauty to all around, and exert a beautiful and ennobling influence upon every member of the house- hold, and even visitors and passers-by will catch from it a sweet spirit of love and good-will ; but the cpiestion with the calculating and careful farmer is, 'Will it pay f So with every improvement upon his house and around his farm ; if lie does not see a prospect ahead of a return in hard money for his outlay of time and his work, the close-calculating man sots it down as being a thing that won't pay, and consequently abandons it entirely. It is just so in regard to poultry. Nothing is kept for ornament ; yet we have already shown that several varieties are not only ornamental, but prof- itable. But setting all other considerations aside, we would keep poultry just for the pleasure attending the sight of the birds, particularly the dear little chicks. Quoting from a sensible writer npou this subject, wc adopt his words : " One of my neighbors says it will pay to keep just as many hens as will get their living around the barn througli the winter ; but he tliinks it will not pay to keep them if they have to be fed. I will own that I have a few notions in common M-ith all poultry fanciers ; I look somewluit to the profit, but make it a i">oint of secondary importance. Farmers, in general, who keep hens, are more troubled with them than with any other one thing upon their farms, considering tlie amount of work which they do. They are always scratch- ing in the garden, digging up corn, or committing other depredations which keep the farmer and his girls running to keep them out of mischief." Of course they arc, because they must scratch for a living. If you don't want hens in mischief, feed them ; and at times M-hen it is really necessary, shut them in a poultrj'-yard and feed them, and adopt this simple ride for feeding fowls, known to most housewives in tlie countr}' who have charge of the poultry, but it may be useful to amateurs, and as it is very short, wc print it. Here it is: Don't feed too much. That is all ; though we may add that food should never be given to fowls unless they are hungry enough to "run crazy"' after it ; and just as soon as they stop running crazy, you stop throwing feed, and never — no, never — leave feed lying by your fowls " for them to eat at leisure." This same rule does pretty well for all other domestic animals — children included. If you don't feed your hens, and let them run in the garden, and they scratch, don't swear. It is natural for them to scratch, and altliough they do mischief, they also do good. Then, don't set the dog ujion them ; it only makes matters worse. There is a cure for your trouble : build a yard in which to shut the hens when they are troublesome in the garden, and train Seo. 9.] POULTRY. 143 them 60 that thej will follow you like a dog, and then just at niglit take them out on a walk and see what an immense number of hurtful insects they will destroy. Your hens are the most profitable stock you have if you treat them rightly. Don't swear at them ; keep your temper and build a poultry -yard, but don't keep it always closed. It is better for you, and the hens too, to let them run at lai-ge at all times when" they are not liable to do mischief. We know of nothing around a country residence which gives the whole such a delightful and pleasant aspect as all kinds of poultry. IIow Down- ing loved them when he wrote : " With proper conveniences for managing them, they are among the most agreeable, profitable, and useful objects in country life. To children especially, fowls are objects of exceeding interest, and form an almost necessary part of the means of developing the moral and industrial energies of a country household." Oh, who would be without them? What country resident would neglect to have a noble collection of hens, ducks, and turkeys — with right modes to keep and manage them — to give a lively aspect to the scenery of his home, and impart beauty to the whole i^lace ? The merry cackle of the " old yellow hen" in the beautiful spring-time ; the love and kind protection manifested for her brood of youno', and then to see them huddle together under her wing ! The shrill sound of the cock as he proclaims the dawn of morning! Oh, who would not keep poultry, even if it dithit pay ? We would not keep Shaiifjhaes. — These Chinese monstrosities, on the contrary, we recommend every one to get rid of as soon as possible. Tiiey have had their day, and in spite of their crowing, Barnum's showing, and their owners' blowing, they are about blown out. It begins to be found out that 10 lbs. of meat can be produced upon two pairs of legs just as cheaply, and of much better quality, than upon one pair. No Shanghae, Cochiu-China, Chittagong, or any other imported breed of fowls has ever been, or will ever be, more esteemed on all accounts than the old yellow-legged Dominique, a domestic, handsome, and good-sized fowl. A particular friend, candid and intelligent, said to us lately : " I have tried almost all varieties of hens, and have settled upon the Black Spanish, or crosses of them upon the old stock, such as I can pick ujj in market at fifty cents a pair. I have also tried the experiment of keeping hens in the city and the cost of eggs. I keep them in a house at the back of the yard, letting them out for exercise just before roosting time, feeding them on scraps from the kitchen, potatoes, meat, etc., and corn, and find my eco-s cost just three cents a dozen on an average through the year." Another one, alluding to the fact of feeding poultry upon dead horses at a great poultry establishment near Paris, said : " The less hens I keep, I think the better for me. I have fed dead horses and all sorts of food, but I can't make it profitable to myself, or neighbors either." Of course not. Tlie last words tell the reason ; he lets them run at large, Jialf fed. 195. Uen-Roosts and Poultry Vermiu.— The poles or ladders should be 141 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. such that tliey can be whitewashed thoroughly every June, and the whole licn-liouse slmuld undergo the same operation. Poultry that are lonsy ehouUl have wood-ashes to wallow in, and a few handfuls of flour of sulphur etirred in among them makes them much more efficient. Good ashes will effect a cure, however. The fowls should have also dry earth or a dusty road, for it will be found that they will \isually alternate from one to the other. The best means for supplying lime to hens is to crack up fresh oyster-shells with a hammer or a sledge. Nests never should be made or allowed in the room where fowls roost. Keep it clean of all trash, straw, or nest-boxes. Have them in another apartment. A poulti-y raiser asks us to tell him how to get rid of the great nui- sance of lice u])on poultry. lie says he feeds well, and gives the hens the range of a grass lot, and has used turpentine sprinkled in the nests, and applied blue vitriol mixed with grease to their bodies, and anointed tlicm with lamp oil, and yet they are infested. The breed is that called Black Spanish, but t])at, we think, has nothing to do with the difficulty, which is so great that he is ready, if there is no remedy, to sacrifice his hens and buy his eggs and chickens. In a case like this, we should endeavor to purify the roost of ever^'thing that could give shelter to an insect, and perhai^s abandon the old roost altogether, and take care that the hens had a wallow- ing-box, well supplied with dry wood-ashes, renewed by a little addition every day or two, and feed sulphur occasionally in the food, and have a constant supply of lime for the hens, and keep them fat; and if all these would not preserve them free of lice, we would abandon the business. We have received several letters upon the important subject noticed under this head, giving "infallible" remedies to rid poultry of lice. The following looks as if it might be a " dead shot :" " I have had the care of a poultry -yard for a number of years. During that time a continual war of extermination was waged, and many expedients were resorted to, but never did anything, in a single instance, prove a safe- guard until tobacco was tried. This weed, in my case, has never failed in answering all practical purposes ; and this fact goes far to show that it was intended to act out higher and nobler ones than are commonly assigned to it. Tlie fine-cut is the best kind, and in using it spread it thickly over the sur- face of the nests, scatter it upon the floor, and suspend large leaves about the different parts of the house. This, used in connection with your directions, will put the enemy to flight, and with it will disappear all the annoyances your subscriber complains of." Another letter says : " Sprinkle Scotch snufl" plentifully on the fowls, so it will reach the sk!n, and I'll warrant that the vermin will be more scarce than even money in these 'tight times.' As you say, 'the roost must be kept clean ;' also lime must be sprinkled on it to destroy the efi"ect of the ammonia arising from their manure." Another says : " All the remedies named are not equal to onions, chopped fine and mixed with their food every day for a week. This will exterminate Sec. 9.] POULTRY. 145 tlicin entirely from the hens ; and if tlie roosts and pea he washed witli onion water, they will trouble your hens no more." Another writer says, hens that roost upon sassafras poles are never troubled with lice. Now all these facts are worth knowing, as the vermin some years are un- commonly numerous, and will eat more poultry than the people will, unless we can head them oif with some of the remedies named. 196. Water your Door-Yard Fowls.— Fill a bottle with water and place it bottom up through a hole in a board, so that its nose shall be inserted into a saucer, or any shallow, open vessel. As the fowls exhaust the water from the shallow vessel, the bottle will pay out new supplies. 197. Mode of Killing Fowls. — A favorite mode of killing fowls with some persons is sticking an awl in the neck. They say that the blood adds to the good looks and value of all sorts of poultry. 198. Corn-Fed Geese — Value of Corn. — The following detail of an experi- ment in feeding corn to geese, by Rufus Brown, of Chelsea, Orange County, Vt., is well worthy the attention of all farmers, and goes to prove that corn may be as profitably fed to poultry as pigs. Mr. Brown writes : " In answer to your question, ' Does anybody know anything about any- thing ?' I answer. Yes. I know how much ten quarts of corn is worth. On the 22d of November I shut up a flock of goslings, which, allowing the usual shrinkage for dressing, would not have dressed over six pounds per head, and would have been called scalawags, and sold accordingly at six to seven cents per pound. Taking the maximum (seven cents), they would have brought 42 cents each, dressed, at the time mentioned. They were put in a warm, well-littered stable, allowing three to four square feet of room for each, and kept constantly furnished Avith corn in the kernel and plenty of water; this constituted their entire feed. They M-ere thus kept till Dec. 9 ; they had then consumed 10 quarts each ; when, after allowing them one day of fasting, they were dressed according to the custom practiced from boyhood, and Avhich I respectfully recommend to others, viz. : after life had become extinct they were carefully scalded by immersing head first in boiling water, and allowed to remain about one minute, and then taken out head first and allowed to drain, and then covered in a thick woolen blanket and allowed to remain about five minutes; then carefully picked clean; then the intes- tines were drawn, their legs tied together and laid upon their backs on boards in a cool place, with their necks turned imder and laid close to- gether to keep the wings close to their sides. They were then considered choice, and sold readily to the dealer at lOi cents per lb., and averaged 10 lbs., amounting to $1 05 each. Deduct 42 cents, and tiiis leaves 63 cents for the 10 quarts of corn, the market-price of which, at the time of feeding, was 75 cents a bushel. 199. Prices of Poultry. — At the time of the great " poultry show" at Bar- num's Museum, in 1857, there was an auction sale, and the following prices were realized, and although fancy birds brought fancy prices upon the more 146 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. common sort there was a dead loss upon the cost in England of about an average of 7 per cent. Tlie following are decidedly among the fancies : 1 pair of white swans, $100 ; 1 white female swan, $50 ; 1 black female swan, $60 ; 1 pair of black swans, $99 ; 1 pair of Japanese peacocks, $100 ; 1 pair of Barnacle geese, $40 ; 3 lioop-bill ducks, $75 ; 1 pair of golden plieasants, $18 ; 4 pair of English pheasants, at $10, $11, and $15 per pair ; 3 male golden pheasants, at $5, $8 50, and $12 50 oacii ; 3 male silver plieasants, at $10, $10 50, and $16 each ; 1 pair of Call ducks, $15 ; 1 shel- drake duck, $10 ; 3 spoon-bill ducks, $15 ; 1 pair of pin-tail ducks, $19 ; 1 pair of widgeon ducks, $12 ; 1 pair of widgeon ducks, $7; 3 widgeon ducks, $9. But the climax of fanc}' prices was reached in the sale of one pair of Man- darin ducks for $150. This was a beautiful pair of very rare birds, and we hope will remain rare — that is, that no more will ever be imported at that price. It was said that they cost 75 guineas in England. Mr. Barnum ofl'ered $35 advance upon the purcliaser's bargain. They are about the size of our common wood duck, and of just about equal beauty. It is certainly somewhat extraordinary that, with money "tight" with most people, any one can find loose change enough to buy ducks at $150 a pair. Tlie sales of Slianghaes, and birds in tliat line, went off at what the o\^Tier called "sickly prices." The following indicate the prevailing rates : 1 pair of gray Dorkings, $10 ; 3 gray Dorkings, $15 ; 6 Sebright bantams, in two lots, $5 each ; 2 Sebright bantams, hens, $2 each ; 3 Golden bantams, $1 67 each ; 3 English bantams, $1 25 each ; 3 English bantams, $2 37 each ; 4 Bramahpootras, 1 cock and 3 hens, $2 50 each ; 1 Poland hen, $1 25 ; 1 Bolton Gray hen, $1 25 ; 1 pair of Golden Ilamburghs, $2 25 ; 1 pair of black Spanish fowls, $10 ; 1 pair of black Spanish fowls, $5 50 ; 2 black Shanghae hens, $3. Turkeys. — 1 pair of beautiful white turkeys, $5. Geese. — 2 pair of Barnacle geese, $12 and $14; 2 pair of Egyptian geese, $10 and $16. 200. Consumption of Poultry in New York. — To give some idea of the quantity of poultry consumed in New York, we give the following extracts from an article published about Christmas, 1857 : " On Dec. 23d the American Express Company had three car-loads to deliver from their depot in Duane Street, and about 11 tuns received from Albany by the steamer. On Dec. 24th their receipts are stated in round numbers at 40 tuns, making about 80 tuns received in two days by only one transportation line. " This Company's freight was nearly all from this State and Vermont, with a little from western Pennsylvania, and a very small portion from Ohio. A large quantity also came from the river counties by steamers and barges on the Hudson, as the mildness of the winter has enabled them to keep running. Western New York also sent in great quantities by the Erie Railroad, while every New Jersey railroad and numerous wagons brought Seo. 9.] POULTRY. 147 vast quantities from tliat State, and some from Pennsylvania. A great deal also came from Long Island, and considerable from Connecticut. *' Tlie Messrs. Beatt^', who make a business of feeding poultry, had on sale at once by a commission-house, two days before Christmas, four tuns, all pre- pared upon their own premises, and some of the turkeys were as handsome birds as we ever saw, and sold for $3 and $3 50 each." Mr. White, of Chautauqua County, another great poultry feeder and packer, had as much more. It is really a blessing, both to producer and consumer, to have such men as those engaged in the business. The farmer particu- larly reaps a decided advantage, because euch skillful poulterers can and do give them more for their birds than they would get if killed by themselves and sent to market in the rough condition that much of the poultry comes into this market. For instance, we noticed, while one commission-house was selling well-prepared geese at 13 cents, a lot of geese, side by side of these, were offered and refused at 6i cents, the fault being that they were not well fatted, and were picked dry and roughly packed. Another lot of well-fatted poultry, well packed, and received in good con- dition from Vermont, the owner was fully convinced would have netted him from one to two cents a pound more if he had followed the directions given in No. 201, for killing and preparing poultry for market. Relative to the effect of the weather upon the business of fatting poultry and some other facts, we are indebted to the Messrs. Beatty for the follow- ing. They say : '• Owing to the lateness of the season, turkeys did not grow sufficiently to fat well for the early market. It is unprofitable to feed these birds to fatten them until they get their growtli ; and in such warm weather as we have had this season they do not fatten well, being inclined to wander. To fat turkeys well and cheaply we must have cold weatlier. It is owing to this, and having to feed a longer time, tliat we have not been as successful as last year ; and it was so warm when our Christmas lot was dressed, consisting of four tuns, that with all our appliances it required not only experienced skill, but great care to preserve the wliole in good order till ready for ship- ment. The fault with that lot [alluding to one then unpacking] is, that the birds were packed before all tiie animal heat was out of them. Tliis must be carefully guarded against in sucli weather as we have liad this season. "It has been very difficult for farmers to raise turkeys the past summer on account of cold and wet, so that the stock in the country is probably not more tiian half as large as it was last year, and that is the only reason that the price, notwithstanding the monc}' pressure, has kept up so well. We /lave fed this year 1,000 turkeys in one lot together, having had in all 1,300, and between 200 and 300 geese, with other poultry in proportion. We use, and recommend to others, to feed good, sound Indian corn, and with it a lib- eral supply of charcoal, which we consider indispensable. It promotes health and improves the quality of the flesh." Will all poultry-raisers remember this important fact, which alone is 148 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. 1. worth more to them than all we shall ever receive for preparing this volume of valuable information ? 201. Preparing Poultry for Market. — "We have repeatedly published di- rections for preparing poultry for market, and we can not make a more valuable finish to this section upon poultry than by giving in brief such directions as all must rigidly follow, who send such farm produce to the great market of New York. The professional poultry feeders and packers need no instructions, but many farmers do. Many of them have already saved a handsome pcr-centagc on the value of their poultry by giving it a proper preparation, and others may. As a preliminary rule, and make it unalterable, never kill a bird unless it is fat. Kever cut ofl" the head of a turkey or goose, but hang them by the heels where they can not bruise themselves in the death-struggle, and stick them with a small knife and bleed them to death. Ducks and common fowls, if decapitated, should be held or tied and hung up to bleed to death. Never kill your birds until quite fat; you will lose in price, in reputation, and in weight. Never strangle them, so as to leave the blood in. Tlic hot plan is to tie all kinds of birds to a line drawn from post to post or tree to tree, and stick them just in the forward end of the neck, either with a broad- bladed awl or a penknife. It is imdoubtedly the best mode of killing. If the head is cut off, the skin recedes, and the neck-bone looks repulsive. To obtain the best prices, the birds must look good as well as be good. There is an exception, however, to the -here the contents will freeze solid ; then they will stand a long spell of warm weather, such as makes badly- packed poultry slimy. If you could be sure of cold Aveather, so that the birdi would lemain frozen, very little straw would be requisite in packing; but as a general thing, a liberal allowance of straw will more than pay its cost of transportation in keeping the birds in good order. When packages are frozen before shipment, it will be well to advise con- signees of the fact, as we have known a thaw to come on gradually, until very warm, and have then seen packages opened in perfect order that were frozen up two or three montlis before. In fact, we knew one such that got mislaid and covered with empty boxes in a cellar, that kept sweet till it was accidentally discovered in May. Water for scalding any kind of poultry should be as near to the boiling point as possible, without actually boiling; the bird being held by the legs, sliould be immersed and lifted up and down in the water tln-ee limes ; the motion helps the hot water to penetrate the plumage and take proper cfteet upon the skin. Continue to hold the bird by the legs with one hand while ])lucking the feathers with the other without a moment's delay after taking it out ; if skillfully handled in this way, the feathers and pin-feathers may all Sec. 9] POULTRY. 151 be removed witliout breaking tlie skin. A torn or broicen skin greatly injures tlie appearance, and tlie price will be lo\v in proportion. Do not send the birds with tail and wing feathers in, unless it may be occasionally in a very handsome turkey. Geese always sell best the week before Christmas, and they should always bo stall-fed. Christmas prices are usually for Avell-fed geese, such as will warrant their iucreased production, since it is contended by persons whose opinion is entitled to great respect, that with proper care and skill, upon a farm well fitted for the business, a tun of geese can be made at the same cost as a tun of beef, leaving the feathers as an excess of profit. Now let all who read, remember that common-sense attention to these rules, in regard to preparing poultry, will often insure 25 per cent, higher prices than poultry of the same value originally will bring, if slovenly dressed and packed, and carelessly directed and stupidly forwarded, as often hap- pens. To bring the highest market-prices, poultry must be good and well bandied. 202. Preparing Game for Markets — Wild turkeys, wild ducks, and the smaller birds should be packed in the natural state. In cold weather they may be packed snugly, backs up, with or without clean straw, taking care to keep the plumage as smooth as possible. If the weather becomes warm daring the transit, straw between the layers acts beneficially as an absorbent of moisture. Birds should never be drawn, and if mutilated by gun-shot, the market value will be much reduced. Woodcock, quails, and other small birds are in cool weather sometimes each wrapped in paper, and packed in dry sawdust. In hot weather tliey may be packed without the paper in coarse sawdust and ice. They seldom arrive in good order if more tlian twenty-fours on the way in hot weather. In venison it is best to send only the hind part of the carcass, including, say, two or three ribs Avith tlie saddle. The skin should be stripped from the fore part and carefully M'rapped about the saddle, thus keeping it clean and in good order. By the " game laws" of the State of Now York, the killing of any wild deer, partridge, quail, woodcock, or snipe during the months of February, March, April, May, June, and July is prohibited under penalty of $25 for each offense. Common carriers or their agents may, in the discharge of their legitimate business, transport deer or game during the inhibited period without viola- tion of the law; and commission merciiants and dealers are protected if they can show, to the satisfaction of the court, that the game in question came from any other State, or foreign country, or that it was not killed during the inhibited period. The taking of speckled or brook trout is prohibited between the 15th day of September and the loth day of February, under the same penalties and provisions as in the case of game; but the Cayuga, Seneca, Crooked, and Otsego lakes are excepted from this prohibition. 152 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. 203. Eggs— How to Produce Ihem in Winter. — Pork scraps or greaves, fed in moderate quantity, arc found to have a marvelous effect in tiic produc- tion of winter eggs. Give liens also sand, and gravel, and lime, and see that they have water. Egg-shells should never he fed whole, hut thcj' may be mashed up fine and mixed with feed to good advantage. Some hens are much more productive of eggs than others. Eighty hens, hclonging to Capt. Thos. A. Norton, of Yarmouth, Mass., have laid during one year 637 dozen eggs. At the average price of eggs, that would be about $1 25 for each hen. 20i. How to Detect the Sex in Domestic Fowls' Eggs. — A person who has paid attention to the subject declares that he can tell the sex of eggs in the following manner. lie says : "I began examining eggs, classing them according to the difference I found in the formation of each, marking each class, and putting them under hens as soon as opportunity offered ; when, iu less than twelve months, I was fully convinced that I had discovered either a method or the method of foretelling the sex in the egg, which was proved by ocular demonstration in the chickens produced. " At the large end of the egg there is a circular space or cavity containing air, which country folks call the ' crown' of the egg ; its proper name I know not. When you examine the egg, hold it, the large end uppermost, before a candle or gaslight, and in looking through it you will observe a dark cir- cular mark, something similar to the moon when partially eclipsed. This dark circular mark is the space filled with air or ' the crown' of the egg, and when in the center it indicates that the egg will produce a male. " My method of examining the egg is as follows : I make use of the thumb and forefinger of my left hand as two points, placing the small end of the egg on my thumb, my forefinger covering the large end of it, and as near the center of the end as possible. I then place the egg in this position steadily before a candle and gently turn it around ; if the crown be in the center it will be scarcely visible, the forefinger nearly covering it. On the contrary, if the crown be on the side you will only see it on one side of the egg as you turn it around."' There is a little contrivance, called the ooni- scope, to detect bad eggs. The egg is placed iu a hole of a box, and the light reflects on a mirror inside and tells unerringly the true condition of the egg. A little practice enables any one to discover whether eggs are fresh or not. 205. Vitality of Egss AlTected by Transportation. — It has been stated upon good authority that railroad transportalion injures the vitality of eggs. That pack them as you will, if they are carried any considerable distance, say 100 miles, the continued shaking will shake the life out of them. Traveling on the Harlem Road one day, we met an acquaintance carefully carrying a small basket in his hands. AVe remarked that he handled his basket as carefully as though he was carrying eggs. "And so I am," he replied ; " I am taking them about a hundred miles to a friend, and will insure every one to Sec. 9.] POULTRY. 153 Iiatcli out a chicken, so far as transportation may aifect them. But I learned this by experience. I had a lot sent up the road only twenty-five miles, in the ordinary way, and did not get one chicken to fifty eggs, while out of another lot, carried in my hands in this way, not one missed," He said : " As a general rule, it niay be set down for fact, that eggs that have been trans- ported by railroad will never bring forth chickens." This is important in- formation, and should be well remembered. So, too, let it he remembered that eggs intended for incubation can not be too carefully handled in taking them from the nests and keeping them about the house till the hen is ready to take them in charge. 206. Selling Eggs by Weight. — "We have frequently recommended that eggs should always be sold by weight, instead of by count. We recommended it because m'c thought it more fair both for producer and consumer ; but really, with the present system of trade, we do not see much to encourage the change, and nothing to encourage the production of eggs of a large size while small ones sell at the same price as the largest, per dozen or hundred, and consumers are guilty of the great foil}' of making no distinction. Do they ever think of the difference in weight ? Do they know how niany eggs there should be to the pound ? The largest-sized eggs of the common barn-door fowl weigh three ounces each, but the average is about ten to tlie pound. We inquired once of a retail groceryman, " Have you any fresh eggs?" " Yes ; there is a lot of fine ones, just in, all of this State, in good order." " At what price ?" " Twelve cents a dozen." " May I pick them out at that ?" " Oh, yes, cer- tainly ; they are all alike, good." Of this we had no doubt as to the good ; but that they were otherwise alike, we intended to prove that he was mis- taken. So we picked out a dozen and laid them in the scales, with a 1| lb. weight opposite, thinking they were just the size that takes eight to the pound, for that is just what good, fair-sized hen's-eggs always will average. These were a little heavier, and we added two more, and balanced two pounds — seven eggs to the pound. Then we picked out of the same cask thirteen more, and these weighed just one pound, not quite 100 per cent, dift'erence whether you buy large or small eggs. Now, if f;xrmers and fools meet, is it right that the one should take advantage of the other in this way ? or is it right that one man should keep a brood of small hens, the keeping of which costs less than half that of larger ones, and get the same price for the eggs ? If honesty is the best policy in all of our dealings, then it is the best policy to sell eggs by the pound, and not by the dozen. 207. To Preserve Eggs. — We can not vouch for the following. If it is as stated, it is much more simple and convenient than packing in lime, salt, etc. " Provide a small cupboard, safe, or tier of shelves ; bore these shelves full of holes one and a quarter inches in diameter, and place the eggs in them, point downward. They will keep sound for several months. Other modes, such as packing in salt, etc., depend for their success simply on placing the points down ; the shelves are more convenient and accessible." 208. Eggs Consumed in England. — In the statistics of British commerce, 154 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. the lionie production is put down at 75,000 tuns annuully, which are valued at $;15,000,000. The iniportatiou of eggs for eight years, ending with 18i7, ranged from 96,000,000 in 18iO, to 77,500,000 in 18i7, and the importa- tions of the succeeding years are given in the following table : Number. 1848 .• 88.012,58.5 1849 97,745.849 1850 105,689,060 NambCT. 1852 108,281.253 1853 133,450,678 1854 121,966,226 1851 115,526,246 i 1855 100,005,200 Tlie first six months of 1856, 68,062,600. This was nearly 14,000,000 in excess of the number received in the first six months of 1855, but not so large as in 1854. The imports of eggs in 1854 were, from Nnmber. 1 Unmber. Belgium 10,415,517 Spain 5,983,161 France 104,126,918 Channel Islands 794.400 Portugal 419,866 | Other parts 226,424 Up to the 8th of August, 1854, eggs were entered by number, but since that they have been entered by cubic feet, internal measurement. In order to reduce the whole to a uniform standard, 200 eggs are estimated to be packed in one cubic foot. The duty charged is 8d. per cubic foot of eggs from foreign countries, and half that duty from British possessions. In the metropolis the egg trade is a very important branch of commerce, giving employment to sixty egg merchants and salesmen on a large scale, exclusive of the number of shopkeepers who sell eggs. Tliese salesmen distribute the boxes of eggs over the various consuming localities in light carts. The principal importation is from France and Belgium. Quantities of Portuguese eggs are occasionally imported into England by the Peninsular Mall steamers. The eggs of the Spanish fowls being very large, are much esteemed, and valued at Id. to l^d. each. Spain imports a certain quantity from the French province of Oran, in Algeri;i. Tiio eggs of the Bedouin fowls are sold in the European markets at 5d. to 6d. the dozen. The supplies of eggs sent from Ireland to Liverpool, and thence into the manufacturing districts, are enormous, frequently exceeding 1,000,000 a day. They are packed with straw in crates, boxes, or hampers. The crates contain from 6,(i00 to 8,000 eggs, the boxes about 2,500. Sometimes largo boxes contain 13,000 or more eggs. In 1852, 9,260 tuns of Irish eggs were imported into Liverpool, and it is estimated that that is not more than one fifth of the product of that island 209. Eg^s in France. — M. Legrand, a French statistical writer, estimated the consuniption of eggs in 1835 in Paris at 138 per head of all the inhab- itants, and in the provinces at double that ratio. '• The consumption of eggs for the whole kingdom," he observes, "is estimated at 7,231,160,000; add to this number those exported and those necessary for reproduction, and it will result that 7,380,925,000 were laid in France during the year 1835." Since that time the production has largely increased. M. Armand IIus- son, in his interesting book on the " Consommation" of Paris, just pub- Number. Av. pr. per 1,000. 1851 129,732,299 42f. 69 centimes. 18-52 160,000,000 41f. 35 centimes. J653 175,000,000 Sec. 9.] POULTRY. 155 lislied, returns the number of eggs consumed in the French metropolis at 175,000,000, or 175 to each head of the population, worth about $1 35. The value of the eggs consumed in Paris one year would be also about £300,000 ; but probably three quarters of a million sterling would be a nearer estimate of tlie poultry and eggs consumed annually in Paris. The consumption and prices may be judged of from the following figures: Number. Av.pr. per 1,000. 1847 120,940,724 57 francs. 1848 100,747,222 48f. 40 centimes. 1849 ll:?,687,732 4Gf. 70 centimes. 1850 124,597,150 43f. 93 centimes. A number of GalignanPs Ifessenger says that, in 1815, the number of eggs exported from France was 1,700,000 ; in 1816 it rose to 8,000,000. six years later, in 1822, the number was 55,000,000 ; and 99,500,000 in 1824. In 1830 the number declined to 55,000,000 ; then gradually increased until 1815, when it was 88,200,000, for which an export duty of 114,000 francs was paid. Nearly all these eggs go to England. The yearly consump- tion of eggs in Paris is estimated at 165,000,000, and the total consumption of all France at 9,000,000,000 ; so that, reckoning eggs at a sou, this single article represents 465,000,000 francs. 210. The Egg Trade in this Country. — Steamboats and railways have done much to increase and improve the trade in poultry and eggs, in butter and milk, as well as in carcass meat and fish of all kinds, for tlie supply of large cities and dense populations in Europe and America, situate far from the chief seats of production or fishing. The poultry dealers of New York made their ajipearance on the shores of the great American lakes within a few days after the regular trains M'ere in motion on the Erie Railroad. Poultry and eggs M'ere swept away by them at an advance of 25 to 30 per cent, on their ordinary value, and a decided stimulus has been given to the production of poultry and eggs. The British American provinces are now supplying the United States towns with eggs, Avhich are imported duty free under the Eeciprocity Treaty. 1,260 dozen eggs from Nova Scotia were entered very recently at the Cus- tom-house, Boston, in one day. In the season of 1852, about 8,000 barrels of eggs, containing 84 dozen per barrel, were shipped from the port of Mon- treal to the United States, and sold at about 16c. the dozen. One merchant in Marion County, Ohio, has shipped in one season 124,950 dozen of eggs, in 1,785 barrels, costing, at 7 cents a dozen, $8,746 50. 211. Packing Eggs for Market. — There is probably in no one article of the same relative value so much depreciation and loss from injudicious manage- ment and unskillful packing as in eggs. This is best illustrated in the "Western trade, especially during the wann season, when the average price of AVestern eggs rules, say, three to five cents per dozen below those from this State ; but at the same time we have some Western marks that bring nearly or quite as much as the best State, showing conclusively that it is entirely practicable to forward them in prime order from the far West. If the fol- 156 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. lowing directions are intelligently carried out, there will be very little doubt of success. Be sure (especially in tbe summer season) that your eggs arc not only sound, but recently laid. Eggs may be "candled" or examined by the " ooniscope," and repacked at the West ; but if they are stale, though still apparently sound, they will be sure to reach this nuirket in bad order, or will so rapidly change, on being opened, that dealers will be sure to lose money on them. The motion of the cars over such long distances so mud- dles all eggs, not entirely fresh, that they appear cloudy and stale, and will soon spoil, if indeed they are not already unsalable. Use very strong, stiff barrels, put a little soft straw or hay evenly over the bottom with a stiff paper on the toj) of the straw, then oats or cut straw, say, two to three inches, then a layer of eggs, laid snugly together upon the sides, evenly imbedded in the oats, with the ends toward but about one inch from the staves. Cover the layer with oats and shake down gently but thor- oughly, leaving, say, one inch of oats upon the layer of eggs ; tlius continue shaking down thoroughly with each layer until the barrel is full. Place about three inches of oats over the last layer, then a stiff paper and a little soft hay or straw next the head, filling so high that the head must be pressed to its place by a lever or other mechanical power, that the contents may be held so firmly that they can never shift or loosen in the barrels. In the winter, to guard against frost, use more packing, leaving the eggs farther from the sides of the barrels. Use clean, bright oats; they are salable at all seasons, though of late merchants seem to ]irefercut straw. Mark plainly I lie number of dozen and the quantity of oats in each barrel. Be very ]iar- ticular to have the count right. A good reputation for accuracy is very valuable. One person says: "I use a board some six or eight inches square, with a loop or staple in the center for pressing each layer of oats firmly down. Tlici'e will be something gained by lifting and dropping the barrel square on the end, but not by shaking, as it disturbs the layers. When it gets too heavy to lift, use a board three fourths as large as the head, and get on it, increasing your weight with a spring, and on the head driving it in. The secret lies all in packing the oats. Oats are better worth sending to market than hay, and just as safe. I have sent ten barrels at a time without losing a single egg. You must pack tight. Remember that." PLATE XTT. This picture is intended to be botli suggestive and instructive. First, it suggests to any one who may chance to open the book at this page, the study of bee-culture, and the propriety of addhig this kind of farm-stock to tlic larger animals already owned. It is placed here for that purpose. It is to attract attention to the subject, and induce readers to turn over a few pages and read just enough to whet the appetite for more knowledge. It is instructive, as it shows the ditTerent form and size of the three classes of bees, so that any one, after studying this picture, need make no mistake. It shows how a swai'm issues from a hive and settles upon a limb of a neighboring tree, and how fearlessly the bee-keej^er approaches the swarm and puts it in the hive, which he will cover up and carry to its place on the stand. The author has frequently climbed to the top of a tree as high as this appears, and sawed oil' the limb upon which the swarm had alighted, and brought it down a long ladder to the hive, with no protection to face or hands. This picture, therefore, is intended to induce you to keep bees, and as a hint that you can easily learn all the art of bee-keeping. TllK AlMAur, TUB JJCiK^UK.m'KU A'C M.lfS "-Uttlv. CHAPTER II. SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. SECTION X-BEES, AND THE PROFITABLE PRODUCTION OF HONEY. i^^UR opening chapter was devnteil to a general sur- ^^ vey of farm-stock. This will be tlevotod to observ- ations upon bees, birds, bugs, insects, and worms ; gs, cats, rabbits, rats, mice, moles ; camels as beasts burden ; goats of Cashmere, their value as farm- tock ; fish-breeding, for domestic use or market ; ani- s yielding fur, and alpacas, and other small stock of the In the leading article of this chapter we shall notice what may very appropriately be ranked as proiitable stock upon a farm, for the product of the liive often aftbrds a consid- erable income, and it is nearly all clear profit. Eirds, although they do not produce a direct income, are among the greatest helps to that end, for they are great destroyers of those pests, the bugs, insects, and worms, which we shall also introduce into this chapter. Dogs, as an adjunct of the farm, and when only kept in very limited numbers, are not, perhaps, unprofitable stock ; but as they at present exist, they are pests of the very worst kinds. Cats are a necessity, for without them we should be over-run with rats and mice, and so we give each a small space in this chapter. Eabbits, too, though small, must have a place ; and camels, though large enough to fill a chapter, like the rabbit, must be contented with a paragraph. And the Cashmere goat, the only one of any value to farmers, is as yet so little diffused among them, that we can only aftbrd space to give it a passing notice ; and the alpaca, an equally im- portant domestic animal, we must treat in the same short-hand way. Fish-breeding is of vast importance to every farmer who has the facility for making a fish-pond, and therefore we have added it to this second chapter of animals, domestic or wild, upon the farm. And finally, we add fur ani- mals, merely to call the attention of those who own suitable locations, to the fact that it is possible that such animals may be bred for their skins, to say nothing of the value of their fiesh. So much by way of introduction. Now let us take up our subjects, item by item, each under its appropriate head. 212. Bees. — History of their Introduction. — It is not quite certain whether the honey-bee is indigenous to America or not. Our opinion is that it is. 158^ SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. • [Chap. IL beciiuse several varieties now exist upon the continent, and certainly those in (.\iitral America appear to be natives, s> far as it is possible to trace their history. It is possible that the early immigrants, not finding bees in the di^t^icts first occupied by them, cither in New England or Virginia, did import them, though this supposition a}>pears doubtful when we consider th- length of voyages in that age of ocean navigation. And it is still further aga'nst the theory of importation, to know that as early as 16-tS — forty years only after Captain John Smith's advent — George Pelton, of Yii-ginia, was in possession of a good stock of honey-bees ; and tliey were noticed by Beverly as a common thing among the Virginia planters j^revious to 1720. In 1755, beeswax was an article of export from Savannah, Georgia. It is ■impossible to state the quantity, because it is combined with myrtle-berry wax, and both are set down at 9G9 lbs. Five years later the quantity of both is given at 3,910 lbs., and in 1770 at 4,058 lbs. In 1767, the export tables show 35 barrels of beeswax, sent from the port of Philadelphia ; and only four years later the quantity is given as 29,261 lbs. The history of Cuba credits Florida with bees imported from there in 1764. The above facts prove that if there were no honey-bees in this part of the continent when our forefathers came to it, their importations were very suc- cessful, and the original stock was widely disseminated, and multiplied with great rapidity, for the census of 1850 gives the annual product of honey and wax at 14,853,790 lbs : and that at a time when the bee-moth epidemic had greatly lessened the stock in the country, and consequently the production was not as great as it had been. It is a fact, too, that the immigrants of the Northwestern Territory found wild bees scattered all through the forests of what is now Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. As an ofi"sct to this, it is a fact that the first American settlers of California found no honey-bees in that State, notwithstanding the fact of its early occu- pancy by the Spanish ; and the first bees ever seen in that State have been carried there from Xcw York, by sea, since 1850, and already the stock of bees has multiplied to an extent which would populate the State to as great or greater extent than the Atlantic States have been with both wild and domes- tic stocks, in a far less time than has elapsed since the landing at Jamestown or Plymouth rock, of tiiose who may have introduced the bee from Europe. Bee-culture in California has already assumed such an importance that associations of apiarists have been formed there, and the exhibition of bees is quite a feature at the State fair. Bees have become so numerous in the neighborhood of Sacramento, that they have been charged with extensive depredations upon the vineyards, by sucking the sweets out of the ripe grapes. Mr. Harbison, a large bee-keeper, who went from Pennsylvania with a large shipment of them, two or three years ago, however, denies the charge of bee^ injuring the fruit, and asserts that he lias proved by actual experiment that they will only attack the grapes after the skin has bui-st by the pressure of the interior growth. Still, there arc many persons who are Sko. 10.] BEES, AND THE PROFITABLE PRODUCTION OF HONEY. 159 deeply interested in grape-growing in that State, who think tliis business and bee-keeping never can flourish together. It is a matter that will prob- ably be investigated, since it involves two so great interests, particularly in California, where both branches flourish in so remarkable a degree of health- iness. Certainly, in no part of the United States has bee-keeping given such a promise of success. Bees, although they appear to thrive best, or at least with but little care, in warm latitudes, are not confined to those regions. An article now before us gives an account of the successful introduction of bees into Aroostook County, Maine, where the thermometer sometimes freezes, and afterward the discovery of a wild swarm in a hollow tree, which was removed to a hive and wintered in a dark, dry cellar, where they consumed very little honey. This is a very good way to winter bees in all cold regions ; for one of the greatest difficulties attending bee-culture in the most northern local- ities where they are found, is winter killing, not by freezing up in the hive, though that sometimes occurs, but by the bees being aroused from tlicir torpid state by a few sunny days, till tliey come out of the hive and are overcome by cold before they can return again, and thus perish. We have sometimes lost great quantities in this way, no farther north than lat. 41°. Notwithstanding bees appear to possess a considerable degree of reason, and the power of ratiocination (a power that many men do not possess), they are, like men and women, very apt to be caught by outside appear- ances, and venture forth from their warm homes iipon sunny wings, to meet the chilling blast of the outside world, and perish. Certainly, many acts of the honey-bee seem to be results of a reasoning faculty ; or is it that undeflned something that mankind call instinct ? It is indeed wonderful that so tiny an insect should possess a faculty scarcely possessed by man, of constructing its domicile, or rather store-house, so as not to waste an iota of material or space ; for that is a fact, in relation to the honey-bee's comb. And all their interior liousehold arrangements, the order of their work, family government, and perfect order and harmony, are such as should make mankind blush at their own inefficiency. Many of them should blush to think such an insect is so much more industrious and frugal than themselves, and so much more careful to lay up winter stores. One of the marks of reason, judgment, or instinct in the bee is manifested in their never leaving the hive, although ready to swarm, in a stormy day, nor when a storm or very high wind is approaching, which would be likely to blow away one portion of the swarm from the other. "When the swarm does come forth it seems to be all by a given signal, and the movement is sudden and simultaneous, guided by the call of their queen. If by any accident or mistake the queen gets separated, or fails to cluster with the swarm, it is idle to try to hive them. They will not take a new abode without a queen. Is it reason that teaches them that they must re- turn to the old hive, where they can make a new queen out of the young larvaB in the cells of the old brood-comb ? 160 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL 213. Bee-IliveSi — Tlie best hive is one with movable supports for each slieet of comb. Although hives of tliis kind may have been patented, the patent is not good for anything, nor should it bar any one from tlie use of such a hive, because the invention is not new. Bevan, an English writer upon bees, described such a liive many years ago, as in use by him, and recommended it to others. More than twenty years ago, I described a hive for movable frames to sustain the separate sheets of comb, in the Albany Cultivator, and although the plan might have been patentable, it wa^s dis- tinctly stated that it was not, nor would be patented, and any one who liked it was recommended to use it. The form of the hive there recommended was to hang the frames by hook-and-eye hinges to the back of the liive, so that all would swing like the leaves of a book standing on its end. The front, or cover to tlie edge of the leaves, being opened, by turning it around to the left hand, leaf after leaf could be swung around to the riglit, and a sheet of comb cut out of any one, or the frame could be lifted oft' its liinges and taken away, and a new one put in its place. We thought the plan a more convenient one than lifting the frames out at the top of the hive. There is an objection to all movable frame hives, that they furnish har- boring-places for moths. They also, on the other hand, afford facilities for searching after them, and removing any infested comb. Bees are like any other wild insect or animal that has been doiucsticatod. By good treatment they can be made very domestic, so that their keeper can handle tliem about as easily as any other jiets. The next best form of hive is a square box, made of planed boards one- and-a-han or full one-and-a-quarter inch stuft', well seasoned, and tongued, and grooved, and firmly nailed together, so as to be watei'-tight, and nearly air-tight, and well painted. A box fifteen inches deep, and twelve inches across each Avay, contains 2,1G0 cubic inches — ten in excess of a bushel. Tills is a good size and form for a hive. It will add much to the conveni- ence of the liive to insert a pane of glass in the side opposite to the open- ings where the bees enter, which should be six (hiee-eighth-inch holes, an inch above the bottom. The glass should have a tight-fitting shutter ; and the bottom should be screwed on, or hinged and fastened with a hook so that it could be opened. If it is screwed on, make an opening two inches across in the center of the bottom board, with a close-fitting shutter that you can take out occasionally to allow the bees to sweep out their room. Open this only in the morning, and close it before night. There will then be no entrance for tlie moth except through the bee holes, and these the sentinels will guard. Bore four inch holes in the top, and fit corks in them. Have a cap fitted on top to cover four boxes, five or six inches square, made with one glass side. When the lower part is filled, which you can tell by observ- alion at the glass in the back, or by weighing, then open the top holes, and put on the boxes, open side down, and shut the cap over them, and the bees will soon find that they have extra stoi-e-room, and go to work and fill it with new comb, and fresh honey, free of bee-bread or biood-eomb. As soon Sec. 10.] BEES, AND THE PROFITABLE PRODUCTION OF HONEY. 161 as a box is full, take it off, and put an empty one in its place. A stock of fifty swarms in the spring will produce two thousand pounds of surplus honey, and increase to a hundred swarms in the autumn. Counting all labor be- stowed in tlie care of a stock of bees, and all expense of hives, etc., and the cost of honey is estimated at only three to six cents a pound ; varying with locations, and favorable or unfavorable seasons. But if it always costs ten cents a pound, tlie bee-keeper would find sale for it at a profit. 214. Straw UiveSt — There are a few bee-keepers who still adhere to the opinion that straw hives are the best that can be used. We can not think so. Their greatest advantage is, that they maintain a more even tempera- ture than board hives, and are inexpensive. They can be manufactured by tlie winter fireside, and packed away for future use in a small space, one within another. WJien wanted for use, a couple of cross-sticks must be put in to support the comb, as the hive is in the shape of an inverted bowl, and not as good to support comb as a straight-sided box. It is a good plan, however, to use the supports in all hives. They should be so arranged that they can be easily taken out, as it would greatly facilitate the removal of comb. If straw hives are used, they should be made to hold a bushel, of clean rye straw, tied very tightly together, so as to make the walls full an inch and a half thick, and smooth outside and in. Never use them after tliey got old, and never place them whei-e they will get wet. If kept dry, the bees winter in straw hives better than board ones. It lias been i-ecommended to make cases for board hives, to set over them in winter as protection from the changes in the weather. If this is done, the cases should be taken oif as soon as possible in the spring to prevent moths making harbors in tiiem. 215. Patent Hives. — We have never seen a patent for a bee-hive, nor " bee- palace," that we would give a dime for. They are no better than any handy man with tools can make himself. As to " bee-palaces," where bees are to live in community, the thing is preposterous. It is founded upon wrong principles. Bee-houses, whore collections of swarms in separate hives are to be kept, we have tried as well as the community system, and repudiate both. Movable comb-hives may be made without buying a patent, by making a chest of the capacity to hold a bushel, besides the frames, or say 15 inches square inside, and make 10 frames of strips of boards an inch and a half wide, nailed together flatwise at the ends so as to form sashes that will set in the box and just fill it. Bore holes for the entrance of the bees, through the sides of the box and frames. Tlie lid of the chest shuts tight, and may be locked. When you want to draw a frame, insert a common wood-screw or two to pull it out by. You can tell as soon as you lift it a little, whether it is full or not, and if not, try another. "We have tried several patent hives, and if choosing between any one of them and a " bee gum," would take the latter for all practical purposes ; not that we would recommend farmers always to use hollow logs, though 162 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. U. we certainly have seen some most successful bee-keeping where the swarms were kept only in tliat rough way. 216. iVherc to Keep Hives. — Tlie location and mode of support arc im- portant matters in placing bee hives. And here again, the most " rough and ready" way has always appeared to be the best. We have frequently seen the hives standing about here and there, without any regard to order ; some directly on the ground, and some on a flat stone or board ; notwith- standing such apparent disregard to all care, the bees were doing better than others where every attention was paid to them. We do not advocate quite so much negligence, but we do believe the best situation for hives is in an open field, set a rod or two apart, or, rather, suspended to stakes. An orchard, where the trees are somewhat scattering, and the grass short, or kept short by n)o\ving or pasturage of some geese, turkeys, or sheep, is a good place for bee-hives, one under each tree. A hive may be fastened to a tree or post by two hooks and staples, care being taken to fix it so it will be firm, and not liable to be shaken by wind. It may also be fixed upon two stakes set in the ground just wide enough apart for the hive to slip in between them and rest upon a block nailed upon each side of the hive, notched on the lower edge so as to clasp the top of the s'ake to prevent slipping side- wise. Hives placed about in the open ground should have a board laid over the top, wide enough to give some shade to the hive. Lay this board on four pebbles, or four nails driven in to keep it half an inch or an inch from the top. This shade-board may be held in its place by a screw or nail, or a stone. The hive need not be placed more than six inches from the ground. A little strip, an inch wide, should be nailed on level with the entrance holes, for the bees to alight upon. If hives are placed under a shady tree, they will need no other protection. If placed close together, a rough shed may be built over a row of hives, so placed that it will shade them from nine till four o'clock in the day. A hive should be painted white, because that color does not absorb the rays of heat as much as a dark color. Sometimes a hive becomes heated so as to soften the cement, and let the comb fall to the bottom. 217. Swarming. — The location of bee-hives should be convenient to low bushes, such as lilacs, althcas, or small jieach or phun trees, for them to light upon when swarming. We have heard of clustering bees upon a large woolen stocking, stretched over the end of a pole, and held up in the midst of the swarm as they collected after leaving the liive. When all have been gathered in the cluster, it is gently laid upon the table and the pole with- drawn, and a hive set over the bees. ^Vl"ter they go up into the liive, the stocking is taken away. Swarming is just as natural for bees as calving for cows. It increases the stock. The process can not be interfered with advantageously, either to retard or increase the operation. The owner of bees should make them as well acquainted with his person as his horse or dog is, and then lie can handle them as easily. Seo. 10.] BEES, AND THE PROFITABLE PRODUCTION OF HONEY. 163 It is true there are some persons with whom the bees never will become friendly, or allow of any familiarity. Such persons should never try to handle bees. Others (the writer is one) can handle them with impunity. I have often had them light upon my face, and head, and hands, and remain as long as they liked, and then go away again. When a swarm comes out, go immediately right into the midst of it, and do not be alarmed if it should cluster upon your hat. Such things have been, and no harm come of it. You must show no excitement ; be moderate and calm in your movements, as if surrounded by a flock of wild birds which j-ou were afraid of scaring away. An excitable man will be very apt to alarm the bees, and an angry one will be sure to make them angry and drive him from the field. It sometimes happens that bees leave the hive pre-determined to fly away. In such eases it is difiicult to stop them. If it is a dusty time, and they are gathering for flight so low that you can throw handful after liandful of dust among them, you may succeed in confusing them until the}' will alight. Swarms have been stopped on the wing by firing a musket directly forward of them, so that both noise and smoke would confuse them. It is idle to fire after them, and shot sent into the swarm may kill the queen ; wlien the bees must be returned to the hive, or put into one witli a piece of brood-comb. Some people make a great noise, beating drums, tin kettles, barrels, or blowing horns, when a swarm comes out. The philosophy of this is, that the noise may drown the voice of the queen, and thus confuse the bees, when they may alight ; but, as a general thing, noise will have no more effect toward stopping runaway bees than runaway horses. The very best thing that we can recommend to a new bee-keeper is : Be gentle, and keep yourself on familiar terms with your bees. Make them familiar with your presence and personal appearance, and always go among them, as near as possible, in the same garb ; and never in a filthy garb, right from the manure-yard, perhaps ; and never in your shirt-sleeves, reek- ing with perspiration. There is nothing more offensive to bees ; for they are as neat as they are industrious, and never sweat anything out of their little bodies but clean white wax, of which they build their cells. Thoroughly domesticated bees seldom offer to fly away when they swarm, if j-ou have conveniences for them to cluster ; and such bees are always easily handled, so that they can be hived without difiiculty, even by the (/udewifii or «hildren, if the gudiirnan is awa'. If you are afraid of stings, put on gloves and tie your sleeves down ; tuck your pants in your boot-tops ; put on a broad-brimmed hat, with a piece of mosquito-netting over it, tucked in close around your neck, and thus jiro- tected, the most timid may go among his own, or strange bees, which always are the most dangerous. If you happen to go near bees, and one comes at you, do not fight, run, nor scream. "Walk away gently, and aim to get behind a bush, tree, fence, or buildinw. i I 164 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. II. Place your hive in the place where it is to stand, as soon as possible after the swarm is in ; because tlie workers commence comb-building immediately, and moving disturbs them, and if only a day or two at work, moving may break down the comb. 218. What a Swarm Consists of. — A swarm of bees in working order con- sists of one queen, two or three hundred drones, and from ten to fifty thousand workei-s. The queen would more properly be called a mother, as she is so, in fact, of all the colony. The drones are the males ; they never work nor fight — they are stingless. The workers are imperfectly developed females. According to T. B. Miner, author of a bee manual, the swarm in the spring consists of tlie queen and about two or three thousand workers, and these increase as soon as food can be provided in spring, enough to make a new swarm, which goes off, led by the old queen, while a new one is pro- A'idcd for the old colony, which also goes oft' sometimes, with another swarm ; and occasionally a third one is sent off, and finally, the swarm remaining con- sists of about 20,000 bees, and all but two or three thousand die off before spring ; the life of a bee being calculated at only about nine months. A queen-bee is so distinguished from other bees by lier shape, size, and color, that when you have once learned how, you can always distinguish her. So you can by the noise she makes. A queen is larger than a worker, but not as largo around as a drone, though longer ; and the rings of lier abdomen are less fully developed, and consequently not so plainly distin- guishable. In short, a queen is more wasp-like in her form than a drone ; and is of a darker color, particularly upon the back part of the abdomen ; while on its under side it is of a yellowish hue. The wings of the queen, in proportion to her body, as compared to either of the others, are wider, i j stouter, and shorter. She is seldom on the wing ; only at swarming time, ' ; and when she cohabits with the males. It is supposed that she is always : ■ impregnated during her flight, and that impregnation in the fall, before the ' ■ drones are destroyed, serves for the eggs she will lay in the spring. Those Avho have made observations upon them, declare that a queen-bee is capable of laying hundreds, perhaps thousands, of eggs a day. i Drones are idle fellows ; their only service being attendance upon the > queen. Their life is a very short one ; generally from April to August ; say j : four months. None are allowed to live over winter. You must not mis- i ' take the slaughter of the drones for war with other bees, which sometimes occurs. I Tlie workers are always busy whenever it is possible for them to carry on j their labors. They often l)egin the very hour they enter a new hive to | ■ build comb, and the second day the honey and pollen gatherers begin to j I bring in their stores. To work to advantage they must have a good house, j I SoiiK'tinies when a swarm goes into a hollow tree, the labor is immense, to i | clear out and fit the room for use. So it is when put into a mean, dirty hive. | It rctjuires a great deal of labor sometimes for the bees to stop up the cracks : of an oil] liivi! with bee-glue — ;>, substance gathered in the forest, and not i 1 i Sec. 10.] BEES, AND THE PROFITABLE PRODUCTION OF HONEY. 165 made by the bees. It is Iiarder and stiffer when dry than wax, and entirely unlike it. 219. Weight of a Swarm. — It is estimated that a full swarm of bees should weigh 11 to 12 lbs. Hence all excess over that is honey and comb, so that the quantity can be ascertained by weighing the hive, if the weight of that is known, as it always should be, and marked upon it when new. Hives should always be constructed with some conveniences for weighing, such as a staple in the top, if that is a fixed one, or one in each side, and then have a movable bail to hook in, to attach to the hook of the weighing balance. 220. Bee-Pasture and Bee-Feeding. — It has been a question for a long time, whether a country could be overstocked with bees so that their pasturage would be short. In a conversation with Mr. Quinby, one of the greatest apiarists in the country, we learned his opinion was that it was next to impossible to overstock any section with bees. We find from the " Bee Journal," published in C4ermany, that the same opinion prevails there. Mr. Dzierzon, president of a convention of apiarists at Munich, says : '• I have numerous accounts of apiaries, in close proximity, of from 200 to 300 hives each. Ehrenfels had 1,000 in three separate establishments, but so close that he could visit all in half an hour's ride. In Kussia and Hun- gary, apiaries numbering from 2,000 to 5,000 are not nnfrequent ; and we know that as many as 4,000 colonies are often congregated together on the lieaths of Germany. Hence I think that we need not fear that any district of this country, so distinguished for abundant natural vegetation and divers- ified culture, will very speedily become overstocked, particularly after the importance of having stocks populous early in the spring comes to be under- stood and appreciated. Mr. Kaden, one of the oldest contributors to the 'Bee Journal,' says that a district of country can not be overstocked with bees, and that however numerous the colonies, all can procure sufticient sus tenance, if the surrounding country contain honey-yielding plants in the usual degree ; where utter barrenness prevails, the case is different, of course, as well as rare. " According to statistical tables, there are 600,000 colonies in the province of Lunenburg, or 111 to the square mile. The number of square miles in ^ this country stocked even to this extent are, I suspect, 'few and far be- tween.' " A German writer alleges that the bees of Lunenburg pay all their taxes, and leave a surplus besides. The importance attached to bee-culture accounts in part for the fact, that the people of this district (so barren that it has been c lUcd the ' Arabia of Germany') are almost without an exception in easy circumstances. " In the province of Attica, Greece, containing 45 square miles, 20,000 colonies are kept, or one colony to each inhabitant, producing annually 30 II IS. of honey and two of wax each. East Friesland (Holland), containing 1,200 square miles, has an average of 2,000 colonies to the square mile. In J 166 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IT. 1857, the yield of lioncy and wax, in the Empire of Austria, was estimated to be worth over seven millions of dollai-s ! !" Could not still more favorable results be obtained in this country, under a rational system of manajrement availinj:; itself of the aid of science, art, and skill ? The island of Corsica produces about 800 lbs. of honey to the square mile, per annum. There is no probability that any section of this country will reach such a state of productiveness in this generation. Yet we hope all who read these extracts will think what an immense loss is sustained annually by our neg- lect to employ harvesters to gather the great crop of sweets that might be saved if our bee population were large enough to gather it all. Upon the subject of bee-pasturage, and those plants from which bees draw their stores of honey, we tind some useful hints in Harbison's work on Bees and Bee-keeping. He says : " The best kinds of early pasturage are the alders, hazel, and willows, some of which yield honey and others pollen ; most species of flowers yield both. My observations lead me to believe that the male flower yields pollen, and the female honey ; I have frequently seen bees gathering both honey and pollen from the same kind of flowers at the same time. It can be tested by examining both the honey-sack and the baskets on the thigh. These trees arc the first to aftord the bees provision in the spring ; where these abound, the bees advance earlier than elsewhere. The soft maple {acer ruhrum) yields a considerable quantity of honey very early, if the weather is fine ; the golden or yellow willow also yields supplies quite early ; peach, cherry, and pear trees put forth early ; gooseberries, currants, strawberries, etc., all afford rich supplies. To close this list of early flowers, the dandelion and apple come forth in rich profusion, all of which arc of the utmost importance for the prosperity of the bees during the season. If this early pasturage fails, or if the weather should be so unfavorable as to prevent the bees from gathering a supply of provisions, they will fail to rear a sufficient quantity of brood to swarm early or to harvest the clover honey to advantage. " It is but seldom, if ever, that a sufficient quantity of hoiu^y is gathered from these early flowei-s to cause the bees to store it in surplus boxes, yet enough is frequently obtained to fill up a large portion of the combs from which the honey has been consumed during the winter, and serves to supply _ their immediate wants until clover blooms. " The next pasturage comes from turnips, cabbage, and the hard maple {accr saccharinum), which yield a considerable quantity of honey, but lafer than the soft maple. Turnips produce a very copious supply of both honey and ])ollen, and if left standing in the ground over winter, they bloom just at a time to fill the interval between the fruit-tree flowers and the clover. This is also the case with the cabbage family, all of which yield large quan- tities of honey. A field of either turnips or cabbage at this early season is of greater value to the bees than the same quantity of either clover or buck- wheat. Sec. 10.] BEES, AND THE PROFITABLE PRODUCTION OF HONEY. 167 " I would here impress upon the minds of all bee-keepers the importance of cultivating a field in turnips each year. In the fall gather in all the large, fine ones, either for marketing or for feeding sheep and cattle during the winter, for which they are very valuable, and will well repay the expense of raising them ; enough small ones will be left standing in the ground over winter to make a rich field of pasturage for the bees in the spring, leaving the ground in fine condition for a crop of buckwheat, or to sow down in wheat in autumn, or to again put down in turnips. " The various kinds of blackberries, and the wild or bird cherry {cerasus serotina), yield honey, and serve to supply to some extent the interval above referred to. We have also a species of kale, or wild turnip, which if sowed very early in the spring will commence to bloom toward the latter part of May, and is very valuable. " Kaspberries of all kinds yield an immense amount of honey, and con- tinue blooming, giving a succession of fresh flowers, for about three weeks. But few if any flowers produce such quantities of honey as the raspberry, in proportion to the number of flowers. " Catnip, mother-wort, hoarhound, honey-suckles, and various other kinds of flowers, put forth about the same time ; each would be of great value, if in sufficient quantities. " Then come other early summer flowers. At the head of this list pre-em- inently stands white clo\'er {trifolium repens), which is found along the road- sides, in meadows, grain-fields, gardens, pasture-fields, in fac^, it may be seen everywhere. The seeds, which are very abundant and very small, are driven in every direction by the winds ; this has been overlooked by previous writers. The heads, which contain the seed, are quite small and very light ; the stalks stand erect until winter sets in and the ground is frozen, by which time the stalk of it has become brittle, and every wind breaks off and rolls along the ground a portion of these little seed-pods, until they meet some obstruction ; here they will germinate. Thus they are scattered in every direction. I have frequently seen them driven furiously on the crust of a shallow snow, through wliich the heads would project. The value of this clover is entirely underrated as a pasture for cattle or horses, as well as bees ; it is always selected by stock in preference to the red clover. The honey gathered from it is of the highest excellence, both in beauty and flavor ; and I believe in good seasons, all the bees, in any neighborhood where it abounds, could not gather the fourth part, so great is the quantity produced. "The tulip-tree {linodendroii), or poplar, as it is called by some, by others white wood, is a great producer of honey. Nothing of the tree kind that I have ever seen exceeds it ; the flowers expand in succession, are of a bell- like shape, mouth upward. In dry, warm weather I have seen a teaspoonful of pure honey or saccharine matter in a single cup or flower. Bees work upon it with the same vigor they manifest when carrying honey from some other hive, or when it is fed to them. "The yellow and black locust trees yield large quantities of honey. 168 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. H. "The linden, or bass-wood {tilia Amcricanu), produces honey to a large amount. All of these varieties of trees should be extensively cultivated, both as shade and ornamental trees, as well as for their timber and the vast (juantities of honey they yield. Sumach also produces honey bountifully ; the difficulty, however, is, tliat there are but few places where these are found in suflicieiit quantities to be of importance. I trust they will be extensively cultivated. '• The common black mustard is one of the most valuable plants to culti- vate as a pasture for bees ; it is easily raised, by simply sowing it on ground when well plowed and pulverized by liarrowiiig smooth, and then brashing it in witii a light brush or very light harrow. It should be sown early in the spring, on good ground. " Those interested in bee-keeping should give the cultivation of mustard some attention. As a bee-pasture it has few superiors, yielding both pollen and honey in great abundance ; it begins to open its flowers wiien quite young and continues as the l)usli expands, until it becomes very large ; each day brings forth new blossoms. A field of mustard in full bloom is a most magnificent sight ; it is like a vast pile of golden flowers ; tlie plants are completely enveloped with flowers, from the ground up as high as a man's head. There is no other plant that I ever noticed that produces so many flowers to any given quantity of ground, nor yields so much honey. " In almost any of the Atlantic States it serves to fill the Interval tliat occurs between tlie closing of the white clover and the opening of the buckwheat flowers, a period of about four weeks, wliich is the very best part of the year for gathering honey, as the weather is generally warm and calm ; hence tlie propriety of raising this crop to employ the bees profitably. " The lionoj' produced from it resembles that yielded from the linden, both in color and taste. " Mignonette, a modest, unpresuming little flower, found in all well- assorted collections, is one of the greatest value as a bee-pasture, if grown in sufticient quantities to be an object. It is low growing and spreading in its habits, similar to white clover, and yields both honey and pollen ; it will bloom continually, from the middle of June until killed by frosts in the fall. It is easily raised in large quantities if the ground is clear of weed seed, ])lowed, and well pulverized by harrowing before sowing. Sow thinly and brush it in with a light brush ; all that is required after this is to pull out any large-growing weeds that may chance to make their appearance before the mignonette spreads over the ground ; where it takes possession of the ground, it needs no further care. A bed of these flowers will perfume the air for quite a distance around, so rich is it. Bees will work on it from daylight until dark ; two or three may be seen at once on a single head or flower. "The cephalanthus Canadensis, or butter-hush, which grows in swamps, and low, wet, marshy grounds in almost every part of the United States, preserving the same appearance wherever found, produces honey of the highest excellence. The honey gathered from this shrub is of a very light Sbo. 10.] BEES, AND THE PROFITABLE PRODUCTION OF HONEY. 169 straw color, of a thick, heavy body, and very excellent flavor. Bees thrive and store honey very rapidly when they have access to large quantities of these flowers. The time of blooming varies with different localities, but it generally begins to put forth flowers about the first of July, and continues for three or four weeks. " In all places where buckwheat is raised, it becomes an important acces- sion to bee-pasturagc. A field of buckwheat yields an incredible quantity of honey, which perfumes the air for a considerable distance around. When the weather is favorable, the bees store honey from it very rapidly, faster at times than they can build combs to receive it. I have seen them fill pieces of old combs laid close to the entrance of the hive, with honey, and have known colonies to fill four boxes of honey, or about 50 lbs., during the con- tinuance of buck\Vheat. This is by no means an uncommon occurrence, and goes to show that this honey harvest is one of great importance to the bee- keeper. Buckwheat may be sown about a month earlier than usual, to fur- nish pasturage to come in about the close of clover, to great advantage." In relation to artificial feeding there are many opinions. There is prob- ably no better food for bees than brown sugar, moistened with honey, such as can be bought at a low price by the barrel or gallon in any town. Add just enough honey to the sugar to make it into a dough by kneading. Put this feed in a shallow tray, with a few straws on toj), and let the bees take their own way and time with it. It is well to give a little salt to bees, if they can not get it conveniently. The best way is to place a lump of rock- salt near the hives, and there let it remain year after year. A practical bee-keeper says : " If the season has been nnpropitious, the liives should be carefully looked after. If any contain less than 20 lbs. of honey, the swarm will need to be fed either with honey alone or mixed with sugar diluted to the consistence of honey, poured on to pieces of empty comb, and placed in the hive in such a manner that bees from other hives will not find it. Perhaps the best method is to introduce the feed into the boxes directly over the bees ; but should it be a common box hive, it may be placed on the top of the hive, where there is a communication through the top, and {^lacing a cap over the whole ; and then gently raj^ping on the top of the hive, the bees will press up through and find the feed. The feed- ing should be done during warna weather." 221. New Food for BefS.— The fact has been discovered in France, that bees will feed upon the oil-cake (soaked in water) that is made in the manu- facture of oil from the Seaaimu/i Orlentalc, known here as the bene plant, so that they can be much easier wintered ; and it is said the increase of stocks is wonderful in comparison with those not thus fed. The Flore dcs Serres, from which we borrow this, assures us that the results have been astonishing, not only in a large increase of honey-comb, but in enabling the bees to multiply beyond all belief; nearly ten times the quantity being bred in consequence of the facility aftbrded of obtaining abundant and, as it would seem, excellent nourishment from this unexpected source. 170 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. II. Tlie experiment could be tried in this country by apiarians planting the bene seed, and bruising and soaking the seed of the crop, and feeding it to the swarms after the natural food fails. One of tlic greatest troubles in bee-lcceping appears to be the want of suit- able food early in the spring to enable the swarm to prejjare for a new col- ony that may go out early enough in the season to lay up, not only their own stores for winter, but a surplus for their owner. Many swarms that have an abundance of honey for their own use and to spare in the spring, are inactive for weeks after the spring has become wa,rm enough for them to work, because they have nothing to work upon. The first business is not to gather honey, but pollen, to make bread for the young bees. So, although tlie weather is warm enough, and the bees lively enough, until the buds afford pollen, they have nothing to work upon to enable them to be in season with the new brood, to produce early swarms. This is a serious drawback in late seasons, and in situations where pollen-producing plants are not plenty. Mr. E. T. Sturtevant, of Cleveland, Ohio, claims that he has discovered a remedy for this difficulty, and that he can bring forward his bees some two months earlier, and get good swarms the first of May. His plan is to feed his bees with unbolted rye-meal, strewn upon boards convenient to the hive, the bees pitching into it at once and working diligently, and in such an earn- est way as fairly to scramble over one another. It is a liiiit worthy tlie attention of all bee-keepers. A few years ago, a bee-keeper in Wurtembcrg discovered that bees ex- tracted food from carrots which had been rasped and cooked for stock, and thereupon he boiled some to a jelly and placed it near the hives, at a time when the fields afforded no food, and he found that they worked upon it as though the gaccliarnm it contained was particularly agreeable. We suggest an experiment with carrots cooked in this way, by bee-keepers in this country. We would also try parsneps ; and, where they are grown abundantly, sweet potatoes. And since we know that bees are so fond of sweet apples in summer, why not keep them to feed swarms when needing artificial feeding in winter. It may add as much to the health of bees to feed green food, as it does to health of other farm-stock. Let the exiieriment be tried. 222. Vfntilation of HivcSi — A great deal has been said about the necessity, on account of ventilation, of making hives open at the bottom. In rejily to this, let men think that bees in a wild state ]>rosper M-ell in the hollow of a tree wliere there is but one small hole for entrance of the bees or venlilaiion, and that open-end liives, standing on a bench, are often cemented fast to it, and sometimes lioles left, for ventilation, are sealed up as closely as though air was poison to the inmates of tlie hive. If you wish to ventilate, bore a two-inch hole into the upper part of the large box, and cover it on the inside of the box and on the outside of the case with wire gauze, fine enough to keep out ants and other insects, for a venti- Seo. 10.] BEES, AND THE PROFITABLE PRODUCTION" OF HONEY. ITl lator. Bore incli holes through into both of tiie upper boxe^, and cover in the same way. Mr. Quinby says tliat he regards •proper ventilation as very important, and jQt proper ventilation is very inipertbcily understood. He also says : " Any way to get I'id of the moisture." Tlie presumption is, that he would not freeze the bees at the outset as one of the ways, for that would surely prevent moisture ; and if the mochts operandi of some who give directions how to ventilate should be put in practice in very cold situations, the bees are just as surely frozen. Moisture accumulating on the inside walls of the hive has caused the de- struction of more strong colonies of bees than any one other casualty, except the fatal way of some bee-keepers to get rid of the moisture by opening wide the apertures in the top and also in the bottom of the hive, and thus causing a current of external air to pass up through the interior — precisely the method to cool a hive in hot weathei* — and also thus rendering the bees more exposed and liable to be frozen than they would be situated on the exterior of the hive. Proper ventilation is simply to give free vent for the air at the top of tiie hive, and not admitting any or but very little air through the bottom. Under all circumstances it is requisite to regulate the openings in the bottom with those in the top, which amounts to about the same thing without the drawbacks of inverting llie hive. There is a new form of bets-hives, used by J. L. Scribner, of Montpelier, Vt., a successful producer of lioney, so much so that he carries off all prizes at the county fair. Tliis hive, being made of straw, serves admirably for ventilation. It is made of a frame of square sticks, say one inch diameter, and in capacity 12 by 13 inches, and 13 inches in hight, with a flat board roof projecting two inches each way. The frame is nailed together ; the lower girts are placed i inch above the bottom of the posts. The frame is covered with straw sewed together, just as it is in straw hives, with a hoop at the bottom, made of strips of boards one inch thick and two inches wide nailed together. In this hoop a notch 2i inches long, i inch deep, is cut for the bees. Plane all the wood, and use none but clean rye straw. On the roof, over suitable holes, the boxes for storing honey are placed. It is thus described by Mr. Scribner: "The advantages of this hive over all others that I have used are very material in my view. It is generally conceded that straw hives are the best to winter bees in ; not altogether because they are so much warme'r, but because they will ' keej) dry,' and the frost does not accumulate as in board hives. Every experienced apiarian knows that in wooden hives there is a continual dampness, arising in part from the breath and effluvia of the bees. Not so in straw hives. Straw being of a dry and absorbing nature, the moisture is taken up. Now, I have learned that straw hives are as much better in summer as in winter, especially in the season of breeding, when we are subject to frequent and sudden changes of the weather, such as damp, chilly nights and hot days. The temperature of a straw hive is more even ; 172 SMAIX ANIMALS AJfD INSECTS. [Chap. II. it does not heat excessively in hot weather nor cool suddenly, as do hoard hives. The natural warmth of the bees is retained, which is particularly conducive to their health and prosperity. Hence there should he no uiuue- cssari/ ventilation by leaving an 'open space,' as has been recommended by some, 'all around the bottom of the hive.' Especially in damp, chilly weather, bees will breed faster and gather more honey in straw hives than in board hives, according to my experience. One reason for their gathering more honey, probably, is because the young brood comes to maturity faster, consequently there are more ' laborers in the field' in the early honey sea- son. This hive combines all the real advantages of every patent hive that has come to my knowledge, while it obviates all the objections and retains all the good qualities of ' the old-fashioned straw hives.' " The less a fanner bothers himself with patent hives and bee-palaces, and the less he tries to counteract nature, the better he will be oflf. I am heartily sick of 'patent bee-hive?,' and it is time to abandon them." 223. Taking Honey, and How to Keep the Bees from Stin.ging.— When bees are alarmed for the safety of their stores, they immediately rush to the cells and fill their sacks with honey, apparently to provide against any contingency that might arise. When in this condition, tliey are perfectly harmless, never volunteer an attack; consequently, to tame bees, or render them docile and easily driven or handled, sinq^ly take advantage of this peculiar instinct. To confine them closely to their hive, rap repeatedly on its sides for a few min- utes; this alarms them, and they will gorge themselves with honey, when tliev can be handled and controlled at pleasure. But we have adopted the following plan, which we find best adapted to our use, and recommend it to others, with the assurance that it will give satisfaction: Take clean cotton or linen rags, sucli as are used in the manufacture of paper ; make a nice roll of these, about an inch in diameter, and from six to twelve inches lung; wrap this pretty tight, either with narrow sti'ips or shreds torn from clotli, or, what is more convenient, use wrapping yarn of some kind ; prepare a number of such rolls, and keep on hand in some box, or any dry place, near the apiary, together with some matches. When yon wish to open a hive or perform any operation, set fire to one end of a roll of rags; it makes quite a smoke, with- out any blaze. Upon opening the hive, blow the smoke vigoi-ously among the bees for a minute or two, which terrifies them, M-ithout doing any perma- nent injury; they immediately rush to the cells and rill tlieir sacks with honey, when you can proceed to lift out one comb after another, and perform any operation with perfect impunity, v>-ithout any fear of being stung, unless by those from other hives near at hand. Should there be some, liowever, that would show signs of battle, blow a little more smoke upon them, and repeat it from time to time until the close of the operation. Toward the close of the honey season, when they are rich and increased in stores, they are harder to control than at any other season of the year; when this occuis, put a small portion of tobacco or a few grains of sulphur in your roll of rags; this reudei-s the smoke more pungent, and will easily subdue the Sec. 10.] BEES, AND THE PROFITABLE PRODUCTION OF HONEY 173 bees. Dried puff-ball makes a smoke that subdues bees without injury to them. 224. Bee Moths,and How toProtectBecs from Them. — ISTumcrous patents have been taken out to sell bee-keepers, to keep the moths out of the hives. All of these contrivances fail in their object, or else have objections to them which have prevented their general introduction. One now before us consists of a set of swinging doors, just such as we have often seen at cat-lioles, hung at the top so as to fiiU into place as soon as pussy gets through. For the bees, a small tin, about the size of a dime, is hung in the entrance hole, which the bee can push open, but tlie moth can not — that is, so says the patentee. Where open-end hives stand upon a bench, we have seen moths prevented from injuring the swarm by raising the hive, during the moth season, about half an inch from the bench. The theory of tliis plan is, that the moth in- serts her eggs between the bottom of the hive and bench, where they hatch, and the bees can not get at the worms ; but if it is raised up, there is no op- portunity for the moth to deposit her eggs where they will be safe. A cheap, good moth-trap is made in the following manner: Take a piece of thin pine board, or a shingle, a few inches square, and with your pocket- knife cut three-cornered grooves on one side, and lay it, grooved side down, on the bench under the hive. The moths will find a secure place from the bees, and deposit their eggs, wliich you will find, or the worms, and destroy, by looking at your traps every few days. Mr. Qiiinby recommends the following mixture as a moth-trap : Sugar or molasses and a little vinegar and water, making the "contrast" agreeable — the sweet and the sour. Put this in shallow dishes, saucers, or tin baking dishes, and set them among the bees at evening. Next morning, moths of all kinds will be found in the liquid, and may then be strained out and de- stroyed, and the mixture used the following evening. 225. Introduction of Bees into falifornia.— The honey-bee is not a native of California. The credit of introducing them is due to a man by the name of Shelton, who, after doing mucii for the interest of agricultural improvements in that State, lost his life, while still a very young man, by the explosion of a steamboat boiler on the Sacramento Eiver. He imported, in March, 1853, the first bees into California. He left New York with twelve stands, or hives, and arrived with but one ; from this one about one lumdred and fifty swarms were credited in 1858, and, of course, have largely multiplied since that time. There have also been very large exportations made by steamer from New York. The Messrs. Harbison, of Pennsylvania, have been very successful in shipping and selling swarms, and have also established an ex- tensive apiary at Sacramento. The common price of some of the first stocks sent to or produced in California has been fifty to one hundred dollars a hive. The Harbisons made their first shipment, we believe, in 1858-9. It has been thought singular that our people found no bees in California, when they were so abundant in Mexico and Central America. Since the introduction of bees from New York, a California jiaper states that several 174 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL attempts to import bees from Mexico have failed. Captain Macondray had one or more Mexican swarms, but tbey soon dwindled away. In 1S59, Mrs. Sutter, daughter-in-law to General Sutter, had forty-four hives packed on the backs of Indians to Acapulco, and brought on the steamer to San Francisco; two or three weeks after their arrival, there remained but two hives contain- ing bees; they were taken to San Jose, but in a short time they also died. It also says, and so does every one we have conversed with on the subject, that California is admirably adapted to the houcy-bcc, as the experience of five years fully demonstrates. In San Jose Valley, Sacramento Valley, Shasta, liidwell's, Stockton, Columbia, and Napa they multiply rapidly and store abundance of honey. The willow affords the first material for pollen. The bees commence gathering it by the 1st of January ; about the l.">fh of Janu- ary it is in bloom, and affords considerable honey, though slightly bitter. The bees gather pollen and honey from the willow till March. The wild mustard aftbrds an inexhaustible supply of honey from the 1st of April to tlie middle of June. Later in the season, honey is obtained from buckwheat and honey-dew. Ilouey made from mustard blossom, from which most of the honey is gathered in San Jose Valley, is excellent, and has sold in San Francisco at from $1 25 to $1 50 per pound. New swarms issue as early as the 15th of April, and the swarming season continues to the 16th of June. 226. StinglfSS BeeSt — There is a good deal said of late about going to Brazil after " stingless bees.'' What is the utility- ? We have a better sort liere, and their stings are in no manner objectionable. In fact, they arc advan- tageous to the apiarian. They guard the store from thieves of all sorts, and tiic}^ arc much better honej'-makers than the South American variety, which has no sting, all of M"liich are of a much smaller size than our common hone3'-bee, and some of them make honey that is sour, and others give it a bitter flavor. This may bo owing to the flowers it is extracted from, as we have known bees here to make uneatable honey. Wells, in his cxjilorations of Honduras, gives the names of fourteen varie- ties of honey-bees. Honey is very abundant and low priced. He was charged but ten cents a quart for it. He says: "The bees are diminutive, and mostly stingless. Swarms of them may be seen every daj', M-hen travel- ing in the open country, hovering around some decayed tree, and but little trouble is necessary to bear the whole establishment to the nearest hacienda. One of the proprietors said he had sold enough, since owning the estate, to bu}' all the drilling, 7)ianios, and articles of that description, required at the hacienda." The most curious thing about most of these bees is that they do not store Iioney like our bc-js, in combs of hexagonal cells, but in little sacs, two inches long, arranged in rows along the sides of the hive. The cells for the young are placed in tlie center. 227. Italian Bees. — During the year 1860, a good deal has been said about the advantage to be derived from the introduction of Italian bees into the Seo. 10.] BEES, AND THE PROFITABLE PRODUCTION OF HONEY. 175 United States, and importations have been made for that purpose. The plan is to breed queens, wliich, after being impregnated, are introduced into com- mon hives, after removing the old queen. A writer in tlie Country Gentleman newspaper gives the following as the history of the introduction of Italian bees into this country. He says: " Mr. P. J. Malum, of Pliiladelpliia, is mentioned ' as being the first to land this new variety on our shores.' As a matter of history, I would state that this is not so. For several years past the attempt has been made yearly by Mr. Richard Colvin, of Baltimore, Samuel Wagoner, of York, Pa., and Rev. L. L. Laiigstroth. These attempts were unsuccessful, owing to bad packing and mismanagement in transportation, until the autumn of 1859, when Mr. Colvin received some Italian stocks, and hoped to have queens from them for sale the past season, but these stocks, unfortunately, did not survive the winter. Next in order of date is Mr. Mahan's importation from Germany, which was successful on account of his personal supervision. Sliortly after Mr. Mahan's importation, Mr. S. B. Parsons, of Flushing, Long Island, succeeded in getting a few swarms alive from Italy. From them he has succeeded, aided bj' several skillful' apiarians, in raising a large number of queens, which have been sent to nearly every State in the Union, includ- ing California, under the supervision of Mr. Bigelow, a successful apiarian. "The last successful importation was by Messrs. Colvin and Wagoner. All the above named are exerting themselves to multiply their stocks of Italian bees, and they will doubtless have a demand for all the queens and stocks they can supply next season, as the interest in this new bee is deserv- edly increasing. The question will naturally arise. Of whom shall I pur- chase ? Are these importations equally reliable, and if so, have all taken the same pains and been equally successful in keeping the breed pure ? I Avould here remark that some situations are more t\ivorable for maintaining purity than others. Tlie Italian bees now in this country are from three ditferent sources, and every one should decide for himself to which stock he should give the preference, and if the most reliable man and the most reli- able bee can be found working together. "Two of the importations are from Germany, and one from Italy. Of the importation from Italy there can be no reason to question its purity. Tlie two importations from Germany are from ditferent breeders. One of the importations fiom Germany I have the fullest confidence in from personal inspection ; and if the other be equally good, we are in a fiiir position to have the country m'cU supplied with pure stock in a few years, provided sutficient interest is taken to maintain purity." 228. Reasons for Keeping Bees. — -In this section we have only aimed to say just enough to encourage every reader to keep bees, Avho has anything like fair facilities for them to obtain a supply of honey from gardens and fields, which they will do if within a mile, and some bee-keepers say if within two miles. But it is not profitable to allow bees to go so far, when the bee-keeper has land upon which he can grow bee-food just as well as he can grow food 176 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL for any other farm-stock. The fact that bees obtain a great deal of food from fruit-trees should encourage farmers to cultivate both together. And if he plants along the roadside long rows of willows, maples, lindens, pop- lars, iic will not only have the advantage of them for shade and ornament, but his bees, if he has them — and if not, let him be encouraged to get them — M-ill find a great field up in the branches, that they can use as pasture. The strongest reason tliat can be given for keeping bees is this simple fact: Tlicy afford more clear profit than any other stock ever kept on the farm, and, generally speaking, the more labor is bestowed upon them in providing good liives and pasture, the better they pay. SECTION XL-BIRDS. eason and Reli^^ion in Preserving Birds. — "We don't know how much we have written, said, and sung to induce farmers not to destroy the birds, nor allow them to be destroyed, because we look upon them as part and parcel of the farm-stock, and of more importance to the farmer than some animals lio icps, at much more expense than his stock of birtl?. We say his stock, because we consider the birds on tlie trees just as much the property of him who owns tlio trees as the trees themselves ; and he who would steal one would steal the other. A man who would come upon my farm and shoot my birds, without my permission, is not one of the noblest works of God. No man who takes reason for a guide, who owns a farm in any of the old States, can consent to have his birds destroyed. He certainly will not de- stroy them himself, after he has taken time to think upon the subject. It is our object to induce him to think, and the best place to do so is to go out among them in a bright spring morning, and hear their music. Go out among the trees in the orchard or through the grove, or look into the hedge-rows or peep under the old bridge down the lane, or go to tlic barn ; go anywhere, everywhere, where you will, and at this season — that is, lovely May season — you will find the birds — busy, merry, singing birds; hard at work they are, too, building their houses — cradles, rather — and all tlic time keeping up a concert of sweet music. Various too are their tastes in selecting their sites for their nesting-places, some hiding away from man, some coming up to his very door, or, like the martin and swallow, under his roof and protection. Robin-red-breast almost invariably comes into the orchard, sometimes on the trees, sometimes on the fence, sometimes, where kindly treated, under the shed by the barn or house. ?J^ Seo. 11.] BreDS. ■ , 177 Tlie woodpecker — the same one that -was tapping " the hollow beech-tree" — makes holes in the old apple-trees, into which for years afterward the pretty bluebird creeps and rears its annual brood. The blackbird, the most numerous of the family of small birds, mostly nests in the swamp ; except one variety, imitating the crow, that goes into the highest trees, such as the spruce, with a dark, thick top, where boys nor small sliot can not come. In the meadow we find tlie sly nest of the quail and lark and several small birds ; and in the thickest bushes, the home of the brown thrush. He is a natural musician, a sweet bird full of glee and cheerfulness ; but the merriest and most amusing of the whole family is the noisy little bobolink. We look upon birds as among the essentials of a landscape, and would as soon think of chopping down tlie orchard, shooting the turkeys, and wring- ing the necks oif of the barn-yard fowls, or making mutton of the sheep or giving the lambs to the dogs, as to think of destroying the birds or driving them from the premises. " Going a gunning," with the murderous intent to kill such birds, ought to consign a man to the infamy that we are apt to attach to a savage or a brute who wantonly kills the finest of God's creation. Without birds, a country is desolate ; with them, it is always cheerful. Their songs would enliven the heart of a stone, or make a miser for the moment forget his money. The association of children with birds, when taught to love them and not destroy their nests, has as direct and certain a tendency to improve their natures as the church or family fireside. Teach a child that birds are among the good gifts of God to man, and it is hardly possible that the child will grow up to manhood without being possessed of some of the attributes of the sweet songsters of the grove. And yet there are parents who allo'w their children to wage incessant war upon the birds, never thinking of the injury they are doing their young minds, or how many destructive enemies they are entailing upon the crops in the shape of countless caterpillars, grubs, and worms. We do not know of a higher Christian duty for a minister to engage in than an effort to preserve the birds in his parish. We would impress upon the mind of every child tliat the command, " thou shalt not kill," meant these dear little birds as well as things of a higher degree. Tliou shalt not wantonly kill a single thing of all creation that is not necessary for man's sustenance, or that is not detrimental to his interest. Children should be taught not only to love the music of birds, but to look upon them as models of beauty and affection to their mates and to their young. Instead of driving them away from the house, encourage them to come and perch upon the window-sill and build their nests under the eaves. Do not tell us tliey destroy the small fruit. Plant enough for birds and men. If they do eat fruit, tliey also eat worms, and you can well afford to give them a few cherries and currants for what they have done for .you. 178 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Cnxp. H. Around the city there is a diflBcnlty in preserving the birds, because all tlic groves arc infested with an abominable nuisance in the shape of big boys and prowling loafere " out for a day's shooting." Tliey ought to be out for a day's shooting, and that should be at their own idle carcasses, with tine salt and pepper-corns, and every owner of laud should be allowed by law thus to salt and pepper any of these idle vagabonds who come upon his grounds without leave to doom the birds to destruction. Farmers ! let your motto be — and impress it upon all your family — Never kill a bird ! In the early settlement of this country, there was such an abundance of birds that the people who were striving to raise grain enough for the support of their families, looked upon them as their enemies, because they were nat- urally disposed to come in for a share of the crop, and some of them, such as the crow and the large blackbird, sometimes depredated upon the seed, by which the crop was effectually cut off. So a war of extermination was declared without discrimination against all birds, and it was carried to such a bitter end that the children of the liret settlers grew up with a fixed opinion that they were doing a Christian duty whenever an opportunity offered, in destroying birds and birds' nests, and they entailed the same disposition \ipon their children and their children's children ; and so the poor birds have been almost exterminated from the face of the earth M'ith scarcely a thought why or wherefore, except that they were birds, and birds must be destroyed — " father says so." Upon that ipse dixit some of the best friends of the farmer, instead of his worst enemies, have been almost annihilated, while others have come to regard him as a being to be so avoided that they make their abodes in deep forests, and hide their j j nests and young from man as carefully as man would hide his young from I i a tiger. _ _ ! ! Experience teacheth wisdom ; and after two hundred years of teaching, I j the American farmer is just beginning to learn that birds are his best friends, j He shot them upon his plum and cherry trees because tlicy took a share of the fruit, and then came the insects that the birds used to prey upon, and the days of plum-growing were over. So of many other insects, real pests of the farmer, everywhere multiplying as the birds decrease. Not one at' the species upon which man has made such unceasing war, but has its use. Even the owl, although it will cat chickens, is a great mouse- destroyer ; and the hated hawk is sometimes shot with a snake in its bill. Crows should be treated with as much care about a farm as domestic fowls. Do they pull up your sprouting corn sesd ? Feed them and they will not. Sow corn broadcast through the field and they will not touch that which yon have planted. Birds of all descriptions should be taught that man is a friend and not an enemy, and tlay will return the friendship. Some lover of birds — and he who is not such is "fit for treasons, strata- gems, and spoils" — may demur to our assertion, that they arc less influenced by gratitude than their four-footed fellows. If our assertion is incorrect, »ve Seo. 11.] BIRDS. 179 shall be happy to be set right, but we believe that facts are against tlie birds ; yet if this be so, the circunistanee is not to their discredit. Tliey are the humorists, the musicians, the conversationists of the animal world ; so fully occupied in talking, singing, joking, eating, and reai-ing their families, that they have little time to devote to those immense beings, pantalooned or hooped, whom they undoubtedly regard from their airy hights with a sort of contempt, as they behold them slowly plodding along, confined to the dull earth and unable to take a flight even equal to that of one of their newly- fledged oifspring ; and if they condescend to pick up a few crumbs scattered by some gentle hand, they feel as little of the emotion of gratitude to their benefactor, as the squirrel to the chestnut-tree which rains upon him his winter's supply. A certain degree of brain development is necessary for the existence of this emotion, and birds, in this respect, are inferior to most of the quadrupeds with which we are familiar. Birds do not seem to be as susceptible as quadrupeds to kind treatment, and those species which have been domesticated appear to have lost what- ever " smartness" they may originally have possessed. The whole tribe df domestic fowls — cocks, hens, ducks, geese, guinea-fowls, turkeys, pea-fowls — are unmitigatedly stupid — acute in nothing but picking up corn and devas- tating gardens. The crow is one of the birds that unthinking men destroy, because they pull up a little corn in the spring. Will you think what else he does ? He consumes in the year vast quantities of grubs, worms, and noxious vermin ; he is a valuable scavenger, and clears the land of offensive masses of deceased animal substances ; he hunts the grain fields, and pulls out and devours the underground caterpillars, whenever he perceives the signs of their operations, as evinced by the wilted stalks ; he destroys mice, young rats, lizards, and small snakes ; lastly, he is a volunteer sentinel about the farm, and drives tlie hawk from its inclosure, thus preventing greater mis- chief than that of which he himself is guilty. It is chiefly during seed-time and harvest that the depredations of the crow are committed ; during the remainder of the year we witness only his services, which are so appreciated by those who have written of birds, that I can not name an ornithologist who does not plead in his behalf. Frighten the crows, but do not kill them, except one to use to keep his fellows otf your corn. Pick oft' part of his feathers and scatter them on some spot in the field easily seen, and near by lay the carcass' of the dead crow and you will see his late companion sailing over the field and looking down upon what has been done, but very careful not to light where he too might fall a victim. If you can not kill a crow, you may make a veiy good show of a dead one with a black hen. Crows are too valuable as vermin-destroy- ers on a fiirm to be wantonly destroyed because they pull up a little corn. A writer at Eaton, N. Y., sends us the following item in favor of the per- secuted crow, which makes him out not quite so black as he looks — that is, when seen by the eyes of some of his enemies. He says : 180 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. 11 " For the interest of the fanning portion of this country, I eominunicato the following: Mr. Alpha Brown, an enterprising farmer of this town, informed me that, having acted this year upon the somewhat late suggestion of yours, of sowing corn broadcast over the planted ground, he experienced a new result. Upon four acres, where heretofore his crop had been greatly injured by the devastations of the "white grub" and "gray corn-worm," he sowed broadcast, after planting, a half bushel of corn. This, of course, attracted the crows, which, coming to the ground in the cooler part of the afternoon and morning, found the worms on their usual visit to the surface, and, preferring tlie latter to the corn, devoured tliem instead. The result is, that out of the whole field he has not lost to exceed five hills." 230. The Reverse of the f row Question. — Having given our opinion in favor of the crow, in the preceding paragraph, we feel that it is due to a fair in- vestigation of the question not to make it an arbitrary opinion, and rest there, but to give the opinions of others also. It is facts, not theories, tliat we wish to give farmers. One who signs himself a " Farmer's Boy," writes from Ridgefield, Conn., about crows, as follows : " Having lately read your article upon the subject of crows and others of the feathered tribe, I can not hold still my rnsty old steel any longer. I agree with you very well until you advocate the protection of crows ; there I think you miss your mark. There is but one thing you name that is in their favor — the digging of grubs. Tlioy are the enemies of all our small birds, which you advocate preserving. They commence with the eggs, and con- tinue their depredations until the young are nearly grown. They arc never found destroying insects of any kind that could not be of more use than the crow, and even the grub can be made a source of income to the farmer. An intelligent farmer told me, some years ago, he made 1,000 pounds of pork by letting his hogs feed on them in his meadows, which damaged liis grass but little the first year, and thought it better the second by having the surface stirred. You speak of their devouring carrion. Now, in my opinion, no farmer that is a good economist will allow any dead animal to lie and rot in the sun to make food for the crows. I consider tlie carcass of a liorse, a cow, or an ox worth from tliree to five dollars to any farmer. If so, it is quite too dear food for crows. Some say crows catch grasshoppers and crickets. I prefer a nice brood of turkeys, that Avill not look bad on the table when they have performed their work on the farm. " You see I am a friend to almost everything but a crow. If there is any- thing made in vain, it is the crow. They destroy our little warblers; tliey catch our chickens, ducks, turkeys, and goslings; they dig our potatoes, pull our corn and beans, from the time they appear above ground until they grow out of their way. Then, as soon as the grain is formed on the ear; tiiey commence their work again. Now, if such a pest as this is to be protected, it must be by some one who has a heart softer than I have ; a creature that but one thing can be said in its favor, and the rest must go against it. 1 Skc. 11.] BIRDS. 181 have not tlie least doubt but our town was taxed $500 last year to feed crows." Upon this we simply remark: If " Farmer's Boy" lias a breed of crows about him that really catch turkeys, goslings, etc., and dig potatoes, he is welcome to be their enemy. Our crows are of another sort. But is our "boy" sure that he "can tell a hawk from a hernshaw?" Because the raven, though one of the corvus family, is not a crow, as we understand the word ; and it is just possible that the bird that catches turkeys and other birds is a raven. We have another opinion, coming from a citizen of Montgomery County, Pcnn. He says : "Leaving your crows imder your protection, to enjoy their excellent repu- tations, we desire to say a word on tlie character of ours. Ti:at we have real, veritable crows that catch young chickens, is a ' fixed fact,' well estab- lished. Tii'e present season, notwithstanding our care, we lost by them, I suppose, from ten to fifteen, and avoided the loss of othei's only by the use of gunpowder. Our experience on this subject, I may add, is that of many others. This thing, then, our 'breed' of crows do, and also carry off spoiled eg^^ that may be thrown awaj', birds' eggs, etc. In reference to ducks and goslings, I am unable to speak, but have no reason to believe that they are distasteful, or that they do not catch th^n. " They love, it appears, a variety. A near and reliable neighbor informs mo that quite recently he saw one of our tribe in hot pursuit of a rabbit, whieli, after sundry dodgings, secreted itself under the fence. So you see New York crows differ from ours, and, I incline to think, from most other crows." Here is another opinion. This comes from Theron Wales, AVindham, Portage County, Ohio. He says, in relation to our remarks upon the state- ment of " Farmer's Boy :" "I conclude you received it as doubtful. I can add testimony in part to the same effect. I have seen the crow alight into the nest of the robin and carry away the j'oung birds to feed their own young. They are pa5sionately fond of the eggs of other birds, and I have caught tliem in traps with egg- shells. Hunters of tlie wild tiirkey can testify to the hatred between tlie crow and the gobblers. From the frequent presence of the crow over the gobbling turkey, it appears they watch for their nests. At least every cry of the crow is answered defiantly by the turkey, and thus I have often been led to approach the turkey and shoot him. Wiiile we were living upon the Berkshire Hills, in Massachusetts, it was not unfrequent that our neighbors' and our own young lambs had their eyes picked out by the early returning crows in the spring. But I do not say these things for the sake of engaging in an exterminating war upon them. All things were created for some wise purpose. Every creature has in nature its enemy and destroyer, and every attempt on the part of man to give preponderance to one part of the wild creation over another, will fail. Civilization will of necessity drive away 1 182 SMALL ANIMAI.S AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL the beaver, otter, deer, and a host of forest birds, and their places will be rapidly supplied by the wren, the roliin, tlie bluebird, the honey-bee, etc. "The raven is more carnivorous tiian the crow. I once saw one alight into a kingbird's nest and carry away the young, in spite of the cries and efforts of tlie old ones.'' The crowning charge against the crows comes from Freeport, Me., in a letter written by E. Pratt, Jr., wlio says : "Now Avhat ^ your crows' are, or what tliey eat, or how tliey get their liv- ing, I know not ; but the crows in Maine both dig and cat potatoes, incredu- lous as it may apjjear. " In some seasons I have known many acres, j-ylanted on light soils, in exposed situations, devaslatcd by these miscreants, and that in my own neighborhood. "Tlieir manner is, when the plant first breaks ground, to dig and pull it up with the tubers attached, though it appears by the partially eaten ones left here and there on the field, that they do not eat them with much avidity. "I know that popular writers think the crow a great blessing to farmers, but I am yet to be convinced of this, and can only wish that those who think their company so desirable should have the benefit of my share." There is but little doubt in our mind tliat most of these bad birds were ravens, and not crows, particularly as Mr. Wales acknowledges the presence of the raven, and says that he is a carnivorous bird. Now, having said our say, and allowed others to say theirs, about crows, we will drop down to wrens, by way of contrast. 231. Wrciis. — We waked one morning — one of those May mornings — when our domicile was a city one, with delightful sounds coming in at the window. They were the notes of sweet singing birds. What lovely music! It was the first of the season that had come to our ears, and it struck a chord that called to mind scenes of youth, long, long ago. We hastened to the Avindow and looked out. " Ila ! ha ! my old friends," we cried, " and so you have come back again." It was the wrens, the same ones undoubtedly that we built a nesting-place for last year. There was one pair then, now two pair — the progeny, wo suppose, of those that sung for us last year. "And 80," we said, " you have both come for a nesting-place, have you ? AVell, there is the old one — -but you must have another. An increasing family needs more room. You shall have it." Notwithstanding the morning was a rainy one, we feared our pets might feel neglected, and so down we went to provide for their necessities. IIow amply were we repaid the little labor ! for all the time we were engaged, they were hopping about the peach limbs, picking off the insects, and singing all the while most merrily. Who would not cultivate such society as this? Who would not like to have their trees protected from insects that destroy foliage and fruit? Every one, surely. Then protect the wrens. Build nesting-i)laces for them, and they will come every spring and send their sweet notes into your open window, some pleas- Seo. 11.] BIRDS. 183 ant May morning, to waken you to see the beauty of sunrise, or lull you into dreams of the old farm-house, orchards, and singing birds. A paper from Prof Nash says he has domesticated the common wren in this city, by building them a suitable house, very much to the amusement and pleasure of the family. One pair hatched and reared ten young ones in one season, and they acted as perfect scavengers of bugs and worms in the neighborhood. Mr. Nash says two hundred wren-housesnvere built last year about Union Square, which were not only occupied by wrens, but several other kinds of birds, and these served to keep the park and neighborhood almost free of insects. A writer in Uoveys Magazine recommended the use of wrens to drive other birds away from the cherry-trees. He says : " I have seen the experiment of placing a wren-box on a cherry-tree, tried in several instances witli apparent success. The best thing for this purpose is an olive jar. A hole should previously be drilled into the side of the jar, which should be fixed upon the tree, by thrusting the stump of an amputated branch, the more upright the better, into the mouth of the inverted jar, of just sufficient size to admit a wren, but too small to allow a bluebird to en- ter ; since, if it were otherwise, the latter would be sure to get possession of it. The wren being a very jealous and pugnacious bird, is diligent in driv- ing all birds from the tree in which his nest is built, and does not hesitate to attack birds as large as the robin. It is doubtful, however, whether the wren would persevere in his attacks, when the robins had become very numer- ous, but the expedient might be iised with some advantage in all cases." 232. Protecting Trees from Birds. — Some persons advise throwing a net over the trees, during the few days while the fruit is becoming mature. This may be done in some cases, if there are but few trees to be protected, and the owner can afford to undertake a job that must be both troublesome and expensive. Such an expedient M'ould be hardly advisable except in extra- ordinary cases. Some fix a little windmill in the tree ; but as the wheel is constantly turning, the birds soon become accustomed to it, and- cease to regard it with suspicion. If anything of this kind is to be used, it should be kept motionless, until tlie birds fly into the tree, and then put suddenly into action by some person M-ho is watching it. Something like a watchman's rattle elevated on a pole, and fastened firmly to each of the trees, with a cord to be pulled when the machine is to be set in motion, might answer a good purpose. A boy might be hired in this case to watch the trees, and to pull upon the cords as the birds arrived. Cherries require so short a time to rijien, that no tree would need to be watclied more than one week. As birds always give the greatest oflfense, by their depredations upon fruit, to those who own but few trees, our argument is, that the best protection is to plant trees enough to serve you and the birds too, M'ith all that all of you can eat. You would then not only have the satisfaction of having what cherries you wanted, but tiie pleasure of seeing the birds. From experience every season, we are satisfied that the robins save us more cherries than 184 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Ohap. H. they eat. Our trees were infested with the same kind of yellowish bugs that ate the roses, and are commonly called rose-bugs. We have seen half a dozen of them eating upon a single cherry, attacking them before they were ripe, and before the birds did. When at length the robins came iu goodly numbers, the bugs decreased, and if the robins ate cherries, they also ate bugs, and we believe more than they did cherries. At any rate we had more cherries than the birds and all the family could dispose of, and some for our friends. So we did not begrudge the dear little birds their share. As there are some who can not aftbrd to share their cherries with the birds, and others who are unwilling, we give a way of keeping them oflF, which we find in the Gardener's Chronicle, London. " The following is a plan I once saw succeed very well for some time, but the birds at last got familiar with it ; still I think it might answer for two months or so. An old gardener being greatly troubled with birds, applied to his master for nets to cover his fruit with ; but no, they would be too expensive. He therefore got a hawk stuffed in what he called a hovering position, put it on the end of a long wire, attached the wire to the top of a tree, and thus had the hawk suspended in the air as if it had been alive. lie had, however, another hawk which really was alive put into a cage, and had the cage put into the same tree where the dead hawk was. The gentleman in the cage was by no means mute, and I may add that I scarcely ever after- ward saw birds in that garden, except perhaps a few sparrows." Another plan that has succeeded very well at times is to suspend small looking-glasses, or bits of a broken mirror, to the limbs of the tree. "Where tlie sun shines, and the wind blows a little, this device answers a good pur- pose. It is of no use at other times, except that having previously frightened the birds, and pi-evented them from getting a haunt in the tree, they will not be so likely to come when the mirror is still. 233. The Food of Birds.— A few facts to show what the food of birds really is, will do something, we hope, to dispel the prejudice which lias made man their bitter enemy. "Wilson, the great ornithologist, computes that a red-winged blackbird destroys, on an average, 50 grubs a day through the summer. Many other birds are equally useful to the farmer. No gold would buy the services per- formed by the birds. One often may be seen following the plowman hour after hour. Then look at the eternal labor of the birds in fall, winter, and spring, pick- ing up the seeds of weeds, and upon these they live until grain ripens, before it is possible for them to harm the farmer. "We therefore urge farmers to spare the birds. They pay more rent than the worth of all they eat. Robins have been thoroughly proved to be insect- eaters, and great destroyers of noxious pests to the farmers, by a committee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. This Society has done a deed worthy of commendation by all the lovers of birds. A resolution was moved to get the Society to ask the Legislature to Seo. 11.] BIRDS. 185 repeal the law for protection of robins, iipo!i the ground that these birds were noxious to the tarnier ; it being contended that their food being veg- etable, they were great destroyers of valuable fruits. Upon this. Prof. Jenks (Prof, of Zoology) suggested that the Society should first learn the habits of the robin, and a committee, consisting of Prof Jenks, C. M. Ilovey, and E. S. Rand, Jr., were appointed, and have reported the following facts : " Plan Adopted for the Investiyation. — 1. To obtain birds at daybreak, mid- day, and sunset. 2. To obtain birds from both the village and the country. 3. To preserve in alcohol the contents of each gizzard. Results in Procuring Specimens. — Beginning with the first week in March, ISoS, specimens have been examined at least weekly, and most of the time daily, to December, and during the winter months, at least semi-monthly to the date of the report, in the spring. Results of Investigation. — 1. Early in March, numbers of this bird made their appearance in this vicinity (Boston) ; but, until the second week in April, only the male birds. 