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HOW THE FARM PAYS. 
 
 THE EXPERIENCES OF FORTY YEARS 
 
 OF 
 
 SUCCESSFUL 
 
 FARMING AND GARDENING 
 
 BY THE AUTHORS, 
 WILLIAM OEOZIEE 
 
 AND 
 
 PETEE HEISTDEESON". 
 
 NEW YOEK : 
 PETEK HENDERSON & CO., 35 & 37 CORTL.iNDT ST. 
 
 1881. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congrees, in the year 18ft4. by PETER HENDERSON & CO., in 
 the o^ce of the Librarian of Congress. Washington, D. C, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 INTRODUCTION 7 and 8 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Tkainixg for the Business of Farming — Agbicuxtukal Col- 
 lege Education — Selection of Soils — Use op SIanure — 
 Farm Roads — Drainisg 9 to 25 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 Manures and the Modes of Application — Special Fer- 
 tilizers — Green Manuring — Fertilizing by Feeding 26 to 37 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 Plowing, Harrowing and Cflttvating — Plows — Harrows — 
 Cdlttvators — Rolling Land — Rollers — Use of the 
 Feet in Sowing and Pl.\nting 38 to 51 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Rotation of Crops — Corn — Potatoes — Potato Diseases — 
 Sweet Potatoes — Roots — Wheat — Oats — Barley — Rye 
 — Beans — Buckwheat 52 to 84 
 
4 CJONTESTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Chops fob Solldjo axd Fodder — Eye — LrcEBS ob Axtaua — 
 Millet — Peas and Oats — Fodder Corn — Feeding Soil- 
 ing Crops — Abobtios in Cows and its Causes — Ergots. . . 85 to 109 
 
 CHAPTER YL 
 
 Grass and its Management — A'abieties of Grasses — ]Mn;FT) 
 
 Grasses for Pasture asd Hat 110 to 133 
 
 CHAPTER ^TL 
 
 Cutting and Curing of Hay — Clo\-er Hat — Ensilage — 
 
 Ensilage Compared with Roots 134 to li5 
 
 CHAPTER ^TIX 
 
 LrrE Stock of the Farm — Varieties of Cattle — Records of 
 Jerset Cows — Records of Guernsey Cows — Cattle for 
 Beef — Points of Pure Bred Cattle — The Best Cows 
 FOB THE Dairy — Feed and Care for Milk and Butter — 
 Young Cattle and their Cabe — Management of the 
 Dairy — Farm Horses — Sheep — SwrsE — Farm Buildixgs 
 — Fences — Rearing and Keeping Poultry — Dogs fob 
 THE Fabm — Useful Tables for the Farm 146 to 250 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Pests of the Farm — Destbucth'e Animals — Insect Pests — 
 Par-asites — Pests of the Crops — Injurious Insects — 
 Remedies — Vegetable Pests 251 to 274 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Farm Machinery — Plows — Harrows — Cultiv.atobs — Mowers 
 and Reapers — Hating MACHiNEBy — ^Fodder Cutters — 
 CoBN Huskers and Shellers — Cabts — Steam Engines. .275 to 300 
 
Contents. 5 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Farm Culture op Vegetables axd Fruits — Cabbage — Celery 
 — The White Plume Celery — S^^"EET Corn — Cucumbers 
 FOR Pickles — ^Melons as a Market Crop — Onions .... 301 to 3G0 
 
 CHAPTEK XII. 
 
 Culture of Peincip-VL Sm.u.l Fruit Crops — Strawberries — 
 Blackberries — Raspberries — Currants — Gooseberries — 
 Grapes — Orchakd Fruits 3G1 to 379 
 
 Index 381 to 400 
 
INTIiODUCTIOX. 
 
 It is doubtful if any book on agriculture has ever beeu written in 
 this country of which the writers have had opportunities for such 
 extensive and varied exjjerience as have the authors of this work. 
 "U'rLLiAM Ceozier is, perhaps, now better known than any other 
 farmer on this continent, jjrincipaUy from the fact that for the past 
 twenty years the exhibition of his fine stock and other farm jjroducts 
 has enabled him to take more prizes than any other working farmer 
 in the country, and that to-day the dairy and farm at Northport, 
 Xi. I., on which these products have been raised, are models worthy 
 of imitation by the tens of thousands engaged in farming who have 
 failed to make it the iwofitable business that it has been, and still con- 
 tinues to be, to 111'. Crozier. The co-author, Petek Henderson, the 
 senior member of our firm, although not a farmer, has long been con- 
 sidered, as is well known, an authority on all matters relating to iiractical 
 garden work. His book, Gardening forr Profit, now in the hands of 
 j)robably 100,000 readers, has shown how to make gardening pay. 
 In the present work Mr. Henderson tells in plain words the manner 
 of gTowing such Vefjetahles and Fruits as can best be made jjrofitable 
 on the farm, besides interchanging with Mr. Crozier his opinions on 
 such operations of the farm as his long practice in cultivating the 
 soil enables him to do. 
 
 Mr. Crozier and Mr. Henderson have had the project in contem- 
 plation of getting up a work on American farming for the jiast ten 
 years; but both being engaged in the active work of their large 
 operations on the farm and garden, it is doubtful if they would ever 
 
8 IXTRODrCTIOS. 
 
 have got together to accomplish it, unless the idea had been con- 
 ceived of getting the work up in conversational fonn, the words as 
 spoken being taken down by a stenographer. This sunpUfied the 
 work of book making greatly, and it is believed that given in this way 
 it has been made plainer and more interesting to the reader than Lf 
 ■written in the usual manner. The benefit of this plan is derived 
 from the fact that the answer often suggests a question, just such as 
 the reader would be likely to ask, but •\\-ith no one at his elbow to 
 answer. It is here answered to the satisfaction of the questioner, or 
 if not, the question is repeated till the subject has been made clear. 
 
 The iUusti-ations given in the. work are believed to represent the 
 best standai'd types of their several kinds that we possess uj) to this 
 date, the object in all cases being to give such as are the best and 
 the most practical and economical for the farmer's purposes. 
 
 PETER HENDERSON & CO., 
 3.5 it 37 C'oRTLAxuT St., Publishers. 
 
 New York. 
 
Tkajsdjg for the Business of FAKMDia. 
 
 CHAPTEK I. 
 
 TRAINING FOR THE BUSINESS OF FARMING. 
 
 Question. T\Tiat, in jour opinion, jVIi'. Crozier, are the chances of 
 making a farm pay, if the owner is unable to superintend, it himself, 
 and has to rely on the knowledge of hired superintendence ? This is 
 a question that has been asked me scores of times each season, in 
 regard to the business of market gardening, and my unvarying reply 
 has been, that the cliances for success are all against the person 
 undertaking such a business under such conditions. 
 
 Answer. I am inundated viith. the same sort of iuquii-ies, and am glad 
 to have an opportunity of making a general rejily. I entirely coincide 
 with your opinion, that no man sTiould attempt farming, or garden- 
 ing, in the hoije of making it a jirotitable business, unless he is will- 
 ing and able to take hold with his own hands and employ liis own 
 brains in the work. I have known of many who have made large 
 investments in farming and stock raising, but have never known one 
 instance where the owner who failed to take an active part in the 
 work ever made it a success. It is unreasonable to expect it. If 
 you or I took it into our heads to engage in the dry goods or groceiy 
 business, and put oiu- hands in our pockets and trusted entirely to 
 the knowledge, honesty and energy of a hii-ed manager to run the 
 business, it is certain that these pockets would soon be empty if 
 their supply was dependent upon the profits. But the educated city 
 merchant, doctor, lawyer or parson is apt to look iipon the tillers of 
 the soil as a slow, ignorant, unlettered class, destitute of business 
 eajiacities, and often deludes himself with the belief that bis want of 
 knowledge of rural aSairs mil be more than compensated by his ad- 
 vantages of education or business experience, when he concludes to 
 engage in farming. This delusion draws hundreds fi-om the city to 
 the farm, to their ruin, every year. The only true way for a man 
 who has previously been engaged in other business, and who wishes 
 to become a farmer, is to get the privilege of taking active hold 
 of the work, under the instruction of some farmer who has 
 made the business a success. Twelve months thus spent with 
 energy and apphcation, would give him a knowledge from which 
 a reasonable chance of success might be expected, alwaj's pro- 
 
10 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 Tided he has the elements of success withiu himself. But this 
 advice is only ' applicahle to J'oud}^ men. It would be folh' for 
 men of middle age or past it to make the attempt. In this con- 
 nection I may cite a "very mai-ked case, and one which gives me 
 a very jjleasing remembrance. Dr. Shanu, of York, England, 
 wrote to me some twelve years ago, asking me to take his son, 
 a young man of twenty-one, who had just comjjleted a college 
 coui-se at Cambridge. I agi'eed to his proposal, and the young fellow 
 duly appeared one morning, verj' unlike the ideal fanner indeed, 
 dressed in the latest fashion and cane in hand. I much feai-ed to 
 look at him, that he would not be a success at the i^low, Ijut after 
 allowing him to prospect around for a few days, I told him that the 
 contract between his father and me required that he should take hold 
 and obey orders the same as my ordinary hired men. He at once 
 went down to the village, rigged himself out with a pair of overalls, 
 flannel shirt and strong boots, and announced himself ready. His 
 first initiation to work was assisting to wash a herd of Berkshire pigs 
 shoulder to shoulder with a rough Ii-ishman. From this jioint I 
 .saw that he was made of the right stuff, and placed him during the 
 yciu- and a half .that he was with me through all the grades of our 
 work. He was so energetic and trustworthy, that after he had been 
 with me a year, I entrusted him to take a lot of cattle, sheep and 
 swine to the State Fair at Atlanta, Ga., with permission to sell all if 
 he deemed the price sufScient. This he did to my entire satisfaction. 
 "While there he saw a fann which his father piu-chased and stocked 
 for him, and to-day he is one of the most successfid fanners, iierhajis, 
 in Georgia. 
 
 (Mr. H.) I have always some five or six such men in my employ- 
 ment who have come to learn the finer parts of Horticidture. They 
 come to us at a younger age than wcmld be suitable for the heavier 
 work of the farm, usually from fifteen to sixteen, and I select all l)y 
 the merit of their letters of application, for I hold, that with the ad- 
 vantages of education which our school system affords, if a boy at six- 
 teen has not had ambition enough to be able to write intelligently at 
 that age, the chances are that he is not Hkely to become an intelligent 
 workman ; and for an apprentice we want nothing else, as we can get 
 all the hewers of wood and drawers of water we want, at our doors; 
 but brains are not so easily obtained. But with all our care in select- 
 ing, not more than one in ten ever attains to any prominence, and such 
 usually develop superiority from the first. About ten yeai-s ago I 
 received an application from a boy living in one of the subtirbs of 
 New York. He said that he was sixteen, and his letter was so terse and 
 to the point that I told him to call. "NMien he made his ajipoarance 
 
AoiiiciTLTuiiAL Colleges. 11 
 
 he looked so small and slight that I told him I thought our work would 
 l)e too heavy for him. He begged to be allowed to try. He was started 
 at $3. 00 per week, but before he was tweuty years of age, his energy, 
 intelligence and untiring industry made his services so valuable, that I 
 jiaid him a salary of $1,200 per yeai', which was more than I jjaid my 
 foreman, a man of forty, who had been at the business for twenty j'ears. 
 But I could not keep the young man even at that. He had saved 
 money enough to stiu-t on his own account, and is now on the straight 
 road to fortune. But there are few sLmUar cases in my experience of 
 over twenty years ■with such youths. I have only had one other in- 
 stance of the kind, but many of them have made faii-ly successful 
 business men, and scores of gi'aduates from our estabhshment are 
 now engaged in the florist and market garden business in ah jjarts of 
 the country. 
 
 Q. What is yovir oisinion of the value of agricultural colleges, 'Mr. 
 Henderson, as training schools in the branches of farming or gar- 
 dening? 
 
 A. I am afi-aid my opinion is too pronounced on this subject to be 
 agreeable to the directors of some of these institutions. That they 
 might be made the very best mediums for such a purpose I have 
 not the least doubt, if the directors would only be convinced that the 
 superintendents, to be successful, must have an actual practical 
 working experience varied and extended enough to make them 
 masters of the subject. But thus fai' I have good reason to believe 
 that few of them have such men. The great trouble is that they 
 fritter away the time of the students on abstruse and practically use- 
 less theoretical studies, wasting life in attempting to get at the often 
 doubtful causes for the attainment of important results in the so- 
 called science of agriculture ; which, after all, with aU the heljj of 
 Liebig, and other such men, is almost entirely ignored by the 
 farmers and gardeners who ai'e the kings in those industries to-day 
 both in Europe and America. 
 
 I will here repeat the views I expressed in the Bural Keic Yurker 
 in May, 1883, in a discussion of this question. 
 
 " The longer I hve, the less I beheve in the value attached to the so- 
 called science of agriculture. I believe that a fairly educated youth 
 would have far better chances for success in life if the foiu- or six 
 years spent under the difl'erent jjrofessors of an agricultural college 
 (as they are generally conducted) were sjjent in actual work of ten 
 hours a day in a well conducted farm or garden. The work might 
 not be so pleasant, and his manners might not have the polish that 
 friction with scholastic minds might give, but he would be better 
 fitted for the liattle of life. 
 
12 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 " There is awful humbug about many parts of the so-called Science 
 of Agriculture. The ' Agricultural Chemist ' analyzes the soil and 
 finds that it contains, or does not contain, certain elements which 
 must be withheld, or put in, in fertilizing. He analyzes cabbage, 
 com, potatoes, wheat, turnips, oranges, lettuce, strawberries, roses 
 and a score of other genera of plants, and makes a special formula of 
 a fertilizer for each. Every intelligent, practical fanner, with ten 
 years" experience, knows that this is utter nonsense; and yet, in not a 
 few of oiu- agricultui-al colleges, these special fertilizers, for special 
 purposes, are religiously adopted. If, in the schools for instruction 
 in agiiculture, the lessons were given in the field, instead of, as now, 
 in the college, we might then look for diflFerent results. 
 
 " When a 1)oy, I was a pupil in a countiy school in Scotland. It was 
 the time when Captain Berkley, and other sprigs of the English aris- 
 tocracy, made the science of pugilism fashionable, and many c f the 
 sons of the better class of British yeomen took lessons in the 
 'science.' One of thes?, one day, landed at Edinburgh as a pupil at 
 our country school. He was an aggressive fellow and a great blower, 
 and in a few days he succeeded in making most of iis stand in fear 
 and awe of his wonderful ' science.' But one day another new boy 
 came, a blacksmith's son, who had occasionally taken a hand with the 
 sledge-hammer, a quiet, retiring lad, whom the bully thought a good 
 subject to force a quarrel upon. It was accepted qxucker than he 
 anticipated. In a few minutes the young blacksmith had givt n him 
 a thorough thrashing. He blubbered and admitted he was whipped, 
 Vmt said the tight had not Vieen a fair one, for ' Ihai hoy had 7wt fought 
 according to science.' Maybe he had not, but he came out victor, 
 nevertheless. It is true that the gfi'aduates of West Point proved some 
 of the best generals during the late war, but it must not be forgotten 
 that the b-aining there is but the rehearsing of actual wai-, except the 
 bloodshed — practical work, all of it — call it science, if you please. 
 •The tree is known by its fruits,' and if ever the day comes that the 
 graduates of our agricultiu-al colleges become the leadei-s — t!;e gen- 
 erals in agriculttu-e and horticulture — then the advocates of these in- 
 stitutions will be justified in glorifying themselves; but while the rei>- 
 resentative fanners come (as they almost exclusively now do) from (he 
 ranks of the hard-handed workers in old mother earth, the agricul- 
 tural community will look with doubtful approval on the agiicultural 
 colleges, as now conducted, as a means of instniction." 
 
 Q. From your business as a breeder of fancy stock, Mr. Crozier, 
 you must have had many opportunities of judging whether the hun- 
 <.b-eds of gentlemen fanners, as they are called, make their ventures 
 jiay in money in the long run? 
 
Disadvantages of Pooh Son.. 13 
 
 A. I do not, of uiy owu kuowletlge, recall a single instance where 
 such men have ever got their original investments back, although 
 many of them, having comjieteut overseers, are handling their fancy 
 stock in a manner which, if energetically followed up as a business, ought 
 to pay them nearly as weU as we farmers who have to make our living 
 by it. But there is another element that compensates, outside of any 
 money return, and that is that it is a healthful recreation, a safety- 
 valve, so to speak, from the perplexities of business with which the 
 merchant or isrofessional man is visited. A well known New York 
 gentleman at the head of one of the largest coi-porations there, in 
 speaking with me the other daj' about this matter, said that his orig- 
 inal investment in fancy stock on his farm and gai-dens was ujjwards of 
 $100,000, andthatitcost him to maintain them nearlj' $10,000 annually; 
 but he said that the recreation he enjoyed fi-om such an investment, 
 which be could well afford, in all j^robabUitj' would add ten years to 
 his life. The advantage gained by men of wealth in indulging in 
 such an occui)ation, instead of in paintings or other works of art, is, that 
 before they can view their treasures, they must get out into the open 
 air and sunshine, which is a valuable factor to take into account along 
 with the pleasures of the jiiu'suit. 
 
 (Mr. H. ) I suppose you will agi-ee with me in believing that the fii-st 
 subject, and by all odds the most important factor, of success iu farm- 
 ing, is the soil. This must ever be, other things being equal, the funda- 
 mental element of success. While iu Europe a few years ago, on an 
 extended tour in Great Britain and the Continent, I observed that 
 although the lauds in all these regions had been cultivated probably for 
 five hundi-ed years, wherever the soil was natui'aUy fertile there 
 were foiuid good farm buildings, good fences, horses, wagons and har- 
 ness, everything to indicate prosj^erity. On the other hand, wherever 
 a poor, sterile soil predominated, there were found farm buildings, 
 fences and cattle that indicated poverty'. As well may a stage coach 
 attempt to compete vrith a locomotive, as a farmer owning poor and 
 sterile land with the owner of a rich, fertile soil, if they sell their pro- 
 ducts in the same market. It is a delusive belief, thatmaniuingor till- 
 age, no matter how good, will ever biing a poor, thin soil into permanent 
 fertility, unless the application of niamu-e is j'early continued; for no 
 ordinary amount of manuring or cultivation will maintain the fertility 
 of any soil over two years, as it will then either have been taken up by 
 the crops growing on it, or else have been washed down below the depth 
 at which the roots penetrate. It requires some extent of i^ractical 
 
14: How THK Farm Pats. 
 
 experience to know what is a good soil. I well remember a blunder 
 that I made in my early experience in this matter. 5Iy partner and I, 
 ■when we started business in Jersey City, N. J. , had both been regulai-ly 
 bred as horticulturists, jjartly in Europe and pailly here, and yet on our 
 fir.st purchase of lands for market garden pui'poses in Hudson County, 
 N. J. — which borders on New York City — we made a mistake in our 
 selection, and no amount of the highest culture, although that is now 
 thiiij- years ago, has ever been able to bring the soil into what would 
 be termed even second-rate condition. ■ The. eiTor we made was in 
 selecting a soil appai'ently good, but which was underlaid by a 
 stratum of clay ten inches below the surface; and to-daj', with all our 
 draining and subsoihng and every known means of culture, it is 
 imjjossible for us to raise crops as good as those half a mile away where 
 the subsoil is of jsorous sand. I mention tbis to show the impt)r- 
 tance of selecting, whenever practicable, a suitable soU for all oper- 
 ations, whether of the fai-ni or of the garden; for had it not been by 
 an accident of circumstance, that our lauds became valuable from 
 their iiroxiniity to the city, om- unfortunate pm-chase would have 
 iiiiued us. Now, ill*. Crozier, with these prehmiuary remarks in I'ela- 
 tion to soil, let me ask: What ai-e the general chai'acteristics of the soil 
 here on yoiu* farm, on which you have been so successful in raising 
 the various root and other crops? 
 
 A. It is a sandy loam in some places and gravelly loam in others; 
 the sandy loam runs fi'om ten to fifteen inches in depth, and the 
 subsoil is a mixture of loam and sand. The gravelly soil is about 
 ten inches in depth, with a subsoil which runs into a tine sand, simi- 
 lar to that which the sandy loam overhes. 
 
 Q. Have you ever had any experience with adhesive soils over- 
 lying clay, and what has been your success with such soils, and 
 ■vsith what crops ? 
 
 A. I have had good success with oats, rj-e, bai-ley and turnips; 
 but for mangels, caiTots, or other deei^-rooted i-oot crops, the lighter 
 soU is preferable. 
 
 Q. If the subsoil is perfectly fi'ee fi-om watrr, I presume you wUl 
 agree witli me in beheving that the more level the land is, the 
 better? 
 
 A. In this climate I would say yes. 
 
 Q. AMiy not in any cUmate ? 
 
 A. Because in Eui'ope, for instance, they have a wetter climate, with 
 less sunshine than we have here, and crops such as oats, bai'ley 
 and wheat could be better harvested on ridge lands than on level 
 siU'faces. 
 
 Q. Yes, I am aware of the greater moistm-e of the European cU- 
 
Varieties of Soil. 15 
 
 mate, although we have more raiu iii the year here ; but my question 
 related more to the choice of lands that are level, such as some of the 
 jirauies; or roUiug, as in districts of Pennsylvania, New York and 
 Ohio — I mean, if the soil is of equal fertility, which would you con- 
 sider preferable — a slightly roUing, or a level soil ? 
 
 A. I should prefer the level soil — that is, always providing the 
 water passes away freely. It depends, however, upon the pui'pose 
 for which the farm is wanted. If for general farming pm-jioses, 
 then, I should say by all means the level land would be best ; but if the 
 farm is used for pastm-ing or grazing, roUing land would be prefer- 
 able, because cattle wOl always do better on the slope of bills than 
 they win do on flats. 
 
 Q. Do you know the reason of their doing better, or is your opinion 
 simplj' derived from observation and general practice ? 
 
 A. I think that there is more change of herbage, and it is sweeter 
 and finer, on the hiU-sides, than in the flat lands, where it is too rich. 
 
 Q. In that you are probably correct; and this, too, you cons-ider 
 would be true of almost every other crop, as well as grasses? 
 
 A. Yes; sorghum grown on a hill-side will produce from the same 
 amount of juice one-third more sugar than if grown on bottom lands, 
 and the same principle will be found to be carried through nearly all 
 kinds of vegetation. Melons and grapes that have been planted on 
 roUing ground are always richer in flavor, because they contain 
 more sugar than those on the bottom land. 
 
 Q. WTiat has been your experience with land composed of peat or 
 vegetable mold? 
 
 A. I have always considered it to be the best land for root crops. 
 You can grow a larger quantity of roots such as mangels, beets, tur- 
 nips or j)otatoes on such land, vntli less labor and less manure, than 
 on any other soU; provided always that the subsoil is free from 
 water. 
 
 Q. Have you ever experienced any diflSculty in breaking up land of 
 this kind for crops grown the first season? 
 
 A. Yes; on two occasions in my experience in breaking up land of 
 this character, even when thoroughly turned, there was some acidity 
 in the soU that destroyed the roots. Lime would have counteracted 
 all that trouble, if thoroughly mixed vrith the soil at the rate of fifty 
 to thi'ee hundred bushels per acre ; for market gardens or other lands 
 where it can be afforded, the larger quantity would be preferable. 
 
 Q. Do not swamp lands vary very much in character ; and should 
 their treatment not be in accordance with this variation ? 
 
 A. These lands do vary ; some consist wholly of peat or vegetable 
 matter, and some have a large proportion of sand in them. The for- 
 
16 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 mcr kiud is inucli improved by the addition of siiud or gi-avel ; the 
 latter kind is benefited by a mixtiu-e of clay. 
 
 Q. 'Would you consider lime iudisijeusable if sand, or gi-avel, or 
 clay could be had ? 
 
 A. Yes, I should say by all means to put on Hme, no matter how 
 little of it ; the clay or loam can be better dispensed with. 
 
 (Mi: H.) I have had only one experience in my life -with a swamp 
 of that kind, and, probably for want of using the means you now ad- 
 vise, I failed completely the tirst year. I had turned up the swamp 
 land in the fall, thoroughly drained it, and thought it was in perfect 
 condition for a crop. I planted the first crop with cabbages, but 
 failed completely ; I turned it up again and jJanted it with celery, 
 which was equally a failure, although I had used nearly twenty-five 
 tons per acre of manure for each crop. To all appearances there 
 was nothing in the handling or condition of the soil that would in- 
 dicate any element injuiious to vegetation. 
 
 Q. "What depth of soil was it ? 
 
 A. It was probably three feet deep, overlying a fine white sand. 
 The next season, and for some years after, by heavy manuring, but 
 still without lime, we had good crops, although fi'oni my past ex- 
 perience on other lands, and fi'om what you say about the eflect of 
 lime when first used for swamp land, I have no doubt it would have 
 greatly helped such a soil. I had an opportunity of examining the 
 soil of Florida last winter, which I beheve is veiy neai-ly identical 
 with that of Yinelaud, N. J., and was astonished to see the 
 fertiUty which land apparently little else but sand contained. This 
 goes to confirm the opinion that I have long held about soUs, that 
 their mechanical condition — that is, the ease with which roots can 
 push deeply into them — has mucli to do in producing good crops 
 ■when great depth of that soil exists. 
 
 In your opinion, !Mj'. Crozier, which is best fitted to retain barn- 
 yai'd manure — an adhesive soil with a clayey bottom, a loam with a 
 sandy cr gravelly bottom, or well drained swamp land with a sandy 
 bottom ? 
 
 A. A heavy land with a clay subsoil will retain manure twice as 
 long as any other soil. But it would depend altogether on what pur- 
 pose the laud was used for. If for permanent grass, there is no land 
 will retain manure so long as stifl" soils with clayey subsoils. I have 
 known it to be kept forty years without being plowed, by applying 
 an occasional top dressing of either barn-yard manure or a compost 
 made of loam and lime. The best loam for such purposes is that 
 taken from fence rows, because it contains rich fibrous sod. 
 
How TO Use Manure. 17 
 
 Q. About ■vrhat quantity of such a compost would jou consider a 
 good top dressing per acre ? 
 
 A. About twenty two-horse wagon loads. 
 
 Q. How much stable manui-e would you advise for a dressing on 
 such land ? 
 
 A. About ten wagon loads. I would say, howeyer. that stable 
 maniu'e should not be put on unless oyer a year old or composted and 
 worked up fine, as coarse manure is not suitable for permanent grass 
 lands. 
 
 Q. What season of the yeai- do you consider the best for jiutting 
 on toj) tU'essiug for permanent grass lands? 
 
 A. I think the fall is the best time. If put on in the fall it jsro- 
 tects the roots of the grass fi'om freezing and thawing, acting as a 
 mulch, and also bj- freezing it is made fine for the harrow in the 
 spring to yrork it into the roots of the grasses. 
 
 Q. AYhat harrow do you use for such a j)uri)Ose ? 
 
 A. I use the square iron-tooth harrow or diamond chain haiTow, 
 which latter is now coming into use among some of our best farmers 
 in this countrj'. The common sloping tooth harrow does this work 
 very well, and so does that useful new implement, the Acme harrow. 
 
 Q. On sandy loam lands, what do you consider the most profitable 
 way to apply barn-yard maniu-e for general crops? 
 
 A. I have found in my experience that the best way is to i^low the 
 land, spi'ead the manui'e broadcast, hari'ow it, and plow again two or 
 three inches deep. The nearer the toj) of the ground we keep the 
 manure, so long as it is covered, the more benefit the crops will re- 
 ceive from it, and the manure of coui'se will always work downwards, 
 fi'om the rains. The general practice of farmers in the United States 
 is to spread the manure, and then plow it under. 
 
 (;\Ir. H.) Your jDractice in this respect is certainly good and is en- 
 tirelj' new to me ; it shows the benefit of a personal interchange of 
 ideas on these subjects. I am satisfied that your plan of harrowing 
 the manure on the surface before plowing it in hghtly, as just described, 
 must be of great benefit, although in my thirty-five years' expe- 
 rience as a market gardener, and living in a section where there are 
 scores of others, many of whom have had a jwactice as extended as 
 mine, I have never yet seen it done. It is obvious that no matter 
 how well manure maj- be rotted, still when spread on the land it will 
 form hard hunps, less or more, unless broken up by the haiTow as you 
 describe, whUe the disintegration of other ijarticles by the haiTow 
 will leave it just in the condition necessaiy for the food of 
 plants. 
 
18 How THE Fakm Pays. 
 
 Is there any guide, tili: Crozier, by which inexperienced men, with- 
 out any one to help them, can detenuine what is the best soil for gen- 
 eral farm work? 
 
 A. If the farm is to be selected on lands where there has been 
 general cultivation, the best test to determine the value of such lands 
 is to closely examine and compai-e the crops glowing on lands adjacent. 
 If under ordinary culture you see these lands i)roducing good crojjs 
 of com, wheat or potatoes, it is reasonable to suppose, if on the same 
 level, that the land in question will, in all probabihty, be of similar 
 quality. 
 
 Q. But suppose the farm has to be selected in a region where there 
 is nothing but timber or the natiu-al gi-asses to guide ? AMiat then 
 would be your advice ? 
 
 A. Under such <-ircumstances I would take a spade and dig in dif- 
 ferent jiarts of the farm and find out what the soils and subsoils are 
 composed of, and what they would be best adapted for. The timber 
 and native grasses growing on such lands would not always help to 
 decide as to the quality of the land. There would be no safetj' in 
 judging from such indications, as we find sometimes heavy timber 
 gi-owing on lands not well fitted for farm oj^erations, and even some 
 lands on which the natural gi-asses seem to be poor, will under 
 projjer cultivation produce excellent crojis. So that in such cases, if 
 there are no cultivated crops gi-o^\-ing in the vicinity, the only thing 
 is an examination of the soil by digging into it with a spade. For 
 this reason, it wUl be advisable, if a disinterested and capable practical 
 farmer can be found, for anj- one about to invest five or ten thousand 
 dollars in a fai-m, to employ such a man to guide him in the choice 
 of the soil. Of covu'se the object for which the farm is wanted must 
 be stated to the exj)ert, whether it be wanted for grazing purposes 
 only, or for rotation of crops, or for wliat is known as mixed farming, 
 which combines stock raising and general tillage. If the selection be 
 a good one it is reasonable to expect fair success with ordiuai-y indus- 
 try, while if it is bad, failure and iniin will in all probability be the 
 result. 
 
 (^Ir. H.) I have scores come to me in the coiu"se of every season 
 for advice in this matter of soils, but in most instances the ad\-ice is 
 asked too late. Many pei-sons have been iinfortunatc enough to buj' 
 or rent land that they had been led to beheve was excellent, but only 
 " run down." In my opiiiiim, this wide-spread notion of " exhausted 
 lands " is, to a great extent, a fallacy, and that the greater part of the 
 lands said to have been exhausted never were good ; and no power 
 on earth short of spreading a good soil over them, half a foot thick. 
 
Selection of Soil. 19 
 
 ■would ever make them good. In a recent visit to tiie South, I met 
 a man who had gone down four years ago, and had bought an " ex- 
 hausted farm." With Northern energj- and Northern capital lie 
 hoped to restore it to what he had been told it had previouslj' been — ■ 
 a fertile farm. A large espenditui-e and the hard work of several 
 years had failed to give a crop of corn that paid for the labor. I 
 could see no stalk that had been more than live feet high, and manj- 
 of them less than that. The poor, j'eUow soil in no place exceeded 
 four inches in depth, and was underlaid by a hard pan of clay. The 
 labor put upon such a soil will never pay. MiUious of acres of lands 
 are purchased annually which are of but little more use for farming 
 purposes than the same area in a barren wilderness. Then, it may 
 be asked. How is a farmer to select his soil ? First, he should never 
 buj- a farm without personal examination — never take the seller's 
 word about it ; he maj' honestly believe that what he asserts is true, 
 or he may know it to be false ; but in either case if you ai-e deceived 
 you suffer. Make the examination thorough ; observe the svuTound- 
 ings, and if the district is settled and crojsped. Examine -with care 
 the condition of crops on the farm and those upon land adjoining it. 
 If the crops are sickly looking and weak — if the corn-stalks, instead 
 of being seven or eight feet in height, are but two or three — you 
 had better lose your time and expenses and get home again, than 
 take the farm as a gift. If there are no crops gi-owing, the char- 
 acter of the soil will be indicated by its appearance. A good soil is 
 usually of dark bi'own color ; the subsoil, lying immediately under 
 the top soil, should be of a porous nature, and it is usually, in first-rate 
 soUs, of a yellowish, sandy loam. A gravelly subsoil is often found 
 ■underlying soils of good quality, but this is not so common. A sub- 
 soil of blue or yeUow clay, such as might be used for brick making 
 and that is impei-^'ious to water, when near the surface, is a certain 
 indication of a poor quality of soil for either farming or gardening. 
 As an illustration of the value of different soils for market garden 
 purposes, there are men in our immediate neighborhood who pay 
 $100 per acre annual rent, and who, in the past ten or twelve years, 
 have made snug little fortunes upon eight or nine acres in cultivation. 
 Not more than half a mile away there are others paying less than half 
 that amount in rent, who have in the same time been struggUng to 
 make both ends meet. Though equally industrious, and having as 
 good a knowledge of the business, their failure has resulted simply 
 from the dift'erence in the character of the soil. In the one case the 
 land would be cheaper at $100 per acre annual rent than the other 
 ■would be if it could be had for nothing. 
 
20 HiAv THE Farm Pays. 
 
 (Mr. C.) A farm sui.eil for mixed fanning is safer tiixn wheu the 
 farm is clevoted, as in some cases, to growing exclusively one crop — 
 safer because you are not thus compelled to carry all your eggs in 
 one basket. If the season is wet and cold, tlie gra.ss crop will respond 
 to it, although your corn crop m ly f.iil, and vice uer.-a. Stock raising, in 
 connection with tillage, compels the raising of root and forage crops, 
 some of wliich will always firove profitable under proper management, 
 no matter how the seasons or the markets vary. It also has the ad- 
 vantage of aUowiug the farmer to keep the most of his hands during 
 the entire year. In the vicinity of towns or villages, summer board- 
 ing houses, or hotels, the gro\^-ing of the finer vegetables or flints, iu 
 addition to the regular farm crops, will always prove profitable. A 
 single acre of fruit or vegetables, when sold direct to the consumer, 
 \\t11 often ^sield more profit th m an entire farm of one hundred acres. 
 But you, j\Ii'. Henderson, who hxve had such ample experience in 
 these subjects, will append to tliis work brief and plain instractions 
 of how to do it. 
 
 Q. You are aware of the fact, I suppose, Mr. Crozier, that it is cur- 
 rently beheved in the Southern States, and probably in other parts 
 of the country, that lands are exhausted almost irrei>arably by the 
 continued growing of tobacco or other exhaustive crops on them. I 
 would Uke to hear what is yoiu- opinion on this matter. To give you 
 my own ojjinion in advance, I believe it is a fallacj' to a great 
 extent. 
 
 A. I should say that continual planting of one crop on the same soil 
 will impoverish it until it becomes wortliless. 
 
 t^. Do you mean permanently wortliless ? 
 
 A. No." 
 
 Q. That is just the jxiint I wish to make — that the injury to the 
 land is only temporary. 
 
 A. Yes; and V>y judicious cropping -with grasses or clovei-s the land 
 may again be brought up to its former fertility. The reason for the 
 l)opular opinion in this matter, and which I believe has led to a great 
 deal of unuecesaaiy loss, is that when such lands are first broken up, 
 they will produce good crops ^vith very little or no manure, because 
 the plants have the roots of the grasses, leaves or other organic 
 matter to feed upon, but when this supj^ly of plant food is oxliausted, 
 witliout a corresponding amount of manure being again ajiplied, the 
 land is robbed of nearly all the fertility which it had, in the first two 
 or three years after being broken. That I think is the tnie cause of 
 this wide-spread belief that ha« allowed thousands of acres of land to 
 lie waste. 
 
Selection of a Farm. 21 
 
 FARM ROADS. 
 
 (Mr. C.) In selecting a farm, it is of vital importance to see that 
 the roads leading from it to the depot or market are in such con- 
 dition, or can be made so, as to be easily used by loaded wagons. 
 Many a fine farm is rendered completely worthless when the ap- 
 proaches to it are intercepted by steep hills or other obstructions to 
 the hauling of heavy loads. It is also worth noting that many diffi- 
 cult roads that are carried over hills could have been carried around 
 them on a level, without increasing their length and of course greatly 
 increasing their usefulness. Nearness to a dej)ot, town or city of 
 course vastly enhances the value to the cultivator, not only for the 
 advantage of selling his products and getting manure, but also when 
 hired helj) is used; the facilities for getting such are better, besides 
 the isrice paid is usually higher the fai'ther you get away from jjojiu- 
 lous centres. It is bad enough when har^^est hands strike or abscond 
 when you are neai- a city, but it is disheartening in the extreme when 
 they do so when you are five or six miles from a depot, and perhaps 
 twenty miles from a town. A word here as a oaution. If you engage 
 new hands fi-om any hiring mart in New York or other large citj', do 
 not trust to have them meet you at depot to go home. From the 
 moment you hire them keep possession of them, or the chances are 
 five to one that you will never see them again. Another thing: if you 
 want two men, it will be best to hire three, for the chances are more 
 than equal that one of the thi'ee will either jsrove worthless or run 
 awav. 
 
 The following short essay on draining is embodied in Peter 
 Henderson's work, " Garden and Farm Topics." A\'e give it here, as 
 it is of general character. Although it refers more particularly to 
 areas of small extent, when used for market garden purposes, it will 
 be found to apply equally to larger areas. The broad fact may, how- 
 ever, be asserttd, that the expense of di-aining farm lands would in 
 many cases exceed the cost of laud equally good that required no 
 draining : and of course it is to the interest of the farmer to assure 
 himself that the farm he wishes to purchase does not require to be 
 drained artificially, but whenever, by any unfortunate circumstance, 
 possession is had of lands rcquii'ing draining, the cultiv.itiou had 
 better be abandoned, r.ither than attempt to till it if water is held 
 stagnant in the soil. Certain conditions of laud might, however, be 
 utilized for pastiu'age without underdi'aining, provided that open 
 
22 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 ditches were made to allow the surplus water to pass off, but of coui-se, 
 as all cultivators well kuow, eveu for p:isturap;e no fertile crop cau he 
 obtained if stagnant water remains on the soil. 
 
 Draining is one of the most impoi-tant ojjerations in horticulture 
 No matter how fertile the noniial condition of the soil, no matter how 
 abundantly it is fertilized, no matter how carefullj- and thoroughly it 
 is tilled, if water remain in it at the depth to which roots jjeiietrate, 
 all labor wiU be in vain; for no satisfactory result can ever be attained 
 until the water is drained off. The subject is one of such importance 
 that we cannot give it full attention here, and to such as recpiire to 
 operate on a lai-ge scale, works specially devoted to the subject should 
 be consulted, or a di-aining engineer employed. Soils having a 
 gravelly or sandy subsoil ten or twenty inches below the top soil do 
 not usually need di'aining; but in all soils underlaid by clay or hard 
 pan, draining is indispensable, unless in cases where there is a slope 
 of two to three feet in a hundi'ed; and even in such cases draining is 
 lieueficiid if the subsoil is clay. 
 
 In soils ha%-ing a clay or hard pan subsoil, drains sliould be made 
 three feet deep and not more than twenty feet apart. If stones ai'e 
 plenty, they may be profitably used to fill up the drains, say to a depth 
 of twelve or fifteen inches, either placed so as to form a "rubble " drain, 
 if the stones are round, or built -with an oiifice at the bottom, if the 
 stones are flat. In either case, care must be used to cover the stones 
 carefully \vp with inverted sods, or some material that will jjrevent 
 the soil being washed thi'ough the stones and choking up the 
 drain. 
 
 Drain tiles, when they cau be obtained at a i-easonable firice, are 
 the best material for draining. The round tile is generally used. If 
 the di-ain has a hsu'd bottom they can be placed directly on it 
 when leveled to the jiropcr grade ; but if the ground is soft and 
 spongj-, a board must be laid in the bottom, on which to place the 
 tiles. It i.s often a very troublesome matter to get the few drain tiles 
 necessary for a small garden, and in such cases an excellent and clieap 
 substitute can be had by using one of boards. Care must be taken 
 that the boards are not nailed together too closely, else they might 
 swell so as to prevent the water passing into the drain to be carried 
 oft". These drains ai-e iisually set with a fiat side down, but they wiU 
 keep cleiu' better if put with a point down, though it is more trouble 
 to lay them. Drains made in this way will last twenty years or more. 
 Of course, in draining, the greater the fall that can be got, the 
 better, though, if the grading is carefully done by a competent engi- 
 neer, a very slight fall wUl sufiice. Some of the trunk or main sewera 
 in our cities have onlv a grade of one foot in a thousand. 
 
Draining Land. 
 
 23 
 
 Tlie following;- details of the method of the construction of drains 
 may be found useful : 
 
 CONSTRUCTION OF DRAINS. 
 
 In draining land, there are two things to be decided : the first is if 
 the land requii-es to be drained ; and the second, the best kind of 
 drains to be put in. An easy way of deciding the first is to notice if 
 water will stand in a hole, two feet deep, for a week, at any time of 
 the year. If it does, the land requires drainage. There are several 
 kinds of drains. One kind, that is often very useful, is a perpen- 
 ., dicular drain. This is used for drain- 
 ing hoUows that cannot easily be 
 jjjv,< j freed from water any other waj', be- 
 
 I cause of the depth of the necessary 
 I cutting. A. pit is dug down to sand 
 I or gravel, and is filled with large 
 1,1 . .. .. .,^..... stone up to the surface, which is 
 
 raised by filling in the earth dug out of the pit — of course keeping the 
 
 surface soil on the top. Two things are gained by this: the ground 
 
 is freed from water, and the surface of the hoUow is raised. In 
 
 l^astures where there is no other water, a pump may be put in 
 
 such a hollow. "WTaere there is plenty of stone 
 
 or coarse gravel on the land, drains may be 
 
 made very cheaply by fiUing in with these 
 
 materials to within a foot of the surface. 
 
 Some stone drains, well made, are better than 
 
 tile drains, because the stone is imjierishable ; 
 
 but if a stone drain is not weU made, it will 
 
 soon be useless ; and so will a tile drain, more 
 
 j)articularly if the tiles are not thoroughly 
 
 biuTied, so as to ring when struck. The best 
 
 stone drain is made of flat, nari'ow stones, 
 
 bedded firmly at each side of the ditch, and 
 
 covered by broad, flat stone, stretching across ; 
 
 rough stone may be put on the top of these. '^ ■■ "i"' " -' 
 
 WTiere only round stone is to be found, a special way of placing them 
 
 must be used. (This is shown very plainly in the accompanying 
 
 illustrations.) In making drains of gravel, all that is necessary is to 
 
 dig the ditch as if tile was to be jiut in — that is, thii-ty inches or 
 
 three feet deep ; eighteen inches wide at the top, and four or six 
 
 inches wide at the bottom — and fiU in tlie gravel eighteen inches. 
 
 Stone or gravel drains are better for veiy wet lands and for swamp 
 
24 
 
 How iHF. Faioi Pays. 
 
 FLAT STONi: DRAIX. 
 
 \?V4- 
 
 meadows than tiles, for the reasons tliat they cam" more water, are 
 not so easily clioked, as there are many channels, and will not get 
 _ stopped by the settling of the soft ground, as with 
 
 tile; for a tile that settles in a soft place, stops and 
 i-uins the whole drain. Where tiles are used in soft 
 ground, they should always be laid upon hemlock 
 boards, as this timber is almost imperishable in such a 
 place, or any other where it is always wet. Some- 
 tiroes cheap drains of wood may be very useful for 
 wet ground. Such drains are generally made triangu- 
 lar, of three boards, nailed edge to edge. A better wax 
 is to put the cover on top of the drain tube cross- 
 \nse, cutting the lumber into short jDieces; this gives 
 more openings for the v.'ater to flow into the pipes, 
 and also makes them sti-onger. "Where roads cross a drain of this 
 kind, it is safer to make tlicin in tlii?; way. mv\ .ilso tn lay a ]'lank 
 
 upon the drain to ,^ ^-^ , , ^ ,. 
 
 distribute the ]5r(s- ~ r " / 
 
 sure. Every precau- 
 tion should be taken 
 to have the work nl 
 draining done right, 
 because it is costly, 
 and is a difficult and 
 particular work, and, 
 if one little blunder 
 is made, everything 
 
 maybe spoiled; for a noiNn .■ijoM: drmns. 
 
 ilraiii is like a chain which has a link broken, and even woi-se; for if one 
 part of a drain is out of order, the whole drain may be useless, while 
 part of a broken chain may be as good as ever. For this reason, 
 
 when one is about to 
 K'-^""^^f!r^^^rT''" y^'"''''-'^^ lay out considerable 
 money in a job of drain- 
 ing, it would always be 
 safe to have the ad- 
 vice and assistance of 
 an expert, whose e.xperience might and would often be of great 
 value. 
 
 Obsei-vation wells are necessary to be made about every quarter of 
 a mile in a drain. This is a small well or dee]) box. let down two 
 feet below the drain, and into which one drain discharges, while an- 
 other takes the water. Those are necessaiy in every main drain, 
 
Precatttions in Draining. 25 
 
 where the smaller drains enter. Their purpose is to catch sediment 
 ■which would otherwise obstruct the drains, and also to watch the 
 working of the drain occasionally, to obsei-ve if it is in good order. 
 When sediment gathers in these wells, it is easy to clean them out. 
 This should be done before it is really necessary, or it will be apt to 
 be left untU too late. 
 
 Every complete set of drains should be laid out on a systematic 
 j)lan. The courses of the drains should be marked by permanent 
 posts set in the fences ; the lines of the observation wells should be 
 marked by other j^osts, so that the exact sjDot where each drain 
 begins and ends, and where each well is placed, may be found with- 
 out trouble. The wells should be covered with flat stones, a foot be- 
 neath the surface, so that the cover may not be disturbed. As com- 
 plete drainage costs about $50 an acre, it is wise to take every pos- 
 sible jjrecaution against any waste of this money, to the smallest 
 extent. 
 
26 How THK Fahm Pays. 
 
 CH.^PTER n. 
 
 MAXTRES AND THEIR MODES OF APPLICATION. 
 
 ("Manures ami Their Modes of AppliCfltion " is the title of aii e^tsay pnhliehed by Peter 
 Henderson in ltiti-1. Like all his otber essays, this was written more to meet the waBt« of the 
 horticnlturist. than the af^cultnrist. but the uecessilles of both are so near alike that we here 
 (rive it entire, followiuf? which will be tbe remarks of Mr. Henderson and Mr. (Yozier on such 
 portions of the essay as may seem to require modification.) 
 
 TiiK subject of manures is one of the ffi-eatest iiiii5oi*taiice to every 
 operator iii the soil, whetJier fjuiiier, market jifardener, florist, or such 
 as cultivate only for theii- own use, for under few conditions can crops 
 be long grown without the use of feiiilizors. Although I have ah'eady 
 given generiil iustnictions about fertihzers in all my works on gar- 
 dening, yet I tind, fi-om the number of inquiries received fi-om even 
 such as have my works, that the matter has not been there treated 
 sufficiently in detail to meet the wants of the varied conditions under 
 which the necessity for the use of fertilizers arises. The comp;u-ative 
 viilue of maniu'es must be regulated by the cost. If rotted sta1>le 
 manure, whether fi-om horses or cows, can be delivered on the ground 
 at $:5 per ton, it is about as valuable, for fertilizing purjioses, as Pei-u- 
 viau guano at $G5 per ton, or j)ure bone dust at $40 per ton. It is 
 better than either of these, or any other concentrated fertihzer, from 
 the fact of its mechanicid action on the land — that is, its effect, from its 
 light, porous nature, in aerating and pulverizing the soil. Guano, 
 bone dust, or other fine commercial fertilizers, act only as such, with- 
 out in any way assisting to improve what may be called the physical 
 condition of the soil. 
 
 All experienced cultivators know that the fii-st year that land is 
 broken up fi-oiu sod, if proper cultiu'e has been given, by thorough 
 plowng and ban-owing (provided the land is cb'ained ai'titicially or 
 naturally, so as to be free fi-om water, audreheve it from "sourness"), 
 the land is in better condition for any crop than land that has been 
 continuously cropped without a rest. 1 he miu'ket gardeners in the 
 vicinity of New York are now so well convinced of this, that when 
 twenty acres are under cultivation, at least live acres are continujdly 
 kept in grain, clover or grass, to be broken up successively, everj' 
 second or tliird year, so as to get the land in the condition that 
 nothing else but rotted, i^ulvcrized sod will accomplish. This is done 
 in cases where land is as valuable as $500 per acre, experience ha\ing 
 
Commercial Fertilizers. 27 
 
 proved that 'with one-quarter of the land "resting under grass more 
 profit can be got than if the whole were under cultui-e. 
 
 "WTien the rotation, by j)laciug a portion of the laud under grass, 
 cannot be done, then it is absolutely necessary to use stable mauiu-e, 
 at least to some extent, if the best results are desired, for continuous 
 cropping of the soil. "Where concentrated fertilizers only are used, 
 they will not continue to give satisfactory results after the grass roots 
 or other organic matter have passed fi-om the soil, idl of which will 
 usually be entirely gone by the third cr fovu'th year after breaking up. 
 I have long held the opinion, that the idea of lands having been per- 
 manently exhausted by tobacco or other crops, is a fallacy. What 
 gives rise to this behef, I think, is the fact that, when lauds ai-e tii-st 
 broken up from tlie forest or meadow lands, for three or four years 
 the organic matter in the soil, the roots of grasses, leaves, etc., not 
 only serves to feed the crops, but it keeps the soil iu a better state 
 of jjulverization, or what might be called aerated condition, than when, 
 in the coui'se of cropping for a few years, it has passed away. Stable 
 manure best supplies this want; but on farm lands away from towns, 
 it is not often that enough can be obtained to have any appreciable 
 etfect on the soil, and hence artificial fertilizers are resorted to, which 
 often fad, not from any fault in themselves, but from the fact that, 
 exerting Uttle mechanical influence on the land, it becomes compacted 
 or sodden, the air cannot get to the roots, and hence failure or paiiial 
 failure of crop. 
 
 Thus we see that to have the best residts fi-oiu commercial fer- 
 tihzers. it is of great importance to have the land 'rested" by a crop 
 of grain or grass every three or four years. 
 
 The best known fertilizers of commerce are PeiTivian guano and 
 bone dust, though thei'e are numbers of others, such as fish 
 guano, dry blood fertilizer, blood and bone fertilizer, with the 
 various brands of superphosphates, all of more or less value for fer- 
 tdizing jjui'poses It is useless to go over the list, and we T\nll con- 
 fine ourselves to the relative merits of pure Peruvian guano and puie 
 bone dust. Guano, at $(i.5 j^er ton, we consider relatively equal in 
 value to bone dust at $40 per ton, for in the lower jjriced article we 
 find v>'e have to increase the quantity to produce the same result. 
 Whatever kind of concentrated fertilizer is used, we find it well 
 repays the labor to prepare it in the following manner before it is 
 used on the land : 
 
 To every bushel of guano or bone dust add three bushels of either 
 leaf mould (fi'om the woods), well p)ulveiized dry muck, sweepings 
 fi-om a paved street, stable manure so rotted as to be like pulverized 
 muck, or, if neither of these can be obtained, anj- loamy soil will do ; 
 
28 Ht)w THK Farm Pays. 
 
 but iu every ease the material to mix the fertilizei-s with must be 
 fuirly tirv and never in a condition of mud; tbemeuuiiig of the oj)era- 
 tiou being, that the material used is to act as a temporary absorbent 
 for the fertilizer. The comjjost must be thoroughly mixed, and if 
 guano is used, it being sometimes lumpy, it must be broken iij) to 
 dust before being mixed with the absorbent. 
 
 The main object of this operation is for the better sejiai-atiou and 
 division of the fertilizer, so that when apphed to the soil it can be 
 more readily distributed. Our experiments have repeatedly shown 
 that this method of using concentrated fertilizers materially increases 
 their value, jirobably twenty per cent. The mixing shoidd be done 
 a few mouths previous to sprmg, and it should, after being mixed, 
 be packed away in ban-els, and kejjt iu some dry shed or cellai' until 
 wanted for use. Thus mixed, it is i)articularly beneficial on lawns or 
 other gi'ass lands. The quantity of concentrated fertihzer to be used 
 is often perplexing to beginners. We give the foUowiug as the best 
 rales we know, all derived fi'om our own practice in growing fruits, 
 flowers and vegetables. 
 
 Taking guano as a basis, we would recommend for all vegetable or 
 fruit crops, if earliuess and good quality ai'e desired, the use of not 
 less than 1,200 pounds per acre (an acre contains 4,840 square yards, 
 and cultivators for private use can easily estimate fi-om this the 
 quantity they reijuire for any area), mixed with two tons of either of 
 the materials before recommended. Of bone dust about one ton per 
 acre should be used, mixed with thi'ee tons of soil or the other 
 materials named. 
 
 For market garden vegetable crops, iu the vicinity of New York, 
 this quantity of guano or bone dust is han-owed in after twenty-five 
 or thirty tons of stable maiuire have first been ploweil in; sj that the 
 actual cost of manuring each acre is uot le.ss thau $100, and often $150. 
 
 "\Mien fertilizers are used alone, ■without being mixed with the ab- 
 sorl)ent, they should be sown ou the soil after plowing or digging, 
 about thick enough to just color the surface, or about as thick as 
 sand or sawdust is sown on a floor, and then thoroughly haiTowed iu, 
 if plowed, or, if dug, chopped in with a rake. This quantity is used 
 broadcast by sowing on the ground after plowing, and deeply and 
 thoroughly harrowing iu, or, if in small gju-dens, forked in lightly 
 with the prongs of a garden fork or long-toothed steel rake. 'When 
 apphed in hills or tlrOls, from 100 to 300 pounds should be used to 
 the acre, according to the distance of these ai>art, mixing with soil, 
 etc., as already directed. 
 
 When well rotted stable manure is jirocurable at a cost uot to 
 exceed $;? per ton, delivered on the ground, whether from horses or 
 
Night Soil, H\i.t, Muck. 29 
 
 cows, it is preferable to a,nj concentrated fertilizer. Rotted stable 
 manure, to produce fuU crops, should be sjiread on the ground not 
 less than three inches thick (our market gardeners use from fifty to 
 seventy-five tons of well rotted stable manure jjer acre when no con- 
 centrated fertilize)' is used), and should be thoroughly mixed with the 
 soil by plowing or spading. The refuse hops from breweries form an 
 excellent fertilizer, at least one-half more valuable, liulk for bulk, than 
 stable manure. Other excellent fertilizers are obtained fi-om the 
 scrapings or shavings from horn or v/h;debone manufactories. The 
 best way to make these quickly available is to compost them with 
 hot manure, in the proportion of one ton of refuse horn or whalebone 
 with fifteen tons of manure. The heated manure extracts the oil, 
 which is intermingled with the whole. 
 
 The manure from the chicken or pigeon house is very valuable, and 
 when composted as directed for bone dust and guano, has at least 
 one-thii-d their value. Castor oil pomace is also valuable in about 
 the same proportion. 
 
 Foudi'ette is the name given to a commercial fertilizer, the composi- 
 tion of which is night soil, and dried swamp muck or charcoal dust 
 as an absorbent. It is sold at about $12 to $15 per ton, and at that 
 price may be ec^ual in value, if too much of the absorbing material is 
 not used, to bone dust at $-10 per ton. 
 
 In my early experience as a market gardener, I used large quan- 
 tities of night soil for vegetable crops with the very best results. It 
 was mixed with stable manure at the rate of about one ton of night 
 soil to fifteen tons of stable manure, and put on the land, so mixed, 
 at the rate of twenty-five tons per acre. In the absence of stable 
 manure, dry soil, charcoal dust, sawdust, or any material that will 
 absorb it, wiU do. Thus mixed, if equal quantities of each have l)een 
 used, ten tons may be used per acre, if plowed in ; if sowed on top, 
 to be haiTowed in, say five tons. 
 
 Salt has little or no value as a fertilizer, excejit as a medium of 
 absorbing moisture ; for experience shows that soils impregnated by 
 saline matter are no more fertile than those inland, out of the reach 
 of such an atmosphere. 
 
 JIuct is the name given to a deposit usually largely composed of 
 vegetable matter, found in swamps or in hollows in forest lands. Of 
 itself it has usually but Httle fertilizing property, but from its porous 
 nature, when dry, it is one of the best materials to use to mix 
 with other manures as an absorbent. It can be used to great ad- 
 vantage if dug out in winter and piled up in narrow ridges, so that 
 it can be partly dried and "sweetened" in summer. Thus dry, if 
 mixed with stable manure, or, better vet, thro\vn in layers three or four 
 
30 How THE Farm Pavs. 
 
 inches thick in the cattle or hog yard, where it can be trodden dowu 
 and amalgamated with the manure, the value of the manure thus 
 treated wUl be neai-ly doubled. 
 
 In reply to questions that I receive by the hundred each season, a.sking 
 whether or not it is worth while to use th^ so-call;d special fertilizers 
 claimed to be suited to the wants of particulai- plants, such as the 
 "Potato Fertilizer," "Cabbage Fertilizer," '"Strawberry Fertilizer," 
 "Rose FertULzer," etc., I can only give this general answer, that while 
 these manures may suit the plants they are claime.l toba " special " for. 
 I have no doubt that either one would suit equally well for the others, 
 or, if all were mixed together, the mixtui-e would be found to answer 
 the purpose for each kind of crop, just as well as if kept separate and 
 applied to the crop it was named for. These hair-sphtting dis- 
 tinctions are not recognized to be of any value by one practical farmer 
 or gardener in every hundred ; for a Httle expeiience soon shows that 
 pure bone dust or well rotted stable manure answers for a/l crops 
 alike, no matter what they are. These special fertilizers for special 
 crojis ai-e gi-adually increasing in number, so that some dealers now 
 ofler fifty kinds, different brands being offered for plants belonging 
 to the same family. There is an ignorant assumption in this, and any 
 cultivator of ordinary intelligence cannot fail to see that the motive 
 in so doing is to stiike as broad a swath as possible, so that a lai'ger 
 number of customers may be reached. 
 
 One of my neighbors called the other day, and infoimed me that 
 his lettuce crop, in his green-house, was faihng, and asked me what I 
 thought of the lettuce fertilizer that was offered in a circular that con- 
 tained some lifty other '■sjsecials. " An inquiiy develoijed the fact, 
 that he had been keeping his lettuce crop at a night temperature of 
 sixty-five degi'ees in January, so that there was just about as much 
 chance of the special lettuce fertilizer helping the crop, as there would 
 be of giving hesilth to a man by feeding liim beef-steak in the last 
 stages of consumption. I merely mention this incident to show 
 how, and in what manner, the sellers of these special fertilizers 
 obtain customei-s. 
 
 Q. Have you had any experience, llr. Crozier, with these so-called 
 special feiiilizers to which I refer in the preceding article, and if so, 
 what opinion do you hold in regard to them ? I noticed in looking 
 at your crop of fodder corn, which you showed me yesterday, and 
 wliich you said was sown about five weeks ago, that the portion whereon 
 you hai used the special corn fertilizer, pui'e and simple, has had 
 to lower its Hag to that ])ortion of the field which was manvu'ed with 
 stable manure at a cost but little more per acre, the latter ah-eady 
 towering over a foot above that paii of the field on which you used 
 
Special Fertilizers. 31 
 
 the "special" fertilizer, aud the diffei-euce being so marked as to 
 appear like separate sowings. 
 
 A. In several experiments that I have carefully made, with a view 
 to ascertain if there was any foundation for the claims now so 
 commonly made for special fertilizers, in no single instance have I 
 found anj' verification of these claims. For example, I have tried 
 them on potatoes, com, rye, barley, mangels and tiu'nips, applying a 
 special kind of manure on each, at the same time using one of the 
 specials on all the crops with the same results as obtained fi-om each 
 of the different specials. I have no doubt that had I mixed them all 
 together, and apjilied the mixture to each sjieeial crop, the results 
 would in all probability have been the same. The only difference is 
 that we pay two or thi-ee doUars jDer ton more when we get the 
 special name. These special fertilizers for special crops may do very 
 well for gentlemen farmers, who can afl'ord to jilay at the business; 
 but we, who have to make our bread and butter from the soU, had 
 better let them alone. One of the best fertilizers, compared with its 
 cost, I have ever tried, was sent me last season under the name of 
 " rotten bone," price $1G per ton. I was solicited to try it by a gentle- 
 man who was placing this aiiiele on the market and who made 
 very strong claims for it. I ^vl•ote him, saying that if liis manure was 
 ■what he stated it to be, he might send me two or three tons. He sent me 
 three tons, which I applied, and the results, as I wi-ite (July 10th), 
 on mangels, jsotatoes, turnips aud fodder corn, seem to indicate that it 
 was a more valuable fertilizer than any that I have yet used. It was 
 put on broadcast, and harrowed in thoroughly with the Acme harrow, 
 at the rate of 1,500 pounds per acre, which at $16 per ton you will 
 see was an exceedingly cheap fertilizer. Whether it wUl hold out for 
 the following season I cannot tell, but will give it a further trial. 
 
 Q. Into what shape was it broken up? 
 
 A. It came in pieces about the size of peas, and contained a kind of 
 greasy substance that, when taking it in your hand, would leave a 
 mark. 
 
 Q. Is that article in commerce, or was it only by a special chance 
 that you got it? 
 
 A. I thinli it is in commerce, as I had recently a letter from the 
 jjarty fi'om whom I got it asking how it had turned out, as he had 
 more to dispose of. I do not know whether it is a part of the refuse 
 fi"om glue factories or not, but I have reason to believe that it is. 
 
 (Mr. H.) You are coiTect in this, as I had a sample of a similai' 
 substance, although it came to me without name from some glue 
 manufactorj- in Massachusetts. I gave it a thorough trial on grass 
 as a top dressing about the first of June. I examined the result 
 
32 How THK Farm Pats. 
 
 about tliirty day.s after aud the jfrass had developed to double the 
 leujjth on the area where I had tried it. To make the test com- 
 parative I sowed pure bone dust along-side of it, and found that there 
 was no apparent difference between the one and other, except that 
 this cost $1() i)er ton and bone dust costs $45. If it can be Dought 
 at $1G per ton and can be obtained in sufficient quantities, it ■nill 
 no doubt be of great value wherever fertilizers are needed. 
 
 How do you explain the beneficial results of this bone fertilizer 
 as compared with special fertilizers? 
 
 (Mr. C. ) In this way. A poor soil mostly needs three substances — 
 nitrogen, jiotash and i)hosphoric acid. But few soils are so i)oor as to 
 need all these. Potash is very abundant in nature, and it is phosphoric 
 acid that is usually most deficient. A special fertilizer contains all 
 these three substances and some othera. If the soil only needs one, 
 a farmer who Iniys a special fertilizer i^ays for more than he needs. 
 If he needs only phosphoric acid he can get that in this cheap bone 
 manure. It is evident that my soil needs phosphoric acid and shows 
 it by the effect of this bone, which is pretty nearly all phosi^hate of 
 lime. Then, you see, for $12 I get 1,500 lbs. of this fertilizer, which I 
 need, while for as much special fertilizer I should pay $37.50 and 
 pay money for what I do not want. There are glue factories all over 
 the coimtry, the refuse of which is most valuaVile, and fai'mers should 
 by no means neglect the opportunity of avaiUng themselves of it. 
 
 I am so impressed with its value as a fertilizer that I in- 
 tend at once ordering forty tons of it, and will apply it as a top dress- 
 ing on my grass lands the coming spring, at the rate of about 1,000 
 pounds per acre. 
 
 (Mr. H.) In my article on manures, ]\Ir. Crozier, I made no allusion 
 to lime or mai'l, which I have always held to have no fertilLziug proji- 
 erties of themselves, except inasmuch as they act to correct the acidity 
 of the soil, or to lighten heavy soils, or to give adhesiveness to soils that 
 are too Ught. In fact, I believe they ai'e beneficial for theu- mechanical 
 effects on almost everj' soil, unless such as are impregnated with 
 oyster shell deposit, which is found on lauds lying along the sea coast, 
 and in some cases for a considerable distance inland. On such soils 
 there is no benefit to be derived from the application of Hme, as there is 
 usually sufficient of it suppihed by the disintegration of the shell deposit. 
 
 (Sh: C.) I would agree with you so far in saying that I have never 
 found any fertilizing properties when hme was applied to such crops as 
 mangels or potatoes, but on ceresils, piuticuliu-ly wheat or oats, I 
 have found an application of 100 bushels per acre of pure stone lime, 
 when composted with double the amount of loam, to be one of the 
 most valuable fertilizers for such crops. 
 
Necessity fou Liberal Manuring. 33 
 
 Q. In what manner do you ajjjoly it ? 
 
 A. It should be sown broadcast after plowing, and then harrowed 
 in — not jjlowed under — but kept as near the top of the soil as pos- 
 sible. By this means I have received ten bushels of wheat per acre 
 more than by using horse manure jjut on at the rate of eight cords, 
 which is equal to twenty tons, to the acre. 
 
 (Mr. H.) I would like to remark, just here, in regard to gas lime, 
 that it is useless and injurious to any croia until the noxious gases in 
 it have been expelled by long exposure to the air. As this is a matter 
 of years, it would be well tor farmers to decline the very liberal offers 
 of gas companies, made for the purpose of getting rid of what is a 
 nuisance to them. 
 
 Q. In my aa-ticle on manures, Mr. Crozier, you took exception — 
 and I think with some reason — -to my suggestions about using muck 
 by spreading it in layers in the open cattle or hog yard. Will you 
 state what has been your experience with dried muck or other simi- 
 lar absorbents ? 
 
 A. My practice with such absorbents has been to use them for 
 bedding in the cow stables and box stalls in quantity sufficient to 
 absorb all the mine, which I consider to be more valuable than the 
 solid manm-e. I cart this mixed manure direct fi-om the cow stables 
 and sheds to the compost heap in the field, which in the spring of the 
 year is thoroughly turned over and broken up fine and made ready 
 to be spi'ead on the land after plowing, when, as I have before said, 
 it is harrowed and then plowed in lightly. So much am I impressed 
 with the necessity of heavy maniuing, that, contrary to the usual prac- 
 tice of farmers in my neighborhood, I not only use all the straw and 
 hay my own farm jsroduces, but buy besides an amount nearly equal 
 to what I produce. The result is, and I trust I may say so without 
 any feeling of egotism, that my crops pay me, acre for acre, much 
 better than any of my neighbors who do not follow this same practice. 
 
 (Mr. H. ) I entirely agree with you in your opinion that fai'ming 
 without sufficient manvuing can never be made so profitable as when 
 manure is freely applied. I have had no experience whatever in farm- 
 ing, strictly speaking, but as is well known, I have had Large experience 
 as a market gardener in the vicinity of New York, and I have found 
 that when any man was foolish enough to attempt to cultivate ten acres 
 with only a supply of manure enough for Ave, he rarely made money. 
 I have no doubt whatever that the same rule is equally applicable, 
 when the farmer attemjjts to cultivate 100 acres while only able to 
 prociu-e fertilizers enough for fifty. 
 
 (Mr. C. ) Many farmers think and believe they have not the means 
 to improve their lands or manure them liberally; but I say we nearly all 
 
34 How THK Fahm Pays. 
 
 have tlie means, to some extent, for in our many idle hours we 
 could gather sods from the roadside and leaves from the woods 
 and put them in heaps until needed for bedding for cattle (over the 
 absorbent material of course is placed a lieavy bed of straw), and these 
 when composted and turned over a few times would make the most valu- 
 able of manures for the average crops of the farm. If it were not rich 
 enough for certain crops, a mixture of bone or guano at the rate of 
 100 to 200 lbs. per acre would make it one of the very best fertilizers, 
 as, from the nature of such a comjiost, its value will be retained in 
 the land for years. 
 
 Q. Plaster is by some considered a valuable fertilizer. What expe- 
 rience have you had with it ? 
 
 A. I have used plaster to some extent. It is one of those fertilizers 
 which have a remarkable eft'ect upon some soils, while in other places 
 it has no effect at all. WTiere the soils are benefited by it, it is of 
 course advisable to use it. Its greatest effect is upon clover, and 
 where clover is used as a means of improving land, plaster is indis- 
 pensable. It is one of the cheapest of all fertilizers, and should by 
 all means be used where it is beneficial; this of course is to be proved 
 by a test. It is sown on clover grass or corn when tlie plants are young. 
 