2. The gizzards of those killed in the morning were, as a riile, either entirely empty, or but partiall}"^ distended with food, well macerated ; while those killed in the latter part of the day were as nniformly filled with food freshly taken. 3. From the almost daily examination of their gizzards from the early part of March to the first of May, not a particle of vegetable matter was found in the gizzard of a single bird. On the contrary, insects in great variety, both as to number and kind, as well as in every variety of condition as to growth and development, were the sole food. But nine tenths of the aggregate mass of food thus collected during this period consisted of one kind of larviB, which, through the aid of Baron Osten- s:icken, secretary of the Russian legation at Washington, I was enabled to identify as the Bihio albipcnnis {Say), and whose history an(T habits, by the aid of Dr. Asa Fitch, entomologist of the New York State Agricultural Society, I was enabled to make out quite satisfactorily. From one to two hundred of these larvte were frequently taken from a single gizzard, all in afresh, unmacerated condition; and usually, when these larvos were found, tliey were the only food in the stomach. To quote from a communication received from Dr. Fitch, he says : ' My attention was first directed to this fly some twelve years ago, when I was occupied in investigating the wheat midge. I observed it to be so very common in fields of growing wheat that I suspected it of living at the expense of that grain crop ; but on looking around I found it was equally as common everywhere else — resting upon the grass, leaves, and flowere in my yard and garden, as well as in meadows, pastures, and forests. ***** It comes abroad about the 20th of May, and continues about a fortnight. You will readily recognize it by its commonness, and its white transparent wings ; its body being black, clothed with soft, white hairs. It is very sluggish, moving around but little, and is easily picked up by the fingers. * * * 186 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL Oil page 7Gt of tlie London Gard^ner^s Chronicle of the year 184i, is a val- uable article of liuricola, (J. O. Westwood), giving a full history of the Bihlo Marci, the European analogue of the one in riuestion. 'It appears these insects (unlike most others of the family Tipulidie to which they per- tain) arc niost pernicious, the larvaj feeding upon the roots of plants, some- times to such an extent as to cause them to wither and die. liuricola state? that the larv£e of the Merci, and other allied species of Bihio, are frequently sent to him by gai-deners, who find them to be mischievous in their straw- berry beds, vine borders, flower pots, and other situations M'here the soil remains undisturbed during the autumn and spring.' And another writer, Bouche, says ' that his bed of ranunculuses was completely demolished, ibr several successive years, by these worms eating the roots.' From these facts every one will perceive that the robin, consuming, as you found it to do, from one to two hundred of these Bibio larvse daily, during the months of March and April, has probably been ridding our gardens of these vermin every j'car hitherto ; thus rendering us an important service, of which wa have been wholly unaware. * " "* The larvae are gregarious ; living together in swarms, and perforating the ground so that it resembles a honey- comb. ' This is probably caused by the parent fly depositing her whole stock of eggs in one spot, she being too lazy and slothful to wander about and dis- tribute them in difl'erent places. Hence the robin, on finding one of these worms, knows that there is a host of others at the same place, and thus re- pairs to that spot, day after day, and gluts himself with them till the whole colony is exterminated.' To this extract I may be allowed to add, that my own observations, during the past year, confirm the conclusions of Dr. Fitch respecting this larva in every particular, having found its colonies in November, and observed the fly in early summer. I may also here introduce .an extract froin a comnni- nication of a lady friend, under date of Oct. 7, 1S58. She says : " On speak- ing of your remarks concerning the food of the i-obiu, at the Teachers' Asso- ciation at Bridgewater, in June last, to my father, he told mo of a little circumstance which I thought just proved your statement. It was formerly the custom to have a shooting match on election day in M.ay. On such an occasion in Korth Bridgewater, about the year 18'2(>, a great many birds were killed, so many that a man bought thorn by the cart-load for the i)ur- pose of enriching his land. In consequence, there was a great scarcity of birds in that vicinity, and a great amount of grass land seemed to be injured, but from what cause no one knew. The grass withered and turned dark- colored, as though it had been burnt, commencing in small tufts and spread- ing in large circles." It would seem that the insect under consideration would, growing undisturbed, produce precisely this result. 4. During the month of May, the Bibio larvai entirely disappeared from the gizzards, but up to the 21st of June, was replaced by a variety of insects or worms only, including spiders, caterpillars, and beetles of the family I I Sko. 11.] BIRDS. 187 Elateridse, the parents of the well-known wire-worms, so desLructive to corn and various other seeds when committed to the ground. The earth-worm I found to be a favorite food for tlie young bird, but sjjaringly e.nployed by the adult for its own use. 5. From tlie date of June 21, I began to find strawberries, cheri-ics, and pulpy fruit generally, but in a majority of the examinations intermingled with insects, which led mo to conclude that they were not fond of an exclu- sively vegetable diet, but rather adopted it as a dessert, and from the ease of procuring it, particularly during the enervating season of molting. At this season of the year, I discovered a marked difference in the food of the bii-ds killed near or in the village, and those killed in the country at a dis- tance from gardens and fruit-trees, the latter having less stone fruit and more insects iu their gizzards, which led me to conclude that the robin is not an extensive forager. 6. The mixed diet of the robin seems to continue from the ripening of the strawberries and cherries to October, the vegetable portion consisting, during August and September, in great part of elderberries (Samhucas canadensis) and pokeberries {Phytolacca decandra). 7. During the month of October the vegetable diet is wliolly discarded, and its place supplied by grasshoppers and orthopterous insects generally. 8. Early in November— the robin migrates southward — tlie few remaining eking out a miserable existence, during the winter months, on bayberries {Myrica cerifera), privet berries {Ligustrum viilgare), and juniper berries {.Ju7iij)erus comnuinis). " Here is something further upon the food of robins : In the report of the proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History in September, 1858, we find an instructive paper from Prof. Treadwell, of Cambridge, giving a detailed account of the feeding and growth of two American robins {Tardus migt-atorius, Linn.), during a period of 32 days, commencing from the 5th of June. " When caught, the two were quite young, their tail feathers being less than an inch long, and the weight of each about 25 pennyweights — less than half the weight of the full-grown bird. Both were plump and vigorous, and had evidently been very recently turned out of the nest. He began feeding them with earth-worms, giving three to each bird that night ; the second day, he gave them ten worms each, which they ate ravenously ; thinking this beyond what their parents could naturally supply theiu with, he- limited them to this allowance. On the third day, he gave them eight worms each in the forenoon ; but in the afternoon, he found one becoming feeble, and it soon lost its strength, refused food, and died. On opening it, he found the crop, gizzard, and intestines entirely empty, and concluded, tlierefore, that it had died fi-om want of sufiicient food, the effect of hunger being perhaps increased by cold, as the thermometer was about 60°. The other bird, still vigorous, he put in a warmer place and increased its food, giving it the third day 15 worms, on the fourth day 24, on the fifth 25, on the sixth 30, and on 188 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Ciiap. IL the seventh 31 worms. They seemed insufficient, and the bird appeared to be lojiiig plumpness and weight, lie began then to weigh butli the bird and its food, and the results were given in a tabular form. On tlie fifteenth day, he tried a small quantity of raw meat, and finding it readily eaten, in- creased it gradually, to the exclusion of worms ; with it the bird ate a large quantity of earth and gravel, and drank freely after eating. By the table, it appears that though the food was increased to iO worms, weighing 20 dwt. 1 the eleventh day the weight rather fell oft"; and it was ni>t until the fourteenth day, when he ate 68 worms, or 34 dwt., that he began to increase. On this day the weight of the bird was 21 dwt. ; he therefore ate 11 per cent, more than his own weiglit in twelve liours, weighing after it 29 dwt., or 1.5 per cent, less than the food he had eaten in that time. The lengih of these worms, if laid end to end, Avonld be about fourteen feet, or ten times the length of the intestines. To meet the objection that the earth-worm contains but a small amount of nutritious matter, on tiie twenty-seventh day he was fed exclusively on clear beef, in quantity 23 dwt. ; at niglit, the bird weighed 62 dwt. — but little more than twice the amount of flesh consumed during the day, not taking into account the water and earth swallowed." A man eating in the same proportion would consume 70 lbs. of flesh and five gallons of water. Four young robins would require, according to the consumption of this bird, 250 worms, or their equivalent in insects or other food, daily. After the thirty-second day the bird was fed for eighteen days on an average of 15 dwt. of meat, two or three earth-worms, and a small quantity of bread each day; the whole being equal to 18 dwt. of beef, or 36 dwt. of earth-worms ; and it has continued to eat this amount to the present time. Tiie food was never passed undigested ; the excretions were made up of gravel and dirt, and a small quantity of white semi-solid urine. Every admirer of trees may derive from these facts a lesson, showing the immense power of birds to destroy the insects by wliich our trees, cs])ecially our apples, elms, and lindens, are every few years stripped of their foliage, and often many of them killed. The food of the robin, while with us, con- sists principally of earth-worms, various insects, their larvos and eggs, and a few cherries ; of worms and cherries they can procure but few, and those during but a short period, and they arc obliged therefore to subsist princi- pally upon the great destroyers of leaves, canker-worms, and some other kinds of caterpillars and bugs. If each robin, old and young, requires for its support an amount of these equal to the weight consumed by this bird, it is easy to see what a prodigious havoc a few hundreds of these must make upon the insects of an orchard or a park. Is it not, then, to our advantage, to purchase the service of the robins at the price of a few cherries ? Speaking upon this paper, the editor of the Newark (N. J.) Advertiser says : " There is so little knowledge of the habits of birds, and their ways and means of gaining a living in the world, that anything which promises to produce better acquaintance with them ought to bo generally made known. Skc. 11.] BIRDS. 189 "It will be seen by this account, that quite a young robin died from starvation, because it was allowed but eight or ten earth-worms a day. The survivor was afterward treated more generously, and his fare was increased from day to day, till lie liad tor his dinner 68 worms, or 34 dwt., though tlie robin himself weighed only 24 dwt., thus consuming in twelve hours 41 per cent, more than his own weight. " After the bird was fully grown, he continued to cat one third of his own weight in clear flesh daily ! A man with such voracity (inferior, however, we have seen to that of the young bird while growing) would have some difficulty in finding board in any of our cities. But natui'e is not obliged to go to market to sustain her children with comfortable food. This same robin, if permitted to, be free to satiate his prodigious appetite, not chiefly on cherries or other fruits valued by man, but npon man's enemies, would range himself on the side of man, and slaughter the numberless insects of every variety wliich are destructive to his crops. Here we have reason to be grateful for the prodigious appetite of the robin, and thank him for his extraordinary gormandism. Tliis guest at tlie table of nature is addressed in very different language from guests generally. She says to him. Will you take something further ? pray don't spare, but help yourself to the spider, the canker-worm, the measurer, the caterpillar, grub, slug, and bug, and help yourself also to a score or two of curculio's eggs. Thus, ' more the merrier' is the sentiment of nature's feast. How the insect tribe, ixnd all the wicked fry who infest our fruits and cereal crops, fall before the all-devouring robin ! Even the ugly bug that is said to infest and feed upon the tubers and tops of the potatoes, producing thereby the blight or rot, might be exterminated, if the robin and other birds were Jiot destroyed or frightened away by boys, or men as stupid or mischievous as boys. " For what had been remarked of the voracity of the robin, is probably true with I'espect to other birds. Men have but recently come to the knowl- edge that they are tlie most effectual protectors they can have of their fruits and crops ; but nobody till now has been aware of the full extent of the obligation they are under to even a few birds in consequence of their being such enormous eaters. If their board costs them anything, they never could be able to stand it. But it does not — only now and then a life or two among them, taken by some rascal or vagabond, who should be their true benefac- tors, for they are busy in the service of man." This bird, the robin, is probably known to nearly every one wlio will read this volume ; but we will add the following short description : The robin measures nine inches and a half in length. His bill, which is about an inch long, is strong, yellow, and dusky near the tip ; the head, back of the neck, and tail are black ; tlie back and rumj>, ash color ; the throat and upper part of the breast arc black, the fortner streaked with white ; tlie wliole of the rest of the breast down as far as the tliiglis is of a dark orange ; belly and vent, white ; legs, dark brown ; claws, black and strong. It builds a large nest, often on an apple-tree, whicli it plasters on the 190 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. II. inside wiih mud, and lines witii hay or fine grass. The eggs are from four to six, bluish green, unsijotted. They feed on worms, insects, fruit, and berries, c-pecially those of the sour gum-tree {N'l/ssa sylvatica). When fat, tlie robin is in considerable esteem for the table. Tiiesc birds are among our earliest songsters. Even in March, while the snow yet mantles the fields and woodlands, he will mount a post or leafless tree, and make an attempt at a song. They are ornamental to every farm, and should be encouraged to build their nests in every garden. 234. Birds Destroying Grasshoppers and WormSi— Last year, in the neigh- borhood of Philadelphia, there was a swarming pest of grasshoppers. By- and-by, when every one was at his wits' end to know what to do to get rid of this scourge, there was a sudden appearance of immense flocks of plover, which spread themselves over the fields, and devoured with avidity the grasshoppers. Some of them have been shot to test the matter, and their crops have been found full of grasshoppers. Tlie ravages of the latter soon cease wherever the flocks of j^lover appear, as the great number and voracity of the birds render them more than a match for the insects. Up to this visit of plover, the only relief from this calamity was the eagerness with which the fowls devoured the grasshoppers. Turkeys, the most efficieut adversaries of tiicse insects — because the largest and most active— have thriven wonder- fully upon them. So have the ducks, geese, and chickens. If farmers pre- fer to be annually eaten up by insects, they will continne their insane war- fare upon birds. On the contrary, let them be protected, and encouraged to build their nests in the very windows of our dwellings, and see what myriads of pests they will destroy ! In one of the years that I lived on the Western prairies, there was an iri'uption of greedy devourers of farm crops, known as the army worm, coming from no one knows Avhere, nor wlien to look for its march. It is easy to trace it, however, after it has marched over a country, for it con- sumes every leaf of grass and grain, wherever the army spreads itself. Farmers sometimes plow a deep furrow around a field as the army approaches, and this furrow will soon fill up with worms, which are crushed by a log drawn over them ; repeating the operation every day. This is troublesome, and not always efieetive. In the year alluded to, the army approached just at the time it wonld be destructive to the wheat crop, and the owners of the most exposed farms were in sore trouble at the prospect before them. For two days tliey looked on in dread. " One more day," they said, " and we shall be swept." One more daycame, and with it one of man's best friends, 'the worm-eating birds. Looking out southward where the worms were at work on the prairie grass, a black cloud was seen hovering close to the ground. It was a cloud of blackbirds, coming np from their great nesting-place in the Kankakee marshes, to feed on the worms. They saved the wheat crop. It is true that tliis variety of birds, Avhen they come in great flocks into the grain-fields, arc pests, but not half as bad as worms Seo. 11.] BIRDS. 191 and bugs would be if not destroyed. Besides, birds can be watched and driv'en away from fields, where no efforts of man wouhi serve to drive away an army of worms, marching to destroy, nor prevent liis farm from being devastated by such a fliglit of grasshoppers as swept every green thing from a portion of Minnesota a few years ago. Birds, then, in countless numbers, will be found to be man's best friends. 235. T!i8 Sap-SuckerSi — The name of " sap-sucker" has been given to a very useful class of birds, under the erroneous impression that they sucked the sap from the fruit-trees, where they are often seen, hour after hour, clinging to tlie bole of an apple-tree, patiently drilling, drilling, drilling their little bills through the bark, leaving it, sometimes, as full of Iioles as a honey-comb. It is a slander upon these beautiful, busy little birds to snp- pose their object is to suck out the sap, and thus destroy the trees. To say that the " sap-sucker" girdles apple-trees and destroys them, or taps the Austrian and Scotch pines so as to cause them to bleed to death, we must have stronger proof than slipshod statements. In argument against the birds, it has been stated that they have been shot wliile in the very act of " Tapping the hollow beech-tree," and their craws examined without finding a worm, and notliing but pieces of bark, thus proving their object to be eating the bark, if not sucking the sap, and that they were therefore very injurious to trees. These microscopic examinations only prove what we have long believed, that tlie bird can not always tell where the worm is that he wants, and so. has to bore until he finds him. It is not likely that he goes far amiss, and probably hits him oftener with the first hole than he fails. It is thought by many jJersons that that troublesome litile destroyer of fruit, the curculio, deposits its eggs in the bark of trees, and that that is what the sap-sucker is after. It is certain tiiat when sap-suckers abounded in our orchards, there was no complaint of curculio. In our opinion, a perfectly healthy tree, free from insects, is never attacked by any of the nut-hatch family — vulgarly called " sap-suckers." We believe that, on the contrary, they ai"e of essential service to man ; and that it was one of the admirable provisions of nature, where, everything works on an even balance, until one scale is ovei-loaded by man, that the nut-hatch should stand sentinel over the fruit-trees, and keep the pestiferous insects from getting the balance of power. 236. Do Birds Eat Bees ? — It has long been a mooted question whether the birds known as "kingbirds" (the Musciccipa tyranmis) destroy bees? Tins bird has obtained his name from a spirit of boldness in attacking and driving away birds of mucli larger size and power, enough to kill him at a single stroke. He has obtained the name of a destroyer of honey-bees, and war to the death has been declared against him, on the evidence of his bad name, and, as we think, without anything like a fair trial. A few years ago we elicited a great deal of testimony upon this question. One witness, Mr. IS^athaniel M. Tobey, of Tompkins County, says he is an 192 SMALL ANIMALS AKD INSECTS. [Chap. H. old farmer, has kept bees ten years, and always encouraged birds to make their homes upon iiis premises. One season, observing two kingbirds about his hives, he was curious to know what they wei-e after, a!id ascertained to liis satisfaction tliat tliey caught bees on their return to the hive, not to cat them bodily, but to disembowel them and despoil them of the " honey-sack." He attributed the non-swarming of the bees to this pair of kingbirds, but says his bees have never been molested since. That the kingljirds caught Mr. Tobey's bees wc have no doubt, since he says he saw the disemboweled carcasses under the trees where they alighted, but that one single one of them was a worker we do doubt, and that a single pair of kingbirds were the cause of the non-swarming of several hives of bees, we have no doubt upon the subject — we know it was not the case — it would be a preposterous absurdity to believe such a wild tale. We do not believe that all the kingbirds in the world ever destroyed a hive of working- bees, and a man who will kill the innocent birds witliout better proof of their guilt, than all that we have heard, is at heart a — bird murderer. Other persons declared that they had often seen kingbirds catch bees, on the wing, near the hive. This we do not doubt, because others have seen the same thing, and have killed and dissected them and found bees in their craws. But in every case where they were examined by persons competent lo decide, tliey have declared that none but drones were ever found. Upon lliis point the instinct or observation of the bird is perfect; and this ma}' iiave been one of nature's provisions, that these birds should bo assistants of the workers, and not their destroyers. Certainly, until we have some better evidence against the birds, we shall advocate their protection. Surely, if they eat bees, they also cat other flies, and if permitted to live and multi- ply around our dwellings, might keep us free of a great many pestiferous insects. If a bird can eat a stinging-bee with impunity, it can also eat a wasp or hornet, and so destroy that family. 237. Swallows, Swifls, aud Martins.— In our boyhood, swallows were looked upon as pests of the farm, or rather the barn, and war was often waged upon them by the boys, with tlie countenance of those who should have been well enough informed to teach them better. We hope the day is past when any one would wantonly destroy these beautiful birds. Ilirundo is the gcnoric term applied to the class of birds comprised in the several species of barn swallows, bank swallows, chimney swallows, and a large, strong sort known as swifts, and the common martin, for which many New England people are careful to provide boxes, whicli are often attached to the dwellings. Their first appearance in spring is hailed with delight, and the time of their coming f)ften noted, so as to compare one year with another. Although " one swallow does not make it spring," people have learned to think that many never come until spring is fairly opened. The Ilirinido family are all birds of passage. They go far south to win- ter, and return with great regularity to their old haunts, to build their nests, rear their young, and catch flies, till autumn approaches, and then they are Sec. 11.] BIRDS. 193 off. They cross the parallel of 40°, on their northern journey, about the first of May. The barn is often tenaiitless at night, and alive with the twitter of swal- lows the next morning. To talk about their hybernating in the mud, or in hollow trees, is simply ridiculous. You might just as well expect wild geese to go down into the mud to winter, as for the swallows to do so. Tiie following description of some of the rare varieties of the Hirundo we found in the Country Gentleman newspaper, and thought it interesting: "The Cliff, or Republican Swallow, Hirundo lunifrous, or Il.fulva, is a well-known swallow among farmers. Its crown and back are of steel blue, belly Avhite, length five inches, plus, and the stretch of the wings twelve inches, plus. They formerly occupied the cliffs of the Eocky Mountains and the fur countries. One of the first records of their appearance in the States was at Henderson, and Newport, Ky., on the banks of the Ohio, in 1815. In 1817 they were observed at "Whitehall, N. Y., near Lake Champlain. These birds are of social habits, building their nests in clusters, or near each other. Vieillot observed one at sea, off Nova Scotia, long before this. They have long been known in that province. In 1818, it is stated that they began to build at Crawford's, near the base of the White Mountains. General Dearborn saw their nest at Winthrop, Me., in 1830; also in Gardiner. The writer first saw them in Worcester County, Mass., about 1838. Their nests arc arranged frequently along under the eaves of a barn, in the form of a projecting retort, constructed of pellets of earth, with an internal lining of dried grass, in which are laid four eggs. Their note is not a twitter, but, according to Audubon, resembles in sound the rubbing of a moistened cork in the neck of a glass bottle. AVithin a quarter of a century they have be- come the favorites of many New England farmers. " The Violet-green Swallow, Hirundo thalassina, tail acutely emarginafe; back a soft, velvety green, shaded with purplish violet; length five inches, and the stretch of the wings twelve inches; is common in the Rocky Mount- ain region. They are the associates of the cliff swallow, just described, their note being more like that of the barn swallow. Their nests resemble those of the cliff swallow, wanting, however, the pendulous neck. They sometimes occupy the deserted nests of their associate species. They are not common east of the Mississippi River. " The White-bellied Swallow, Hirundo hicolor, is of a glossy, metallic green above, and white below ; hence its common name. Its length is six inches, and the stretch of the wings is twelve and a half inches. It is not as com- mon as the barn swallow, and is allied somewhat fo the purple martin. Their note is a shrill, lively, warbling twitter. They are usually the first swallows that appear in the spring. They breed in some deserted house or hollow tree. They use no mud in building their nests, which are lined with feathers. "The Rough-winged Swallow, Hirundo serripcjinis of Audubon, and Cotyle serripennis of Bonaparte ; color above a light, sooty brown, and beneath 194 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. II. a wliitisli gray ; Icngtli live and a half inclies, and the stretch of tlie wings twels-e iuclies. "The Chimney Swift or Swallow, nirundo pelasgia of Linnreus, and Chw- turapdiwjia of Stephens; color a sooty brown; length five inches; the stretch of wino-s twelve inches ; the tail is short and niueronatc. They build their nests freqnently in chimneys, sometimes in hollow trees. They are small and shallow, and are attached to the side of the chimney or tree by an adhesive gum or mucilage secreted in the stomach of the architect. They feed their young tin-ough the greater part of the night, as the writer has frequently ob- served. The noise they make in passing down and up the chinniey resembles distant thunder. " Vaux's Chimney Swift, or the Oregon Swift, resembles the one described above; length three and a half to four and a half inches; stretch of the wings ten inches, plus. This species is not rare on the Western coast. "The swallow tribe arc remarkable for their social habits, living generally in colonies, constructing their nests together ; and when the season for mi- gration arrives, they leave in large flocks. They usually rear two broods or more per pair during the sunmier. They frequent watery places or swampy lands, ponds, etc., in pursuit of winged insects, which they take on the wing. In fair weather they usually fly high in the air. As the air becomes less dense, the insects fly nearer the earth, and the swallows skim near the sur- face of the earth or water, which prognosticates rain at hand. The number of flies, gnats, etc., annually consumed by swallows exceeds all calculation. Hence the truth of the observation of a farmer, mIioso barn-eaves had be- neath them one connected line of cliff swallows' nests: 'I am very glad to have these birds here, for my cows and milkers are much less troubled with gnats and flies than before these swallows came in such numbers.' "Some farmers try, unwisely, to exclude swallows from their promi.-;cs, because, say they, ' these birds make dirty work.' Granted, but it is far less troublesome and annoying than the insects of the kinds named, which greatly multiply in the absence of the swallows, swifts, and martins." Barn swallows and martins arc too widely known to make a description of them interesting in this })lace. Children, however, should always have an opportunity of seeing their portraits and reading their history in Audu- bon or Wilson, as well as that of every other bird, and, by learning ihcir habits, judge M'hich is and which is not beneficial to the farmer. Swallows and martins would certainly not then be doomed to destruction. D. W. War- ner, of Sharon Springs, N. Y., says : "My father repeatedly attempted wheat-growing, but as often failed, the weevil taking the whole crop, until a large colony of martins cstahlisiicd themselves under the eaves of the barn, since which time he has raised good crops of spring wheat. The wheat has been grown within one hundred rods of the barn. Quci-y — Had the martins anything to do in preventing the appearance of the weevil ?" 238. Skylarks and Imported BirdSi — Several attempts have been made to Sec. 11.] BIRDS. 195 introduce skylarks into this country. In February, 1853, Jolin Gorgas, of Wilmington, Del., received a lot of twenty, wliicli were kept confined until the 19th of March, when they were set at liberty. Another lot of twenty- two arrived April 18th, and were set at liberty the next day. This was oidy twenty-two days from the time they were trapped in England. These birds propagated in the neighborhood that season, and strong hopes were entertained that the English skylark had been introduced permanently into this country ; but these hopes have not been realized. A letter from Mr. Gorgas, in the summer of 1860, indicates that the birds liave all disappeared. •» Tliere was also another lot of skylarks imported, and liberated in Green- wood Cemetery, on Long Island, in the spring of 1853, and still another lot were set free in "Washington city, at a later period ; but, so far as we can learn, all of these birds have disappeared. This is greatly to be regretted ; for besides the interest of their curious flight and song, they are great insect dostroyers. Their home is in the grass and grain fields, and their food in summer is entirely composed of insects and worms that are pests to the farmer. In Europe they inhabit a wide range of latitude, feeding in winter upon seeds of grass and weeds, and, if located too far north, making a short migration to a milder clime. It can not be owing to the cold that they do not succeed here ; but it is not improbable that the cold has prompted them to move southward, and they have not felt disposed to return. "We still hope the skylark will have its home with us, as common as in England, where it is so noted as a song-bird. Its flight skyward is also very curious. It as- cends perpendicular!}^, as though it screwed itself through the air, until quite out of sight, and after a little descends in the same way. The skylark in Europe is a fine table luxury, notwithstanding they afiord but half an ounce each of meat to the epicure. Vast numbers of just as diminutive birds are sacrificed upon the epicurean tables of all our large cities in the United States. To those who may take an interest in the importation of birds, the follow- ing account will be useful, as given by Mr. "W. Brodie, of his successful transportation of English pheasants, gold pheasants, and partridges from England to New Zealand. He says : " I left the St. Katherine's Dock with thii'ty-six pheasants and partridges on board, and after a long and most disagreeable voyage of 2G1 daj's, landed in Auckland, Kew Zealand, with the same number as I had left England with. It is a pastime to cabin passengers going a long voyage to have some occupation to break the monotony of shipboard imprisonment. I therelbie looked after my own birds, cleaned them out every morning, gave them fresh red gravel (coarse) every other day, supplied them bountifully with fresh water (not M-ater caught on deck aflcr a heavy rain, as there is a cer- tain quantity of tar in it), never allowed thetn a fresh-water bath, fed them with buckwheat, wheat, canary-seed, and hemp-seed alternately, week and week about, kept them in wicker cages made on purpose, three feet long, 196 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Cuap. II. two feet wide, and one foot liigli, and padded the top inside the lids of the cages, to protect theirlieads. "These birds were kept on deck the whole of the voyage, with a painted canvas cover to protect them from the salt water in bad weather. Hence my success. The increase of my birds has amounted to tens of thousands. In the northern part of New Zealand they breed twice a year, and they have stocked the province of Auckland, 200 miles distant from the point where they were first sent adrift, M'hich was upon one of my estates, near the North Cape o^New Zealand. In the early part of 1S59 I sent out 400 house and liedge sjjarrows and yellow-hammers to Auckland ; and I hope in September to send out 400 singing birds to the same port gratuitously. Birds should not be sent out between March and September; those sent in April or ^lay are sure to pine away and die, it being their pairing season." By pursuing the course adopted by Mr. Brodie, we might have some of the most rare birds of California brought to the Atlantic States, with un- doubted profit to the importer. 239. Laws for the Protectiou of Birds. — Tlie State of New York has had what is called a "game law" for a good many years; but it was a law for the protection of a class of men and boys who, without any claim to the title, called themselves "sportsmen" — such sportsmen as would shoot a robin-red-breast on her nest, or an imported skylark in the midst of his song. The law was only incidentally beneficial to farmers, so tar as it protecte*! game birds, the most of which are great insect-eaters. There is not a farmer in all the old States that can afford to have a quail killed upon his farm, if he was paid a dollar a head. This species of wild bird would be semi domesticated, if man would allow it to be so. We have seen them so gentle that they often came around the barn for food in winter, and only walked slowly away at the approach of man. At such a time we would not kill one for ten times its value as food. All the past summer we had the delight of knowing that a pair of these beautiful birds were safely rearing their young only a few rods from our home. Often, as we walked about the little farm, they were seen dodging along some jiath, or between the corn-rows, or into the shelter of the grass or shrubbery. Then, with what sweet satisfaction we listened to " Bob White," sitting upon the wall, telling us almost uner- ringly of the approach of " more wet !"' An Illinois farmer declares that a flock of quails made him a crop of corn, having voluntarily taken upon themselves to rid the field of cut-worms. " I never," says he, " can again consent to the destruction of these valuable birds. I used to shoot and trap them, but I was ignorant of their value on the farm. A neighbor of ours, a true sportsman, said to us, the other day: "I have done shooting quails. I used to think it real sport to wing these beautiful birds; and tlie temptation to do so was enhanced l)y the delicious food tliey aft'ord. I really think that I never shall shoot another quail iu my life." Li answer to our " Why ?" he said : Sec. 11.] BIKDS. 197 "I had never studied their liistorj, and the nature of their habits, and character of their food, until this season. I was incited to do this from meeting with a pair of the birds ev^ery time I walked over a certain jjortion of the farm. They were ahnost as gentle as the fowls in the door-yard, and frequently I noticed them so busily engaged picking up worms in the corn- field, that it led me into a train of thought and study that has taught me not to kill quails. A few days ago I saw my pets — for such I had come to regard them — with sixteen young ones, each nearly as large as its parent. If I could guard that flock from the depredation of idle boys, no money would buy them. Why, what useful as well as interesting birds they are ! TVe want stringent laws, well enforced, to protect quails." Yes, but, most of all, we want information for farmers of their value. The following are the penalties of the New York Game Law, passed April 14, 1860: It is $25 fine to kill a deer in the first seven months of the year. It is $2 fine to kill a v\-oodcock between January 1 and July -1 ; or a par- tridge (ruffled grouse) between January 15 and September 1 ; or a quail be- tween January 1 and October 15; or any wild duck between February 1 and August 1. It is $10 fine to kill a prairie fowl, or pinnated grouse, at any time within five years. It is $10 fine to trap or snare quail or grouse. It is 50 cents fine to kill, trap, or snare a nightingale, night-hawk, blue- bird, yellow-bird, oriole, finch, thrush, lark, sparrow, wren, martin, swallow, woodpecker, or any other harmless bird, at any time ; and bobolinks and robins only between February 1 and October 1. It is $5 fine to catch brook or lake trout, or muscalonge, between Septem- ber 1 and March 1 ; and it is $2 fine to catch them in any way but by a hook and line. It is $5 fine for any pei-son to enter the premises of another with fire-arms, or other hunting or fishing implements, with the intent of using tliem ; and if he entei-3 upon a cultivated field, orchard, or garden, or where crops are growing, in jjursiil, of game, without the consent of the owner, he is finable $10 for each oflTense. Such is the law now in force in this State. Let all who are interested see that it is made effectual. Tlie difficulty in the way of its enforcement is a very lax state of morals among the people, many of whom consider birds free plunder; and they have so long enjoyed the privilege of rambling over everybody's land, as freely as though they owned it, that it is hard to con- vince them that they do not. The contrary can never be taught in courts, nor by fines and prisons ; it must be taught in our common schools and around the farmer's fireside. Xew Jersey has a good law upon her statute book for the protection of small birds. It is diSicult of enforcement, because the mass of people have been educated to look upon all birds as noxious, or elae worthy of destruc- 198 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL tion for food, and of no otiier value. They do not even look upon poultry in any other light. Yet the truth is, poultry is worth ten times as much to tlie fanner for the work of destruction it docs upon his pests, as it is for the food it affords him. It is just so with game birds ; and if the owners of land well situated for game preserves were able t(5" preserve the birds, the culti- vated portions might be benefited, and the owners could make the keeping of wild birds as profitable as tame ones. From time to time laws have been devised and statutes enacted for the preservation of game; but until recently such legislation has been originated by the wealthy men of cities, the men of the educated and leisure classes of llie community, the consumers and killers, not the feeders and jjossessoi^, of the game or the owners of the acres. This has generally given to these statutes tiie appearance, though in no degree the reality, of partaking of the odious character of class legislation ; of being enacted for the benefit of the rich against the poor, the proud against the humble, the men of leisure against the men of labor. The formers, who knew little and cared less for the game which ran wild in their woods, fluttered in their tangled swamps, or screamed over their boggy morasses, did not conceive how it could have any real value in the eyes of any rational being ; regarded all legislation forbidding its slaughter, except at stated periods, as a device cunningly framed for depriv- ing them of their own natural and indefeasible rights, and for giving amuse- ment and gratification to finely-dressed, flashy strangers from the towns, wiio came periodically into country places to break down fences, trample under foot growing crops, and kill the game reared on the farmer's land, which was, in its very nature, and from tiie mode of killing it, useless to the farmer himself. In a word, they looked upon the Game Laws as an oftensive, aristocratic, unrepublican, European invention ; a sort of scheme for making the rich richer, and the poor poorer — an idea sedulously encouraged by all the brawling foreigners and pot-house village loafers, who, too lazy to work, found their own profit in poaching a few starveling parent birds on the ncsis, or half-grown fledgeling young fry on otlier men's lands, which they might traflic or truck away to railway conductors and stage-coach drivers, for transmission to the eating-houses of the cities. Gradually, however, they — the farmers, mo mean — have come to open tlieir eyes on this cpiestion. The fearful increase of insect life, the prodigious deterioration of the crops of all kinds, the threatened utter extinction of some of the most valuable American staples in the very localities of which they were formerly the pride and boast — as, for instance, the wheat crop of the famous Genesee Valley, where it is already questionable, from the yearly aggravated ravages of the Hessian-fly and the weevil, whether it is any longer profitable, or perhaps prudent, to sow wheat — have forced them to perceive that this growth and superabundance, daily and hourly aggravated and exaggerated, of insect pests is to be attributed wholly to the unprece- dented destruction of small birds. At the samo time, the vast and honrly- incicasing demand /or game in the large cities, the immense freights and Sko. 11.] BIEDS. . 199 cargoes of wild animals sent down yearly, so soon as cold weather allows its safe transportation by express companies and railroad cars — immense, yet still inadequate to meet the call of the markets, although the illimitable West is fast suffering depletion, and is in some States legislating against ex- portation — have quickened the perception of agriculturists to the fact, that if game be worth as much money in the market as poultry, or more, and can be raised at no cost and less than no trouble, it is better to have the woods, which they necessarily keep up as timber lots, the hill-sides, which are too craggy and sterile of soil to rear anything but brambles and ferns, and the morasses, which it would be too costly to drain, swarming with profitable Avild animals, than waste and unprofitable ; and to the other fact, that if money is to be made by killing game on their lands, it is as well at least, if not better, to make it themselves, and to go on making it, year after year, by maintaining a sufiicient breeding stock, as to suffer it to be made out of their pockets by every landless, shiftless vagabond who chooses to stampede every head of game out of every farm, and who lias no earthly reason or inducements why he should not kill as speedily as possible the goose which lays the golden eggs — seeing that the goose, if slain by himself, is clearly his, while the eggs, infuturo, may fall to the lot of any other Tom, Dick, or Harry of his own reputable or disreputable order. The farmers and land-owners being thus convinced of the loss directly attributable to the killing of small birds at all, at any season, and of the great gain certainly attainable by the protection of the game during the breeding seasons, have of late, in many States and counties of States, procured statutes to be passed for the preservation, absolutely and at all times, of certain innoxious and useful small birds. But all these statutes have defects, besides the one alluded to — the lack of proper instruction to the children. It is a defect in our State law that no penalty is provided sufiicient to prevent hunting all the public highways, or other public grounds, and the penalty for entering your premises is quite inadequate to their protection, because you can not afford to procure testimony, and hire attorneys to pros- eculu a fellow who will verify the adage of " sue a beggar and catch a louse." The statutes in question are not asked or enacted for the defense of private rights of private individuals, though they may defend them incidentally, but for that of the community at large, to M'hich the safety of crops and the greatest possible supply of food of all kinds in the market, at the lowest i^os- sible rates, are incontestably benefits. Therefore the community has not only a right, but it is its especial duty to enforce the same protection and preservation of the same animals on its own possessions — that is to say, on the highways, wastes, commons, and all other unoccupied lands or waters of which the public are the guardians and occupants — -as it commands on the private lands of individuals from trespassers. So convinced are the scientific agriculturists of Franco of the importance of raising all those species of wild animals which are natural, indigenous, or capable of being acclimated and naturalized to the waste lands, of which 200 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL tliere are many hundreds of thousands of acres, utterly unsuited to any other sort of culture or stocking, that there is an important department in the National Agricultural Society of that great and enlightened nation, tl>e sole duty of wliich ii to superintend the reproduction ou the waste lands and waters of France of the native 6j)ecies of game which have gradually become extinct ; to promote the introthiction ou the same lands of such foreign wild animals, valuable for food, as may appear to be suited, by their habits and the character of the climates to which they originally belonged, for naturaliza- tion in France ; and, lastly, to encourage and enforce, by means of premiums for success and stringent protective legislation, the maintenance of such stocks of game, both quadruped and winged, as shall realize to the propri- etors and to the state an abundant return of nutriti'Mis and cheap food from lands until lable, uniitted for pasturage, and in fact worthless for any purpose but that of raising game. At the same time we, in America, are suffering our infinitely larger number of unreclaimed — if not irreclaimable — acres, which formerly swarmed with animal life, and aiforded supplies, a few years ago supposed to be inexhaustible, of the choicest varieties of game, to be stripped of the last fin, the last hoof or pad, the last feather of the wild tribes, unequaled elsewhere, both in quality and quantity', which at the time of its discovery rendered America the paradise of Nimrods ; so that the woods, the fens, the waters are indeed fast becoming utterly barren, useless, and unprofitable wastes. It is certain that the fact of any farm being well stocked with game is not, in any possilile point of view, a disadvantage, even if their value, whether as an article of food or as an object of pleasurable and healthful pursuit be entirely set aside, since the actual profit consequent on their subsistence is greater than the loss from the grain which a few of the varieties consume. Besides the insects, many of the game birds are great consumers of weed seeds. The prairie-liens, where they exist in large numbers, do depredate upon corn-fields and stacks of grain ; but even there, it is not a very severe tax to feed them ; and we think that farmers could make the preservation of birds profitable. It may be assumed, as a reasonable average, that every fiirmer who owns and cultivates a hundred acres of arable land, with from fifty to a hundred of meadow land and pasture, and an equal quantity of woodland, if he choose to protect and preserve them, especially if he takes the trouble to erect a few little shelter huts of brushwood and fern in his woodskirts, and to bait them in hard weather with a few bushels of buckwlieat, in a good game district where the winters are not too severe, may winter from ten to twenty brace of quail, which may he expected to raise from fifteen to thirty bevies of birds. Each bevy will probably average fifteen birds, which gives a yield of from seventy-five to one hundred brace of quail, to be killed and sent to market in the late autumn or early winter, with the butter, buck- wheat, fat turke_vs, and other produce of tlic farm. Tiiese birds will average twenty five cents a brace iu ordinary seasons, and when game is scarce or Seo. 11.] BIRDS. 201 for any reason there is an unusual demand, an increased price. To this may be added, if it be a ruffed grouse country, two or three broods of these hardy, bokl, and delicate birds, which rarely jM-oduce fewer than twelve and thence upward to sixteen poults, so that the landholder may reckon on his iifteen to twenty brace of ruffed grouse at seventy-five cents a brace, and on his thirty or forty rabbits, at a dime a head. Here is a profit of perhaps fifty dollars per annum, arising from no expenditure, from no investment of capital, and involving as a consequence, several days or hours of pleasant exercise and amusement in lieu of labor, for the purpose of rendering it marketable. On snipe grounds and countries adapted to woodcock, the profits are yet more enormous. The number of woodcock to be killed annually on any given piece of ground is never so great as that of snipe, since the birds killed in the early part of the season consist of those bred on the ground itself on which they are shot, which is of course a limited number, although tiie autumnal flights, which come in successively, are those bred in the uncultivated wastes far to the northward. Yet even of these, there are numerous localities, especially in parts of the States of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Michigan, and other Western States, which might be counted on as sure to furnish ten woodcock to the acre in each season, at twenty-five cents the bird. ■ It can hardly be doubted that by the system of game protecting, without expending a dollar, every owner farming from 100 to 200 acres of land in a country well adapted for game — and there is but little country in any of the Northern, Western, or Middle States which is not adapted to it — can add from $50 to $200, and in some instances a much larger sum to his annual income. If he have trout-streams, and the facility of making a chain of small trout-ponds, as may be easily done in every deep glen watered by a rapid brook, instead of suflering them to be weired and netted by all the vagabonds of the country side, he might make thousands more easily than by his poulti-y-yard or sheep-fold, and at far less cost. With these facts before them, it is for the farmers "themselves to consider whether game-laws are the obnoxious things that demagogues have taught them to believe. Is it not rather worth their while to insist upon the enactment, and strict observance of such laws as will protect their own interests, and afford them such additions to their income as we have briefly hinted at. 240. Scndiuj Wild Pigeons to Market.— The Eagle^ newspaper, printed at Grand Rapids, Michigan, published an article in the spring of 1860, about the pigeon trade. There had been at that time shipped from that village 588 barrels of wild pigeons — equal to 108,555 lbs. The express freight on this quantity at three cents a pound, would be $3,256 65. If sold at twenty cents a pound, they would bring $21,711. It was estimated that the west part of Jlichigan had sent two millions of wild pigeons to market in one season. This great number can easily be understood by those who are acquainted with the manner in which these birds flock together. To one 202 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL who has never seen a pigeon-roost or a nesting-place, the truth will seem almost as fabulous as the tales of Sinbad the sailor. Yet it is far within the bounds of truth to saj that we have seen many millions of wild piijeons at once, or at least as soon as we could direct our eyes upon them. We iiave seen them on their evening flight toward tlie roosting-place, in one unbroken flock, two miles wide, and two hours' continuance. We have ridden two hours in a straight line through a pigeon-roost at least seven miles wide. We have seen upon a single beech-tree many wagon-loads. At one time a little section of the main flock got belated in reaching the roosting-placc, and settled in a heavy beech wood near our house in Indiana, and the nois(! they made resembled a terrific tornado ; and they piled on to the trees in such numbers that all the weak limbs were broken off, and hundreds of large trees, such as stood leaning, and were weak at the roots, were entirely broken down. We spent hours of the evening in that temporary roost, witnessing thtir operations, and trying to imagine the vastness of the mul- titude. There is great danger in visiting such a roost, from the falling timber. In one long occupied, all that is liable to break has been prostrated, and there is less danger, so there is less commotion. Tiiey often sit so low, and remain so quiet, that you may approach near enough to kill half a score at a blow. A charge of shot sent into a full tree brings down a great number. When they alight upon a tree that breaks mider the mass, they fly and light upon the backs of others already loading a tree all it can beai-, and so the additional weight perhaps produces a second crash, and sometimes crash after crash, almost without cessation. That was the case upon tlie evening mentioned. The breaking commenced at dusk, when they began alighting, and continued until we left at midnight. In the morning about two hundred acres were literally covered with broken timber. A pigeon nesting-place is a still greater curiosity than a pigeon-roost. It covers hundreds of acres of dense forest, and every tree is covered with nes's almost as closely as the birds can build them, by laying a few loose twigj together among the branches. It is an easy matter to load a wagon with squabs. Often they fall out of the frail nests, and fall a prey to wild aninuils and wood hogs. Audubon gives a very truthful picture of the immense numbers of wild pigeons in the great West. To ns it is the more interest- ing, because we know it to be true. Those who have read Audubon, or others who have written accounts of pigeon-roosts, and can believe the trutli, will be able to realize the extent of tiic trade we have spoken of. Having now, we hope, said enough about birds to create an interest in their behalf, and induce a study of their character, and their value to the farmer, we shall leave the subject for another, which, though about snuill things, is of great importance to all our readers. Sec. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 203 SECTION XII.-ENTOMOLOGICAL. 'isg«^A=ff:.^ hat arc Insects? — The term is iipplied to all, or nearly all, the family of bugs, worms, flies, wasps, moths, millers, and small creeping things that infest a farm, and all are generally ranked as pests, though erro- neously, as M'e will show hy-and-by, some of tliem being highly beneiicial. The word insect comes from two Latin words, signifying cut into, or notched ; and the body of a perfect insect, as a wasp, is cut into and divided into three distinct segments — the head, thorax, and abdo- men, with two or three pairs of legs, and one or two pairs of wings, and it breathes through holes in the sides of the body. Insects commence life in eggs, which hatch into worms or larvae, such as maggots or catei-pillars, and these, after doing immense mis- chief, as in that state they are voracious gormandizers, undergo transforma- tion to the pupa or chrysalis state, and from that to the bug or butterfly form, during which the eggs are laid in such vast numbers, that the species are propagated so rapidly that the art of man seems insufficient to stay their ravages, if of a ravaging breed, and hence he must look to natural aids. It is for this that we have advocated protection to birds, because they are great insect destroyers. Pestiferous insects also liave several other natural ene- mies, which must be studied and protected by farmers. Besides what are considered and treated of in natural history as perfect insects, there are a great many sorts that come under the general name of insect that do not answer the above definition, sucli as some of the aphis, or plant-lice family, the striped and other bugs, and various worms. Some of the latter — for instance, the earth-worm, or angler's worm — are thought to be beneficial to soil. "We think, rather, it could be made more beneficial in its death than in its life. Anything, such as salt, lime, potash, ammonia, that would kill all the earth-worms, would add all the animal matter of their body to the soil's fertility. We can not go into a general examination of entomology, though we do earnestly advise a study of the science by all farmers, who are, above all other classes of the community, most in want of knowledge of insects, and how to distinguish between those that are pests and those that are harmless, or, perhaps, actual destroyers of those that are devastating our orchards, gar- dens, and grain-fields. Of a few of these we shall give correct pictures, with brief hints about their character, depredations, and such preventives as have been tried and proved valuable or useless. The great difficulty with the management of the greatest pests is their 204 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. II. diminutive size. Tlie great destroyers of wlieat, the midge, TIcssian-fl_v, and joint--n-orm, are so minute tliat a microscope is needed for their examination. It is the same with the aphis tribe, and what is called the " scale insect," which cover the limbs of fruit-trees like a second bark, until millions of mouths, although very diminutive, suck away the life of the tree. Neither man nor bird notices these minute destroyers until it is too lute to stop their ravages. Now let us look at what some of these insect pests do to the farmer's crops. As cotton is considered the great American staple, and as America i>, above all competition, the land of insects, we will first enumerate the cot- ton destroyers found upon that plant by tliat indefatigable student of ento- mology, Townend Glover, who was employed by the Patent Office to collect infiirmation upon the subject. 242. Insects Infesting the Coltosi-P!anti — A species of cantharidcs, similar to the striped potato fly, feeds upon the nectar or pollen, and sometimes eats the petals of the flowers. Tliese are injurious, and several others found in the flowers did not appear to be so. A leaf beetle eats holes in the petals, and, some say, injures the bolls. A large, green, thorny, poisonous caterpillar damages the foliage in August aiul September. It also attacks Indian corn. If handled incautiously, its spines inflict painful wounds. This large worm is in strong contrast with the diminutive cotton-louse, which destroys the young plant in w-et seasons. The boll-worm, however, is the great destroyer. Their presence in a cot- ton-field is indicated by the great number of young bolls fallen to the ground, after the inside has been eaten out. Before it falls, the worm crawls out and attacks others, which in turn fall ; and if the worms are numerous, all the bolls may be destroyed, just as all the plums of a tree are destroyed by curculio. A small green caterpillar feeds upon and rolls itself in the leaves of the cotton 2)lant; and a solitary hairy caterpillar, of a yellowish color, eats the leaves; and a green, smooth-skinned one feeds upon the blossoms ; and also several very slender, brownish span-worms. A small beetle, of a greenish, metallic color, barred with dirty cream-color, often seen in the holes made by boll-worms, is not thought a destroyer. It only follows in the path of insects that do destroy. Various other small insects are found on the plant, but it is not certain that they arc destructive, while several are well ascertained to be highly beneficial to tlie cotton-planter. Among these we enumerate the lady-bird {Coccinella), which, both in the larva and perfect state, devours myriads of cotton-lice. The planter and overseer should learn to distinguish these from noxious insects, and instruct their hands to protect them. The larva of the bee-winged fly also destroys lice, and ichneumon flies de- posit eggs in their bodies. Tiger beetles {Clcimlella) are also destroyers of the noxious insects. Ants Sec. 12.J ENTOMOLOGICAL. 205 climb the cotton-stalks to feed iipon aphis, and not upon the plant. Spiders, too, catch moths in their nets, and also seize and devour otlier insects. The great aim should be to learn whicli of all the insects found in the cotton-field are friends, and which foes. The boll-worm, and the one which is some seasons so destructive to Indian corn in the milk, are declared by some, upon pretty good authority, to be identical. The chrysalis is of a bright chestnut brown ; the moths, a tawny yellow color. The upper wings yellowish, shaded with green or red, in some, with a dark band, and crescent-shaped mark near the center of the wing. Tlie under wings are lighter colored, bordered with black. To prevent depredations from the boll-worm, it is recommended to light fires around the field at night, to attract the moths when they begin to make their appeai'auce. Doubtless many will be attracted to the light and de- stroyed. Tliey have also been destroyed by placing plates upon stakes set among the cotton, in which about half a gill of vinegar and molasses is placed, mixed, four of vinegar to one of molasses. This attracts the moth, which perishes in the mixture. This kind of moth-trap requires a good d-eal of labor, for the plates must be visited every evening and replenished, while the moths last. The same plan will be found a good one to catch other moths tlian those which infest cotton. 243. Insects Destructive to Indian Corn and Wheat. — ^The insect which eats into the grains of Indian corn is not only a destructive one, but when it in- fests the ears that are wanted for cooking in their green state, it is trouble- some and disgustingly otiensive. It only feeds while the corn is in the "roasting car" condition. At first it is so small as to be almost impercept- ible, and doubtless man}' a one gets between the teeth of the eater of early green corn, even in this city, for here we have seen a great many marks of their ravages. It is, however, mucli worse at the South. Slieltered under the husk, it eats voraciously, and increases in size rapidly, until about an inch long. Some are brown, some green, some striped. In fact, there is no uniformity in color. Tlie body is sparingly clothed with short hairs, rising from black spots or warts. The worm leaves the ear and goes into the ground to undergo its transformation. If farmers, particularly JSTorthern ones, would watch the first appearance of these insects, and try to destroy the moths, they might save themselves much loss in the iuture, for all insects of tliis kind are wonderfully prolific. There is an ichneumon fly which preys upon this insect, and the habits of that fly should be studied, and, if possible, tlie family increased. Birds, too, are fond of this species of worms ; probably because the food it fattens upon makes sweet morsels for their palates. The destruction of tire grains of corn eaten by this worm is only a part of the damage that ensues. The grains eaten are upon tlie small end of the ear, and here grows a fungus, which often destroys the ear. It also oftentimes affords a secure harbor for otlier insects, which destroy wliat tlie worms have left. The corn-worm does more damage in dry seasons than wet ones, owiiif •20G SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL fo the fact that tlie silk grows irregularly, or continues longer green, and the worms often cat ofi" the silk before the kernel is fructified. Another insect infesting Indian corn at the South is called Sylvanits quadricollis—xi diminutive beetle, which hides between the grains, and loosens them from the cob, devouring the germ first, and then the white starchy part of the kernel. These insects sometimes exist in vast nutnbers, and arc then very destructive. Sometimes they destroy the germ in such a way that its absence is imperceptible, and that causes disappointment when it is planted as seed. Kiln-drying is recommended when the corn is to be nsed for food, but not for seed. Quick-lime is recommended, strewed among tlie ears of corn in the crib. If put up with husks on, salt has proved beneficial. There is another insect that troubles corn in the Southern States — the corn-borer. Tiiis is called a bill-bug, or corn-borer. It bores into the stalk just at the surface of the earth, and deposits its eggs. The grub eats the sub- stance of the stalk, and the transformation takes place in the cavity eaten out, where the pupa remains till spring, and then comes forth a beetle, in its tarn to deposit eggs in the young corn. These insects have been very destructive in Alabama and several other Southern States, and, like many other pests, may gradually become acclimated faither and farther north, till all the corn-growing region is infested. Farmers should be on the look-out for these " borers," and also bear in mind that the best remedy yet found is to pull up all corn-stalks, after harvest, and pile and burn them. These insects are usually most troublesome in swamp lands. The larva of the angoumas moth is very destructive to corn, as -well ns wheat and other cereals, when stored ; and in the South, in the open field. The grub is one fourth inch long in corn, and less iu wheat. It spins a cocoon in the cavity eaten out when it goes into the pupa state. From a small round hole previously made, it emerges a moth, with long, narrow wings, of a yellowish gray color, of satin-like luster, fringed with long hairs. The insects grown in maize are larger, though identical with the wheat in- t-ects. Tliis insect is not confined to M-arm latitudes, but is more troublesome there than farther north. We have seen the moths swarming in myriads about corn-houses and around wheat-stacks. The female lays from sixty to ninety eggs, which hatch into minute white worms in four to six days, each one of which makes a lodgment in a grain of corn, where it eats, and ma- tures in three weeks; so that two sets mature in one season, the pupa of the second growth remaining in the grain till spring. It is said that this insect was first observed in North Carolina, about forty years ago. They will fly into a candle sometimes, in a granary, in such numbers as fo extinguish the light, and doubtless could be destroyed by fire to a great extent. Smear a cask with one head, on the inside, with tar or molasses, and place a light in it, and you will catch quantities of the moths. Where they abound, it is advisable to store corn unhusked ; and salt is also useful, sprinkled iu as the corn is put in the crib, just as hay is salted. Sec. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 20T "We know places where this insect is so trouhlesome to farmers, that it is only by great care that they can keep corn or wheat over from one crop to an- other. In west Tennessee and northwest Mississippi they are excessively annoying. Several remedies have been tried, with success in some cases and failure in others, imder apparently the same circumstances. We will name some of them. After the grain is thoroughly cleaned, spread it upon white sheets, or boards, or a tin roof, or, if convenient, a flat rock is better than either, and some use a clay floor, and let it lie in the sun until it gets hot, and then put it np in tight casks. Kiln-drying at 176° kills the insect and the germi- nating power of the corn at the same time. If grain is placed in tight casks, and the gas arising from burning charcoal conveyed to it by a tube, which nuiy be iron next the fire, and flexible tube next the cask, for convenience, so as to fumigate the grain, the insect is destroyed without injury to the germ. An infusion of the fumes of chloroform will kill these or any other insects iu a close vessel. Even a few drops jjut in a bottle with insects, corked up, deprives them of life directly. It will not, however, destroy eggs, as the heating of the corn does. Heating it, by piling it up damp, has been prac- ticed ; but cai'e must be taken, if this is practiced, that it does not overheat and get musty. If it does, it should be washed before grinding. Lime has been effectively tried, entirely preventing the ravages of the insect, by storing the grain, ready prepared for the mill, in tight casks or bins, and covering by sifting over the top an inch or two deep of finely- powdered lime. Whenever the grain is v\-anted for the mill, run it through the winnowing machine, and blow out the lime. A trifle will adhere to the furze of the kernels, but it does uo harm — it is rather beneficial to the flour or meal. 244. The Rice Weevil. — This is another pestiferous insect, which not only destroys rice, but attacks other grain upon the upland portion of a rice plantation. This weevil {Calandra orysos) resembles the one whose ravages we have noticed in 243, which is the Calandra granaria. All true weevils are beetles, with long snouts, and only depredate upon dry grain. Many of us consumers of rice have seen the rice weevil, which has hatched out of eggs deposited by the female parent, one in each grain, where it hatches, and the young larva eats out all the substance, making food of its habitation. By-and-by the weevil comes out, and the sexes meet, and the female deposits its eggs iu sound grains, and so on until all are destroyed. When very plenty in rice, it makes anything but a savory dish. It is the same with wheat. We have eaten bread that tasted as though we had about an even mixture of bread and meat. " Weevilly flour," we have heard said, was not unwholesome. Perhaps not ; to us it is most decidedly unpalatable, and no art of cooking wheat or rice will hide the weevil flavor. It looks and tastes of weevil, even in the buttermilk and saleratus biscuit of the most liberal user of that salt. 208 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL Tlie rice weevil has often been found in rice inipoitod from China, and it may have been introduced into tiiis country from thence. It differs, both in appearance and habits, a little from the grain weevil. It is said to attack rice in the field as well as after it is stored. It also attacks Indian corn in the field, if left out till late in the fall, or until it becomes cjuite dry, in tiiose States at the South where this insect most abounds. The same remedies that will answer for oije variety of weevil will answer for all. Wc give a few more remedies. 245. To Destroy Weevil. — Grain subject to depredations from the weevil, which develops and matures in the heart of the seeds, and which imparts considerable heat to the bulk of the pile, equal to or above blood-heat, is easily detected on thrusting the hand into the body of the grain, by means of the great heat of the mass. In France, large quantities of grain are stored up against time of scarcity ; and in order to protect it from the depredations of the insects that prey upon it, commissioners have been appointed to examine into the means of destroy- ing them, -who have reported that a small quantity of chloroform or sulphuret of carbon put into the interior of the grain pit (which is usually in the ground), and then hermetically sealed up, will destroy all the pests. Abn^it seventy-five grains of sulphuret of carbon arc sufficient for about four bnsliels. Grain put up in rail pens, as is the custom in the West, may be treated with equal success with this agent, by covering the heap with a tarpaulin or close woven cloth. A successful farmer in Broome Co., N. Y., recommends cutting wheat while in the milk, and the straw green, and salting it in the mow or stack. He says : " About fourteen years ago the weevil appeared upon this farm, and quite seriously affected the wheat crop. We commenced also about that time cutting our wheat very green, as soon as it was out of the milk, no matter how green the straw or heads ; and in order to preserve it the better in the mow or stack, always applied salt liberally. For many years I liave salicd my grain mows and stacks, but put none upon my hay. I am now cutting my wheat as green as usual. " From my own experience, I am satisfied that if the wheat is thus treated, and not thrashed until after it has been some time piled up, the insect will be destroyed in some of its transformations. At any rate, whoever tries tiie experiment will be well surprised in the value of his wheat and straw. Where straw is fed to stock — and all mine goes that way — it is sought Ibr with keener relish, and makes better manure, while the wheat is much heavier and plumper than when not so treated. "I ought to say, perhaps, that the weevil has not troubled the farm since that year, although wheat has been grown every year. Almost any year a few may be ibund, but none to do any damage. My soil is a slaty, gravelly loam, and my seeding is usually all done from the 1st to the 10th of Septem- ber, and the best variety of wheat thus far has been the Uuc-stem, a beauti- ful variety of white wheat." Seo. 12.] KNTOMOLOGIOAL. 209 Another Broome County farmer, who thought the yellow-birds destroyed his wheat, wished a neighbor " would get a gun and kill some yellow-birds, which farmers generally suppose destroy the wheat. Mr. R. declined, as he does not like to kill birds of any kind. Out of curiosity, however, he killed one of the birds and opened the crop, when he found that the bird, instead of eating the wheat, ate the weevil — the great destroyer of the wheat. He found as many as two hundred weevil in the bird's crop, and hut fori?' grains of wheat, and these had the weevil in them. This is a very important dis- covery, and should be generally known. The bird resembles the canary, and sings beautifully." 246. Wheat Insect vs. Weevil. — ^Tliere is a confusion of tongues in relation to the M'cevil that we have described (244, 245), and the one that attacks the wheat in the milk. The insect that has injured the wheat crop so extensively in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, is not the one generally known as the weevil. This insect, called " red weevil," " wheat-midge," " the insect," etc., differs very much from the Calandra granaria, as that only injures the ripened kernel of wheat or com after it is stacked or housed, or even after it is in the bin of the granary or grist-mill. The weevil exhibits in swarms around the barn, the female laying her eggs on the grain, and the grubs as soon as hatched work into the kernel, consuming all but the bran, without breaking that, so as to show tliat all is rottenness within. The ravages of this insect, as we have already stated, are so destructive at the South, that it is difficult to keep wheat and corn. The latter is generally put up with the shucks on, which is damp or else heavily salted. "Wheat is kc]:)! in close casks or tight bins by covering with flour of lime an inch deep over the surface. "The insect that has destroyed so much grain in past seasons is a yellow fly (with blue wings), about one tenth of an inch in length ; it deposits its eggs, while the wheat is in blossom, within the chaffy scales of the flower, during the evening twilight and dark stormy days, in numbers from two to forty, which hatch in ten days and completely destroy the germ of the berry. The maggot is reddish yellow, about one sixteenth of an inch long, or perhaps an eighth when full-grown." " It is supposed that it leaves the wheat and winters in the ground. That is the time to kill them. Salt is undoubtedly the remedy. Tiie fly is hardly ever seen ; they never fly in the sunshine. The weevil fill the air like mus- ketoes in a swamp. Tliis insect hides on the stems and leaves, shaded from the heat of tlio sun. This is a northern insect; the weevil is a southern one." " Tiiis insect M-as first seen in America about the year 1828, in the nortliern part of Vermont and borders of Lower Canada. It first made its appearance in nortliern Ohio in the year 1843, and its ravages have rapidly increased from year to year." Dr. Harris recommends brimstone fumigation of the plants. That would be impossible, almost, on whole counties. Flour of lime sown on wet wheat has appeared to prevent the work of destruction. Deep plowing the stubble, 210 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. U. and not sowing any grain upon it next year, might eradicate the insect, if all who arc affected would unite in that course, as all must in any other that sliould be adopted. The remedy recommended by our correspondent m Broome Co., of salting the cut wheat in the mow or stack, would not answer, for the maggots already burrowed in the ground for winter, but the salt must be applied to the land in liberal quantities — say five to ten bushels per acre. We cut up the cut- worms effectually upon our corn ground this season with a handful of salt to a hill. The corn fired a little at first, but it is growing beautifully now. Every bug or worm can be killed in the soil, with salt, and we have no doubt that will be found the most sure way of ridding the country of this terrible pest of wheat-growers. The Cccidomyia tritici of Kirby is what we take to be the insect called the " red weevil." A " close observer" of the habits of the midge, says of one who had written of the insect's wintering in the ground : " The writer is mistaken in some of his facts as to the habits of the insect, as he can very easily satisfy himself by getting a few heads of wheat in the proper season that are afiected and putting them in a small glass jar. He will see that the worm does not go into the earth, but corner outside of the head after desti-oying the grain of wheat it hatched in, and weaves itself up into a snug little cocoon on the under side of the outside chafi". If he exam- ine that cocoon after a time, he Avill find the worm has changed into a new shape, and will ultimately come out a winged insect. I have never yet been able to find the worm seeking shelter in the earth. It is this knowl- edge of the habit of the insect that induces the belief that liberal salting of the grain in mow or stack is fatal to it." Townend Glover, who is pretty good authority, says of this pest : " The parent fly deposits her eggs in the beginning of July, and' in the opening flowers of the grain, or when the wheat is still in the milky state. The eggs hatch in about eight days, when the little yellow maggots, or worms, maybe found within the chafty scales of the grain. The seed scales of grass also sometimes serve as a shelter for these depredators. The worms, which are of a bright yellow or orange color, do not exceed an eighth of an inch in length, and are ofren much smaller. I have seen as many as twelve within the chafl" of one single grain, sent to the Patent Oftice from Ohio. Tliese maggots prey upon the wheat wl^en only in a milky state. "When they begin their depredations, soon after the blossoming of the plant, they do the greatest injury, as the grains never fill out. Toward the last of July or beginning of August the full-grown maggots cease eating, and become sluggish and torpid, jireparatory to shedding their skins, which takes place in the following manner : Tlie body of the maggot gradually shrinks in length within its skin, and becomes more flattened and less pointed, as readily may be seen through its delicate transj^arency. Tiiis torpid state lasts only a few days, after which the insect casts its skin, leaving the latter entire, except a little rent at one end of it. These empty cases, or skins, may be found in Sec. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 211 great abundance in the wheat-ears, after the molting process is completed. Mr. J. W. Dawson, of Pictou, Nova Scotia, says that sometimes the maggot descends from the plants and molts on the surface of the ground. After shedding the skin, it recovers its activity, and writhes about at first, but takes no food. It is shorter, somewhat flattened, and more obtuse than before, and is of a deeper yellow color, with an oblong greenish spot in the middle of the body. Within two or three days after molting, the maggots either descend of their own accord or are shaken out of the ears by the wind, and fall to the ground. They do not let themselves down by threads, as has been supposed by some, for they are not able to spin. Nearly all of them disappear before the middle of August, and they are rarely found in the grain at the time of harvest. Hon. "William D. Lindsley, of Sandusky City, Ohio, however, sent me several specimens of wheat with this insect in it as late as the beginning of August. From observations and remarks made by intelligent farmers, it appears that the descent of these insects is facilitated by falling rain and heavy dews. Having reached the ground, the maggots soon burrow under the surface, sometimes to the depth of an inch, those which have not molted casting their skins before entering tlie earth. Here they remain witliout further change through the following winter. It is not usually before June that they are transformed to pupae, this change being effected witliout another molting of the skin. This pupa state lasts but a short time, a week or two at most, and in many cases only a few days. Under the most favorable circumstances, the pupa works its way to tlie surface, before liberating the included fly, and when the insect has taken wing, the empty pupa shell, or skin, will be seen protruding from the ground. In other cases, the fly issues from its pupa skin in the earth, and comes to the suiface with flabby wings, which soon expand and dry on exposure to the air. Tliis last change occurs mostly in the months of June and July, when great numbers of the flies have been seen apparently coming from the ground in fields wlierc grain was raised the year before. "The wheat-midge, or fly, 'is a small orange-colored gnat, with long, slender, pale-yellow legs, and two transparent wings reflecting the tints of the rainbow, and fringed with delicate hairs. Its eyes are black and prom- inent ; its face and feelers, yellow ;. its antennje, long and blackish. Tliose of the male are twice as long as the body, and consist of only twelve joints, which, except at the base, an oblong-oval, somewhat narrowed in the middle, are surrounded by two whorls of hairs. These insects vary much in size. The largest females do not exceed one tenth of an inch in length, and many are found toward the end of the season less than half this length. The males are usually smaller than the females, and somewhat paler in color.' Mr. Lindsley sent several of these insects to tlie Patent Office in August, 1855, and stated that they have been extremely destructive in several parts of his district last year (1854), and that in some places the cattle were turned into the field in order to eat the straw and what little was left of the grain, the main crop not being worth harvesting. These flies are likewise said to be 212 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL much more numerous and destructive on the edges of fields than in the center, and in some cases when the edges were completely worthless, the center bore comparatively a good crop. " Fumigation with sulpliur, and burning weeds on tlie windward side of the field, when the grain is in blossom, have been recoinmended. Air-slacked lime or wood-ashes, strewn over the grain wlicn in blossom, in the proportion of one bushel of lime or ashes per acre, to be scatlered over the field when the jjlants are wet with dew or rain. Two or three applications have some- times been found necessary. Plowing up the ground, also, to destroy the maggots ; and the dust-chaff, or refuse straw, if found to contain any of these insects, should be immediately burned. In those parts of New England where these insects have done the greatest injury, according to Dr. Harris, the cultivation of fall-sown or winter grain has been given up, and this for some years to come will bo the safest course." 247. The Joint-Worm. — One of the greatest pests that Virginia farmere have had to contend with in M-hcat-growing is the joint-worm. It has been more destructive than the weevil, and in some cases as great a pest in that State as the midge has in New York. Tlio following is Glover's description of this insect : " The joint-worm (Artr//^o/»rt hardt i), ^v\nch has committed such ravages in tlic wheat-fields of Virginia, comes from a small, black, four-winged fly, about an eighth of an inch in length. Tiie female lays several eggs in the outer sheath of the stalk above the joints. After they hatch, the worms commence feeding within the sheath, and the constant irritation produced by I hem forms a woody gall, or rather succession of galls, in the cavity of each of wiiich lies a small, footless maggot, about the seventh or eighth of an inch in length, having a body wnth thirteen segments, and of a pale, glossy, yellowish color. The number of worms in each cluster of galls varies from four to ten, or even more. The substance of the stalk attached becomes brittle, and either partially or entirely fills its central cavity, and frequently distorts it into various irregular shapes. I have often observed young root- lets ])utting out immediately below a joint so affected. Tiie worms on the stalks of wheat, when examined in Febrnar}', were yet in the larva, but early in March several had assumed the pupa state. The}' were about an eighth of an inch in letigth, of a pale yellow color, which as the pupa3 were near coming out, became afterward nearly black. These pupa3 had the rudiments of wings, legs, and antemiaj as in the perfect fly, but were motion- less. Late in April and the beginning of May tlie flies made their appear- ance through holes gnawed through the tough., woody covering of the gall- like excrescence in which they had passed the winter. Tiiis transformation, however, took place in a warm room. Tliese flies are about an eighth of an inch in length, of a black color, the knees, joints, and feet being tinged with yellow. The males, according to Dr. Harris, vary from the females by being smaller, and in having no ])iercers. The joints of the antemia; are likewise longer, and surrounded with whorls of little hairs. The hind body ! I Sec. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 213 is shorter, less pointed at the extremity, and is connected with the thorax bj a longer stem. He also says, that among fifteen females only one male was found. This corresponds with what I have observed, as out of sixty to eighty joint-worm flies, produced from diseased stalks of wheat, I only pro- cured one. male answering to his description, and eiglit parasites, not quite a tenth of an inch in length, of a dark metallic shade, with yellow legs, and the antennae much thicker at the end. These flies were furnished with four transparent, dotted wings. It is somewhat incomprehensible how it happens that so many females appear at the same time without more males. " Another four-winged fly also made its appearance from the same stalks, of about an eighth of an inch in length, with an abdomen and legs of a briglit yellow. The head and tliorax were of a dark color, and somewhat metallic luster. Tiie wings were transparent, dotted, and fringed with short hairs, and the piercer reached to the middle of the under part of the abdo- men. Di". Han-is states tliat it has been found in Massachusetts, that plow- ing in the stubble lias no cfi'ect upon the insects, which remain alive and uninjured under tlie slight covering of earth, and easily make tlieir way to tlie surface, when tlicy have completed their transformation. A free use of manure and thorough tillage, by promoting a rapid and vigorous growth of the plant, may render it less liable to suffer from the attacks of the insect. It lias been stated that t'.iis fly, like the wheat-midge, does more injury on the edges of fields than in the middle. " At the Joint-Worm Convention, held at Warrentown, Virginia, in 185i, the following was recommended : Prepare well the land intended for wheat, and sow it in the beginning of autumn witli the earliest and most tlirifty and hardy varieties, and do nothing to retard the ripening of the crop by grazing or otherwise. Use guano or some other fertilizer liberally, partic- ularly when seeding corn-land or stubble. Burn the stubble on every field of corn, rye, or oats, and all thickets or other harbors of vegetable growth contiguous to the crop. Sow the wheat in as large bodies and in as compact forms as practicable ; and if possible, neighbors should arrange among them- selves to sow adjoining fields the same year. Feed all the wheat, or other straw, which may be infected, in racks or pens, or on confined spots ; and on or before the first of May carefully burn all the straw which has not been fed. The refuse of wheat, such as screenings, etc., should also be destroyed, as the pupa ease is hard and not easily softened by dampness or wet." We can add nothing to this preventive, except a recommendation to com- post the refuse of the cattle, instead of burning it. Make a heap that will undergo a heating fermentation, and the eggs will be destroyed, and the manure will be more valuable than the ashes. 248. The Hessian-Fly. — ^This is thp common name of an insect that at one time threatened to put a stop to wheat-growing in all the Northern and Middle States. This insect {Cecidomyia destructor) obtained its name from the fact of its (supposed) importation with the Hessian soldiers of the Revo- lution, though this fact has been strongly disputed. It might have been in 214 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL the country before, and it might also have been imported. It was first pub- licly noticed in 1776, at Flatbiish (L. I.), and on Staten Island, in the vicinity of Sir William Howe's debarkation of those mercenaries of King George, and it was quite in keeping with the feelings of the people that they should readily credit the charge, that they had brought this among the other evils of war. At any rate, it multiplied and spread rapidly, and was for a time looked upon as a scourge almost as great as tire and sword. Of late years, liowever, it appears to be dying out. It is subject to the attack of parasites, which have done more than all the arts and strength of man to rid his land of this pest. Tlie greatest destroyer of the Ilessian-fly is a shining black four-winged fly, about the tenth of an inch in lengtii. Do not mistake this friend for your foe, and compass its destruction. Many sensible men have made this mistake, and very aptly, too ; for, as they will tell you, they have actually seen the fellow come out of the dried skin of the Hessian. So they did ; but not until the destroyer of wheat had been destroyed by an insect that fed upon his vitals. The parasite of the Cccldomyia destructor is the Ceraphron destructor of Say, and it is a question of vast consequence to wheat-growers what they can do to promote th.e growth of this insect, which has already been of such vast benefit to tliem. "We have no doubt that the parasite of the wheat-midge will do the same kind of service, and perhaps exterminate that pest. The Hessian-fly is a very small two-winged gnat. The female deposits her eggs soon after the wheat begins to grow, say in October, for lat. 39^, 40°, 41°, in tlie cavities between the little ridges of the blades. In from four to fifteen days the eggs hatch, and the diminutive maggots M-ork down into the leaf-sheath and there spend the winter. The fly works from August to January, according to latitude and climate influences, so that what would be a remedy in one place would not be in another. In fiict, it is asserted that the fly sometimes works upon Avheat in the spring ; so the following recom- mendation would not be eflectual. That is : About the middle of August sow a strip of wheat adjoining where you intend to put your cyo\> — say one or two acres. About the middle of Sep- tember sow your field. When that lias come up and shows cleverly, plow under the first sown ; turn it under well. Your fly is headed and your crop is safe. In the particular locality of the man who says " that remedy wont fail," perhaps it will not. The maggots within the leaf-sheath lie dormant through the winter, and do not stop the growth of the wheat until just before it is ready to blossom, when if there are several on a stalk, it withers and dies. The worms do not eat the stalk, but suck up the sap and poison it. A full-sized maggot is three twentieths of an inch lon^', with a hard skin, of a bright chestnut color, and looks as much like a flax-seed as anything it can be compared to. This Seo. 12] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 215 appearance remahis, but the outside is a dried skin inclosing the pupa, whicli advances to perfection in April or May, and it is these early tlies that lay eggs upon spring wiieat. It is asserted that there are three broods in a year. Tlie fly is about tlie tenth of an inch long ; the head, antennae, and thorax, black ; the iiind body tawny, the wings tawny at the base, and black and hairy at the ends, expanding about a quarter of an inch. The legs are pale, red, or brown, and feet black. The antennse are jointed, and surrounded with whorls of short hairs. With the above short description and microscope in hand, it will not be difficult for any observing person to determine the character of an insect found upon his wheat, so as to decide whether it is the Ilessian-fly or the Ilessian-fly destroyer. 249. Insects Injurious to Fruits. — Probably of all the tribe of pests that infest fruit-trees, that known as curculio, or plum weevil {Rhijnchmnus ?ienuphar), does the most damage. It has nearly driven the plum-trees away from every farm, and has in some seasons destroyed the peaches, and done incalculable damage to the apple crop. In fact, for many years pre- vious to 1860, there was not a good apple crop in all the Eastern States, owing, in a great measure, to the curculio. Small as this pest is, it is capable of doing great mischief to all the fruits, and its sting is death to plums, apricots, and nectarines, and very injurious to cherries and pears. The finer the fruit, the greater the injury. A very hardy plum or cherry may survive a sting from this insect, which leaves a peculiar, crescent-shaped wound, and makes an ugly scar and a hard gnarl in the fairest fruit. Tliis insect is found in nearly all the States of the Union ; it is worst in the Middle ones, or between latitudes 39^ and 41°. By the following minute description by Glover, the little villain may be known by any one, though not previously acquainted with him : "The perfect curculio is about two tenths of an inch in length, of a dark brown color, with a spot of yellowish white on the hind part of each M'ing- case. The head is furnished with a long, curved snout, or bill, with which it is enabled to bore into the unripe fruit by means of jaws placed at the end of the bill. Tlie wing-cases, which are rigid, uneven, and humped, cover two transparent wings, by which the perfect weevil is enabled to fly from tree to tree ; but when these wing-cases are closed, the back appears v.'ithout any suture, or division, which has led to the very eiToneous idea among farmers that the insect can not fly. When disturbed, or shaken from the tree, it is so similar in appearance to a dried bud, that it can scarcely be distinguished, especially when feigning death, which it always does when alarmed. As soon as the plums are of the size of peas, the weevil com- mences the work of destruction by maling a semi-circular cut through the skin with her long, curved snout, in the apex of which she deposits a single egg. She then goes to another plum, which is treated in a similar manner, until she has exhausted her whole stock of eggs. The grubs, which are hatched by the heat of the sun, immediately eat their way to the stone in an 216 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. XL oblique direction, where they remain, gnawing the interior, until the fruit is wealvoned and diseased, and by this treatment falls from the tree. Tiic grub, which is a small, yellowish, footless, white maggot, then leaves the fiillcn fruit, enters the earth, changes into a pupa, and in the first brood comes to the surface again, in about three weeks, as a perfect weevil, to propagate its species and destroy more fruit. It has not yet been decided whether the latest generation of the w^eevil remains in the ground all winter in the grub or in the pupa state. Dr. E. Sanborn, of Andover, Mass., asserts, however, that the grubs, after having entered the earth, return to the surface in about six weeks as perfect weevils, which must remain hidden in crevices until spring. The most popular opinion is that they remain in the larva or pupa state in the earth during the winter, and only reappear in the spring in the perfect state. The worm, or grub, is often found in the knots or ex- crescences which disfiguie and destroy plum-trees, and has been wrongfully accused of being the cause of these swellings; but it is highly probable that the weevil, finding in the young knots an acid somewhat similar to that of the unripe fruit, merely deposits its eggs therein, as the nearest substitute for the real plum. " Some of the remedies recommended for preventing the ravages of these insects are actually absurd, such as tying cotton round the trees in order to prevent tliem from ascending, when it is known that they are furnished with wings, and fly from tree to tree with perfect ease. Among the remedies at present in use, one is to cover the fruit with a coating of whitewash mixed with a little glue, applied by means of a syringe. Another is to spread a sheet upon the ground under the tree, and then jar the principal branches suddenly with a mallet covered with cloth, so as not to bruise tlie bark, when the perfect insects will fall into the sheet and feign death, and may be gathered and dcstroj-ed. Hogs are sometimes turned into plum orchards, where, by eating the fallen and diseased fruit, they materially lessen the evil. Coops of chickens, placed under the trees, have also been recommended. Then shake the trees often, and the chickens will catch and devour the insects. All fallen fruit should be gathered up several times in the course of the season, and burnt, or given to hogs, or destroyed in some other way." We shall now give, besides the above remedies, a few more, "infallible," of course, that float annually through the newspai)ers. 250, Ciirculio Remedies. — To one pound of whale-oil soap add four ounces of flour of sulphur. Mix thoroughly, and dissolve in twelve gallons of water. To one half peek of quick-lime add four gallons of water, and stir well together. When fulh' settled, pour oft' the transjiarent lime-water, and add to the soap-and-sulphur mixture. Add to tiie same, also, say four gallons of tolerably strong tobacco-water. Apply tliis mixture, when thus incor- porated, with a garden-syringe, to your plum or other fruit trees, .so that the foliage shall be well drenched. If no rains succeed for three weeks, one application will be sufficient. Sliould frequent rains occur, the mixture should be again applied until the stone of tlie fruit becomes hardened. Seo. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 217 The person who used and recommended tliis remedy says : " The trees tliat received the apijlication rijiened an abundant crop of as perfect and beautiful plums as ever grew, while not a single plum was ripened on those trees to which the wash was not applied." He also recommends a little salt to be added to the mixture. It lias been stated as an important fact, that plum-trees planted in such a position that the fruit will hang over water, Avill never be stung by curculio; so that nothing is more easy than growing this delicious fruit wherever the trees can be so planted. Dr. Underhill, of Croton Point Vineyard notoriety, spates that he is never troubled, not having seen an insect upon one of 150 trees in six years. lie formed an artificial pond, with banks constructed on purpose to set the trees slanting over the water. He gathers the fruit in a boat. He has many of the best varieties of plums so planted, and never saw finer fruit than he thus produces. It is an experiment that should be tried by every man who has the necessary conveniences. The ravages of the curculio have been so great for many years that we have had but few plums, and those inferior and high priced, in this market. We have the following account from James Taylor, of St. Catherine's, C. W., a few miles from Niagara Falls, of a pretty effectual remedy for the great pest of the plum-grower — the curculio. Ho says : " Our locality being much infested with the curculio, and observing in one paper issue, last spring, what had been pronounced by a Mr. Jos. H. Matlier, of Goshen, twenty miles southeast of the place where the writer resided, an effectual remedy against its ravages, allow me, for the benefit of your readers, to state 7ni/ exjyerience of its efficacy. The proposed remedy was a mixture of sulphur, lard, and Scotch snuff, to be rubbed freely on the trunk and branches. This I applied according to the directions, and it is true that I had a splendid crop of plums, some of the clioicest varieties, always most subject to the a^tacks of this insect, viz., the Bolmar, Huling's Superb, etc., being perfectly loaded ; lut marJc the result. On examining my trees last fall, I found all that T had ajypUed the mixture to in a dying state, and I have lost them all, with the exception of one or two young trees. The operation being rather a troublesome one, I did not apply it to as many as I should otherwise have done, or I should have lost more. So much for quack nostrums. The remedy proved worse than the disease. Perhaps my experience will be useful to others." R. G. Pardee gives the following remedy fur the curculio, which has been successfully practiced by a person of his acquaintance. Take fresh cow- droppings, and a little wood-ashes, some lime, and a little sulphur, and make all into a thin decoction, and throw it over the trees with a hand-basin. Tliis lasts until it rains ; it is then put on again. A half pound of sulphur to a half barrel is sufficient, and of the other substances it is not very im- portant as to the proportions. "VVe think the labor of this application would be too great. Dr. Trimble, of New Jersey, says that he has tried all sorts of offensive 218 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL odors to keep off curculio, without effect. " I liave found no remedy equal to that of manual labor in catching and destroying the insect. It is a fact that some plum-trees are not infested by the curculio." The fullowiiig is a conversation of some experienced fruit-growers upon curculio remedies, and the character of the insect : IIenky Steele, a New Jersey nurseryman, said that he had prevented curculio by the use of black soap from the tallow-chandler's, dissolved in water and much diluted, with which the trees are syringed directly after the blossoms fall, after a rain, and repeated, if necessary, in consequence of being washed off. R. G. Pardee — A person present assures me that a neighbor of his yarded his hogs around his plum-trees, and that saved them from the curcu- lio. Mr. Pardee said that he thought that fresh cow or pig manure, dis- solved, and the water sprinkled over plum-trees, would prevent curculio. They dislike any sh-ong-smelling substances. "Wm. Lawton — You may apply cow or pig manure raw to all fruits and berries, but not horse manure ; that never should be used fresh — make it first iijto compost. Dr. Trimble — Tlie curculio has already commenced its ravages this spring. I am also satisfied that the curculio stings the bark of plum-trees and pro- duces the disease known as the black knot. I have made a great many experiments to prove the insect identical with that wliich destroys all of our smooth-skinned fruit. Tlie jarring of trees to shake off the curculio is effect- ual, but it is an immense labor, as it must be attended to every day, and some sunny days several times a day. I think that, unless some remedy for this insect can be discovered, we shall be unable to raise any fine fruit. It is the curculio that causes the disease in apples known as gnarly. Wo get no good apples in Jersey, and it is out of the question to raise plums, apricots, or fine peaches. We import prunes from Germany cheaper than we can make boxes to pack them in — the plums grow to such perfection in that country. Wm. Lawton — I have removed bushels of black knots from my cherry-trees and burned them. I found in all these knots a living worm. I destroy tlic common caterpillar by collecting them in the nests and destroying them. Mr. O. W. Brewster, of Freeport, 111., gave a statement of his success in repelling the attacks of the curculio on his plums. Early in spring he scat- tered lime, which had been mixed for whitewashing, under his plum-trees once a week, until the curculio quitted tlie field. He also scattered soap-suds and cliamber-lye under them in liberal quantity. He said, I have twice tried the same remedy, with complete success. I once applied it to a small tree, which matured its whole crop ; several other trees near it, which set full of fruit, did not ripen a specimen. If plum-trees succeeded with us well, I should have no fears of the curculio. P. II. Perry, of Collins Center, N. Y., says : " A gentleman lately informed me that he had raised a good crop of plums Seo. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 219 simply by spreading a heavy coat of fresh horse manure on the ground under his trees. He said it entirely prevented the ravages of the curcnlio, when 1 their account he had not been able to gather a crop of plums for years before." Solon Eobixson read the following letter from Dobbs' Ferry. The man certainly can read, at least he says so, but we wonder how he can own a tree liable to the attacks of the curculio, and know so little about it. He says : '■ I have been much interested in the doings and sayings of the Farmers' Club, but in the various debates before that body, I have seen no statement advanced concerning the habits of the curculio. I have also read several articles concerning its depredations, but I have yet to learn whether it is a flying insect, or simj^ly crawls up the body of trees. 1 have several cherry- trees in my garden of choice varieties, and I can safely say that every cherry was punctured by the curculio this spring. "The trees are growing and have just commenced bearing. " The soil is sandy. " My neighbor, less than a hundred feet from me, has escaped its ravages. " Does it fly or crawl ? " Would a barrel or trough similar to those used on tlie elms of New Haven be of any service in staying its ravages ? " Are the worms in the common black cherry, which is universally inhabited, produced by the curculio ? " Is there any remedy for this pest ?" That question — " Is there any remedy for this pest ?" — has been answered in every agricultural paper in the world, and so it has been stated that the insect has wings, and yet the writer of this letter has not read of it. Let me ask another question : " How is it possible to enlighten people who will not read ? or, reading, will not understand ?" Dr. Trimble — I am now trying several experiments to prove that the same insect that stings the fruit makes the knots on the limbs. No attach- ment to the bole of a tree can be any protection against a flying insect like the curculio. The excrescence on the limb is no more remarkable than the insect that produces the balls upon oak-trees. Dr. T. showed specimens of the curculio of plums, that he had hatched out in earth covered to pre- vent escape, to show that the insect becomes perfect from the first laying of 6ggs in young plums, and, as he thinks, these perfect insects lie dormant till spring. The question is, "Where do they hide themselves until the young fruit is ready for them to deposit their eggs ? Prof. Mapes said that a preparation called Persian Powder is said to be very effectual in destroying insects. "VVm. S. Caepentek thought that no bug-powder would rid a farm of cater- pillars. Something else must be done. Wm. Lawton said that he had cleared his farm of tent caterpillars by pulling down the nests by hand, with all the worms in them, when they are easily destroyed. 220 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL Dr. Tkimble gave a history of the cockchafer, which remains in the ground, nice tlie locust, four years, and then comes forth in immense numbers, but in the flying state. They do not feed, and consequently do no damage to plants. In our opinion, the best remedy for curculio is pigs, poultry, and birds. We have seen fine crops of plums grown in a curculio neighborhood, in a season when these pests were active, in a small lot occupied as a poultry -yard, in which several pigs run at large. The hens scratclicd, and the pigs rooted the ground, and the dove-cot also had something to do with the matter. At any rate, the barn was inhabited by swallows, and they catch flies, and per- haps curculios. 251. — Apple and Peach WormSi — Tlie codliu moth, or apple moth {Carpo- capm jwmaiicUa), is the name of an injurious insect which deposits its eggs, in June or July evenings, in the calyx of the young apples, where they soon hatch, and the little worms eat their way to the heart of the fruit, where they continue till ready to change into the chrysalis state. " Wormy apples" generally ripen prematurely and f;dl. The worm is of a reddish color when fully grown, and ready to leave the fruit and creep into crevices of the bark to spin a semi-transparent cocoon, where it changes into a small chestnut- brown chrysalid, and that produces a moth in a few days, measuring seven tenths of an inch across the wings, which are of a brownish-gray color, crossed by many dark-colored lines, with a dark, oval spot on each wing. The under wings are lighter colored, shaded near the margin. As a remedy against this pest, it has been recommended to wrap cloths loosely around the forks of the trees, for a shelter for the worms to form cocoons, and then destroy them. We fancy that this remedy will cure but a very small part of the evil. Picking nji and putting all wind falls where the worms can never see daylight will kill more of them. Perhaps the best remedy for this, and many other little pests, is the Scrip- tural one — " Dig about the tree and dung it." That is, give it greater vigor of growth ; make it more productive, so that a portion of the fruit will come to maturity in spite of all insects. It is a well-known fact that the most vigorous-growing, thrifty trees exactly correspond with thrit'ty farmers — the more they have, the more they gain. Insects mostly attack the most neglected trees. 252. Peach-Tree Borcrsi — Tlie peach-tree borer {^i^eria exitiosa) is one of the greatest pests of the farm, because it has almost blotted out of exist- ence this most valuable fruit in large districts of the country. It is believed by most careful observers to be the cause of nearly all the diseases which afiect the peach-trees, the most visible of which is *• the yellows," where the leaves gradually take on a yellow, sickly appearance in midsunimer, and frequently at the age of three or four years show scarcely a green leaf, when they should be clothed in the richest green, and finally wither and gradually perish. Tlie epitaph of tens of thousands of peach-trees all over New En- gland, Xew York, New Jersey, and Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, LJ I I I 1 Sec. 13.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 221 would be, "Died joiiiig — attacked by boreis — tbe disease exhibited in yel- low leaves — speedy death followed." This boi'ing worm is produced from eggs deposited at the foot of the tree by a wasp-shaped moth, of a steel-blue color, with an orange ring about the abdomen. Sometimes the eggs are placed in wounds, or between forks, bi.t generally in the bark, close to the ground, where the worms can easily pene- trate into and devour the inner bark and wood just below the surface. Sometimes a vigorous tree will retain life year after year, with these worms gnawing at its vitals. Sometimes the tree is girdled and destroyed in a single summer. There appears to be a succession of broods in a single season. In the latitude of New York city, the moths come out in June and July. Nec- tarines and apricots are also attacked by the same insect. The plum wood appears too hard, and peaches engrafted on plum stocks sometimes succeed where, if upon their natural roots, they would never bear fruit. Tliese borers, when full-grown, are about an inch long, colored yellowish white, with an amber-brawn head. The chrysalis is brown ; it is formed in a case made of the gnawings of the worm, which it glues together around its body. The moth expands wings an inch across, transparent and veined, and bor- dered blue in the male, and dark blue upon the female's upper wings, and her body is belted with orange. The remedies, as preventives or cures of the peach-tree borer, are numer- ous. Dr. Harris, the great American entomologist, says : " Remove the earth around the base of the tree, crush and destroy the cocoons and borers which may be found in it and under the bark, cover the wounded parts with the common clay composition, and surround the trunk with a strip of sheathing-paper nine or ten inches wide, whicli should extend two inches below the level of the soil, and be secured by strings of matting above. Fresh mortar should then be placed around the root, so as to con- fine the paper, and prevent access beneath it; and the remaining cavity may be filled with new or unexhausted loam. The operation shoidd be performed in the spring, or daring the month of June, In the winter the strings may be removed, and in the following spring the trees should again be examined for any borers that may have escaped search before, and the protecting ap- plications should be renewed. The ashe& of anthracite coal have also been recommended to be put into the cavities made when the earth has been re- moved from around the trunks when searching for the worm ; and if the trunks are thoroughly searched three or four times a year, especially in the earth near the roots, and the grubs and chrysalids dug out and destroyed, these insects would soon cease to be as injurious as they are at present." The following conversation in the Farmers' Club conveys some useful in- formation upon this important subject: Solon Robinson read a letter from the Rev. J. S. Weishampel, Sen., Bal- timore, Md., upon the use of hot water to kill insects upon trees. He alludes to a letter read here some weeks since, about scalding wheat, and then sa3"s: " This scalding process destroys the egg of the fly, and the same process 222 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. , [Chap. II. has been knowu to destroy tlie eggs as well as the grubs themselves, that injure the i)oach, plain, and other trees so greatly. Scald the stem of the tree well, letting the hot water get M-ell into the ground around the tree, where the grubs do the most harm, and a destruction of botii eggs and grub follows ; and, in addition to this, the scalding appears to add to the vigor of the trees. "An old lady in Berks County, Pa., had a plum-tree that for many years bloomed and brought forth crops of fruit till half ripe, and then shed them. Siie often besought her husband to remove the tree, but he still pleaded, ' Let it stand another year.' At length, one spring, after she had boiled lier soap, she heated the kettle full of the refuse lye to a boiling degree, and poured it all down the stem of the tree, intending to ' scald it to death,' as she said. It soon blossomed most abundantl}-, and bore a profuse crop of plums, which it brought to the greatest perfection, which greatly pleased the old lady. " This same principle could be applied to the destruction of every kind of destructive insect upon the various choice fruit-trees, either by pour- ing boiling water upon the limbs and stems, or by conducting a stream of steam through a liose or pipe, from a movable boiler, to kill both eggs and insects. " Chestnuts, too, are very liable to be worm-eaten. If they were subject- ed to a momentary heating (wet or dry heat), to a sufficient degree to scald, it would kill the germ of the worm that destroys that sweet nut. And the same principle would also prevent all wood used in building and machin- ery from becoming worm-eaten." Prof. Mapes — I have used it on peach-trees, until I have satisfied myself that a peach-tree can not be injured by hot water. Mr. Caepentek said that lime was the best thing he ever tried around peach-trees. Mr. "\YuEELER said that lime will not kill the grubs in the wood, Mr. Smith, of Connecticut — I have found no remedy except manual labor, thougli wood-ashes arc valuable, and so is lime. I have an orchard in full bearing that is fourteen years old. Prof. Mapks — I have never found any remedy equal to hot Avater. It cooks the worms. A letter from East Wilson, Niagara County, N. Y., says : "A large and interested community, comprising at least Jive thousand peach-growers in this county, ask for light. What can be done to stay the ravages of the red-Iieaded pcach-gruhf To dig him out and kill him will oidy insure an armistice for about ten days. Fresh wood-ashes applied to the trees only seem to sharpen his appetite for destruction. Hundreds of orchards and thousands of trees are dying from his operations. Tliere are half a million of peach-trees in this vicinity suffering from this pest. Will tar pre- vent ills operations? and will it injure the tree? Can you or any of your numerous readers or correspondents tell us of any specific which will kill Seo. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 223 the grub without iiijurhig the tree? If you can do so, you will confer a substantial favor upon many hundreds of your readers." Andrew S. Fullle — The best remedy is to preserve the birds — the natu- ral insect destroyers. It is their" decrease that has increased destructive insects. Wm. Lawton stated that he had taken great pains to preserve birds around his place, and was now reaping the benefit. As to any outward application to kill the peach-worm, he did not know of anything that would destroy it without destroying the trees. If the worms are dug out, and a plaster of soft cow-manure is applied, the tree may recover. It is a very tedious operation. Wrc72S. — ^The Secretary advocated the cultivation, or rather protection, of wrens and insect destroyers. Mr. FcLLEE said that the wren was a mischievous bird, and destroyed the eggs of other birds. A letter from P. M. Goodwin, Kingston, Luzerne County, Pa., says : "I observe in the transactions of the Club of July 2, it is thought that if a discussion of the topic of the peach-grub would elicit a remedy, it would be universally entertaining. My conclusion is, that trying to cure the peach- grub, unless where the soil is light and but few are found, is a humbug. I have a preventive, which I will give cheerfully : " When I purchased my little place on Kose Hill, overlooking a portion of ' Wyoming Valley,' there wei"e one hundred neglected peach-trees thereon — budded, and of excellent varieties — -whicli were full of grubs. Early in April I commenced operations by carefullj'' clearing away the grubs by means of the knife and wire. I then made a funnel-shaped hole around the base of each tree, which would hold three or four quarts of water. I filled the holes with boiling water, which effectually destroyed the progeny. I then filled the holes with a tenacious clay, and tamped it hard, leaving the surface around the tree cone-shaped and hard compacted. I have examined these trees at various times during the intervening five years, and have found but one tree afiected, and that with but two grubs. This mode, with me, has acted as a perfect preventive, and, I have no doubt, will with all who adopt it and exercise the same care. "These trees were three or four years old, and, at the time the experiment was made, much inferior to some from the same lot growing elsewhere, which were regularly examined and carefully cleared of grubs in the usual way. My trees are sound in wood, and look well, while the others have dis- appeared. " In planting peach-trees now, I would cut away the tap (not top) root close under where the horizontal roots put out. Having driven a stake firmly for each tree, I would plant it so shallow that after the lieavy rain the upper side of the roots will become exposed. In this way the trees are not so liable to become infested with the grub. I planted some trees so a year ago, and find the non-appearance of the grub satisfactory." 224 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IT. R. G. Paedek — I have tried the hot water very often, and have ahva^'S found it effectual ; and I tliought that by this time everybody liad lieard of it, but if they have not, I hope this letter will be read and remembered. Instead of clay I used leached ashes, as they were more convenient, and they answered a good purpose. The Cliairnian presented a new pest of the peach — a dark-colored worm, about an inch long, that fixes itself in the foot-stalks of the leaves and destroys them. Wm. S. Caepentek — This insect discussion is one of great importance to farmers. These little, insignificant things are great -destroyers of our crops. What if we could discover a remedy for the bugs that eat up the potato vines, or a remedy for the effect of cold upon fruit-trees ; for I have noticed, within a day or two, that the northerly sides of the pear-trees are blasted and turned dark by the cold wind. The cold of a day or two in spring often destroys many tender vegetables. It was observed that cold nights sometimes have a beneficial effect upon fruits, by destroying some of the insects that usually prey upon them. It did in the spring of 1860. That season proved the most productive of fruit of any year in the memory of most young people. Of the hot-water remedy for the peach-grub, we speak from experience, that it is the best of all mc ever knew. Lime, too, has been tried with good results. Hon. John M. Clayton, of Delaware, assured us once, at his house, that the peach-trees we were then looking at, which M'cre so vigorous, had been treated with half a bushel of lime, placed in contact with the body and upjier roots, and he be- lieved it would continue to be a preventive of the peach-grub. 253. Insect RemedieSt — We give the following various remedies for insects, all of which are vouched for by good men ; some believing one infallible, and some another. The following wash is recommended for all sorts of trees, as a preventive remedy against caterpillars, etc. : Potash, 20 lbs. ; air-slacked lime, half a bushel ; sifted wood-ashes, half a bushel ; fresh cow dung, half a bushel, ^lix in water enough to be of the consistence of whitewash. Scrape off the rough bark, and rub the wash in well with a brush. Caustic soda loash is one of the best things we ever saw applied to a fruit- tree. It will make the bark as smooth as if wax-polished. It leaves no harbor for insects nnder pieces of dead bark. It is made by heating tiio common sal-soda red hot in any old iron vessel, and then making a lye of it — say about one pound of the salts to a gallon of water — and washing tlie trees with a brush. It is best to put it on in the spring. A piece of old stove-pipe, battered up at one end, and stuck into one of the stove-holes, answers very well to heat the soda in. The wash should be too caustic to put your hands in, and, while putting it on, it will not be worth while to wear a fine broadcloth coat. The Liijuid Brimstone Rcincdij. — M. Letellier states in the Journal of the Paris Horticultural Society, that a liquid formed by boiling 63 grains of red Sko. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 225 American potash, and the same quantity each of flour of sulphur and soap, in 13 pints of water, is most excellent and efficacious in destroying insects. If it requires to be stronger, the quantity of potash and sulphiir may be doubled, but the soap must remain the same. Upon immersion, the insects — ants, caterpillars, cockchafers, grubs, etc. — are instantly killed, while the solution occasions no injury to plants. The liquid will destroy ants and grubs when poured into their places of resort. Preventive of Canker- Worins from Apple-Trees. — A letter from Maiden, Mass., gives a most sensible plan for a cheap preventive of canker-worms, which climb the boles of apple-trees : " Take pine boards of suitable width for four to box a tree. Cut them in pieces two feet long on one edge, and four feet long on the other edge. Nail them together in a box around the tree, with four sharp points up. This box is to be adjusted about the tree before the grubs come from the ground, and a peck of powdered lime or ashes thrown between the trunk of the tree and the inside of the box. The caustic lime or ashes will destroy the grubs near the tree, and the boxes will invite all the grubs near them to ascend and de- posit their eggs. I found the pinnacles covered with grubs and eggs, and the insects apparently contented with this highest point as a safe place, and tliere the eggs were deposited. 1 then removed the boxes to a considerable distance from the trees, and heard no more from canker-worms ; they all died for want of proper food." Anotlier plan, lately patented, to prevent worms climbing trees, looks as though it would be efiectual. A tin trough is made in two parts, large enough to encircle the tree and leave a space four or five inches between the trough and bole of the tree. From the outside edge of the trough a strip of cloth extends all around, wide enough to have its upper edge tacked to the tree, by which the trough filled with oil is sheltered from rain and sus- tained in its place, so that worms creeping upward come first in contact with the cloth, and if they crawl down that to get around the edge and so up the tree, they are caught in the oil, which, being sheltered, remains in good con- dition longer than when exposed. Now it is au experiment worth trying, and for which there is no patent, whether a strip of cloth nailed around the tree at one edge, and having the other extended six inches from the bole by a wire or limber rod, would not answer the purpose without the oil-trough. The under side of the cloth could be coated M-ith some kind of pitch that would not harden soon, being protected from sun and rain, which would etiectually prevent the ascension of insects — certainly much more so than the belt of tar as it is usually applied. Dr. Trimble, in answer to the question, what remedy to apply to this pest, said that the only remedy is the ichneumon parasites. These, in their proper time, will attack the worms and destroy them. In the mean time, while one section of the country is ravaged, another is extraordinarily fruitful. He introduced specimens of the caterpillar that preys upon the grapevine, to show that it has its parasite, one of which had just emerged from the 226 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. H. body of the caterpillar. This, he hoped, M'ould prove a sufficient check to the ravages of this particular pest. 254. Another Couvcrsatiou at the Club about insects. — "Wm. S. Caepentee— All classes of insects have tlicir favorite plants, but if these favorite plants fail, the insects will take to others. Last year I saw ailanthus trees iu this city completely covered with a worm known iu the country as the canker- worm. The trees were wholly stripped of foliage. We are continually im- porting insects iu various ways. I am told that every banana stem contains a worm, and some of the same sort of worms have been discovered preying upon the quince. The rose-slug is easily killed by hand in the after part of the day, by an application of quassia decoction, sprinkled upon the leaves, as the slugs are then on the upper surface. Extra cultivation, by which the plants grow rapidly, is the best remedy for squash bugs. Mr. Pakdee said that the best remedy is to expose the soil dug from a deep hole several days to the sun, and then put it back in the hole, patting it down solid, and then putting in the seed, and covering it lightly, and then spreading fine charcoal over the hill. Mr. Fuller— I tried this charcoal remed}', last year, most thoroughly, without deriving a particle of benefit. Mr. Pakdee — I have used charcoal, and was not troubled with bugs. Now it is possible that, without it, the plants would not have been troubled. So, after all, it is uncertain whether the charcoal was the preventive, or whether there were no bugs to be eradicated. Mr. Gakvet — I^have tried a great many remedies, and have never found anything so good as careful watering, and hand killing the bugs. E. G. Pardee — I wish every man would try the solution of aloes — two ounces to the gallon of water. It is such a bitter vegetable that it is offensive to all insects. It may be used just as strong as it can be made — from one fourth to a whole pound to the gallon. Mr. Caepextee — The canker-worm, iu the northern part of Connec- ticut, is now ravaging the orchards to an extent that is destructive to all prospects of fruit. On some large orchards there are no apples — in fact, nearly all the foliage of the trees has been destroyed. Can this be prevented ? Was/ling Insects from Fruit-Trcts. — Mr. Pardee read a letter from Charles Lincoln, of North Bridgewater, Mass., which stated tliat he succeeded in saving his plum-trees, last spring, from insects, by washing them fi-equently with clear cold water, using for the purpose a little hand instrument called the " hydropnlt." Dr. Trimble contended that all the rot in plums is caused by the sting of the curculio. Mr. Pardee thought that this statement was incorrect ; that plums fre- quently rot where there are no curculio. He said, thirty years ago, at Seneca Seo. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 227 Falls, there was no curculio to disturb the plum, and we grew great crops, and sometimes nearly all on a tree rotted, almost all at once. Geisharsfs Comjwund for Insects. — P. B. Mead (editor of the Horticul- turist) said that he has tried the above compound upon several kinds of in- sects, and found it sure death to all he had applied it upon. The objection to it is its liigli price — too high for common use ; if it would rid us of the curculio, it would make the j)lums too costly. John G. Beegen — It is a fact that we have a prospect this year of a larger crop of plums than we have had in many years, and therefore persons should be careful of their liasty conclusions about this or that nostrum driving them off. Mr. Mead — ^Tlie preparation I mentioned, dissolved in water and used as a syringe upon plum-trees, had the effect to drive off the curculio, even upon one side of a tree, while the other was still infested. Remedy for Bose-Shtgs. — Geo. H. Hite — I have found an effectual rem- edy against the depredations of these pests, in sifting dry dust upon the bushes. It is just as good as snuff, or any other bug-powder. Of course, it wants frequent renewal. Bark-Lice. — Andrew S. Fuller — If a tree is properly cultivated, it will grow so vigorously that it will outgrow all bad effects from attacks of plant- lice. Worms Destroying Gooseberry Bushes. — R. Dixie, of Painesville, Ohio, inquires for a remedy for a pest upon his gooseberry and currant bushes. He says " they have been stripped of their leaves entirely, in one summer, by hosts of green caterpillars or worms about an inch in length — a number of broods during the season. What shall we do to get rid of the pests? I have used lime in powder, and dry unleached ashes, without any apparent beneficial effect." Solon Roeinson — I would try the new preparation of " attenuated coal- tar," which we have had exhibited here in the form of a dry powder. So for as I have been able to try it, I have found it particularly offensive to all insects. A. B. Dickinson — If soft soap is placed in the crotch of a tree, and left to work down by the rain, it will keep off all insects, even the curculio. Many insects are kept away by offensive smells, which do not kill them. Smoke, for instance, keeps off many insects. iVsfe of Grapevines arni other PJemts. — Dr. Trimble — Here is a specimen of tlio insect that curls the grape-leaf Spring is the time to look after them, and i)!ck them off by hand and destroy them, or they will destroy the vines. Here is another curious insect that infests the currant bushes. It is what we call lice, and these lice furnish food for a colony of ants, by their exudation of a sort of sweet substance. Here is the worm that curls the currant-leaf; and here is another curious insect that binds itself up in a web and a leaf, and what is remarkable, this insect is itself full of other insects— parasites that live upon, and in a great measure destroy it. I wish that some para- 1 \ 228 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL site could be found to destroy the curculio. Perhaps it may be destroyed in time, as the Ilcssian-fly has been. T/ie Measuring Worm. — Solox Robinson — If any one desires to extirpate the worms that infest the trees in our parks, now is the time to do it by de- stroying the eggs. Scraping and washing with potash is the best protection of the boles of the trees. If we had plenty of birds we should_get rid of the worms. It is only in cities, where there are so few birds, that these pests are so troublesome. Insects are the natural food of all birds. Even the domestic ones that we keep about our homestead destroy untold quantities of pestiferous insects that could not be got rid of in any other way. The greatest profit in keej>ing poultry is the good the animals do in theu- inces- sant pursuit of bugs and worms, which, if not destroyed, would in their turn destroy the food-plants that we cultivate. I know of no contrivance of man that will protect him from insects. Mr. Pardee — In New Haven, trees have been protected by zinc troughs, filled with oil, around the boles. Destroying Trees to Get Bid of Woi^ms. — Andrew S. Fuller stated that the worms in Brooklyn were so bad that the city councils were talking of cutting down all the trees in that citj', to get rid of the worms. Solon Eoblnson — They had better cut down the boys who destroy the birds. More than forty years ago, the " canker-worms" were terribly destrnctive, for several years, of apple-trees in Connecticut, and attempts Avere made to prevent their ravages by making a band of tar, two or tliree inches wide, around the bole of the tree. It proved cftectual while the tar was soft ; but, unless renewed every day, and sometimes twice a day, the surface dried so that the worms crawled over; and I have seen them so thick that they crawled into the tar and stuck, and then others went over them, and so oa until they formed a bridge, and thus defeated tlieir strong ojiponent. Dr. Trimble — ^The lindens of Xew Jersey, in former yeai-s, have been very much affected, but tliis year tiiey have not been injured. I believe the in- sect has been dctitrovcd by parasites, and I hope it will be in Brooklyn. 1 hope that no one will think of cutting down trees to get rid of the worms. Origin of " Bug-Poicdtr."' — Tlie Secretary stated that Lyon, the great bug-powder man, has gone home to Europe, worth an immense sum, and it is now published tliat tlie ])owder is made of a common French tield-plant of a species of the (;hamomile. All the eflective insect powders now offered for sale owe their eflBciency to red chamomile. It is sold by some of tlie druggists. Hub it to a fine dust, mix it with some cheap divisor, and it is the best insect powder known. "When dusted into the cracks and corners of ceilings, etc., out walk the cockroaches and all other intruders without fail. Dust the affected plants, and you may keep them clear of insects. Mons. P'ldiguet states to the Society of Agricnltnre, Paris, that the p[ant known as " Whiteflower Margaret" (Chrysanthemuvi cuanthemum), used as Sec. 12] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 229 a decoration, is very destructive to insect life. Tliis plant is not a native of tliis country, but is cultivated here, iind can be easily multiplied. Disease of the CoJf\e-Trcc. — Dr. Montague stated, at a meeting of tlie Society, that a disease has attacked the cofl'ee-trees of Ceylon, similar to the oidiuiii of the grapevines. The same disease has been observed in the West Indies. Olives and mulberries are attacked ; insects are observed upon them, something like the cochineal insect. There is also an exudation of a sweet gum that attracts insects. Milk of lime and purin — an extract of manure — are used as a preventive. Ailanthus, as a food for silk-worms, has been used in France with success. Kerosene Oil for Insects. — Wm. G. Le Due, of Hastings, sends us a rem- edy for caterpillars and other insects, easily applied. It is kerosene oil. lie says : "Finding some large nests of caterpillars on my plum-trees, I took a can of illuminating oil, as it is called, and applying a few drops (sufficient to f aturatc the web of the nest), found that it worked like a charm. It is in- stant death to the vermin. Cai-e should be taken not to apply it to the leaves of the plant or tree, as they will be scalded at once. I have but little doubt that, in the hands of your careful experimentalists, it will prove of value. The coarser oils of coal will no doubt be equally efficacious in many instances. I may as well mention here, also, that I have found kerosene oW a most excellent diluent of printers' ink, which I use in mj flouring-mill for stencil-plate marking. It would be a thorough cleanser of tj'pe, though, per- haps, not so cheap as potash." Coal-Tar for Insects. — Prof. Mapes — "We are very free of destructive tree insects, this year (1S60), in New Jersey, but have a tair show of other pests of the farm and garden, and wo are obliged to resort to some remedy. We can not grow early turnips witlioiit using something to keep the insects off, and I am glad that the necessity stimulates invention to assist farmers in the de- struction of these pests. I have lately tried one called " attenuated coal- tar," and find it effectual. It is likely to be a very valuable aid to fruit- growere and gardeners. It is in the fiu'm of powder, and wherever sprinkled upon insect-infested plants, tlio insects leave at once. It is coal-tar mixed with some substance so as to reiaiu all its odor, and yet remain in the form of a dry powder. Mr. Lawton — The Black Tartarian is a good sort of cherry, but I prefer the Black Eagle ; it is a very hardy variety, and very productive. The En- glish Morello is an acid cherry, and the tree very free from insects. We have not had a rose-bug with us this year. Solon Kobinson stated that, only five miles from Mr. Lawton, the rose- bugs infested his cherry-trees by myriads, destroying more than half the fruit. Mr. R. inquired of Mr. Lawton what it was that ate his cherry-leaves, if it was not rose-bugs, as they were evidently eaten by some insect, and if coal-tar or anything else will prevent their ravages, it should be extensively known. 230 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. II. Whishjfor Ants. — Win. Davis, of ilarengo, Morrow County, Ohio, otfers the following plan for i)rotL"cting fniit-trees from ants, which, lie says, have killed many trees for him. It is the same plan pursued in this city to make loafers, and then get rid of them — that is, feed them with whisky and make them drunk, and then wipe them out. He says : " Mix wiiisky, molasses, and water, in equal parts, and fill a tumbler about two thirds full, and set it partly in the ground at the foot of the tree infested by auts. Wlicn it gets full of the drunkards, scoop them out and kill them." We suggest feeding them to fowls. Do Worms liain Down? — A person at Angola, Ind., who notices that the Club talks about all sorts of miscellaneous matters, wants us, in the absence of more important questions, to talk about this : " Do fish, worms, and small toads, such as are often seen after a shower, in places where it appears they must have fallen with the rain, actually come from the clouds?" Dr. Watehbuky replied — They do not ; it is one of the popular erroi-s which are so hard to eradicate. The Locust Question. — A long discussion ensued upon the locust question between Professor Mapes, Professor Nash, Wm. Lawto'n, Wn;. E. Prince, Dr. Trimble, and Andrew S. Fuller, about the habits of the seventeen-year locust, which appeared in great numbers in the summer of 1800, in the vicin- ity of New York. Every schoolboy of any pretension should read all about these locusts, and study tlicir natural history. Wherever they appear, try to learn their habits, and wliether they do injury to plants, either above or be- low the surfiice of the earth. Prof. Mapes exhibited the effects upon branches punctured by the females to lay their eggs, he still thought without permanent injury to the trees. Wm. R. Pkince declared the whole theory of the seventeen-year locusts a humbug. Prof. Nash thought they return in some localities in thirteen years, and inquired if the nature of the soil had any eflect upon their maturity. Varieties of the Locust. — ^Anduew S. Fulleu^AVc have maiiy varieties of what are called locusts, among which arc the Cicada Sejytemdeeiin, Cicada Canicidaris, Cicada liimosct, Cicada Marginata, Cicada Suj>erba, Cicada liobertsonia, and perhaps several others. The habits of these are well known, and have been for many years. The seventeen-year locust has ap- peared regularly every seventeen years for more than a hundred years, as is well attested by numerous Mn-iters upon natural history. Dr. Tkimblk, of New Jersey, gave a lengthy lecture upon the locust, show- ing how the insect deposits its eggs in the limbs of almost every variety of trees. A great number of these twigs were distributed among the company, to show the curious manner in which these eggs are deposited. This peculiar insect appears once in seventeen years ; but the year of its appearance differs in every part of the country. In 1S55 it infested south- ern Illinois. In 1800, 1817, and 1834 the trees of Delaware and Maryland were literally covered by them ; and in 1843 many of the river counties on Sec. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 2ai the Hudson were infested with the CieadaB. Tlie male insect has a pair of drums on each side of the head, and, when infesting an orchard or woods, the noise is frequently so great that no conversation can be heard in the vicinity. The insect appears about the 25th of May, and remains six weeks. The female is armed with an ovi_positor, with which she inserts her eggs in the smaller portions of limbs of fruit-trees, oaks, chestnuts, etc., always selecting new growth, of an eighth to a qxiarter of an inch in diameter. Tlie incisions, about twelve in number, are made at an angle of forty to fifty degrees, with an egg in each, and sometimes the twig is girdled near the eggs, so that when the end of the twig dies it falls to the ground, and the eggs ai'e carried in by dews and rains. Miss Morris, of Germantown, Pa., a Avell-known entomologist of close observation, claims that she found them attached to the roots of pear-trees. " While plowing at our place, May 10, these insects were thrown out in large quantities. Tlie holes through which they ascend in the soil may be traced to a depth of four feet or more. This locust is not to be dreaded, as they do but little liarm ; are not known to feed, and the shortening-in of limbs by the depositing of their eggs may give a useful hint to those who do not understand the benefits of the shortening-in process." He also gave an account of a maple-tree in Newark, which appears to have a sort of bohun upas eflect upon flies ; they lay dead by tiiousands under this tree. * Prof. Mapes stated that, in plowing upon his farm near Newark, in May, the seventeen-year locusts were turned up in vast quantities. Dr. TEnnjLE stated that this insect does not consume vegetation. They are within a few inches of the surface, waiting for the right condition of the temperature to issue forth. Seventeen years ago these insects came forth on the 25th of May, and immediately commenced their musical notes. They remain about six weeks above ground, eating nothing. The injury they do vegetation is by puncturing the limbs to deposit their eggs. This kills the ends of the branches. The apple-tree and elm-trees are favorite trees with these seventeen-year locusts. The time of their appearance varies in differ- ent localities. This is tlie year for all this vicinity and up the Hudson River. My opinion is that the life of the insect is sustained under-ground by attach- ing to the roots of plants. Tlie limb selected for puncture is always small. Tlie Secretary stated that the size of the limb punctured is not usually over an eighth of an inch. Mr. Dodge stated tliat the locusts were very plentiful on Long Island five years ago, and that he has seen them every year in this city. Prof. Mapes thought that these fellows would be a little too much for " insect powder." Still, he had received great benefit from one called the " Persian Powder." That will enable me to grow early turnips, and it will kill caterpillars. Mr. Gale — In 1809, in Orange County, the locusts were plentiful enough to allow me to gather bushels of them, and the apple-trees were covered. 233 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. U. The only injury was to the small twigs. Wheat-fields were covered, but not inj ured. Andrew S. Fuller — In 1855 (lie locusts were very abundant in Illinois, and came forth out of heavy clay land, from more than four feet in depth, in oak forests. They appeared to prefer the oak-trees. The Chairman stated that he had observed their preference for oak in some instances, but upon the whole, he thought they had very little care for any particular sort of trees. Dr. Triiible thought the chestnut was their favorite. I found, yesterday, the eggs of the locust are beginning to hatch, and the young insect is as perfect in shape as the old ones, of a pure white color, and no larger than one of the eggs. Habits of Grasshoppers. — A Goliad correspondent of the Colorado (Texas) Citizen gives some curious facts in relation to the grasshoppers which have recently swarmed in that region. He says : "They have an especial fondness for wheat and cotton, but don't take so kindly to corn. The only vegetable they spare is the pumpkin. Tlie most deadly poisons have had no effect upon them ; fumes of suljihur they rather like than otherwise ; musketo-nets they devour greedily ; clothes hung out to dry they esteem a rarity ; blankets and gunny-bags they don't appear to fancy. Tliey swim the broadest creeks in safety, sun themselves a while, and then go on. T!ie whole mass appear to start and move at the same time, traveling for an hour or two, devouring everything in their way, and then suddenly cease, not moving perhaps for a week, during which time no feeding is noticed ; and finally, they carefully avoid the sea-coast." Grosshopptr Parasites. — Solon Kobinson — I have a letter from L. B. Rice, Middlebury, Vt., inclosing sj^ecimens of grasshoppers, showing a para- site that is preying upon them, wliich, it is to be hoped, will help to annihilate this pest. This parasite is a small red insect, which attaches itself to the grasshopper just under the wing. 255. Cankf r-Worm Preventives.— The following letter to the autlior, from a Kew York city friend, is worthy of attention by all whose trees are eaten by worms : " Sir : Your recent discussions upon the canker-worm, which is so seriously devastating the foliage of the city, stir me up to lay before your readers the information which some years of careful observation have enabled me to gain respecting this pest of our neighborhood. I do this the more because I notice some suggestions in your conversations whicli look to the adoption of remedies ; and before any remedy is tried, it is essential that we have some assurance that it will be effectual. " I was a student in New llavcn at the time when the ravages of the in- sect were so severe in that city, and witnessed the e.xtreme desolation which the creature produced. The magnificent elms wliich are the glory of that beautiful city, stood bare and wintry at the end of June, with every vestige of their foliage utterly consumed. I noticed, and have since repeatedly ob- Sec. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 233 served, how perfect a protection is afforded by tlie metallic girdle winch you describe. Whether the plan of a Mr. Taylor, spoken of in the papers, is an improvement, I am not able to say. "The whole merit of the plan, however, consists in its adaptation to the habits of the insect. Tiie female — which deposits its eggs upon the body and brandies of the tree before the opening of the spring — is wingless, apterous, as we say in Entomology ; and being incapable of flying, is effecliially arrested by the barrier which is presented by such an open tube encircling the tree. The protection is complete, the application is easy, and the remedy is effectual. " One fact, however, is to be taken into view, which effectually alters the case with us. After familiar study of our New York insect, for several years past, I am convinced that it is a7i entirely different species, of different habits in many respects ; and, above all, different in the one particular which gives all its value to the ^e\w Haven remedy ; our species fulli/ possesses the power of flight. Its progress, therefore, to the body and limbs of the tree for the purpose of depositing its eggs can never be in the least arrested by any such measure as your correspondent proposes to adopt. Protection against the worm in our city can be obtained only by the same method by which New Haven derived hers, viz., the thorough and careful study of the habits of our own species of insect. " The very positive assurance of your correspondent, Mr. Webb, that ' it is a law of nature that all the millers which produce the measuring worm have no wings by which they can fly one inch,' is in the main true, though perhaps rather strongly stated ; but it applies only to the canker-worm of New England. Our species may be seen flying abundantly, botli males and females, ascending above the tops of our highest trees, and reaching the large branches with absolute ease. After having observed the whole process very carefully, I am in a position to speak confidently about it ; and I beg to assure your readers that any attempt blindly to imitate the New Haven method will only prove a mistaken and unprofitable, because ignorant, attempt. In order to ascertain with greater certainty the truth upon this point, I transmitted specimens of our New York miller, last suujmer, to Mr. E. C. Herrick, the accomplished librarian of Yale College, whose investiga- tions of the New Haven canker-worm were published at length, some years ago, in the American Journal of Science, smd received from him the assur- ance that my impression that the two species were entirely distinct was no doubt correct. Mr. II. also concurred with me in thinking that the power of flight possessed by the New York moth would require entirely different methods for the prevention of its ravages. " The one method which ray observation has suggested as effectual, con- sists in thoroughly scraping the tree after the eggs of the moth have been deposited upon it. The worm with us does not, as in New Haven, go into the ground and remain there till tlie winter, but goes through its changes in a very brief period. After coming down from the tree, it lays itself up in a 234 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. H. cocoon, formed of a few thin fibers of silk, in the crevices of the bark of ihj trees which it frequents, or upon posts and fences near the tree. There the insect may then be found, undergoing its change. After about a fortnight, it comes forth in the shape of a white moth, soincwliat less than an inch long. At that period our parks and public squares are alive with these millers; the grass is studded, the paths covered, the air filled with them. Any one may easily satisfy himself of their power of flight by a careful ob- servation of them. The antenure, or feelers, projecting from the head, are in' the males feathered, or, entomologically, pectinated ; a row of fine fibers, like the teeth of a comb, lines each antenna upon one side; the females have the antenna plain and straight ; and they may also be distinguished by the larger size of the abdomen, which is distended by eggs. No diflerence, however, in the power of flight will be observed between the two sexes. On coming out from the cocoon the sexes meet, and the impregnated eggs are at once laid upon the bark of the tree. They may be seen in patches, varying from a dozen to fifty, or even more — minute, green globules, which soon change to a dusky gray or brown, scarcely distinguishable in tint from the bark. They adhere by a glutinous secretion very firmly to the tree, and remain through the year until the warmth of another spring hatches them into life. " At any time after the eggs are laid in the beginning of July, and before they are hatched in the beginning of the following May, a careful scraping of the tree will remove most of them, and so prevent their ravages for the next summer. " Having frequent occasion to pass through "Washington Parade Ground, I have pointed out the eggs upon the bark to the persons intrusted with the care of that spot, and the trees have been sometimes scraped in the spring, with very good results. This year it was omitted, and the deserted shells of the eggs of last year may now be seen on the trunks of the trees so seri- ously injured by them this summer. No other method than this afi"ords the least security ; but this, if faithfully carried out under any competent super- vision, can be made entirely effectual. The eggs remain for nearly a year before they are hatched, quite obvious, and tolerably accessible. A couple of men would in two or three days clean any one of our parks of this de- stroying agent for the next summer ; and careful attention for a few years throughout the city would nearly exterminate the pest." 256. Garden and Field Crop Pests.— The amount of damage done to farmers every year by bugs and worms, if it could be exhibited in figures represent- ing dollars and cents, would exceed the whole value of the wheat crop, or corn crop, or cotton crop, and it would not surprise me if it exceeded the value of all of them. If we could give certain preventives of the ravages of any one of the pests, we could afford to devote much more space than we shall allot to this head. But we will urge farmers to give the subject more attention. Buy the best works upon entomology, and devote many a winter evening to the careful study of the appearance, character, and habits of all Ssc. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 235 the insects that consume your crops. Give, we pray you, good attention to wliat we have.already said and shall say in this section. You can not fail to find sometiiing that will repay you well. You certainly will find valuahle information in the following paragraph, written by A. S. Ilall, of Maiden, Mass., in May, 1860 : 257. Salt for the Onion Slaggot. — ^Much has been said and written about the onion maggot, and I don't know that there is any cure for him ; but I will tell you how I treated mine last year, and with good success for once, and shall try it again this year, and will tell it to you and the farmers free of charge, for I don't think I could get " $60,000" for it if 1 should ask it. I sowed last year in my garden, on good soil, three rows, about thirty feet long each, to onion seeds. I expected the maggots, and watched diligently their progress. When they were first up about one or two inches high, I put some strong salt and water on about three feet of one row, to see if it would kill the onions, and, in case it did not, perhaps it might kill the mag- gots, if they came. The young onions stood it well, and it did not hurt them. After the onions had got about as large as a pail-bail wire, there came a spell of warm, wet weather, and my onions began to be affected. I watched them several days, and they grew worse, and were fast dying out, for about one in every eight or ten were wilting and dying, and I found a maggot at the roots of every one that appeared wilting, and sometimes the maggot was nearly as large as the little stock itself, and had eaten the bot- tom all away, and was making its way up the stem ; at the rate of havoc they were making, it appeared there would not be one onion left in the bed at the end of four weeks more. I took a pailful of strong pickle from my pork-barrel, and, with a watering-pot, put it all on to the three rows, as though I were watering them ; the onions never faltered or changed. The salt killed all the grass, young clover, and weeds, except purslane, which came up later, and the maggots were entirely killed, and I never saw any after, though the flies continued to lay their eggs down the side of the little plant, and between it and the dirt, just as flies will blow apiece of fresh meat ; biit the salt prevented their maturing or hatching, and I raised a good crop of fair-sized onions. I think they did not ripen as well as usual, but I am not convinced that the salt prevented them, for I have often seen patches remain as green as mine were at harvest-time. I put on two or three slighter sprinklings of brine after the first, during the summer. 258. Essay on the Cat-Worm,— Head before the Chicago Gardener'' s Soci- ety^ August Qth, 1860, It/ Jno. Periam. — I acknowledge my inability to do justice to this subject, from not having given it my attention, except in a general way. It is, nevertheless, one which interests agriculturists, and par- ticularly horticulturists, as much, perhaps, as any other entomological sub- ject with which they have to do. The farmers, working on a more extended scale, using larger fields, and planting fewer varieties of hoed crops, do not 236 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. K. notice, nor perhaps suffer as much from the ravages of these families of tho Lepidoptera as the horticulturist proper. And the great order of iii.sects to which tliis class belongs are, jierhaps, the greatest scourge with which the worker in the soilTias to contend. According to Dr. Fitch, the most of this species belong to the genus Agrotis, of the family Noctuidffi, or Owlet-moths. In England, the insects of this genus arc named Dart-moths, from a peculiar spot or streak which many of them have near the base of their fore wings, resembling the point of a dart or spear, and he says that niucli the most common species of this genus in the State of New York can be nothing else tiian the Gothic dart, Agrotis suhgofhica of the British entomologists. They are the same which flit about the lights in summer evenings, and are found hid by day within crevices and shutters. To show still further the im[)oi-t- ance of this class of insects, I will quote from Dr. Harris, showing some of tlie families. He has divided them into three sections, called IJutterflies, Ilawk-moths, and moths corresponding to the genera Papilio, Sphinx, and riiala^na of Linnseus. To the first of these orders belong the caterpillars of our common butter- flies, many of which are very destructive to vegetation. To the second be- longs that class of caterpillars which infect the potato, the grapevine, etc. ; the Algerians, or, as they are commonly called, Borers, which latter name, however, is equally applicable to the larvaj of insects of many other orders. The third great section includes a vast number of insects, sometimes called Millers, from their dusty covering, or Night Butterflies, but more frequently Moths. Among these are the Cut-worm, the Bee-moth, and all other insects belonging to the order Lepidoptera which can not be arranged among the butterflies and hawk-moths. The most common of the Cut-worm tribe which have come under my ob- servation the present season, are the Stri^jed Cut-worm, the lied-headed Cut-worm, and the Black "Worm. The first is of a dirty whitish color, inclining to brown, with darker stripes. Tliis worm works upon the surface of the ground, and may be found at any hour of the day, if damp and cloudy. Tiie red-headed cut-worm has, as its name implies, a red head, and is of a uniform pale brown color, and has this season been particularly destructive; and as it worlvs under gionnd, it is death to whatever it attacks. The Black, or (as it is sometimes called) Tiger worm may easily be known when seen by its dark, dull brown color and black head. It works under ground, just below the surface, drawing the stems and leaves after it into its hole. There arc a number of others, among which are the fiiintly-lined cut- worm and the white cut-worm. Of the latter, I have not found a single specimen this season, though last j'ear I found several. They are rare, and consequently do but little damage. In this day of patent discoveries, any one who has plenty of monc}' and ample time to spend may furnish himself with a thousandrand-one nostrums which arc said to be effectual extermi- Sso. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 237 natom. Snuff, strong liquid manure, powder, charcoal dust, etc., will pro- feet, pi-ovided they can find plenty to eat elsewhere ; if not, they care about as much for them as I should about wetting my feet in wading a brook for my dinner, if I could not get it by any other means. I am satisfied that they might be, in a great measure, exterminated by neighbors joining, dur- ing the prevalence of the moths, and setting toi"ches or building fires for them to fly into. I saved my tomato crop, the present season, by having my men go over the ground in the morning, soon after daylight, and pick up the worms by hand. The first morning we secured over two thousand by count, and the next morning we gathered over a half peck of them on about an acre and a half. After that they began to diminish, and in a few days scarcely one could be found. I protect dahlias, and other choice plants, by wrapping paper about the stems ; vines, by planting plenty of seed, and killing the worms ; vine shields, if set two or three inches below the surface, will gen- erally protect. I have never succeeded in trapping them in holes, because, if they fall into them, they can dig out, if they can not crawl out. The best way to protect against their ravages is to plant plenty of seed, protect the birds, and then help them kill the worms. The London Gardeners Chronicle says there is a prospect of a total de- struction of the grass in the London parks, by the grub of an insect known as " Daddy Longlegs," which eats the roots of the turf and totally destroys it. " Various remedies have been tried without success." Have any of those remedies been a heavy dressing of salt ? If not, it should be tried at once. And besides that, we should like to know what this "Daddy Long- legs" is. It can not be our cut-worm, that sometimes destroys the turf in old meadows ; and certainly it can not be the " Daddy Longlegs" of our ac- quaintance, for that, so far as our youthful entomological researches went, was a very harmless Daddy, which had very long, slim, crooked legs, attached to a round body, the size of a small pea. 259. Wire Worms.— "A Young. Farmer" wants to know what he shall do to get rid of wire worms. He says : " An old gentleman not far from me says ; ' Soak the seed over night in copperas water, and the wire worm will not trouble it.' Who knows whether this is so or not ?" Ah! who knows? Does anybody Z,7iow anything? Another says soaking seed in a solution of niter will prevent destruction. If so, how easily practiced ! Again, who knows ? Probably the best remedy against wire worms is not to grow them. Keep no old meadows. Break them up. Plow all your sod and stubble land in the fall. Either bury your worm seed too deep to get out in time in the spring, or else freeze it to death in the winter. There is probably no remedy equal to deep plowing in the fall of the year. Perhaps we might all learn useful lessons from nature if we would more carefully read her printed pages. For instance, one who does try to read Buch lessons says : 238 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. n. "So far as my observation goes, the wire-worm is most troublesome in seasons after a mild winter, or when tliere has been a heavy coat of snow on lh(? ground during winter, thus preventing the frost jjenetrating the eartii to any considerable depth. Consequently, the worms remain near the surface, and are not frozen to death or driven so far below the surface that they must starve before they can return. Two successive crops of buckwheat will generally rid any soil of wire-worms." And we add, so will ten bushels of salt per acre, and every worm that is killed by it will fertilize a whole handful of grass. Salt, alone, is an e.xcel- lent manure ; salt and lime still better, prepared according to the formula under the head of " salt and lime mixture." Thirty bushels of lime, in powder, sown broadcast, will destroy the worms in many a field that has been almost barren, and make it productive of fine crops of wheat, clover, corn. " How to get rid of the worms," is one of the most important questions that a farmer can ask, and the want of a knowledge how, is not confined to voung farmers. Hence, all we say upon the subject is worth treasuring up in the great store-house of knowledge, the human mind. 260. Worm-KillerSi — A reliable South Carolina acquaintance, Col. A. G. Summer, of Pomaria, declares that China berries applied like manure to soil will expel all grubs and worms. "China trees" are as common all over the South as locust or ailanthus here, and they are very fruitful, the berries resera- hling small cherries in size, and pulp surrounding a hard seed. Only a few years ago, the fact v»'as discovered, rather accidentally, that the wood of this tree would bear a high polish, and that furniture made of it was as strong and handsome as that of some of our most expensive imported woods, and that its natural pleasant odor, like that of cedar or camphor wood, remains, and is a great preventive of moths. The botanical name of the " China tree" is Mdia azedaraeh', sometimes called the great Indian lilac. It is a hot- house shrub here ; at Charleston, it grows fifty feet high, and is a beautiful shade-tree, its greatest objection being its abundance of berries falling upon the ground, notwithstanding which it is a great fixvorite in all the most Southern States, and its berries, if of any value, could be had here at a small price. 261. Tobacco-WormSi — These destructive pests of the tobacco-planter, it is well known, can be subdued with a flock of turkeys better than in any other way. As both turkeys and worms are large, the operation can be seen and appreciated ; yet we have no doubt that a flock of wrens do just as much toward the destruction of some other family of worms, and really eflect as much good to the farmer. And so of every other class of birds. Cultivators of other crops ought to take lessons from the tobacco-growers. The first glut of worms, in July, is easily subdued by the turkeys, while tobacco is small, and the worms are doing but little damage. The trouble comes in August, but the destruction of the worms a month sooner may save the crop. Mr. Wm. Sheppard, of Ann Arundel Co., Md., has been very successful Seo. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 239 iu jjoisoning the moth that produces the tobacco-worm, by the use of cobalt — a quarter of a pound to a half pint of water. This is made quite sweet witii refined sugar, and the mixture is put into a small bottle, with a quill in the cork, and two or three drops through the quill deposited in the blossom of the Jamestown weed, or in the blossom of the tobacco-plants. The horn- blower will suck the jjoison till he dies. The trumpet blossoms of the Jamestown weed are favorite resorts of the moth, and arc gathered fresh, and fastened to the tobacco plants, or upon sticks set through the field. It may be worth while to grow the weed on purpose for traps. The cobalt is the same black powder often sold by druggists as "fly poison." It should be reduced in a mortar to a fine powder before using. It is worth while to try it for other insects, placing it upon plates in their haunts. Mr. Sheppard thinks any planter may protect himself against the tobacco- worm with this poison. John G. Bergen, of Long Island, stated to us, in the spring of 1860, that he had been obliged to send all his laborers into his tomaio-field to kill worms that are destroying the plants and young fruit. He thinks it identical with the tobacco-worm, having grown tobacco a few years ago and been troubled with the same kind of M-ornis. One of Mr. B.'s neighbors told us afterward that the worms were not only very troublesome on the tomato- vines, but were eating the potato-vines ravenously. Tlie New Haven Courier said the potato-vines in that State were being eaten by worms, so as to destroy the prospect of a crop, and these worms, we judge, are the same kind as those on Long Island. In this city, worms have been for years destroying the trees ; none but the ailanthus escapes them. Is it not worth while to try to poison the insects while on the wing, in the way indicated above, or some other way ? The Jamestown weed mentioned above, we take to be the same weed that grows along many New England waysides, called " Jimson weed," or " stink- weed." It is the Datura stramonium. 262. Bug Remedies. — Here is a good one ! "We haven't a doubt as to its efficacy — not one ! try it. A correspondent says : " I have seen many plans recommended for removing and keeping bugs and other insects from vines, and among them, snuff, soap, mustard, etc., all or any of which articles must, in my opinion, more or less injure the plant. I have found this the case from experience ; and I have also found, by the same means, that the best preparation for this purpose is a cold and very strong decoction made with water and manure from the henroost and cow-yard, and applied morn- ing and evening. The insects do not relish this preparation, while the plants to which it is applied do." Another one sa^-s : " I preserved my vines last year from the ravages of the striped bugs by placing little wads of cotton, saturated with spirits of 2i0 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. II. turpentine among the vines ne;ir the roots, using care to have them not touch the vines. The turpentine should be renewed from to time." Another says: "These pests of the vines may be easily got rid of by building a fire of light wood that will blaze freely in the evening. All insects fly into a blaze, and are thus destroyed in myriads." It is recommended by J. M. Dlmond, of Eaton Co., Mich., to plant in the s:imG hill with summer squashes or melons, etc., some seeds of the winter scpiash, such as have the largest succulent leaves. He says the bugs will not molest the smaller vines under such circumstances. When danger from bugs has ceased, then the plants can be removed. Another one gives the following as a sure specific for bugs on vines: " Having seen by your paper that many truckers in your section are anxious to ascertain a simple and sure remedy to destroy bugs on squashes, cucum- bers, and the like, I will give you one which is almost a specific, and within the reach of every one, especially those living on the sea-board. " Procure fresh fish — of any kind whatever, the commonest and cheapest just as good — a sufficient quantity according to circumstances, say one peck to a barrel of water. Let them stand therein a day or two, in order to com- mence decomposition and emit their 7iecessarily unpleasant odor; then dampen the leaves with the liquid. " In addition to driving away the bugs, your plants will become green and healthy, and soon grow beyond the reach of any future swarm of depreda- tors. It may be necessary to use the water two or three times in the course of two weeks, but remember that every application is equivalent to a dress- ing of manure, which will amply repay for the labor, which is very trifling. Fresh fisli offal is of equal value with the fish."' 263. Potato Bugs* — It is quite as useful to i-eport failure as success in farming. AVe are therefore obliged to Horatio J. Cox, of Zanesville, Ohio, for telling us that he tried powdered lime, and also ashes, sifted upon his potato vines to prevent them from being eaten by the potato bugs, but ho found them at work as usual, with their backs white with lime. His con- clusion, therefore, is, that that is no remedy against the depredations of these pests. He remarks that " there arc two kinds working in concert, but, from my observation, keeping up separate breeds — the black shell and the striped shell ; the latter is more active than the other, and not quite so plump." A French paper gives an opinion that nearly all the diseases of plants, including potato-rot, are occasioned by insects. The insects, in many cases, are microscopic. The little aucaris, for instance, although so very minute, is a great destroyer. It causes little scabby pustules upon fruits, particularly fine pears. Whether the potato bug always found on the diseased vines is the cause or eflfect of the disease, is a mooted question. Although Mr. Cox did not stop tlieir depredations, we still recommend liberal dressings of ashes and plaster, and if these do not kill the bugs, they will give the vines a vigorous growth. So with lime and salt. Seo. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 241 204. Protection of Tlirnips. — Tlie following, from an English newspaper, is equally wortliy of attentiou in America : "In the list of patents lor wliich provisional protection has been taken out is a machine of a novel and somewliat curious character. The speciiica- tion, as taken from the list, describes tlie machine as a 'blast drill,' the object of which is to protect tiie turnip crop from the ravages of the fly and the slug, and its other numerous enemies, and secure, as far as human inge- nuity can accomplish it, this most valuable of all bulbous I'oots. The com- mon practice of protecting the turnip from the fly is by dusting the row with lime during the night and while the dew is upon the plant. Tliis operation is difhcult, and imperfecily performed. Besides the slow process of doing tliis by liand, the ditficulty of dusting the under side of the plant as well as the top side ofi'ers an insuperable objection to tliis mode of ajtplying lime, soot, or any otlicr compost, to the young turnip-plant. This difficulty is now overcome, and the lime (a mixture of one sixth of soot with it is recom- mended) is thrown, by means of a l)last fan, upon every part of the plant, both on the upjjer and under side. The fan is put in niotion by tlie travel- ing wheels of the drill, and receives its velocity in the usual manner by gearing wheels. Tlie blast tlius created by the fan is brought to bear upon tlie plant, which, yielding to its action, bends fiom the current, and as it acts upon a falling stream of lime or other composition, the plant becomes completely covered with the jjowder. But this is not the only object the blast drill will accomplish. The fly, disturbed by a simple contrivance, liops away, but is at that moment caught by a current of air entering the blast fan and instantly destroyed, and thrown out again with violence from tlie vortex into wliich it had been drawn. This operation is simple, and the pro- cess of annihilation is similar to that of a mouse or rat going down a thrash- ing-machine. The fly and the lime are so completely mixed and incorpo- rated that the mischievous yet delicate insects are destroyed by the atmo- spheric pressure thrown upon them, and the plant is also secured, by the dusting of compost, from all future attacks of the enemy. All farmers can not fail to know something about the insect which does so much annual mis- chief to the turnip crops. Sometimes a fallow, -which in tillage and labor has cost £5 or £6 an acre in preparing it for a crop of Swedes, has had all the labor and capital expended made vain by the fly. Can this evil be i-em- edic-d i It seems possible ; and if this invention of a blast drill should be the means of securing a turnip crop, or even improving it, by the application of a top-dressing of soot or guano, or any other soluble manure, a great good has been accomplished, not to farmers only, but to the community at large."' 2Go. Pea-Weevil — How Destroyed. — One of the greatest pests that growers of peas have to contend with is the pea-weevil, Bruchus pisi, which some- times attacks every pod, and leaves an egg to liatch into a disgusting insect in every pea, so that, if intended for food, when dry, we shall find a modi- cum of meat ready mixed in our pea-soup. If intended for seed, when we are ready to plant in the spring, we find the life of our peas eaten out. 242 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [CnAP. n. Although several birds, of whicli the crow and Baltimore oriole aic the chief, feed upon the pea-weevil, they are very fiir from destroying it, and the evil is annually increasing. IIow can this insect he destroyed, is a question worth solving. We think it can be, if farmers and gardeners would make a united cflbrt, totally annihilated from the country. The remedy is very simple. It is to steam all the seed peas. This can be done in a small way in families by taking the seed, so soon as gathered, shelled, and dried, and placing it iu a cullender, covered vith a cloth or plate, and placed over a kettle of boiling water until the steam is thoroughly passed through the peas, ■when they are to be dried in the sun and put away in paper bags. Upon a large scale, the peas may be steamed in bags or barrels, by inserting a steam- pipe from a boiler at so low a pressure that it will not cook the peas, but it will the pupae of the pea-weevil. Let it be remembered that steam, prop- erly applied, will totally eradicate the pea-weevil from the land And if from peas, why not from wheat, corn, and rice, easier and better than by kiln-drying ? It would be very easy to dry the steamed grain. Passing it through a fanning-miil would probably be sufficient; or pouring it out of a basket, where it would fall fifteen or twenty feet through the air. 266. Preserving InsectSi — Insect collectors will find the following method of killing the insects they wish to preserve one of the most convenient of any they have ever tried. Dissolve cyanide of potassa in M-ater to satura- tion, and keep it tightly corked in a small vial, and it will always remain in good order for use. When you catch a fly, moth, insect of any kind, or a beautiful butterfly that would be injured in fluttering, dip a needle- poiut in the solution, and prick your captive just under the wing, and see how quick and calmly they will lie down and die. Some large or hard-to-kill insects may require more than one stab to make them die- peace- ably. This solution is used by scientific entomologists in making their collections. 267. Household InsectSi — UalVs Medical Jownal states that household vermin may be got rid of as follows : Half an ounce of soap boiled in a pint of water, and put on with a brush while boiling hot, infallibly destroys the bugs and their eggs. Flies are driven out of a room by hanging up a bunch of common plantain (fleawort) after it has been dipped in milk. Kats and mice speedily disappear by mixing equal quantities of strong cheese and powdered squills. They devour this mixture with greediness, while it is in- nocent to man. When it is remembered how many persons have lost their lives by swallowing mixtures of strychnine, etc., it becomes a marter of hu- manity 1o publish these items. ^]ni Si-'untific Airiivkan says: " Common red wafers scattered abont the haunts of cockroaches will often drive away if not destroy them." These wafers, like candies, are (olored red by oxyd of lead, a most deadly poison ; and 60 is the acetate of lead, or sugar of lead, as it is sometimes called, on visiting cards, which, being a little sweetish, l>as been known to destroy young children, to whom they were handed to be amused M-ith. Fashion Sec. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 243 for once acts sensibly in discarding glazed cards, using instead Bristol board, more pliant, less cumbersome, and really more delicate. Wc have found that bugs can not stand hot alum water. Take two pounds of alum, bruise and reduce nearly to powder, and dissolve in three quarts of boiling water, letting it lemain in a warm place till the alum is dissolved. Tlie alum M'atcr is to be applied hot, by means of a brush, to every joint and crevice. Brush the crevices in the floor of the skirting-board, if they arc suspected places. "Whitewash the ceiling, put in plenty of alum, and there Mill be an end to their dropping from thence. To kill moths in carpets, spread a wet cloth on the carpet, and iron witli a liot flat-iron round the edges and places where you suspect them to be. Do this a few times in the course of the summer, and you will save your carpet from the moths. SiIk-tco)-j)is have been induced to work in France by electricity. M. Sauvageon reports to the Academy his experience in the matter. Finding tlie little things torpid and unwilling to work, the idea struck him to stir tlieni up by electricity. The results, as he gives them, are really marvelous. He took fifty-three worms at random from among thousands belonging to a neighbor, put them every day on a sheet-iron plate, through which a current of electricity was passed, kept them each time as long as they could stand it, and now has fiftj^-three beautiful cocoons, an amount which his neighbors will not obtain, to all appearances, from several thousand ungalvanized worms. If these results may be relied on, he has made a very valuable discovery. 208. Moth ProtcctorSt — Camjyhor is one of the most useful moth protectors about the household. A trunk full of furs, with an ounce of cam])hor gum scattered through tliem, will be safe from moths. Furs or woolens packed in a chest made of camphor-wood or cedar will generally be safe. Some housewives pack in a linen sheet, or bag of close texture. Others use to- bacco. Others keep their furs or woolens in drawers or trunks where they will be often exposed to the light, and where they can frequently take them out to the air and sun, and beat them, which will eflfectually prevent the ravages of the moth. A very good preventive is to carefully kill the miller that makes the worm which is so destructive to woolens and furs. It is not a hard matter to do so in a house not already overrun with them. They may be attracted to a light blaze ; and they may be caught in plates with a little s\veetened water and vinegar ; or a piece of an old blanket may be used as a trap ; or they all may be caught and destroyed by hand, by de- voting half an hour to the work each evening, in the proper season. 269. Anls in the HousCi— These troublesome pests may be overcome by various remedies. Perhaps one of the best things for the red ants is to mix a few grains of corrosive sublimate in a spoonful of lard, with a little sugar, and then draw rough strings of cotton or woolen yarn through the mixture, and lay them in the cracks where the ants harbor, or in the corners of closet shelves. They may also be poisoned with cobalt, pulverized fine and mixed 244 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL with something sweet that they like to feed upon. Tliese and otlier insects can be poisoned by arsenic. Tliey may be kcjit from tlie sngar-bowl by setting it in a plate covered with powdered chalk. The whisky remedy recolnmended in No. 254, to protect trees from ants, may be adopted in the house. The bug-powder mentioned in the same number, made of red chamo- mile, can also be used in the house for ants and other pests. For the large black ant, the best vehicle for poison is old cheese. Dip a piece of it in a poisonous solution, or moisten it if dry, and dust it with corrosive sublimate or arsenic. Be very careful, in the use of poisons, not to get them mixed with food. There is no more danger, with proper care, than there is in keeping gun- powder in the house. 270. Insects Bene flcial to Farmers. — It is not to be inferred that because an animal is called an insect, it is pestiferous. The contrary should be taught in all schools, as well as in home lessons. The false idea is prevalent tliat all sorts of insects, bees excepted, are mischievous, hurtful, and hateful ; so that evei'Y worm, bug, fly, moth, miller, or little crawling, creeping, flying thing is looked upon by almost everj' one witli a feeling of desire to crush it. A contrary feeling must be cultivated. Children must be taught to dis- criminate between good and evil insects, as well as between good and evil deeds. A cloud of moths might be seen hovering around the wheat, and the farmer, under the supposition that they had come to destroy the grain, might destroy them, and afterward find that he had killed his best friends — the parasites of the wheat destructors. Before we declare a war of annihila- tion, as many have against the birds, ujwn any class of animals, let us first inquire which are and which are not noxious. "We will here briefly point out a few. The common angle-worm, instead of being detrimental to the farmer, is actually a co-laborer, and often a better one than the biped owner of the soil. A scientific writer on Zoology says : "The burrowing of earth-worms is a process exceedingly useful to the gardener and agriculturist ; and these animals are far more useful to man in this way, than they arc injurious by destroying vegetables. Tliey give a kind of under tillage to the land, performing the same below the ground that the spade docs above for the garden, and the plow for arable land, loosening the earth so as to render it jiermeable to air and water. It has lately been shown that they will even add to the depth of soil ; covering barren tracts with a layer of productive mold. Tiius, in fields that have been overspread with lime, burnt marl, or cinders, these sidjstanccs are in time covered with finely divided soil, well adapted to the support of vegetation. "That this result — which is most commonly attributed by farmers to the ' working down' of the material in (picstion — is really due to the action of the earth-worm, appears from the fact that in the soil thus formed, large numbers of ' worm-casts' niay be distinguished. These are produced by the digestive process of the worms, which take into their intestinal canal a large Seo. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 245 quantity of the soil through wliich they burrow, extract from it a great part of (lie decaying vegetable matter it may contain, and eject the rest in a finely divided state. In this manner a field manured with marl has become covered, in the course of 80 years, with a bed of earth averaging 13 inches in thickness." White, in his " Natural History of Selborne," says : '' Worms seem to be great promoters of vegetation, which would proceed but slowly without them, by boring, perforating, and loosening the soil and rendering it pervious to rains and fibers of plants, by drawing straws and stalks of leaves and twigs into it, and most of all, by throwing up such infinite numbers of lumps of earth, called worm-casts, which, being their excrement, is a fine manure for grain and grass." It is a part of the system of comminution spoken of under another head ; and if all the earth could be eaten by worms, it would serve as a manure for crops, simply because it had been pulverized, and thereby fitted for their use. Some time since, in company with several gentlemen, we listened to a conversation with reference to the value of the earth-worm, one gentleman claiming that they were a nuisance in the garden, and others asserting that tliey were a great blessing, as mole drainers, and always an index of the fertility of the soil. Here is a paragraph from the EncydojpcRdia Britan- nicii, right to the point : " The common earth-worm, though apt to be despised and trodden on, is really a useful creature in its way. Mr. Knapp describes it as the natural manurer of the soil, consuming on the surface the softer part of decayed vegetable matter, and conveying downward the more woody fibers, which there molder and fertilize." 271. Plant-Lice Destroyers. — ^There is an ichneumon fly, a very small blackish insect with yellowish legs and abdomen, not quite the twentieth of an inch long, which destroys myriads of aphides. The female lays an egg in each louse, and the grub from that devours its nest, leaving only the skin attached to the leaf, serving for a shelter for the larva in its pupa state. The fly comes out of a hole in the louse's back, and repeats the ojieration. Careful examination will disclose a great many of these perforated empty aphis skins upon plants that would be entirely destroyed hy a long-continued multiplication of their consumers, but for this little parasite. The Syrphus is the name of another destroyer of the aphis that abounds upon cotton-plants. This is not a parasite ; the eggs being laid on the leaf among the aphis, the maggot, wliich is, when full grown, about one fifth of an inch long, makes its food of the lice. Tlie pupa is formed on the leaf, in a case made by the worm of a glutinous secretion— the juices it has sucked out of the lice it fed upon. The fly is seven tenths of an inch across the wings, which are double ; the body appearing like a diminutive wasp, banded witli brown, black, and j-ellow. It hovers much on the wing, without much motion, unless disturbed, when it shows its power of swift flight. This 246 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL louse destroyer does not confine its operations to the aphis of cotton-plants, tiiough it seems to prefer them. It is of immense service to Southern farmers. The Lady-linl (Coccinella) is another valuable assistant to the cotton- planter, in particular. "Where the lice most abound, there will be found the lady-bird doing its work. Yet there are numerous planters who, seeing this insect hovei'ing over the cotton, suppose it the parent of the pest they stand 60 much in fear of, and direct the negroes to destroy all they can. It was a negro who first discovered that the worms hatched from their eggs, which are deposited on the leaf near the aphis, actually consume them, instead of the cotton-plant. The worms are a quarter of an inch long, bluish-black, and voracious as an alligator, to which they bear some slight resemblance. They seize and cat the lice alive, until all upon tlie leaf are consumed, when the grub fastens itself by the tail to the leaf to await its change. The insect while on the wing is also a louse-eater. A disagreeable odor emitted by tins insect will serve to identify it. , The larva of the Jace-wwgfl)j is another cotton-aphis cater. These wonns are hatched from filaments of eggs, which the fly attaches to the under side of the leaf near an aphis colony. This larva is not quite one fifth of an inch long. It may be known by the way it holds by the tail, while sti-eteh- ing out full length looking for its favorite food. It spins a little cocoon, out of which, in due time, comes a bright green fly, with brilliant eyes, and four transparent greenish wings, delicately netted like fine lace — hence the name. This insect also belongs to the fetid-odor family. 272. Other Insect Destroyers. — The Carolina tlgcr-heetle is a beantiful insect, seven tenths of an inch long, of metallic blue, violet, and green color, and savage propensities toward all other insects. The Ilarpalus is another insect-consuming beetle, with very strong hooked jaws adapted to a predatory Hfe. If it can not find living food, it will consume dead, putrescent substances. The Mantis, an insect known in Maryland as the " rear horse," is a voracious consumer of insects. In fact, it is said that they will sometimes consume one another. Tlie largest are over two inches in length, of a very awkward-looking form. The eggs attached to a limb look like an excres- cence, and are often attacked by an ichneumon fly, as a place of deposit for its eggs. Tlie young mantis conies out in June, at first without wings, but with a strong appetite for aphides and other insects. It stands upon four hind legs, with body elevated and forward feet closed, and head constantly moving. It walks, or jumps, when alarmed, but is capable of domestication so as to come and take food out of the hand, and is perfectly harmless cxce])t to things obnoxious to man, and for that it should be preserved. Its color is brownish gray to light green, and its form will be remembered from a picture of it, or after being once seen or known. The licduvius novenarius measures an inch and a quarter in length, and destroys multitudes of insects in all their stages of transformation. The Sko. 12.] ENTOMOLOGICAL. 247 eggs deposited in autunm hatch in May or June; the young worms are marked with a bh\ck head and thorax, and bi-ight red abdomen, and black spots on the back. They afterward appear of a grayish color, with rudi- ments of wings, which at length enable them to fly with strength. It approaches its prey cautiously, and makes a dart, and pierces it to death, and then Bucks out the substance. It cats the common tree-caterpillar voraciously, and it sometimes wounds a person handling it incautiously with its sharp piercer. There are numerous other parasites of noxious insects, and insects like those named, which prey upon others, which are really beneficial to the farmer, as are many quadrupeds and other animals that are natural insect- eaters, such as toads, moles, skunks, etc. The most important of all, perhaps, we mention in the next jiaragraph. 273. The Wheat niidge Parasite. — The only hope of relief from the blasting eflects of the wheat-midge (323), with those who have thought upon the sub- ject, has been a parasite that would work its destruction. That hope, we trust, is about to be realized. A correspondent of the Canadian Agricul- turist, writing to that paper in the autumn of 1860, says : "I am rejoiced that this week I can announce the arrival of a deadly enemy to the wheat midge or fly. In the neighborhood of Sparta, township of Yarmouth, the farmers have discovered some species of ichneumons which deposit their eggs on the larva. One of these is very small, black, and shining ; the other is also black, with red feet and a blunt tail. These are often mistaken for the wheat-fly ; but as it has only two wings, and they have four, the distinction is obvious. To observe the proceedings of the ichneumons, place a number of the maggots or larvre of the wheat-fly on a sheet of paper, apd set a female ichneumon in the midst of them ; she soon pounces upon her victim, and, intensely vibrating her antennfe, bending her- self obliquely, plunges her ovipositor into the body of the larva, depositing in it a single egg. She will then pass to the second, and so on, depositing a single egg in each. You will observe the maggot writhing in seeming agony, when sometimes the fly stings them three times. These ichneumons appear in myriads on the outside of the ear, but, as if impatient of bright light, sheltering themselves from the sun's rays among the husks." The same thing has been noticed in other sections ; and Dr. Fitch, the entomologist of the New York State Agricultural Society, is so much en- couraged that a remedy has come at last, that he writes confidently, in iSTovember of that year: "The days of the wheat-midge pest are numbered. I fully believe that farmers may again sow wheat without fear of its destruc- tion by the Ceddomyia trUici^'' 248 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. II. SECTION XIII.-MISCELLANEOUS-AVILD AND TAME ANIMALS OF THE FAIIM-DOMESTIC FISH-BREEDING, ETC. 'olcs. — Wo liavo for four years (1S59-1862) occu- /^ pied our little farm in AVestchestor County — one of the many sadly-abused pieces of land,_ some of that in mowing, not planted for thirty years or more — and in this land we found the moles as thick as we ever saw them anywhere in our life, and therefore have a right to speak of them from expe- rience. In some respects we have sufiercd severely by them. Tliey have killed many choice things that we have planted, including several valuable grapevines ; but we are not yet willing to destroy the moles. We do not look upon them as pests, although they have pestered us. They xmdermine the plants, but do not eat them What for? It is not for sport, nor merely accidental in boring their subterranean galleries. It is in pursuit of food. And as that food consists of insects noxious to the farmer, this paragraph upon moles comes in coui-se very well after the section devoted to insects. In fact, we believe that tlie mole is one of man's best friends, and that it never occupies land that is not already so preoccupied with destructive worms as to render it unfit for culli- vation. So impressed with this belief are some European people — all Prussia, we believe — that they have enacted laws to prohibit the killing of moles. As with the crow, opinions vary in this country whether the mole is beneficial or injurious to farmers. For our own part, we must say that we never see an account of a "new mole-trap" without Avishing the inventor might get his own fingers caught in it. It is a great pity that farmers can not learn that moles are one of the good things that Providence has bestowed upon them — that they do not destro}^ seeds and plants, but the insects that are great pests to the farm and garden. In this opinion we shall continue until better informed upon this question. In the mean time we give some opinions of others. Tiie following is the sketch of a report of a convcrsafion at the New York Farmers' Club about moles : Solon Hobinson read a letter upon the subject of moles, which elicited a lengthy discussion. Tlie following portion of the letter we print : " This animal, as you probably know, has a very small apology for eyes, which can not be discovered till the skin is removed, and it can not be ascer- tained that they are of any practical use. His sense of hearing and of smell is very acute, and he is enabled to elude observation, and to avoid anything unusual that may be placed in his track. No device, however, with whicli I am acquainted will force him to abandon a well-cultivated track, abound- ing with earth-worms, whicli are his chief attraction. He will pass from hill Seo. 13.] WILD AND TAME ANIMALS OF THE FAKM. 249 to hill, severing the corn, melon, or other seeds from the tender plant, thus greatly impeding its progress, and in many instances wholly destroying it. In a scarcity of earth-worms he will prey upon beets, potatoes, and other roots with voracity ; still the damage he thus does is of little account com- pared with that produced by his relentless plowing or rooting. Where the soil is fertile and not too wet, this intruder will be found undermining all vegetation, and is a source of discomfort to the agriculturist, which must be realized to be appreciated. " Failures in field and garden, which are often attributed to drouth or in- sects, are many times produced in a great measure by moles. At morning, noon, and evening the mole goes forth on his depredations, making the most rapid movements (for an underground performance), and in less than twenty minutes finishes his repast, and returns again to his hiding-place deep in the earth, beyond the reach of all intruders. '• The Yankee mole is too shrewd for the English trap, or, indeed, for any, with a single exception. I have examined several traps, beautiful in theory, but they are splendid practical failures." Wm. S. Carpenter — I am satisfied about the injury of moles to the farmer^ being much more than all liis benefit in eating worms. I had a bed of tulips destroyed by moles. I traced them by their paths from root to root. Prof. Mapes — I have tried careful experiments with moles in confinement, and have never succeeded in getting them to eat any kind of vegetable matter. Mr. Moody, of New Jersey — 1 have found that moles do cut off the stems of thorns in my hedge. I can not say that they eat thorns. I am satisfied, too, that they will eat potatoes. Pruf Mapes — I find that potatoes are eaten in the vicinity of moles, but I am satisfied that they are eaten by grubs that the moles feed upon. Dr. Trimble— The potato is eaten by the grub of the cockchafer, and not by the mole. Mr. Fuller — I have known moles to gnaw potatoes, but not for food. The Chairman, Egbert L. Pell, made the following remarks upon this subject : Ifolc-U/Ils.— In rich alluvial soils, mole-hills are thrown up in immense numbers, because such soils usually abound with the food that these subter- raneous creatures seek for. They destroy the roots of grass immediately contiguous to their mounds, besides often impeding the free action of tho scythe, for these reasons. Some think it well to exterminate them ; still they no doubt do a vast deal of good by destroying obnoxious worms and grubs. In the spring of the year it is an easy matter to spread out these mounds over the surrounding ground, as they are dry and powdery, and act to a certain extent as an enriching top-dressing. The mole can not bear access to the atmosphere, being wholly subterra- neous by nature ; they never drink, but live entirely upon worms, insects, and the roots of grass, and are never foundHn gravelly or clay soils. SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL They breed in April and May, and generally ])roduce four at a birth. Tlie tunnels that tliej' make are invariably parallel to the surtace of the ground, and about six inches deep, unless they become alarmed, when tlay inimediately sink to the deptli of fourteen inches, rarely deeper. They have cities under ground, wliicli consist of houses, or nests, where tliey feed and nurse their young ; communicaiing with these are wider and more frequented streets, made by tiie perpetual journeys of the female and male parents, us well as many other less frequented streets, with diverging branches, whicli they extend daily to collect food for theniselves and Ainiilies. Moles arc exceedingly active in April and May, during the pairing season, when the tunnels become very numerous, for the purpose of meeting each other. I do not believe tliat they are blind, from the fact that I have never observed that the mole-hills increase except in the day-time, showing that they do not work by night, whicli they would probably do if deprived of sight. They commence very early in the morning, when you may oiten see the mold or grass moving over them ; you may then readily cut olf their retreat by thrusting in the ground a spade directly behind thcjn, when they may be dug out very easily and killed by the attendant terrier. By placing your car on a newly-raised hill you may hear tliem scratching at a considerable distance, and thus be able to find them. You may always dis- cover the locality of their young by observing the hills, which are larger and the color difl'erent, a portion of the subsoil being thrown upon top. If you desire to set traps in their tumiels, it will be necessary to discover which are the frequented streets and which the by-roads. This may be accomplislicd by pressing the foot lightly on the hill, and if the mole passes that way he will nearly obliterate the mark. You may then set a subterranean trap, and he will be caught. These may be made from a piece of wood, in a hollow, semi-cylinder form, with grooved rings at each end, in which are placed the nooses of horse-hair, one at each end, fastened \>y a peg in the center, and stretched above-ground by a bent stick ; wb.en the mole has passed through one of the nooses, and removed the central jieg, the bent stick, by its elasticity, rises and strangles the animal. Tlie structure of this quadruped adapts it admirably to the underground life that it leads. Its head is very long, conical in shape, and tapers to the snout, M'hich is much strengthened by a bone, gristle, and very powerful muscles. The body is cylindrical, very thick on the back of the head, from which it dimin- ishes to the tail. It does not appear to have any neck, but where it should be, there is a mass of muscles, all of which appear to act upon the fore legs and head. These are the instruments with which he excavates the ground ; they are harder, shorter, and stronger, in proportion to the size of the animal, than in any other of the niammiferous class. I have never destroyed one of these little animals, because I consider the damage they do to a few roots of grass is entirely counterbalanced by their immense destruction of wire- worms, slugs, etc., besides aerifying, disintegrating, and lightening the soil, and thus fitting it admirably for the purposes of top-dressing. Sko. 13.] WILD AND TAME ANIMALS OF THE FARM. 251 I never permit the common crow to be destroyed, because he preserves my corn-fields from numerous enemies, keeps off liawks, destroys shio-s, snails, grubs, and eats carrion. Nor tlie black snake, whose constant employment seems to be the destruction of field-mice, and other enemies to the orchard. Nor the cherry bird, because he is always on hand ready to eat the first cherries that ripen prematurely, which invariably contain the worm. Nor the king-bird, wren, or robin, all of which are employed from dawn to dusk in relieving me from my enemies. 275. An English Opinion about Moles.— The Eoyal Agricultural Society's Transactions contains the following opinion about moles. The report affirms that "in one year, and every year, 60,000 bushels of seed-wheat, worth £30,000, are destroyed by wire-worms ! This prevents 720,000 bushels from being grown, worth £300,000. If our farmers and others, instead of killing moles, partridges, and pheasants, ^^• onld jyroiect them-, 720,000 bushels more wheat would go every year into the English market. But the creature designed by a kind Providence to perform the chief part of this immense good is the mole/ Some years since I had two fields, one of which was full of wire- worms, the other perhaps a third full. My crops failed on these fields for the first two or three years, but afterward improved rapidly, for I bought all the live moles I could find at three shillings a dozen, and then two shillings a dozen, and turned them into these fields. I had eight quarters of barley per acre and seven of wheat where the moles were at work all summer, making the ground like a honey-comb. Next year, the wire-worms, being all cleared out, my innocent little workmen, who had performed for me a service beyond the powers of all the men in my parish, emigrated to my neighbor's lands to perform the same service, but of course they met death wherever they moved, so that my little colony was wholly destroyed. Now I will receive all the moles that the farmers will give me, and turn them into my glebe." "- •' 276. An American Opinion about Bloles.— An American writer undertakes to criticise what is said above, and says : " This I know from every-day observation to be very erroneous. I do not know that moles eat insects ; be that as it may, I have no doubt their living is principally seeds, and roots, and other vegetables. In the winter time, when snow is deep and the ground not frozen, I have known them to destroy whole nurseries of apple-trees, and even young orchards that have commenced bearing." Now this man don't know what he is talking about." He has confounded mice and moles together. It is the mice, and not the moles, that have been running about in this man's orchard eating his trees. But he believes it is moles, and has a fi.xed prejudice in his mind against them, which no argument perhaps can remove. We beg of farmers to learn facts about things in which they are so much interested. 277. Mice and their Mischief.— Mice, we willingly concede, are mischievous — m young orchards excessively so. Wet seasons are favorable to the rai^d increase of field mice, and when followed by snowy winters and unfrozen 252 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. II. turf, so they can have access to the clover root*, thcj' become a scourge. The hitc dry summers nearly exterminated both rats and mice — probably more from thirst than hunger. The variety of mice that does most damage to trees is known as the ''meadow mouse," which always works under cover, girdling the trees most wlieii the snow lies deepest, particularly if it lies lightly or is held up by weeds and grass, so as to allow the vermin easily to make their paths from tree to tree, or from the tree to their resting-place. 2TS. Remedies for Mice Ealing Trees. — Tramping the snow down around the trees is a pretty sure remedy, and where tlie orchard or nursery is not extensive, will answer to be put in practice, but it would be troublesome on a large scale, as it may have to be repeated several times in the winter. Some persons have found it a good plan to tramp down the snow and wet it. It then forms ice, that often remains nearly all winter, keeping the ground warm, as well as keeping the mice off. Downing, in his " Fruits and Fruit-Trees," says: "The following mixture will be found to be an effectual prevention. Take one spadeful of hot- slacked lime ; one spadeful of clean cows'-dung ; half spadeful of soot ; one handful of flour of sulpluu- — mix the whole together with the addition of sufficient water to bring it to the consistency of thick paint. At the approach of winter, paint the trunks of the trees sufficiently high to be beyond the reach of these vermin. Experience lias jn-oved that it does no injury to the tree. A dry day should be chosen for the application." Coal-tar has been recommended, but we advise great caution in its use, since many persons have destroyed their trees by it. "We would sooner try a coating of strong alkaline soup ; that, at Jeast, would not injure the trees. 279. Mice aud Osage-orange. — J. D. Cattell, of Salem, Columbiana Co., Ohio, says the iield-mice are eating up all the roots of Osage-orange hedges in that region, so that they are utterly destroyed, and their cultivation must be abandoned unless somebody can give a remedy. He says : " It has been my understanding, heretofore, that one of the greatest excel- lences of this plant for fencing was its freedom from all animal destroyers. If no remedy against the ravages of the mice can be found, it will be folly to set a plant of the kind in this part of the country. One of my neighliors has already given np half of his for lost, and grubbed out the balance. No doubt others are troubled in the same way. I have tried traps, terrier dogs, and poison, but all in vain. "What shall I do?" "Who can tell? "We heard one nurseryman siy t'lat he should dig up an Osage-orange hedge, because it attracted mice, and also because it entirely exhausted the soil of a wide space, so that he lost the growth of one row of trees. 280. RatSi— This species of tiie genus mm is an almost intolerable nuisance in some portions of the United States. In fact, we do not know of any portion now exempt. They follow man into the wilderness. "When we Sec. 13.] WILD AND TAME ANIMALS OF THE FARM. 253 located on the prairie, in-183-i, about 1.5 miles from neighbors, and 40 miles out from what has since grown to be the city of Chicago, there was not a rat to seen or heard of. For several years we were exempt from this pest. There came abundance of shipping to Chicago, and with it abundance of rats, and they soon spread over the whole land, multiplying and devastating. Xow they are great pests in the barns and stacks of prairie farmers. Our common breed is called " Norway rats," from the supposition that they originated in that country. British naturalists, however, assert that they were introduced into the British Islands from India. If they are tropical animals, all we have to say is, that they easily adapt themselves to a rigoi'- ous climate, where they multiply at a most prolific rate. What we are yet to do Avith them is a problem not easily so';ved. All the receipts to cure the nuisance are only preventive, not eradicative. 2S1. Rat AntidoteSi — A correspondent of the Ga)'dener''s Montldy says : " I tried the effect of introducing ioto the entrance of their numerous holes, runs, or hiding-places, small portions of chloride of lime, or bleaching pow- der, wrapped in calico, and stuffed into the entrance holes, and thrown loose by spoonfuls into the drain from the house. This drove the rats away for a twelvemonth, when they returned to it. They were again treated in the same manner, with like effect. The cure was most complete. I presume it was the chlorine gas, which did not agree with their olfactories." Another correspondent writes: "Some four or five years since, my cellar became musty, to overcome which my wife sprinkled a solution of copperas (pretty strong) over. the bottom. Since that time we have seen no sign of rats about the house, notwithstanding there have been plenty of them about the barn and other buildings on the premises." Arsenic is considered, by some who have tried it, a failure, when used for the purpose of clearing premises of rats, because they are too cunning to partake of it after witnessing the death of two or three of the family. It is effectual, if the vermin will take the bait. Strychnine we consider far preferable, and although so much more costly, it requires but a few cents' worth to do the work of death upon a hundred rats. It is also the very best thing to use upon a troublesome dog or cat that comes prowling about your premises. One grain for a dose is sufficient. We have killed numerous wolves by inserting one grain of strychnine in the center of a piece of fresh meat, just large enougli for a mouthful for a wolf. As rats do not bolt their food, it is a little more diflicult to get them to take strychnine, it is so intensely bitter. If it is mixed with corn-meal, and a few drops of oil of anise are added, it will attract the rats. Tarring and feathering rats, and then letting them run, has been practiced, to give the tribe a hint that it would be well for them to leave. One rather smart individual, not having tar, used spirits of turpentine. He was going to drive the rats out of his house cellar. He was entirely successful ; for when he let the rat loose in his kitchen, with a " Shoo !" to it to go down the cellar stairs, it took the kitchen fire in its course, and then a pile of fla.x thi.t 254 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. H. lay in the cellar way. lu two hours there was not a rat in the house, unless it might be a roasted one. Planter of I'aris has proved a successful poison for rats; audit has the advantage of being quite harmless to have about the house. A tablcspoon- ful of the flour of plaster, mixed in a cup of Indian meal, and slightly sweet- ened, will be eaten by rats, and kill them. A little grated cheese makes the food more attractive. Oil of anise M'ould be still more so. In fact, by the use of it, rats may be coaxed out of a house to eat poison, and die where their dead bodies would not be a nuisance. Phosphorus, powdered and mixed with meal, a few grains to a teacupful, has been often used successfully as a rat poison. Powdered jwtash, strewn in the paths frequented by rats, has been known to drive them away from a house. The theory is, that it gives them very sore feet, and disgusts them witli the place. 282. English Rat-fatchers. — In England, rat-catching is a profession, sons often following it as the business of their fathers. The rat-catcher visits a farmer, and contracts with him at so much a head for all tiie rats he destroys. His XvA\> is a large bag, which is set with the mouth open, baited with a piece of bread scented with oil of anise and oil of rhodium, the scent of which attracts the rats, and thus he bags enough to fill the contract. He does not desire to rid the premises, as that would •' sjwil business." A rat- destroyer would not be tolerated by the honorable company of rat-catchers. 283. Rat-Traps. — ^Among the many devices for trapping rats, we will mention a few of the best. A large M'ire cage-trap, where the second rat will go in because he sees the first in there, often proves successful. A large brass kettle, half full of water, with a small stone island in the center, just big enough for one rat to rest upon, the top of the kettle being covered with parchment, similar to that of a drum-head, having a cross cnt in the center, is a first-rate trap. Fasten a small bait upon the points of the cut, and the rat jumps down from a board arranged for tlic purpose, and through he goes into the water. He scrambles on the island and squeals fur help. An- other hears him, and comes looking around, sees the bait, jumps for it, takes the plunge, and goes down upon the other fellow's head. Then comes a scramble for place, the strongest pushing the weakest oft' to take his chance in the water. This muss, as with men, attracts others, and in they go. We have heard of twenty in a night thus inveigled to destruction. A barrel, one third full of water, with an island, the surface covered with chaflf, and a bait suspended over it, avo have been told, is an excellent trap. Ferrets and weasels have been highly recommended to be kept about the burn, to drive away rats. The objection to tiiem is, that they drive away the poultry also. Ferrets have been trained so as to be obedient to the call of their master, and used not only to hunt rats, but to drive rabbits out of their burrows. 2S4. Domestic Cats. — Perhaps the best thing for a farmer to do, who is troubled with rats, is to multiply his stock of cats. We knew one farmer Seo. 13.] WILD AND TAME ANIMALS OF THE FARM. . 255 who kept fourteen eats, keeping np th.at number for more tlian a year, by which means he got rid of all annoyance from rats, and they also hunted the rabbits out of an adjoining grove. Tlie variety of the fdis tribe known as the domestic cat, once wild, easily gets wild again if neglected by man, and is tlien as great a pest as the rats, and is given to the very bad habit of eating eggs and chickens, and catch- ing pigeons and other birds. To 2)>'eveni cats killing chiclicns, Harriet Martineaii gives the following as a sure preventive both against the killing of chickens and birds b}' the cats : "When a cat is seen to catch a chicken, tie it round her neck, and make her wear it for two or thi-ee days. Fasten it securely, for she will make incred- ible efforts to get rid of it. Be firm for that time, and the cat is cured — she will never again desire to touch a bird. This is what m'o do with our own cats, and what we recommend to our neighbors ; and when they try the ex- jjoriment, they and their pets are secure from reproach and danger hence- forth. Wild, homeless, hungry, ragged, savage cats are more difficult to catch ; but they are outlaws, and may be shot, with the certainty that all the neighbors will be thankful." The abundance of food and shelter obtained by the domestic cat makes ilicm much more prolific than in a wild state. She is generally, though veiy tame and gentle, much more attached to the house than to its inmates, which is quite the reverse with the dog. There are some remarkable singularities about cats. Gentle as they appear, they are very nervous, and easily startled, and act for a moment as wildly as tJiough never tamed. They are also accused of being very treacherous. Their affection for their own spe- cies or ours is certainly doubtful. Their conduct at times, when a member (f the family dies, is singular. Their anxiety also to get at a corpse has led to curious superstitions. In the opinion of the sujierstitious, the black cat has ever been attendant upon witchcraft. It is our opinion that a portion of this black-cat superstition originated from the fact that the hairs of a black cat exhibit sparks of electricity to a remai-kablc degree, when the atmosphere is in the right condition. To see this, take such a cat into a dark room, upon a clear, cold November night, and stroke the fur the wrong way, and if you never have seen it before, you will be surprised at the effect. Cats, particularly females, are generally very cleanly animals to keep as house pets. They are fond of warm quarters and soft beds, and their song of satisfaction, called purring, is very pleasant to all who have a fondness for cats. We have known this fondness become a cat mania. We look upon cats as a necessary part of farm stock, and they should be properly treated as much as any other kind of animals. 285. DogSi — If there is any more unmitigated nuisance in a farming com- munity than dogs, such dogs as farmers generally keep, we are imable to name it. In the country where we live, there are some hundreds of farms better fitted for sheep husbandry than any other purpose, but upon which no sheep are kept, because the country is so full of worthless dogs. The 256 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL country might l)c a hundred thousand dollars a year riclier, if the people could stock tlieir farms with sheep. A man who keeps a worthless cur to prowl through a neighborhood, is neither a good Christian, moral man, nor good neighbor. He does not do as he would be done by. A well-trained terrier is the only kind of a dog that is useful to farmers in general. Of these there are several varieties ; the best is the wire-haired terrier, an ugly- looking brute, but a ferocious enemy to rats. The black-and-tan terrier is a handsome and more agreeable-looking dog to have about a place, and a good ratter, when trained, but does not have such an apparent natural pro- pensity to destroy i-ats as the wire-haired one. He is also, for his size, a very strong dog, and knows nothing about fear of anything, and is therefore a very good house watch-dog. But we do not believe a farmer ever should keei) a dog for his services alone, as a watch or guard of his premises. A dog to be worthy of a home upon a fivrm should have several good qualities combined. No conscientious man can keep a dog when he knows that the keeping of such dog.s, whether his par'.ieular one or not, has a tendency to prevent the keeping of sheep ; for sheep, of all animals, have greater adapt- ation to the pnrposo of furnishing the poor with cheap food than any other domestic animal in use in this country, and they are capable of con- verting the coarsest herbage of the farm into the most healtliful meat of the shambles. 286. Shepherd's Do^S. — Wlienever sheep are kept in sucli numbers as to constitute a considerable flock, the owner can well afford to keep a good shepherd's dog. One who has never seen a well-trained shepherd's dog can form no idea of their extraordinary sagacity and usefulness. Wo have ridden leisurely across a wide prairie in a wagon, accompanied by a Scotch coUey, half-breed slut, driving five hundred slieuji better than three men could have done without a dog. If there M-ere none but such dogs in the country, there would be ten times as many sheep kept. One man would be entirely competent to manage a thousand. He should have two dogs, so tliat they would be company for each other, and so that, in case of accident to one, the other would remain serviceable. The Scotch colley very much resembles a prairie-wolf, having a broad forehead and pointed nose. The ears are short and upright, the fleece shaggy and slightly curly, Avith a bushy tail. These dogs are very intelli- gent, docile, and faithful, and possess an instinctive sagacity in everything that relates to the care of sheep. In a pleasant little book called " Anccilotes of Dogs," some wonderful evidences of the sagacity of Scottish shepliLr 1 dogs are to be found, and they should be read by all farmers' boys. The English shepherd dogs vary considerably in appearance from the Scotch. The hair is smoother, and they do not appear so distinct a breed as the other. Both are of medium size, jierhaps about fifteen inches high. Tlie Irish shepherd dog is larger and more ferocious; some of them would tcai- a man sadly, if he interfered with the flock at night while in charge of Seo. 13.] WILD AND TAME ANIMALS OF THE FARM. 257 the dog. The Scotcli clog is always gentle, and generally very afFectionate. In France, the shepherd dogs are somewhat like the Scotch, but smaller. The Spanish shepherds have a breed of dogs peculiar to that country. They are the size of a full-grown wolf, with large head, thick neck, mastifl-lookin"-, fierce and strong, and are often armed with a spiked collar, to make them more formidable to dogs, wolves, and bears, if they should attack the flock. Their color is generally black and white — their daily rations two pounds of black bread, with milk and meat when it can be had. In Spain, the f-pcat flocks of the country, always in charge of shepherds and dogs, make lone migrations every year from their lowland home to the mountain pastures, two or three hundred miles distant, feeding all the way in the roads and commons. Sheep arc the wealth of Spain, and without the aid of shepherd dogs, that wealth, under the present system of management, could not be produced. 287. Do? LawSi — In New Jersey there is a dog law which siiould be entitled, " An act to encourage the keeping of the most ordinary breeds of sheep, and no others, and to induce owners to have them killed by doo-s." This act provides that all sheep killed by dogs shall be paid for out of the public funds, at five dollars a head. To improve your flock, if you get a buck worth a hundred dollars, and the dogs kill him, you get five dollars. If your neighbor has one killed that you would not have on your farm, if paid five dollars for taking him, he gets five dollars. It is not a law to encourage improvement in sheep-breeding. The number of sheep annually killed by dogs in Ohio has been ascertained by the assessors. The number and value are astounding. Tiiereupon a correspondent of the Ohio Farmer says : " Shall we have a dog law, or must we give up keeping sheep? That is the real question. There would be kept fifty per cent, more sheep in this country, but for dogs ; not that quite that amount are dogged, but most farmers lose some, and this, with other risks, discourages them, and compels them to abandon the business. Now lot every fixrmer make this a test question in the elections this fall. Let it be sheep vs. dogs, and let all Republicans and Democrats see to it that every man put in nomination for the Legislature is sound on dogs. Let the candidate choose whom he will serve — sheep or dogs. I am in earnest, Mr. Editor. The sight of a few fine Leicesters, each worth more than all the dor^s in Ohio, mangled and torn by worthless curs, who are only kept because their owners are too lazy to kill them, has made me in dead earnest ; and wo to the Ohio legislator, if he depends on my vote, whose fear of doo- constituents shall induce him to oppose or dodge a severe dog law ! Now is the time, wool-growers of Ohio, to look to this matter, and see that anti-dog men are put in nomination by your respective parties." Tiiere is no use in talking about taxing dogs. Tlie dogs that really do the miscliief are the dogs of gentlemen of elegant leisure, who are too lazy to hunt M'ith them, and of the democratic loafer, who don't like to work, but glories in the luxury of a house full of children and a dozen do^-s. Honest 258 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL working people, who earn their bread, don't keep wortliless dogs about them ; it' they keep a dog, they feed liiin, and train liini up properly ; but your roaming worthless vagabond will keep a score, and expect tlieni to take care of tiieniselves. But these fellows have votes, my dear sir; it will never do to tax their dogs. They would kick up such a dust about our ears that wc could never find our way into the State-house again. 28S. \ Trap for (ate hiug Shcep-killiag DojSi — Make a pen of fence rails, begiuuing with four, so as to have it square, and as you build it, draw in cucli rail as you ■would the sticks of a partridge-trap, until your pen is of sufficient height, say five feet. In this way you Avill construct a pen that, Mhen finished, will peiniit a dog to enter at the top at pleasure, but out of which he will find it difficult to csca^jc, should he have the agility of an antelope. All that you have to do to catch the dog that has killed your sliecp, is to construct the trap where the dead sheep is left, as directed, as soon as possible after an attack has been made on your flock ; put a part or the whole of a sheep that has been killed in it, and remove the balance to some other field. In a majority of cases the rogue and murderer will return the succeding night, or perhaps the next, and you will have the gratification next morning of finding him securely imprisoned. Some may object to the plan, perhajis, on the ground that you might catch an innocent dog. If he is so, he can content hrmself with not trying it. 289. A Serniou OU Dogs. — Tiie Texas Christian Advocate gets off the fol- lowing short sermon upon dogs, from a text to be found in Philiiipians iv. 2 — " Beware of dogs !" Upon this the preacher sa3's : "The Apostle well knew the mischievous and meddlesome spirit of dogs. Ilonce his caution against them. I. Dogs in general are a nuisance. Because : 1. They excite fears of hydrophobia. 2. Tiiey wwry and destroy sheep. 3. They disturb our slumber. — HoM'ling in horrid concert under our win- dow, simultaneously baying at tlie moon. 4. They frighten us when out at night. — A snap or growl at a neighbor's gate, or when turning down a dark alley, has a wonderfully nervous tendency. 5. They are too lamiliar. — "Will sleep on the front gallery, scatter fleas, come into the dining-room and parlor, and go to church on Sunday mornings. From these and other considerations I observe : II. All dogs should be watched. 1. To prevent their depredations. — Killing neighbors' cats, tearing pants, scaring children, and going mad. 2. To correct their bad maimers. — Teach them they are only dogs, and not quite equal to " white folks." 3. Keep them in their places. — "Wherever else they belong, I question as to the propriety of their getting between the sheets with gentlemen, or using the church as a dog-kennel. Seo. 13.] WILD AND TAME ANIMALS OF THE FARM. 259 Application. — Have you a dog? Tlien keep him in a dog's place, and watcli liim. If you admit him to undue ftimiliarity, don't forget that other folks will still think him to be but a dog. If he has a shaggy coat and turn- up nose, these will not entitle him to the privilege of following you to church and disturbing the worship of the entire congregation. Though he may be as nice and sensible as his fond master or foolisli mis- tress, it is not very probable the preaching will do him any good. The intel- ligent fellow might be allowed the pleasure of trotting across the floor, and barking his approbation at the occasional flights of the preachei-'s eloquence, were a dog's gratification more important than the people's edification. Hence, in conclusion, I would say. Beware of dogs! and what I say to one I say to all. Beware of dogs ! Finally, to the sexton, or that good brother who raises the tunes, I would say with emphasis. Beware of dogs! and if those canine interlopers persist in coming to the place of worship, just take them out and cut oflF their tails close to the ears." 290. Rabbits — To Prevent Gnawing Trees. — Tiie American Hare, commonly called Rabbit, is common to all the Atlantic States and Canada. It is used for food by most people, but abhorred by others. Although clothed in a thick coat of soft, whitish-gray fur, the skin is not valuable, because it is too tender to be serviceable, and the fur is not much, if any, better than cotton, for such purposes as fur, separated from the skin, is used for. These animals are prolific, and generally prefer to live in and about farms that have been suflcred to grow up badly to bushes. They do the most of their feeding at night, and farmers general!}' do not feel any dread of their mischief. Nurserymen do ; and so do those who plant young orchards near where rab- bits abound. When hunger presses them 'n winter, they will gnaw apple- trees with tender bark so as to destroy them. Young nursery trees are often cut off by rabbits so smoothly that one not knowing how it was done would suppose it was by a knife. To prevent the depredations of rabbits, English nurserymen dip rags into melted brimstone, and fasten them about among the trees. The remedy mentioned in 278, to prevent mice, is recommended to keep the rabbits away. Some persons have daubed their trees with grease scented with some oftensive odor, and found that rabbits would not touch them. Some have plastered them with fresh cow-dung. A very good remedy is to ofl'er a bounty for every rabbit killed in the neighborhood. Where trees have been injured, it is a good plan to bind up the wound with a plaster of clay and cow-dung, made plastic enough to adhere well ; this, when firmly bound on, will often save a valuable tree. Domesticated rabbits, if suflcred to run at large, are very ornamental, par- ticularly if of the finest fancy sorts, but they are sometimes unpleasantly mischievous. Where they can bo conveniently kept under restraint, we have no doubt they can be made as profitable as poultry or other small farm stock. In England, rabbit-breeding is quite a business, and men of wealth 2G0 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL and good stai^ing^ engage in it, and form rabbit clubs, and exhibit tlicir stock for prizes. Some of the 6pecimens imported from London, that we have seen, were very beautiful. Some years ago, Francis Rotch, of Butter- nuts, Otsego County, N. Y., imported some of the best we have ever seen, and bred them to a considerable extent, finding ready sale for all he chose to dispose of in that way. We do not know of any large establishment in this country where rabbits are bred for sale in market for food. The common American wild rabbit is often seen in the New York market. Rabbits may be kept in very inexpensive hutches, and in tolerably close confinement. Their feed in summer is clover and various green things. In winter they will eat grain, sweet apples, parsneps, and other roots, cabbage, and a little sweet hay. A full-sized rabbit wants about a gill of oats night and morning, with a piece of rutabaga or parsncp, or its equivalent, say a quarter of a pound a day, and a little handful of hay. A doe, while suck- ling her young, which is most of the time, should be fed high, say three gills of oats a day, or wheat shorts, or pea meal, and roots and hay. Or in sum- mer, upon almost anything that grows green, if given fresh. A dozen or fifteen years ago, we remember having seen in "The Boy's Own Book" an elaborate treatise upon rabbit-breeding, and to that Ave refer the boy who reads this and desires to go into the business. They will also find frequent hints in agricultural papers, and in several books devoted io fancy poultry breeding. From what wc have said of the food which rabbits consume, it will be easy to calculate whether keeping them will be profitable. Newspapers bound around trees, it is declared in an article before us, will wholly prevent depredations of rabbits, and also keep off' the borers, and a wrapper well tied on will last for months. The writer says : " I find no other remedy necessary for either rabbit or borer. The wrap- pers, if properly put on, keep whole through all the changes of our variable winters. The trees are thus secure from damage by the rabbit. In the latter part of spring and early part of summer, when the beetles of the Sapcrda and the Biijyrcsiis are about, a few eggs will be deposited in the axils of ihc lower branches of trees, and at the tops of the paper wrappers. Even these jioints of attack, however, can in general be successfully guarded, by simply depositing a small piece of brown soap in the main axils, after the season's growth is well started, to be dissolved and washed down the stem by subse- quent raiiis. " But I do not find it necessary to resort to this precaution ; for if eggs are deposited at those points, I am certain to find the fact out, and make all right the latter part of August and first i>art of September, when I go among my young trees with a bucket of strong soap-suds and a hard scrubbing- brush, for the purpose of giving them a good hard wash, such as would make some people open their eyes with astonishment, and cutting out snckcrs or small shoots that may have pushed through the papers, and renewing the wrappers." Sec. 13.] WILD AND TAME ANIMALS OF THE FARM. 261 291. Squirrels and GopherSi — All of our Eastern and Nortliern readers will understand about squirrels, and how much mischief the smallest of the family does in the corn-field ; but they know nothing of gophers — they belong to the "West. In California they are almost intolerable, and it is about as Iiard to demise a plan to get rid of them as it is here to get rid of the '' chip- mucks" {Tamias tysteri). In our opinion, tlie best way to prevent them from digging up the seed-corn is to give them plenty to eat on the surface. Wliat is half a bushel of corn sown broadcast for the squirrels to pick up ? It would save the seed of a large field harmless. "We would willingly give that every year to see the dear little things around a farm. It is worlli that to see the old dog chase them, and " bark at the hole" where one ran through a stone wall. We have concluded never to kill a chipmuck. If others w'ish to do it, they may perform the work by poisoning corn, or they may prevent them from eating it by coating the seed with tar, which is done by mixing a pint of tar in a pail of warm water, and putting the corn in it ; then, to make it pleasant to handle, roll it in dry plaster. If a little flour sulphur is sprinkled on the wet seed, it will adhere and give it an odor that all little pests dislike. At tlie AVest, in woody districts, gray, black, and fox squirrels, particularly the first named, are sometimes very destructive to the corn-fields in autumn. The gray and black squirrels increase so rapidly after one or two seasons of an abundant supply of beech-nuts, that the rcguhir squirrel-hunts do not appear to diminish their numbers. They are to some extent migratory, as tlieir supplies change, from beech to oak lands. At such times tlie strong and healtiiy will swim large rivers, and uniformly take one direction, leaving the young and feeble at home. In Ohio, about the year 1835, squirrels became so numerous over the whole country as to threaten the entire destruction of corn-fields while in the milk. The following year they were all starved. In the winter they ran desperately over the fields, indifferent of danger, sometimes feeding npon tiie bark of the beech. The red and striped or ground squirrel are not liable to sufler from these vicissitudes, as they lay up a store for winter. I think the flying squirrel docs also, but this is a nocturnal creature, and less is known about it. There are also several kinds of winter birds which deposit seeds in knots and loose bark of trees for winter use. Tlie fox squirrel is the largest of the American species. It is of a reddish- gray color, and inhabits the prairie groves of northern Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and other States. It is very shy of man, is hard to get a hight of, and difticult to kill. 202. Striped Gophers {SjKnnophilus tndecemlineahis). — Perhaps, when you see the name given to this animal by natural-history writers, you may imagine it is as big as its name. But it is not half as formidable to look at. We give the scientific name for identification, because the word " Gopher," in Florida, means a small land-turtle. In Wisconsin it means a squirrel somewhat like a chipmuck. In California it represents a different animal. 2G-2 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL The striped gopher abounds in tlio Xorthwcstern prairie region. In tbe first scttlcnieut of the country a liundrod miles around Chicago, it inhabited all the prairie groves and dry ravines. The following is its description : The ears are short and rounded ; the tail slender and liairy, about lialf tlie Icng'.h of the body ; the body is of a dark browu above, longitudinally marked with altcruale rows and si)ots of a light fawn-color, which correspond nearly with the belly and sides. The lighter lines on the npper part may be distinguished by the brown intervals between, wliich arc occupied by the single rows of li<»ht spots, which are generally indistinct on the anterior half of the body. Although these animals are considered grain-eaters, and called mischiev- ous, we believe they are among the many real friends of the farmer. Like the weasel, which occasionally cats a chicken for lack of more favorite food, the gopher sometimes eats the farmer's seed-corn, but lie should not be con- demned as an enemy for that act, without a fair hearing. There may be some of the gopher family that are destructive of farm crops. The evidence is very strong to that effect against tbe Californian gopher, which lives in holes all through the cultivated fields, and does not seem to be very particular wluxt it eats, whether corn, wheat, potatoes, beets, melons, pumpkins, so that it is somctliiug which the farmer has grown for his own use. It is not so with the small striped gopher. This beautiful little animal should be carefully preserved npnn all farms where it now exists, and we have no doubt it would prove a valuable addition to the stock of any farm where it is not found in a natural condition. It is a-grcat destroyer of field- mice, and in our opinion a whole troop of gophers do less damage in one season than the mice which one of them would kill in a single day. For they are real epicures, eating nothing but the blood and brains, when the supply is abundant. These animals have such an appetite for flesh, that if deprived of it, a mother will cat her young. Such carnivorous animals must be better hunters than cats, and should be carefully preserved, and not " drowned out," as they often are, wlien their homes are discovered by the boys, just for the " sport" (cruelty) of killing them. Tiicsa animals seem to have a natural instinct that man is their common enemy. We liave seen them often in situations where they could never have had any acquaintance with man, at least civilized ones, who are the only ones who ever kill such small game for "sport," and we found tliem wild in the extreme. They utter a cry when discovered, and dart away into some shelter with great rapidity. In this respect, quite unlike the chipmuck, which will play around a dog or man in tbe most tantalizing manner. The striped gopher never gna^vs trees, roots, fruiis, nor green vegetable^, and in fiict does the farmer no damage except to eat a little seed-corn. For all that they eat in the harvest field, they save twice as much in driving away mice and squirrels. Chipmucks, red squirrels, and mice can not inhabit the same locality with gophers; and yet there are'))erson5 Avho liave offered bounties to have them destroyed. Let such learn this fact from this Seo. 13.] WILD AND TAME ANIMALS OF THE FARM. 263 Yolume, if they learn no other, tliat the striped gopher is worth its weiglit in gold upon any farm where field-mice are so abundant that they destroy fruit-trees. 293. SknskSi — "We don't know tliat we can afford to stem the current of popular opinion so far as to recommend the protection instead of destruction of skunks [Mephitis Americana). AYe are aware that these animals are troublesome visitors to the poultry-yard, and on that account they are hunted and killed without mercy, and without a thouglit about what they live upon all the time that they do not eat chickens. As they are flesh-eaters, they must find somelhing of the flesh kind to eat, and that something is the very thinp that the farmer is most anxious to get rid of — it is mice, and worms, and bugs. The quantity of these pesls destroyed by a single skunk is enormous. It is very rare that they come about a house, tliougli we have known tliem to live for weeks in cellars, or store-rooms, or under a crib, without producing any nuisance. They never emit their fetid odor iinless attacked by man or dog; and it has been contended tliat if was practicable to domesticate a skunk so that he would be quite a harmless pet. We can not recommend making }>ets of these animals, but we do recommend farmers to learn the important fact, that if they do him a little damage occasionally, they also do liim an incalculable amount of good. Generally speaking, there is not a farmer in all tl;e region inhabited by t\\c. Ilephitis who could not Avell afford to exchange dogs for skunks, and pay ten dollars each for tlie bargain. There is one other thing tliat skunks are good for. As an article of food we don't think there is any wild animal that makes a more dainty dish, and we liold that we are tolerably well qualified to judge. A fat skunk, nicely dressed and roasted, hung by a string before an old-fashioned wood fire till beautifully browned, and then served upon a platter flanked with boiled mealy potatoes, covered with the brown gravy made of the fat driji, is beyond dispute " a dish fit to set before the king." 204. Toads.— Although not among the quadrupeds, of which this chapter treats, toads are among the friends of the farmer, and as sueii sliould have a place in this connection. Every man wlio owns or cultivates a garden or field, who knows anything about tlie natural history of the toad, will never allow one to be destroyed. Tliere is no animal more harmless, and few that do the fanner more good than toads. Their whole food is of insects injuri- ous to the farmer. The prejudice against "the ugly things" is a foolish one, and should be done away with. We once had a toad in the garden wliich, by some particular mark, was known to the children, who called it "fiither's pet toad," because it really ajipeared as though it knew that we were its friend and protector. Tiiis toad cauio year ai'icr year to lend us its valua' i - aid in exterminating the insect pests of the garden. We liad anotiier that made the milk-room its summer home, where it v/as constantly engaged in catching flies and bugs. Toads and bats should both be protected from harm, and children taught to encourage them to come about the house. Bats are great insect-eaters, and never visit the house of an evening for any other 264: SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL purpose tliau eatcliiug insects for food. It is charged against them, that they sustain bed-bugs as parasites. 295. ("amels— Their lutroduction into the Tnited States.— It is a great jump from the back of a toad to that of a camel, but not so great as politicians sometimes make. As we have to make the leap somewhere, it may as well be done here as anywliere, and after a very short ride we will jump down again upon the back of a goat. We have introduced camels, because we want all, particularly the farmers' boys who read this book, to learn the fact that camels have already been introduced into the United States, and put to service as beasts of burden. The fii*st imported were in 1S57, we believe, under the auspices of the general government, since which time they have been in active government service, principally in Texas, and have made one or more trips to the Pacific with army otficers. The Galveston jVews gives the following account of the strength of one of the camels. It says : "There were near a dozen on the wharf, of all ages. The camel loaded was one of the largest. On the word of command being given, the camel lay down, ready to receive liis load, which consisted of five bales of hay, weighing in the aggregate over 1,400 pounds, which was firmly bound to the pannier placed upon tiie animal's hump. Upon the utterance of command by the native keeper, the huge animal arose, Avithout any apparent effort, to his feet, and walked off in a statel}' manner along the wharf and through the city. We were informed that the same camel had 1,600 ponnds placed upon him, with which enormous weight he arose. Tlie animals arc all ex- ceedingly tractable, and seem to possess much afi'ection for any one who treats them kindly, as an example of which Mrs. W. informs us that one of them, a pretty white one, which she had petted, would always kiss her when she vcas within kissing distance, which fact, we really thought, certainly proved the animal to possess an excellent taste as well as an affectionate dis- position. In thein native country the average load for a full-grown camel is some 800 pounds, with which the}' perform their long journeys over deserts, with but little food or water." It is to be hoped that camels will become one of the ordinary beasts of burden in this country, where there are such vast arid plains, as in northern Texas, Xew Mexico, M-estern Kansas, and Utah, that no other animals can traverse them. It is stated that the Emperor of Brazil is about to introduce dromedaries into that country. This animal can go long journeys without water, and therefore will be found valuable upon some of the deserts and plains of th.at country. A common load of an ordinary dromedary is 500 pounds. One of the camels in Texas has carried two bales of cotton, of 500 pounds each. One of the best kinds of dromedaries for riding can travel 400 miles with- out stopping to eat, drink, or rest. At the Xorth, where horses, mules, and oxen are in such common use, we do not think that camels will ever supersede them. Sec. 13.] WILD AND TAME ANIMALS OF THE FARM. 265 296. Goats.— lutroductioa of the Cashmere Goats into the Uuited States.— About the most unprofitable of all varieties of I'arm-stock is the common goat. It is known in some parts of the country as the Irish goat, probably because the people from Ireland iu this country, particularly in cities, keep more goats than all the rest of the inhabitants. These are of all colors, as much so as the common breed of horned cattle, and about t,he size of com- mon sheep. The she-goats give a small quantity of milk, and the kids afford some flesh food, at a small cost to the owners, as they forage their living, and frequently do more mischief in a neighborhood or upon a farm than their necks are worth. The hair of the common goat is worth nothing for manufacturing purposes. It is quite the reverse with the Cashmere goat. The fleece of this variety is eight times as valuable as fine wool ; and, fortunately, it has been found that a cross upon the common goat, even in the first progeny, produces a fleece about half as valuable as the full blood, so that the breeding of goats in this country for the fleece is likely soon to become quite common, and a profitable branch of husbandry, particularly in some of the I'oughest districts of country. To Dr. James B. Davis, of South Carolina, the country is indebted for the introduction of the pure Cashmere goats, which are now to be found iu various parts of the United States; and to lion. Richard Peters, of Atlanta, Ga., it is equally indebted for the interest he took at an early day in the propagation of the original stock, which he purchased of Dr. Davis, Mr. Peters, being a wealthy, public-spirited gentleman, spared no pains, even when success was doubtful, in getting this breed established upon a firm basis, and proving that its crosses upon the common breed would be profit- able, as well as upon several other varieties of fine-wooled goats. We had the pleasure of an acquaintance with Dr. Davis and his stock at Charleston, in 1S19, shortly after his return from several yeai-s' residence at Constantinople, He brought with him seven females and two males of the Cashmere goats, besides several other curious sjiecimens of the livestock of the East. He stated his belief to be that the Cashmere, Persian, Angora, and Circassian goats are all of one breed, and that they have been slightly changed by locality, principally by altitude. These fine goats usually breed two kids in the spring, and, unfortunately, where rapid propagation is an object, the males preponderate. The progeny of these goats is now to be found in all the States from N"ew York to Texas. Li the latter State they have been established pretty exten- sively. We saw a letter written by John R. McCall, at Austin, in August, 1S60, which estimated that two lumdred head, principally bucks, had been i'.itroduced into Texas. Tlie demand for the fleece of Cashmere goats may be calculated from the fact that it is stated that 4,000 looms and 12,000 people are employed in the city of Lyons, France, in the manufacture of the fleeces of Cashmere goats, and that they are worth from four to eight dollars a pound. As soon as the supply is large enough, we shall have manufactories in operation in this country. 266 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. II. Casliiiicrc slunvls were exhibited at tlie Crystal Palace, New York, vahieil at one tlioiisand dollars cacli. These were all made by the needle. Fabrics m;ide of Caslunere goat's fleece, it is supposed, will outwear those made of any libroiis material yet discovered. The Thibet goat, one of which we saw at Dr. Davis's, differs from the Caslimere materially. Tiie outward appearance is that of a very coarse- huired animal ; but there is an uuder-coat of long, white, silky wool, which weighs about a pound wlien combed out. Dr. Davis thought this like the wild goat of the Rocky Mountains. "Who knows if thc?y are identical? Dr. Davis imported, also, the Scinde goat, which comes from Scinde, at tlic mouth of the Indus. Tliis was a renuu-kably largo goat, witli monstrous pendulous cars. A goat used in Malta is the best milker of the family. A good ewe givcA a gallon a day. Goats' milk, in all Eastern countries, particularly in mala- rious districts, is considered more healthy than the milk of cows; aiul some learned physicians in tliis country declare that cows' milk, in malarious dis- tricts, is tlie moving cause of many attacks of bilious fever. In this view of t!ie subject, it may be well to inquire wliethcr it would not be to the advant- ;!ge of the people, in a sanitary as well as pecuniary point of view, to intro- duce the improved breeds of goats into all sections reputed subject to mala- rious diseases. 297. Brcediag- Fish for Foo«l on t!i8 Farta.— Wc do Tiot iVel willing totloso the chapter upon animals on the farm, without calling attention to the sul)- ject heading this paragraph. Fish are the least cosily food that man can obtain ; yet. owing to the scarcity, the labor of taking them out of the Avater — which is all the expense a tending their i)roduction — has become so great, that fish arc sold in our market at nearly as high a price per pound as meat. Salnuin arc really higher than choice cuts of cither beef or mutton. And yet salmon can be grown at very trifling expense. We have long been producing oysters by artificial means, without wliich our market coidd not be supj)lied ; and yet, with tliat fact before our eyes, very few attempt to produce fish b}^ an equrlly easy jirocess. One fact of importance, in proof of the benefit of simply protecting fish from being taken in the spawning season, is tlie following: "In the river Foyle, in the nor;h of Iiehmd, by a steady perseveranee in a proper system of proteelion, the amount of salmon taken was raided from an average of 43 tuns annually, in 1823, to that of 30U tuns in 1812; while in the small river of Ncwjiort, in the co-mty of Mayo, in M"hieli the salmon w;is Ibiinerly uiipio!<.etccl 1)_\ !,;>.. ;iii,i . oascqiicnJy ti.'.en at all periods of tlie year, within three years after tlie introduction of parliamentary regula- tions enforcing tlieir protection during the breeding sea^on, the annual take was increased from half a tui\ of fish to eiglit tnns of salmon and three tuns of white trout, with a certainty of a still higher increase. "In view of the great augmentation in the price of all the articles of food Sec. 13.] DOMESTIC FISH-BREEDING. 