 Q. In the foregoing article I have said siilt has little value as a fer- 
 tilizer excepting so far as it absorbs moisture, in the ■\'icinity of the 
 ocean, where jierhapa sufficient salt is brought on to the laud by the 
 sea fogs and rains. What has been your experience in this direction? 
 
 A. I have been in the habit of using GOO lbs. to the acre on my 
 mangel crop, and find it useful, and indeed necessary. I know wheat 
 growers who use it on this crop for the jjurpose of preventing rust, 
 stiffening the straw and improving the appeai'ance and quality of the 
 gi'ain, which I know it does. How it does this I don't pretend to 
 explain. I only mention the facts in my experience. 
 
 (Mr. H.) I know market gardeners in inland districts use salt hber- 
 all.y upon asparagus, thinking it useful for that crop. The iiile as to 
 quantity is to put on as nmcdi as will give the ground the appearance 
 of a sanded floor. I might say incidentally that salt is an excellent 
 means of clearing gravel walks of grass and weeds, as when liberally 
 used it is fatal to all sorts of vegetation. 
 
 Q. I believe you have used wood aslies very freely as a fertilizer. 
 What results have yo\i observed fi-om their use on different crops? 
 
 A. I liave used wood ashes very freely. But it is necessaiy to 
 mention that the wood ashes that are in the market have been leached 
 for making potash, and of coui-se are different fi-om unleached or 
 fresh ashes. As these cannot be purchased to any extent, I refer only 
 to the leached ashes which are brought to market in boat loads or car 
 
Gkeen Manuring. 35 
 
 loads. I have used these on ffrass lands, with great benefit, at the 
 rate of fifty to one hundi-ed bushels to the acre. As the ashes stay 
 in the soil for many years, it is best in my opinion to put them on 
 grass, and when the sod is broken up, the other crops get the benefit 
 from them. I think they are a valuable fertilizer for farmers who are 
 able to procure them at a reasonable jjrice. In boat or car loads near 
 the Citj- of New York, they sell for eighteen to twenty cents a bushel. 
 (Mr. H.) I am sui-e you are right. But I would go a little further, 
 and say that as wood ashes contain all the substance of the wood, 
 which of course is a vegetable product that has been taken from the 
 mineral part of the soil, ever>i;hing contained in them is of course 
 necessary to a growing plant and therefore there is no waste whatever 
 in them. Every part of them is valuable and they are necessarily 
 useful for any or all crops. I don't know of any plant or crop to 
 which they would not be useful. The question often comes up, if coal 
 ashes are not also useful. But coal is a mineral and not a vegetable, 
 and coal ashes do not therefore contain valuable fertihzing property 
 to any considerable extent. I consider their only use to be mechan- 
 ical, in loosening heavy soils, and in compacting light soils. 
 
 GREEN MANURING. 
 
 (Mr. C. ) The practice of growing crops for the purpose of plowing 
 them under to fertilize the soil, is one that can often be turned to 
 very great advantage. When a farmer has unforiunately become 
 possessed of a poor farm, there is no better way of cheaply improving 
 it than this. To procure an adequate supply of manui-e is rarely 
 possible, and at the best is a very costly process. But a crop that 
 may be easily grown in a few weeks, and then turned under, may 
 fui-nish to the soil as much fertilizing matter as eight or ten tons of 
 manure ; and the process may often be repeated two or three times in 
 one year. For instance, if land is plowed in October and sown to 
 rye, the lye may be tiu-ned under in May or June, and com may be 
 planted. This will be in full growth early in August, when it may also 
 be turned under, fiu-nishing ten or twelve tons more of valuable mat- 
 ter. In turning under so tall a crop as corn or rye the plow should 
 be run across the rows, and a heavy chain looped from the plow beam, 
 just ahead of the standard, to the land side end of the inner whiffle- 
 tree. This loop drags in the furrow, so as to catch the falling com 
 or rye, and pulls it down and into the fuiTOW so that the soil covers 
 it. To prevent the distiu-bance of the gi-een manure by the harrow 
 after this, tlie gi'ound should be rolled after the plowing, and then 
 han-owed with the smoothing or brush haiTOW, or worked with the 
 
36 How THK Fakm Pays. 
 
 Acme harrow. It may then be sown with rye, and with clover in 
 the spring; am] after the clover has been cut for hay, and the second 
 crop plowed ii', the laud may be brought under a regular course of 
 rotation as described in Chapter IV. Buckwheat is frequently used 
 for this pmijose, and is very valuable, as the seed costs but little, and 
 a crop may be sown in May and plowed in early in July, when a second 
 crop may be sown, and this plowed in, and the ground fitted for a 
 crop of rye as before mentioned. When buckwheat is thus used, it 
 will be advisable to give a di-essing of lime on the ground after the 
 second crop is plowed under, as this will decompose the gi'een matter 
 and greatly help the growth of the rye. 
 
 Clover is a very valuable gi-een manuring crop, and especially the 
 large variety known as the mammoth or pea vine clover, which 
 often makes a stem four or five feet long, and on poor soils produces 
 considerably more herbage than the common red kind. But as a 
 soil that will produce a sufiicient jield of clover, to be of much value 
 for plowing in, is past the stage when it will be profitable to grow 
 crops solely for mauurial purposes, clover is of more value for main- 
 taining land in good condition than for starting a course of improve- 
 ment. Growing clover, however, to be jDlowed under instead of manui'e, 
 may be made of the utmost value for the fertilizing of hilly land, or 
 for fields that are distant from the homestead, and which cannot be 
 conveniently supplied with manure from the barn-yard on this ac- 
 count. The late Hon. George Geddes, whose recent early death is 
 to be much regretted for the loss of an accomplished and successful 
 farmer, practiced this method for many years on his farm with entire 
 success. He sowed the most distant fields with clover along with 
 wheat; the clover gave a cro}) of hay the next year; it was then 
 dressed liberally with plaster, and the next year was plowed under 
 after being pastui'ed, and wheat again sowed. In tliis way, after fifty 
 years of cultivation by his father and himself, the land was kept suffi- 
 ciently rich to yield thu-ty-five or forty bushels of wheat to tiie acre 
 one year, give a large yield of hay the second year, pasture the third 
 year and wheat again the fourth year, and so on. Perhaps no better 
 instance than this can be given of the value of this kind of manuring 
 for preserving the fertility of the land. 
 
 FERTILIZING LAND BY FEEDING. 
 
 Another method of restoring a faim to a good condition, or of 
 keeping it fertile, is by feeding stock. This may be made very profit- 
 able in skUlful hands. Thousands of farmers in Pennsylvania, New 
 Jersey, New York and Ohio, and even further west, where the land 
 
Fertxlizing by Feeding Stock. 37 
 
 is not as rich as it once was, and where farmers are learning the value 
 of manure and the advantage of good farming, practice a regular 
 system of feeding animals to feed their land. They make hay, gi-ow 
 corn, roots, wheat, rye, potatoes, and make butter; sell the grain, 
 potatoes and butter, and feed hay, corn fodder, roots and straw, and 
 even purchase feeding stuffs, and buy lean stock in the early fall to 
 consume all these. The cattle or sheej) are turned on to the stubbles 
 and pastures as long as there is good feeding. They are then fed 
 during the winter on dry feed, and as they become fat and fit for 
 market are turned oif, so that by the spring they are all disjjosed of. 
 A steer weighing 1,200 lbs. and costing $40, is thus made to weigh 
 1,600 lbs. and sell for $80, or even more ; because there is not only the 
 increased weight made for the profit, but the increased value of a fat 
 animal for every pound of its weight over the value of a thin and un- 
 salable one. The feed is thus disposed of at a good price, and there 
 is a profit besides to pay for the labor. In addition, there is a large 
 quantity of manvu'e, which is worth much more than common barn- 
 yard manure because of the high feeding of the cattle. In a similar 
 way the owner of poor land may buy cattle, and all the fodder and 
 grain, and feed them, and make an equal profit as the farmers above 
 mentioned; because they charge the animals with the feed at market 
 price. There is then the manure left to go upon the land and increase 
 the next year's crop, which makes less purchased food necessary. As 
 the land improves, and the crops increase in yield, the profits of the 
 business are larger. In a few years it will be unnecessary to buy fod- 
 der, and the income from the farm will then be more satisfactory, be- 
 cause the expenses will be lessened considerably. In my long ex- 
 perience with different farms, and some of them very poor when I went 
 onto them, I have found this practice very successful. But cows are 
 more profitable to keep than fat stock, where there is a good market 
 for milk, and the owner can make an extra good article of butter. 
 
38 How THE Faum Pats. 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 PLOWING, HAKnOWING AND CULTn'ATIXG. 
 
 Q. As you and your men, ^Ir. Crozier, have bad almost a monop- 
 oly of the prizes piven for plowing oftered by the ilifferent faii-s in the 
 vicinity of New York within the jiast ten years, wiU you please state 
 what kind of a plow you consider the best fitted for general fiu'm 
 work? 
 
 A. I used the Scotch plows up to 1876, and always with the best 
 results, prefeiTing them up to that time to all makes of American 
 plows that I had tried. It was with these plows that we did the work 
 in competition for the piizes oftered by the different faii-s. All our 
 competitors used plows of American manufacture. At the trial at 
 Mineola, Queens Co., L. I., in 1872, where there was over $300 
 offered in piizes, we had upwaixls of thuiy comjietitors, idl of whom 
 u.sed American plows. In this test every prize offered was taken by 
 us with the Scotch plow. 
 
 Q. Are Scotch plows in anything like general use amongst the 
 fanners in the United States? 
 
 A. No. I have imported about fifty plows for different farmers. 
 I tliink that is about all there are in use. 
 
 Q. If they have shown such superiority as at the fair at Mineola, 
 how do you account for their nqt being more generally in use? 
 
 A. One objec-tiou is tlu ir cost, and their great weight also is an 
 objection against them among those unaccustomed to handling them. 
 
 Q. Do you still use the Scotch plow ? 
 
 A. No; I use an jVmerican steel plow which is made a good deal 
 after the pattern of the Scotcli ]ilow, but of lighter weight. I find 
 this plow is more convenient for handling in tiu'uing in small fields; 
 but were I operating on long stretches of prau'ie laud I would by all 
 means use the Scotch plow, because there, on long lines, the turning 
 would be no objection, and its advantage is that in laying the fuiTOw 
 in a clean, compact, unbroken strip at an angle of about fortj'-five 
 degrees, thus tui-niug the sod completely down, the sod decomposes 
 much better than if portions of it were irregularly tui'ned and broken 
 into fragments, as is the case, less or more, with the usual American 
 plow, with its bulging mold-board. The great improvement made in 
 American plows since 187(!, in the shape of the mold-boards, is 
 
Plowing. 
 
 39 
 
 obviating this diiiicultj' largely, aud I am now using these steel 
 plows exclusively. 
 
 Q. Griven the best plow for the work and a soil of usual depth, 
 
 what is the depth and width of a furrow you make with the plow you 
 now use? 
 
 A. I first square up the field, and mark out with four poles a 
 straight Hue ; the first and second furrows are plowed very lightly; 
 the thu-d farrow is run a little deeper, and the fourth is run the depth 
 
40 How THK Faum Pays. 
 
 I intend to plow. This is to ])revent making a high ridge in the 
 centre, and to bring the field to a level finish. I plow for corn seven 
 inches deep by nine inches wide; for oats, six by eight inches, and for 
 potatoes or root crops, nine by ten inches. 
 
 <}. My plan is somewhat different from yours. I open a double 
 furrow first to the full depth. Tlien I plow the soil back again, and 
 close the fun-ow, and then go on with the plowing. In this way every 
 part of the land is plowed to the full depth, which for some crops is 
 very important. AMiy do you make any distinction between the depth 
 you plow for oats and for com? I can understand whj' you make a 
 distinction between grain crops and root crops; but why do you 
 make a distinction between oats and com? 
 
 A. Oats have rather a tufted root and do not go down into the soil, 
 while corn will go down deeper, and it is necessary to give it plenty 
 of root space. In sowing oats, I find that the nearer the toj) of the 
 ground I can get them, the better. 
 
 Q. I think you have said that in soils similar to yours, where you 
 have twelve or fifteen inches depth of top soU, v\dth a sandy or gravelly 
 subsoil, there is no necessity for subsoiling ? 
 
 A. It would be useless to subsoil on such lands as we have here. 
 On sandy or gravelly loam I do not think there is any benefit in it 
 at all. I think it is rather an injury as far as my experience has gone. 
 
 Q. But in all cases where you have adhesive soils with stiff bottoms, 
 would you not think it an advantage, where time will admit? 
 
 BUBSOIL PLOW. 
 
 A. By all means in such cases subsoil what you can do thorouglily; 
 it is better to cultivate one acre right than to undertake ten and leave 
 such important work half done. The same amount of seed will be re- 
 quired, the same amount of plowing, harrowing, cultivating and hai-- 
 vesting must be done, and if subsoiling is left undone the crop will be 
 of little value on laud having day or hai-d gi-avel subsoils unless it is 
 stirred deep enough to allow the water to pass through. I used the 
 
Harrowing. 
 
 41 
 
 subsoil plow, which follows in the fuiTow after the ordinary plow, 
 loosening and stirring the cubsoil to a depth of ten or twelve inches. 
 In heavy subsoils two horses are necessary. 
 
 Q. When in Scotland some years ago I saw that steam plowing 
 was quite common. Do you know what has been the experience with it 
 in this countrj' ? 
 
 A. At first sight, it seems that in this country of machinery and 
 steam engines, steam plowing would be found of the widest use, if not a 
 necessity ; but the fact that to-day, I beheve, not one steam plow is 
 working in this country, shows there must be some obstacles which 
 cannot be got over. Several have been used in different localities — 
 in Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Cahfornia, Dakota and Minnesota — but 
 all seem to have failed of success. I think there are several reasons 
 for these failures: their cost is considerably greater here than it is 
 
 CHAIM HASBOW. 
 
 abroad; engineers' wages are higher; coal is dearer; but worst of 
 all for the steam plow, is the fact that we plow only for two or 
 three months in a year, and then the costly machine msts in idle- 
 ness or must be well cared for at great expense ; so that, in fact, the first 
 cost operates to restrict their purchase, and the great cost of operating 
 prevents them from being worked economically by those who have 
 tried them. 
 
 Q. After plowing comes the haiTowing. Please describe your 
 method. 
 
 A. In my experience vrith help, I have found ten men competent 
 to plow where I have been able to get one competent to harrow; not 
 that there is anj- more skiU required in harrowing than in plowing, 
 but from the fact that it is not so easy for the eye of the master to 
 
42 
 
 How THK Farm Pays. 
 
 detect bad work in harrowing, and consequently men indolent or 
 careless can run over the surface so that it may appeiu- to be well 
 done when it is not. For this reason, it is all-important to have a 
 full examination made of the work, for harrowiug has everything to 
 do \\-ith the welfare of the crop — to have the soil thoroughly disinte- 
 grated and pulverized. This harrowing should jienetrate to a depth 
 of five or six inches, in order that the soil may be thoroughly and 
 deeply worked. 
 
 Q. You take pretty strong ground in regard to harrowing. Give 
 me your ideas of what is good work and bad work in harrowing? 
 
 A. Let us take a newly plowed field; the soil is mostly in lumps, 
 small and large. A poor workman runs a harrow over the surface 
 
 and smooths it and makes it fine; it looks well, but it is bad work ; it is 
 bad because when one sows seed on such ground it works down 
 \inder the fine surface and among the lumps and clods, where it may 
 sprout, but soon dies because the soil is too loose and open and is 
 filled with air spaces. A good workman makes his harrow teeth work 
 down in the soil among the lumps at the bottom, and breaks these 
 up, or brings them to the surface, and so works the fine, pulverized 
 soil down where the seed will lie in it, and sprout and grow perfectly 
 because the soil is fine and compact ai-ound it. This is good work. 
 It may not look so smooth to the eye. but it is better for the crop. 
 
 Q. But this rough surface would not be suitable for seed; then I 
 presume the use of a roller would be necessiuy ? 
 
The Acme Harrow. 43 
 
 A. Yes — then the roller is used, followed again by tlie chain har- 
 row, so that the surface may be made level and smooth for the seed. 
 
 Q. Is the chain harrow you have referred to in speaking of manui-es 
 in general use ? 
 
 A. It is slowly coming into use as people become acquainted with, 
 it. Oiu" local blacksmith here has made for my sales alone over 
 sixty within the past two years. They weigh about 300 lbs. They 
 are eight feet long and five feet wide, and the diamond-shaped chain 
 link five by five inches. The haiTow is made of the best wrought iron, 
 and costs $40 finished and ready for the field. 
 
 Q. What harrow as a pulverizer do you consider the best? 
 
 A. I have heretofore used the imported Scotch harrow, which I 
 had found to be the best; but this season a trial of the American har- 
 row known as the Acme leads me to beheve that it will suj^ersede the 
 Scotch as a pulverizer or leveler, for it is the best implement I have 
 ever used for these pui-poses. 
 
 (Mr. H.) I am 2>leased to agree wdth you in this matter. After a 
 thorough trial this season with this harrow, I find it to be the best 
 implement I have ever used for the piu-pose of pulverizing and leveling 
 the soil. It is not only a harrow, but under certain conditions of the 
 soil it is to all intents and purjioses a gang of small plows; or, in other 
 words, in a soft or light soil you can plow the gi'ound just as thorouglily 
 for six feet wide as you can do it with the ordinary plow eight inches. 
 The great value of this implement induces us to use more space for a 
 description of it, and its uses, than wiU be probably given to any 
 other implement in this work. Upon this accoimt I would like to 
 give the views of a well known farmer, whose experience with 
 this imjjlement has been longer than mine, and who is a high 
 authority upon such subjects. This is Heniy Stewart, of Hackensack, 
 N. J., who, after using the harrow for six or seven years, says: "After 
 plowing, the soil is worked over with the Acme harrow and is 
 thoroughlj' broken np; the fiuTows are leveled; the whole soil to 
 the depth of four inches at least is disturbed as though a series of 
 small propeller screws passed through it; it is thoroughly mingled; 
 the upper portion, which has been exposed to the au', is turned under 
 and buried, and the whole soil is loosened up, broken and made mel- 
 low. This is the only implement, so far as I know, that does this neces- 
 sary work, and with this the best preparation for crops is easily possible. 
 That is to say, that the full effects desired cannot be obtained by, or 
 through, any other one implement than this; because it does aU that 
 a plow could do, and it does all that the harrow can do to pulverize 
 the soil, but it does what no mere harrow can possibly do in the way 
 of tiu'ning over the soil and presenting a fresh surface to the atmos- 
 
44 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 phere, and it does all that a cultivator can do, without the objection- 
 able eflfects of that implement; and lastly, it does all that a roller can 
 do in the way of pulverizing cloddy soil, without the objectionable 
 effects of that implement in packing the soil so closely that the air 
 cannot penetrate it." 
 
 Q. You make a distinction between what you would call leveling 
 the soU and smootliing it, do you not? 
 
 A. Yes. For instance, the Acme harrow levels and pulverizes the 
 soil, while the Chain hiurow smooths the surface. 
 
 Q. When you say that you haiTOW your manure after spreading it 
 on the land (wliich I believe is an excellent plan, and one that was 
 entirely new to me), what harrow do you use for that pui-pose? 
 
 A. I would by all means use the Acme or a similai- han'ow, as for 
 that purpose we require to mix in part with the soil. The gi'eat ad- 
 va:itage of the Acme haiTOW for working up the manure, would be 
 that you can regulate the depth of the teeth at will. 
 
 (Mr. H.) Jn my experience among our market gai'deners, where the 
 pulverization of the soil is as perfect as we can get it for the reception 
 of small seeds, I have used for the past two yeai-s a smoothing harrow 
 known as the Disc harrow, which consists of some sixty shaq) discs 
 placed on revolving shafts, so as to cut the soil to a depth of three 
 inches by one inch in width, which fines and levels the gi-ouud as 
 completely as can be done with a steel rake in the hands of an expert 
 workman, but whether such an imj)lement would answer the puiiiose 
 as well for the requirements of a farm as the Chain or Acme harrow 
 I am not able to say. 
 
 THE I>I*^" HARROW. 
 
 (Mr. C.) One gj-eat advantage of the Acme haiTow over all others 
 is the disposition of the teeth, which are so jslaced that on sod that 
 has been plowed it cuts and i>ulverizes it, wthout di-agging it to the 
 surface. The present season I turned down a piece of sod on which 
 I sowed mangels and planted potatoes. The thoroughness of the 
 cultivation by the use of this implement was such, that I was enabled 
 to work the land up in ridges — which is my usual practice with such 
 crops — as easily as if it had been stubble land. 
 
 Q. "What do you deem a proper day's work for plowing for a man 
 and team? 
 
CULTR'ATLNO. 45 
 
 A. One acre on sod land and one acre and one-fovu-tli on stubble. 
 
 Q. What area should a man and a pair of horses harrow in a day, 
 to do it properly, with the Acme or other haiTow? 
 
 A. From four to five acres, to do it thoroughly. 
 
 Q. Of eoui'se you are awaa-e that about twice that area is han-owed 
 when done in the ordinary way? 
 
 A. Yes, and even more. But I consider that such labor thor- 
 oughly done is the best investment the farmer can make. My expe- 
 rience of thirty years has been varied and extensive, and every suc- 
 ceeding year only impresses the more strongly upon me the fact, 
 that to get good croj)s you must have thorough pulverization of the 
 soil. 
 
 Q. Of course you use the vai-ious kinds of cultivators for the various 
 crops. "What implement do you at present use for cultivating corn? 
 
 A. Cultivators are now so varied and improving every year, that 
 it is hard to say that any particvdai- one is the best. There are many 
 
 , CTTXTIVATOIt ANX> HORSE HOE. 
 
 patterns more or less valuable. My rule in all such things, when jiur- 
 chasing at an implement or a seed warehouse, is to ask what tool is 
 in largest demand for a certain purjiose, and I usually find that the 
 public in the long n.in finds out which is the best article, and that the 
 article most in demand is the one iisuaUy having the most merit. At 
 present I have found that the cultivator known as the Planet, Jr., 
 Horse Hoe, does the best work in this way, and as it is mostly used in 
 this vicinity, pubhc opinion bears me out in mine. 
 
 (Mr. H.) I agi-ee with you in that entirely, and as a seedsman I can 
 well endorse it ; for whenever a customer asks for any particular tool. 
 
4G How THE Faum Pavs. 
 
 the answer I make to him (unless I Lave certain knowledge myself of 
 the subject), is to go and ask the clerk liaving charge of that depart- 
 ment to select for him Uie kind that is in most general demand, and 
 as a rule it wiU be such as is the best. However, I may state tliat I 
 have used for nearly twenty-five years a simple form of cultivator 
 — which any blacksmith can make — known as the HaiTow-tooth 
 Cultivator. It is merely a triangular' harrow having from twelve to 
 sixteen teeth, which we use to stir up the soil almost immediately after 
 a crop has been sown or planted, and this we continue to do once a 
 week or so, between tlie rows, until it may become necessary to use 
 (in particular crops) a cultivator to work deeper, such as the Planet, 
 Jr. But the use of this Harrow-tooth cultivator is of great im- 
 portance in checking the lirst growth of weeds, and as it is light and 
 easily worked, a vast amount of labor can be saved by using it often 
 enough, so that the weeds will nerer be allowed to be seen. 
 
 Q. Do you make much use of the roUer on your fanu, ilr. Crozier? 
 
 A. I used it on all crops and particularly on my pastures early in 
 the spring. I thoroughly beUeve in the jiractice which you so per- 
 sistently advocate, of firming the soil for all seeds and plants. You, 
 in your Hmited areas in market gardening, can afibrd to do this with 
 the feet, which probably there answers the purpose of finning the 
 
 riELD BOLLEB. 
 
 seeds or plants better than the roller, but on a farm that, of coui-se, 
 would be impracticable; but, whatever method is used, the principle 
 should never lie neglected, of compacting the earth around newly sown 
 or planted crops, especially in hot, dry weather, and particularly so 
 on loose and porous soils. 
 
 While you, as a gardener, advocate the use of the feet to finn 
 the soU, in sowing and planting, I, as a farmer, advocate the use 
 of the roller. Tlio object in both is the same; and I am satisfied 
 beyond any shadow of a doubt, that millions and milhons of dollare 
 are annually lost to the fai-ming communitv, through a want of the 
 
Rolling. 47 
 
 knowledge of the vast importance of firming the soil over the seed. 
 This is particvdarly the case with buckwheat, turnijjs and other crops 
 that are sown fi'om the mouth of July until September, as at such 
 seasons we very often have long-continued di'oughts, and the soil is 
 like a hot ash heap, and to expect germination from small seeds when 
 sown in such soUs, without being firmed against the entrance of the 
 hot ail", is just about as useless as if we threw them in the fire. 
 
 (Mr. H.) I consider this subject of so great importance, that I think 
 we should take the liberty to again j)rint here the article which I 
 read before the National Association of Nui-serymen held at Cleveland, 
 O., in June of 1879, entitled "The Use of the Feet in Sowdng and 
 Planting." I have written a great deal on horticultural subjects in 
 the last twenty years, but I think (and I say this advisedly) 
 that the value of this article to the horticultural and agricultural 
 community is more than the whole I have ever written, put 
 together, and I have great satisfaction in knowing that thousands 
 of men have thanked me for impressing so strongly the necessity 
 for this work. This article has been reprinted in thousands 
 of newspapers in the past four years, but if it, or some other 
 similar advice on the necessity of firming the soil after sowing, was 
 ever jjlaced before the eyes of the farming community and acted upon, 
 thousands would be saved from mourning the loss of wasted seed, 
 manure and labor; for in a country vast as ours, a new crop of inex- 
 perienced men are annually engaging in farming and gardening. 
 In no European work on farming or gardening that I have ever seen, 
 has the importance of what we have so strongly argued for been 
 referred to, probably for the reason that in the cooler and more humid 
 atmosphere of most Eirropean countries the necessity is not so great. 
 
 THE USE OF THE FEET IN SOWING AND PLANTING. 
 
 [Read before the National Association of Nurserymen held at CleYeland, O.. in June. 1879.] 
 
 It may be useless to throw out any suggestions in relation to horti- 
 cultm-al operations to such a body of practical men as is now bsfore 
 me. Yet I candidly admit that, although I have been extensively 
 engaged in gardening operations for over a cjuarter of a century, I did 
 not fully realize, until a few years ago, the full importance of how 
 indispensable it was to use the feet in the operations of sowing and 
 planting. 
 
 Tor some years past I have, in writing on gardening matters, 
 insisted upon the great importance of "firming" the soil over the 
 
48 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 seeds after sowing, especially when the soil is dry, or likely to be- 
 come so. I know of no operation of more importance in either the 
 farm or garden, and I trust that what I am about to say will be read 
 and remembered by every one not j^et awai-e of the vast importance 
 of the practice. I say " vast importance," for the loss to the agricul- 
 tural and horticultural community, from the habit of looselj' sowing 
 seeds or planting plants in hot and dry soils, is of a magnitude which 
 few will beheve, until thej' have witnessed it; and it is a loss all the 
 more to be regretted, when we know that by ' ' finning " the soil 
 around the seed or plant, there is, in most cases, a certain pre- 
 ventive. 
 
 Particularly in the sowing of seeds, I consider the matter of such 
 vast importance, that it cannot be too often or too strongly told; for 
 the loss to the agriculturfd and horticultural community, by the 
 neglect of the simple operation of firming the soQ around the seed, 
 must amount to many miUions annually. For the mischief done is 
 not confined only to the less important garden operations, but even 
 corn, cotton, wheat, turnips and other important crops of the farm, 
 often fail, in hot and dry soUs, by being sown without being firmed 
 sufficiently to prevent the dry air shriveUng or drying the seeds. Of 
 course, the use of the feet is impracticable in finning seeds on the 
 farm, but a heavy roller, applied after sowing, is an absolute necessity 
 under certain conditions of the soil, to ensure perfect germination. 
 From the middle of April to neai'ly the end of May of this year, in 
 many sections of the country, there was Uttle or no rain. Such 
 was particularly the case in the vicinity of New York City, where we 
 have hundreds of market gardeners, who cultivate thousands of acres 
 of cabbage, cauUfiower and celery, but the ' ' dry spring " has played 
 sad havoc with their seed-beds. Celery is not one-foiu-th of a crop, and 
 cabbage and cauliflower hardly half, and this failure is due to no 
 other cause than that they persist in sowing their seeds without even 
 taking the precaution to firm the soil by roUing. 
 
 We sow annually about four acres of celery, cabbage and cauli- 
 flower plants, which produce probably five millions in number, and 
 which we never fail to sell mostly in our immediate neighborhood, to 
 the market gardeners, who liave, many of them, even better facihties 
 than we have for raising these plants, if they would only do as we do, 
 fimi the seed after sowing, whi?h is done thus: 
 
 After plowing, hjuTowing and levehug the land smoothly, lines are 
 drawn by the " marker," which makes a fun-ow about two inches deep 
 and a foot apiu-t ; after the man who sows the seed follows another, 
 who, wth the ball of the right foot, presses down his full weight on 
 every inch of soil in the drill where the seed has been sown; the rows 
 
Firming the Soil. 49 
 
 are then lightly leveled longitudinally with the rake, a light roller is 
 passed over them, and the operation is done. 
 
 By this method oui- crop has never once failed, and what is true of 
 celery and cabbage seed is nearly true of all other seeds requiring to 
 be sown during the late spring or summer mouths. 
 
 On July 2d of 1874, as an experiment, I sowed twelve rows of 
 sweet corn and twelve rows of beets, treading in, after sowing, every 
 alternate row of each. In both cases, those trod in came up in four 
 days, whUe those unfirmed remained twelve days before starting, and 
 would not then have germinated had not raiu fallen, for the soil was 
 dry as dust when the seed was sown. 
 
 The result was, that the seeds that had been trodden in grew fi-eely 
 from the start, and matui'ed their crops to a mai'ketable condition by 
 fall; while the rows unfirmed did not mature, as they were not only 
 eight days later in germinating, but the plants were also, to some 
 extent, enfeebled by being partially dried in the loose, drj' soil. 
 
 This experiment was a most useful one, for it proved that a corn 
 crop, sown in the vicinity of New York as late as July 2d, could be 
 made to produce "roasting ears" in October, when they never fail to 
 sell fi'eely at high rates, but the crop would not mature unless the seed 
 germinated at once, and which would never be certain at that dry and 
 hot season, unless by this method. 
 
 The same season, in August, I treated seeds of turnips and spinach 
 in the same way. Those trod in genninated at once and made an ex- 
 cellent crop, while those unfirmed germinated feebly, and were 
 eventually nearly all burned out by a continuance of dry, hot ail- 
 penetrating through the loose soil to the tender rootlets. 
 
 I beg to caution the inexperienced, however, by no means to tread or 
 roll in seed it the ground is not dry. The soil maj' often be ia a suit- 
 able condition to sow, and yet may be too damjj to be trodden upon 
 or rolled. In such cases these operations may not be necessary at all, 
 for if rainy weather ensue, the seeds will germinate of coui-se ; but if 
 there is any likelihood of a continued di'ought, the treading or roUing 
 may be done a week or more after the seed has been sown, if there is 
 any reason to believe that it may sufi'er fi-om the dry, hot aii\ Another 
 very important advantage gained by treading in the seed is, that when 
 we have crops of beets, celery, turnips, si^inach, or anything else that 
 is sown in rows, the seeds to form the crop come up at once ; while 
 the seeds of the weeds, that are just as liable to perish by the heat as 
 are those of the crop, are retarded. Such of the weed seeds as lie in 
 the space between the rows when the soil is loose, will not germinate 
 as ciuickly as those of the crop sown; and hence we can cultivate 
 between the rows before the weeds germinate at all. 
 
50 How THE Fakm Pays. 
 
 Of tom-se, this rule of treading in or firming seeds after sowing 
 must not be blindly followed. Very earlj- in spring or late iu fall, 
 when the soil is damp and there is no danger fi-om heated, diy air, 
 there is no necessity for doing so. 
 
 Now, if firming the soil around seed, to protect it fi-om the influence 
 of a dry and hot atmosphere, is a necessity, it is obvious that it is more 
 so in the case of plants whose rootlets are even more sensitive to such 
 influence than the donnant seed. 
 
 Experienced professional horticulturists, however, are less likely to 
 neglect this than to neglect in the case of seeds, for the damage from 
 such neglect is easier to be seen, and hence better understood bj- the 
 practical nurseryman; but with the inexperienced amateur the case 
 is difierent. "When he receives his package of trees or plants fi-om the 
 niu-seryman, he handles them as if they were glass, every broken twig 
 or root calls forth a complaint, and he proceeds to plant them, gingerly 
 straightening out each root and sifting the soil around them, but 
 he would no more stamp down that soil than he would stamiJ on the 
 soil of his mother's grave. So the plant, in nine cases out of ten, is 
 left loose and waggUng; the dry air penetrates through the soil to its 
 roots; the winds shake it; it shrivels up and fails to grow; and then 
 come the anathemas on the head of the unfortunate nurseryman, who 
 is charged with selling him dead trees or plants. 
 
 About a month ago I sent a package of a dozen roses by mail to a 
 lady in Savannah. She ^vl■ote me a woful story last week, saying 
 that, though the roses had amved seemingly all right, they had all 
 tlied but one, and what was very singular, she said, the one that lived 
 was the one that Mr. Jones had stepped on, and which she had thought 
 sm-e was crushed to death, for Mr. Jones weighs 200 lbs. Now, 
 though I do not advise any gentleman of 200 lbs. putting his brogau 
 on the top of a tender rose plant, as a practice conducive to its health, 
 yet, if Mrs. Jones could have allowed her weighty lord to press the 
 soil against the root of each of her dozen roses, I much doubt if she 
 would now have to mourn their loss. 
 
 It has often been a wonder to many of us, who have been workers 
 in the soil for a generation, how some of the simplest methods of cul- 
 ture have not been practiced until we wei"e nearly done with life's work. 
 
 There are few of us but have had such experience; personally, I 
 must say that I never i)ass through a year but I am confounded to 
 find that some operation can not only be cjuieker done, but better 
 done, than we have been in the habit of doing it. 
 
 These improvements loom up from various causes, but mainly from 
 suggestions thrown out by our employees in charge of sjjecial de- 
 ])artments, a system which we do all in oui' power to encourage. 
 
Value of Improved Methods. 51 
 
 As a f)roof of the value of such improvements wliicli have led to 
 simplifj'ing our operations, I ■wall state the fact that though my area 
 of greenhouse sui-face is now more than double that which it was in 
 1870, and the land used in our florist's business is one-third more, 
 the number of hands employed is less now than in 1870, and yet, at 
 the same time, the quality of our stock is infinitely better now than 
 then. 
 
 ^Miether it is the higher price of labor in this country, that forces 
 us into labor-saving expedients, or the interchange of opinions fi'om 
 the greater number of nationalities centering here, that gives us 
 broader views of cultui-e, I am not prepared to state ; but that America 
 is now selling nearly all the j^roducts of the greenhouse, garden, nursery 
 and farm lower than is done in Eiu'ope, admits of no question; 
 and if my homely suggestions in this ruatter of firming the soil around 
 newly planted seeds or plants will in any degi'ee assist us in atill 
 holding to the front, I shall be gratified. 
 
52 How THE Fahm Pavs. 
 
 CIL\PTER IV. 
 
 KOTATION OF CROPS. 
 
 Q. Wlien we begin cultivatiou of land that lias not been pre- 
 viously cropped, whether in the natural meadow or in brush or wood- 
 land, the first operation is to get the land in condition for tillage, 
 "WUI you please state. ^Ir. Crozier, what has been your plan of oper- 
 ating on lands of this kind ? 
 
 A. Jly method has been to prepare the land for the plow (if brush 
 land) bj- first removing the brush by the use of binish scythes or 
 brush hooks and burning it on the land. If there are many roots, 
 I put three horses abreast on a heavy plow and turn the soU eight or 
 nine inches deep; I then spread on manure accortling to the neces- 
 sities of the land; harrow it in thoroughly; mark both ways with a 
 plow, thi-ee and a half feet, ready for corn. I plant my corn in hiUs, 
 cover it with a hoe, and run a heavy roller over the whole surface. 
 As soon as the young corn appears I keej) the cultivatoi-s moving 
 through it both ways until the corn gets too high to cultivate. I do 
 not hiU it uji, as I prefer fiat culture for this crop. 
 
 Q. On such land how much manure per acre do you use ? 
 
 A. It would be difficult to name a specific quantity, as so much 
 would depend upon the necessities of the soU — upon how much 
 leaf mould there might be on it. I would say, however, that in my 
 operations here on such soils I have used about twenty-five two-hoi-se 
 loads to the acre. I have actually produced (by measurement of a 
 committee fi-om the New York Farmers' Club) 240 bushels of eai-s of 
 corn, per acre, fi-om virgin soil. Continuing my method of culture: 
 in the fall, after the corn is taken oft' the field, the land is again thor- 
 oughly plowed and left through the printer. In the spi'ing it is hai'- 
 rowed and plowed again and sowed with oats and jieas, sowing part 
 in oats, and part in oats and peas mixed, which we use as a soiling 
 croj). The thiid year I })lant with roots and fodder corn, thoroughly 
 manured. The fourth year, seed down to grass with oats. 
 
 Q. What vaiiety of corn was it you refer to as producing 240 
 bushels of ears to the acre '? 
 
 A. It was a large yellow fiintcom. Tlie eai"swere twelve rowed and 
 verj- long, and filled out to the end, and Uie cob was small. Although 
 
VARIETrES OF CoRX. 
 
 53 
 
 CHEbTER COUNTl ilAilMU 
 
 there is a good deal in the vaiietj-, yet there is a good deal, too, in the 
 chai'acter of the soil and the cultivation. Probabl}' the well known 
 Tariety, King P hilli p-), or any other good kind, suited to this northern 
 locality, would have done as well under the same circumstances. But it 
 is an all- imjiortant matter, that a farmer should choose a suitable variety 
 of seed for his climate. For instance, the corn crop this season (1883) 
 in Michigan and Wisconsin has generaUj- failed, because the most of 
 the seed planted was brought from Kansas and Nebraska, where the 
 season is much longer than in the north, and more time is requu-ed 
 for corn to ripen. Had they got their seed from any other northern 
 locahty they would probably have been safe. Just now there are a 
 number of very promising new vaiieties of com making then- appear- 
 ance. It would be ^nse 
 '^Y' ^. yT^. 'T^^r^''!^ ^^ffr" -r for farmers to test these 
 
 '•v<^X; ^__^___ 'J^J^',ry-(+ rt-rhWi^TJ^ judiciouslj' lu a smaU 
 
 way at first, that their 
 adaiDtation to sjjecial 
 chmates may be tested. 
 Among these might be 
 mentioned the two ex- 
 cellent kinds, Golden 
 Beauty and Chester 
 Count}- Mammoth, but 
 with the proviso that 
 these should only be planted where there are at least 100 days of 
 safe growing season. 
 
 Q. This mode of culture you describe, Mr. Crozier, is the one you 
 followed on your farm here. For what pui-pose was your farming 
 land intended? 
 
 A. It was intended for a dairy and stock farm, and the prej)arations 
 to the fourth year were simply laying a broad foundation for my 
 futui-e work. The fifth yeai" com, wheat, rye, oats, peas, mangels 
 and turnips were my general crops. 
 
 Q. Having detailed yoiu' method of laying the foundation, as you 
 term it, wUl j'ou now describe your system of gi'owing root crops, 
 beginning -uith potatoes ? 
 
 A. My plan of growing potatoes is to plow, and maniu'e broadcast 
 at the rate of ten or twelve loads per acre, as I never lose sight of 
 what is to come after, and roU the gTouud well before fuiTowing. 
 The ground can never be furrowed so well when it is loose as when it is 
 made firm by the use of the roUer, and my practice has always 
 been, no matter what length the I'ows, they must be straight and of 
 even width. When the fuiTows ai'e marked out three feet apart, I 
 
54 How THE Farm Pats. 
 
 also insuiuie at the rate of five loails ^ler aci-e in tlie fiuTows. I plant 
 the liu-f^est potatoes cut lengthwise in two parts, dropped fifteen inches 
 apart in the rows, and cover with the plow about four inches, and 
 before the sprouts come throu-^'h the gi-ound haiTow with the 
 chain haiTOw or mth a light sloping tooth hiuTOw, the object 
 being to breivk the cmst to a depth of an inch or two and to destroy 
 the weeds in the embryo state. The after cultivation is done with the 
 hoe and cultivator. In gathering, plow out with the double fiuTow 
 plow, pick up, put in pits or the cellw. The largest of the potatoes 
 ai-e mai-keted if the price is good. If it is not, they are fed to the 
 stock with the small ones. 
 
 Q. At what price do you consider they should be sold rather than 
 fed to the stock ? 
 
 A. Forty cents per bushel. If less than that, it would pay better 
 to feed them to cattle or hogs. In fact, it has always been my practice 
 to feed ever^ihing raised on the fai-m, unless the mai'ket price was 
 such as would justify disposing of it at a fair profit. 
 
 Q. Have j'ou ever had any ti'ouble, in feedhig potatoes to cows, fi'om 
 the danger of their choking, and if so how do you guai'd against that 
 danger ? I remember when a boy of many a good cow l>eing choked 
 by potatoes . 
 
 A. To prevent any possibUity of choking I run the potatoes thi-ough 
 my " pulper " or root cutter, but cattle occasionally get choked with 
 apples and potatoes which they pickup out-doors. In such cases there 
 is no other remedy but the jn-obang — a flexible instrument with a 
 
 T-'O^^^ 
 
 ■^WWVWUWVarLr^ 
 
 corkscrew in the lower end, to In-ing up the potato or apple, if it will 
 come — if not, it must be shoved do-n-n into the stomach. A method 
 which has been used when the obstacle cannot be removed by the 
 probaug, is to crush the root in the tluroat by a sharp blow of a 
 mallet, a block of wood being held on the other side. This has 
 saved animals which would have l>een lost without it. (The probang, 
 shown in the illustration, consists of a flexible tube, which is pushed 
 down the throat until it meets the obstacle, when, if this cannot be 
 
CULTDRE OF POTATOES. 55 
 
 pushed down, the tiexible rod with the corkscrew at the end is 
 l^ushed down the tube, and the obstacle is then caught and (b-awnujj.) 
 
 Q. I presume, of course, you are thoroughlj- familiar with the end- 
 less discussions that have been in the jjapers for the last twenty years 
 on the Cjuestion of what kinds of potatoes we should use for seed — 
 whether they should be small or large, whether cut or in single eyes, 
 or cut in halves. "VMiat has been your practice and the result of it? 
 
 A. I have always practiced, with the exception of experiments, to 
 choose the largest potatoes, and cut fi-om the toj) end through to 
 the butt, straight, making two pieces of each, thus giving the seed 
 ample substance. In mj' experience in cutting to single eyes I liave 
 never had much success in getting a full crop. 
 
 (111-. H.) Although I have grown but few potatoes, I think my 
 general experience in horticultiu'e will warrant me in saj-ing that the 
 result of the practice of cutting the jDotatoes to single eyes, or even 
 two eyes, unless a good portion of what may be called the nutritious 
 substance of the potato is left, can never be good, because this sub- 
 stance of the potato is absoluteh- necessary to .sustain the bud or eye 
 until it starts. Experiments with beans and peas that have been 
 attacked by the weevil, where the whole or ijortions of this pabulum 
 of the seed has been eaten out, have shown so clearly, by frequent 
 and cai-eful trials, that when the pabulum of the seed is com- 
 j)letely exhausted, the seed germ will not start at ah, and that 
 when it is partially exhausted it will start feebly, and make a 
 weak plant. This undoubtedly must be true of the tuber of the potato 
 as weU as the seed of the pea or bean. Nature provides this sub- 
 stance for the germ or bud to feed on until it is able to take care of 
 itself, and if you rob it of its sustenance you must pay the penalty. 
 I know well that it is often the custom when new potatoes are intro- 
 duced to cut them up into single eyes, in the hoj)e of producing a 
 larger crop from the costly seed; but I doubt very much if any 
 additional weight of crop wUl be gained, and undoubtedly the vitality 
 of the roots will be weakened for future products, if wanted for that 
 pui'pose, which, with new potatoes, is generally the case ; as of coui'se 
 when piu'chased at two or tlu-ee doUars per jjound, as in the case of 
 the Early Rose, men do not jslant such potatoes to eat the first year. 
 I remember very well, when the Early Rose variety was introduced, 
 that I piu'chased a tuber weighing live ounces. 
 
 In April I cut this five-ounce potato in two pieces, so that each 
 surface would present the greatest number of eyes. I then placed 
 them on a shelf, keeping them entirely dry until the cut part had 
 healed over, when they were placed on soil on the bench 
 of the greenliouse. The shoots soon began to start from the 
 
5() How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 eyes, the tenii)t'rnturf of the {sreenbouse averapn^r, peiliaps, seveuty- 
 live {le<;;i-ees. 
 
 As soon as the shoots got to be three or four inches iu len^^'th, they 
 were c-nt ofl' about oue-fonrtli of an inc-h from the surface of the i)otato, 
 or fai- enouf,'h firom the surface so as not to injure the dormant eyes 
 that were yet to start. The shps were then phicecl in the jirop- 
 agating house, and sliaded and watered until rooted in the usual way. 
 They were then potted in small i)ots, iu ordinary soil, and started to 
 grow in the same temiieratui-e in which the jiotato had been placed. 
 As the season advanced, shoots in great numbers were thrown out by 
 the potato, which, in turn, were submitted to the same process of 
 rooting. As the first shoots grew to lengths of five or six inches 
 the tojjs were cut from these and used as cuttings, so that by the end 
 of May this sniiJl potato of five ounces had given me neai-ly 150 
 plants, every one of which was equal to a "set" made from a tuber. 
 These were jjlantrd out on the first week in June, in land very ill 
 suited for the growth of the jsotato, and the croj), when dug, 
 weighed exactly 450 pounds, or an increase of about 1,800 fold. 
 It may be asked if this process is of any jjractical value, or whether 
 it will pay. It is not claimed that there is any use in the practice 
 when potatoes are sold at ordinary rates; but, when they are sold 
 at the rates even yet paid for new varieties, there is no doubt 
 of its utility. For instance: one pound of potatoes so grown ■will 
 easily produce 500 jilants, making 500 hiUs, which, with ordinary cul- 
 tm-e, will give three pounds jior hill or 1,500 pounds. The jirocess of 
 rooting the sli])s is neither difhcult nor costly, and can be done 
 in a common hot-bed. The ordinary hot-bed sash, four by six 
 feet, will hold OOO plants, if placed in the soil of the hot-lied just 
 as lettuce or ('abbage plants are planted out, and treated much in the 
 same way by careful shading and watering \intil the cuttings have 
 rooted. These, as they grow, make other cuttings from the tojj, 
 as before described. Without resorting to the glass propaga- 
 tion at all, a potato crop may be doubled or trebled in quan- 
 tity by "slipjiing" the shoots, and planting them out at once in 
 the field, if there is a continuance of rainy weather for two or thi-ee 
 days at the time. This should be done in June. The thinning out 
 of shoots fi-om the regular jjlanting will do no injury to the 
 plants. It is not claimed that the growing of potatoes in this 
 way is new; in fact, it may be doubted if there is much new in 
 agriculture; processes that are suggested to us 1)V cii'cumstances 
 to-day may have been practiced by others centuries ago, and if pub- 
 lished to the world at all have long since been forgotten; but there 
 is little doubt that this ]>ractiro of growing potatoes from cuttings 
 
EXEJIIES OF THE PoTATO. 57 
 
 ■will be new to many who will read this book, tbough the principles 
 involved, and, perhaj^s, the practice followed, have been long known 
 to many farmers and gardeners of experience. 
 
 Although this system of propagating the j^otato may be of very 
 Uttle use to the farmer in a general way, when there is jjlenty of seed, 
 yet whenever he invests at the rate of one or two dollars per pound 
 for new varieties it will be worth his while to try it, and he may be 
 assured that if properly done it will give good results. 
 
 POTATO DISEASES AND IXSECTS. 
 
 Qthr. H.) The potato disease which has frequently been so dis- 
 astrous iu Ireland and j)arts of Scotland has never been devastating 
 here. There is but Uttle doubt that it is a parasitical fvmgus of some 
 kind, for which all remedies are useless when the crop is attacked. 
 Like aU diseases of this kind, the only help we have is prevention. 
 As far as experiments have gone, they have shown that potatoes are 
 always less Uable to attacks of disease or rot if planted in new laud 
 broken up fi'om the sod, or at least that which has not been long iu 
 cultivation. Another enemy to this crop is the well known striped 
 potato beetle. Fortunately, for this pest we have a certain remedy 
 in the use of Paris green, which may be put on either by dusting 
 while the dew is on the leaves in the morning, or after a rain, or else 
 in a liquid fonn of one ounce of Paris gi'een to ten gallons of water. 
 But whichever way it is appUed, it should be begun at the very first 
 appearance of the beetles. If they once get a foothold, they increase 
 so rapidly that often the crop is destroyed before the remedy can be 
 of any avaQ. Paris green being a deadly poison, it is absolutely 
 necessary that fields on which jjotatoes are growing should be pro- 
 tected from cattle. It is sometimes supposed that danger might 
 arise from the use of the Paris green affecting the potato tubers. 
 There need be no fear of this, as the tubers do not in any way 
 absorb it. 
 
 The disease known as the potato rot is a vegetable parasite which 
 gi-ows within the substance of the pilant, and affects the leaves, stems 
 and tubei's, as is well known. Some part of its Ufe history is known; 
 and while all is not known, yet enough has been learned to give us 
 some indications of how it may be prevented, for as to ciu'e when 
 once the plants have been attacked, there is and can be none, because 
 of the impossibOity of applying any remedy. The parasitic plant, a 
 species of fungus, propagates itself by means of spores, which are the 
 seed. The spores matui-e iu the leaves and stems, as well as the 
 
58 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 tubei-s. To prevent its fui-tber spread by infection of tbe gi-ound, as 
 far as we can we should gather the vines and leaves when tlie crop 
 is dug and bui-u theiu. Also cook and feed the affected tubers to 
 pigs and pi-eseiTo onlj' sound ones for next year's seed. This will 
 help us as far, probably, as we Lave learned how to go. I have heard 
 that it prevents the spread of the disease in the stored potatoes to 
 sprinkle them fi-eily and thoroughly with aii'-slaked lime, but I have 
 no personal experience of that. From mj- experience with the fumes 
 of sulphur in destroying mildew and all other parasitic life, I am of 
 opinion that sulphur biu'ned in places where potatoes are kept would 
 aiTest the sjiread of disease. 
 
 The simplest method of applying the sulphiu" fumes is to sprinMe 
 flowers of sulphui- on sheets of paper, roll these up and bum them so 
 as to keep a continuous supply of the fumes to saturate the air of 
 the cellar' for four or live days. This is a cheap and simple appUca- 
 tion which I think would be eti'ective. It would be useless to apply 
 sulphur in any other way, as it must be volatilized by heat. 
 
 SWEET POTATOES. 
 
 Although sweet potatoes can hai'dly be called a crop for the farm 
 in the ueighborhovidofNewYork, yet in the Southern States it is one 
 of the leading farm ju'oducts, and it is even grown successfully as far 
 north as New Jersey. The plants are raised in hot-beds from so-called 
 " seed " sweet potatoes, wliich are usually of small size, but must be 
 soiind. These ai-e placed in hot-beds any time during the month of 
 April. After the hot-bed has been made in the usuid way — that is, 
 one and one-half or two feet deep of horse manure — a laj'er of sand or 
 sandy loam is tluown over it to the depth of foiu* or five inches and 
 the seed potatoes jilacedon this close together. As soon as the shoots 
 begin to appeal', a layer of an inch of sand is thrown over them. The 
 shoots quickly sprout through the sand, and by the midtUe or end of 
 May, in the latitude of New Jersey, they are in condition to be set 
 out in the open ground. In Southern New Jereeyand further south, 
 these beds are not covered with glass, but with a light covering of 
 straw or coai'sehay, to retain the warmth. This is i-emoved when the 
 plants appear. In sections of the country where sweet potatoes ai'e 
 grown even to a small extent, there are generally men who make o, 
 business of growing the plants, which are often to be bought as low as 
 one dollar per 1,000, and it will be foimd better for the gi'ower to 
 purchase than to raise them himself, if he has not the ]n'oper con- 
 venience of sashes and hot-beds. The plants are set out in rows three 
 
Sweet Potatoes, Roots. 59 
 
 or four feet distant, and about two feet apart in the rows, using a 
 ' good shovelful of well rotted manui-e, mixed in, for each hill. They 
 are alwaj^s planted in light, sandj' soil, heavy soils being entu-ely uncon- 
 genial to the natiu'e of the root. As thej' advance in growth the rows 
 are hilled up with the plow in the same manner as ordinary potatoes, 
 care being taken, however, to prevent the shoots, as they hang over> 
 fi'om rooting in the sand. This is done by running along the rows 
 occasionally under them with the hand to break the joung roots and 
 keep them from striking into the soil. If this is not done, it would 
 divert the gi'owth fi-om the main root, and the tubers would be small 
 and nearly worthless. In the Northern States sweet jjotatoes must 
 always be used previous to December, unless thej- can be kejjtinawarm 
 jjlace. The ordinary cellar, which is suitable for the common potato, 
 win quickly rot the sweet potato. In the Southern States they ai'e 
 kejot in pits in the open gi-ound in much the same waj- as we keep 
 ordinary potatoes North ; but the temperature of the sand is of course 
 much higher in Florida and other extreme Southern States than it is 
 North. Most of the sweet potatoes that find their way to our Northern 
 mai-kets in the winter and sj)iing months ai-e grown in Georgia, South 
 Carolina and other Southern States. They ai'e preserved in the South 
 by storiug them in houses specially built for that jJurpose. The 
 potatoes are jDacked in boxes not more than eighteen inches deep, which 
 are placed in tiers one above the other, leaving sjDaces between for 
 ventilation. But in extreme cold weather it is necessary that the 
 apartment should l)e heated in some way so that the temjseratiu'e at 
 no time is allowed to fall below fifty degrees. There is no necessity 
 for packing anything around them, as, if the heat in the apartment is 
 sufficier:t, thej' wiU keep by the air circulating around them among 
 the shelves or boxes in which they are jjlaced. Probably the best 
 temperature at which sweet potatoes can be kept La winter is sixty 
 degrees. 
 
 ROOTS FOR FEEDING. 
 
 (Mr. H.) The most important of all the root crops used for feeding 
 ai-e mangels and turnips. These have been largely grown in Europe 
 for more than thirty years, and considermg how well the American 
 climate and soil are adapted for their culture, it is smiDrising that so 
 little attention has hitherto been given to them in this country. It 
 is more particularly surprising when we consider our special necessi- 
 ties, arising out of our long, dry summers, which diminish the yield of the 
 hay and other fodder crops; as well as our long winter feeding season, 
 in which some succulent fodder, such as roots, is so useful to feed 
 
60 
 
 How THK Farm Pays. 
 
 ■with the hay aud other dry i^rovender. ^langeLs, which are the 
 most valuable of all roots for this jiuiiiose, may be grown in any' 
 l)art of the American Continent upon any fairly good farm land, 
 if only the necessary care is given in their cultivation. The 
 soil best adapted for them is a loose, friable loam, ■with a dry. 
 
 KINVEB YELLOW GLOBE UAMQEL. 
 
 LONO 1U,D MANGEL. 
 
 loose subsoil, as deep culture is indispensable. The soil should 
 be plowed if necessary to the depth of ten inches, or the land 
 should be broken to that depth l)y following the plow with a subsoiler. 
 In all soils, excepting sufficiently deep, rich new land, well rotted 
 manure or compost should be used at the rate of twelve to twentv tons 
 
Culture of Roots. 
 
 61 
 
 per acre, spread upon the surface before plowing and covered in with 
 the plow. In place of this, but all the better with it, 300 to .500 
 pounds per acre of sujjerphosphate, or Peruvian guano, should be 
 applied by sowing on the surface after plowing, and harrowing it in. 
 Immediately after this, the soil should be well smoothed by the 
 smoothing harrow and roller. The seed is sown in drills, by means 
 of a seed drill, the Planet or any other of an equally good kind, 
 twenty-four inches apart in light soils, and thirtj- inches in strong, 
 rich land, the plants being thinned to nine inches apart in the foi-mer 
 case and twelve in the latter. This is what is tenned flat cultiu'e. 
 Some farmers, however, practice the ridge system, and as this is 
 your method, Mr. Crozier, please describe it, and say how you pro- 
 duce the enormous erojjs which I have seen in your fields ? 
 
 (]Mi\ C. ) After thoroughly plowing, harrowing and smoothing the 
 land, I stiike out furrows with the double mold-board plow (if this 
 is not obtainable, any plow that will make such a fiuTOW wiU do), , 
 thirty inches apart. The furi'ow is sis to seven inches deej). These 
 fuiTows are then half tilled with compost (see chapter on Maniu'es) 
 or stable manure, thoroughly decomposed, or, if yet rough and un- 
 rotted, it is pressed down in the rows with the feet. After the 
 manure has been placed in the furrows, the plow is run on each side, so 
 as to cover in the manui'e, and to raise a ridge as high as the furrow 
 was deep. These ridges are leveled with a roller or chain harrow, 
 about two or three inches, which widens the ridge, so as to jjermit 
 the seed sower to work on it. Where stable manure is scai'ce, I use 
 
 superphosphate, or bone 
 r^^^T'^ '"'^^e~.. ^\ dust, sown in the fiu-rows 
 
 at the rate of about 300 
 pounds to the acre, keep- 
 ing the ridge over the 
 fiuTOws not so high as 
 over the manure. About 
 sis to eight pounds of 
 seed are used to the acre, 
 sown ■R'ith the seed drill. 
 If sown by hand, fully 
 double that quantity wiU 
 be required. The plants are thinned to twelve or fourteen inches 
 apart, the land is well cultivated, and kept loose and free from 
 weeds. 
 
 This system of cidture, both for mangels and turnips, requires 
 more labor, but is a saving in maniu'e. The best time for sowing, in 
 the latitude of New York, is from May 1st to the 1.5th; but this time 
 
 S£IUj DKLLL 
 
62 
 
 How THK Fakji Pays 
 
 may Le extended vp to June 1st. The time to sow is irom eight to 
 ten days before com is usually planted. The varieties most used are 
 Long Bed, and the Golden Tankard and Kinver Globe, which 
 are Ijoth yellow kinds. The average yield of mangels is thirty tons 
 or over per acre; this is etjual to 1,000 bushels. I consider the 
 
 GOLDEN T.VNKAim M.VNGEL. 
 
 average value of mangels, for feeding stock, to be $4 per ton, or $120 
 per acre, at the least. Two tons per acre of hay would be only worth 
 $30. The seed, manure and cultivation of a crop of mangels, at the 
 utmost, need not exceed S80 jier acre, even whei'e the manure is pur- 
 chased at a high jjrice. The crop for feeding jim-poses is therefore 
 a protitable one, even under these cii'cumstances. 
 
 Tlie cultiu-e of turnips differs in no respect fi-om that of mangels, 
 except as to the time of sowing — the Swedish tui-nip, or Ruta Baga, 
 sown, in this latitude, from ilay 25th to June 2.5th; the Yellow Aber- 
 deen, or strap-leaved kinds, fi-om July 1st to the middle of August. 
 
Tdrnips. 
 
 GS 
 
 The distance apart may be the same as for mangels, but both varie- 
 ties may be sown a month later; that is, the Ruta Bagas maj' be sown 
 from June 25th to July 25th, and the strap-leaved kinds from the 
 midtUe of August to the middle of September. In this case the 
 jjlauts should stand, both in the rows and between plants, one-third 
 closer. The best kinds are American Ruta Baga and Piui^le-top 
 Swede, of the strap-leaved kinds, Red-toji and Yellow Aberdeen. 
 Perhaj^s the best of all turnips, after the Swedes, is the "White Cow- 
 
 I3n'BO\i;D AJIEEICiK BUIA BAGA. 
 
 COWHOBN TTntNIP. 
 
 horn, a long, thin root, but veiy sweet and tender, and unexcelled 
 ■ for cows, as it grows very quickly and may be sown in September. 
 I value Ruta Bagas, as compai-ed with hay at S15 per ton, at $5 per 
 ton; an average crop of twenty-five tons per acre is thus worth $125. 
 Strap-leaved and YeUow Aberdeen or Cowhorn turnips are worth 
 $3. 50 per ton, or, with a yield of thirty-five tons per acre, $122. 50. If 
 
64 
 
 How THE Fakm Pays. 
 
 the expense of culture is luilf the whole value, the crop is still very 
 profitable. Turnips may be sown ujjou a barley, oats or rye stubble, 
 or even after potatoes. 
 
 CARKOT.S AND PARSNIPS. 
 
 The cultiue of these two roots is precisely the same. Pai-snips, 
 however, are hardy, ami can be left iu the ground all the winter, so 
 that, if required for use in the simng, they may be gathered then, 
 
Cakkots and Pahsnips. 65 
 
 ■when it is found convenient to do so. This root is an excellent one 
 for daily cows, and is extensively grown in the islands of Jersey and 
 Guernsey for this purpose. 
 
 CaiTots are chiefly grown for horses, but I consider them inferior 
 to Ruta Bagas for that purpose. Carrots requu-e a similar soil and 
 the same preparation as for mangels. In a iDreviously well manured 
 com stubble, enough fertilizing material will be left to manui'e a 
 good croj) of carrots or parsnips. Twenty tons of carrots jjer acre 
 have been grown on land in this condition, without using any 
 manure. The seed is sown anj' time in May; if sown with a diill, 
 about four pounds are used to the acre. The rows should be two 
 feet apart, and the plants thinned out to five or sis inches. An aver- 
 age crop is fifteen tons, or 700 bvishels by measure, of the Long 
 Orange. This variety is the one usuallj' grown for farm piu'poses. 
 
 HARVESTING AND STORING ROOTS. 
 
 (Mr. H.) The simple and cheap method of preserving roofs in pits 
 in the open ground is better than any other. I will brieflj' describe 
 our plan, which I have practiced with all kinds of market garden 
 roots for twenty-five years. Mangels in this section of the country 
 are dug up toward the end of October, or just after our first shght 
 frosl ; they are then temporarily secured from severe frosts by placing 
 them in convenient oblong heaps, say three feet high by six feet wide, 
 and ire covered v\-ith tlu-ee or four inches of soil, wliieh wUl be suffi- 
 cient protection for three or four weeks after lifting ; by that time, 
 say the end of November, thej' may be stowed away iu their perma- 
 nent winter quarters. For tiu'nips and carrots there is less necessity 
 for the temjjorary pitting, as they are much hardier roots, and may 
 be left in the ground untU the time necessary for permanent pitting, 
 if time will not jjermit of seciu'iug them temporarily. The advantage 
 of this temporary pitting is, that it enables them to be quickly 
 secured at a season when work is usually pressing, and allows theu' 
 permanent pitting to be extended into a comjsaratively cold season. 
 This is found to be of the utmost importance in jJreserving all kinds 
 of roots ; the same rules regulating the preservation in winter apply 
 as in spring sowing. "N^Tiile in this section of the country it must be 
 done not later than the end of November, in some of the Southern 
 States the time may be extended a month later, while in the j)laces 
 where the theiTnometor does not fall lower than twenty-five degi-ees 
 above zero, there is no need to dig up any of these roots at aU, as that 
 
66 How THE Faism Pays. 
 
 degree of temperature would not injure them. The permanent pit 
 ia made as follows: 
 
 A piece of ground ia chosen where no water will stand in winter. 
 If not naturallj' drained, provision must be made to cai-rv off the 
 water. The pit is then dug four feet deep and six feet wide, and of 
 any length required. The roots are then evenly packed in sections 
 of about four feet vride, arroKs the jjit, and only to the height of the 
 ground level. Between the sections a space of half a foot is left, 
 which is filled up with soil level to the top. This gives a section of 
 roots four feet deep and wide, and four feet long, each section divided 
 from the next by six inches of soU, forming a series of small pits, 
 holding fi-om six to twelve baiTels of roots, one of which can be taken 
 out ^rithout distui-biug the next, which is separated fi'om it by six 
 inches of soil. 
 
 (Ml-. C. ) Scotch farmers have a method of kee2>iug roots in long 
 pits which I have used here for many years. A dry spot is selected, 
 
 where no water will stand iu winter; a space is marked out six feet 
 in width, and of any length required ; this bed is excavated ten to 
 twelve inches deep, and the soil is thrown out on the bank. The 
 
 MAKNEn OF COV 
 
 roots are built up evenly to a sharp point about five or six feet in 
 height, so that they fonn almost an equal-sided triangle, six feet on 
 the sides. This heap of roots is covered with foiu- inches of straw 
 and the earth is banked over the whole about one foot in thickness. 
 
Stordjct Roots. 67 
 
 This covering of earth and straw is sufficient to keep out any cold 
 that is not much below zero. In colder or warmer sections judgment 
 must be used to increase or lessen the covering. In providing 
 against an excessive cold, the covering of straw is to be increased, and 
 not the earth, as the straw is really the non-conductor. Vents or 
 chimneys, made by a three-inch drain-pipe, or anything of similar 
 size, are placed every six or seven feet along the top of the pit, resting 
 on the roots, so that the moisture and heat may escape. In extreme 
 cold weather these vents or chimneys should be closed up, as the cold 
 might be severe enough to get down to the roots. Pits so constructed 
 rarely fail to presence roots perfectly until late in spring, and are in 
 every respect preferable to root cellars ; for, no matter how cold the 
 weather may be, they are easily got at ; the ends once opened, the 
 soil forms a frozen arch over the pit. Hundreds of tons of mangels, 
 etc., may be put in a long pit of this kind. 
 
 There are two or three points that you make, IVIr. Henderson, that I 
 think might be improved upon. When you state that in the 
 absence of stable manure, bone dust, superphosphate or guano 
 should be applied at the rate of three to five hundred pounds 
 per acre, I would saj' that in my practice I have found in recent 
 years that 1,000 pounds of any of these fertlizers is not too much. 
 Again, when you sj)eak of digging the mangels up I think you advise 
 unnecessary labor, as mangels can be pulled up without trouble, our 
 practice being as follows: One man takes two rows. Having asharj) 
 knife in the light hand, he catches hold of the top of the root with 
 the other and pulls it up fi'om the ground, cuts the top off and lets the 
 root drop into the furrow at his right hand, the top being dropjied to the 
 left. By this means two men have taken up forty cart loads per day, each 
 cart holding thirty-two bushels of sixty pounds per bushel. With 
 reference to yoiu- system of preserving in winter, I can give you no 
 better evidence of its practical value than by showing you to-day 
 (11th of July) sound roots that were placed in my root pits last fall, 
 grown somewhat, to be sure, but stiU in good condition to feed to 
 hogs. 
 
 Q. In this article nothing has been said about thinning the plants 
 of mangels, turnips or carrots. Will you please state, Mr. Crozier, 
 what is yoiu- method of thinning the crop in the drills ? 
 
 A. I use a ten-inch draw hoe. The man standing partly sideways, 
 shoves his hoe from him, and then drawing it back cuts out the 
 width required, thus leaving the plants in small bunches ten inches 
 apart. It is an operation that is done very rapidly. Two men by 
 this method can thin or single out an acre per day. In a few days 
 the plants left will again straighten up. We leave the thinnings 
 
68 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 in the rows, of course, which in a sliort time make the very 
 best vegetable manure by being stirred and worked by the cul- 
 tivator. For mangels it is necessary to thin to single plants 
 by hand afterwards. Turnips are thinned in the same manner, 
 but hand thinning is not necessary if the hoeing is well done. 
 CaiTots are thinned exactly the same way, but with what is known 
 as the caiTot hoe, which is not over half the width of that ussd for 
 mangels or turnips. From the nature of the carrot, it is not so 
 easily singled out to one plant as tui-nips, and it is necessary to run 
 over the rows with the hands after the hoe, to thin out so as to leave the 
 crop standing about five inches apart between the plants. I obsen'ed, 
 Mr. Henderson, also, that in your remarks on root crops you have 
 neglected to impress the necessity of fii-ming the soil after sowing, 
 which in our practice, in addition to the roller following the di'ill, we 
 follow after with a heavy two-horse ii'on roller eighteen inches in 
 diameter, which covers three rows at a time. 
 
 WHEAT CULTURE. 
 
 Q. The method of raising wheat, I presume, is so well known, that 
 coinp.aratively little can be said about it. In a work of this kind, 
 however, it is necessary to touch on all subjects connected with the 
 
 SMOOTHING AND BnUSH HARROW. 
 
 farm, and this of course with the others. Is wheat much grown on 
 Long Island and vicinity ? 
 