26T and necessaries of life in this country, llie small probability of any consiJer- able reduction, and the actual Sufferings of many of the laboring class from Avant of sufficient food, it appears to me that this subject is worthy of the closest consideration, and that any one who can suggest and effect the means of furnishing a new and ample supply of cheap, nutritions food, has some small claim'to be thought of as not an entirely useless member of the com- munity." There is a liitlo book, published by the Applctons, that gives in detail all the French plans for artificial fish-breeding, and any one who reads that voUimc can go to work and stock Isis own waters with any kind of fish he desires. That our natural supply has failed, there is not a shadow of doubt, and that it never will be replenished, except by arlifieial breeding, is eqrtally indisputable. That a re-stocking of our waters with fish, so as to make them as plentiful as formerly, would prove one of the cheapest modes of lessening the price of human food, is just as certain. In the "West Indies, fish and turtle are constantly kept and stall-fed. At free running they never become fat, any more than our land stock. The j)ond3 are construcled of stones, of irregular figure in wall, so as to retain three or four feet of water at the lowest tides, Tlie water of the rising tide flows freely in. These ponds have a deck of plank over them, laid about tvro inches apart, for admission of air and light. A hatchway in the middle of the floor is opened to throw in their food, which usually consists of fry, or small fish, taken by cast-nets in any required cpiantity. When this is scat- tered among them, the excessive eagerness of the fish is an interesfing sight — their bright eyes, fiae teeth, and sparkling colors showing beautifully, as they leap out of water to catch the falling bait. Tlie housekeepers send for a suitable fish for dinner shortly before the time to cook it. The person has a strong line and hook, with or without bait ; he lets it down, and the fish rush toward it, and he must be expert to let it dro2> to the mouth of the grouper, hamlet, snapper, Avhite or blue band porgie, etc., which he wants. Such a fish never appears on the tables of the North- ern States, and yet every town on our sea-coast ought to have them. As it is now, when the poor fisherman has caught more than he can sell, the over- jjIus is a dead loss. There is nothing more simple than the artificial breeding of fish. The entire mystery consists in taking the female during her time, and by run.ning the thumb vv-ith a gentle steady pressure down her back, force out her ova in a jar of pure fresh water. The male is then taken in the same way, and m'^de to yield a few dro'is of the spermatic fluid in the same vessel, tlie two aiu li.en ;-i.;rcd togv.h.i flu" a, few mcicnls, and the contact of .the fluid oi' the male has the effect to vitalize the eggs at once. The eggs are then laid down in shallow tanks with gravel bottoms, arranged in a series of steps so that running water can continually pass over them. Tlie whole trouble of the breeder is then to keep the eggs free from any sediment or muddy deposit, and in due time each e^'g becomes a fish. Thus almost every egg in an 268 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. II. innumerable ova can be turned to account for the benefit of man. Tlicrc is, liowcver, something to ilo after the eggs have become fish, and that is, to confine them M'ithin certain limits by a dam, until they are old enough to be able to take care of themselves, and make fight against the larger fish which would eat them up. There are now three or four establishments in the country for the artificial breeding of fish, and we sec no reason why every lake and river may not be filled M'ith life and food, and made to make an ample return for all investments. The cultivation of fish in France and some other countries of Europe has become as much of a trade as any other occupation, and the results in supply- ing food and aflbrdiug a handsome recompense to the owner have been equal to the most sanguine expectations. It is surprising that, more attention is not paid to it in this country where the facilities are unsurpassed. Occasion- ally an individual makes a trial, but little however has yet been done in this line compared with what might be accomplished. A writer in a South Carolina paper gives a description of a domestic fish-pond on the plantation of Mr. Freeman Hoyt, Sumterville. Mr. Iloyt had a small stream of water which ran through a low place in such a form as to enable him, by a dam of some 50 yards long, to construct a pond of some 700 feet in length by 150 in width, with a depth varying from the shores to 12 or 15 feet in the center. This gave him a pond of over two and a half acres, where he could raise nothing. He deposited in the pond eight good-sized trout, and about 300,000 eggs, with a larger amount of smaller fish for the trout to feed upon, and in (uie year the water was literally swarming with the finny tribes. His trout one year old are some seven inches in length. The water running from the dam passes through a sieve, so that the fish can not escape from the pond. The necessary apparatus for cultivating, feeding, and taking care of the fish costs but a small sum, and the proceeds of the pond will be a source of much pleasure and profit. And this is but one instance in thousands which might with equal facility be turned into a source of revenue. lu many sections of the country numerous springs and streams abound, confined within narrow valleys, that may be converted into permanent ponds and thus be made to yield a profit in fish far beyond the capacity of the same area of the best of land devoted to the most profitable farm crops. Tiiesc streams when supplied with living springs may be converted into nurseries of trout — the best of all fresh-water fish. Tlie streams or ponds more sluggish in their nature may be made equally productive in a supply of still-water fish. This suliject has been brought into extensive practice in France and other portions of Europe, and more recently a number of suc- cessful trials have been made in the United States to'multiply domestic fishes, wliicli may be as much at the command of the owner as the fowls in his barn-yard, affording an equal luxury and at a much less cost. or artificial propagation of fish in Scotland and Ireland, a late number of the Manchester (England) Guardian said : " As several reports have been circulated in the newspapers to the cft'ect that the attempt to propagate Seo. 13.] DOMESTIC FISH-BKEEDING. 269 salmon by artificial means in Ireland and elsewhere had extensively failed, we think it right to state that we have obtained some information from the very best sources, which convinces us that these reports are wholly unfounded. On the contrary, we are glad to say the success attendmg the iirst attempt at propagation on an extensive scale in the country has surj^assed our most sanguine expectations. It is reported from Perth, where about 350,000 ova are nearly hatched, that everytliing has progressed most satisfactorily ; the whole of the ova, M'ith a trifling exception, seem in a lively state. The only difficulty appears to be that of providing sufiicient ponds for such a multitude of fishes, when they are able to swim, as the feeding-ponds already provided will not contain one tenth of them ; and such is the number, that there appears no other way, after having hatched and protected them for twenty weeks, but that of committing them to the river to take their chance. At Galway about 260,000 ova are in a similar prosperous condition. Propagation on a smaller scale has also been carried into eflPect on the rivers Tweed, Lou- chard, the Foyle, Bush Mills, the Blackwater, the Moy, the Dee, near Chester, and other places. By tiie use of spring water the spawn has been entirely protected from injury by frost, during the past severe winter; and of 2,500 eggs which were sent from Galway to Basle, a distance of nearly 1,000 miles, M. Lex states that a considerable portion are good, and in a state likely to live." Eobert L. Pell, of Ulster County, N. Y., has done a good deal to establish^ fish-ponds upon his farm; he says " that he is trying to grow the moss-bunker for manure, and hopes for success in growing them, but thinks the use of this fish the cause of disease in the districts where used. As many as 86,000 moss-bunkers have been taken in a seine at one haul upon our coast. Mr. Pell also has in his ponds the black bass of the lakes — a fish that grows as large as shad. Another fish from the lakes very much resembles the black bass, and flourishes in artiflcial water. Both do well, and are easily caught with a hook. The dace is a good fish for ponds, as he prefers still water. The rock bass is a common fish in Lake Champlain, and is much esteemed, and can be cultivated without difficulty. The muscalonge, from the lakes, is an excellent fish, and appears well calculated for artificial water if puiw This fish grows large, and somewhat resembles the pickerel or pike of the lakes. Mr. Pell has the stickleback, that curious little fish that builds a nest something like a bird. Haddock he has tried, but failed of success, not- withstanding he salted the pond. The haddock is much inferior to the cod- fish, although frequently salted and sold as cod. He also gave accounts of experiments with several other varieties, and how to transport fish alive safely. Mr. Pell thinks it is possible to stock all the streams in tlio country with fish, and thereby increase the food of the people to a very great extent, without any expense." A writer in The Ilomestead says : " Three years ago I constructed, in a ravine, a fish-pond covering a surface of about three fourths of an acre. It is fed by four small springs, and ic 270 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL ceivcs a large amount of surface-water from the slopes around. It is fifteen feet deep at tlie greatest depth, and lias shallow bays and inlets, wliere the ruiall lish may breed and find proleetion from larger ones. It contains a small island, and the shores are embellislied with flags (Iris), water-lilies (XymphcB odorata), and olher water-plants. It was stocked 'witli yellow bass, Oswego bass, white perch, and every variety of sun-fish and minnows, also a dozen gold-fish {Cypr'nius aiiraiua). And now, at the end of three years, it is astonishing to note the vast in'crease in my scaly family. They have multiplied by hundreds, and grown in size beyond all my calculations. Tiie gold-fish number several hundred, some of them over a foot in lengtli, and a few of them are beautifully niarked with silvery sides and red fins, iiead, and tail ; otliers witli golden sides and black fins and tail. I had no idea that they would thus sport in colors, but certainly the}' are very beauti- ful. The other fisli have grown so much that I intend to commence usitig them for.tlie table in autumn. I have not fed these fish, except for amuse- ment and to tame them, wlien a few crumbs of bread are tiirown in from a small bridge connecting the island with the shore, and the fish called up like cliickens. The sun-fish, gold-fish, and smaller fry soon learned to cnme at my call, and to follow me in great numbers, from one end of the bridge to the other, for their morning or evening meal. " Tiie young bass (tlie old ones hold l)ack) and the sun-fish dart to the surface for their food, and have a livelj' scramble fcr it; the gold-fish ]uclc i.p wluii sinks to the bottom. Their habits in this way are very much like a llock of chickens, for some of the smaller fisu take their pofiiion imme- diately under my feet, to pick up the small crumbs that fall, in breaking the larger ones to throw out. Some persons ri;-'^ a £n-i:iM bell to 1 -irT tlioir fish up, but I prefer calling mine. They do not appear to come from a greator distance than about forty feet to any one spot. I feed them in several i)laces, to note the varieties and their growth. Now, as to the utility of this pond, it furnishes ice for my own use and three or four of my neighbors who have ice-houses; it also affords excellent stock water, and will doubtless liercafter supply my table with fish. A small skiff on its surlacc gives many a pleas- ant hour of recreation to the young who are fond of rowing. "The construction of this pond was very simple. The earth was excavated across the ravine four feet deep and five feet wide for a foundation ; then stiff clay filled in and well pounded, to prevent leakage at the bottom. Tlio earth from the bottom and sides of the ravine was thrown on the top of this foundation, to raise the embankment to the proper hight. A waste weir at one side, paved with flag-stones, and two feet lower tlian the top of the dam, suflicicntl}- large to carry off the heaviest flow of water in very heavy rains, guarded by a wire screen to prevent the cscopc of the fish, completed the construction. It is now sodded over, and jilanted with willows at the foot, and is considered safe. The exjiense of making such a pond is small, and it adds much to the value of a farm.'' 298. Trout Streams— Reasons for the Disappearance of Trout.— One of the Sec. 13.] DOMESTIC FISH-BREEDING. 271 very best authoi'ities in the country — Geo. Dawson, a great lover of pisca- torial sports — gives, in the Albany Eoeninrj Journal, the following reasons for the disappearance of tron.t from streams where they were abundant. He says : "Every one who has lived a score of years in the neighborhood of mountain or spring brooks remembers when, in such and such a stream, trout were abundant, where scarcely one is now ever taken. 'What has become of them V is a question which every one has been asked, or has asked himself, a thousand times. One says, 'They have been driven out by sawdust from mills erected upon the stream.' Another, who lives where tanneries have been erected, thinks ' the tan bark has killed or disgusted them.' Another says, ' Since the alders which used to border the creek have been cut down, and the forest cleared away, they have sought greater solitude.' Others say, 'They have gone because trout will not stay where there is a great deal of passing to and fro, as there necessarily is in a thickly populated locality ;' and others still insist that ' they have all been fished out.' Now, in my opinion, not one of these reasons is real. ISTeither sawdust, nor tan bark, nor clearings, nor dense population, nor excessive fishing, is the cause of depopu- lation. Some of the very best trout streams that I know of are full of saw- dust and tan bark. The bottom of Caledonia Creek is not only a bed of sawdus^, but the creek lies in the midst of a dense population, and has been fished, niglit and day, for thirty year?. I^everthelcss, in its cold, crystal-like watei", trout are more plenty to-day, and more are taken, than ten years since. I have been more lliau once surfeited with success in a stream in Canada where the sawdust was so thick that it formed a compact covering MDon its surface ; and cverv venr T take trout from a little brook in Connecti- cut which has been clearea and fished for almost a ctuitury. There are three great causes for the depopulation of trout streams : First, the erection of establishments upon them in which lime is largely used ; second, the intro- duction into the streams of jjike or pickerel, whose voracity is, sooner or later, fatal to all competitors ; and thirdly, and principally, the gradual cliange of the temperature of the water. Trout will not live long in water whicli is not, at all seasons, of a temperature which may not, in comparison with other water, be characterized as cold. Other causes besides those I have named sometimes operate; but, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the changed temperature of the water is the cause of the absence of trout from streams where they were once abundant." He does not give the reason of this change of temperature, but we do : it is just the difference between a cool forest shade and a broad expanse of hot sunshine. Where these mountain streams once were shaded from the first gushing spring to their mouths at some large river, the}' are now exposed to the full force of the noonday sun, until the water is heated to a degree as fatal to the brook trout as ice would be to a tropical plant. Tlie streams that still retain trout are those which are so hirgely supplied with cold spring water that the temperature is kept at a healthy jjoint, notwithstanding the denuded 272 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. II. State of flic land. Sawdust has no more effect upon tlic fish than rotting leaves and M-ood in the forest streams. The washing of cultivated fields, by which the water is made impure, has more effect upon fish of all sorts than sawdust, or, in our ojjinion, lime, in such quantities as result from any manu- facturing establishment. This fact must be kept always in view in establish- ing artificial ponds for fish-breeding. Make them where the water will not be roiled by every shower. 299. Eel Streams and Eel-Fishing. — In all parts of the country where eels abound, they may be made an essential part of the food of the family in the autumn months, if the streams are such as easily admit the construction of weirs and placing traps or eel-pots. In some parts of the country the eel business affords no mean item of income to farmers who have riparian rights, the work not interfering materially with ordinary farm labor. We find the following interesting account of the eel fishery on the Susque- hanna in the Lancaster (Penn.) Herald : " About the middle of August the water of the stream becomes very low, and usually by September that in the channel is only a few feet deep, leav- ing the stony bottom, for a wide space on either side, in some places nearly bare, with occasional deeper furrows which pass along it. At this stage of water, the instinct which governs the fish to descend the rivers previous to the advent of cold weather becomes the means of their destruction. For many miles of the river's length, therefore, north and south of us, the people owning tiie shore adjoining erect their fisli-dams and gins, by deepening the cliannel somewhat, and building an elongated Y-sliaped wall, at the lower ])oint of which is fixed a box, from M-hich the fisii, when once caught, can not extricate themselves. Obeying this instinct in their descent of the stream, they find themselves borne pleasantly in this channel, and, wriggling themselves cheerily, they let the current, pent in by t!jc walls, carry them along until they tumble plump into the box at the termination of the V. The fish taken in this manner are for tiie most part eels, of which almost incredible quantities are captured during the fall season. Their ' run' only takes place during the night. In daytime they j-emain quiet in the compar- atively deep pools of the river. The work of catching them, liowever, is no sinecure, not so much on account of the labor as of the wakefulness and ex- posure which it involves. In some of the dark and showery nights of the season the game will come into the box so fast that the watcher, who is often stationed there with a boat, can scarcely remove them into it with sufficient celerity. At other times there will be scarcely spoil enough in the boxes to repay the trouble in watching them. It is only the larger apparatus and dams, however, that arc thus cared for, the smaller being rarely filled to overflowing. Fishermen secure and salt down some five or ten barrels of eels during the season, besides living entirely upon them during the catch. The larger operators make the business pay, as a single man alone can perform all the labor required in taking and salting the fish. We have seen various illustratiocs of digital dexterity, and also Ole Bull's manipu- Seo. 13.] DOMESTIC FISn-BREEDlNG. 273 latiou of the violin, but could any rapid manipulator once behold the marvelous rapidity with wliicli some of tlie fishermen divest the eels of their slippery epidermis or integuments, they would stand abashed, and, like the sable individual in the song, ' Lay down the fiddle and the hoe' forever af urv,-ard. We are at a loss to see how it is possible for any fish whatever to descend to the mouth of the river, excepting it be a few belated ones, who delay their return until a rise in the river gives them security from the low-water traps. From Marietta to a point perhaps 100 miles up, excepting in a few jilaces, these eel-gins are so numerous that they must entirely emj)ty the river of eels, the run bontinuing constantly until frost, and the fishing being terminated only, as we have already said, by the fall rains. "When these occur, the boxes are taken up. The walls which remain under tiie water are very seldom disturbed, and the next year, with very little repairs, are just as good as ever. The eels are packed in full-sized barrels, and many are sent to Baltimore. Quantities are purchased by sea-going vessels, whose skippers are aware of the delicious flavor of this rather anomalous article of provision. " The kind alluded to in this extract is the " silver eel," which is also taken all along the sea-coast by hooks and spears, and sold in great abundance m all the city markets, at as high a price per pound as beef or mutton. Now will farmers please to think that eels can be artificially bred as well as any other fish, and that there are a great many streams and ponds, par- ticularly in the West, where there are no eels, which might be made to fur- nish a vast amount of food, as well for home use as for sale. There is another kind of eels called lamprey, or lamper-eels, much esteemed in some places. This kind have no gills, but have sucker mouths, and breathing holes upon each side of the neck. These are found sometimes iu great abundance in the streams of the Eastern States, in the spring of the year, and are easily caught by hand, by wading the shallows of the stream, where they are found clinging by their mouths to the rocks or large pebble stones. Tiie silver eels are also caught by wading streams at night, with torches and spears, during low water, after harvest. This used to be accounted great sport for the boys, when we were counted one. Many a good meal we furnished the family, also, by sitting an hour or two of a summer even- ing by the side of the mill-pond, with a hook baited with a small fish. This we mention to encourage farmers to take steps toward re-stocking their streams and ])onds, as well as making artificial ones. 300. Aucient Fish-Brcedingi — Lest our readers should suppose artificial breeding of fish is a " new-fangled notion," we state that it has been prac- ticed in China many centuries ; and it is probably a century since the mat- ter attracted attention in Germany. In that country fish-bveeding has now become an extensive and profitable business. In France, also, there are many establishments, in some of which it has been demonstrated that salmon can be successfully bred in fresh-water 274 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTa [Chap. U. ponds, from eggs obtained from salmon that come from the sea into fresh- water streams to deposit tlieir eggs at the spawning season, -without allow- ing the fish ever to swim in sea-water. And these young fish, it is found, will reproduce their species. If what we have written should incite any one to undertake to make arti- ficial ponds, or stock the natural waters of his farm with that kind of living animals wliich will give him the cheapest animal food that can be produced, he should first procure and carefully study the books already published upon this question, and, if possible, visit those who have had experience, such as Dr. Garlick, of Cleveland, Ohio, Eobert L. Pell, of Ulster Co., N. Y., Messrs. Treat & Son, Eastport, Maine, E. C. Kellogg, Hartford, Conn., and many others. As an article of diet, there is no mistaking the fact, gained by reading and observation, that it is conducive to health, and particularly that those who use fish as their principal food are exetnpt from scrofulous and tu])crcu- lous diseases. This alone should prompt artificial breeding of fish in this c — We can only speak in general terms of the plans of farm-houses, hccause every plan is modified Ly location and the wants of the proprietor ; but we can give an opinion that will be some guide to the new beginner in farm life, or one about to construct a farm-house. We will suppose a farm of one or two hundred acres, and a family of four adults and four children, besides the necessary hirelings, which in most of the Northern States, are domiciled in the family dwejling. It should, there- fore, have a family-room located in the most pleasant part of the house, where the evenings, and all other leisure Incurs, are, or should be, spent; where the young mother devotes many days and nights of toil to her children; where all the family feel "at home," more than in any other room. Adjoining this room there should be a large family bed-room, with conve- niences for warming it, so that it can be used as a sick-room when necessary. There should also be a parlor, or spare-room ; for it is not always desirable to introduce company into the family-room. Tliere should be a dining-room, large enough not only to accommodate the family, but, if necessary, a dozen guests. This room should be so arranged that upon occasion, particularly in Winter, it can be used for a part of the cooking. This would often save the necessity of kindling a fire in the kitchen in a cold Winter morning, to get an early breakfast. The farm-house kitchen, where so much of woman's work must be done, should be a large, cheerful, light apartment, with all the conveniences that modern ingenuity has made to facilitate labor. It should also, above all other considerations, be so ventilated that there would be no necessity for opening a door or window to let out tiie smoke of a broiling steak, or that of the buckwheat cake griddle. Tlie best cooking apparatus is a good range, permanently set in the chimney. One of suitable size for such a family as we have indicated, will cost about thirty dollars without cook- ing utensils. The two ovens of a range obviate the necessity of a brick oven in the kitchen chimney. It will be convenient to have such an oven in the wash-room, which should be attached to every farm-house kitchen. This should have an open fire-place, a kettle set in an arch, a brick floor, a large sink, and a pump which draws soft water from the well or cistern. Divided off from this wash-room, there should be a large store-room, for such coarse things as barrels of flour, fruit, fresh meat, and articles of kitchen furniture not in every-day use. Beyond the wash-room, there should be a room for fuel ; and the best of all, when it can be had at a moderate cost, is anthracite coal. Opening out of the kitchen there should be a pantry, large enough, and with conveniences to store all the groceries aiul food in every-day use. In this, or some other convenient place, be sure to have a refrigerator; and adjoining the kitchen, there should be a milk and butter room, where nothing else is ever kept. If cheese is nuule, it must have a separate room. Butter Sio. 14.] FAKM-HOUSES. 281 and cheese must not be stored togetlier. The way to the ceUar should ojjen out of the kitchen. We do not advocate large cellars under the house, because they are apt to become the storehouses of a vast amount of stuff tha would be more fittingly stored in some out-building, or an out-cellar. Cellars are generally kept in a way that seriously endangers the health of the family. If the house is set as it should be, well up from the ground, and ventilated under the floor, it is better calculated to promote health than a cellar. If the nature of the soil is very dry, the space under the wash-room may be used for a store-room, or even milk-room, properly ventilated. Every kitchen should have one or more closets, upon the shelves of which the many little things can be kept, each in its place, and all in order. In the dining- room there should be two closets : one for dishes in overy-day use, and one in which anything not always, but occasionally, wanted upon the table, and anything desirable to be locked iip, can be safely stored. There should be a large closet for the use of the sitting-room ; and there must be such a one in the fixmily bed-room. In fact, this should be a double room, a smaller one attached to the larger for the small children ; and tiiis should have its closet, or clothes-press, that children might be early taught to put every article of clothing in its proper place. The larger children, and other adults, should have large, airy bed-rooms up stairs ; and no farm-house will be complete without two, at least, " spare bed-rooms." 307. How to Build a Convenient House. — A pleasant-looking, unostenta- tious farm-house, to contain the rooms indicated, may bo of the following dimensions. A two-story portion, 34 by 24 feet, would give half of the parlor 16 by 16 feet, and a spare bed-room 10 by 10 feet, and a hall 6 by 16 feet ; a stairway 3^ by 10 feet ; a space for pantry, or closets, 2~ by 10 feet ; a family, or sitting-room, 13 by 18 feet, and two bed-rooms, 10 by 11 and 8 by 11 feet. This building may be roofed to pitch either way. The other half of the parlor, not comprised in this space, is to be gained by an attach- ment, 8 by 16 feet, one story high, attached to that side to balance the piazza, giving the house more of a cottage look, as well as being less expen- sive, -and making better rooms on the second floor. Attached to the main building, a wing or L part, a story and a half high, will give a dining-room 12 by 18 feet, a kitchen 16 by 18 feet, a wash-room 12 by 12 feet, a store-room 6 by 12 feet, a pantry 6 Ijy 8 feet, a milk-room 6 by 6 feet, and passage and stairway to the half story, which will make good lodging-rooms for hirelings. The fuel-room may be a separate building, and although used for such a purpose, may be made M'ith a finish to correspond with the house, and set forward flush with the piazza, which is to extend along the front of this wing, and will form a good termination to the walk, besides being convenient and ajiproachable from all parts of the house under cover. Tliis piazza, which is 6 by 46 feet, and one 8 by 16 feet adjoining, should, if possible, have a south- eastern exposure, which will make it pleasant to all the rooms most used. 282 TUE FAKMERY. [Chap. JII. We do not give this as a superlatively excellent plan of a farni-lionse but one that would be convenient, comfortable, inexpensive, and capable of being erected in two or three parts, if necessary, at different periods, and upon the cheap plan described in No. 350. The advantage that we claim for this over some other plans is, that if built in parts, at different periods, according to the circumstances of the proprietor, each portion may be inade to appear, and serve the purpose of, a complete house. Thus, the part 24 by 3-i feet, with the little wings, one forming half tlie parlor, and the other the piazza, will be a neat looking house, and a comfortable one for a small family ; using the sitting-room as a kitchen, and one bed-room as a pantry. Then the dining-room, kitchen, wash-room, etc., might be added, one at a time, as ability or necessity prompts. Or, the part containing the kitchen, could be built first, and M'ould make a tolerable house by itself. Another advantage of the plan is, that the rooms are all liglit and airy ; every room, except one small bedroom, has windows upon two or more sides, and the whole house will appear to every passer-by, as though built for use, rather than show. It is a great convenience to have a house so constructed that strangers can find some other than the front door entrance. The space in front of the piazza should be a plat of shrubbery, which would form a partial screen, and in front of that the flower garden. There may be a door out of the dining-room into a garden upon that side. In arranging the plan of this house, the object has been to place the least used rooms in the house, the parlor and spare bod-rooms, upon the right and left-hand side of the hall, as you enter the front door from the portico. At the other end of the hall is the family room, and large and small bed-room. The stairway is situated, not for show in the hall, but convenient to all parts of the house, running up at a right angle from the hall, between the sitting- room and spare bed-room. The sitting-room is situated in the centre of the house, convenient to all the rooms, warm in winter, airy in summer, and easy of approach. If the ground suits, you may drop the L floor two feet below the main part, and set projecting beyond that part six feet, it allows a window there, and breaks the force of the wind upon that end of the sitting- room, and also gives room at the other end for a window and glass door ont upon the large piazza. The common entrance to the house will be upon that piazza, and from that into the sitting-room, dining-room, or kitclicn. There was a plan, published by G. C. Uouse, of Lowville, N. Y., in the Country Gentleman, so novel in its form, and apparently so convenient, that we consider it Avorthy a notice in this connection. The following is •what he says of his plan. " In the plan submitted, we flatter ourselves that some improvements have been reached, when we take into consideration convenience, space, accessibility, the ease with which the hot air passages from the furnace can be aiTanged for so many rooms, all within a few feet of the body of the fur- nace ; and each door within a few steps of the main stair-case. From the Sec. 14.] FARM-HOUSES. 283 peculiar form the centre of the house is at once reached on entering the front door. The second story is quite similar to the first, closets occupj'ing the spaces over the library and pantry, and a fine balcony over the veranda, reached through glass doors. " To meet the full requirements which were had in view, in this arrange- ment, a site should be selected having a southern or eastern exposure if in the countiy, and the building set with both full fronts to the street, so that the veranda or front door will have a direct front aspect. If, however, the location be in city or village, it would be desirable to procure a lot having two fronts, if possible looking easterly and southerly, and place the building with a front to each road, the front door looking toward the angle of tlie street." 308. Ventilation of DweIIings> — In whatever form, or upon whatever plan you build, do not forget the necessity of ventilation. Our dwellings are often charnel houses. The very first necessity of every human being — pure air- — ■ is rarely regarded in their constructiou. Tlie air actually inhaled steals in at crevices and crannies, felon-like, because it cannot be shut out. Only the defects of our architecture prevent our dying of a vitiated, poisoned, mephitic atmosphere, from which the vital element has been exhausted. Most men, including architects, seem ignorant of the fact that the atmosphere is a com- bination of different gases, only one of which is wholesome and life-giving, and that this is consumed in the lungs upon inhalation, leaving the residue to be expelled as a poison. The church, lecture-room or other structure, with doors and windows closed, with no provision for ventilation, soon becomes a slaughter-pen, and ought to be closed by the public authorities. Our manufactories and school-houses are nearly all disgraceful to their owners and architects in regard to ventilation. They arc often divided into rooms less than ten feet high, each thickly stowed with human beings, who breathe and work and sweat in an atmospjiere overheated and filled with grease, wool or cotton waste, leather or cloth, and the poisonous refuse ■ expelled from human lungs, Avhich together are enough to incite a plague, and are, in fact, the primary cause of nearly all the fevers, dysenteries, con- sumptions, etc., by which so many graves are peopled, x^o factory should be permitted to commence operations, nor school opened, imtil it shall have been inspected by some competent public officer^ and certified to be thoroughly provided with ventilators — not windows, which raay be opened, but iu a cold or stormy day very certainly will not be — but apertures for the ingress of fresh air, and others for the egress of vitiated air, both out of the reach of ignorance and defying the eftbrts of confirmed depravity of the senses to close them. Our bed-rooms are generally fit only to die in. The best are those of a few of the intelligent and affluent, which are carefully ventilated ; next to these come those of the cabins and rudest fiirm-liouses, with an inch or two of vacancy between the chimney and the roof, and with cracks on every side, through which the stars may be seen. The ceiled and j)lastered bed-rooms, 28-t THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. wliorc too many of the middle c-las.s :iro lodged, with no apertures for the ingress or egress of air but the door and whidows, are horrible. Kine-tentlis of their occupants rarely open a window unless compelled by cxceBsivc heat, and very few are careful even to leave the door ajar. To bleep in a tight six-by-ten bed-room, with no aperture admitting air, is to court the ravages of pestilence and speedy death. Our railroad cars and steamboat berths are atrociously devoid of ventila- tion. A journey is taken with far less fatigue, and more expeditiously now than it was thirty years ago, but with far greater risk and harm to health. Tliere are probably ten thousand passenger cars now running in the United States, whereof not more than one hundred are decently supplied with fresh air. Most of tliese, wherein forty or fifty persons are expected to sit all day and dose all niglit, ought to be indicted as nuisances — they are fit only for coffins. Tlie men M'ho make them probably know no better ; but those who buy and run them have not even that poor excuse. Tiiey know that they are undermining constitutions and destroying lives ; they know that ample means of arresting these frightful woes are at command; yet they will not adoj)t them because they cost something. If people only knew how many thousands of lives are annually sacrificing, how many hundreds of thousands are now suftering from fevers and other maladies which have their origin in the inhaling of noxious air, the excite- ment and alarm on this subject would work a revolution in our style of building. When we lived in old-style houses, with large open fire-places, like tlic one mentioned in the next paragraph, there was no need of being careful to build air-passages in the walls of the liouse for ventilation, fur the " fire-place, big enough to roast an ox," gave the most complete kind of ventilation. It is of the utmost importance, particularly in malarious districts, tliat houses should be so constructed that a free circulation of air can be had through all the rooms. In the plan described in 305 this fact has been kept in view. With slight modifications, the plan will answer for a liouso either at the north or the south. At the south tiie rooms would be made larger, and the fuel-room would probably be substituted for the kitchen. Frequently, the kitchen of a planter's house is placed several rods distant, without any covered way between. 309. An Old-Style Farm-house Kitchen in New Kn.«laH4l. — A picture of one of tliese scenes of comfort has lately fallen under my observation. What can be more cheerful and pleasant than the view of a farmer's kitchen, taken during the evening meal of a cold Autumn day ? It is a picture of tlie calm happiness of rural life. The kitclien of the old-style farm-house of New England is not the scullery, or mere cooking-place of some modern house — a dirty hole or comfortless out-rooin or sort of human bake-oven, where the cook is almost as much cooked as the food. No, it is a room perliaps 24 feet long and IG wide, well lighted, warm, neat, and cvery-way comfortable. Upon one side there is a Sbo. 14.] FARM-HOUSES. 285 fire-place large enougli to roast a whole ox, iu wliicli a great fire of logs sends up a cbeerful blaze, lighting up the whole room so its brightness might be seen through its great uncurtained M'indows, like a beacon light to the traveller as he comes down tlie slope of yonder hill two miles away, and makes him involuntarily thank God, in anticipation, for the good things spread out upon the great table standing between the window and the fire. Let us take note of tlie old-fashioned meal. At tlie head of the table sits a matron of some sixty summers — though in appearance tliere is nothing of llie winter of old age about her. Iler dress is a gown of home-spun worsted, well fortified Nvith flannels from the same manufactory, that bid defiance to the Autumn winds of a rigorous climate. The small, neat cap of white gauze, and the shoes and stockings of this woman, were made iu pursuance of the best medical recipe ever written : " Keep the head cool, and the feet dry and warm ;" for the stockings are the product of busy fingers at moments idle with many housewives, and the shoes of stout leather were made for service, and the cap is a mere ornament — a snow-wreath among raven locks — and her face is the indication of health and happiness. Upon her right hand sits the farmer, dressed in a butternut-colored coat, blue pants, buff vest, white linen shirt — every article home made — stout boots and black silk cravat — for he has been to town, and this is his holiday suit. Below him sit Jedediah, Ebenezer, Abram, and Solomon, all economi- cal names, for they can be shortened in common use to Jed, Eb, Ab, and Sol. Two of these wear the check woollen winter frocks of New England farmers — the others are in round jackets; they are schoolboys. Upon the left sit Mary, Adeline, and Mehitable, pictures of real beauty and health. The eldest is " dressed up ;" she has been to town with her ijxther ; she has a gown of " bough ten stuff;" around her neck is a bow of colored lamb's wool, knitted by her own hands, fastened in the thfoat by grandmotlier's silver brooch. The other two are in check woolen, winch was spun, woven, and colored, and made up under the same roof. Further down the table are three athletic young men, day laborers on the farm — sons of ncigliboring farmers — one of whom is eyeing the charms of sweet Mary witli an expression easily read by a good physiognomist. The gi-oup is completed by the schoolmaster, a young man with a glowing eye w'lich speaks of intellect tliat will tell upon the world some day with as much force as though he had not been obliged to obtain liis education by summer labor and winter teaching. lie is one of New England's rising sons. Tlio meal is for men who toil. At one end of the table stands a pot, of :unple dimensions, smoking from the oven flanking the fire-place, of the most excellent of New England cookeries, " a dish of baked beans," crowned with a great square piece of salt fat pork, crisped and rich. Lower down a broad pewter platter holds the remains of the " boiled victuals" tliat formed the dinner — beef, pork, potatoes, cabbage, beets, and turnips — a pile that might rival a small hay-cock in size and shape — a plate of rye and indian bread, 280 TUE FARMERY. [Chap. III. cold, and another made of rye flour are untouched, for a great loaf, just drawn from the oven, nicely browned and hot, is ofTerod in great broken pieces to tempt the appetite to one of tlie richest repasts ever given to an epicure. By the side of tlic old lady stands a black carthem teapot, the contents of which are freely oflered, l)ut only accepted by two of the men. as the rich ncM' milk, or the hearty old cider is preferred as a beverage, morning, noon and night, by those old-fashioned, hearty laborers. "We . must not forget the never-failing accompaniment of the evening meal at this season of the year in New England, for it is New England's proudest dish, the golden pumpkin, sweetest pie. God being thauked for his great bounties after the close of the happy meal, all are drawn into a circle around the great iire-place. Father is finishing ofl' an axehelve ; Jed is mending a pair of boots ; and one of the hired men, upon the other side of the same bench, is repairing a wagon harness — both using the same tools. The other two are employed, one shelling corn and the other helping Mary to peel pumpkins, which arc cut in slices and hung upon poles overliead. This is Mary's accepted lover. Happy hearts and blessed industry ! Ab and Sol are engaged with the schoolmaster around the big table, lighted by a home-made candle ; they are studying geography, writing, spelling, and arithmetic— fitting themselves for future statesmen. Mother is making a new coat for one of the boys, Ada is ironing at a side- table, and Hetty is washing the supper dishes at another. There are two other members of this family group — the eat occupies the top of the blue dye-tub which stands in one corner of the fire-place, and old Bose sleeps quietly under the table. Directl V, and before any sound is audible to human ear, Bose^ gets up, walks out into the long entry, and gives a loud, sharp bark at the outside door, and stands waiting the approaching step. Soon satisfied that the new comer is a friend, he retires again to his repose, and three or four boys, who look as though they might be brothers to those already described, so much are tiicy dressed alike, enter and draw around the table with the others and the school in aster. These are from a neighboring farm, sons of a widow, who have till now been so mucli engaged with the labors of the farm that they have been unable to attend the school in the daytime, but are determined to lose none of the evening opportunities to keep along with the class. They will make honest, intelligent, industrious fanners. Tlie oM folks welcome them heartil}-, and tlie young ones are all rejoiced at their arrival. The old lady inquires why in the world their mother did not come along; and Mary, the kind-hearted Mary, is so sorry to Uear that it is because Sarah is not so well, and mother is very busy getting tlieir new clothes done so that they can go to school as soon as they finish picking apples. " John," says she, " let us hurry and get through our stent and we will go over to the widow's; and I will help her with her sewing; yon will read for the amusement of poor Sarah, for an hour or two." " If that is tlie case," says father, laying down his axe handle, " my good children, you shall Sec. U.] farm-houses. 287 go DOW ; I will finish your work." " And Mary, my dear girl, don't go empty handed," says mother ; " you know from e.xperience how sweet little delicacies, brought by friendly hands to the side of a sick-bed, are to a poor invalid." " Hetty, my dear, if you have done your dishes, you must get your cards and make a few rolls, for 1 am quite out of grey yarn, and M-e must have some more stockings in the work. Old man, don't cut that pumpkin too thick. — Ada, daughter, get a plate of doughnuts and some of those nice fall pijjpins and set on the table ; I guess these boys can eat a few while they are cyphering. I do wonder if you have got light enough. Sol, get another candle, I am sure such industrious boys ought to have all the light they want." TIius, my readers, I have given you a slight outline of a farmer's house, such as it used to be, such as it might be, and such as it always should be, and such as, I am proud to say, many an American farmer can boast of even in these degenerate days of " boughten stuff gowns " and lack-a-daisical lounging of farmer's girls, who are miserable and tired of nothing to do. How do you like the picture ? If well, imitate it. It is a happiness easily acquired. It is easy to imagine the sun'oundings of such a home as the one described above. And as tliere is probably no better exponent of the farmer's life than the farmer's liome, we propose to present the portrait of a home quite in contrast to the preceding one. We are sorry that such as tliis are altoge- ther too common. Here is the sketch : A square brown house; a chimney coming out of the middle of a roof; not a tree nearer than the orchard, and not a flower at the door. At one end projects a kitchen; from the kitchen projects a wood-shed and wagon-cover, occupied at night by hens ; beyond the wood-shed a hog-pen, fragrant and musical. Proceeding no further in this direction, we look directly across the road, to where the barn stands, like the hull of a great black ship of the line, with its portholes spread threateningly upon the fort opposite, out of one of which a horse has thrust his head for the puqjose of examining the streufth of the works. An old ox-sled is turned up against the wall close by, where it will have the privilege of rotting. This whole establishment was contrived with a single eye to utility. The barn Avas built in such a manner that its deposits might be convenient to the road which divides the farm, while the sty was made an attachment of the house for convenience in feeding its occupants. We enter the house at the back door, and find the family at dinner in the kitchen. A kettle of soap-grease is stewing upon the stove, and the fumes of this, mingled with those that were generated by boiling the cabbage wliicli v\'e see upon the table, and by perspiring men in shirt-sleeves, and bv boots that have forgotten, or do not care where they have been, make the air anything but agreeable to those who are not accustomed to it. This is the place where the family live. They cook everything here for themselves an3 2SS THE FARMERY. [CnAP. III. tlioir Iiogs. They eat evoiy meal liere. They sit here every eveniug, and liere they receive their friends. Tlie women in this kitchen toil incessantly, from the time tliey rise in the morning, until they go to bed at night. Here man and woman, sons and daughters, live in the belief that work is the great tiling, that efficiency in work is the crowning excellence of manhood and womanhood, and willingly go so far into essential self-debasement some- times as to contemn beauty, and those who love it, and to glory above all things in brute strength, and brute endurance. We do not expect to see every farm-liouse a domestic paradise; but we do contend that one contrived upon the moderate plan described in Xo. 305 will be likely to produce a better race of men and women than such a home as tlie one last mentioned in this paragraph. Having occupied as mucli space as we can afford to give to the dwellings, let us now look at some of the surroundings necessaiy to make up a complete farmery. SECTION XV.-CELLAKS, CHIMNEYS, AND ICE-HOUSES. "N a cold climate, two of the most important requi- ites of a farmd\ouse are good cellars and good chim- neys. In all the great farming region nortli of Lat. 40°, L\ there are nights almost every "Winter in wliich the tliermo- meter falls 10° below 0° of Farenheit ; and .in some of the elevated portions of New England it sometimes falls 40° below zero. Tliere warm cellars are a necessity. Every- where chimneys are so, for there is not a greater source of vexation about a farm-house than a smoky chimney. For- merly, ice was looked upon as a luxury merely ; it is so no longei'. Hence we devote space to give tlie best information we can obtain, how to build an ice-house and preserve its contents. 310. Cellars— Where and How to Build them. — As we luive already intimated, we do not approve of extensive cellars imder dwellings. As a general thing, in all damp soils, like millions of acres of the western prairie lands, cellars, even when kept with the utmost care, are not healthy ; and when kept as we have often seen them, dripping with moisture, and frequently with water standing several inches deep, they are positive conta- gion breeders. In all such situations we reconnnend cave ccllai"s, built on the level of the surface. An excellent one which vcc built near the kitchen door, S by 20 feet, was made of ciglit-inch brick walls, seven feet high, with an entry and double doors at one end, and double windows at the other. At first our design was to arch this over and make a grassy mound ; but upon Sec. 15.] CELLARS, CHIMNEYS AND ICE-HOUSES. 2S9 second thought, we earthed it up as high as the top of the wall and then put on a building for a smoke-house, the fire for which was built at the bottom and carried up in a flue. "Where there is a hillside, a cave cellar may be made more easily, though we did not find it a serious job to heap up the earth from the level ground, taking care to slope it off so as not to leave any noticeable depression. Such a cellar is very convenient, dry, pleasant, and not unhealthy. K built where a building over it would be unsightly, or not needed, it may be arched and covered with earth and made quite an orna- ment of the house surroundings. Wherever a cellar is it should have as uniform a temperature as possible, the year through ; it should never sink much below 38° Fahrenheit, nor rise above 50°, and it should be always moist, yet never wet. It should be also well ventilated, and that should be by a flue of the chimney, constructed specially for that object, when the cellar is under the dwelling. 311. — Chimneys— How to Build thenii — A new combination of chimney and ventilator has been patented by a Philadelphian (Mr. Leeds), and is very strongly recommended by many who have tried it in that city. The brick wall of this chimney is without flues, no matter how large the house, but the smoke is carried up, say half the height of the building, through a cast-metal box or square flue in the centre of the stack, while pure, cold air is intro- duced at the bottom of the building into the chimney outside of the flue. The heat of the flue causes this air to ascend with great rapidity and force, carrying the smoke with it from their juncture at the top of the box, and rendering it wholly impossible that the chimney should ever smoke. Venti- lation is effected by valves opening from the external or air-chimney into the rooms, so as to throw out a column of air, warmed by its contact with the flue, into the room near its floor, while another valve near the ceiling sucks in and carries off the impure air— the draught of the heated flue being aided by the influx of heated air through the lower valve into the room. This arrange- ment, it is claimed, saves the expense of brick flues, saves heat, which other- wise passes off uselessly through the chimney, insures a thorough ventilation without trouble or cost, and affords a perfect security against fires from defective or overheated chimneys, through the gradual charring of the wooden beams or other timbers imbedded or ending against the chimney. A connection with the cellar, by an opening into such a flue, would draw off all the foul air that would be generated in any but a very badly kept cellar ; besides proving a valuable safeguard against the carelessness of carpenters, who do sometimes place wood in fearfully dangerous places. If all stove- heated houses had such means of ventilation, it would do something toward bringing back the same state of health that existed in connection with open fire-places. The comfort of a dwelling depends in a great degree upon its having good chimneys, always maintaining a current of air upward within, and secured externally against the entrance of water. Form, size, location and workman- ship, all unite in producing a good or bad article. 19 290 THE FARMERY. [Chap. IH. The ridge or liighest part of the roof is the best place for the exit of the chimney, for it is less liable to those sudden gusts of " blowing down chimney " than when in proximity to higher objects. In this place too, the roof is more easily rendered tight and secure against wet. In small houses with but one chimney we need not seek any other place for it. In buildings larger, where several chimneys are needed, keep the same object in view, and approach as near to it as possible. In brick houses, if tlie chimney is built into an exterior wall, it will sometimes fail to draAV well, because the air outside of the house cools the warm ascending current within the flue. If the flue is in a south wall, the heat of the sun sometimes aids tlie draught. The size of the chimney is also important. TIic modern fashion is quite too small for utility. Economy of space and a desire to conceal entirely an object merely of utilit}^ have caused its dimensions to be contracted until a few months' deposit of soot entirely chokes the passage. While we no longer need the huge '• good old-fashioned chimneys " of former days, the flues should not be contracted so as to hinder the current of smoke, which needs a channel as smooth as for the flow of water. We often find the curves, where the most room is needed, half filled with mortar carelessly dropped and loosely adhering to the bricks. By making a proj^er table above the roof, it can be made water-proof; but tliis, if not well done at first, always proves a vexatious and difficult matter to accomplisli. Mortar, putty, cement, and I)aint, in all their variations, have been tried with various success. An old grafter recommends for this purpose " grafting wax," as the cheapest, surest, and most durable application. But we say, build so that they will all be unnecessary. Always begin j-our chimneys from a good foundation on the earth. He who builds a small "stem" in the garret, builds a large nuisance for himself. The soot tea, black and penetrating, will leak out to discolor the walls, the gathered soot and ashes cannot be removed, and the thing proves a chimney only in name and in its appearance on the roof All unused stove-pipe holes and fire-places should be closed to secure the best draught. Where there are two chimneys in the same building one will sometimes overpower the other, with the most provoking results. This is a contingency to be regarded in forming the plan. Tiie top of the chimney may be full size and open where there is no danger of down currents ; otherwise it should be arched or provided with some cap or ventilator of sheet iron. Those who have built will see the importance of these hints; those who are to build, will do well to regard them. 312. Ice-IIonseSi — ?^cxt to a good cellar, an ice-house is a necessity of a farm-house. Here we can do without an ice-house, and north of latitude 40° we cannot do without a cellar — at least, not comfortably ; and, in our opinion, any family who have once enjoyed the comforts of an ice-house. Seo. 15.] CELLARS, CHIMNEYS AND ICE-HOUSES. 291 will ever after think that thej cannot live quite comfortably without one. "We have often witnessed in good farm-houses the necessity of a suppl}-^ of ice, in the character of the butter placed upon the table — even among those who know how to make good butter, we find a quality far inferior to the samples made where there are cool spring houses or an abundant supply of ice. TVe give a few other reasons iu favor of every farmer's having an icehouse, and we beg farmers to read and consider them well, and then we will tell them how to build one. 313. Reasons why Farmers should have Ice-Houses. — It is August ; hot, faint and exhausted, the farmer comes from the field so thirsty that he cannot satisfy himself with water from a well so shallow that the burning rays of the sun have reached the surface and penetrated into the water, warming it almost hot enough for dish-water. Some draw their water from springs, and others from cisterns. It is only here and there that we find a spring that comes gushing to the surface, or that feeds a deep Avell with water, cool enough to satisfy the over-heated, thirsty harvester. How refreshing such water is, not only to drink, but to lave the face and hands and breast, before sitting down to a meal, or lying down to repose to recupe- rate tired nature. We have no doubt that the laving is far bettor than the drinking, and it should always be the first step taken to quench thirst. Again, how refreshing is a cool drink with the lunch in the field, but how difiicult to have it there, at only half a mile from the coldest spring or well. How easy it would be if there was an ice-house on the farm. A piece that could be carried in one hand, wrapped in a blanket, would be large enough to cool the drink of a dozen men all the forenoon, and it would invigorate them more than a bottle of rum. Ice, taken in moderate quan- tity, is a tonic, and serves to keep the system in such healthy condition, that food gives it more strength. Simply, then, upon economic principles, every farmer should have an ice-house. A humane man should have an ice-house. It adds to the health and comfort of his summer laborers. Let him think of it now — think of it iu August, think of it while sighing, Oh, for a cool drink ! Oh, for a cup of ice-water ! The stingy man, the veriest old hunks, who is never quite satisfied with the amount of labor tliat he gets out of his workmen in the harvest-field, should have an ice-house ; it will enable him to get more work out of them. Now is the very time to tliink of this ;i'particularly in the heat of the har- vest-field. The man that knows tliat fresh meat is not only moi-e palatable in the heat of Summer, but that there is a positive economy in feeding his family and extra laborers upon sweet grass-fed beef and mutton, and upon cold milk and sweet, hard butter ; and that a man who does feed his day-laborers so can always get better men and more work for his money than liis neighbor who lives upon salt junk and rum, will have an ice-house ; and if he has not got one he will make up his mind, before the present Summer is over, that as 292 THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. soon as tliere is a lull in the work of haying and harvest he will set about building an ice-house, wliich lie can do with his own hands and common farm-laborers ; and with less than the work of one hand and team during a week in winter, he can lay up such a store of ice that he need never drink warm water, nor eat soft butter, nor fear to kill a sheep lest the meat should spoil before it could be eaten. Let all remember this fiict : Ice is not a luxury; that is, one that can be dispensed with, and may be indulged in only by the wealthy ; but one of the most economical things that can be provided for family use. It is an article that no farmer can afford to do without. Now, having given arguments enough to convince any man that he should build an ice-house, we proceed to tell him how to do it. 314. Uow to Build an Ice-HousCt — An ice-house is not the complicated, costly structure that some people appear to think it is. Quite the contrary, it is one of the easiest and most simple things to build, needing very little mechanical skill, and being quite inexpensive. All of the work about an ice-house can be done by any farmer of ordinary Yankee capacity in the use of such a set of carpenters' tools as every farmer should keep. In the first lilace, it is not necessary to build an ice-house under ground, although in dry, gravelly soil it may be built so at less expense than on the surface, and it is easier filled. A hill-side is the most convenient location, with the gable of one end above the surface, in which liavc an opening to put in ice — the other end, to a level with the floor, being exposed — through which we would have the ordinary entrance by double doors. In such a situation we would use broken stone, making a hollow, grouted wall ; and the same kind of wall might be built on level ground ; and a very good, cheap, durable wall it is. Brick or stone may also be used for tli'e walls, according to the fancy of the builder, always making them hollow, and the outer and inner part of the wall absolutely as air-tight as could be made with brick and mortar. Tiie cheapest, easiest and quickest constructed ice-house, and one all-suffi- cient for the purpose, is built of wood ; and the money difference in cost placed at interest will more than keep the wooden house in repair and gool as brick or stone. So we will give directions for building a plaiu, cheap, common, rough-board, farm ice-house, large enough for all ordinary private families. Select a spot of ground convenient to the kitchen door, and remove the soil and put coarse gravel or sand in itj place, with drains leading away from the eaves, so constructed that it will be absolutely impossible for water to stand under or around the building. Lay down two-inch plank six inches wide, bedded their thickness in the sand, for sills; tlie end ones eight feet long and side ones thirteen feet. Cut your studs off square, eight feet long, of any size or width that you can get in the refuse heap at the nearest saw- mill or lumber-yard, so that you can get one straight side, and set them up face side in, and toe-nail them to the sill, with an inch-board on top for a plate, upon which rest the joist ; nail up through the plate to hold them Sko. 15.] CELLARS, CHIMNEYS, AND ICE-HOUSES. 293 in place. Now board these studs on the inside, and batten the cracks with rough boards, and serve the under side of the joists in the same way. This makes a tiglit boarded room, eight feet wide, eight feet liigh, and twelve feet long. The floor must be laid upon timber bedded in gravel or charcoal, to cut off any currents of air, but so that all water from melted ice will drain off immediately. Divide oft' four feet of the end in which you intend to have the door, for a cooling-room, and you will have room for a cube of ice eight feet, less the straw or sawdust all around between the ice and boards, and this will last any family through the hot weather, with most liberal use of it for all needed purposes. Now for the protection of the ice to prevent its melting. Set up another "balloon frame" outside of the first, from one to two feet off, the widest space being the best, boarded perpendicularly with rough boards battened. The top of the outer frame must be tied firmly to the inner one by strips of boards nailed from plate to plate, and the space between the walls com- pactly filled with charcoal, sawdust, or straw, provision being made for a narrow doorway in one end, to be closed with shutters inside and out, which must be made to shut tight, and will be greatly improved by lining them with a coat of straw two inches thick, fastened on by lath nailed across. About the roof. This must be made in the same way as tlie sides, with two sets of rafters, boarded and filled between with straw, with good shingling outside, or some other tight roofing. It will be necessary to make a trap in the roof, or a door in the gable end, opposite the usual entrance, with a slide leading to the interior, for the convenience of filling, and there must be a suitable ventilating chimney, six inches square, from the ice up through the roof, which at times may be partially closed by a wisp of straw. Tlie space between the joists and the rafters, if filled with straw, will assist in the preservation of the ice, and need never be removed, except the portion around the door made for putting in ice. Tlie expense of snch an ice-house it will be easy to calculate upon the local cost of lumber. Such a building as we have described will take forty-eight studs 8 feet long, 2 by 4 inclies in size, which is quite strong enough, and sixteen inside rafters of same size, 8 feet long ; twenty rafters of same size, 9 feet long, for outside; two sills 2 by 6 inches, 8 feet long each; two ditto 13 feet long each for inside frame ; two ditto 16 feet and two ditto 12 feet for outside sills, and some short pieces of stuff for gable-end studs ; for plates two boards 6 inches wide, 13 feet long; two ditto 8 feet long; two ditto 12 feet and two ditto 16 feet each; and this constitutes the timber of the frame, and will not exceed 700 feet, board measure. In fact, tiiis wliole frame could be made of straight poles, or split stuff, which would cost but a trifle on some farms. The boarding of sides, roofs, floors, partition, measures in all, we be- lieve, 1,620 feet of surface and bat;tens, so that 2,500 feet of lumber and 2,000 sliingles appear to be ample for an ice-house to stow a cube 8 feet square, witli a cooling-room 4: by 8 ; and two men can build it in four days. Now 294 THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. count the lumber at $12 a thousand, sliingles at $4 a thousand, work at $2 a day, nails, liinges, etc., $2, team work $2, and we have a total of $50 for the cost of a building that is wor.h $50 to any farmer every year. AVho would do without an ice-house ? Having given the above as our own plan, we will add the plans of several others. Que writer says : " Instead of one hollow wall for a non-conductor of heat, as in ordinary ice-houses, I have two, with a space between them for confined air. The site is on a gravel slope. The foundation, for convenience in storing ice, is dug two feet below the surface of the ground. The outside wall, for non-con- ducting material, is six inches in the clear. The inside wall is four inches. The doors for entrance correspond perfectly with the hollow walls in thickness, and are filled in the same manner — -being shaped to shut with a bevel edge, like the door to safes used by merchants and bankers. At the lower side of the plates is a ceiling, upon which I put spent tan one foot thick, which tan is in direct connection with the side-walls, so that any settling in of the walls may be supplied from overhead. From the imder side of the ceiling runs a ventilator, with a hole of one and a half inch bore, up through the roof, which is finished with an ornamental cap. "Tlie room for ice is eight by ten feet in the clear, and eight feet higli. About all tlie waste of ice that I observed during the summer was at the bottom, and this was so slow that we used the ice without regard to economy for a large family, and in a dairy of thirty-five cows, besides giving freely to our neighbors. "I put sticks four inches thick in the bottom to put ice on, and also some straw about the sides as well as underneath the ice." At a discussion about ice-houses, by the American Institute Farmers' Club, the following facts were elicited : Mr. Pardee read an extract from a paper upon ihe ventilation and drain- age of ice-houses. It states that an underground ice-house is calculated to melt ice much taster than above, because the earth gets heated and melts the ice. William S. Caepentek — It is a question of great moment to farmers how small a cube of ice can be kept well. I have not, in my exiicrience, found tliat one less than ten feet will keep. I have a floor over my ice, which I keep covered with straw, and find it an excellent thing to prevent thawing. I find the bottom layer of my house, which is an underground one, keeps better than the layers above. Same of my neighbors think the ice keeps the best if the cakes are set on edge. JouN G. Bekgen — The great ice-packers I have seen put in their cakes' flat, and very compact. Some of my neighbors break up the blocks of ice, but I prefer the solid blocks. My opinion is that straw is bettor tlian salt hay lo pack ice in. I should jirefor to have a very heavy coat of straw on the ice, and then I don't care about the ventilation above. I will say, how- Sec. 15.] CELLAES, CHIMNEYS, AND ICE-HOUSES. 295 ever, that my neighbors' ice-houses that have no upper floor, and are a good deal open at the top, do keep the ice well. Prof. JSTash — "We are too much inclined to be innovators in all our build- ings, and in ice-houses particularly. "We must look at the true philosophy of keeping ice, or we shall fail ; for the philosophy of it is to put it as mucli away from the air as possible, and that is why we pack it in straw or saw- dust, etc. As to giving some ventilation to the loft, or space over the ice, it may be of service. I think that an ice-house should not have any pro- vision for ventilation — the tighter the better. Solon RoBmsoN^There is a misunderstanding about this term ventila- tion. As one of the advocates of it for an ice-house, as well as all other houses, I do not mean open exposure, but simply to allow an escape of the heated air that will accumulate in the space between the straw and the roof. Make it as tight all round the body of the ice as possible, by using non- conducting substances from the exterior, and cover the top of the ice as closely as you please with sawdust or straw, but don't make the upper part too close ; at least, leave the cracks in the gable ends open. As for the sides, the best of all substances to fill with is fine charcoal ; the next best, sawdust ; next, tan-bark, straw, leaves from the forest, or salt hay, or any other fibrous substance. It is not necessary to have a double M^all if your ice is sufficiently packed around with any of the above substances. The air, at any ]-ate, must not come in contact with the ice, nor with a board that touches it. And a stone or the ground will melt ice much quicker than wood. What I have been most anxious for in bringing up this discussion upon ice-houses, is to divest the subject of all scientific nonsense about making buildings to keep ice of so expensive a character that no common farmer would undertake it. Yet there are thousands of men who might enjoy the comforts of a full supply of ice, and some of them would do it if they only knew that they could build a house at almost no cost. A log cabin, as described by Mi". Pell, or a cellar lined with fence-rails and a board roof, with plenty of sawdust, leaves, or straw, will keep it longer than a stone or brick building, put up at a cost of $500, I want to encourage people to build cheap ice-houses. A correspondent says: "I live on Staten Island, where neither charcoal, sawdust, nor tan-bark can be had, except at great expense, but dry forest- leaves and salt hay cost but a trifle. "Will either of the latter answer a good purpose for an ice-house out of the ground, and, if so, wliich is the best? (1.) I propose to make two boxes of rough hemlock boards — the outer one twelve feet square by ten feet high, the inner one ten feet square by the same bight — so as to leave a continuous space of twelve inches all round between the boxes, this space to be filled with leaves or hay pressed down tight. (2.) The roof to be covered with tongued and grooved boards, and set at an angle of 35 degrees, with a projection of two feet. The double doors will be in the peak of the roof, the outside frame to be supported by chest- nut posts, lined on one side, and set into the ground four feet apart ; the 296 THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. inside box, or frame, to bo supported by joists, 2x-t-inch, set edgewise, three feet apart, secured against the inner side. Chestnut sleepers will be laid on the ground, covered with loose boards, from which there will be good dniin- age. Will it be necessary to make the roof double, and have an opening on the top for ventilation? (3.) Can you suggest any improvement on tlii.-. plan, without increasing the cost? (4.) One of my neighbors, for the want of tan-bark or sawdust, built an expensive ice-house on the ground, walled up with stone, but it fails to keep the ice. (5.)" I will briefly answer these inquiries : 1. Either salt hay or leaves Avill answer a good purpose, and I should use whichever is the cheapest. 2. This plan will make an ice-house that will keep the contents safe in any place. 3. There is the same necessity for a double roof that there is for double sides, and more, for that is not necessary if there is a good thick lining of straw between the ice and boards. I double my roof by a thatch of straw, first laid and then boarded over. 4. The improvement I should suggest would be a cheaper frame. Make the outside just like the inside. It is cheaper, and will answer just as well as the chestnut-posts. 5. This is probably owing to deficient ventilation ; that is, openings in the gable ends far above the ice, to allow the hot air and foul gases that accu- mulate there to pass ofl". If the stone walls of an ice-house once get heated from the sun, they retain the lieat both day and night, and communicate it to the atmosphere within. Stone is the worst material for an ice-house that can be used. RoBEKT L. Pell said that he built an ice-house just like a log-cabin, in the ground, with a board roof, that keeps ice first-rate. He built one of stone and one of brick, laid in cement, neither of which would keep ice. lie fills on a cold day, and leaves the house open to allow the ice to freeze. He packs broken ice into all the spaces between the cakes, and puts straw at the bottom eight inches thick, and packs the ice up to the wood on the sides, and leaves it until June or July, when there is a space melted away all round, and that is then packed tight with straw. His ice-house is most thoroughly ventilated in the upper portion of it. A full set of ice-tools costs about $50, but he did not think it necessary for a farmer to go to that ex- pense ; a saw is nearly as good as an ice-plow to cut ice on a small scale, Avhen great haste is not very necessary, as is the case with the great ice- gatherers for market. John G. Bergen — My ice-house is a cellar, about twelve feet square at the top and ten feet at the bottom, and this is fitted with a double-boarded frame, the hollow filled with sawdust. The earth is so porous that it gives a natural drainage. Tliere is a building, used for other purposes, over the ice- house, which is ventilated, but the ice part has no ventilation ; and I cover the ice with sawdust, and also around the sides, and it keeps well. I pack Sec. 15.] CELLARS, CHIMNEYS, AND ICE-HODSES. 297 the cakes close, and tliey come out as square as tliey went in. There is a free circulation of air in the iipper part of my ice-house, and nothing but straw to exclude the air from the ice. The great Hudson River ice-hoiises are very large, and always built above ground, with double walls, filled with sawdust. The ice is packed close, and broken ice filled in to all the cracks. Some single ice-houses hold 3,000 tuns; and most of the ice used in the city is cut upon the river, and not upon lakes. Mr. QaiNN — I noticed that some of these ice-houses use salt hay. The roofs and sides are double, and the best of them are tilled with fine charcoal, making the wails eighteen inches thick. I know one person who had an underground ice-house, and now has one above, which he prefers ; the ice keeps in this the best. J. P. Vkeedek — I made my ice-house by digging a hole ten or twelve feet square, and lined it with boards as a double wall, filled in witli tanbark. My roof is a straw thatch. My ice keeps perfectly well. I have gqod drainage, and I put about six inches of straw around the ice on bottom, sides, and top. The house is only four feet below tlie surface, and the rest above. I pack about twelve or fourteen tuns of ice, being careful to fill all the crevices with broken ice. John G. Bergen said that he did not think a double roof necessary. None of the ice-houses in his neighborhood had them. Piof. Mapes — The point settled in building ice-houses is, that the whole ice-hoiise should be above ground. This is the practice in Massachusetts. There is no substance equal to a confined space of air for the walls of ice- houses. Build of whatever substance you please, so that you have a double wall, and tight enough to hold air, and you will have a perfect protector of ice. As to ventilation, Jenner, who first constructed ventilated ice-boxes, found that ice melted faster in ventilated than in unventilated boxes. Ventila- tion is necessary when you desire to keep food sweet. If there is no ventila- tion, the confined air soon becomes very foul from animal substances on ice. He then gave some interesting particulars of the large refrigeratoi-s in some of the city packing-houses. Some are so large that they use up a number of tuns of ice a day. The temperature is kept at 42 degrees, and in large rooms thus cooled hundreds of animals can be killed and cooled every day. If your object is to keep ice without use, shut up close — it needs no venti- lation. 315. How to Make and Store Ice. — H. Lyman, of Johnstown, Wis., tells how to make ice for putting up in ice-houses, where there-is no convenient pond or stream, and how to store it without an expensive house built on purpose. Mr. Lyman says : " I live on tlie prairie. On the coldest day of January I draw water from the well and pour it into square tin pans, two feet long, nine inches wide at the bottom, and nine and an eighth at the top, and about nine inches deep. While I have been drawing water, Dick has been gathering clean snow and putting it into the water. The compound is frozen immediately. I now 298 THE FARMERY. [Cuap. ID. apply hot water w'tli cloths to the sides of the tin containers, which enables me to empty out the blocks of ice. " A cube of ice of four feet is all I need. No separate building need be erected to keep it in.. The barn, the wood-liouse, or the tool-house can furnish an ample corner. Tiie conditions of its safe keeping are — the walls of a building around, and two feet of compact straw on every side of the gelid mass. In packing, I lay loose boards on a bed of straw, a^id on this platform I lay the ice. I take care to expose the ice to the lowest tempera- ture of the year, and lay it up in the coldest state. If every alternate block of ice is inverted, the mass is thereby made compact; if not, lliere will be a little space open at the bottom between the respective blocks. AVhen the cube is comj)lete, cover the whole with straw. This work can be effected with milk pans or other vessels, and if straw or ice be carefully filled into the intervals in packing it will answer a good purpose, though square pans are preferable. I use snow for the sake of hastening the process of freezing. The pans are flared a little toward the top to f;\cilitate turning out." This excellent plan should be carefully heeded by all the dwellers upon prairies, and by a great many other people. .310. How to Carry Ice to Ihc Field.— Lucius Beach, of Port Huron, Mich., says : " Many farmers do not put up ice from the supposed difficulty of using it on the farm away from the house. I have used ice-water for constant drink two summers on my farm. I happened to carry water with ice in it into the field in a six-quart tin pail with a cover to it. "We used the watei", and the ice was left in the pail about six hours in a hot day, and some of it still remained. I then procured a twelve-quart tin pail with cover, put in a large piece of ice, took a jug of water^into the field, and turned it on to the ice as we wanted to use it. In this way it will last from six to ten hours for the use of six men, and is a luxury indeed." 317. liOW to Keep Ice iu ^'lliunicr. — If you have no ice-liouse, and buy ice, or even if you have an ice-house, and do not want to open it except at even- ing or morning, or if it is inconvenieiit to the house, and you wish to have ice always hand}', this is how you can do it. Have a bushel of clean, dry sawdust, put a peck of it in the bottom of a tight barrel, having one hole for drainage, then put in a layer of lumps of ice and another peck of saw- dust, and so on, covering the top tightly with sawdust, and over all a folded blanket. Do not let the ice touch the staves, and do not set the barrel in a warm place, and you will have ice all day, with scarcely any perceptible waste. Provide sawdust enough, so that you can shift the wet for dry every. day. This is a much better ]ilan than wrapping ice in a blanket or keeping it in a refrigerator, because the best of these usefid articles of household fur- niture do not ])reservc ice, but rather waste it, and in so doing preserve the food placed in them. 318. Refrigerators.^No family can afford to keep house without a re- frigerator — a food-preserver. "\Ve do not mean an ice-box, which, like the one above described, will keep ice, but nothing else — that is, not to any ad- Sec. IG.J THE BARX AND ITS APPUBTEKANCES. 299 vantage. A piece of meat, placed upon ice, -will keep a longer time than in the open warm air, but it does not keep as good as in dry air of ice temperature, and it spoils very quickly after it is taken olf the ice. A cus- tard pie kept three days on the ice will be slimy and aiot toothsome ; but when kept in a good refrigerator, the pie will be as sweet and dry as it is in a pantry in cool weather ; a piece of meat will keep in July as well as in January. Such a refrigerator has the ice at the top, and the air cooled by it falls upon the food below, or on a shelf alongside of the ice, aftd is as dry as any other cold air. A box of fine charcoal, kept in the i-efrigerator, and changed every month, will absorb all the unpleasant odors and keep the air sweet. Such refrigerators are common now in New York in families, and some of the butchers have them large enough to store the quarters of a bul- lock and several sheep and calves. And some of the packing-houses have them large enough to store and cut and pack, in a winter atmosphere, several hundred hogs a day. Without such " cooling-rooms," the summer slanghter- ing of butchers' animals could never be carried on to the great extent it is in all the large sea-board cities. This is one of the great inventions of the present age. These improved refrigerators, of suitable size for families, cost from $15 to $50 each. Ours, which cost $25, is worth $10 a year— has been in use live years, and is just as good as ever, and we see no reason why it will not be so ten years hence. It is better than none, even M'ithout ice, as it preserves an even condition of temperature. Every farmer should have ice, and no one should be without a refrigerator in some very convenient locality near the kitchen cr store-room. SECTION XVI.-THE BARN AND ITS APPURTENANCES. F all that might be profitably said under the title of this ^y section were given, we should require a whole volume instead of a few pages, which is all the space we can allot to the important subject. A farm without a barn is only to be tolerated in a new settlement, as in some cases on the great prairies, where the land can be got under cultivation before the owner can erect the necessary buildings. Even there, we have always no- ticed that the most thrifty farmers were those who erected the best barns, at the earliest moment practicable. Tlie barn and its appurtenances, treated of in this section, contains information that will be found valuable to every one who owns, or ever expects to own, a farm. 319. The Use and Value of Barns, and their Locationt— Of course, a good barn is one of the great essentials of a farmery — one that can 300 THE FARMERY. [Chap. HI. not be dispensed with. Grain and hay may bo preserved in stacks or bar- racks, but tiie one can not be threshed and cleaned out-door -without waste, and (he other can not be fed to the stock to good advantage anywhere but in the barn. A good house and convenient out-buildings are comfortable; a good barn is one of the grand necessities of good farming. No farmer can afford to do without one of sufScicnt size to acconmiodatc all the purposes for which a barn is appropriate. We have rarely, if ever, seen upon a well-cultivated farm a barn that was too large. In nine out of ten cases the barn is too small. After it is too late, the farmer regrets that he had not built it larger. But lack of size is not so great a fault as wrong location, for you can build to the original, by a lean-to upon one side, and open shed or stable on the other, or an entire new building adjoining, so as to make the whole quite as convenient as though all built together in one building. But if the location is wrong, it never can be righted. So, in building anew, make this a question for careful consideration : " Where shall I place my barn ?" And do not place it until you know that you are rigiit. We will point out a few essential things about location, which we think may be of service to those about to build barns.' First, a barn never should be set up-hill from the house, where by any possibility the drainage either on the surface, or under it, should come down about the door, or into the cellar or well. AVherever the situation will admit of it, place the barn on a lower level than the house, and northerly or westerly from it, and do not be afraid to give a good distance between. You had better walk an extra hundred feet all your life than have a hundred foul smells creeping into every room in your dwelling. Secondly, never build your barn upon the roadside. Upon the road, only a mile long, which we daily travel between our own home and the railroad station, there are four barns, located upon just such situations as are very common in all hilly regions, the face of a hill, which gives mo.-t excel- lent natural drainage— but unfortunately for good economy, the drainage is directly into the jniblic I'oad. Another thing in the location of a barn should he had in view, and that is convenience of access. For a large farm, a hillside barn, that can liave a drive-way into the second or third stor}-, affords a great convenience about unloading hay, and hauling away manure from the lower side. A location should be chosen for a barn, so far as it can be, with reference to other important considerations, where it will not occupy half an acre, or more, perhaps, of the very best soil, about the center adopted fc)r the farmery establishment. If you are about to make a new location for the whole of * the buildings to constitute a farmery, it will be easy to have them arranged relatively right, if you first make a complete map of the whole farm, and then make j'our locations to suit peculiar circumstances. On a rough, rocky farm yon may often save an acre of good land by placing your buildings upon ground or rock fit only to build upon, and much better for that than a rich soil. Seo. 16.] THE BARN AND ITS APPURTENANCES. 301 Above all things, in selecting a site for the ftirmeiy, of which the barn, with its appurtenances, forms such a conspicuous portion, avoid locating directly upon both sides of the road, and all locations upon brook or river banks, wliich allow so much fertility to be washed away. Aud do not go to the bottom of the hill because there is a natural spring there, or because you can dig a well so easily. You can have a cistern anywhere near a roof, if you can not get a well. Do not locate on the very pinnacle of the hill — it is too bleak, even in quite warm latitudes. If you place the house on the hill, you need not put the barn, like one I see almost daily, on the top of the highest pile of rocks in the vicinity — a spot bleak euoiigh to Ulow the hair off a cow's back. Having said this much of the most important question, we will now introduce some descriptions of a few of the best barns in this country. 320. Barn built by the Shakers, Canterbury, N. H.— The location of this Shaker society is about fifteen miles north of Concord, N. H., and nine miles east of Merrimac Eiver. The society is composed of three families, and owns about 2,500 acres, lying in nearly a square form, in the center of which are their substantially built and commodious dwelling-houses and numerous other buildings, all of which are painted of lightish colors, and kept in the most complete repair and neatness. The main body of the barn is 200 feet in length by 45 in width, with 34 feet jjosts (three stories high). The roof is nearly flat, double boarded, then covered with three layers of stout sheathing paper, saturated with coal tar, upon which is spread a thick coat of coal tar and screened gravel. There is a projection at each end of the barn, 25 feet in length and about 16 in width, so that the whole length is 250 feet. The whole structure is well boarded. The sides and ends are covered with 16-inch pine shingles, laid four inches to the weather. There are three floors, extending the whole length of the main body of the barn. The ground upon which the barn was erected was nearly level, but at great expense a drive-way has been graded, of easy ascent, so tliat the loads of hay are driven on to the upper floor, over the high beams, so that, in unloading, the hay is pitched down, instead of up. This makes a material ditierence in forking over 200 tons of hay each hay season. The floors, ceilings, partitions, etc., are all planed and finished off as handsomely as farm-houses formerly were. There are two hovels on the lower floor, extending the whole length of the main barn, the eastern portions of which are arranged for tying up 23 cows in each, with sliding stanchions. The cows have been so trained, as they pass in the hovel each one takes its own place with the regularity of well-trained soldiers, and by a simple contrivance — the turn of a short lever — the heads of all the cows are fastened or loosened, quicker than any one could be tied by a rope. Each cow is named, and, like the "world's people," they select fancy names for their cows, such as Rosa, Lady Grace, Julia, Bustle, and Crinoline, each of which is printed in large type on slips of pasteboard, and tacked upon the joists over each one. Upon the roof are three large, hand- 302 THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. soiuely finished ventilators, with Ycnetian blinds. The cellar, 200 by 45 leer, is of good depth ; the walls are of split granite, pointed with cement. Large wooden tubes pass from the cellar through the roof, which effectually carry ofl' the heated foul air of the manure. From the south side of the cen- ter of the barn described, a two-story building extends, south, 100 feet by 27. The upper part is used for storing hay, grain, straw, etc. ; the lower, for calf-peus, store-rooms, and hospital for sick animals, with a nicely fitted up room for the herdsman. The roof of this, like that of the large barn, is nearly flat, tarred and graveled, and shingled upon the sides and ends, as is, also, a new sheep-barn, built adjoining. This runs from the southeast cor- ner of the large barn, 108 feet long by 43 wide. The drive-way floor of this is 17 feet wide, so that two teams can stand abreast, and at the south end the floor is wide enough to allow the turning about of the team, so that the oxen passing out go before the cart, instead of the cart going out first — for the south end is not graded up bo as to admit of driving through, as in (he large barn. Another addition Avas planned, that is, a long shod, extending from the southwest corner of the barn 100 feet. This will give two barn-yards of about 100 feet square each, well sheltered, all but the south, with both yards well supplied with water. As the Shakers are famous for good barns, we shall give the description of another one of theirs. We have great confidence in the economy of the form of the one next described, as well as its great convenience. 321. A Circular Barn. — The Shakers of Berkshire County, Mass., have a barn that is worthy the attention of farmers who are contemplating the erection of barns upon a large scale. We should think that on some accounts it would be a good form to erect upon large prairie farms. We recommend its form for adobe buildings and concrete walls, as one best adapted to withstand the force of hard storms, as well as the form most economical for the room inclosed. The barn owned by the Shakers is 100 feet in diameter, built of stone — a material that is very abundant in that part of Massachusetts. It is two stories higli, the first one being only seven and a half feet between floors, and containing stalls for seventy head of cattle, and two calf stables. These stalls are situated in a circle next the outer wall, with the heads of the animals pointing inward, looking into an alley in which the feeder passes around in front of and looking into the face of every animal. The circle forming the stable and alley-Avay is fourteen feet wide, inside of which is the great bay. Over the stable and alley is the threshing-floor, which is fourteen feet wide and about three hundred feet long on the outer side, into which a dozen loads of ha}' may be hauled, and all be unloaded at the same time into the bay in the center. There should be a large chimney formed of timbers open in the center of such a mass of liay, connecting with air tubes under the stable floor, extending out to the outside of the building, and with a large ventilator in the peak of the roof. AVe should also recommend an extension of the eaves beyond the Sec. 16.] ' THE BARlf AND ITS APPURTENANCES. 303 outer wall, by means of brackets, so as to form a shed over the doors, and the manure thrown out of the stable and piled against the wall. In the barn mentioned there is a granary projecting into the circle of t'le bay, which we do not exactly approve, preferring the granary in a sejsarate building, to which grain may be conveyed through spouts, if the barn is located iipon the hillside, which is preferable on account of entering the threshing-floor on a level, though that is not indispensable, as a wagou-way can be graded up from a level plat. 323. Barn Foundations. — The stone foundation of a barn should never be laid in mortar. This is an error that should be avoided, as imnecessary and unprofitable. It would be even better to place the sills upon pillars, leaving a free circulation, and space high enough to furnish shelter for all tlie poultry in winter, and thus keep them out of the inside of the barn, whore they are a nuisance. The main object, however, is to give free circiilation of the air, to drive out all foul gases, and promote the health of animals. The surface must be so graded that no M'ater will stand under the barn. 323. Opinions of Practical Farmers about Barns. — At a Farmers' Club in West Springfield, Mass., after consultation and debate, it was decided that a large barn was better than two or more small ones ; that a tight barn was better, even for badly-cnrcd hay, than an open one ; that a brick barn and a blate roof wei-e the best and cheapest for a man who has all his materials to buy ; that a good connection between a house and barn is a covered walk, overhung with grapevines ; that economy of roof and convenience for work were of the first importance in any building ; that warm water and warm stables were essential to the comfort of animals ; that the housing of manures was judicious ; that liquid manures arc largely lost, even by those who have cellars and sheds for s'oriug tliem ; and that the best absorbents of liquid manure are buckwheat hulls, leaf mold, sawdust, fine sand, dried peat, turf, and straw. Tlie meeting -was held at the house of one of the members— an old-fash- ioned two-story building — with modern furniture and fixtures, where the well-spread tables were bountifully loaded with fat chickens, mealy potatoes, light bread, yellow butter, melting cheese, with pies and cake to match, all lavishly bestowed, and such conversation ensued as would, if it could be imitated ia every neighborhood, prove of great benefit to the people. Let the plan be imitated. If not the plan of the barn, certainly the plan of meeting with your neighbors, and talking over the subject, as to whether you shall build a large or small barn, and of what materials. It is also very important to every one about to build, to go about, far and near, and look at all the barns of various sizes, forms, and fashions, and talk about their conveniences and the reverse. 324. Barns Boarded Tight or Open.— "Whether barns should be tight is one of the most important questions that a farmer can consider ; for it may involve the health and lives of all his farm stock. It is contended by some writers, with a good deal of reason, that open barns are more healthy for 304 THE FARMERY. [Cjiap. III. stock, particularly the bovine portion, than closely boarded ones. A com- munication from a farmer in Maine says : '■ Several years ago, I learned by experience that tight barns were not healthy for cattle, and a little reasoning upon the subject will explain why tliis is £0. It is a well-known fact, that the droppings of cattle, both solid and liquid, exhale a vast amount of gases of diflercnt kinds, and these ga■^c3 are unfit for respiration ; if cattle are deprived of air, and breathe these gases, they die instantly, and if they breathe air impregnated with a large projjortion of these gases, they sicken immediately ; the disease most likely to be produced is pneumonia, or inflammation of the lungs, as the poison is applied directly to them. " Now what provision is made in modern tight barns to get rid of these gases ? Wliy, there is a ventilator on the top of the barn, but how are these gases to get to the top_ of the barn, since a large proportion of them are heavier than atmospheric air? The carbonic and sulphurous gases, which are more abundant than all others, are heavier than air, and con- sequently will not ascend ; ammonia is light and would fly away, but the carbonic and sulphurous gases, having a strong afiinity for ammonia, seize the fugitive, and by a chemical action a new compound is formed heavier than air, which, of course, must remain, unless there is some underground passage by which it can escape. If there is no place for its escape, these gases accumulate until the barn becomes filled with them, the hay is im- ]>regnated, and the stock has to eat as well as breathe this noxious matter, and the trouble is Morse if the stock is high fed. Fii-st, because high-fed animals have a greater amount of blood, the blood-vessels are fuller, and consequently a greater tendency to congestion. Secondly, because the excrements of higli-fed animals evolve a much greater amount of gases than those of others, and the difficulty of ventilation is increased by the fact that these gases arc so nearly of the weight of air. If they were all light, like carbureted hydiogen, they would soon escape at the top ; or if they were heavy like water, or even pure carbonic acid gas, they would, in most barns, find cracks sufficiently large to run out near the bottom ; but as the fads prove that the gases are nearly of the same weight of air, I am led to the following conclusions : " First, that the walls of barns should never be clapboarded ; then there will be a gentle current constantly passing through the barn, and the gases passing out of the cracks on the leeward side; second, that the stable for liorscs and cattle should extend from one end of the barn to the other, with a door at each end, both of which should generally be open excepting in severe cold weather, and in storms. I have found by experience that a horse kept in a small, tight stable, will commence coughing in a very few days. Cattle do not suflTer with tiie cold (unless the cold is extreme) if tliey are in good health, arc well fed, and have a dry, clean stall, and plenty of good air to breathe. The lungs of an ox will manufacture a vast amount of animal heat. I have known a cow to be wintered with no other shelter Sec. 16.] THE BARN AND ITS APPURTENANCES. 305 than an open shed, more than two hundred miles farther north than Massa- chusetts, and she gave milk all winter, and came out well in the spring." There is something worth a thought in this matter about airy barns. We know them to be the best tor liay and grain; and we know that in olden time in New England, all of the barns, covered with upright boards, put on green, had wide cracks from top to bottom, and in such stables, although very cold, the cattle wintered well and kept healthy. It is shelter from storms, and not shelter from cold, that all of our stock needs. 325. Ventilating Hay-mows. — One of the worst practices of farmers, in New England particularly, is storing hay in large bays, without a sign of any ventilation under the bulk, which usually rests upon a few loose poles or boards on the damp ground. A bay should have ventilation, not only under it, but up through it, by means of a chimney made of four poles fastened together by rounds like a ladder. A loose stone foundation could be laid for the hay bottom, with an air-chamber from the outside leading to the chimney, directly over which there should be a ventilator in the roof. This simple contrivance would not only save many a tun of hay from mustiness, but it would enable the owner to put in his hay in a much greener state, and that which is next the chimney would always come out very sweet. 326. Stables — how to fonstrnct them. — A stable should be built with a view to several points, among which we may mention economy of space consistent with comfort, convenience of feeding and milking the animals, convenience of tethering them so that they may have the largest measure of liberty of motion, but be unable to injure one another; convenience of getting hay from the loft and grain from the bin to the stalls ; and convenience of re- moving the liquid and solid excretions, so as to preserve their quality, and remove them so speedily tliat the effluvium may not be breathed by the cows. The floor of a cow-stall of a well-constructed stable is four feet to four feet six inches long, raised two or three inches for a dry platform. Behind the platform the floor is made of white-oak slats set apart so that the urine may drop through to the cellar beneath. The floor-beams are laid four feet apart. On the sides stout elects are nailed, and on these the 2x3^ white- oak slats are dovetailed and firmly nailed. Tiie slats are beveled to a sharp edge beneath, so that the manure will not clog the open spaces, but drop clear as soon as it sinks below the upper edges of the slats. The slatted space is a foot and a half in width. Behind that the first plank of the floor is made to lift like a trap-door, turning on hinges, to secure an open space through which to hoe the droppings, litter, etc., that would not readily pass between the slats. By this simple contrivance the droppings of thirty cows can be removed in a few minutes. 327. Stables should always be built high — that is, high between floors. Most stables are built low, " because they are warmer." But the builders forget that warmth is obtained at a sacrifice of pure air and the health of the an- imal. Shut a man up in a tight, small box ; the air may be warmer, but it will soon lay him out dead and cold if he continues to breathe it. If stables 306 THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. are tight, they sliould have high ceilings; if the}' are not tight, but open to the admission of cold currents of air from all directions, they will be too much ventilated, or, rather, ventilated in the wrong place. One of the cheapest modes of ventilation is to build the stable liigh, so as to give room for the light air to rise above the heads of animals. The grand rule that must be observed is not to coniine a beast in a room so small that its breathing will soon poison all the air unless the foul portion can escape and fresh air enter. 328. Cattle Sheds that Cost Nothingi — It is an act of wanton cruelty to expose stock to the blasts of winter without shelter. In a country of saw- mills, how cheaply a shed can be built of slabs nailed to rough posts, set in the gi'ound, and roofed by laying one course of slabs round side down, and the upper course round side up ! The cracks of the sides can be battened with thin strips of slabs or refuse boards. In a wooded country, where sawed stuff can not be had, how cheaply a side of round logs can be built and cracks daubed with mud. Then an excellent roof can be made of split stuff, called shakes in some places and clap-boards in others, being split 2i to 5 feet long, and 4 to 6 inches wide, according to the quality of the timber for riving. These laid upon round ribs, and held in place by weight-poles, make a roof, though rough in appear- ance, as tight as a shingled one. If bark is peeled at the proper time and laid at once, or piled and dried flat, it makes a jjretty good roof, still cheaper than one of shakes, though not so durable. We have seen a very good cattle-shed roof made of hemlock boughs, laid on in courses, butts up. Cheap sheds on the prairie, where cattle are exposed to winter blasts more than in any other locality, can be made so easily that it seems worse than cruel — it is wicked — to leave the poor brutes exposed. Where rails are to be had, lay up a double wall of rails a foot apart, by using cross-pieces at the end, and fill up the space with sods, or with earth and leaves, or brush, or with coarse manure, or moldy hay and straw, such as cattle will not cat out, and you have a good wind-breaker. Extend from this wall, to the south, rails or poles to rest upon a girder on posts, and stack hay or straw on top, and there is a shed. It costs but little more to stack hay in this way than it does to make a suitable stack-bottom, and then fence the stack. As the hay is fed oft' in winter, fill up the space with refuse Lay and straw, so as to break the wind, if it does not stop all the rain. Such sheds for sheep are very valualile. Where rails are scarce, a good wall can be made of prairie sods laid up in courses, with hazel brush or small limbs to bind the sods •together, to give strength and prevent cattle from hooking the wall down. On this wall lay a plate to support the floor of the stack or roof. Such cattle shelter pays it8 cost every winter. Tlierc is straw enough burned or wasted every fall, upon the Western prairies, to shelter all the stock every winter, if it were put up in some such cheap form as wc have indicated. 329. A Valuable, Cheap Feed-Trough.— One of the puzzles in building horse Sso. 16.] THE BARN AND ITS APPURTENANCES. 307 Stables has been how to make tlie feed-trouglis. "We can ?olve that difficulty. "We have learned how to make a horse feed-troug!i. Or, rather, -vve have learned how to purchase a very good and very cheap one. We learned it of a progressive young farmer. Tlio farm of Josiali Macy, a Westchester County farmer of the old school, is conducted by his grandson, who has gained knowledge from books, and goes ahead with improvements, one of which is a new feed-trough. It is simply an iron pot — just such a one as our dinner used to be boiled in before the age of cooking-stoves. One of about four gallons is a good size, and it is set in the corner of the manger, in a casing of boards that inclose the rim, just up even with the top. It is sujje- rior to any wooden, iron, or stone feed-box we ever saw ; is not expensive, and, barring accidents, it will last forever, and be a good pot afterward. 330. Earthen Stable Floors.— One of the best substances that can be found for flooring for horses is clean sand. It is superior to wood, as it does not heat and injure hoofs. Some English veterinary surgeons use nothing else for bedding but sand. We have always found stables with dirt floors prefer- able to plank ones. 331. The Stable Yard.— The stable, or barn-yard, is one of the most im- portant appurtenances of the farmery. Two grand objects must be kept in view in its construction — the comfort of the animals aud the preservation of the manure. If it is on soft soil, and tolerably level, as such yards are upon nine out of every ten of the Western prairie farms, they are most uncom- fortable places for stock, although good for preservation of manure, but that is little or no object where it is of so little value. The only help that we can see for a barn-yard upon such soil, wliere the tramping of cattle makes it into a quagmire, is thorough underdrainage, and scraping the earth from around into a low mound, and covering tlie most of that with sheds. It may be BO constructed that all the drainage of the manure will concentrate in one spo", to be absorbed by straw or other manure-making substance. We have found paving a yard witli common fence-rails, where stones could not be procured, paid the cost every year, and such a pavement will last half a dozen years. In a rocky country, like eastern New York, Pennsylvania, and the New England States, if care and sound judgment are used in the location of a farmery, the yard can be fixed on the southerly side of the barn and sheds, where it will always be dry, and very comfortable for stock, and yet not wasteful of manure. Our own is located upon a rock, sloping southeast. Just outside the fence, at the lowest corner, an excavation is made, to be kept full of muck, sods, or other absorbents, so that while the yard is con- stantly drained, the drainage is not lost. Some very good yards we have seen constructed with a deep basin in the center. The great objection to this form in a small yard is tliat the basin sometimes gets so full that there is not dry space enough around the edges for the cattle. Sometimes, too, it freezes over quite full, and strong cattle push the weaker ones upon the ice to their injury. We prefer the absorbing basin outside of the yard. 308 THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. 332. The Uen-Roost. — Every farmery must have a lien-roost, if it does not have a poultry-yard ; and tliis should not be an open shed, nor a cold open room, but one so arranged that it will be well sheltered from cold winds aud storms, and lighted by a glass window upon the sunny side or in the roof. It will also be found a most excellent provision to give hens access in M-inter to a cellar, whore they can scratch gravel and wallow in dust. The hen-roost, too, should be arranged with special reference to saving all the droppings of the fowls, because it is the most valuable manure that is made about a farmery. SECTION XVII.-WATER FOR THE FARMERY. iBOUT half of the farms in the United States are deficient in water — that is, the water is not con- venient for stock; and in many situations cattle can only be watered by pumping, or by the still more tedious process of drawing water in a bucket from a well. This is a serious piece of labor, and a useless one, because the wind can be made to do the work a great deal better, cheaper, and more certain ; and the whole expense of a wind-mill, pump, and putting into operation, in a well twenty feet deep, would not probably exceed $50. You may use any one of a dozen iron pumps, to be found in almost every hardware store. Our own y7^^^~^ ^ ^ choice would be "West's Anti-Freezing Pump, which X.,_^ is made of iron, and is very durable. The wind-mill for the motive power is simplicity simplified. The wind-wheel is four feet in diameter, divided into eight parts, curved from the center, just as we used to whittle out wind-mills from a pine shingle forty years ago. The wheel may be made of wood or iron. If of wood, fix the points of the sails in a wooden hub and secure the outer ends by a rim, just like that of a large spinning-wheel. Fix this wheel firmly upon an inch iron-bar, say two feet long, with two bearings to run in iron or hard wood, and a crank in the center suited to the stroke of your pump. If the valve works four inches, make your crank short two inches. Now make a frame of three pieces, three quarters of a square, with bearings for the wind-wheel shaft upon two, and an inch and a quarter hole in the center of the other piece. Upon this frame attach a vane of strong, thin wood, about three feet long and one foot wide at the outer end. Now erect a gallows-frame seven feet wide and fifteen feet high over the pump, fixed with a pipe in the well. No matter whether that pipe is straight or not. Now put a bolt, with a big head and washer, through the hole in the frame that holds the shaft, aud Sec. 17.] WATER FOR THE FARMERY. 309 through the center of the cross-piece of the gallows, so that the small frame will be held firmly by the head of that bolt, yet will turn freely in the wind. From the piston-rod of the pumj), extend a rod with a swivel-joint in the center to the crank, and, let the wind blow high or low, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your cattle are supplied with water. It is a good plan to make a cistern to hold a supply in case the pump stops at any time for repairs or want of wind ; the latter will not be apt to occur, as it will run with a very slight breeze. From your watering-tub or trough, con- duct a pipe back to the well, and you need not fear frost unless the pump stops. By making use of a force-pump you may get a supply from a well in the valley up to your house and barn on the hill, or to irrigate your garden. See Nos. 369, 370, How to get water most convenient to all parts of the farmery should be the leading consideration ; because water is indispensable — neither man nor beast can do without it a single day. All else may be inconvenient — water sliould never be. It should be brought in pipes from a higher level, when- ever it is practicable at any reasonable expense, because that is the most convenient of all forms in which water can be had at the farmery ; and no farmer can aflord to neglect to supply his place with water, if he owns a spring or stream that would afford such a supply, because it is the greatest labor-saving fixture that he can make. If aqueduct M-ater can not be had, then convenient wells and pumps should be; and if water can not be had by easy, shallow digging, in wells, it can and should be in cisterns : and upon this question we will give some useful information. 333. Econoniy of Aqueducts. — Some farmers neglect to make provision for watering domestic animals until drought actually arrives, and then they can not. We well knew one who, during a drought, drove his cattle a mile to water, at the same time that he had roof enough on his large barn to give them all the drink they needed, if a cistern of proper capacity had been pre- pared to retain it. The barn cost $1,000 — the cistern might be built for $50 — yet every animal of his large lierd must travel miles every week for necessary drink. lie might construct a cistern now, but it will be another year before he can derive benefit from it, and so he puts otf the labor. There are many others who do the same. We know another farmer, who has lived till past eighty years of age upon a farm where there is a gushing spring of excellent water within sixty rods of his house and barn, high enough to run through pipes over the top of every building, yet this man draws water with a bucket from a well, which sometimes fails, when he has to go to a more distant and inconvenient well, or haul water in barrels from the river; and his stock, all the long winter, go down the road to the river- side for drink, wasting time (and that is money) and manure, to replace which he buj's fertilizers. Saving the first cost of an aqueduct, in such cases, is not saving money. Neither is the neglect to construct cisterns a good piece of economy. 310 THE FARMERY. [Chap. HI. 334. Value of Cisterns— their Size and Contents.— Xo man, -nhose only sup- ply of water is in a deep well, or where the well or spring water, however convenient, is hard — that is, like all the water of limestone countries, iinfit for washing, or making butter — can atlbrd to do without a cistern. If the earth where the cistern is to be built is compact clay, it can be dug out in the form of a jug, with only a man-hole at the top; and in all ground but cavin» sand it can be dug and plastered without any brick walls, and the top covered with durable timber, which should be placed at least four feet from the surface to its under side, as it will, when thus covered, last enough longer to pay for the extra work. Wherever flat stones abound, a moderate- sized cistern should be covered with them, laid shelving over each way, if not large enough to reach clear across. The earth-bottom and walls are easily made tight by cement (water-lime mortar), made -with three parts of clean, coarse, sharp sand to one of lime, which has to be wet up only as it is wanted for use, or it will set wherever it has a chance to dry upon the bed where mixed. It should be very thoroughly worked in, mixing wliile pretty wet, and plastered on the bottom first and then up the sides, one coat after another as fast as one is dry — two or three coats — taking care that no defect is made in the joining of tlie sides and bottom together. The bottom should be dug liollowing, and corners full ; and to save cement, any little in- equalities in the walls may be filled witli clay or lime-mortar before putting on the cement plaster. In situations where cement can not be obt^ned, a good cistern can be made as follows, which will last a dozen years certain. "We know one good at twenty years old. Take one and a half-inch plank, six or eight feet long, six inches wide at one end and six and a quarter at the other ; joint and dowel the edges, and fit the ends with a croze upon heads six or eight feet across, and hoop just enough to keep together to roll into the hole, biggest end down, upon a soft mortar bed of clay, four inches deep ; then till the space, between the tub and walls, which should be four or six inches wide, with clay just moist enough to tamp in the most compact manner, and the cistern will never leak, and will give great satisfaction for its small cost. The top should be covered over with timber and earth, deep enough to keep wami in winter and cool in summer. Upon the roof of a barn 35 by 70 feet — if three feet of rain fall annually — three cubic feet of water will be aftbrded by every square foot of surface — more than 7,000 cubic feet from the whole roof — which woidd be about 1,700 barrels. This would be enougli to water daily, the year through, thir- teen head of cattle, each animal drinking four twelve-quart pails full per day. But if the water were reserved for the dry season only, or when small streams are dry, thirty or forty head might be watered from one roof. People are apt to make their cisterns too small, so that often they do not hold a tenth part of the water from the eaves. In the above-mentioned instance it would not be necessary to construct one large enough to hold tlie entire 1,700 barrels. If the cattle were watered from it the year round, and its contents thus constantly drawn as if fills, one large enough to hold -tOO Sec. 17.] "WATER FOR THE FARMERY. 311 barrels would do ; but if needed for the dry season only, it should be more than double. A cistern fourteen feet in diameter and twelve feet deep would hold about 450 barrels — twenty feet in diameter, and the same depth, would be sufficient for 900 barrels. If built imder ground, and contracted toward the top, it would require to be a little larger in dimensions, to allow for the contracted space. Such a contraction would be absolutely necessary to admit of convenient and safe covering at the top, and could be effected without any difficulty if built of masonry. The pressure of the water out- ward would be counterbalanced by the pressure of the earth against the exterior, especially if well rammed in as the wall is built. There are some portions of the coimtry where the subsoil is underlaid by slate or other rock which may be excavated. In Buch cases, it sometimes happens that Avith a little care in cutting, the water-lime mortar may be ap- plied immediately to the rocky walls, a shoulder above being made on which to build the contracted part of the wall. We have such a cistern, dug in tolerably compact earth, and plastered with cement, put on in two or three coats, using about two and a half barrels for a cistern eight feet wide and six feet deep. It was designed to be deeper, which would have made a better proportion, but the excavators came upon a ledge that could not be blasted, and was very difficult to jjick up, and the bottom being very rough, required more plaster. The top is covered with chestnut plank, over which is earth, and the water is let in through a pij^e beneath the surface, and taken out by another that leads to the pump in the kitchen. Tliere is also an outlet pipe under the covering for surplus water, so that when full, tliere is a body of water five feet deep by eight wide, and this gives about sixty barrels; and being supplied by 1,600 superficial feet of roof, is not likely to fail for family use. The water is perfectly filtered by the most convenient filtering arrangement for a cis- tern that we ever saw. This is b}^ Peirce's patent porous cement pipes, which are laid in a sort of net-work in the bottom of the cistern, and the pump-pipe attached to them, so that no water can reach the pump that has not passed through the substance of the pipes, which are in appearance much like solid stone, and more than an inch thick, which certainly forms a very perfect strainer to free the rain water of all impurities. A writer in his recommendation to every- body to build cisterns, says : ' I have one in my house cellar, entirely below the bottom of the cellar, six and half feet deep and five and a half in diameter, holding about 1,000 gallons. It was dug six feet eight inches deep and seven feet in diameter. The bottom being made smooth, was laid over with brick. The mason then began the side with brick laid in cement, leaving a space all round between the brick and earth about five inches. After raising the work about eighteen inches, he carefully filled the space between the brick and side of the hole with earth, well and carefully pressed down. If you wet the earth or clay as you fill it in, it will be more compact. 312 THE FARMERY. [Chap. HI. " "When yoii get vrithiu about two feet of the top, commence gradually to draw in the work toward the center, leaving, when finished, a space open about two feet across. The next thing is to plaster the inside with cement ; also the top on the outside, commencing where you began to draw in. About two courses of brick are laid round the mouth of the cistern, forming a neck, which adds to tlie strength of the top. Now cover the whole with earth, e.xcept the neck. The water is conducted to my cistern through a small brick drain laid in cement. I also have a drain near the top to let off the surplus water. If a cistern is made out of doors, it must be below the reach of frost. Lead pipe would probably be cheaper than brick to conduct water to and from the cistern. " I have no doubt but that a cistern made this way of hard brick would last a century. Mine, holding 1,000 gallons, cost $18. The larger the size, the less the cost in proportion to the capacity. If the earth is firm and hard, you may lay the brick close against it, thus saving the trouble of filling in and digging so large. I have known them made by cementing directly on the earth, using no brick, and covering the top with timbers or plank. One made with brick will cost more, but I think it best and cheapest, taking into consideration safety and durability." Tables of Coxtents of Circulae Cisterns. — ^The following tables of the size and contents of circular cisterns may be convenient to those about to build them. For each foot of depth, the number of barrels answering to the diflerent diametei-s is as follows : For 5 feet in diameter 4.66 barrels. 6 " " 6.71 7 " " 9.13 8 " " 11.93 " 9 " " 15.10 " 10 " " 18.65 " A cistern SJ feet diameter will hold for every 10 inches in depth 59 gallons. 4 " •' 78 " 4i " " 99 ". 5 " " 122 " 6} " " 148 " 6 " " 176 8 " '« 310 " You will find by this table that a cistern six feet deep and six in diameter will hold 1,260 gallons, and each foot you add in depth will hold 210 gallons. Therefore, one ten feet deep and six in diameter Avill contain 2,100 gallons. To find the contents of any cistern in wine gallons, the diameter and depth being known : 1. Multiply one half the diameter (in feet) by itself. 2. Multiply the above product by 3|, which will give the area of the bot- tom of the cistern ncarhj. 3. Multiply this by the number of feet in depth ; this will give the cubic contents in feet. 4. Multiply the last product by 1,728 (tlie number of cubic inches in a foot), which gives the number of cubic inches. Seo. ir.] WATER FOR THE FARMERY. 313 5. Divide the whole result by 231 (tlie number of cubic inches in the wine gallon), and the result will be the number of gallons in the cistern. Divide the gallons by 30, and you will have the number of barrels, and thus you can calculate how large to make a cistern for the use of house or barn ; and be sure not to neglect so important and so inexpensive an im- provement as making a cistern. 335. Digging Wells. — There is no better improvement put upon a farm than wells, either in their every-day convenience or value in estimating the price of a farm. In some localities it will pay to dig a well at the house, at the barn, in the stable-yard, and in almost every field. In com- pact earth, a well can be dug without curbing to Bujjport the earth sides during the excavation. Where curbing is necessary, the best way to do it is to build the wall upon a wooden or iron ring, and let that down as the excavation proceeds, adding brick or stone at the top as fast as may be necessary to keep the wall even with the surface. 336. Horizontal Wells. — Here is a new idea for dwellers in mountainous, or even moderately hilly districts to think of. Mining after coal in Penn- sylvania, and gold in California, has clearly illustrated the fact, that wells may be dug into hillsides, or banks, or bluffs, as well level or horizontally, as down perpendicularly, which would save dangerous and severe labor. Water, so troublesome in digging common wells, has not to be bailed in the horizontal, as it takes care of itself. The certainty of discovering or ci;tting off veins of water is greater with the horizontal well than the perpendicular, if it starts in near the base of a hill, or anywhere as much below the surface as a common shaft would be likely to be sunk. By laying down wooden rails, all the dirt can be brought out in a little railway car, and the stone or brick carried in to build the well as fast as the digging progresses. It will not be necessary to make a horizontal shaft any larger than a perpendicular one, though it should be of a different shape. We would make it in the form of the figure we call a naught or cipher in numerals. Two feet wide and four feet high will be large enough, with a gentle descent for the water to run to the outlet ; and in many situations it can be made to run through a short pipe into the house ; or if it will not run, it can be drawn by a pump through a horizontal pipe any distance. There is another advantage in such a well. It would not be constantly liable to have things falling, or being thrown into it, and the water would remain purer. There are a great many pastures where water for stock has to be drawn from wells, which might have a natural flow from hillsides, with an expend- iture of no more time and money than is required for a perpendicular well. There are some dairy farms that could have valuable spring-houses sup- plied by such a horizontal well, and such a supply of cold running water would add to the value of the farm almost as much, in some cases, as its whole value is now. 31i THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. Such wells have been constructed in California, and wo earnestly com- mend them to the attention of all the farmers in the hilly portions of the Atlantic States. In rocky hills a horizontal shaft can be drifted in much easier than it can be bored perpendicularly ; and the work either in rock or earth digging can be much better done in winter in a horizontal than in a perpendicular well. We hope to see them extensively adopted. 