 A. Yes, I think there is as much wheat grown on Long Island as 
 corn. "\Mien wheat is to follow corn my method of culture is as 
 follows : The land being plowed about the middle of September, the 
 manui-e is spread, thorouglily haiTOwed in, and wheat sown broad- 
 
Necessity for Heavv Manuring. 69 
 
 cast at the rate of one and one-lialf to two bushels to the acre. It 
 is then plowed under about tlu'ee inches deep with a hght one-horse 
 plow. If seeded to grass the surface is rolled before the grass seed 
 is sown, and harrowed with a chain harrow or brush haiTow. The 
 brush harrow, as it is well understood, is an imj)rovised harrow 
 made by the farmer, consisting of branches about ten or twelve feet 
 long, which are driveu into holes bored in a inece of scantling ten 
 feet long and attached in the usual way to the whiffletree. The harrow 
 shown above answers as a smoothing, leveling and brush harrow, and 
 is convenient, cheap and useful for many purposes, and is a good 
 substitute, sometimes, for the roller. 
 
 I have put on as high as eight cords or twenty-four tons per acre. 
 Of coui-se the object of this heavy manuring, as has been referred to, 
 is not so much for the wheat crop, as it would cost more than the 
 product, but it is for the after crop of grass. 
 
 If this manure had to be purchased in the vicinity of New York 
 it would cost $72 per acre, which of course is more than double what 
 the wheat crop would sell for, but it will be understood that the crop 
 of wheat is never expected to pay for the manure. It is the after 
 crop of grass that we are laying the foundation for, and here is where 
 the profit of this heavy manuring comes in. The straw from the 
 wheat we consider about pays for the labor of sowing and harvesting 
 the crop. It will be understood that this heavy manuring for a wheat 
 croj) that is to be succeeded by grass, is only on fields where oats or 
 corn have been gi'own the year previous. If a root crop had been 
 grown the pre^'ious year, which is our usual custom, there would be 
 no necessity for manui-ing, as the heavy manuring used for the root 
 crop is ample to carry a crop of wheat and grass for succeeding years. 
 
 (Ml'. H.) This work of spreading manui'e is a slow and laborious 
 one. There is an excellent machine made for this purpose which 
 saves the greater part of this labor. It breaks up and scatters the 
 maniu-e, no matter how coarse it is, and spreads it much more evenly 
 than it could be done by hand, and with great rapidity. I think 
 the invention of this machine is a very valuable aid to oui- agricultiu'e. 
 It will spread from five loads up to twenty loads per acre, and forty 
 loads is an easy day's work. 
 
 Q. Is it not the custom generally amongst wheat growers on a large 
 scale on the prairies or in the extensive wheat lands of CaUfornia to use 
 the wheat di-ills, instead of sowing broadcast, as you advise? 
 
 A. Yes. They do not care so much for the grass there. The 
 wheat crop is what they ai-e after. They sow whatever crop they can 
 mai-ket to best advantage, and that is wheat. But we are working 
 under different circumstances. 
 
70 
 
 How THE Fakm Pays. 
 
 Q. "\Miy cannot the drill be followed by grass as -well as -when 
 sown broadcast? 
 
 A. For the reason that the drill leaves a furrow after it which the 
 prass seed drops into, leaving a cleai' space of five or six inches 
 between the rows of grass, which would be too wide. By plowing the 
 seed wheat under we get an even sui-faee for the grass. 
 
 Q. Then you mean to say that bj- drilling, you could not get as 
 heavy and even a crop of grass as l\v sowing the wheat broadcast, 
 plowing it under and sowing the grass seed after in the usual way? 
 
 A. We could not. By plowing in the seed we get a unifonn surface 
 over the wheat, and having this smooth surface for the grass seed, we 
 get a much better stand. 
 
 KEMPb UAXrRE SI BEAD t 
 
 Q. When foUowiug corn with wheat at about what date do you 
 begin to plow? 
 
 A. We commence cutting our corn about tlie 1st of September 
 nnd clear it oft" the field, placing it in shocks, either on an adjacent 
 gi-ivss lot, or by the fences, so as to get the land cleai- for sowing the 
 wheat, which we generally put in from the 15th to the 20th of 
 September. 
 
 Q. This is your experience with the wheat crop following corn. 
 Does it difier in any way when ihe wheat follows potatoes ? 
 
 A. Yes. The potato land having been thoroughly manured in the 
 spi-ing, and well cidtivated by the use of tlie cultivators and plow, I 
 do not manure for the wheat crop. The land is usually in such 
 good condition that it does not need additional manure for the 
 wheat; with too much manure wheat grows rank and weak, and is apt 
 to fiUl down and lodge, and the crop is then iujui-ed. 
 
Cultivation of Wheat. 
 
 71 
 
 Q. Do you make any difference in the time of sowing wheat follow- 
 ing potatoes and that following corn ? 
 
 A. After potatoes we get it in about the 10th of September, and 
 we thus get a stronger stand or I would say "braird," for the pro- 
 tection of the roots in winter. This word " braird " is very significant 
 and useful; it means the young growth of any crop fi-om seed. 
 
 Q. I notice that after sowing the wheat, when you brash harrow 
 in the gi'ass seed, you do not make any mention of using the roller 
 after? 
 
 A. It is not necessary, except occasionally when it is very dry; the 
 rains usually at that season being sufficient to wash down the seed, 
 and comi^act the soil so as to cause germination. If we have any 
 reason, however, to apprehend a continuation of dry weather, then, as 
 in aU other such cases, the roller is applied. 
 
 Q. It is not possible, I presume, for you to get a wheat crop after 
 mangels or turnips without jjlowiug too late ? 
 
 A. The best wheat crop I ever raised — I do not at present exactly 
 remember the number of bushels, but I think it was over fifty per 
 acre — was put in between the mangel rows in the autumn before the 
 mangels had been taken off the gi-ound. The wheat was sown and 
 put in with the cultivator about the 20th of September, and the 
 quahty of the crop was so good that it was all engaged by a New 
 York seed fii-m for seed. When the mangels were pulled the tops 
 were left on the wheat. Early in the spring I put on a large ii-on 
 haiTow, haiTOwed both ways and sowed with lucern, roUed it both 
 ways, so that the land was thoroughly firmed. 
 
 Q. In sowing the wheat between the rows of mangels in the fall, as 
 you state having done, was it possible to get a uniform crop over the 
 surface? I can understand how it might be evenly distributed 
 between the rows, but on the rows dii-ectly were there not spaces left? 
 
 A. Yes. I have counted as many as sixty spears from one grain 
 
72 How THE Faum Pays. 
 
 wbii-li hiul spread or ' ' stooled, ' aud I am of the opiniou that we 
 can raise more wheat in that way than bv any other process; that is, 
 by cultivation. The cultivation of wheat, in trials, cleai-ly shows this, 
 aud if I were making wheat my general crop, I would by all means 
 sow in drills seven to nine inches ajjai-t, and cultivate it; but grass 
 being mj' staple crop, I have no occasion to do so. 
 
 Q. You say you sowed the wheat on the mangels about the 20th of 
 Sept. At what date, do you i-emember, were the mangels harvested? 
 
 A. I think about the usual time, the middle of November, or per- 
 haps it might have been tlie end of November. Any time before 
 frost will serve for hai-vesting mangels, and we generally leave that 
 until the last work in the tields. 
 
 Q. Was there no injury done to the wheat by the leaves of the 
 mangels shading it? 
 
 A. I ratlier think it improved it, as the shade for the " braird " 
 seemed to be a protection until strong enough to take care of itself. 
 As the season advanced, as j-ou are aware, the leaves of the mangels 
 withered, and shaded less, so that by the time they were ready to 
 take off, the young wheat plants were relieved of the shade, and in 
 pulling u)3 the mangels just euough soil came up with them to make 
 a nice top dressing for the wheat. The tops of the mangels also were 
 sjjread as a mulch over the wheat. 
 
 Q. How late have you ever sown youi- wheat iu the fall in the 
 vicinit}' of New York? 
 
 A. I sowed a piece of wheat tlie latter end of December of last year. 
 
 Q. 'What advantage was there in sowing it at a date when there 
 could be no germination until spring ? 
 
 A. My reason for sowing it at that season was that I was slack of 
 work and the gi-ound was in good condition, and I wanted to top- 
 dress the piece of land that I sowed, as it was in the centre of a 
 twenty-two-acre lot seeded down with grass on both sides, aud I 
 wished to make the whole field uniform. 
 
 Q. What was the result of this late sowing ? 
 
 A. It lay dormant until early spring, but when the weather opened, 
 it, of course, was ready for germination long before I could have pre- 
 pared the ground for spring wheat, aud the result of the crop is that 
 to-day (12th July) it is nearly ready to cut, being only about ten days 
 later than that sown at the usual time. It is not what we would 
 call a good crop, nor yet a poor one, but, I think, will be a fair yield. 
 
 Q. But if it had not been for the peculiar circumstances of the 
 case — that you wished to get a uniform field of grass — j-ou wovdd 
 not have sown the wheat at that late date, in preference to spring 
 sowing, would you ? 
 
Habvesting Wheat. 73 
 
 A. No; it was simply a matter of convenience. 
 
 Q. Under what conditions do you usually sow youi- wheat in 
 "the spring ? 
 
 A. I seldom ever sow spring wheat; it does not pay in this vicinity. 
 The straw is too weak, which is one of the great difficulties in wheat 
 raising. 
 
 Q. In what sections of the country, do you know, is spring wheat 
 grown with success ? 
 
 A. It is grown to a great extent in Canada, to some extent in Wis- 
 consin, Michigan and northern Iowa, and wholly in Minnesota, and 
 further north and west — the conditions necessary to success being a 
 low temperature at its first stages of growth. 
 
 Q. When wheat is sown in the spring is it usual to sow grass 
 with it? 
 
 A. Yes; just in the same manner as in the fall. 
 
 Q. I think- I heard you drop the remark that you pastured your 
 wheat in the sjsring (after it had well started to grow) with sheep. 
 What was the advantage of that? 
 
 A. The object in that is to take oti" all the old weather-beaten 
 leaves and to feed it down as close as we possibly could, and the 
 treading of the sheep compacts the roots of the wheat, while their 
 droppings seiwe as a top dressing for it. This of course can only be 
 done on Ught soils: on wet or sticky clay land it would be an injury. 
 
 Q. At about what time, in your vicinitj-, do you turn on the sheep ? 
 
 A. Just as soon as the fi'ost or snow is gone, and allow them to re- 
 main until the end of April. Then we haiTow with a light harrow so 
 as to stir the surface, after which we roll thoroughlj', being careful at 
 that time, of course, that the land is dry enough, so that there may 
 be no danger of dragging the roots of the wheat out of the ground. 
 
 Q. "Wliat, in your opinion, is the best stage of the wheat for 
 hai'\'esting? 
 
 A. I always cut my wheat a week ahead of most of my neighbors, 
 and p>vit it in shocks or " stocks," using a caj) sheaf, as, in my expe- 
 rience, the grain by this process fiUs out in the shocks during that 
 jieriod of time. If let stand until riise the grain shrinks. Wheat 
 should alwaj's be cut before the grain becomes hard, and when you 
 can easily crush it between the finger and thumb, or about the stage 
 when the milk disappears, and the grain becomes firm, but not hard. 
 
 Q. Is it usual in your vicinity for wheat to be put up in stacks or 
 placed in barns, or is it threshed in the field ? 
 
 A. I put my wheat in stacks in the field or in baiTacks so as to 
 "sweat" it. As soon as it is through the process of sweating, I thresh 
 it. The threshing is done by two-horse tread jjower. 
 
74 How THE Faum Pays. 
 
 Q. On yoiu" liigh priced lands and limited areas, as compared with 
 the Western and other wheat fields, how do you tind wheat to pay as 
 a farm crop ? 
 
 A. It does not pay, because the manure and labor necessary cost 
 too much, as we have to manure so heavily. But we sow wheat only 
 to prepare for the after crop of grass. I raised last year forty 
 bushels per acre, but the average in this section of the country is from 
 twenty-five to thirty bushels. About 81.25 per liushel is afair average 
 price for this section, then the straw is worth about $15.00 per acre. 
 I sell no Btraw, but buy all I can get in this neighborhood at a fair 
 value to use as bedding for cattle. 
 
 Q. Are there any special varieties of wheat that you prefer to 
 others'? 
 
 A. I think that it was in 187G, when in Eui-ope, I brought back with 
 me six bushels of a variety called Champion wheat. This I think 
 was in paii the cause of my average of forty bushels per acre. The 
 same wheat is now grown for miles ai'ound here. It weighed when 
 I got it sixty-five pounds per bushel; last year it fell to sixty-one 
 pounds, and this experience confirms me in the opinion that I have long 
 helil: that change of wheat, as well as any other seed, should be made 
 annually, as it is a benefit to the crop. 
 
 Q. Would you make any preference in changing from Europe or to 
 locahties in the United States ? 
 
 A. No; I would much rather get my seed wheat from Ohio or 
 Pennsylvania than from Europe, if I could get it as pure, but more 
 care is certainly taken in Britain to keep varieties pure and true, 
 than we do in this country. The best farmers of England and 
 Scotland are so careful when they gi'ow for seed, that men are sent 
 through the fields with sheai's to cut out all heads that are not 
 considered to be true and genuine. By this precaution a uniformity 
 is secured that cannot be obtained in any other way. 
 
 (Mr. H.) I can well understand the necessity of that. In our 
 business as seedsmen we have seeds grown in difliertnt sections of 
 the country, and we find it necessary to have men devoted especially 
 to the pui-poso of examining the crops — particular care being taken 
 with crops such as peas, that are moi'e liable to degenerate from the 
 tme types — to see that all " rogues," as they are called, or such 
 plants as are of a different variety, are weeded out. 
 
 Q. Under this head of Rotation of Crops, I will ask the question, 
 Mr. Crozier, whether in your section, or the vicinity of New York, it 
 is ever the practice to let one wheat crop follow another? 
 
 A. No; it would not be advisable to follow such crops as wheat or 
 corn year after year on the sanie land, and wheat particularly being 
 
Prevention of Rust and Smut. 75 
 
 a gi-eat feeder, the land would soon be exhausted. Another reason 
 is, and it is true of a great many other crops, that when one of the 
 same kind is continuously sown there is far more danger of injury hj 
 insects or blight, as it seems to be a law of natvu'e that special 
 plants are subject to the ravages of special insects or diseases, and 
 the best way to get rehef fi'om their attacks is to change the eroj) as 
 radically as possible from one kind to another; thus I would follow 
 after a wheat crop with grass, or if that is not used, I would succeed 
 it with beans, peas or some such cultivated crop. 
 
 Q. Have you had any trouble with diseases such as rust or smut, 
 or from insects or>. wheat? 
 
 A. No; but where such trouble is apprehended, the best preventive 
 I know is to soak the seed in strong brine for ten to twelve hours, 
 after which au-slaked lime should be mixed thi-ough it in quantity 
 sufficient to di-y the seed. The midge occasionally attacks wheat 
 when sown in the fall, but not much in our section. I have under- 
 stood that in western New York its ravages have been so great that 
 farmers have been compelled to give up growing wheat, and after two 
 years, duiing which the growth of wheat was suspended, the 
 midge has disappeai-ed for twenty years afterwards. This proves, as 
 you previously remarked, the benefit of rotation. In regard to mst 
 and smut, these are not troublesome in this vicinity, and I attribute 
 this exemption to i^roximity to the sea; for that reason I would ad\'ise 
 in sections inland, where there is no saline atmosphere, if danger of 
 rust is apprehended, to use from two to three hundred jiouuds of 
 salt per acre, at time of the sowing. 
 
 (^Ir. H.) I believe a very common and effective remedy is to steep 
 the seed in a solution of four ounces of sulphate of copper in a gallon 
 of water, this being enough for four bushels of seed. 
 
 Q. Although the army worm is not a special wheat insect, yet 
 as that crop has suffered gi-eatly fi'om its ravages on Long 
 Island, what has been your most effectual remedy in preventing its 
 attacks ? 
 
 A. I have found a sure and certain protection against it by 
 plowing ditches eighteen inches wide, by about ten deep, ai-ouud my 
 wheat fields, and strewing lime in them to prevent the insect from 
 crossing. To attain the same end, straw saturated with kerosene 
 may be thrown in the ditches and ignited, but I do not consider that 
 as good as Ume, because after the straw is biu-ned there is nothing 
 then to prevent the worm crawling \ip on the other side of the ditch, 
 while the hme, if carefully spread on so as to make an unbroken line, 
 really is a time dead hne against then- fui'ther approach. The Western 
 method in similar cases is to i^low such a ditch, and as the insects 
 
76 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 gather in it to drag a log along it to crush them and loosen up the 
 soil, the loose soil itself being a barrier. 
 
 Q. In your vicinity what other crops are attacked by the army 
 ■worm, besides wheat ? 
 
 A. It seems to give preference to oats and grass, com and root 
 crops being little injiu'ed by it. 
 
 OAT CULTURE. 
 
 Q. How do oats compare with wheat as a profitable crop V 
 
 A. It is a more i^rotitable crop to me, as a stock raiser, than wheat. 
 My method is to cut my outs while in the milky state, for the jjui-jiose 
 of feeding dry in the form of hay. I have grown considerable oats 
 on sod land that had been j^astiu'ed some yeai's pre\"iou.s. This I con- 
 sider the best land for ^jrodueiug heavy oats, but it does not produce 
 so good a crop of straw. Such land should be broken in the spring, 
 as eai-ly as the gi'ound will admit. It should be plowed to a depth 
 of five inches, the sod being turned under at an angle of forty-five 
 degi'ees. I think, if my soil was a clay, I would plow the sod in 
 the faU. 
 
 Q. Is this plowing not shallower than the usual practice ? 
 
 A. Yes ; and the reason for it is tliat the laud, having been pas- 
 tured for years previous, has accumulated cow, horse and sheep 
 manure, which I want as near the surface as possible ; and there is 
 the sod, besides, which is better than all. Oats is a crojj that does 
 not root deeply, foi-ming a sort of shallow, tufted root. 
 
 Q. "Why do you laj' the sod over at an angle of forty-five degi'ees ? 
 
 A. It then forms an angle or fuiTow into which the seed, when 
 sown, falls, and works down in the space where the sods lap, and 
 thus gets the benefit of the surface maniu'e as well as of the decaying 
 sod. The seed is sown at the rate of four bushels to the acre, and 
 the land is then thoroughly harrowed and rolled. Oats should be 
 sown as soon as the ground is diy enough to be worked. 
 
 Q. Is there not some danger of the harrow puUing up the sod ? 
 
 A. There would be if it were haiTowed crosswise; but the harrow 
 is iTin lengthwise of the fuiTow, and in this manner draws the soil 
 into the crevices between the sods without tearing them up, after 
 ■which we follow with the roller. Of this croj) I have taken off 
 sixty-five bushels per acre, weighing thirty-eight pounds per bushel. 
 The seed was imported potato oats. If marketed, the product 
 would have brought fifty cents per bushel. After the oats had 
 been harvested, which wjis about the middle of Julv, the ground 
 
Profitable Crops from Ten Acres. 77 
 
 "was jjlowed, harrowed, aad drills opened, tlirea and one-half 
 feet ajiart, for fodder corn. Manure was placed iu Ihese drills to the 
 depth of thi'ee or four inches. Planted with White Southern Corn 
 at the rate 'of two bushels to the acre, lightly covered, and cultivated 
 with a one-horse cultivator once a week untO. about foiu' feet high, no 
 more labor being required until cvu-ing time. This late planted 
 second crop is not so productive as the general fodder corn crop, 
 which 3'ields with me about eight tons of dry fodder per acre. 
 Part of the same land where the oats were grown was used for late 
 or fall cabbage, and Cowhorn and Aberdeen turnips. The cab- 
 bage was planted out in rows i5rej)ared in about the same manner 
 as for the fodder corn. The rows were opened by the plow and a 
 good fork full of maum'e which had been made thi-ough the summer 
 was dropped two feet apart, and covered with a hoe. The j^lants 
 being in the seed bed and strong, were well watered and lifted with 
 a dung fork so as not to injvu'e the roots. The work of planting the 
 cabbage was done late in the afternoon. The hUls were opened with 
 the corner of a sharp hoe, the plant set iu, some soil drawn over it 
 with the hand, and then stamped or firmed with the heel of the boot. 
 In a few days, when the cabbage had straightened up, the soil was 
 drawn around the plants with the hoe. Once more hoeing, and run- 
 ning the plow through the furrows, was all the work they required. 
 In haiwesting the cabbage, a deep fuiTow or trench was plowed, the 
 cabbage j)ulled by the roots and tiu'ned into the trenches as close a.s 
 they could be packed together. (See article on Cabbage.) My 
 maniu-e being all consumed iu that portion of the field where I had 
 planted the fodder corn and cabbage, I had to resort to bone meal 
 for the turnijjs, which, however, I consider the most valuable fer- 
 tilizer for that crop. This is used in the drills at the rate of 300 lbs. 
 the acre. Drills were opened with a two-horse plow to the depth 
 of nine inches, the bone dust was sown on the back of the furrow 
 and the next furrow covered it to a dejjth of two or thi-ee inches. The 
 turnips were di'illed in with a one-horse drill, taking two rows at a 
 time, at the rate of two jDOunds of seed to the acre. The growth was 
 so quick, that in two weeks we went through the field singling or 
 thinning them. By " singhng " is meant thinning to one plant. This 
 croi3 I believe produced over thii'ty-five tons jjer acre, and left the 
 ground in tar better condition than it was when I commenced in the 
 spring. The value of the turnip crop, if sold, would have been $3.50 
 per ton. Thus we see that on the ten acres with which I stai-ted in 
 the spring by sowing a crop of oats, I obtained a net profit of more 
 than $800, as shown by the table given, and this after counting the 
 labor. It will be seen that I paid $1.00 per bushel for the imported 
 
78 How THE Farm Pats. 
 
 potato oats, while tlie jiroduct was sold for fifty cents per bushel, but 
 if I had not so^^ti this imported seed, I would probably not have had 
 more than half the yield per acre. Consequently it is evident that it 
 was economy to use the hij^fh priced seed. 
 
 PRODL'CT OF TEN ACRES. 
 
 Value of Oat Crop, 650 bushels $325.00 
 
 Oat Straw, 10 tons 150.00 
 
 Fodder Corn, 5 acres, 40 tons 200 . 00 
 
 Cabbage, 2^ acres 175 . 00 
 
 Turnips, 2i acres, 87^ tons 306 . 25 
 
 $1,156.25 
 
 EXPENSES. 
 
 Plowing, harrowing and rolling $30 . 00 
 
 Cost of oat seed for 10 acres 40 . 00 
 
 HaiTesting and tlu-eshing oats 45 . 00 
 
 Manui-e for fodder corn ... 100 . 00 
 
 Hai-vesting fodder corn 12 . 00 
 
 Seed 8.00 
 
 Manure for 2i acres cabbage 50.00 
 
 Planting, cultivating and han'esting 30.00 
 
 Cabbage seed 2.00 
 
 lilaniu-iug for 2 S acres turnips 10 . 00 
 
 Sowing, cultivating and hai-vesting 25 . 00 
 
 Interest on value of laud 30 . 00 
 
 $382.00 
 
 Net profit 774.25 
 
 $1,156.25 
 
 Q. In this estimate you have made no charge for yoiu- own work and 
 skill iu superintendence. I pi'esume, with your experience, if your 
 services were hired to another man on a farm of 200 acres they would 
 be worth at least $10 per day. Would it not be fair to charge 
 sometliing for the time you have spent in this superintendence, 
 against this estimate ? 
 
 A. No. The profit made on these crops represents the value of my 
 time and work, and not only the vidue of my own work, but the 
 increased vidue which my sujierintendeuce and direction gives to the 
 
Deterioeation of Seed. 79 
 
 work of ruv hiied workmen. I consider it a great mistake when a 
 farmer has half a dozen men employed on different 2:>aiis of the farm 
 to use his own time in manual labor, because it is only by ijroper 
 direction and supervision that he can make the work of each man of 
 the fullest value. 
 
 (Mr. H.) In relation to that matter of importing oats, Mr. Crozier, 
 I had recently a conversation with Mr. Wm. Saunders, Super- 
 intendent of the Experimental Department of the Agricultural 
 Bureau at Washington, in which he stated to me that he imported 
 from Scotland for his experiments, I think, a variety known as Hope- 
 toun oats, which averaged forty-four pounds per bushel. The first 
 year after sowing, the product deteriorated to forty pounds per 
 bushel; that product being sown the second year, deteriorated still 
 further to thirty-five pounds per bushel, which again being sown 
 was still fm-ther reduced to the normal condition of American oats 
 of thirty pounds, or less, per bushel. These facts suggest the query 
 whether it would not pay our farmers to imi^ort their seed oats, in 
 order to get this Luij)roved quality and j)roduct. In my ojiinion there 
 is no other way to do it; for no matter how carefully the selection of 
 seed is made, deterioration -n-ill take place when a croj) is grown 
 under circumstances uncongenial to it, as is the case with oats in 
 nearly all parts of the United States and other warm climates, the 
 nature of the jslant requiring a long season of growth, which can only 
 be had in cool, moist localities. A Hfe-time spent in the practical 
 study of horticultm-e, which is near akin to agriculture, has forced 
 me to the conclusion that there is no such thing as the acclimatization 
 of plants. The maize of the American continent resists all attempts 
 to bring the croj) to matimty in the climate of Great Britain, while 
 the oat gives comparatively abortive results when gi'own in oiu: 
 half-tropical summers. Don't you think it would pay to import seed 
 oats from Britain, so as to gain an advantage in the weight and 
 product the first season here ? 
 
 A. Yes; I think it would. I think imjioi-ted seed could be sown 
 two seasons to advantage. I have had seed oats fi-om Nova Scotia, 
 where the weight nins from thiiiy-eight to forty pounds per bushel, 
 and planted them side by side with oats which I raised myself, pre- 
 paring the ground in the same manner for both, and the Nova Scotia 
 oats produced from eight to ten bushels per acre more than the 
 common oats. Whether it was from the larger size of the imported 
 oats or the change of cUmate I am unable to say. Probably both 
 causes had something to do with it; for there it is well proven that 
 change of seed of almost any farm crop is advantageous. To sum up : 
 imported seed oats, costing even as much as $2 per bushel, wiU add 
 
80 How THE Fakm Pays. 
 
 one-fiftli or one-foui-th to the product Hence it will always be the 
 most profitable to use such seed. 
 
 Q. Ai'e oats ever affected with diseases? 
 
 A. lu some unfavorable years oats are affected more or less with 
 rust, but of late years smut has appeared very extensively in the oat 
 crop, iu some locaUties almost destroying it. Upon this account it is 
 advisable to treat seed oats in the same way as has been recom- 
 mended on a pi'evious page for wheat. 
 
 Q. Is barley gi-own to any extent in New York or adjacent States ? 
 
 A. Not to a great extent. 
 
 Q. Have you had any experience with it on Long Island ? 
 
 A. I have sowed bai'ley several times, but did not find it to be 
 a paying crop. The straw is not of much value for bedding on 
 account of the beards, which are sometimes injurious when eaten, pai'- 
 ticularly by sheep. Its culture, however, is wholly a question of soil; 
 it wants a deeper and heavier soil than oats, as the roots strike deeper. 
 Barley is grown to a great extent in western New York, and some 
 places further west, and in Canada, to supply brewers. In Euro])e 
 it was formerly grown for food, but has not been much grown in the 
 last ten yeai-s, since our wheat has come so largely into use. It yields 
 from thii-ty-live to fifty bushels per acre, but seldom lirings more than 
 eighty or ninety cents per bushel. There are a few special points in 
 its culture which requu-e attention or a full crop cannot be grown. 
 The soil must be in good condition, well plowed and harrowed, and 
 clean ; fall plowing, followed by a thorough working by the Acme 
 harrow, or other cultivator, in the spring. The seed, at the rate of 
 two to two and one-half bushels per acre, is sown as early as the 
 ground is dry. In harvesting, the greatest cai-e is necessary to avoid 
 damage by rains, as this sjioils the color of the gi'ain and unfits it for 
 the brewer's use, and seriouslj' reduces its value. Barley is not 
 bound in sheaves, but cured in the swath and lifted by broad 
 wooden forks known as barley forks. This may be considered as one 
 of those special crops fitted for special soils and circumstances onlj', 
 and is only profitable when the crop can be perfectly well gi-own. 
 
 CULTURE OK RYE. 
 
 Q. In what waj' does the culture of rj'e differ fi'om that of oats ? 
 
 A. "We can sow rj'e on our jioorest land ; but when grown on rich 
 land it is a valuable crop, in some cases giving fi-om thirty to thirty-tive 
 bushels prr acre, which sells at from twenty-five to thirty cents i)er 
 
CuLTDRE or Rye — Beans. 81 
 
 bushel less than wheat. The straw being valuable for various purposes, 
 is shipped to the cities in large quantities. A great deal of rj'e is cut in the 
 spring while green as our first soiling crop, the laud being immediately 
 plowed and prej)ared for corn. This year a farmer in my neighbor- 
 hood cut ofi' ten acres of rj-e, planted the ground in cucumbers for 
 pickles and intends following with a wheat crop in the fall, thus 
 • placing three crops in the ground in one season, as the cucumbers 
 only take up about three months, and will jiay a profit of $100 jser 
 acre after all labor and expense has been j)aid, I have known the 
 straw of matured rye to produce two tons per acre, which brought 
 $20 per ton in New York City. In the neighborhood of paper mills 
 rye straw brings from $25 to $30 f)er ton and is largely grown for this 
 purpose. As a bread grain it is next to wheat in value, and i^erhaps 
 really more nutritious. Rye is largely used by farmers to seed down 
 with in the fall, and I think it is jsreferable to wheat for this pui'pose, 
 when about one and one-half bushels of seed per acre is used, as it 
 protects the young grass through the winter and matures earlier the 
 following summer, being generally cut two weeks in advance of 
 wheat, thus allowing the grass to have freer growth at a season of 
 the year- when it grows very rapidly, and also making good jjastm-e 
 in the fall. As a soiling croj) it will be fuUy referred to ia the 
 chapter devoted to that subject. 
 
 THE CULTURE OF AMERICAN FIELD BEANS. 
 
 Q. What soU, in your opinion, Mr. Crozier, is best adajited to the 
 American field bean ? I use this distinction because of the fact that 
 in every book, and in nearly every paper, where beans are referred 
 to, it is the English bean that is mentioned, and not our bean, which 
 is an entii-ely different j)lant. The Enghsh bean, as you are aware, 
 is used for feeding horses only, while ours is whoUy used for human 
 food. The plant which bears the English bean has a single straight, 
 stift' stem, which bears several short, thick pods, each containing fovu- 
 or five brown-skinned, hard, kidnej'-shaped, thick beans, as long and 
 wide, but twice as thick, as our large white beans. 
 
 A. Light, gravelly sods, which can hardly be made available for 
 any other crop, wiU give a fan- j'ield of beans. They are a crojj that 
 we plant after all other work in the spring is done. The land is 
 plowed, harrowed and fiuTowed out thirty inches apart, and about 
 two bushels of beans sown to the acre, by hand or seed drill. "^ATaen 
 drilled, the seeds are dropped about eight inches ajjai-t ; when planted 
 by hand it is usual to put thi'ee or four together at eighteen inches 
 
82 
 
 How THK Fakm I'avs. 
 
 apart ill the rows. Tbey do not require miieli iiianiire, or tliev will 
 gi'ow too much to vines. Wc cover very litfhtly, never allowing them 
 to be cultivated or hoed in damp weather. If worked in damp 
 weather they will rust or "damjjoff"; but in dry weather weekly 
 cultivation for the first month should be <:fiven. No more work is 
 then required until the l>eans are ready to be haiTested. The usual 
 way is to pull tliem up by hand and stack them around a pole eig-ht 
 i)r nine feet hiij;li, which is stuck in the {ji-ound. In this way they 
 may be left until taken to the barn and threshed and cleaned. Hai-- 
 vesting beans by hand is a slow work and may do veiy well for small 
 plantations. But when they ai-e gi-oiiNTi lai'gely, as they ai'e in some 
 localities, where forty or fifty acre fields of them are not unusual, a 
 machine is used for gathering them. This ingenious invention, 
 which is the work of a fai'mer in New York State, is shown in the 
 accomjianj-ing engraving. It j^ulls the beans, shakes the soil from 
 
 the roots and leaves the beans iu rows behind it. It is drawn by one 
 horse, which walks between the rows. Two-horse machines are 
 made, which pull two rows at once. Beans usually bring iu market 
 from $2 to $3 per bushel. I have taken forty bushels per acre oH' 
 such land as above described. I may say, however, that there is 
 considerable labor attendant upon the raising of tliis crop, both in 
 the cultivating and tlu'cshing and cleaning for market, as, lieing used 
 for human consumption, the sample requires to be perfect. But in 
 the winter season, if they can be hand-picked at idle times, they are 
 quite a ])rofitable crop. There is always a good demand for the 
 Marro-wfat Bean. The "Pea Bean." as it is called, is smaller, but 
 similar to the !MaiTowfat, is a better fielder and brings a better price, 
 
Buckwheat. 83 
 
 and is, in my opinion, more ilesii'able. It is of recent introduction. 
 There is also the Navy Bean, used for naval stores, and the Red 
 Kidney Bean, which brings usually twice as much as the white beans 
 in the market; but as the demand for this variety is limited, the 
 market is easily overstocked. It is a matter of economy in threshing 
 beans to save the straw and j)ods, which are nutritious fodder for 
 sheep and are readily eaten by them. 
 
 BUCKWHEAT. 
 
 (Mr. C. ) Buckwheat, although a grain of less importance than 
 some of the others, yet takes its place among farm crops. It can be 
 sown after barley, rj-e or oats are harvested, the ground being imme- 
 diately plowed, haiTowed and about three pecks of seed sowed to the 
 acre, and the ground thoroughly rolled. This crop being grown at a 
 season of the year when the ground is often dry for weeks, the rolling 
 which we have before insisted upon in many places in this work is 
 absolutely imperative, or the crop will fail to germinate. Buckwheat, 
 though, not a large producing crop, is often sown just to keep the laud 
 in use for a j)artial cro]) rather than to grow a crop of weeds. The 
 straw is worth nothing but for litter ; the grain, as is well known, is 
 used largely for human consumption. It is also excellent food for 
 fattening swine, and poultry prefer it to all other grains. A great 
 many farmers plant largely of this crop to plow under as a green 
 manure. I myself did so some twenty j'eai's ago on a twentj'-acre 
 lot where the crop had grown so strongly that I was forced to roll it 
 before I could plow it under. I am of the O23inion that it was an 
 injury to the field, as it did not produce good croj^s for two or thi'ee 
 years afterwards. 
 
 Q. In what way do you consider it to have been injurious? 
 
 A. Why, I do not know, I only marked the results ; but I was so 
 well satisfied with that experiment that I would not again risk another 
 trial. Many, I am aware, claim it is a valuable crop for plowing 
 under, and I may be wi'ong in my conclusions from one trial, but I 
 think not. 
 
 (Ml-. H.) I cannot see why yoiu- experience in this way should have 
 been so contrary to the general view and practice. I don't know of 
 any reason why any vegetable matter plowed into the soil could be 
 other than useftil. 
 
 (Mr. C.) Buckwheat is a rather 2:)eculiar crop, and requii-es par- 
 ticular care in hanesting and thi-eshing it. It has the habit of 
 bearing ripe and half-matiu'ed seed and blossoms and buds all at the 
 same time. The seed, too, is held hv a verv slender stalk, which 
 
84 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 snaps very easily -when it is dry ; upon tliis account it is cut early in 
 the day, when the dew is on it. For these reasons, the newly har- 
 vested grain is moist and needs thorough drying. 'Vrhen it is cut it 
 is raked up in gavels, which are not bound in sheaves, but are set up 
 on end singly to dry. 'NMien the straw is dry, the crop is drawn in 
 and threshed directly from the field, and the grain must be at once 
 winnowed from the chafif, or, being quite moist, the chaff vrill heat and 
 spoil the grain. A dry, windy day is chosen for threshing. The 
 cleaned gi-ain also requii-es close watching to avoid heating in the bin, 
 and it is usual to move it from one bin to another on a di-y, windy 
 day, or shovel it over, for the jDuiiiose of airing and drying it. Buck- 
 wheat is a sort of special crop, and as the tlour is used chiefly in the 
 \«nter, the grain is usually sold as soon as it is thi-eshed. By doing 
 this a higher price is secured and all the dangei^s of keeping it are 
 avoided. There are four varieties of this grain : one is known in 
 northern New England as Indian "Wheat or Merino Buckwheat, a 
 small, wrinkled, dark, inferior grain ; the othei-s are the Black, the 
 Gray, and the newly introduced Silver Hull, the Black being inferior 
 to the other two. 
 
Crops for Souino and Fodder. 85 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 CROPS FOR SOILING AND FODDER. 
 
 (Mr. C.) The first of these in importance as regards time, in my 
 opinion, is rye, which we have just discussed in a preceding chai5ter. 
 I have commenced cutting it by the 10th of May, and by cutting it 
 ■whUe young, or say three feet high, if wanted to cut the second time 
 in about three weeks, a fau" feeding can be had, which will supply 
 the wants of stock until lucern or clover or orchard grass is ready ; 
 or oats and jjeas, which are ready for soiling usually by the 20th of 
 June. When the oats and peas become hard or dry, fodder corn 
 which has been planted the first week in May will take their place, 
 and by sowing at inteiTals of one or two weeks up to the 10th of 
 August, will give a continuous supply until frost. These are the 
 dififerent kinds of crops used for soiling, named in the order in which 
 they are ready to use for that purpose. 
 
 Q. I observe, Mr. Crozier, that you do not mention having used 
 tares or vetches for soUiug or fodder. 
 
 A. I have tried to grow vetches for two seasons. The first 
 season I imported seed of the Gray Vetch fi'om England and it was a 
 complete failure. Well knowing that this is one of the best soiUug 
 crops in Europe, I purchased the second year twenty pounds of seed 
 which was grown in the vicinity of Montreal, Canada. This was a 
 variety of Black Vetch, or tare, and did better, but was not satisfac- 
 tory ; and hence, as far as my experience has gone, I have come to 
 the conclusion that the vetch is not suited for our latitude, and I 
 doubt much if it will be found suitable for any part of America, 
 ■unless it be the extreme northern portion of Canada ; or j)ossibly 
 in the Southern States, as a winter crop, for which the -winter variety 
 would undoubtedly be found useful to supply green forage or 
 pasture. I have also tried to my complete satisfaction, and to my 
 sorrow let me add, the Prickly Comfiey, which I consider one of the 
 biggest fi'auds that ever was perpetrated on the agricultui'al com- 
 munity. Whether or not I had trained mj cows by careful feeding 
 to be somewhat of epiciu-es, I do not know, but certain it is that 
 they turned up their noses at the Prickly Comfrej' and would have 
 nothing to do ivith it. 
 
80 How THE Farm Pats. 
 
 As tlie question of fodder for soiling is now one of vast importance 
 to the breeder of fine stock, to the dairi-man, and last, but not least, 
 to hiin who feeds his farm, we will endeavor to give as brieHv as 
 possible the methods of culture of all the kinds in use. 
 
 Where this crop is intended for soUing early in the sjjring, it should 
 be sown the latter part of August or eaiiy in September, on very rich 
 land. The ground should be thoroughly plowed and haiTOwed, but 
 it is better not to use much coai'se manui'e, as it has a tendency to 
 make the crop gi-ow soft and rank. I sow for soiling two bushels of 
 seed per acre, as the ground is not intended to be seeded down. 
 This will be fit to commence cutting by the 10th of May, before it 
 heads out, and can be cut, if desired, a second time, giving a fail- crop. 
 I think an acre of good heavy rye will feed twenty cows for one week 
 at least, but great care must be taken not to give a full feed at first. 
 My plan is to run it through the cutter and mix it with di-y hay or 
 good wheat straw also cut, as this prevents any iujui'ious eft'ect upon 
 the bowels, it being just the season when animals are changing their 
 coats, as every animal in perfect health does at this time. .-Vs a feed 
 for milch cows it produces purer milk or fat than any other soiling 
 lilant I know of, when fed before the blossom is formed; if fed later 
 it has been thought injurious to the butter, but I never feed it so late 
 as that. Its earliness, coming in at that season between haj' and 
 grass, makes it very valuable. Rye may be sown in succession up to 
 November, or December even, increasing the quantity of seed sown, 
 as the time is later. The last sowing maj- be made any time before 
 the ground is fi-ozen, using four or five bushels per acre. In tliis 
 case the seed does not sprout until sjning, and makes a spring crop, 
 but one that is sown much eiu-lier than would be possible any 
 other way. 
 
 LUCERN. 
 
 Q. You say that the next crop that you use for soiling, to follow- 
 after rye, is Lucern, or Alfalfa, as it is sometimes called. You gave 
 me some data a few montlis ago, which I have used in a rather 
 exhaustive article on that subject, which we will insert here, after 
 you have brielly given your own method of cultm-e. 
 
 (^Ir. C. ) The land selected for Lucern should be a rich, deep, 
 sandy or gravelly loam, where there is no fear of water standing. 
 
Crops for Soilin'o and Fodder — Alfalfa. 87 
 
 The land is plowed, then harrowed and rolled, early in the spiing. Then 
 I sow at the rate of sixteen jjounds to the acre. It is sown broad- 
 cast and covered with the brush harrow as early in the spring as the 
 ground will admit being worked. For a soihng crop I do not use 
 any mixtures. I sometimes cut it earlj' in the fall, getting a fair crop. 
 I have even cut it the second time in the fall of the same season as 
 sown, but that is a rare occurrence. The next season I have taken 
 three or four cuttings from it. After reading the article that you have 
 written on this subject I do not know that I can add anything to it. 
 
 CULTURE OF ALFALFA OR LUCERN (MEDICAGO SATH^l.) 
 [Written by Peter Henderson on his return from atrip to Florida in February. 1S83.] 
 
 In a country so wide-spread and diversified as the United States, 
 it is not to be wondered at that a crop that is valued in some local- 
 ities is unknown in others. 
 
 But it is somewhat surprising that, in many of the Southern States, 
 where the want of forage is so much felt, the culture of a plant 
 so admu'ably adapted for their soil and climate has so long been 
 neglected. In a visit to Florida, in February, 1883, I was impressed, 
 as every Northern man must be, with the utter dearth of forage 
 plants, and as a consequence, the hungry and meagre, starved looking 
 cattle. To my inquiries everywhere, the same reply was given that 
 no good grass or clover could be found to stand the heat and drought 
 of their long summers. Fortunately, in aUuding to the subject, 
 while in the company of Mr. R. Bronson, of St. Augustine, Florida, he 
 promptly showed a practical solution of the difficulty, by taking me 
 to a j)atch of Alfalfa about twenty-five feet by one hundred, or only 
 about the one-sixteenth p)art of an acre. From that little patch Mr. B. 
 assured me that he had fed a cow during the summer months, getting 
 as fine milk and butter as ever he got North; andfiuiher said that twice 
 that area, or one-eighth part of an acre, would be ample to supply a 
 cow with food during the entire season. The land used by Mr. 
 Bronson for his expieriment with Alfalfa was identical with the 
 thousands of acres in his immediate vicinity, which was given over to 
 the Blue Palmetto and scrubby pines, thi'ough which the goat-like 
 cattle browse out a miserable existence. Mr. Bronson, though only 
 an amateur, is a careful observer, and an enthusiastic student in 
 everything that relates to agriculture. In the culture of Alfalfa for 
 Florida and other Southern latitudes, he advises that the crop be 
 sown early in the fall — early enough to attain a height of four or five 
 inches before growth is arrested by cold weather, in Florida say 
 'rom 1st to 1.5th of Octobei-. 
 
88 How THE Fakm Pays. 
 
 The soil best suited for the gi-owth of Alfalfa is that which is deep 
 anil saudy ; hence the soil of Florida and niauj- other portions of the 
 cotton belt is eminently fitted. The plant makes a tap root with few 
 laterals, and its roots are often found at a depth of sis to eight feet, 
 thus drawing food fi-om depths entirelj' beyond the action of di-ought 
 or beat. WTien Alfalfa is to be grown on a large scale, to get at the 
 best results, the ground chosen should be high and level, or if not 
 high, such as is entirely free fi'om under water. Drainage must be 
 as near perfect as possible — either naturally or artificially. This in 
 fact is a primary necessity for every crop — unless it be such as is 
 aquatic or sub-acjuatic. 
 
 Deep plowing, thorough haiTowing and leveling with that valuable 
 implement, the ' ' smoothing harrow, " to get a smooth and level sur- 
 face, ai-e the next operations. This should be done in the Southern 
 States fi-om 1st to 20th October — or at such season in the fall as 
 would be soon enough to ensiu'e a growth of four or five inches 
 liefore the season of growth stops. Draw out lines on the prepared 
 laud twenty inches apart (if for horse culture, but if for hand culture 
 fourteen inches), and two or three inches deej). These lines are best 
 made by what market gardeners call a ' ' marker, " which is made by 
 nailing six tooth-shaped pickets six or eight inches long at the required 
 distance apart to a three by four inch joist, to which a handle is 
 attached — which makes the marker or drag. The first tooth is set 
 against a garden line drawn tight across the field, the marker is 
 dragged backwards bj- the workman, each tooth marking a Hne : thus 
 the six teeth mark six lines, if the line is set each time; b\it it is best 
 to jilace the end tooth of the uiiU'ker in a line ah-eady made, so that 
 in this way only five lines are marked at once, but it is quicker to do 
 this than move the line. The lines being mai-ked out, the seed is sown 
 by hand or by seed-drill, at the rate of eight to twelve pounds per acre. 
 After sowing — and tliis rule applies to all seeds, if sowni by hand — the 
 seed must be trodden in by walking on the lines, so as to press the 
 seed down into the drUls. After treading in, the ground must l)e 
 leveled by raking ^vitll a wooden or steel rake along the lines length- 
 ways — not across. That done, it would be advantageous to use a 
 roller over the land, so as to smooth the surface and further fii-m the 
 seed, but this is not indisjiensable. When seeds ai'c drilled in by 
 machine, the wheel presses down the soil on the seed, so that treading 
 in with the feet is not necessary. After the seeds germinate so as to 
 show the rows, whicli will be in from two to four weeks, according to the 
 weather, the ground must be hoed between, and this is best done by 
 some light wheel-hoe, if by hand, such as the " Planet, Jr. " On light 
 sandv soil, such as in Florida, a man could with ease inin over two or 
 
Alfalfa, or Luceuk. 89 
 
 ALFALFA, OR LCCERN (>IEDICAGO SATIVA). 
 
00 How THE Fakm Pays. 
 
 three acres per day. The labor entailed in this method of 
 sowing .-Ufalfa in drills is somewhat greater than when sown 
 broadcast in the usual way of f^rasses and clover, but there 
 is no question that it is bj' far the best and most profitable 
 plan, for it must be remembered that the plant is & hardy perennial, 
 and is <;ood for a crop for eight to ten years, iloreover, the sowing in 
 drills admits of the crop being easilj' fertilized, if it is found ueeessai'v 
 to do so ; as all that is necessary, is to sow bone dust, superphos- 
 phates, or other concentrated fertilizer between the rows, and then stir 
 it into the soil by the use of the wheel-hoe. In the ground of Jlr. 
 Brouson, of St. Augustine, Florida, he found that the seed sown in 
 the middle of October gave him a crop lit to cut in three months 
 after sowing, and three heavy crops after, during the same year; 
 and I have little doubt that in that climate and soil, so congenial to 
 its growth, six heavy green crops could be cut annually, after the 
 plant is fairly established, if a moderate amount of fertilizer was 
 used, say 300 i)()uuds of superphosphate or bone dust to the acre- 
 Mr. WiUiam Crozier, of Noithport, L. I., one of the best known 
 farmers and stock breeders in the vicinity of New York, says 
 that he has long considered Alfalfa one of the best forage crops. 
 He uses it always to feed his milch cows and breeding ewes, particu- 
 larly in prejiaring them k r e.Nhibitiou at fail's, where he is known to 
 be a most successful competitor, and always takes along sufficient 
 Alfalfa hay to feed them on while there. j\Ir. Crozier's system of 
 cultiu'e is broadcast, and he uses some fifteen or sixteen pounds of 
 seed to the acre, but his laud is unusually clean and in a high state of 
 cultivation, which enables him to adopt the broadcast plan; but 
 on the average laud it will bo found that the 2>lan of sowing in drills 
 woidd be the best. 
 
 Mr. Crozier's crop, the second year, averaged eighteen tons green 
 to the acre, and about six tons when diied as hay. For his section — 
 the latitude of New York — he finds the best date of sowing is first 
 week in May, and a good cutting can be had in September. The 
 nest season a full crop is obtained, when it is cut, if green, three or 
 four times. If to be used for hay, it is cut in the condition of ordinary 
 red clover in blossom; it then makes after that two green crops if 
 cut; sometimes the last one instead of being cut is fed on the gi'ound 
 by sheep or cattle. 
 
 Mr. E. M. Sargent, Macon, Ga., writing to me under date 
 March (ith, 1883, sajs : " I consider Alfalfa to be the most valuable 
 forage plant that can lie used in this section of the country — that is, 
 the entire cotton l)elt, or north of it — if the laud is sandy without a 
 clay subsoil too near (ho surface. Planters are just beginning to 
 
AuALFA IN" New York and Geoeuu. 91 
 
 find out its merits, aud no poverty of stock will ever occur where 
 Alfalfa is raised. In the summer of 1881, when everything else was 
 j)arched here with heat and drought, this alone was prompt in its 
 matui-ity for the mower. It should be cut for hay when in blossom, 
 and can easily be cut three or four times here, wherever the land is 
 in fairly good condition. 
 
 "Those who do not succeed with it, sow it broadcast and surrender 
 it to the hogs early in the season. Those who do succeed sow in 
 drills, eighteen inches apart, and cultivate early." 
 
 It wOl be seen that Mr. Sargent advises di-Uls much wider than we 
 recommend, wliich I presume is to admit the horse-hoe, but a quicker 
 crop undoubtedly would be got at foiu'teen inches aj)ai-t, and by use 
 of the hand wheel-hoe, the work could be done on Ught soil nearly 
 as quickly as by horse cultivator. 
 
 Alfalfa is extensively grown in Europe, particularly in France and 
 Germany, where it is considered a valuable crop for rotation, and is 
 classed by the French as one of the Plantes Amelioranles (restorative 
 crops) ; for in southern France wheat has been successfully raised 
 after six or seven years of Alfalfa on ground which formerly had 
 failed to give good crops of wheat. Although Alfalfa maj' be grown 
 in cold latitudes as well as in warm, as the plant is entirely hardy, 
 yet its value is not so marked in cold climates, where it finds competi- 
 tors in Red Clover aud the grasses; but in light soils, anywhere, j^arti- 
 cularly in warm climates, its deejj-rooting properties make it com- 
 paratively independent of moisture; hence it is the forage jilaut par 
 excellence for the Southern Statts; and when it is considered that im- 
 mense sums are j)aid annually for baled hay, by the Southern to the 
 Northern States, not only for the hay itself, but to freight it, the 
 wonder is how long they will continue to do so, with the material at 
 hand to produce a better article at probably oue-fomih the cost. 
 
 At the date of our writing, thousands in Florida and other 
 Southern States are engaged in the cultiu-e of oranges, and other 
 fruits and vegetables, for the Northern markets — aud while in 
 specially favored locations success has attended these enterprises, vet 
 it is doubtful if one in four makes it profitable ; while, with the culture 
 of this valuable forage plant, the vast sums paid for Northern hay 
 would not only be saved, but the products of the dairy would assume 
 an importance which now, among most farmers in the extreme 
 Southern States, is altogether unknown. 
 
 Q. If you were confined to one of these two crops, Mr. Crozier, 
 which would you prefer to grow in your latitude, clover or lucern ? 
 
 A. As a general crop I would use clover, because my land is better 
 suited to it than it is to lucern. 
 
92 How THE Fakm Pats. 
 
 (Mr. H.) That is just the reason I asked the question, because, 
 from tlie nature of the roots of the plaut, I sliould judge that it was 
 more titted to the sandy soils of Florida and other Southern States, 
 than to most of the loamy or gravelly soils of our Northern States. 
 The appearance that it presented to me gro-w'ing in luxuriance at 
 St. Augustine, indicated that on such a soil the roots must have 
 penetrated to a gi-eat depth, or such vigorous growth could not have 
 been shown. I should say that on such lands as at Yineland, N. J., 
 or, in fact, anj'where where the soil is loose enough that you could 
 push a walking stick down to the dejith of two or thi-ee feet, would 
 be the soil for lucern. 
 
 Q. Is there any peculiaiity in the method of cming it for hay ? 
 
 A. I think it is more easily cui-ed than clover hay, for the reason 
 that the stems are less succulent than those of clover. 
 
 Q. Is any j^reference given to it by cattle over clover, either in a 
 drj' or green state '! 
 
 A. Cattle prefer lucern to any other crop I have ever fed, and I 
 believe it to be as nutritious as any other ; the only reason I do not 
 use it exclusively is, that some portions of my land are not suited to 
 its gi'owth as well as to that of clovei'. 
 
 CLOVER AND GRASS. 
 
 Q. "WTiat is your method of culture for clover and grass mixed? 
 
 A. The ground is jirepared in the fall of the year and sown to 
 wheat or rye. In the spring we sow two bushels of orchard grass 
 and twenty pounds of Mammoth Clover Seed, mixed, per acre. The 
 wheat or rye being first well rolled in the spring, the mixture of 
 clover and grass seed is then sown and the ground again rolled. In 
 the fall a light cutting is made, wliich shoidd not l)e taken off, but left 
 on the ground to protect the roots fi-om fi-eezing through the winter. 
 
 Q. Then I understand that it is your practice never to cut the crop 
 the first season of its growth, unless, as you say, a light cutting in 
 the fall ? "What advantage is there in making that cutting in the fall V 
 
 A. It protects the roots of the grass and young clover through the 
 winter fi-om fi-eezing and thawing. If it were taken off the field, it 
 would leave the roots so exposed that the frost in some soils would 
 thi'ow them out. 
 
 Q. "Would not the protection of the plant uncut be as good as the 
 protection given by its being cut and left on the gi-ouud? I can 
 understand where the advantage might be as a mulch if it could l)e 
 distributed by the mower as to cover the whole surface of the ground 
 evenly. 
 
Crops for Soiling and Foddek — Clover ajjd Grass. 93 
 
 A. The mower mil leave it level over the ground, and thus afford 
 a useful protection for the roots. Besides, the cutting of the grass 
 leaves the siuiace smooth and clear for the first spring cutting. 
 Otherwise the dead grass, if uncut, would be in the way of the 
 mower. 
 
 Q. As this matter is a very important one, I should further ask j'ou 
 to give as near the date as possible at which you cut and the height 
 you cut, supposing the clover and grass to be one foot high ? 
 
 A. I cut from the 1st to the 10th of October, and raise the machine 
 fully four inches high, leaving, as I have before said, the crop on the 
 ground as a mulch. The young shoots of the orchard grass and clover 
 strike through it very early in the spring — so early that I had to begin 
 cutting my general crop this year on the 9th of June, for hay. I 
 could only use it for a soihng crop for about one week, as lucern 
 lasted up until the time the clover was in blossom. 
 
 Q. "What is the advantage of mixing the orchard grass in the clover 
 for soihng ? 
 
 A. The reason is that the orchard grass has the habit of growing 
 in bunches, and the clover fills the vacant spaces and adds very much 
 to the yield. Another reason, the orchard grass prevents the clover 
 from falling down. A third reason, I know that cattle are fond of 
 mixed foods. A still fiuiher reason, and the most important of all, 
 is, that orchard grass and clover come into blossom at the best time 
 for cutting. 
 
 PEAS A^^D OATS. 
 
 Another crop that I have used with great satisfaction for soiling is 
 peas and oats, mixed. This is what some farmers call a " stolen " 
 crop, because it is so cpiick in its growth and matures so early 
 that it is slipped in between crops and is off in seven or eight weeks; 
 and, besides, it cleans the land and prepares it for a crop of turni2:)8 
 or fodder corn. I plow, harrow and sow the peas about the end of 
 March, and not later than the 15th of April, putting on three bushels 
 of oats and two bushels of peas to the acre, sowing broadcast on the 
 rough ground after plowing. The reason for sowing on the rough 
 gi-ound before han-owing is that it gets the seeds deeper, which is a 
 necessity, pai-ticularly with the peas. I would mention here that it 
 is difficult to haiTow in peas, and would suggest the use of the Acme 
 haiTOW to cover in this crop. After harrowing the ground is rolled 
 in the usual manner, which answers the double purpose of firming 
 it and smoothing it for hai-vesting. About the middle of June the 
 crop is fit for feeding, and wiU last up to the 1st of July, when what 
 is left is cut and dried in the same manner as hay, and jDut in the 
 
94 How Tni; Faioi Pay^. 
 
 havn, or in stacks iu the tield, puttiii;;' about eight or ten two-horse 
 loads iu a stack, where it remains lor winter use. In the winter the 
 fodder is carted to the bai-n, ran through the cutter and mixed with 
 such other feeds as will be hereafter stated. 
 
 Q. How does the weight of this crop compare with clover cut and 
 dried at the same date ? 
 
 A. I had a field of ten acres of peas and oats which produced forty 
 tons of well cured fodder. Although the conditions were not so favor- 
 able, the weight of the peas and oats exceeded that of the average 
 yield of clover fifty per cent. The land which I sowed with peas 
 and oats was not so fertile as the clover land, because the former 
 crop does not requii'e so much manui'e, as the land is manured 
 hea^•ily, after the crop is harvested, for a succeeding crop of fodder 
 corn or turnips. 
 
 Q. Then w'ould you consider the hay of jieas and oats is worth as 
 much, ton for ton, as clover hay? 
 
 A. I consider it worth one-half more than clover, for, while 
 clover haj' is worth fi-om $8 to $10 per ton, I would pay $15 per ton 
 for hay of peas and oats. I prefer it for either cattle or horses. There 
 is no other feed that you can give to a farm horse that will cany him 
 through the spring better than peas and oats, as this fodder is ex- 
 ceedingly nutritious. 
 
 Q, Why, then, is a crop that is only thi-ee months in the ground 
 and that can be grown on poor soil, and which you say is superior 
 to clover hay, not more generally cultivated ? 
 
 A. It is a crop that was almost unknown iu this country untO 
 within a few yeai's past, although I have been growing it here for 
 twenty years ; but you know how slowly the average fai-mer takes 
 to a new crop, and further, it must be sown very early or it 
 will not succeed so well, and farmers as a rule do not get their- 
 crops in early enough. I am glad, however, to saj- that the use 
 of peas to mix with oats for this purpose is increasing very 
 rapidly, and the crop will soon be popular. Last season the 
 demand was far greater than could be supplied. Our ehmate has 
 peculiar advantages for such a crof). It takes the place conijileteh- 
 of the tare or vetch so much used in Eiu-ojie, our dry, Inight 
 weather in July being peculiarly suited to cure and make of it a 
 sweet hay crop. The varieties used are the Canada araj pea, and the 
 black eye marrowfat for the second crop. 
 
 Q. "What is the best stage for cutting peas and oats for hay ? 
 
 A. I cut for hay while the grain of the oats is in the milky state ; at 
 that time the peas are just passing the blossom and iu their best 
 stage for cutting. 
 
Crops for Soiling and Fodder — Cow Pea and Millet. 95 
 
 Q. Have you ever attempted the culture of tlie Southern Cow Pea? 
 
 A. I planted twelve bushels one season that were sent me by a 
 friend in Charleston. From the way it had been spoken of in the 
 agricultural journals I expected to have a good soihng crop from it, 
 but when I came to feed it to my cows they snuffed and tossed it 
 around, but would not eat it. When I found they would not touch 
 it I plowed it under as a manure crop. I well knew the estimation 
 in which it is held at the South and for that reason was all the more 
 disappointed. Whatever the cause, it is certain that my cattle 
 refused to eat it, and it may be that the Southern cattle not having 
 so much choice of food have become accustomed to it, but, as far as 
 my observation has gone, the appeai-ance of the cattle in the South 
 is not such as to show that this is a good fodder plant, as they bear 
 no comparison with oiu- Northern stock ; and I woidd advise our 
 Southern friends to compare, under fair tests, our forage of peas and 
 oats with this Southern Cow Pea. But, as has been before stated, 
 lucern is the best of all fodder crops for the southern part of the 
 country. 
 
 JULLET. 
 
 Q. Have you made any trials of any of the millets ? 
 
 A. I have used the German millet and do not like it very well. It 
 is coai'se and the seed is too hard to digest. I have grown a groat deal 
 of Hungarian miUet, or " grass," as it is commonlj- called. It makes 
 very good winter food when cut before the seed rij^ens. If cut when 
 in bloom before it goes to seed Hungarian grass is an excellent crop. 
 It, too, may be called a " stolen " croj), as it can be sown and cut in 
 condition for hay six weeks after sowing, and may be sown after the 
 hay or oat crop has been taken off, which is far better than to let the 
 land go to weeds. No good fai-mer should suffer his land to gi-ow 
 weeds. For one reason, because of leaving it too long and stocking 
 the soil with the seeds ; for another, that he may grow a useful crop 
 hke this, or some other, just as well as a crop of weeds. I have 
 known as much as four tons of dry hay to be taken off per acre from 
 Hungarian gi-ass, in sis weeks from the time of sowing. No other 
 crop will stand the heat so well as this. It is just here that I may 
 raise my voice in warning against the common practice with fanners 
 of going over too much land. One hundred acres judiciously tilled 
 win bring a greater jjrofit than 200 acres tilled in a sliijshod way ; 
 for with this crop we are just speaking of, after a crop of oats, or 
 wheat, or rye, has been taken fi-om the ground, there is yet plenty 
 of time. And it is just the time to plow and sow with it, because of 
 
9f) How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 all plants it luxiu'iates the best in Lot weather, ami may be grown on 
 fairlv good to the richest soil, but, of coui'se, ^^■ith corresponding 
 results. Common miUet difl'ers from Hungarian grass only in the 
 form of the head or panicle, which is looser and more open than the 
 spike of Hungarian grass. The awns or beards of millet are softer 
 than those of Hungaiiuu gi'ass, and on this account the miUet is 
 better liked by some farmers, who beUeve that Hungarian grass is 
 injurious to horses, and with, j^erhaps, some reason, on account of its 
 short, stiff, sharj) awns. The amount of seed of either kind sown is 
 a jjeck to half a bushel per acre. Another important fodder plant, to 
 a limited extent, is Pearl Millet, which I tried several years ago; 
 but as 3'ou, Mr. Henderson, have got some notoriety by youi- experi- 
 ments with it at that time, and some blame too, I think if you have 
 no scruples in the matter it would be well to give such information 
 in regard to it as your experience enables you. 
 
 (Mr. H.) Pearl Millet isnow wellknown all over the country, especially 
 in the Southern States, where it goes by the common name of Cat Tail 
 MiUet. In 1878 I determined to give it a thorough trial, and i)re- 
 pared a piece of good gi'ound, as if for a root crop, by manuring at 
 the rate of twelve or fifteen tons to the acre, jjlowing deeply and 
 harrowing. The seed was sown in diills twenty inches aiiaii, 
 at the rate of foui' to five pounds to the acre. The seed was 
 sown about the middle of May. When the plants were up a 
 cultivator was iim tlirough the rows, and the growth became so 
 rapid that no further cultiu'e was necessaiy. The fii'st cutting 
 was made forty-five days after sowing; it was seven feet high 
 and covered the whole ground. The crop, cut three inches 
 above the ground, weighed, as cut, at the rate of thirty tons per 
 acre ; dried, six and one-half tons per acre of hay. The second 
 gi'owth, cut forty- five days from the time of the fii'st cutting, was nine 
 feet high, and weighed at the rate of fiftj'-five tons to the acre fresh, 
 equal to eight tons di-ied. The last growth started rapidly, but the 
 cool weather retarded it, so that the last cutting only weighed ten 
 tons green, and one and one-half tons dried. The total yield was as 
 follows: First cutting, in forty-five days, gave thirty tons gi'eeu, or 
 six and one-half tons dry; second cutting, in forty-five days, gave 
 fifty-five tons gi-een, or eight tons dry; third cutting, in forty-five 
 days, gave ten tons green, or one and one-half tons dry ; in all being 
 ninety-five tons green fodder in I'M) days, equal to sixteen tons of 
 hay. These results, published at the time, gave rise to some severe 
 criticism by persons who had failed to do as well with the crop as I 
 had done. But it should l)e remembered that the conditions under 
 which an experiment is made are essentially necessai-y to a successful 
 
Crops fob Soiling A2iv Foddek — Corn. 07 
 
 repetition of it, and if these differ in any respect, and esjjecially if 
 they are inferior, failure is apt to result. 
 
 A,'! 1 have had many inquiries as to the best manner of drying 
 Pearl Millet for " hay," I would say that oui' crop was sown in a 
 soUd block, so that when cut it had to be removed from the land 
 where it grew, and tied in sheaves, and hung up on an extemijorized 
 rail fence until cured. This jjlan of coui'se would not answer on a 
 large scale, as the crop is so enormous that such an expedient for 
 drying would be too expensive both for labor and rails, and as it is 
 too heavy and succulent to be diied hke Timothy and Clover, on the 
 ground where it is cut, it must be removed, for to attempt to dry it 
 where it grows would destroy the second crop. Cii'cumstances, of 
 course, must in a great measure be a guide, but we would suggest, 
 that when gxown for the purjiose of being dried, that it be sown in 
 beds, say twelve feet wide, with alleys sis feet between, where it may 
 be dried ; this, of course, would be a loss of one-thu-d of the land for 
 the first crop, but it would be little or no loss of crop in the second, 
 for the mOlet would spread so as to fiU up all the six feet of alley. 
 
 FODDER CORN. 
 
 Q. I believe, Mr. Crozier, you hold that one of the most valuable 
 crojjs for soUing purposes is fodder corn. Please state what is yoiu" 
 mode of ctdtui'e and experience with this crop ? 
 
 A. In my hands fodder corn has been such a successful crop that it 
 seems useless for me to attempt to grow anything else of the same 
 natui'e. I consider it to be above all others the most valuable for 
 soUing purposes, on account of the great length of time we can 
 feed it in its gi-een state, from Julj' until fi'ost, and at the very time 
 when in most cases grass and all other green feed is withered and dried. 
 As this, in my estimation, is a crop of such vast imjoortance, I wiU give 
 in detail my method of cultiu'e, which is as follows : I have found that 
 to obtain the best results with this crop the land should be plowed in the 
 fall and left to the action of the fi-ost aU winter. About the middle of 
 April I haiTow and strike out fiuTows three and oue-haLf feet aj)art. 
 This is done with a home-made implement called a ' ' fuiTow marker," 
 which has two triangular teeth, and makes two fiUTOws at once, six 
 inches deeji and ten wide, thus making a gi-eater width of row thfin 
 could possibly be done with the plow. (See illustration.) Manure 
 is di-opped in the furrows at the rate of twenty wagon loads of good 
 compost to the acre. If manui'e cannot be had, the best artificial 
 fertihzer that can be x^rocui-ed should be used instead, at the rate of 
 
98 How THE Farm Pats. 
 
 500 pounds per acre, sowed in the furrows. Two bushels of White 
 Southern Corn is sown per acre, or a good handful to every step. I 
 have found this yariety to be the best for soihng. The work of 
 spreading the manure in the fuiTOWs, sowing the corn and coveiing, 
 should all follow each other in quick succession, so as to prevent the 
 land or manure from drying up before the crop is in. The brush 
 haiTow with the brash taken out (shown on a previous page) is the 
 best implement to be used to cover the gi-aiu Ughtly. I formerly cov- 
 ered with the plow, throwing a fui-row up to each side of the diill; 
 Init I find that the lighter it is covered, the fi-eer it is from 
 rot or injury. After coveiing, it is rolled in the usual manner. 
 In this section the first crop is sown about the last of May 
 and others every two weeks in succession until the middle 
 
 FUiiKUW S 
 
 of June, when I put in a larger ciuantity for drying for winter 
 feed. It is cultivated once a week untU it gets too large for a 
 horse to pass through it, which will be with that sown in May about 
 the fii-st week iu July, and for that sown in June, about the 1st of 
 August. No more work is required uutU the corn is ready to cut 
 and cure, which is from the Ist to the 1.5th of September, the corn 
 at this time being tasseled out, and in the best stage for curing. I 
 formerly cut with a mowing machine, taking two rows at a time ; 
 but of late years I have found that it is more expensive and entails 
 more labor to gather it and shock it, after the machine, than when cut 
 with corn hook and carried direct to the shock. Each man takes 
 two rows at a time, cames his armful to the shock, which should be 
 close by, jilants it as straight on the end as possible, and so on until 
 there is about 500 pounds in the shock. We then take a strong 
 hemp rope, with an eye in one end, through which the other end is 
 passed, and draw it tightly around the middle of the shock, and then 
 
Fodder Corn — How Ciieed and Used. 99 
 
 tie or bind the top of tlie shock with a rye straw band, in such a way 
 as best to shed the rains. 
 
 A letter to the Milwaukee Sentinel in June of 1883 says: " Hon. 
 Geo. F. Lord, of Elgin, keeps 100 cows on 300 acres of land, and has 
 not raised a pound of hay for years. The corn is sowed in drills 
 three and one-half feet apart, and about the time it blossoms it is cut 
 with a self-raking reaper, cutting one row at a time, the machine 
 throwing it off in gavels. When sufficiently wilted it is bound and 
 set in large stacks and allowed to cure standing on the ground until 
 winter sets in, when it is hauled to the barn. He secures a yield of 
 about seven tons of cured fodder to the acre, worth as much as the 
 best hay. He is one of the most successful dauymen in Illinois. " 
 
 In the latitude of New York, it will keep shocked ui the open field 
 through the winter until spring. If it is not convenient to leave it in the 
 field after it is dried and cured, which is usually three or four weeks 
 after it is shocked, it should be bound uj) in sheaves and carted to the 
 barn, or stacked or put in sheds convenient to where it is to be used. 
 My plan in feeding is to run it through the cutter worked by horse 
 power, and mix it with cut hay, or peas and oats, and pulped or 
 crushed roots, adding a little salt. We cut enough at one time to 
 last for a week, unless the weather be warm, as the crushed roots 
 would then naturally ferment. The roots when jjulped or cmshed 
 are in the same condition as apples when they come fi-om the cider 
 press. In this state, they satui'ate the cut fodder better than when 
 chopped up by the ordinary root cutter. A machine known as a 
 " Root Pulper " is used almost exclusively for that purpose in Britain, 
 but I think few of them are in use here. For cutting roots for a few 
 cows, a useful cutter is made as follows: A heavy steel blade is made 
 in the shape of a x and fitted to a strong handle ; the roots are put 
 in a feed box and chopped up with it very quickly. About twenty- 
 five years ago when riuming a milk farm I steamed aU the feed for 
 the cattle, but it was mixed in the same way. I found some ad- 
 vantage in the saving of feed, and, iu fact, continued steaming up to 
 1876. While visiting Europe and consulting with stock raisers there, 
 I found they had abandoned steaming feed for then- breeding animals, 
 and on my return home I made the change from steaming to this 
 mode of feeding, and have fovmd it to be most beneficial, not only in 
 the saving of labor, but the stock do much better. The calves are 
 bom stronger and healthier. The cows produce more butter, but not 
 so much milk, as when fed on steamed feed. 
 
 Q. What is your estimate of the value for feeding puiiioses of 
 Timothy hay or Orchard Grass hay as compared with fodder com? 
 
 A. I consider fodder corn for feeding isurposes to be more 
 
100 How THE Fabm Pays. 
 
 viduable than Timothy, as the grass is too harsh for the animals, and 
 I think that well cured fodder corn, with the mixtures heretofore 
 mentioned, is equally as good, pound for pound, as Orchai'd Grass, or 
 "peas and oats," or any other of the best hays. 
 
 Q. Why, then, if it is equally valuable, do you grow the hay grasses 
 at all, as their weight is less than hiilf, per acre, that of the fodder com? 
 
 A. It would not be practicable to grow fodder com exclusively 
 upon the majority of farms. Growing the grasses is a necessity for 
 the rotation of crops, and when once seeded down they will last for 
 several years without any further cost, except that of a top di-essing, 
 which cost, of course, enters into the question, every time, when com 
 or other crops are gi'owu, specially for fodder. 
 
 FEEDIXG SOILING CROPS. 
 
 Q. In feeding the green crops, Mr. Crozier, that you use for soiling, 
 in what condition are they fed to the stock — are they fed fresh and 
 green, as they are cut '? 
 
 A. They ai-e cut in the morning for feeding in the afternoon or 
 next morning. I think it is better to let them wilt — they are not so 
 ai)t to act unfavorably upon the bowels; and I find that cattle will eat 
 their food with better appetite, and give more milk, when it is wilted, 
 than when it is given fi-esh cut. "When the fodder is cut, it is simply 
 left on the gi'ound until it is brought in for feeding. 
 
 Q. Would there be any danger of injm-y if too much of it were fed 
 green to the stock ? 
 
 A. It is very apt to bloat, or blow, as it is called, paiiiculai-ly if 
 cut when wet. When too large a quantity is taken into the stomach, 
 gases are evolved wliieh cause death, if the animal is not reheved. 
 It is always better, as a means of precaution, to mix -with the green 
 feed ten per cent, of cut hay or straw. 
 
 Q. Do you continue to use this mixture of cut hay or straw with 
 such croj)s as you use for soiling thi'oughout the entire season ? 
 
 A. No; only until we get the bowels regulated, being careful not 
 to :nake the change too quick fi'om the mixture to tlie gi-ecn feed. 
 
 Q. Then, when you are regularh' under way with the soiling fodder, 
 do you use that exclusivelj' ? 
 
 A. Yes; but we give in addition bran, and sometimes meal, 
 according to the condition of the cattle. If they are in fuU milk we 
 give both bran and meal, fi-om seven to ten pounds per day to each, 
 according to size of the cow. This is always mixed with some of 
 the fodder cut. If they are coming into calving, we do not give any- 
 
Feeding Green Ckops — Bloating. 
 
 101 
 
 thing but the soiling; but we are very cautious to commence light, 
 and increase the feed, gradually the first week, although I feed so 
 much mangels and other roots, that the sudden change is not so 
 much as it would be if hay or dry food alone were fed. 
 
 Q. When the cattle have become completely imu'ed to the soiling 
 do you give them as much feed as they can consume ? 
 
 A. Yes; I give them aU they ^vill eat clean without leaving any. 
 
 Q. ^Vhat is the indication when an animal has become " blo\vn " 
 by having had too much wet green feed? 
 
 A. The animal becomes restless, lies down and gets uj) and down 
 again; breathes short and quick, indicating distress; her side is 
 extended as high as her back, and sometimes higher than her back- 
 bone. 
 
 Q. In such cases is death inevitable it no remedy is used '? 
 
 A. It is; but we fortunately have efl'ective remedies. The quickest 
 and best is, perhajis, the trochar and cauula, which is driven into her 
 
 TKOCHAR AND CA2fIILA. 
 
 i it is -withdrawn. 
 
 left side, near the short rib. This instrument is made with a scab- 
 bard or cover, as shown in the accompanying cut; this is left in the 
 wound untU all the gas has escaped. It is then taken out, and the 
 skin closes over the wound in the stomach, which, with the wound in 
 the skin, soon heals, without any ill effect. 
 
 Q. When taken in time is the trochar certain to give rehef ? 
 
 A. Yes; immediately. 
 
 Q. Is there not danger of injuiing the animal by use of it in inex- 
 perienced hands ? 
 
 A. There is some danger, and I would not advise an inexperienced 
 person to use it. A very simple and safe remedy is to saturate a 
 horse blanket thorouglily with cold water, and throw it across the 
 loins and back, and pour cold water over it. I have known this to 
 give immediate relief. 
 
 Q. But in the hands of an experienced cattle man what remedj' do 
 you consider the best? 
 
102 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 A. I always use the trochar myself, which I think affords the 
 speediest and surest relief. Another remedy is to give brewer's 
 yeast to the animal. It is a sure remedy if it can be had fi'esh. A 
 quart of the yeast, given at once, acts as a jDui-gative very quickly, 
 and so reheves the animal. Another easy remedy is to put a short 
 round stick, about two inches thick, crossways between the animal's 
 jaws, in the manner of a bit, and fasten the ends to the homs, draw- 
 ing it close up. This causes the cow to make efforts to reUeve herself 
 of it, holding up her head, and gives the gas a chance to escape. 
 The trochar and canula, however, affords the most certain rehef. 
 The puncture is made at a spot half way between the last rib and the 
 hip bone, on the left side, and a little below the line of the hip bone. 
 The dii'ection of the instrument should be downwards, so as to avoid 
 injiu-ing the kidney. The swelling is always the gi-eatest just at 
 this spot. 
 
 Q. To get at a right understanding of this important matter of 
 soiling, please state at what season of the year you begin and your 
 method of feeding it? 
 
 A. I begin to feed about the middle of May with rye, which, as lias 
 been stated before, is the first green feed. I feed about seven o'clock 
 directly after milking in the morning, feeding a little at a time, until 
 they seem satisfied. "What is left is taken fi-om before them and the 
 mangers cleaned ready for the next feeding. They are fed again at 
 noon and at four- o'clock in the afternoon. At six o'clock they ai-e 
 milked, turned into the paddock for a night's rest, where they enjoy 
 the fresh, cool air, and are fi'ee fi'om the annoyance of flies. This pro- 
 cess of soUing the cattle is continued until the middle of November, 
 if frost and cold weather keep off so long; and very often later, as I 
 often plant a few acres of late cabbage, and sometimes a portion of 
 them do not head up, and ai'e in that condition used for soiling, the 
 same as any other gi-een fodder. Field pumi^kius are used late in 
 the fall in the same manner, broken up with an axe, and fed to the 
 cows once a day. The cabbage and the pumpkins then -will carry us 
 sometimes to the end of November, according to the season, but we 
 generally make it a point to begin our regular winter feed about the 
 middle of November, which is done in the following manner: Dried 
 fodder corn, or hay made from oats and jjeas, orchard or other grasses 
 is cut, and mixed with crushed roots, which have been run through 
 the machine known as the ' ' pulper " until they are of the consistence of 
 apples ground for cider, enough being mixed to last a week at a time. 
 The whole is mixed with a little salt (bone meal at times), bran and 
 ground oats and corn, and lately I have used with gi'eat advantage a little 
 cotton seed meal. There is nothing arbitrary in the quantities used of 
 
Economy of Soilisg. 103 
 
 these, which we may call condiments, but the main articles, the cut hay 
 and the crushed roots, are used about in the joroportion of a cart load, or 
 thirty bushels, of the roots, to a ton of the provender. It is then 
 thrown in a heap on the barn floor and allowed to ferment enough to 
 make it sUghtly warm, as I find it is a great advantage to give warm 
 feed to milch cows in the winter. The quantitj' given to each cow of 
 average size is a common bushel basket full twice a day, unless she is 
 in full milk, when she is allowed a httle more as may be thought 
 necessary. At midday I give them hay after they have been watered 
 in their stalls, the water being shghtly warmed, as I find that if permitted 
 to drink cold water, the change would make a loss of several pounds of 
 milk per day with each cow. Practically this may be found difficult 
 or inconvenient upon farms, which are not well provided with the 
 faculties for warming the water. In such cases, however, it may be 
 quite easy to take care that the water troughs are kept free from ice 
 or snow in the winter season, and to give the cows only water that is 
 fresh drawn from a well or a cistern. The troughs should be emptied 
 as soon as the cattle are watered, by means of a hole in the bottom, 
 stopped vrith a plug, and covers provided for them to prevent them 
 becoming fUled with snow. Well water is rarely colder than fifty or 
 forty-five degrees, and this temperature is not injurious. 
 
 (Mr. H. ) I have heard objections made to this practice of soUing 
 by some persons, on account of the extra labor involved in it. I can- 
 not see it in that hght. I have been told, on the other hand, that 
 this extra labor is by no means so great as some think it to be, 
 especially when a weU arranged system is practiced. For instance, 
 take a farm where thirty cows are kept. Each feed amounts to forty 
 pounds for each cow — that is, 1,200 pounds in all — which is a 
 moderate load for one horse. A smart boy or a man takes a team and 
 wagon to the field. A mowing machine is kept there. This I would 
 say should be covered with a waterproof sheet when not in use. The 
 horses are put to the mower and the fodder is cut. One, two or even 
 three feeds ahead may be cut, to provide against rainy days. The 
 load cut on the previous evening is loaded, and hauled to the barn. 
 This is the work of an hour or perhaps more, but ceiiainly not two. 
 The wagon is drawn into the feeding passage and the load thrown off, 
 or it may be put du-ectly into the feeding racks, but it is preferable 
 to have one or two feeds ahead in the bai'u. In this way half the 
 time of a man might be taken up daily in getting the feed for thirty 
 cows. The rest of his time may be profitably taken up in caring for 
 them in other ways, and in caring for the manm-e. This will cost 
 about three cents a day for each cow. The saving in manure wiU 
 pay that, while the saving in the feed will pay even more. For 
 
10-1 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 smaller heida the cost in proportion is even less, as one boi-se and a 
 boy ■will do all tlie work. 
 
 (Mr. C.) This view is undoubtedly con'ect and the description of 
 the woi-k is a fau- one. In farming, all the work that can be done 
 usefully adds to the profit, and no lai'mer should be afraid of soiling 
 because it involves some little additional work, when this work 
 pays so well for itself. 
 
 Q. How long- do you continue to turn the cattle out at night ? 
 
 A. On account of the danger of sudden cold storms coming up at 
 night and of white frost on the grass, we do not usually leave them 
 out later than the middle of September, to remain all night. M'ti 
 then change to feed morning and evening, and tui'u them out at mid- 
 day, keeping them in the stables at night, as at that season of the 
 year we always expect these sudden changes, in this northern latitude. 
 
 Q. Do you give them exercise in the severe weather ? 
 
 A. I have had my animals in the stables thi-ee months at a time 
 without ever letting them out of the stalls, for the reason that cows 
 with calf are apt to be abused by the other cows, and if they are 
 fresh in milk, the less exercise they have, the more milk they will pro- 
 duce, as they ai-e more contented when in their stalls and at rest. It 
 is a common practice with many farmers to let their cattle run about 
 the stack yards all winter through. In the spring they are in a sad 
 condition from jDoverty, and httle can be expected from them the fol- 
 lowing summer. Many persons get the very mistaken idea that cows 
 should have a chance to get out to lick themselves. This I think is a 
 great inj\iry to the animals and is one of the most fruitful sources of 
 bad health, because thoy lick the hair ofl' themselves, and of course 
 swallow some of it. When it gets into the stomach it remains there, 
 and impedes the fi'ee action of the bowels, sometimes gathering into 
 hard balls and producing death. Instead of pennittiug the cow to 
 lick herself or to be licked by her companions, I use a curry-comb 
 and stifi" brush, which are appUed twice each day so vigorously as to 
 remove all loose hair, and keep the pores of the skin open. If this is 
 done a cow %vill never attempt to lick herself. This enables the con- 
 stant perspu-ation from the skin to pass off in a proper manner, which 
 greatly helps the health of the cow and indeed has a considerable 
 effect upon the purity of the milk. 
 
 Q. Do not cows requii-e a certain quantity of salt with then- food? 
 
 A. I give a small handful of salt and tine bone meal mixed half and 
 half, every morning, after their cribs axe cleaned out. For the first 
 few times a new comer does not like the bone meal; but as soon as 
 she gets a taste of it she looks for it as regularly every morning as 
 her feed. In the spring of the yeai- the old practice was to bleed; 
 
Abortion in Cows. 105 
 
 tut instead of bleeding, wliich at times is a useless and injurious 
 practice, especiall^y ■when done ■nithout jii'oper knowledge, I give salts 
 aoid sulpliiu- to cleanse and jjurifj' the blood. The proper quantity 
 for a full-grown animal should be one-half pound of salts and two 
 ounces of sulphiu-, which is made into three doses and a dose given 
 every two days. In connection with this matter of allowing cows to 
 ran in the barn-yards, it is, in my opinion, one of the great causes of 
 
 ABORTION IN CATTLE. 
 
 I am constantly receiving letters inquiring as to the cause of this 
 disease (for it has unmistakably shown itself to be a disease under 
 certain conditions), and the permitting of cattle to run in the barn- 
 yards, where they have the chance to push, butt and abuse each 
 other, is, I am confident, in many cases, a frequent cause of the 
 trouble; and once this disease gets into the herd, it is almost impos- 
 sible to get rid of it until it has infected the entu'e stock. A farmer 
 known to me had some twenty abortions amongst his fine herd of 
 Jerseys this season, and only saved a few calves from cows that were 
 on a distant farm. He told me that he had wiitteu to nearly every 
 prominent breeder in the country to find out the cause, besides 
 stating his case in several of the agricultural jom-nals, but without get- 
 ting any satisfactory reply. A letter received from him a few daj's ago 
 stated that he had found that it was a heifer that he had pui'chasedinthe 
 summer of 1882 that had brought this serious disease into his herd, entail- 
 ing aloss of thousands of doUai"s. In my oijiniou, the probable cause was 
 that the rest of his cows had set upon the stranger and gored her and 
 hurt her, and in this manner caused her to abort. His yard, I think, 
 is not more than 100 feet square, in which he kept thiiiy head of 
 cattle. The yard was littered with salt or marsh hay, probably three 
 feet deep. On this the herdsman would scatter the corn stalks or 
 hay for the cattle, and the result was that the master cow would 
 attack the one nearest her, and so on until all were bruised less or 
 more. I beheve this very imj^roper manner of feeding has now been 
 changed, and the animals are kept in box stalls. 
 
 Q. Abortion, I beUeve, Mr. Crozier, is generally sujjposed to be 
 first brought about by mechanical means. How do you account for 
 its being infectious '? 
 
 A. It is probably caused by the taint or smeU from the afterbirth, 
 which always follows an abortion. The best preventive from infection 
 from this odor is for the herdsman to promptly use his l)est judgment 
 in relieving the cow from the placenta, being careful to bury all of it 
 
100 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 bevond possibility of odor arising. Thorough disinfection of the 
 stable, bv burning sulphur in it in some careful and safe manner, is 
 also important, to destroy the germs of the disease. The infected 
 cow should also be removed from the herd for several days. This 
 disinfecting of stables -w-ill be found useful in all cases of eijidemic 
 diseases. For a stable of twenty cows one or two jwunds would be 
 required. Injections, thi-ee times a day, of a pint of bl(x)d warm 
 water with ten drops of carbohc acid, should be given, for the purix)se 
 of cleansing the cow which has aborted. My own experience in this 
 matter, I am happy to say, has never been such as to give me much 
 annoyance, ha\-ing been in the habit of taking suitable precautions. 
 I am so confident that cows in a condition of pregnancy are abnormally 
 sensitive to the foul odoi-s from decomposing animal matter, that the 
 slightest taint of it in our stables is at once hunted up and removed, 
 and this is particidai-ly the case with all the liner class of animals, such 
 as A^Tshires, Jerseys or Holsteins, or any of the high bred or thorough- 
 bred animals, as they ai'e seemingly more sensitive to such impres- 
 sions than the common stock. For this reason I consider it to be one 
 of the most dangerous things for any stock breeder to permit the 
 placenta, even from sound cows, in ordinary cases, or any other 
 sinular animal matter, to remain for a moment longer than is actually 
 necessaiy to remove it. It should be at once removed and buried 
 deep enough so that no odor can be emitted from it. Eats or mice, 
 for this reason, should never be poisoned; the simplest remedy is 
 plenty of cats. If rats are exceedingly troublesome the following plan 
 is recommended : get a box ti-ap and catch one ; then paint it all over 
 with gas tar, excejat the head, which must not be touched, putting as 
 much tar upon the body as you can get to stick, and take it to its 
 hole and let it run in. Cai-e must be taken not to hurt the rat in any 
 way, and not to get the t-ar into the eyes or mouth, as it must be able 
 to i-un through all the holes in the yai-d. If half a dozen are caught 
 and so treated, all the better chance of their being banished. 
 
 (Mr. H.) There is no doubt that this disease is exceedingly trouble- 
 some and occasions serious loss. It is not confined, either, to any 
 one breed of cattle, although, perhaps, the Jerseys are the most sub- 
 ject to it, for cases occur quite numerously in dauies where only 
 native cattle aie kept. I am inclined to beheve that, while you are 
 correct as fai- as yoiu- experience goes, yet you do not go far enough 
 ia your explanation of this dangerous, and sometimes mj-sterious, 
 disease. I have heard of cases in which the calves of a whole herd 
 have been lost, when there has been no known mechanical cause for 
 it. In these cases the abortion was emphatically a disease. In con- 
 sulting a standaid work on veteiinarv surgerv", by the leading 
 
Causes op Abortion. 107 
 
 authority in the world (Prof. Geo. Fleming, whose work on Veterinary- 
 Obstetrics is a test book in the colleges), I find this disease has been 
 a source of trouble for many years, especially in dailies, in many 
 places the losses averaging seventeen, and even twenty-five, per cent, 
 every year, imtil prevented. As any one who reads the leading 
 agricultural papers may see, the losses (which, however, are not 
 pubUshed in the majority of cases, for obvious reasons) among the 
 higher classes of dauy cattle are exceedingly numerous, and, some- 
 times, are almost ruinous. It becomes, therefore, of serious import- 
 ance to know something as to how this disease occurs and how to 
 prevent its occuxrence; for as to ciu'e, any person can understand 
 that that is out of the question, because the evil is, necessarily, past cure. 
 
 Prof. Fleming says this disease is either sporadic (or accidental) or 
 epizootic (or communicated and contagious, or due to widespread 
 causes operating over an extended space at the same time). The 
 causes are external or internal. Of external causes he enumerates, 
 atmospheric influences; irregular seasons; depressing effects of con- 
 tinuous bad weather; cold suddenly apphed to the skin, as by a 
 sudden cold storm in hot weather, or exposiu-e to rain or sleet in. 
 the winter, or exposure to frosty nights after warm autumn days. 
 The food and water often cause the trouble. Frosty herbage and 
 very cold water, by suddenly chilling the stomach, affect the foetus, 
 and cause its death and premature expulsion. Indigestible food, or 
 food that is too concentrated and disturbs the digestive organs and 
 causes bloating or disorders of the blood, also endangers the foetus. 
 Foul water, which is charged with injurious germs of a fungoid char- 
 acter, is exceedingly dangerous. Some plants will produce the 
 disease; common horse tails {equisetum), which is common in some 
 pastures and meadows, and swamp sedges, are known to be dangerous. 
 The leaves of red cedar (the savin of the druggists) surely produces 
 it, and is used medicinallj' as the ergot of rye is. This fungus, when 
 taken into the stomach in small quantities, produces violent contrac- 
 tions of the muscular fibre, and, when eaten iu large quantities, is a 
 deadly poison. Excessive muscular action, and blows and violent 
 strains in moving in cramped positions, are also causes. Sudden 
 excitement and alarm, as an attack by dogs, or by other cows, and 
 anything which unduly excites the nerves, have been known to pro- 
 duce it. But contagion, produced by exposure to the virus from 
 aborted cows, has been considered as the most frequent cause of this 
 disease, which often runs through a whole herd, and even appears hi 
 others at some distance. 
 
 The internal causes enumerated lu-e irregular feeding, either to 
 excess, or in the opposite direction; constitutional predisposition; 
 
108 
 
 How THE Farm Pats. 
 
 natui-al orpjanic weakness; disorders of the bowels; diarrhoea, consti- 
 pation, and, especially, hiuf,' disorders, which cause convulsive coughs, 
 or disturb the circ'ulution, and produce conjjestion or auamia. 
 
 The causes are thus very numerous, and are, no doubt, much more 
 prevalent, in one form or another, than is generally supposed. For 
 
 w 
 
 TIMOTHY gUACK OHASS 
 iiltUUT. KBOOT. 
 
 instance, how often are cows suddenly chilled by exposure to snow or 
 rain storms; cold drafts in the stable in severe weather, or other acci- 
 dents, which too often happen in dairies where it is supposed the 
 
Precautions Against Abortion. 109 
 
 cows are treated with the utmost care; so much so, perhaps, as to 
 unduly expose them to sudden changes, by making them more sus- 
 ceptible. 
 
 (Mr. C.) I know it is a common belief among the Scotch shepherds 
 that feeding frozen tui-nips to ewes causes the loss of the lambs, and 
 great care is taken to avoid it. In mj' dairy my plan of pulj^ing the 
 roots and mixing them with cut hay or fodder, and letting the heap 
 ferment and heat a little, avoids this danger. It is quite certain that 
 if greater precautions were taken, with a constant view of the always 
 impending danger of this disease, its fi-equency would be very much 
 lessened. 
 
 (Ml'. H.) The danger of ergot in the grasses is one that is whoUj' 
 overlooked, and yet it is extremely common. Eye is very much sub- 
 ject to this parasite (of which, on this account, it wiU be useful to 
 give an illustration, that it may be recognized). This fungus is a 
 sure provocative of this disease, as is well known. AVhen the grain 
 is tlireshed the spears of ergot are broken up, and either go out in 
 the chaff, or remain to be ground up with the grain in the mill. In 
 bolting the Hour the ergot is separated with the bran, and lye bran 
 is largely used as food for dairy cows. Then the grasses are very 
 subject to ergot, especially the common quack grass, timothy, fox- 
 tail, and especially the rye grasses (see illustrations), and precau- 
 tions in this respect are indispensable. 
 
 Then the jDrevalence of smut in the small grains, and especiallj' in 
 corn, of which not only the ear, but the tassel stalk and leaves, are 
 infested, is a constant danger, because the effect of this fungus is 
 j)recisely similar to that of ergot. I notice that Prof. Fleming, in his 
 work above quoted, gives an instance in which eleven abortions in 
 one herd were directly traced to the use of smut in corn. 
 
 In regard to its contagious character, j'our suggestion to com- 
 pletely destroy the discharged fcetus and membranes, and to 
 thoroughly disinfect the stable by burning sulphur freely in it, I con- 
 sider very valuable; and I would add, that the Uberal use of lime to 
 destroj- the waste matter that should be safely buried, or the biu'ning 
 of it, would remove a constant danger. Fiu-ther, the cow shoidd be 
 removed to a safe place by itself, and its manure destroyed or decom- 
 posed hj lime until all danger of infection had passed away. And I 
 think every owner of a valuable herd would be wise to carefully in- 
 struct his herdsmen upon these points and especially upon those 
 which relate to the prevention of the trouble, for in this case pre- 
 vention is the onl}^ remedj'. 
 
110 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 CILVPTER ^T:. 
 
 GRASS AND ITS MANAGEMENT. 
 
 (111-. C.) There is probably no subject in wliicli there is more 
 interest taken bv the farming community of the United States at the 
 jjresent time, tliau that of j^rass. There is but little doubt that the 
 gravest blunders have been made, and are still being made, in the use 
 of varieties that are entirely uncongenial to certain soils, and the con- 
 tinuance in use of the older sorts, thi-ough ignorance that there are 
 better kind.s, which would jiroduce nearly one-third more than the 
 varieties now commonly gro^vn. The subject of grass in England is 
 much better understood than with us, and exj^erimental gi'ounds have 
 long been devoted to the i)iu'pose of ascertaining what varieties are best 
 suited for the different soils. Here, however, we have ah'eady several 
 such stations devoted to the same piu-2:)ose, but they have not yet been 
 long enough in use to detinitely determine what vaiieties are best 
 suited to the different sections. Of coui-se here the task is a much 
 more comi^rehensive one that it is in the limited area of Great Britain, 
 as we have such wide variation of cUmate and soil, so that with the 
 very best endeavors, it will take many years before we can hope to 
 attain to that degree of jierfection in this aU-important matter that 
 they have now reached in Enghmd. In addition to the official experi- 
 mental stations, which are attempting this work in several sections of 
 the country, wde-awake farmers have, liy their own efforts, made 
 great improvements in the selection of gi-asses suitable for jiermanent 
 pastiu-e or hapng lands. The vaiieties of gxas-ses named in the fol- 
 lowing pages are comparatively few, but they are such as in ray long 
 experience I have found of more or less merit. There ai-e, no doubt, 
 many other varieties that may yet be used, that may answer better 
 than some of those named, but we can only anticipate in this matter. 
 Heretofore the base grass, as it may be called, for hay crop in all the 
 Northern States, has been Timothy; but experiments that have been 
 canied on for a jieriod of twenty yeai-s have led me to believe that 
 
 ORCHARD GRASS 
 
 is much better fitted to be the leading kind in mixtui'es, whether for 
 pasture or for hay, or used alone or otherwise; and I place it fai- in 
 advance, not only of Timothy, but of any other gi-ass we have thus fju- 
 
Value of Okchaed Grass. 
 
 Ill 
 
 in cultivation. Any one acquainted with the growth of roots will see 
 at a glance, by the illustration, that it is a plant better fitted for 
 permanency than any of the other varieties of grasses mentioned in 
 this work. In addition to that it has a merit which I consider to be 
 far above all the rest ; this is the early date at which it is in a condi- 
 tion to be cut for hay, whether sown alone or in mixtures. It is 
 found that it can be cut between two and three weeks before Timothy 
 
 MEADOW FOXTAIL. 
 
 is ready. The present season my whole crop was cut and in the bams 
 about the 20th of June, at least twenty days before the other fai-mers 
 in this vicinity had begnin to cut their Timothy. The advantage of 
 this earUness is not only that it gives three weeks longer for the 
 aftermath to grow, but another reason, far more important, is, that at 
 this date the white Ox-eye Daisy {Chrysanthemum leuca>ithemum), and 
 other troublesome weeds, are not yet in a condition to seed, so that 
 should any of them happen to be in the fields, they ai-e destroyed by 
 being cut before they have ripened their seeds. Any one riding along 
 the raih-oads through Pennsvlvania, New Jersey, New York or Con- 
 
112 How THE Farm Pats. 
 
 nec'ticut, wi]l imderstand the vast importance of this means of checking 
 the white daisy, when it is seen that tens of thousands of acres have 
 been given up to the possession of that wortliless weed. It is in full 
 seed at the time Timothy hay is cut, and its seed retains vitahtv for 
 years. "When this weed is mixed with the hay the mischief done is 
 not only for the succeeding yeai-, but it may be for half a dozen yeai-s 
 after, as the seed, if jilowed down into the ground, will remain for 
 yeai's, and will germinate when brought to the sui-face again by a 
 subsequent plowing. 80, then, we see, that if we are able to use 
 Orchard Grass, which is not only equally as good, but better in many 
 resjjects than Timothy, having in addition the vjiluable quahty of 
 being in fit condition to cut at a season before the devastating white 
 daisy is in seed, we have accompUshed something at which tlie fai'miug 
 community may well rejoice. There is an unfortunate matter con- 
 nected with the name of this grass, however, which we shall endeavor 
 as far as possible to set right. It is universally known with us as 
 Orchai'd Grass, giving the impression to those unactjuainted with it 
 that it is only fitted for growing in the orchai'd or under partial 
 shade. Although no other grass will do better under such circum- 
 stances, yet, like all other strong growing grasses, it will always pro- 
 duce a heavier ci'op if exposed to the bright and oi)en sunshine. 
 
 Q. Have yoix ever in your practice, ]Mi'. Crozier, used Orchai'd Grass 
 without the admixture of clover or other grasses ? 
 
 A. Very seldom. Believing in the great imijortance of having a 
 variety of grasses, either for hay or for pasture, I make it a nile to 
 include never less than five and sometimes as many as ten varieties 
 of grass together, with a due proportion of Clover. The mixture 
 which I sow alter wheat in the fall or spring, for each acre of land, is 
 composed of the following 
 
 VAIUETIES OF GR.\SSES. 
 Orchard Grass, Sweet Scented Vernal, 
 
 Meadow Foxtail, Meadow Fescue, 
 
 Sheep Fescue, English Eye Grass, 
 
 Rhode Island, or Creeping Bent, Italian Eye Grass, 
 
 Hard Fescue, lied Top. 
 
 (Eugi'avings of these gi'asses will l)e found on the j)rcvious and 
 succeeding pages.) 
 
 One-half of the bulk being in Orchard Grass, while the other h;ilf 
 is made up of the other grasses mentioned. I vary the (juantities in 
 these mixtiu'cs according to the requirements of the soil, the quantity 
 needed for average lauds being, per acre, about five and one-half 
 bushels, or seventy-five pounds. For rich, hea\7 lands from one- 
 quarter to one-third loss. 
 
Mixed Grasses. 
 
 113 
 
 This is my favorite mixtm-e for either mo-ning lands or pasture, 
 whether sown in the fall or spring; to which is added, and sown in the 
 spiing alwaj-s— as it is rather tender if sown in the fall in this latitude 
 — ten pounds of Red or Mammoth Clover, which is also known under 
 the different names of Peavine Clover, Broad Leaved Clover, and in 
 England as Cow Grass. This variety is a great improvement on the 
 ordinaiy Red Clover, and I would always advise it to be sown, for the 
 best results. Another reason why it should always be sown separ- 
 ately is that its gi-eat weight makes it difficult to be kept properly 
 mixed with the lighter grass seeds, and it is therefore better to sow it 
 
 alone in the usual way, over the grass seed, brush harrowing after 
 sowing, and then roUing. This mixture as here given is much more 
 expensive than that commonh' used for seeding down either for hay 
 or for pastiu'e, the first cost being foiu" or five times as much as that 
 of the ordinary mixture. Thus far I have used the best gi-ade 
 of seed, costing from S20 to $2.5 per acre, but I am so well satisfied 
 of its superiority, that if it cost me one-third more, I would still con- 
 tinue to use it, because it must be remembered that this investment 
 is not for one year only, but if the land is properly treated there is no 
 
114 
 
 How THE Fa KM Pays. 
 
 reason why pennaneut mowing land cannot be kept in good con- 
 dition for twenty yeai-s, producing annually one-third more weight 
 than the mixture in common use. 
 
 This quantity of grass seed is probably double as much as is 
 usually sown per acre, but as in the quality, so in the (juautity, I consider 
 that the importance of the thicker seeding cannot be overestimated. 
 Not only does it keej) down the weeds, but what is of even gi-eater 
 importance, we get a thicker covering of the whole surface, so that 
 in case of severe di-oughts, instead of the sun beating down on the 
 bare soU. it is intercepted and shaded by the thickly growing ]Dlant.s. 
 It paid me to use this mixture while I was renting land at $10 2)er 
 acre even on a live vears' lease. 
 
 EW££T VESSAI. GB.iSS. 
 
 (Mr. H.) From what I have seen I can well attest the value of 
 your opinion in this matter, as the hay-field which I saw you in 
 process of cutting on the 9th of June is now, thii-ty days later, one 
 foot in height, while grass lands on all sides of it, where the ortli- 
 uarv Timothj' and Clover mixtiu'es have been used, ai-e only now being 
 harvested, and the aftermath, let the weather lie what it may, can- 
 not be in the same comlitiou as the field cut on the !)th of Juno now 
 is, and i3robaV)ly never will be in that condition. The wonder to me 
 is, why farmers, with the example that youi- land sets before them, do 
 not learn that five acres treated by this method would produce cer- 
 tainly not less tlian as much as could be taken from twenty-five acres 
 treated after the usual slipshod manner. 
 
 Q. Is it youi- practice to sow grass seed by hand or by machine ? 
 
 A. I alwavs sow grass seed and clovers bv hand, using both hands 
 
Sowing Grabs Seed. 
 
 115 
 
 and sowing crosswise, bearing in mind always to overlap at each turn. 
 Then, after the field has been sown one way, I tiu-n and sow the 
 other way over the same gi'ound, to prevent any chance of waste by 
 unevenness. 
 
 Q. Is not a machine preferable in the hands of a novice, than to 
 attempt the rather difficult j)roces3 of distributing the grass seeds 
 evenly by hand ? 
 
 A. Probably it might. I have thus far done all the seeding on 
 my fai-m myself, and I must sa}' that I have Httle faith in sowing 
 grass seed by machine. I have seen many instances where all the 
 
 \S^i0 
 
 r 
 
 .Ml 
 
 MAililOTH CLUVEIl. 
 
 labor of the preparation of the land for the grass eroji has been a 
 failure by the uneven sowing of the machine. 
 
 Q. But if you were unable to do the sowing yoiu'self, would you 
 not j)refer to have the work done bj' a machine rather than take the 
 risk of having an inexperienced man do the sowing ? 
 
 A. I would rather take the risk of allowing my best hired man to do 
 the work. For sowing these seeds, however, a really good machine 
 would be verj' useful, but so far I have not met with one which I 
 would trust an unskilled workman to use. 
 
 Q. You are well aware, Mr. Crozier, that the great mass of the hay 
 sold in the United States, ijai'ticularly in the Northern States, is that 
 produced from Timothy Grass? 
 
IIG How THE F.uoi Pats. 
 
 A. Yes; twcutv years ago it was the only grass 1 gi'ew. imtil luy 
 obseiTation while tnivehny in Europe taught me bettei*, and I have 
 since entirely abandoned it. I am so well satisfied with the results 
 of these mixtures above mentioned, that I could not be induced to go 
 back to gi-owing Timothy. I beheve that one of the gi-eatest mis- 
 takes that the farming community is making to-day, is the almost 
 universal one of growing Timothj' as the base grass for haying lands 
 and for pasture, instead of using Orchard Grass for that puii^ose. 
 Mr. r. C. Havemeyer, who owns one of the most extensive and 
 in-obably best appointed fai-ms in New York State, after visiting me 
 last summer, supphed himself this year with these gi-asses to be used 
 for mowing lauds and jjasture, and I am certain he will be pleased 
 with the result. 
 
 TIMOTHY .VXD CLOVER. 
 
 Timothy and Clover, however, is still the standard crop for mowing 
 lands and for pasture in the great majority of farms in all sections of 
 the Northern and Middle States; but, as I have before stated, I feel 
 satisfied that this is a widesjiread error, and that those who will take 
 the trouble to try the Orchard Grass, as a substitute for Timothy, 
 are likely to continue its use. But the jDrejudice in favor of Timothy 
 hay is so great in many sections, that it may be found that no other 
 substitute will be received, and in such cases we can only advise, that 
 to obtain the best results from Timothy and Clover, they should be 
 sown on heavy, rich loam, or peaty soils, as these are the best. UiJon 
 dry, gravelly or sandj' soils these grasses never give results woi-th the 
 labor, unless with heavy manuring. "WTien Timothj' is sown with 
 wheat in the fall, about eight to ten quarts is used per acre ; or if 
 sown alone, and not to be seeded with Clover in the spring, double that 
 quantity should be used. When Clover is sown with it the most 
 suitable kind is the Mammoth, at the rate of six quarts per acre, 
 because it gives a full crop the first season of mowing. The Timothy, 
 as is well known, does not give a full crop until its second year. 
 This hay is still the favorite in the markets of our large cities; it is 
 mainly so for the reason that the mixtures which are here given at 
 length (having Orchard Grass as its base) are comparatively unknown. 
 When it is known that the Orchard Grass mixture gives permanent 
 mowing and pasture lands for a life-time, if fairly treated, and that 
 Timothy and Clover requires renewal every three or four year's — 
 together with its other disadvantages of lateness of matuiity and 
 hghtness of crop, compared with the other — the wonder wiU be that 
 fanners are so slow to ajjpreciate the iliflference. Already some of 
 
Value of Orchard Grass for Pasture. 117 
 
 the wealthy owners of the best studs of horses in the country will use 
 no other hay than what is sometimes called the " Enghsh mixtm-e," 
 behaving it to be in aU respects better. I have long ago discovered 
 that it is more nutritious, pound for jjouud, to feed cattle and sheep, 
 than Timothy hay. 
 
 I have been told by Mr. Henry Stewart, who has been quoted else- 
 where in this book, that, when changing the feed of his cows fi'om 
 hay made fi'om Orchard Grass, Clover and other mixed grasses to 
 Timothy hay of good quality, the tri-weeklj- churning of butter fell 
 off from 25 lbs. to 17 lbs., and no increase of grain food that could be 
 safely given would restore the loss. Also that the same difterence 
 has occiUTed when changing from Orchard Grass to Timothj' in 
 pastui'e or soiling. I beheve, in this case, Mr. Stewart used Orchard 
 Grass alone to a large extent; and at the rate of four bushels of seed 
 per acre, the cost of the seeding is reduced to about the same as that 
 of Timothy and Clover. This example is one of the sowing of 
 Orchard Grass alone, or nearly so; but the mixture of other grasses, 
 as before described, will always give better results, because of the 
 larger yield produced. 
 
 Timothy and Clover are so general in all the meadows, that one 
 would suppose Timothy was the only grass that would succeed in our 
 climate. In the East, Timothy is commonly called " Herd's Grass," a 
 name which in Pennsylvania is given to Red Top. This formerlj- led 
 to much confusion; but at present the name " Herd's Grass " is 
 generally dropped. Timothy is especially unsuited to the too com- 
 mon method of treating grass lands. There are farmers who still, 
 after taking a crop of hay, pastui-e the land, after grass has made a 
 second growth. Timothj' forms a bulbous sweUing at the base of its 
 stems, fi'om which next year's growth will start, and is greatly injui-ed 
 by cattle tramjibng it and eating off the leaves that should pro- 
 tect the bulb during the winter, so that Timothy is a poor pasture 
 grass. In this resfiect Orchard Grass is much more useful than 
 Timothj'. We never knew a farmer to fairly trj' Orchard Grass 
 who was not so pleased with it that he did not continue its use. Yet, 
 take the country through, it has made its way but slowlj". It is jire- 
 ferable to Timothj' to combine with Clover for hay, as the two are in 
 j)erfection — that is, in blossom — at the same time, while as jDasture 
 grass it is vastly superior. Orchard Grass is, in fact, a true pastui'e gTass, 
 while Timothy is not. It at once recovers after it is closely crojjpeci, 
 and the earliness of its growth in spring is greatly in its favor. The 
 chief, in fact, the onlj' objection, that has been made to Orchai'd Grass, 
 is its tendency to form tussocks or clumps, a trouble which may be 
 overcome hr thick seeding. Thi-ee bushels of clean seed to the acre. 
 
lis How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 on rich land, and four bushels on lighter soil if alone, or two bushels 
 if Clover is to be sown with it, will give a sufficiently thick growth to 
 prevent the formation of stools. 
 
 BERMUDA GRASS. 
 
 This grass has long been considered the bane of the agi-iculturist 
 in the Southern States. The slipshod culture too often in iiractice 
 there made its presence among other crops the most troublesome of 
 all weeds, but the necessity for fodder set the more advanced farmers 
 to utilize this grass for that purpose. TTiis is now being done in 
 many sections with the most marked success. One difficult^", how- 
 ever, interposes : the seed rarely matures in qui- Southern States, 
 and even some samples we have tested from Bermuda have failed 
 to germinate. But Nature here compensates, as she always does, for 
 her partial failui-es. The roots and stems of Bermuda grass root at 
 every eye or joint, and when these are iim through a hay or straw 
 cutter, we thus have a ' ' seed " that can be sown. These cuttings 
 ai-c sown on the newly plowed field, han-owed in and rolled, with 
 a reasonable certainty of a good stand of grass. Such " seed " cannot 
 well be matle an article of merchandise, but may be transported to 
 moderate distances, and for local use this plan is found to work very 
 well. The Hon. Robert N. Gourdin, of Charleston, S. C, is experi- 
 menting on a large scale with this grass, and has every reason to be 
 sanguine of great benefits to be derived fi-om its culture in regions 
 hitherto ban-en of forage for stock. But it is doubtful if it will ever 
 be so satisfactory as the Alfalfa (Lucern), alluded to at length in this 
 work as a forage crois for the Southern States. 
 
 It will no doubt be interesting to insert here some information 
 given at our request by Mr. Goiuxlin in regard to Bermuda gi-ass : 
 
 " Bermuda grass does not make seed ■n-ith us. It propagates itself. 
 It i-uus on the ground as a vine, having numerous joints, from each 
 of which roots stiike down and blades shoot uf). It is propagated, 
 artificially, by transplanting, and takes root readily. It should be 
 transplanted in the fall and winter after rain, when there is moisture 
 in the land. It matui-es and gives its first cutting, ordinarily, in 
 •June. Pei-sous having most experience with Bermuda gi-a.=s place the 
 average j-ield of hay for ten years at four tons per acre per 
 anniun. This is a cautious and safe estimate of its productiveness. 
 It grows on every kind of land here — wherever corn and cotton 
 grows, and is their great enemy. On poor land Bei-muda grass is 
 stuuipy and coarse : on rich land its growth is free, and its blades ai-e 
 long, tender and delicate. Properly cultivated in this latitude, ani- 
 
SouTHEKN Grasses. 
 
 119 
 
 mals prefer this grass and the hay made of it over all other varieties. 
 I do not know how far north it grows, but I have observed it as far 
 north as Petersburg and Eichmond, Virginia, growing in the 
 streets and vacant lots of these cities as it does in Charleston, and, 
 apparently, with the same vigor." 
 
 CTNODON DACTTLOS (BERr.nTDA GRASS). 
 
 A more recent account of this grass, given by Dr. Eavenal, of 
 Charleston, S. C, states that the yield of Bermuda Grass for hay for 
 two cuttings was equal to 5,100 pounds the first year after setting out 
 and 9,004 pounds the fourth year. The cost of establishing a 
 meadow is about $8 an acre; the hay is sold in bales at $20 to $2.5 
 per ton, and the sale is as easy as that of cotton, beef or any other 
 farm product.* 
 
 • Since Bermuda Grass has become more widely cultivated in the South, it is 
 found to produce seed, and the seed ia now to be procured in the regular way. 
 
120 
 
 How THK Faiim Pays. 
 
 OTHER SOITHEKX GRASSES. 
 
 The question of grasses aud fodder crops for the Southern States 
 is of the gi'eatest importance. The chan^finjj; character of the agri- 
 culture of the South uecessaiily di-aws attention to the rearing of Uve 
 stock, and of com-se fodder and gi-ass cro^js must follow. It has been 
 
 PAKICXTM 8ASGCISALK (CBAB 
 
 supi^osed that the Southern climate is not favorable to gi-ass and 
 conseiiuently few farmers ventvu'e to invest in live stock of any kind. 
 But this idea is a gi-eat mistake. ■ There is no other part of this con- 
 tinent where grasses — of tlie right kind — will flom-ish with greater 
 luxuriance than in the South, and it is particulai-ly desu-able that 
 attention should be called to this fact in this work, which is devoted 
 to the subject of profitable farming all over this bro:id land. But 
 there are an exceedingly- great vaiiety of gi'asses, and this lai-ge family 
 of plants has its finest and most numerous representatives in the 
 
Crab Grass — Door-Yard and Bars- Yard Grasses. 121 
 
 South. The sorghums, millets, dourras, the panicums and others, aU 
 more or less closely related to the Millet family, luxui'iate in the warm 
 soil and bright simshine of the Southern States. And attention is 
 now being given to their culture in many locaUties. After Bermuda 
 Grass, the common native grasses which spring up spontaneously 
 when the fields are abandoned to them are found to have a special 
 value for hay as weU as pastui'e. One of the most valuable of these 
 is that variety once thought to be the greatest pest of the cotton 
 planter, known as 
 
 CRAB GRASS. 
 
 This is a species of Panicum well known in the Northern States by 
 its pui-phsh colored, spreading, finger-like panicle, and which appears 
 late in the summer as a common weed in lawns and fields. But it 
 attains a wonderful development in the South, even upon lands 
 exhausted by continuous cotton growing. A case which hajjpened 
 a few j-ears ago recently came to my knowledge. A Northern farmer 
 went to Georgia in search for a cheap tract of land upon which to 
 estabhsh a farm. He found one covered with a luxurious growth of 
 this grass, which had been abandoned in desjiair by the owner, a 
 cotton planter, and was offered to him at an exceedingly low price. 
 He had seen baled hay fi-ora the North in car loads at nearly every 
 station on his journey, and conceived the idea that this grass would 
 make excellent hay and sell at a very jjrofitable price. He j^m-chased 
 the fai-m, sent to a fi-iend in New York to buy for him a couple of 
 mowing machines and a hay press, and baled the crop, which that 
 year amounted to over 300 tons, and far more than repaid his whole 
 investment. This instance certainly carries a moral and a useful 
 hint to Southern fanners, and those in the North who deske to find a 
 field for enteri)rise in the sunny South. 
 
 DOOR-YARD AND BARN-YARD GRASSES. 
 
 Two other valuable native grasses are the common sjiecies of 
 Panicum known as Door-yard, or Crow's Foot Grass, and Bam-yard, or 
 Cock's Foot.* These are exceedingly common, and have a veiy vigorous 
 growth. They will be easily recognized fi-om the illustrations as also 
 common in the North, appearing in flower late in the summer. 
 They are both becoming valuable pastui-o grasses all over the South, 
 
 * Tills grass should not 1)6 confounderl with Orchard Grass, jireviously refen-ed to 
 in thi.s chaiiter, and also called Cock's Foot l)y En;jli.=h farmers. 
 
122 
 
 How THE F.utM Pays. 
 
Guinea CxKAi^a 
 
 123 
 
 from the Atlantic coasts of Carolina and Georgia to Texas, and the 
 latter species is a very iine hay grass. It is beyond a doubt an ex- 
 cellent fodder crop in the North, jielding a very heavy cutting of 
 rich and succulent and exceedingly sweet forage, that is eaten with 
 avidity by covrs. It thrives well in low, moist grounds, and may be 
 foimd in such places having a rank and vigorous growth, which at 
 times reaches to a height of five feet, its broad and long leaves adding 
 
 PAOTCUM JUMENTOEtTM (GDINEA GRASS). 
 
 very much to the weight of product. The seed is large and like 
 Millet and highly nutritious, and might be usefuUy sown for a late 
 fodder crop wherever common MOlet is gi'own. 
 
 GtHNE.^. GRASS. 
 
 Of late years much attention has been given to a very large variety 
 of this genus, known by the common name of Guinea Grass. As it 
 has been confounded with another popular fodder plant, to be next 
 
124 
 
 How THE FaBM PaVS. 
 
 noticed, it is well to give tlie botanical name of it, viz., Paniciim 
 jumentorum. It is a native of Africa, and was originally brought into 
 Florida fi-om the "West Indies, and is rapidly coming into use all over 
 the Southern States. It is a perennial and reaches a height of six 
 to ten feet, vnih vdAe leaves, almost Hke corn blades, two feet long; 
 but it is cut several times in the season, when at a height of two feet, 
 for gi-een fodder or for hay, or is jiastured repeateiUy uutU frost 
 arrives, when the herbage is cut down to the ground. Its cultui'e is 
 
 SOUGUL'M HAUU'EN&E (JOHSSOX GBAi^.-^). 
 
 as follows: The root throws out a thick mat of stolons, like those of 
 common Quack Grass, but much thicker. These are taken up and 
 cut into i^ieces, each having a Inid. The cuttings ai-e set out in 
 Mai-ch or April in fvuTows, and covered ^vith the next turn of the 
 plow. The crop is ready for the first cutting iu May, when it is very 
 tender and sweet, and can be fed or ciu'ed for hay. Upon fairly 
 good land it yields a cutting every six weeks until it is cut down by 
 the frost, when the root remains in the gi-ound safely and sprouts 
 
JoHSSON Grass — Japan Clovee. 125 
 
 again the nest season. "Where the colder winters necessitate it, the 
 crop is grown in drills, and when the herbage is cut down a fuiTow 
 is thrown over the roots as a protection from the frost, the soil being 
 leveled down with the harrow in the spring. 
 
 JOHNSON GRASS. 
 
 This species is known as Sorghum halapense, and is considered even 
 more valuable than the one above mentioned. It is a perennial, and 
 has long been the bugbear of the cotton planters, fi-om the impossi- 
 biUty of eradicating it when it once gets a foothold ia the soil For 
 a forage crop this is certainly a most excellent quality, especially 
 when combined with its nutritive and agreeable feeding qualities 
 and its abundant yield. The lats Mr. Howard, of Atlanta, 
 Ga., a careful and practical farmer and investigator, said of it, after 
 an experience of forty years, that this grass was preferable to all 
 others that could be grown in the South. Its analysis shows it to be 
 more nutritious than even sweet corn fodder. Its seeds are as large 
 as those of broom corn, and its leaves are long and tender. The stem 
 reaches a height of six feet. Its perennial growth, and the firm hold 
 it takes of the soil, in which it spreads with great rapidity, give it a 
 high value for a fodder grass in the South. 
 
 JAPAN CLOVER. 
 
 This humble but useful j)lant also deser\-es some notice here. It 
 is an imjjorted variety of Les-prdeza, a trefoil aUied to the Clovers. It 
 first appeared in 1849 near Charleston. The seeds ai-e supposed to 
 have been brought from Japan or China in some tea boxes. It 
 rapidly Sfiread into Georgia, where it was found soon after neai- 
 Macon. In 1870 it appeai-cd in Tennessee and now spreads fi'om the 
 Atlantic to the Mississippi. It is a low perennial plant, with a 
 spreading habit, much hke that of White Clover. It flourishes on 
 the jjoorest soils, preventing washing by rains, and furnishing not 
 only good grazing, but fertilizing the soil by the decay of its stubble, 
 as Clover does, or by tui-ning under as gi-een manure. It is not a 
 hardy jjlant and will not thrive further north than Virginia. For a 
 sheep pasture it is scarcely excelled in value by any other forage jilant. 
 
 The following extract from a report madebylVIr. William Saunders, 
 Suijerintendent of the grounds of the Agricultui-al Depai-tment, 
 Washington, D. C, made on the Soils and Products of Florida, in 
 compliance with an order from that Department made in 1883, will 
 be found interesting and valuable in regard to this subject: 
 
126 
 
 How THE Farm Pavs. 
 
 " One of the gi-eatest vrants in Florida is that of food forhve stock. 
 Northern grasses and clovers are of small value ; they are not adapted 
 to the climate. Lucem, or Alfalfa {Medicagn xativa), has the reputa- 
 tion of succeeding well iu warm climates, and would doubtless 
 flourish in the rich bottom lauds when once they are fitted for 
 cultui-e. This being a perennial, noted for a ijropensity to send its 
 roots deep into the soil, would be almost as pennaneut a plant as the 
 dwarf palmetto, and infinitely more usefid. Lueeru is one of the 
 
 LEbPEDEZA blliUIA (JAPAN CLOVEB). 
 
 most ancient of cultivated plants, and us a forage j)lant for drv, warm 
 climates has always been held iu high estimation. (For further in- 
 formation on this crop see jjage 87.) 
 
 " Among rapid growing grasses none excel the Italian Rye Grass, 
 Lolium italicum. Seeds of this grass, sown in November, would pro- 
 duce a crop fit for cutting in April for hay. The winter season being 
 also the diy season, would be so far unfavorable to continued gi'owth, 
 but the want of rain could be met by a proper selection of soil; the 
 
Practice More Successful than Science. 127 
 
 ■worst selection would be high and dry fields; the best, a thoroughly 
 drained swamp. In an out-of-the-way corner to-daj' (15th February) 
 I observed a small area covered with the Johnson Grass, Sorghum 
 halapense, which had made over two feet of gl•o^vth, and in good con- 
 dition to cut for cattle food or for hay. Tliis looked like an exijeri- 
 mental plat, and it gave evidence of the value of this grass for this 
 region of country. And I look upon the Johnson Grass as having 
 greater prospective value than either of the plants before named. In 
 Alabama and in others of the Southern States it is proving to be one 
 of the best grasses for hay or for feeding in green state, that has so 
 far been introduced to cultivation. This grass has long been known, 
 but its persistent gi'owth, and the difficulty of eradicating it from 
 cultivated fields, caused it to be regarded as a nuisance. Its greatest 
 fault is its greatest merit. A few days ago, in Polk County, in con- 
 versation with an Alabama farmer, I asked him what he found the 
 most profitable crop to raise in that State. He promjjtly rej^lied 
 hay. To the further question as to what grasses he cultivated for 
 this purpose, he answered, the Johnson Grass. He stated that he 
 made three cuttings yearlj-, and fi-om these his returns averaged five 
 tons of hay from an acre. This is grown on good bottom land, and 
 all the cultivation it receives is to plow it down once in two or thi-ee 
 years, then give it a very thorough han-ovnng, and an increased 
 growth ensues. A portion of the roots are thus destroj'ed, which 
 prevents them fi-om becoming too thickly matted, keeps up the 
 fertility, and increases the growth. It would seem that a j^laut so 
 weU adapted to a warm, sunny chmate mU ultimately prove of great 
 value all through this Southern countrj*. " 
 
 The best season for sowing Johnson Grass, in Florida or similar 
 latitudes, would be October or November. It should be sown in 
 the usual manner for grass seed, at the rate of two bushels per acre. 
 Q. As you ai'e aware, Mr. Crozier, the question of grasses is one of 
 such interest as to draw out several works on the subject, elaborate 
 not only in their botanical descriistious, but also rejilete with chemical 
 analyses and ah other scientific data connected with the subject. Have 
 you given such works any consideration, and if so what oisinion do 
 you hold as to their value ? 
 
 A. As a working farmer, hfe has always appeared to me too short to 
 dabble in these nice questions, and I am jJerfectly wiUing to leave it 
 to such men who have the inclination and the time to fritter away on 
 such subjects; but to the great mass of jJractical farmers, from their 
 education and training, it is and always will be as a " sealed book." 
 "Whether it is that the pursuit of such knowledge prevents those 
 engaged in it from getting at the real, practical operations of farming 
 
128 How THE Faioi Pays. 
 
 and gardening, I do not know; but there is no denying the broad 
 fact, that the cases on record are very few (personally I know not nor 
 never knew of one), where men w-ho have tried to j)raetice what they 
 preached on these subjects have been successful. TNTieuever I see a 
 man engaged in agricultural operations preparing himself by the 
 chemical analyses of his soils and of his maniu'es, I at once make up 
 my mind that that man's chances for success are not as good as those 
 of his unlettered contemporary, who probably does not know the 
 meaning of the words. Still I would not discoiu'age those who ai'e 
 engaged in these scientific i^iu-suits, and who have the means to 
 experiment, as the day may yet come when scientific farming and 
 scientific gai'deuiug may give practicjil results. 
 
 Q. To return again to the subject of grasses — do you use the 
 mixtui'e previously mentioned on all portions of yoiu" fanu ? 
 
 A. No; on hillsides that ai'e washed by the heavy rains I use 
 Rhode Island Bent Grass, for the reason that it forms new roots and 
 shoots from the joints, thus holding the soU and preventing its washing 
 down. I find, also, that it aftbrds excellent pasture for sheep. I sow 
 it at the rate of three bushels to the acre (sometimes as much as four 
 bushels, if the land is very steep), together with a mi.xture of two or 
 three pounds of "Wliite Clover, as this is a low growing vimety that 
 sheep are very fond of. By this method I have protected and kept 
 very steep hillsides from being washed by rains. The same mixtui'e 
 is excellent for sheep pasture for high wood lands, where the trees are 
 not too close together. 
 
 Q. About what average weight of hay does the mixture which you 
 advise for mowing produce ? 
 
 A. From two and one-half to three tons per acre, though four tons 
 is nothing unusual under high cultivation. Sometimes the second 
 growth is cut for the purpose of feeding lambs or young ciilves. 
 "\^^len not cut the sheep and young stock ai-e turned onto it. When 
 cut I have had it jjroduce from one and one-half to two tons per acre ; 
 but always after a second cutting is made a top dressing of barn- 
 yai'd manure or bone meal should be put on, which stands in place 
 of the droppings from the calves and sheep when the land is 2)as- 
 tured. 
 
 Q. Is it not better, in laying land to permanent pasture or perma- 
 nent hay, by sowing grass seed mixture by itself, to do so without 
 sowing wheat or other grain ? 
 
 A. Yes ; and in fact it is the very best way to sow down to perma- 
 nent grass, as the croj) of wheat or rye takes away two-thirds of the 
 manure the first year, besides checking the growth of the gi-ass. It 
 is a common idea that the grain is a fostering crop. This is a great 
 
Timothy ant) Clover. 129 
 
 mistake. Instead of fostering the grass it really robs it of its food, 
 and the shade checks its growth. By carefully preparing the ground 
 in August, and sowing the seed in the usual waj*, the young gi-ass 
 grows vigorously and rajjidly, and a crop of hay can be taken the 
 next yeai-. In this preparation it is of the greatest importance that 
 the soil be made very fine and very firm, not only to give a perfect 
 bed for the small seeds, but to thoroughly compact the fine soQ about 
 them. In doing this work it must not be forgotten that it is intended 
 to last for many years, and no expense or care that ai-e necessary to 
 secure i^erfection in it should be withheld. It has been previously 
 recommended to sow the clover seed in the spring ; this is not 
 always necessary, as, if it is sown in August, the clover roots become 
 strong enough to withstand the winter safely. It cannot be reiterated 
 too often or too strongly, that the roUing of the soil after grass 
 seeding is of the greatest necessity for success, jjarticularly when 
 done in August. 
 
 Q. When stock raising is the main object in view on the farm, 
 would you advise the sowing of grains at aU ? 
 
 A. We gain many little advantages by sowing gi-ain. We often 
 get half the value of the manure used the first season, and we 
 get the straw besides. 
 
 Q. When gi-ass seed and clover are sown with a grain crop, is 
 there any return from the gi'ass the following summer or autumn V 
 
 A. There usually is not, but when sown alone there is. 
 
 Q. "WTiat is your usual time of sowing grass seeds alone wdthout 
 the grains'? 
 
 A. The latter part of August. The next year it will give a fair 
 crop of hay by the end of Juno or eaily in July, a crop always as heavy 
 and often heavier than the ordinary crop from estabhshed Timothy 
 lands. Timothy, in my experience, is the most exhaustive grass to 
 land that we have. The first and second seasons it is as bad as a crop 
 of wheat for exhausting the soU, and I find my neighbors can only 
 run it thi'ee years, the last crop being very poor or hardly worth cut- 
 ting. Weeds seem to take the place of Timothy, and esj^eciaUy if the 
 summer previous has been dry, the small roots of the grass suffering 
 from the sun beating do^vn upon them, and the freezing and thawing 
 of winter leaves the ground bare in many places; hence destruction 
 of the roots and consec[uent faOure of the crojD. 
 
 Q. I would ask, however, Mr. Crozier, if Timothy and Clover, 
 treated as Uberally by toj) dressing with manure as you treat all your 
 grass lands, would not continue much longer than the period you 
 name ? 
 
130 How THE Fabm Pays. 
 
 A. My experience ■with it is that it vrould not. But in many 
 localities, and even generally in the Central States, farmeiis do this 
 with partial success. Theii- method is as follows: Timothy is sown 
 ■with the wheat or rye in the fall ; Clover is sown in the spring. A 
 full crop of hay is taken nest year, and a top dressing of tine manure 
 is given as soon as the hay is taken oflf. This protects and feetls the 
 roots, and the ground is soon covered and protected by a new gro^wth. 
 A second crop of hay is taken the next year, or perhaps t^wo cuttings 
 are made; the grass is pastui-ed the year after, and the sod is turned 
 under in the spring for com. Corn is followed by oats, and oats by 
 wheat, and this completes the rotation. This is very good practice 
 for those farmers under their circumstances, and pays them ■well ; all 
 the better when it is well done. I am positive that no crop of 
 Timothy ■wiU last well over three years, when the land must be 
 reseeded. Every season I have scores of letters on this all-important 
 subject to the farmer, asking me if there is any way of getting perma- 
 nent mowing lands and pasture -without this continuous trouble of 
 plowing do^wn and reseeding. I tnist that what I have here ad\'ised 
 in the grass mixtm'e and method of culture wiU answer as a general 
 reply to all such queries. I have explained my -views far more fully 
 and at length than can possibly be done in the necessarily limited 
 compass of a letter, besides sa^\-ing me many hours of valuable time, 
 which at many seasons I can iU spare. 
 
 Q. I would Hke to refer again to the mixture of grass seeds which 
 you prefer. This mixture will no doubt suit yoiu- manner of gro^wing 
 grass veiT well; but do I understand you to say that it is to be 
 recommended under all circumstances'? 
 
 A. I would not go so far as that These seeds are xer\- costly, and 
 might not suit the circumstances of a great many farmei-s. There are 
 some varieties which might be left out in many cases. For instance, 
 Italian Eye Grass is not a perennial, and might be omitted, as it ■will 
 run out the second yeiu- after soaring. The jierennial Eye Grass 
 would be sufficient ■without it Ehode Island Bent is so neai-ly Uke 
 Red Top, that both need not be so^wn, and the latter only used. So 
 the Sheep's Fescue is useful eliiefly where sheep ai-e pastui'ed, as it is 
 a small variety, and seiTes chiefly to msike up a succession of herbage. 
 Sweet Yemal Grass might also be left out, as this gi-ass is quite preva- 
 lent, and comes in natiu'aUy in almost all jilaces. The quantitie.s too, 
 might be reduced, and all the vai-ieties retaineiL But certainly I 
 would ailvise that not less than twenty-five poimds of seed altogether 
 should be so^mi per acre, which is only half of the amoimt of seed I 
 use. But for myself I prefer heavy seeding, and believe it is the 
 cheapest in the end, because in sowing these mixed gi-asses it should 
 
Clover — Blfe Grass. 131 
 
 not be forgotten that we ai-e seeding once for twenty or tbii-ty years 
 or even more, if the soil is suitable for a j)ermanent meadow. 
 
 The culture of clover as a special crop is often found desirable both 
 for hay, for seed and for plowing in as a preparation for wheat or 
 corn. When thus grown it is sown on the wheat or rj'e in the spring 
 as soon as the ground is iu a fit condition, and may be haiTowed in 
 with the light slojoing tooth han'ow or the brash harrow, which not only 
 covers in the seed but also greatlj" benefits the grain crop. The 
 clover may be pastured in the fall if it has a rank gi'owth, but other- 
 wise it should be left on the ground and form a mulch during the 
 ■wLater. The next year it may be cut early for soUiiig or mown for 
 hay ia June; the after-gro-svth vail furnish a crop of seed and the 
 nest spring the sod with all the herbage may be j)lowed ia for corn. 
 A clover sod makes an excellent preparation for wheat. For this 
 purpose the clover is j)lowed under in August; the ground is im- 
 mediately rolled to comjiact it and in September a good harrowing 
 win fit the soil finely for the wheat or rye. The clover hay is es- 
 pecially valuable for cows or sheep, but should never be fed to horses 
 on account of its dustiness, which is provocative of the common dis- 
 order known as heaves. It requii-es slow cui'ing in the cock, and 
 should not be too rapidly or too much dried, or the leaves wiU be in 
 great part broken off and lost. 
 
 BLUE GRASS. 
 
 The Blue Grass pastures of Kentucky, Missouii, West Virginia and 
 parts of Ohio and Indiana, have a world-wide reputation. They offer 
 examples of permanent grass lands equal to any in the world, which 
 are a standing rebuke to those persons who declare that there can be no 
 permanent pastures or meadows in oiu- American climate. There 
 are thousands of acres of these lands which have never been plowed, 
 but which became covered with a natural growth of this grass as 
 soon as the timber was cut off. As it has a sj^reading root, it soon 
 takes p)ossession of the soil and makes a thick sod. It is especially a 
 pasture grass, and under the name of June Grass fiUTiishes the pas- 
 ture which makes such localities as Herkimer and Oneida Counties in 
 New York so favorable for dairy piuposes, and so productive of 
 high flavored cheese and butter. The State of Iowa also affords 
 
132 
 
 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 similar instances. It thrives best on dry, rich, limestone lands, and if 
 the gi-ass is not eaten down in the summer it will afford a luxuriant 
 pastm-e all through the winter in Southern districts, and until the 
 ground is buried under the snow in the North. The Southern 
 mountain region is peculiarly adapted in soil and climate to this 
 
 KESTUCKY BLUE ORAES (POA PR.4TENSIS). 
 
 grass. "When sown alone two to three bushels of seed are required 
 to the acre. It may be sown with wheat or rye in the fall. On 
 account of its slow, weak growth at fii-st, it is better to sow the seed 
 with a grain crop. 
 
 RED TOP AND FOWL MEADOW GRASS. 
 
 These two grasses arc specially adapted for low, wet lands. Re- 
 claimed swamji meadows produce them in luxuriance. Elsewhere, 
 and on dry ground, they afford fair i>asture but a Ught hay, and are 
 not to be recommended for such soils. But where the land lies low, 
 
Fowl Meadow Grass. 
 
 133 
 
 and is subject to overflow, there are uo other grasses so valuable as 
 these, as they make a dense, tough sod, and afford good pasture, and 
 also furnish a heavy j'ield of excellent hay. They are better mixed 
 
 FOWI. MEADOW OBASS (POA SEKOTINA.) 
 
 together, one and one-half bushels of each being sown early in 
 August or in the spring, and on the soUs referred to the seed 
 must necessarily be sown alone. 
 
134 
 
 How THE Farm Pats. 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 
 THE CUTTING AND CURING OF HAY. 
 