337. Wells on liills> — We have seen a great many wells on the tops of hills affording a large supply of water, while the bottom was above the plain or valley in which the farmstead was situated. How easy to obtain this water by a siphon, or a pipe inserted on a level, which can be done without dig- ging a ditch the whole depth and distance. Ascertain where the level of the bottom of the well will strike on the face of the hill, and dig in there, and set up a frame to support an earth-boring auger, and drive a bore straight through to the well, which can be easily done one or two hundred feet, if artesian wells can be bored one or two thousand feet perpendicular. Where the distance is too great, or the hill is rocky, put in a siphon pipe, with a little hand-pump to start it, and you can always have running water in your yard or garden at the foot of the hill. 33S. Causes of Impure Water in WellSi — It sometimes occurs that the water of a well, noted for its purity and delicious drinking quality, becomes offensive to the taste and smell without any apparent cause. Sometimes it is occasioned by surface water from an impure source finding its way to the well, after many years of exemption ; and sometimes it comes from i-oots of trees growing into the water and decaying ; and sometimes worms work their way in and decay ; and occasionally rats, mice, or other pests burrow in the wall and injure the water. And not unfrequently a new vein of water finds its way into an old well and materially changes the character of the water. Generally a M-ell is improved by cleaning, but we have known the contrary. In a well of our own, in the trap-rock district norili of Xew York city, the quality of the water was materially injured by sub- stituting a pump in place of a bucket. The reason was obvious. The water was seven or eight feet deep, and the bucket drew it from the surface and the pump from the bottom, and in the water drawn from the bottom M-e found a strong sulphur taste and smell. Cleaning it out did no good ; the water at the bottom was decidedly different fi'om the toji. The only remedy, if we continued to use the pump, which was iron, and costly, and extremely convenient (it is one of Gay & West's force-pumps — very valu- able for farm use), was to attach a gutta-percha pipe to the bottom of the iron pipe, and to a float, so that it would always draw the water from the surface, at whatever hight it might be in the well by the fluctuations of the seasons. Where wells are injured by surface water, resort should be had at once to the most thorough draining. Lay tile or stone drains five or six feet deep, so as to cut off all leaking into the well. If injured by trees — which, by-the-by, should never be set near a well — dig a deep trench so as to cut Seo. ir.j WATER FOB THE FARMERY. 315 off all the roots, and fill that trench with coarse gravel, or a stiff mass of clay, that will not be attractive to the roots. Remove all that you can from the wall and earth near the well, and time will cure the water. Sometimes, to get rid of roots, insects, or other pests, it will pay cost to unwall the well and build it anew. Fill in charcoal, cindei's, or other sweet substances ; and sometimes it will be well to lay a portion of the top wall in cement mortar. . It is recommended in all cases, where well-water becomes unpalatable, to agitate it freely, and very often. If drawn with a bucket, set a man at work pushing the bucket down deep aiid drawing it up full, and pouring it back again, so as to fall in the water till it is all thoroughly mixed and all the stones washed, and then when it settles clear again it will probably be found as good as ever. This plan of agitating the water may also be applied to cisterns to good advantage. Looking into a well, so as to see anything at the bottom, can be easily done any sunny day (the morning is the best time), by using a looking-glass so as to reflect the rays of light and throw them quite to the bottom of a deep well. We have used this means to discover the position of a bucket that had broken loose and fallen to the bottom, and then with the steel- yards hung to a rope have been able to liook on to the bucket and draw it up at once. "We once recovered a tin pail of butter in the same way. 339. Self-Emptjing Well-Bucket. — If the water is drawn from a well by a bucket and windlass, two ropes are better than one. Fasten by a staple to the center of the windlass and wind each way toward the ends, so that tlie ropes will be widest apart when the bucket is up. Instead of a bail, attach a short chain or piece of iron rod to each car of the bucket, and set the ears low down, so that the bucket will tip easily. Cut a hole in the bottom, four inches across, and cover it with a block coated with soft sole leather, like the valve of a pump-bucket, which will open to let in the water as the bucket descends, and close as soon as it starts upward. To empty the water easily, there are two ways — first, and best, by a flat iron hook about eight inches long, fastened to the well-spout in such a way that it may catch the edge of the bucket as it is drawn up, and tip and empty. The other way is to have a pin in the spout that will strike the valve and open it when the bucket is placed upon the spout. Two buckets with two ropes will work much steadier and easier, and in the long run cost less than with one, and the valve to fill, and hook to empty the bucket, are great labor- saving fixtures. It is almost as important to keep water pure for stock as for family use. Pure water is a great luxury to the palate of a thirsty horse, and every man who is fortunate enough to be the owner of so noble an animal, should see that the wants of the same are properly provided for. Unfortunatelj', very few persons realize the importance of supplying domestic animals with pure water ; yet they stand in need of it whenever 316 THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. thirsty, and as a matter of iirofit to ourselves and liuinanitj to tliem, we should see that their -wants are well supplied. Pure water is very nutritious, and as a nutritious agent its value is im- paired when of inferior quality, or when mixed with indigestible foreign substances, such as are often found in watering-troughs located by the way- r ide. Some very interesting experiments liave lately been made on horses belonging to the French army, in view of testing their endurance asTegards llie deprivation of water, and it was found that some of them lived twenty- live days on water alone ; it is a singular fact that seventy -five per cent, of tlic weight of a horse's body is composed of fluid. Strange water, as it is called, often has a bad effect on the digestive organs when first used, and in order to guard against its consequences, English grooms always provide for the wants of their horses, when away from home at the race-course, by furnishing them witli an abundant supply of pure water to which they have been accustomed, which is transported from place to place in hogsheads. 340. The Hydraulic Rami — ^To those who have no spring above the level of the house, but have one below, we press the subject of a water-ram — a simple, little, inexj^ensivo machine that can be made to throw about one eighth or a tenth of the water that flows through it up a steep hill and along a pipe half a mile or more, discharging it in a cistern in the garret of a house or loft of the barn, whence it is drawn as it is wanted in any apartment, while the overflow or surplus of water will give you a constant little stream in the cattle water-trough. Hundreds of these rams arc in use all over the country ; but there are thousands of places where they are not in use, where equal natural facilities exist. Our object here is only to call attention to the fact, that every farmer who has a spring in a valley where he can get three or four feet fall from it to work the ram, can get a portion of that water on top of a hill ; and in many places where no running springs naturally exist, sufficient water can be obtained by digging. We have seen a stream dis- charged at the outlet of an underdrain sufficient to drive a ram — water ob- tained without any expectation of obtaining it; because the object was to drain the land of its surj^lus water, and prevent it from oozing out of the surface of the hillside. The house of the late John C. Stevens, at South Amboy, is 120 feet above the level of a spring, near the bay shore. At this spring he set a water-ram, with a two-inch drive-pipe, about sixty feet long, laid upon an inclination of five feet. About one eighth of the water which runs through this pipe is sent, by the action of the ram — a little affair, about as big as a teakettle — up through a small lead pipe into the house, nearly half a mile distant. Perhaps the whole may have cost $100. "We know a good many places where $50 has secured a full and constant supply of water from the bottom of a hill almost impossible to climb, yet which had been climbed from the first settlement of the country till the little water-ram was set to work. We know Sec. it.] WATER FOR THE FARMERY. 317 a great many otlier places where it is worth a dollar a day to tote the water up the slippery rocks in buckets, where all that labor could be saved by an expenditure of $50, and an annual expense for repairs of a shilling a year. Yet those who own such places do not improve them, because they do not know they can. 3il. Durability of Wooden Pipes for AqneductSi— Charles Stearns, of Spring- field, Mass., has proved by a somewhat lengthy experience that wooden pipes are nearly indestructible, if laid deep — deep en«ugh to prevent atmos- pheric action upon the wood. His rule is six feet deep in sandy or porous earth; four feet deep in compact, clayey earth, and three feet deep in swampy earth, where the peaty condition of the soil, which is antiseptic, pre- serves wood from decay. Thus laid, Mr. Stearns thinks wood will outlast iron or lead ; and the wooden pipes are cheaper than any material that can be used, where a bore of two to six inches is required. In one instance, an aqueduct laid by Mr. Stearns of threefourths-inch caliber lead pipe,, cor- roded and failed in fifteen years, and had to be replaced. Another one, made with very heavy lead pipe of two-inch caliber, laid through a wet meadow, in the very kind of soil that preserves wood the most perfectly, failed so as to need repairs within three or four years, and at the end of ten years had to be replaced with new pipe, which he then made of wood, and which, after twenty years of use, is still in good order. The aqueduct pipes supplying Springfield with spring water, that comes to the surface on the sandy plains above the town, have been in use fourteen years, and bid fair to last many years longer. The bore of the logs is from one and a half to seven inches, charred on the inner surface by forcing flame through the bore, or by the insertion of a heated rod, to prevent the timber from giving any unpleasant taste to the water. Mr. Stearns thinks, from experi- ments made, that lead pipe will last enough longer to pay for the expense of burying it deep, or packing it closely in clay. He also thinks that the interest upon the diiference in cost betweeii well-made and properly laid wooden pipes and those of a more costly material, called indestructible, Avill keep the wooden pipes in repair forever. For the branch pipes leading into the houses, Mr. Stearns used lead pipes in all the houses supplied from the Springfield Water- Works, and has never known any injury to occur to any one using the water ; and his own family have used water passed through lead pipe a long distance for many years, without suffering any of the efiects frequently ascribed to such water ; nor has he ever heard of a case based upon any better testimony than " they say so." The water that sup- plies Springfield comes from several springs, improved by digging, and we have no doubt that there are hundreds of other Tillages that might be watered in the same way, greatly to the comfort and health of the inhabit- ants. There is another advantage besides cheapness in wooden pipes. It is the ease with which they are tapped, wherever and whenever a branch is to be taken ofif, and they are also easily repaired. We hope that not only vil- lages, but farmers, wherever a sp"i:ig exists above the level of the farmstead. 318 THE FAKMERY. [Chap. ni. will avail themselves of its benefits. Many farmers have chestnut or cedar, the best of timber, which they could have prepared at very small expense l)y their own hands, and get an aqueduct that would, in case of sale of the farm, ]>;iy ten times its cost ; and it would be worth still more to the owner, for it Would afibrd him a constant enjoyment. Tliere is a very curious maimfactory of wooden aqueduct pipes at Elmira, N. Y. A large pine log is cut up into a series of pipes, from an iiieli bore to ten or twelve inches, taking one out of the other, leaving the sides from one to two inches thick. These pipes are then banded with hoop-iron, drawn by a powerful macliine through hot coal-tar, and being buried below the action of the atmosphere, are expected to last for an indefinite period. SECTION XVIII.-STACKING AND STORING GRAIN ; CORN-CRIBS, PIG- GERIES, AND PIG-FEEDING ; SMOKE-HOUSES, AND CURING BACON. jLTHOUGH, like most of our subjects, these are treated briefly, each is worthy of notice, and must have enough, if nothing more, to attract attention, 60 as to incite the reader to look further into the matter. One of the indispensable buildings of a farmery is a good storehouse for grain. Upon a small farm, a room in the barn can be set apart for the storage of small grain, but it is more liable to the depredations of rats and mice than in a building made purposely for a gran- ary. Every fiirmer who annually raises a hundred bushels of ears of Indian corn can not afford to do without a corn-crib, because corn can not be stored safely except in a room with very open sides. 342. Corn-fribs. — TJie best kind of a corn-crib is a building twenty feet wide, and of such length as will give sufiicient capacity — say thirty feet long — for a farm where ten to twenty acres of corn are usually grown. Tlie sides should not be less than ten feet high, and boarded up and down with strips two inches wide, one inch apart. Six feet from the sides, partitions are made in the same way. This leaves a drive-way eight feet wide, so that you can drive in a wagon-load of corn and throw it right and left over the beam into the crib. This drive-way should be made to close at both ends with slat-gates, or lattice-work gates, so as to allow a free cir- culation of air. 313. Rail-Pen Corn-CribSi — Cribbing com, after the Western fiishion, in open rail-pens, is considered down East a very slovenly method. Yet it is one of the best ways in which it can be stored. It is true it wastes a little Sko. 18.] STACKING AOT) STORING GRAIN. 319 by shelling if it remains till spring, but not much if the j^ens are so located that the pigs and poultry can be let in to pick up the scattered grains. The ■way to make a rail-pen corn-crib is to take straight fence-rails, as near of a size as possible, and saw part of them into halves of equal length, so that you can lay up a pen half as wide as it is long, notching the corners so that the rails will come close enough together to prevent the ears falling out. If this can not be done with all of the cracks, they must be stopped by " chinking" from the inside, or by boards nailed over. It is usual to build the pen upon a floor of rails, which arc sometimes laid on the ground, and sometimes raised upon logs, stones, or blocks. The pen should not be over eight feet high, and when full is covered with boards held on by a heavy rail or pole. In woodland regions the covei-ing is usually made of " shakes" —split clap-boards, such as log-cabin roofs are generally made of. On the prairies, we have frequently seen straw used for a covering; and we have also seen many thousands of bushels of wheat, both in the chaff and after it is winnowed, stored in the same rude way, by simply calking the cracks with straw. Nor is it a very wasteful way of storing wheat, if the pen is built upon a hard-beaten spot, where all the grain can be swept up when the pen is empitied. We have also seen corn put up in rail-pens without any covering, and kept through the winter without damage, the ears being simply rounded up on top. We have often been told by those who have had a good deal of experience in storing corn in this way, that rain does not hurt it — all that does not run through dries out the first windy day. Wheat in the chafi" will not injure in a long rain-storm, when simjily piled in a conical heap, if it does not wet at the bottom. Great boat-loads of Black Sea wheat are brought down long rivers, being many weeks on the passage, without any covering. The wheat is rounded up in the center, somewhat in the form of a roof, and the outside gets wet and grows into a mat, sometimes two inches thick, and that shelters the mass below. It does not strike us as an economical method, but that depends upon circumstances, as it does in cribbing Indian-corn. It certainly never would pay to build expensive cribs to store some of the great crops of the West ; and it has been found good economy, for want of better storage, to let the corn remain where it grew until wanted for use. Even with smaller crops, it may not always be evidence of bad farming where we see the corn stand in shocks until wanted. It certainly keeps better there than it would in a badly ventilated store-room. 344. Stathcis for Stack Bottoms. — In England, it is not considered good economy to build barns enough to store all the grain, and it is therefore stacked out. In this country, if economy warranted the practice of storing all under roofs, necessity would often forbid, and require our great crops of wheat to be put up in stacks. In England, upon well-conducted farms, •where the practice of stacking prevails, the stathels for the stacks to rest 320 THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. upon are permanent structures. Some of tbem are made witli stone pillars and caps ; and sotne with a wooden frame on stone pillars ; and in some in- stances iron Las been substituted for wood. The stack being elevated a foitt or two, allows a circulation of air, and very much assists the curing of the grain. We recommend farmers, wlierever they are in the regular practice of stacking hay and grain, to have a permanent stack yard, provided with stack bottoms, after the English fashion. Even for temporary stacking, building the stack upon the ground is a very wasteful practice. "We have seen stacks upon the "Western prairie built in a spot, dry at the time, become saturated with water, and half rotted two feet above the ground, before they were used up in winter. For a temporary stack bottom, there is nothing more convenient than fence-rails. "We have built long wheat-ricks on the ]irairie in this way. "We took fence-rails and laid them up as though build- ing a worm fence, pretty straight, in two liiles about two feet apart at the bottom, and about four rails high, leaning inward so that the two lines of fence touch. Against this upon each side the sheaves were set with butts on the ground, leaning toward the center until a sufficient bottom for the rick was formed. This leaves an air pipe through the bottom, and keeps all the heads from the ground, and altliough the water stood some inches deep in a wet time over the spongy soil, all the wheat came out bright and sound. The butts of the lower sheaves only were rotted. The fence sustained the greatest weight of the rick, besides giving it air. 345. The Piggery. — No farmery is complete without a well-arranged pig- gery, which consists of a grain-room, a root cellar, a cooking-room, a feeding- room, a sleeping-room — all under cover. All this is requisite upon a farm where only two or three pigs are fatted annually. It is still more requisite where a dozen or more pigs are kept— where the leading object of the farmer is to convert coarse farm products into pork ; except Avhere pigs are M'holly fatted in corniields, as at the "West. Upon all other farms a well-arranged piggery is indispensable, and, as we have sliown in Section 11, that cooking food for pigs is advantageous, the greater the conveniences for cooking, the more profitable will be the feeding. The best arranged piggery we ever saw for convenience and saving of la- bor was built upon tlie side of a "Vermont hill, where potatoes were a lead- ing article in the manufacture of pork. The potatoes were stored in a cave cellar, from which they were shoveled upon a screen, over which they rolled to the large potash-kettle set in an arch some twenty or thirty feet distant. Generally the potatoes thus screened needed no washing ; if they did, pro- vision was made for doing it by a copious stream of water let on as they traversed the screen. The water was let into the kettle from the source sui> plying the washing water. The floor where the kettle stood contained bins for meal, which were lillcd from the bags emptied into a spout on the out- side. The cooked food was shoveled from the kettle into a hopper that conducted it into a cooling-trough on the floor below, which stood liigh enough to allow the swill to run through a long conductor to the feed- Seo. 18.] PIGS AND PIGGERIES. 321 troHglis. The objection to tliis last arrangement was, tliat the swill had to be made thin enough to flow freely. The arrangement, however, was a very perfect one, and worthy of imitation upon all similarly situated farms. 3i6. Railway Cooking Arrangement for Pigs. — We suggested the following arrangement, more than twenty years ago, for cooking food for pigs or any other stock, and we afterward had a model made and exhibited at the fair of the American Institute, which awarded it a silver medal. This is the plan : arrange a steam chamber of any given dimensions — say tliree feet by six feet, and three feet high — over a furnace kettle, or any- •\vhere that steam could be conveyed into it from a boiler. This chamber has a door at one end, made steam-tight, and rails in the bottom upon which a car travels, and these rails should extend outside to the root-bin, or meal- tubs, or reservoirs of food to be cooked. The car being loaded, is rolled into the chamber, and door closed. When the food is cooked, shut off steam and open an escape-valve, and then the door, and roll out the car over cooling vats, and open a trap in the bottom of the car, and let the contents drop. These cooling vats may be placed near enough to dip the swill into the feed- troughs, or it may be carried in another car along an alley, and thence dipped into the feed-troughs, or made to run into them through conductors. Such an arrangement would, without doubt, save a great deal of hard labor, and it would not be very expensive. Whatever the arrangement of the piggery, keep tliis fact constantly in view, that in some sections of the country the manure which yon can make while fatting your pork, if your piggery is well arranged, will prove to be the most profitable part of the pork-making process. There is another necessary farm-building which we may as well speak of here, particularly as it is one that may, whenever the situation will admit, very properly be located in the immediate vicinity of the piggery, and it is equally valuable to the farmer as a mine of manurial wealth. It is — 347. The Temple of Cloacina.— Every farm-house must have a temple set apart for this heathenish deity, but no farm-house should have such a neces- sary appendage a disgrace to civilization, as too many of them are. Such a building should be placed convenient to the house, but never in sight. It should be located in a clump of shrubbery, mostly evergreens, out of sight from tiie house, or else it should be made part and parcel of some of the out- buildings, so as never to be a prominent object. We have often seen these buildings so placed that they were the most conspicuous things about the place. A very little refinement in a fai-mer's family will make it revolt at ex- posing the part of a farmery that should be hidden from public gaze. A very little knowledge of the deoderizing effect of fine, dry, swamp muck, or charcoal, or plaster, or copperas will serve to keep a place that must be visited every day, by every member of tlie family, so sweet that it never will be offensive ; and the valuable contents of the vault, which should be always shallow and easy to clean, will then become a source of profit, instead of a nuisance both disagreeable and disgraceful. 322 TDE FARMERY. [Chap. III. 348. Smoke-Uonses— How to Build and how to Use Then.— Wc lay it down as an axiom, that tlie best sniokc-liouso ever built is a log cabin, witli the cracks all open. In such a building you can not confine the smoke so as to smother the meat and spoil it, as it easily can be and often is in a very tight room. It is not generally understood how much the excellence of bacon depends on the manner in Avhicli it may be smoked. Indeed, we look upon this part of tlie process as more important than a good receipt for pickling. A ham that is well pickled ma}' be spoiled in smoking it, and then no skill in cookery will take away its dark color and strong, rancid taste. To make good hams, there must be a free circulation of atmosphere, so tliat the smoke never shall become heated. A smoke never should be made in a damp, foggy, or rainy day. In building a smoke-house the farmer is more apt to regard external appearances than the object for which it is intended. It may be very strong and neat, but if it be built on wrong principles, it will never give satisfac- tion, and the good wife will be always wondering how it is that her bacon is not equal to that which she eats away from home. Now, there is no bacon in this country superior to that produced in Maryland, where the smoke-houses are certainly rather primitive in their construction. Tliey are usually made of logs, rudely plastered with clay on the outside, and thatched with straw. The hams are hung upon hooks driven into the rafters. The fire of chips — covered with saw-dust in order to prevent a blaze — is in the middle of the floor — ground floor, generally ; and the smoke, after having done its duty, escapes through the innumerable cracks and openings in the wall and thatch. Such a building is not very ornamental, but it is much more eflicient than those we frequently see co"nstructed of brick or stone, with tight joof, a close-fitting door, and but one small aper- ture for the escape of the smoke. The great secret in the art of smoking hams is to dry them in smoke, but not by heat. When they are kept close to the fire, they invariably acquire a disagreeable flavor, and often become soft and greasy. The smoke should not be allowed to reach them until nearly or quite cool,- and to eflect this some farmers have the fire outside of the building, perhaps twenty or thirty feet distant, and conduct the smoke to the interior through a narrow covered trench. By its passage through the trench, it is cooled and purified, and there is no danger of its giving an unpleasant taste to the meat. A still better plan is practiced by the people of Westphalia, which, as all the world knows, is celebrated for its bacon. The smoking is performed in extensive cliambers, in the uppermost stories of high buildings. Some are four or five stories above the ground, and the smoke Is conveyed to them by tubes from pipes in the cellars. Tlie vapor is condensed, and the heat absorbed by the tubes, so that the smoke is both dry and cool when it comes in contact with the meat. Man}' of the farm- houses in Pennsylvania have a somewhat similar arrangement. A room is partitioned oflf in the garret, next to the kitchen chimney, and the hams are hung from the rafters overhead. Near the floor is a small opening in the Sec. 18.] SMOKE-HOUSE AND FRUIT-DRYING HOUSE. 323 chimney, by which the smoke enters the apartment ; and instead of return- ing to the flue, it linds its way into the open air through tlie innumerable crevices in the roof. The meat is tluis kept perfectly dry, and it will be found to liave a color and flavor unknown in that treated in the common metliod. A smoke-house can hardly be too open ; where the walls and roof are tight, or nearly so, the smoke condenses on the bacon, rendering it flabby and ill-colored. To be sure, when there is good ventilation it takes much longer to complete the process, but this delay we believe to be rather bene- ficial than otherwise. Some people have the fault of always being in a huny, and their bacon is never well smoked. It should be cured gradually and slowly, and this is another reason why the Germans are so successful in the business. In Virginia, two months is not considered a long time for the operation. Green sugar-maple chips are the best for the fire, and after maple are ranked hickory, sweet birch, and white ash or beech. Some think well- dried corn-cobs superior to everything else ; and they certainly furnish a sweet, penetrating smoke. Saw-dust from hard wood is also excellent for the purpose, but rotten wood should never be used ; and it is said that locust bark will actually spoil tlie flavor of hams ; and we doubt not that there are many other substances which will produce the same result. Some persons are always very particular about hanging their hams with the leg end down. They should never be allowed to touch each other, nor touch any flat substance. In hanging large numbers of hams in a crowded room, we ha,ve often kept them apart by a small piece of a corn-cob. No farmery is complete without a smoke-house, and where the amount of meat to be annually smoked is insufficient to make it an object to erect a building specially for that purpose, it will be found very easy to set apart a small room in some of the outbuildings, and convey the smoke to it through a long flue. As the building mentioned in No. 349 never will be wanted for the purpose for which it was constructed, wlien bacon should be smoked, it could, perhaps, be made so as to answer both purposes. 3i9. A Fruit-Drying House. — In some sections remote from cities, and upon some farms, fruit-drying is quite an object, and is relied upon by the female portion of the family as a means of replenishing their wardrobe, independent of the general products of the farm. Upon fruit farms it is also made a considerable item of the regular business. All such farms should have a fruit-drying house, built upon scientific principles, to accomplish the object in the most expeditious manner, at the least expense. The true principle of drying fruit would be to place it on open-work hurdles, in the flue of a Jieated air furnace, so that there would be a continual draft of hot air pass- ing through the fruit, carrying off" the moisture into the upper air. The best one we ever saw,heated the air in the basement of a three-story building. In the third story, one side of the. large brick flue was arranged like the drawers of a bureau, the bottom of the drawers being basket-work. In these, each of 324 THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. which hekl about a bushel of apples or peaches cut in quarters, the fruit dried with wonderful rapidity. It needed no other attention than changing the drawers once from top to bottom, to efjuallzo the drying, so as to finisli all at once. Other things besides fruit were dried in this flue, such as sweet corn, okra, pease, tomatoes, etc. The following, taken from the Yidlcy Farmer, is the description of a dry- ing-house in use in "Wisconsin : " It consists of a building of logs, brick, or stone, of any convenient size, say ten feet wide by twelve or fourteen long, and one story high, having an ordinary roof, with a ventilator to admit of the escape of the heat and. vapor arising from the fruit. "The furnace should open on the outside of the building, at the end. It should be about two feet square. Tiie sides should be of brick, and as thin as may be to sustain the top. The flue should ])e extended to near the entire lengtli of the building, and then return, forming a parallel flue, which may be reduced to two tliirds the size of tlio furnace or main flue, terminating in a cliimney near the door of the furnace. The top of the furnace and flue should be covered with plates of thin boiler iron ; thicker iron, or a covering of brick or stone, will not admit of a suflicient escape of heat to facilitate the drying process. The fruit is dried on trays or hurdles, arranged in three tiers, one above another, with a space of twelve or fifteen inches between them. Tlie hurdles maj' be two and a half feet wide, six or seven feet long, and three inches deep. These are made of common boards, with a lath bot- tom, made thin ; the laths should be made of hickory, as the fruit is found to dry much more readily on hard wood lath than it does on poplar or other soft wood. Through the length of the building frames are put up to support the hurdles of fruit. These frames or rails extend tlirough openings made in the end of the building opposite the furnace, and corresponding with each pair of rails are wooden shutters. The i-ails extend on the outside about six feet ; upon these the hurdles are placed crosswise ; upon each of the hurdles are rollers corresponding with the rails ; being filled with the fruit to be dried, the hurdles are run in like cars upon a railroad. Thus arranged, with the three tiers of rails filled with tra3-s of fruit, about one and a half barrels can be dried at once, requiring about twenty-four hours to complete the opera- tion. The trays nearest the fire will, of course, dry the fastest, and, with the convenience of the railroad and the shutters in tlie end of the buildiiig, they may be drawn out and changed to the upper rails, when the whole may be finished within the twenty-four hours in the most perfect and uniform man- ner, and without the least burning. The fire sliould be made without grates, on the bottom of the furnace, which consumes less fuel, and keeps uji a more uniform heat than if placed above the draft. "In some instances we have seen pieces of old steam-boilers substituted in the place of brick walls for a furnace; to the boiler is connected and re- turned a pipe of somewhat smaller dimensions, a sheet-iron pipe, which ad- mits of the free escape of heat and speedy drying of the fruit. Seo. 19.] ECONOMY IN BUILDING.— BALLOON FRAMES. 325 "The ordinary method of drying peaches and apples in Kentucky and Tennessee is to construct a kihi of stone, witli a broad flat top, upon which the fruit is laid, and a fire kept up in the flue beneath till the fruit is sufficiently dried. This is more expeditious than drying in the sun, and the fruit is not so liable to be soiled by flies, yet it is objectionable on account of liability to burn the fruit in contact with the over-heated stone." SECTION X1X.-EC0N0M1CAL FARM BUILDINGS, BALLOON FRAMES, CONCRETE WALLS, AND OTHER CHEAP STYLES OF BUILDING. ^(JL fE are satisfied that we can do those who desire to build no greater favor than making them acquainted with the modern style of building, known as "bal- loon fi-ames" — a name that was at first conferred upon them in ridicule on account of their lightness and unsubstantiability. This name is only true as it applied to their lightness. Balloon frames are not ridiculous from anj' lack of sufficient strength. There is need of no stronger building than one made upon this plan, except where it is necessary to have strength of timber to sustain weighty storage or ponderous machiueiy. For all ordinary farm buildings, we earnestly recommend balloon frames. And we are not alone in our recommendations, though, so far as we know, we were the first in lecommending them to farmers in the Eastern States. Of late, Geo. E. Woodward, au architect and builder of New York city, has written some exceedingly valuable articles upon this subject, and published them in the Country Gentleman, with illustrations, and to him or them we respectfully refer readers, who may be incited from what we say here, to make further inquiries. Among the sensible things said by Mr. Woodward, are the following ; "Economy in the construction of all buildings adapted to the habitation or convenience of man has been a study of much interest to those who con- template the erection of buildings for their own use or for the purposes of a profitable investment ; though we are inclined to think experimental or in. ventive talent has applied itself more to produce some new and cheap build- ing material than to develop the full resources of such materials as are found best adapted to our wants. " Necessity has done much for the building public by introducing to their favorable notice the balloon stj4e of framing wooden buildings — a style which is not well undej'stood in the old settled and well-timbered portions of our country, but is, with few exceptions, the only plan adopted 326 THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. throughout the magnificent agricultural districts west of our great inland seas. " The increasing value of lumber and labor must turn the attention of men of moderate means to those successful plans ■which have demonstrated econ- omy in both, and at the same time preserved the full qualities of strength and security so generally accorded to the old fogy principles of framing, but which, we presume to say, is inferior in all the true requisites of cheap and substantial building. " Any intelligent man who can lay out a right angle and adjust a plumb line may do his own building, for it is without a mortice, a tenon, or brace, and a man and boy can do all the work. This principle is the one applied to the construction of what are technically as well as sarcastically termed bal- loon frames, which, instead of proving a failure, stands with more than 30,000 examples of every conceivable size and form, a perfect success." 350. How to baild Balloon Frames. — The following remarks upon the sub- ject we printed some years ago, not only to show that much labor and much timber may be saved, but tiuit sawed timber may be dispensed with where it is very expensive. We know that this article enabled many persons to build cheap frames, and as it once did good, we reprint it that it may do miich more good in future. The remarks were an answer to the inquiry how to build balloon houses. "I would saw all my timber for a frame house, or ordinary frame out- building, of tlie following dimensions : two inches by eight, two by four, two by one. I liave sometimes built them, when I lived on the grand prairie of Indiana, many miles from saw-mills, nearly all of split and hewed stnff, making use of rails or round poles, reduced to stn\ight lines and even thick- ness on two sides, for studs and rafters. But sawed stuff is easiest wrought, though in a timber country the other is far the cheapest. First, level your foundation, and lay down two of the two-by-eight pieces, flatwise, for side- sills. Upon these set the floor-sleepers on edge, 32 inches apart. Fasten one at each end, and, perhaps, one or two in the middle, if the building is large, with a wooden pin. These end-sleepers are the end sills. Now lay the floor, unless you design to have one that would be likely to be injured by the weather before you get the roof on. It is a great saving, though, of labor to begin at the bottom of a house and build up. In laying the floor first, you have no studs to cut and tit around, and can let your boards run out over the end«, just as it happens, and afterward saw them ofl' smooth by the sill. Now set up a corner post, which is nothing but one of the two-by- four studs, fastening the bottom by four nails; make it plumb, and stay it each way. Set another at the other corner, and then mark ofi" your door and window places, and set up the side-studs and put in the frames. Fill up with studs between, 16 inches apart, supporting the top by a line or strip of board from corner to corner, or staid studs between. Now cover that side with rough sheeting-boards, unless you intend to side up with clap- boards on the studs, which I never would do, except for a small, common Sec. 19.] HOW TO BUILD BALLOON FRAMES. 327 building. Make no calculation about the top of your studs ; wait till you get to tliat liight. You may use them of any length, with broken or stub- shot ends, no matter. When you have this side boarded as high as you can rejich, proceed to set up another. In the mean time, other workmen can be lathing the first side. When you have got the sides all up, fix upon the hight of your upper floor, and strike a line upon the studs for the under side of the joist, and cut a gain four inclies wide, half-inch deep, and nail on firmly one of the inch strips. Upon tliese strips rest the chamber-floor joist. Cut a notch in the joist one inch deep in tlie lower edge, and lock it on the strip, and nail each joist to each stud. Now lay tliis floor and go on to build the upper story as you did the lower one, splicing on and lengthening out studs wherever needed, until you get high enough for the plate. Splice studs or joist by simply butting the ends together, and nailing strips on each side. Strike a line and saw off tlie top of the studs even upon each side of the building — not the ends— and nail on one of the inch strips. That is the plate. Cut the ends of the upper joist the bevel of the pitch of the roof, and nail them fast to the plate, placing the end ones inside the studs, which you will let run up promiscuously, to be cut off alongside of the rafter. Now lay the garret floor by all means before you put on the roof, and you will find that you have saved 50 per cent, of hard labor. The rafters, if sup- ported so as not to be over ten feet long, will be strong enough of the two- by-four stuff. Bevel tlie ends and nail fast to the joist. Tiien there is no strain upon the sides by the weight of the roof, which may be covered with shingles or other materials, the cheapest being composition or cement roofs. To make one of this kind, take soft, spongy, thick paper, and tack it upon the boards in courses like shingles. Commence at the top with hot tar and saturate the paper, upon which sift fine gravel evenly, pressing it in while hot — that is, while tar and gravel are both hot. One coat will make a light roof; two coats will make it more durable. Put up your partitions of stuff one by four, unless where you want to support the upper joist; then use stuff two by four, with strips nailed on top for the joist to rest upon, fasten- ing altogether by nails wherever timbers touch. Thus you will have a frame without a tenon, or mortice, or brace, and yet it is far cheaper and incalcu- lably stronger when finished than though it was composed of timbers ten inclies square, with a thousand auger-holes and a hundred days' work with the chisel and adze, making holes and pins to fill them. To lay out and frame a building so that all its parts will come together, requires the skill of a master mechanic, and a host of men, and a deal of hard work to lift the great sticks of timber into position. To erect a balloon building requires about as nmch mechanical skill as it does to build a board fence. Any farmer who is handy with the saw, iron square, and hammer, with one of his boys or a common laborer to assist him, can go to work and put up a frame for an outbuilding, and finish it oft' with his own labor just as well as to hire a carpenter to score and hew great oak sticks and fill them full of mortices, all by the science of the 'square rule.' It is a waste of labor that 328 THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. we should all lend our aid to j)ut a stop to. Besides, it wWl enable many a fanner to improve his place witli new buildings, who, though he has long needed them, has shuddered at the thought of cutting down half of the Ijcst trees in his wood-lot, and then giving half a year's work to hauling it home and paying for what I do know is tlie wliolly useless labor of framing. If it had not been for the knowledge of balloon frames, Chicago and San Francisco could never have arisen, as they did, from little villages to great cities in a single year. It is not alone city buildings, which are sujiported by one another, that may be thus erected, but those upon the open j)rairic, where the wind has a sweep from Mackinaw to the Mississippi — for there they are built — and stand as firm as any of the old frames of New England, with posts and beams sixteen inches square." To this we add something more from Mr. Woodward. He says : " We hear and read very much about the policy of cutting mortices, tenons, gains, etc., in the various pieces which go to make up the balloon frame. Now it is our opinion, based upon a long and thoroughly practical experience, that he who does much of this will have some misspent time to account for hereafter, besides weakening his building and hastening the decay of the frame. A gain must be cut in the studding for the side girt, unless the dwelling be lined. Gains are sometimes cut in floor joists for the purpose of locking them over partitions that run through the bight of the building. Rafters projecting over the sides should bo notched, to give them a foothold on the plate. These causes would, as a general thing, constitute all the cutting necessary. " In building houses one-aud-a-half-story high, never cut a gain for tlie side girt on which to rest the upper-story floor joists, unless the thrust of the roof be well guarded against by secure collar beams. We prefer, wlien we cut this gain, to use studding one inch wider for the sides. Where the building is lined, the side girt rests on top of the lining, and no cutting is necessary. " Unplastered buildings, of a moderate size, are suflieiently strong if the girt be nailed directly to tlie studding without cutting the gain or recess. "We have recommended, in the construction of a barn 24 by 40, alternate studs on the sides, 2 by 4 and 2 by 5, the side girt to be nailed to tlie narrow stud and let one inch into the wide stud. This would not auswer for a plastered building, as the surface is not flush for lathing. "Two full story buildings are abundantly strong with 2 by 4 studding and gains cut into them for side girt; tiie third floor ties the top of the studding, so there is no yield. Tlie joists of tlie third floor should be placed upon the plate, the ends beveled to the same pitch of the rafters, and each joist nailed at both ends to each rafter. " We prefer to build the second story full for a dwelling-house, as we get more strength, more convenient room, and the real difl'eronco in expense is practically nothing. Where the studding is more than five feet high above the second floor of a barn, two or three tie-strips across the foot of the rafters will make all snug. There should be tie or collar beams on all rafters. Sec. 19.] COST OF A BALLOON-FRAMK HOUSE. 329 "Ie story-a!id-a-lialf buildings, it is very desirable that collars be put on securely, so as to prevent any thrust of the rafters ; where the side girt is not gained in, as in small unplastered buildings, the collars may be nailed or spiked to the rafter. If the side girt is set into the studding, as it should be in a plastered building not lined inside, it makes a weak point in the studding, reducing them from 2 by 4 to 2 by 3, and the collars should be put on in such a manner as to guard against any thrust whatever. The size of the building and the judgment of its constructor will indicate the best course to pursue. Buildings of one, two, or more full stories have no collars ; the joists of the upper floor tie the top of the building, and take the thrust of the rafters. In the usual mode of inside lining, one side laps the stud. The ends of the lining of the adjoining side are nailed to a strip fastened to the stud to receive them. " "We have built balloon frames with green oak studding, basswood siding, and butternut trimmings, that have never j'ielded. There is a system of compensation among the light sticks of a balloon frame by which the sea- soning process goes on without injury to it. We have seen warped surfaces produced by using green oak siding and by careless building, but there is no good reason why a balloon-frame building should not be always square and plumb, and the outside boarding remain secure. ''Tlie subject of tapering rafters has been pretty thoroughly discussed here- tofore. The same amount of strength can be had with a less amount of lumber. There is an additional labor in sawing such I'afters, as well as a different calculation to be made in using up a log to the best advantage. It is necessary always to order this special bill of rafters direct from the mill, and the i-esult will be that the extra cost will, nine times out of ten, over- balance the amount saved." 351. The Cost of the Author's Balloon House and Barui — There is not only a saving in first cost of lumber, but a very large item will be saved in the bill of carriage, particularly where it has to be hauled a long distance on a wagon. The saving in the carpenter's bill is very large, because so much of the work may be done by persons less skillful than a well-bred carpenter. And then there is a total saving of all that troublesome, dangerous, hard work attendant upon an old-fashioned "raising." We have lately built (that is, we were our own architect) a house and barn, a few miles out of the city of New York, upon the plan we are advocating, and therefore can speak from actual experience of the benefits of the plan in an old as well as in a new country. The house, or rather the addition to an old one, is 18 by 2i feet, with an attachment eight feet square upon one side, and a piazza six feet wide on the other. It is one story of lOi feet, and has nine windows and seven doors. Both floors are deadened by a course of boards and heavy coat of clay mortar. The siding is nailed upon studs 2 by I inches, and there are two courses of lath and plastering — one half way between the siding and inside lath. Tlie roof projects, and is orna- mented, and the garret is lathed and plastered, and the lower part divided 330 THE FARMERY. [Chap. IIL into four rooms, and all is of good materials and workmanship, at a total cost, except painting and papering, of §450. Tlic sills and sleepers are pine, 3 l>y 7, and the joist 3 by 6, spruce, and all would have been just as good, if procurable, 2 by 6 inches ; and there is not an upright stick larger than 2 by 4 of hemlock. Tiiis house, notwithstanding its cheapness, is strong, durable, warm, and good-looking. What more could we have of a ponder- ous, expensive frame ? Our horse barn is 22 by 24 feet, and 13 feet high, and has but one upright stick in it larger than 2 by 4 inches. As the hay -loft is a high half story, it was thought best to have a center-post, wliich is 3 by 7, to support the ridge pole in the middle. The studs are covered with smooth pine siding, and the lower story is lined with rough boards, and the building is as strong as we desire, and cost, completelj' tinished, with good floors, stalls, mangers, doors, and windows, $300. The carpenter's work was only §50. We have dwelt more fully upon this subject of balloon frames than upon many others, because we look upon it as one of very great importance. It is one that, if fully understood, would induce and enable farmers to have better dwellings and other farm buildings. 352. Concrete Walls. — The best advice that we can give one who asks for information about making concrete walls, or how to build houses of gravel, or broken stones and lime and sand, is that he buy a little book called a " Home for All,'' published by Fowler c recommended upon the score of economy. We think that will depend very much upon circum- stances. If broken stone or pebbles are very convenient to the building site, Seo. 19.] CONCRETE WALLS. 331 and lime to be bad for tbe burning on the place, or at a small cost, the building will be a cheap one, and not otherwise. Horace Greeley built a large barn of concrete upon his farm in Westchester County, of such stones as are spread over the surface of these granitic hills. Although it is a very substantial building, our opinion is that we could build a good frame, and put the surplus money into other improvements, to a better profit. 353. Building with Billets of Wood.— A new style of building has been adopted in several places at the West, where brick and stones are inconve- nient, and sawed lumber and carpenter's work are expensive. The plan is to saw billets of wood of an even length, say one foot long, from limbs of trees ; or split stuff; slabs, we suppose, would answer a good purpose, if split up into fire-wood size. These billets must be straight enough to pile up well. The wall is made by laying them in lime mortar, and, we believe, in some cases, in good clay mortar, where lime and sand are scarce, and then plastering the wall outside and in. The great objection seems to be that the outside plastering cleaves off, as it does from all plastered buildings exposed to rain, frost, and heat. A friend writes us inquiring whether there is any composi- tion for outside plaster that will stand the weather. We answer, none that can be wholly depended upon. A mortar made of hydraulic cement (water lime), of good quality, mixed with clean, coarse, sharp sand — two parts of sand to one of cement — would stand until some crack occurred, and water and frost get in behind. Perliaps the mortar described in No. 359 will answer the purpose. But as it is cheaper, and perhaps equally good, we would recommend an ordinary coat of plaster, and then take cement aud any cheap oil, and mix a pretty thick paint, and put on thoroughly two or three coats. Another good paint may be made as follows : Take four pounds of rosin and one pint of linseed oil, and boil together, adding about an ounce of red lead, and put it on hot, and afterward paint any color you like. If a crack ever occurs, stop it at once with the rosin and oil mixture. We have no doubt that these billets-of-wood houses can be built in many places cheaper than any other, and that they can be made neat, comfortable, and durable. 332 THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. SECTION XX.-ROOFS AND ROOFING-PAINTS AND WHITEWASH FOR FARM BUILDINGS-NAILS AND MORTAR-FARM GATES. ]HATEVER the st}'!© of building adopted for anv of tiie farmery structures, a good roof never should be lost sight of, for upon that, much of the farm economy depends. A leaky roof on a dwelling de- stroys comfort and property, and is the source of many unpleasant days and nights to the family, and sometimes productive of sickness, as well as injury to furniture. A leaky roof upon a barn will destroy every year a greater value of hay and grain than it would cost to make it tight. It is for this that we give special attention to this part of the farm buildings. We also give some valuable hints upon painting and whitewashing, because both beauty and economy may be thus promoted. 354. Sawed SbingleSi — Of all the inventions ever contrived, that of sawed shingles has proved to be one of the least value to the country. The only profit is to the patentee and manufacturer. To every one who has used them, sawed shingles have proved a loss, no matter what the saving lias been in first cost, unless the shingles, previous to laying on the roof, were prepared so as to prevent their saturation with water every time the rainfell- upon them. It is this repeated saturation of sawed shingles that rots them, and gives us leaky roofs in one fourth the time that split shingles remain sound. It is true that good shingle timber is becoming scarce, and more and more so every year, and that farmers must have something as a sub- stitute. What that something is we know not, but are quite sure, where economy is studied, that it will not be sawed shingles. If they must be used, let the roof have a very steep pitch. On a flat roof we liave known them rot entirely through in five years. Another roof, ten years old, both shingles and roof-boards, when taken off, crumbled into a mass of rotten wood, that scarcely bore any resemblance to boards and shingles. "A retired mechanic" writes us that he followed building eighteen years, and prefers sawed shingles if they are planed on the upper side, and says that a smart hand can plane from two to three thousand a day. We think a machine miglit be constructed to plane one side of sawed shingles without adding much to the cost. Witliout planing or dipping in boiling oil or tar, we do not believe sawed shingles should ever be used by any one who wants a good roof, or who cares for economy. The writer of a letter now before us spe.iks in very severe terms of the manufacturers of sawed shingles. He says they are often made of small cross-grained, sapling spruce, and that Seo. 20.] ROOFS AND ROOFING. 333 the bark of the tree will last about as long as snch shingles on a roof. Tlie carelessness of persons employed to lay shingles is notorious, and a cross- grained shingle is just as apt to be laid wrong side up as right. Then the surface wears rough, and water soaks into the wood and rots it through so as to leak in a few months. This writer thinks the fault of sawed shingles is much more in tlie timber than in the manufacture ; that is, that sawed shingles from good, sound, straight-grained timber will last as long as split ones. Another letter writer suggests that sawed shingles should never be laid upon a boarded roof, but upon narrow laths, one to each course. He says : " I know of a building where the shingles were put on boards and the boards put close together, which have been on but a few years and are very leaky ; the shingles and boards have rotted through in places, while other ]>arts are sound and good. I think the reason is, the shingles lie so close to the boards that when they get wet they never dry through ; while if laid upon laths, sawed shingles will last as long as split ones from the same timber." Another writer, speaking of the absolute necessity of using something as a substitute for split shingles on account of the scarcity of timber, wants to know M-hy we can not have tile manufactured that will be a better substi- tute for shingles than anything else that we have, both for economy and certainty of having a good roof. A correspondent speaks of shingles cut by a machine patented by J. L. Brown, of Indianapolis, Ind., at the rate of 50,000 a day, that are altogether superior to sawed sliingles, even should the latter bo planed. This may be so, but we have no faith in the economy of using shingles made by any kind of machinery that cuts wood across the grain. No shingles thus made will be as durable as split ones, unless saturated with oils or resins, or kyanized, and then they would be as expensive as those made by riving and shaving, or perhaps as much so in the long run as slate or tin. Depend upon it, using poor shingles upon farm buildings is very poor economy. 355. Preserving Shiugles on Roofs. — " Some paint roof shingles after they are laid. This makes them rot sooner than they otherwise would. Some paint the courses as they are laid ; this is a great preservative if each shingle is painted its full length, and not by courses." Mr. Ed. Emerson, of Hollis, Mass., thus gives, in the New England Farmer, some hints that ai-e worthy of preservation upon shingling roofs. He says : " Twenty- three years ago I had quite a lot of refuse shingles on hand, both sappy and shaky, and I laid them on the back kitchen and wood-shed. I have just examined them, and think they will last at least seven years longer. The building has not leaked, to my knowledge. I soaked these shingles in a very thin whitewash, made with brine instead of clear water. There has been nothing done to them since, although T have no doubt that to have whitewashed or served a coat of dry-slaked lime or fine salt once in two or three years on them, would have been of great advantage to them. 334 THE FARMERY. [Chap. HI " As I shingle differently from almost every one else, I will give you my method, and my reasons for it. Uowever wide the shingles may be, I do not allow the nails to be put more than two inches apart, liioson — If yonr shingle* are wet or green, and the wide ones are nailed at the edges, the shingles must split or one of the nails must draw when the shjnglc shrinks. If the shingle is dry, it must huff or crowd the nail out when it swells. Thus your nails are kept in constant motion by every shrink or swell of the sliingle till they are broken, pulled out, or the shingle is split. I do not want the nails driven quite in, or so as to 6ink_the head. Jitason — The heads of the nails hold up the butts of the next row of shingles, and give the air a free circulation. " I lay all my shingles in whitewash. I prefer brine for making it. I line with red chalk. I then whitewash the last course laid down to the line, and after the building is shingled I whitewash the whole of the roof. Reason — ^To make the shingles last twice as long as they would without the whitewash, and I consider it much better than just whitewashing the roof after shingling." '■'■ Whitewashed shingles are never mossy. If slaked lime is sprinkled upon wet roofs, it will prevent moss from growing, and if the shingles are cov- ered ever so thick with moss, putting the lime on twice will take all the moss off and leave the roof white and clean, and it will look almost as well as if it had been painted. It ought to be done once a year, and, in my opin- ion, the shingles will last almost twice as long as they will to let the roof all grow over to moss." One who has tried this plan says : " I tried it on the back part of mj- house ten years ago, when the shingles were all covered over with moss, and appeared to be nearly rotten. I then gave the roof a heavy coat of lime, and have followed it nearly every year since, and the roof is better now than at first." 356. Roofs — their Form— Shingled and Composition.— It is a serious defect iu our roof architecture that the roofs of most buildings are so"flat that the rain finds its way under the shingles. Sharp roofs keep out rain and last longer, and although the first cost is a trifle greater, they are cheai^cr in the end. We know of no composition we can recommend to cure leaky shingled roofs, though several arc advertised as sure cures. "We are afraid they are like the Indian's gun — "cost more than he worth." There is a patent asphalt roofing felt that can be easily put on by any person. It weighs only about forty-two pounds to the square one hundred feet. It must be stretched tight and smooth, overlapping full one inch at the joinings, and closely nailed through the overlap. It should then receive a coating of coal-tar and lime — two gallons of the former to six pounds of the latter — well boiled to- 'gether and kept constantly stirred while boiling, and put on with a swab, and while it is soft some coarse sand may be sifted over it. This coating needs renewing once in five or six j-ears. There is also roofing-paper — a soft, spongy substance, saturated with tar, which comes in rolls, and is sold for about four cents a pound. It is un- Sbo. 20.] ROOFS AND ROOFIXG. 335 rolled upon a flat boarded roof, and tacked sufficiently to hold it in place, and then saturated with tar, which glues it to the boards, and it is covered with sand ; then more tar and another coat of sand. Another i^ceipt for composition roofs is given as follows : Take coal-tar, 300 pounds; hydraulic lime, 150 pounds; ocher, 75 pounds; and whiting, 40 pounds. Mix these substances together thoroughly, and they will make, a sufficient quantity of cement to cover 1,000 square feet of roofing. It should be laid down upon strong cotton sheeting nailed to the roof-boards, and on the top of all a coat of dry sand or gravel is to be laid and pressed firmly down. The cost of such roofing is about $2 30 per ten feet square. It answers very well for sheds and other outhouses. 357. Protecting Roofs from Fire. — In a country where wood is used as fuel, and where roofs are made of pine shingles, and where droughts are among the things occurring every summer, there is constant danger of conflagration of the dwelling from sparks on the roof. This may be guarded against in a very great measure in a very inexpensive manner. A roof carefully washed with three coats of either composition mentioned in Kos. 360 or 361, once in three years, would be a hundred times less liable to take fire from sparks than an unwashed roof. Such a wash would be a very cheap preventive of danger from fire. So is the paint mentioned in the following extract: " A wash composed of lime, salt, and fine sand or wood ashes, put on in the ordinary way of whitewashing, renders the roof fifty-fold more safe against taking fire from falling cinders or otherwise, in cases of fire in the vicinity. It pays the expense a hundred-fold in its preserving influence against the effect of the weather. The older and more weather-beaten the shingles, the more benefit derived. Such shingles generally become more or less warped, rough, and cracked ; the application of the wash, by wetting the upper surface, re- stores them at once to their original form, thereby closing the space between the shingles, and the lime and sand, by filling up the cracks and pores in the shingle itself, prevent its warping for j'ears." 358. Cheap NailSi — ^The cheapest nails are not the lowest priced ones. Cut nails, made of iron of good quality, will outlast such as can be bouglit at the lowest rates about two to one. Never use nails for siding or shingles that break very easily ; and be sure not to allow your carpenter to use nails of very light weight. First-rate cut nails of suitable size may cost twenty-five per cent, more than the poorest and lightest, but in the end they are a hundred per cent, the best. Nails made of poor iron will rust out a great deal quicker than nails made of good tough malleable iron, like that known as old sable. It is about on a par with sawed shingles to use the cheapest or lowest priced nails, particularly for shingling. In building balloon frames none but the very best quality of nails should be used. Those known as " fence nails" are far the best, being made of thicker iron than the ordinary nails of the same number. Weathet'-Proof Ifails — are described in the Ohio Cultivator. It says: 336 THE FAEMERT. [Chap. IH. "Everybody knows what a difficult thing it is to nail roof-boards and weather-boards so tliat they will hold for a good length of time. Tliere arc many other places in which it is nearly impossible to make nails do the office for which they are intended. A remedy — and tlie only one I ever saw — I discovered a few years ago; it is very simple and never fails. Take tcnpenny, malleable nails, and place the head in a vice, and with a pair of pincers grip the nail near the point, and twist it half-way round, minding to make the twist somewhat elongated. In driving, the nail becomes a screw, and neither sun nor hammer can withdraw it." 359. To make Mortar Impervious (o Wet. — " Provide a square wooden trough, say S by 4 feet, and 2 feet deep ; put in a quantity of fresh lump lime, and add water quickly. When the lime is well boiled, having assisted that operation by frequent stirring, add tar (the heat of boiling lime melts the tar), stir it well, taking care that every part of the lime is intimately mixed with the tar; then add sharp sand or crushed clinker, and stir it well as before ; after which, in about twenty hours, it Avill be fit for use." 360. Cheap Paints for Farm DuildingSt— Tar and lime may be used, in order to make either wood or mason-work watei-proof The best way to prepare gas or coal tar for coating wood-work with, is to get some of the best stone lime, avoiding chalk lime, and slake it to a fine powder; boil the tar for about half an hour, and then add about one pint of hot lime-powder to a gallon of tar, and boil it about half an hour longer, stiiTing it coniinu- ally, and using it iiot. We give the above as we find it, but prefer the following : Take the com- mon " Rosendale cement" (water lime), sift it, and mix the fine powder with coal-tar, or any kind of oil, and it will make an excellent paint, of a drab or brown-stone color. 361. Permanent Whitewash Paint.— Another excellent paint is made of the following ingredients: that is, one bushel of well-burnt white lime unslaked, 20 lbs. Spanish whiting, 17 lbs. rock-salt, 12 lbs. brown sugar. Slake the lime, and sift out any lumps or stones, and mix it into a good whitewash, say with 40 gallons of wafer, and then add the other ingredients, and stir all well together, and put on two or three thin coats with a common whitewash brush. Five dollars' worth of this cheap white paint will give the farmery such an improved appearance that it would sell readily for $100 more than it would in its old wood colored coat and neglccted-looking con- dition. Tliis mixture makes a paint that is very clieap, and makes a coat that does not wash off or rub off, and looks well — that is, makes the rough boards of a barn, shed, outbuilding, or fence look much better than in their natural wood-colored condition ; and it will, by its antiseptic qualities, tend beneficially toward the preservation of the wood. It can be tinted by any of the articles mentioned in 362. This is intended for the outside of build- ings, or where it is exposed to the weather. In order to give a good color, three coats are necessary on brick and two on wood. Another cheap and good paint may be made of any pure clay ; such as Sko. 20.] PAINTS AND WHITEWASH. 337 potters use is the right sort ; or that known as " blue day" will answer a good purpose in its natural condition. Even such as brick-makers use can be washed of all its impurities, by thoroughly mi.xing it with a large bulk of water, and lotting it settle and then draw oft' the water, and also reject the bottom of the mass, which will contain all the sand. To prepare clay for paint, first dry it, either in the sun or by fire, and then pulverize it fine, which may be done with a cannon-ball in a swinging iron jjot. Then sift it, and mix with boiled linseed oil, pretty thick, and you will have just as good a fire-proof paint, or a weather-protecting paint, as any that are sold as such in the shops. In some localities soft slate, or slate-dust from a manufactory, can be had, and that will make a good " mineral paint." 362. Zinc and Lime Whitewash Paint. — Take a clean barrel that will hold water. Put into it half a barrel of quicklime, and slake it by pouring over it boiling water sufficient to cover it four or five inches deep, and stirring it until slaked. When quite slaked, dissolve it in water, and add two pounds of sulpliate of zinc and one of common salt, wliich in a few days will cause the whitewash to harden on the wood-work. Add sutficient water to bring it to the consistency of thick whitewash. To make the above wash of a pleasant cream color, add three pounds of yellow ochcr. For fawn color, add four pounds of umber, one pound of Indian red, and one pound of lampblack. For gray or stone color, add four pounds of raw umber and two pounds of lampblack. The color may be put on witli a common whitewash brush, and will be found much more durable than common whitewash. 363. Stucco Whitewash. — To make a brilliant stucco whitewash for all buildings, inside and out, take a bushel of clean lumps of well-burnt lime, slaked ; add one fourth pound of whiting or burnt alum pulverized, one pound of loaf sugar, three quarts of rye flour, made into a thin and well- boiled paste, and one pound of the cleanest glue, dissolved. This may be put on cold within doors, but should be applied hot outside. The following is another receipt for stucco whitewash : Take half a bushel of nice unslaked lime, slake it with boiling water, covering it during the process, to keep in the steam. Strain tlie liquid through a fine sieve or strainer, and add to it a peck of salt, previously well dissolved in water ; three pounds ground rice, boiled to a thin paste, and stirred in boiling hot ; half a pound Spanish whiting, and a pound of clean glue, which has been previously dissolved by soaking it first, and then hanging over a slow fire, in a small kettle inside a large one filled with water. Add five gallons of hot water to the mixture, stir it well, and let it stand a few days covered from the dirt. It should be put on quite hot; for this purpose it can be kept in a kettle on a furnace. It is said that about a pint of this mixture v.-ill cover a yard square of the outside of a house, if properly applied. 338 THE FARMERY. [CnAP. UI. The size of the brushes used should be adapted to the work required. This composition answei-s as well as oil paint ou wood or stone, and is cheaper. It retains its brilliancy for many years. Coloring may be put in, and made of any shade you like. Spanish brown stirred in will make red pink, more or less deep to the quantity. A delicate tinge of this is very pretty for inside walls. Finely pulverized common clay, well mixed with Spanish brown, makes a reddish stone color. Yellow ocher stirred in makes yellow wash, but chrome goes further, and makes a color generally esteemed prettier. In all these cases the darkness of the shades is determined of course by the quantity of coloring used. It is diffi- cult to make rules, because tastes are different; it would be best to try experiments on a shingle, and let it dry. "We have been told that green must not be mixed with lime. The lime destroys the color, and the color has an effect on the whitewash, which makes it crack and peel. When walls have been badly smoked, and you wish to have them a clean white, it is well to squeeze indigo plentifully through a bag into the water you use, before it is stirred into the mixture. If a larger quantity than five gallons be wanted, the same proportion should be observed. The above is the receipt that has been so long in circulation as that wliich gave the original whiteness to the " "White House" at "Washington. In oil painting, never suffer a painter to use unboiled oil upon any of your buildings or farm implements, and certainly never suffer yourself to leave any of them unpainted. Take care that the painter is not too liberal in the use of his " driers" in your paint. Tint is to please the eye. Oil preserves the wood, and one coat of boiled oil is worth three of unboiled. All farm buildings sliould be oil-painted or whitewashed. "Whitewash fends to preserve wooden buildings niore than any ordinary coat of paint, particularly such a one as would bo given to unplaned boards, wliich is a better condition for whitewashing than Avhen smooth. The ice-house should be whitewashed on the outside as often as it is necessary to keep it perfectly white, as that is an important aid toward keeping it cool. 364. Farmery Gates. — No farmery can be considered at all complete that is not amply furnished with gates, constructed with particular adaptation to their several situations, and arranged in tlic most ])erfect manner with hinges, latches, and fastenings. There is to us no greater evidence of a slovenly farmer than is furnished by half-dilapidated, or at best incon- venient, barf. These bar-ways may answer in ticld fences, wliere they are seldom to be opened, but they are a nuisance about the farmery. Most of the farmery gates should be self-closing, and made to swing so that an animal could not push against and open the gate. In some places a gate can not be made to swing cither way ; then it must be made to open npon some one of the several ^ilans that have been made for convenient opening in a straight line. One of the sort patented by some one in Oneida County, N. Y., is a very easy working gate. It is made of very light stuff, and for a wagon-way a pair, each five feet long, are set between posts nine feet Sec. 20.] IMPEOVED FARM GATES. 339 apart, and lield against the posts by guides, M'liich allow of their easy work- ing. Attached by bolts to the upper outward corner are two light strips of boards, one on each side, and two others in the center. These strips are hinged to posts at the bottom in the same way they are at the top to the gate, and when tlie gate is shut they stand at an angle with the gate like braces, and when the gate is to be opened it lifts upon these centers, and passes over and stands alongside of the fence in a straiglit line. Such gates are very convenient in case of snow, as they lift up right out of the drift, so as to allow a passage without shoveling. When closed, the two gates are fastened together by hooks or bolts, or any convenient fastening. As they are not hinged to the posts, these may be made quite light. Another plan of a gate, to open without swinging, is to suspend it upon rollers running upon a rail overhead. Some one has improved upon this plan to make the gate openable by a person driving up in a wagon. Tin's is done by lifting the gate at the front end by a lever, which changes the level of the railway-bar upon which the gate hangs, so that it rolls back by its own gravity. The principle will be understood by looking at any gate made to run off on rollers upon a bar above the top, by supposing one end of the bar raised, when the gate rolls down. A touch of another lever, as the wagon passes, reverses the position of the bar, and the gate rolls back again to its closed i^osition. The great objection to this, and almost all the plans for opening gates from the wagon, without alighting, is the unsightly appearance of the gallows- frame necessary to support the levers, ropes, and pulleys. We have seen gates which opened by the weight of the wagon passing over a bar, and shutting it by anotlier touch of a bar on the other side. There is a good deal of machinery to this plan, as well as to nearly all of the contrivances to open and shut gates without labor, and the most of them are very liable to fail of working easily. The most simple one of the kind, and, so far as we could judge from a single examination, the least liable to ^et out of working order, was one ex- hibited at the New York State Fair of 1860 by Jasper Johnson, of Genesee County. One of the greatest advantages of this invention is, that it can be applied to gates already in use, so that one can be opened by a person in a wagon and shut as he passes through without stopping. Any erection that will sustain a single cord upon each side, and a bar of iron about four feet long, of the size of an ordinary crowbar, and one or two small rods, comprises all that need be added to any gate to fix it for this convenient way of opening. This bar of iron is made in a peculiar form, and attached to the gate-post by a loose joint at one end, while the other works in a long staple attached to the gate. Its position is moved by pulling the cord, and its specific gravity being thus changed, throws the gate open, and shuts it by another pull at the same cord, or the other one, as the person drives through. The attachment certainly is a very cheap one, and its operation was entirely satisfactory. S40 THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. Kol)insoii's Farm Gale is the name given to one invented, and not patented, by Dr. D. A. Robinson, Union Springs, N. Y., of whicii wo tliink pretty liiglily. One of its good points is the clieapness of the liinges. These are fignred and fully described in tliat excellent pocket manual, tiie "Rural Register," published by Luther Tucker, from whicli we copy the following description : "This gate may be made of any light, tough, and durable wood, but an- swers a good purpose wlien made of pine, -with the upright or cross-bars of white oak. The upper horizontal bar is 11 feet long, .3 inches wide horizon- tally, and 5 inches deep at the hinge, and 2^ at the latch. The mortises arc only two thirds through, to shut out rain, and f by 3 inches — except in the heel-piece they are an inch and quarter. The heel-piece is 3 by 5 inches, and the four lower bars are boards 1 by 5 inches. The cross-bars, the brace, and the two pieces forming tlie head-piece are 1 by 3 inches. They are secured at each crossing by wrought or annealed nails. The head-piece consists merely of two boards, nailed on each side of the horizontal boards. The hinge is made by driving an iron rod, at least three fourtlis of an inch in diameter, into the top of tlie post, which turns in a hole seven eighths of an inch, bored two thii-ds of tlie distance through the large end of the upper bar. A short iron plug driven into this hole makes a hard resting point tliat will not wear, for the gate to turn upon. The lower hinge is a wooden block, attached to the lower part of the gate, and hollowed out so as to lit upon the round post. The latch is not attached to the gate, but to tlie post, so that it catches over the top rail, which is made to project bej'ond the end of the gate for that purpose. If it is preferred to have the latch fastened on the gate lower down, a pin can be tixed in or one of the slats projected for- ward. This gate is not liable to sag much, because tluire is no xockjht what- ever straining the hi^iges, excej}t while the gate is open. A pin or spike is driven into the post on which the hinges turn, just above the lower hinge, to prevent hogs or other animals from lifting the gate, but which does not prevent it from being placed on its hinges while open. The post holding the latch may be rough, except the face, and the other need be rounded only where the hinge turns. " The whole cost of the hinges need not exceed ten cents, and the gate itself may be made at no greater expense than a common set of bars." An excellent gate-fastening is one in common use in Mississippi and some other Southern States, which we have never seen in any of the Northern ones. A gain is cut in the corner of the post, say three by four inches, and in that is hung a piece of flat bar iron, say one incii wide and one fourth of an inch thick, bent in somewhat the form and of the length of half a horse-shoe, the upper end hammered thin and bent over a staple which is driven in the upper part of the gain, so that the lower end of tlie bar rests on the bottom, near the outer edge. An iron pin in the upright of the gate strikes against this little bar and lifts it up and passes beyond the end of it, when it falls back, and no power but a man's hand can open the gate — but Sec. 20.] IMPROVKD FARM GATES. 341 for tliat it is very easy. It is one of tlie best latches we ever saw to prevent nnrnly animals from getting the gate open, and it is very cheaply made, and would be a very safe one for all the gates about the farmery liable to be opened hj the hogs and cattle. The following is a good plan of a new gate-hinge or plan of fastening the upper hook or eye of a gate-hinge into the post, which we have seen de- scribed lately, and like it so much that we M'ish all farmers to know it. In- stead of driving the hook into the post, a hole is bored quite through it just at the top of the upper rail of the fence, and the shank is made long enough to reach some inches beyond the post, and has several notches on its upper side. Bore a hole through tlie rail and put a small bolt with a loophole at one end, to bite into a notch of the hinge, and nut at the other. Of course, when screwed up, the sag of the gate can not draw the hook ; but if neces- sary it can be made shorter by shifting a notcli or two. The following dimensions of a good strong farm gate, and the timber for it, may be taken as pretty near correct : Space between posts, 12 feet ; hight of posts above ground, 5i feet ; slats, 12 feet long, 5 inches wide, li inches thick for the bottom one, and 3 inches wide for the other six ; hight of gate, 44 feet. The ends into which the slats are tenoned are 2i by 3 inches, 5 feet long. Some prefer to have the top rail double the strength of the middle slats. There are two braces and a center upright fastened with STnall screw bolts or rivets. If a strap hinge is used, they should be riveted to the slats. If straps are not used, the iron should be made to clasp the upright, and not go through it. In soft land, like that of the "Western prairies, it is difficult to make gate- posts stand firm, and they are often formed with a gallows-looking cross-bar overhead. A better way is to put this cross-bar and braces at the bottom. Frame the posts and braces into a sill, and bury that three feet deep, and it will effectually prevent the posts from sagging, and then you may use them of much smaller timber. A good light gate is made as follows : Take strips of board's three inches wide, half an incii thick, of any strong wood ; pine, free of knots and weak spots, will answer, and cut them suitable lengths for the length, and others for the width of the gate. Lay down upon a smooth surface several of the short strips not over three feet apart, and then lay the long strips on for a close gate three inches apart at the bottom, gradually widening to the top ; then lay down short strips directly over the others, and nail through these with clinch nails. We have sometimes reversed the order, and used two long strips opposite, instead of two short ones, which makes a stronger but heavier gate. Small gates made either way are quite strong enough. The hinges should \)o. of a peculiar form, with long straps to clasp the gate so as to rivet through and hold the wood between the iron. In Section LIT., in an article npon farm fences, something will be found about how to make gate and fence posts durable. 342 TILE FARMERY. [Chap. III. SECTION XXI.-LIGHTNING COXDUCTORS-PROTECTION OF FARM BUILDINGS FROM FIRE. T is a great question for the owner of farm buildings rr whether lie can protect them from destruction by light- ning-rods. Being almost faithless ourselves, yet not quite sure that lightning-rods are all useless, we will give the opinions of several who have investigated the question. 3C5. Opinions of the Value of Lightning Conductors. — Mr. Quinby, a practical electrician, gave the following view of the subject in an article in the Worki?};/ Farmer : " Tliere can be few subjects of equal importance less gen- erally understood, or perhaps more tiniversally misunder- stood, than the science of electricity in its application to lightning-rods. The errors of the past are verj' slow of erad- ication, although it must be admitted that progress has been made since the famous discussion in George III.'s time as to whether lightning-rods should be pointed or blunt at the top. So little is known of electricity itself, and so largely is it a purely speculative science, that it is no wonder that doctors disagree. " It is clear that the most valuable opinion on this subject is to be looked for from those who have made the study of electricity and thunder-storms a specialty, with the practical result in view of ascertaining the most efteetnal means of protection, and it is to be remarked that those who have done this have arrived at similar conclusions. " It is a common eiTor to suppose that lightning-rods should be insulated, and a very natural one, arising from a superficial view of the subject. It should be remembered that currents of electricity in a rarefied state are con- tinually circulating through masses of matter silently and without producing any manifest effects ; the effect of insulation is to interrupt the flow of these currents, whereas the lightning-rod ought rather to be so contrived as to fa- cilitate their free passage from the building to the rod, and thence to the at- mosphere, and mci versa. " During that disturbed, electi-ificd condition of the atmosphere, which Ave call a thunder-storm, these currents circulate in greater volume and rapidity, and a sulKcient interruption of them brings about a discharge of lightning. " At such times tlic insulation of the rod from the building is a most ex- cellent device for causing an explosion of accumulated electricity eitlier from or into the building, as the case may be. The rod, on the contrary, ought to act somewhat as a safety-valve, as regards any electrical disturb- ance within the house, neutralizing it gradually, and thus preventing an explosion. Sec. 21.] LIGHTNING-CONDUCTORS. 343 "Should the rod be struck by lightning, its efficacy in carrying off the shock will depend on whether it presents a continuous chain of conducting matter, in the line or direction of the discharge, which is superior to any- thing witliin ihe building. If it does not, all the glass in the world will not prevent fluid from leaving the rod and passing througli the building on such conductors as it may find there. "The true theory or purposes of the lightning-rod is to facilitate electric- ity in following out its natural laws and tendencies, and nothing can be more truly unscientific or practically absurd than the idea of presenting a barrier or obstruction to lightning." This theory fully accords with all our information upon this subject. The following are the views of another practical electrician, S. D. Cush- man, of South Bend, Ind. He says : " A conductor for the protection of life and property from the effects of lightning should be so constructed and applied that it will add to the con- ducting power of the building so as to admit of the most intense discharge being securely transmitted, without explosion or damage to the building or structure. ' " Attkaction. — The utility of a lightning-rod does not consist in its attracting power. "Insulation. — ^The conducting power of a lightning-rod is frequently diminislied by insulation, and never is increased; it should never be insu- lated. It may be fastened to the building with brackets of wood or staples. " Points. — The attaching to the upper end of a lightning-rod a copper, silver, gold, or any kind of a point, does not add to the utility of the rod, but when attached always diminishes, more or less, the conducting power of the rod, by breaking up the perfect continuity that a rod should possess, and interrupting its polarity. " Size. — An iron lightning-rod should never have less than three inches conducting surface, possessing solidity sufficient to have strength and dura- bility. " CoNSTEUcTioN. — A liglituing-rod should not possess in its construction sharp edges, neither should it be in sections nor pieces (the sections or pieces being hooked or screwed together), but it should be all in one piece, possess- ing an equal, even unbroken surface in its whole length. " Application. — In the application of the rod to the building the conduct- ing power of the building should be brought into the general line of con- duction ; that is, the rod should come in good metallic contact with all the important metallic substances upon the outside of the building, such as gutters, spouts, etc. That part of the rod that comes in contact with the earth should be increased in its surface and conducting power, so that there will not be less conducting sijrface in contact with the earth than is exposed to the building and atmosphere, and care should be taken that the earth around and in contact with the rod is always moist. " Shade-Teees. — Shade-trees should not be relied upon as a protection 344 " THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. from lightning, because their conducting power varies so much, and very often, when in tlieir best conducting condition, tliey are damaged by the lightning passing over them. Tlie conducting power of shade-trees, then, should be increased and made permanent by the application of an iron or copper wire. "Errors. — One of the errors committed in protecting from lightning is an improper estimate placed upon the conducting power of the building, compared with the material used for protection. When a liglitning-con- ductor terminates or ends in a substance of imperfect or less conducting power, it is reduced to the conducling power of the body in which it ends. "Dry earth is a non or imperfect conductor. Earth owes its conducting power to water. According to Cavendish, the conducting power of iron, as compared to the conducting power of water, is as four hundred millions to one. The electrical size of the mass of lightning-rods is not as large as a common knitting-needle, being reduced by so small a portion of the rod's surface coming in contact with damp earth. "Another error is in constructing the rod in sections. Rods properly applied, of perfect continuity, being all in one piece, without coupling or hooking, have never failed to carry the quantity of electricity that may have passed upon them safely and successfully to the ground, while the sec- tioned, or the rods hooked or screwed together by burs or nuts, have fre- quently failed to do their duty. Scarcely a day or a week passes during the summer months but we hear of the failure of the coupled lightning-rods. "However well the fact of electrical conduction may be known — however well scientific men may be agreed that by the judicious employment of metallic bodies we may increase protection against lightning, certain it is that they have taken too much upon trust, and neglected the investigation of the facts. " Men ignorant of every electrical principle have professed to furnish security against lightning, until the scientific electrician who attempts to sell lightning-rods is received with jeers and contempt as a designing swindler ; his story is listened to with impatience, and his presence consid- ered an intrusion." The rod recommended by Mr. Cushman is made of four copper and four iron wires laid together, with a pointed cap on the top, and some metal plates at the bottom. There must never be a splice in the wire, but several wires carried up from the ground, in the main body, may be taken ofl' and con- nected with the metal roof of a building, or with other points. The following language we used upon a discussion of this subject before the American Institute Farmers' Club : "As lightning-rods are most commonly constructed, they are not what they are generally conceived to be — that is, attractors of an approaching thunderbolt, ])icking it up on the sharp points, and conducting it down a carefully insulated rod to a safe deposit in the earth. If a lightning-rod ever performed such a service, I should like to be assured of the fact. At Sec. 21.] LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS. 345 present I have no faith. I believe that, when the atmosphere is surcharged with electricity, any metallic substance will absorb it just in proportion to its natural affinity, and if there is an excess of fluid in the air around tlic top of a rod, it will run down it to the earth, just as it runs along telegraph wires ; and experience has proved that a bright, sharu ooint is more attract- ive than a blunt one. "Still, a blunt rod will become charged, and so will a metal roof, and, more than all, an iron building, and the water-conductor, or whatever otlier metallic substances reach from the top to the earth, will tend to dissipate the excess of electricity in tlie air above and around the building, and prevent an accumulation of it sufficient to produce an explosion. But I have not one particle of faith that any building that happened to be situated in the path of what we call a thunderbolt, ever was saved by the best lightning- rod ever erected. And if iu its course the discharge from the cloud, coming like a rifle-ball from the muzzle of the gun, happens to strike the sharp point of the rod, it is, to my mind, a preposterous idea to suppose that perfect insulation of that rod from the building can be of any possible advantage." This opinion we still abide by. The world is full of theories upon the subject. "We wish we could elucidate them. We want all these lightning theories reduced to two or tliree facts. It is claimed by some that iron is the best, and by others that copper is best. One contends that blunt iron is just as good as sharp gold or platina. One says that insulation is necessary, and the otlier that it is not. Now it is facts that we want. Farmers want to know whether they can protect their buildings from danger of beino- struck by lightning. A. B. Dickenson, a practical and close observing farmer of Steuben County, N. Y., is of opinion that no lightning-rod will protect a barn while giving oflT steam arising from newly stored hay and grain. Tlien, of what advantage to erect one ? for that is the very time it is most needed to save the farmers' barns from destruction, which are much more likely to be de- stroyed than any other buildings, and the loss is much greater. Adrian Bergen, of Long Island, relates one case of a barn apparently saved by the conductor. The force of the shock was so great that a man in the barn was knocked down. Tlie rod was a small, round one, fastened to the barn by wooden supports. After the explosion a hole was found at the foot of the rod. So we have read of many cases where there was an apparent good eff"ect from having conductors upon buildings. A very heavy crash fell upon or over a house and barn in New Hampshire, which melted the points of new conductors and apparently dissipated the fluid so as to prevent damage, though the barn appeared to be filled with electricity. The Temple at Jerusalem stood ten centuries without oeing injured ; but this building had a great deal of metal about it, and perhaps conductors for water that carried the electricity from the roof to the ground. Yet we have many instances in this country where buildings have been struck that were 346 THE FARMERY. [Chap. HI. fully provided with liglitning-rotls. Tiiis may be owing to bad coiistnietiou of tlic rods. In the case of a great explosion, like the one in Xew Hamp- shire, it is not likely that a single rod could convey all the charge to the ground. If a rod was full of points along its length, it would serve to dissi- pate the charge, and a square rod is better than a round one. AVm. S. Carpenter, of the eastern part of "Westchester County, N. Y., says : "The farmers in my section have no faith in lightning-rods, because the proportion of barns that have been struck Avith rods upon them is greater tlian those without conductors. A scientific work states that a cop])er rod one inch in diameter is better than an iron rod four inches in tliametcr, and nothing less than that seems to be sufficient. This rod, too, must be contin- uous, and well connected at the bottom with damp earth." Cases have occurred where a tin roof appeared to act as a great absorbent of the electricity, which it conducted down the tin water-spouts, and in one case into a water-cask, which it burst, and passed on into the wet earth. Single rods arc apparently not always reliable. It is not doubted that an extensive spread of metal diffuses lightning. Then, are buildings safe with metal roofs ? Flagstaffs have been torn to pieces on their tops, and no mark of injury left about the dwelling. Would it not answer the purpose and be also economical to place a stout rod on the center of a wooden roof, and at- tach to the bottom, where it touches the roof, a number of telegraph wires, carried in many directions to the ground ? Would the stroke on the center rod be carried safely off by such radii ? If so, the plan is vastly cheaper than an entire metal roof. Faraday experimented on iron cages snsj^ended in air — in one of them a man ; in another small cylindrical one, a mouse; The cages powerfully charged with electricity, produced no effect on the man or mouse. The plan of one central rod, with many wires covering the building, may produce like results. It is wortli a trial. It is also worthy of observation how many more barns than houses are struck by lightning. A calculation of an average of seven persons to a dwelling in the United States, basing the population at 30,000,000, would give 4,200,000 dwellings. And assuming that there are 5,000,000 of farmei's, we may say there are 700,000 barns. Now, greatly as the number of dwellings exceeds that of bai-ns, our ojiinion is that there are two barns to one dwelling destroyed by lightning. Tlie impression is common, that barns when first filled with iho harvest are attractive of the fluid by the medium of the ascending gas of their con- tents. This is probabl}' true, and it is our opinion that a rod to serve as a conductor, so as to be a sure protection, must reach higher than this col- umn of vapor. Some barns need several rods ; others may need but one. It depends upon the location very much, whetlicr on a damp or dry soil, etc. Prof. Hen wick, of New York, says : "I doubt whether a barn was ever struck by lightning which was prop- erly protected by a conductor." Ah ! but what is that proper protection ? That is what we would gladly Sko. 21.] LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS. 347 tell the farmers. AYe know of a fact tliat two barns were burned the last season in Westchester County, which were provided with conductors, wliicli the owners thought as perfect as it is possible to make them. Several cases have come within our knowledge where green trees were torn to shivers near buildings, whicli saved the buildings from destruction, while lightning- rods on the buildings touclied by the trees did not attract or conduct the fluid. Then, as trees certainly are protectors, let every farmer plant trees around all the farmery. That they are the very best conductors wc believe, but they are never tall enough to protect the barn when giving off its towering column of steam. 366. Material of Conductors and Insulators. — If a farmer has determined to erect a lightning-rod, the first and most important thing for him to be as- sured of is, what constitutes the best conducting material. As there are but two materials, copper and iron, and as both are good conductors, and only vary in power according to size, the clioice may be regulated by the cost. M. Ponlet, a French scientific writer, gives the conducting power of copper as five and a half to six and a half times (varying with the specimens tried) greater than iron. Then, if iron is six cents a pound and copper thirty-six cents, the cost would be equal for a given length of rod. Tliis is probably a fair average of the difference in the conducting power, as Dr. Priestly makes copper five times greater than iron, and Prof. Faraday six and two-fifth times greater. As scientific men have calculated tliat a copper rod, to possess suf- ficient conducting power, should be, for short rods, half an inch diameter, and for very long ones, three fourths of an inch, it follows that none of the iron rods in use are large enough, for they are generally under one inch di- ameter. We believe that that is large enough, and we do not believe that insulators are necessary, but that the rod should be in one continuous piece, and if it can not be welded together on the ground where it is to be erected, it should be firmly screwed togetlier, so as to be as nearly solid as possible. If the rod is continuous, it may be safely fastened to the building witli ordinary iron staples. If it is insei'ted deep in the earth, so as always to be moist, there is no danger about the lightning leaving it while passing from the cloud to the earth, should it be attracted by the ever briglit point which the rod should, and must, possess, to be of any practical value as an at- tractor of electricity. Instead of insulating a rod from the house, it would add to its efficiency, if the house has a tin roof, to connect it with the conductor. It would also be beneficial, we believe, to connect the conductor with the tin water-spouts "of a wooden building. 367. The Area of Attraction of Lightning fonductorst — It is of much import- ance to a farmer, if he intends to protect his buildings by lightning-rods, to know how far a single rod will afford protection ; that is, the area of attraction over which the single briglit point of the rod is supposed to exercise an in- fluence — so as to attract or bend a stream of electricity from its course — so 348 Tin: FARMERY. [Chap. IH. as to carry it down the conductor to tlic eartli witliout liarni to tlie building My own opinion is, that the area is mnch snaallcr than is generally sup- posed. If a rod is erected at one gable of a barn forty feet long, projecting ten feet above the peak, we do not believe it would aftbrd the least protection to the other end. If a conductor is erected upon a dwelling, it should have a point ten feet above each gable and each chimney, and then it is doubtful whether the steaui and smoke arising from a wood fire would not prove a better con- ductor than a rod. We should not feel any protection from the very best lightning conductor projecting ten feet above the roof, at over ten feet from it. Probably this fact, that the area is very small over Avhich protection extends, may account for buildings being struck and destroyed which were furnished with well- arranged lightning conductors. The area exposed was too great lor the at- tractive power of the rod. 3GS. Protection from Fire. — There is no mistake about the matter of pro- tecting buildings from danger of fire, whatever there may be about protect- ing them from lightning. In the first place, haven careful supervisory care in building that no wood is allowed to be placed where it can be heated to a point of ignition. Here is a case in point. In building a chimney upon the soft, damii soil of the Western prairie, where brick was too expensive to encourage excavating down to a solid foundation, the mason suggested placing hewed timber on the ground, to which I readily assented, as it would save brick, and being two feet below the hearth there was no thought of danger from the fire. So upon this foundation the chimney was built, and as it was built right end up, it afforded the opportunity of having large fires, thougli the fire- place was but a small one. After keeping a hot fire through several extremely cold days and nights in midwinter, we began to be annoyed by the smell of wood burning in a con- fined situation. This continued several days, and began to be alarming, yet no one would believe it could be possible that those solid oak timbers under the chimney were being consumed by subterranean fire. Yet it was so, and it was found imjiossible to extinguish the fire without digging uj) the hearth, and with great labor working out the most exposed timber; and as the other could not be taken out without danger of throwing down the whole chimne}', we saturated it with salt, alum, and lime, to prevent it from taking fire again. This case we have introduced solely to prove how dangerous it is to allow any wood to come near enough to the fire to be heated very hot, for wood will ignite from heat, without any possible contact with the fire. Another case : A gentleman in this city set a stove in a lower room, and conducted the pipe througli the room above, used as a nurser\'. For convenience of warm- ing food he had a liole made in a slab of stone, just large enough for the Sec. 21.] WINDMILLS AND THEIR USE. 349 pipe to fit closely. This stone was neatly set in the floor, forming, as the owner and the mason thougfit, a very safe way to conduct the stove-pipe, which did not stand within a foot of any of the wood- work. It was for a long time a great convenience, and very safe ; but one day the stove below was heated pretty hot, and communicated its heat to the stone, and the wooden beams it rested upon, which had been long seasoning, ignited, and the house was within a very narrow chance of destruction. Five minutes more of absence from that room, and it would have been too late. We could name many instances like these which have come within our own observation, but we hope these are sufficient to put all who read them on their guard against similar dangerous practices in building. Stove-pipes may be safely passed through floors and wooden walls by in- serting an earthen pipe, at least one inch in diameter larger than the stove- pipe, which should not be allowed to touch the earthen pipe, but should be wedged ofl" from it by little pieces of stone, brick, or broken earthenware. This allows a current of air continually to circulate, and renders it impossible to become heated so much as to convey fire through the earthen pipe to the wood-work. If the stove-pipe fits tightly in the earthen one it will be liable to become hot, like the stone mentioned, and set fire to the house. 369. Wiudmiils and their Fse iu a Farmery. — There is one more building, or an adjunct of some of the buildings of the farmery, that should be men- tioned, before closing this chapter, more fully than it is in the commence- ment of Sec. XVII. We allude to the windmill. Besides pumping water, which, by-the-by, would be a great help in the way of protection against fire, a windmill attached to a barn could bo made serviceable for a great many purposes, such as threshing, corn-shelling, cutting straw, grinding feed, sawing wood, and turning the grindstone. Wind is undoubtedly the cheapest power that a farmer can use, and, not- withstanding its inconstancy, the improvement mentioned below operates well, and has been often applied to many valuable uses. By windmills, swamps may be drained and upland irrigated. What an advantage in a drought in many parts of the country, besides the economy of using a great amount of fertilizing matter in water at all times ! We have often suggested the idea of using wind-power to pump up water into a reservoir, or wind up a weight, to be held as a reserved power, that could be used when the wind did not blow. There is no doubt in our mind that such a cheap power could be econom- ically established to do a great deal of work that requires a motor upon almost every large farm. If the seat of the power is at the barn, it can be carried to the house by a couple of wires, to do the churning. We have seen power carried thus from a water-wheel, nearly half a mile from the dairy, and it was used not only to drive the churn, but the washing machine, the sausage-cutter, a small grindstone, and the coffee-mill. To obtain the power from the wind-wheel, all that would be necessary for the dairywoman to do would be to pull a cord or wire at the house, which would throw into gear- 350 THE FARMERY. [Chap. III. ing a driving-wheel, and lliat would, by means of the wires, convey a crank motion from the windinill to the cliuni, no matter how distant ; and the motion can be stopped and started as easily as though churning by hand. The objection to wind-power is want of constancy. Tliis can only be obviated by accumulating power. If the situation is such that a water reservoir can be filled upon high ground, to be used in a calm, the accumu- lation of power would not be expensive. The method of couvx-ying power by wires a long distance, from the water- wheel to the churn, may be seen in several places along the Chenango Canal. 370. Self-regulating Wiudmills.— One of the best contrivances for a self- regulating windmill was invented by Daniel Ilalliday, of Ellington, Tolland Co., Ct. The size mostly built by him has five-feet wings, that is, the diam- eter of the wind-wheel is ten feet, and the first one was in operation for six months without a hand being touched to it to regulate the sails. It run fifteen days at one time without stopping day or niglit, and it stood through some hard gales. The beauty of the improvement is, that it stands still when the wind rages hardest, witii the edge of the wings to the wind, and as it lulls they gradually resume their position for a gentle breeze. It is so con- trived that nothing but a squall of great severity falling upon it without a moment's warning can produce damage. The mill mentioned has drawn water from a well 2S feet deep, 100 feet distant, and forced it into a small reservoir in the upper part of the barn, sufficient for all farm purposes, garden irrigation, and " lots to spare." The cost of such a mill will be $50, and the pumps and pipes about §25. It is elevated on a single oak post a foot square, the turn circle being supported by iron braces. The wings are made of one longitudinal iron bar, through which run small rods ; upon these rods, narrow boards, half an inch thick, are fitted, holes being bored through from edge to edge, and screwed together by nuts on the ends of the rods. This makes strong, light sails, which, it will be seen, are fixtures not to be furled or clewed up ; but they are thrown up edgewise to the wind by a very ingenious and simple arrange- ment of the machinery, which obviates the great objection to windmills for farm use— the necessity of constant su" ervision of the sails to suit the strength of the wind. ■ With this much food for reflection, we will close the chapter upon the farmery. CHAPTER IV. DOMESTIC ECONOMY. SECTION XXII.-THE FOOD QUESTION-QUANTITY, QUALITY, VARIETY, ADAPTATION, ADULTERATION, AND CHANGES PRODUCED BY COOK- ING, BRIEFLY CONSIDERED. vT^^OMESTIC ECONOMY ! What is it? ''Domestic, belonging to the house or home ; Economy, from two Greek -words, signifying a Iioiise or family law — that which relates to the family concerns of a household, and the disposition or arrange- ment of any household work." Snch is the character of this chapter. It is full of information useful to every household. "Without it, ■we should have fallen short of our object in writiii success. We do not for animals, quadruped or biped, recommend, a variety of food at the same meal — only a change from time to time, so as to give variety, and consequently all the elements necessary to produce growth. And neither man nor beast will reach a high point in the scale of perfee- 354 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. tioii who is conlined to one single article, or to two or three articles of food. Look, for example, at the rice-catiDg nations ; also to those who, like the Esquimaux, live principally upon the fat of seals and whales ; or to savage nations, confined to an almost exclusive diet of meat. Each shows a lack .of some quality that we consider essential in civilized man. The confine- ment of a large portion of a nation of people to a diet of potatoes is rapidly working a deterioration in the race. " The profusions of nature tempt the appetite of man. The productions of all the earth are at his command. But, for tlie control of his appetites, man is endowed with reason and conscience. The brute is governed in re- gard both to the quantity and kind of its food by an instinct from which it rarely deviates, unless when domesticated, and conseq^uently corrupted. " Tliere are three practical laws to be observed in the taking of food. One regards the time, another the quality, and the third the quantity. " An interval of at least five hours should elapse between meals for adults, unless some extraordinary exertion has exhausted the system, or something has interrupted or prevented the reception of a full meal at the stated hour. The stated hours should be regular.'' 375. Quality of Food Suited to a Farmer's Family. — " As to the quality of the food, there is no doubt that the more simply it is cooked the more easily it is digested. " Chemical analysis should be the guide for the cookery book. "No one would think of eating raw potash, a substance that dissolves metals, but we do not hesitate to eat saleratus, which is a modified prepara- tion of it, and has the same, though a more gradual eti'ect, upon the organic tissues and the blood. Soda, it is well understood, rots cloth and takes the skin from the hands when it is put into soap, or even when used to ' break hard water,' as the washerwomen term it ; yet we put it into bread and cakes. Our stomachs were not made to digest metals, and when we powder them and eat them, we try to cheat nature. "Spices were undoubtedly made for use in those climates where they grow, but the native.s of those climates use them much more sparingly than we do. "We may reasonably suppose that they are more adapted to the wants of hot climates than of cold ones, as nature lias placed them in the former, and yet we saturate our food with them, mix them together, destroy the flavors of each by so doing, and make a stimulus to appetite by a con- glomeration, which is a most unnatural one, and gradually injures tiie very power of digestion. We thus conceal, also, that fine aronui of vegetables and meats which distinguishes one from the other, and deprive oui-selves of the pleasure God designed we should feel in partaking of them. There is a delicate fruit of the tropics resembling a muskmelon, which grows, how- ever, not upon a vine, but upon a tree, the taste of which is so finely deli- cate, that a foreigner can not even perceive it at first ; but if he does not cover it with pepper and salt, as we have seen many foreigners do, to 'give it a taste,' he will, after partaking of it a few days or weeks (according to Sec. 22.] THE FOOD QDESTION. 355 the simplicity or sophistication of liis appetite), appreciate its flavor, which is that of the most delicate aromatic nut. In our climate we lose the flavor of many vegetables in the same way, by covering them with pepper, and also by putting them into water below the boiling-point when we cook them. Everj' one who is so happy as to live in the country, and can gather vege- tables daily from his own garden, knows the difference between them when gatliered thus and properly, cooked, and those which have been picked and kept for market even one night. " When substances like rice, corn-starch, and farina are used, which have very little taste (rice, because it has been so long exposed to the air after it is gathered, and corn-starch and farina, because, from the mode of their prejjaration, they lose a great part of the nutritious ingredients of the corn), a delicate flavoring of spice may be used without injury to health. "Science may at last bring us to the conclusion, that each climate and region produces those articles of food which it is most healthful to eat in their respective localities. "The quality of children's food should differ from that of adults, so far as that it should consist of more substances containing starch, gum, and sugar. "It is not the most costly or most luxurious living that we would advo- cate, but it is a variety of food. The difBculty is, that we are tempted sometimes by a great variety of dishes at one meal to eat too much. This is no argument against variety of food. "It is important that we should study to increase earth's products, and improve their quality, to produce the highest condition of perfection in man. A man, it is true, may be a glutton, and consume mountains of flesh and rich dishes, but that is not the point. It is that we all should consume the best food possible to be produced, and in sufiicient variety to give healthy results." 376. flow Food Affects the System. — " The prevalent idea that soup which sets into strong jelly is most nutritious, is altogether a mistake. The soup sets because it contains the gelatin of the sinews, flesh, and bones ; it has been fully proved that no animal can live upon this imagined richness alone. In fact, such jelly is unwholesome, for it loads the blood with useless substances ; hence what are termed rich soups, being loaded with gelatin, are not ranked among the articles of wholesome food. Marked results of the effects of cooking upon food may, be seen in the contrast between civil- ized and savage nations. In every nation on earth, those who rule the masses are invariably better fed than the masses themselves. This is evi- denced in the power exercised by the beef-eating British over the rice-eating East Indian nations." It is further evidenced by the condition of the people of this country, where the masses are better fed than in any other on earth, and where there are greater numbers of men fit to be rulers than in any other. And this proportion will increase as the laws of hygiene are better understood, for then, those who control the preparation of food for those 356 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Cbap. IV. masses will understand how cooking affects the raw material of food, so as to make it wholesome and nufi-itious, or otherwise. Next to the knowledge of the differences in the human constitution and the nature of food proper for man, tlie art of cooking so as to make the food most agreeable to the jialate should be studied by every good housekeeper. Bear in mind that in preparing food three things are to be united — the pro- motion of health, the study of economy, and tlie gratification of taste. Pie-catin(j is an Americanism that we can not approve nor recommend to tlie extent it is practiced. Though pie be nearly allied to piety, this does not save it from condemnation. Pies are eaten for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner, supper, and many go to bed on pies. "Oh, pies save a great deal of cooking!" says the frugal housewife, "and are so convenient for the children to take to school, and then they are not so hungry when they have pie to eat." Pies are New England's favorite refection ; but that does not prove them, as a general thing, well adapted to the wants of the liuman system. Pies of every description, as used in almost every New England farm-house, may safely be classed "unwliolesome food." The woi-st of tlie family is the one most prized — the rich, sweet, highly spiced mince-pie. It is one of the prolific parents of dyspepsia. 377. Adaptation of Food to Tircumstances. — One of the great mistakes of many families is in not adapting the food to the season, the climate, and circumstances. A hard-working negro slave may eat fat bacon and corn- bread in August, and bask in the sun in Mississippi. It would not be good diet for a sedentary white man. Fruit is an essential article of food for the preservation of health, in bilious localities. It seems particularly adapted by nature to that end. A sensible man always adapts his eating to his labor. The following remarks upon this subject we adopt, because they are pertinent : " I have been asked sometimes how I could perform so large an amount of work with apparently so little diminution of strength. I attribute my power of endurance to a long-formed habit of observing, every day of my life, the -simple laws of health, and none more than the laws of eating. It ceases any longer to be a matter of self-denial. It is almost like an instinct. If I have a severe tax on my brain in the morning, I can not eat heartily at breakfast. If the M-hole day is to be one of exertion, I eat very little till the exertion is over. I know that two forces can not be concentrated in activity at the same time in the body. I know that wiien the stomach works, the brain must rest — and that when the brain works, the stomach must rest. " If I am going to be moving about out of doors a good deal, I can give a fuller swing to my appetite, which is never exceedingly bad. But if I am engaged actively, and necessarily in mental labor, I can not eat much. And I have made eating with regularity and with a reference to what I have to do, a habit so long that it ceases any longer to be a subject of thought. It almost takes care of itself. I attribute much of my ability to Sko. 22.] THE FOOD QUESTION. , 357 endure work to good habits of eating, constant attention to the laws of sleep, physical exercise, and general cheerfulness. "There is one thing more to be said in this connection. It is not a matter of epicureanism that a niiin sliould be dainty concerning the food he eats. On the contrary, I hold tiiat a civilized man ought to be civilized in his cookery. I suppose one of tlie infallible signs of the millennium will be a better regulated kitclicn — a kitchen that sends out food that will help to promote health and increase Christianity." 378. The Food and CEothia^ a Man may Consume in a Lifetime. — Alex. Soyer's " Modern Housewife" gives the follovving calculation as the probable amount of food that an epicure of seventy years might have consumed. "Supposing his gastronomic performances to commence at ten years, he will make 65,700 breakfasts, dinners, and suppers, to say nothing of luncheons and extra feastings. To supply the epicure's table for sixt^'' years, Soyer cal- culates he will require 30 oxen, 200 sheep, 100 calves, 200 lambs, 50 pigs ; ill poultry, 1,200 fowls, 300 turkeys, 150 geese, 400 ducklings, 203 pigeons; 1,400 partridges, pheasants, and grouse; 600 woodcocks and snipes; 600 wild ducks, widgeon, and teal; 450 plovers, ruffs, and reeves; 800 quails, ortolans, and dotterels, and a few^ guillemots and other foreign birds ; also 500 hares and rabbits, 40 deer, 120 Guinea-fowl, 10 peacocks, and 360 wild- fi.wls. In the way of fish, 120 turbot, 140 salmon, 120 cod, 260 trout, 400 iuaekerel, 300 whitings, 800 soles and slips, 400 flounders, 400 red mullet, 200 eels, 150 haddocks, 400 herrings, 5,000 smelts, and some hundred thou- sand of those delicious, silvery whitebait, besides a few hundred species of fresh-water fishes. In shell-fish, 20 turtle, 30,000 oysters, 1,500 lobsters or crabs, 300,000 prawns, shrimps, sardines, and anchovies. In the way of fruit, about 500 lbs. of grapes, 360 lbs. of pineapples, 600 peaches, 1,400 apricots, 240 melons, and some hundred thousand plums, green-gages, ap- ples, pears, and some millions of cherries, strawberries, raspberries, currants, mulberries, and an abundance of other small fruit, viz., walnuts, chestnuts, dry figs, and plums. In vegetables of all kinds, 5,475 lbs. weight, and about 2,434f lbs. of butter, 684 lbs. of cheese, 21,000 eggs, 800 tongues. Of bread, 4i tons, half a ton of salt and pepper, near 2i tons of sugar. His drink during the same period may be set down as follows : 49 hogsheads of wine, 13,683 gallons of beer, 584 gallons of spirits, 342 gallons of liqueur, 2,394| gallons of coffee, cocoa, tea, etc., and 304 gallons of milk, 2,736 gal- lons of water. This mass of food in sixty years amounts to no less than 333 tous weight of meat, farinaceous food and vegetables, etc., out of which I have named in detail the probable delicacies that would be selected by an epicure through life. But observe that I did not count the first ten years of his life, at the beginning of which lie lived upon pap, bread and milk, etc., also a little meat, the expense of which I add to the age from then to twenty, as no one can really be called an epicure before that age ; it will thus make the expenses more equal as regards the calculation. The follow- ing is the list of what I consider his daily meals : 358 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. " Breakfast. — Three quarters of a pint of coffee, four ounces of bread, one ounce of butter, two eggs, or four ounces of meat, or four ounces of fish. " LuNcn. — Two ounces of liread, two ounces of meat, or poultry, or game, two ounces of vegetables, and a half pint of beer, or a glass of wine. " Dinnf:r. — Half a pint of soup, a quarter of a pound of fish, half a pound of meat, a quarter of a pound of poultry, a quarter of a pound of savory dishes or game, two ounces of vegetables, two ounces of bread, two ounces of pastry or roasts, half an ounce of cheese, a quarter of a |X)und of fruit, one pint of wine, one glass of liqueur, one cup of coffee or tea ; at night oue glass of spirits and water." To tliis we have added the following calculation of the clothing the same man may have used. AYe estimate that a full-dr*ssed man carries about fifty yards of cloth upon his body, or at least it has taken so many square yards of cloth to make the following garments : one under and one over shirt and drawers, eight yards ; vest, with all its inside and out, four yards ; coat, overcoat, and cloak, 32 yards ; the handkerchiefs in the coat and cloak pockets, two yards ; pants, lined, four yards. Then we may add a night- shirt, four yards, and morning wrapper, 10 yards, and we have Gi yards for a single suit. Allow six of these suits a year — of some garments he will want more, and some less than six, but take that as an average, and Ave have 384 yards for the gentleman's wardrobe one year. Multiply tliat l)y sixty years, and we have 23,040 yards of cloth, which appears a iair allowance, as we throw out the ten years of childhood. With these garments he will want each year two pair of boots, two pair of shoes, two pair of slijipers, two pair of rubbers or overshoes — 480 pairs. "With these he will wear sixty dozen pairs of stockings and (four hats a year) 240 hats. I Avill say nothing about the yards of cloth that he will want about his toilet and table, his carpets and curtains, and his bed, with its daily change of bedding ; but you can imagine it would make a large spread. The great question for considera- ti,on, in an agricultural point of view, is this : Could such a consun)er of earth's products produce as much as lie consumed, with all industry applied during life, or would he be dependent upon the labor of otliers ? 379. How Cooking Cbanges Food. — We are not going to make a cook-book, but simply to attract attention to some of the leading scientific principles of the efl'ect of fire upon articles of food. Meat, for instance, often loses more than half its substance, which is wasted and lost in the process of cooking, because the cook did not under- stand some of the simple elements of the chemistry of cooking, and the eft'ect of water and heat upon flesh. If meat is to be boiled for eating, particularly fresh lean beef or mutton, never soak it in cold water. Have your water boiling over a brisk fire, and plunge the meat into it, and see that the heat is kept up. If soup is to be made, then the meat should soak a long time in cold water, because it extracts the substance that is wanted in the soup, leaving the fibrous portion of the meat almost worthless. If the meat is to be boiled for eating, plung- THE FOOD QDESTIO>f. 359 i:ig it in hot water has the same effect tliat is produced upon an egg — the albumen is coagulated, and remains in the meat, and cooks witli it, and becomes the most nutritive portion of it. Therefore remember it as one of the most important items of knowledge ai)out cooking, never to put a piece of meat into water to boil, unless the water is boiling hot ; and never put a p ec8 of meat to roast until your fire is very hot ; and if it goes into an oven to bake, see that the oven is hot enough to cook the outside almost instantly. If you let it simmer slowly, it will ooze out the richest portion of its property for food. "Tiie first efi"ect of applying a strong heat to a piece of fresh meat, is to cause the fibers to contract, to squeeze out a portion of the juice, and partially !o close the pores so as to prevent the escape of more. Heat is applied to meat chiefly in three ways — boiling, roasting, and baking. During these operations, fresh beef and mutton, when moderately fat, lose, on an average, about as follows : In boiling. In baking. In roasting. 4 lbs. of beef lose lib lib. 3 oz llb.Soz. 4 lbs. of mutton lose 14 oz 1 lb. 4 oz 1 lb. 6 oz. The greater loss in baking and roasting arises chiefly from the greater quan- tity of water evaporated, and of fat which is melted out by either of these two methods of cooking. " In preparing meat for the table, we discover that it is most desir- able to retain all the ingredients of its juice ; how this is to be done will depend much upon the method of culinary procedure. K the piece of meat be introduced into the water when briskly boiling, the albumen at its surface, and to a certain depth inward, is immediately coagulated, thus inclosing the mass in a crust or shell, which neither permits its juice to flow out, nor the external water to penetrate within, to dissolve, dilute, and weaken it. The greater part of the sapid constituents of the meat are thus retained, rendering it juicy and well-flavored. It should be boiled for only a few minutes, and then kept for some time at a temperature from 158 to 165 degrees. Meat is underdone or bloody when it has been heated throughout only to the temperature of coagulating albumen (140 degrees) ; it is quite done or cooked when it has been heated through its whole mass to 158 or 165 degrees, at which temperature the coloring matter of the blood coagulates. As in boiling, so in baking or roasting ; for whether the meat be surrounded by water or in an oven, as soon as the water-proof coat- ing is formed around it, the further changes are efl'ected alike in both cases, by internal vapor or steam. In roasting or baking, therefore, the fire should be at first made quite hot, until the surface-pores are completely plugged and the albuminous crust formed. Hence, a beefsteak or mutton-chop is done quickly over a smart fire, that the richly-flavored natural juices may be retained." The above is extracted from a most valuable book — one that no house- keeper can afford to do without. It is " Youmans' Hand-Book of Household Science." It is science in such an attractive form that all may read it with 360 DOMESTIC ECONOrr. [CnAP. IV. pleasure and profit. Weshall drawupon its valuable store-house of knowledi^e for other facts in confirmation of wliat we have to say upon the food question. 3S0. How the Aibumea of Meat is Extracted.— When we wish to dissolve out the albumen, and not the gelatin of meat, for soup or for beef-tea, which is much used as nutritive food for the sick, the meat should be cut fine — the finer the better — and soaked a few minutes in an equal weight of cold water, then slowly heated to boiling, and so continued a few minutes more, and when strained you will have as much weight of pure extract as you had of meat, and it will afford equal nutriment. It M-ould not do so if boiled for liours, in a large mass. Hence, meat for soups should be finely divided. The efl"ect of long boiling of meat for soup is to thicken the soup, and make it apparently richer; but it is so only apparently. The albumen is extracted by cold water. It is cooked in the water in as short a time as an egg would cook. The substance extracted by long boiling, making the soup appear thick when cold, is gelatin. Still further boiling would make glue, whicli would harden by drying, like the glue of commerce. It is not considered a nutritious kind of food. 381. French Experiments with Gelatinons Food.—" The French attempted to feed the inmates of their hospitals on gelatinous extract of bones ; mur- murs arose, and a commission was appointed, with Magendie at its head, to investigate the matter, the conclusion of which was, that giving gelatin to the poor was just equivalent to giving them nothing at all. The use of gelatin as a nutritive or invigoi-ating substance may be regarded as given up. The utmost claim now put forth for it is that, mixed with other food, it makes it go furtlier ; but at tlie same time we must be careful not to use it to excess, as it is apt not only to weaken the individual by its insuflicicucy as an article of diet, but causes also diarrhea, whether by acting as a foreign body, or by some spontaneous decomposition. Hence the unwholesomeness, to healthy stomachs, of dishes containing a great quantity of gelatin, such as mock-turtle soup, calvcs'-foot jelly, etc." The healthiness of any kind of strong meat soup is not a matter of doubt in the minds of those who have given the subject a thought. It may be taken in small quantities at the beginning of a meal, when it will be imme- diately followed with fibrous food ; but the appetite never should be sat- isfied upon soup alone, unless it is soup-maigre, or soup made almost entirely of vegetables. 382. Relative Values of Food for giving Warmth or making Flesh. — Tlic fol- lowing table shows Liebig's estimate of the proportion of warmth-giving substances to the flesh-producing substances in various articles. Basing the flesh-producing power at 10, each of the following articles gives the propor- tion of warmth-producing power set opposite. ITiiman milk 40 Cow's milk 30 Lfutils 21 Horse beans 22 I'cas 23 Fat mutton 27 Fat pork 30 1 Ryo flour 57 ISccf 17 Hi*il.-y C7 Hare 2 White potatoes 86 Veal 1 Black potatoes 115 Wheat flour 40] Uice V2i Oatme.ll 60 Buckwheat 130 Seo. 22.] THE FOOD QUESTION". 3G1 This table gives a sufficient explanation of the reason why buckwheat is always used as winter food. The reason is still more apparent when we know that butler and syrnp, which are eaten with buckwheat cakes, ai'e also producers of heat. It shows that veal is a very fit food for children and very unfit for aged people. In cold climates, particularly, where men are much in the open air, they instinctively crave fat meat. At the tropics, instinct teaches man to consume an abundance of fruits and vegetables. In temperate regions, where we may indulge with impunity in a variety of food, instinct is not so strong, or at least does not point out so imerringly what wc should eat, and therefore the question should be more fully dis- cussed ; for among all the arts of civilized life there are none in which all arc more interested than the preparation of our daily food. 3S3. Changes produced in Cooking Vegetables. — Many vegetables, for in- stance the potato, in a raw state, are wholly unfit for food. Every lioiise- keeper knows that cooking renders them palatable and wholesome, but every one does not know how they are affected by heat, nor why one mode of cooking makes them acceptable to the taste, while they may be nearly spoiled by a different application of heat. Hence it is not always applied in the right manner to produce the best effect. It is often said of potatoes, " they were spoiled in the cooking." Look at the reason. A i:)Ound of potatoes contains on an average about three quar- ters of a pound of water and two to two and a half ounces of starch. It also contains about one fourth as much sugar and gum as it does starch, and about one sixth as much woody fiber. If a good, sound potato is plunged whole into boiling water and kept boil- ing until softened throughout to such a degree that it could be readily mashed, the starch-grains burst and absorb the water, so that the mass appears moi'c like meal than like starch boiled in water, and is then in a condition to af- ford its nutritious properties readily to the system. If potatoes are naturally bad, cooking will not make them good, but bad cooking will make the best potatoes quite unfit for human food. If they are put into cold water and simmered slowly till soft, they will generally become so waxy that they are quite indigestible. If potatoes are i-oasted or baked, they should be put into a hot oven or buried in hot embers, and kept hot until taken out, which should be as soon as sufficiently cooked — otherwise a new change takes place, the wa- ter begins to evaporate, and the outside burns, while the interior soon be- comes worthless. In frying potatoes, the starch and fibrin are often turned to charcoal, which is just as nutritious and digestible as charcoal made of wood. As it is with potatoes, so it is with many other vegetables — they may be spoiled by improper cooking. As a general rule, put all into boiling water and keep it boiling briskly till the articles are sufficiently cooked. Never at- tempt to cook green vegetables in what is termed hard water ; it will some- times render green peas wholly unfit for food. The difficulty is often rem- 362 DOJIESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. cdicd by putting a little lump of potasli, saleratus, or soda in the water. If too iiiiich is used, it causes the vegetables to fall to pieces. SSi. Reasons for Improved Cookery. — Erasmus says: " Bad feeding makes the vulgar seditious and quarrelsome." Perhaps this -will account for the quarrelsome character of some families. We seriously think every young woman should have some knowledge of cooking. Ignorance upon this subject ought to be a reproach. Few nations have the wealth of material for fine cookery that we possess. Fish, flesh, and fowl are abundant ; fruits and vegetables unsurpassable, and can be raised without great labor or ex- pense, and it is owing to our own culpable carelessness in all that pertains to licalth that we are not the Iiealthiest, best fed, and best trained people in the world. Yet Americans generally undervalue preparations for eating. Disdaining gluttony, despising pampering to fancies, they run into the op- posite extreme of neglecting that which is of real value to their bodies. This inattention proceeds not from inability to comprehend the science of cook- ery, nor real dislike to good things, for their a[)preciatlve power of such is on a par with that of other nations ; but they grow up with the idea that it is unbecoming to be dainty, and beneath their dignity and independence of character to think too much of their stomachs. American mothers too seldom instruct their daugliters in the culinary art. In early times necessities were stronger than comforts ; kitchens were un- furnished with conveniences ; cooking utensils were clumsy and scarce ; pots and kettles did double dutj^ ; iron skillets were used instead of sauce- pans. This is not and need not be the case now. Every farm-house shouM have all the modern improvements for cooking, and then as a general thing our cooking should be better; and as necessities are no longer stronger than comforts, the reason that we lack the comforts is because our young Ameri- can housekeepers lack the knowledge, and, for a certainty, their Irish cooks do not possess much of the science of the useful art of cookery. Every beginner thinks it an easy thing to learn, and, without any knowl- edge of the necessary rudiments, expects to blunder into some sort of pro- ficiency, so that in time ihe mistakes come to be regarded as the rule, and they abide by their own experience, rather than accept of rules that science teaches. Another, and perhaps to most people the most important reason for im- proved cookery is, the economy of food. " What shall Ave eat ?" and " How shall it be cooked ?" should bo made a part of the household economy of every family, particularly every one who purchases food by the wages of daily labor. This question is not an idle one, and only interesting to those who live in cities. It is equally so to those who furnish the city with food. Let us glance at the prices which the consumers in the city have to pay. Of late years, the price of butchers' meats in New York, at retail, have been frequently at the following rates : For roasting pieces of beef and beef-steaks, the nominal price per pound Sec. 22.] THE FOOD QUESTION. 363 is from IS to 25 ceuts, while the real price, owing to the cheating in weight, is often 25 2>er cent, higher. A piece only fit for soup is charged at about 12 or 15 cents, and a shin-bone, with very little meat, rates at 10 cents a pound. Plates, navels, necks, briskets, and rounds are rarely sold fresh, and one of the strongest reasons given by butchers for selling the portions universally called for at such high prices is, that they can not retail the coarser parts at any price, except the small portion taken as corned beef, and for this the price is sometimes from 12 to 18 cents a pound. A leg or loin of mutton is sold at 16 to 20 cents a pound, and all the coarser parts at 12 to 16 cents, and some of them are coarse and poor enough. Yeal that is fit to eat, is sold at about the same price per pound as mutton. Lamb is fifty per cent, liiglier. Fresh pork — miserably poor, too — sells at 12 to 15 cents. Salt pork and smoked bacon sell for 15 to 18 cents, and smoked beef the same. "When the greatest meat-eating people in the world pay such prices, it would be reasonable to expect that they would be willing to learn and practice improved cookery. We are sorry to say that they do not. A school that teaches the art is rare. It should, as a universal rule, be taught in all schools. In many families, with all the economy of the best housekeeping, it certainly is a question of serious import as to what we shall eat, that will afford sufficient nourishment and variety of food for health, and still enable those whose income is limited to keep expenses below that limit. In such families it is important that they should learn how to cook butchers' meat more economically than it is generally in America. In some measure ad- vantage can be taken, though it seldom is, in buying fresh meat. The price by the piece or by the quarter, of beef and mutton, often varies fifty per cent, and a fore-quarter always sells the lowest; yet, to the consumer, it is absolutely the most valuable. The truest economy is to cat less expensive meat and more vegetables, and learn how to compound them as the French do, so as to make whole- some, nutritious, economical food by improved cookery. 385. Water for Cooking. — One reason why we have treated so largely upon cisterns (see 333, 334), and why we made one for fomily.use while we had a nevei"-failing well of water, is because rain-water is the best of all for culinary purposes. What is termed hard-water is unfit for cooking some kinds of vegetables, and is never good for tea. We have already stated that ■water is sometimes so hard that green peas could not be cooked soft in it. On the other hand, care must be taken in the use of rain-watei*, or the tender vegetables will be broken down by a little over-boiling. In sucli water always be careful to throw as much salt as will serve to season the vege- tables for the palate. Onions lose nearly all their peculiar flavor when boiled in soft water without salt. This matter of suitable water for the kitchen has quite as much importance to the cook as it has to the laundress. 386. A New Cooking Vessel Wanted. — A writer in the Scientific Americati suggests an improvement in cooking vessels that we hope will bo at once 364 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. acted upon. It is to coat the inside with silver or platinum, which could bo done by the galvanic battery, so that the expense would not be too great lor ordinary use in the houses of those who are able to live in a way suited to a high order of civilization. This would be a particularly desirable improve- ment in kettles for heating water for tea. So it would for such cookery as requires porcelain-lined kettles. From the greatly increased supply of silver from "Washoe, Arizona, and other silver mines, we may yet be able to improve our domestic utensils. Iron, copper, brass, zinc, are all objec- tionable for many purposes, and porcelain lining is soon destroyed by care- less cooks. 3S7. Flour — How to Select Good. — Farmers of all the Eastern States buy flour, and some of them are not very good judges of what they buy. There are a few plain rules to observe in buying flour by whicli you can tell its quality, and select that which is good. The best flour is not snowy white, but has a yellowish tint when a handful is squeezed together and then broken open. Lay a little in the palm of your hand and smooth it with a knife or your finger, and see that it is free from specks, and of even fineness, but not an impal2:)able powder. To prove this, throw a little lump against a perpendicular board or smooth wall, upon which the inost of it, if good, should stick. Good flour, squeezed in the hand, will retain its shape. If you wet a little in your hand, see that it does not work soft and sticky, or you may get spring-wheat instead of winter-wheat flour. Flour that works sticky is not good. If it has a bluish tint it is not good. If it falls in dr}' ])owder when thrown, or if it falls apart, dry and powdery, when squeezed, it is not good. "We commend to all families who buy flour the trial of these tests with the flour now on hand, the quality of which is known. 3SS. Adulteratious of Food. — The first object of a housekeeper should be to procure unadulterated articles. This is very difiicult for city people to do, owing to the adulteration of almost every article of food prepared for sale. But this is not the case with most of the food used by farmers, because it is made of home products. Many of the adulteratious of such articles as are usually purchased may 1)0 detected by simple tests. The microscope reveals the adulterations of flour, sugar, farina, arrow-root, starch, salt, etc. Bread, that most important article of food, is always more healthful in a farmer's family, because it is free from adulterations, or at least much more free than baker's bread. 3S0. Uoff Eating .\ffects tUe Health.— To meet at the breakfast-table, father, mother, children, all well, ought to be a happiness to any heart ; it should be a source of humble gratitude, and should wake \\y the warmest feelings of our nature. Make it a rule never to come to the table in a churlish mood. Let joy pervade 3'our meals. "The tables of the rich and the nobles of England are centei-s of mirth, wit, and honJwmic, and they live long. It takes hours to get through a repast. The negroes of a well-to-do family in Kentucky, while at their Sec. 22.] THE FOOD QUESTION. 365 meals, abandon themselves to jabber and mirth, and they enjoy life. At the family-table all should meet to make a common interchange of high-bred courtesies ; of warm affections ; of cheering mirthfulness, and that generosity of nature which lifts us above the brutes which perish ; for such things pro- mole good digestion, health, and long life. Cliildren in good health, if left to themselves at the table, become, after a few mouthfuls, garrulous and noisy ; but if within bounds at all reasonable or bearable, it is better to let them alone ; they eat less, because they do not eat so rapidly as if compelled to keep silent, while the Very exhilaration of sjiirits quickens the circulation of tlie vital fluids, and energizes digestion and assimilation." Let this excellent advice of HalVs Journal of Health be followed univer- sally, and we shall hear less about dyspepsia. 390. Early Breakfast— its Effect on Health.— '-Breakfast should be eaten before leaving the house in the morning for exercise or any description of labor. Those who practice this will be able to i:)erform more work, and with greater comfort and alacrity, than those who work an hour or two before breakfast. Besides this, the average duration of the life of those who take breakfast before exercise or work will be a number of years greater than those who do otherwise. " If early breakfast were taken in regions where chill and fever and fever and ague prevail, and if in addition a brisk fire were kindled in the family room for the hours including sunset and sunrise, these troublesome maladies would diminish in any one year, not ten-fold, but a thousand-fold ; because miasm is more solid, more concentrated, and hence luoro malignant about sunrise and sunset than at any other hour of the twenty-four." This, and much more said upon the same subject by Dr. Hall, agrees fully Avith our long experience in a miasmatic region of the West. The most in- dustrious people who come from New England, where they had always been accustomed to early rising and working before breakfast, were the ones most liable to attacks in autumn of bilious fever and ague. Let us therefore urge every resident in such a region, never to go to work, nor go much out of doors before breakfasting, and let no expense or trouble about the work deter you from having your dwellings purified by fire. In some parts of South Carolina men have lost their lives from a single night's exposure to miasm, without fire. Ileuce, whenever persons are compelled to spend a night in such a situation, their first care is to build a large fire and, without sleeping, keep near it, even in the smoke, and thus they escape the danger of the poisonous at.mosphere. 3G6 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. i^RCTION XXIII.-THE BREAD QUESTIOX-VARIETIES AND QUALITY OF BREAD, AND HOW IT IS MADE-YEAST, AND HOW TO MAKE IT FOR FAMILY USE. L^Cn is the importance of the subject in relation to tlie healthiness of fooJ, that bread should be of the very best quality, we have devoted a section especially to its consideration. In this country it is the general custom to make bread in families, and as our domestics are not scientific, it is in many cases absolutely necessary that they should not be left to the temptation of using the readiest means for making bread acceptable, by putting in the convenient saleratus or soda, -which, like charity, in that particular, covers a multitude of sins. If the dough lias been put together over-night, it may have gone on to the stage of acetous fermentation, and a little sale- ratus (more than is necessary to sweeten it is often put in) will conceal the fact, and make all appear right. It will also save the trouble of kneading well. Let the mistress, then, if she do not actually mix the bread, overlook the process ; and it would be a good custom if all the ladies in a family would take their turn at bread-making, and thus insure its good qualities by efficient kneading. It can not be kneaded too much. But of that hereafter, and in all that pertains to the subject, we hope to give some useful information to all who are not already i^ood bread-makers. Not only in bread, but in every article consumed upon the farmer's table, we beg of him and the mistress of the family never to lose sight of the importance of quality. The proper consideration of this question will save many a doctor's bill, as well as the misery attendant upon sickness. There is nothing that the good housekeeper so much desires about her cooking as to have good bread, and as all have not had the advantages of the daughters mentioned in the following extract of a letter to the author, we shall give as much information as we can crowd into a brief space upon this subject. 391. Good Wheaten Bread, and How to Make it. — Tlie letter alluded to is from a sensible, practical woman, who says: " I have been a housekeeper thirty years, and I have reared a family of six daughters, and we have always made our own bread, and it is a very rare thing for us to make poor bread. "Now, the first thing I strive to teach my girls is cooking, and making bread is one of the first items of cookery. I know that good bread can be made by the diflferent kinds of yeast, but the recipe that is the most simple is the best. Seo. 23.] THE BREAD QUESTION. 367 " Here is my way of making good bread : Take one pint of warm water, one teaspoonful of salt, put it in a dish sufficiently large to admit of stirring in flour until it is a thick batter, and keep it warm, quite warm, and in five hours it will rise or become fit for use. If it does not rise sufficiently, dis- solve a piece of common soda as large as two kernels of corn and stir into the batter. " You can make three common-sized loaves of bread with this yeast, which will be nice and tender. The soda is only necessary when the flour is of an inferior quality." The following directions for making bread we give in the language of another good housekeeper. She says: "To have good, wholesome bread, it is absolutely necessary to pay atten- tion to the making of it, and to believe that making bread, like learning to read, does not come by nature; that it is indispensable to learn every little fact connected with the fermenting or raising of the dough ; absolutely nec- essary to understand the difi'ereneo between vinous and acetous fermentation, and when an alkali, such as saleratus or bicarbonate of soda, is required. "Of course, good flour is the first requisite. The finer the flour the greater the labor in kneading it ; and the finest flour does not always make the sweetest and healthiest bread, yet the best flour is the cheapest ; though I must confess I can not advise about using inferior flour, for I have never had any. " The next important thing is the yeast, and I give the preference to tha made of potatoes. I have tried brewer's yeast, baker's yeast, yeast cakes, hop yeast ; leaven, which is a bit of sour dough, and needs saleratus to make the bread sweet ; in fact, all the various kinds of yeast, and after over two years of constant use, I am content with potato yeast. " The rule of making it is this : Take ten potatoes of nearly equal size — wash and boil them ; when cooked, peel and mash them perfectly smooth ; pour on to this a quart of boiling-hot water ; stir in a cofl'ee-cup of good, pure sugar, and after standing a few minutes, pour in a quart of boiling water wanting a gill ; when lukewarm, add a pint of yeast to raise it, put it in a tightly-covered vessel to ferment, and set it away in a moderately warm place until sufficiently risen, which may be known by the potato appearing upon the top of the liquid, and light, foamy spots bursting up through it. The temperature of the place where this is set to rise or work shoiild be from 68 to 74 degrees ; too much heat is as bad as too much cold. When this is risen, put it into a stone jug and cork it ; tie in the cork and keep it in a cool place. A gill and a half, or common-sized teacupful, is sufficient to raise dough for two large loaves of bread. The source of the sourness which supervenes in bread, under careless or unskillful hands, was formerly ascribed to each of all the constituents of flour; to its gluten, which is 10 parts ; its starch, which is 70 parts ; and its sugar, 4 parts ; the other 16 parts are water — but ei-roneously, for it is merely the result of the second fermentation, which always succeeds the vinous when pushed improperly 368 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. too far. Tlicre are extremely simple and effectual methods for enabling the Laker to adopt measures either to prevent or correct the evil of accscence, and these are to neutralize the acid by the use of an alkali, such as soda, or an alkaline earth, such as magnesia or chalk. " If proper care be taken of the yeast, there is no danger of having sour dough ; and if the yeast be removed to a lower temperature after the signs pointed out, the acetic fermentation never sets in. " To make bread I set a sponge over-night. To a half pint of lukewarm water, put in a gill and a half of yeast and a pint of flour (after measuring, sift the flour), and stir this all well together, strew a little flour over the top, and cover the dish and put it in the same temperature that the yeast was in. In the morning, warm half a tea-cup of milk (if water is used, add half a tablespoonful of butter), add two tablcspoonfuls of lime-water after it is warm, and stir this into the sponge ; have ready a pint and a half of flour, and knead tliis with half a teaspoonful of salt into the sponge. Divide this into two portions, and put each into a buttered pan to rise, and when the dough rises to the top and bursts into little cracks, it is ready to bake. These loaves will bake in a common stove or range-oven, heated with coal, in thirty or thirt^'-five minutes. The advantages of lime-water are these: Tlic dough requires less kneading, the loaves bake in less time, and the bread keeps soft and moist longer, and is less liable to mold, and it is healthy bread. Alter the bread is baked, it should be turned upside down from the pans upon a folded cloth, and left there until cool. Then it may be put into a covered tin. By following this jilan, I never lose any bread from mold. In cool Aveather, the pans containing the dough should bo placed over a vessel containing hot water, or each pan over a bowl or pitcher with hot water in it, and covered with a cloth. These loaves are generally ready to bake in two or two and a half hours. "To make biscuit, I warm a tablespoonful of butter in half a teacupful of milk, and stir it hot on a quart of ilour, let it stand and cool, and when lukewarm add a gill of yeast, a spoonful of lime-water, and a little salt, and lukewarm water to knead the whole into a smooth lump of dough ; sprinkle a little flour into the bottom of the dish, lay in the dough, cover it, and when risen (which niay be known by the dough's cracking and its spongy look when cut with a knife\ divide the dough into equal portions and j)Ut in pan«, and let then\ stand twenty minutes before putting to bake. '• I never use tin or metal ware of any kind to mix bread in. I prefer a wooden bowl and, spoon, because they can always be kept clean and sweet. A still better thing i^ a yellow nappy, as it can be dipped into hot water be- fore setting the dough in it. '• As to the use of saleratus and soda, it is only tolerated by the grossest igiiorance. It is the received impression that an alkali makes the bread tender, and it is indiscriminately used, and hence so much yellow-looking bread. These alkalies are only of service when an acid is to be neutralized, and then they should be used very sparingly. It is very difficult to enlighten Sbo. 23.] THE BREAD QUESTION. 369 an ignorant cook, whose obstinacy is in proportion to her ignorance, and ■whose threat of leaving if not left undisturbed in her kitchen, frightens her titnid, delicate mistress into silence and absence. How few mistresses there are who are able to contend with these kitchen autocrats, or are competent to prove their ability to execute what they have undertaken to teach. "If an old housekeeper reads what has been written, she will cry out: • La, what a fuss about bread-making, which any ninny can do !' And if she has a batch of good bread once in a fortnight, and that by good luck, as she would call it, she thinks she knows all about it, and disdains to give attention to such a trifling matter. Yet, if you ask her why her bread was not invariably good, she can not explain otherwise than that the leaven was overworked, the yeast not good, the water too hot, or the flour was bad. No wonder this question continues to agitate the world, since tlie world is daily doomed to dough and burnt crusts. Good bread is the exception and not the rule in more than half the families of the world." For this reason we think that some further rules for bread-making, which couie from those who always have good bread, will be acceptable. The lirst is from "Waldo, Ohio. The writer says : "I soak about a pint of dry hops two or three hours, or until the water foams, by which time I have boiled seven medium-sized potatoes, which I then mash, boiling hot, with a saucerful of flour, leaving the skins on ; then add a quart of cold water, little at a time, mashing and mixing thoroughly after each addition of water. When lukewarm, I stir in the hop-yeast, and let it stand until morning; then I run it through a cullender, with two quarts of lukewarm water, which I add part at a time, that the ferment may be rinsed from the potato-skins. Then add two rounding tablespoou- fuls of salt, and then flour until it can only be stirred witli difficulty. Then I set It over a kettle of warm water in winter, or in a- cool place in summer, until it is very light, when I mix it and knead it thoroughly until it will not adhere to the tabic or bread-bowl. "Wlien very light, knead into loaves and put it in the pans, this time kneading as little and handling as lightly as possible. When it is again light, I put it in a hot oven, bake an hour, taking care by watching not to let it burn. When done, rub the crust with a little lard, and wrap up till cold. K the yeast sours, add soda to correct acidity." Another woman, Lynda Cdl, of Clevit, Eaton County, Mich., gives her me'hod, as ibilows : " Pare and slice four common-sized potatoes, and boil them in one quart of water. When done, pour tlie water off into a basin, mash the ])Otatoe3 and put them in the water, and when about niilk-warm add one teacupful of good hop-yeast; stir in flour enough to make a thick batter, and let it stand about two hours in a warm place. Then put flour enough in your bread-bowl to make three loaves of bread ; add three pints of warm water to the yeast, and stir it in the flour, and set in a warm t)lace till it has sponged nicely ; then mold, and bake one hour." 370 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. Tlie two following arc from tlic Granite State Ilcaltli Institute : '• Indian Snow-Cakk. — With one (juart of meal mix two tablespoonfiils of fine dry sugar and one teaspoonful of salt. Stir into this (piickly two quarts of light, clean snow. When it is well mixed, put it in a deep cake- dish, sprinkle a little snow over the top, and bake half an hour in a hot oven. " Potato Koll. — Boil one dozen mealy potatoes, nicely peeled, covered closely in just water enough to cook them. As soon as they are tender, drain ofi' the water if any remain, and leave them over the fire a few min- utes uncovered. This is the best manner of cooking potatoes for the table, also. Mash them fine with one cup of sweet cream or new milk ; nib them through a cullender into a quart of flour ; then add half a tea-cup of fresh yeast, and sufficient sweet milk to make a stiff dough ; keep it in a warm place until light; mold into rolls, and let it stand fifteen minutes; bake in a quick oven for half an hour." We give another practical rule for potato bread: "Tiie evening be- fore you Avish to bake, take six or eight potatoes, more or less, jnedium size, pare, boil in water till done; mash very fine, then put back into the water they were boiled in, and, when they come to a boil, have ready a pan ; I prefer earthen, as that keeps warm longer, with, say, a pint of flour; ]Hnir on the scalding potatoes and water, beat well, cool with Avater, if thicker than buckwheat-cake batter ; add, when a little more than milk-warm, half a pint or less of your bottled yeast, stir mx'II, cover close, and sot in a warm place till morning, when the mass will be perfectly light, if all the materials are good and put rightly together. Then mold out into small loaves, put in pans, cover, and set aside fill they rise again ; be very careful not to let them over-rise this time, or all your care is thrown away ; have your oven of a moderate heat, and M'hile baking watch carefully ; the loaves ought to bake in 40 minutes or an hour, according to the size. When done, they should be a light brown ; cover them up on a board kept on purpose, and by evening you will have bread that is ricii and wholesome." Another direction, from an old housekeeper, says: "Take two handfuls of hops, three pints of water, six potatoes; boil all till the potatoes are soft; pare them, mash through a cullender, strain the liquid ; then put it in your preserving kettle, over the fire, with the potatoes added ; also, one cup of sugar, one table-spoon of salt, one table-spoon of ginger ; then add flour enough to give it the consistency of paste; let it boil five minutes, stirring it all the time. Turn out, and when partially cool, add half a pint of good yeast. Let this stand until fermentation takes place. In tlie winter I keep the yeast in a stone pot in the cellar, but in summer I dry it by mixing it with corn-meal, and spreading it on a table and exposing it to the air (not sun). Now we liave good yeast, Ave will proceed immediately to make good bread. Wash and pare two dozen good-sized potatoes; boil them, with a large handful of salt, till reduced to a fine pulp; strain through a cullender, add three pints of sweet milk, and when sufliciently cool to bear your hand in it, Sec. 23.] THE BREAD QUESTION. 371 stir in as much flour as Avill make it into a thick batter; to this sponge add a coffee-cup of the j-east. I always make my sponge at night. In the morning I add six quarts of sweet milk and three gills of lime-water, and knead into a stiff dough. "Some housekeepers use alum, as it makes the bread fairer, but I prefer lime-water, as that coagulates the gluten; and it requires less baking, and retains its moisture longer — and I think it much healthier than alum, and health is the great desideratum. In two or tliree hours after jou knead your bread, it will be as light and porous as a honeycomb; knead it down, and when it has again risen, mold, and put it into pans. Let it stand till it rises again, then wash the loaves over with cold water ; this prevents the formation of too hard a crust; bake in a well-heated oven. "When baked, ■wash again, wrapping it up closely in your bread-cloth. "Wrapping the bread up in the steam till cold, prevents it from becoming hard and dry. If your flour is good, bread made in this way will be equal in appearance to the best bakers' bread, and in jwint of sweetness and econonn', far superior. The quantities I have named make twelve good-sized loaves, and my family requires such a baking twice a week. For many years this plan lias given me good bread, and I liope others will try it." 392. How to make Good "Bakers' Bread." — ^To tliose who would like to know how to have such bread as the city bakers make, we recommend the following formula of one that Ave know makes good bread, and we believe uses first-rate flour, and no deleterious mineral substances: Bakeks' Yeast. — The following is the formula for making a tub of yeast: Four pailfuls of hot water, two quarts of malt, half a pound of hops, six pounds of flour, four quarts of yeast. The hops are boiled about five minutes, and strained. The flour is made into a paste, with liot water, before mixing in the tub. The malt and yeast are added when the water in the tub is milk- warm, and stirred briskly. It must stand from 14 to 18 hours before it is in order to use. Fermext. — The following is the preparation for mixing a barrel of flour : Boil one half peck of potatoes, which are to be mashed, strained, and mixed thin in water, with four pounds of flour and four quarts of yeast, and left to stand eight hours. Setting the Sponge.- — -A pailful of this ferment is poured into the flour in one end of the bread-trough, and mixed, with an addition of some hot water, into a soft dough, and left to stand three hours, when more water is added, and the whole mass mixed into a stiti' bread-dough, and left two hours to rise, when it is ready to make out into loaves for the oven. Salt Used. — The quantity of salt used in a barrel of flour is four quarts, and no other mineral ingredient is ever added by an honest baker. Care must be taken to use plenty of yeast, but not an excess, and that the dough is not left to rise too long. A great deal of liard manual labor is required in kneading dough, to have good bread. 393. Brown Bread, or " Bostoa Bread."— An old Yankee housewife gives 372 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. us tlic followinjj valuable diicctions for nuikiiig lioiiio-mudo or family bread, i^oinetiines called — "Wheat and Indian Ekkad. — To two quarts of sifted Indian meal add liot water enough to wet tlie same ; wlien siitKciently cooled, add one tea- spoonful or more of salt, iialf a pint of yeast, and one half teacupful of uid- lasscs. Then add wheat flour enough to make it info loaves (it should bo well kneaded), and when well risen, bake or steam it three or more hours; if this should get sour while rising, add a teaspoonful of sugar and a little salcratus dissolved in water. "Rye and Indian Bread. — Take equal quantities of Indian meal and rye flour; scald the meal, and when lukewarm add the flour, with one half pint of good yeast to four quarts of the mixture, an even tablespoonful of salt, and half a cup of molasses, kneading the mixture well. This kind of bread should be softer tlian wheat flour bread ; all the water added after scalding the meal should be lukewarm. When it has risen sufl3eiently, put it to bake in a brick oven or stove — the former should be hotter than for flour- bread ; if in a stove oven, it should be steamed two hours, then baked one hour or more; when done, it is a dark brown. The best article for baking this kind of bread in is brown earthenware — say pans eight or ten inches in bight, and diameter about the same— grease or butter the pans, put in the mixture, then dip your hand in cold water, and smooth the loaf; after this, slash the loaf both ways with a knife, quite deoi>. Some let it rise a little more before they put it to bake. Many people prefer this bread made of one third rye flour, instead of one iialf. When it is difficult to get rye, wheat flour will answer as a substitute. It adds very much to the richness and flavor of this kind of bread to let it remain in the oven over-night." Indian or Yankee Bkown Bread. — Another old bread-maker gives the following information about Yankee brown bread : " Brown bread, kneaded and made into loaves in the common way of mixing white bread, dries more quickly than the white. I obviate this dit- ficulty thus : Take a quantity of meal, sutticient for as much bread as you wish to make at once, put it in the mixing-pan with a bowl of rising, and add sufticieiit lukewarm water to bring it to the consistency usually required in making johnny-cake, mixing in the same manner with a spoon, but do not stir too long, or it will not have that liveliness so desirable in good meal. It is also a much neater method, as you arc not obliged to immerse your hands in the dough. " Grease your pans, and fill not quite half full, and set it as usual to rise, which it will not be long in doing if the temperature is right. Bake one hour in a slow but steady oven. It injures a large loaf to cut while warm, though my family are very fond of it in this state, and I generally bake a loaf in a small pan to be eaten warm. "I can assure you that bread made in this manner will keep moist fr several days, and even when it does become rather dry, owing to its being Seo. 23.] THE BREAD QUESTION. 373 light and porous, it is immediately restored by simply warming the slices slightly in the oven of your stove before eating." We reproduce liere, from a useful little book called "How to Live," which we wrote a few years since, for those who will try the economy as well as palatableness of a loaf of wheat and Indian bread, the following good receipt, long in use by our good mother and grandmother : " To two quarts of Indian meal add boiling water enough to wet the same ; when sufficiently cooled, add one teaspoonful of salt, half a pint of yeast, one teaspoonful of saleratus, one half teacupful of molasses, and flour enough to form it into a loaf (it should not be kneaded hard); when light, bake two hours in a well-heated oven. (It should be baked until brown.)" And here is another good receipt from the same book for making rye and Indian bread, which is both cheap and wholesome : "Stir and mi.v most thoroughly two quarts of Indian corn meal with a tablespoonful of salt and a quart of boiling water, or enough to wet every grain of meal. Wlien the mush cools to milk-warm, stir in one quart of rye meal and a teacupful of good yeast, which you will first mix with half a pint of warm water, so that the yeast will be more evenly dift'used. With the rye meal add water enough to make the mass a stiff dough, but not as hard or tough as flour. It must be kneaded witii tlie hands. [Remeinher — rye meal is not rye jiour. It is the unbolted product of the whole grain.] Put the dough in a pan, and pat it smooth with a wet hand. It will rise enough to bake in an hour, in a warm place, and siiould be put in a hot oven, and remain three hours; or if during the night, all the better. If white flour was not fashionable, or if people did not think that brown bread has a look of poverty, we should have the brown bread upon every table, for it is not only more economical, it is more nuti-itious and more healthy, particularly for children. " "We do not eat oatmeal in this country to any extent, and yet it is the most nutritions breadstuff ever used by man." 394. PoSatoes Used in Bread-Makiug. — When potatoes bear such a price to wlieat flour tliat, uiien cooked, they arc about half the price per pound of the,flour, it is good economy to add of potatoes about one fourth the weight that is used of flour, for a batch of bread. Bread so made is pleasanter to the taste, and equally nutritions. T!u; potatoes should be lioiled with the skins on, and then peeled, mashed, and s:irred into a pulp with warm water, and rubbed through a wire sieve, and tiien mixed with the flour, and yeast added as for otlier bread. Tiie bakers of jSTew York understand the economy of using potatoes in their bread, whenever they are sold at low prices. Tlie small potatoes, which are unsalable for other puruoscs, are often sold whole- sale to bakers, and added 1o the flour. Tlie potatoes make the broad nioisfer than it would be if composed en- tirely of flour, so that for those wlio sell their loaves by weight, the more water they can be made to contain the greater will be their profits. When 374 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Cdap. IV. about one third of the weight is comjjosed of potatoes, it makes iirst-rate bread. Many persons prefer tlie potato-bread because it is moist, and never think liow much water they are buying at si.\penee a pound. There is another use of potatoes in bread — they make it appear light, not- withstanding its specific gravity. Potatoes take ou the vinous fermentation (juickcr than flour, and sometimes that passes into the acetous state, which the bakers correct witii bicarbonate of soda, or lime-water, still adding weight without any addition of nourishment. Lime-water is not objection- able ; it is only so tliat we sliould be induced to buy it at sixpence a pound, because the baker puts it in his sour iluur or potato-bread, to make us think it is sweet. Prof. Liebig advises the use of one pint of lime-water to every five pounds of flour. The lime-water should be prepared by dissolving lime in water to a point of saturation, and letting it settle and then bottling for future use. "With this lime-watei', use pure yeast, and you will have light, healthy bread. "With saleratus, largely used, you will not have wholesome bread, disguise it as you will. In using lime-water, add it first to the flour, then add pure water and yeast, and you will have better bread than you cau obtain from any preparation of carbonate of soda or cream of tartar. Wheat, divested of all its bran, docs not contain enough of all the health- giving ingredients, particularly of phosphate of litne, to satisfy the demands of nature. With such flour, potatoes are beneficial. Bread should be more thoroughly baked thau it is usually, and not eatcu warm from the oven. Dry bread should never be thrown away. By soaking and reconverting it into dough, it can be again baked into excellent bread. It is of such ma- terials that the delicious tea-rusks are made. Dry bread also makes most delicious puddings. Bread of fine flour is too much eatcu. We recommend farmers to have tiieir wheat ground more coarsely, and only take out a por- tion of the bran. They may also add corn or rye meal, with advantage to economy and health. It will be also economical in the country to add potatoes. It is not always so in the city. And it is not quite honest either to sell them at the price of superfine flour bread. For potato biscuit, grate one half dozen potatoes; add one quart of water; one cupful of hop-yeast at night; and in the morning, when light, add three teaspoonfids of sugar, and fluur to form a dough. Let it ri.se; when light put in tins; let it rise again, and bake one half hour. 3l»ij. Sprouted Wheal Flour — its Effect o.j Krfail. — Sprouted wheat flour makes what housewives <':dl runny dough, and that is apt to make clammy bread. To remedy this, it has been recommended to add half a gill of whisky to flour enough to make four moderate-sized loaves. But many object to the use t>f whisky to make bread, and ask if somelhiiig else will not answer as well. We think it will. We think if about the same qua-i- tity of shortening is added to the flour that is commonly nsed in making the old-fashion Yankee light biscuit, that the bread will be light, fine-grained, Sec. 23.] THE BREAD QUESTION. 375 and free from all tlie difficulties usually attributed to grown wheat. Tlie addition of a little butter or lard to any flour will not do any harm. Try it. 396. Yeast— How to Make it.— The chemists have proved that yeast is a plant, as much so as mold or any other fungus. As we get it fresh from the brewer, yeast appears to be a yellowish gray or fawn-colored, frothy liquid. It soon settles down and appears dead, but is still active. The taste is bit- ter, and it emits a rather disagreeable odor. Its effect upon all moist sub- stances is to cause them to ferment, by a rapid increase of its growth, and a generation and diffusion through the mass of carbonic acid gas, which makes the dough puff up and assume the condition called light. The great secret of bread-making is to use just the right quantity of yeast to produce a light loaf without having any of the flavor or odor of the yeast imparted to it, as it will if too much is used, or if the action of the yeast is not arrested at exactly the right time. We give in j^o. 397 the most convenient form for preserving yeast ready for use. If liquid yeast is preferred, it can be made by mixing wheat flour and water into a paste and letting it stand two or three days in a mod- erately warm place, when it will begin to emit a disagreeable sour odor, which afterward passes off or changes to a vinous odor at the end of six da^'s. Then if you have the opportunity to get malt from a brewery — and if not, you can make it by sprouting barley or Indian corn, which must then be dried and crushed — you will make an infusion of malt and boil it in water with a handful of hops, and cool it till lukewarm, and add it to the paste previously thinned into a soft batter with tepid water. This mixture kept in a warm place a few hours, begins to show activity. Fermentation has commenced, and will work the mass until there is a clear liquid on the surface, which pour off, and the opaque liquid at the bottom is good yeast, which you may keep as long as you like in winter, and in summer upon ice, or hermetically sealed in bottles till wanted for use. A good yeast can be made, when you have the seed — that is, active yeast — from four pounds of peeled potatoes boiled in four quarts of water and a large handful of hops in a bag. The Y>otatoes are mashed and thoroughly mixed with the water and a little salt, molasses, and flour to make a batter, to which a couple of spoonfuls of good yeast are added, and this will ferment the whole and make it fit for use as leaven for bread ; it may be kept a long time in a cool place. Yeast is sometimes preserved by dipping clean twigs in it and drying them and preserving them dry till needed, when they are soaked and the liquor added to the sponge. It has also been dried by spreading it with a brush upon a board and re- peating it as fast as each layer is dried until of considerable thickness, when it is scaled off, broken up and bottled, and sealed air-tight ; it will then keep for years. A yeast-plant Las been found in California capable of reproduction to an 376 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. indefinite degree wlien placed in n. bottle with a little Bweetened water. These plants ai>pear somewliat like small grains of wliite-lnilled corn soaki'd ill water, or like the lumps of wheat flour which form in boiling, if not siif- liciently stirred. A spoonful of this substance put into a quart of flour mixed for a sponge will cause it to ferment, just as an addition of ordinary yeast would. Tiie difficulty in its use is, that it is rather liable to become too acid, but it is a pretty good substitute for common yeast in a new coun- try where bakers and brewers are not convenient. 397. Teast-fakcs, or Ready-made least,— Take three ounces of good fresh hops, three and a half pounds of rye flour, seven pounds of Indian corn meal, and one gallon of water ; rub the hops so as to separate them ; put them into boiling water and boil half an hour ; strain the liquor through a fine sieve into an earthen vessel. While hot, put in the rye flour, and when lukewarm add a pint of yeast. Next day put in the Indian meal, stirring it well, and the mess will be stiflT dough. Knead it thoroughly, and roll it out to the thickness of about a third of an inch, and cut up in cakes three inches square, and dry them on a clean board or a tin in the sun. Turn them every day, let them receive no wet, and they will become as hard as ship biscuit. Store them in a bag or \>o\, perfectly free from damp. When you bake, take two cakes for three loaves, and put them into a quart of tepid water with half a pint of flour in a vessel near the fire-place over- night, where they will dissolve by morning, and then use them in setting your sponge as you would the yeast of beer. These yeast-cakes may be kept just as long as you desire. Kye flour is better than wheaten, but not absolutely essential. Some use potatoes, but a lady writes us that she finds the addition of the potatoes of no benefit and no injury, and for years has used Indian meal only — which, being simpler, makes the work easier. To naake yeast powder, take one pound of saleratus and two pounds of cream of tartar, mix them thoroughly together by passing them two or three times through a sieve. To each quart of flour add two heaping teaspooiifuls of this yeast or baking powder; wet with sweet milk or water, as usual, and bake at once in a quick oven. The bread should be in small loaves — biscuit in the same way. 398. Salcratus-Rising for Bread.—" In discussing this I aim at the health stand-point, and reject whatever impairs the nutritive qualities of the flour, injures its flavor, or discolors it. The excellence of bread and its lightness depend upon the disengagement of carbonic acid gas during the process of fermentation, which is the action of yeast upon the saccharine matter of the flour. Ferment or yeast is an organized matter, and its essentially opera- tive constituent is a peculiar azotized matter, which, in the wine-vat, is mixed with some tartar and other salts, and in the beer-tun with gum and starch. Azote is found in animal bodies, and certain vegetables contain art azotized principle ; indigo, caperine, gluten, and many others contain an abundance of azote. All bread-making which dispenses with kneading and Sbo. 23.] THE BREAD QUESTION^. 377 true yeast fermentation may be distrusted. The compositions of what may be termed bread compounds, even if palatable, diifer greatly from true, good bread. " It is not of what kind of eatable things bread can be made, but how to best make good, wholesome bread that is as sweet when a day or two old as when first made, or better even than when new, that has no taste of yeast, none of the bitter of hops, nor the disagreeable flavor of alkali, and that will keep good a week, if necessary. " The preference should be given to that yeast that will make the light- est, sweetest bread, without aid from extraneous substances, that is least likely to run into the acetous fermentation without infusing the bitter of hops. " The idea that alkalies make the bread tender is an error, tiie dough be- fore their introduction having run into the mucilaginous or putrefactive fer- mentation." But as many do and will continue to use alkalies, we will give some of the most approved methods, "For making prepared flour that can be used at leisure, to each quart of flour add one teaspoonful of saleratus and two of pure cream of tartar, and what salt is required ; mi.x them thoroughly together while dry, and set aside for irse. Flour prepared in this way will last three months, for tlie reason, the flour keeps the chemicals separate from each other; it can then be wet up in the usual way and baked at once. Use this prepared flour for bread, biscnit, or any kind of sweet cake or pan-cakes, but do not mix the pan-cakes until j-ou want to use thorn. " The best method for making bread with sour milk and saleratus is to add to each pound or quart of flour one heaping teaspoonful of saleratus and what salt is required ; mix them well together ; which is best done by pass- ing it all through a sieve. Then add as much sour milk as will make the dough the usual thickness. Mold it in small loaves, and bake at once. If the bread should be a little yellow, put in less saleratus next time. For biscuit, it should be molded quite thin. Very little shortening is required ; it should be baked in a hot oven ; and, if baked quick, the steam will help to raise the biscuit." It is contended by the advocates for this bread, that " being free from all yeasty particles, it is more digestible and not so likely to create flatulence or turn acid on weak stomachs as fermented biead ; and when of tiic finest quality, it is beneficial to those who suffer headache, acidity, flatulence, eructations, a sense of sinking in the j)it of the stomach, distention, or pains after meals, and to all who are subject to gout or gravel. It is also us'jfn! in many affections of the skin. "These remarks apply to both varieties of the bread, but especially to the brown, which is further invaluable to all who are liable to constipation from torpidity of the colon, or large intestines — the common infirmity of the sedentary — and of tiiose who have been accustomed to oatmeal diet in their youth. 37S DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. " But the advantages of llie process are not limited to matters relating to health. It is valuable because bread can be prepared by it in tlie short space of half an hour, thus saving much time and labor. It is valuable, also, because the materials are not perishable, and may be rendered available in places and at times when yeast and other ferment is not within reach — as at sea, for exam2)le, or in country retirements ; and it is still more valuable as regards economy. The cost of the chemicals is counterbalanced by that of the yeast, salt, and alum, otherwise employed ; but were it not so, they would form an altogether unimportant item in the price of bread ; while by their use a saving is effected in the flour of not less than 13 per cent. In the common process much of the saccharine part of the flour is lost by being converted into carbonic acid and spirit, and thus waste is incurred solely for the purpose of getting carbonic acid to raise the dough. By the new method waste is avoided, and the gas obtained in a manner equally efiicacious. And it is a striking instance of the successful application of chemical phi- losophy to the common arts of life, for fermentation destroys a part of the flour or meal, so that 280 lbs., which make 300 lbs. of bread by fermenta- tion, give 380 lbs. by the new process." 399. Soda vsi ¥cast, and Dread without Yeast. — Without taking any part in the controversy about the healthiness or unhcalthiness of soda bread, we will give extracts from the opinions of its advocates as follows : " Soda is a caustic alkali in its uncoinbined state. It is the base of com- mon salt. In this form it is daily taken into our stomachs witli food, and also administered regularly to domestic animals by the careful husbandman. Let ns remember that notwithstanding the chlorid of sodium has been used from time immemorial by man, and always eagerly sought after by wild animals, it has also met opposers among ultra hydropathists. It is therefore not so astonishing that the bicarbonate, whicli is what is used in cookery and of recent introduction, shoidd find many opposers. "Potash is an alkali extracted from wood ashes by percolation, and for culinar}- jjurposes is combined with two equivalents of carbonic acid, and sold under the name of saleratus. The chemical natures and physiological effects of tlie two bicarbonates are so nearly identical that I shall not keep up the distinction in treating of them, though from the fact that tlie bicar- bonate of soda is dryer and more easil}' reduced to powder, it is i)referable. " To secure the desired effect of bicarTjonate of soda, it is necessary to use it in cotmcction with some acid which, by combining with the alkali, sets free tlie carbonic acid, in form of gas, at the time of baking. Sour milk, which contains lactic acid, is best. The lactic acid, having a stronger aflin- ity for the soda than the carbonic acid has, combines with ir, forming lactate of soda, a neutral salt, jtossessed of no caustic property wliatever ; while the gas, disengaged, fills the bread with minute cells and thus renders it light and palatable. " In the absence of sour milk, tartaric acid or cream of tartar should be used. If tartaric acid is used, tartrate of soda results ; a harmless substance Sko. 23.] THE BREAD QUESTION. 379 even iu considerable quantities, and by no means unpleasant to take in warm days in the form of an effervescing draught. If cream of tartar is used, the product is tartrate of soda and potassa, or Kochelle salts, which, in ounce doses, is known to be one of our mildest saline purgatives. "A hearty eater will take only a few grains of any of these salts at a meal, and these readily pass oiF through the excretions of the body, or enter upon their phj-siological offices in the gastric fluids — the bile or blood. " These bicarbonatos, used without an acid, render bread unpalatable ; and this of itself would prevent persons from using them to a hurtful extent. " Instead of being a curse to the world, the introduction of the bicarbon- ate of soda has been a great blessing in banishing lard, iu a great measure, from our biscuit. That the largj quantity of grease necessary to make good short biscuit of superfine flour renders bread in a high degree indigestible, will be universally admitted. Make biscuit according to the following formula, and you have an article altogether superior iu point of digestibility and flavor to those in which lard is used as the only shortening. '■'■Rule 1. Flour, two pounds; fine Indian meal, a teacupful; bicarbonate of soda, a heaping teaspoonful. Thoroughly mix these dry, and make up with new buttermilk, or if the milk is very sour, add water sufficiently to make it about like new buttermilk. The soda must be neutralized, and, in using milk, judgment on this point must be exercised. " Hide 2. Flour and meal as above ; rub together dry a teaspoonful of soda and two thirds as much tartaric acid. Mix this dry with the meal and flour, and make up with water. " Eule 3. Same as Ko. 2, except use a teasooonful of cream of tartar in- stead of the tartaric acid. "A very small quantity of lard or butter may be used with advantage to the taste, but it is not essentiah These ingredients added to corn bread make a wonderful improvement on the old-fashioned hoe-cake. That this bj'ead is healthier than yeast bread there is no doubt. '■'A healthy stomach, especially in winter, when the system is in a vigor- ous condition, may take yeast in considerable quantity and digest the meal before the process of fermentation lias time to take place. But not so with weak stomachs, or healthy ones in the heat of summer, because yeast is the deposit formed in fermenting liquids, and has the property, when added to solutions of starch or sugar, even in exceedingly small quantities, of exci - ing the vinous fermentation in the whole mass, and may, and often does, do it, in the stomach as well as in bread." But the sweetest, most nutritious, most wholesome bakers' bread, we believe, that ever was made, is that first brought into general use in New York in 1861, by the establishment of a large manufactory for its produc- tion, which used over forty barrels a day, when working in full force. Tliis bread is called '• unfermented," yet it is as light as any good home-made bread, which it very much resembles. The following is the process by which it is made light without yeast : 380 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV "The best superfiiMJ flour, witli a due proportion of pure wafer, passes from the bin, tiirougli a hvrj,'e iron pipe, into a huge, hollow globe of ca^^t- iron, lined with tin, in which revols'es an iron shaft with polished steel arms, wliicli mix and knead the dough. "During this operation pure carbonic acid gas is conveyed from the gas- ometer into the globe by a powerful force-pump, and is incorporated uni- fomily into the whole mass. Every ingredient is in definite proportion, and the most perfect accuracy is thus insured. By the pressure of the gas the dough is then forced through a valve into baking-tins, and in an hour and a lialf, from flour in the bin, it is beautifully baked bread. Xo hand of man touches it in the whole process. All is done by the iron hands of niachinei-y and the power of steam. No chemical change whatever occurs in the flour. All its elements — the starch, the gluten, and sugar — are retained in their original proportions and purity, and the result is the best and sweetest bread in existence. By the old process a little of the starch is always converted into dextrine — a species of glue — giving the bread a dark color, and sometimes sodden texture. To remedy this, alum is generally used, and the bread there- by further vitiated. Perfect cleanliness in the manufacture of bread has not been possible heretofore. It is by this process. " Bread made at home has been the purest that could be had, for the ves- sels were carefully looked after, and the air was generally free from dust and decomposing particles, but none could tell what impurities contaminated the yeast, which, whether it came from baker or brewer, was necessarily more or less mixed with foreign substances. Home-made bread was the cleanest we could have, but was not perfectly pure ; while Avith the mo.-t watchful supervision and most careful cleanliness, bakers' bread, made in the ordinary way, can not possibly be entirely clean." Another advantage unfermented bread has over all other bakers' bread, is its remarkable keeping quality. It has been eaten with great satisfaction when twelve days old. "William Lounsberry, commissary of the 20th Regiment, New York State, which had been served with this bread while in the city and on the march to Washington, speaks of it in the following terms: " The bread has been on our table every day since we left, and is con- sidered by all a great delicacy. It loses none of its flavor by its age, but, for me, it really seems to improve. "It. is sweet, light, and very palatable. I consider it, in many respects, the best bread I ever tasted, in addition to its power of retaining its excel- lence so long, the virtue which gives it its inestimable value. I wish I could be the means of informing a much larger number than 1 am able of its in- estimable merits." We have spoken of this method of making bread, not because it will help families to make better bread, but to show what improvements have been devised to make bread upon a large scale. The process would be a good one for the army and navy, and in all large towns. It is proper to say, Sec. 23.] THE BREAD QUESTION. 381 howeviT, that the bread is not a aniversal favorite. Habit so vitiates the taste, tliat there arc people who love sour bread, and also bread tliat smells and tas:es rank of yeast. To us it is not agreeable nor healthy. This " iin- ferniented bread" is patented by Elislia Fitzgerald and James Perry, ^ffew York. 400. Other Substitutes for Tcast— Ch€inica!s in Bread.— A substitute for cream of tartar has been discovered by Prof. E. ISi". Horsford, which he thinks far preferable to use with soda in bread. lie says of it : " All tliese considerations led me to the conviction that, if it were possible to prepare phosphoric acid in some form of acid phosphate of lime, such that, after its action with moist carbonate of soda, it would leave phosphate of soda (a constituent of the blood) and phosphate of lime (an essential con- stituent of food), and confer upon it the necessary qualities of a dry, pulver- ulent acid, the end would be so far attained as to justify a practical experi- ment in domestic use. '• I succeeded in producing an article in condition to meet tlie wants of the problem. I then introduced it into my family for use in all forms, as a substitute for cream of tartar for culinary purposes. When many months of daily use had assured me that my theoretical views were sustained by practical application, I gave it into the hands of friends, whose prolonged experience fully confirmed my own. It has been in constant use in my family now for more than four yeai-s ; and in the form of yeast powder, during tliis time, it has been produced and consumed in all parts of the country to a very large extent, settling, in the most satisfactory manner, all questions as to its serviceability and healthfulness. " The article is prepared according to instructions furnished by myself, as the result of long-continued experiment, and it will be produced of invari- able purity and strength equal to that of cream of tartar." Of the same purport, and having a direct reference to this case, are the views of Dr. Samuel Jackson, professor of the institute of medicine in the University of Pennsylvania : " Your substitute for cream of tartar for the raising of bread is a decided improvement. The tartaric acid is not a constituent of the grains from wliich flour is made; it is not a nutritive principle, and often disagrees with the alimentary organs. Tlie pliosphate of lime, which is the principal in- gredient of your preparation, is an essential constituent of all grains. It is further an important nutritive principle ; and recent experiments have proved it is an indispensable element in the formation, not of bones only, but of all the animal tissues. A deficiency of the phosphate of lime in food is a common cause of ill-healtli, of defective development, and retarded growth in children. In the conversion of wheat into flour, the phospliate of lime is rejected with the bran; and, in consequence, this necessary ele- ment of nutrition, contrary to the arrangement of nature, is not obtained from our fine wheat bread. Your preparation, wliile it makes a light, sweet, and palatable bread, restores to it the phpsphate of lime which has been 382 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. separated from the flour, and tliiis adapts it as an aliment for the mainten- ance of a liealthy state of the organization." Other chemists and piiysicians of acknowledged high character and stand- ing have given similar opinions. If raising bread by yeast is properly conducted, it is quite unobjection- able ; but if, as is often the case, fermentation is allowed to proceed too long, acetic and lactic acids are formed, and some of the complex nitrogenous substances arise from the decomposition of the plastic bodies of the flour, and are incorporated in tlie bread. Yeast bread is never good unless the fermentation is arrested by baking at just the riglit time. Ordinarily, this right time is a ))eriod of short dura- tion, and probably not one loaf in one hundred is raised and baked when it should be. The circnmstanccs which modify the time in which the fermenta- tion may take place ai'C so various, that it may occur in thirty minutes or twelve hours. Tiie sponge requires constant watching, and this, in the mul- titudinous duties of the kitchen, it is not always possible to secure. Then saleratus or soda, to sweeten the sour sponge, is the resort of the cook ; and the result is an unpalatable and imwholesome loaf, unworthy the name of bread, and is really unwholesome food. A correspondent of the Country Gentleman recommends the following formula for unfermented bread : "Take of flour 3 lbs., bicarbonate of soda 9 draelims, hydrochloric acid, specitie gravity I.IG, 11 drachms. About 25 oz. of water will be required to form the dough. First mi.x the soda and flour as thoroughly as possible ; which is best done by sliaking the soda in fine powder from a sieve over the flour with one hand, while tlie flour is stirred with the other, and then passing the mi.xturo once or more through the sieve. Next pour the aciel into the water and dift'usc it by stirring them well together, avoiding the use of any metallic utensil that the soda might come in contact with. Then •mix the dough and water so prepared as speedily as possible. Tiie dough should be speedily put into a quick oven. This manner of making bread is a great improvement, and will prove advantageous, compared with tlie fer- menting method, and the quality also will be found vastly superior to the antique ' leavened bread,' jnu-ticuhirly for dyspeptics, as it has this advant- age, tliat it never sours on tiie stomach. By tliis method bread can be made in two hours, and it saves both time and labor. The ingredients are simple, and cost little. Fermentation always destroys more or less of the flour, be- sides otherwise injuring it lor the purposes of assimilation. " A large proportion of the bread used in some families is scarcely more than an active form of j-east, which produces in tiie stomach a new fer- mentation and a host of disorders. And tlien we witness, of coui-se, the blue va])ors, which under difl'erent aspects are as ruinous to the welfare and l>eace of a family as are those of a distillery. If tlie proportions of acid and baking soda directed to be used are thought to be too great, they may be varied at discretion. Seo. 23.] TEIE BREAD QUESTIOiT. 383 "In bread-making the only purpose served by fermentation is the genera- tion of cai-bonic acid lo raise the dough, and to effect this a quantity of yeast is mixed with the flour. But the same purpose is gained by mixing a quantity of carbonate of soda with the floui', with a corresponding^ropor- tiou of hydrochloric or muriatic acid, and bread so formed is more nutri- tious and economical." Common salt always should be added, not only because it is palatable, but because it has a chemical effect upon the flour, so that that of inferior quality assumes an appearance above the reality. This is proved in what is called " saU-rising Inxtd," ■which always looks whiter than the same flour made with yeast. Salt also has the eftect to make flour take up and retain more water in the bread. Alum has the same effect as salt in a stronger degree, and its use by bakers is dishonest, because it is much more delete- rious t'aan salt to the human stomach. Sulphate of copper is another deleterious article in bread, but it can only be used in small quantities, without great danger, and produces the same results as alum in a still greater degree. Carbonate of magnesia, nscd at the rate of 20 to 40 grs. to tlie pound of flour, produces effects similar to the alum or sulphate of copper, and good scientiiic authority has j^ronounced it harmless, or at least preferable to soda. Other authoritj' says its inaptitude to become entirely soluble makes it highly objectionable. Probably the safest mineral substance that can be used in bread is lime, as recommended by Liebig (394). To prepare this lime-water, mix a quarter of a pound of slaked lime in a gallon of pure, soft water or filtered rain-water, and cork it tight in bottles. The water will dissolve eloth of its weight of the lime, and the balance will settle to the bottom, leaving the water transparent, which may be used at the rate of 5 lbs. to 19 lbs. of flour, and then fresh water may be added to the lime until all that is soluble is used up. The quantity of lime taken into the system is so minute that it is believed that it is not only not deleterious, but positively beneficial. 401. Profi Youmans' Opinion of Chemicals in Bread. — Speaking of the use of various chemical substances for yeast. Prof. Youmans sa^'s : "The class of substances thus introduced in the bread are not nutritive but mediciiial, and exert a disturbing action upon the healthy organism. And altiiough their occasional and cautious employment may perhaps be tolerated on the ground of convenience, yet we consider their habitual use as highly injudicious and unwise. This is the best that can be said of the chemical substances used to raise bread, even when pure; but as com- monly obtained, they are apt to be contaminated with impurities more objectionable still. For example, the commercial muriatic acid which is commonly employed along with bicarbonate of soda, is always quite impure, often containing chlorine, chlorid of iron, sulphurous acid, and even ar- senic, so that the chemist never uses it without a tedious process of purifica- JS-l DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. tion for liis purposes, wliieli arc of far less importance than its emijloyment in diet. Wliile common hydrochloric acid sells for three cents per pound wholesale, tiie purified article is sold for thirty-five. Tartaric acid is apt to contain lime, and is frequently adulterated with cream of tartar, wliich is sold at half the price, and greatly reduces its efficacy ; wliile cream of tartar is variously mixed witli alum, chalk, hisulphatc of potash, tartrate of lime, and even sand. Sesquicarbonate of ammonia is liable by exposure to the air to lose a portion of its ammonia. It is hence seen that the substances we employ are not only liable to injure by ingredients which they may con- ceal, but that their irregular composition must often, more or less, defeat the end for wliich tliey are intended. We may suggest that in tlie absence of tests, the best practical defense is to purcliase these materials of the drug- gist rather than the grocer. If soda is desired, call for the bicarbonate of soda ; it contains a double charge of carbonic acid, and is purest. Soda- saleratus is only tlie crude, impure carbonate — soda ash. The cream of tartar should appear M'hite and pure, and not of a yellowish tinge. Carbonate of potash in its crude state appears as pearlash ; in its more ]nirified form it is saleratus. Crude soda is known as sal-soda or soda-saleratus ; refined and cleared of its chief impurities, it forms carbonate and bicarbonate of soda. All these compounds have the common alkaline or burning property, wliich belongs to free potash and soda, which is lowered or weakened by the car- bonic acid united with them. The potash compounds are the strongest, those of soda being of the same nature, but weaker. Yet the system, as we have just seen, recognizes essential differences between them; one ])erlains to the blood and the other to the flesh. According to the theory of tlieir general use for raising bread, they ought to be neutralized by an acid, mu- riatic, tartaric, acetic, or lactic, thus losing their peculiar properties and be- coming salts. These changes do take place to a certain extent, and the sa- line compounds formed are much less powerful and noxious than the un- neutralized alkalies ; their effects are moderately laxative. Yet, in tlie common use of these substances, as we have stated, the alkali is not all e.x- tinguished ; much of it enters the system in its active form. Pure, strong potash is a powerful corrosive ]>oison, disorganizing the stomach and dis- solving its way through its coats quicker, perhaps, than any other jjoisonous agent. When the alkalies are taken in small quantities, as when there is an excess in bread, they disturb healthy digestion in the stomach by neu- tralizing its necessary acids. They are sometimes found agreeable as pal- liatives when there is undue acidity of the stomach ; and, on the other bund, they may be of service in the digestion and absorption of fatty snb- tances. It is alleged that their continued use tends to reduce the propor- tion of fibrin in the blood. Cases are stated where families have been poi- soned by the excessive employment of saleratus.'" 402. Baking Bread— Heat of the Oven— Quality of Flouro- The heat of the oven, besides being cquallj' diffused, should continue regulaf. The heat is right when flour sprinkled on the oven-bottom turns brown gradually, and Sec. 23.] THE BREAD QUESTION 385 too hot if the flour chars black directly ; for tlien it ■will produce a thick crnst, often burnt, while the interior of the loaf is underdone. The crumb is cooked at the boiling-point — 212 degrees — and might be done in a steam- clianiber as Avell as an oven, but for the crust, which we all love so well that we are not willing to dispense with it for any more economical mode of cooking t!ian the oven. The heat of the oven swells a well-raised lump of dough to about double the size b}' the expansion of carbonic acid gas, and by steam arising from the moisture in the loaf, and by the vaporizing of alcohol, distilled out in the process of baking, to an amount equal to about one quarter of one per cent, of the weight of bread. A well-raised loaf of bread is more than half cavities. The loss of Aveight in baking depends upon the quality of the flour and size of the loaf. A one-pound loaf will generally require 1 lb. 6 oz. of dough. A three-pound loaf requires 3 lbs. 12 oz of dough. A six-pound loaf requires 7 lbs. of dough. This shows that it is the most economical to bake large loaves. If you wish to prevent baking a hard crust, you can do so by rubbing the loaf, after it is shaped for the oven, with a little lard, just enough to varnish the surface. The crust, however, if not burnt, is always eaten with satis- faciion, its agreeable bitter taste being preferred by many persons. The crust, which is dry and crisp upon new bread, grows soft and moisi after a day or two. Some housewives always wrap their loaves in wet cloths when taken from the oven, to prevent the crust from continuing to get dryer. There is no need of this, because the moisture of the crumb soon softens the crust, and frequently leaves the crumb too dry. When this is the case, re- turn the stale loaf to the oven in company with a dish of hot water. The average quantity of water in well-baked wheaten loaves is about forty-five per cent. Tlie best flour contains six to ten per cent, of water. The reason that spring wheat flour makes moister bread than winter wheat, is because it contains more gluten, and that being once thoroughly wet in mixing the dough, is retentive of the water, even after it has lost its tough, adhesive qualities, in passing from dough into well-baked bread crumb. A portion of the starch of the dough also retains water by being converted by the baking process into gum. The loaf will retain much more moisture, and. consequently be better bread, if it crusts over immediately upon its being placed in the oven, as it is then in a measure impervious to water, and shuts in all that the interior of the loaf contains. 403. The Effect of Kneading. — Good bread can not be made by merely mixing flour and water and yeast. The mass must be kneaded so as to be sure to bring every grain of flour in contact with its equivalent grain of water, and so as to diff"use the yeast uniformly throughout the mass, or else the resulting gas will be liberated in excess in one spot and not at all in another. This is seen in badly-kneaded loaves in the large holes they contain, and in a crust that easily detaches from the crumb, as though it bad been lifted up by internal force. The air-cells in a well-kneaded loaf are 386 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. fine and unifonn tlirongliout the mass, and all will be formed at about the same time. If the flour and yeast are decidedly good, and the kneading decidedly bad, the bread will not give satisfaction. On the otiier hand, good kneading, good molding, and good baking, will make a second or third-rate quality of flour pass almost c(nial to the best. 404. Preparations of Wheat and Otlifr Substances for Bread.— There are many things Avhich may be used to mix M-ith white wheat flour, or as sub- stitutes for it. A baker in Paris has tried a successful experiment to reduce the cost of bread by mixing rice flour with that of wheat. lie puts in one part of rice to five of wheat flour, and the economy eflfected reaches the very considerable figure of one sou in the two-pound loaf. The government has had the bread examined by competent persons, and has authorized the sale of it at a less rate tlian fixed by the police. The demand is such that the baker can not supply it. Neither the nutriment nor the taste of the bi"ead would appear to be aflfected by the presence of the new ingredient. The greatest advantage of mixing rice flour with wheat flour is to enable the loaf to retain more water, and make a moister bread. Bread made of wheat meal, as is proved by tlie chemical experiments of Prof. Johnston, aflords much more nutriment than that made from superfine flour. Tliese experiments show us that 1,000 lbs. of wheat meal, or the wheat ground coarsely, and the hulls or bran portion sifted out by using a common meal-sieve, contain the elements of — Muscular matter, 156 lbs. ; fat, 28 lbs. ; bone materia], 170-354 lbs. "Wiiereas in fine flour are found only of — Muscular matter, 130 lbs.; fat, 20 lbs. ; bone material, CO-210 lbs. Leaving a balance iu favor of the former of 144 lbs. in 1,000 lbs. of the real elements of food convertible by assimilation into mn&cular flesh, fat, and bone. Now, as bread ranks among the chief, if not as the chief substance de- signed for the nutrition and support of the human frame, the above facts ought to have weight, in a pecuniary point of view, as an argument against the exclusive use of superfine flour. Unbolted wheat meal for bread is in high favor with many, and we think every family should use it a portion of the time. In mixing the dough of this meal, do not make it quite as stifl' as you would white flour, and you must be careful that it docs not sour in rising, as it will do so sooner tiian bolted flour. It also requires a hotter oven and longer baking, and the crust is more apt to burn. Rye flour mixed with wheat flour enables the loaf to hold more water. The objection to it is its darker color and rye taste. Indian corn meal is also mixed with wheat flour, for the same purpose a.s rye flour, and if pure white corn is used, it does not aflfect the color of the loaf, and makes very sweet bread. Of mixing potatoes we have fully treated (394), and recommend farmers to grow some of the very white fleshed, dry sorts, for this purpose. A French process uses ninety per cent, of the wheat nuxking white bread. Sec. 23.] THE BREAD QUESTION-. 387 The wheat is ground into fine wheat flour, sevcntj-four per cent. ; brown meal, sixteen per cent. ; bran, ten j^er cent. The meal is then mixed quite thin Miih water and the necessary yeast added, and this is used to mix the white flour into a dough, whicli is baked as usual when light. The bread is declared to be greatly improved, being less likely to sour, and is light, sweet, and nutritious, 405. Corn Breadi — Although Indian corn is a more universal crop than wheat, corn bread is by no means in universal use. The reason is in some measure to be accounted for in the inborn love of fermented bread which the meal of this grain will not make. The use of " leavened bread" has been thought by some to come in part from the early notion that it created a distinction between Christians and Jews. The former always use leavened bread — at least the Protestants do, in their sacraments — and the Jews have their holy " feasts of unleavened broad ;" so that eating unleavened bread as a constant practice has been said to be an unchristian act. It was also the daily food of the heathen, and in early times, when the first settlers of the country were very poor, corn bread was the only kind ; and the use of it now may call up reminiscences of painful poverty. It is also the only bread of slaves, and it may be looked upon as a badge of servitude. At any rate, the poorest classes of the -Northern States make the least use of corn bread. Yet it is the very thiog tliat they should eat, because it is nutritious, healthful, and economical. In Northern cities, corn meal fur- nishes scarcely one per cent, of tlie bread food, and not one per cent, of that is made into bread. In tlie farming regions of the northeastern States pure corn bread is only seen occasionally upon the farmer's table, though bread made of a mixture of about two parts of corn meal and one of rye meal, familiarly known as " ry'n'-injun," is still extensively used. (See 393.) A much better mixture is one part rye meal, two parts corn meal, and four parts fine wheat flour. The rye and corn are mixed with yeast, quite soft, and set to rise, and after getting veiy spongy, the wheat flour is worked in, and the mass allowed to get light before it is put to bake. At the South, corn bread is almost the only sort ever seen upon the tables of many families who rank upon a par with the mass of Northern farmers. All eat it there and are content, both master and slave, and those who are hired, or sit at the table as guests. If a farmer at the North should attempt to feed his laborers exclusively upon corn bread, there would probably be a revolt, particularly if a majority of them were Irish, whose only bread in their own country was potatoes. Such laborers have yet to learn that corn bread gives more working force than bread of fine Avheaten flour. The latter gives the most brain food, and is best for growing children ; but Indian corn, either iu tire form of bread, or many of the other forms in which it comes to the tables of those who know how to cook it, furnishes the laborer with a greater proportion of power than any other grain, and its value should be better known, and it then would be more used as an article of food. 388 DOfESTIC ECON^OMT. [Chap. IV. Perhajis the reason why the use of corn bread is going out of fashion in this region, ■wliich is in the very center of the great corn belt, niaj' be found in the fact that so many households are now served by cooks who were not born in a corn-growing country, and who seem incapable of learning that corn meal is not fit to eat in a semi-raw state. If they make it into niujh, they only scald it. If they mix it into bread, they insist upon its being done as soon as it is heated through. Learn, then, that corn meal can not be cooked too much — it seldom is enough. The best corn bread we ever ate was from meal well kneaded with nothing but water and a little salt, and then made into lumps about tlie size and somewhat the shape of a man's foot, and raked in the embers just like potatoes to roast, and there allowed to remain and cook all night. The next best corn bread is the old-style johnny- cake, mixed in the same wa}', and patted about three-quarters of an inch thick upon a board, and roasted before an exceedingly hot fire. The next best are the " corn-dodgers" of the Southwest, mixed like the first^ and baked in an iron bake-pan, standing on hot coals, with hot coals on the lid. These dodgers are usually of two to four pounds weight, and when brought hot to the table are certainly good bread. They are much eaten cold, but we can not recommend tliem in that condition, onl}- as being infinitely better than the half-baked corn bread common at the Nortli. All the improvements of corn bread ever attempted by adding other ingredients have failed, to our taste, to produce an article ^qual to a well- baked ash-cake or corn-dodger. Eemember the three grand secrets about making good corn bread : never to grind your meal very fine, always to have it fresh ground, and never fear baking it too much. All corn bread should be cooked a long time. The negroes often bury the dough in the hot embers all night. One of the most common objections to tl>e use of corn bread is its sup- posed indigestibility. On account of this character, which it has obtained, as we think, unjustly, it is avoided by many people who are of a dyspeptic habit. We think there is a mistake in ascribing this c'laracfer to corn bread indiscriminately. If Indian corn meal is not thoroughly cooked, it is indi- gestible — more so, perhaps, tlian any other grain. But such bread as that above described as ash-cakes or corn-dodgers, we do not believe indigestible. We have often eaten corn-cakes, made purposely for a severe affliction of indigestion, and found them better than any other kind of bread. These were made of meal and water and salt only, and patted out into the size and thickness of Boston crackers, and most thoroughly baked in a quick oven. See Section XXIY. Sec. 24.] SUBSTITUTES FOK BREAD. 389 SECTION XXIV.-SUBSTITUTES FOR BREAD, IN GREEN AND DRIED CORN, POP-CORN, HOMINY, AND PREPARATIONS OF WHEAT OW truly has breaigs or hens, and boil fho corn for j-oursclf until it swells to three times its original size, and is as soft as bread. Yon may prepare and boil a gallon at once for six persons, and what is not eaten at first may be warmed over just as you would potatoes. Those who have no wood ashes or cobs to make weak lye of, may hull coi-n by using a teaspoonful of saleratus to a quart of corn, in water enough to Sec. 2-4.] SUBSTITUTES FOK BREAD. 391 cover it. In either case the lye must be made hot after tlie corn is put in to loosen the hull ; and if the lye is not carefully washed from the corn, it will taste unpleasantly. t 409. Saiop; or Dry Uominy. — This is another and most valuable prepara- tion of corn, and an excellent, wholesome, economical substitute for bread. It is an article that no family, desirous of practicing economy, can do without. It is a very cheaj), healthy, nutritious food. It usually costs only half the price per pound of flour, and contains no moisture, while the best of flour holds from twelve to sixteen pounds of water in a barrel. In point of econ- omy as human food, one bushel of hominy is equal to ten of potatoes, for which it is an excellent substitute, and is almost as universally liked as po- tatoes, and at the South it is more freelj' eaten ; while at the North it is seldom seen, except by a few persons in cities. By hominy, we do not mean a sort of coarse meal, but grains of white corn from which the hull and chit or eye have been removed by moistening and ponnding in a wooden mortar, or patent hulling machine, leaving the grains almost whole, and composed of little else Dut starch. 410. How to Cook IIODlinyi — The process is very simple to those who know how. As but few do, we give the formula of practice in our own family : Wash slightly in cold water, and soak twelve hours in tepid, soft water ; then boil slowly from three to six hours in the same water, with plenty more added from time to time, taking care to prevent burning. Do not salt while cooking, as salt or hard water will harden the corn ; so it will peas or beans, green or dry, and rice also. When done, add butter and salt ; or a better way is to let each one season to suit the taste. It may be eaten with meat in lieu of vegetables, or with sugar or syrup. It is good, hot or cold ; it is good frequently warmed over, for it is like the old-fashioned pot of — " Beau porridge hot, or bean porridge cold, Dean porridge best at nine days old. ' ' So is liominy ; it is good always, and very wholesome, and like tomatoes, only requires to be eaten once or twice to fix the taste in its favor. In New York this article is called samp, and the name hominy is given to corn cracked in a mill, and winnowed, and sifted, and numbered according to its fineness. We add a few of the M'ays in which hominy may be used. HoMTNY Breakfast-Cakes. — Mash the cold hominy with a rolling-pin, and add a little flour-and-milk batter, so as to make the whole thick enough to form into little cakes in the hand, or it may be put upon the griddle with a spoon. • Bake brown, eat hot, and you will declare you never ate anything better of the batter-cake kind. IIoMiNY Pudding. — Prepare as for breakfast-cakes ; add one egg to oiu h pint, some whole cinnamon, sugar to suit the taste, and a few raisins, and bake like rice-pudding. A little butter or chopped suet may be added. Serve hot or cold, with or without sauce. Hominy Salad. — To a pint of cold hominy add a small onion, a quarter of a boiled chicken, or about the same quantity of lobster, chopped fine, to 392 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. which some add a small pickle. To be dressed with sweet oil, mustard, popper, and vinegar. It is a very good substitute for green salads at seasons when the latter can not be obtained. Hominy and Milk, hot or cold, is as much better than iiiush-and-milk as that is better than rye-meal porridge. Hominy and Beans. — Mix equal parts of cold baked beans and hominy together, and heat up, and you will have an excellent dish. Soft Hominy Bread. — One spoonful of boiled hominy, cooled ; a small lump of butter, one egg, half a jiint of wheat flour — mixed with milk to the consistency of cream. Bake a half hour in a hot oven. Hominy "Waffles. — Two spoonfuls of hominy, a small lump of butter, two eggs, one quart of wheat flour. Thin with milk to the consistency of very thick cream. Bake in waffle-irons. 411. How Hominy is niadCt — The primitive way of making hominy Ava3 beating the corn in a mortar, in a considerable mass together, so as to rub off the hulls by attrition of the grains, without breaking them. Nearly forty years ago, in floating down the Ohio Iliver of a still evening, we 'first heard the music of the hominy mortars, which filled the air, as tlie voices of the negroes kept time to the strokes of the pestles, preparing a favorite food for their masters as well as themselves. But of late years the ground hom- iny, or cracked corn, has in a great measure driven the old hominy mortar out of use. Negro hominy is cooked by soaking and boiling until it becomes gelatinous, and then, when cold, if cut in slices and fried in a little fat, is often eaten in preference to any other bread. Hominy is also made by mechanical means, one of which is a shaft armed with files, revolving in a case with the corn, which makes a very nice article. At the South, negroes prefer hominy or corn meal to wheat flour, pound for pound. Corn is ground very coarse, and frequently eaten, hulls and all, in preference to sifting. Faw would be willing to live upon that alone. It would not be good economy to do so. It would be good economv for us all to use more Indian corn meal, and it would not only be economical, but healthy, to eat more hominy. "We will add liere several good receipts for cooking corn meal, as substi- tutes for whcaten bread : 412. Virginia Corn Bread. — Dissolve one tablespoonful of butter in three and a half pints of boiling milk; in this scald one quart of Indian meal; when cool, add a half pint of wheat flour, a little sugar, a teas[>oonful of salt, and two eggs well beaten ; mix well together, and bake in two cake- tins well greased or buttered. 413. The St. €liarles Hotel Indian Bread.— Beat two eggs very light, mix them with one pint of sour milk (or butter with sweet milk will do), then add a teaspoonful of soda or saleratus, then stir in slowly one pint of Indian meal and one tablespoonful of melted butter; beat these w-ell together- bake in a common cakcpau, in a quick oven. The bread can be made very good without eggs. Sec. 24.] SUBSTITUTES FOR BREAD. 393 414. Musb, or llasty Puddiug. — Stir into a half pint of cold water enough Indian meal to make a thick batter; put this into three or four quarts of boiling water over the fire ; after this has boiled ten minutes, stir in a dessert-spoonful of salt, and sifted meal until it is quite thick ; let it boil from one to two liours, stirring it often to prevent its burning. 415. Fried Mushi — Mush to be fried should boil a little stiifer, with a half pint of flour, say, to two quarts of mush ; put the mush in an earthen dish dipped in cold water ; let it stand until jierfectly cold ; then cut it in slices half an inch thick, and fry them brown on both sides in a little butter or pork fat — lard will do with a little salt. 410. Indiau CakeSi — To a pint of mush add milk or warm water to make a batter, and flour enough to make the cuke hold together ; two or three eggs, two spoonfuls of molasses or sugar, a little nutmeg or lemon, to suit the taste ; bake on a griddle or in an oven. 417. Baked Indiau Pudding. — Into one quart of boiling milk scald ten tablespoonfuls of Indian meal ; when cold, add a teacupful of molasses, a piece of butter the size of an egg, a teaspooriful of salt, also of ginger and cinnamon ; bake in a jjudding-dish from one to two hours, in a cook-stove, or longer if in a brick oven. When done it has the appearance of brown bread. 418. Pop-Corn— Its Uses as Food— It makes Delicious Puddings.— We can not close this section upon substitutes for bread without bringing to the notice of farmers a new preparation of Indian corn, original with the author, but highly approved by a very large number of persons to whom the new dis- covery has been made known. It is as much a pleasure as it is a duty to tell farmers how they can grow and prepare upon their own farms a substi- tute for rice, farina, tapioca, sago, etc., for culinary purposes — something, in short, that shall be as good as either of the above substances for the use of the good housewife, to make a pudding — a pudding that is not a mere adjunct of a dinner, but a real substantial addition to it; as hearty as one of corn meal ; more wholesome than that, more toothsome, and equally cheap ; 60 that it is within the reach of all, both rich and poor; and as I think it a valuable discovery in the preparation of food, I am anxious that everybody sliould enjoy the benefit of my discovery. " Necessity is the mother of invention." It was so in this case. It was discovered that a pudding could be got up in an impromptu manner, upon an emergency, in a farm-house, when tlic ingredients in most common use were exhausted. For years popped corn had been an almost daily dish, all the family and all visitors liking it very much ; but we had never thought of reducing it to meal, and applying it to culinary purposes, until one winter daj% when a pudding was wanted, and it was not convenient to obtain any of the ordi- nary substances used for that purpose. To the cook's suggestion that corn meal might be borrowed, the mistress of the house replied : " No, no — my father would rather go hungry than live by borrowing. Besides, I don't 394 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. think there is time to make a corn-meal pudding ; it requires four good liotirs to cook it sufficiently, otiierwise it always has a raw taste; for corn meal is never good unless cooked a great deal. I think you will have to give up the pudding, but I will ask my father." So slie did, and lie said : " Let us liave a pop-corn pudding." " Oh, it will, I fear, be a waste of time and material, and prove a great failure." " No matter ; there is as much to be learned by failure as success. Let us try." So we did. A pint of ]>op-corn was put through the operation, and it made sixteen pints of popped corn, which was first crushed witii a rolling- pin on the kitchen-table, and then ground in the cofl'ce-mili into a coai-se meal, which measured eight pints. It is easiest crushed by putting it in a bng. We have since procured a large-sized coffee-mill, that grinds the corn without first mashing it. The difficulty was, that it was so light it would not feed regularly into the grinding-plates of tlie mill. "Wc grow the corn for popping; it is a small, white, flint grain, upon small cobs, and quite prolific in its yield. It is popped in a small popper made of woven wire, and takes perhaps half an hour to pop and grind a pint. i\d. llow to make a Pop-Corn Pudding. — Mix five pints of the pop-corn meal with full four pints of sweet milk, and set it where it will warm slightly, and soak an hour or two. Then let it cool, and add two eggs, sugar, raisins, spice, as you would to a rice-pudding. Let it be set on a hot stove and boiled a few minutes, stirring it several times to get the meal well mixed with the milk, because it inclines, from its great lightness, to float, and if baked without stirring there will be a brown crust on top and custard at the bottom. It should be baked about an hour, and served hot, and will be eaten with great satisfaction — satisfaction that a new ingredient for a delicious, rich, wholesome pudding has been discovered — one always at hand, easily prepared, and one that has never failed to gratify the taste of all who have tried it. The cost of such a pudding to a farmer is the cost of the sugar, raisins, and spice — the milk and corn I count at nothing. "What should I count the cost of five eighths of a Y>mt of corn and four pints of milk, which, if not oaten upon the table, would go to the pigs ? The eggs would sell possibly tor four cents, and the things bought cost as much more, in a pudding that fed eight liearty people. Let us then eat pudding — good, rich pudding — as much as we can at a meal, at a cost of one cent each. It is cheap ; try it, and you will say it is good. 420. Pop-Corn Griddle Cakesi^ — Anolhor use for this pop-corn meal is for griddle cakes. To my taste, they are quite equal to rice cakes, cooked in any M-ay that rice is, and are much heartier. In fact, there is no stronger food for a laboring man tlian any of the preparations of corn in the way I liavc indicated. At the same time, its digestibility is unquestioned. 4:21. The Philosophy of Popping Corni — The philosophy of the advantage Seo. 24.] SUBSTITUTES FOR BREAD. 395 of thus preparing corn is worthy of our attention. Of all the cereals, Indian corn requires the greatest action of fire to fit it for food. It is full of essen- tial oil, and that needs to be cooked, and it can only be done by a very high heat or a long-continued moderate one. If long continued, the other con- stituents of the corn are sometimes injured, and so are the ingredients added to the meal. If not well cooked, any article of food prepared from corn, however palatable, is not so digestible as wheaten bread. Now, in pop- ping corn, it is subjected to a very high heat, which thoroughly cooks the oil, and fits the corn at once for food — a food that almost everybody loves, and so will everybody love the various preparations of food from meal made of popped corn, for it may be eaten without fear by the dyspeptic, and it will be eaten with satisfaction to appease hunger. As we know that corn and corn meal, properly kiln-dried, will keep a long time, we may safely argue that meal prepared by a still more perfect system of fire-drying, will keep an indefinite length of time, or just as long as we wish. If ground and packed in barrels, the pop-corn meal will keep better than corn meal or flour, or even whole grain. 422. Hulled Wheat, Wheaten Groats, and Boiled Whe&U—IluUed wheat is another excellent substitute for bread. It can be hulled by lye, or by any of the mechanical means used for hulling corn or rice, one of which is to ran it through millstones, set just far enough apart to rub otf the husks. It is cooked by simply boiling, and is eaten in the various ways that we have mentioned for hominy. Wheati'?i Groats, or "grits," as they are usually called, are coarsely- ground wheat — as coarse as it can well be ground. This is also a substitute for bread. It is cooked by boiling in plain water, as hominy or hulled corn and wheat should always be, until all the water is absorbed. It is eaten both hot and cold, or warmed over, and it does not require as much cooking as any preparation of Indfan corn, and it is both palatable and healthful. Every family, whether rich or poor, or in town or country, should make it a religious duty to use more corn meal, oatmeal, Graham flour, hominy, and cracked wheat for bread, in preference to fine wheat flour, both for health and economy. Look at the relative retail prices per pound of these articles, and see which will give the most nutriment for the least money; not which will afi'ord you the most fashionable bread. Boiled wheat is another simple form of preparing an excellent substitute for bread, particularly at liarvest-time, while the grains are not as hard as afterwards. It should be carefully selected, and cleaned, and washed, and then soaked several hours, and boiled in the same water until some of the i;rains crack open. It may be eaten with meat, or as a dessert, with syrup, sauce, or milk. 500 DOMESTIC ECOXOMY. [Chap. IV. SECTION XXV.-EXCERPTA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR HOUSEWIVES. NDER this head, which really means selecting choice extracts from hooks that vre read, we intend to gather up a great numher of useful thing?, and concentrate them here for easy reference in a some- what miscellaneous order. We will open the section with a most valuable line of advice, selected from a letter of an excellent house- wife to her daughter, when about undertaking the responsibilities of housekeeping. She says : 423. "Always Buy Good Articles, notwitlistanding the first cost is more, in preference to cheap or low- priced sorts, which are generally the most uneconomi- cal ; and sometimes low-priced articles of food prove detrimental to health. Make it a point to read every- thing that comes in your way about domestic economy. You can not learn too much. Keep a little memorandum-book, with alplia- bet pages, and make it a rule to store up cxcerpta from all 30U read, for future use. It will prove to you a lasting source of useful knowledge. Frequently you need only make a reference in your memorandum where to look for what you want. No head is large enough fur a storehouse of all that a good housewife will at some time want to know." 424. Economy of Farm-house Lights. — This is a very important question for the consideration of farmers' wives, who may find that it will not always be good economy to burn their own tallow. Certainly not, if it can be ex- changed for a light-producing substance which will save the hard, unplea- sunt labor of candle-making, and at the same time afford a much better and a pleasanter light. Unfortunately, we have no standard of comparative cost of tallow — the almost universal source of farm-house light — with fluid substances. E. N. Kenf, of the United States Assay Office, fells us, in the following table, which is the most economical as regards cost of oleaginous substances for light. 42.x Cost of Oils for Light Compared ; Mni^^rioia T-~„TT„i Retail Ptioe of Oil Cost of r.n Kqual '*'-^'""'''- LampUsoa. per Gallon. Amouul of Light. Kerosene oil Kerosene $1 00 84 10 Caiiiphenc Cainphone C3 4 85 Sylvic oil Rosin oil 50 C 05 H-ipc-soed oil Mechanical 1 50 9 00 Whule oil Solar 1 00 12 00 Lard oil Solar 1 25 17 00 Sperm oil Solar 2 25 2G 00 Burning fluid Large wick 87 29 00 42(5. Cost of Oil and Caudles Compared. — Dr. Ure gives the comparative cost of an equal amount of light per hour from the following substances : Sec. 25.] EXCERPTA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR HOUSEWIVES. 397 " Carcel lamp, with sperm oil, Ijd. ; wax candles, 6d. ; spermaceti candles, 5id. ; stearic acid candles, 4id. ; molded tallow candles, 2id." 427. Economy of Kerosene Oil. — From the foregoing it will be seen that kerosene oil is the least expensive of all fluid liglit-producing substances; and as it is now refined, and burnt in improved lamps, we believe it to be a very agreeable substitute for tallow candles, but whether cheaper or not can only be determined by actual experiments in different households, com- paring the cost per gallon with the value per pound of tallow, and the light produced or the light required. As a general thing, farm-house lights are very inferior, and many a bright pair of eyes has been dimmed in conse- quence. It is on this account that this question of light should be more discussed and experimented upon. Do not continue to use candles, or any particular form of lamp or kind of oil, because you have long been in that practice, if there really is something better. 428. How to Improve Caudles. — If you do use home-made candles, pray purify the tallow, and do not mix lard with it, though you may add a little alum, and never use your candles any sooner than you would soap — until they are at least six months old. Pack them in bran, and set them away in a cool, dry place, and see how much they improve by age. It is well to mix beef and mutton tallow, but the proportion of the latter should be small, because it sometimes gives ofl" a disagreeable odor. All good tallow is white, firm, and brittle, and dipped candles can only be made of it in mild weather. Be careful to use notliing but fine, white, clean cot- ton yarn for wicking. 429. Lard— How to Make and Keep it Sweet. — The lard of a hog of a])out a year old, fattened upon corn, and carefully rendered and packed in stone pots or sound oaken firkins, and kept covered close, will keep in a cool cel- lar just as long as any farmer's wife wants to keep it. Lard must be thor- oughly cooked in rendering, to keep sweet. A cooling-room attached to the ice-house is an excellent place to keep lard in summer. But remember that lard will never keep well in any place if it has been insufiiciently cooked. 430. Rice and Sago should both have a clear, fresh, white appearance when you purchase. Kice with the largest whole grains is the best. Kice is remarkable for being the richest in starch, and most deficient in oil, of all the cultivated grains. Old rice is apt to be infected with weevil. The small, white sago, called pearl sago, is the best. The large, brown kind has an earthy taste. These articles, and ground rice, tapioca, etc., should be kept in boxes or jars closely covered. 431. Spices, Cocoa, and Chocolate. — Spices should never be purchased by a farmer's family in a ground state. They are frequently adulterated, and always lose strength as soon as opened. JVutmegs sometimes are kept in store until stale. Fresh ones can be se- lected by pricking with a pin at the stem end, when, if good, a drop of oil will ooze out. 39S DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. FV. Cocoa sliells arc apt to be musty from long keeping. Never purchase a large quantity until you have tried a sample and proved it fresh and swee'. Cracked cocoa is generally the best. Some that is carefully put up in papers keeps well. Chocolate is often adulterated so that it makes a nau- seous beverage. Do not buy but a single cake until you prove it good. Both these articles are made from the cocoa beans, which grow upon small trees, cultivated for the purpose in Central America and other tropical lati- tudes. The beans are bitter and astringent, and are roasted like coffee to prepare them for use. They contain much more oil or fatty matter than coffee berries. It is rated iu an analysis by Lampadius over 53 per cent, of the substance. The substance containing the aroma of the bean is given at 16.70 per cent. The shells are the dried fleshy pulp that surrounds the beans in the pods. The cracked cocoa is the broken roasted beans. Chocolate is made of the beans, ground with hot rollers, and made into a paste with sugar, and sea- soned with vanilla and spices, and if not adulterated, makes a wholesome beverage, but it is next to impossible to lind chocolate that is pure. 432. Coffee, as it comes to us, is the half of a dried bean which was inclosed in a pulpy berrj^ that grew somewhat like a cherry upon a tree naturally ten to thirty feet high, but kept pruned low in coffee plantations, which are to be found in most tropical countries. The best variety of coffee comes from Mocha, in Arabia. The berry is small and round, and the odor and flavor xerj agreeable ; it bears a high price. And next to it is the Java coffee, a large, pale yellow berry. The Brazilian, commonly called Rio coffee, is the sort in most common use. The berry is of medium size, greenish color, and appears rusted with specks of gray. It is not a fine flavored coffee, having a good deal of acridness, but it is in favor with farmers generally, because " it goes farther than mild coffee." All coffee improves by age if kept dry. It should be roasted very evenly, of a light brown color, and used very soon afterward, as it loses value every day after it is roasted, and after it is ground it will become almost worthless by a few days' exposure to the air. Koasted coflee should always be carefully kept in a closed canister, separate from all food, as it rapidly absorbs odors. Roasting coffee in a room will always disinfect it of bad effluvia. It also imparts its own odor to other things, such as tea, butter, and bread. In roasting coffee, first dry it gently in an open pan until it changes color, and then cover the pan and scorch it rapidly without charring a grain. The term, "burning coflee," implies a great error in its preparation, or ig- norance of its character. Roasting renders the grains of coffee brittle, and makes the matter that it is desirable to extract more soluble in hot water, and produces as great a cl>omical change as fire does upon corn meal or any other article of food. The peculiar aroma of coffee as it comes to the tal>le, which gives it the flavor and stimulating eft'cct ascribed to it, is never found in coffee grains before they are roasted. But if it is burnt, this flavor is destroyed, and Seo. 2o.] excerpt a of USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR HOUSEWIVES. 399 in its place we have a bitter, acrid, tannic acid taste, wliicli produces py- rosis in the stomachs of those who use it largely. Never allow pepper and coft'ee to come in contact. The two should not be kept in the same pantry. The best water for a decoction of coifee is that with a slight alkaline tinc- ture, and it has been recommended to add 40 grs. of dry soda to a pound of coifee. It is certainly true that some of the springs of the Rocky Mount- ains, which are so alkaline as not to be drinkable, make good coffee. So do wells that will not make good tea. Never buy ground coffee. Besides the fact that it loses strength, it is almost universally adulterated. Peas are largely used for this purpose, and beans, corn, dried carrots, turnips, chiccory, and several other substances are also employed. 433. Tea — its Value as Food* — That tea has a value as food, we can not doubt. Long before its use among European nations, the Chinese had set- tled this question to their satisfaction. If it is not of itself food, it seems to help us to assimilate other things. It certainly is a favorite beverage with all who are accustomed to its use, and so far as health is concerned, we be- lieve it is certainly harmless, if pure, as the best black teas generally are. The green teas, either from the nature of the article, or from something- added in curing, have a much greater effect upon the nervous system tliau the black teas. Pekoe and Oolong are the names of two of the best varieties of black tea. Gunpowder and Imperial are the two best green teas. 434. How to Make Black Tea. — Black tea must be boiled some minutes — thirty is better than less — in a close vessel, to get the fragrant aroma and all the vegetable extract that adds value to the delicious beverage we get from a well-made cup of good black tea. Never use hard water for tea Filtered rain-water makes good tea. Never steep it in lukewarm water, and never let it come to the table at that temperature. The true aroma of tea is never obtained except when it is boiling hot. Tea should never be exposed to the air. Keep all ground Biiices, and also ground coffee, carefully excluded from the air. 435. Sugar and Molassesi — For most purposes refined sugars are the most economical. In buying raw sugar, select none but the cleanest sorts, such as the best New Orleans, or Santa Cruz, of a light straw color, coarsely crystallized. White Havana sugar is not as clean as white Brazil sugar. Select bright, light-colored molasses. Never buy the thick, dark-colored, srgar-house syrup. Its thickness does not indicate sweetness. For the table, the real " golden syrup" of the sugar-refiners is not only the best, but most economical. We make an excellent table syrup every year of maple- sugar dissolved in boiling water. 436. Knowledge for the Kitchen. — Here are a few simple rules for the kitchen that may be usefully remembered : Oranges and lemons keep best wrapped close in soft paper, and laid in a drawer with linen. 400 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. Bread and cakes slionld be kept in a tiu box or stone jar. Salt codliiih sliould bo kept in a dry place, where the odor of it will not afiect the house. Tiie best kind is that which is called dun, from its peculiar color. Fish skin, for clearing cotiee, should be washed, dried, cut small, and kept in a box or pajier bag. Soft soap should be kept in a dry place in the cellar, and should not be used till three months old. Bar soap should be cut into pieces of a convenient size, and left where it will become dry. It is well to keep it several weeks before using, as it spends fast when it is new. Cranberries will keep all winter in a firkin of water in the cellar. Potatoes should be put into the cellar as soon as the}' are dug. Lying exposed in the sun turns them green and makes them watery. Some good housekeepers have sods laid over barrels cf potatoes not iu immediate use. To prevent them from sprouting in the spring, turn them out on the cellar bottom. To thaw frozen potatoes, put them in hot water. To thaw frozen apples, put them in cold water. Neither will keep well after being frozen. 437. Slorius Butter and Cheese. — The most economical, and, to our taste, the best table butter is that which is packed in September and October for the next winter's use. If well made, in a soft-water region, there is no difficulty about keeping butter sweet in a temperate climate, if j)roperly made. Never keej) butter and cheese together, except it is in a very cool room, and then not in close contact. If cheese is rich and good, it always feels soft imder the pressure of the fingers. Even if kept until quite old, it does not become iiorny. Be careful not to select a horny cheese. That which is very strong is neither good nor healthy. To keep one that is cut, tie it up in a bag that will not admit flies, and hang it in a cool, dry place. K mold appears on it, wipe it off with a dry cloth. 438. Keeping Sweet Potatoes. — One who is a successful grower of sw«;t potatoes in quite a northern latitude— ne;ir 42 degrees — gives the following as his method of keeping them over winter. He says: " I use dry sand to put them up in ; it does not matter how the sand was dried — in a kiln, a log heap, or in the sun — if it is dry, that is all that is required. I prefer drying it in a log heap, as it costs at least four times less, and is just as good. And a family that has a little room with a stove in it, may keep a box or two, with eight or ten bushels in them, without any in- convenience of consequence. The boxes must be raised a few inches from the floor, and they must not be less than four inches from the wall. Fill the boxes with potatoes, and then put in diy sand until they are covered. " I have known ihem kept well in buckwheat chafl". In order to keep potatoes with success, there must be a thermometer kept in the room. The mercury must not sink below 40 degrees; if it does, the potatoes will chill and rot ; and it must not rise above 60 degrees, or they will grow." (See 565.) Sec. 25.] EXCERPTA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR HOUSEWIVES. 401 4:39. Preserving Eggs. — The following receipt is of such easy application that all housewives should try it, and satisfy themselves whether it is all that its author claims for it: " Dissolve some gum shellac in a sufficient quantity of alcohol to make a thin varnish, give each egg a coat, and after they become thoroughly dry, pack them in bran or sawdust, with their points downward, in such a man- nei' that they can not shift about. After you have kept them as long as you desire, wash the varnish carefully off, and they will be in the same state as they were before packing, ready either for eating or hatching." 440. Beans — How to Cook them. — "Few people know the luxury of baked beans, simply because few cooks properly prepare them. Besns generally are not cooked half long enough. Tiiis is a sure method : Two quarts of middling-sized white beans, two pounds of salt pork, and one spoonful of molasses. Pick the beans over carefully, wash them, and add a gallon of boiling-hot soft water; let them soak in it nil night; in the morning, put them in fresh water, adding a teaspoonful of saleratus, and boil gently, till the skin is very tender and about to break. Take them up dry, put them in your dish, so as to have the beans fill the dish nearly to the upper edge; turn in boiling water till the top is just covered; bake with a steady fire four or five hours. Watch them and add more water from time to time, as it dries away. Tliis is an old-time New England Saturday-evening dish." 441. Tomatoes— Various Methods of Preserving and Using them. — There is no way to preserve tomatoes for M'inter use so good as drying them. It is easily done thus: Scald, and peel, and stew to a gelatinous mass, and spread upon earthen plates, and dry in the sunshine or in a slow oven. It will then resemble dried stewed pumpkin, or the pulp of peaches dried in the same way. When wanted for use in winter, a portion of this dried tomato is soaked first in cold water, and that is gradually warmed till the whole becomes a ho- mogeneous mass, more or less thick, according to the quantity of water used. It may be eaten as a sauce with meats, or, by adding sugar, as a sweet- meat, or in place of currant jelly with venison and mutton, or as a substi- tute for cranberries with roast turkey. It is an excellent and a cheap sauce. Tomato Chowder. — ^To one bushel of green tomatoes add one dozen green peppers, 12 common-sized onions, one quart of grated horseradish, one cuj) of ground mustard, one ounce of cinnamon, one ounce of cloves, whole. The tomatoes, onions, and peppers chop fine. Put the tomatoes and onions in a vessel over-night, sprinld* a little salt over them, and in the morning drain oif the water, put all together and boil them in clear water until tender, then drain the water from them, mix with the above-named spices, pack in ajar, and pour scalded vinegar over them. Another way is to take green tomatoes, cut a small piece off the stem end, and also from the other side ; then lay them in a pan. Sprinkle with salt, pour boiliuij water on them, and let them stand ten minutes. Pour the water off and serve them in the same manner again ; then pour boiling wa- 402 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. ter on them without salt, and let them stand a few minutes. Chop them up fine, putting in some cabbage, horseradish, and peppers ; and wiien all chopped, put on salt, pepper, and vinegar, and they are ready to pickle in crocks. This makes an excellent relish with meat. Tomato Catchup. — Scald ripe tomatoes just sufficiently to allow you to take off the skins ; let them stand for a day, covered with salt; strain thcin, to thoroughly remove the seeds ; then to every two quarts add three ounces of cloves, two of black pepper, two nutmegs, and a very little Cayenne pop- per and salt ; boil the liquor for an hour; let it cool and settle ; add a pint of the best cider vinegar : bottle, cork, and seal tight, and keep it always in a cool place. Another "Wat. — Take a bushel of tomatoes and boil them till soft; squeeze them through a fine wire sieve, and add half a gallon of vinegar, one pint and a half of salt, two ounces of cloves, quarter of a pound of all- spice, two ounces of Cayenne pepper, five heads of garlic, skinned and sep- arated ; mix together and boil about three hours, or until reduced to about one half ; then bottle, without straining. Tomato Sauce. — One peck of tomatoes, one ounce of cloves, one ounce of cinnamon, one quart of vinegar, four pounds of brown sugar, two table- spoonfuls of salt, and the same of ground black pepper. Peel the tomatoes, and boil until very tender. Drain them from the juice. Now boil tlie sugar, spices, etc., in the liquid until it is thick as syrup ; return the fruit into this syrup, and stew until the mass is a jam, and it keeps well any length of time. This may be used to flavor the following sauce : 442. Picnic Sance. — Beat the yelks of four eggs perfectly ; mix with the eggs a tumbler of jelly, four large tablespoonfuls of brown sugar, four large tablespoonfuls of mustard stirred into a batter with vinegar; to these ingre- dients add a teacupful of butter and two tumblers of best vinegar. Stir all together carefully ; set the vessel in which you have mixed the sauce in a pot of boiling water and cook until it tliickens and the egg is done ; stir in a little salt and half a teaspoonful of Cayenne pepper and as much tomato sauce as will give it a pleasant flavor. 443. mushrooms, and their Uses and Production!— It has been pul)lished that some of the great jtroduccrs of mushrooms near Paris, who grow them in artiflcial caves, can produce at the rate of eighty quarts a day upon an acre of surface, which would give an annual crop of 29,200 quarts. Allow- ing the actual crop only one fourth of this quantity, it would be a very val- uable one, as the average market price in New York is 25 cents a quart. Say 7,300 quarts for the product of an acre, at 25 cents, this would be $1,825 a year. The construction of artiflcial caves, however, is so ex- pensive, that mushrooms are not likely to be much cultivated by farmers for family use, though many of them will continue to collect such as are pro- duced spontaneously about the homestead ; and to enable them to do so without danger of getting iiokl of other plants of the agaric family that are poisonous, we give the following rules to distinguish the edible mushrooms Sec. 25.] EXCERPTA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR HOUSEWIVES. 403 from toadstools. "Without giving the botanical characters, we notice some of the marks by which they may be distinguished: First. The mushroom has no bad smell. The skin on the top of the mushroom will readily peel off. The gills or plates on the under side of the mushroom are of a white and pinkish or rosy hue, and though turning brownisli by age, yet never of that lurid brown of the toadstool. "When sprinkled with salt and allowed to stand a few hours, the mushroom gives out juice, but the toadstool becomes dry and leathery. If all these charac- ters are united in the specimen it may be safely eaten, otherwise it should be rejected, as it would be better to throw away acres of good mushrooms than to eat one of the poisonous toadstools. Secondly. Mushrooms which grow in marsliy, shady places, and in thick forests where the sun has no access, are in general to be regarded as pos- sessing dangerous qualities ; their substance is softer, moister, and more porous than that of mushrooms used for the table. Tliey have likewise & more disagreeable and dirty-looking appearance. Tliose which have a dusky hue, and change color when cut, or show a gaudy or many very dis- tinct colors, particularly if tliey have been originally covered by skin or ex- hale a strong and uin>leasant odor, ought not to be eaten. Those which have short bulbous stalks, or fragments of skin adhering to the surface, or which grow rapidly and corrupt quickly, should also be rejected. It has been generally supposed that poisonous mushrooms lose their deleterious qualities, but this is a rule to which there are many exceptions, and which ought therefore to be very cautiously admitted. If you wish to grow mush,rooms, procure some of the spawn from a gar- dener, and make a bed of light loamy soil, mixed with manure from horses fed upon grain ; it will produce these plants when the temperature is right, which is about 50 or 55 degrees Fahrenheit, in dry, calm, summer weather. A cave cellar, or natural cave, or recess in the rocks, is a good place to make a mushroom bed. 444. Drying Rhubarb.