 Q. Tou have already stated that you cut your hay of the Orchard 
 Grass and other grass mixture from the 10th to the 20th of June. 
 In what condition are the vaiious grasses at that time ? 
 
 A. The Orchard Grass and Clover are in full bloom, and the others 
 are near to, or a little past that stage. In this condition the grasses 
 are most valuable for stock. If allowed to stand until they seed, they 
 are not only more diy and woody in textm-e, but they also exhaust 
 the land to a great degree and weaken the roots. A large majority 
 of our best farmers agree that hay and clover, and in fact all 
 crops that are used for haj'ing jiui'poses, are best cut in that con- 
 dition when they contain the largest percentage of saccharine matter, 
 which is said to be when they are in full blossom. 
 
 This condition I beUeve to be better than if the seeds of the grasses 
 were matured, as the juices are just in the state to be most palatable 
 
 
 for feed. Of course all hay nowadays is cut by machine. Of these 
 machines there are a large variety, which are popular in special 
 localities; but I have always used the Buckeye, and consider it the 
 best. After mowing, the hay is turned or tedded and raked into 
 swaths, and then put into small cocks and left until the following 
 day, when the cocks ai'e turned over, and made anew, and left until 
 the next day. The hay is then taken to the barn and put into the mow, 
 about a peck of salt being scattered over each load, and trodden as 
 firmly as can be done. The salt makes the hay palatable to the 
 
Cutting and Curing Hay. 
 
 135 
 
 stock, and I believe tends to lessen the fermentation which always 
 occurs in hay when it is put in. the barn, and so prevents danger of 
 mustiaess. In this way the hay comes out as bright and green in 
 the winter or spring as when put into the mow. Formerly, when I 
 tilled very much more land than I do now, I had to stack most of the 
 hay, which I consider the best way to keep it; that is, in round 
 stacks, containing fi'om ten to fifteen two-horse loads, placing it in 
 the mows being only a matter of convenience. A stack, when prop- 
 
 erly headed, thatched and roped, wiU keep for several years. A 
 very convenient way of stacking hay is under open sheds, commonly 
 known as ban-acks. These are made of four heavy posts, set in the 
 ground or framed together, and a movable, foui--sided roof of boards 
 or thatch. The roof can be raised or lowered and let down upon the 
 hay, affording complete protection from the weather. In this 
 country, where stacking is not much practiced, it is not always 
 possible to find a workman or a farmer that can finish a stack so as 
 to make it rain-proof. 
 
 BOARD BOOFED BARRACK. 
 
 Q. At what height do you cut your hay '? 
 
 A. The height at which it should be cut depends somewhat on the 
 moistness of the season. If the season is a wet one we can cut two 
 inches from the ground; if the weather is veiy dry, from three to four 
 inches. 
 
 Q. I observe that you top dress with manure after cutting your 
 hay, particularly where it is cut short — the object in that, I prestmie, 
 is to protect the roots of the grass from the sun, the manm'c acting 
 
136 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 as a mulch, as well as for its fertilizing properties, at that time of the 
 year ? 
 
 A. That is exactly the reason. Although the fii-st heavj- rains 
 cany down the greater part of the fertilizing properties of the 
 manure, the substance of it is left to act as a mulch until the after- 
 math grows sufficiently to protect itself. 
 
 CLOVER HAY. 
 
 Q. WTiat is understood by the tenn " Clover Hay " ? 
 
 A. When a piece of land is sown to wheat and grass in the fall, 
 clover seed is sown the following spring, as soon as the frost is out 
 of the gi-ound, and the soil is sufficient!}- dry. The ground is then 
 brush haiTowed and rolled in the usual manner. The wheat is cut 
 ofif in July. About September the young Clover is either fed off with 
 sheep or young cattle — heavy animals, such as cows or horses, should 
 never be permitted to go upon the field — or, if not fed off, it should 
 be niu over with the mowing machine, and cut three or four inches 
 from the ground, and the cutting left on as a mulch. By June of 
 the next year the clover is ready to cut for the first time. This 
 cutting is made when the crop is in full blossom, and before a single 
 head has tuined brown. It is advisable then to give the clover a top 
 dressing of mamu'e or plaster, to hasten the growth of a second crop, 
 which is cut in August. If the ground is rich two hay crops are thus 
 taken. 
 
 Q. Is it an}- more trouble to ciu'e clover hay than the ordinary 
 grass hay ? 
 
 A. Yes; clover having so much water in it, takes more time and 
 care to cure it than hay. Clover should be cut when the weather is 
 dry and the dew is off, and should be immediately put into cocks and 
 cured in these cocks so as to jsreserve all the leaves, for if left in the 
 usual way in the sun until it becomes dry, the leaves would get brittle, 
 and in tedding or raking with the horse-rake woidd fall off. My 
 plan of curing clover is to cut it when the dew is oft", and about two 
 hours afterwards rake it up into small cocks and leave it until the 
 next day, when the cocks are turned with the fork and made over 
 again, but lai-ger. Here the clover sweats and heats or ferments 
 and gets rid of a good deal of its moistiu'e, and dries soft and tender, 
 instead of brittle. The second day it is ready to be put in the mow 
 or stack. 
 
 Q. Is there not more danger fi-om wet weather in saving clover 
 than in making grass hav? 
 
Clover roR Green Fodder. 137 
 
 A. Clover is a more leafy plant than grass, and Ues more open and 
 loosely in the swath or cock. It is upon this account that it is better 
 to put it in cocks and cui-e it in that way, both because it is easily in- 
 jui-ed by over-di'j-ing and by exposure to the sun, and also by rain. To 
 secui-e it against rain while in the cock, hay caps are found useful. 
 These are squares of heavy brown cotton sheeting fifty-four inches 
 wide, bound at the edges and having a loop at each comer. One of 
 these is spread over a hay cock, and secured by pushing wooden pins 
 through the loojjs into the haj'. If these are taken care of as they 
 .should be, they wiU last a great many years. 
 
 Q. Is Clover ever sold in a green state in the market in our large 
 cities ? 
 
 A. At certain seasons there is a large demand for it; it is cut and 
 tied in bundles, ■which brings from twenty to twenty-five cents each. 
 It is thus given to city horses, not so much as a feed, but as a sort of 
 tonic or alterative. A heavy crop of Clover in this way is often made 
 very profitable, netting possibly foiu- times as much jser acre as when 
 (h'ied for hay. In the vicinity of Edinburgh, Scotland, there ai-e fields 
 of Clover which must produce not less than $500 per acre, when sold 
 in this condition; because the fanners renting such fields pay the 
 extraordinary price of fifty pounds steriing, or $250, per acre rent 
 annually. The conditions under which Clover is grown in this way are 
 jjecuhar. It is usually on land adjacent to the outlets of the sewage 
 from the city, which is utUized by being put on the land in the fall 
 and spring, and which gets it in such a condition of fertility that 
 sometimes even in that cold climate six cro^DS are cut in one season. 
 I observed verj' recently that there was filed, in the ofiice of the County 
 Oerk, New York City, the certificate of incorporation of the National 
 
138 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 Sewerage and Sewage Utilization Company. The capital stock is fixed 
 at $3,600,000, di-i-ided into 3(5,000 shares. I heartilj' wish them as 
 much success as has been gained at the City of Pulkuan, in Illinois, 
 where this sewage is used to fertilize a farm of about 300 acres, with a 
 proiit of $8,000 last year, equal to ten per cent of the whole cost. 
 If the same conditions could be got here as in Scotland — and there is 
 no reason why they should not — one-fourth more crop ought to be 
 taken in our higher temiierature. A\'Tierever the soiling system is prac- 
 ticed we should have our bam-yard composts to put on the Clover tields 
 inheu of city sewerage. That is within every fanner's reach, and the cai't 
 or team should be used both ways, a load of Clover being brought to 
 the bai-n and a load of manui'e taken back and spread on the land, 
 repeating this continuously diuing the entii-e season. This .system 
 has other advantages as weU. Cattle fed in their stalls in this manner 
 will give double the quantity of mUk, and it is of better quality than 
 when they are driven to pasture. For, when driven to the fields by- 
 boys or dogs, they are often recklessly hun-ied, and as a general 
 rule, in coming from the pasture, especially in the fly season, they 
 will often make a fast run to the barns, and so iujure the milk in the 
 udder until it is nearly worthless. All this is avoided by the soiling 
 system. If tied up in their stalls they do not require so much water, 
 and their supply can be regulated more easily; whUe if let out to 
 pasture, in our dry chmate, where water is often scarce, they become 
 heated in going to the tank or pond, and di-ink too much. 
 
 Q. Is there not sometimes a stiU later cutting made of the Clover? 
 
 A. A third cutting is yery often made, but rarely for hay, as the 
 seed is gi-eatl_y more valuable. "When the Clover is cut for seed, it is 
 usual to make the second cutting earher, so as to give ample time for 
 the plants to make blossoms and mature seed by the fall. The 
 Clover is then hard and woody and not of much vjilue for hay, but it 
 will often j-ield five bushels of seed to the acre ; and as this is worth 
 from $6 to $8 a bushel, and sometimes more, the gain is more than 
 that fi-om all the hay. The seed of Clover is coutaiued in small pea 
 or bean like hulls, and requii'es a pai-ticulai' method for separating it 
 The dried crop is threshed in the machine in the usual way and 
 separated from the stems, and the chaff is afterwards hulled by a 
 Clover huUer some time dm'iog the winter. This is the end of the 
 Clover, excepting upon strong, rich land it may last over the second 
 year and yield the crop of seed the third year. Clover is a biennial 
 upon light soils and poor lands, and cannot be dej^ended upon after 
 the second year, or for more than two crops of hay at the most; but 
 on better and heavier soils it is a short perennial, and maj- live 
 through the third or even into the fourth year-, and give one or two 
 
Top Dressing Grass Land. 139 
 
 crops each year. If the seeding has been liberal, and the Clover is 
 manured, the yield is far more jsrofitable. No greater mistakes are 
 made in farming than short-sighted economy in the saving of seed. 
 The tables given in many seedsmen's catalogues I consider to be one- 
 third too little. 
 
 Q. You have alluded several times to the top dressing of grass 
 lands. In what manner do you consider it best to be done, and v^hat 
 kinds and quantities of maniu'es do you use for that puiijose ? 
 
 A. I would mention first the appUcatiou of hquid manure, as the 
 value of this is underrated, and it is too often wholly wasted. The 
 best way of preparing Uqirid manure for such purpose I have found 
 to be the following: Build a cistern in the barn-yard, at the lowest 
 point, of such capacity as may be required, but be sure it be large 
 enough, and run pipes made of boards, or sewer pipes, three or four 
 inches diameter, into it, from the different buildings, where there 
 may be any drojipings from the cattle or hogs or sheep, so that all 
 the drainage will flow into the cistern. In hauling this hquid manure 
 to the fields, I use a large hogshead placed on two wheels. It is 
 fiUed by means of a pump, and is driven to the field, a perforated pipe, 
 such as is used for street sprinkling, and attached to the hogshead, 
 is opened, and the horse is driven along at an easy walk, this being 
 done always when other work is not j)ressing. This I find to be the 
 best top dressing for meadow lands, if put on in the spring and fall, 
 but not in the hot, dry weather. On laud that has been pastured, 
 and hasbecome " hide-bound," as I call it, I usually take an iron or steel 
 tooth harrow, and harrow it both ways thoroughl}'. The Acme Harrow 
 is better still, and the cutters can be adjusted so as to loosen up the 
 surface to whatever extent may be desired. After the ground has 
 been harrowed in this manner, I re-seed with the grass mixture 
 already mentioned, at the rate of two to three bushels per acre, 
 according to the needs of the land. If the gi'ass is thin, I put on 
 more. If it is stUl thick, less. I then top dress with composted 
 manure that has been turned over a few times and is worked up fine, 
 after which I run over it with the brush haiTow and then roll. The 
 quantity of manure to be used depends in a great measure upon the 
 condition of the land, although I might here say that there is very 
 Httle likelihood of any farmer ever having manure enough to put it 
 on to excess. I use all the way from five to twenty two-horse loads per 
 acre, according to the condition of the land or the quantity of manure 
 I have on hand. In the absence of barn-yard maniu-e a compost of 
 lime and loam, with the soils from the backs of fences, is excellent, 
 or plaster at the rate of one tou jier acre wUl answer. This I know 
 is a good deal more plaster than is commonly used, but my principle. 
 
140 How THE Farm Pa vs. 
 
 as you know, is to manure very liberally, because that is the surest 
 way to make the fai-m pay. Bone meal at the rate of 300 to 500 pounds 
 per acre, or hard wood ashes at the rate of 100 bushels to the acre, 
 will all answer ven- well in lieu of barn manure. In all cases it is of 
 gi'eat imj5ortance, in top dressinj^f grass lands, whether for pasture or 
 mowing, after the apphcation of seed and mauui'e has been made, to 
 roll thoroughly. A failui-e to roll will entail a loss of all the labor, 
 by evaporation and drying of seed, if the pasture has been re- 
 seeded. 
 
 ENSILAGE. 
 
 Q. "What is your opinion, "Mi: Crozier, of the ensilage system ? 
 
 A. I have some hesitation in expressing an opinion of any system 
 that I have not had actual experience with, and I have had nothing 
 to do with eusUage. My success in stock raising, by the methods I 
 have piu'sued for the last twenty years, has, perhaps, made me a little 
 prejudiced against innovations of this kind; but I can only form an 
 02)iuion in a general way on the subject. I cannot understand why 
 a green crop, which we know contains from ninety to ninety-live jjer 
 cent, of water, jjreserved by the ensilage system, can be equal to the 
 same fodder from which the water has been expelled by dicing, and 
 which, when mixed with roots, as we do it, contains all the 
 elements of a complete food. It seems to me that this must 
 ceiiainly be a cheajier and better system than ensilage. I speak 
 with hesitation, however, on this subject, never having had practice 
 with it, and am willing to suspend my final opinion until the 
 system has had a further trial. I know that many have claimed that 
 it has "been a great success with them. On the other hand, I know of 
 several cases where it has been abandoned, and the system of feeding, 
 such as we practice, has been again resorted to. A large and suc- 
 cessful stock raiser, in the vicinity of Toronto, Canada, who had 
 expended $3,000 on sUos, which he had constructed in the very best 
 jjossible manner, after a three years' trial, says that he has abandoned 
 the system, and has fallen back to the old method of feeding with dry 
 fodder and roots during tbe winter mouths. StUl, in this case, there 
 may have been some bad apphcation of the system, which made its 
 working unsatisfactory, and, as I have before said, until it has had 
 years of comparative trial with other methods, no decided opinion 
 should be expressed; because no one man's or half a dozen men's 
 experience of such an important matter should be final. The whole 
 claim of the ensilage system, as I undei-stand it, is that it is used 
 instead of fresh green feed, and it certainly would be a great advan- 
 
EXSILAGE. 141 
 
 tage for cattle for that purpose, if we bad not mangels to mis with 
 the dry fodder. Like all widely diverging systems of agriculture that 
 have their special adherents, the only safe decision can be arrived 
 at by observation of the results. If we find that herds of 
 cattle raised by the silo can be kept in as good condition as 
 those raised by the fodder and root system, then it maj' take prece- 
 dence, provided that it can be shown that the expense attending such 
 system is less, but if no better results entails an increased cost, then 
 it will not be hkelj- to supersede the old method. To those who are 
 interested in this matter the proceedings of The Ensilage Congi'esa, 
 pubhshed by the New York Plow Co., New York, will give fuU 
 information. In the Country Gentleman, oi March 17th, 1881, is the 
 following article written by me, on the subject of ensilage, which will 
 give my views at length. I also add the corroboration of that opinion 
 by F. D. Curtis, in a letter in the Country Gentleman of same date. 
 
 ENSILAGE NOT SATE FEED. 
 
 ' ' I had a letter from a German farmer, who, in his youth, had to take 
 a good deal of sauer kraut. He says he stUl takes a httle now and then, 
 but on a cold winter's day he wants solid food. When Dr. Bailey 
 and others preach ensilage they will doubtless cause many who read 
 the Country Gentleman to look in a few years on their deserted silos 
 with feehngs of sadness. The cow ivill eat ensilage. Certainly she 
 wiU; but how much will it benefit her? How much fat will a 1,000- 
 pound cow gain on seventy pounds of ensilage per day ? How much 
 sohd food is there in this seventy pounds? Some of our learned 
 friends saj' not more than sis per cent. If this is so, then cattle wiU 
 do well on atr and water. If the gentleman had said that cattle would 
 eat 200 pounds, then I would have more belief in the benefits they 
 might derive from it. "\Mien the Doctor states that village farmers 
 can keep a cow on one-fourth or one-half an acre of land, we know 
 that this is so. The German and French peasants, living near large 
 cities where land is worth from $100 to $500 per acre, raise truck 
 for village and city markets. They make pits, and put aU the tops 
 of their vegetables in them, and cover them up with eai'th, and this 
 they rejjeat with two or thi-ee crojis in a season; but it comes out in 
 the winter like tea leaves after they have been steeped (not so green 
 as people in America say the ensilage comes out) ; but how long do 
 they run theu" cattle on this? Only a short time, you will find. You 
 win remember that the first case of ijleuro-pneumonia ever heard of 
 in America was traced to Dutch cattle. Ensilage, I am afraid, wiU 
 
142 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 eventually injure the constitutions and hence weaken the lungs 
 of cattle. Cows, they tell us, do well on brewers' griiius. How long 
 do they do well ? My opinion is often asked whether ensilage is being 
 fed by the breeders on the Channel Islands or in England ? I think not. 
 John Bull generally is somewhat more of an old fogy in such things than 
 we Americans are, and does not jump so quick at conclusions, and saves 
 himself, in consequence, much loss fit'om unwise experiment. I beg to 
 say, be not teinjated by this new plan of feeding, until time will tell 
 its true worth. Wii. Ceozieb. 
 
 " Northport, L. I." 
 
 MR. CROZIER ENDORSED. 
 
 " The silo discussion is getting interesting. It is natural for people 
 who attempt new schemes to imagine them successful, or at least to 
 be loth to admit that they are failures. I have been in this jjosition 
 myself, and hence am inclined to take the declarations of the advocates 
 of silos with some allowance. The imagination of experimenters 
 often paint then- attempts with rosy hues; but stern reahty after 
 awhile changes the picture. I fail to see, as yet, the practical value 
 of going to so much trouble and expense to preserve water (juice), 
 and cannot comprehend how this water can be increased in nutritive 
 value by being preserved, even though it may have an alcoholic 
 smell. The difference between cornstalks kept in a silo, and cornstalks 
 cured, is almost entu'ely a difference in the amount of water contained 
 in them. The shrinkage in water makes a shrinkage in weight and 
 bulk, but can make only a small reduction in the nutritive qualities. 
 Admit that there is by curing a smsxll loss in the nutrition, is it equal 
 to the cost of the bUos and the pxti'a labor required to preserve the 
 fodder in it? Mr. Bailey, who is an ingenious, if not an interested 
 writer on silos, takes the ground that a silo is not as expensive as a 
 barn, and urges the point that silos may do away with barns, as they 
 upset the principles of science. This is quite a radical position, to 
 say the least; but it loses its force when we consider that bai-ns are not 
 necessary for the j^reservation of cornstalks. They wLU keep better 
 in stacks, which is the most economical, and, at the same time, one of 
 the best methods of preserving this kind of forage. Silos without a 
 granary or meal box wiU, in my judgment, make disappointment in 
 the yield of good butter. Mr. Croziers system of feeding is, as I know 
 by fi'equent obsei-vation, a practical success. I have never been on a 
 farm where cattle were always in any better condition and more 
 productive in rich mLLkanfd good butter than his. His system of root 
 
Objections to Ensilage. 143 
 
 feeding seems to fumisb just the necessary quantity of succulent food 
 reqiiii-ed for health and a large yield. Too much watery food, which 
 is the kind the silo must necessaiily supply, is not the natural 
 food for cattle in cold weather. That the stalks are all eaten, 
 when taken fi-om a silo, is no more true than when cui-ed 
 and cut uj). I have doubted the economy, after repeated trials, of 
 cutting stalks at all for cattle, as so httle is left by them uneaten. It 
 certainly will not pay to go through with aU the silo processes in 
 order to get the butts of cornstalks eaten up. There is no paiiicular 
 value in bulk, so long as bulk does not add strength to the food, and 
 when it is considered that bulk makes a great deal heavier and more 
 laborious handhng, I fail to appreciate how two tons of bulk in a silo 
 can be any better than one ton in which the nutritive elements are 
 condensed. In other words, I cannot see how the presence of a ton 
 of water should enhance the value of cornstalks. In warm weather 
 this juice takes the place of water for drink, but in winter so much is 
 not required and must be hurtful. I must endorse INIi-. Crozier in his 
 distrust of the practical value of silos, and commend his outspoken 
 convictions, although he seems to be pitted almost alone against them. 
 Cornstalks are good food for cows, but so succulent in their nature 
 that when dry they shovild be fed with something more substantial, or 
 the animal will rapidly run down. Silo fodder is still more washy, 
 unless the fennentation furnishes a stimulant which is at the same time 
 victuals and drink. May be this is one of the scientific principles 
 which silos upset, proving that fermented juice is not a stimulant, but 
 food, and food proper for transformation into mUk and butter. Verily 
 these are days of progress, when alcohol becomes food, and tallow 
 (Oleomargarine) is butter. F. D. Cuktis. 
 
 "Kirby Homestead, N. Y." 
 
 (Mr. H.) I notice, Mr. Crozier, on a careful reading of the report 
 of the EnsUage Congress, held in New York last year, that neai-ly all 
 the members present were enthusiastic advocates of the system, and 
 according to the statements there made, there is but little doubt that 
 it has proved of valu.e to many. Still I would have been pleiased to 
 have seen it compared with the feeding by root crops pulped, as you 
 term it, after yonr method, because that seems to me the turning 
 point of the whole controversy, as it is certainly unfair to make a 
 comparison against dry food, such as meal, bran, etc. , when mixed 
 with cut corn fodder, instead of compai-ing it with the corn fodder or 
 hay mixed with an equal weight of pulped or crashed roots. In this 
 connection I will quote from a communication pubhshed in the 
 Country Gentleman for April, 1881 : 
 
144 How THE Fabm PAYa 
 
 EN'SILAGE COMPARED WITH ROOTS. 
 
 Let it be .-nlmitted that forty tons of green fodder can be produced. 
 Then, to be fair, let us admit that fortj' tons of mangels per acre can 
 be grown with equal ease and at no more cost, when i)ut in the pits, 
 than that of the fodder preserved in the silo. Then we are ready to 
 comjiai'e the actual value of these two crojjs for feeding to daiiy cows. 
 The followug figures are taken from the report of the Connecticut 
 Experiment Station, and will be found to be authentic: 
 
 COMPOSmox OF 
 
 FODDEB COHN. 
 
 "Water 85 . 70 
 
 Ash 1 . 23 
 
 Albuminoids 1 . 20 
 
 Crude Fibre 4.95 
 
 Carbohydrates C . 73 
 
 Fat 0.18 
 
 The advantage is twenty-five per cent, in favor of the mangels, 
 and in favor of the sugar beets nearly 100 per cent., as regaixls 
 nutritive value. A butter maker, whose business depends on the 
 quahty of his product, will hesitate to use sour or alcoholic fodder in 
 a condition of decomposition, when he can use jjerfectly fi'esh and 
 well flavored food, such as mangels or beets. It may be objected 
 that the crop of forty tons of roots is extravagant : but it is not, either 
 as regards mangels or Lane's Sugar Beet. By planting in rows thirty 
 inches apart, and eighteen inches in tlie rows, roots of eight j^ounds 
 each can be grown with ease. I have had them to weigh fourteen to 
 twenty-four jjounds each, and have grown fodder corn at the rate of 
 sixty tons to the acre, and know that neither of these large croj)s can 
 be grown without high fertilizing, and that it is as easy to grow roots 
 as com, and as easy to haiTest the one as the other. Boots of eight 
 pounds each, eighteen inches apai-t, will yield forty-six tons per acre, 
 and, with the advantage in jDoint of nutritive value, will be equal to 
 about sixty tons of com fodder, which not one in a hundi'ed will 
 reach as easily as one in ten -n-iU reach forty-six tons of mangels. 
 Now it seems to me that it is a useful thing to point out these facts, 
 when there is danger of many pei-sons' heads being turned in regard 
 
 LSGEI& 
 
 SCGAB BEXTS. 
 
 iS.O 
 
 81.5 
 
 0.8 
 
 0.7 
 
 1.1 
 
 1.0 
 
 0.9 
 
 1.3 
 
 9.1 
 
 15.4 
 
 0.1 
 
 0.1 
 
Ensilage Compared ^^TH Roots. 145 
 
 to tliis new idea, and especially wheu it cannot be tried without the 
 sinking of a few hundred dollars in making a sUo, and gathering 
 stone to pile on top of it. AVhat are those farmers to do, who, 
 UDiortunately, have no stone for this j'Ui-jDose, and find the market 
 for it strong at $4 a load ? They need not fi'et, however, if they can- 
 not have their silo, because the}' can gi'ow mangels and sugar beets — 
 the large variety of Lane's Improved, and not the sugar beet which 
 is small — and do as well, j^erhaps, with these, as they could with 
 ensilage. Doubtless the new improvement is of great value in its 
 place ; but its place is by no means universal, and when the present 
 excitement is cooled down, it will j^i'obably be found of verj' rare 
 ajjiilieatiou ; but root growing and feeding roots are of universal 
 application. H. Stewakt. 
 
 Bergen County, N. J. 
 
146 How THE Pak-m Pays. 
 
 CHAPTER Yin. 
 
 LIVE STOCK OF THE FARM. 
 
 Callh: 
 
 I suppose that the question I am about to ask you, 'Mx. Crozier, 
 Las l)een ijropounded to you in the past twenty yeai's hundi-e Js of 
 times — what, in your opinion, is the most profitable breed of cattle, at 
 the present day, for the fanner engaged in dairying ? 
 
 JERSEY C.VTTLE. 
 
 A. I think the Jersej' (or as it is sometimes improperly called, 
 " Aldernej'," a name commonly applied to both Jerseys and Guern- 
 seys), is the most jDrofitable for butter making, though for milk a cross- 
 bred between the Short Horn and the Jersey is the best, or a cross-bred 
 between the AjTshire and Jersey, will produce rich mUk and more of 
 it than the thoroughbred Jersey. Some twenty years ago I kept a 
 small herd of Short Horns, and another of Ayrshires, together with 
 Jerseys. The demand for Jersey butter since then has increased so 
 much that I sold out the Short Horns and Ayrshires, and confined 
 myself exclusively to Jerseys. In my opinion, for the dairy farmer 
 who has a large city for a market, such as New York, Philadelphia, 
 Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati or St. Louis, within thi-ee or fom- hun- 
 dred miles. Jerseys ai-e more profitable to raise at the jiresent time 
 than anj- other breed. For seUiug milk in the villages or cities I 
 should say the Ayrshires Avere the most jirofitable. They are easy 
 keepers, hardy, and will produce fi-om 4,000 to G,000 pounds of milk 
 in one season, the milk generally bringing from foui- to five cents jjer 
 pound at retail. The Ayrshire milk is considered to be the most 
 healthful for children. But when the object is a large quantity of 
 milk, without regard to fineness of quality, then the Dutch, or as 
 they are common!}' called, Holsteiu, would be preferable. It is 
 claimed for this breed that they are hu-ge producers of milk; but my 
 objection to them is that they are hard keepers, and will consume 
 neai-ly double the amount of food that an Ayrshii-e cow can be kept 
 on. Or, at least, I would rather keep two Ayrshire cows than one 
 Holstein. I have had Ayrshire cows to give sixty pounds of milk 
 
Jersey Cattle. 
 
 147 
 
148 How THE F.utM Pays. 
 
 per day when fresh, although it is claimed that the Holsteins hare 
 given, under the same conditions, eighty pounds. For this reason, 
 the Holsteins being large milkers, are coming into demand somewhat, 
 to supply cheese factories iu the "\^'estem States, and will probably be 
 the best cow for that puqwse in the "West, as the large amount of 
 feed necessary to sustain them is not so great a consideration there 
 as it is here with us. One great advantage of the Jersey cow, forty 
 or fifty miles from a lai-ge city, is the cream, as cream can be sent that 
 distance, and returns thirty-five cents per quai-t at least I find that 
 we get more butter from the Jei-sey milk than any other breed. 
 The Jereey cow loves to be petted, and whatever kindness is shown 
 her she gratefully returns in the paD; if used harshly there will be a 
 great reduction in the quantities of milk and butter. She will milk 
 the year round — at least that is my experience with them. I usually 
 milk them within a month of the time of calving, which is of great 
 value to those who have contracts to sujiply private families with 
 butter the year around. I thus get a steady sujiply from these 
 Jerseys, while other breeds do not hold to their milV so long, with. 
 the exeejstion, perhaps, of the Ayrshires. For the purjiose of stall 
 feeding or soiling, they are just the cow that is wanted. Their calves 
 ai-e easily raised. In the last five years I have not lost over two per 
 cent. Their bull calves, if not suited for breeding purjjoses, although 
 they do not make so much weight as other breeds, when they are sis 
 or eight weeks old, make the best of veal. I have had calves that 
 weighed, when two months old, 200 poimds, which brought eleven 
 cents jjer jiound when sold for veal. The Jei-sey cow, " Eui-otas,'' 
 produced in eleven months 778 pounds of butter, which sold for fifty 
 cents a pound at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New Tork. The Jersey 
 cow, Mary Ann of St. Lambert's, 9,770, belonging to Mr. Yalancey E. 
 Fuller, Hamilton, Canada, was tested for thirty-one days, May 29th 
 to June 28th (1883) inclusive, with the following results: 
 
 Mnji. CKE-Mt. BrTTER, BrTTSB. 
 
 LBS. OZ. 1.BS. OZ. T.BS OZ. I3& OZ. 
 
 1st week. 291.0 74.9 22. 8^ 23.15 
 
 2d week 276.0 74.5 22.10 23.15 
 
 3d week 242.8 72.2 22.11^ 24.0* 
 
 4th week 259.8 90.0 23.3 24.13 
 
 2 days. 69. 22.12 6.7* 6.11 
 
 Total for 30 days 97. si 103. 6^ 
 
 Iday '.. 35.8 10.15 3.3i 3.6 
 
 Total for 31 days 100. 12 106. 12^ 
 
Jersey Cattle. 
 
 149 
 
150 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 The following appeared in the Breeder' g Gazette, July 5th, 1883: 
 
 B.u-TiMoKE, Md., June 28th, 1883. 
 John O. Clark, Eitq., Pi-esident Maryland Breedera' A><!<ocialwn : 
 
 Sir: In comphance with the request contained in your letter 
 of the 13th ultimo, that we should assist in making a seven days" test 
 of the Jersey cow, Value '2d, 6, 844, owned by Messrs. Watts k Seth, 
 of Baltimore, Md., we, the undersigned, would report as follows: 
 That from Tuesday, the 10th of June, to Monday, June 25th, the 
 jiroduct was 327 pounds of milk, fi'om which twenty-five pouuds, 
 two and eleven-twelfths ounces of butter were produced. 
 
 Signed, T. Alex. Seth, 
 
 W. H. -West, 
 
 A. M. FtLFORD, 
 
 Committee. 
 
 This is the lai'gest amount of butter from one cow, of any breed, 
 that we have any authentic record of in this country. To further 
 show what is done by a variety of cows of the Jersey breed we give 
 the followiag, taken from the Breeder's Gazette of July 5th, 1883: 
 
 COWS THAT HAVE MADE FOURTEEN POUNDS AND OVER PER WEEK. 
 
 Eurotas, 2,454 22.07 
 
 Bomba, 10,330 21 . 11 J 
 
 Valma Hoti'man, 4,500 21 . 00 
 
 Pheadra, 2,561 19.14 
 
 Oak Leaf, 4,7G9 17.10 
 
 Gold Thread, 4,945 17.09 
 
 Mamie Cobiu-n, 3,798 17.08 
 
 "Welma, 5,942 17.08 
 
 Lass Edith, 6.290 17.00 
 
 Eflie of HiUsdale, 1,521 16. 15 
 
 Lida Muhn, 9,198 16.08 
 
 Lady Nina, 4,338 16.04 
 
 Lily of Maple Grove, 5,i.79 16.03 
 
 Grey Therese, 5,322 16 . 00 
 
 Myra 2d, 6,289 16.00 
 
 Lady Penn, 5,314 16.00 
 
 Pride of Corissande, 5,323 16 . 00 
 
 Emma Gans(m, (!,283 16 . 00 
 
 Canto, 7,194 15. 12 
 
 Lcrna, 3,634 15.12 
 
Records of Jersey Cows. 151 
 
 COWS THAT HAVE MADE FOURTEEN POUNDS AND OVER PER 
 WEKK.-{Continued.) 
 
 Myrtle 3d, 3,490 15. 12 
 
 Niva, 7,523 15.08 
 
 Nymphea, 5,114 15.08 
 
 Zalrna, 8,788 15.05 
 
 Crust, 1,775 15 . 00 
 
 Ideal, 11,842 14. 12^ 
 
 Maple Leaf, 4,768 14. 12 
 
 EstreUa, 2,831 14. 12 
 
 Hartwick Belle, 7,722 14. 08 
 
 BeUe of UwcUand, 8,468 14.07 
 
 Marpetra, 10,284 14.06 
 
 Forsaken, 7,520 14 . OSJ 
 
 Silver Sides, 3,857 14.03 
 
 Gilt 4th, 4,208 14.00 
 
 Canary Bird 2d, 4,204 14.00 
 
 GUt Edge 2d, 4,420 14.00 
 
 Sasco BeUe, 13,601 14 . 00 
 
 Bessie Bradford, 11,544 14. 00 
 
 Spring Leaf, 5,79G 14 . 00 
 
 Silver BeU, 4,313 14.00 
 
 A total of forty head. 
 
 These are records of extraordinary yields of butter, made by -Jersey 
 cows, under favorable conditions, and are above what can be expected 
 fi-om a general herd dming the entire yeai-. The record of my own 
 herd of thii-ty cows, which I here submit, is far below any above 
 given, but I flatter myself it will compare favorably with the j-ield of 
 any herd for the same length of time, the extraordinary cases of 
 special feeding or special animals being usually given for a day, a 
 week or a month, and not for the year from the fidl herd. The 
 record is for a herd of thirty cows for one year, commencing 1st of 
 Januaiy, 1879: 
 
 POUNDS. 
 
 January 693 
 
 February g35 
 
 ^larch 1^031 
 
 (Here I sold off three cows.) 
 
152 How THK Farm Pays. 
 
 April 848 
 
 May 836 
 
 June 735 
 
 July 1,030 
 
 August 748 
 
 September 834 
 
 October 847 
 
 November 747 
 
 December 575 
 
 Butter sold $4,823 . 50 
 
 Calves sold 4.711 . 00 
 
 EXPEX.SES. 
 
 Rent 40 acres $500. GO 
 
 Pasture 200.00 
 
 Cost of labor 800. 00 
 
 Salt for daily and cows 26 . 00 
 
 Expressage on butter 75 . 00 
 
 Use of dairA' fixtures 50 . 00 
 
 Interest on value of stock 600 . 00 
 
 $2,251.00 
 
 Net profits on liutter alone $2,572 . 50 
 
 Value of calves sold 4,711 . 00 
 
 Total profits of the dairy alone $7,283 . 50 
 
 I might say, in explanation of the seemingly small amoimt allowed 
 for labor, that the work of the dairy was performed by my family of 
 two daughters, and the cai-e and feeding of the cattle was aided by 
 my own labor and superintendence, which, if it had been hired, would 
 probably have cost $1,000 more. The quantity of butter is taken 
 from my account book; the expenses ai'e estimated as nearly as pos- 
 sible, but ai'e certainly not underestimated. No estimate is made for 
 jiurchased food, as the value of the skimmed mOk fed to pigs will 
 auii)ly ofl'set that. 
 
 Q. According to this statement you show a profit, for a herd of 
 thu-ty cows, to be over $7,000. As much of that is due to the high 
 price received for the calves, and also to the high price, fifty cents a 
 pound, received for the butter, what would be the probable profits 
 derived from an ordinary working dauy ? 
 
 A. In any common working dairy it is easily possible to make such a 
 quaUty of butter as will sell for fifty cents a pound, if the proper care is 
 
Guernsey Cattle. 153 
 
 taken in feeding and caring for the cows, and in managing the milk 
 and the butter. It is only j)Oor butter that is hard to sell; the highest 
 quality is scarce, and there is a demand for more than is produced. 
 Hence the profits on the butter fi-om an ordinary dairj', stocked with 
 good grade Jerseys or AjTshires, should be as much, or very nearly 
 as much, as from this herd. As regai'ds the calves, it must be re- 
 membered that their high jirice is due to the large amount of capital 
 invested in the cows. With cows of less value, the profits from the 
 calves will of coui'se be reduced in jDropoition. In other parts of this 
 book we have tried to show the advantage of cultivating five acres 
 "well over twenty-five acres in a slipshod manner. Here too we would 
 say, in choosing the cows for the dauy, it is better to have the best 
 that can be procured, rather than waste good work and good feed 
 upon inferior stock. 
 
 GUERNSEY CATTLE. 
 
 The Guernsey cow is larger than the Jersey, and is considered by 
 some as equally profitable, her butter being as excellent in texture 
 and flavor, and commanding as high a price in our cities. In my expe- 
 rience the Guernsey is in no way superior to the Jersey, nor do I think 
 she is equal to the Jersey. I kept Guernseys for six or seven years, 
 and they, like the Short Horns and Ayrshires, were sold to make room 
 for Jerseys. I found they consumed more food than the Jerseys, 
 which of course tends to reduce their value. These cattle come fi-om 
 an island near to, and in the same grouj), as the island of Jersey, and 
 have been bred with much care. They are yellowish and reddish in 
 color, with white intermixed, and are much Uked by some jiersons who 
 have tried them. Being larger bodied and stouter than the Jerseys, 
 they make veiy fair beef when fatted, and when crossed upon 
 common cows produce very good dairy cattle. 
 
 Considerable attention has been drawn of late to Guernsey cattle 
 "by the importations made by L. W. Ledyard, Esq., of Fernwood 
 Farm, Cazenovia, N. Y. Mr. Ledyard has made several visits to the 
 island of Guernsey, and has selected his stock with much judgment. 
 The foUowing records go to show that ^Mr. Ledy;u-d made a fortunate 
 selection, and that his best Guernseys are not suii^assed in quantity 
 and quality of butter product, except by a few of the best of the 
 Jerseys. The cow, Countess of Fernwood, of which a portrait is here 
 given, has the foUowing record for seven days, ending November 28th, 
 1883, vh.: 303^ poimds of mOk and eighteen pounds, fifteen ounces 
 of butter, equal to a pound of butter fi-om sixteen pounds, or a httle 
 more than seven quarts, of milk. In the week ending December 11th, 
 1883, Countess of Feruwood's product was nineteen pounds, one ounce. 
 
154 
 
 How THE FaIUI P.\YS. 
 
 Of his herd !Mr. Ledyai'il savs: ' ' I have another cow that vrill run over 
 fifteen pounds in a -week, and my impression is that the Guernseys 
 ■wiU show as large tests as any other breed, and in time are quite 
 likely to show phenomenal results, although I do not give these the 
 importance usually accorded them."' 
 
 Of Countess of Fernwood he states, that her milk set uutU sour, and iill 
 chvuTicd has showii three pounds, tlu'ee ounces per day of unsalted 
 butter, a product very nearly equalling that of the highest yet at- 
 tained, and this v\4thout forcing, by which large products have been 
 made from noted cows, with fatal results in some eases. 
 
 Of other Guernsej' cows in this herd the foUo'n'ing records we 
 given: 
 
 TEST OF IMPORTED GLT:RNSEY COW, 'LADY MAY," NO. 531. 
 
 BATS OF MILKniG. 
 
 MILK. 
 
 DATE OF CmrHNISG. 
 
 BUTTKB, 
 
 Dec. 11th, 1883. 
 Dec. 12th, '• 
 Dec. 13th, " 
 Deo. 14th, " 
 Dec. 15th, " 
 Dec. 16th, " 
 Dec. 17th, " 
 
 34J lbs. 
 35i " 
 33i " 
 35| " 
 33 i " 
 33| " 
 33i " 
 
 Dec. 14th. 
 Dee. 15th. 
 Dec. 16th. 
 Dec. 17th. 
 Dec. 18th. 
 Dec. 19th. 
 Dec. 20th. 
 
 2 lbs., 7i oz. 
 2 " 8 " 
 2 " 8J " 
 2 " 8 " 
 
 2 " 5 " 
 
 3 " 
 
 3 " 1 " 
 
 7 even days. 
 
 239 lbs. 
 
 
 18 lbs., 6 oz. 
 
 Weather very variable, mercury falhng suddenly below zero; she 
 unfortunately took a little cold in her iidder, which made it prudent 
 to cut down her feed (which was not heavy), just as she was doing 
 her fuU work. The butter was dry and not salted. 
 
 TEST OF "POLLY OF FERNWOOD,'' NO. 1,5G5, IMPORTED IN SEPT., 1883. 
 
 DATE OF Mn.KINO. 
 
 MIUI. 
 
 DATE OF OHTIKKISO. 
 
 BDTTKB, DBY, NOT SALTED. 
 
 Dec. 18th, 1883. 
 
 30 lbs. 
 
 Dec. 21st. 
 
 2 lbs. 
 
 12 oz. 
 
 Dec. 19th, " 
 
 30} " 
 
 Dec. 22d. 
 
 2 " 
 
 8J " 
 
 Doc. 20th, " 
 
 31f " 
 
 Dec. 23d. 
 
 .S " 
 
 
 Dec. 21st, " 
 
 32 1 " 
 
 Dec. 24th. 
 
 2 " 
 
 14 " 
 
 Dec. 22d, " 
 
 28J " 
 
 Dec. 26th. 
 
 2 " 
 
 4 " 
 
 Dec. 23d, " 
 
 •SOi " 
 
 Dec. 27th. 
 
 2 " 
 
 12 " 
 
 Dec. 24th, " 
 
 '2H " 
 
 Dec. 28th. 
 
 2 " 
 
 15 •' 
 
 7 even days. 
 
 213 lbs. 
 
 
 19 lbs. 
 
 li oz. 
 
Records of Guerxsey Cows. 
 
 155 
 
 Weather Yeiy vaiiable and tiying, mercuiy once eighteen below 
 zero, and heavy gales. 
 
 JIILiaNG RECORD OF FERNWOOD GUERNSEY HERD, DECEMBER 28TH, 
 1883, WEATHER VARYING AND VERY COLD. 
 
 11 Home bred and acclimated cows. 
 1 Two-year-old heifer. 
 8 Heifers with first calf, just out of C[uarantine after a 
 
 very hai'd voyage. 
 5 Cows in same condition. 
 
 25 
 
 In all. 
 
 Average lime since calving two months and twenty-five days; the 
 heifers had calved in the fall ; some of the older cows in milk a long 
 time. Average weight of milk for an even twenty-four hours, seven- 
 
 GUEBNSEY COW, 
 
 teen pounds, ten ounces. The milk of two or three went to their 
 calves; that of two weighing twenty povmds, twelve ounces, and 
 twenty-one pounds were j)ut in a creamery for heifer tests; the 
 remainder, 393 pounds, was set ten hours in a large, open, deep pan, 
 and the cream made Januarj' 1st, ISS-l, twenty-two pounds o-f hard 
 butter, so yellow as to need no color, the latter never being used on 
 
15G How THE Farm Pavs. 
 
 the farm. Tliis is a pound from seventeen pounds, twelve ounces of 
 milk, when the cream was not fully extracted. The sweet milk was 
 left fully equal to ordinary normal milk. This system has since been 
 changed to using two open pans of the same kind, one holding the 
 milk fifteen and the other twenty-two hours; this gets the most high 
 flavored cream for butter, and leaves a very rich milk for calves. 
 
 The thirteen newly imported Guernseys in the above list ^sassed 
 through the storm of August '2i)th, and were so hardly used by the 
 rough sea that three fine cows died from injuiies; all these were, and 
 still are, thin. 
 
 This is a record, not of selected animals, but of every milking cow 
 on the farm. 
 
 ALDERNEY C.\TTLE. 
 
 Although the cattle known by the name of Alderney are not of 
 themselves of any importance to us, yet it maybe well to notice them 
 liere, if only for the puri^ose of removing the quite common imjn-es- 
 sion that this name relates as a synonym to the Jersey cattle. 
 .Vlderney is the third of the Channel Islands in size, and is but a 
 very insignificant spot, not much larger than a fair sized American 
 farm, and smaller than some. But it possesses a race of cattle that 
 were known as the Alderneys before the Jerseys were ever heard of. 
 Forty or fifty years ago Alderneys were in demand in England for 
 gentlemen's parks as ornamental animals, just as fawns and deer 
 were tamed and kept in such places. These small, graceful cows 
 furnished a small quantity of rich mUk for the table, as well as made 
 a pretty picture upon the lawn. As this class of cattle came into 
 repute, Jersey was drawn upon for a supply, but the name Alderney 
 was still retained, until the exportation from Jersey increased very 
 much, and the Jersey cattle became improved in character, so as to 
 make profitable stock for farms. The two races are entii-ely distinct, 
 although they have some points in common, such as the gi-aceful 
 form, the fawn colors and their rich mUk. But the Alderneys are 
 smaller than the Jerseys, less numerous by far, and generally spotted 
 white and fawn in color, while the Jerseys vary very much in 
 their colors. 
 
 AYRSniRE CATTLE. 
 
 The Ayrshire cow is probably most valuable for the special pro- 
 duction of milk and cheese. In Edinburgh, Glasgow and other large 
 cities of Scotland fresh millc brings six cents per quart, and skimmed 
 milk and buttermilk hidf that price. In that climate there is no 
 
Ayrshire Cows. 
 
 157 
 
 cow that does better, as tliey have produced as high as forty quai'ts of 
 milk per day. They are very hardy and active in seeking their own 
 provender. They mature early. The bullocks or steers make the very 
 best of work cattle, and when slaughtered their beef is of average 
 quality, but not equal to that of the Short Horns or Herefords. la 
 the United States the Ayrshire cow fills a large place, being, from 
 
 ATRSHIEE < 
 
 her great milking qualities, valuable for mUk dairies in the neighbor- 
 hood of our large cities. They will give as high as 7, 000 pounds of 
 milk per year. The butter is rather pale, and to bring an average 
 price must be colored. They are of hardy constitution, breeding 
 from two years old until twenty. They are in demand for the hills 
 of Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshu'e and Pennsylvania, as they 
 seem to thrive and do better in those sections than any other breed. 
 
 HOLSTEIN CATTLE. 
 
 The Holsteins, too, have their advocates, and within the last fewj'ears 
 hundi'eds have been imported into this country, with the expectation 
 that they will be suitable, from their great milking qualities, for 
 some sections, particularly for the western country, to supply the 
 numerous cheese factories that have been started there recently. Thej' 
 are of enormous size, and consume a large amount of feed; but they 
 produce large quantities of milk, which is sold to these cheese fac- 
 tories for about two cents per quart. Some claims are made for them 
 
158 
 
 How THE Faioi Pays. 
 
 as butter cows; but they excel for the production of cheese, and in those 
 sections of the country where feed is plentiful, they vrill no doubt 
 prove to be very valuable. They are a very handsome breed, pure 
 
 
 IIOLSTEIN COW. 
 
 "black and white in color, and are much fancied on this account. This 
 breed is claimed to make good beef. As to this I am unable to say, 
 as I have had uo experience with them for that pui-pose. 
 
 DEVON C.\TTLE. 
 
 Tlie Devon cow is one of the hardiest of all improved breeds. In 
 districts suitable for them the Devoiis wiU ^'ive a lai'ge yield of mUk, 
 and it is of excellent quahty. It is believed to produce more and 
 better butter than almost any other breed excejit the Jerseys or 
 Gueraseys. They are easily kept and are of gentle disposition. They 
 are well suited for the rough hiUs of New England or the mountains 
 of Pennsylvania, where they aie also much used as working oxen, 
 and prefeiTed for that purpose above all other cattle. On new lands, 
 or lands that are rough, they make the best team for plowing. They 
 are easily trained and very inteUigent, and I think superior for that 
 purpose to any oUier breed. In Devonshire, England, it is claimed 
 that when stall fed, this breed makes better beef than any other, and 
 they have often earned off pi-izes at the Christmas shows when 
 exhibited as beef cattle. Tlieir long boms are a serious objection to 
 them with Western cattle men, as being in the way of shipping them 
 in the cars; but for farm gi-azing and feeding for beef they have some 
 valuable points. 
 
Scotch Fullzd Cattle. 159 
 
 SCOTCH POLLED CATTLE. 
 
 This class of cattle includes the Galloway, and the Angus, or Aber- 
 deen, breeds. Thev have been recently introduced from Scotland 
 into this country. They are a beef animal, the cows having little 
 reputation, even in Scotland, as milkers. They are of large size, 
 black in color, of compact form and hornless. They are exceedingly 
 easy keepers, mature early, and the beef is said to be of excellent 
 quality. They are, perhaps, better suited for cold climates than any 
 other breed. For this reason they are well adapted to Canada, or 
 the extreme portions of our Northern States, where the finer breeds 
 would be too tender. The demand for them in the West seems to be 
 
 SCOTCH POLLED COW. 
 
 taking the place of the Short Horns, and they are rapidly becoming 
 popular there, on accormt of the absence of horns, and theii' special 
 advantages and value for "Western grazing. Eecent single importa- 
 tions have numbered over -400 head. 
 
 There is another class of polled cattle which are excellent dairy 
 stock. These are the PoUed Norfolk. These are deep red in color, 
 of good form, and, with the exception of the horns, very much like 
 the Devons in appearance. They ai-e fau- dairy cattle, and, like aU 
 hornless cattle, quiet and docile in disposition. They have been 
 recently introduced into this country, and are meeting with con- 
 siderable favor with fanners who object to horns upon theu- cattle. 
 
160 How THE Fakm Pavs. 
 
 HEREFORD CATTLE. 
 
 The Herefords are the standai-d beef cattle of the County of Here- 
 ford, iu Enfjland. These, and the Devons, are the two oldest breeds 
 of domesticated cattle known to exist. I think it was probably fifty 
 or sixty years ago that this breed was first introduced into tliia 
 country, and there is hardly a section throughout New England, 
 New York or Pennsylvania but you will find the mai-k of the Here- 
 fords among theii- herds. They have been bred so long, that where 
 the buUs have been used among oui' native cows their jn'ogeny is 
 marked with about the same color. All Herefords, \N-ithout excep- 
 tion, have white faces; a brown, or dull red color, on the body, with 
 a white stripe on the back; are compactly built, and have veiy little 
 offal when they come to the shambles. In the past few yeai-s they 
 have compared favorably with the Short Homs, weight for weight, 
 in the carcass; but their beef is more valuable, as there is less waste 
 ii it, being mixed, with the fat evenly distributed thi-oughout the 
 carcass When crossed with our native cows their progeny make 
 
 HEREFORD UU 
 
 useful animals for the mUkman or dairyman, or for the farmer for 
 gi'azing or stall feeding. As working oxen the steers ai-e found to be 
 remarkably gentle and docile, but slower than the Devons. For a 
 few years past tliey have been extensively introduced into the West 
 for stall feeding and gi-azing on the plains. They have become very 
 popular there, since they have taken several fii-st premiums at the fat 
 cattle exhibitions. 
 
Short Horn Cattle. 
 
 161 
 
 SHORT HORN CATTLE. 
 
 Tins excellent breed of cattle, wliich used to stand first in the 
 estimation of breeders in America, seems to have lost rani, and to be 
 meeting ■with very close competition from the Hereford and the 
 Scotch Polled cattle, which are rapidly taking their jDlace in the 
 West. A few years ago there was an enormous speculation in this 
 breed of cattle, and $30, 600 was actually paid for one single cow ; but 
 to-day the average price for a good pure bred Short Horn cow is 
 
 SHORT HORN COW. 
 
 about $200. It is claimed for them that there are families of good 
 milkers in the breed, but, as far my experience goes, it takes two 
 cows or mothers to raise one calf. I saw Dutchess 75th when in this 
 country, and again at Lord Dunmore's in Scotland, when she was 
 being jirepared for the Christmas show of fat cattle. She had all the 
 turnips, oil cake, peas and beans she could eat, and grew to such an 
 enormous weight that, while standing up, she had to be put in slings, 
 lest her limbs would give out; but after aU this feeding and care, a 
 Polled Angus cow led at nearly all the Christmas shows of beef cattle 
 in London, the Herefonls coming in second. I saw once a new 
 importation of Short Horns, where the dams of the calves could not 
 feed them, and Ayrshii-es were imported at the same time to supply 
 this want. Originally the Short Horns were the best of dairy cattle, 
 and were valued on that account as much as for beef. That they 
 
162 How THE Farm Pats. 
 
 have so fallen oflf in the daiiy by being bred solely for beef, and have 
 fallen oflf as beef cattle by being bred too much for fat, shovrs how a 
 splendid race of cattle may be destroyed by mismanagement. One 
 family only of this breed, kuo^\Ti as the Princess family, have now a 
 reputation for milk and butter, although occasionally a few individual 
 cows are found to be good milkers and butter makers. Some of the 
 grade Short Horns are excellent dairy cows. Short Horns are not 
 much used for oxen. They mature, when fed on rich feed, at an 
 early age, but their beef is much better in quality at tive or six yeai-s 
 old, when Ihey will dress fi-om 1,400 to 1,500 pounds. The Texas 
 
 FAX SHOBX HOBX HEIFEB. 
 
 COWS have been much improved by the use of Short Horn bulls, and 
 in fact, a large proportion of the Western cattle now show the Shorv 
 Horn cross, which has much improved the native stock of the "Western 
 country. 
 
 SWISS CATTLE. 
 
 The Swiss cows I think a great acquisition to our daii-y stock. 
 Switzerland is a gi-and daiiy country, and some of the Swiss cows 
 have been bred with great care for many yeai's. Some importations 
 were made a few years ago, and the progeny of these, which have 
 been kept pure, have been scattered considerably through New 
 England, Pennsylvania and some other localities. There are several 
 good sized herds and qmte a number of smaller ones, which are 
 gi-aduaUy enlarging, and I think these cattle will soon be heard of 
 more than they are now. They are something like the Ayi'shire in 
 form, but lai'ger and heavier, of a yellow and red color spotted with 
 white; are naturaUj quiet and docile and heavj- milkers; some of 
 
Points of the Jersey Cow. 163 
 
 them are said to yield two pounds and over of butter per daj'. It is 
 claimed that one cow has given over 600 pounds in a year and 3,000 
 pounds in six years, all of which has sold for more than $1,500. Then- 
 native coimtry is f uU of mountains and valleys, and consequently these 
 cattle are haxdy and active, and suitable to the rougher parts of this 
 country. 
 
 TEXAS CATTLE. 
 
 The cattle of Texas and Florida are the descendants of the stock 
 brought over from Spain by the early settlers of the Gulf regions. 
 They are of no interest to the farmer of the Northern, Eastern or 
 Middle States, and seem only to be fitted for a place on the Texan 
 and other Western praii-ies, where they are still the leading breed 
 used for beef purposes, but in all probability they are destined to be- 
 come the basis for a greatly improved race of useful cattle, through 
 crossing by the Short Horns, Herefords or other improved breeds. 
 
 The foUowing are the distinctive "j)oints" of the leading breeds: 
 
 JERSEY COW. 
 
 Purity of Breed. — A rej)utation for producing rich, yellow butter 
 by the ancestors of both parents. 
 
 Head. — Small, fine and tapering. 
 
 Eye. — FuU and lively. 
 
 Face. — Lean, muzzle often encii'cled with buff color, dished. 
 
 Horns. — Crumi^led, short and fine. 
 
 Ears. — SmaU and orange colored within. 
 
 Neck. — Slender and tapering to the head. 
 
 Back. — Straight from withers to setting on of tail. 
 
 CJieat. — Deep and nearly on the line with the belly. 
 
 Hide. — Thin, movable, but not too loose, well covered with soft hair 
 and yellow in color. 
 
 Barrel. — Hooped and deep, well ribbed, vsdth little space between 
 the ribs and hips. 
 
 Tail. — Long and thin. 
 
 Legs. — Forelegs straight and fine; thighs full and long, close to- 
 gether when viewed from behind; hind legs short, bones fine, hocks 
 small, not crossed in walking. 
 
 Color. — Creamy fawn, deeper fawn and squirrel gray, with white, 
 occasionally, in patches. 
 
 Udder. — Well up behind; teats large and squarely placed, wide 
 apart; good fore teats, with large milk veins running well foi-ward; 
 free from coarse hair. 
 
 Disposition. — Docile. 
 
164 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 AYRSHIRE COW. 
 
 Breed. — As in tlie Jersey, purity of l)reed iu both sii-e aud dam. 
 
 Head. — Rather long and naiTOw. 
 
 Eye. — Not as full as the Jersey, i:)lacid, and not stiilcingly large. 
 
 Face. — Small; muzzle and nose variable in color. 
 
 Ear. — Small and fine ; orange colored within. 
 
 Hurnn. — Tapeiing, -with an upwai-d and outward turn, and set 
 wide apart. 
 
 Neck. — Medium length, clean in the throat and tapering to the 
 head. 
 
 Chest. — "Wide and round, the " wedge shape " of the animal, fi-om 
 the hind quarter forward, ai'isiug more from a thin, fiat shoulder, 
 than fi'om any undue narrowness of chest. 
 
 Back. — Straight; loins wide; hips high. 
 
 Hide. — Soft and mellow, with soft and thick hair; woolly and mossy 
 underneath. 
 
 Barrel. — Deep and round. 
 
 Tail. — Long and slim, and set well into the back. 
 
 Legs. — Delicate and line in the bone, and well knit together at the 
 joints. 
 
 Udder. — In this breed is most important, as the Ayrshii-es have 
 been bred almost exclusively with reference to their niiUdug quaUties. 
 Should be cajiacious but not fleshy, broad and square in front and 
 show large behind; the teats should stand well apart, and be long, 
 but not coai'se. 
 
 Color. — Dai'k red, rich brown or mahogany, nmniug into almost a 
 black ; sometimes broken, blotched and spotted with white. 
 
 Disposition. — Gentle and quiet. 
 
 IIOLi^TEIN row. 
 
 Breed. — Purity of pedigi-ee on both sides. 
 
 Head. — Small and long. 
 
 J?i/e.— Full 
 
 Face. — Long and lean. 
 
 Horns. — Medium length, with upward tm-n. 
 
 Ears. — Large and yellow within. 
 
 Xeck. — SHm. 
 
 £ac/t.— Sti-aight. 
 
Points or the Devox Cow. 165 
 
 Chest. — Deep. 
 Hide. — Thin and soft. 
 Barrel. — Eound and full. 
 Tail. — Medium length. 
 
 Legs. — Fore legs short; hind legs long and slender. 
 Color. — Black and Trhite alwaj's; sometimes white stripe across 
 middle of back. 
 
 Udder. — Large both rear and front. 
 Disposition. — Gentle; easy to handle. 
 
 DEVON COW. 
 
 Breed. — Pvuit j on both sides. 
 
 Head. — Small, lean and bon}\ 
 
 Face. — Straight; muzzle fine; nostrils open. 
 
 Eije. — Prominent and clear; mUd and gentle in its expression. 
 
 -Ear.— Thin ; medium size. 
 
 Horns. — Light, tapering, with waxy color towai'd extremity. 
 
 Neck. — Medium lengih; clean and well set upon the shoulders. 
 
 Back. — Loins and hijis broad, and niuning on a line with setting 
 ■of tail. 
 
 Chest. — Deep and round, caiiying its fullness well back of the 
 elbow, aifording abundant internal room for the action of the heart 
 and lungs. 
 
 Hide. — Soft and mellow, but not too fine, and covered with short, 
 thick and fine hair. 
 
 Barrel. — Round and straight; ribs almost circular, and extending 
 well back and spiinging nearly hoiizontally fi'om the vertebrfe, giving 
 great cajjacity. 
 
 Tail. — At its junction level with the back; long; very slender in its 
 cord, and finishing with a tassel of white hah*. 
 
 Legs. — Not too short, and standing straight and square behind; bone 
 small, sinews large and clean. 
 
 Color. — Deep red, always growing lighter around the muzzle. 
 
 Udder. — Should be capacious, free from long hail'. 
 
 Disposition. — Gentle. 
 
 HEREFORD COW. 
 
 Breed. — As in all cases, purity in sire and dam. 
 Head. — Moderately small, with a good width of forehead, tapering 
 to the muzzle. 
 Face.— ^yhite. 
 
166 How THK Farm Pays. 
 
 Eye, — Very small and cheerful in expression. 
 
 Hornit. — Long and rather coarse, with outward and generally down- 
 ward turn. 
 
 Neck: — Medium length and tapering finely to the head. 
 
 Back. — Loin and liips should be broad and level. 
 
 Chest. — Broad, round and deep, running well back, with springing 
 fore rib, gi\'ing great interior capacity. 
 
 Hide. — Soft and loose, covered with long silky hair. 
 
 Barrel. — Round, reaches close up to hind-quarters. 
 
 Tail. — Large and full at its jioint of attachment, but fine in its cord. 
 
 Ijegs. — Sti-aight, upright and firmly placed, and well apart. 
 
 Color. — Red or rich brown, sometimes darker, white on brisket 
 and along tlie back. 
 
 Udder. — Broad, full, extending forward and well uji behind. 
 
 Disposition. — Cheerful and hvely. 
 
 SHORT HORN OR DURHAM COW. 
 
 Breed. — Should show unbroken descent on both sides from knowik 
 animals entered in English herd book. 
 
 Head. — Small, lean and bony, tapeiing to the muzzle. 
 
 Fojce. — Somewhat long, the fleshy portion of the nose of deUcate 
 color. 
 
 Eye. — Prominent, bright and clear. 
 
 Horns. — Short, light in substance, waxy in color and evenly set on 
 the head. 
 
 Ears. — Large and thin. 
 
 Neck. — Rather short than long, and tapering to the head; clean in 
 the thi-oat and fuU at the base. 
 
 Back. — Loin aud hips should be broad, forming a straight and even 
 line from the neck to setting on of tail, full behind the slioulder. 
 
 Cliest. — Broad, deep, round and fuU back of the elbows. 
 
 Hide. — Soft under the touch, with soft mossy hail-. 
 
 Tail. — Flat and broad at its root, but fine in its cord, aud placed 
 high up on the rump. 
 
 Leg!'. — Short, straight and standing square with the body. 
 
 Udder. — Should reach well forward, roomy behind, and teats wide 
 apart and of good size. 
 
 DL-iposition. — Gentle. 
 
 In all breeds the points of the buU should as nearly resemble those 
 of the cow as it is possible for the male to resemble the femiUe, and 
 especially so when uulk or butter is the object. 
 
Daikv Cows. 167 
 
 THE BEST COW FOR THE DAIRY. 
 
 Q. Judging from the expressions of opinion advanced by you, Mr. 
 Crozier, from your personal experience, and from the data that we 
 have been able to gather on this important subject, as to what is the 
 most profitable breed of cattle for dairy jJurpo^^s, particularly for 
 butter and cream, the conclusion to be arrived at is that the Jersey 
 cow, as she stands to-day, is the breed par excellence. But may not 
 fashion in this case, as in other things, have had something to do in 
 giving the Jerseys so much prominence '? 
 
 A. In my experience with the dili'erent breeds of cattle, I find none 
 that wiU. produce as much cream and butter in 365 days, and breed 
 at the same time, as the Jersey cow — that is, if she is j)roperly treated 
 and taken care of. I have no doubt that if the Jersey cow has to 
 rough it, that there are other breeds of coarser textui'e that would be 
 found better adajjted for taking care of themselves; but with jJroper 
 care the Jersey, in my opinion, is by aU odds the best breed we have 
 for the production of cream and butter. 
 
 Q. But, as you know, there are compai-atively few Jersey cows in 
 the country, and, on account of their scarcity, are valued very highly, 
 and are quite beyond the reach of the great mass of farmers, who 
 could not ijossibly stock their farms with Jersey cattle. What, then, 
 would you recommend to a fai'mer as the best dairy cow for general 
 use — first for milk, next for butter? 
 
 A. That question opens ujd a wide subject, because it not only in- 
 cludes the selection of the cow, but the breeding and crossing of 
 varieties, as well as the improvement of the native cows by the use of 
 pxu'e bred bulls. I will, therefore, give my ideas as fully as may be 
 necessary on this very important cjuestion. As you saj-, there ai'e not 
 enough Jersey cows, nor, indeed, A^Tshii'es, or any other jJure breed, 
 to go around among our five million farmers. There are jjrobably 
 40,000 Jersey cows only in the country, and perhajjs half as many 
 pure A^Tshu-es; and about 4,000 Holsteias. Devons, PoUs, Herefoids 
 and Short Horns, I do not count as dati'y cows. There are, jserliaps, a 
 few hundred Swiss cows. AU these are in the hands of fanners who 
 can afford to pay large prices for them. The great bulk of the dairy 
 products of the country is fi'oni the native cows, made up of mixtures 
 of Short Horns, Devons, Herefords and AjTshii-es, which have been 
 brought here by the first settlers and have been crossed and recrossed 
 for 200 years until the traces of the original jjarents have been wholly 
 lost, and we have a mixed sort which we call native. There is the 
 
168 How THE Fahm Pays. 
 
 best of blood at the bottom, aud I believe tbe common native cows 
 ai-e susceptible of very pi-eat improvement if the same care should be 
 given to them as has been given to what we call the pure breeds. 
 Duiin'T twenty yeai's, or more, past, there has been a considerable 
 mixtui'e of Jersey and Ayi-shire blood among the native stock, and 
 ti-aces of it ai-e seen in almost every part of the countiy, more or less. 
 So that the native cattle, as they are called, have a foundation upon 
 which, by cai-eful breeding, an excellent herd may be built up. And, 
 in reply to yoiu- question, I should say, first, that a well selected herd 
 of native cattle. 8ho^\-ing a large trace of Ayrshire or Short Horn 
 blood, would make the best cows for an ordinary working milk dairy. 
 Next to these I would place cattle showing traces of Devon blood. 
 And third, for the common butter dairy, I would select a herd of 
 natives, having Jersey blood in them, of the best kind I could find, 
 and then procure a good Jersey bull to im2)rove them with. No 
 farmer need complain or feel envious because he has not the means 
 to puirhase a herd of pure bred registered Jerseys. He can very 
 easilv procui-e a bull of first rate famUy record for butter production 
 to improve his native stock with, aud in a few years would possess a 
 herd in all respects as good for yield of butter as a herd of piu'e bred 
 cows. 
 
 The cost would be very soon repaid. If a farmer even boiTOwed 
 $1,000 for the pui'chase of a two-year-old bull of good pedigree, he 
 would get the money back again very quickly from a herd of twenty- 
 five cows only. This is easily seen. The first yeai- he would have 
 twelve heifer calves and twelve the second year; the third year there 
 would be eighteen heifer calves and twelve young half-bred cows. 
 These young cows, with this breeding, would alone be worth all the 
 buU cost, which would be only about $<S0 each. The fourth year 
 there would be thirty young cows, easUy worth $2,300, because no one 
 who had them would sell them for that price. At the end of the 
 fifth yeai" the increase of the herd would number 100 cows, and if 
 each one was worth only $10 more than a common cow, the bull 
 would have been paid for. But after the third cross some of the 
 cows, perhaps half of them, would produce butter enough to pay a 
 good interest on $200 each. I think this answers your question as to 
 the best cow for the dairy for the working farmer who is unable to 
 procure the costly jiure bred Jersey cows. 
 
 Several cases have come to my knowledge in which farmers have 
 bought a well bred Jersey bull for $300 or more and crossed it upon 
 then" native cows, with the result, that in less than five years the 
 extra product of butter, at thirty cents a pound, fi-om the half and 
 thi-ee-quarter bred cows, has alone, every yeai-, repaid the whole cost 
 
]\Ianagemext of Dairy Cows. 169 
 
 of the bull in a herd of twenty cows and upwards. And the same re- 
 sult has been reached by using pui'e bred Ayrshire and Holstein 
 cows in milk dames and cheese dairies. 
 
 FEED AND C.4.RE OF COWS FOR MILK AND BUTTER. 
 
 Q. You have given the results of the profit derived fi'om your 
 dauy product. Will jon now state your mode of feeding and caring 
 for milch cows, that give these results during the entire season, be- 
 ginning at the 1st of January ? Toiu- answer may, in some respects, 
 repeat information you have ah-eady given; but as the subject is all- 
 important, and should be given in a consecutive manner, I think 
 our readers will pardon any sUght repetition in this matter. 
 