— Ehubarb, when well prepared, will keep good for an indefinite period. The stalks should be broken off while they are crisp and tender, and cut into pieces about an inch in length. These pieces should then be strung on a thin twine, and hung up to dry. Rhubarb shrinks in drying more than any other plant, and when dry strongly resembles pieces of soft wood. When wanted for use, it should be soaked in water all night, and the next day stewed over a slow fire. None of its properties appear to be lost in drying, and it is equally as good in winter as any other dried fruit. Another plan is to cook it first ; for this get the Linnaeus rhubarb. It is larger, more tender, and better flavored than any other, requires less sugar by one fourth, and has no skin to be taken off. Do not attempt to peel it, but cut in pieces as long as tlie thickness of the stalk, and put them with your sugar in an earthen dish without water; cover it to retain the flavor, and place it in an oven and cook till quite tender, without stirring or break- 404 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. ing the pieces. If too much cooked, it assumes a disgusting string}' appear- ance, and loses all fruity character. Tlie rosy color of the stalks will give your dish an attractive aj^peariuicc, and the dyspeptic will find in it a power- ful aid to digestion. This, if thinly spread upon plates, and dried in the sun or a slow oven, just as the pulp of peaches or stewed pumpkin is sometimes prepared, will keep as well as pumpkin, if packed away in thick paper bags or boxes, and kept in a dry place. Rhuliarb has within a brief period, quite within our memorj', become generally diffused, and is now looked upon as a famil)- necessity rather than a luxury. There are several varieties: Gaboon's seedling is the largest, but is rather coarse and not so high flavored as some otliers, of which we may have more to say under the head of the garden. We will only speak here of one or two methods of preserving tlie good qualities of the stalk by dry- ing. For drying whole, the Victoria is one of the best varieties. Other sorts contain too much woody fiber. 445. Facts about Pork aud Bacon— How to Cure and Keep Hams.— The best and most solid pork is made by lapid feeding of pigs in autuinn, wliich have been kept growing, but not fat, ail summer. Hogs that are kept fat through the summer are most apt to afford soft pork, wliicli shrinks in the pot. One writer says tliat — " Pigs should be wintered ui)on two ears of corn a day, fed very regularly, one at night and one in the morning, keeping them in a warm, close pen, without water, and they will hibernate in good condition upon this small amount of feed. If watered or fed with liquid food, and kept in the cold, much of the food is expended in keeping up animal heat. The pigs should be in good condition when put iqi, and must be well bedded to enable them to keep warm." 446. Dry-Salting Bacon. — Hams, or any part of the pig designed for bacon, we think, should never be put in pickle ; they are decidedly better salted dry. Our practice has been to weigh both. pork and salt, giving six pounds of fine salt to one hundred pounds of pork. First sprinkle about one fourth of an ounce of saltpeter, finely pulveiizcd, upon a ham or shoulder, and then rub it well over with salt, and pile up the pieces in some dry room, just as you would pile up a lot of stove- wood. It should be over- hauled once, and the spare salt rubbed on fresh-looking spots, and the pile reconstructed so as to allow the air to come to all parts. It will completely salt in as many days as a ham weighs pounds. For pickled pork, it is advantageous to salt it in bulk, before packing in barrels. Nothing will drain off from meat thus salted, but just what should drain away. When your pork is ready to go into the barrel, pack it as tight as you can force it in, and then fill tlie barrel with brine ; not salted water, but brine, which is water saturated with salt. Pork thus cured will keep longer than we can calculate. 447. English and Irish Mode of Curing Bacon.— The Irish Farmer's Gazette Seo. 25.] EXCERPTA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR HOUSEWIVES, 405 gives the following directions : " Singe off tlie hair, and scrape thoroughly clean ; when cut up, rub the flesh side well with common salt, and pack the pieces on top of each other on a tray with a gutter round it to catch the brine; once every four or five days the salt should be changed, and the flitches moved, placing those on top at the bottom; five or six weeks of this treatment will eufiice to cure the bacon, when it may be hung up to dry, first rubbing over with coarse bran, or any kind of sawdust except deal; if smoking be preferred, hang in a chinmey; if not, in a dry, airy part of the kitchen, not too near llie fire. We are not acquainted with the Limerick mercantile process ; tlie Wicklow is similar to that given above, and practiced by farmers there" An English recipe says: "For four lianis, take two ounces of saltpeter, two quarts of molasses, one quarter of a pound of pepper, half an ounce of cochineal, and about three pints of fine salt. If the hams have been in salt pickle, the salt will not be needed. Pound the saltpeter and cocliineal, then put all these ingredients together, and rub the hams thorouglilj' with the pickle, turning them every day." 448. A Good Pickle for Hams. — It depends partly njx)n how hogs are fed, but more upon the manner of curing tiian anything else as to the quality of hams. They can be made almost as delieat'j as tender chicken. For curing iiams in pickle wc have tried and approve the following compound of ariiclcs; To 100 lbs. of hams use 8 or 9 lbs. of rock-salt, 2 oz. of saltpeter, 2 lbs. of white sugar, 1 quart of best syrup, 4 oz. of saleratus, and 1 oz. of allspice. These materials are boiled and scummed, in ten or twelve gallons of water, and the hams j^acked in a barrel, and the brine put on cool, adding water if necessary to cover the hams. None but a new oak barrel should be used. Scald the barrel and cool it before putting in tiie hams. Let them lie three weeks, and then take them out and air them twenty-four hours ; put them back again three weeks, and then take them out and dry them tlioroughly before smoking, wliicli is done in an airy smoke-house, with cobs and maple or liickory chips. It is then a most delicious article of food. In smoking, be careful to keep your hams cool; never allow fire enough to heat the meat 449. Preserving Hams lor Family Tse.— To keep hams through the summer, hang them in a dry, cool room, and draw a loose cotton bag over them, and tie it tightly around the string tliat iiolds the meat. Tliis must be done before flies come in the spring, and it will keep them away. We have kept liaras prepared in this way till over three years old, and they were as much better than new ones, as ripe old cheese is better than one a day old. Tlie Lest hauis that we have in this couutry are from hogs fed upon beech-nuts; but hams of hogs fatted upon corn are much better than those from what are generally known as mast-fed hogs. 450. How to Cook a Ham. — Never put a ham into a kettle of cold water, and be equally careful never to put one into boiling water. First let the 406 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Cuap. IV. water become lukewarm; then put in the ham. Let it simmer or boil lightly for four or five hours — five is better than four — then take it out ftinl shave off the riud. Rub granulated sugar into the whole surface of the ham, so long as it can be made to receive it. Place the ham in a baking- dish, with a bottle of champagne or prime cider. Baste occasionally with the juice, and let it bake an hour in a gentle lieat. A slice from a nicely- cured ham, thus cooked, is enough to tempt a Jew. 451. Sausa^e-Makingt — All the lean scraps of pork that accumulate in cut- ting up the pigs, whether for bacon or pickled pork, will be most economi- cally used if made into sausage meat. But do not attempt this work unless you have a good sausage-meat cutter ; and if you wish to stufl' the meat into cases, you should have a combined cutter and stuflTer, so as to do the work at one operation. Cut the pork into small pieces, and divide it in parcels of about a quart, upon a clean table, to which the cutter should be fiistened. Mix your seasoning of salt, sage, thyme, cloves, pepper, and a little sugar, if you like it, with your meat, and tiien put it through the cutting-machine, thus nicely blending the seasoning with the meat, which passes directly into the cases, and finishes the job with great expedition. 452. The Value of Pork in Bacon. — If bacon sides should range at 13 cents per pound, shoulders at 10 cents, and hams at 15 cents ; and prime ]»ickled pork at $18 per barrel, mixed pork at $16, and rumps at $14 per barrel, we would advise all small farmers, who have a limited force to feal, and a limited pui"se to empty, to buy the rumps ; they are about eight inches of the small end of the backbone, with the tail cut off, and consisting of a due proportion of fat, lean, and bone, and are the cheapest meat diet that can possibly be purchased by planters for their people. 453. How to Cure and Cook Corucd Beef.— For a pickle, to every 100 lbs. of beef, take five lbs. of salt, a quarter of an oimce of saltpeter, and one pound of sugar ; dissolve in sufficient water to cover the meat. Do not get your meat too salt, for it makes it tough and tasteless. Do not allow it to remain over two weeks in the first brine, for it takes up all the blood that was in the meat, and consequently ought to be drained off, as tlie meat will be much more likely to be injured tiian it will when separated and replaced with fresh-made brine : but more especially in warm weather. In tliis way it will keep with just sufficient salt to season it. In the second place, tiie cooking is of just as much importance as the corning ; it should be boiled at least four hours, or until it can be cut and eaten as readily as a piece of soft bread. Not one half of the domestics cook their meat long enough. Try it once and you will see the difference. Meat prepared in this way can be eaten with a relish, and is easily digested, giving nourishment and strength to the body. But fried meats, or meats half cooked, can not be properly masticated or prepared for the action of the stomach, and are among the most indigestible articles of nourishment. Some persons arc always in too much of a hurry or too lazy to chew their food, thereby favoring their teeth and throwing the responsibility upon the stomach. Frequent abuses of this Sec. 25.] EXCERPTA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR HOUSEWIVES. 407 important organ develop disease, and the individual is said to have dyspep- sia with all its attendant evils. Therefore, spare not the cooking; you will have the less chewing, and greater advantage of the food. 454. Italian Mode of Cooking Scrap, or Coarse Portions of Beef.— A very economical and most savory and delicious dish can be made with two or tliree pounds of chuck steak, or cheap parts of beef, which infinitely surpasses the tasteless, insipid, common eating-house stuflF, called " beef a la mode." Cut the steak into pieces of less than two inches square ; season with black pepper and salt, put them into a saucepan with a full half pint of cold water on the fire, and as soon as it boils up, remove it from the fire and set it where it would simmer for two hours and a half, until perfectly tender. While simmering, tie up in muslin a bunch of sweet herbs, composed of knotted marjoram, winter savory, and a little thyme, and take it out just before the dish is served. Of course, the stew must occasionally be shaken, as all others are; remember, however, the fat must not be skimmed off; the more fat there is, the better the stew. The dish is of Italian origin, and is eaten by Italians with plain boiled macaroni and Parmesan cheese, or with a salad, and with either is a dainty dish. 455. Pressed Beef.— This is another excellent way of using up the cheap parts of fresh beef, or even that which is corned by the receipt given in No. 453. Boil any ragged scrap pieces, with not too much fat, until the bones will freely separate from the meat, which pick off and pack in any strong dish, and add such seasoning as you wish of salt, pepper, spice ; some add a trifle of molasses or sugar, and press the whole into a cake, just as those do who make " head-cheese" from that portion of pork that is better prepared in this way tiian any other. 456. Csrful Little Tilings for Dousekeepers.— "The truest economy begins in little things." And so we give a dozen of them in a bunch to conclude our " e.xcerpta of knowledge for the kitchen." Mahogaxt Stain. — Take four ounces of red sanders, one pound of fustic, and an ounce of logwood, and boll them in half a gallon of water for one hour; then apply it wami with a brush or sponge; when dry, apply var- nish. With this you can renovate old furniture. A Cheap Refeigeeator. — "Two tin pails, soldered one into the other, the space between them filled with charcoal, in small pieces (not necessarily dust), with the cover arranged in the same way, will keep a small quantity of ice a very long time. Three inveited tea-cups, or something made for the purpose, should support the ice to keep it out of the water. Next to putting the ice in a tin pail and wrapping it in a blanket, this is the simplest ice-keeper we know of, and it is entirely philosophical and ef- fective." To this we add the recommendation of putting this tin pail, with the ice in it, with a hole as big as a pin at the bottom and dripping-pan nnder it, in a chest or close-shutting closet, the air of which will be cooled, with the provision placed in it. 408 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. This, of course, is only a substitute for a good refrigerator, but will be found much better than none, and can be made for almost nothing, by any man with Yankee gumption. To Make Tough Meat or Fowl Tender. — One or two tablespoonfuls of sharp vinegar put into tlie water when set to cook will do this, and in no way impair the flavor of the stew or soup. Veal to roast is much improved by being rubbed all over with vinegar and allowed to remain two or three hours before cooking. Fifteen miimtcs to the pound is the received rule for roasting and boiling meats, and ten for fish. How TO Use Salt.— Beef or mutton should not have a bit of salt put upon either when first set to roast ; just before serving, baste the meat, sprin- kle fine salt slightly over it, dredge flour on, and let it brown up. Poultry must be covered with sweet lard and salt — a teaspoonful of salt to two of lard — before roasting. To Prevent Metals from Ivusting. — Melt together three parts of lard and one of rosin powder. A very thin coating applied with a brush will preserve Russia-iron stoves and grates from rusting during summer, even in damp situations. For this purpose, a portion of black lead may be mixed with the lard. The efi"ect is equally good on brass, copper, steel, etc. The same compound forms an excellent water-proof paste for leather. Boots, when treated with it, will thereafter take the iisual polish when blackened, and the soles may be saturated with it without soiling the floor, as it does not rub oif. Seeds and many other things are best kept in wooden boxes,. By a new patent contrivance, boards are cut about one eighth of an inch thick, of suit- able length and width to bend into forms for the sides of a round box, the largest holding about a peck, and eight others, smaller and smaller, to form a nest. The ends are fastened together Avith some kind of glue, and the bot- toms are fastened in by a rim of tin bent over the corner; and the lids are made in the same way, so that the ends may be of stufl" but little thicker than the sides. The tin corners are great protectors against mice, as that is the only part of a circular box likely to be gnawed into, and this makes them quite safe for seeds and better as m'cII as cheaper than tin boxes, and a decided improvement upon the old-style circular wooden boxes whicli have bottoms made of a half-inch board, so as to nail it in. "We should think that half bushel and smaller measures, made up on the same plan, with iron in- stead of tin corners, would be first-rate. Unpleasant Odoes arising from boiling ham, cabbages, etc., arc com- pletely corrected by throwing whole red peppers into the pot, and at the same time the flavor of the food is improved. Pieces of charcoal will pro- duce the same eflfect. A Good "Way of Koasting Apples. — Select the largest apples; scoop out the core without cutting quite through ; fill the hollow with butter and fine, soft sugar ; let them roast in a slow oven, and serve up with the syrup. Hodge-Podge. — Cut two pounds of mutton into small pieces, and put them Sko. 25.] EXCERPTA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR HOUSEWIVES. 409 in a stewpan with three quarts of water and a tablespoonful of salt. Set it on the fire and let it come to a boil ; then set it where it will simmer an hour; keep it well skimmed; then add one carrot, two turnips, two large onions cut into small pieces, and half a dozen lettuce-heads, and let the whole cook quite tender. Skim ofl" all the fat, and serve either with tiie meat in the soup or separately. A pint of green peas boiled in the soup will be found to be a great addition. Haie-Beushes are best cleaned by washing them in sal soda or saleratns water, which removes all the oily coating. Sage and all other herbs for family use should be cut when the plant is budding for blossom, and dried in the shade, and tiien stored in thick paper bags, and there is no better place for them than hanging from the garret rafters. To Cleajj Knives. — ^Take a potato, cut in halves, and dip the cut part in brick-dust and rub the knives, the potato affording just enough moisture. Foe Cleaning Tainted Baeeels. — Put one peck of charcoal and one tea- cup of saleratus into each barrel, fill them up with boiling water, cover tight, and let tliem stand until cold. ■157. Vermin-Remedies — Moths, Bi^s, Ants. — Moths are driven away, it is generally believed, or rather the miller that lays the eggs is, by any strong odor; so that furs or woolens, packed in a chest of camphor-wood, or of cedar, or sassafras, or with the shavings of those woods, or with gura-cam- plior, or tobacco, snuflT, or pepper, are preserved from the ravages of these pests. After moths commence eating, they pay no regard to the presence of camphor, cedar, or tobacco ; in fact, I think they enjoy the latter, if any- thing else than humanity can. Tiie superiority of pepper to camphor, as a preventive of moths eating furs, consists in the fact that, while the eggs will hatch among camphor, there is something in the aroma of pepper which destroys their vitality. Woolens may be safely stored in a close linen bag if often looked after. And probably looking after is the best of all the preventives, for moths never work where they are frequently disturbed. But if articles are ]iacked in linen bags, they should be taken out and aired once a month during summer. Before packing away fers, they should be well beaten, to dislodge the moths that, despite t!ie most scrupulous care, may be deposited in them. But the dreaded and inconvenient taking up and beating carpets will not always insure success; but one who has tried it, says: "I conquered them wholly in this Avay — I took a coarse crash towel and wrung it out of clean water, and spread it smoothlj' on the carpet, then ironed it dry with a good hot iron, repeating the operation on all suspected places, and those least used. It does not injure the pile or color of the carpet in the least, as it is not necessary to press hard, heat and steam being the agents ; and they do the work effectually on worms and eggs. Then the camphor will doubt- less prevent future depredations of the miller, by placing a few little crumbs under the edges of the carpets without moving them." no DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. Patcliouli is recommended as a preventive of moths. Sachets de patch- ouli are iiiiide of cotton-wool, among ■which a few grains of the powdered patchouli leaves are mixed, and folded in paper. Placed among clothe?, tiiey are said to drive away moths. In Ilindostan, patchouli is used bj tiie women for scenting their hair, and it is also mixed with tobacco for the hookah. In this country the patchouli leaves, it is said, will retain their scent if dried in the dark by being jdaced singly in a drawer, and turned daily for a fortnight. The Arabs dry the leaves and stuff pillows and mat- tresses with them, believing that tiiey prevent contagion and prolong life; a belief which attaches among the ignorant to sage and other odoriferous plants. As a scent, patchouli is used by perfumers chiefly for mixing with otiier aromatics. Benzoin is used in the museum of the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, to keep the moths out of the skins of the animals. Tallow packed with clothes is also a moth preventive. But after all, fre- quent shakings are the best preventives of all injuries by moths or mold. Bugs nui}' be killed with alum. Make a solution of alum, as strong as water will dissolve, and apply that hot to places infested with bugs of any sort, in bedsteads, closets, or trees and plants, taking care not to apply it so as to kill tender plants, and the bugs will take a strong dislike to (he locality. You may brush it in cracks and crevices of floors, ceilings, or walls of a room, or in the holes and nesting-places of these small vermin in trees. Corrosive sublimate is excellent for bugs and ants. For bedsteads it may be mixed with soap. For ants, with lard and sugar, through which draw woolen yarn, and fi.x it in cracks infested with ants. 45S. Rat Rrmedirs. — Chlorid of lime has frequently proved a sure thing to drive rats away from any place infested by them. An ounce of it, scat- tered in the place where they come to feed, or wrapped in a bit of muslin and put in their holes, where it acquires dampness, produces a g;is that is not ofleusivc to man, but is to the rats. If chlorid of lime is moistened with muriatic acid, and placed in a drain, vault, or cellar, and closed from the air a little while, the rats will depart, because it will be death to remain. This is also a good disinfectant, and will for a time remove the eflluvia of a dead rat. One application of dry chlorid of lime to rat lilies has driven them away for a year. If they return, a renewal of it will start them .again. Cats arc the best rat-traps that we have found after many years' ex- perience, and next to cats, the chafl'-trai). This is best made by partly filling a large, smooth kettle with water, and then covering with a few inches of chafl". The first rat that gets in makes a great outcry, which brings others to share his fate. The best food with which to mix poison for killing rats is pumpkin seeds. Wet them, and sprinkle on a little arsenic, which will adhere to the seeds. Tliey will be eaten by rats and mice, while cats, fowls, etc., not being fond of such food, will not meddle with them. AVherever poison is put for these Sko. 25.] EXCERPTA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR HOUSEWIVES. 411 troublesome pests of the farm, water should be near by, so that tliey may eat, drink, and die outside of their holes and hiding-places. Musk-rats, which are often troublesome pests upon some farms bordering creeks or ponds, may be poisoned \vi(h arsenic upon pieces of parsnej) or sweet apple. Gunpowder, flashed in rat-holes, is said to be good to drive them away from the premises. 459. Disinfectants and the Value of Disinfecting.— Nothing conduces more to promote the health of a family than pure atmosphere. It can be kept so only in dwellings properly constructed for ventilation. From sitting-room, dining-room, and bed-rooms we have air flues that have a strong draught out of the top of the house, and the kitchen is largely furnished with venti- lation. In all unventilated rooms of the house, and in sick chambers, odors at times accumulate so as to need disinfecting, while cellars, sinks, out- houses, and stables often need it. Coffee roasted in a room, solution of cop- peras sprinkled about, or cloths wet in it and hung up; chlorid of lime moistened, each acts quickly as a disinfectant. The odor of a dead rat can bo allayed at once by moistening an ounce of chlorid of lime with a tea- spoouful of muriatic acid. But no one should breathe much of the gas it engenders. There is a considerable difierencc between a deodorizer and a disinfectant. The former either merely removes or disguises a foul odor; the latter changes the character of the matter which creates the etHuvia, and prevents it from sending forth disease. Fresh slaked lime and charcoal dust are very good deodorizers, but their disinfecting powers are not equal to some of the salts of manganese, which, when they combine with pestilential fluids in siuks and drains, give out at the same time a considerable quantity of pure oxygen to refresh the atmosphere. The manganate of soda, or potash, has recently been tried in London with much success in deodorizing and disinfecting the water of the river Thames, and its use in our cities during dry weather may be of great benefit. It is applied by dissolving it in warm water, and pour- ing it into the sink or drain to be disinfected. M. Herpin, of Paris, in the Journal de Phai'maeie, recommends dried and pulverized plaster of Paris, mixed with rather more than one fifth of its weight of powdered charcoal, as a cheap and most effective disinfecting mixture. It entirely removes the noxious emanations from decomposing organic matters, fixing the ammonia, and forming a valuable manure. Prof. Nash, of Amherst College, gives the following formula for making what may be termed home-made chlorid of lime : "Take one barrel of lime and one bushel of salt, dissolved in as little wa'er as will dissolve the whole ; slake the lime with the water, putting on more water than will dry-slake it, so much that it will form a veiy thick jia^te; this will not take all the water; jiut on, therefore, a little of the remainder daily until the lime has taken the whole. The result will be a sort of impure chlorid of lime, but a very powerful deodorizer, equally good for all out-door purposes with the article bought at the apothecary's. *12 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. and costing not one twentieth part as much. This should be kept under a slied or some out-building. It should be kept moist, and it may be apj)lied whenever offensive odors are generated, with the assurance that it will be effective to purify the air, and will add to the value of the manure much more than it costs. It Avould be well for every farmer to prepare a quan- tity of this, and have it always on hand." IIow much more sensible it M-ould be for the city authorities to use this mixture, which concentrates effluvia, instead of quicklime, which dissipates it through tlie air and into everybody's lungs! To prove how quickly the air of a sitting-room becomes impui-e, place in it a pitcher of iced water, and in a few hours it will have absorbed from the room nearly all the respired and perspired gases of the room, the air of vvhich will have become purer, but the water utterly filthy. This depends on the fact that the water has the faculty of condensing, and thereliy absorb- ing all the gases, which it does without increasing its own bulk. Tlie colder the water is, the greater its capacity to contain these gases. At ordinary temperatures a pint of water will absorb a pint of carbonic acid gas and several pints of ammonia. This capacity is nearly doubled by reducing the temperature to that of ice. Hence water kept in the room awhile is always unfit for use, and should be often renewed, whether it has become warm or not. And for the same reason, the water in a pump-stoek should all be pumped out in the morning before any is used. That wliich has stood in the pitcher during the night is not fit for coffee water in the morning. Im- pure water is injurious to health as well as impure air, and every person should provide tlie means of ol)taining it fresh and pure for all domestic uses. 460. Soap-Makiug and Washing. — Wood ashes made from any hard wood will make soap. Pine ashes are nearly worthless. Beech, mai)le, birch, and hickory are among the best sorts for leaching. Put sticks and straw in the bottom of the leach-tub, packed close, and four quarts of lime to a barrel of ashes, which wet and pound down as you put in, and then put on water slowly two days before you let the lye 'run, and it will come strong, but should be boiled still stronger before you put in grease. Pones, rinds, gristle, and hard scraps must go into very strong lye, and will then soon bo eaten up, all but the earthy part of bones, which ekira out and save for tlie grapevines and pear-trees. Make the soap strong of grease as well as lye, and do not use it till very old, and it Avill be very good. It siiould be of a salvy consistence. To make soap with potash : Use the best quality of "first sorts" of pot- ash, in the proportion of six pounds of potash to seven pounds of grease, for a barrel of 40 gallons. Break up tlio ])otash into small lumps and dissolve 24 lbs. in two pailfuls of hot water. It dissolves rather slowly when the potash is good. When dissolved, put the solution into the kettle, and add tlie grease quite warm, and stir the mixture together; allow it to stand all night, if convenient. In the morning apply a moderate heat until the mix- ture appears ropy; then fill up with cold water. Cost, say G lbs. of potash, Seo. 25.] EXCERPTA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR HOUSEWIVES. 413 36 cents ; 7 lbs. grease, 28 cents — 64 cents for a barrel of soap. Another re- ceipt says : " One hundred pounds of good soap for $1 30 : Take six pounds of potash, 75 cents ; four pounds of lard, 50 cents ; quarter of a pound of rosin, 5 cents. Beat up the rosin, mix all together well, and set aside for five days ; then put the whole into a twelve-gallon cask of warm water, and stir twice a day for ten days, at the expiration of which time you will have about one hundred pounds of excellent soap." Tlie following is considered a valuable aid to the washerwoman, by one who has tried it. She says : "Take one pound of sal soda and half a pound of unslaked lime; put them in a gallon of water and boil twenty minutes; let it stand till cool, then drain off and put it in a stone jug or jar. Soak your dirty clothes all night, or until they are well wet through, then wring them out and rub on plenty of soap, and to one boiler of clothes well covered with water add one teaspoonful of the washing fluid. Boil half an hour briskly, then wash them thoroughly through one suds, and rinse well with water, and your clothes will look better than the old way of washing twice before boiling. This is an invaluable recipe, and I do want every poor tired woman to try it." Another one says : " Take two pounds of soda ash, two pounds of hard soap, and ten quarts of water ; cut the soap fine ; add all together, put into a kettle, and bring to a boil, then take it off the fire and stir until nearly cool. Put your clothes to soak the evening before you wash. In the morning, wring out, boil them in water, to which is added nearly a pint of the compound to every pailful. "Wash out in the same water and rinse, and your washing is done." 4G1. Washing Machiues liave been contrived, ])atented, made, and sold and discarded almost as numerously as "patent ciiurns." We have tried a good many. Tlie cliurns have all been given up for the old dasiier, and notwith- sfanding washing was " made easy," the old wash-board still liolds its place, though some wasliing machiues are worthy of commendation as assistants in the laundry. None will do all the work. Perhaps our lad}' readers will say tliat wo ought to tell them which to buy. We can not do it. Tlie latest e:;puiiencc of our family is decidedly in favor of Doty's New York machine, '• iinpi-oved," which acts upon the plan of a cloth-dresser's fulling-mill, and i.-! very easily Avorked. Tiie " Meti'opolitan washing machine" is the pound- iiig barrel improved by springs that make it work easy. It is useful for heavy work. Clothes Wkixgees are worthy of the highest commendation. Tliey are the most important of all household labor-saving machines. They are made of different forms, but the principle in eacli is the same, being con- struc'.ed to attach to the edge of a wash-tub, and contain two elastic rollers which are turned by a crank with one hand, while with the otiicr the washer picks up one end of a garment and holds it to the rollers, through whicli it passes rapidly and falls into a clothes-basket a great deal dryer than any 414 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Cdap. IV. woman could wring it with all lier strength and tcu-fold more time. Tliese machines cost from $5 to $10, according to size, and are very simple in con- struction, very effective, and look as though they would be very durable, and are certainly very great labor-saving machines, and one should be in every family', and we are doing a public duty in making them as exten- sively known as any other fact for farmers. With a Metropolitan washing machine and a clothes-wringer, or, rather, a clothes-squeezer, which has been several years in use in the author's iamily, washing-day is no longer one that is dreaded. With these, washing is made easy. 462. Soft Water. — No woman can wash witli any satisfaction unless she has soft water. It is for this tiiat we have treated so fully upon cisterns— 333, 331, 335. Hard well water can be goftened with lye, potash, or soda. We have seen a statement that a well of hard water was permanently cured by putting four feet of coarse gravel in the bottom, where the water oozed in through the blue clay. AVe recommend that a space at least a foot wide behind the wall should also be filled with gravel as high as the water comes in. As Ironing follows washing, we say: If your flat-irons arc rough, rub them well with fine salt, and it will make them smooth ; so will rubbing them with a waxed rag. Be sure to use them hot. 463. Beds and Bedding.— There is no article of household furniture of so mueli importance as the bed. It is the place where exhausted nature enjoys recuperation, and all that art can do to make it comfortable at all seasons of the year, should be done, particularly in the farmer's home, where the nature of the labor is so exhausting. We are so much opposed to feather beds, tliat we have not had one in the house for many years, and we never sleep more comfortably than we do at home upon hard mattresses. We think that feather beds ought to be done away with, especially in warm weather. For spring, summer, and fiill, husk beds ought to be in use in every family, and would be if better known. There is no better time for pro- curing husks than M'hen the corn is being harvested, and the husks will be much nicer and cleaner when corn is cut and shocked, and not become so dry and weather-beaten. A good husk bod will last from twenty to thirty years. Every farmer's daughter can supply herself with such beds against time of need at a trifling expense. No one who has not tried them knows the value of husk beds, which is such tliat some persons think that straw and mattresses would be entirely done away with if husk beds were once tried ; that they are not only more pliable than mattresses, but are more durable, and the first cost is but little. To have iiusks nice they may be split after the manner of splitting straw for braiding. The finer they are tlie softer will be the bed, although they will not be likely to last as long as when they are put in whole. Three barrels full, well stowed in, will fill a good-sized tick, that is, after they have been split. The bed will alwa^-s be light, the husks do not become matted down like feathers, and they are certainly more healthy to sleep on. Sec. 25.] s:XCERPTA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR HOUSEWIVES. 415 464. Home-Made Mattresses of Hair and Wool. — Hair mattresses can also he made in every farmer's family of very good quality out of pig's hair, which slioiild be cleaned in the same way that fine wool is cleaned of all its gummy dirt. See 129. Where sheep arc kept, a great deal of good material for mattresses can be saved from taglocks and clippings of wool, which can bo cleansed with but little trouble by placing them some days in a basket in a running stream, or even by soaking in still water. The filth dissolves with- out injury to the wool. The cardings of horses and bullocks, if saved and cleansed, will soon accumulate enough for a mattress ; for one of twenty pounds on the top of a husk one will make a luxurious bed. There is no secret about making a mattress. Holster the edges upon one of the sides, and lay it flat on the floor or a broad table, and fill in the material evenly of an equal thickness all over, and then sew on the top and lift tiie mattress upon two or three narrow strips of boards supported at the ends upon tables, benches, or barrels, so that you can stitch through and through with a long needle which you can buy for such work, using strong, smooth linen twine, with a cloth button under the loop of each stitch. Cotton makes a soft, pleasant mattress Avhen new, but it soon mats to- gether, and we do not esteem it a healthy material for beds or bedding, ex- cept for sheets and light quilts. Beech leaves make a very good mattress, clean, sweet, and wholesome; they are best when gathered by hand from green trees. Straw, too, is always much better cut in a green state and dried in the sun, and rye straw is the best kind. The best vegetable material ever used for mattresses, and almost equal to hair, is the long moss which grows upon forest trees, covering them as with a gray beard in several of the " Confederated States." It requires to be macerated in water until a thin cuticle peels off by washing, or by drying and beating, leaving the black, hairy-looking threads of the interior, which are very tough and durable. 465. How to Make Bed Comforters. — ^The best bedding ever used is linen sheets and blankets for summer, and cotton sheets and blankets for winter. But as all can not have blankets, we will tell them how to make hed com- forters. It may be new to some readers that nice, warm bed comforters can be made without the labor of quilting. Make two calico spreads, old or new, and tack one in a quilting-frame, if you have one, and if not, spread it on the floor and lay on four pounds of cot- ton batting, and then the other spread, and tack through and through with a darning-needle and tie tight over a piece of bright colored clotli, or yarn, or wool, in squares of a foot, and you will have a neat-looking warm article of bedding. Two persons can make five of theni in a day. 466. Improvemeut in Quilting-Frames. — And why not improve quilting- frames? They need it. The old ones are about as awkward contrivances as ever were conceived — always in the way when in use, with their long arms sticking out all over the room long after they.had ceased to be useful. What man ever looked upon these necessary implements of household econ- il6 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. omy -with any satisfaction ? He looks every time he comes into the liouso ■with an anxious eye at the progress of tlie work, "lioping the confounded long-armed quilting-frames will get out of the way some time." Now, for the special benefit of such nervous gentlemen, some jjood soul out in Mich- igan has invented a quilting-machiiie that has no arms to stick out in the way. " Necessity is the mother of invention," and this inventor, we sup- pose, lived in a log-cabin only sixteen feet square, which, as it contained two beds and a cooking-stove, had no spare room to set up tiie quilting-frames on four chairs ; so he contrived a machine something like this, as near as we can understand the description : Frame four legs together like the frame of a kitchen table, with side pieces nine feet long, dropped live inches below the top of the legs, and end pieces two and a half feet long. Now take some scantling, two or two and a half inches square, and round them with inch round tenons upon each end to work in sockets in tiie top of the legs. Upon one end of each of these rollers have a little ratchet wlieel and catch, and nail a strip of cloth along one side of each to which to tack the edges of the quilt. AVIien all ready, roll it all but tho two and a half feet M-ide strip upon one roller and tighten the catch ; now quilt that side and roll upon the other roller and so on till finished. The side ])ieces should be made to go in with a kc}', so that the frame can be taken down and packed away at any time, even with the quilt half finished, as it can be rolled up snug. It is a simple piece of domestic machinery, but would add to the comfort of many a household. 467. Carpets and Carpet Sweepers.— Keep a broom exclusively for carpet sweeping. Never use it for any other purpose. Every one knows that tho daily dust arising from sweeping carpets causes a permanent injury to furni- ture, books, pictures, and the lungs. It is an old but good way to sprinkle tlie flt)or first with damp tea-leaves, and then sweep with a bristle brush ; but latterly we have found it much easier and more convenient to use one of the new revolving carpet sweei)ers, which takes up the dust and puts it away in a box so it does not rise without using any moistening application. They are especially suited to libraries, oliices, cabinets, and parlors. The most economical carpet, probably, is a good, stout American ingrain, which will cost about two dollars a square yard. If you are buying a carpet for durability, choose small figures. A farmer should never grudge the money to cover one room, at least, with a first-rate carpet, and cheaper ones for sitting-rooms, bed-rooms, and dining-room, if one is set ajjart for the latter purpose. There is no furniture that adds so much to the comfort of a house at the same cost as carpets. These is no labor better bestowed about a house than giving the carpet a thorough shaking and beating in a hot, dry day, upon tiie clean grass, at least once a year. You need not hesitate to wash a carpet with strong soap-suds, with a brush, as it lies upon the floor, using clear water afterward, and drying it by ironing upon coarse towels spread over the wet spots. 468. Removing Stains— Beef-Gall.— There is no better substance than the Seo. 25.] EXCERPTA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE FOR HOUSEWIVES. 417 veiy cheap article — upon most farms — of beef-gall to take out slains upon carpets, as well as many other things. The clarified gall of the ox is also much used by scourers for renovating the delicate colored silks and satins. In its natural state it contains green- ish coloring matter, and is then only applicable for restoring the brightness of dark materials. It is de-colored thus: Take one pint of gall, boil and skim it, then divide into two parts ; to one half pint add half an ounce of salt, to the other add half an ounce of powdered alum ; each part is to be heated till the additions are dissolved; then pour into separate bottles, and allow them to stand in a quiet place, and clear for a month or eight weeks, even longer if not bright. The clear portions of both are then to be poured gently off the sediments and mijed together; the coloring matter coagu- lates and falls, from which the transparent gall is finally separated by filter- ing through blotting-paper. In this state it will keep any length of time with its qualities unimpaired, and free from odor. If the stain upon silk or satin is produced by an acid, such as from fruits, and that upon black or dark colors, tiie best re-agent is liquid ammonia (strong hartshorn) rubbed in till it disappears. For plain and figured silks, of delicate colors, we can not give a general rule, and therefore leave them to be operated upon by the professional degraisseurs. To obliterate grease spots from white silk or satin, we may proceed as directed for colored silks; but fruit, ink, and glove marks require a different treatment. These marks are generally removed by dampening the part with oxalic acid dissolved in v.ater ; about the eighth part of an ounce in a wine-glassful of water is strong enough. The common salts of lemon in water also answer well. Cofiee- stains, mud-splashes, etc., will mostly give way to the use of soap and water. Curd soap should be applied for this purpose. For grease spots upon cloth and all kinds of woolen goods, soap and water may be used without fear, provided it is well washed out afterward. Ful- ler's earth or powdered French chalk, made into a paste with water, and laid upon the part, is, however, the best application, to be brushed out when dry. Paint marks are removed with turpentine, the smell of which may be quickly dissipated l)y hanging the article upon a line in the air. Silk articles should not be kept folded in white paper, as the chlorid of lime used in bleaching the paper will probably impair the color of the silk. Brown or blue paper is better ; the yellowish, smooth India paper is best of all. Silks intended for dress should not be kept long in the house before they are made up, as lying in the folds will have a tendency to impair is durability by causing it to cut or split, particularly if the silk has been thickened by gum. Thread-lace vails are very easily cut. Articles of vel- vet should not be laid by with any weight upon them. If the n^p of a thiu velvet is laid down it is not possible to raise it up again. Hard silk should never be wrinkled, because the thread is easily broken in the crease, and it never can be rectified. The way to take wrinkles out of silk scarfs and 418 DOMESTIO ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. handkerchiefs is to moisten the suiface evenly with a sponge and some weak glue, and then pin tlie silk with some toilet pins around the selvedges on a mattress or leather-bed, taking pains to draw out the silk as tight as possible. "Wlien dry, all the wrinkles will have disappeared. It is a nice job to dre.^s light-colored tilk, and few should try it. Efome silk articles should be moist- ened with weak glue or gum-water, and the wrinkles ironed out by a hot flat- iron on the wrong side. To Take Grease Olt of Silk. — Hub a lump of wet magnesia over the spot ; wlicn dr}-, brush off the powder, and no grease will be seen. It may be applied to other stuffs. This is an old and well-tried remedy ; but there is a newer and better remedy, but not so thoronglily proved — thisisZx/i- zine, the most complete substance to cleanse all fabrics that we have ever seen. Ox-gall and turpentine are both good to take out grease. If turpentine be employed, it should be distilled, and perfectly free from rosin. The preparation called scouring-drops is pure turpentine, perfumed with essence of lemon. Either of these substances may be applied with a ^xgcq of sponge, or with a remnant of the same material that is being cleaned. When the grease spot is large, the greater part may be removed, in the first instance, by the application of blotting-paper and a hot iron. Use a piece of zinc to stir your glue, or keep a small piece of zinc in tlie bottom, and it will — so we read — prevent it from acquiring that impleasant odor common to glue. "Where glue is always to be heated with steam, a zinc glue-pot is recounneudcd. Tlie presence of cotton in woolen fabrics may be easily recognized by the following tests : "When boiled for twenty minutes in a solution of nitrate of mercury, the woolen fibers accpiire a red color, but the cotton fibers remain colorless. When the fabric is boiled with caustic soda solution (sp. gr. 105^, the wool dissolves, but the cotton is only slightly affected. Picric acid also stains wool vellow, but has no action on cotton. There are five pounds of pure sulphur in every 100 pounds of wool. Hence silverware, wrapped up in flannel, or any other woolen stuff, will turn black. A bit of glue, dissolved in skira-milk and water, will restore old crape. Eibbona of any kind should be washed in cold soap-suds, and not rinsed. A hot iron, held over varnished furniture, will take out grease spots. Sec. 20.] DOMESTIC WINES. 419 SECTION XXVI.-DOMESTIC WINES, CIDER, AND PRESERVES. RULES FOR DOMESTIC WINE-MAKEKS — HOW TO PRESERVE CIDER SWEET PRE- SERVING FRUITS FOR WINTER. yOMESTIC WINE, as iisnallj niamifacturccl, is ra- ther a cordial than a wine, and is entirely inferior to good grape wine; but when properly made, it will be a very healthful beverage, particularly for Slimmer drink, when fully diluted witii water. We recommend to those who have the means, to manufacture currant wine; and let it be pure cur- rant wine, using nothing but currants, water, and sugar, without alcohol. There is no great difficulty in making good currant wine. White sugar only should be used. Tiie better the quality of the sugar the better the wine will be. The idea that any sort of sugar will do for wine is pretty well exploded. It is now also said that white currants make a niucli nicer wine than the red currants, but that is according to foncy. While we admit that the true wine must be made from the grape, still, for the want of a more appropriate name for beverages made from fruits other than tlie grape, we call them wines. These domestic wines may bo made from the currant, rhubarb, strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, and gooseberry, of passable qualitj'. Inferior but drinkable wines may be made from paisneps and many other roots. In the manufacture of all domestic wines, the great mistake is in the use of sugar of an inferior quality ; double-refined is not sufficiently pure to manufacture either of these wines of the best quality ; treble-retincd su"ar should be used; tliat of inferior kind contains gum, and after the fermenta- tion this gum becomes fetid, and its disagreeable odor has to be overcome at the expense of the odor of the fruit, and therefore it sliould never be used. Brown sugar, no matter of how good a quality, will not make wine, for when fermented, that portion which is like molasses in flavor, if separated from the sugar, as in the process of refining, becomes a rank rum, and not sufficiently delicate as the preserving alcohol of the result. When grapes are fermented, the sugar or saccharine matter is not converted into ruiu, but into an undistilled brandy of an unobjectionable flavor. In making small-fruit wines, alcohol should never be added ; a sufficient quantity will be produced by the fermentation to preserve the product, and any further addition injures tlie quality and arrests the fermentation. When alcohol is added, these wines do not improve at all by age. 420 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. The common practice of racking cider has caused many to rack fruit •\vincs, -whicli some wine-makers tell us is all wrong. They say : "When the proper amount of the juice of a fruit, and treble-refined sugar iu solution, is placed in a barrel with the bung loose, in a cellar of even temperature, fermentation will readily commence, and will proceed until the sugar, or a portion of it, is converted into alcohol, when it will cease. The buffy coat which rises to the surface will then settle and at- tach itself to the cask ; the bung should then be driven in, and in six months the wine may be drawn ofl" and bottled. No alcohol will be necessary to keep it." Let these general rules be observed, and the following special directions pui-sued, and domestic wine may be made in any farmer's family of almost any kind of small fruits. The directions given in 469 are from George II. Hite, of Iforrisania, near New York, who is one of the most successful domestic wine-makers of our acquaintance. 469. Ilow to Make Currant and olher Wines.— "The currants should be perfectly ripe when gathered ; they should be stemmed and washed before pressing, which should be done as thorouglily as possible with a 12-inch cider press. Ascertain the amount of juice thus obtained, and then add that amount of water to the pumice, and incorporate the water, and pum- ice well together : lei it stand a few hours, and press it again. By this process an additional quantity of juice, though irot so strong, is obtained; then mix the first pressing with the second, and weigh a gallon of it, and whatever it falls short of 10 pounds to the gallon, add enough of good re- fined sugar to make ifweigh 10 pounds, and so on of the rest. I would here remark that an additional amount of sugar added to the above will make a sweeter wine, and perhaps more suitable to the taste of many. "It would be rather an expensive business to those who have but few ber- ries to make currant wine from the first pressing of the currant alone, as it requires one bushel of currants to produce a little over three gallons of pure juice. The red currant pure juice weighs eight and a half pounds to the gallon. The white currant juice comes almost within the wine-nuiker's rule, weighing nine and a quarter pounds to the gallon. The way in which I make currant wine is, to use the pure juice alone or without mucii water, and I find that I can readily command three dollars per gallon for it, whereas the other would be dear at one dollar per gallon, and not much of a wine at that. *' Elderberry wine is made in the same way as first stated, adding about half water in the way of re-pressing the pumice, etc., as, if it is made without the addition of too much sugar, it resembles claret very closely. " Black currant wine is made in thcvsame way as the elderbeiTy, only the berries should be scalded before pressing, and if carefully managed in the fermentation, will resemble the Ilhine wines. "When the juice, sugar, and water are well incorporated by stirring to- Sec. 26.] DOMESTIC "WIITES. 421 gether until tlic sugar is dissolved, it is then placed in an open tub in a tein- perature of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, there to stand a few days until the froth and impurities rise to the surface, which must be removed as often as they accumulate ; and when the liquid becomes limpid and somewhat trans- parent, then it is put in a clean barrel, filling to within five or eight inches of the bung. A tube, somewhat in the shape of a siphon, or more in the shape of an ox-bow, made of glass, is inserted into the bung about two inches, and made air-tight by means of small wedges of wood and wax, etc., the other end passing into a pail of water to the depth of three or four inches. This is done to prevent the oxygen of the air penetrating the fermenting mass, and also to retain much of the finer aromatic essences which are so essential to fine-flavored wines. " A great advantage is also gained thereby in rendering it less necessary to keep, watch over the fermentation as pursued by some in keeping the barrel bung full by replenishing with some of the juice standing near at hand, which becomes pricked before fermentation has ended, rendering it in t!ie end little less than sweetened vinegar. No admixture should be attempted after fermentation has commenced, and if the temperature of fermentation is kept at about GO or 65 degrees Fahrenheit for about six weeks or two months, it will be ready to remove the tube. Then fill the barrel full of the sort made in a separate vessel for that purpose, and put the bung in moderately tight for a few days, and after that drive it in tight until about December, when tlie wine must be racked ofl' from the lees, the barrel rinsed with hot and cold water, and when drained quite dry, insert into the bung- hole a small cup, suspended by a wire, containing one ounce of spirits of wine or alcohol, ignited, and kept there until the barrel is well fumigated, during which the bung must not be closed. Then return the wine again and keep it there for three months, when the same process is repeated. If it is done a third time it will be all the belter. It is now finished, and can be kept for any length of time, either in bottles or wood, slowly improving by age. " Grapes may be made into wine in the same way as first mentioned above, with this difierence, that when the pumice is to be re-pressed, sugar dissolved with grape-juice (by heat) must be added to the water that is mixed with tlie pumice, and stand a few hours before the second pressing. It must con- tain the same proportion of sugar and water as is found in the natural juice of the first pressing, all of which is mixed well together and fermented as above. But if the grapes are left on the vine until they are quite ripe, say until they have received the eflTects of a white frost, and carefully selected, tlie good from the bad, and thoroughly pressed and fermented as above, without the addition of either sugar or water, you will have wine worthy of the name. It is true we can not have so great a quantity of juice, but what Ave have is good." • We add several other formulas for making currant wine, as follows : First. " Gather your currants when fully ripe; break them in a tub ; pre>? 422 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. them through a sifter; strain through a flannel bag, and measure the juice. Atkl two gallons of water to one of juice, and three pounds of Kew Orleans sugar; stir till dissolved. Strain througli a hair sieve, then a close tow liiien bag, and afterward a flannel one. The juice must not stand all night. The cask must be sweet and clean, never used for beer nor cider, aiul if new, well seasoned. Do not fill j'our cask too full, otherwise it works out at the bung, which is injurious to the wine; make a quantity over and above to fill up the cask. Lay tlie bung on the hole to prevent flies from creeping in. In three or four weeks bung up, leaving only the vent-hole open till done working ; rack off, if wanted for present use, but it is best to leave it on the lees till spring, or it may be left for two years without dam- age. When you draw off tlic wine, bore a hole so it may run off clear of the lees. Some put in spirits, but I do not think it advisable. Do not put in more than one third juice, for that would render the wine hard and im- pleasant ; nor too much sugar, as that would deprive it of its pure vinous taste. It improves by age." Second. A sample which was very clear, and at two years old of a deli- icate, fine flavor, was made by the following rule: Take two quarts of juice, two quarts of water, and three pounds of refined sugar; mix and let it stand two or tliree days; skim every day, then strain through gauze, and put into the cask and let it stand one year; then bottle, and you have an excellent wine. Another sample, made with one quart of juice, three quarts of water and one pound of sugar, was a very pleasant drink, but would not keep as long as the other. Tiiird. " Before pressing the juice from the currants, pass them oetween a pair of rollers to crush tlicm, after which they may be placed in a strong bag, and they will part with the juice readily by light pressure, such as a common screw or heavy weights. To each quart of juice add three pounds of double refined loaf sugar — single refined sugar is not sufliciently pure — then add as much water as will make one gallon. Or, in other words, sup- pose the cask intended to be used to be tliirty gallons ; in this put thirty quarts of currant juice, ninety pounds of double refined sugar, and fill the cask to the bung with water; roll it over until the sugar is all dissolved. Tills will be told by its ceasing to rattle in the barrel. Next day roll it again, and place it in a cellar where the temperature will bo sure to be even. Leave the bung loose for the free admission of air. In the course of one or two or three days, fermentation will eounnence. By placing the ear to the bung-hole a slight noise will be heard, such as may be observed when carbonic acid is escaping from champagne or soda water. Fermenta- tion will continue fcr shelves sus- pended in the cellar, or in any dry room where the temperature is as near the freezing-point as possible. " "While grapes may be grown in such profusion and with so little labor, it is a little remarkable that a sui)ply for every household in the country is not secured, not only in the regular season of them, but to last until sprinjj. There is no trouble in keeping grapes through tlie winter as fiesli as whei» they are first gathered." 484. Preserving Fruit in Air-Tight Cans a»utter is judged hy its color, aroma, taste, and consistency. Its color sliould be a delicate pale straw, not apj^roaching M'hite, and yet ])erhaps that is better than the deep orange tint, almost always a sure indication of ex- traneous coloring matter. The peculiar smell of good butter is easily rec- ognized. The better the quality the more delicate this aroma; while, as the quality degenerates, about in the same proportion does the smell vary, until it l)ccomes ijositively offensive. This fragrance is dependent very much on the process of manufacture. Orange County dairymaids make " Orange County butter" wherever they follow the same processes. The taste of the butter will betray any inattention to the proper care of either the milk, cream, or the vessels in which they are kept. So will the addition of any foreign matter, such as impure or too much or too little salt, sugar, or color- ing matter. A certain amount of salt is necessary to bring out the true flavor of butter in its greatest delicacy. In texture or consistency, a greater difference is seen than upon any other point. Some arc firm, leaving no mark upon a knife after being thrust into a lump, with hardly enough moisture to dim its brightness, while other lots are soft, leaving greasy streaks upon the blade, and large drops of an opaque liquid oozing from the newly cut surface. The existence of cither of these signs gives sure indication of an imperfect, if not bad, process of making. 500. Number of Quarts of Milk for a Pound of Butter.— The number of quarts of milk required to make a pound of butter varies very widely. By many trials in England, it is found that one pound of butter requires from fourteen to sixteen quarts of milk ; that is about one ounce from a quart, varying with the feed and the season. Although it may be true that the milk of a majority of the cows in this country would require an equal nuuiber of quarts to make a pound of butter, yet there are cows that will give a pound to four quarts of milk. Col. Jaques, of Massachusetts, and Maj. John Jones, of Delaware, both had a " cream-pot" breed of cows which we saw a few years ago produce this result. But we believe that it requires an average of fourteen quarts to a jwund, and that is why farmers prefer to sell their milk where it brings over two cents a quart. At that rate a milk- dairyman can not even afford to make his own family butter; he can buy it from a iarmer, who can not sell his milk, at a rate more economical. William Buekminster, of Framingham, Mass., in 18.55, exhibited a Devon cow for premium, as the best butter-niakcr, with satisfactory proof of the following yield of milk : "In June and July last she filled a common milk-pail, at night, as full as any dairymaid would wish to carry. And on June 17 her milk weighed, morn- ing and night, each 34} pounds; June 10, morning and night, 345 pounds; June 19, morning and night, 34 pounds; June 20, morning and night, 323 pounds; June 21, morning and night, 32J pounds; June 22, morning and night, 30i pounds ; June 23, morning and night, 30^ pounds." Sec. 28.] THE DAIRY. 445 He also certified at the time slie was offered, in October, that four quarls of her milk, when fed on grass only, and that of an ordinary pasture, pro- duced one pound of the finest yellow butter. "This cow," he says, " is one of the six cows owned and bred by me, whose milk has repeatedly yielded one pound of butter from four beer quarts. Her keep through the autumn of the thi-ee years of lier milking has been grass feed only, no grain, or roots, or corn stover having been given her." This is the richest milk of any but Alderneys, and above their average. William S. Lincoln, of Worcester, Mass., produced from one cow, owned by him, in the spring of 1858, eighteen pounds of butter a week ; and cows that produce fifteen or sixteen pounds a week are not uncommon in that State. The " Oaks cow" yielded her owner nineteen pounds a week at the best, and nearly 500 pounds in the course of the season. These are extra- ordinary cases, it is true ; but if one cow can do it, others can." Now, if these are facts — and who can dispute them ? — what are we to think of the quality of. judgment, sense, or economy of men who will keep cows on their farms for the sole purpose of making butter, at an average of one pound to fourteen quarts, when they could have cows that would give a pound from less than half that quantity ? Let this fact be thought of, that it does take fourteen quarts of milk for a pound of butter, which might be made from four quarts. While this is a fact, it is not to be wondered at that Orange County farmers have quit making butter, notwithstanding the high reputation it had attained, and prefer to send their milk to New York from every farm within reach of the river or railroad. If the milk averages two and a half cents a quart Avlien sold, and it would take fourteen quarts to make a pound of butter, it would make the first cost of the butter thirty- five cents a pound, besides all the labor of its manufacture. The Ilomcftead says: "Mr. Coit, of Norwich, keeps two cows which, in the best of the season, furnish four quarts of milk daily for use, and make nineteen pounds of butter a week. The writer also thinks that an improved style of milk-room would be quite as likely to increase the yield of butter as an improved breed of cows. If only an additional poimd a week from each cow could be secured in this way, it would be a matter worth looking into by our farmers, and would greatly increase the yieldof butter in theState." Think of it, farmers, in every State. An additional pound of butter a week to each cow ! What would be the aggregate ? Can anybody tell ? Can anybody think of the vast amount, and that it would be all clear profit? And it is just as easy as it is to do right instead of wrong. Good cows, sweet feed, and pure water are the first of all requisites to the manufacture of good butter. Good cows, that proper color and right consistency be secured ; sweet feed and pure water, that no flavor be im- parted to the milk which would render the butter unpalatable. Dependent, however, as the quality of the article is upou the cow and the goodness of the food, a proper degree of care and skill on the part of the dairywijman is of much greater conseaueuce. 446 DOMESTIC ECOXOMY. [Cbap. r\'. Undoubtedly butter can be worked so as to keep sweet without washing ; 60 can wlieat be cut with a sickle, and thrashed with a flail, but they arc not great labor-saving machines. With successful butter-makers the churning occupies about half an hour. By increasing the temperature of the cream, it could be done in one half the time, but the quality of the butter would be much reduced. In winter, to facilitate the rising of the cream, the eartheu pans for holding the milk are rinsed in hot water before use, and warm water is applied around them, not to heat the milk, but for a time to maintain its original temperature. When the temperature of the dairy is less than fifty degrees Fahrenheit, the milk will not ripen for churning, and in such case should be removed for a time to a temperature of iifty-tive degrees. The sudden warming of the milk will not always enable it to yield up its butter readily. One butter-maker says : " Carefully conducted experiments prove that more butter is obtained from a given quantity of milk, when set in pans . partly filled, than when full." This is in opposition to the theory of A. B. Dickenson. A French chemist declares that butter may be made without churning, by the use of a filter, uKide of white felt, in the form of a bag, in the four corners of which are inserted porous strings, like candlewick, to hasten oflf the fluid portion of the milk. The bag being suspended by the four corners, from twenty-four to thirty hours, the contents of the filter will be found to be of the consistence of " smear case" (soft cheese). This solidified cream is then placed in a linen bag, tied tight, and the bag kneaded like a roll of dough. In a few minutes the mass grows liquid, and the butter and butter- milk are separated. One large butter-maker sa^: "I use a horse-power churn, of a capacity sufliciently great to make one hundred and twenty pounds of butter. I always try the temperature of my churn before putting in the cream. If below fifty -five degrees, I raise it to that point with warm water, and keep the cream as near that point as possible. As soon as the cream is in the churn I start the horse, and keep him moving at a steady gait until the but- ter is broken, or begins to gather in small lumps. Opposite the opening through which the cream is poured into the churn is an inch hole, which is stopped with a plug. When the butter is formed as above stated, I open this hole and draw oif all the buttermilk, then start the horse again, and keep him going until I gather the butter into a solid mass. This accomplished, it is taken from the chui-n and put into a tub prepared for it. I then weigh the whole mass, and transfer it to the butter-worker, when it is worked over twice, after which I add one dessert tablespoonful of the very best dairy salt to every pound. I again Mork it well, so as to incorporate the salt thoroughly. It is again weighed into pound lumps and printed. The human baud is never allowed to touch the butter, nor is water ever used to wash it" Sec. 28.] THE DAIRY. 447 Of course it is sold immediately ; if it is to be kept, we tliiuk it must be washed. 501. Butter Affected by Food of Cows.— The quality of all butter is so greatly atfected by the food of the cows, that no one can make good butter, although he has good cows, if their food is poor. In summer, there is nothing bettor than clover pasture. At any rate, the pasture must atibrd sweet grass, running water, and trees for shade and rest. A cow should be selected for her quiet disposition, as much as any other quality, for a butter-making cow ; for milk alone, this is not so important. If she has vicious propen- sities, she can not be cured by viciousness. In winter, clover hay, cured in the most perfect manner, is better for butter than any other hay. To this add slops once or twice every day, composed of bran, shorts, cut potatoes, corn meal partially cooked, and salt, and an occasional handful of bone meal, lime, ashes, or charcoal-dust will be found advantageous. Carrots are always good for a butter cow. Nothing should ever be given her that is not sweet enough for you to eat yourself. And even that is not always good food for a cow, as turnips, cabbages, and onions are considered good food for the table — ^they are not for the stable, if sweet milk is an object. Then she must be kept in a clean, sweet-smelling stable, warm and dry, but ventilated. The same stable should be used in summer for milking, after which the cows may be allowed to sleep out, if it is such weather that they can lie upon the ground in comfort ; and if not, keep them in until after milking in the morning. Every cow should know her own stall as well as a man knows his own bed, and they will soon learn to be unwilling to cat or be milked anywhere else. Food and care of the cow, and perfect quiet and comfort for her in every respect, are the first requisites in making good butter. A stable can be kept sweet enough to lodge in by the daily use of plaster, charcoal, prepared muck, or an occasional sprinkling of dilute sulphuric acid or solution of copperas. It is necessary for a full flow of milk to maintain a continual supply of albuminous food, while in the latter period of fattening, such kinds of food are superfluous, and only tend to enrich the manure heap There is one leading feature in his practice, to which the utmost importance is attached by Mr. Ilorsefall — an English dairyman — the maintenance of the condition of his cows giving a large yield of milk. Tliis is done by the addition of bean meal in greater quantitj' to those yielding the most milk He refers also to the eff"ect of clover upon the supply of milk as known to all dairy- men, the dry material of which is nearly as rich in albumen as beans, and the inference is drawn that " albuminous matter is the most essential ele- ment in the food of the milch cow, and that any deficiency in the supply of this will be attended with loss of condition, and a consequent diminution in the quality of her milk." He is of the opinion that " you can increase the proportion of butter in milk more than that of casein or other solid parts." Rape-cake seems more efiicient for this purpose than linseed-cake, the oily 448 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. matter in this seed more nearly resembling that in butter than tliat of flax- seed. He also says: "It seems worthy of remark that a cow can yield a lar greater weight of butter than she can store up in solid fat. Numerous instances occur where a cow gives off two pounds of butter per day — four- teen pounds per week — while lialf that quantity probably would not be laid on in fat if she was fed for that purpose." These "English notions" arc wortliy of American attention. 502. Butter Affected by the Packages.— It is one of the greatest mistakes that butter packers make, to put it up in bad packages. Let it be taken for an incontrovertible fact that, as a general thing, a dairy of butter of uniform quality may be packed, one half in rough, untidy casks, and the otlier in neat, swcet-Iooking firkins, of suitable and uniform size, and that half will outsell the other at least ten per cent. The purchasers of butter, by the single package or by the hundred packages, are always influenced by the outside appearance. One of the reasons why Western butter sells at a price generally under the market is because it comes in bad order. IIow can people expect first prices for butter in mottled rolls, packed in a dry-goods box or a flour barrel? Such butter, when it arrives in New York, is de- nominated '• "Western grease," and sells at a price corresponding with its name. 503. When to Skim Milk. — The right time to skim milk is just as the milk begins to sour in the bottom of the pans. Then the cream is all at the surface, and should at once be removed, with as little of the milk as pos- sible. That housewife, or dairymaid, who thinks to obtain a greater quan- tify by allowing the milk to stand beyond that time, labors under a mistake. Any one who doubts can try it. Milk should be looked to at least three times a day. 504. Alderney Cows and Alderney Dutter. — It is our matured opinion that the Alderney cow is the only one for a family, where but one is kept, and where rich milk and sweet cream are a leading object. (See 47, 48, 49.) There is no doubt of the fact, that this breed of cattle is superior to any other for making butter of rich flavor to the taste, and with a peculiar sweet aroma. We have thoroughly tested butter made from Alderney cows, by John T. Norton, of Farmington, Conn., and have submitted it to the sight, smell, and taste of some good judges of butter, who, without hesitation, pro- nounced it as unlike as it is richer than any other kind they have ever tasted. We kept it some weeks e.\posed to an atmosphere that would soften ordinary butter so that it could not easily be handled, and yet this remained almost as firm as though just from a cool dairy-room. There can be no mistake in its natural superiority and good keeping qualities over butter made from cows of other breeds. This fact is as well known in England as the fact that Southdown mutton is superior to that of other breeds of sheep. And the fact is beginning to be known here, for we have heard of Alderney but- ter selling in market, in places where it is well known in this country, at double the price of good butter of common stock. This much for the in- Seo. 28.] THE DAIRY. U9 formation and benefit of those who do not know that there is a very great ditiorence in breeds of cattle for butter as well as for beef. For the latter purposes tiie Alderneys are certainly superior to the Durhams. Herefords, Devons, Ayrshires, or natives. Anollier good qnality of the Alderneys is, that they will live upon house- slops or garden or yard clippings, or upon short pastures. Mr. Norton says : " I live on one of the old worn-out farms of Connecti- cut, which I am trying to improve;'' and we say, upon such a farm he finds it not only pleasant for his own nse to kecj) Alderney cows, but profitable to make butter from them for the Hartford market. Our recommendation, however, is not for dairy purposes, but strictly for private family use, and for that we do consider this small breed of cows most valuable. There are persons, however, of experience, who believe the Alderneys valuable for dairy farms. T. M. Stoughton, of Greenfield, Mass., says : " Alderney cows are not only good for private family use, but actually the best for a large dairy. " My experience has been with a herd of cows imported by Mr. Jonathan Bird, of Belleville, N. J., from the island of Jersey, and selected with par- ticular regard to their milking qualities. The herd came under my care in 1856, with the request from Mr. Bird that I should give them the same care and feed as my native and Ayrshire cows, keeping a careful account of their product by measurement and weight, so as to be able to determine whether they are a profitable breed for butter-making. The following statement is ofiered as an answer to ' What is a good cow V '• Cow No. 1 calved in January, 1S51 — came into my care last of May. In June, she made lOi pounds of butter per week; in July, 10^ pounds per week; in August, 9i pounds per week; in the month of September, 30 pounds; in October, 28 pounds; and two weeks in November, 12i pounds; and calved in December — making lOSi pounds in five months. "No. 2 calved in September, 1851, and through the month of October made 14i pounds of butter per week ; in Jiyie following she made 12 pounds per week ; in August, C pounds per week ; and calved early in October — making 317 pounds of butter for the year. "No. 3 was a three-year-old heifer, calved in September, 1856. In the month of October, made Hi pounds per week; in June following, 8.^ pounds per week ; in August, 4 pounds per week — making 267 pounds for the year. " No. 4 was a heifer two years old ; calved in March, 1858. From the 1st of April to November she made 200 pounds of butter. Greatest yield per week, 10| pounds ; and made 7 pounds per week in September. "No. 5, a heifer eighteen months old; calved in March, 1858. In the five months following she made 108 pounds of butter. "The above five are an average of the ten milking cows. Their feed has been pasture only in the summer months, with hay and two quarts of corn meal and rye middlings in the winter months. From the above statement 450 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. it will be seen that tlie cows which have come to maturity will make 300 pounds of butter per year under favorable circumstances. Alderney bultcr sells iu the diflerent markets of the country for from forty to fifty cents per pound. The best dairies of New York and New England do not average over 200 pounds per cow (native and Duriiam). The average price of their butter is not over twenty-five cents per pound. " One of the most important peculiarities of the Alderney cow is her uni- formity of quantity, making nearly as much butter at the end of eight months after calving as at four. The objections urged against the Alderney cow are, that she is a voracious feeder, lean, awkward in ajipearauce, and will make but little beef when old. " Admitting the Alderney cow to be a pretty sharp feeder, it can hardly be expected that a cow will make from ten to fourteen pounds of first-rate butter by simply standing in a cold stable, and looking at a haymow, or by shirking round a stack of swamp hay. That she is inclined to he lean is an evidence that she is a good milker ; for a cow that secretes fatty matter can not secrete good milk at the same time, without being fed too high for the permanent good of the cow. If she is ugly lo look at she is a good one to go, for she will be worth §100 when six months, especially if a heifer. And after being milked twelve or thirteen years, producing over 3,000 pounds of butter, it is of no great consequence whether she makes 600 or 900 pounds of beef." 505. Heating New Milk> — The Dainjman^s Record gives the opinion that the heating of new milk to near the boiling-point just after it is drawn from the cow, is preferable to allowing it to stand for a time before heating, and thinks both butter and cheese are improved in flavor by so doing, " because the animal odors which are objectionable would be expelled,'' and goes on to say that " tasteless and leathery" cheese is caused by manufacturing under too high a temperature rather than fi-om high heating before manu- facturing. 506. Dust and Fly Covers for Milk-Pans.— To keep dust out of milk-pans, make hoops of ratans, or ash wood, a little larger than the tops of the jJans, and stretch over and sew on them some thin cotton stuff that will not stop the circulation of the air, but will keep out the flics and mites, and when the milk is cool, lay these covers over the pans. To keep out flies, use mosquito netting or wire gauze instead of cloth. The wire gauze is a fine thing to cover all windows in fly-time. Some inventive Connecticut genius has contrived a portable, ventilated milk-closet, which, from the description, we should think a very good thing, but presume that any ingenious wood-worker could get up one a little dif- ferent in form to answer the same purpose ; and we recommend all fami- lies who keep but one cow, to provide themselves with such a convenient ventilated milk-closet ; or one that will let fresh air in and foul air out, and keep the milk safe from pestiferous insects and vermin. The following item shows the benefit of keeping milk cool : " In sending Sec. 28.] THE DAIRY. 451 milk to market, though it left the dairy perfectly sweet, it was often found curdled on delivery to customers. To remedy tliis, the cans were covered with thick cotton cloth, and this was wet with salt water. In this way the difficulty was entirely obviated." 507. Necessity and Value of a Family Dairy Room. — Every farm-house should have a room for milk, solely devoted to that, and nothing else. In very dry soils this can be made easiest and best in the cellar, provided it has a chimney ventilator of ample dimensions running to the top of the house, which can be easily made when building, and no railk-room is perfect without such ventilation, and in our opinion the cause of bad butter is as much in the want of a suitable place to stand the milk, and a cool, sweet room to store the butter, as in the process of manufacture. It is all import- ant, also, that the milk-room should be of an unvarying temperature, so far as it can be kept so without extra expenditure over the profitable advantage. An attachment to the ice-house is the best place for storing butter. The fol- lowing is a good plan for a family dairj'-room : Build very convenient to the kitchen, but not adjoining, an eight-inch wall brick building, eight feet by sixteen feet inside, with a door in one end and a window in the other, and arch it over ten feet high in the center, and plas- ter it all over ontside with water-proof cement. The top should be covered with a coat of asphaltum, if to be had, or else with sand and tar. Give the inside a coat of hard-finished plaster, and paint that well, so that it can be washed. Where there is a» good chance for drainage, the walls may be dropped two feet below the surface, or the whole built into a hillside, in which case there can be no door nor window in one end, but there cau and must be a large chimney ventilator. Make the floor of cement or flag- ging-stones, and, if not too expensive, use stone shelves, built in the wall. The outside is to be banked up with earth and sodded over so as to form a grass}' mound, forming, in fact, a sort of cave cellar. A retaining wall must be built each side of the door-way, and a shed over it, with wire- screened windows in the door for ventilation, the sash being hinged to swing down and fasten to the lower half of the door. Such a room will keep milk sweet and of even temperature, and is not more expensive than a good frame building. The place where the milk is set, churning done, or butter stored, should be absolutely sweet, clean, and deodorized of every smell. Water — cold water, and its liberal application — is an essential about the dairy-house, and ontside of it; upon everything ever used, hot water, soap and sand, and hard hand-work, to make absolute purity, are the essential requisites to produce good butter. Every woman should assure all the "men-folks," and often rei^eat it to them, that no woman can make good butter if the cows are not provided with suitable food. EecoUect, food and shelter — airy, roomy, clean stables, summer and winter; none of your milking in the road, among the hogs ; setting milk for cream where the air is scented with hog-pen efflu- via, or any other but that of roses, mint, and new-mown hay. 452 DOMESTIO ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. Food is the first, purity the second, teuiperaturo the third requisite in making sweet yellow butter. The Lest way to make dairy shelves is to use strips sawed one by two inches, and set so that the pans will stand upon their edges, or else place thcni wide enough apart to receive the botioui of the pan, having cross strips nailed in to support the sides, so that the pans would only touch at four points, and so cause the milk to cool quickly, and save lahor in keeping the shelves clean ; for a pan of warm milk set upon a flat slielf in a room a little damp, or when the shelf has just been wasiied, will generate mold — certainly more than when set on strips, as here recommended. A Mr. Motley, of Massachusetts, has a dairy-room in the cellar of his house, and arranged to be ventilated by an area window, which is covered with wire netting. The floor is cemented, and of course kept scrupulously clean. Plain, broad wooden shelves around the four sides of the room hold the pans of milk. A marble-top table, standing in the center of the apartment, is used for working the butter, and preparing it for market. The milk is. churned in one of the well-known Crowell " thermometer churns," of a capacity of thirty gallons. A small air-tight wood stove is used to insure an equable temperature in winter. About 100 pounds of butter are made weekly, which is sold to gentlemen in Boston at fifty cents per pound. It is put up in neat quarter-pound rolls, prettily stamped, and sent to town in tin boxes, fitted with shelves inside to keep the layci-s of rolls separate. As to the delicious qualify of the butter, that is proved by the price. 508. How to Make Winter Butter.— If cows are fed with roots, meal, or even whole corn, which, by-the-by, is only to be tolerated when corn is worth less than twenty-five cents a bushel, there will be no complaint of poor white butter, unless the fault is in the churning or the keeping of the milk. Milk, in winter, should be kept about the same temperature as in summer-time, and should not be allowed to stand unskimmed merely because " it is taking no harm." Take off the cream, and if not enough for an im- mediate churning, let it be kept cool and sweet till enough is accumulated, when, if it is necessary to sour it, it may be put in a warm place and done all at once. When put info the churn, it should be at a temperature of 62 degrees, and if kept at that, yellow butter will be got in thirty miuutea by' churning moderately, if your cows have had a little salt every day. 509. Butter Colored to Order.— Are the butter-eaters of Xew York .nware that butter, so far as color is concerned, is made to order as much as their boots, hats, and coats? "We assure them that such is the fact, as is well known to all dealers, and should be known to all consumers, and by them wholly discountenanced. Our present notice of the fact arises from hear- ing a woman bitterly denouncing the grocer who sent her " white butter." After she had selected some '• nice yellow" butter, at two cents higher price per pound, and retired, the grocer asked ns to test the samples. We found the rejected white butter as sweet and fresh as could be desired, and worth twenty per cent, more than the other, according to our taste. The other. Seo. 28.] THE DAIRY. 453 however, was pretty to look at. It was of a deep yellow hue, but we at once declared that it was made so by anuatto. " Yes," said the grocer, "3'ou are right. That butter was made to order for me for just such cus- tomers as that woman, who do not know good butter by the taste — they judge only by looks. It actually cost me two cents a pound less than the other. You saw how I sold it." A butter-maker, writing to the author about " coloring butter to order," says: '' We think j'ou K^ew Yorkers possessed of remai'kable tastes, if you really prefer butter made yellow to order instead of that of a natural color, though perfectly sweet. If it is the color instead of the quality that you care for, we shall have to solicit a sample of the shade desired, and order more dye- stuff. "We shall have to make butter for home use and for city use, as no one in the country will eat colored butter in winter except as the milk colors it. There is but very little in the country at this season that an- swers the orders from the city, except such as has been fixed up to suit your market." Xow, butter-eaters, yoii hear how yellow butter is made " fresh from the cow" in winter, and how much you pay for the privilege of eating " annatto and other dyestuffs." 510. Rules for Salting Butterf — First, none but the very purest rock-salt, or manufactured salt, prepared especially for the dairy, should ever be used. An experienced Scotch dairyman says : "Take the best crystal salt, wash it, dissolve, strain, settle, and turn off; boil it down in some perfectly clean iron vessel, skim as boiling; when stirred off dry, it will produce fine salt, white as the drifting snow, which, if stirred up in a glass of water, will produce no sediment, and will be dis- tinct from any mineral or other possible impurity." Three experienced dairywomen in Berkshire County, Mass., give the fol- lowing rules for quantity : " No. 1. A teacupful of salt to six pounds of butter. " No. 2. One pint of salt to fifteen pounds of butter. " No. 3. An ounce of salt to a pound of butter." Salting the cream before churning has been advocated as a good practice. To every quart of cream, as it is skimmed and put in the pot to accumulate until sufficient for churning, add a tablespoonful of salt. It is stated that the time of churning is very much lessened by salting the cream. 511. Packing and Preserving Butter. — A patent has been granted to "W. Clark, of London, England, for a new method of treating butter. The but- ter is worked in the usual manner, and is then placed between linen cloths and submitted to severe pressure, which removes the whey and water. It is then covered with clean white paper, which has received a coating on both sides with a preparation composed of the white of eggs and fifteen grains of salt to each egg. The paper is dried, and then heated before the 454 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. lire or with a hot iron just before it is applied to the lumps of butter. It is claimed that butter treated in this way will keep two months without salt in a cool cellar. Any ordinary cheese-press, or the presses accompanying the portable cider-mills, now common, will answer the purpose. Pressing removes the water, and the prepared paper excludes tlie air. Earthen jars, made of the size and shape of a fifty-pounds tub (not a firkin), and put in a wooden tub, made to fit, with a head in each end, are recommended as an improvement for packing butter. If desirable, the wooden tub may be made large enough to fill with salt between the two, or can be made close. The heads should be made close to the butter-pot in either case. Butter packed in this way will keep sweet any length of time, if well made, while in the present mode of packing, in nine cases out of ten, it will taste of the tub after being packed two months. The first cost of the two is about one dollar, and after being sent to market, they can bo returned a distance of 300 miles at a cost of about thirty cents. We fear the expense of this improvement will prevent its general adoption, though we can perceive no reason to doubt its efticacy. There is no doubt that if butter could be rendered absolutely pure, it would keep, if excluded from the air, as well as sweet-oil. That it is hardly ever pure may be shown by a sample melted, and put in a bottle, to stand a few hours in a wai-m place, when the oily part will float upon the top of water or other impurities it may contain. 512. How to Cool Butter without Ice.— The following plan of cooling but- ter is founded upon the scientific principle of cooling a body by evapora- tion. Fill a deep plate or flat dish with water, and in that set a trivet, such as are often used upon the ironing-table, to hold a plate of butter above the water. Cover the butter-plate with a porous, earthen flower-pot that must have its edge immersed in water, and a cork in the bole in the bottom. Now dash water upon the pot, and repeat several times as it evaporates during the day, keeping it in a cool place, and at supper-time you may bring your butter to the table as delightfully firm as you would from an ice-house. 513. Milking by Machinery. — If anything has been or may be invented to relieve woman from the tiresome labor of milking, it will be hailed with in- tense satisfaction. We therefore chronicle the fact of the recent invention of a milking machine. The manner of its construction is simple enough. It consists of two diaphragm pumps made of tin and India rubber, so ar- ranged as to be easily taken apart for washing. The teat-cups are made tapering to fit any size, and attached by flexible joints, so as to be spread apart to suit wide-spreading teats, or those more contracted. It is possible that it will prove a very useful invention. If so, we presume that farmers will hear more of it. The machine is attached to a pail, and set on a stool under the udder, the four teats inserted in four tubes, and the pump operated, and the milk drawn and conveyed by a conductor into the pail, the inventor says in a marvel- Sec. 2S.] THE DAIRY. 455 ously short time— say three minutes for an ordinary cow ; milking entirely clean, without injurj' and to her advantage, as it is beneficial to have the work done quickly, and the machine is intended to do it quicker than it is possible by hand. It is said also that cows gently stand this machine milk- ing ; the contrivance is ingenious, and will work. Its practical utility wo can not vouch for. 514. How to 3Iake Cows give Down. — We have often heard that one man could lead a horse to Avater, but two could not make him drink. The great mistake of most people in the management of horses, cows, and even men, is trying to make them do things by force instead of milder means. The best way to make a cow give down is to coax her. Patience and perse- verance will generally overcome the difficulty and effect a cure. We have seen cows that had been trained to being fed when milked until they would only give down when bribed to do so. Strapping up the fore leg of a cow with a strap slipped over the bent knee so that she can not walk until milked, will sometimes cure her refractory disposition. If a cow will not give down by gentle means, it is of no use to try to make her do it. 515. Milk Farms— Product, Price, Profit.— Milk for Cities— Condensed Milk. — The entire business of many farmers, near cities, is producing milk for sale. It is sent by railway more than lUO miles. The average value upon the roads that supply New York may be three cents a quart, ranging about as follows, as a general thing: for five months, at 2 cents; one month, 2i cents ; two months, 3 cents ; four months, 3i cents. Freight will average two cents a quart, besides a great loss of cans. It costs the farmer most to pro- duce milk in April. The cost of winter feed, 5 lbs. of meal and 15 lbs. of hay per day. The annual average product of good cows would be $00 each. If cream only is sold, say 10 quarts per week at 15 cents, and 9 lbs. of " skim cheese" at 8 cents, will make a cow yield $2 22 per week. The yield of milk of extraordinary cows has been, for one, 15i quarts a day for 150 days; for another, 1-li quarts a day for six months, sold at 3i cents a quart, producing $107, from one cow, fed on grass and meal. The income of an Illinois cheese and butter dairy, owned by Mr. Savory, of De Kalb County, is given as follows, in a poor, dry season : 10,500 pounds of cheese, at 10 cents, $1,050 ; 500 pounds of butter, at U cents, $70 ; 50 calves, at $1 50, $75 ; whey and sour milk (estimated), $50 ; total income, $1,215. De. : 50 cows — to getting 100 tuns of hay, $150 ; care, milking, etc., $200; two hired girls, 30 weeks, and board, $180; interest on cash value of cows, $100. Total cost, $630— $24 per cow ; and taking value of feed and labor into account, was perhaps as profitable as a New York milk farm. See 1" 41, etc. Condensed Milk. — There is one method of sending milk to the cities, lately adopted, that will enable farmers living beyond the limit of shipping fresh milk, to send it to market. It can be done upon the same principle as associated cheese dairies. See T 518. There are two modes: the product of one, called " condensed milk," resembles ricli, thick cream ; the other. 456 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. called " concentrated milk," resembles and is composed in part of dry, white suorar. Tiie former has nothing added, but much taken away. The process of condensing milk was invented by Gail Borden, Jun. (him- self an octogenarian). The first manufactory was established at Burrville, Litchfield Co., Conn., if we remember rightly, about 1854-55, and is still in successful operation, conducted by 'Wm. Borden. Another establishment has since been started at Wassaic, Dutchess Co., N. Y., on the Harlem Rail- road, So miles north of New York. Tliis is conducted bj' the inventor liim- self, whose residence is at that place, where parties desirous to commence similar operations can obtain the necessary information. The product of this invention furnishes to residents in cities wlio have a taste for pure milk all that they can reasonably desire. The process of condensation not only separates the water from the more solid elements of the milk, but absolutely frees it from all impurities, even including the unpleasant odor that is usually com- bined with the milk of cows, and which sometimes, when they jye unhealthy, is exceedingly offensive. Samples of milk from all the dairies arc constantly subjected to tests to indicate the quality and detect impurity. As it is brought in from the farms, it is emptied through fine strainers into tin cooling vats. These must lie placed in running water or cooled with ice. The first jjrocess in the operation of condensing milk is to free the natural milk of all its animal heat; and during this cooling, if there is any sediment that was not removed by the strainers, it is found in the bottom of the vats and igectud. The milk is then heated by steam nearly up to the boiling-point. This brings up a very small per-centage of cream that makes butter. The milk is now ready to com- mence the process of condensation, and is drawn bj- an e.xhaust-pipo into a steam-boiler heated by coils of pipe which raise the temperature to a given de- gree, converting the water into vapor which fills the upper part of the boiler from which it is pumped ofl'; and as it is discharged into the air, it gives out a fetid odor almost equal to the swill-milk of Xew York. This pumping is continued until this odor is exhausted, and until so much of the water has been separated from the milk, that when it is once cooled again it has the appearance of thick, smooth cream. It is then packed in cans for transporta- tion; and we see no reason why milk could not be put up in this way upon the prairies of Illinois as well as the pastures of Dutchess County. For many purposes tiie condensed milk is used in the same condition ; for ice-creams, eating upon fruit, and many culinary purposes, it is delicious. "When milk is desired in its ordinary condition, add water until the con- densed milk is thoroughly combined with it, and it is like good, rich, fresh milk, except that it has lost a little of that piquancy which is found in some '•pure milk." and which some city people seem to relish. The advantages to the farmer of this invention he will readily understand. A n)ilk-coiidensing factory established in any neighborhood, as it may be wherever there is a i)ure stream of water, would i)rove as grout a conveni- ence as a grist-mill, and more advantageous, because he can sell his grain in the rough state, but can not dispose of his milk unless it is converted into Sec. 2S.] THE DAIRY.— CIIEESE-MAKHSTG. 457 some condensed product. Tlie advantage of selling milk instead of convert- ing it into butter or cheese, every farmer can calculate for himself, upon the basis that it will require foyr quarts of milk for one pound of cheese, or fourteen quarts for ono pound of butter, taking the avcragj product of cows and average process of manufocturc. If intended for a condensing factory in the immediate noigliborliood, the farmer would be enabled to carry the milk directly from the stable. Another advantage would be gained in the saving of cans, many of which sent to cities are lost in spite of all the care of the owners. The establish- ment of such factories will open up new fields of industry in many parts of I ho country, adding wealth, comtbrt, and happiness to farmers' families. We urge them all to consider the subject, and compare with other products of the dairy this new one of condensed milk. 510. Cheese— How to Make It.— The following directions are given by Ed- win Pitcher, of Martinsburg, N. Y., a noted maker of good cheese : " The way to make a mild, rich, good-flavored, sound cheese is to work the curd carefully, so as not to start the white whey, or, in other words, work out the cream ; second, cook it well ; salt even, and enough to make it good flavored ; press it well, and keep it cool and dvy when made. A neglect in part will spoil the whole. We set our milk 86 degrees, as nearly as we can, and put in rennet enough to bring the curd in half an hour. " We use a cheese-cutter. Cut the curd carefully over once, and then lot it stand fifteen or twenty minutes, till the whey begins to rise; then work it line with a cheese-cutter; then put hot water enough under the tin vat to raise the heat to 90 degrees. Stir often, so as not to let it pack down. We then dip off about one third of the whey, and increase the heat to about 102 degrees, and keep it at that heat till it is well cooked, keeping it fine all the lime. When it is done, it will fall apart in the hand like wheat. We dip out of the tin vat (when it is cooled down to 90 degrees) into a sink, and when the curd is dry put in a teacupful of salt curd, enough to make fifteen pounds after it is pressed. K the curd is a little too soft, put in a little more salt to harden it. We cool in the vat, in hot weather, by putting in cold water under the vat, to 90 degrees, before dipping out. I think it hurts the cheese very much to dip it out too hot. "My cheese-room is plastered, and I let down my windows from the top in hot weather, and I have a ventilator in the center overhead. The floor is matched and made tight, so as to shut up the room in cool weather, with seven trap-doors to let in the air when necessary. I think it essential, in making good cheeses, to keep them cool. The cheese-rooui should never be over 75 or 80 degrees, and it is better not over 70 degrees. I use cold water on the floor, and a large piece of ice in a pan on the counter if the weather is too hot. Keeping cool is a great cure for almost everything. It saves cheese from fermenting and becoming strong. You can not very well cook your cheese too much in May or June, and you must be sure and keep your rennet sweet." 45S DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. A first-ratc clieese-maker of Herkimer County, N. Y., gives the follow- ing as licr practice : "I set the milk at 90 degrees, in spring and fall, and SG degrees in hot weather. Heat up three times — first 90 degrees, then 95 degrees, and last 100 degrees. I put about one teacupful of salt to sixteen pounds of curd, and use much care in breaking it up and -working; cutting at first wiih a dairy -kniie of four blades, and using the knife with one hand during iho whole operation, taking particular care not to squeeze the curd in any way, but pass one hand under, and lifting gently, and letting it fall off the hand and between the fingers, and with the other keep the knife in motion in the curd, cutting it as fine as possible by the time it is ready for salting. "Thought and care are essential in all the various operations. Intense interest and anxiety are necessary in order to do all these things well, for they influence the texture, flavor, and quality of the cheese. " Rknnet. — The stomach of the calf should be taken when empty (no curd in it) — care taken not to get dirt on it — and, without rinsing or wash- ing, salted inside and out with one teacupful of salt to a rennet, and placed in an earthen dish. It should lie in the salt two days, then be stretched and dried upon a stick in the form of a hoop. When dried, take it off the stick, and place it in a tight sack for use. Those prepared one season arc not to l)e used till the next. "When rennets are to be used, put three in an earthen vessel; then lake two gallons of water, put one quart of salt in it, boil and skim, and cool till niilk-warm. Then pour it upon them, and in one week the liipior will l,o fit for use. One teacupful of it will curdle the milk of two niilkings from fifteen cows, fit to break up in forty minutes." An cxi^erienccd cheese-maker of Warner, N. II., gives her method as follows : "I first scald the tub, then strain the milk into it as soon as brought from milking. Next put in sufiicicnt rennet, the quantity depending upon tho quality to fetch the milk to a curd in from forty to sixty minutes. The curd is then dipped carefull}' into the basket for draining until the next morning. The morning's milk is prepared in the same manner (after tho thorough scalding of the tub). The curd, when formed, is dipped in with that of the previous evening; then left to drain, with an occasional stirring with a knife or slice. I prefer a knife, as it is not so likely to injure tho curd. Wlicu snfticicntly drained, which it will be by nine or ten o'clock if properly at- tended to, I lie together the ends of the cloth, and hang in the cellar until the succeeding day, when the curd of that day is prc]>ared in the manner of the previous clay's curd. It is now ready for scalding. I pour boiling hot M-ater, at the rate of one gallon for ten pounds of curd, into the tub ; next slice in the curd from the basket, handling it carefully, so as not to disturb the white whey. The curd is next brought from the cellar and sliced in tho same manner. It is put in lastly, for being older it does not require as much scaldinfj as the newer curd. I now let it stand from five to ten minutes, Seo. 28.] THE DAIRY.— CHEESE-MAKING. 459 from the time the last slice is dropped in, tlien dip back into the basket, curd and water together, to drain. I check and stir it up Avith the knife four or five times, when it is ready for grinding. The mill is placed upon the cheese tongs over the tub ; the curd is then sliced into the mill and ground, when it is ready for the seasoning, which consists of a common-sized teacup- ful of rock-salt and one teaspoonful of saltpeter for every twenty pounds of curd. It is thoroughly mixed — not squeezed — with the hands. It is then ready for pressing, which is done gently until night, when the cheese is turned, cloth changed, and jrat back to pressing with sufficient weight, where it remains until the next cheese is ready for the press." "\Ve find in the best large cheese-dairies of this country, that where the curd is scalded by steam, that the right temperature varies among different cheese manufacturers; thus Mr. O. S. Curaings, of Trenton Falls, N. Y., scalds to lOi degrees; Mr. A. Coon, of Eussia, from lOS to 110 degrees ; Mr "W". Buck, 102 to 101 degrees ; and Mr. S. JST. Andrews, 100 to 102 degrees. 517. English Cheese-Making.— The method of heating the milk by the ap- plication of steam to the cheese-vat, is a great improvement over the English method. So is the method of separating the curd from the whey by strain- ing it through a cloth much more expeditious. In Cheshire the whey is re- moved by pressing down a flat-bottomed pan gently on the curd in the cheese-tub and allowing it to fill. "When the curd is thus partially freed from the whey, it is again gently broken and allowed to settle and sep- arate and the whey is boiled out slowly, the curd being placed on one side of the tub, -which is slightly raised, and a board is placed on the curd with heavy weights on top to press out the whey. The curd is then cut into pieces six or eight inches square, and again pressed with heavier weights. When as much whey as possible is removed in this way, the curd is placed in a vat and gently broken. It is then put under the press and a slight pressure applied at first, wliich is gradually in- creased till no more whey can be pressed out. To facilitate the flow of the whey, the cheese is pierced with skewers. This preliminary pressing occu- pies four or five hours. The cheese is then taken out of the press, broken up again very fine, salted, put up in the vat again, and pressed under a heavy press for three or four days, clean and dry cloths being put round the cheese as the old ones become wet. This is a tedious process, and we think some of the operations of the American process might be adopted in England with advantage. The es- sential point of diff'erence is the scalding; this renders less salt and less pressing necessary. There can be no doubt that the preserving action of the salt is greater in proportion to the absence of whey in the cheese when it is applied ; and it is for this reason that the Cheshire dairymen press their curd before the salt is added. Many people prefer cheese made by the English process. 518. Cheese-makiag by Assoriated Interest in Manufactories. — This system was originated, we believe, by Jesse Williams, of Rome, Oneida, Co., N. Y., 4(30 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [Chap. IV. sonicwlicro about the year 1S50. Since tliat time it lias'been jrreatl}' extended in Central and Northern New York, and considerably in Northern Oliio. It is like the uianufacfuring of any other iiirni produce, except that this is usually carried on upon joint account of the producers of the raw material. Tlie success of this mode of cliecso-making has now become fully cstablislied. It not only lessens the expense of manufacture, but improves the quality' of the cheese. Tiie establishments vary greatly in size, using the milk of from one hundred to fourteen hundred cows. The business has become so im- portant that regular organizations have been effected, both in New York and Ohio. To enable our readers to consult with those already engaged in the business wc give the following list, naming the owner or superintendent and location of a number of establishments represented in a convention held at Home in January, 1864. This list, though representing onl}- a portion of the dairy interest, shows ho%y the subject has affected the minds of farmers in the central part of New York. Names. Factories located. Cows. Hugh Qiiinn Oneida Co 627 V\'illiams, Adams & Dewey . Oneida Co 350 G. W. Ddvis Oneida Co 380 F. Clark Oneida Co 350 Hiram Bromi Chenango Co. . . 500 James Katbburn Oneida Co 707 Charles Rathburn Oneida Co 125 .1. W. Broolxs Oneida Co 320 Ci E. Morse JIadison Co C50 J. Greenfleld Oneida Co 300 D. Ellis Warren, Miiss. . . 500 Is wc Sliell Herkimer Co 600 A. Anstead Oneida Co 500 J. G. Coatcs Oneida Co 300 Henry Hill Oneida Co 500 G. W, Wheeler Oneida Co 200 Gold Creek Factory Herkimer Co. . . 600 Collins' Factory Erie Co 1,000 New Woodstock Factory .. Madison Co. . . .1,200 F. Smith Oneida Co 575 Crosby & Huntington Oneida Co 510 G. B. Weeks Oneida Co 640 H. L Ilcse Oneida Co 1,000 B. F. Stevens Lewis Co 800 T. Tillinghast Cortland Co 900 Kenny & Frazer Cortland Co 1,400 Konie Cheese Manuf. Ass .Oneida Co 624 Wri-lit & Williams Oneida Co 5-50 Wbittaker & Curry Oneida Co 500 D. Thomas OneiJa Co 500 Names. Factories located. Cows. L. M. Dunton Lewis Co 800 Asel Burnham, Jr Chautauque Co. 500 Hanck, Wilco.'c & Co Chautauque Co. 600 Clear Spring Factory Chautauque Co. 600 A. L. Fish Herkimer Co 500 Sehnser & Davis Fulton Co COO Caydatta Cheese Factory. .Montgomery Co. 6O0 West Ejiton Factory Madison Co 600 Miller, Fowler & Co Oneida Co 800 R. U. Sherman Oneida Co 130 Jerome Bush Lewis Co 700 A. S. King Oneida Co 200 S. Allen Oneida Co COO Alfred Buck Oneida Co 475 Brown & Co Madison Co 800 F. A. Norton Madison Co 500 S. Conan Madison Co 600 Savery & Coventry Madison Co CCQ Kirkland Cheese Co Oneida Co 80Q J. L. Dean Oneida Co SCO Colosse Cheese Factory .... Oswego Co 600 Harvey Farrington Herkimer Co . . . 470 J. H. Hubbard Ooeida Co 40O David Yourden Oneida Co 160 Ezra Barnard Oneida Co 220 Asa Chandler Oneida Co 270 J. M. Famham I>ewis Co 897 David W. Wilcox Oneida Co 750 Levi Tanner Oneida Co 950 E. S. Bennett Oswego Co 250 PLATE XIV. (Page 401.) This picture illustrates the subject upon which the chapter treats, wlierc it is placed as a sign is sometimes shown, to indicate the things within. It is the sign of the garden. In it were grown the cabbage, corn, cucumbers, turnips, tomatoes, i)umpkins, potatoes, beets, carrots, parsneps, egg-plants, ornamental gourds, onions, and so on of all the rest. It indicates some of the subjects of this chap- ter, but not all. It would require a large picture to do that. So, after taking a glance at this, look well at every one of the next hundred pages. Evei:y paragraph about " The Garden and its Fruits" has a deep interest to every reader. The picture is only a sort of wayside resting-place for tlie weary reader's eye. It is to amuse arid lead the traveler on to more substantial fare. XIV CHAPTER V. THE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. SECTION XXIX.- -PLEASURE AND PROFITS OF GARDENING-ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF VEGETABLES. T is an error, and one that prevails to a considerable rr extent, to suppose that all labor bestowed upon a gar- den is so much " labor lost." -Many farmers pass through a long life without ever having anything worthy of the name of garden- — a nanie which signiiies : " 1. A piece of ground appropriated to the cultivation of herbs or j^lants, fruits and flowers. 2. A rich, well-cultivated spot or tract ^>^» of country ; a delightful spot." And colloquially, in the Northeastern States, a garden is a spot not always delightful — where all the potatoes, beets, turnips, cabbages, onions, etc., grown for family use, are planted. It also includes a small patch of strawberries, a row of currants along the fence, and sometimes a few flowers. Often, however, it is as destitute of the latter as it is of all the other attributes of a " delightful spot ;" yet the vegetable garden is one of the necessities of life that no farmer can aiford to do without. As a gen- eral rule, the garden of a farm should be in the form of a parallelogram, running north and south, with orchard trees and shrubbery at the north end and a grass-plat at the south end, and everything should be planted in long rows. This admits of plowing the ground, with a place to turn at each end, both in breaking up the soil early in the spring and in after cultivation. It is just as well to have a row of beets twenty rods long as to have twenty rows of one rod — indeed, much better, because you can do moi'C in one hour in deepening the soil sufticicntly for beets with a stout horse than a man can in a day with a spade. Even in a spaded garden, the old fashion of raising beds and deepening alleys has come to ns from Europe, particularly Ireland, where there may be a necessity for the practice ; there is none here. It be- longs to the same family of anticpiated notions as hilling up Indian corn. It is a foolish notion. Although a garden should be rich, it must not be made excessively so with stable manure. We believe a continuance of any one kind of manure to excess will render a soil unfit for crops in general. For an over-rich gar- den soil the best remedy is lime, and the best way to apply it is in the form of "lime and salt mixture," which is made by dissolving salt in water until 462 THE GARDEN" AND ITS FEUITS. [Chap. V. it will dissolve no more, and then using that brine to slake lime. A bushel of salt may thus be mixed with three bushels of unslaked lime and the mix- turo applied at the rate of 30 to 100 bushels of the slaked lime per aere. If the lime after slaking is kept in a pile under a shed, the outward portion eflloresees, and it may be raked off and put away in barrels as it accunin- lates. The lime is then in the best possible eondition for use. Of tlic profits of gardens there can be no doubt. Any one who is fa- miliar with the operations of the market gardeners near large cities, knows that the business is more profitable than ordinary farming. There is no reason why many other persons should not enjoy similar protits. There is not one village in ten in all the Eastern States that is large enough to support a locomotive butcher that would not support a good market garden from the first year of its cstablislimcnt, the produce being sent around to the houses in the same way that the butcher sends his meat. Of course, all the waste or refuse of the garden must be fed to the cow, pig, and poultry, and of course the owner would grow wealthy faster than the owner of a large farm cultivated in the ordinary way, The great secret of success in market gardening lies in the succession of crops. Heavy manuring, thorough cultivation, and a good market arc of course important adjuncts, but all of these will not give maximum re- sults without the gardener's skill in keeping the ground fully occupied ; and in that, more than in all other things, is where not only gardencre, but farmers, fail. They keep too much unoccupied land, allowing a grain crop, oats, for instance, to be followed by a crop of miserable weeds more worth- less than it is easy to imagine, for they arc more exhausting than the grain, and of no use to man, animal, or soil. Land should never be left idle. lu a well-arranged market garden one thing succeeds another so rapidly that one row of the first crop is off to day and its successor growing in its place to-morrow. The owner can not aftbrd to Avait till all is oflT, because by planting one after the other, he has the ripening crop for sale in the same order, and thus secures the whole value of the manure. The work in a market garden properly begins in autumn. There arc several vegetables that must be started at this season, and all the ground should be manured cither then or during the winter. Much of the success of the garden pecuniarily depends upon liaving its products a little anticipate the usual season. Potatoes early in the season are worth two dollars a bushel. Three weeks later they are down to a dollar or less. There is a like falling off from most other articles, though hardly anything fails to re- turn a j>aying price. Spinach is sown in September and October to furnish cuttings in April and May. Cabbage is sown about the same time to furnish plants for the cold frame, which are ke])t through the winter, transplanted in April, and furnish heads in June. They are put into the frame in rows very near to- gether in November, and when the winter sets \n, are covered with boards, removing only in mild weather and increasing light and heat as spring ad- Sec. 29.] PLEASUEE AND PROFITS OF GAEDEKING. 463 vaiices, 1111111 the open ground is in condition to receive them. These are called cold-frame plants, and furnish heads about two ■weeks earlier than the hot-bed plants started in March. The best varieties for this early crop a're the Early York and the Winnigstadt, -which makes a very solid head of ex- cellent quality. Lettuce is also sown in the fall, and -n-ith a little protection keeps well through the winter. About the first of March operations commence with the hot-beds. These are prepared witli various quantities of manure, ac- cording to the heat required. The beds are generally from four to six feet wide, for convenience in attending to the plants. They are covered with a sash about three feet wide, the glass being not more than seven by nine. In these beds a great variety of plants are forwarded — cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, egg-plants, and other early plants. The whole ground is covered as soon as it is sufficiently warm, and ar- ranged so as to allow a succession crop. In the first course come radishes, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, potatoes, peas, turnips, corn, kohl-rabi. Early potatoes are off in time for late cabbage ; early radishes in time for celery, sweet corn, or cabbage. Early peas are always followed by a crop of something that will ripen before frost. Earl 3' corn may be followed by tur- nips, or by spinach for spring, which will be off in time for tomatoes. Beets are followed by celery, and peppei-s are transplanted among the heads of let- tuce a week or two before they go to market ; or squashes or cucumbers are planted. Quassia chips, steeped in hot water, and that sprinkled upon the vines, are found to be efficient protection against bugs. Carrots form a good succession crop to the onions. Tliey are sowed between the rows about the middle of June. Two crops, and sometimes three, are always grown from the same plot of ground in a season. Nothing but ignorance of these facts prevents a great many small owners of land in the vicinity of small towns from establishing market gardens for the supply of those who can not, or at least do not, grow a supply for themselves of tlie most common sorts of gar- den vegetables. It is a fact but little appreciated, that a very large portion of those who have lived all their lives upon a farm, and made its cultiva- tion their only business, are utterly incompetent to manage a garden — that is, a garden intended for supplying any market with vegetables. Illustrative of the pleasures and profits of gardening, we insert a report of a visit of the author to the garden of an artist, to show wliat an un- professional gardener may do upon a little spot of ground. Geo. II. Hite, of Morrisania, lives upon a village lot, and is by profession an artist. Not an artist in gardening — not one who professes or pretends to practice horti- culture upon a scientific or artistic plan. Nor do I mention his garden as a model of taste and skill which may be imitated by the wealthy at great ex- pense. I mention it rather as the garden of a mechanic, and just such a one as a great many mechanics or professional men might have if they would — if they only knew how. I mention it full of hope that it may be the moving cause toward inducing other men who have daily employment, as this one 4G4 TBE GARDEIT AND ITS FRUITS. [CnAr. V. has, at some trade or profession, to devote a little time, some money, and a great deal of sound common sense in the cultivation of tlic little half-iicro plats that Avo often see surroundin;:^ village residences, which arc mere ex- amples of the utter uselessness of land except to enable tiie owner to show how barren and worthless he can make it. There is no need of this idle use of land. There is no reason why every owner of a village lot should not revel in all the luscious fruits of the season, and treat himself and his friends to an occasional bottle of wine, equal to any that lie could purchase for a couple of dollars, just as Geo. H. Ilite is now able to do, free of expense; for his garden pays its own way, and a little more, of all cost of cultivation, leaving him in the enjoyment of its delicious fruits, fresh from the earth, or their pn^ducts preserved to continue almost as fresh throughout the winter. And he is not b}' profession nor early education a gardener, being a native of a State less noted for its horticultural skill and fruits than for its pro- due: ions of great corn crops, great bullocks, great men — physically and in- tellectually. Mr. Hite is a Kentuckian, and some of his early years were spent in painting portraits in Louisiana. Then he came to Js^ew York, and during other years acquired fame as an artist upon ivory. Then, some years ago, like a sensible man, he began to create a home for his old age, when it comes ; it is only in the blossom now ; and that home I have visited, and I wish I could take every one M'ho hears or reads of it with nie to learn what an artist has done, and what a mechanic, a lawyer, a doctor, or anybody else might do in a garden tipon a village lot. Will the sluggards who sigh after an abundance of fruit, and envy those who liave, j'ct take no steps to have it themselves, believe me when I tell them that in this garden there are grapevines of such extent, luxuriance, ami fruitftilncss, that sevei-al bar- rels are required to hold the juice of the surplus of the crop? The fruitful arbor that extends some fifty feet from the rear of the house, affords a de- lightful shady spot, which, independent of the fruit, is well worth its cost. Isabella grape wine, five years old, with no addition whatever to the juice of the grape, is excellent. Strawberries grow to ])erfeetion in this garden ; and as a cultivator of currants, Mr. Ilito excels. Not merely a few basket- fills for family use, but bushel after bushel, red, white, and black. The ber- ries of the true red Dutch variety are upon the average as large as the cherry currants under ordinary cultivation ; ami as for productiveness, no state- ment can convey an idea. To believe, you must see. And this is the result of pruning. True, Mr. Ilite follows the Scriptural injunction about a bar- ren tree, to " dig about and dung it,"' with all of his trees, and vines, and slirubs, and flowers, and table vegetables; but with the currant the secret of success is pruning. "Keep no old wood," is his injunction. Every branch that has borne three crops must be cut away at the ground, having been twice shortened in, by which the short fruit-spurs on the new wood are always loaded, and the Ininches growing close to the canes, so that they look like ropes of red berries. To commence with a single plant, cut it away close to the ground, to induce several vigorous shoots, instead of one, 6ec. 20.] ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF GARDEN PLANTS. 465 growing tree-shaped. Next spring shorten all these canes, and let the fruit grow below and new shoots above, and next spring shorten these again. Some of Mr. Kite's three-year-old plants are now five or six feet hio-h, so loaded with fruit that they have to be trained to stakes, which, by-the-by, is the true way to grow currants. Next spring these vigorous, fruitful branches, all that are three years old, will be unsparingly cut away. It is tlie secret of success. Meantime, new shoots come up in successive order to t.nhe their place. I have no doubt of the fact that currant bushes thus treated, of the sour sort that are now growing neglected along many a gaf- den wall, untrimmed in half a century, may be made to aflTord a field crop of more than two hundred bushels per acre of superior size and flavor to those grown in the ordinary waj-, and that the cost of production will be far below twenty-five cents a bushel. The annual pruning would be the great- est part of the labor, and, in the vicinity of this city, the wood cut away would be worth nearly the cost of cutting; and in the country, where stone chimneys and brick ovens are still fashionable, the brush, when well sea- soned, would make superior oven wood. Besides wliat I have said of this garden, there is much more to be learned from it, and that where it blos- soms now, nine or ten years ago was a wilderness of wild bushes, blackber- ries, and rocks, and that lie who has said " presto, change !" is not a magician, but a very humble individual, with no more power to produce such change than the most humble one of the mighty multitude who have an idea above the gutter, with a will to work that idea out in tlie rich productions of na- ture improved. Besides the fruitful grapes I have alluded to, Mr, Ilitehas others, prin- cipally of the Delawares, now growing beautifully ; and so satisfied is he with the advantages of growing superior grapes, that he dug up a fruitful bed of strawberry-plants to make room for more Delaware grapevines, which he thinks will be the greatest wine-grape in America. Some of the surplus products of his little plot of ground aflPorded the owner one year $iOO in cash, which was more than enough to pay for hired labor and manixre. This should encourage others to go and do likewise. I would have gone to this man for mj' miniature portrait, but who would think of going to an artist to learn horticulture? Yet I have learned, and in my ojjinion others may, from very unexpected sources. Let us try. 519. Origin and History of some Common Garden Vegetables, — The history of some of our fruits and vegetables is, in many respects, extremely curious. " Tlie artichoke, we find, was so highly esteemed in Rome, that an arbi- tary law was enacted to prevent commoners from eating it." This statement shows the importance of calling all plants by their botanical or scientific name, since we can not tell whether the writer means the HeUanthiis tuherosus (Jerusalem artichoke), which is a plant of the sun- flower species, or the artichoke which somewhat resembles a thistle, the Cynara scolymus, which grows the edible part at the top instead of the bottom. 466 THE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V- The plant used for flavoring, called lasil, -vvliich now stands so liigh that a London alderman would spurn a basin of turtle made without it, was, 200 years before Christ, condemned by Chrysippus as an enemy to the sight and a robber of the wits. Pliny says they sowed the seeds with maledictions and ill words, believing that the more it was cursed the better it would prosper. Lettuce appears, from an anecdote related by Herodotus, to liave been served at the royal tables of the Persian kings, five or six hundred yeai-s before the Christian era, but they only knew one sort, which was a black variety. Tliis esculent has been greatly improved by cultivation as well as cabbage. We can remember when a head of lettuce would have been a great curiosity, and the heads of cabbage fifty years ago were very unlike merchantable cabbage-iieads of the present day. Mint appears to have beea used formerly for other purposes besides making mint-juleps, which produce a disease whicli, in ancient times, mint was used to cure ; for Pliny says, at a consultation of physicians in his chamber, it was decided that a chaplet of pennyroyal was better for gid- diness aud swimming in the head than one of roses. According to Ovid, mint was used by the ancients to perfume their table.=, by rubbing the leaves upon them before serving the supper; and mxish- rooms, both edible and poisonous, were known to the ancients. They were considered, when good, a great dainty with the voluptuous Romans ; and one of the poisonous sorts was used by Agrippina to destroy her husband Tiberius Claudius. Mustard, it will be recollected by Bible-readers, was cultivated in Syria at the time of our Saviour, as it is mentioned in one of his beautiful parables as being the least seed tliat was sown ki the field. Garlic and onioiis must have been in liigh favor as food at a very early day, since it appears that the Egyptians worshiped garlic, and were said to ■wish that they might enjoy it in Paradise ; though the Greeks held it in such abhorrence, tliat they regarded those who ate it as profane. The Ro- mans gave it to their laborers and soldiers to strengthen them, and to their game-cocks previously to fighting them; and the Israelites, while in the M-ilderucss, lamented the deprivation of these stimulating roots, to which they had become so accustomed in Egypt. In this country, onions are eaten by all classes, and in Kew York city, we have noticed, are greatly esteemed in winter by the very poorest classes, particularly the dissijiated. Thoy are not generally considered uidiealthy, though no dyspeptic should ever touch garlic or onions in any shape, particularly raw. Parsn€2)S were held in high esteem by tlic Emperor Tiberius, who im- ported them annually into Rome from Germany, probably because they grew much better in tliat colder climate, as they are greatly improved here by remaining in the ground to freeze during winter. Parsneps contain a large proportion of sugar; beer is made from them in the north of Ireland, and wine, closely approaching the malmsey of Madeira, . -..c. 2J.] ORIGIN AND HISTORY" OF GARDEN PLANTS. 467 is made from the roots. Marmalade, made with parsneps and a small quantity of sugar, is said to excite appetite, and to be a very good food for convalescents. Parsley was cultivated, as it is now in gardens, in the time of Pliny, and appears to have been highly esteemed as a seasoning of food. Badishes were so highly esteemed by the Greeks, that they made them of gold to offer at the shrine of Apollo. If these were made of the size that radishes are represented as growing in those days, we certainly should prefer the counterfeits to the real ; for it is stated that they grew to the weight of forty or fifty pounds. Probably they were an entirely different article from our radishes, and perhaps were a culinary vegetable. Beets were made for the same purpose of silver, which shows the com- parative estimation in ^hich they were held. "With us it is quite the reverse. Turnips, too, do not seem to have been highly esteemed, since Apollo only got wooden turnips, while he got gold radishes and silver beets. This was somewhat owing to climate, undoubtedly, for we have observed that turnips are not esteemed in the cotton States, except for the tops to be used as greens. Thyme was planted in Greece, and thence imported into the Roman Stater, on account of its value as pasture for the honey-bees. Water-C7'ess was esteemed as a stimulating article of diet, as well in olden time as at present, and was often eaten with salad to counteract its eifects, , which were thought to be chilly. An old writer says : " Water-cress is one of the most wholesome of our salad-herbs, and one of the oldest in use. Its qualities are warm and stimulating, the reverse of nearly all other raw vegetables. Xenophon recommended it to the Persians, and the Romans gave it to those whose minds were deranged. Hence the Greek proverb: 'Eat cress, and have more wit.' It is an excellent anti- scorbutic ; and a salad so easily produced, and so important to the health of townspeople, can not be too highly recommended. The daily supply at Covent Garden, London, is about G,000 bunches, but it is said if twice as many more bunches were brought in they would bo all sold." Cahlage appears fo have been used for food from a very early period, and few vegetables have undergone greater improvements, from the original sea-kale to the lai'ge drum-head cabbage, some of which have heads almost as solid as turnips, and of twenty pounds weight. Germany, of all other countries, grows cabbage for food most abundantly. It is considered a necessity for every family to have a barrel or more of sour-kraut, which is made by cutting tlie cabbage-heads into small shreds, with sharp knives or a machine, which is packed in barrels with a little salt, and sometimes a flavor of spice, and in this way it keeps (we can not say sweet) in an eatable con- dition all winter, and is usually stewed and eaten with vinegar, in place of other vegetables, with meat. Asparagus is another sea-plant, very much improved by cultivation. Tiie 468 THE GARDEN AND ITS FEDITS. [Chap. V. first time we hear of this vegetable is in the time of Cato the Elder, two hundred years before Christ. Tlie Emperor Augustus was very partial to it; and at Ravenna it grew to sucli a size that three he.ads weighed a pound. Mr. Grayson, of Mortlake, near London, has produced one hundred heads that weiglied forty-two pounds, perhaps the largest ever known in Great Britain ; and hundreds of acres around the metropolis are devoted to its cultivation. The small heads are sometimes cut into pieces and boiled, as a substitute for green peas. Medicinally, it is considered diuretic, and is said to promote the appetite. It is considered antiscorbutic, and very good in dropsical cases, but is avoided by those having tiie gout. The most extra- ordinary virtue is that ascribed to it by Antoine Mizold, who says: "If the root is put upon a tooth that aches violently, it causes it to come out without pain." Our modern dentists will, we are sure, thank us for this information, if it is true. Asparagus and cabbage are both benefited by the use of salt for manure. For asparagus, there is no danger of using too much salt. It may be used in a crude state, or dissolved, or in compost. Carrots, Ave are told, originated, or at least, were first cultivated for food, in Holland. They are not only nutritious, but the pectic acid which they contain has the effect to gelatinize other food, hence they are used in soups, making them richer. There is no root grown by farmers of quite as much value for stock as carrots. They are A'ery nutritious food for our tables, simply boiled, and only require a little practice to be much liked. The Avhite carrot is sometimes boiled, and mashed, and used in bread. The foliage of carrots is truly beautiful, and we read that, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, it was common for ladies to use the fresh, green leaves as orna- ments of their head-dresses. Potatoes have a history so wrapped in obscurity, that no one can tell for a certainty where they originated. Tiieir adoption, as a general article of food, dates back only to a comparatively recent ])eriod ; that is, since the settlement of America, yet they are now considered an indispensable article upon almost all the tables of rich and poor in all countries where tiie potato flourishes, as it does in the northern United States and England and Ireland. The potato-plant {Solanuni titberos^im) is said to belong to a family of poisonous plants, and an extract, powerfully narcotic, may be made from the leaves and stalks, and a weak spirit is often distilled from the roots; and a pretty good starch is made, both in a domestic Avay and in large manufactories, from potatoes, Avith Avhich sago is often adulterated. Potatoes make good yeiist, and they are often used for making sizing; and the water in Avhich potatoes are boiled is good to wash any fabrics in that are liable to fade. Excellent as potatoes arc for food, sad experience has proved that it will not do for any nation to rely upon them. This reliance brouglit famine, Seo. 29.] HISTORY OF GARDEN PLANTS. 469 misery, starvation, and death to Ireland, and disappointment to a great many who have lost entire crops from the potato-disease. Salad-plants have long been cultivated and eaten by the rich as a luxury, and by the poor as a necessity, or rather, in many cases, more as an agree- able economic article of food. In all cities and large manufacturing towns, the laboring class are every year becoming greater consumers of lettuces, radishes, and celer}^, and find benefit from tiieir use. This kind of food is grown to great perfection, and is very largely consumed in France, Belgium, and Holland— more so than in this country. Salsifi/ is a plant that should be known more extensively tlian it is, be- cause it afibrds an excellent article of food. Its roots grow like parsneps, and the cultivation is similar, but they have quite a ditferent flavor, and on account of a real, though slight, resemblance in smell and taste to oysters, it is often called vegetable oyster-plant. The greatest resemblance to oysters is, when the roots, which have stood all winter in the ground, are dug in the early spring, boiled and mashed and mixed with butter, and cooked and served hot, like oyster batter-cakes. Okra is another valuable food-plant not much known and cultivated, ex- cept in market gardens in the Northern States, though it is considered an article of prime necessity at the South, being largely used by black and white. The negroes make a vcr^- favorite dish with okra and bacon, called gumbo, and we have eaten gumbo in New York, but it is very rare. The principal use of okra here is in soups. The seed-pods are the part used, cither green or dry. They give the soup a mucilaginous character. The bark of the okra plant is very fibrous — as much so as hemp, and more tough. Sweet corn (see 541), as it is now grown in a great majority of the gardens, affords one of the cheapest and richest luxuries that America enjoys. In the latitude of this city it is fit to eat in Jul}', and continues in condition for the table, with a little extra attention, till late in October. There are -several varieties, some of which are noted for keeping fresh very late in the season. There is no dish more universally liked than sweet corn while in the green or milky state, and every family who have the means of growing it should provide for a succession of crops during the season, so as never to be without it, because no food can be produced cheaper, and none is more nutritious, palatable, and wholesome. We might go on to great length with this history and description of garden plants, and at last should hardly know where to stop without breaking off abruptly ; so we do it here, to go more into particulars of garden cultivation of proper vegetables, plants, fruits,, and flowers. 470 THE GAKDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [CUAP. V. SECTION XXX.-GARDEN CULINARY VEGETABLES. 'TJR plan of treating ligbtly a great variety of sub- jects will not warrant lis in giviii<; a complete "Young Gardeners Assistant." That can be ■uglit in a separate volume, and it is a valuable book, it we shall give a little information about all the incipal kinds of culinary vegetables usually cultivat- by farmers, or which should be cultivated by them, which we trust will be found useful. In treating upon some of the same things under field-culture, in the chapter devoted to " Tlie Farm and Its Crops," we shall i>robably give some further information, which may bo useful to those who only plant a garden. And so will what we say here be useful to those who wish to grow vegetables upon a large, as well as upon a small, scale. 520. The Brassica Family— Propagatiag and Saving Seed.— This family of plants, which includes all that are near enough related to tlio cabbage to hybridize with it, is the most universally cultivated of any variety of culi- nary vegetables. In planting out cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, turnips for seed, great care should be taken to set each kind by itself, at considerable distances apart, to prevent hybridization, and no seedsman must keep l)ee3, for they are the greatest hybridizers in nature, carrying the pollen from one blossom to another, and mixing the two together indiscriminately. All tlie diflerent varieties of cabbage, such as Flat Dutcli, Savoy, Drumhead, mi.x very readily and spoil each variety, or else by one chance in a score of millions, produce a new variety which may be Avortli cultivation. As a general rule, however, all farmers who raise their own seed should try to keep the varieties separate. This may be done in most cases by setting out the seed-stalks in diiferent fields. It is not necessary to confine them to the garden. Where tliere is any great inconvenience about keeping the sorts apart, yon had better plant only one sort for seed, and buy seed for all otlier sorts you may wish to cultivate. Do not try to grow your own seed, if it will cost you twice as much as it would to buy a small paper of a pro- fessional seedsman. The principal advantage in growing your own seed is to select carefully the very best and throw away all others, and unless you do that, you had bettor not grow any. To grow good cabbage and turnip seed, select the very best roofs to plant, and then select the best seed branches. A correspondent wants to know if turnip seed, harvcstca from roots that were left out over winter, will produce good turnips if sown for a Sec. 30.J GARDEN CULIKARY VEGETABLES. 471 crop. " My neighbors," says the writer, " tell me it will not produce tur- nips, but charlock." Wc do not believe that it will change in a single season, but we do know of one instance where such seed was sown, and it produced turnijj-tops and seed, but few bulbs of any value ; and we believe that if the seed of these bulbless plants had been sown again and again, the whole semblance of turnips except the tops would have been lost. And this being the fact, why may we not believe that the reverse will be the case, where the most perfect bulbs are selected for propagation ? 521. Cultivation and Value of the Turnip Crop. — The value of the ruta- baga turnip for stock-feeding (see 880) seems to be almost universally con- ceded, while the counnon flat turnip appears to be under a cloud of preju- dice ia this country. We have, however, strong faith, from pei"sonal expe- rience, in its value as winter food for horned cattle and sheep. There is great diiFerence in the value of the several varieties. One of the best is the Red Strap, which grows well up out of the ground, and all the upper part of the bulb is of a rich plum red. This sort, if sown upon good land, grows rapidly and solid, and such turnips always keep tlie best and afford the most nutriment when fed to stock, and every vacant spot in the garden may thus be profitably occupied. For garden culture, turnips should be sown at three periods : first, as early as the ground is dry and warm enough for the seed to vegetate ; second, about the first of June ; and the third, after the peas have ripened, and in all other vacant spots from which a first crop has been removed. If seed is sown as late as the middle of October, or, according to latitude, as late as it will grow bulbs the size of pigeons' eggs, and these are covered over with a mulch of coarse manure, straw, or leaves, and the mulch raked off very early in the spring, you will get a fine crop of sprouts for early greens, and sometimes the bulbs will grow again so as to be good eating. Remember, never save seed from such roots. 522. Protection of Turnips from Insects.— The young plants are liable to sufter from the attack of certain insects, especially the turnip flea, or beetle — called in England " the fly." As a protection against such enemies, we recommend the following recipe : Mix one tablespoonful of sulphur with a pint of blood-warm water to half a pound of seed ; let it soak a few min- utes, then pour off the water and mix the seed with ashes or plaster. Whether this would afford any protection against grasshoppers, could be determined by trial. There has been lately offered in market a new preparation of " attenuated coal-tar," that is, coal-tar mixed with a dryer, making a granulated sub- stance resembling gunpowder, which is said by those who have used it to bo a good preventive of insects. We know that the scent of coal-tar is of- fensive to most of the farm-pest family. A board-fence painted with coal- tar appears to act as a protector of fruits trained alongside of it. Coal-tar mixed with di-ied loam in the form of a powder should be tried as a pre- 472 THE GARDEN AND ITvS FRniTS. [Ciiap. V. ventive of insects on the young turnips. In this form tlic expense would llaces, and therefore it is economical, because it affords such a great quantity of food. 527. Carrots, Beets, I'arsneps, Salsify, aud Uorseradish. — All these plants require one grand feature in their cultivation, and one which many farmers neglect. It is a perfect trenching of the earth, not less than two feet deep, and far better if it is three feet. Tiicy all succeed best on a rather light loam, not too sandy, which was manured the previous year with old manure. If desirable to continue planting tlie same plat with these roots, let them come in rotation, and use no manure that is not in a very pulverulent con- dition. Guano, at the rate of three or four hundred pounds per acre ; super- phosphate, at the rate of five hundred pounds per acre ; lime, at the rate of fifty bushels per acre ; unleached ashes, at the rate of ten to twenty bushels per acre, are all good fertilizers for root crops. All these roots arc apt to grow pronged and ill-shapen in fresh-manured ground, as they always do in ground badly spaded or plowed, unless prepared by the very best kind of surface and subsoil plowing. 52S. Carrots, for early use, may be sown as soon as the ground is dry. For winter use, tlie last of Ma}- or first of June in the latitude of New York. They are best preserved for winter use in dry sand. The best early variety is Early Horn ; the best for winter, or stock, is the Improved Long Orange, though some prefer the Altringham. The large, white, Belgian carrot has been cultivated here, but the yellow is still the favorite. 520. Beets should be sown very early for greens. The Early Flat Bas- sano" or Early Blood Turnip-Beet will produce food soonest; but for win- Sec. 30.] GARDEN CULINARY VEGETABLES. 475 ter, we prefer the Long Blood Beet or Smooth Long Dark-red. The last should not be sown till near the first of June. If it matures early, the top part, wjiich grows out of ground, is very woody. Always soak beet- seed twenty-four hours, and then roll it in plaster, ashes, dust, or meal, to dry it for handling while planting. An ounce of seed will plant a row one hundred feet long. 530. Parsueps should be sown early, and may be left where they grow till the ground is wanted for a second crop. The soil must be trenched and rich, or manured deep below the surface, to grow good parsneps. An ounce of seed sows a row two hundred feet long — five pounds an acre. The Long Smooth is the best variety. Parsneps are excellent food for stock. 531. Salsify, or Oyster Plant, should be sown early in spring; an ounce of seed to a row thirty feet long. Like parsneps, they are improved by standing all winter where they grew. Horseradish, is a plant of the genus Cachlearia, which is a sort of scurvy- grass, and is unknown to, or, at least, uncultivated by many farmers. Its sharp, pungent root is very agreeable to most persons as a seasoning to meats, and it is considered a healthy excitant of appetite. It is easily grown from cuttings in any deep, rich soil, even a mucky one that is quite wet. It is best after standing out all winter. In the vicinity of cities it is extensively grown as a market crop, and is very profitable. For family use a few plants will suffice. 532. Ouion CuIturCt — There are three principal sorts of onions grown from seed produced on the top — the red, yellow, and white. There is a kind called Early Red, and the large Wetliersfield Red ; the latter grows the lar- gest, and is best for field culture. The Danvers yellow variety is mild fla- vored, early, and keeps well, and is preferred, where best known, to the Yellow Dutch, which is known in some places as Strasburg or Silver-skin. The White Portugal onion is the mildest, and good to grow for family use, but requires great care to keep it over winter. In some parts of the country scarcely any but top onions are grown. This kind produces miniature onions on the top of the stalk, which are set to grow b^dbs for use. Onions require a rich sandy loam, highly manured with thoroughly rotted compost, deeply and finely worked and rolled, and the seed sown, one ounce to a row fifteen feet long, in drills fourteen inches apart, and the plants left standing four inches apart. Unlike most other things, onions do best upon the same plat year after year. "Wood ashes, applied as top- dressing, make one of the best fertilizers that can be given to an onion bed. To prevent the ravages of the onion maggot, which of late years has proved so destructive, it is recommended to sow poppies with the onion. 533. Peas— Choice Kinds aud Cultivation. — The following are the best early peas in their order: Daniel O'Rourke; Early Princess; Early Emperor; Prince Albert ; Early Kent. The following are dwarf varieties : Tom Thumb ; Bishop's Early Dwarf, quite prolific and early ; Bishop's New Long 476 THE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [CnAP. V. Podded, productive and good quality ; Dwarf-blnc Imperial, highly recom- mended as a summer pea. The following are larger sorts, and are highly recommended : Champion of England ; Fairbeard's Nonpareil ; Champion of Scotland; Eugenie; Kapoleon ; Missouri Marrowfat ; Large White Mar- rowfat, a late sort; Biackeyed Marrowfat, an excellent kind, worthy of gen- eral cultivation ; British Queen, very prolific, long podded, and fine fla- vored ; to which add the sugar pea, with edible pods. Judging from the little attention paid by many farmers to the cultivation of garden peas, we suppose thcj look upon them as luxuries, only to be in- dulgod in by a few, except in very small quantities. In this they are quite in error. There is nothing grown that is more nutritious and wholesome, and much more attention should be paid to their cultivation, so as to have a full daily supply, early and late. The first planting should be made just as soon as the ground can be worked in spring, upon ground well manured the year before, or else with very fine old compost or guano in the hill, but not in contact with the seed. In small gardens, or where ground is scarce for early crops, plant potatoes and peas together. Land can not be too rich for peas, but if it is the richest of crude manure, more vines than seed will grow. Ashes and plaster upon peas while growing, when a few inches high, will help them remarkably. Plant in double rows, a foot apart, so as to set bushes between. The largest sorts require four to six feet between the lines, and we have found it advantageous to put them wide apart and jdant a row of potatoes between. You want a pint of seed of the dwart" sorts, in a double row, fifty or sixty feet long. The large growing sort will take a pint to a hundred feet. Pea-bugs injure l)ut do not destroy the germination of seed peas. It is recommended to keep them in sealed bottles, and if a j^iece of gum cam- phor as large as a pea is put in, it will destroy all bug life. One writer recommends planting peas five inches deep early in the spring to prevent the weevil. He plants beets at the same time between the rows of peas. Another writer recommends fall ])lanting, or any time during winter when there is no frost in the ground. 534. Deans for the Gardeu — Good Sorts. — We recommend careful atten- tion to the cultivation of garden beans, because they furnish such good, cheap, palatable food. The following half dozen sorts are the best that we can name of the dwarf or bush variety, which give edible pods, called snap or string beans : The Early Valentine grows excellent, long, tender pods. Early Yellow Six-weeks is very productive. Early Mohawk is not only prolific, but hardy. The Earlj' China is an old favorite ; it is a white bean, with red eye. The Thousand-to-One sort is also an old and very popular kind. As young bean-plants are easily killed by frost, you must not plant them till that danger is past and the ground is light and warm. A pint of seed will plant a drill eighty feet long. Cover lightly without manure, and never hoe when the vines arc wet, but stir the soil very often, aud use plaster and ashes. Sec. 30.] GARDEN CULINARY VEGETABLES. 477 Of pole-beans, the Early Dutch Case-knife takes the lead. It is earlv, I^rolific, and good green or dry. The pods are sometimes eaten, hut can not be recommended. The pods of all the Cranberry beans are good. The " Horticultural Cranberry or "Wren's Egg" grows in beautifully red-striped pods, is of a light red and cream color, speckled, of medium size, and very good, both in the pods and shelled. The "White, or Marrowfat Cranberry, is very tender and nice, but is a shy bearer. The old Red Cranberry is more prolific and hardy, but the pods are less tender, and beans not so delicate in flavor, but it is a valuable sort to rely upon. The beans grow of good size, roundish, and deep-red color. 535. Lima Beans are a distinct order of plants from the others, and more difficult to cultivate, as they require a longer season of warm weather, and if planted before the ground is warm, are apt to rot, and each seed requires to be liaudled separately and put in the ground with the eye, downward to insure their coming up. The best manure for Lima beans is superphosphate of lime. They grow in long, flat, rough pods, and the vines are such great climbers, that they would go to the top of poles thirty feet high. Tlie best way is to use jioles live or six feet high, and pinch back the vines, or train them horizontally. To get an early start, set each bean in a piece of sod two inches square, and place these sods in a shallow box in the kitchen, and keep them well watered till it will answer to set the beans out around the poles. 536. Califorsia Beans. — A variety of beans new to the Atlantic States, in- troduced from California, has been highly recommended. A letter, written by L. Norris, Windsor, Ashtabula County, O., says of it : " This bean is of medium size, of a peach-blow color, and very prolific. It requires only one, or at most two plants in each hill, as it produces many lateral vines. It is a short runner, only from tliree to four feet in higlit. I find by planting them with corn, one bean in each hill answers the purpose well. By cooking these beans in the following way, they constitute a savory dish, and need only to be tasted to be appreciated : Having cleaned the beans, put them in cold water ; add a little salt, and boil uutiT done, but not so much as to have the beans crack open. Have ready a frying-pan, with some lard, whicii heat until it nearly boils; then take the beans out with a skimmer and put them into the frying-pan and fry them until they absorb nearly all the fat ; then add about a pint of the bean liquor (of which you must reserve a plenty) ; tlien boil, or rather fry, a few minutes, stirring it gently; but be sure the liquor docs not all boil away, as it is this wliich gives the beans such a delicious flavor. They are now ready for the taljJe." 537. Flowering Beans are grown almost exclusively for ornament, and are known as '"Scarlet runners" or ""White runners," being great climbers, and profuse in beautiful flowers, and not very prolific bearers. It is a mistake to suppose these beans are not edible ; they are so, but not of such delicate flavor as to be recommended for that purpose ; they are \evy ornamental, and may be planted to climb a pole in a showy spot in the garden, or near 4:78 THE GARDEIT AND ITS FRTJITS. [Cuap. V. the house trained to trellises, or climbing strings up the house side, around windows, or along a piazza front. 53S. Asparagus.— But few farmers have this delicious, early spring vege- table in perfection, because they do not know how to cultivate it properly. It is a perennial plant, which, if once well set, produces its crop of tender, ricli shoots, year after year, with very little annual cultivation. It may be started from seeds or roots, which should be set in a deeply-trenched bed, well drained, and made just as rich as rich can be, and heavily salted. Every autumn, cut off the tops, and cover the bed with a thick coat of manure, salted ; and iil the spring, fork up the ground lightly, before the sprouts start, mixing in the manure, and if any of it is unrotted, lay it as a mulch between the rows. Lime and ashes are both excellent for surface- dressings. There are three varieties of asparagus — the Large Green Purple Top, or Giant; the Improved Ghent; and Common Green — though some contend that the dififereuce is more in cultivation than anytliing else. The common kind is certainly improved in size by high cultivation. In May, 18G0, a Mr. Fecks, of Oyster Bay, L. I., exhil)ited, to the American Institute Farmers' Club, specimens of a giant asparagus, grown at Oyster Bay, originated from seed at Matinicock, L. I., the bed of wliich is now over thirty years old. Some of .the stalks were near]}' an inch in diameter. lie stated "that he had about four acres, which he called only a ' small patch,' because other ])ersons had more than twice as much, and he had been told that one man near Jamaica has seventy acres. His beds are made upon good potato-land, plowed deep, and highly manured with stable or hog-pen manure. At one year from seed, the plants are set in rows four feet apart, and fifteen or twenty inches apart in the rows. AVe trench four- teen inches deep, with manure at bottom, which is covered with three inches of soil, and the roots set, and the trench filled gradually during the summer. In cultivation, we plow oft' the earth and put manure in the furrows aljund- antly. My bed is so near the level of salt water that the tide rises upon it at very high water, and the yield is $300 an acre. We do not cut it much, if any, the first two years. We put fifty loads of manure per acre, and five hundred pounds of guano. ' Some growers use 1,500 pounds of guano per acre. The bunches of sixteen stalks weigh four pounds. Tlie best asparagus is that which grows above ground. The white is always tough. We some- times have bunches with eight inches of tender green." It is a mistaken notion to cut or try to cat the white part of asparagus stalks. None but the tender green part is fit to cat. An article now be- fore us has the following sensible remarks upon this subject. The writer says : "The stalk is generally cut about four inches long, often not more than two or three inches, and from one third to one half the length is white, showing it grew below the surface of the soil ; this part is always tougli and bitter, and unfit to eat. In truth, it is never eaten, so that fully one half of the vreight of a bunch of asparagus, purchased in the market, is a dead loss. Sec. 30.] GAEDEN CULINAEY VEGETABLES. 479 If the stalk be cut four inches long, and two inches below the earth's surface, about one inch and a half of the top part is fit for nse — -no more. Aspara- gus should never be cut till it is five or six inches out of the ground. I often let it grow ten or twelve inches high. "When five or si.x inches high, it should be cut about a half inch above the ground ; but when ten or twelve inches high, it should be cut si.x or seven inches above the surface of the earth ; or, if it be cut near the ground, all the bottom part sliould be rejected. "After cutting it, take a sharp knife, and commencing at the lower end, feel your way along toward the top, till you come to where it is perfectly tender, then cut it off, throwing away the lower part. " It is only the green, tender part that is above the ground that is sweet, healthy, and nutritious, or fit to cook and eat. The white, tough, and bitter part, that grows below the earth's surface, is not half as good as corn- stalks, and should not be allowed to be sold in any market in the civilized world. " For private families, asparagus-beds should be made at consideraljlc ex- pense, and with mucli care. Four or five dollars will make a bed that will amjily supply, for many years in succession, a family of eight or ten per- sons, if properly taken care of. To make a first-rate bed for that number in a familj', make it about five feet wide and twenty feet long. Dig out the ground two and a half feet deep, and fill iip with chips, sawdust, tan, or sticks of wood, packed close together, five or six inches from the Ijottom. Then put in five or six inches of the strongest stable manure, and fill up to the top with manure and dirt, about half and-half. " The bed is now fit to plant. Put your roots about ten inches apart, each way, over the entire bed, and then cover them about three inches deep with the richest soil to be had, and sow evenly over the whole a peck of common salt and a peck of ashes, mixed together. Asparagus is a marine-plant, re- quiring salt and alkalies for fertilizers, which should be supjilied every spring to make the plants flourish. " Keep the beds clean of weeds and well manured, and for this quantity of ground you will have a rich and abundant supply for eight or ten in a family, every day, if desired, from about the first of April till the last of June. The yield will be ten times as much as could be obtained from the same number of square feet planted in peas or beans. There is not, among all the green vegetables brought to market, another so productive, palatable, nutritious, and healthy as this plant. "Where it is raised for market, a warm, rich, vegetable mold should be selected. A sandy loam is better than clay." 539. felery. — This is another good vegetable for early spring, when there is a longing for something green or fresh from the garden, which is but little known to farmers in general. It is a hardy biennial, grown from seed sown in the spring, which will produce seed the second year. For the table, the stalks only are used, and generally raw, though good cooked, and to make 480 THE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. thein tender and palatable, are grown in a pecnliar M'ay, which blanches and makes tliem crisp, tender, and pleasant to the taste, being aromatic and slightly pungent, SM'eet, and agreeable to all who are accustomed to eating them. There are several varieties in cultivation, some of the best of whicii arc named as follows : White Solid, Seymour's Superb "White, Cole's Crystal VChitc, Cole's Superb Eed, Dwarf White French, Incomparable; this is a dwarf sort, of a short, stiff, close habit, growing crisp, solid, and white, and keeps juicy and perfect longer than some other sorts. Laing's Mammoth Eed is the largest sort, and is highly esteemed in England, but not as much so here as Nonesuch, whicli is said to possess an excellent flavor, and keep well in spring without seeding. Mead's Improved White is a new American variety, getting into good repute. Celery-seed should be planted early in spring, and covered shallow in rich, mellow soil, beating the earth down com- l>:R'tly over the seeds with the back of a spade. When the plants are three inciies high, thin them out to four inches apart, and keep them clear of weeds till six inches high, and then transplant into trenches about a foot deep, first tilling them half full of fine manure, well mixed with soil, and set the plants six inches apart, first shortening roots and tops. As they increase in size, draw in the sides of the trench, and continue to earth up, keeping the stalks and leaves all drawn close together, so the tops only show a few inches above the ridge. There is no better fertilizer than salt for this plant. Sprinkle the ground each time before earthing up, and take care each time to hold the stalks together, so that no dirt will fall into the center of the bunch. An ounce of celery-seed will produce some five thousand plants. Both in the plant-bed and in the trenches, celery will drink up a great deal of water or liquid manure. Some recommend keeping the plants in the trenches constantly saturated with water, tinctured with guano, or strong manure and salt. If kept constantly moist, the earthing-up process may be deferred till late in the fall. One says : " Late in autumn the whole bed is covered with forest leaves, a foot or foot and a half thick, with a few cornstalks to prevent their blowing away. From this bed the celery may be readily obtained at any time, fresh, sweet, and crisp, during tiie winter." Another covers the ridge with coarse manure, so it will not freeze ; and another takes up the plants, and packs them in an upright position in a. trench three feet wide, and covers the whole with coarse manure. This is only necessary where the plants are required in winter for market purposes. For family use, a few can be kept in wet moss, while the ground remains frozen. As a general rule, we believe the blacker the earth that celery is "•lown in, the whiter will it blanch. Some jiersons blanch with boards, set up against the plants, covered with charcoal-dust. A writer in the Garrhn- crs Chronicle, London, recommends the use of sawdust, which he finds an- swers the purpose better than any other material, especially for late crops to be kept during the winter. He says: " Having had some trouble in keeping late celery from rotting, where the Sec. so.] GARDEN CULINARY VEGETABLES. 481 soil was very retentive and damp, and the plants earthed up in the nsual manner, I nsed sawdust, and found that it answered perfectly. Last winter all the late celery was earthed up with sawdust, and it kept quite sound till April, and no slugs or insects attacked it underground, the heads being very solid, clear, and crisp, and well flavored. I had some doubts that the saw- dust from resinous trees might give the celery a disagreeable flavor, but on trial I found this not to be the case. Before the late severe frost occurred in October I had just finished the earthing np of all the late celery with sawdust, and I find it is now wonderfully fresh, the frost not having penetrated far through the surface to the hearts." Another correspondent recommends charred earth in preference to saw- dust, "as it will not only answer the purpose as well, but will allow the rain-water to percolate more freely to the roots of the plants, and be of in- finite service to a soil of a damp, retentive nature." The sawdust, he thinks, will induce an injurious growth of fungi in the soil. 540. ('hiccory. — This is a garden plant, scarcely known to American farmers, though extensively grown in England, and within the last ten years it has become a favorite article of growth and consumption. It grows somewhat like carrots, and its cultivation is similar, and its principal use is to furnish a substitute for cofl"ee, or an article to mix with it, as it is to a great extent with all that is sold in a burnt and ground state for the pur- pose of reducing the price, or if sold at the pi-ice of pure coffee, giving the manufacturer a larger profit. The carrot-like roots of the chiccory are washed, scraped, and cut into small pieces, and kiln-dried, and then roasted and ground like coflee. To give the chiccory an oily appearance like coffee, lard is put in the roaster at the rate of two pounds to a hundred of dried roots. It is colored with Ve- netian red, or logwood and mahogany dust, where the cliiccory is to be sold nearly pure for " pure coffee." Although not much grown here, we believe some coffee roasters in New York know its value to them, and import it in considerable quantities. No doubt it may be profitably cultivated, not only for sale or use as a substi- tute for coffee, but for a good forage crop in the tops. Sow it in April in drills a foot apart for hand hoeing, just as you should carrots, on rich, deep soil, on such ground as would produce a good carrot crop, and harvest in autumn. Some grow the leaves blanched, to use as a salad, by taking up the roots in autumn and trimming off the tops, and setting the roots in sand in a dark cellar, when young blanched leaves start out. The roots live over winter like parsneps, but, like them, are tough and stringy the second year. Tlie leaves resemble dandelion, and tops and roots have a delicate bitter taste, and are slightly aromatic. For a forage crop, the tops grow very rapidly and thick, and may be cut four or five times. The roots, too, are very good for stock. We recommend its cultivation in gardens, in a small way, until its value is well tested. 541. Corn in the Garden. — There are several varieties of sweet com suitable 482 THE GAKDEJT AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. for early and late use. "We will mention a few, and advise all farmers to select such an assortment as will serve to give them ears fit for the tahlo through the longest season possible. The earliest may he started in hot- beds, and transplanted as well as any other plants, or it may be jilantcd, as we have recommended for early beans, in square bits of sod, or in small pots kept in the house, where it is warm and constantly moist. Smith's Early White is a dwarf variety, which may be planted for the first yield in hills only two and a half feet apart. Darling's Extra Early sweet corn is thought by some to produce ears the earliest of any variety ; and the Early lied Cob is also a very early sort, growing short ears, eight or ten rowed, which fill well out to the end. The Early Tuscarora is a large variety, and matures early, but not as much so as the dwarf sorts. It is eight rowed, Avith broad, white grains, and remains fit for boiling a long time. This sort requires a very rich soil. For the main crop, the kind known as Lai-ge Sweet is perhaps the most productive ; and for very late eating, StoweU's Evergreen or Burr's Mammoth Sweet sliould be planted in rich hills, three and a half or four feet apart, as late as the middle of July. "We have seen it yield well, planted late in August, by protecting the hills with stalks of the early sorts tied around them. It is also kept good till December by cutting or pulling up the hills and setting them in a dry cellar or out- l)uilding. Both of these late sorts grow ears with twelve to eighteen rows, large grains on white cobs, and very bushy stalks. Tiiere should be a ])lanting of corn for family use every fortnight from April to August. "Where land is scarce, we recommend planting corn and potatoes in the same hill. The corn will be just as good as though no potatoes were there, and if the stalks of the corn are cut away as soon as the ears arc mature enough to boil, the yield of potatoes will be a fair one — in our experience just as good as hills alongside without corn. bi2. Early Gardcu Potatoes> — It is quite important to farmers to know what are the earliest sorts of potatoes, since they are the most staple tood article grown as garden vegetables, and we therefore name some of the most approved varieties. We have always found the nutmeg potatoes the earliest of any, but objectionable on account of their general small size, and because ihey do not yield well. There is a sort called '"Mammoth Nutmegs,"' which grow larger and yield better. The Nutmegs have a very smooth skin, light yellow, with white flesh, and keep well, but are good for nothing for winter use. The Early June is a good potato, and more productive. The Extra Early White is said to be productive, and capable of producing a very early crop. The Early Wendell and Early Carpenter are both spoken of by those who grow them as the best early variety known. We have been well satis- fied with the Buckeye as an early growing potato, but it did not keep well with us. The Dykeman is not as early as some others, but answers first-rate to mature a week or two later. Either of these may be grown to great ad- vantage in the garden, and we recommend that all of them should be tried, and proved which is best for each particular locality. Sec. 30.] GARDEN CULINAPwY VEGETABLES. 483 543. Cucurbita — GourdSi — The family of cucurbita, embracing everything from gourds to cucumbers, appears in an almost countless variety of forms, under some of which it is to be found in almost every garden. In our youthful days, almost every family raised a few gourds, and very conve- nient things they were, not only for water dippers, but holders of a great many little articles. We used them for storehouses of small seeds. At the South, and in some of the new portions of the "West, gourds are still grown to a considerable extent, and when we traveled through most Of the South- western States between 1840 and 1850, we should have thought something was lacking if we had not found a pail and one or more drinking-gourds at some convenient spot about the house — generally on the front piazza, where every traveler could help himself to a drink of water. Often, too, on visit- ing the springs by the roadside or in the plantations, we have f )und the in- dispensable gourd hanging to a tree. They are grown of all sizes, from a gill to a gallon ; and one kind that grows without the elongation for a handle we have seen of the capacity of half a bushel, and the shell so hard that they would last many years for dry storage. In Texas, a variety with a depression in the middle, and bulb of equal size at each end, is frequently used to carry water on horseback, it is so convenient to lash to the saddle. A little drinking-gourd, as hard as wood, and almost white, holding about a third of a pint, was given us by a lady in Mississippi, which accompanied us during many tliousand miles of journeying, and out of which we had many a sweet drink of water from i-oadside springs. No one thought it worth while to steal a gourd from the wagon, while a tumbler, tin cup, or earthen mug would probably have disappeared the first night. We heartily commend this good old fashion of growing gourds to the attention of all farmers. It will save many a dollar used up in tin cups and dippers, and costly, fragile glass and earthenware. 544. CucumberSi — These rarely fail if planted in hills Tnadc as rich as it is possible to make them, six or eight feet apart, leaving only two or three plants to run to vines from each hill, and sometimes that is too many. The ground must be kept free of weeds in all the stages of growth of vines, to insure a good crop. A very good way to raise a few early cucumbers for family use is to fill a barrel or larger cask with hog-pen or other rich ma- nure, covered with sand, and set it in the grass-plat, near the house, where it can be watered every day — no matter how often. We have seen a good lot of cucumbers grown by earthing over the ash-leach and letting the vines hang over the sides. This also requires frequent watering, for that is the great source of all great garden productions. Without it, high manuring is worthless. Perhaps the earliest variety is one lately introduced, called the Early Eussiau. It is prolific, and matures for the table ten days sooner than the Early Cluster, or Early Frame, or Short Green. Tiie Early White-spined sort is considered best for the table. It is larger than the other early sorts, straight, smooth, and dark green. For pickles, there are several good sorts : 484 THE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. the Long Green Prickly ; Long Green Turkey ; Stockwood Eidgc ; and Carter's Long Ridge. For early use, cucumbers may be planted in sods inverted in a box that can be taken in and out of tlie house, according to weather, until it is warm enough to set them in place. You can not make the hills for cucumbers too rich. Some market gardeners divide the hills in quarters, and plant one fourth at a time, a week apart ; 'so that if one planting fiiils, another Avill succeed. The plants should be hoed frequently, and the bugs watched care- fully. Seed improves by age ; an ounce will plant a hundred hills; though as they are planted on Long Island for market, an ounce would be needed for a dozen hills. The market gardeners put in such a quantity of seed, that the bugs are not able to eat all until some get too big for them. 645. Miisk-Melous should not be planted till the earth gets warm, and then in hills dug deep and made rich with Avell-rotted manure. It is a good practice to pinch out the bud of the main shoot as soon as half a dozen rough leaves are formed, as that causes lateral branches, and makes the fruit set earlier. Light, dry, sandy loam made rich, and a dry, hot atmosphere, if the plants are kept moist, will grow fine melons. We think the Green citron, a small, rough green skin, roundish form, the best sort. Tlie Pine- apple and Jenny Lind are similar, and excellent. The Nutmeg melon grows larger, with rough skin and greenish flesh, aromatic and sweet. Skillman's Fine Netted looks as though the green melon was bagged in a brown net, and is a very fine melon, and ripens earl}-. Tlie Christiana is a yellow-fleshed sort that ripens very early. It is a Massachusetts seedling. 54(5. Water-NeloBS, though grown in all the Northern States, never come to such jierfection of excellence as they do in warmer climates. Here they should be planted in Maj' in light, dry ground, and they often do best upon al- most pure beds of sand, having hills prepared by digging out large holes and filling them with manure, and covering it with soil. If the plants arc wa- tered with a solution of two pounds of Peruvian guano in a barrel of water, their vigor will be much increased. It is a great object to get them forward as fast as possible. A very successful grower of water-melons upon the gra- nitic soil of AVestchester County, N. Y., says : "I dig a hole three feet wide and three feet deep or more, and fill it with cow-yard manure early in the season* — say 1st of May, and cover this with light soil, six or eight inches deep, before planting the seeds. For musk- melons I manure with well-decomposed manure, sown broadcast and worked into the soil. I would also work in a little of tliis fine manure in the top of the water-melon hills." The vines fruit better if the leading shoots are frequently pinched back. "Water-melon hills should be ten feet apart in rich, sandy loam or artificially enriched sand. Six or eight seeds to a hill, not over an inch deep, in fine, black soil, over any amount of rich manure, will produce vigorotis vines. The varieties of water-melons are almost innumerable. Tlie Mountain Sweet and Black Spanish are our favorites. Cut-worms and bugs are the Seo. 30.] GARDEN CULINARY VEGETABLES. 485 greatest pests of all vines, and the best of the many remedies in our opinion is the cheapest, which is simply inclosing the hill as soon as planted with a board box six or eight inclies high, drawing the earth up a little around the outside. It has been found unnecessary to cover the top with thin muslin or flakes of cotton batting, except for tiie purpose of keeping the earth warmer. These boxes should be made about a foot squai'c, and tapering enough to admit packing them in nests to stow away as soon as the plants are large enough to allow of removing their wooden walled protection. Other seeds may be protected by such boxes against scratching hens, as they will seldom, if ever, get inside to do mischief; and so long as hens do not de- stroy seeds or plants, or fruit in a garden, they are useful, for they eat up thousands of worms and bugs. Other melons should lie planted and treated as we have said of water- melons ; and of all the various sorts of musk-melons, the small green melon that looks as though covered with a fine flaxen netting is the best, to our taste, though we have great hopes that the new Persian melon, that grows as big as the old musk-melon, will prove as rich as its first fruits indicate. Great care is necessary to save melon seed pure. Vines of cucumbers and melons never should grow near to each other. Let the truth be re- membered, that the varieties of all this family will mix, and that seedlings seldom improve cither sort, and that the best always suifer by the contact. Bees are great mixers of the pollen of flowers, and they can only be j)re- vented by getting up earlier in the morning than the bees. Select a number of female blossoms which have opened during the night. They may be known by growing on the end of the young squash, melon, etc., while the male blossoms (" false blows," as they are often called) have no fruit. Scat- ter the pollen of the male blossoms upon the stamens of the female ones, and carefully cover the latter with millinet, or anything which will protect them from the visits of the bees. A piece of cotton cloth, or even a squash leaf, kept in place by a few clods of earth, will answer a good purpose. "When the blossom withers, the covering may be removed, and the fruit marked by a colored string tied loosely around the vine. 547. Melons Started in the House. — It is recommended by one who has met with success, to fill some small open baskets with earth and start the plants in them b}' artificial heat. Suitable baskets to hold a pint may be made for half a cent each of bark or willow twigs, or split stuflf, or even shavings, or old, worthless strawberry baskets may be used. Perhaps straw baskets would answer, and be very cheaply made. Anything that will hold the dirt until the plants are large enougli to set out, will answer the purpose, and then the baskets and all the contents are planted in the hills. The object in using baskets is not to disturb the roots of the plants, as they are very tender, and do not bear transplanting. Any other tender plant may be grown in the same way. 548. The Apple-Pic Melon. — L. Norris, of "Windsor, Ashtabula County, O., says: "The apple-pie melon, with good cultivation, will attain to 40 or 486 TBE GARDEK AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. 50 lbs. each, and if gathered carefully wlien rii^e, and kci)t in a dry, cool place, will keep sound a year, and will always prove a good substitute for fruit for pies or sweetmeats. To use, peel off the skin, take out the pulp, cut fine, and stew three or four hours, when the substance will resemble stewed green apples ; to which add sugar and lemon-juice, and it will make pies that can not easily he told from those of apples." Another cultivator says : " This melon attains a largo size ; I have grown specimens the past season, eighteen inches in length, weighing from 30 to 40 lbs. They are cylindrical in form ; color, when ripe, a golden tint, very solid, and flesh close-grained ; color of seeds, a dark green or blue ; ripens in September, and will keep sound and good, it is said, for two years, but we have not as yet tested their keeping qualities. They prove hardy and of easy culture, and I consider this melon a valuable acquisition. We have tested the quality of them for pies, and find them very delicious. To pre- pare one for cooking, peel and cut up the melon small, taking out the seeds and soft pulp. Put the pieces in a preserving kettle with just enough water to keep them from burm"ng, and stew over a tolerably hi-isk fire for three or four hours, or until the whole is reduced to a soft, pulpy mass, free from lumps, and thoroughly done. You have then a substance resembling green apples stewed, and by adding a little sugar and lemon-juico to it, and making it with crust in the usual M'ay, it is impossible to tell it from a fresh apple-pic. If you desire a pic like pumpkin or custard of the melons, stew as above directed, but omit the lemons, and bring the pulpy mass to the proper richness and consistency by the addition of sugar, milk, and eggs. Little of either of these ingredients will be found necessary — only sufficient to give the melon color and flavor.'* 549. Squashes— Summer aud Winter Varieties.— The varieties of squashes are so numerous, that almost every neighborhoo — Under the head of "History of Some Common Garden Vegetables" we have told the uses of this plant. Its consumption has in- creased so much in New York since its introduction a few years since, that one market gardener of our acquaintance grew seven acres of it last year (1860), part of the crop selling green and part dried. There is no plant grown in the garden that afibrds cheaper food than okra. The pods, in soup, make it mucilaginous and nutritious. There is a dwarf okra plant which does not grow more than two or three feet high, and is very prolific of branches and pods, that for this latitude will be a valuable improvement over tlie large kind, which grows five or six feet long. Ripe okra seeds are sometimes used as a substitute for coffee. It is doubtful whether they are as good as the seeds of asparagus. 490 THE GARDEN AilD ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. Okra 6ecd slioiild not be planted till tlic ground has become warm in spring, and may then be treated much like Indian-corn in all its cidtiration, and grows well in soil suitable for corn. 559. TomatoeSi — The r;ipidity with which this vegetable has been brought into almost universal use is well-nigh beyond belief. It is quite within the memory of middle-aged people that it was grown only because its fruit was • ornamental, and by many supposed to be poisonous. Its common name in New Engliind was " Love Apple," though no one loved it. Kow there are not many families that do not esteem tomatoes as much as any garden vegetable, and gardeners are constantly making efl'orts to produce new varieties of im- j^*5roved qualit}'. Let no one suppose he has got the best sort until he has *tried several others. Tliere is more ditfcrcnce in the quality and value for food of tomatoes than there is in potatoes. "We will name a few of the best. We have grown a very large yellow tomato, which we prefer over all otliers, because it is less acid, and the meat appears to have more of the food prin- ci2)le in it than any of the red ones, unless it is one called Fejee Island Tomato, which we think identical with one called " Perljpcted," and said to have been introduced by C. Edwards Lester. It is a very large red sort, and very good eating, and a little finer grained than one called the Large Mammoth Red. The poorest tomato in existence is the one almost univer- sally grown for the Xcw York market. It is of medium size, smooih. round- ish, with a tough skin, and sour, hard meat, frequently very hollow, partially filled with seeds and sour Avater, and being generally gathered in a green state, is no more fit to eat than the vines it grows upon. It is grown be- cause it bears transportation better than the good sorts, and it will sell to people who do not know how to appreciate a good tomato. As a general rule, to select good sorts of tomatocg for cultivation for family use, choose those which grow nnevcn-shaped ratlier than smooth, such as you can pull apart without cutting, the lobes separating with a glistening fracture. It" you wish to have some ripen earlier than the large sorts, you may choose a round, smooth, medium size, called Early Apple Tomato. For pickles and pre- serves there is a sort known as pear or fig tomatoes, being about the size and shape of figs. There is a small yellow sort, grown for preserving, and so is the sort which grows about the size of potato-balls, and as round and smooth. A distinct variety, called "Winter Cherries (see 675), grows with a liusk about the size of large cherries, and is much liked by some to cat out of hand. Care must be taken to prevent the difForent sorts of tomatoes from mixing, else, if you have a choice kind, you will be apt to lose it, as the in- clination is to run down rather than up the scale of improvement. The cultivation is very simple. In warm latitudes they arc selfpropagat- ing. In this latitude, where the family has no hot-bed, the seed should bo sown for early use in boxes or jwts, in February and March. Tiic seeds sown in boxes, if kept in a warm roon*!, in the light of a window, will grow healthy plants, which, when two inches high, may be pricked out and set single in pots, and carefully nursed till all danger of frost is over, in some warm, Sec. 30.] GARDEN CULINARY VEGETABLES. 491 sheltered situation, where they can grow out-doors. To hasten the first fruit, pinch off all shoots above tlie first formed ones as soon as the tomatoes are the size of cherries. Afterwards cut ofl:' most of the leaves, to let the sun have its full force npon the fruit ; you will thus get a small crop soveial weeks ahead of the ripening when planted out at the ordinary time and left to the natural course of growtli. To have really good tomatoes, fit to be eaten in a raw state, M'hich certainly is the most delicious form in which they can be eaten, you nuist have a good sort, and grow them on good land, and select the first fruit, and trim the vines so that the sun shines npon it, and let it become fully ripened before it is gathered. It should always be eaten while fresh to get its full value. Then it is both palatable and wholesome. If the seed be sown in May, in good rich soil, of a warm nature, with a sufliciency of old, well-rotted manure, there will rarely be any danger of failure. When the vines begin to show leaves, tliey should be provided with a trellis, or tied to stakes fixed in the soil, to keep the fruit from being injured by coming in contact Avith the dirt. There is, however, a new sort lately introduced, called " Tomato ch Lilys'^ in France, and with us, the Upright or Tree-Tomato, that requires no sup- port. Its stem is two feet high or more, and so remarkably strong and stifi', that they are nearly self-supporting — a highly commendable quality. It branches less than the common Great Ked Tomato, is less leafy, does not want so much pinching, does not bear so freely, but its fruit is larger and more regularly formed. Medicinally, the tomato is in high repute. Dr. Bennett, a professor of medicine of good standing, has published the following opinion of its good qualities : "1. That the tomato is one of the most powerful deobstruents of the Ma- teria Mcdica, and that in all those aflfections of the liver and other organs, M'here calomel is indicated, it is probably the most effective and least harm- ful remedial agent known in the profession. "2. That a chemical extract will be obtained from it which will alto- gether supersede the use of calomel in the cure of disease. " 3. That he has successfully treated serious diarrhea with this article alone. " 4. That when used as an article of diet, it is almost a sovereign remedy for dyspepsia or indigestion. " 5. That persons removing from the East or ISTorth to the South or "West, should by all means make use of it as an aliment, as it would in tiiat event save them from the danger attendant upon those violent bilious attacks to which almost all unacclimated persons are liable. " 6. That the citizens in ordinary should make use of it either raw, cooked, or in the form of a catsup, with their daily food, as it is the most healthy article in the Materia Alt nie7if aria." Prof. Eafinesque, of France, says: "It is everywhere deemed a very healthy vegetable, and an invaluable article of food." 492 THE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. Dunglison says: "It may be loukcd upon as one of the most wliolesonic and valuable esculents that belon_:^ to the vegetable kingdom." A writer in {\\c Fan ncr^s lii- gist cr says: "It has been tried l)y several persons with decided success. They were afflicted with chronic cough, the primary cause of which, in one case, was supposed to be a diseased liver; in another, diseased lungs. It mitigates, and sometimes effectually checks, a fit of coughing." The method most commonly adopted in preparing this fruit for daily use is to cut them in slices, and serve with salt, pepper, and vinegar, as you do cucumbers. To stew tomatoes, remove them ripe from the vines, slice up, and put them in a pot over the stove or fire, without water. Stew them slowly, and when done, put in a small piece of good butler, and eat them as you do apple- sauce. Some add a little flour-bread, finely crumbed, or a couple of crackers pulverized, to a quart of the stew. 560. Radisbes. — Almost every family grows radishes, but every one does not grow them to perfection. The radish appears to have originated from China, where it is still grown to much higher perfection than in any country of its adoption, and is largely used as an article of food throughout the year, one variety being grown especially for winter use. Although not a very nourishing sort of food, it is a very palatable condiment, and very ac- ceptable upon all tables in the spring season. The tops are frequently used when quite new as a salad, and the green seed-pods make nice small l)ickles. To grow good radishes, your ground must be rich from manur- ing in previous years, or by guano in solution, or superphosphate, while the plants are growing, and not by fresh putrescent manures. Kadishes are only good when the growth is rapid. To have this they must have a good soil and frequent waterings, either naturally or artificially. For early use, sow on mildly hot beds, or in bo.xes in-doors, and after- ward in sheltered places, and water frequently, thinning out the weakest plants. Put in a few seed every ten days, as long as you want to continue the production, in drills ten inches apart, or with other seeds of slower growth, to mark the rows. An ounce of seed will plant a bed ten feet square. One of the best early sorts is known by the long name of Early Short-topped Long Scarlet. It grows half out of ground, and very crisp. The Olive shaped radish, lately introduced from France, is an early and fa- vorite sort. It resembles the scarlet turnip radish ; is rose-colored, oblong ; top quite small, and if grown rapidly, is crisp and sweet. For our use, we l)rofer turnip radishes to the long sorts. For winter use, the Siianish, or lilack radish, or a sort called Rose-colored China, is sown in the fall, and gathered before ff^ezing, and packed in sand in a dry cellar. 501. Rhubarb, or I'ie-Plant.— This valuable garden vegetable is easily grown, and affords the first thing in spring for pies and tarts. It is best to get roots for a start, as it is not always true to the kind from seed. Autumn is the best time to make a rhubarb or pie-plant bed, and the Sec 30.] GARDEN CULINARY VEGETABLES. 493 roots may be put in at any time wlien the weather will admit. The great secret of success is to get a deep, rich bed to begin with. It can not be too deep or too rich. We would dig it five feet deep for family use, and fill one foot with cobble-stone, if we could, or with broken brick, timber, and brush, so arranged as to give a good drainage. Then fill up with sods, chip manure, wood's mold, good soil, and well-composted manure in a homo- geneous mass, casting away the subsoil. Such a made bed will last as long as its maker will, and if ten feet wide and twenty feet long, set with three rows of roots, two feet apart in the row, it will furnish the largest family with more than they can use, so that some of their indolent neighbors can get a portion. Except when grown for market, we would not select the largest variety of i-luibarb. Seedling plants may be cut after the first year to a small extent. It is good to mulch the bed summer and winter. Seed stalks must be kept carefully cut away as fast as they appear, and the bed must be richly manured every fall. Some of the sorts in highest repute are the Victoria, Linnffius, Royal Al- bert, Scarlet Nonpareil, and Mammoth. The largest sort is known as Ga- boon's Seedling. It is better esteemed for wine-making than eating. Fif- teen hundred gallons an acre have been made from this sort, grown upon well-drained, rich, loamy land in Wisconsin. The stalks are cut in lengths of two or three inches, and ground and pressed in a cider-mill, one hundred pounds of stalks yielding ten gallons of juice, which is mixed with an equal quantity of water, and about three and a half pounds of refined sugar to each gallon of the mixture. This, if treated like other small fruit wines, gives a palatable beverage, salable, and very profitable to the grower and manufacturer. 562. Savory and IMediciual Garden Plants. — There is a variety of plants which every farmer's family should grow in the garden, 'which are useful in the kitchen, nursery, or sick chamber, a few of which we will name. Iloarliound. — This plant {MarrxiVium vulgare) is called hoar on account of the white, downy growth upon the leaves and branches, which resembles hoar frost. The plant is in high repute as a remedy for colds and coughs. It is not a native of America, but was introduced by the first settlers as a valuable medicinal plant, and from the garden it has spread to the road- side and fields in every favorable location, as it propagates readily from the seed. A good many other medicinal plants were introduced in the same way as hoarhound by the New England pilgrims. Among them we may name lavender, from which spirits of lavender and oil of spike are made, although another plant (Z. spica) gives the name. Comfry is another of the old-time medicines that our ancestors made use of in eases of inflamed throat and ii- testines, and for emollient poultices and salves. Pejppermiyit and Spearmint are pretty well known and generally esteemed. One, if not both, come from Europe, and have been largely cultivated in this country for the oil which, when diluted, or " cut" with alcohol, forming 494 THE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. essence of pepperiiiint, is esteemed as a remedy for flatulence. Until the dis- tillers of peppermint took to cheating by mixing oil of turpentine with their product, which spoiled the trade, the growing of peppermint was a good liiisincss in some of the New England States ; but since it has been so much injured by fraud, it is not worth while for farmers to engage in its field culture at the present price of the oil, though it should be grown in gardens for family use. As a crop, this plant can be grown upon any moist, rich soil ; that which will produce good corn will grow peppermint. The land should be plowed deep, and it will be found advantageous to use the subsoil lifter, and the crop must be cultivated while the plants are small to keep the weeds down, and therefore should be planted in rows eighteen inches apart. Spring is the best time to set out a new plantation by offshoots or subdivision of old roots. The yield will be small the first year, and upon some land, after two or three years, it gets so full of grass as to render it necessary to turn the whole sod over and let the mint grow up agaiu, which it will do, and the process of turning under enriches the land. The mint is cut for distillation when in blossom, and we think yields from fifteen to twenty pounds of oil per acre. Wormwood is another imported plant, and is a very hardy perennial. Its leaves, bruised and wet with vinegar, are esteemed a valuable applica- tion to sprains and bruises, and its bitter properties used to be esteemed as a tonic. Balm, Saffron, Hyssop, Lavender, Fennel, Bene, and liosemary are all use- ful medicinal herbs to cultivate in gardens, and the following are grown for various uses in cookery : Anise, Sweet Basil, Carraway, Coriander, Dill, Fennel, Sweet Marjoram, Summer Savory, Thyme, and Saody, tiic small end of which is near the surface of the ground. Tliis manner of growth is exactly like that of the arrow-root plant {Maranta arundinacea), and continues until the end of October, when the yam is completed, and under proper treatment will have attained the length of from 15 to 24 inches, weighing about one pound. In France, specimens liave been dug uj) weighing two and a half pounds, and measuring a yard in length. In its perfect state it resembles a very long trumpet gourd or a largo parsnep, with the crown downward. The tail, which forms one third of the length, is cut off and divided Into inch lengths for propagation ; the thicker part is eaten. In the course of i;s downward growth, the power of development is so great that the thick end will force its w.iy into hard clay, and even bury stones or fragments of pottery in its substance if its progress id sufficiently opposed. All obstacles ought to be carefully removed. The best results in the cultivation of this yam have been obtained where tlio temperature was highest, and the first object of the gardener should be to obtain all the heat the sun can give him in soil three feet deejJ. The plant should be grown in ridges, made to run east and west, and rise eighteen inches above the level, in earth ti'cnched three feet deep. The yam will not be M'orth growing in poor or worn-out land, nor among stones. There is no doubt of one beneficial result from the attempt to cultivate this root, if the above directions are conaplied with. If it docs not produce a profitable crop of yams, it will fit the ground most admirably for any o;her crop; and any man who has ever planted, grown, and gathered them, and afterward planted any other crop upon the same ground, must be convinced of the advantage of deep cultivation, since the yams can not be extracted without digging two or throe feet deep, which, even without manure, is a most excellent preparation for beets, carrots, parsncps, or anything else ever grown upon the farm, orchards included. .565. Sweet Potatoes. — The first step in the cultivation of sweet potatoes is to know how to sprout them, as they are grown from sets, not IVoni tubers planted in the hill. J. W. Tenbrook, of RockviUe, Ind., published the fol- lowing directions, which we copy and approve. "Arrangements should be made early in the winter to have frames and covers made and seed potatoes, manure, and all necessary material for the hot-beds ready in due time. "The potatoes should be kejit in a warm, dry room, until they are placed in the hot-bed, which must be warm, as they will not bear a lower tempera- ture than 40 degrees without injury. "The location of the beds should be near a street or public road, on dry ground, with a southern inclination, and convenient to pond or branch water. "The best material for a hot bed is fresh horse-stable manure that has not been rotted ; and if mixed with one fourth to one half its bulk of either Sso. 30.] GARDEN CULINARY VEGETABLES. 497 sawdust, fresh leaves, tan-bark, or straw, the heat would he more mild and durable, and less liable to scald the potatoes. " About the first or second week of April, in this latitude, haul the materials for the bed, and mix them together in a ridge where the bed is to be made, and as soon as it is hot, shake it thoroughly, mixing the cold and hot, wet and dry portions together, forming a bed on the top of tlie ground, running east and west, which, when settled with the fork — not trampled — should be fourteen inches high, more or less, as there is a greater or less pro- portion of manure used, and six inches wider on all sides than tlie frame to be placed over it. " Ilot-bed frames should be made of two-inch oak plank, framed together at the ends with keys, so as to be easily taken apart and stored when not in nse. They should not be over twenty feet in length, nor exceed four in width. The front, or south side, should be eiglit inches high ; the north, from eight to twenty, according to the slope of the ground on which the bed stands, as the top of the frame should have a pitch of eight to twelve inches to receive the heat of the sun, and to shed off the rain freely. Temporary beds are made by setting slabs or plank on edge, and tilling in the manure ; but such beds are diflicult to cover, and if used, the potatoes should not be laid within six inches of the sides. [See 598.] " Cover the beds five inches deep with the mellow earth, on which set the frames and proceed to lay the potatoes two Indies apart, with the top end of the potato towai'd the planks, and inure them to the open air. Glass- covered hot-beds cause the plants to spring up tender and weak, and such plants do not grow, when set out in the hill, like those raised in open beds. " The best covei-s are made of strong oiled muslin, tacked on lath, so that they can be rolled up conveniently. These covers will admit the light, shed ofl:' the rain, and be cheaper in the end than other covering, and eufiiciently warm except in extremely cold weather, when straw or some warm covering should be thrown over them. Trampled straAV, or mats made of rye straw, answer in the absence of better covering. " The beds should be watered in the evening with a suitable watering-pot, to keep the earth in a good growing condition. If spring or well water is used, it should stand in the sun or be warmed before using. After the plants are xip, they should, if the weather is warm, be kept tolerably moist, to en- courage the growth of good strong roots, and light warm showers would be better than watering, but cold and heavy rains must be guarded against, as they would soak into the beds and ruin them. " Ditches should be formed around the beds, and the earth thrown up to keep the water from running under and chilling them. " When the plants are three inches high, and well rooted, they are ready to pull, which is performed by taking hold of the plants with the thumb and forefinger of one hand, while the potato is held firmly in its place with the other. Careless drawing, by inexperienced persons, frequently destroys half the profits of their beds. 498 THE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Coap. V. "When plants are to be sent a distance, tlicj should Le sot in shalhiw boxes, with tlieir roots in M-et earth or moss, but they must not be packed in wet weather, nor have their leaves wet, or tliey will rot immediately. Plants may be taken off the beds and preserved in a cave or cellar for a week or more, with their roots packed in damp moss or earth, if not jiacked too close. "If by bedding too early, or crowding, the plants should gi-ow long and slender, they may be cut down to two or three inches in length ; but this should be avoided by giving plenty of room and air, and by working the earrh in among the roots -with the fingers as it is lifted up by the plants, and settling it by watering." The best ground to grow a crop of sweet potatoes upon is sand, enriched with very well-rotted manure, leaf-mold, tine compost, guauo, or superphos- phate. The hills are rounded up like mounds, a foot or more higli. All who live upon sandy land, south of latitude 41 degrees, can grow a few sweet potatoes in the garden, if not as a field crop. They are best preserved by packing in cut straw, in barrels, set in a stove-heated room, where the thermometer never will sink below 40 degrees, and rarely rise above CO de- grees. See 438. 5C0. Hot Water for Seeds< — There are many seeds Avhicli may be greatly quickened in their vegetating powers by tlic use of hot water. Onion-seed, lor instance, may be made to sprout upon the instant by pouring boiling water upon it. You need not fear killing it. Put some in a saucer, and pour on water from a tea-kettle, and after a half minute i)our it off again, and you may see the sprouts shooting out the next minute ; and if then planted, while hot and moist, in pulverulent earth, closely packed upon them, you will get them forward two or three weeks earlier. The same ef- fect will be produced upon all black, hard-shelled seed, such as onion, asparagus, sunflower, water-melon, apple, and many others. Locust-seed should be thoroughly scalded in boiling-hot lye, or several repetitions of hot water. 567. Cranberries in the GardcOi — Cranberries have been so long looked upon as wild plants of swamps, that it is difficult for people to realize that they can be grown in gardens as well as strawberries, which are naturally a wild field growth. Cranberries do naturally grow in swamps, but they may be made to grow artificially in good loamy garden soil, or that which is naturally a little mucky, such as is the most suitable for potatoes, if deeply worked. The bcbt soil, -however, for cranberries, is almost pure sand, with water naturally b'.anding, or percolating through it, within loss than two feet of the surface. A bed occupying one rod and two fifths, in the garden of Charles B. Phelps, Colebrook, Conn., planted in June, 1857, yielded three bushels in ISGO. The vines were taken from a natural bed, and set in small tufts, one foot apart in the rows, which were two feet apart, and these ■were kept clear of weeds until the whole ground became matted w'ith vines. The bed then Sko. 30.] GARDEN CULINARY VEGETABLES. 499 Avill continue longer in bearing than any bed of strawberries, witlioiit cn- ricbing the soil. The cranberry is a seini-aqnatic slender evergreen, content to occupy that part of a farm which is too low and too wet to be used for any other pur- ])ose, and is satisfied to feed on water, and the slightly alluvial deposits afforded by the adjacent highlands, and does not, like some overgrown annual plants, make heavy drafts upon the soil. For field culture of cranberries, all that we have said hero will be almost equally applicable, but the subject is treated more at large in No. 700. 568. Number of Trees, Plants, or Rows to au Acre.— The following tables will aid any one in determining how many trees or plants he can grow upon one acre, which contains 43,500 superficial feet : No. of feet apart No. of Plants. 1 43,500 IJ 19,300 2 10,890 2i 0,809 3 4,840 4 2,722 5 1,742 1,210 The following table shows the number of rows, of difterent widths, in a square acre, and number of plants an acre contains-: No. of Plants. 537 12 302 15 193 18 134 21 98 24 75 }. of feet apart 2 2J '.'.'.'.'. 3" No. of rows, ...105 .... 85 .... 70 .... 00 .... 52 .... 46 .... 42 38 12 in. apart. ....22,050 ....17,850 ....14,700 ....12,000 ....10.920.... .... 9,600 ... Plants 15 in. apart. 17,040 14,260 11,700 10,080 n a row. 18 in. apart. ....14,700.... ....11900 24 in. apart 11,025 8,925 .... 9,800 7,350 f ::::: 4.} 8,400 6,300 8.730 ... . 7,728 ... 7.280 G,440 5,400 4,830 5 ..... .... 8,820.... 7,050 .... 5,880 4,410 5.^ . . . 7 980 0,384 5,880 5,040 .... 5,-320 .... 4.900 4 200 3,990 3,075 . .. 3,150 0' 7 .... 35 30 .... 7.350 6 300 8 .... 26 .... 23 .... 21 .... 5,400 4,830 4 308 . 3 040 . . . .... 2,730 9 . 3 864 3,220.... .... 2.940 2,415 10 .... 4.410.... 3.528 2.205 It is a common practice to measure an acre thirteen rods each way ; that gives au e.xeess of nine rods. At the South, it is common to measure seventy yards each way for an acre, which is an excess of 540 yards. In calculating the number of plants j)cr acre, set four feet apart — for instance, cabbages — it is common to say ten thousand per acre. This allows nearly nine hundred missing plants. In garden work these rules will always be useful. 500 THE GARDEN" AND ITS FRUITS. [CnAP. V. SECTION XXXI.- -THE FLOWRR-GARDEN-VARIETIES AND CULTIVA- TION OF FLOWERS. -IRST, let us talk a little about the mor.il influence of flower culture. "We are just as well satisfied of the beneficial moral efl'ects of flower cultivation, as we are that the efi'ects of their beauty upon the senses of nearly all beholders is pleasing. A mother who loves flowers is apt to infuse the same feeling into her children. A love of flowers is a love of the beautiful ; a love of the beautiful is a love of the good ; and so step by step the cliild walks in the pleasant paths of love, till its mind becomes thoroughly imbued with all the sentiments of moral goodness. There is no spot on the farm that grows such a " paying crop" as the little parterre near tlie dwelling, devoted to the cultivation of flowers. If it does not pay in golden coin, it does in all that makes life worth staying here for. What golden hours of joy are spent by the family in the flower-garden ! What blessed influ- ences such hours have upon the character of children ! If you doubt the moral influence of flowers, "look about you, and study the character of those v.Iio cultivate them in contrast with those who do not. We have long since i -jltled the question of the beneficial influences of flowers upon all families, : lid therefore devote a little space to give, upon this subject, some very use- ful information. 569. Suitable Soil for a FIowcr-Gardcu. — Upon the subject of soil, mc copy from the catalogue of Benjamin K. Bliss, of Springfield, Mass., one of tlie most successful cultivators and sellers of flower seeds in the United States, the following sensible observations : "The soil best adapted to flowering-plants generally is a light friable loam, containing a moderate amount of vegetable matter, and suflicient sand to render it porous ; but as it rarely happens that the- amateur has much choice of soil, it is fortunate that most of them will succeed in any but such as is of an extremely dry, sandy, or calcareous nature, or of a stiff, lu'avy, retentive character. In the former, the plants are sure to be starved, and in the latter, if they ever fairly take root, there is generally an undue development of the foliage at the expense of the flowers. In soils of this description much may be done by thoroughly breaking up the superficial crust, 0-, as it is technicall}'^ termed, ' trenching' it at least one spade deep, digging in sharp sand or road-scrapings, and if tlie operation be performed in autumn, so that the loosened soil is thoroughly exposed during the winter to the disintegrating influences of frost and other atmospheric agencies, the advantage will be greatly increased. Seo. 31.] THE FLOWER-GARDEN. 501 " In soil of an opposite cliaracter, i. c, sandy or calcareous, the remedy will obviously consist in the addition of loam, iu conjunction with decayed leaves or old rotten manure ; or where expense is no object, the surface may bo entirely removed to the depth of eiglit or ten inches, and its place sup- plied with the best loamy compost at hand. The use of strong crude manure of an animal nature should be avoided. In ordinarily good soil an annual light dressing of leaf-mold, decayed turf, or thoroughly rotten manure, in quantities proportioned to the requirements of the soil, dug to the dejith of a few inches, will be all that is requisite. These should be applied in spring, only just previous to sowing the seeds, or much of the benefit resulting from their application will be lost, tliough a single digging may be advantageously given in autumn. In preparing the beds, care must be taken that they arc so arranged that the ground may be a little elevated in the middle, that the water may run off and the plants show to a better advantage. "It is particularly requisite that seeds should not be sown too deep, whence arises most of the failures of inexperienced gardeners. The depth at which seeds are sown will vary with their size ; large seeds, such as those of the Lupins, Sweet Pea, or Marvel of Pern, may be three quarters of an inch deep; other varieties from an eighth to a half-inch deep, according to the size or nature of the seed. Some that are very small require to be sown on tlie actual surface, a slight pressure being tlien sufficient to imbed them to a proper depth. For the majority of the seeds a very thin covering s\iffices ; if sowed too deep, they are longer in germinating, and the small ones are liable to decay. It sometimes insures a more even distribution of very small seeds, such as tliose of Campanula, Digitalis, etc., if they are intimately mixed before sowing with a little fine, dry soil, the mixture being sown in the same way as the seeds. Woolly seeds, which adhere to each otJier, like the Globe Amaranthus, etc., should be rubbed witli a little fine sand, which will generally separate them. In all cases, the more thinly the seeds are strewn the better; when too thickly sown, the seedlings become elon- gated and sickly, an evil which no subsequent thinning out will entirely remedy. " If the soil be dry and the weather sunny, it will be necessary to water the seeds slightly from a very fine rose watering-pot. Kain-water is prefer- able. In the absence of rain, this application must be repeated every day or two, for it is important to observe that, when once the seeds have begun to swell, they are peculiarly susceptible to injury from drouth, and will speed- ily perish unless the soil be maintained in a moist condition ; to a neglect of this important precaution, many failures are solely attributable. On the other hand, an excess of moisture previous to germination will often cause the seed to decay, especially in cold seasons ; early in the spring, therefore, the water-pot must be used with judgment, and never late iu the day, when frosts threaten." We have found the practice of warming water in the sun or by fire-lieat very nmch preferable to the use of cold water. As it requires the very finest 502 THE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. preparation of soil, we recommend all who sow the most delicate llower- seeds to sift the earth through a sieve fine enough for corn-meal. 570. How to Make a Flower-Bfd. — The following extract, from a paper read before the Farmers' Club, tells how the author made a flower-bed upon a very hard, rough spot . " I do not expect to tell a professed gardeuer, nor an amateur who already knows how, anything new ; but I wish to tell some who do not know, how to make a flower-bed. At least I will tell how I make one. and leave it to others to follow suit or not, just as they can aSbrd. I received, May 10th, a package of choice flower-seeds, and a dozen bulbs of Gladiolus. As the old flower-beds had already been appropriated, new ones must be made ; and as there is always a right place relative to the house and other things, the right place in the present instance fell in a very bad place — on a spot of sod just beneath the window that gives light to my writing-desk and book-case. Here I marked out the forms of my beds in shapes to suit the ground, and not like any diagram laid down in the books. I first took out a spading, as deep as I could drive the spading-fork, breaking up the turf and the remains of a mortar-bed left last autumn by the masons. This first spading and the loose earth left I threw one side, and the next spade- deep the other side. Then I took out another spade-deep and carted it away, and all the stones, and that not a few, and then broke up another course still deeper, and then threw back the second spading, and then the first, forking it all over loose and mellow. Next I put in a heavy charge of rich manure, and over that garden-mold and leaf-mold, mixing all up and raking fine. Next I put a coat of sand, and then rich garden-mold, old rotted sods, and leaf-mold, mixed and sifted. Now the bed was ready for the seeds, and after being marked off to suit the fancy of her who docs the planting, they were covered I by sifting earth over them, and watered. It is true this was a laborious job, j but once done, it is done forever. Here is a bed of earth, rich and mellow as an ash-heap, more than thirty inches deep. Math a subsoil of coarse sand, gravel, and decayed granite rock, tliat gives good drainage. It will require only an annual dressing of compost, and a light forking and raking, to keep it in order to produce the most lovely ornament that ever added beauty to a farm-house — a beautiful bed of flowers. Early this spring — almost as soon as the snow was away— there came, first the little crocuses, and these were followed by the hyacinths, and tulips, and dielytra spectabilis — beauty uiiou beauty, enough to pav richly for all the labor of making a flower- bed. "AVhat man with a head a whit better than a pumpkin or a cabbage-head would devote his whole soul to food vegetables, and refuse liis family the gratification and cheap happiness of a flower-bed ? "What woman with a soul above soft-soap and scrubbing-brushes, that would live in a country home and not insist upon 'woman's riglit' to have a flower-bed — ah ! to have her house surrounded with flowers, blooming from spring till snow comes again?" Seo. 31.] THE FLOWER-GARDEN. 503 571. fultivatton of Hardy Annuals. — Hardy annuals are those plants that flower and ripen their fruits and perish in one season, hut many of them may be sown in autumn to flower early the next year. Hardy annuals ;::o\v without artificial heat, and come to perfection in the open grounds ; hut what are known as half hardy plants need pushing a little, except in very favorable localities. Tender and small seeded varieties sometimes fail, not on account of the bad growing properties of the seeds, but solely from bad management. Delicate seeds, like the Calceolaria, or Chinese primrose, must not be sown in the open ground. One party complained that some line seeds failed to grow which were sown from one to two inches deep — literally buried. The most inexperienced in gardening matters can sow sweet peas, but it requires a practiced hand to look after such delicate seeds as Calceolaria, Cineraria, Fuchsia, and such like. Many persons think that when they make a hole in the soil with a trowel, and throw in such small seed as Mignonette, that it should be sure to grow ; and if it does not, they lay the blame upon the seed, when in nine cases out of ten the fault is in sowing too deep. The proper depth for planting flower seeds is but little more than their diameter, though Lupine and Sweet Peas may be planted one inch deep ; but such small seeds as Portuhica and Mig- nonette require to be sown almost upon the surface of the soil. Some seed are diflicult to germinate. Cypress seed requii-e to be soaked in warm wa- ter about one hour. The seeds of the Globe Amaranthus are covered witii a thick woolly substance, which greatly retards germination, and if planted without soaking, few, if any, will come up. The most convenient method of sowing annuals is to take a round-pointed stick, with which draw a circle six or eight inches in diameter, and from an eighth of an inch to an inch deep, according to tlie size of the seed to be sown, placing a label with the name in the center. The labels ought to be five or six inches long, painted white, and marked witli a lead pencil before the paint gets dry ; in this waj' the name will last a long time. Larkspurs, and many of the hardy annuals, when sown late in autumn, lie dormant all winter, thereby making much stronger plants, and flowering earlier than those sown in spring. The dwarf Kocket Larkspurs, when sown on the edges of the borders, present a beautiful sight with their various colors ; the seed requires to be sown in October, and protected by a slight covering of straw during winter. Phlox Drummondii are of all shades and colors ; they delight in a moist and shaded situation ; seed sown one eighth of an inch deep in May, blooms from June until October. 572. List of Choice Annuals.— The following choice list of hardy annuals was made by Thomas Cavanach, a practical, sensible floriculturist in Brook- lyn, ]Sr. Y. It is -worthy of the attention of all who desire to beautify their homestead. JVemophila Insignis, or Blue Love Grove.— ^eeA. sown in May, blooms in July ; likes a rich soil and moist situation ; suitable for vases. Abronia Vmlellata.—h. very pretty annual, with long trailing stems. 504: THE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. bearing beautiful lilac and wliitc flowers ; vci-y fragrant suitable for vases ; seed may be sown early in April, flowering in June. Aster Chincnsis, or China Aster. — This beautiful annnal comprises over twenty-five diflferent varieties. Truffaut's, for general cultivation, is the best, on account of the beauty of its flowers and variety of their colors ; seeds sown in the open ground in May, in rich soil. All single or semi-doublo flowers should be pulled up and thrown away. Calliopsis, or Coreopsis. — This is a very showy annual — fourteen dilforent varieties ; flowers, bright yellow, mottled with a rich velvety crimson, highly ornamental ; seed may be sown in October or early in April; easily transplanted. Balsam, or Lady's Slipper. — A well-known tender annual. The ca- mclia-flowercd contains twelve varieties, of all shades and colors, variously striped and mottled. Seed sown in the open ground in the hitter part of May. To have them early, seed should be sown in pots in the house in April, and transplanted to the garden Avhen four inches high. Plant singly, pulling up all semi-double or single flowers. Cuphea Platycentra.—K. very pretty annual or green-house jicrennial, with scarlet .and purple flowers, suitable for vases; flowering all summer, and in winter, if taken up in autumn and kept in the house ; sown in pots in the house in April. Plants may be procured from any florist for a trifle. Cypress Vine. — A splendid running vine, delicate foliage, bright crimson flowers, of a star shape ; Alba, pure white. Seed sown in the latUn- part of May ; likes a rich soil. A very ornamental pyramid may be made by setting a straight pole in the ground six or eight feet high, surrounded by a hoop three or four feet in diameter, fiistened to the ground with three j^tegs; run strings from the top of the pole to the hoop. Sow the seed outside of the hoop. It may also be trained over arches or vases. Lathyrus Odoratus, or Sweet Pea. — One'of the prettiest and most fragrant of tho popular annuals which ornament the flower-garden. The sweet pea grows four or five feet high in rich soil. The plants should be tied to a stake or an old tree. Sow the seed in April ; flowers in July. Ageratum Mexicanum. — A half hardy annual, with light blue flowers. Seed sown in May ; flowers in July, blooming profusely until killed by tho frost. Alyssmn Maritimu77i, or Sweet Alyssiim. — This is a hardy annual, growing one ibot high ; flowers white ; very fragrant. Seed may be sown in autumn or early in spring. Cacalia, or Scarlet Tassel Floxcer. — A very pretty annual, with scarlet and orange tassel-shaped flowers. Seed sown first of May ; blooms IVoni July until October. L'schschoUzia California, or California Gold Flower. — Flowers bright yellow, very showy. This, witli slight protection during winter, will flower the seco7id season; blooms from June until October. Clarkia Klegans. — A hardy annual, very showy. Seed sown in Sciitem- Seo. 31.] THE FLOWER-GARDEN. 505 ber flowers nuich better than when sown in spring. For spring sowing, plant early in April, in poor soil. Mirabilis Jalapa — commonly called Fonr-o'clock, from its habit of o]K'iiing its flowers about that time in the afternoon. Mirahilisxi a Latin word for wonderful. The roots of this plant, when dried, form the principal constituent of the jalap of druggists. It is generally considered an annual ; it has a large tuberous root which, if taken up in October, and stored in a dry cellai', will flower the second season. Seed sown in April ; flowers in June. Scahiosa, or IfowTiing Bride — A variety of colors, from a jet black to a deep lilac. Seed sown in May ; blooms in the latter part of June. Zinnia Elegans. — One of the most showy annuals in cultivation ; flowers, brilliant scarlet, white, orange, and light purple. The new double-flowered Zinnia forms a beantifid addition to this class of annual flowers. Tiie flowers resemble the double French marigold; they will bear transplanting. Seed sown in May ; blooms in July. Clintonia Elegans. — A beautiful, tender annual, covered with deep-blue flowers ; grows about six inches high. Seed sown in May, in light, rich soil ; blooms in July and August. Gomphrena Glohosa., or Globe Amaranihus. — Five diiferent colors; the seeds are rather diflicult to vegetate; they require to be soaked in warm water. The flowers, if gathered and kept in a dry jjlace, will retain their color for several years. Seed sown in May. Mignonette is one of the sweetest of the annuals. Thousands of pots of it are sold annually in the markets of Paris and London. It has been found growing upon the walls of ruins near Paris, springing from every crevice where the seed could germinate, and scenting the air with its fragrance. The mignonette is of very easy culture ; in rich soil it grows luxuriantly, but with poor flowers, that have little or no fragrance ; but in poor soil the flow- ers will be large and very fragrant. When once the seeds are planted, it will retain possession of the soil, springing up year after year. Seed sown in May almost upon the surface of the soil. Among the curious annuals is the 2Iimosa, or Sensitive Plant. Seed sown in the open ground in May, in rich soil. This singular plant, at the slightest touch, closes its leaves. " Weak with nice sense the chaste mimosa stands, From each rude touch withdraws her tender hands." 3[eseinbryanthemum, or lee Plant. — This curious plant has thick leaves, which have the appearance of being covered with ice; very ornamental for vases. Seed sown in May. Loasa Acanthifolia. — A running vine, covered with curious yellow flow- ers ; the stem and leaves arc covered with hairs or small bristles, which, upon being touched, leave a stinging sensation similar to nettles. Seed sown in May. Coix Lachryma, or JoVs Tears. — A kind of ornamental grass. It is called 606 TDK GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. Job's tears on account of its shining, pearly seed, which, by a considerable stretch of the imagination, may bo likened to a falling tear. Seed sown in May half an inch deep. The Avcna, or Animated Oat, is a curiosity. "When the seeds have fallen off, their strong beard is so sensitive to the various changes of the atmo- sphere, that they are continually in motion, like some insect crawling on the ground. Seed sown in April. Anagallis, or Pimpenul. — A dwarf-trailing plant, with blue and pink flowers. The anagallis has been termed the Poor Man's Barometer. Not the pimpernel alone closes its flowers when exposed to damp air, but many other plants are equally sensitive. Stcllaria Media, or Chickwccd, and many others, shut their flowers upon tlie approach of rain. Another gardener gives the following list as a choice selection for a small garden : Ali/ssum Ifaritimuon — Sweet Alyssum. — A very desirable dwarf annual, with small, white, honey-scented flowers in great profusion, blooms tor a long time. Asters. — Showy, hardy annuals. The fine German and French asters are certainly among the finest flowers we have. Balsams. — ^The camelia-flowered. balsams are most beautiful, and very desirable. Cacalia, or Tassel Flower. Calliopsis, or Coreopsis. — Very showy and rich. Candytuft. — A large quantity should be grown of this plant for bouquets. Clarkia. Eschscholtzia. — Yery showy and handsome. Everlasting Flower. — Fine for winter bouquets. Four-o'' clocks. — A well-known plant, desirable in large gardens. Globe Aniaranthus. — Excellent for winter bouquets. Jacohca, or Senecio. — Very pretty. Mari(jold. — The dwarf varieties are pretty. Miijiionette. — Sow plenty of this for bouquets. Nasturtiums. — The dwarf varieties much resemble Tom Thumb gera- niums, and are very desirable. Nemophila, or Love Grove. — Plants with very small but prcttv flowei*s. Dwarf. I'etunias. — Among the verj' best plants ; of easy culture, and flowering profusely tlie whole season. Phlox Drummondii. — The very best annual; of long duration in bloom, rich in color, excellent for bouquets; unequaled in all respects, in my esti-- mat ion. J'oppies. — Very showy, and great variety. Portulaca. — One of the best annuals. Scalnosa, or Mourning Bride. — Showy. Stocks. — Many annual varieties are cultivated, and are very desirable. Sweet Sultan. — Quite pretty. Whitlavia. — A very beautiful blue flowering annual. Zinnia. — Very showy, free flowering plants. 573. Uardy Flowering Herbaceous PlanlSt— The following list gives a good Seo. 31.] THE FLOWER-GARDEN. 507 assortment of some of the most desirable hardy flowering plants, some of M-hich grow and bloom in beauty every year with almost no care. Of course the list can be greatly extended, or selections can be made from this and others to suit each taste. To many who do not know what to select, tliese lists will be useful guides. We will briefly notice some of the most desirable sorts. Achilha Ptarmica. — Of the double-flowering variety, dwarf, continues in bloom a long time, good for bouquets, flowers small, of a pure white. Aco?iite. — Monkshood, mostly with blue flowers ; various higlits. Althea Rosea. — Hollyhock, double varieties, very beautiful, all colors ; six or seven feet liigh. Anemone Ja/joniVa.— Japanese "Wind-flower, purplish red flowers, double; about two feet in hight. Baptisia Aiistralis. — False Indigo, fine blue flowers ; two to three feet high. Campanula. — Bell-flower, many varieties, with white and blue flowers ; various higlits, all pretty. Delphinium. — Larkspur, one of the best herbaceous plants, with fine blue or white flowers. D.formosum and grandijlorum are the best. Diciammus Fraximella, or Gas plant. Diclytra, or Dicentra Spectahilis. — The very finest herbaceous plant. lAmkia, or Day lily, many varieties ; all desirable. Iris, or fleur de lis (flower de luce).. Lychnis Chalccdonica. — ^The double variety has splendid scarlet flowers. Phloxes. — A splendid class of plants, all beautiful, witliout any exception. Pyreihrum. — Feverfew, double white flowers, very neat and pretty. Sjjirca. — Meadow Sweet, many varieties, all desirable. Tradescantia. — Spiderwort, with white, blue, or red flowers, very pretty. Valerian. — A tall-growing plant, with fragrant white flowers. Yiola Odorata. — Sweet Violet, very fragrant. Chrysanthe?num..—Mnc\i improved of iate years, and in several varieties, is one of the most desii-able of hardy flowering plants, and is very much loved wlierever known. It is one of the very last to flower and cheer us with its many-headed blossoms for the last tliree months of the departing year, when most otiier plants have gone their way. Then, again, it is one of the very best window plants. It not only flourishes, but luxuriates in- doors, if properly cared for. As floral ornaments for the green-house and conservatory, they are unsurpassed. To get early flowers from chrysanthemum seed-plants, you must sow the seed early in April in pots in the house, and transplant, or else sow seed in a very nicely prepared warm bed in May. Be careful to thin out, so as to give ample room for tlie plants to branch out. 574. Bulbous Flowering Plants. — The earliest flowers of the garden come from bulbs planted in autumn. In a well-prepared bed, nicely sheltered with a coat of leaves, the crocuses begin to bloom almost as soon as tlie 508 TUE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. covering is removed, after the frost is out of the ground. All tender bulbs and perennials under a coating of leaves will keep sound till spring. It is necessary to lay brugh or something else over the leaves, to hinder their blowing away by tlie winds. Leaves make the best kind of covering for all tender things. Frost rarely penetrates through a thick coating of them, as may be seen during our most severe weather; by removing a bed of leaves the ground will be found unfrozen. There is no sight more striking to the eye than the effect produced in early sjiring, when delicate snowdrops and the modest, many-colored crocuses enamel the lawn, or make the garden lovely with their stainless purity, and with the brilliancy of their colors. Coming, as they do, before the swallow, these firstlings of the season have a special claim to the popular regard, lliey are the harbingers of buds ajid blossoms, of leafy trees and unbound waters, of sunshine and of singing birds, and when their tender green spears begin to push themselves through the soil, Ave know that nature is awaken- ing from her winter slumbers, and that more genial weather is at hand. These little pilgrims that come to us with glad tidings, and that put on for our delight the gayest robes, and silently, yet eloquently, assure us that we are entering upon a new cycle of soft sunshine, and bland airs, and fragrant odors, deserve to be more cherished than they usually are by all country- women. Of all the flowers that bloom, those that come to us earliest are entitled to receive the most cordial welcome, and it is for this that we appeal in behalf of the more general culture of bulbous flowers. "\Ve appeal to all farmers' wives and daughters for a more general cultiva- tion of flower gardens and parterres around the house, because we believe in their humanizing influences ; in the lessons they teach, and the sympa- thies to which they appeal. We believe every family who has ground should cultivate Hyacinths, Tulij>s, Jonquils, Crocus, Crown Imjx'rials, Iris, Snowdrops, Polyanthus, Narcissus, Double Narcissus, Lilies, Gladio- lus, and Dahlias. To these add Peonies, Di^iytra {Diccntra) Spectahilis, and many other hardy herbaceous plants, such as Holly hocl's and the Phloxes, Yucca fiktmentosa, etc. Of all the bulbous flowering plants, the gladiolus takes the lead, accord- ing to our fancy. The varieties of G. yandavensis are numerous, robust, stately, with beautiful taper leaves of bright green, and long racemes of ex- quisitely beautiful lily-shaped flowei"s, comprising every variety of shade of colors, which can be kept up by timely planting from July to October in the open air; and then, before hard frosts come, if stalks with undeveloped buds are cut and set in water in the house, they will continue to bloom some time longer. The bulbs must be taken up for winter, and need about the same protection as onions. Several bulbs, hyacinths in particular, may be grown in any room where water will not freeze, in glasses adapted to the purpose, so that the bulb rests in the mouth of the glass, and sends its roots down into the water. Park-colored glasses arc preferable to white glass. The water should not Seo. 31.] THE FLOWER-GARDEN. 509 be allowed to rise more than to touch the bottom of the bulb ; otherwise they will rot. When first put in glasses, they should be stored away in a dark, coel place, till the roots are about an inch long. If the roots do not grow vigorously, give two or three drops of hartshorn fn each fresh supply of water, and put in the glass a small lump of charcoal. Tlie water should bo changed every foi'tnight, or three weeks at farthest ; but to do tiiis the plant must not be taken out, but the glass held horizontally, and the water poured ofl'. Soft or rain-water should alwaj's be used. By this mode of treatment, and not keeping them in too warm or close a place, they will bloom beaiitifully. Tliey may also be grown in the house in pots, in the open light and air. The bottom of the pot should have plenty of broken tiles in it to allow of perfect drainage, and be frequently, but moderately, supplied with water. Do not stand the pots in saucers of water. 575. The Hollyhock is a fine flower to grow in clumps about a lawn, and may be made perennial by not allowing the stalks to ripen seeds. As there -have been great improvements made in these flowers, we annex the names that two dozen fine sorts are known by among seedsmen. 576. Select List of llollyhOCkSi — 1. Anak (Bircham). — Crimson ; flowers of a fine form and full. 2. Black Prince (Gibbon). — Flowers large and very double ; black. 3. Brennu^ (Bircham). — Light crimson ; a fine, showy variety. 4. Charles Baron (Chater), — Flowers very large and full ; color pink, shaded with salmon. 5. Beauty of Chestnut (Paul). — Flowers of a very fine form ; spike -ong, and beautifully furnished with flowers of a beautiful bright rosy red ; a very fine variety. 6. Charles Turner (Black). — Spike very close ; flowers of fine form, large, and of good substance ; color deep crimson ; extra fine. 7. Commander-i?i-Chiey^ {Baron). — Flowers large and showy; dark-red. 8. Eva (Roake). — Flowers large, shape very fine ; color peach. 9. Emperor (Roake). — Form quite first-rate ; color a beautiful pink ; one of the finest. 10. Felicia (Bircham). — Flowers and spike of excellent form and sub- stance; color amethyst; extra. 11. General Bern (Veitch). — Spike very fine, flowers full size: color bright red. 12. Hon. Jfrs. Ashley (Roake). — Flowers medium-sized, of great depth, and very double ; color a delicate peach. 13. Lilac Model (Chater). — Flowers medium-sized, full, and of good sub- stance. li. Mrs. Foster (Turner). — A noble spike ; flowers large, of first-rate forn) ; color beautiful light rose. 15. Miss Parsons (Pai-sons). — Spike full; flowers medium and close; color pinkish salmon ; fine. 10. 3[agnum Boman (Baxon).- — Flowers very large; guard petals broad, but not quite substance enough ; very showy. 17. Margaret Ann (Black). — Spike very fine; flowers good form, very compact; color bright rose. 510 THE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. 18. Modd of Perfection (Baron). — Many Letter models at the present day ; color creamy white. 19. Susannah (Veitch). — Flowers medium-sized and moderately smooth ; color creamy white. 20. Pyramid (Parsons). — Flower medium-sized ; spike close and good ; color buff. 21. Poupre de Tyre (Bircham). — A noble spike ; flowers large and free ; color rich dark-purple; a first-rate variety. 22. Penelope (Bircham). — A very showy and beautiful variety ; color fine rose. 23. Walden Gem (Chater). — Spike very fine ; flowers large and of fine form ; color deep crimson. 24. Minnie Gray (Loring). — Size medium, form good ; color white. As these have all been produced by planting seeds, and saving none but the finest fiowering plants, we recommend a continuance of the practice by all who grow hollyhocks. 577. The Verbena is an almost indispensable plant in lawns, it is so pretty to fill up cut figures in the sward. The name, verbena, is an unmeaning one, being derived from the Latin herba, which means any low, S2:)reading plant. This plant has been very long in cultivation, and it was used in ancient times in some of the sacred ceremonies, the altars and priests' heads being wreathed with verbenas. Celsus speaks of the use of verbenas as a febrifuge in sickness, but it is doubtful whether it was the same plant known now by this name. The verbena is indigenous in the country of Buenos Ayres, and was taken from there to England in 1825, and lo this country ten years later, by Eobert Buist, of Philadelphia. Now it is known every- where and is everywhere a favorite, as its cultivation is simple, and its low- creeping habit and pretty flowers will keep it in favor until some new rival comes to take its place. It flourishes best in sandy, rich loam, in garden- beds, and blooms from midsummer till late in autumn, and if potteil, con- tinues in bloom through the winter. Verbenas do not require frequent watering ; they will grow upon very dry ground, and wet in excess mildews and injures them. For pots, take half-and-half leaf-mold and good loam, and add sand enough to give a preponderance of sand in tiie whole mixture. As it is naturally a running plant, it must bo cultivated in that way, and not, as we have seen it, Avith stift', upright stems. Nothing is more easy than producing new varieties of colors in verbenas. We have only to grow seedlings and select the best and cast away the remainder. All colors, ex- cept light-blue and yellow, have been obtained. The following are the names of a few of the latest new varieties, with their characteristics an- nexed : Giant of Battles. — Flower and truss large, habit good, foliage large; color dark-scarlet, with purplish eye ; a new imporied variety. Pred. — Flower medium, habit weak, a good bloomer, but of a dull, pur- plish, lake color ; pretty for variety. Admiral Pandas. — Foliage and habit good ; color velvety scarlet; fine. Celestial. — A strong, rapidly growing variety, the leaves often two inches 5eo. 31.] THE FLOWER-GARDEN. 511 across ; truss large, elongated, forming a fine head ; color pink, with darker eye ; desirable for its size and color. " Mrs. Abbott. — Habit and foliage good, truss small ; color very dark, velvety purple, light eye; fine. Evening tStar. — Color dark-crimson, with well-defined whitish-pink eye ; growth small ; a decided novelty, and a very striking fiower. Rosy Gem. — A lovely verbena, foliage and flower of medium size ; color rosy lake, with light eye ; extra fine. For an ordinary purpose, however, some that have been long in use, that can be bought for a tenth or a hundredth part of the price of these new sorts, might give equal satisfaction, for the varieties have been so multiplied that it is difficult to tell which are the favorites. 578. Flowers Grown as a Farm Crop. — There are many persons in France who grow flowers as an exclusive crop. It is their sole dependence. "The growing of flowers, for the production of fine essential oils and for medicinal purposes, is confined mainly to the southern portion of the department of Var, lying on the Mediterranean, adjoining the late Italian, but now. French, province of Nice. There are extensive factories in Nismes, Montpelier, Kice, and in Algeria, but the great center of this branch of industry is the town of Grasse, lying some few miles inland, and its sea-port, Cannes, the winter residence of Lord Brougham. " It would be impossible to state, even approximately, the product of the flower-fields of this interesting region. There are no less than sixty factories in Grasse, giving employment, in the various departments of field and in-door labor, to 5,000 persons. Many manufacturers grow their own flowers, others buy them in the open market daily, and still others are supplied by con- tracts. The latter system prevails among the leading hoases. Contracts are made at a fixed price for a term of years for the total product of a farm, at rates varying from 8 to 10 cents per kilogramme (2} lbs.) of rose leaves, up to $1 for tuberose leaves, and even higher rates for violet leaves, which last are mainly grown at Nice. The average prices are about as follows : Eoee leaves 8 to 10 cents the kilogramme. I Acacia 60 to 80 cents the kilogramme. Jessamine 40 to 60 " " Tuberose 100 " " Orange 40 " " | Violet 80 to 1 "30 " " These are the leading garden flowers used in Grasse ; only small quanti- ties of the jonquil, narcissus, mignonette, etc., are cultivated. A great breadth of land is devoted to lavender, rosemary, thyme, and other medic- inal plants, which are sold at much lower rates than the above. " Tlie preparation of all these plants divides itself mainly into four classes : essential oils, distilled waters, pomades and oils, and dried flowers. The great bulk of essential oils produced consists of lavender, rosemary, sage, thyme, spikenard, and others of a terebintiiine nature ; the most valuable oils produced in any quantity are those of Neroli and Petits Grains. Tiio former is the result of the distillation of orange-flower water from the petals of the flowers of the Bigarade, or bitter orange (the sweet or Portugal or- ange yielding an inferior product), and t'.io latter is obtained from the green 512 TUE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Cuxr. V. leaves of the same tree. Tlic price of Neroli varies, with the seasons, from $30 to $45 the pound, and of Petits Grains from $S to $12. These two oils are extensively used in the cotupositioii of Cologne water, and in combina- tion with bergamot, give it its distinctive character. The orange-flower M'ater is consumed in immeuse quantities in France, in the ' eau sucrue,' so universally drank in the hot season. This, by the way, is the only shape in which a Frenchman will drink water at all. The Bigaradc orange-tree re- quires ten years to mature and twenty to obtain perfection, and yields an average of seventeen pounds of flowers per annum. "Rose water is also distilled in large quantities. A result of its distillation is an exceedingly small quantity of otto of rose of the very highest quality ; it appears in small supernatant grains or drops, which are carefully skimmed off and rectified. It is superior to the famous Kizanlik, or Turkish otto, and congeals, at ordinary temperatures, in beautiful, transparent crystals. The ' Rose de Mai,' or double May rose, is the one universally grown. " Another very costly article, of which less than one ounce had been pro- duced in 1S55, is the essential oil of jessamine. Up to that period its exist- ence in the plant was stoutly denied by the distillers, altliough to what other principle the fine odor of the plant wtis due, they failed to prove. In that year an Algerian chemist obtained a minute quantity, which cost him, as we were informed, at the rate of 17,000 francs the kilogramme, or $90 the ounce. It has, since then, been produced at a cheaper rate, but still toe dear for commercial purposes. The wild Arabian jessamine is grafted on the cultivated plant of the same species, acclimated, aud bears for mau)"^ years, if not winter killed, yielding 90 to 150 lbs. of flowers per thousand plants. It is closely trimmed in spring, and deeply covered in winter. The caterpillar is its most formidable enemy. " A most inqjortant branch, and one in which great rivalry exists, is the preparation of perfumed pomades and otto, which have a two-fold use : first, as bases for the finer kind of pomatums and hair oils ; and next, as a me- dium for obtaining spirituous extracts for the toilet, such as Lubin's well- known extracts for the handkerchief. Their preparation is the most in- teresting and curious feature of the Grasse establishments, and merits a word of description. For the oils, the inodorous virgin olive oil is used, expressed from olives just before their maturity. " The pomade ' body,' -which is prepared in winter, is composed of one part of beef suet and two parts of leaf lard, thoroughly hashed, washed in several waters, and among the best manufacturers it is washed several times in rose water to deprive it of all unpleasant odor, and then carefully melted and stored away in huge tin cans in airy, cool vaults, for use in the sea- son of flowers. The busy operations of tlie year commence with the rose season. " There are two processes for impregnating the pomade body and the oils with the floral odors — one by infusion, tlie other by ' enfleurage.' The first is employed for the strong, less volatile odors of the rose, orange, and Seo. 31.] THE FLOWER-GARDEN". 513 acacia ; the latter for the sensitive, etliereal perfumes of the jessamine, tube- rose, jonquil, and all the bulbous tribe, which will not endure the applica- tion of even a moderate degree of heat. "And first, by infusion; about TOO kilogrammes of the pomade body are put into a tiii-planished copper %vater-bath, melted at a low temperature, and charged, at daybreak, with a certain cpiantit}^ of the freshly gathered flow- ers, which are stirred constantly during the day and night, the mass being kept only warm enough to maintaini a semi-fluid state. About midnight it is removed from the fire, put into strong l)ags made of fish-cord, and sub- jected to heavy pressure in large, perforated, vertical iron cylinders, stand- ing on marble bed-plates, which are gently warmed to prevent the conge- lation of the exuding mass. Next morning fresh leaves are added, and the process repeated daily until the desired strength of perfume is obtained, ^vhen the pomade is put into cylindrical tin boxes and sealed up for ship- ment. The oils are treated in like manner, but are filtered instead of pressed. "In preparing the oils, coarse, heavy, spongy cotton cloths, made especially for this purpose at Marseilles, are saturated with oil and spread upon the netted frames ; flowers are then strewn thickly upon them, and they are piled up in like manner as the pomades. When sufticienth' charged with odor, the oil is expressed from the cloths by powerful levers. " Many hundred-weight of flowers and herbs are dried annually, and are variously used in the healing art, and in the composition of scent-bags, cachous, fuming pastils for the sick chamber, and kindred compounds of the perfumer's art. " The Parmezan, or double violet, is grown under the shade of trees, and yields a delicate and delightful perfume. It was the favorite odor of the Athenians under Pericles, and is now the fashionable scent of the Parisian heau monde. "The flower farms receive the highest culture; under-draining is not practiced, but great attention is paid to irrigation. Some fields have a com- plete network of irrigating tubes substantially laid in cement. A constant warfare is waged upon insects, each plant having, as with us, its pet borer, grub, or bug, and ' eternal vigilance is the price' of success. The heat in summer is intense, though tempered by the sea breeze, and the winter is at times as rigorous as in Washington or Richmond. " Labor costs, per day, 35 to 40 cents for males, and 15 cents for females." There is no other reason than that contained in the last sentence why flower farms can not be established in this country as well as France. The ques- tion rests entirely upon the cost of labor. 579. Soil for Flowers— Compost for Potting— Protecting from Insects. — All flowers require a deep, rich, well-drained soil, and that should be annually fertilized with a fine compost, in which wood's earth or leaf-mold predom- inates. The following directions of a practical gardener, though given mostly in reference to potting plants, will be found useful, the same soil being good for flower-beds, particularly for an annual dressing. 514 THE GARDEN AND ITS FRUITS. [Chap. V. " To liave suitable compost for plants, the different soils should bo mixed for some time before they are wanted. In making composts, the foUowhicr soils should be obtained: First, soil and turf from an old pasture ; second, decomposed horse or cow manure ; third, peat soil or leaf-mold from tlie woods; fourthj white sand ; fifth, coarse sand or gravel ; sixth, charcoal and broken pots. The charcoal and broken pots are for drainage. A suitable compost for fuchsias, roses, and geraniums consists of one part white sand, one of leaf-mold, and one of decomposed manure and turf-mold. These should be well mi.xed together and sifted before using. A compost for cac- tus is made of sand, leaf, and turf-mold, with a good drainage of charcoal and broken pots. All bulbous roots require a very rich soil composed of equal parts of sea sand, rotten cow manure, peat soil, and good turf-mold. " In taking plants out of pots, all that is necessary is to put the hand on top of the dirt and then turn the pot bottom up, and hit a gentle rap, and the ball of earth will slip out. Most jieople water plants too little. Two or three times a week is necessary, or oftener in a dr\- stove room. " To grow flowers in the greatest perfection, gardeners often cover them and take great pains to preserve them free from contact of insects or the pollen of other flowers. '■ The thing of most importance in potting is suitable soil. Many persons imagine that all that is requisite is earth, be it good or bad. We liave seen plants potted in coimnon street manure, the owners laboring under the im- pression that it was the very best kind because it was black. "Unsuitable soil and large pots generally given to small, weak plants for the purpose of causing them to grow, is, in nine cases out of ten, the cause of their death. " Giving small pots to weak plants encourages the growth of the roots toward the side of the pot in search of air and moisture. In potting plants, glazed pots should never be used, as they prevent the evaporation of all im- purities through the sides of the pot. " Of all the insects which infest house plants, the green fly, red spider, and mealy bug arc the most difScult to get rid of. They are easily de- stroyed in the green-house by tobacco smoke. For parlor plants, take a pail of soft water, invert the plant over the pail, cover the surface of the pot with a piece of paper to prevent the soil from falling out, and brush the leaves downward with a dust brush, dipping the plant in the water several times. The mealy bug may be found in the axils of the leaves of orange- trees, camelias, passion flowers, and various other plants. They look like small specks of cotton, and are only to be got rid of by picking them of}". If plants should happen to get frozen, they should be syringed with cold water and screened from the rays of the sun. Thus plants are frequently saved that would otherwise be destroyed." Library N. C. State College MAY 84