 A. As I have before stated, I was formerly a great believer in 
 steamed feed for milch cows; but latterly I have changed to cutting 
 corn stalks, hay or "oats and j^eas," and mixing this cut feed with 
 bran, ground oats, pulped or crushed mangels and salt. Turnijjs I 
 do not feed to milch cows, as they would flavor the butter, unless 
 great care were used to feed the turnips immediatelj' after the cows 
 have been milked; and, as we find this would entail special trouble, 
 we think it better not to feed tmiiips at all, as mangels answer every 
 j)urpose. Besides, mangels give a heavier weight of crop fi'om the 
 ground. If, however, turnips, or any other food, has b?en used, that 
 taints the cream, it will be neutralized to some extent by putting in a 
 teaspoonful of saltpetre to every twenty quaiis of milk. 
 
 I very often feed some ground cotton seed cake meal, as it enriches 
 the mUk, instead of, as formerlj', feeding oil cake or hnseed meal. 
 The cotton seed meal is ground fine, and fed at the rate of two to 
 four quarts per day. If the cow has gone a period of five or six 
 months with calf, I reduce it to one quart. The regular feed — that 
 is, the mixture of cut fodder, mangels, meal, etc. — is mixed in the 
 barn, enough being cut to last a week at a time. About a bushel 
 basketful is fed to each animal, morning and evening, and a little 
 hay given in the middle of the day, after the cows have been watered. 
 If the weather is very cold at that season I feed a little heavier, and 
 sometimes mix a little hot water with it. The di-inking water given 
 to the cows should be shghtly warmed, so as to make it as near blood 
 heat as possible. This method of feeding is continued until the 
 middle of May in this climate. If the cows are coming into calving I 
 avoid feeding ground oats, by which I think I keep them in better 
 condition. I also generally give them a few smaU doses of salts and 
 sulphur just before calving time. About the middle of May green 
 
170 How THE Fakm Pays. 
 
 rye is ready to cut; this is run through the machine and mixed with 
 the feed akeady named, which is tlie first process of soiUng, being' 
 fed in small quantities at first, so as to gradually accustom them to 
 the summer soiUng. The rye is fed until clover comes in, which is 
 followed by " oats and peas, " lucern and fodder corn, lasting into 
 November, when the feeding with dry fodder and roots is again begun. 
 In feeding diy cows, I find it very profitable to cut up wheat straw 
 and mix it with crushed turnips, giving about sixty pounds of turnips 
 and twenty pounds of straw per day to two-year-old animals. The 
 bulls are fed exactly as the milch cows. In addition to the matter of 
 feed in the winter treatment, we consider it to be of the first import- 
 ance to have the animals thoroughly curried and brushed, and the 
 pores of the skin kept open. This is done every morning with each 
 animal, and an abundance of clean straw is daily supplied for bedding. 
 By this manner of hberal feeding, warm shelter and beds in winter, 
 absolute cleanliness and careful watchfulness, I attribute not only 
 exemption from abortion, milk fever and other similar troubles of the 
 stock raiser, but have a certainty, from the products of the dairy, that 
 the work is remunerated by a balance on the right side of the ledger. 
 
 YOUNG C.\TTLE. 
 
 Q. You have said nothing as yet, Jlr. Crozier, of youi" manner of 
 raising young stock. From the specimens I now see in your barns I 
 would like to know the method by which you have raised them to 
 such perfection. For it would certainly give great jjleasure if every 
 one interested in stock raising could see that herd of deer-like 
 Jerseys, and I am persuaded that they would be convinced, as I am, 
 that you practice as well, and I think a little better, than you i^reach. 
 
 A. I consider the primary reason for my success in raising young' 
 cattle to be, that the mothers lu-e kept in the verj-^ best possible 
 condition of hesUth. This condition of health I beUeve is produced and 
 continued only by the systematic method of feeding and care that has 
 been here described and which I have practiced for years. Proljablj- our 
 mode of winter feeding has more to do with this than aiiythiug else. 
 During the five years I have 2)ractieed this system, I have had suflfi- 
 cient evidence to prove that a higher degree of health and vigor is ini- 
 })ai-ted to the animals than can be hoped for when the process of steaming 
 the feed is followed. I had as fair success with the cows and calves 
 when using the steamed feed as I could well expect, but since I have 
 changed to my present system all the stock are more ■vigorous and 
 healthier than ever before. WliUe using the steamed feed we found 
 
Rearing of Calais. 171 
 
 that the average of milk during the twelve months was perhaps more 
 than it is now, but IbeUeve it stimulated the cows too much, and the 
 effect was seen in the calves, which were not so strong and were more 
 difficult to raise. 
 
 "When the calf is dropped, our method is to take it at once from 
 the cow and nib it dry wdth straw or a cloth. Many farmers think 
 it necessary for the good of the cow that she should Hck the calf di-y. 
 I do not think so. It is the natural way, no doubt, but a cow is a 
 domesticated animal and we can do this work for her better than 
 she can, and it is more cleanly. The calf is then taken to a box stall 
 where it can be kept quiet and out of hearing of the cow. The milk is 
 taken from the cow and given to the calf, it being necessary for a few 
 times to give it the finger to suck, but it can very soon be taught to 
 drink from the i^aH without tliis assistance. After about nine daj'S 
 the milk from the cow is changed to skimmed milk, which is mixed 
 with oatmeal and gi-ound flaxseed, boiled in water to a thin gruel, 
 and a Httle salt ; when this is added to the milk it will be about blood 
 heai My plan of taking the calf from the cow as soon as it is 
 dropped is, I know, in opposition to the usual method, which allows 
 the calf to suck its dam for a few days. But where this is done the 
 change of taking the calf away injures both it and the dam. She gets 
 acquainted with it, and when you take it away she becomes restless, 
 and gets into a fever; and the same wdth the calf, looking for her 
 mother. In addition to this, my plan of removing the calf at once 
 trains the calf, so that when she becomes a cow she never looks for 
 the calf, and does not fret and worry over it. This is quite important 
 in a dairy. If the cow's udder becomes inflamed, we bathe it in hot 
 water, as hot as the hand will bear, using a soft sponge, and after- 
 wards taking a j)ortion of the cow's milk and rubbing it gently, care 
 being taken to dry off all milk clean from the udder, that none should 
 be left to curd. This artificial means we believe to be safer and 
 better than if the calf were allowed to nui'se on the cow, as when it 
 does not get milk fi-eely fi-om the cow, it will punch with its head so 
 hard as to often ruin the cow for hfe. This, I believe, is the cause 
 of so manj' quarters of the udder being lost. No use is ever made 
 of the milk of the cow for the first nine days, excejit to feed the calf. 
 
 The calves are fed twice a day, about seven in the morning and the 
 same hour at night. While young, great care is taken not to over- 
 feed them, which will cause indigestion and this stoiDS the gi-owth of 
 the calf at once. It also causes diarrhcea, which is the most fatal 
 disease among young calves. Three quarts of milk is enough for one 
 meal for a young calf, at first. The feed is gradually increased up to 
 four quarts at a meal and the calf should not be jDermitted to drink 
 
172 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 too fast. A little care in tliese respects wiU ensure healthy calves. 
 After a month, a httle oatraejil and linseed meal may be given once 
 a day, not more than an ounce to be^au with, if it is not given with 
 the milk; and some fine hay may also be supplied, of which the calf 
 Tvill soon be!.riii to eat. The feed is carefully increased by degrees 
 \ip to six or eight months. At this age some Jersey calves will breed 
 and the sexes should be separated to prevent this. When putting 
 calves to pasture, care is rc'(juired to avoid gorging -with wet grass, 
 or chilling after overheating, by which that common, and always 
 fatal, disease, "blackleg," may be caused. About May the yearUugs 
 ai"e turned into a grass lot or paddock near to the barns, and ai'e 
 given a mash of bran, made into a drink, once a day. They ai-e 
 "brought into the bai'ns at night, and tied up and fed the same feed 
 as that given to the cows, in due proportion. They are cai-ded and 
 brushed and treated generally the same as the cows, being handled all 
 over, so that when they come to be cows they are docile, and need no 
 training, or ' ' breaking in,'' as it is called. Only the cow calves are thus 
 reai'ed. Only those bidl calves ai'o reared which are from the best milkei's; 
 these are always reserved for breeding purposes. It is our aim to im- 
 prove the butter qusility and quantity by this means, as certainly "like 
 wiU beget like,"' and, if not at first, it always will at some time ; and it is 
 my opinion that this is the gi'eat point in breeding, for the reason 
 that one bull will get fifty calves while a cow is producing one. I 
 paid, in 18G5, for a Jersey bull not two years old, $1,000, and my 
 neighbors thought at that time I should have been put into an 
 asylum, such a price for a Jersey never having been heard of; but it 
 was tlie best investment I have ever made, as the produce proved to 
 be of the highest standard. 
 
 Q. As you are thus ijaiticulai- in breeding, I presume you do not rear 
 every calf that is dropped, as some may turn out to be inferior. What 
 are the distinguishing points of the most promising calves? 
 
 A. When a calf is dropped an expert can tell at a glance whether 
 it is likely to be a good cow or not. There are many points wliich 
 altogether go to make up the general appearance, which strikes him 
 at once. The head and neck are the most imjiortant of these; the 
 head should be thin, long and fine; the ears fine and free from coarse 
 hair; the eyes large; the face broad across the ej-es; the neck is slender 
 and tapers finely to the head; the hair is fhie and silky; the legs fine 
 and deer-like ; but the udder marks are perhaps the most convincing 
 along with all these. If the teats are well formed and are placed well 
 apart and the skin of the future udder is loose, tlien the calf will have 
 every promise of a good cow, and this i)romise rarely fails. On the 
 contraiy, a coarse, rough-haired calf with little apparent udder form- 
 
Feeding Calves. 273 
 
 ation, will be apt to turn out a poor cow. This judgment ofcom-se 
 comes by practice, but a close study of these points will rarely fail to 
 lead to an accurate selection. All calves that do not come up to a 
 proper standai-d, in this way, are at once destroyed, or vealed. 
 
 Q. Do you attach any importance to the so- called " escutcheon," as 
 a mark of value 
 
 A. As the escutcheon, so-caUed, is considered by many persons to 
 be of special importance, I have studied it very closely, but without 
 discovering anything in it to form a judgment upon, excepting, jser- 
 haps, in this vf&y, and to a limited extent, quality and character and 
 marks are generally inherited together. If a calf has all the marks 
 of her dam and sire, it is reasonable to suppose that it will inherit, 
 with these marks, aU the qualities and character as well. The 
 escutcheon is one of these marks, just as the tine eye and face and 
 slender tail and silky hair are, and will go just as far as one of 
 these may go, and no farther. But I have been led to believe that if 
 any person places all his rehance upon the escutcheon he will impose 
 upon himself and cherish a delusion. 
 
 But, to retui-n to our subject-: my way of feeding is to rear the 
 young animal up, never permitting it to run into fat; as once an 
 animal is run into fat it has a tendency that way, and in the dairy we 
 want mUk and butter, and not fat in the carcass. The object in 
 feeding skimmed milk is to be free from the butter or fat-formin«^ 
 substance, and we give larger quantities of the skimmed milk as soon 
 as the young animal can digest it, to increase the capacity of the 
 paimch, so that when grown to matui-ity they will consume and digest 
 so much more feed, and hence produce larger quantities of milk; as 
 a cow giving large quantities of milk requires a large amount of feed 
 to supjDly it, and should have capacity to hold and digest a larger 
 quantity. I had a Jersey calf which, at the age of five months, 
 milked two quarts of good milk p>er day, and up to the age of fourteen 
 months, when she was put to the buU, increased to foiu- quarts per 
 day. She is still in my possession, and has given me two calves, and 
 has never been dry during the period of gestation. This was an 
 unusual case, and was caused by the constant sucking of its com- 
 panions. It shows, however, the natural inclination of this breed to 
 milk production. 
 
 Q. Had it any weakening tendencj- on the animal ? 
 
 A. No; I think not. This animal was in such a vigorous condition 
 that it rather gave her a finer development than if she had not "iven 
 milk until she came in at two yeai's old. She is now four- years old 
 and caiTying her third calf, and I cannot obsei-ve that she is in any 
 way injured by it. 
 
174 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 Q. You say the heifers are ready to breed at al>out fifteen months. 
 Is it not an unusual thiuf^ to bring them in at that age? 
 
 A. In my experience in breeding Jerseys and A^Tshires, hy bring- 
 ing tlicm into milk -while young, I find that they make better cows, as it 
 keeps them from ninning into fat or beef, and holds their milking 
 qualities much better. I have known Jersey and Ayrshire heifers 
 not to breed until twenty-eight and thirty months old, but they never 
 proved to be good dairy cows, while Short Horns or Devons ought 
 not to be bred until about two years old, because their uses nowa- 
 days are more for beef than for dairy jiurijoses. My plan is to breed 
 the Jerseys and Ayrshu'es while young, and on their second breeding 
 to keep them back say three or four months, so as to make them hold 
 out their milking qualities for a longer season. 
 
 Q. "What is the highest price, to your knowledge, that has ever been 
 jiaid for a Jersey ? 
 
 A. Ibelieve $10,000 each has been oft'ered and refused for "Eurotas," 
 "Bomba," and "Jersey Belle of Scituate." The two-yeai'-old heifer, 
 Khedive Princess, sold at the Cooper sale. May, 1883, for $5,1.50. 
 Some twenty cows at the same sale averaged over $2,000 each, 
 while the young buU, King of Ashantee, sold for $5,600. Since then 
 !i bull calf sold for $10,500.* 
 
 Q. What is the probabUity of a continuance of these high prices, 
 Mr. Crozier? Are they occasioned by a craze of fashion, or is there 
 an increase of f)opular demand for the Jerseys? 
 
 A. There is no doubt an increasing demand for Jersey cattle — a 
 legitimate demand founded entirely on their great merits, which 
 yeai-ly are becoming more and more attested, and that, together wth 
 the great beautj' of the animal, which brings into competition jjrivatc 
 gentlemen as pui'chasers, both at the auction sales and privately, will 
 have the eflect of keeping up 2:)resent jjrices, until this demand is 
 satisfied. At the present time I do not believe there is a Jersey cow 
 for each county in the United States, and the number being thus 
 limited, certain!}' the demand wUl continue. Fifteen years ago $250 
 or $300 would have been called an extravagant price for a Jersey cow 
 and few buyers at that. 
 
 Q. The inference is, then, that as the character of this breed becomes 
 known the price advances? 
 
 A. "Wherever the Jersey cow jilants her foot, there yviH soon be 
 found a market for her, whether here in the East or in the South or 
 the "West. A few years ago she was slighted at our fairs by everj-- 
 body, and called the " little scrag " and only considered fitted for 
 
 • Sinco tlie above was wrilteu a two-vear-old bull ha3 been sold by T. S. Cooper 
 for $15,000. 
 
Effect of Crossing varu Jerseys. 175 
 
 gentlemen's la-tvns. But to-day every buyer who can obtain money to 
 purchase a calf wants it, and while, but a few yeai-s ago, the highest 
 price paid for the sei-vice of bulls was $5, to-day $250 is paid for some 
 buUs and even as high as $500 for animals of special families. 
 
 Q. The cost of the Jersey to the average farmer in anything Uke a 
 fair herd would of course be beyond his means at the jsresent time, 
 but would not the effect of a cross between a Jersey bull and an 
 Ayrshire or other good cow, for instance, be found of great advan- 
 tage? 
 
 A. I have known a great many instances where the breeder has 
 crossed the Jersey bull and Ayi'shire cow for the very purpose of get- 
 ting the best family cows, and certainly the result has jjroved to be 
 most satisfactory. Of course a herd in this way would cost very 
 much less, as the Ayrshire cow has not any excessive value. 
 
 Q. "What are the relative values of a pure Jersey cow and a pure 
 Ayrshire of the same quality ? 
 
 A. "While the Jersey cow of pui'e breed and pedigi'ee would 
 now bring $1,500, the Ayi'shire would biing only fi-om $100 to S150. 
 I paid in 1876, at the Highland Society's Exhibition, $500 for one, 
 but since then the value of the Ayrshii-e has had a downward tend- 
 ency, as she has not been appreciated by wealthy farmers as the Jersey 
 has been, and so has not so high a market value. 
 
 Q. "^Tiat is the result when the Jersey is crossed with our common, 
 or, as sometimes called, native, cow ? 
 
 A. I think it was in 1876 that an old faiTuer, upwards of seventy 
 years of age, brought one of his cows to one of my Jersey bulls. The 
 cow brought him a heifer calf which he raised and bred, and which 
 in turn produced a calf when a Uttle over two years old. Nothing 
 remarkable was thought of the heifer until his wife ( who had a life- 
 time experience in butter making) stated one morning that she had 
 never had such a good chiu-ning of butter as she had had that morn- 
 ing. This shaiiDeued the old gentleman's observation, and while 
 turning the cows into the yard loose to be milked, as is the custom 
 among our faiTuers here, he noticed that this heifer had a very laige 
 and richly colored udder. He went back to the house, and told the 
 old lady that he guessed there must be something in Crozier's stock 
 after all; that he thought the cause of her extraordinary jield of 
 butter was in that heifer, and that to set the matter at rest she must 
 begin and gather a week's milk by itself and chm-n it. It was done, 
 and to the astonishment of the old gentleman, he had more butter 
 fi-om the one heifer a little over two yeai's old than he had fi'om all of his 
 other thi-ee cows together. On the same day he came to my place 
 and said he had come to take back what he had said about my stock, 
 
176 How THE Fakji Pays. 
 
 ami that as loug as be lived he would breed to no other bulls but the 
 Jerseys. He uow has several crosses of the Jerseys in his herd and 
 you could not buy them for $100 each. I had an order fi'om Te.\as 
 asking' if I could procure a car load of half breeds in this vicinity. I 
 tried the old gentleman, but in vain, for although he had them he 
 would not part with them. And this, which is by no means an excep- 
 tional case, tells the whole story. It is for wide-awake fannei's to 
 watch the changes of events in their business outside of tlieir own 
 fai'ms, as well as inside of them, and to know what is going on 
 ai'ound them, and when they see how some improvement can be made 
 to seize upon it. A Jersey buU, at a cost of $200 or $250, would 
 double the value of a herd of fifty cows in tkree years, at a cost of no 
 more than $5 for each heifer Ciilf reai'ed. It is safe to say that each 
 of these young cows would be worth $100 eac-h, which is a return of 
 $5,000 for the $250 in three yeai-s. This is one way in which the value 
 of the Jersey bi-eed can be made available to eveiy farmer. 
 
 THE M.VXAGEMEXT OF THE DAIRY. 
 
 The fii'st gi'eat cai-e in the management of the daily is cleanliness. 
 If the cows are kept in a filthy state, the milk wUl certainly become 
 tainted less or more, and this taint wiU surely affect the cream and 
 butter. Therefore I use every precaution to keep the cows clean and 
 the stables fi-ee from taint or bad odors, and not only the stables, but 
 the surroundings. Gii'ls and boys make the best milkers, because 
 theii" hands ai'e small, and are less hable to hui-t the cows; and it 
 won't hui-t any gii-1 or boy to know how to milk, for if it is never 
 necessaiy that they should do the work, they should always be able to 
 know how it shoiild be done and when it is well done. There are 
 many ways of mUkiug. Some clasi) the teat with the whole hand and 
 squeeze and puU at the same time; others use only the forefinger and 
 thumb, with a sort of stripping motion. The first method is esiieciaUy 
 objectionable where the hand is lai'ge, as the fingers double in ai'ound 
 the teat, and there is danger of pinching the teat Avith the finger 
 uaUs. Strip2)ing should rarely be practiced, excejjtiag in cases where 
 the teat is very small, or as a rest to the milker's WTist, occasionally. 
 I once had a Swiss in my employ who, in milking, doubled up his 
 thumb against the teat, placing his fingers ai-ound it, and I found he 
 was much the easiest and best milker I ever had ; and since then I 
 have made my boys learn the same method. This way of milking is 
 bj' far the best for men, because doubling the thumb in lessens the 
 capacity of the hiuid, and the fingers reacliing ai'ound the teat lap onto 
 the thumb, and thus i)rotect it from the finger nails. In milking 
 with the whole hand the teat should not be i^uUed down, Vmt squeezed 
 
Milking Cows. 177 
 
 from the top downwards, so as to force out the milk. The finger 
 nails of milkers should be kept cut close. Every milker should wash 
 and dry the hands before he begins, and no one should ever dip his 
 fingers into the milk to moisten the teats. The milk stool should be 
 about nine inches high and should have three legs. The best position 
 for the milker is to place his head firmly against the side of the cow, 
 between her thigh and flank, throwing cue leg slightly behind and 
 the other in front of her hind legs, so as to hold the pail firmly 
 between the knees. In case the milker should happen to get hold of 
 a kicking cow, this position will enable htm to brace himself so as to 
 prevent her from kicking the pail. Sometimes, however, we find 
 vicious kickers, where it is necessary to use artificial means to break 
 them of the habit. In such cases a good remedy is to tie a strap — 
 such as a surcingle of a horse — tightly across Ihe cow's back, and 
 under her beUy. In moving her leg forward to kick, the cow raises 
 her back forward of the hip joint, and slightly expands the belly, and 
 her back being particularly tender, if the strap is drawn tight, it 
 hurts her to make this motion, and she soon desists. A very common 
 
 MTUONG TUBE. 
 
 practice with kicking cows is to tie then- hind legs together; but this 
 should never be done, because in struggUng to get loose they are ajit 
 to throw themselves. The strap applied in the manner described 
 win be found effective. 
 
 I would say here that a great deal may be done to make cows quiet 
 milkers and prevent them from kicking, by careful and gentle man- 
 agement when a heifer first comes in. A yoimg heifer, newly calved, 
 has generally a tender udder, and when it is full of milk, the act of 
 milking is painful and she will often attempt to kick. This is the 
 critical time ; if she is beaten she will kick back, and, perhaps, become 
 a confirmed kicker ; but if gently soothed and treated with patience 
 and kindness, as soon as the udder has lost its tenderness, she wiU 
 never think of kicking. 
 
 I have known some of the most valuable animals to be rained for 
 life in breaking them fi-om kicking. It is then that the previous train- 
 ing, before mentioned, is found to be of the greatest advantage. 
 
 Whipping or stiiking with the stools should never be allowed, as it 
 only makes them worse. When cows ai-e annoyed at mUking by flies, it 
 saves all trouble if a light sheet is thrown across the cow's back duinng 
 the operation. In the case of sore or obstructed teats there is nothing 
 I have foimd to give such quick relief as a silver tube made for that 
 
178 
 
 How THK Fa KM Pays. 
 
 purpose. This instiiiment is .simply a sUvcr tube one-sixteenth of an 
 ineli in diameter and three inches lonp;, and perforated near the toji 
 as shown in cut. It should he inserted in the teats and passed above 
 the obstruction. The smsill shde is pushed up or down to shorten or 
 lengthen the tube. I have also imported a milker which has been 
 
 cow ATTT.KFn 
 
 recommended bv the best daiiymon in Enp^land and Scotland. 
 I would not recommened this to be used constantly, but vrhere the 
 teats ai'e sore it is of great value. ^MiLking is done by my boys and 
 men. Theu- hands must be washed clean, and if any tilth gathers on 
 the udder or teats of the cows, they ai-e jilso washed and wiped di-y with 
 a clean towel. The milk is sti-ained into cans twenty inches deeji and 
 eight inches in diameter, which are covered and cjuTied immediately 
 into the dau-y, Avhere the mUk is strained in the mnter time 
 into a creamery which contains pans five feet long and twenty inches 
 wide and about seven inches deej), thus giving a liu'ge siu'face for the 
 cream. In cold winter weather we get the niUk uj) to a temperature 
 of sixty degrees by the simple process of placing a tin can tilled 
 with boiUng water and corked tight, iu the bottom of the creamery, 
 the door of which is then shut Judgment must be used to regulate 
 the quantity of hot water, so as to keep as near as possible to the desired 
 temperatm-e ; it will require neM-ly douVile the quantity of hot water 
 to raise the temperatm-e of the milk to sixty, when the theniiometer 
 mai-ks ten helow zero, than when it is ten aliove it- Over tlie milk 
 or at the ends of these pans arc ventilators, so that the bad air can pass 
 off, but this we only practice for a few months iu the winter time 
 diuiug the coldest weather. The remainder of the yciU- the milk is 
 set in a creamery holding six cans about twenty-foiu- inches in depth 
 and nine inches in disuueter. These cans ai-e covered with lids having 
 chimneys or ventilators in the toi3. The cans ai-e smTounded by cold 
 
Chtrsing. 
 
 179 
 
 spring water, wliicb is left imtil the milk is cool. Tlie water is then 
 {li-awn oflE ami fresh cold water and broken ice put in, to keep the 
 milk down to as neai- forty-five degrees as possible. 
 
 Each setting is allowed to stand twelve houi-s, and the milk is then 
 dra-n-n oS by a faucet placed in the bottom of the can, leaving the 
 cream inside. The milk, being sweet, is fed to the calves as pre- 
 viously stated. A little salt is added to the cream, and it is put away 
 in a cool room, where it remains imtil fully ripe, or a little soui-, and 
 is then chmned, being at a temperatui-e of about fifty-five degrees. 
 I prefer to chum the cream a Httle soured, as I have found by 
 different trials that when churned sweet, the butter is not so good. 
 The churn we have had in use for several years is a small sized factors- 
 churn of the Blanchard make, having a capacity of eighty gallons of 
 
 cream. The chum is worked by pony power, and the churning 
 usually requires about fifty minutes, although it could be done in half 
 that time if hui-ried; but we find it is a mistake to work it too fast, 
 as the butter would become oily. Before the churning is finished, 
 two pails of brine made of salt and spring water (strong enough to 
 float an egg) ai-e thrown into the chum. This sei:)ai'ates the butter 
 from the buttermilk, and leaves it in kernels about the size of wheat 
 grains. The pony revolves the churn a few times; then the buttenuilk 
 is drawn oft', and either sent to market or is fed to the hogs. Several 
 pails of water are then poured on the butter, until not a paiiicle of 
 buttermilk, or even the color of the milk, is left in the chm-n. The 
 
180 
 
 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 chm-ning now being done, the Reed butter worker, which, thus far, 
 I find to be the best, is scalded and cooled with ice-water, and the 
 butter lifted from the chmni onto it. 
 
 About one ounce of Eui-eka salt to the pound of butter is sifted 
 OTcr the whole surface, and about half an ounce of pulverized sugar to 
 the pound added, and the whole thorouglily worked by the machine, 
 about fifteen minutes being recjuii-ed for this process. The butter is 
 
 REED .S BUTTER 
 
 next weighed into half-pound cukes, put into the butter press and 
 stamped ; the stamp sho^\^ng the name of the farm, of the village, and 
 my initials, to protect it in the mwket from imitations. These cakes 
 ai-e wrapped in fine muslin, jjut into the butter box, which is enclosed 
 in a wooden box, and sent direct to the pui-chasers. In each of these 
 outer wooden boxes are two compaiiments for ice, which in hot 
 weather keejis the butter in good condition until it reaches its des- 
 tination. This concludes mv system of butter making, and I may 
 say that I have yet to hear of one single complaint, although I have 
 supplied some families for fifteen yeai-s without missing a week. 
 
SkTTINO INIlLK FOR CeK\JI. 
 
 181 
 
 Q. I notice tliat you sa}- that the temi^eratiue of the luilk iu the 
 summer season is reduced to fortv-five degi-ees, while in the winter 
 season it is kept up to sixty. ^Tij' do you reduce the temperature 
 in the summer time to forty-five ? 
 
 A. Because at this temperatui-e mUk set in the deep pails we use 
 will thi'ow up all the cream in twelve hours, and while it is stiU sweet; 
 if the mUk was set at sixty degi-ees in the summer, it would soiu' be- 
 fore aU the cream had risen. We also get the cream in the chum at 
 a lower temperature than we otherwise could in the summer, for it is 
 
 BLANCHARD BUTTER WORKER. 
 
 necessary for the cream to go iuto the cluu-n iu the hot weather at 
 no more than fifty-five degrees, as it quickly rises to sixty or sixty-two, 
 which is the right temperature, or the butter would be too soft, un- 
 less a good deal of ice were used, and too much ice is not desirable. 
 A point worth mentioning, too, that is secured by setting the milk 
 at forty-fiive degrees, is Ihat we get the skimmed milk sweet for the 
 calves. 
 
 Q. Is yoiu- plan of mixing half an ounce of sugar for each pound 
 of butter in general practice ? 
 
182 
 
 How THli Fahm P.vys. 
 
 A. I think not; but it impi-oves the butter, for certainly- there is a 
 waste of sugar in washing out the buttermilk. Yeiu-s ago my 
 method was to press out all the buttermilk we could in working it, 
 and to absorb it with a sponge wi'apped in a clean cloth, but since I 
 have adojited the plan of washing out the buttciTuilk I replace the 
 sugar in this way. Besides this, the sugai- heljw to 23resei"i'o the butter. 
 
 Q. "VMiat is your opinion, Mr. Crozier, of the new Centi-ifugal 
 Sepai'ator, as it is called ? 
 
 A. I think it was in 1870 that we had it at the lutematioual Dairy 
 Fail', in New York City, and I have no doubt that for those who 
 supjilj' cream to oiu- lai-ge cities it is a very good machine, but where 
 we sour the cream and make it fit for churning, I do not think that 
 we can get as good butter or as much fi-om the siuue quantity of 
 cream. I do not think that we can make good butter to keep a week 
 
 fiHIPPINQ BOX FOR BUTTKR. 
 
 by that process, as the cream thus sepai'ated is not in the right condition 
 for chiu-ning; for unless, after the sej^iu-ation is made, it iskejit for the 
 same length of time, there would be no advantage. For cheese 
 factories, where the cream is taken off for butter and the sweet skimmed 
 millc is used for cheese, it would be sen-iceable. 
 
 Q. One of the most common complaints of the dairy farmer is the 
 ti'ouble in getting help for the dau-y. How do you manage tliis ? 
 
 A. I have no trouble whatever, as it is all done within my own 
 family. My two daughters have taken turns since they were fomieen 
 yeai's old in the dairy, month about. The thing is now so siiiiple, that 
 even a cai'cful girl of that age is capable of doing the work without 
 much exertion; the labor of dair^nng being so much eased and sim- 
 jjlified by improved machinery and methods. Outside of the dau-y 
 there is a large boiler or kettle, which holds forty gallons of water, 
 which is supplied fi'om the waste of the creameiy. The fire is made 
 
AKPtAXtiEMENT OF THE DaIRY. 183 
 
 under this boiler the first thing iu the uioming, so that all the 
 utensils are washed and scoured, and left on a table under a shed to 
 au- and sweeten. After the churn is emptied it is washed out, fii-st 
 with cold water, then thoroughly scalded and finallj^ again washed 
 vrith cold water. It is then wiped dry with perfectly cleau towels. 
 This matter of perfectly clean and sweet towels and wiping cloths is 
 of too gTeat imj)oi-tance to be neglected as it too often is. It is one 
 of the great little things in the dairy. The butter worker and moulds 
 are then thoroughly washed and cleaned in the same way, in readiness 
 for the nest churning, the work being so easily and quickly done 
 that about fom- hours completes it aU. The setting of the milk and 
 the skimming and coUeeting of the cream does not occupy more than 
 one hoiu- each time, twice a daj". 
 
 The dairy is a plain stracture, twelve foot post and single roof. It 
 consists of three rooms. No. 1 is for the creameries. No. 2 is the 
 cold room for working the butter and preserving it. No. 3 is the ice 
 room. Nos. 1 and 2 are finished with hard finish and painted. 
 No. 1 is suppUed with water from a faucet, which is fed from a tank 
 into which it is pumped by a windmUl. The average amount of 
 butter from the dairy is about 200 lbs. per week, imless it is in the 
 summer, when many of my city customers are away in the country, 
 and for this reason I make it a point to have as many of my cows 
 come in in the fall as possible. At convenient distance from the dairy 
 the calf pens ai'e placed. The skimmed mUk being di'awn fi-om the 
 creameries is mixed as jireviously stated with gruel made of oat meal 
 and flaxseed meal, and taken direct to the calves. The calf pens or 
 boxes are twenty-four by sixteen feet, and are littered with straw so 
 that the calves have every chance to jump and play. After each meal 
 theii- troughs are taken out and thoroughly cleaned; in this case, as 
 in all others, cleanliness is imperative. If any milk is left by the 
 calves, it is taken direct to the h( igs, which, as is well known, are the 
 scavengers of the cattle yai'd. The buttermilk when taken from the 
 churn is put into a large cask or baiTel, and mixed with bran in the 
 summer season and fed to Berkshire hogs. I may state that in these 
 loose boxes in which the calves are kept every precaution is taken to 
 admit as much light and air as practicable, without allo\^ing the sun 
 to beat in upon them. The doors of these i^ens all around the build- 
 ing are supplied with foiu- hinges, and each door is cut across the 
 middle, so that the ujjper half can be opened and closed at will. 
 The upper doors are left open at night to give plenty of ventilation, 
 and in the day-time a thin gunny bagging is fastened across as a shade. 
 The calves are protected from any sudden change or high wind by 
 the lower doors being kept shut. 
 
184 
 
 How THK Faioi Pays. 
 
 FARM HORSES. 
 
 Although an important animal for the farm, the horse is in most cases 
 secondary to cattle; but, as with cattle, it is always best to have such 
 breeds as will perform their work in the best manner. I have used 
 several breeds of horses forfiu'm work, notably the Clydesdales, which 
 originated in Scotland, and which ai'e used there almost exclusively. 
 They ai'e now becoming great favorites in the cities here for heavy 
 di-aft horses. It has been oljjectedto the Clydesdale that he is slow; 
 but, after a trial of different breeds, I find that the Clyde horse can 
 plow more acres in a week than any other breed T have used. In 
 
 18(59 a premium was offered by the Queens County, N. Y., Agricultural 
 Society for the best wiilking team of any breed. I entered a pair of 
 Clydes in a conifietition of a dozen pair, and won the prize of $50. 
 Again, at oui" plowing match the summer following, at !Mineola, where 
 some thirty plows had entered to plow half an acre in a given time, 
 two paii'S of my Clyde horses came out first. In the horse market of 
 this countiy nothing is such a hindrance to real sales as the wsuit of 
 size. No matter how jierfectly the horse may be built, Avith strong 
 
The Percheron-Norman Horse. 
 
 185 
 
 "body or short limbs — if lie is small, lie brings only a low price, and 
 this even smaller, in proportion to his size, than the value of a lai-ger horse. 
 The law that like jsroduces like, or the Ukeness of some ancestor, refers, 
 of course, as much to size, as to form, color, temjserament and action; 
 and I think that the Clyde hoi-se, weighing 1,500 or 1,600 pounds, when 
 crossed on our native hght mares, weighing 1,000 or 1,100 jiounds, 
 makes one of the most valuable breeds for farm work. 
 
 Q. Would it not be an objection to the Clydesdale horse that its 
 cost would be entu-ely beyond the reach of the ordinaiy farmer ? 
 
 A. They are now being bred in the west in large numbers, and in the 
 New York horse markets half blood Clydes can be i^rocured without 
 
 PEECHEBON-NOEMAN HOESE. 
 
 trouble nearly as cheap as the ordinai-y Ohio or Pennsylvania horses 
 that have been supplying these markets for years jiast. 
 
 Q. '\Miat do you consider the best age and weight for a farm horse? 
 
 A. I hai'dly ever jiui'chase a horse that has to do steady work at 
 less than six or seven years of age, and for farm purposes, from 
 1,200 to 1,100 pounds in weight. Horses of this age and weight can 
 be piu-chased in the Xew York markets, at this time, for about $.500 
 per pair. The Percheron horse is also imported in large numbers 
 into this counti'v and is used in the West for breeding. "When crossed 
 
186 
 
 How THE Fakm Pays. 
 
 with our common hoi-se this makes an excellent farm animaL They 
 are not as good walkers as the Clvdesdales, and in my esjjerience I 
 have found them harder keepers and more subject to ailments. Their 
 bone is larger than the Clyde horse, the legs of the latter being 
 something similar in shape to that of a two by foui--inch jilauk. The 
 Perchei'on has become very numerous in the "Western States, and seems 
 to suit the special cii"cumstances of the "Western country exceedingly 
 well. It is as heavy as the Clydesdale, but jierhaps mther coarser in 
 its build. The Suffolk Punch has also been imported into this coiintrj-, 
 but tliey ai'e too slow for the American jseople. They make the very- 
 
 best horses for city work, as they are capable of hauling immense loads. 
 The Cleveland Bays have been bretl extensively in the "West and South, 
 particulai-ly in Kentucky suid Virginia, for coach horses. The English 
 CiU-t Horse has also been introduced into the "United States, but as 
 yet I have not hesuxl of theii- success in any way. In my opinion the 
 Highland Clyde or tlie Canadian hoi-se \vill answer every pmpose on 
 our fiu-ms better than any other. Their weight is from 1,200 to 1,400 
 jxiunds. They are clean in the bone, easy keepei-s. good walkers, 
 and have not tlie objection of excessive size that might be urged 
 
The Feeding of Horses. 187 
 
 against the Lowland Clyde. These horses are used to a large extent 
 in Lower Canada, Quebec and Monti'eal. 
 
 As there is a large demand for horses for citj^ use, and also for 
 exportation, the breeding of these as a business might be i^rofitably 
 undertaken bj- manj' more farmers than now give attention to it. 
 A class of horses of moderate weight, but stout, clean limbed and active, 
 is lai-gely sought by the horse-car comj)anies and many thousands of 
 them are pui'chased everj' year. Foreign governments, too, are now pro- 
 cuiing horses for then- armies here iu lai'ge numbers. This class of hoi'ses 
 is bred from lai-ge mares of the kinds above described, cross;d with 
 horses having some thoroughbred blood, the j)rogeny being able to 
 endure severe work and having a strong constitution. The breeding of 
 roadsters is also a very profitable part of farm business at the j^resent 
 time. 
 
 Li this section of the comitry the use of mules upon farms is not nearly 
 so general as in the South and parts of the AVest. But for some 
 pm-poses mules are preferable to horses, as, for instance, where the 
 work is hard, and when the team is exjjosed to neglect, and not fed 
 as well as it might be. But this should not be made an excuse 
 for neglecting them, nor for preferring mules without other and 
 better reasons, as no other fai-m stock pays better for good eai-e and 
 treatment than the fiuiu team. 
 
 We feed our horses iu winter in about the same way that we do our 
 cattle. "UTien spring comes and thej^ have to go to plowing, they ai'e 
 fed oats at noon time, cut feed at night and oats in the morning, a 
 mash of bran being given them twice a week. The colts ai-e fed -w-ith 
 the same mixtoie as that given the cattle, with two or three quarts of 
 bruised oats per day; we braise the oats lest they might be jsassed undi- 
 gested. Ruta Bagas or carrots mixed with meal make an excellent 
 feed for horses; in fact, I am of the opinion that it is the verj- best 
 feed for bringing a horse into good condition. It is fed in quantities 
 of about fouiieen pounds of the roots, and three to four pounds of 
 meal mixed with a httle salt. Thousands of horses are injured by 
 feeding exclusively on grain and corn meal, which is very apt to give the 
 colic. The usual remedy for colic is to take the horse out and 
 walk him rapidly, i-ub the beUy, and give injections of soap suds. 
 These remedies are usually successful. 
 
 A caution might here be given against the common practice 
 of giving active medicines or tlrags to animals without any knowledge 
 of what is the matter with them. No medicines of any kind should 
 ever be given to any animal without some clear idea of its purpose, 
 derived from inteUigent study of some good veterinary work, or on 
 the advice of some competent veterinaiy surgeon. 
 
188 How THE Fahm Pays. 
 
 The breedmg of horses as a si)ecial pursuit upou farms has been 
 fouuil veiy protitable. Men of wealth have greatly increased the 
 TiUue of theii- property, and have had the eujo^Tuent of a pleasant 
 aud he.dthful occupation at the same time, iu the midst of their stud. 
 This has been fi-equently the case iu Vu-ginia, Kentucky aud ilissouii, 
 but more especially where the names of Alexander, Harper, aud sev- 
 ei'al other noted breeders, and of such horses as Lexington, Long- 
 fellow, Leamington, and other remarkable sii-es, will always be 
 remembered. The class of horses thus bred, however, have been 
 used for pleasure and sport, for the turf or for di-iving, and for useful 
 roadsters. The demand for such hoi-ses is not likely to become less, 
 but, on the conti'ary, to increase greatly, and the steady and jirofitable 
 business which has been built up will, beyond a doubt, 1)ecome verj' 
 much extended. The race of Auierican trotting horses is now known 
 aud admu-ed all over the world; our carriage horses are sought for 
 by wealthy Europeans, and even for business puii^oses our light, 
 active, but strong and serviceable draft horses are iu large and 
 increasing demand. Thus a large opening exists for entei'j)rise in 
 this direction, which may be profitably tilled, not only by ]uen of 
 wealth, who invest their capital in agriculture for pleasure as weU as 
 profit, but also by those who follow the pui'suit of farming for a 
 living. The breeds above refeired to are for draft aud fanu purjioses 
 chieliy, excepting the Cleveland Bay, which is in demand, idso, for 
 large carnage or coupe horses, and some animals of this strain have 
 been exported for this jiui'j^ose, notably several tine ones, which were 
 piu-cha.sed for the Emperor Napoleon III. when he was in the height 
 of his good fortune. But the horses mostly desired for roadsters are 
 of the English thoroughbred strains, and fi-om these have beeu bred 
 the race known as Ameiican trotting horees. These animals are cer- 
 tainly far more usefid than the running horses used for sporting 
 purposes, and come du-ectl}- under notice in a work devoted to the 
 subject of protitable farming, because they are mostly bred and reai'ed 
 upon farms, and the better class of farm mares, crossed by thorough- 
 bred horses, are lai-gely used for theii- production. The Morgan 
 strains, which have beeu of such great service in this respect, have 
 furnished hundreds of sires, which have been scattered all over the 
 country, and have put thousands of dolhu-s into fiu-mers' pockets. 
 Another noted instance was the horse Hambletonian, whose blood now 
 runs in numerous strains, each of which had its source in a fanu mare. 
 
 The protit of horse breeding may be eiisUy shown by the study of 
 the reports of the mai'ket values of hoi-ses, of which a specimen is 
 here given, copied from a leading paper. 
 
 In these it may he found that a horse of 1,100 or l,'20(i jiounds sells 
 
Profit of Horse Breeding. 
 
 18» 
 
 for from twenty to thii'tj' cents a pound live weight, while a steer brings 
 no more than from five to six cents a jDOund on foot. As it costs no more 
 to rear a colt to three years of age than to bring a steer of the same age 
 into condition for market, when it weighs but little more than the horse, 
 and after that age a horse more than earns his feed until he is sold, it is 
 easily seen that there is more than four times as much monej' in the 
 horse than in the steer. 
 
 DESCHIPTION. 
 
 Bay driver 
 
 Black driver. 
 
 Black di'iver 
 
 Bay driver 
 
 Chestnut driver 
 
 Bay driver 
 
 Draft team 
 
 Draft team 
 
 Draft team 
 
 Draft team 
 
 Gray mare 
 
 Bay mare 
 
 Brown horse 
 
 Gray horse 
 
 Gray horse 
 
 Bay horse 
 
 One car-load of farm horses, per head. 
 
 Six farm horses, per head 
 
 One coupe horse 
 
 15^ 
 
 15i 
 
 15i 
 
 16i 
 
 151 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 151 
 
 15f 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 16i 
 
 1,000 
 1,100 
 1,100 
 1,300 
 1,000 
 1,160 
 2,500 
 2,800 
 2,900 
 2,400 
 1,300 
 1,400 
 1,250 
 1,400 
 1,450 
 1,500 
 
 1,300 
 
 $175 
 350 
 250 
 250 
 115 
 185 
 375 
 425 
 450 
 325 
 185 
 195 
 160 
 150 
 210 
 210 
 85 
 105 
 250 
 
 It costs no more to rear a good horse than a poor one, excepting 
 the expense of service, which may be $25 or $50, while the colt fi-om 
 the better horse is quite likely to bring more than the extra sum paid 
 for the service of his sii-e. This fact apphes to the rearing of all 
 kinds of stock, and it should be a maxim with farmers to " always 
 breed the best." It is a great mistake to breed from unsound 
 animals, because these defects of unsoundness in nearly all cases 
 descend to the progeny. Thei'e are thousands of diseased horses 
 that are bred from diseased mares, and inherit their defects from the 
 dams or sii'es. Therefore, the first requisite in breeding horses should 
 be to use only sound, healthy mares, and to use a sound sire. Siia\'ins 
 and other diseases of the joints, blindness, bad temper, and many 
 other defects, become constitutional, and are reproduced from gen- 
 eration to generation, and thus it is that there are so many unsound 
 horses in existence. 
 
190 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 Tbe second requisite is a good luare. For a roadster or a carriage 
 Lorse a large mai-e should be chosen; it does not matter if the bone 
 is rather coarse if the sire is a thoroughbred, or even a wcU bred 
 horse of thoroughbred lineage. It is a characteristic of a thorough- 
 bred that the bone is hard and sohd, and although fine, it has more 
 strength than the coarser bone of the common stock; and it is also 
 characteristic of the higher bred sire that he will confer this property 
 upon his colts. Some time ago a few Russian horses, known as the 
 Orloff breed, were imported into this country. These were fine 
 specimens of sires for roadsters or trotters, and as they have been 
 bred and kept for this purpose in Russia for many years, they would 
 be of great value for breeding here. Tbe Orloff hoi-se is very com- 
 pact, and has great endurance and considerable speed, with a remark- 
 ably good constitution. An excellent portrait of one of these hoi-ses 
 is given on the opposite page. 
 
 After the breeding, the managemen of the mare is the next 
 important point; for while the sire gives the general form and consti- 
 tution to the progeny, the dam gives the disposition and temper. 
 The mare should, therefore, be treated with good judgment, and her 
 feeding should be generous and regular. The training and feeding 
 of the colt must, of course, be equally weU managed, for many good 
 colts are spoiled by bad manngement, in spite of all the pre^•ious care 
 in the breeding. This is also time as regards horses, for the value 
 and 2)rofit of a horse depends quite as much upon good treatment in 
 its use as in its breeding. Many hoi-ses are injured by carelessness 
 in shoeing, by which the feet are i-uined, and, as is well known, ' ' no 
 foot, no horse," for the feet of a working animal must be sound and 
 in good condition, or the hoi-se soon becomes entii'ely useless. HI 
 fitting hai-ness is another fi-equent cause of injury to hoi-ses, by which 
 its abiUty to work is gi-eatly reduced. 
 
 The fai-mer who makes a special business of rearing horses must 
 necessai-ily study special works on this subject, and be a close and 
 thoughtful obsei-ver for himself. All that can be done in this work 
 is to call attention to these sjiecitd points, that they may not lie over- 
 looked. 
 
 There is considerable profit in rearing the small bi-eed of horses 
 know^n as Shetland ponies. This is a veiy diminutive animal, as may 
 be seen by the engraving, which shows its relative size as compared with 
 the Orloff' stiiUion. They ai-e in demand near the lai-ge cities for chil- 
 dren's use, and usually sell for $100 each and upwards. A pair makes a 
 very good team for a small carriage, as these ponies ai-e strong and stout 
 and of great bottom. The cngi-a^-ing represents one ''in the rough," 
 as it was imported a few^ years ago in a herd of about twenty. These 
 
Sheep. 
 
 191 
 
 animals are natives of the northern part of Scotland and of the Shet- 
 land Islands, a locality exposed to severe storms and ha^ani? a ripi'orous 
 
 climate, in which they niu in herds without any shelter at any season 
 of the year. 
 
 Next to the finer breeds of cattle, my experience with sheep has prob- 
 ably afforded me most pleasure and profit. Although sheep keejiing 
 is not generally as profitable as breeding the finer classes of cattle, in some 
 localities, yet it might be made more so in hilly or mountainous dis- 
 tricts, such as Vermont, New Hampshire, the higher lands of Virginia, 
 North Carolina and other Southern States. Great attention has 
 
192 
 
 How THE Farm Pavs. 
 
 been given to sheep breeding, and the finer kinds have been gi-eatlj- 
 improved by the care and skill of the breeders during some years past. 
 Twenty-five years ago I imported a few Leicester sheep, which were 
 then the ruling breed in England, but after a few years' experience I 
 found they were not suited to this climate. The lambs grew to a lai-ge 
 size and weight, but did not produce much fat The average 
 fleece unwashed weighed fi'om nine to ten pounds, and after three 
 j'eai"s I found they were much given to disease and the percentage 
 of loss was so great that I abandoned the sheep trial for several years. 
 I tliink it was in 18G7 that I imported a few Cotswolds, which pro- 
 duced good lambs and heavier fleeces than the Leicesters, and the 
 wool being better for combing, brought a much better price. The 
 ram weighed when fully grown iio lbs., and the weight of his fleece 
 
 SUDTH 1XJ\V> 
 
 ■was 24 lbs. The ram lambs sold for from $40 to $50 each, for breed- 
 ing purposes, but like the Leicestei-s, they began to nni down after 
 two or thi'ee years, and I think were not suited for the cUmate. I had 
 a few imported South Do^xtis at the same time, and crossed a Cotswold 
 ram on one of the ewes; this ewe produced a ewe lamb which I bred 
 to a South Down ram. The produce of this cross I lired in and in 
 until I had a flock of twenty, which I named Beacon Downs. All 
 sheep men who saw them admired them for their compact forms, the 
 length and fineness of wool and their early matiuity, and they soon 
 found a market among breeders. Of my three importations, the South 
 Downs proved to be the best suited for this climate. I think one 
 
CoTSWoiD Ram. 
 
 193 
 
194 How THE Faum Pays. 
 
 great cause of the failure of loug-wool sheep iu this oountr\-, is that 
 they are often left to take care of themselves, aud the rains or snows 
 beat into their wool, and bv chilUn;^ them produce lung disordei"s. 
 Although in Europe tliere is less rain-fall than here, yet the climate is 
 moister and cooler, and there are not so many sudden changes, which 
 are exceedingly hurtful to sheep, especially those vnih open Heece. 
 The South Down gives what is called a middle wool, which is iu gi-eat 
 demand in our markets and for the country woolen mills. The fleece 
 is so thick that the rains cannot penetrate it, and when the sheei) give 
 themselves a shake, as they generally do, they thi-ow the water oft". 
 Tliey are very hardy, and thrifty feeders, and when 2)ut upon green 
 feed or jsastm-e they seem to fatten quicker than any other breed of 
 sheep I know of. The lambs mature eai-ly aud wiU bring from one 
 to two cents per lb. more iu our markets than any other breed. The 
 ewes are very prolific and ■wih bring generaUj- two lambs every spring. 
 The average of wool fi'oni my flock this spring, which is direct fi'om 
 Lord "Walsingham's (England), was ten jJounds per fleece, which is 
 largely over the general average. The flock increased over double, 
 losing onlj' one lamb. I have sent South Down rams as far as Texas 
 and Montana; and from those sent the report is that they have made a 
 better cross than any other pure breeds they have had a trial with. If 
 theewcsare bred early in the fall, so as to comein in midwinter, carefully 
 fed and housed, the lambs will dress as much as thiiiy pounds when ten 
 weeks old aud will bring in our large cities early in the spring fi'om 
 twenty-five to thii'ty cents jter pound. At this eai'ly season only a 
 limited number could be sold, and the cost of rearing them is of 
 course larger than at a later season. 
 
 There is a class of remarkably useful sheep which have all more or 
 less South Down blood in them, and which have the black or dai-k faces 
 and medium clothing wool of the South Down. These are generally 
 known as the "Down" breeds. They are larger in the carcass aud 
 have more wool than the South Down, but the flesh is not so deUcately 
 flavored. As these sheep have been introduced into America and 
 have met with general popular favor, and moreover as they well 
 desen'e it, some notice should be taken of them iu this work. 
 
 SHROPSHIRE DOWN. 
 
 This sheep is not much larger than the South Down and closely 
 resembles it in character. It differs in its more open fleece of some- 
 what longer aud coarser wool from tlie South Down, and is perhaps 
 rather more hardy and more adapted for roughing it in oiu- less parti- 
 
Hampshire Dow'x. 
 
 195 
 
 •cular and considerate methods of keeping sheep. This breed has 
 teen introduced into eveiy State of the Union, and several flocks of 
 
 SHBOPSHIRE RAM. 
 
 ihem are kept in CaUfornia. The illustratiou here given is a very 
 accurate representation of this sheep. 
 
 HAMPSHIRE DOVm. 
 
 This breed is the most popular of all of this class of cross-bred 
 sheep. Its face and legs are black and its frame is large and broad. 
 'These sheep were introduced into Virginia forty yeai's ago and 
 
 HAMPSHIBE DOWN KAM. 
 
 although the pure race has melted away, it has left its traces widely 
 spread among the native sheep. More recently a large number of 
 them has been imported, and they have done well, especially for cross- 
 
196 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 ing on the natives for j)roclucing large early market lambs. For this 
 purjjose perhaps there is no better sheep than this. Year-old lambs 
 have been known to di-ess 100 lbs. The wool is fine and longer than 
 that of the South Down; tlie fleece averages about eight pounds. 
 The wool is very close and comijact, and sheds xain very weU; conse- 
 quently the sheep of this breed are hardy, and do not suffer fi-om our 
 heavy rains and snows as the long wool sheep do. 
 
 OXFORD V>OWS. 
 
 The Oxford Down is a still larger sheep and has a still coarser and 
 longer fleece than the South Down, which is a grandparent of this 
 breed. The Oxford Down is a cross of the Hamjishire Down upon 
 the Cotswold, and while it has the dark face of the Downs, it has the 
 long wool and more open fleece of the Cotswold. It is a veiy good 
 
 OXJFORD DOWN IlAil. 
 
 mutton sheep and does well in this country. It matui-es early and 
 twenty-t^vo-months-old wethers have weighed 300 lbs. each when fat. 
 The rams have been known to shear twenty pounds of wooL 
 
 THE AMERICAN MERINO. 
 
 The Merino is a short or fine wooled sheep which jiroduces large 
 quantities of unwashed wool, and I have seen as high as thirty-four 
 pounds taken from one ram, but when washed there was so much 
 yolk in it that it was reduced dowTi to eight pounds. This breed is 
 
The American Merino. 197 
 
 especially a wool sheep, although nine-tenths of the American mutton 
 is from sheep of more or less Merino blood. The Merino is well fitted 
 ior hUly or mountainous sections of the country, and are bred largely in 
 Vermont, western New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, from which places 
 many thousands are shipped to Texas, the western plains and to 
 California. Many are sent to Austi-alia, where they are cousidered as 
 the best fine wool sheep in the world. Some of the rams of this 
 "breed have been held as high as S25,000 and sold for $10,000 each, 
 and as an instance of the effect upon the market values of fann 
 animals of the vagaries of fashion, sheep of this same breed have since 
 then been sold for the value of their pelts. 
 
 The American Merino originated fi'om the Spanish Merinos, some 
 thousands of which were imi^orted many years ago, and by long 
 continued careful breeding it has become the first sheep of its class 
 in the world. Mr. Hammond and another Vermont farmer, Mr. 
 
 MERINO Il.\M AND EWE. 
 
 Atwood, desem-e the greatest credit for establishing this breed, which 
 is reaUy the basis of the native sheep and wool interest of this country. 
 The Merino is used for improving the common Mexican and Texan 
 sheep, of which fioeks of several thousands are kept all over the 
 plains from Texas to California, and as far north as Wyoming and 
 Montana. Its blood is more or less mingled with the forty miUion of 
 sheep which now exist in this countrj-, and its value for improving 
 and increasing ovu* production of wool can scarcely be estimated in 
 figures. While I think the South Down is a better mutton sheep, 
 yet there is no other sheep in existence but the Merino that can 
 furnish us with the fine wool we require for our woolen manufacture. 
 In choosing sheef) the farmer must of com-se take this fact into account, 
 "because in most cases it is the wool which gives him the profit fi'om 
 his flock. 
 
198 How THE Farm Pats. 
 
 My plan of feedinf^ slieep in -winter is -with cut " peas and oats " 
 and turnips. They require little water, but vrater should aln-ays be 
 kept ■within their reach. They require also, as all other animals do, 
 a reasonable tjuantity of salt and a little sulphur occasionally. In 
 the spring of the year I tura the sheep onto the young wheat alx)ut 
 the 1st of May. The sheep eat the wheat leaves off close, and cause 
 it to thicken and stool out ; their tlroppiugs also serve as a top dress- 
 ing and their ti'eading fii-ms the i-oots of the wheat in the soiL 
 "When the sheep ai-e taken off the wheat, they are put on pasture, 
 and I have received the most benefit from them when herded on rape. 
 The rape is followed by a mustard crop, and when this is done, the 
 land may be prepai-ed for a crop of turnips of the softer kinds, 
 such as Yellow Aberdeens or Tankards, which are eaten on the land 
 by the sheep, as this is one of the best plans of bringing up poor 
 land ready for seeding. The greatest care should, however, be taken 
 when mustai-d or rape is grown, not to suffer these crops to seed and 
 stock the soil, but to plow under the refuse before it blossoms. 
 
 Q. At about what date do you turn in the sheep on the turnip crop? 
 
 A. From the 1st to the 10th of October. I have fed a fiock of 
 fifty sheep on two acres from tliat time up to the end of December, 
 or neai'ly three months, by giving them a little hay in racks made for 
 that purpose in the txu-nip fiekl Those sheep I piu'chivsed at the 
 sheej) mai-ket in New York City, costing me $3.50 per heaA I sold 
 them to the butcher for $9.00 each in Januarv, or in about foiu- 
 montlis after tliey were pm-chsi-sed, thus making $275 for the feed and 
 care, besides leaving the laud iu an improved contlition on account of 
 tlie manui-e. The liuid was sowu -with oats, gi-asses and clover in the 
 spring. If I had pui'chiised the m;uim-e for this land it would have 
 cost me fully $20, so that taking into consideration the labor in caiing' 
 for the sheep, and tlie cultivation of the laud, I may say iu round 
 numbei's, that the four acres of I'ape and two acres of turnips gave me a 
 net profit of considerably more than $200. They were of mixed blood, 
 piuHy South Downs and piu-tly Cotswt>lds — what ai-e called Camida 
 8heei> — a lai-ge bodied, tluifty sheep, which makes the best mutton of 
 any in America I piu'cliased them, as I s;ud before, at the New York 
 mai-ket for the piui^ose of feeding off this rape and the tui-nips, and 
 to mauui-e the laud and jn-epai-e it for a futiu-e crop. 
 
 Sheep should be kept out of stonus. It is al.so better not to keep 
 over forty or fifty in a Hock together. They should never be housed 
 in a damp building, as they are veiy susceptible to foot-rot, and once 
 this sets in it wiU work thi-ough the entii-e herd if not prevented. 
 "Ulien this ti-ouble occiu-s the hoof is to be pared down to remove aU 
 unsound honi and the diseased parts of the foot liiid baiv. These 
 
Caee of Sheep. 199 
 
 are cli'essed with a strong solutiou of suljahate of copper (blue vitriol), 
 about an ounce in half a pint of warm water. The feet should be 
 wrapped up in a rag smeai'ed with a mixtm'e of pine tar and lard 
 melted together. Sometimes sheep become lame from being kept on 
 gravelly or stonv pastiu'e ; this is not foot-rot, and will soon be reme- 
 died by a change to softer gi-ound. This caution as to housing the 
 sheep of coiu-se appUes only to northern cUmates. In the South and 
 South-west, where the cUmate is milder, there would be no need for 
 such housing, simple shelter from the rain being enough. As a guide 
 to this we might say, that in England, where the thermometer rai'ely 
 falls lower than ten degrees above zero, but where the -n-inters are very 
 rainy (the wet, and not the cold, being injurious), the sheep are kejjt 
 out in ojjen sheds on most fai-ms diuing the entu'e ^\-inter. The ewes 
 requii'e cai-eful watching about lambing time, as in many cases they 
 may then need assistance. The ewe and young lamb should be 
 sejsarated from the flock, and put into a box stall or a jien in some 
 convenient jilace, where they can be kept warm, gi'eat care being 
 taken to remove anj' wool that should be on the udder, so that the 
 young lamb can catch the teats easily without any obstruction. This 
 may not often be necessai'v, but requii-es looking to lest it may be. 
 The tails of the lambs should be docked when eight or nine days old. 
 Loss often occurs when the tails ai-e left on, as in the heat of summer 
 on good jjastm-e their soft di'ojjjjings are apt to adhere to the tail, 
 and in a few days the sheej) will become fly-blown and maggoty, and 
 if not relieved death will ensue. The tails axe docked at about 
 two inches from the laimp. The skin is drawn back by the fingers as 
 on the finger of a glove and a cUp mth a joair of shai-j) sheep shears 
 divides the taU ■^^■ithout trouble and with very little pain. A pinch of 
 copperas wiU stop the bleeding. "VMiere flocks of 100 or over are 
 kept, they should be left to the cai-e of an inteUigent boy or man. 
 
 One of the most troublesome pests in the care of sheep is the tick, 
 which ai'e often on the ewes at lambing time, and ■will soon reach the 
 young lambs, and it is impossible to have them gi'ow and im2irove as 
 they should do while they ai-e infested with this insect. A good 
 remedy is to dip the sheep in tobacco water made to about the 
 strength and color of strong tea. Another pest to sheep and which 
 sometimes desti-oys whole flocks in a miserable manner is the scab 
 mite, which bun-ows in the skin and produces the disease kno^\-n as 
 scab. The wool of a scabby sheep falls off or becomes matted on the 
 skin, in the crasts and scabs which ai'e formed of the matter exuded 
 by reason of the in-itation caused bj' these pests. The remedy is to 
 dip the sheep in strong hot tobacco water as above mentioned, with 
 some sulphur added. The quantities are one jiound of coai'se tobacco. 
 
200 
 
 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 or one and one-half of tlie waste stems, to foiu* gallons of boiling 
 ■water, fovu" ounces of flowers of sulphur- being well stiired in. "When 
 the solution cools to about 120 degi'ees the sheep ai-e dijjped into it all 
 over, excejDt the head, and the cmsts ai'e completely broken uj) with some 
 rough instrument, a com cob being the best for the puii^ose. As this 
 disease is exceedingly contagious, the mitis remaining for many 
 months upon the soil, on the fences aud Widls, where the sheep rub 
 themselves, the gi-eatest cai'e is needed to prevent the infection of 
 healthy sheep; and as it spreads very rapidly, the remedy should be 
 appUed at the eai'Uest occasion for it. The sheds, also, ai'e to 
 be cleansed iu the same manner as the sheep. Where there is any 
 reason to susjiect the presence of this troublesome pest in any sheep 
 introduced to a healthy flock, the new comers should be dipped as a 
 precaution. This subject is more fully refeiTed to in the chapter on 
 " TJie Pests of the Fai-m." 
 
 Xo flock can be exjiected to do well without a well aiTanged and 
 comfoi-table shed aud a di-y yard. No other animals should ever be 
 Ijermitted to run \\"ith the sheep, as these inoffensive creatiu-es cannot 
 defend themselves, aud ai'e consequently exposed to constant attack 
 and injury. The shed should be open to the south and well protected 
 
 agiiinst the 'north; the yaid should be enclosed with a dog-proof 
 fence, and there should be an enclosed bai-n for feeding and housing 
 them iu severe weather, Avith a good floor for sheai-ing. The accom- 
 pam-ing eugi-a%ing gives a good idea of a convenient yaixl, sheds and 
 bai'n for this pmpose. 
 
 SWINE. 
 
 Usually the keei>ing of hogs iu any lai-ge niuuber on the f ann is not 
 profitable. Like many other things, it is confined to sections of the 
 country where it is made a speciiil business. Still, it is well on most 
 farms at least to have a few to eat up the garbage, or the offal from 
 the daii-y, and I v\-ill endeavor to state what I lieheve is the best 
 method of raising them, and the kinds best suited for the pmi^oses of 
 
Berkshire Swine. 201 
 
 the average farm. I have bred the Cheshii'e, Poland-China and 
 Chester AMiite hogs. All these breeds have lai-ge bone and a gi'eat 
 deal of offal, and I found that they were not profitable and abandoned 
 them. I then imported the White SuffoLks, which jsroduced more 
 fat than any other hog I ever raised. They ai'e small in the bone, 
 vsdth little offal, and ai'e quiet and easy keepers, while the Chester 
 AMiites seem to be always looking for more feed, and are never con- 
 tent, and do not matui'e until two or three yeai's old, and then their 
 meat brings in oui- markets two or three cents 23er j^ouud less than 
 the Suffolks. I next imported Berkshires, in 1862. These were 
 
 BERKseiRE; Pill 
 
 found to be better than any kind previously tried. They are easy 
 keepers, make much lean meat with the fat, and mature early. 
 I have often had them weigh, when dressed, 250 pounds at eight 
 months old. Their hams and shoulders, when 2>roperly eui-ed, find a 
 ready market in all lai'ge cities, and ai'e of such superior quality that 
 private purchasers often order them from our farmers here six 
 months in advance. I have made importations, about once a year, of 
 prize Berkshires from England. In 1869 I imported foiuteen hogs, a 
 few of which I sold, to go to llissouri, for $600 each. They were 
 exhibited at the great Pork Packers' Exhibition, at St. Louis — in 1872, 
 I think it was — where there were some sixteen hundi-ed entries of all 
 breeds, from Em'ope, Canada and the United States, and these, with 
 their progeny, took the first prize on boajf and sow; fii-st and second 
 prizes on sow and Utter of pigs; first prize on hogs under a year old, 
 and prize on pigs under six months old. I mention these facts to 
 show the superiority of the breed, because these animals were 1 wrought 
 into competition vnth others of all breeds, and of coui-se with the best 
 specimens of them which could be procui-ed. The Berkshire is black 
 
202 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 in botli Liiii- and skin; but in dressing, the black skin comes off with 
 the hair, and the pork ib-esses jjerfectly wliite. The hau- is fine and 
 glossy, but rather thin, jind is quit« free from iiU tendency to the 
 ■woolly undercoat which is so much disliked in piga Tliere is a white 
 splash on the face; the feet are white, and so is the end of the taiL 
 These pecuhar nuu-ks are all reproduced very exactly in the pure breed. 
 The eai-s are pricked and yery small; the face is short and dished; tlie 
 neck is very short and thick; the shoulders broad; tlie sides are deep, 
 and the hams broad and tliick, the legs being very short and the bone 
 hght and fine. This form makes the very best ham and bacon hog, . 
 and as its habit is to make a hu'ge proportion of lean meat to the fat 
 produced, and to ijroduce more meat cm the same feed and to do it 
 more quickly than any other breed, and the meat being sweeter and 
 of better quality, I must say I know of no other vai-iety of swine that 
 is so desii'able for the fiu-mer for hams, shoulders and bacon. 
 
 POLAND-CHINA 
 
 Next to the Berkshii-e conies the Poland-China, which is quite 
 populiU' in the West, where pork gi'owing is one of the most prominent 
 indush-ies of the f anu and consumes a considerable part of the large corn 
 crop. This hog is mixed white and black in color, the eai's are lopped, 
 the cai'cass is lai-ge and fat. It therefore suits the pork packers, whose 
 aim is fat pork for packing, rather than meaty pork for <'>iring for 
 sides and baccm. The importance of good lirecding of swine is appa- 
 rent when we consider that about ten miUion hogs lU'e packed even' 
 year in the West and that the whole stock in the country is more than 
 forty millions. 
 
 There is another black breed of swine, which has no white mai"k 
 about it, and which is jjopular in some places. This is the Essex. It 
 is not as good a bacon hog as the Berkshu'e, although it is excellent 
 when young for hght pork. When full gl•o^^^l it is fat, but it is not 
 lai-ge enough for the i)acker's use. Among fiuTuers who jirefer white 
 
Feeding of Swine. 203 
 
 liogs, the lai'ge Yorkshire is considered as profitable, but it is a large 
 feeder, and I think on the whole if the Berkshire were kept by 
 farmers more extensively, both whoUy, or for crossing on their present 
 mixed stock, that the value of tlieir swine would be doubled. 
 
 There is nothing sj^ecial to be said in regaixl to the feeding of 
 hogs, excepting that when young they should not be overfed. 
 I feed a mixture of buttemiUk and bran twice a day, and in the 
 winter time they are fed cooked roots and pea meal, which is one of 
 the best feeds that can be given. The sows are put into a pen a week 
 or ten days before theii" time for f aiTowiug, and to prevent them from 
 eating then- pigs, as they sometimes do, I give them a Httle salt ])ork, 
 which seems to have the effect of detening them from doing so. 
 Perhaps if they had been given some salt jjreviously they would not 
 need this. There is but little bedding left in the pen at that time, and 
 that fine and short, so that the young pigs may not be entangled in it; 
 and they are watched closely. The pigs are left as ch-opped, and are 
 then jiut into a box or basket, and as soon as the sow recovers they are 
 put back in the pen, and left with her; but she requires watching, as. 
 they vnR often get in behind, between the sow and the wall of the 
 pen, and get crushed. To prevent this I nail a rail or round pole a 
 few inches from the Wiill, and a few inches liigh. The pigs ai-e gen- 
 erally left with the sow vmtill six or eight weeks old, when they are 
 weaned and fed with a little new milk and mush, made of oat me;il and 
 bran. I have several times put the boai- to the sow the thifd day after 
 she has dropped her pigs. By this there is time saved, as we can get 
 three litters in a year, whereas if we neglected it at that time, the sow 
 probably would not be in farrow again for three months. It is my 
 opinion that boars should never be used longer than two yeai's, as 
 they become vicious and dangerous. 
 
 Q. Without taking into consideration the fancy j)rices at which these 
 Berkshii'es have sold, how would they compare in profit with sheep? 
 
 A. I think they ai'e not as profitable as sheep. The wool j)ays for 
 keeping the sheejD, and six months in the year they ai-e on j)astiu'e, and 
 requii-e but very httle cai'e, while the hog has to be attended to twice 
 daily throughout this full term, and unless we have a special mai'ket 
 for hams and shoulders, and sides of bacon, it hardly pays to raise 
 hogs here. But the f ai-mer can iU afford to be •without them, as they 
 are used to root among the manui'e and tui-n it over, and generally 
 get theu- hving upon what would otherwise be wasted. 
 
 "When pork is prepared for sale in the form of hams and bacon, it 
 must be home cured, because then we get the profit in this work. 
 A hog should not be fed for twelve hom-s before slaughtering. When 
 it is scalded to remove the hair it is necessaiy to avoid over scalding. 
 
204 How THK Farm Pays. 
 
 or the hair heeomes set and cajinot be scraped off. Tliis of course 
 injures it for Side to private custoniei-s or to the best dealers. I find 
 180 degi-ees to be the proper temperatiue for the water. The carcass 
 should hanpr where it wiU not bo ft-ozeu for twent y-foui- hours. "NMiere a 
 f aiTuer has ten or twenty hogs to dress diuing tlie season, he will find it 
 convenient to have a shed or ])lace jn-oijerly jn-ovided and furnished 
 for this work, with a boiler and scalding vat. 
 
 My method of curing is as foUows: "\Mien the meat has been properly 
 cut up it is well rubbed with salt and left on the benches to drain for 
 twenty-fom- hours. This removes the moistm-e from it. Seven and 
 one-half poimds of salt, two siud one-half jjounds of brown sugai-, four 
 oimces of sidtjjeter, ai-e then put in as much water as will dissolve 
 them completely, and two ovmces of cayenne pepper is added. The 
 liquid is boiled a few minutes and skimmed and set a-side to cool. 
 Meanwhile the meat is rubbed vriih a mixtui-e of the same, and is 
 closely i^acked in the baiTels or tubs, and the pickle is poui'ed over it 
 until it is covered. In six weeks it is ciu'ed and is ready for smoking. 
 It is smoked with hickoi-y brush wood or corn cobs, or both, one hour 
 a day for ten days. The fii-e is made outside of the smoke-house and 
 the smoke is earned in by a flue, so that it is cooled and does not 
 wanu the meat. After ten days the meat is rubbed vdih pepper and 
 is ready for siile, or if to be kept should be packed in close boxes 
 with wheat chaff or cut straw, and kejjt in a di-y, cool place. 
 
 Hams and bacon are frequently injured by a small beetle, wliich 
 lays its eggs iipon the meat, and when these hatch the small worms 
 bore into the meat and harbor near the bone. This insect is a vaiiety 
 of weevil, a small brown beetle, and the lai'vaj are smsdl white grabs, 
 which are commonly Cidled skippers. It is very important that the 
 meat should be protected against this j^est, or it may be damaged so 
 as to spoil it for side and also injui'e it for use. There are several 
 ways of doing this. One of the best and the most convenient is to rub 
 the meat well with gi-ound jjepper, and then pack it in boxes in oat 
 or wheat chaff or in finely cut hay; a few inches in depth should be 
 covered over the meat, and the box closed tightly. It should be kept 
 in a dry, cool place. Tlie dry packing will absorb all the moisture, 
 and prevent the meat fi-om becoming moldy. 
 
 FARM BlILDIXGS. 
 
 The styles of f ai-m buildings will of course vary according to the 
 necessities of the fanner, the amount of money he is wiUing or able 
 to invest, or other conditions. As I have heretofore done in our 
 convei-sations on other farm work, I ^^■ill give my o^vn practice in tliis 
 
Aerangemest of Farm Buildings. 205 
 
 matter, which for the special purposes required, after an experience 
 of nearly thirty years, I have found to be the best. "When wanted 
 for other purposes than dairy farming they must be modified accord- 
 ingly. In yeai's past, when I leased farms, I always had the bad for- 
 tune to get poor builduigs, and I have often had to put up sheds at 
 my own cost. My object always has been to make a court or square 
 suiToimded on all sides with buildings, with one opening into the 
 yai'd, so that it could be easily locked up at night, that if any animal 
 should by chance get out of its pen it would be found in the yai'd in 
 tlie morning. The homestead which I purchased tlu-ee yeai's ago was 
 bai-e of buUdings and open to the streets. I first gxaded the yard 
 into a hoUow square, sloping on all sides to the centre, where I placed 
 the cistern or cesspool for liquid manure, as before described. On 
 the south side of this j'ai'd, running east and west, I built my cow 
 stable, 10.5 feet in leng-th, twentj-thi-ee feet wide and sixteen-foot 
 jjosts. This is divided into thii-ty stanchions or stalls, three and one- 
 half feet wide, with a manger running in front. Water is sujiplied to 
 the manger from a tank in the bam, and is can-ied along the range of 
 stiiUs by an inch and a quarter iron pipe, having thi-ee faucets to let 
 the water into the manger. Hose attachments are provided to cany 
 the water to any point in the bam in case of fii'e. In front of the 
 manger is a sjjace of nine feet for a feeding passage, in which there is 
 a large trough, six by thi'ee feet, for mixing bran or slops in the 
 summer. Just behind the stalls is a trench, fifteen inches wide and 
 eight inches deep, where all the manure falls. Behind this is a walk 
 of five feet for the convenience of the milkers and for bedding and 
 cleaning out the stables. This large space also gives ample room for 
 the milk cans at milking time. On the front side of the stable, and 
 in front of the cows, ai'e several large windows, to give sunlight and 
 air when desu'ed. There are also windows facing the yard, and two 
 lai'ge doors, by which the cows enter the stables, into which the carts 
 are backed when carrying in bedding and taking away the manure. 
 The smallest boy can put the thirty cows into the stable in ten 
 minutes, as they are all trained to go into their own stalls without 
 confusion. This training saves a gxeat deal of trouble, and is a special 
 point in the management of cows. The method of fastening them in 
 the stalls is simjjly by means of an upright oak scantling, two by 
 three inches, held in the bottom of the stall by a pin, and, when the 
 cow thrusts her head thi-ough the opening above the manger, this 
 upright stick is pushed up in place, and a ^^iece of the same size is 
 dropped down behind it on the top raU of the manger and holds it 
 securely. This space has a width at the top of about two feet when 
 open, and when closed is about eight inches wide at both top and 
 
206 How THK Farm Pats. 
 
 bottom, so that the cows are fastened securely and quickly, thus doing 
 away wth chains and halters. The second floor of the bam being 
 seven and one half feet hiyh fjives ample room for ventilation, and this 
 floor win hold seventy-five tons of hay. 
 
 On the east side of the square, miming north and south, is another 
 stable 100 feet long. This is eight feet high, built of codiu- jjosts and 
 rough boards, and contains ten box stiiUs; a few of them, of liU'ger 
 size, ai'e used for the bulls. The others ai'e eight by ten, and ai-e 
 used for cows at calving times. lu fi'out is the feeding manger or 
 ti'ough. In front of this is a walk of four* feet, where tlie feed is 
 supphed to the manger. The roof is made with hea^y timbers and 
 rough boai-ds. On this are built the stacks of com fodder, or corn 
 stalks, to a height of about fourteen feet. The stack is built over the 
 sides of the stable some two feet. It is made so as to run to a shiu-p 
 lidge at the top. In this way we get a stack of corn fodder 100 
 feet in length, sixteen feet -nnde and an average height of U n feet, 
 which probably contains seventy-five or eighty tons, thus serving 
 the pui-poses of a roof, and a convenient place to stack fodder 
 diuing the winter. WTien the corn fodder is fed off, the board roof 
 of course carries off the water. 
 
 On the side of the square facing north is the main bam for horses, 
 limning east and west. In this barn are the hay-lofts, threshing 
 machine, room for tools, seed room, offices, etc. ; here too is the horse 
 power for two or four horses, as may be requii-ed. "With this we pulp 
 the roots, cut corn fodder, etc. On the west side of the squsu'c run- 
 ning north and south is another stable seventy feet long, twenty f jet 
 wide and foiuieen foot posts, which contains calf boxes, sheep pens 
 and pig pens, and at the south-west comer the dairy. By this man- 
 ner of erecting the building I get a hollow squai-e containing a quai-- 
 ter of an acre, which not only affords a shelter for the animals, and 
 is convenient for harnessing, and all other barn-yard work, but it 
 keeps the whole building imder the eye of the owner. This is a 
 very important matter, because he can take a run out, the coldest 
 night, around the whole place of neaiiy GOO feet in a few minutes, 
 and see that everything is in proper condition; whereas if the bams 
 Avere scattered about, as thej' often are, it would take gi'eater time to 
 make this round of insjiection, and would be attended by more expo- 
 sui-e, for in this com-t there is shelter no matter how the wind Ijlows. 
 Another advantage in this manner of building the Ixirns, is that the 
 rears ai-e aU placed so that no doors open to the outside, which not 
 only affords security against the possibiUty of tlm animals breaking 
 loose in the night, and getting out, but also prevents the chance of 
 tramps getting into the stables or barns, and housing for the night, 
 
Construction and Arrangement of Farm Buildinqs. 207 
 
 •which they cannot well do unless they scale the gate from the outside 
 and force an tntrance. 
 
 Q. Wbat do you consider the best method of constructing and 
 arranging f ai-m buildings ? 
 
 A. That is an extensive subject and admits of a great many con- 
 siderations. Different kinds of stock require different accom- 
 modations, and the management of the farm calls for a large variety 
 of buildings suitable to the particular needs of it. On grain farms a 
 barn is requked of great capacity to store the gi-ain, and having a 
 capacious floor for threshing and cleaning it. This method of 
 farming, however, can scarcely be followed any more in the Eastern 
 part of the couutiy, because the cheats grain of the far West and the low 
 freights have made it unprofitable ; and with the system of agri- 
 cultui'e of course the special kind of buildings must go. Live stock 
 feeding, dairying and sheep rearing must be followed in the East, and 
 in parts of the West, swine feeding, with corn growing; and each 
 of these special branches of farming calls for different kinds of 
 buildings. As to the construction of the buildings, I approve of cheap 
 wooden structures, easily built and easily renewed. A bai-n or stable 
 is necessarily always fiUed with combustible material, and a stone 
 and iron barn built at gi-eat cost could not be made fire-proof and 
 would be ruined, although it might not be consumed, if the interior 
 was burned out, so that as far as regards danger from fixe, a cheap 
 wooden building is equally as safe as a more costlj' stone one ; and 
 the cheaper one can be renewed ten times for the cost of the more 
 exj)ensive one. I have built cattle sheds which were comfortable 
 and convenient, something in the style of my present buildings, 
 which cost less than §10 for each head of cattle in them. 
 
 These plain and yet substantial buildings are much safer from fire 
 than a large structure in which hay and fodder are stored over the 
 cattle, and in which valuable animals worth, perhaps, $.50,000 ai'e kept 
 fastened in such a way, that if the barn takes tire they cannot pos- 
 sibly be saved. It is only recently that a fine herd of Jersey cattle 
 were thus bxuTied in a large and costly barn, from which it was im- 
 possible to get them out because of the smoke. The barn cost 
 several thousand doUars, and I know of other barns that have cost 
 more than twenty-five thousand and some much more than that, but 
 which are not so convenient as sheds costing only $10 per head, and 
 which are perfectly comfortable, and fi-om which, in case of fire, 
 every animal coiild be let loose and driven out with complete safety. 
 The annexed drawings show how these sheds are constiiicted. 
 The first gives the outside end view, the second a section shovnng 
 the interior arrangement of the stall, and the third the ground plan 
 
208 
 
 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 of the stalls. Each cow has a loose stall to herself, in which she may 
 be left unfastened, thus avoiding the risk of being caught in the 
 
 OCTSIPE END VIEW OF CATTLE SHED. 
 
 halter at any time, and getting thrown down, and in case of fire the 
 doors may be all thrown open in a few minutes and every animal 
 
 SECTION OF STALL INSIDE. 
 
 diiven out to a place of safety. The shed is sixteen feet wide, giving 
 a stall nine feet in the clear and seven feet wide, and a feeding pas- 
 
 
 5 FT. 
 
 WIDE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 sage, in fi-ont of the stalls, five feet wide. Each stall has a feeding 
 trough with a shute through which the food can be put with a scoop, 
 
Convenient Cow Stalls. 209 
 
 from a feeding tinick, in -wliicli it is brought from the feed room, 
 where it is pref)ared. A long staple of half-inch iron rod is fastened 
 to each side, in which a steel ring and chain may be iixed, and one 
 cow can then be fastened on each side, and two cows kejit in each 
 stall if desired. A double door is made in the front of each stall, 
 four feet wide, and in wann weather the upper half may be left open. 
 A long sliding window is made at each end of the shed, and, if neces- 
 sary, other sliding windows are made in the rear, opening into the 
 feeding alley. These windows jDrovide for amj^le ventilation and 
 light; and light is as necessary as fi-esh air for the welfare of cows. 
 It is well to have close shutters to shde over these windows to darken 
 the stable for the piu'jiose of keeping out flies in the worst of the 
 season, so that the cattle maj' rest comfortably in the heat of the day. 
 The floors of the stalls should be of earth, and graded to the rear, 
 where a gutter should be made to carry off the di-aiuage into the 
 drains, which conduct it to the middle of the yard, where it is absorbed 
 by the manure which is tlu'own into a heap there. Sheds of this 
 kind can be jjut up for about one doUar and a half a ranning foot, in 
 a plain rough fashion, and as much more money can be spent upon 
 them as the owner's purse will allow. Paint is thrown away upon fai-ru 
 yard buildings, excepting for the sake of ajipearance. I have seen 
 wooden buildings, unjiainted, eighty years old, in which the boards 
 had been worn but a very Httle, and if these had been painted once in 
 five years the jiaiuting would have cost in all five times as much as 
 the buildings. For painting farm buildings the common brown 
 iron paint and raw huseed oil I think is the best; it is very durable, 
 is fire-proof, and is not soiled by use. The color, too, is agi-eeable, 
 as a contrast to the gi-een of the trees and the fields. 
 
 HAY BARNS AND SHEDS. 
 
 Barns for storing hay and fodder are necessai-y where much stock 
 is kept, and these buildings may be constructed verj' cheajDly. High 
 barns require heavy timber and firm framing and bracing, both to 
 resist the winds and the pressure of the haj- inside. Where land 
 costs no more than it does in this country it is poor economy to build 
 high barns. Lighter, broader and longer buildings can be buUt more 
 cheaply and seiwe every useful pui-pose. The engravings rejDresent 
 two kinds of hay barns or sheds; one of large capacity for a good 
 many head of stock; the other intended for smaller farms, and holding 
 nearly one ton of hay to the running foot when fiUed to the top. The 
 former, if thirty feet wide with sixteen-feet posts, and the self-support- 
 
210 
 
 How THE Farm P-wa 
 
 ing roof bere shown, will hold 3,000 pounds of hay to the runmnp; 
 foot when filled. It has a clear sjjace over the beams for the use of 
 a horse fork or hay slings, and by haNong large doors for unloading 
 
 1,000 pounds of hay may be unloaded with a sling at once. These 
 slings ai'e preferable to hay forks, as they carry a much larger load, 
 and can be used for com fodder as well as for har. The engranng 
 
 FRAME FOB HAY tjUED. 
 
 shows a single bent of the frame, and by adding as manj' bents as 
 may be required, the baf n may be made as long as desu-able. With the 
 present useful machinei-y for unloading haj' a bam may be made of 
 
Horse Barxs. 211 
 
 any length, if unloading doors are provided within fifty feet of each 
 other. This roof is a very sti-ong one, as it cannot sag, and if properly 
 l)raced and bolted to the plates, cannot sjoread. A thi-ee-quarter-inch 
 iron bolt should be put through each rafter and the plate on which it 
 Tests, and a rod of the same size put thi-ough the top beam and ralter 
 as shown to serve as a brace; a brace may be used as well, but the 
 rod shovdd he close up to the brace and the nut at each end should 
 be screwed up tight. 
 
 The smaller shed is made of posts set in the ground, twenty feet 
 apart one way, and sixteen feet apart the other, making bents twenty 
 feet wide, placed sixteen feet apart. Two cross girts may be bolted 
 to the posts, which is stronger than fi-aming them in, and two long 
 braces should be bolted in to stiffen the building. Roof "braces are 
 spiked to each third or fourth pau's of rafters to keep these fi'om 
 spreading. This shed needs only a single board roof, laid closely, and 
 a naiTow batten to cover each joint, as the steep pitch sheds rain 
 Tcry easily. 
 
 HORSE BARNS. 
 
 Stables are used for common farm horses, but, where horses are 
 Tared, barns specially arranged for them are necessar^y. The use and 
 value of farm horses are often gi'eatly reduced by a want of proper 
 arrangements for stabling them. Any kind of a place to crowd the 
 poor beasts in is too often thought good enough, and the air in some 
 stables is so bad fi-om filthy floors that the harness is often rotted by 
 it. A horse's lungs and eyes cannot fail to suffer in such an atmos- 
 phere, when tanned leather and cawiage varnish ai-e sf)oiled. No 
 doubt a good deal of disease among horses is due to this cause. 
 Another common fault is bad light. A horse sees on one side only 
 "with each eye, and a side light from a window strains the ej'es 
 unequally. The hght should come into a stable directly in front of 
 the horse, and it should not be too bright. If the window cannot be 
 on the north side, it should be covered with hme-wash to mellow the 
 light; but the stable should never be wholly dark. A stable should 
 "be airy and well ventilated, but not drafty; a draft ui^on a horse yet 
 wai'm with work will surelj' injure him, and, if it does nothing worse, 
 it wUl stiffen him for a few days. A few such mistakes will ruin any 
 animal. 
 
 The feeding arrangements for a horse stable should be as follows: 
 A hay rack above the head is objectionable, as the dust from it is apt 
 to be breathed and cause disease of the lungs. A deep manger from 
 
212 How THE F.uiM Pays. 
 
 a foot above tlie ground ami three feet liigh, is the best for hay, and 
 a grain box at one side of the stall serves for grain or cut feed. The 
 grain box should be sixteen inches square at the top and sloping the 
 same as the manger, and at least twelve inches deep. The manger 
 should be eighteen inches in width at the top, uaiTowing to twelve 
 inches at the bottom. The stall shoidd be live feet wide. A hoi-se 
 cannot rest comfortably in one naiTower, and if it is wider the animal 
 may try to roll in it and get fast. The halter should not be any 
 longer than wiU bring the end of it to a foot from the ground, and 
 the loose end should run through a strong ring bolt and have a 
 block of hard wood fastened to the end of it, so that the slack of the 
 halter may always be taken up by the weight. 
 
 The Hoor of the stall is best made of concrete mixed with gas 
 tai- and rammed down hard. Such a floor will hold no moisture and 
 always be clean. An excellent floor is made of round stone laid in a 
 pavement, and filled between with cement well rammed, and then 
 satm-ated with hot gas tar. No veiiuiu wiU attack such a floor and it 
 ■wiU always be cool for the horses' feet. For horses it is well to have 
 a floor of wooden bai-s laid lengthwise and an inch ajjaii, to 
 provide di'ainage and keep the horse clean, and a drainage 
 gutter made shallow and ninning lengthwise of the stable is 
 necessary for cleanliness. Once a week the stall antl gutter 
 should be washed down with a pailful of water to cleanse and 
 sweeten it. 
 
 A bai-u for a horse-breeding farm, where valuable animals ai-e 
 kept, should be made thuiy-sis feet wide, with an alley way through 
 the middle twelve feet wide, and stalls twelve feet squai'e on each 
 side, opening into the alley way. A small window, protected by iron 
 gratings, and made to swng on pivots, should Vie made for each stall 
 for hght and ventilation, and it should be placed six feet from the 
 floor. A shding door should be made in the stall into the alley for 
 feeding, and double doors, the upper one of which should ojien 
 singly, sliould be made to open into the alley way. It is very con- 
 venient to have feeding slmtes fi'om the floor above, to send down 
 hay and gi-ain into the manger and feed box. The hay shute should 
 be a little larger below than above, so that the hay will not pack in 
 it, and the grain shute should have a sjoout at the bottom leading 
 into the feed box. The best bedding for horses is sawdust; but 
 the dried peat, now being introduced, is equally good, and so 
 far as its value for manure is concerned, is better than saw- 
 dust. The floor above the stalls should be laid close with matched 
 boards. 
 
 / 
 
Sheep Baens. 
 
 213 
 
 SHEEP BARNS. 
 
 Success with sheep depends in a great measui-e upon having proper 
 tarns or sheds for them. Sheep culture will, no doubt, greatly 
 increase in the course of a few years, and, as the improved breeds 
 are more widely introduced, a better system of keeijuig them, with 
 proportionately better profit, will be adopted. Few farms are well 
 provided ^vith accommodations for slieej), exceptiog where the fann 
 is devoted to them, and even then many large flocks suffer for want of 
 
 SHEEP SHED FOE A SJIALL FLOCE 
 
 proper conveniences. This is especially injurious to the lambs, many 
 of which are lost from accidents which might have been avoided. 
 Sheep requu'e j)ure air and dry lodging chiefly. Their fleece 
 protects them fi-om cold in the severest weather, and thej' know how 
 to keep warm by huddUng or bunching together when necessary. 
 A close shed is therefore not healthful, because when sheep get over- 
 lieated they are very apt to suffer from lung diseases, and pneu- 
 monia is one of the most fatal disorders to sheep. One night's over- 
 heating in a close shed -will cause sheeji to nin at the nose, which is 
 the first step towards inflammation of the lungs. A good tight roof, 
 with an open front on the south side, placed on the north side of a 
 dry yard, makes a sufficient shelter for a flock. For a small flock the 
 yard and shed shown in the above engraving is recommended by 
 Henry Stewait, the author of the " Shepherd's Manual, " in that 
 work, fi'om which this illustration is boiTowed. 
 
 A barn for a larger flock, designed by the late Hon. Geo. Geddes, 
 of Onondaga, N. Y. (see engravings'), is made with the pens eight 
 
214 
 
 How THK Faksi Pays. 
 
 feet bigh; the i^osts are eight feet apart and swinging doors are tixecl 
 between each i)air of posts. The doors are double, one hung 
 above the other, so that the upper or lower one, or both, can be 
 closed when desu-ed. The doors are hung upon pins titte<l into the 
 ends, as shown. Some of the pens may be enclosed and kept for 
 separating f wes from the flock at lambing time. The upjier part of 
 
 SHEEP BAItM FOIt A 1.A11GE FLOCK. 
 
 the bam is kept for fodder, and the interior arrangement and the 
 ground plan are here shown. In the rear of the barn, at A, is a. 
 root cellar. At C, C, is the feeding passage, over whicli are hay 
 shutes to cany the hay into the rack, D, which opens into the stable 
 by lathed bars placed up and down. The bars are not more than 
 three inches ai^aii, to prevent the sheep from pushing their heads 
 
 through and tearing the wool from the necks. A feeding ti'ough, E, 
 for grain or chopjied roots, is under the hay rack, and is opened or closed 
 by a falling door or shutter, whicli, when open, is held by cords and 
 hooks to the sloping bottom of the hay rack. A stair-case or steps, 
 B, leads fi'om the feeding passage to the hay floor, and the hay 
 should be so an'anged as to leave a passage-way above. The hay floor 
 should be of matched boards to prevent dust and chaff from, 
 dropping onto the sheep and getting into the wool. 
 
 Although abundant ventilation is provided for by the ample dooi-s 
 in front of the shed, it will, nevertheless, bo advisable to have at least 
 two air-shafts from the stable to the roof These should be about four 
 by six feet, and made of matched boards, some of which should be 
 hung on hinges and fastened by bolts, that they may be used to pass 
 
Sectional View of Sheep Bakn. 
 
 215 
 
 hay cIo-«Ti to the stable floor at times. These shutes should be two 
 inches larger each way at the bottom than at the top, so that the hay 
 
 SECTIONAI, VIEW OF SHEEP ! 
 
 will not lodge in them. The feed passage communicates with the root 
 cellar by two or three doors, as may be convenient. With a cellar 
 
 GROUND PLAN 
 
 arranged as on this plan the method of preserving corn fodder by 
 ensilage may be very easily practiced if desired. 
 
216 
 
 How THE Faum Pays. 
 
 It may be that ensUage -will be found more desirable for sLeep than 
 for cows, if fed in moderation, but roots are quite free from objection 
 of anj' kind, and as they can be grown, as stated in a pre-^ious chapter, 
 quite as easily as ensilage, and require no expensive packing in a silo, 
 no doubt roots will never whoUj' give way to ensilage, even for sheep. 
 It might be well to mention that most roots are best cut in thin slices 
 for sheep, although mangels being of a soft texture, are easilj' eaten 
 when given whole. 
 
 For sheep keeping on a large scale an extensive shed an-anged as 
 here shown is convenient. AVhen sheep are herded on the open 
 plains or jirairie, there are often losses bj' wolves, which pick up out- 
 lying sheep or lambs, unless the shepherd and his dogs are on the alert 
 
 SHEEP ItAXCHE. 
 
 It is safer to have the tiocTc penned, and such a j-ard as this would be 
 convenient, providing not only safety, but shelter in case of stonus. 
 For winter use some jirotection of this kind is indispensable. The 
 range of sheds here shown was made for a sheej) rauche in western 
 Kansas. The walls were built of sods cut from the jjrairie; on the 
 inside, the roof was supported by posts set in the ground ; the roof 
 was made of cedar jjoles covered with thatch of coarse marsh gi-ass 
 bound down with taiTed rope. The side sheds were fiOO feet long 
 and the end one 300 feet; all were thuty feet wide, thus gi^■ing over 
 an acre of ground under the roof with a yard enclosed of nearly five 
 acres. A Hock of nearly 4,000 sheep found ample accommodations in 
 this yard and sheds during the winter. The supply of hay for occa- 
 sional feeding in the winter was stacked in a long row down the centre 
 of the yard and gave additional shelter to the sheep fi'om driving 
 stoi-ms. If such shelters as this were provided on the plains and 
 exposed prairie fai-ms, thei-e would be veiy few losses in the 
 flocks. 
 
Pig Pens. 
 
 217 
 
 In all these aiTangements for sheep it is necessarj- to avoid having 
 ^ny holes or open spaces into which young lambs might creep, a 
 thing they are very apt to do, but they ai'e not apt to get out again 
 and of course they soon perish. Lambs ai'e often lost in this way 
 unless care is taken to prevent it. 
 
 PIG PENS. 
 
 Some years ago I built a range of pig pens, of which a view is here 
 given. At first it was made seventy feet long, and I found it so con- 
 venient that it was increased by additions to 200 feet. It was nine 
 feet high on one side, and six and one-half on the other, and sixteen 
 feet wide. It had a four-feet alley the whole length. The pens were 
 
 RANGE OF PIG PENS. 
 
 twelve by ten feet each, divided from each other by partitions three 
 feet high. Each i^en had a double door, the ujjper one used for 
 ventilation, and the lower one to close the pen when the pigs were 
 not allowed in the yard. At one end of the range of pens there was 
 a boiler for cooking feed, which was distributed among the pigs along 
 the feeding alley. As pigs are indispensable on most fai-ms to consume 
 the wastes, and as the profit fi-om them and the ease of labor in 
 attending to them depend upon tlie an-angement of the j)ens, it is 
 veiy necessary that this matter should receive attention. A plank 
 floor is required for jjig jseus, as the pigs would soon dig up any 
 other kind. The floor shoidd have a slope to the yard for the 
 di-ainage, to keep them dry, for though the pig is supposed to be 
 a. filthy animal, yet none other thrive better for being kept diy and 
 clean. 
 
 An excellent piggery, built a few years ago by Mr. ¥. D. Curtis, of 
 Saratoga County, N. Y., is shown in the following engi-avings, 
 the first of which represents the general view of the building and 
 
218 
 
 How THK Fakm Pays. 
 
 the yards. The second shows the side view; the third is the cellar. 
 It, R, being the root bins, with a root cutter at G. The feeding box 
 is at F; at C is the cistern; T, T, ai'e meal bins; K is the boiler and 
 B the stau-s up to the main floor. The plan of the pens on the main 
 floor is as follows: Tlie first pen is for the boar in use, and has a. 
 
 raised floor, -with an outer door for the convenience of neighbors* 
 sows brought for sen-ice. The other pens are for sows and pigs. 
 Each is provided ■\%-ith an iron feed ti-ough and with a feed shute. 
 Each pen is provided with a guai-d rail for the protection of the 
 young i)igs, which is ijlaced six inches above the floor and six inches 
 
A CONTEXIEN'T PuiGERY. 
 
 219 
 
 from the wall. The floors of the pens were made water-proof in the 
 following manner: First a floor of diy hemlock one-and-one-quarter- 
 inch plank was laid. This was covered with a coat of hot gas tar, 
 and a second floor was laid directly upon this tar while it was hot. 
 Sufficient tar was laid on to fill all the cracks between the floor. The 
 upp-cr floor was then given a coat of hot tar and well sanded. 
 
 This floor was found very satisfactory, being hard, di-y, quite 
 vermin-proof, and never permitting any leakage into the cellar 
 below. 
 
 Considering the enormous losses in swine by diseases on the lai'ge 
 "Western feeding faiius, there can be no question but that the cost of 
 
 m 
 
 
 f /? C 
 
 1 , 
 
 ^= 
 
 
 R 
 
 "MM. 
 
 ss,^=;=r=a=^!;- , : 
 
 -.-— 
 
 1 ~ 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 e 
 
 3 Qt 
 
 1 
 
 P 
 
 L^ 
 
 1 
 
 i^# 
 
 i 
 
 J^- 
 
 J 
 
 well arranged buildings would soon be paid for in the value of the 
 animals saved. Where losses foot up to ten mUUon dollai-s in a year, 
 it is very clear that there would be a good jDrofit made fi'om the use 
 of comfortable buildings to secure shelter and cleanliness. 
 
220 How THE Fahm Pavs. 
 
 CATTLE BARNS. 
 
 The business of stall feeding cattle will, I am confident, greatly increase 
 east of the great gi-azing plains during the coming yeai-s, along with 
 daiiying. In this respect we must follow the course of the English, 
 Scotch and European iu-mers. Grain wUl lie grown in the rich 
 North-western Territories and in California, where land is cheap, 
 and mixed fai'ming is not suitable on account of the climate. 
 Grain cannot be gro-wu to pay in the E;ist — and by East I mean all 
 tlie States east of the !Missoui-i River — unless stock is stall fed to make 
 manure. Rich feetling stufiEs, as oil-cakes, bran fi'om the gi'eat 
 "Western mills, and corn fi-om the prau'ie States, which can he bought 
 more cheaply than it can be raised, must take the place of farm 
 grown coai-se gi-ain; and fodder crops and roots will be produced in 
 abundance for the cattle. A farm of 100 acres •n-ill have its feeding 
 sheds where from twenty to lifty head of beeves or 200 or 300 sheep 
 will be fattened every winter, and larger farms will feed more in pro- 
 portion. I do not see how this can be helped. Calves that are now 
 butchered or sold for a few dollai's, and lean cattle fi'om the West, will be 
 bought up for feeding. The land can be made rich enough for profitable 
 farming only in this way and by dair'ying, and every farm cannot be 
 a dairy, because there is a limit to the demand of butter and cheese, 
 and the great cities and foreign countries must have beef and mutton. 
 
 In this case i^roijerly ai-ranged bams for feeding must be jiro'vided. 
 Labor must be reduced to a minimum or the jirofit will be small, and 
 labor is reduced by convenient arrangements for feeding. 
 
 One man is able to feed and care for fifty head of cattle when every- 
 thing is well arranged with suitable buildings. This wiU cost about 
 two cents a day for attention and ewe, which is about as cheap as I 
 think it can be done. If the cattle ai'e fed for four months, and 250 
 pounds only is added to the weight of each in that time, the cost for 
 labor wiU be less than one cent per pound of this increase. The 
 great profit in feeding cattle, however, is not in this increased weight, 
 but in the increased value of the whole animal from its better quidity. 
 A fat steer can be easily made worth one cent a pound of live weight 
 more than its cost when it was thin; thus a 1,600-pound animal will 
 have at least $1(5 added to its value in this way, in addition to the 
 value of the added weight. Those farmere who do not understand 
 this fact lose sight of the most important part of the business. 
 
 A cattle shed should be roomy, both to give the animals plenty of 
 fresh air, and to aflbrd convenience in feeding them and removing 
 the manure. The jiens should be made in ranges ha^"ing a feeding 
 passage large enough for a cai-t to be taken thi-ough with roots, hay. 
 
Plan of Cattle Shed. 
 
 221 
 
 straw and feed, aud an alley as large for the jDurpose of taking out 
 tlie mauirre. It is a good plan -when there is abundance of straw for 
 litter to tiU uj) the Yiens once a day and let the mamu-e collect for a 
 month, or in fact for the whole feeding season, as it is kept hard 
 trodden and is not at all disagreeable. In this case the stalls are 
 
 FEAMF. iOU CATTLE taSEDS. 
 
 enclosed and made large enough for the cattle to turn around, and 
 the animals are left loose. This jjlan is yery common on the lai'ge 
 cattle farms in England. The plans here given represent one of 
 these English cattle sheds, and may be worthy of study, as showing 
 the system in common use there. The whole width in the clear is 
 eighty-one feet. If the pens or stalls are made to run across the 
 
 SIDE TIEW OF FKAME. 
 
 building this will afford spsice for five rows of pens haying four pas- 
 sages between them, the cattle standing on the outside rows with theii- 
 backs to the ends of the building. A square shed of this size will 
 hold fifty head in fiye rows of ten each, and each one having a looss 
 
222 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 stall of ten by eight feet. The sides of the building wUl have wide 
 double doors ten feet apart opening to the passages, and at each end 
 there will be doors for letting the cattle in and out, and for taking out 
 manure from the end rows of jiens. 
 
 In the plan given, the roof is made with spaces between the eaves 
 of the valleys for collecting the rain water into gutters which carry it 
 into cisterns. About 100,000 gallons of water could be collected in 
 four fall and winter months with our rain-fall, and this supply would 
 be of considerable value, aflbrding about eight gallons a day for each 
 head. But as the water would be gathered through the whole year, 
 if there was sufficient cistern room to save it, there would be enough 
 to supply all the wants of the cattle for the foiu" months of the feeding 
 season. 
 
 The plan for the side of the building is also given. In England 
 iron is cheaper than timber, dui'abihty and strength being considered. 
 But as timber is cheaper here than ii'ou, the posts shown will be 
 made of timber. The foundations of the posts ai-e stones bedded in 
 the ground or blocks of concrete. The toot of each post is fitted 
 into a cast ii'on socket, one inch smaller inside than the timber, the 
 timber being cut away to fit the socket makes an even joint, and 
 being bedded in paint presences the wood from rotting. The floor of 
 the whole shed may be of gravel and clay well beaten, or, for a well 
 bmlt shed, of concrete. An eai-then floor, however, properly graded 
 to the gutters and di'ains, will be sufficient when j)lenty of litter is 
 furnished. Sheds of cheaper constniction may be built to sei^v-e an 
 equally good puii>ose, excepting so far as regards diu-ability. A 
 different an-angement may be made if desirable, which would gi'eatlj' 
 reduce the cost, viz., the cattle may be kept loose in the shed, and 
 fed fi'om racks and gi-ain troughs on each side of a drive-way. With 
 this arrangement twice as many cattle could be kept in this shed, 
 tlu'ee di'ive-ways only being made, one in the centre and one at 
 each side, leaving two large spaces for the cattle. But, as cattle feed 
 better and make more flesh when quiet and undistiu'bed, it is a ques- 
 tion if the plan of having stalls would not pay more jsrofit, notwith- 
 standing its lai'ger cost. The pai-titious between the stalls are 
 made of bars which are movable, so that when the cattle ai-e taken 
 out the bars are removed, and wagons can be di'iven in all over to 
 take out the manure. 
 
 FENCES. 
 
 Another important matter to the farmer, somewhat allied to the 
 buildings, is the fences. Conditions are so varied that this is some- 
 thing in which the farmer will in most cases have to be guided as 
 
Fences. 223 
 
 «ircumstances may suggest. I may say, however, that I am a great foe 
 to fences. I have torn down miles upon miles of fences, and have 
 gained by it a great deal of the very best land. I don't believe in 
 having any fences whatever except line fences, and highway fences. 
 It will always pay better to hire a good boy to take care of cattle than 
 "to build fences. The kinds of fences must of course depend upon 
 the locality. In some sections, where timber is plentiful and lumber 
 scarce, the cheapest fence may be found to be the ordinary rail 
 or post and rail fence; but wherever lumber can be obtained at 
 reasonable price, I think it will be found that a board fence can be 
 erected at less cost, besides taking up less land and presenting a 
 much neater ai^pearance. A solid post and three-rail fence can always 
 be made at less cost than an ordinary worm fence, even without con- 
 sidering the economy of land. Live fences are now used to a great 
 €xtent on the prairies, where timber is scarce. No other fence is cheaper 
 or better than this if a little care be taken for the first four or five 
 years in their management. The seedhng jilants of Honey Locust or 
 Osage Orange can be bought at $.5 per 1,000 jjlants, a foot high. Such 
 plants, if set out at one foot apart and the land kept clean for a foot 
 or so each side of the hedge, and kejit carefully trimmed into the shape 
 of a blunt wedge, will attain a height of five or six feet in five or six 
 years, and wiU fonn a ban-ier, with needlelike spurs, so dense that 
 a rat could hardly get through it; of coiu'se some temporary' 
 fence would be required till it grows up. Transplanted two- 
 year-old plants will always be found' the cheapest, even at $15 
 per 1,000. 
 
 Wire fences are coming into general use, both plain and barbed. 
 Barb wire is no doubt the best, and in grazing locaHties is indispen- 
 sable. But where valuable animals are kept there may be danger of 
 injury, which it is better to avoid by using the plain wire. A plain 
 "wire fence may be made equally effective as one of barbed wire, by 
 putting the posts down firmly, and bracing them sufficiently, and 
 straining the wire tight. Eing staples with screws and nuts may be 
 used at the end of the fences for tightening the wires, when this is 
 needed. No less than four wires should be used. In some cases a 
 narrow board nailed to the posts over the top wire is used with ad- 
 vantage, as this is more easily seen by the animals. The posts should 
 never be more than sixteen feet apart, and twelve feet is better unless 
 the posts are ver^• firmly braced. Number nine galvanized steel wire is 
 used. Such a fence, put down in the best manner, need not cost 
 more than three cents a foot under favorable circumstances, or five 
 cents a foot at the most. 
 
224 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 REARING AND KEEPING POFLTRT. 
 
 Poultry, like hogs, are oue of the items on the fann of ■which, if many 
 ai'e kept, the cost usually oveiTuns the profit; but the farmer cannot 
 afford to be witliout eggs or chickens, and if he had to buy I fear the good- 
 wife would come short sometimes, eggs being used in so many ways 
 about the kitchen, and a jilump fowl is so handy for a meal. In the 
 winter time, when eggs bring fifty cents j^er dozen, there is a profit in 
 fowls, but when they i-un down to twelve and fifteen cents, as they do 
 for the gi'eater piui of tlie yeai', fowls do not pay for their keep, unless 
 tlie fiuTuer has a lai-ge min neai' his maniu'e yai'd. L'nder special cir- 
 cuiustiuices poultry may be made quite profitable. A farmer in my 
 neighborhood keeps from six to seven hundred hens for their eggs, 
 and idthough he has 300 acres of land, this is the only way in which 
 he jjays his taxes and other expenses. He plows in the woods among 
 the trees several times from April until the end of November, and 
 here the hens make out their lining, feeding on worms and larva) of 
 insects. But fowls in my opinion do not often pay where grain has to 
 be bought or produced to feed them, and they get no other food. A hen 
 can be kejit for the sum of one dollar a year for gi'ain, where it has a 
 good iTUi, and where the eggs and chickens ai'e worth two dollars yier hen 
 and the hens can be kept free from disease there will be a good profit. 
 ^ATiere poultry rsiising on a Lu'ge scale is practiced the incubator is 
 used at times with success, but there ai'e few farmere who have had 
 any experience with it, and to such as are interested in poultiy raising 
 as a business, we would refer them to special works on the subject. 
 I have kejjt the English "White Dorking, but the gTay variety I have 
 never had much success with, as they seem to be more tender than 
 the white breed. I also imported the Black Spanish, and the "UTiite 
 Leghorn, but only kept them one season. Two yeai-s ago I got fifty 
 Plymouth Rocks. I built a small poultry house in the fivU and put 
 them into it. They were fed morning and night -with wanu feed, and 
 we had eggs all winter through, and early spring chickens large enough 
 for broilers in Jlay; but if I had had three limes as many hens with 
 no greater accommodations, I would doubtless not have had as many 
 eggs, and therefore I think that eveiy fanner should select a few of 
 the best breed and keep only that few and tend them well, or his 
 profit in poulby will be apt to be very light indeed. 
 
 The Plymouth Eocks I find ai-e very satisfactoiy, as they aie quiet 
 and do not distml) the garden much, and mature very eai-ly, and 
 sometimes will tb'ess at six months old five to six lbs. and when 
 fuU grown seven to eight lbs. In winter, chickens should be kept in 
 
POULTKY KEEPrNG. 225 
 
 a filace ■where they aie moderately waiTu, iu a terujieratiu'e of from 
 forty to lift}' degrees, and at that season of the year when insects are 
 not to be obtained, they should be fed ■with the scraps or lea^^"ings 
 from the kitchen, broken or cmshed bones, or anrthing that will stand 
 in lieu of their- natui-al insect food. 
 
 PLrMOCTH 
 
 The Plj-mouth Rock is a large, -weV fomied bird, ■with a small single 
 comb, clean yellow legs, a large breast and bluish jDencilled plumage. 
 It resembles most in form the English Dorking of all our American 
 fo^wls. It is, perhaps, the best fo^wl to be kept on farms, as it is a 
 good early ■winter layer, a good brooder, the chicks are hardy and 
 can be reared early, and make the best of broilers at t^n'o to three 
 months old, thus coming in at a season ■when chickens bring about 
 t^wenty-five cents a pound ususilly, and forty cents a jsound at times. 
 
 One of the most profitable branches of poultry keeping is the 
 rearing of young chickens for market. For these the earliest broods 
 are preferable, although there is little profit in trying to rear chicks 
 before May, unless one has a well fui-nished and -warm jjoultry house, 
 heated with a stove. Where there is a green-house or cold grapery a 
 poultry house may be attached to it, and get the surplus heat, and 
 in this way young chicks can be reared in Januai-y or Februaiy. It 
 will not pay, however, on an average farm, to do this; but there are 
 many market farms near large cities, or near summer resorts, where 
 poultry keeping of this kind may bring in several hundred doUars a 
 year, and this may be earned by the younger members of the family. 
 To rear market chicks the early broods should be put in a warm 
 coop, having a sash cover, so as to get the warmth, and another sash 
 may cover a small yard, where the chicks may run and take exercise. 
 On cold nights the glass cover may be protected by a sack or a straw 
 
22fi How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 mat. A Lip;bt Brahma ben, in a roomy coop of this kind, will take 
 twenty chicks and rear all without the loss of one, as the brood is 
 quite safe fi-om accident. The food should be oat meal, cracked corn 
 and finely chopped meat scraps, with plenty of pm-e water. Light 
 Brahma chicks ai-e exceetlingly biu-dy, and altboufjb almost bare of 
 feathei-s for several weeks will stand severe cold if kept tb-y. When 
 the chicks are two montlis old the ben may be taken from them, and 
 they will nestle in theii- coop quite comfortably alone. At ten or 
 twelve weeks old they will weigh two to thi-ee pounds, and will sell 
 for $1.50 a pair in good markets, and nearly as much, when half 
 this weight, as broilers. Later chicks, ready for mju-ket when 
 summer boarding is at its height, readily sell for twenty-five cents a 
 pound, and a fom--montbs-old Light Brahma cockerel, at that age, 
 will bring a doUai'. FaiTuers who make a special business of this 
 have often realized $5 fi'om each hen of a weU managed flock, includ- 
 ing the eggs sold eai'ly in the season at the usually high jirices then 
 cuirent 
 
 M.^NAGEMENT OF EARLY CHICKENS. 
 
 As in all special branches of any business, the rearing of poultry 
 requii'es considerable tact and experience. And the reaiing of early 
 chickens is still more exacting in this respect. But when properly 
 managed, either of these specisUties may be made a profitable addition 
 to the fann business under some circumstances. Grain fanning and 
 poultry keeping ^"ill not go together, but dairying and stock feeding 
 will do veiy well with ])oultrv rearing. Poulti-y is especially adapted 
 tor daily farms, as fowls will consume the spai-e milk with equal and 
 perhaps gi-eater pi-ofit than pigs ■will. For satisfactory success, how- 
 ever, there lu-e some requisites that are indispensable. It is all in the 
 management. Fii'st a weD airanged house and ywd are needed; and 
 the necessaiy an-angenient includes the eas\- securing of perfect 
 cleanliness, di^-ness, and thorough ventilation. Next there must be 
 such a provision and kind of nests and fittings that vermin can find 
 no harbor; that the hens caimot quaiTcl and fight and break their 
 eggs, and so learn the bad habit of eating them. Then there must 
 be a separate apartment for brooding hens, where they may not be 
 annoyed by laying hens, and evei-y provision for their feeding and 
 comfort and security; lastly there must be a properly aiTanged method 
 of protecting the young chicks as soon as they ai-e hatched and until 
 the whole brood is out and strong enough to go into the cooj) with 
 the hen. 
 
The Poultry Hoise and Yakd. 227 
 
 Pii-st let us consider the house. A very convenient one for a iiock 
 of fifty hens, which is as many as should be kept in one house and 
 yard, is made as follows: it is twenty-five or thirty feet long, ten feet 
 wide, eight feet high in the front and five feet in the rear, with a 
 sloping roof. It should be divided into two apartments, one sis or 
 «ight feet long, and the other eighteen or twenty feet, and separated 
 by a tight partition, with a door in it leading fi-om one to the other. 
 There should be a door in each apartment, and a large window, which 
 should face the south. The floor should be the ground, and this 
 should be high and dry and drained, so that rain water fi-om the roof 
 cannot enter. The only fittings inside are the roosts, which ai'e made 
 in a frame of three bai's fom- inches wide, having two cross jjieces to 
 hold them together. This frame is hinged to the rear wall, sixteen 
 inches only from the ground and all on a level, which entkely prevents 
 fighting to get the highest peixh and prevents injury from the fowls 
 flying down from the roosts. This frame can be raised against the 
 wall, out of the way, when the floor is cleaned, which should be done 
 at least every week, in a thorough manner. This will wholly prevent 
 vermin hai-boring in the house and prevent much suftering for the 
 fowls. The nests are loose boxes sixteen inches long, and twelve wide 
 and deep; oj)en at one side where the hen enters and having a 
 naiTow strip at the bottom three inches wide to keep the nest in its 
 place. These nest boxes are loose and are jjlaced on the floor around 
 the house. When a hen sets and has settled down, the nest with the 
 hen is removed to the setting room, and another box is put in its 
 place. The eggs are taken from the nests at noon, and in the evening 
 when the hens are fed. When the setting hen is settled do^^-n quietly, 
 the brood of eggs is given to her and a card is jiinned to the wall over 
 the nest having the date on it when the hen was set. AVith such an 
 arrangement as this there is no trouble, and the hens are kept quiet 
 and docile, and this saves eggs and chickens. 
 
 The yai'd should be enclosed safely, and for fifty fowls should con- 
 tain half an acre or 200 feet by 100. It shordd be divided into two 
 parts, each to be used alternately, and while one is being used the 
 other should be plowed up and sown with some quick growing crop, 
 as peas, rape, turnips, oats, etc., for the fowls to feed upon and scratch 
 among. This secures cleanliness of the ground, and a valuable 
 provision of green food for the fowls. In this way fifty fowls can be 
 kept enclosed all the time in perfect health and thiift and with corre- 
 sponding profit. But it cannot be done in any other way. For the 
 fences, cheajj wu'e netting is the best and most economical. 
 
 The feeding of fowls should be regular and the food should be 
 varied. Eaiiy morning, noon, and night, the food should be supphed 
 
228 How THE Faum Pavs. 
 
 and never given in excess. Over feeding surely produces disease. 
 Fowls should never be given all thej' will eat An average of one 
 bushel of grain is sufficient for one fowl for a year, iu addition to 
 what green food is supphed in the way above mentioned, or that can 
 be picked up in a moderate range. This is equal to about two and 
 one-half ounces a day. A variety of grain is advisable. Wheat, 
 barley, buckwheat, corn, and mixed meal and bran, with some boiled 
 potatoes or milk or buttenuilk, and some flesh meat occasionally, wiU. 
 be necessai'y. With such feeding, and jDlenty of clean fresh water 
 tvrice a day, there will be no ti'ouble from sickness, and of course 
 sickness among the fowls will destroy all the jirofit 
 
 It is a gi-eat help to have the fowls docile and easily handled. This- 
 is secured bj- a simple method of managing, which is as follows. ^\jid 
 this method also has other advantage as will be seen. The hens 
 being set in theu- sei^ai-ate apartment are fed and watered daily, and 
 soon become used to this attendance. "\ATien the chicks begin to 
 a2)pear they ai-e taken, as they come out of the shell, or with the 
 broken shell, if necessary, from under the hen, and put in a nursing 
 mother made as foUows: A box made wdth double sides, filled with 
 wool waste or cotton batting, about sixteen inches squai'e everj' way 
 inside and standing on end, has a shelf fitted in the middle. Under 
 this shelf a tin box fiUed with hot water is placed to warm up the box 
 to ninety -five degrees. The young chick is put on this shelf in a 
 nest of sawdust, where it is kept warm and rests comfortably wliile 
 the others ai'e coming out. It is always well to set two hens on the 
 same day, so that two broods come out at the same time. Witk 
 average success from eight to ten chicks will come from each brood, 
 and all are put into the niu-sing mother until the two broods are all 
 hatched. The last two or ihi'ee may be left under the hen. 
 
 The coop, which should be roomy, is prepared, and if the weather 
 is yet cold, should be put in a glass house, or have a glass covering, 
 and be put in a sunny, sheltered corner. At night the hen with the 
 chicks are removed to the coop, and left in a di-y, comfortable nest, 
 made ot chaff, in a comer of the coop, or upon a piece of dr^' 
 bagging. The hen thus adojsts all the chicks, and in the morning 
 will be found cimug for them. The hen and chicks are fed with 
 some soaked bread or cracked wheat or coai'se oatmcid for two or 
 three days, and after that with coarse corn meal and other food. They 
 soon become tame, and will feed out of the hand, and this tameness 
 is encouraged aftenvards, so that the fowls can be handled, and will 
 feed out of the hand at any time. This veiy much eases the work, 
 and makes it successful and profitable. The chicks should have a i-un 
 out on grass or in a garden, where they will i^ick up mmads of 
 
Light Beahma Fowls. 
 
 229 
 
 insects and do no mischief; but the hen should be kept in the coop. 
 The coojj should have no fixed bottom, but a loose one of boards, 
 "which can be covered with dry earth and changed twice a week. By 
 Tunning over fi-esh gi-ound the chicks never have the gapes. When 
 the chicks are two months old the hens may be taken away from 
 them, if the weather is warm, and the chicks will nestle in their 
 <:oo25S as usual by themselves, until they are quite large and ready 
 for sale. 
 
 In small flocks there is the most and the surest j)i"ofit; but where 
 there is a range of grass land, a poor, rough field, or one that has 
 been run down by bad management and needs a rest, a stock of 
 poultry, managed as above described, has often paid more profit than 
 any other investment on the farm. 
 
 Light Brahmas are the most popular fowl and are even heavier than 
 "the Plj-mouth Eocks. TMien this variety is kept in the best manner, 
 small flocks of them have been known to jiay as much as fom- or five 
 doUai-s per hen in the year. But in all poultry keeping, crowding 
 must be avoided or the flock will suffer, and the owner wUl svu-ely lose 
 by them instead of making a gain. Overcrowding and filth are the 
 bane of poultry, as they ai-e the destiniction of sheep or pigs, as they 
 sm-ely produce fatal disorders. 
 
 The Light Brahma is among poultry what the Short Horn is among 
 beef cattle or the Jersey in the dairj'. It is handsome, clean and 
 •exceedingly productive. When well kept it is not subject to disease; 
 it lays about eighty or ninety eggs on an average in Ihe year, and will 
 safely rear eight chicks per hen in a flock. As a fowl may be kept 
 
230 How THE Farsi Pays. 
 
 for a dollar per year, the isrofit is large; but in farming it is never safe 
 to calculate one's profits by aiithmetic, for if a flock of fifty fowls or 
 100 sbeep, or a herd of twenty cows, produce a certain income, it rarely 
 follows that twice as many will double the profit. This depends strictly 
 upon the conditions and circumstances, the conveniences, and above 
 all upon the skiU and experience of the owner. 
 
 The Light Brahma is one of the lai-gest of fowls; a yearling cockerel 
 will weigh ten or eleven pounds, and a pullet seven to eight; the 
 fiesh is yellow; the legs yellow; the plumage white and downy, except- 
 ing the tail feathers, and the principal wing feathers, wliich ai-e black; 
 the neck feathers are mixed with black, forming a broad collar. The 
 legs ai'e feathered down to the toes. The comb is small and pea fonued. 
 This is an American breed, the origin of which is now in some doubt, 
 but in value it undoubtedly comes first among all the breeds of 
 
 SILVER BPANOLED HAMBCBOS. 
 
 fowls for i^rofitable keejiiiig, when the requisite care is given to it; 
 otherwise, as with every fiu'm animal of every kind, failure is certain. 
 
 The "White Dorking is an Enghsh fowl, and in that <'ountry is the 
 most populiir of all breeds of poultry. The vicinity of tlie town of 
 Dorking is a noted place for rearing poultry, and is an example of 
 what can be done in this way when a speciid business is made of any 
 jjiu'suit, and it is persevered in until experience brings success. The 
 Dorking fowls are the oldest breed of jaoultry in existence, having 
 been kept in Britain before the Romans invaded that countiy, but of 
 late years they Tiave been much improved tlu'ough exhibitions and 
 the competition of breeds. The "White Dorking is smaller than the 
 gray or colored viuieties and is hardier. It is considered as the best 
 of all the English breeds for poultry, chickens and eggs. AH the 
 Dorking's have an extra inner toe. making five in all. 
 
Black Spanish Fowls. 
 
 231 
 
 The varieties of Hamburgs, of which there are Black, Golden and 
 Silver Pencilled, Golden and Silver Spangled and "WTiite, are handsome 
 and good fowls; they are all good layers and hardy, but are rather too 
 small for market j)urposes. For family use they ai'e desii-able, when 
 fowls are kept for ornament as well as use. The comb is flat, rose 
 shaped and large, and terminates in a point behind. The Black 
 Spanish is a profitable fowl as regards the production of eggs, of 
 
 which the}- will lay in a year one-thii'd more than the hu'ge breeds, as 
 the light Brabmas and others of that class. But the hens of this 
 breed are poor brooders and rear very few chickens, so that this 
 product, which is really the most profitable, is of very little account. 
 These fowls have large, single, serrated combs, with large white ear 
 lobes and cheeks, and ai-e very tender in our climate, frequently 
 having the combs frozen. 
 
232 How THE F.utM Pays. 
 
 Of the nou-broodinff fowls the Lefjlionis ai-e the most jiopular. 
 They f)''"'!'^''® more eggs than any other breed under equ;d condi- 
 tions, but rear very few cliickens. They are small and light, and of 
 course not so profitable for the poultry rearer as the larger fowls, ex- 
 cepting for the production of eggs in the winter season. They are 
 not hardy and require careful treatment, and the chickens cannot be 
 reared safely until the warm weather. The "^Tiite Leghorn is the 
 most pojjular of this class of fowls. It is very neat and handsome, 
 and has the large comb common to all the fowls of tliis class. 
 
 AVhen jjoultry are kejit solely for eggs the Leghorns are the most 
 satisfactory of all fowls. Their eggs are large, clear white in color, 
 well shaped and are quite salable. These are the only fresh eggs in 
 the market at the times when they sell at the highest i^rice, and of 
 course a fowl that fills the basket then is the one that produces the 
 most jsrofit The greatest objection to them is their tenderness and 
 the danger of freezing the combs, unless warmlv housed. But this 
 
 WHITE UMHORNS 
 
 warm housing is indispensable for all fowls wliich are kept for profit, 
 as hens wiU not lay eggs when exposed to cold, and not even the 
 Leghorns. Before eggs are produced the fowls must be fully nour- 
 ished, and a large portion of the food is consumed in maintaining the 
 warmth of an animal of any kind. Leghorns, as all the smaller 
 breeds of fowls, consume much less food than the larger breeds, 
 probably not more than half as much, and although their eggs are 
 smaller, yet so long as they are sold by count and not by weight, the 
 smaller breeds will always be po]>uliu' for the production of eggs. 
 
 Tlie Brown Leghorn has a plumage of a liright golden bay, with 
 black and brown intermixed, and has some resemblance in color to 
 the Brown Bed Games. Some hens of this breed have been known to 
 
HouDAN Fowls. 233 
 
 continue laying eggs np to over ten years of age, and iu all have pro- 
 duced 2,000 eggs and over in tlieir lifetime. In addition to these 
 varieties there are the Dominique Leghorns, a bluish pencilled sort, 
 and the Black Leghorns. 
 
 K LEGHORNS. 
 
 The crested fowls are popular vrith some poultry keeiDers, on ac- 
 count of the peculiar bunch of fine feathers which cover the heads. 
 Of these there are the French and the various kinds of Polish fowls. 
 The Houdans are a French breed, and are good layers but poor 
 
 Ijrooders. They ai'e black and white in color, with pencilled plumage, 
 have large crests, and beards about the throat, and combs shaped 
 Hke a deer's antlers. They have the fifth toe like the Dork- 
 ings. These bu-ds have excellent white flesh and lay large eggs. 
 
234 
 
 How THK Faum Pays. 
 
 The Polands are of sevenil kinds, some rather curiously varied as 
 to iilumage, as White Crested Bhit-k, "White Crested White, Golden, 
 Silver and Bearded Golden jind Silver. They ai'e good fowls for a 
 small kind, but are most profitable when reared for sale as fancy 
 
 fowls. The White Crested Black and the White Crested "UTiite ai-e 
 the most popular-, and there is scai'cely any other fowl, excepting, 
 perhaps, some of the little bantams, which are so curious as the little 
 chicks of these two varieties, vriiii their peculiar crested heads. 
 
 .>** 
 
 caEVEC<Ertts. 
 
 The Creveccem-s, another crested breed of French origin, are all 
 black and have beautiful plumage, with a rich greenish shade in the 
 sunlight They difler in no other respects fi-om the Houdans, but in 
 plumage and in having no fifth to-. 
 
Wyandotte Fo'nxs. 
 
 235 
 
 The Wyandottes are a new breed, wliieli as a fancy fowl have 
 gained a good deal of popularity. They are something of the style 
 of the Plymouth Rocks, but are sjiangled with white after the 
 manner of the Silver Spangled Hambui-gs. They are heavy, medium 
 
 sized fowls, very neat and pleasing in apjDeai'ance and have a rose 
 comb. They are said to be good layers and make good market fowls. 
 For farmers who wish to keep a fancj' fowl, for their appearance 
 and for breeding for sale, this variety has some desirable points. 
 
 DAEK BRAHMAS. 
 
 The Asiatics are aU lieary bodied, thickly feathered vaiieties, and 
 are chiefly valued for breeding for sale. Some of them are very 
 handsome, as the Bulf Cochin, which, when in fiill feather, has a very 
 
236 
 
 How TiiK F.MiM Pays. 
 
 attractive appearance. The Dark iSridiina approaclies more closely 
 to this class of fowls tlian the Light Brahma, which is a far hotter 
 fowl for ordinai-y farm piui^oses. The Dark Bnihina has a variegated 
 jJumage of black and white, with long, silky neck feathers of silvery 
 
 WHITE COCHINS. 
 
 "white striped with black, and a small pea comb. It has a poor repu- 
 tation as an egg producer, and excejiting when in new and full 
 feather is not an attractive fowl. 
 
 The White and Black Cochins are handsome vaiieties, large, clean 
 
 and neatly fonued, but they have no special Viilue for fanu pm^poses, 
 as there are many better kinds to choose from. A newly introduced 
 variety- ciilled the Ijangshan is so marly like the Black Cochin that 
 
Baxtah Fowls. 
 
 237 
 
 even an expert would be puzzled to distinguish between them. There 
 is, however, a difference which aj)pears in the flesh, the Langshans. 
 having clear white skins and flesh, while the Cochin has yeUow flesh. 
 
 The various breeds known as Game fowls are kept for their beauty 
 more than for their value otherwise. But no otlier fowl has sweeter 
 flesh, or richer flavored eggs, and for use on the tables of farmers 
 who love quality before size, the old fashioned Brown Bed Game wiU 
 certainly please. Thei'e are more vai-ieties of games than any other 
 class, no less than twelve being bred by fanciers. The viciousness of 
 these fowls, however, debars many i^ersons from keeping them, as a 
 game cock will suffer no rival to Uve within his domain if he is able- 
 to destroy him. 
 
 The small fowls known as bantams ai'e very pleasing as pets and for 
 ornamental purposes, and a little bantam hen, no larger than a jjigeon,^ 
 with her tiny brood, makes a pretty pictiu-e upon a farm lawn, and is. 
 
 JAPAN BANTAMS. 
 
 the deUght of the cluldren. There ai-e many varieties of these, some 
 of which have been gi'eatly improved by an Enghsh baronet. Sir John 
 Sebright, whose name has been given to the varieties which he has 
 bred to perfection: as the Golden and Silver Sebrights. The eggs 
 
238 How THE Farji Pays. 
 
 of these little fowls are remarkably rich in flavor, and for the table 
 are considered the best of any fowl or bii-d. A very cuiioiis vaiiety^ 
 black and white in color, has recently been brought fi'om Japjxn, and 
 sold as hipli as $50 the paur. The demand for them at this price has 
 however been tilled, but they stiU sell at large prices, compared with 
 their size. In breeiling these small fowls. ever\' circumstance that 
 •win tend to keep them do'mi in size is taken advantage of, and the 
 broods are not hatched until the fall, so as to stunt the gi-owth of the 
 chicks as much as possible by the cold weather. 
 
 These fine fowl are found very pi'ofitable when cii'cumstances per- 
 mit special care to be given to them. As a rule the housewife suc- 
 ceeds best in the management of poultry, and the turkeys always fail 
 to her share, as one other especial perquisites. There is liut one variety 
 of turkey which is worth keeping on the farm when prolit is the main 
 pursuit. This is the Bronze vaiiety, a cross of the wild native breed. 
 It is not generally known that the tvu'key is a native American fowl, 
 and was unknown in Eui'ope until after its introduction from this 
 continent. The wild tui'key is now the finest variety existing, and is 
 sometimes foiiud weighing forty f)ounds, and is fi-equently taken of 
 a weight of twenty pounds. The cross of tliis bird with the connuon 
 black variet}', which has been made in i-ecent years, has given us the 
 Bronze Turkey, and specimens of this breed have reached over forty 
 pounds and occasionally near fifty. It is hardy, but retains its wild 
 instincts, and loves to hide its nest, and does far better in that way. The 
 young birds, or, as they are cuUed, " poults, " require a good deal of care 
 in slielter fi"om rain and cold weather, andin proper feeding. Chop])ed 
 clover and young onions, coarse oat meal and cracked corn, are the 
 best food. One visit of the male to a flock of hens is sufficient, and a 
 Len thus attended will even lay and hatch a second brood without 
 fuither service. Corn meal and o;it meal scalded with hot sweet milk 
 make the best fattening food. 
 
 W.VTIOU FOWL. 
 
 Geese desei-ve a passing thought, if only at those times when we 
 recline comfortably ujion the soft beds made of their feathers. They 
 are more properly called wel)-f()oted fowl, because they can be reared 
 as easily out of the water as with it, and perhaps better. As market 
 fowl they are reared with good profit, and are very easily kept Being 
 very close graziers they require a grass field wholly to themselves; 
 
Geese .\nd Ducks. 
 
 239 
 
 and if they have a good pastiu'e they will need no other food until 
 they are jJut up to fatten, when twenty days' feeding with corn will 
 put them in good condition for market. The gosUngs are Yerj hardy 
 and the goose is an excellent mother, although very stubborn in her 
 disposition, so that once she has chosen her nest she wdU tate no other, 
 but will sit out her time, if with only a paving stone under her. 
 There are two prominent varieties: the Toulouse, which is gray and 
 is the largest of aU kinds, and the Embden, which is j)ure white. 
 The best time to market geese is at the Christmas holidays. 
 
 Ducks are jjrolitable when well managed, but under other circum- 
 stances wUl eat thi-ee times their value of food. AMien the young 
 duckUngs are fed properly, and are forced, so as to be ready for 
 market at ten to twelve weeks old, or sooner wdth some vaiieties, they 
 
 are quite profitable. There ai'e several kinds. Tlie Pekin is a large 
 white variety and quite prolific, but, like all profitable'farm animals, 
 it is a great eater. The Aylesbiu-y is also jjure wliite, and, when fat, 
 will weigh six pounds at four months old. It grows very rapidly 
 when weU fed. The Kouen is a gray duck, and the di-ake is beauti- 
 fully marked with golden green, steel-blue and brown. It is a large 
 duck, weighing eight to ten pounds when fat, and is a quick fee'der. 
 The most profitable way to rear ducks is as follows: The old ducks 
 ai'e kejst shut up at night until they have laid their eggs, which they 
 usually do about dayUght. Thej' are then turned out, and a wet, 
 mucky swamj), or a gi-eeu meadow with ditches in it, provides them a 
 very desu'able feeding groimd. At night, when they come in, they 
 should be fed, and at no other times. Corn, oats, barley and buck- 
 wheat are suitable food. The eggs are gathered every morning and 
 
240 How THE F.utM Pays. 
 
 set undei- hens, giving nine only to each nest ^^"llen the ducklings 
 are hatched they ai-c left with the hen for a day or two, and then put 
 alone in small pens, made of a frame of boards twelve inches wide 
 and about four feet square. They cannot escape from this, and are 
 provided with a small covered shelter at one comer, where they may be 
 enclosed at nighi The food should be at first boiled com meal and 
 oat meal, with chopped lettuce and young cabbage and onion& 
 A shallow pan covered over with coarse wii-e netting, so that they 
 cannot bathe in it, should be kept furnished with clean water three 
 times a day, and the young ducks must be fed every two hours, 
 With this feeding they will weigh four pounds at twelve weeks old and 
 sell for $1.50 to S2 the pair. They ai-e then quite profitable; but 
 every day they are kept beyond this weight reduces the profit. The 
 old ducks may be left to forage for themselves until the winter, when 
 they maj' be fed with the geese' upon chopped turnips, oats and com. 
 
 DOGS FOR THE FARM. 
 
 Perhaps the only breed of dogs that can be said to be of much service 
 on the faiTu is the Scotch CoUie, which has been recently introduced 
 here in considerable numbers, and is in great demand from all sec- 
 tions of the counti-y. It is not only an excellent farm dog, but is 
 almost indispensable to the sheep or cattle raiser. I have used them 
 on my farm for the jjast thirty yeai-s and can well attest the mjuiy 
 tales of theii" wonderful sagacity. The cut given of myimjjorted dog, 
 " Sport," the -winner of many jiiizes and one of the best dogs ever 
 imported, will show the distinctive points of the Collie. He is broad 
 in the forehead; ears far apaii, and st:md straight at the base with the 
 tips inclined downwai'ds when in repose, but when vmder orders 
 straight up iu the attitude of the closest attention. His eye is bright 
 and has an intelligent look; face long; muzzle rather fine; head cov- 
 ered with fine hair; neck rather short; fore legs short but sb'ong, 
 hind legs much longer but generally crooked, which gives him good 
 running ])ower, as all dogs on the Scotch hill fiums have to run a good 
 deal. The feet ai-e flat and they have the extra claw on the hind leg 
 called the " Dew claw." The tail is long and bushy, and should always 
 be cuiTed downwards lower than the back. The color varies; iu 
 some it is black, othei-s black and white, and others black, white and 
 tan. There is also a rough hau-ed CoUie, much used by cattle tli-overs. 
 Some of them resemble the fox in color and have sandy hail-. A 
 few yeai-s ago Queen Victoria had a nimiber of piue black and tan 
 Collies, which I saw at Balmoral. They were pretty, but I am of the 
 
Fabm Dogs. 
 
 241 
 
 opinion that they had been crossed with the black and tan Setter dog. 
 This may not have been the case, but it seemed to me the only plausible 
 explanation for the absence of that foxy look which is characteristic 
 of all piire Collies. 
 
 In the north of England and borders of Scotland the Gordon Setter has 
 been used as a cross and at our shows these invariably take the j^rize 
 
 against oiu- pure CoUies. But although handsomer, they are by no 
 means so valuable for sheep as the pure CoUie. The price paid for 
 Collie pups is from $10 to $15; and trained dogs of pm-e breed 
 range from $.50 to $100. 
 
 In the rough hau-ed CoUie, under his outer coat of long hair he has a 
 coat of fine, short close hair, which protects him from stoi-ms. The 
 intelligence of the pure Collie is almost beyond beUef. One of my 
 
242 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 young Collies took a great liking to the cattle, so much so that she 
 would reiniiiu in the Held all day with them, keeping all strangers out 
 of the i^asture. One Sunday not long since a neighbor went into 
 the lot to tiike a look at the cows, hut the dog attacked him and 
 actually di-ove him out of the field. They are speciidly fond of 
 chUdreu, and are usually excellent watch dogs. In driving cattle, 
 instead of catching the tail of the animal as other dogs invariably do, 
 they wUl nip the heels and di'aw back quickly out of danger of being 
 kicked. They display a degree of intelligence seemingly far Ijeyond 
 instinct. "When di'iving sheep, if one sliould turn on him, as ewes 
 ■with voimg lambs very often will do, the ColUe does not resent it, but 
 wUl tm-n quietly aside and lie down until the sheep retui-ns to the 
 flock, when he will go on driving them. One of my old dogs once kept 
 a ewe and her lamb apart in a five-acre lot from morning until even- 
 ing without injiu'v to either. The same dog, after being taken twice to 
 bring the sheep fi-om the pasture to the yard at five, P. M., went of 
 his own accord every evening afterwards and brought them into the 
 yard, fullj' half a mile away, part of the way thi-ough wood land, never 
 vaiTing more than fifteen minutes of five o'clock, at which time he 
 delivered them in the yard. 
 
 The CoUie is eminently practical in his notions and seems to enjoy 
 nothing so much as jserforming his duties with the sheep or cattle, 
 but he can be taught tricks, though I doubt if he is over fond of 
 showing off his accompUshments in this direction. My little girl five 
 years old can ask " Coxsie " to jump over a chau-, haul her on a sled 
 or go over a fence, which he will do, but if asked by one of the men 
 or boys he will skulk off and lie down. "When called for the cows or 
 sheep, however, he is right np, and ■n-ill leave his best meal for either duty. 
 
 Another instance which shows a pecidiar jshase of its natiu-al instinct 
 occuiTed in a city, where a goat was kept by a resident. This goat 
 had, in the usual manner of these creatures, committed depredations 
 in flower beds and upon shade ti'ees, and the owner had been severely 
 censured in consequence. He owned one of the rough Colhe dogs, 
 wliich, however, had never been trained, but which, after one lesson 
 given by his owner, accompanied tlie goat in its daily rounds 
 about the vacant lots upon which it browsed, and prevented it from 
 injiu-ing trees or trespassing into the gai-dens. The dog lay down 
 neai- the goat while it fed, and as it moved kept closely behind it and 
 brought it home safely every evening. Tliis it did dail}- for years. 
 
 (ilr. H.) The Collie does seem to have almost human reason. I 
 had a Collie pup from a breed that originally came ft-om you, a hand- 
 some black and tan. ^Vhen I got him he was about three months old. 
 It happened that a litter of kittens anived about the same time. 
 
The Instinct of the Scotch Coixie. 243 
 
 ""Wattie," as we called him, observed the old cat now and then 
 carrying her kittens from jjlace to place, and he took it into his head 
 to help her, but singularly enough never offered to carry any but 
 one — a httle black fellow. The cat cairied her kittens, as cats do, 
 only with some definite purpose to hide them, but Wattie seemed to 
 have no such purpose with the black kitten he appropriated, and 
 seemingly did so only for mischief, for he kept at it even after the 
 black kitten had got to be a sedate, full gi-own puss. She never re- 
 sented it, and seemed to have as much satisfaction in being cairied 
 around as Wattie had in caii-ving her. We got him so trained that 
 if we ordered him to "bring the black cat," even if a hundred yards 
 away, he bounded towards her, and taking her tenderly by the back 
 of the neck brought her aU curled up to our feet. It was a curious 
 feature in the CoUie, for he is not usually a can'yiug dog. Another 
 very comical practice of Wattle's was his encoiu-agement of tramps. 
 If a tramp made his ai^pearance at the gate, if Wattie happened to be 
 around he gave him to understand bj- his gambols that he was safe 
 and welcome, his practice being to inm ahead of him and show him 
 the way to the basement. One morning tramps were more than 
 usually plentiful, and when Wattie had introduced the third one to 
 the cook for breakfast her patience became exhausted and she re- 
 monstrated with him, exclaiming: "Goodness, beast! what do you 
 mean? This is the tliii-d one you've brought this morning." But it 
 was discovered that Uke too many of his masters, Wattie had an axe 
 to grind in his seeming hospitality, for the tramps were in the habit 
 of giving him a part of their breakfast. Another true trait of the 
 CoUie was possessed by Wattie. We had him trained so that we 
 could send him to hide behind the house and return at oui' call a 
 score of times in as many minutes. He undoubtedly knew the 
 meaning of simple words, for if ordered to go and hide in the most 
 ordinary' tone of voice, without even looking at him, he never failed 
 to do so, returning fr-om his hiding place on being told just as 
 promptly as a child of five or six years old would do. He was bit by 
 a rabid dog and I had to shoot him. I don't beheve I would have 
 exchanged him for the most valuable Jersey cow in youi- herd. 
 
 USEFUL TABLES FOR THE FARM. 
 
 The following table of proper quantities of farm seeds for an acre 
 of ground will often be found useful for reference. It will be 
 observed that the quantities are somewhat more than is usual in 
 tables of this character; but we have found that it is always safest 
 not to risk the wehare of a crop for a little extra seed: 
 
244 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 TABLE OF PROPER QUANTITIES OF FARM SEEDS FOR AN ACRE. 
 
 Winter WTieat, broadcast 2 to 2| bush. 
 
 " driUed 1 •" li " 
 
 Spring Wheat, broadcast 2^ "3 " 
 
 drilled 1^ " 2 " 
 
 Barley, broadcast i 2 "2^ " 
 
 drilled 14 " 2 " 
 
 Oats, broadcast 3 "4 " 
 
 " driUed 2 « 24 " 
 
 Rye, broadcast 2 " 
 
 " diilled 1 " li " 
 
 Orchard Grass (if sown alone, though 
 
 it never should be sown except in 
 
 mixture) 3 "4 " 
 
 Timothy, or Herds Grass (when sown 
 
 with grain in the fall, to be followed 
 
 with Clover in the spring) 12 to 15 qts. 
 
 Timothy without Clover IG " 18 " 
 
 Eed Toj), or Brown Top, broadcast. . 3 bush. 
 
 Blue Grass, broadcast 2 " 
 
 Hungiu-ian Millet 1 " 
 
 Golden Millet li " 
 
 Rea Clover, broadcast, after Timothy 
 
 in the spring 10 to 12 qts. 
 
 Red Clover without other grasses in the 
 
 spring 15 " 18 " 
 
 Lucern, or Alfalfa, broadcast 15 " 20 lbs. 
 
 di-illed 10 
 
 White Clover, broadcast 8 lbs. 
 
 Field Corn, in hills, small varieties. ... 5 to (i qts. 
 
 " " " large " .... (i " 8 •• 
 
 Field Corn for fodder, sown in drills 
 
 34 feet wide and 1 foot apart 2 bush. 
 
 Oats and Peas, when sown together for 
 
 fodder 2 bush, of each. 
 
 Beets and Mangels, in drills always, 30 
 
 inches ajmrt fi to 7 lb& 
 
 Carrots, in tb'ills always, 24 in. apart . . 2 " 3 " 
 Turnips and Ruta Bagas, in drills 30 
 
 inches apart . 2 lbs. 
 
UsEFCL Tables. 245 
 
 TABLE OF PROPER QUANTITIES OF FARM SEEDS FOR AN 
 ACRE. — Contin ued. 
 
 Pai-snips, in drills 2 feet apart 6 to 8 lbs. 
 
 Beans, in drills 24 feet apart 2 bush. 
 
 Peas, planted alone without any mix- 
 ture, in drills 3 feet apart 3 bush. 
 
 Potatoes, in di-Uls 3 feet apart 12 to 1-i bush. 
 
 In the vicinity of New York rotted stable manure is usually sold 
 "by the load of 2,000 pounds; but in' the Eastern States the measure- 
 ment is made by the cord, eoiitaining usually two and one-half to 
 three loads, or 5,000 to 6,000 pounds, much depending ufion the 
 condition of the manure. 
 
 Table showing the number of trees or plants that can be planted 
 on an acre at the distances apart giyen : 
 
 30x30 feet 48 
 
 25 x25 " 69 
 
 20 x20 " 108 
 
 19 xl9 " 120 
 
 18 xl8 " 134 
 
 17 xlT " 150 
 
 16 xl6 " 170 
 
 15 xl5 " 193 
 
 14 xl4 " 222 
 
 13 xl3 " 257 
 
 12 xl2 " 302 
 
 11 xll " 360 
 
 10 xlO " 435 
 
 9x9 " 537 
 
 8x8 " 680 
 
 7x7 " 888 
 
 6ix 61 " 1,031 
 
 6x6 " 1,210 
 
 5ix5i " 1,417 
 
 0x5 " 1,742 
 
 5x4 " 2,179 
 
 5x3 " 2,904 
 
 5x2 " : 4,356 
 
 5x1 " 9,712 
 
 4x4 " 2.722 
 
 4x3 " 3,630 
 
 4x2 " 5,445 
 
 4x1 " 10,890 
 
 3x3 " 4,840 
 
 3x2 " 7,260 
 
 3x1 " 14,520 
 
 2x2 " 10,890 
 
 2x1 " 21,780 
 
 1x1 " 43,560 
 
246 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 The number of hours required for the rising of cream at the 
 different temperatures ai-e found by actual experiment in our dairy 
 to be as follows: 
 
 At 45 degrees, in deep pails set in ice water, as 
 
 used in oui- dairj", aU the cream will rise in . . . 12 hrs. 
 
 50 degrees 14: 
 
 55 " 16 " 
 
 At 62 degrees, in shallow pans, in 24 " 
 
 "55 " " " 30 " 
 
 "50 " " " 36 " 
 
 It is an ascertained fact, in this respect, that the sudden cooling of 
 the milk set in deep pails in ice water is the cause of the rapid rising 
 of the cream; if the pails are set in the aii-, and not in water, and ai-e 
 consequently cooled very slowly, the cream will not rise completely 
 in forty-eight houis at the same low temperature. 
 A cord contains 128 cubic feet. 
 A cubic foot contains 1,728 cubic inches. 
 A struck bushel contains 2,150 cubic inches. 
 A heaped bushel contains 2, 750 cubic inches. 
 An acre contains 43,5G0 square feet, or 4,840 square yards. 
 A square acre measui-es very nearly 70 yai-ds or 210 feet on each, 
 side. 
 
 A 10-acre field is 40 rods, or 220 yards, or 660 feet, on each side. 
 To double the length of the side makes four times the area of a 
 field. 
 
 A circle encloses the largest space of any figm-e for the same length 
 of line. A circular cistern, therefore, is the cheapest. The following 
 table gives the difference of 
 
 AREAS OF SQUARE AND ROUND CISTERNS. 
 Kouiid. 
 
 DIAMSTEB. 
 
 I£MGXH OF WAJJU. 
 
 ABKA OP BCBFACE. 
 
 10 feet. 
 12 " 
 15 " 
 
 31 J feet. 
 37i " 
 47 " 
 
 78i sq. feet. 
 112 
 177 
 
 Sguare. 
 
 DIAMETKB. 
 
 I.EKOTH OF WAU.. 
 
 AKEA OF SUBFACE. 
 
 8 feet. 
 10 " 
 12 " 
 
 32 feet. 
 40 " 
 
 48 " 
 
 64 sq. feet. 
 100 
 144 
 
Useful T.vbles. 
 
 247 
 
 Twice the diameter of a circle or a square gives foiu- times the ai-ea 
 in square feet; twice the diameter of a cube gives eight times the soUd 
 contents in cubic feet; half the diameter gives one-fourth of the ai-ea, 
 or one-eighth of the cubic contents. 
 
 LEGAL BUSHELS OF VARIOUS ARTICLES IN THE FOLLOWING STATES. 
 
 48 
 
 Maine 
 
 New Hamj)shu-e 
 
 YeiTQont. 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 New York 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 Delaware 
 
 Maryland 
 
 District of Columbia. . . . 
 
 Virginia 
 
 West Virginia 
 
 North Carohna 
 
 South Carolina 
 
 Georgia 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 Ai-kansas 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Ohio../. 
 
 Michigan. 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Wisconsin. ... j48]50 
 
 ilinnesota 4842 
 
 Iowa 48 52 
 
 Missoiui 48 .52 
 
 Kansas ,50 50 
 
 Nebraska j48 52 
 
 Cahfomia J50'40 
 
 Oregon 46{42l 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 c> 
 
 
 48 
 
 ,0:0 .o a, 
 
 5052130 
 
 50 . . 30| 
 
 ..\.M% 
 
 50 52 32 
 
 . 28 
 .32 
 .130 
 .,30 
 
 ft?'Fi&^ a; 
 
 57 32 
 57 32 
 .. 32 
 . . 32 
 46 . . 30 
 50:57 33 
 48 75 35 
 ..I.. 32 
 .50 57 32 
 .50 5032 
 50 57 33 
 . . 50 32 
 54 32 
 48 32 
 32 
 32 
 32 
 ..57 33 
 .57 32 
 50 57 32 
 50 57 34 
 ....32 
 ..i..|36 
 
 60 
 56 60 
 56 60 
 60 56 60 
 6056 56 
 60 56 60 
 60.5660 
 56^5660 
 .... [60 
 60 56 60 
 56.56 60 
 60,5660 
 60 56 60 
 . , 56 60 
 (JO 56 60 
 .56 . . 60 
 . .32 60 
 00.56 60 
 6(150 60 
 
 5(;5i;(;(i 
 
 (!0|5(; (JO 
 loo! 56 60 
 J6OI5O 60 
 160156 60 
 60|56 60 
 60 56 60 
 60 56 6O1 
 60 56 60' 
 60 .56 (30 
 60 56 60 
 L . 54 60 
 |60i56i60! 
 
 60 
 
 64 
 
 60 , . 
 64 60 
 
 6260 
 
 ..64 
 ..62 
 
 42 
 
 44 
 
 62 64 45 
 
 55 62 60 45 
 
 56 60 64,45 
 60 60 60|45 
 
 . . ' . . (54! . . 
 . .|60 60:. . 
 60,45 
 
 70 
 
 85 
 
 60!60l45 50 
 6O!. .'45 .. 
 60 60 45 50 
 60 60 45 
 58 60 60 45 
 60 60! . . 
 60 601 . . 
 .. 60 . , 
 
 . . 'eo' . . 
 
 60 60 45.50 
 . . |60 60 45 50 
 55 60,60 45 50 
 .55 60 60 45,50 
 
 . . . . 60: . , 
 
 A ton of Timothy hay, in stack or mow, well pressed, measui-es 480 
 cubic feet, or 6x8x10 feet. 
 
248 
 
 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 A ton of mixed Timothy and Clover measures 520 feet. 
 A ton of mixed meadow grasses measui'es 600 feet. 
 A ton of loose straw measiires 900 feet. 
 
 STRENGTH OF ROPES. 
 
 A good rope wiU sustain a weight in j)ounds equal to the numoer 
 of the square of the circumference in inches, multiplied by 200. Thus 
 a rope 3 inches in cii'cumference, or 1 inch in thickness, will sustain 
 1,800 pounds with safety. (For instance, 3X3=9X200=1,800.) This 
 would be equal to the draft strength of 12 horses. 
 
 WEIGHT OF LEAD PIPES PER FOOT. 
 
 D1AUET2B. 
 
 SO. 1. 
 
 NO. 2. 
 
 NO. 3. 
 
 ^ inch. 
 
 * " 
 
 1 " 
 
 H " 
 
 ^* :: 
 
 2i " 
 
 1 lb. 1 oz. 
 
 1 " 8 " 
 
 2 lbs. 
 
 3 " 
 
 4 " 
 
 5 " 9 oz. 
 7 " 
 
 
 lib. 12 oz. 
 
 2 lbs. 11 " 
 
 3 " 11 " 
 
 4 " 11 " 
 
 7 " 
 
 8 " 9 " 
 
 2 lbs. 
 
 2 " Uoit.. 
 
 4 " 7 " 
 
 5 '■ 9 '• 
 8 " 5 " 
 
 10 " 
 
 One foot of 1-inch round iron rod weighs. 
 " " " square " " " 
 
 2.63 lbs. 
 3.36 " 
 
 For lesser sizes divide the weight by foui', for half the size, and for 
 larger, multiply by four-, for twice the size. 
 
 MAN AND HORSE POWER. 
 
 An average man can draw a weight of 27^ pounds over a pulley at 
 the rate of 220 feet per minute. 
 
 An average horae can draw a weight of 150 pounds over a pulley 
 for a depth of 220 feet in one minute. This is equivalent to raising 
 33,000 2)ounds one foot high in a minute, and is a standai-d horse- 
 power. 
 
 To find the horse-power of a steam engine, multiply the pressure 
 of steam per inch by the area in inches of the cyUnder; multiply 
 this product by the length of the stroke in feet, and this 
 product by the number of strokes per minute ; divide the result by 
 33,000. Thus, an engine working at 30 pounds pressiu-e per inch, 
 with a cylinder of 8| inches diameter, and 55 square inches ai"ea of 
 
Useful Tables. 
 
 249 
 
 piston, and making 100 strokes of 2 feet each per minute, is 10 
 horse-power (or 30X55X100X2=330,000 -^ 33,000=10). 
 
 QU.U^TITY AND WEIGHT OF WATER IN SIX FEET OF PIPE OF 
 
 pomros. 
 
 GALLONS 
 
 0.5 
 
 0.06 
 
 2.05 
 
 0.24 
 
 4.60 
 
 0.54 
 
 8.18 
 
 0.96 
 
 18.11 
 
 2.16 
 
 32.72 
 
 3.84 
 
 I iucli diameter. 
 
 1 • 
 li •' 
 
 2 " 
 
 3 " 
 
 4 " 
 
 (For double the diameter multiply contents 4 times.) 
 
 One ban-el of cement and two baiTels of sand will make mortar 
 sufficient for 600 to 700 bricks. 
 
 One baiTel of cement to 4 of sand and gravel will make 9 square 
 yards of concrete floor 3 inches thick. 
 
 A baiTel of lime with 10 bushels of sand will make mortar for 
 1,000 bricks. 
 
 A baiTel of lime and 10 bushels of sand will make plaster for 40 
 square yards of sui-face ; half a bushel of long hau-, or a half more 
 of short hair, will be required. 
 
 One hundred laths and 500 nails wiU cover 4^ square yards. 
 
 A hod of mortar is half a bushel. 
 
 A squai'e yard of plastering requires three-fourths of a bushel. 
 
 Twenty-three and one-half cubic feet of sand, 17^ of clay or 18 of 
 gi'avel weigh one ton. 
 
 A cubic yard of soUd gi'ound equals 1^ cubic yards when dug. 
 
 CONTENTS OF A ROUND CISTERN IN GALLONS AND NUMBER OF BRICKS 
 REQUIRED FOR EACH FOOT IN DEPTH. 
 
 8 feet diameter 
 
 81 
 
 <. 
 
 9 
 
 < 
 
 9i 
 
 < 
 
 10 
 
 <c 
 
 11 
 
 
 12 
 
 •< 
 
 13 
 
 < 
 
 U 
 
 < 
 
 15 
 
 ■ 
 
 GiLLONS. 
 
 B.1EHELS. 
 
 BRICKS. 
 
 376 
 
 m 
 
 292 
 
 424 
 
 14 
 
 308 
 
 480 
 
 15f 
 
 326 
 
 533 
 
 m 
 
 340 
 
 579 
 
 19 
 
 360 
 
 690 
 
 23 
 
 418 
 
 840 
 
 28 
 
 452 
 
 992 
 
 33 
 
 484 
 
 1,151 
 
 381 
 
 520 
 
 1,321 
 
 44 
 
 559 
 
260 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 STONE WOKK, CEMENT AND MORTAR. 
 
 One perch of stone work is 24| cubic feet, or 16J scjuare feot, 18 
 inches thick. 
 
 One squai'e foot of 8-iu<'li wall requires IG brick. 
 " 12 " " " 24 " 
 
 IG " ■' " 32 " 
 
 18 " ." " 3G " 
 
The Pests of the Fabm. 251 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE PESTS OF THE FARM. 
 
 The various pests which annoy and injure the fanner include 
 animals, insects and vegetables. In enumerating the worst of these, 
 the difficulty is in considering what may be left out, rather than what 
 should be put into the list, so gi-eat a legion of them ai-e there. In. 
 consideriag this important part of farm knowledge, however, we may 
 divide the subject into two parts, viz.: Pests Injurious to Farm 
 Animals, and Pests Injurious to Farm Crops. 
 
 It is right to include the dog among the pests of the farm, although 
 the fault is rather in the owner than in the animal itself. The dog, 
 for its sagacity and its friendly and docile disposition, deserves to be 
 weU cared for, well trained, and kept in safe subjection. It is the 
 neglected dog, of low and high degree both, which is jjermitted to run 
 at large without supervision, and which consequently falls into bad 
 company and is made vicious, that becomes the destroyer of the flock, 
 and does more to prevent the profitable keeping of sheej) en many 
 thousands of farms than any other evil to which sheep are subject; 
 so that a few words in regard to the proper management of dogs 
 will be all that may be required under this head. 
 
 Every one who keeps a dog should first choose a well bred animal; 
 second, feed it as well and as regularly as a horse or cow is fed; third, 
 house it comfortably in a roomy and clean kennel, with a yard attached, 
 for exercise ; fourth, keep it under strict discipUne, and teach it its duties ; 
 fifth, never permit it to roam at lat'ge; and, lastly, after its duties and 
 sei-vice have been performed dming the day, see that it is safely 
 secured during the night. It would be an exceedingly happj' thing 
 for farmers if they could, by their influence, procure the passage of 
 laws to enforce some such regulation as the last of these, and secure 
 the destruction of every vagi'ant animal that might be found wan- 
 dering abroad unattended and in i^m-suit of mischief. "^Mien this is 
 accomplished, sheep may be left to repose in the pasture with safety. 
 
252 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 and every fai-mer have his flock, larger or smallei, as a soiu'ce of 
 pleasure and profit 
 
 The dog is, unfortunately, from its habit of feeding upon carrion, 
 Terj' much infested with parasites, and especially with tape worms, 
 and these disagreeable and injurious parasites are spread by dogs 
 among sheep and cattle, and even among human beings, to an 
 alarming extent. Among sheep these worms cause large losses 
 every year, and thousands of these useful animals die annually from 
 the efifects of their presence in various parts of the body. This, 
 Jiowever, will be more fuUy refei-red to under its appro^jriate head 
 further on. Just here we wiU only repeat that to avoid thi-s iujuiy 
 farm dogs should be prevented from devouring dead animals, and 
 should be as regularlj- fed, upon wholesome food, as any other farm 
 animal, as this wLU entireh- prevent the otherwise ever-present risk 
 of damage by reason of these parasites. 
 
 EOT FLIES. 
 
 A cuiious genus of two-winged fly, known as CEstrus, infest horses, 
 cattle and sheeji. The Horse Bot lays its eggs upon the haii-s of the 
 fore legs, the breast and shoulders. The jjreseuce of the eggs upon 
 the hairs seems to annoy the horse, which bites at the paii, and so 
 removes the eggs fi-om the hau-s to the mouth, in which way they 
 gain entrance to the stomach. Here they hatch into lai'ge stout 
 grubs provided with strong jaws, by which they take fiiiu hold upon 
 the coat of the stomach, and hve by sucking the purulent matter pro- 
 duced by the inflammation caused. In some cases these ^^ests exist 
 in this way by huudi-eds, covering the whole wall t)f the stomach and 
 actually perforating it through and thi-ough, of coui-se causing death. 
 At other times but a few may be found, which simply cause irritation 
 and disturbance of digestion, with attacks of colic. There seems to 
 be no remedy but to protect tlie horse fi-om the flies, by pro-viding 
 the fore part with a linen covering, or by carefully scraping the eggs 
 from the hairs wdth a knife edge, or removing them by a wet sponge. 
 The fly is much like a bee, buzzes about the hoi-se's head, in its at- 
 tempts to deposit its eggs, much to the animal's annoyance. 
 
 The cattle Gad Fly is a similar insect, but operates ilifierently. It 
 has an ovipositor Avhich it thrusts into the skin of the animal at the 
 loins, and deposits an egg (about July and August) at each sting. 
 The sting is iiaiuful, as the cattle evince gi'eat terror when the fly is 
 buzzing about them. The e>^g hatches in the skin, and makes its way 
 into the flesh, where it forms a buiTow and lives upon the pus which 
 is secreted. About midwmter its presence is obsen-ed by a round 
 
BoT Flies of Horses, Cattle ,\xd Sheep. 
 
 25? 
 
 soft tvunor on the loins, and a small round hole in the skin at the 
 centre of it. In the early spring the grubs may be squeezed out of 
 their burrows, and a Httle later force themselves out, and fall to the 
 ground and burrow into it, where they form pupae, or chrj'saUdes, 
 and in time emerge as perfect flies. These pests should be removed 
 from the cattle's backs and destroyed. There is no other practicable 
 remedy. In the West the gi-azing cattle are so tormented by these, 
 flies, that the hides are seriously damaged for the tanners' use, to th& 
 
 MATUBAI. SIZE A3a> £NLABGEI>. 
 
 extent at times of fifty per cent. In this case no doubt a coating of 
 gi-ease and tar on the backs of the cattle might be a preventive, 
 if it could be aiDpHed. 
 
 The Sheep Bot differs from the other two in its manner of annoy- 
 ance. It deposits a living larva or newly hatched egg, Uke that of 
 the Flesh Blow Fly, upon the sheep's nostrils. The small gi-ub crawls 
 up the nostril into the nasal sinus and there attaches itself bj' hooks, 
 as does the Horse Bot Fly in that animal's stomach. Unless 
 numerous, these grubs seem to be little annoyance, but otherwise 
 the sheep suffer gi-eatly and exhibit great distress, j^awing the gi'ound, 
 snorting and running about in frenzy. As with the others, remedies 
 are only preventive, and consist in smearing the sheej)'s noses with a 
 mixture of tar and grease, which remains sticky, and retains the gi-ubs 
 upon its surface. A few fiuTOws plowed in the field sei-ve as a jilace 
 of secvu'ity for the sheep, who instinctively push their noses into the. 
 
254 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 soil and so cover them with ilrv, adherent dust, which cripples or kills 
 the grubs. That these pests may be recognized when seen the 
 ■accompanying engravings of them are given. 
 
 LICE, FLEAS AND OTHER PARASITES. 
 
 It is a well ascertained fact that all the parasitical vermin, both 
 ■external and internal, which infest our fmm animals, are greatly 
 encouraged by that jjoor, low condition of health which results from 
 ■want of care, i^oor shelter and esposui-e, insufficient feeding, filth, and 
 other injurious circumstances which depress the vital force and 
 -weaken the animals. It may be, and undoubtedly is, quite ti'ue, that 
 these pests spread from such unhealthfid animals, and infest and 
 annoy those who are stronger and more robust, but the starting point 
 is fai- more often such as we have said, rather than even by contact, 
 because these parasites do not find the necessai-y subsistence in the 
 liealthy sec-retious of robust animals, or are soon driven off liy im- 
 mediate precautious, while the diseased matter from the skin or 
 membranes of unhealthy animals fui'nishes i^reeisely the needed pabu- 
 lum for the gi-owth and increase of the parasites. 
 
 "Without unnecessarily describing these parasites, then, we will 
 merely mention the foUowLug as t_\-pes, vi'r., Uee, fleas, taj^e worms, 
 intestinal worms, liver flukes of sheep; lung and bronchial worms of 
 young animals, as lambs, calves, and chickens (the last are known as 
 gapes), and the dreaded scab of sheep, and mange of horses, cattle 
 and dogs. And the first remark that may be made is that these are 
 all easily preventible by strict sanitai-y precautions; thorough cleanh- 
 ness of skin, stable, pastui'e, soil, water, food and atmosphere ; and, 
 of course, by the careful avoidance of contagion. "When it is necessary 
 to apply remedies, any kind of oil and sulphur mixed and applied to 
 the skin will be found effective for external vennin, while linseed oil 
 and turpentine are efiective against all internal parasites. 
 
 Some of these pests, however, are so destructive, that some fvu-ther 
 notice of them would be useful. Sheep are especially toi-mented by 
 parasites, which spread from one animal to another uutd the whole 
 flock is infested. Mid the pastui'es even may be so infected as to be 
 wholly useless. The first of these pests to be noticed, although not 
 the worst, is the Tick. This is a reddish brown, leatheri' skinned 
 insect, about a quai-ter of an inch in length. It adheres to the skin 
 by its sharp claws and lives by sucking the blood. Sheep are some • 
 times, and lambs fi-equently, destroyed by these insects when they 
 are numerous, and when but few in number, they gi'eatly annoy and 
 impoverish the animals by the pain of theii* punctures and the loss of 
 
Pests of the Sheep — Ticks, Scab. 
 
 255 
 
 blood. When slieej) are shorn the Ticks leave them and go onto the 
 lambs, ■which then suffer very much. At this time they may he 
 destroyed with ease by dipping the lambs in a solution to be hereafter 
 described. This remedy should not be neglected, as no flock -will 
 thrive when infested with Ticks. The insect ^jroduces a living pupa 
 (see engravings), which is roimdish and red in color, and nearly half 
 as large as the Tick. The louse is also a gi-eat pest to sheei>, and is 
 destroyed by the dijjijing. 
 
 The worst pest of tbe sheep, however, is the minute Scab Mite, 
 invisible except when di-opped onto white paper, when it appears as 
 fine dust which moves. When a lock of wool from a scabby sheep is 
 laid upon a sheet of white paper this moving dust is seen, and this is 
 one test of the presence of the disease in its eaiiy stages. After a 
 time, when the mites have burrowed in the skin, and the scabs have 
 
 Upper Side. 
 
 SHBEF SCAB ] 
 
 formed, the sheei? exhibits a sony aspect. The wool is ragged and 
 loose, and in places is torn off by the i-ubbing of the sheep against 
 fences, buildings or trees, or even ujoon the ground, when nothing else 
 offers, and the body is covered in places with rough scabs or inflamed 
 patches, with a multitude of smaU, watery blisters. These blisters 
 break and exude a yellowish matter, which mats the wool and forms 
 hard crusts, and these rapidly spread, untO, hj neglect, the sheep 
 perishes in the gTeatest misery. It is this insect which, gathered in 
 the wool, to which some of the scabs and crust adheres, attacks 
 the hands of the wool sorters, and produces the disease kno'WTi as the 
 wool sorters' itch. It is akin to the Itch llite, which produces the 
 disease known as the itch, which so much troubles persons whose 
 habits are the reverse of cleanly. The engravings show the character 
 of this pest, but experience alone can give a reahzing knowledge of 
 its injuriousness. Sheep have died by thousands, and whole flocks 
 have been lost from its ravages, when its first appearance has been 
 neglected. One diseased sheep is sufficient to cany the disease into 
 a flock, and so rapidly does it spread that in a few weeks thousands 
 
256 
 
 How THE Fa KM Pays. 
 
 of sheep will be stricken with it. Even the land is infested, and at 
 least two j'ears are required before the soO, the fences and the 
 buildings can be safely used for another flock. 
 
 The remedy for this pest is to dip the sheep in a strong decoction 
 of tobacco and sulphur. Four ounces of coai'se tobacco and one of 
 sulphur are steeped in each gallon of boihng water — but are not boiled — 
 with constant stin-ing. When the temperature is reduced to 120 
 
 degi-ees each sheep is plunged into the liquid and held in it all except 
 the head for about one minute, while the scabs ai'e broken up by the 
 hand or a rough cloth or hemp rubber. The sheep is then removed 
 onto a draining floor from which the drip runs back into the dijiping 
 vat A boiler near by is used to keep a supply of the liquid hot, to 
 replenish and maintain the lieat of the dipjiiug vat. 
 
Dipping Sheep to Cure Scab. 257 
 
 The above plan represents the arrangements in use among large 
 flocks for doing this necessaiy work. As it is done every year, and 
 twice in succession, at an interval of foui-teen days, which is necessary 
 to destroy the newly hatched vermin fi'om eggs which have escaped 
 the first dipping, the yards and vats should be permanent structures 
 on every sheep farm. First there is the receiving yard, to which a 
 fenced lane is made so that the sheep can be easily driven into it. 
 From this yaixl a few sheep at a time are driven into the smaller yards 
 A, B, C, D, at the end of which is a sloping stage. At the foot of the 
 stage ai'e two decoy pens made of wii'e netting, in each of which are 
 two sheep. The sheep seeing these decoys run to them and onto 
 the slojiing stage, from which they shj) into the dipping vat. This is 
 twenty' feet long for a large flock, or smaller for a less number, and is 
 kept filled up to a certain jjoint so that the sheep is entii'ely covered 
 as it passes thi-ough it, the head being held up to keep the liquid 
 fi'om being swallowed. At the end of the vat there is a barred slopiing 
 floor, uj) which the sheep walk to the draining yards before mentioned, 
 from which after a time they are let out. The dipping vat is supplied 
 by two boilers and water reservoirs to regulate the heat and the 
 strength of the hquid; one boiler is kept for water, and the other for 
 steeping the tobacco and sulphur. Some extensive sheep farmers make 
 a practice of dij)pingthe sheep twice a year, once in the fall and again 
 after shearing, the dipping being supj^osed to improve the growth 
 and quality of the wool. No doubt it has this effect because of the 
 comfort enjoyed by the sheep from the removal of troublesome 
 
 Lice and fleas are frequently a great jjest to young cattle and even 
 horses. The origin of these is no doubt in a great measure due to 
 vermm; rats and mice always swarm with them; swallows often stock 
 a bam with them ; while poultry that are neglected are rarely free 
 from them. Dogs and cats carry fleas which they gather from their 
 prey, and unless carefully freed by washing or by the use of insect 
 powder, will soon stock a house with them. No fowls should be per- 
 mitted about stables, for it has been known that horses have been so 
 infested with vermin from them as to slowly die from the torment 
 inflicted in this manner, which the owners have never suspected, but 
 have attributed to other causes. 
 
 INTERNAL PAEASITES— BLADDER WORMS OF SHEEP. 
 
 Our fann animals are exceedingly pestered with internal parasites, 
 and many thousands are lost every year by diseases of which the true 
 causes are unsuspected. Sheep, pigs, calves and lambs suft'er chiefly. 
 
258 
 
 How THt Fakm 1'avs. 
 
 being from tlieii- natural weakness unable to strive successfully against 
 the exhaustive effects of these parasitts, . which live upon the vital 
 liuids of the animals, besides producing intolerable and fatal iiTitation 
 iu the organs in which thej' find their abode. The most important of 
 these injurious parasites are tapewonus, and these are more especially 
 worthy of notic-e because they not unfrequently find a lodgment in 
 the human body and produce distressing inconvenience and tliscase. 
 Sheep sutler most from these parasites, one of which finds its resting 
 Ijlace in the brain, and produces the very common disease known as 
 " gid " or " tumside, " so called because the animal appears giddy, or 
 turns around continually towards one side in a circle, until it diojjs 
 and dies in convulsions. This pest is known as the Brain Bladder 
 
 SHKnp BIUIN ULADDElt WOIIM. 
 
 "WoiTu, from its appeiu-ance as watery bladders in the brain of the 
 sheep. The wonu gains its entrance into the sheep's brain in the 
 foOowing curious manner. The mature worm inhabits the intestines 
 of the dog, and its eggs are discharged in the dung which is dropped 
 in the fields near fences, stones or ti'ces or on tufta of grass, as is the 
 habit of the dog. The sheejj loves to nibble such tufts of grass, and 
 in swallowing the herbage also swallows with it the eggs. These are 
 very small, and when in the stomach are absorbed into the lacteal 
 vessels and caiTied into the veins, and those which reach the brain 
 remain there, forming around themselves thin envelopes like bladders, 
 which become filled with watery fluid absorbed from the blood. In 
 the engraving is shown the brain of a sheep having one of these 
 bladders in it. The bladder contains a great many small sacs, one of 
 which is also sho^vn sepsu-ately, each containing an embryo tape worm. 
 "When these bladders are numerous in the brain, they jiroduce such 
 distm-bance of that organ as to cause the peculiiu- effects above described 
 and the slow death of the animal. The disease is most prevalent in 
 the winter, and the past season (1884) has been especially disastrous 
 
Tape "W'oRits of Sheep and Pigs. 259 
 
 to sheep owners from this cause, which has seriously reduced the profits 
 from their flocks. The sheep dj'ing of this disease ai-e cast out to be 
 devoui-ed by dogs, which swallow the embryo wonus and so become 
 infested. It is said that twenty-five per cent, of the dogs are eaiTying 
 these worms, and if this be a fact, along with the other fact, that thousands 
 of sheep are yearly destroyed by the ravages of dogs, it is easUy seen 
 how this jjest is so abundantly sjDread over our fields and through our 
 flocks, while the effective remedy is obvious. 
 
 Other sj)ecies of tape worms inhabit the lungs and other organs of 
 sheep, cattle and pigs, being found in the lungs, hver, spleen, bowels, 
 kidneys, brain and various other parts. Thus it is seen how easily, 
 through iusufiicient cooking of the meat, these j)arasites may be carried 
 into the human system, and how dangerous it is to eat uncooked flesh 
 of any kind. It is declared by competent authorities that one-sixth 
 of the moi-tahty in the East Indies and in Iceland is caused by these 
 tape worms taken into the stomach ia raw or partly cooked meat. 
 Also it must be obvious to inteUigent farmers that every possible 
 precaution should be taken to jjrevent the sjuead of these dangerous 
 parasites. 
 
 THE SWINE BLADDER WORM (THE MEASLE). 
 
 A tape worm which infests swine to a dangerous and disastrous 
 extent is here shown. It is a small worm, and is especially- noticeable 
 because this passes between mankind and the jDig, and in man pro- 
 duces fatal disorder of the brain in many cases. The engi-avings 
 
 show the form of the head of the mature worm, and also the small 
 bladder in which the young worm is contained, and which is found 
 in the flesh of the infested p)igs. The nature of this worm indicates 
 the proper means of avoiding it. As it infests mankind, it is 
 dangerous to use night soil as a fertilizer for grass or any vegetable 
 that is eaten in a raw state, as lettuce or radishes, or to permit pigs 
 to have access to any place where they can devour' filth in which the 
 eggs may exist. And to prevent its sj)read from the swine, it is 
 necessary to be cai-eful that pork in any form is thoroughly well 
 cooked. The well known disease in pigs called " measles" is produced 
 
260 
 
 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 bv this parasite, auil measly pork is therefore exceedingly dangerous 
 food. 
 
 THE FLUKE OF SHEEP. 
 
 The most disastrous disease among sheep is known as the liver rot. 
 Thousands of sheep perish every year from this disease in this 
 country, and millions have died in a year in England, where the 
 almost constant moistui-e tends to encourage the pest gi-eatly. 
 
 The pest is a species of worm (see engi-avings) which exists in the 
 sheep, embedded in the hver, or fi-ee in the gtxll bladder and gall 
 ducts. It is also found in other parts of the body, but it is most mis- 
 chievous in the liver, because there it interferes with the distribution 
 
 ^/1^'^:^1^^^^^^^ 
 
 .SH£KF WITH UVEB 
 
 of the bile, and so causes bUious disorder and fever, of which the ani- 
 mals die. The worm produces a large quantity of eggs, which are 
 carried -n-ith the bile into the bowels , and -ejected fi-om these in the 
 dimg onto the grass, or into the manui'e heap, and from thence into 
 grass fields. From thence some of the eggs find their way into low 
 places, jjouds or streams, and are taken into the sheep's stomach with 
 the grass to which they adhere, or to wliich the young, newly hatched 
 flxikes cling, or are swallowed in the water drank from such places; or, 
 the young flukes find their way into the bodies of snails, and these 
 being swallowed with the water, the sheep thus become infested and 
 diseased. The effect of the disease is to cause the eyes to appear 
 yellow and dull, a watery swelling forms under the jaws, the fat and 
 skin become of a yellow color, as that of a person suffering from 
 jaiuidice. In time the sheep jDresents a ■WTetched appe.u'auce, as is 
 shown in the engi-aving; the back is bowed upwiu'ds, and the back- 
 bone appears like a shai-p edge; tlie wool hangs in tattei-s, and the 
 sheep, worn out with exhaustive diiuTha?a, soon perishes. The mere 
 avoidance of low pastiu'es for the sheep, and the use of well water for 
 drink, will entii-ely prevent the loss of sheep from this pest. 
 
Intestinal Worms. 261 
 
 LUNG AND BRONCHIAL WORMS. 
 
 Many an owner of lambs iinds them slowly pining away from some 
 mysterious disease for which he cannot account. The skin becomes pale, 
 as if the blood had disai)2:)eared; the young creatiu-es waste and pine 
 away and gradually die; and this peculiai- slow death has given the 
 common name of " pining " to this disease, which is exceedingly 
 prevalent in districts where sheep are kept numerously. 
 
 The cause of it is the presence in the aii- jjassages of the lungs and 
 the ^\•indpipe of countless small white worms, like fragments of 
 thi'ead, which, by theii' ii-ritation, cause these au' passages to be filled 
 with froth and mucus, interfering with the supply of air to the luugs 
 and gradually impoverishing the blood. Not only lambs, but young 
 calves, jjigs and chickens ai'e also infested with similar worms, which 
 jjroduce the same effect, in every case, however, resulting in death, 
 unless some remedy is found. Remedies, however, must be sought 
 from competent sources, and beyond suggesting that sulphiu' or tur- 
 lieutine, both of which are readily absorbed into the blood and spread 
 through the whole system, ai'e generally used with good effect as a 
 remedy, we confine ourselves here to what we know as regards pre- 
 vention of the trouble from this pest. It is well kno-wu that when lambs 
 and calves are j)astured on fields where old sheep or jjoultry have 
 run, they are siu-e to be affected, and that chickens that are kept 
 among old fowls, or on gi-ound that has been fouled by the old 
 bii-ds, invariably have this disease, which is known in their case as 
 "gapes." The way of prevention, then, is obvious: never let young 
 animals run for pastiu-e where older ones have been kept, for the 
 simple reason that the droppings of these animals contain the eggs of 
 the worms which exist in their intestines, and which mature and die 
 and are discharged, with the innumerable eggs contained in their 
 bodies. These older animals, being more robust, are not annoyed 
 "with the woiTus, although in some cases these may produce diseases 
 of which the cause is not suspected. 
 
 INTESTINAL WORMS. 
 
 Fai-m animals suffer exceedingly from intestinal pai-asites, which 
 are so numerous as to almost defy description. There is not an 
 organ of imj)ortance in the body which is not more or less infested 
 ■nith them. The liver, the kidney, the bowels, the kidney fat, the 
 heaii, ai-e all subject to attacks by these pests; while one particulai- 
 worm known as Trichina Spiralis (see engraving) is so common among 
 
2G2 
 
 How Tin: Fakm Pays. 
 
 pipfs, as to have led to disputes aud ill feeliug between cm- own and 
 foreign Governments, which have refused oiu- jiork because of this 
 dangerous pest. Tlie los.ses to agriculture on this account alone lu-e 
 no doubt enormous, and may be still gi-eater, and thus seriously affect 
 the question of "How the Fiunn Pays." The engi-avings here given 
 show this worm as it appeal's when niatui'e and filled with eggs, liut 
 greatly enlai-ged. In its natural state it is barely ^•isible to the naked 
 eye and can be seen ^^■ith difficulty as an oval shaped capsule, as large 
 as a small pin's head, embedded in the muscular tissue. In this con- 
 dition it is dormant and has no fmiher effect than to cause stiffness of 
 the limbs at times, and it thus exists until the flesh in which it is 
 encvstod is oaten and digested, when the worms ai'e set free and begin 
 
 TRICHINA f^I'IKALIS. 
 
 THE SAMB ENCVb' 
 
 theii- work of destiaiction. It infests rats, mice, and several other 
 caiiiou or oftal eating animals; but the pig, from its omnivorous habits, 
 is specially infested by it. Pigs become infested by devoiuing rats, 
 the ofl'al of the pork 23acking estabUshments, and tlie dung of other 
 swine. Some may die from the effects of the j)ai'asites, which, as they 
 2)eneti-atc the bowels aud jjass into the musculai' tissue, cause fever and 
 intense jiain in the Hmbs, with profuse diaiThiea. After a short time, 
 if the animiil does not die, the creatures fonu theii- cysts, in which they 
 curl themselves up and begin their curious aud lengthened sleep. 
 As with other jiests of this njiture, prevention is the safest course, and 
 cleanliness of feeding and lodging, with the destniction of vennin, 
 will be sutHcieut to avoid it. 
 
 The j)ig is the prey of numerous other intestinal parasites, one of 
 which inhabits the kidney and the fat ai'ound it. This is a small 
 wonn an inch or more in length and causes that very common disease 
 in pigs which produces paralysis of the hind quarters. The numerous 
 w(n-ms which are found in the bowels greatly affect the health of 
 animals, but would be fiu' less trouble if more care were taken to avoid 
 impoverishment of the condition by injudicious feeding, over feeding 
 being quite as objectionable in this re^i^ect as insufficient food. As a 
 
The Colokabo Beetle, or Potato Bug. 263 
 
 rule, parasites, outward and internal, trouble those animals whose 
 poor condition causes those unhealthy secretions and products which 
 it seems a purpose of nature that these parasites should exist to remove 
 and destroy; and this apphes to aU other farm animals as well as to 
 pigs. 
 
 THE PESTS OF THE CROPS. 
 
 The damage and loss occasioned by insects which prey upon the 
 farmer "s crops are beyond calculation. The Colorado Beetle alone 
 must have cost the fanners a hundred million dollars in the dozen 
 yeai's or so since it first left its original home and came to stay with 
 us. The Chinch Bug has frequently cost the Western fanners fifty 
 million doUai's in a single year in damage to the com and wheat, and 
 the Hessian Fly has occasionally cost an equal sum in one year, but 
 is, fortunately, not so destructive as the bug. On every hand the 
 farmer is harassed by an innumerable anny, whose ravages he can- 
 not resist, because of its numbers. But while one alone is powerless 
 to resist, yet, by learning a lesson from his enemies and combining 
 his forces and acting in unison, the fanner may do a good deal to 
 save his crops from destruction. 
 
 THE COLORADO BEETLE, COMMONLY CALLED "POTATO BUG." 
 
 This insect is just now creating so much alarm in Eiu'ope that the 
 governments ai'e using every eflbrt to instruct the people, old and 
 young, in regard to its apj)earance and habits, so that its first acci- 
 dental an-ival may not pass unnoticed, and it may not escajje imme- 
 diate destniction. Generallj' the course of emigration of insect pests 
 has been the other way, and we have received oiu' worst insects from 
 Eiu'ope; the course of conquest, however, in this case, seems to be 
 reversed. This beetle is not easily mistaken. It is sluggish and slow 
 in its movements, is roundish in fomi, about half an inch in length, 
 and is marked very conspicuously with ten yellow and black lines 
 lengthwise of its wing covers. The under or true wings are reddish, 
 and are quite noticeable when the insect is flpng. The female beetle 
 is larger than the male, and produces about 1,200 eggs. The insect 
 23asses the winter in a mature but dormant state, in the ground, and 
 emerges about the middle of May or 1st of June, at the season of 
 potato planting. As soon as the first leaves of the young plants ai-e 
 above gi-ound, the beetles are ready and waiting to attack them, 
 and, unless prevented, ^viIl eat the young growth down to the ground 
 
•2(i-l How THK Fakm Pays. 
 
 and wholly destroy it. It is theu that the lieetle ciiu be attacked most 
 effectively. A lijrht sprinkling of a niixtm-e of fine flour, or gi-oimd 
 g^-psum, or fine, dry lime, w-itli one-thousandth piu-t by measure of 
 Palis Green upon the young leaves, will desti-oy every beetle. Every 
 female beetle — and these ai-e fai-more numerous than the males — that is 
 desti-oyed, of coui-se prevents the hu-ing of more than 1,000 eggs, and 
 as these eggs will hatch and produce a second lirood, and this a third, 
 it follows that one female less in the spiing is equiviilent to many 
 miUious less in the late summer, and, of coui-se, the next year-. This 
 fact illusti-ates the absolute necessity that fiuTiiers should neglect no 
 opportunity of destroying these jiests at any time and opportimity, 
 either by hand picking the beetles early in Ihe season, when they may 
 be few, and usuig the Piu-is Green mixture (a mixture in water is 
 equall}' effective and safer in use) upon every jiossible occasion. Tliis 
 insect attacks potatoes, egg j)hints and tomatoes, all species of the 
 Solanum family, to which its natui-al food jjlant, the Hoi-se Nettle, 
 belongs. 
 
 THE CHINCH BUG. 
 
 This insect is not more than one-tenth of an inch in length, has 
 the usual disagi'eeable odor of its family, and, like other bugs, lives by 
 suction. It attacks wheat, corn, oats and other small gi-aius, as well 
 as timothy grass, and in some cases destroys meadows and leaves the 
 gi'oundbai-e. It is black, with white fore 'NN'ings, and when in a mass 
 upon a plant appears like gi'ay dust. It usually ajjpears on the wheat 
 in June, and later on the com; at times it also attacks, tlu'ough the 
 summer, all kinds of gai'den vegetables. It exists from Maine to beyond 
 the Missoui-i River, but is most destructive in the central Mississippi 
 Talley. Recently it has done much damage in the meadows of northern 
 New York. It is subject to a parasitic disease, wliich prevails mostly 
 in cold, wet seasons, when the insects are weakened, and at such times 
 almost wholly disappeai's, but it increases very rapidly, and soon again 
 becomes desti-uctive, when the season is favorable to it. There is but 
 one remedy, and this is to biu-n off all the stubble from the fields in 
 the fidl, or to j^low it inider deeply, and leave no harboring places 
 in which the pest may sim'ive the winter. 
 
 THE HE.SSI.\N FLY. 
 
 This insect has at times wholly prevented the culture of wheat, in 
 locahties where this grain is a leading crop. It is a small fly which 
 appears late in August and early in September, and lays its eggs in 
 
Pests of the Cabbage and Tdrsip. 265 
 
 the eai'ly sown, young wheat, low down in the sheath, among the leaves- 
 The eggs soon hatch and produce small maggots, which suck the sap 
 from the tender j)lants, and soon cause them to fade and turn yellow. 
 In favorable seasons the stooling of the wheat helj^s to overcome the 
 damage and save the crop, but too often the plants are so weakened 
 that they cannot resist the rigors of the winter, and in the sj)ring 
 nothing appears but the sere and yellow remains of what was a 
 promising crop. If the crop suiwives and recovers in the spring, a 
 second brood appears in the early summer, and attacks the stems at 
 the iijiper leaves, and causes them to break down and wither, and so 
 ruins the crop. Burning the stubble and clean cultiu'e of the fields, 
 seem to be the only means of prevention, while the late sowing of the 
 grain, so as to put off the ajipearance of the braird until after the 
 flies have deposited their eggs elsewhere, and the Uberal manuring 
 and fertilizing of the soil to strengthen the plants, are generally 
 effective in avoiding the pest. 
 
 THE CABBAGE BUTTERFLY. 
 
 This pest is exceedingly destructive to the cabbage crop, and some- 
 times by its numbers and voracitj' entireh' ruins it. The damage is 
 done in its lai-va stage, when the insect is a hght green, soft cater- 
 jjiUar. The parent is a white winged butterfly having one or two 
 small black dots upon each wing, and has onlj^ been known upon 
 this side of the Atlantic for a few years, since when it has spread all 
 over the Eastern and central portions of the country. The best pre- 
 ventive is to captui-e the butterflies with hand nets, which is easily 
 done as they hover over the cabbages seeking jjlaces to deposit their 
 eggs, or as they ahght upon other plants to sip moisture. Poison 
 canaot be used for obvious reasons, but a strong decoction of red 
 peppers, or a solution of saltpetre sjirinkled over the plants, will kill 
 the catei-pillars. WTiere the plantation is not large, hand picking can 
 be used, and to reach the insects a long, slender pair of scissors will 
 do the work much more rapidly than the fingers. 
 
 THE TUR^^P BEETLE (JUMPING JACK). 
 
 This insignificant little pest sometimes gives gi'eat annoyance to 
 the root gi-ower, wholly destroying the crop, when in its seed leaves. 
 It is a veiy small steel blue or black beetle, which sjnings veiy actively 
 when it is distui-bed. An effective remedy against it is to sprinkle 
 the rows of young plants as soon as they break through the gi'oimd 
 
266 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 with fine dry air-slaked lime, fine soot or wood ashes, or to dust the 
 rows with tlie stronjj smeUiuf,' supei-i)hosphate of lime that is luade 
 with " sludge acid " or the refuse acid from peti'oleum refineries. 
 
 THE PEA AND BEAN WEEVIL.S. 
 
 The former of these beetles has been long with us; the latter is a 
 new arrival, but is fast becoming veiy destnictive, especially to Lima 
 beans. Some of these beans have as many as eight beetles in them, 
 while tlu'ee or four is a common uvmiber. The pea weevil is too well 
 known to need any remai-k. The only safeguai-d is to avoid sowing 
 the insects -tt-ith the seed. Only piu-e, free seed should be sown. If 
 this could be done by general consent and deteimination these jiests 
 would soon disappeai'. 
 
 THE CORN SILK WORM. 
 
 i\Iai'ket fiuiners who make a special crojj of sweet com have been 
 iiuich pestered of late years with a caterpUlai', or rather two of them, 
 which begin to devour the silk of the eai-s, and, foUo\^'ing it into the 
 husk, consume the soft grain just as it becomes ready for uiai'ket, in 
 its- gi-een state. One or two inches of the tips of the ears is thus 
 damaged, so as to render the eai-s tinsalable. The remedy is not 
 appai-ent. All that we can do here is to csill attention to it, so that 
 our readers may devise some methods to prevent the diimage. Dust- 
 ing the sUk with fine air-slaked lime has been found to kee]i off the 
 insects, and jiroljably desti'oys the eggs as soon as laid, or drives away 
 the i)areut moths. 
 
 THE TOBACCO AND TOMATO WORM. 
 
 Tliis worm is a troublesome pest to the tobacco gi-ower, and also 
 preys upon tomato plants. It is a long, stout, green wonu, having 
 yellow angulai- bands on each side. Another species has white bauds 
 edged with blue. The parents . ai-e large moths of tlie vsuieties 
 known as sphinx or hawk moths, and have long tongues, usujUly 
 cm-led up in the manner of a watch spring, ^\•ith which they penetrate 
 to the bottom of the calyx of the flowers, upon whose nectar they feed. 
 These moths feed upon the common "Jimson" weed {Datura stra- 
 monium), and tobacco growers have rid their fields of the ^lests by 
 putting a few drojjs of solution of cobalt in the blossoms of this weed, 
 grow-u for the purpose among the crop. As it is not always easy to 
 
The Army "Worji. 
 
 267 
 
 get the seed of this plant, and as there has been some inquiry for it, 
 we might suggest that any vai'iety of the cultivated species of Datura, 
 especially those having white flowers, might be sown among the crop 
 and used as a traj) for these moths. In the lai-ge tobacco fields of 
 California flocks of turkeys ai-e driven into the fields to devour- these 
 worms, for which these bii-ds have a specially vigorous appetite. 
 
 THE ARMY WORJI. 
 
 At times, the Ai'my Worm commits enormous ravages upon wheat 
 and grass. It appears suddenly in ovei-whelming numbers, and 
 marching sti-aight on, devours all before it, and leaves a ban-en waste 
 behind it. Combined effoi-ts alone, of the fai-mers, can avail to stop 
 it, and these must be swift and thorough. Land rollers; loaded bi-ush 
 
 MOTH OF AHMY WOEM. 
 
 haiTows; furrows plowed across the track of the worms ahead of them, 
 and kept clear of the worms by cU'awing a log up and down so as to 
 ci-ush them as they gather in the ditch — all these have been used with 
 success, when every farmer in the threatened locahty has helj^ed in 
 the work. One man alone is powerless to stop the march of the count- 
 less horde. This worm is the larva of a small brown moth, but whence it 
 comes in such numbers, or where it goes after having dejjosited its eggs 
 to produce the myriads of worms which ai-e its progeny, no obsener has 
 yet been able to discover. The general color of the full grown worm 
 is dingy black, with a broad dusky stripe on the back, then a narrow 
 black line; then a naiTow white line; then a yellowish stripe; 
 than a naiTow indistinct white line; then a dusky stripe; then 
 a narrow white line; then a yeUowish strijje; then an indistinct white 
 
268 
 
 How THE Fakm Pays. 
 
 Hue. The belly is gi-eenisli. The eugraviug gives a veiT good repre- 
 sentation of the wonii, which, however, makes itself known bv its 
 numbers and its voracity in such an unmistakable manner, when 
 it overwhelms the wheat and grass fields -n-ith its unwelcome and 
 desti-uctive presence, that the farmer needs no pictorial help to 
 recognize his enemy. The chrysalis (see engraving) is a shiny brown 
 color, of the size here given, and may be recognized by ha^-ing two stiff 
 thorns, with two fine cui-led hooks upon each of them ; and when these 
 are found in the soil, the appearance of the worms may be looked for. 
 
 THE FALL AKMY WORM. 
 
 Another Ai-my "Worm, which resembles the true Ai'my Woitq so 
 much as to be taken for it even by scientific men at times, appears in 
 the fall, and, when numerous, is a true pest. It does not confine 
 
 AEMY WUIOl. 
 
 MOTH UF FAIX AB.MT WORM. 
 
 itself, as the Army Worm does, to grass and grain, but devours in 
 addition purslane, turnips, garden vegetables and even evergreen 
 trees. It differs, however, in having hairs along the back in small 
 tufts, while the time Anuy "Worm is smooth, without any appearance 
 of haii's. Its destructive chai-acter, however, makes it worthy of 
 notice among the jiests of the fanu. 
 
 THE CrCtJMBER AND SQUASH BEETLE. 
 
 The small striped beetle, which is found harboring aViout cucumber 
 and melon vines, is an insidious and injmious foe to the gi'ower of 
 these crops. Few suspect how much mischief this little lui-king pest 
 accomplishes. But this beetle is the cause of the mysterious wilting 
 of the vines, " going down. " the gi'owei-s call it, wliich occurs wthout 
 warning, and for which no remedy has previously been foimd. But 
 if search is made about the roots of the plants a small, slender white 
 worm, or more of them, will be found gnawing into them; and as 
 they destroy one root, fii-st one jjlant "goes down," the leaves droop 
 
Squash BoREr. — Onion Maggot. 269 
 
 and then wilt and finallj' die, and then another and another goes 
 down, until the whole hill is destroyed. This small worm is the 
 lan-a of the striped beetle. The j)ast season we have found a remedy 
 which is effective, both to entirelj^ jsrevent the damage, or to arrest 
 its course when it is begun. It is to make a mixture of one gill of 
 kerosene oil with a solution of one pound of common jellow soap in 
 one gallon of hot water; the whole is shaken into an emulsion, and 
 a small quantity of it is i:)ouied about the roots in each hill. 
 
 THE SQUASH BORER. 
 
 When the leaves of a squash plant are seen to wilt, the cause may 
 be found by searching along the vines, when a scar may be perceived 
 near a joint If the stem is slit with a small knife above the scar, a 
 white grab, or two or three, may be discovered in the hollow stem. 
 These ai'e the Squash Borers, and are the laxvse of a j'ellowish moth, 
 which is akin to the dahlia stalk borer. It does not injure the vine 
 to thus slit it and remove the grubs, and if the joints of the vine are 
 covered with soil, and the kerosene emulsion sprayed over the stems, 
 these wiU sei-ve as a preventive of the injury. The vines wiU root at 
 the joints, and the main stem may be then wholly destroyed without 
 stopping the growth of the plant. 
 
 THE ONION MAGGOT. 
 
 This pest, which greatly annoys onion gi-owers, is the larva of a 
 small fly related to the radish liy. The lai'va is a small white grub, 
 which eats its way into the bulb and destroys it. The fly appears 
 late in June, and to prevent damage by it the onion grower may 
 dust the rows with fine lime or soot, or the strong smeUing sujier- 
 phosphate of lime previously mentioned. This fly is closely related 
 to the parent of the Cabbage Root Maggot, wliich causes club-root in 
 this plant. Similar precautious may be also taken for this pest. 
 Lai-ge applications of lime or gj-jasum to the soil have been found 
 useful to repel the attacks of all the different sijecies of these root 
 flies. Continuous growing of onions, cabbage or turnips on the same 
 ground encourages the attacks of these pests. 
 
 CUT WORMS. 
 
 Perhaps there is no other pest that is so irritating to the fai-mer as 
 the worm which comes in the night and cuts down his young corn, 
 cabbage and peas, and cuts off the fruit stalks of the strawberries 
 
270 How THE Farm Pats. 
 
 Avhen they ai-e loaded •with the uewly set fruit. No remedy seems to 
 be completely eftective against tbem. We have found the best remedy 
 to dig the worms out of the soft soil aroirud the plants, where they 
 harbor in the day-time. All surface applications ai-e unavailing. 
 For large fields it seems to be the best way to jilaut thickly, so that 
 enough maj- be left after the cut wonn has been satisfied. There is 
 a common beUef that when the hot weather of July comes, the cut 
 worms burst with the heat and die. This should be seen at first 
 sight to be a mistake, for Natui'e never works in such a useless 
 manner as that. Tliese worms are the larvse of various species of 
 moths, and about July they change into the pupa or chrysalis stage, 
 and become dormant for a time until they emerge as full gro'mi moths. 
 
 WHITE GRUBS. 
 
 These insects, which are the lai-^'Ee of the May Beetle or June Bug, 
 a large brown insect, which comes into houses in the evenings of 
 eai-ly summer, do great mischief to crops. They devour the roots of 
 gi'ass during mild weather in the winter, and in fall and sjjring; they 
 also eat the roots of strawberries, corn, cabbage and other vegetables, 
 when they ai-e half grown, and stop the gi-owth. They are particularly 
 destructive to potatoes at times, and scoop out the flesh, making 
 lai-ge cavities in the tubers, or even leaving mere useless shells. The 
 beetles devour- the leaves of the gi-ape vine and the Yu-ginia Creeper. 
 Another beetle, similar in shape and size, but having black spots on 
 the wing covers, is equally destructive iu its larva and matui-e stage, 
 as the May beetle, and in the same ways. Late fall plowing exposes 
 these ginibs to theii- enemies — crows and skunks chiefly — which 
 devour them iu lai'ge quantities. Clean culture and thorough culti- 
 vation of the soil tend very much to keep these pests in subjection. 
 
 WIRE WORMS. 
 
 A hard, wiry, brown worm, which is not an insect, but belongs to 
 the family of myiiapods, or " thousand legs, " and commonly called 
 wire worm, i^a great pest, especially to the potato gi'ower. Although 
 there may be some doubt still remaining, yet there is abundant reason 
 for believing that the scabby appeai'auce of potatoes which makes 
 them unsidable is due to the attacks of this worm, which gnaws the 
 skin and causes the rough scab.s. This worm is exceedingly injurious 
 to wheat and grass, and also to strawbenies. eating the roots and the 
 fniits which rest upon the groimd. So fai- as potatoes ai-e concerned. 
 
Tree Borers. 271 
 
 it appears that the use of the chemical fertilizers avoids the damage, 
 while of all the common manui-es, cow mamire encourages the jiest 
 the most "While there is such an easy remedy for the jjotato crop, 
 which is the most injiu-ed bj' it, it is quite unnecessary to suggest any 
 other. 
 
 A great variety of insects — flies, moths and beetles chiefly — in their 
 lai-va condition, subsist upon the wood, bark or pith of trees, shrubs 
 ajid herbaceous plants. The apple, quince, peach, plum, cherry, cur- 
 rant, rasjjberry, blackberry, squash and dahlia are the most infested 
 with these pests. The remedies for the tree borers are to di-ess the 
 lower part of the stem with some repellent ^preparation, as a mixture 
 of cow dung, claj' and strong smelling supei^phosphate of hme, made 
 into a thin paste and plastered on the bark near the ground, beginning 
 in June and continuing until late in the summer. Either the parent 
 insects avoid the trees so jjrotected, or the young larvae cannot or 
 will not j)enetrate the coating, and so perish. Another remedy is 
 to dig out the grubs that have made an entrance with knife and small 
 chisel, or to follow them up with a flexible wii'e in their burrows and 
 kiU them. The smaller shrubs are saved by pruning oS the branches 
 into which the borers have penetrated, while soft stemmed jalants 
 may be sjsht, as described under the head of Squash Borers, and the 
 grubs taken out and destroyed. 
 
 LEAF SLUGS. 
 
 Pears, plums and quinces are much troubled by a small, dark, soft 
 bodied slug, which devoius the soft substance of the leaves and 
 reduces them to a skeleton. This checks the growth of the tree by 
 destroying its breathing organs. There is a very simple remedy, viz., 
 to dust the leaves with fine, dry, air-slaked hme, which at once 
 destroys, by its strong alkaline and acrid jjroperty, these moist, soft 
 creatures. 
 
 THE APPLE WORM. 
 
 The gi-eatest pest of the apple tree is the Codling Moth or Apple 
 Worm. This is a grayish moth, which lays its eggs upon the blossom 
 end of the fruit when it is set, and later, up to the time when it is 
 half gTown. The larva eats its waj' into the heart of the ajjple, around 
 and into the core, when the fruit falls, and the insect leaves it, and 
 
'272 How THE Fak.m Pays. 
 
 goes into the ground to mature. It is the .second brood which attacks 
 the half ripened fruit and remains in it during the winter. There are 
 several remedies: one is to gather tlie fjdlen fi-uit and burn it, or feed 
 it tj pigs; or to turn pigs or sheep into the orchard to consume the 
 fiiUen fi'uit before the gi'ubs leave it; and another is to spray the trees 
 when the blossoms have f;Ulen, and again as the fruit increases in size, 
 with a mixture of one teaspoonful of Paris Green in three gallons of 
 water, adtling a little molasses to keep the mineral in suspension, and 
 to make it adhere. This application also destroys the Canker Worms, 
 Tent Caterpillai"s and other pests which infest this tree. 
 
 THE PLUM WEEVILS. 
 
 The curculio or plum weevil is so prevalent, sly and yet active, as 
 to whoUy prevent the profitable culture of plums in extensive distiiets. 
 It is a small beetle, akin to the pea and bean weevil, and deposits its eggs 
 in the young fruit, making a crescent shaped mark, which is chai-acter- 
 istic of it. Of coiu-se the fruit drops from the tree, when the insect 
 escapes and matures in the ground to repeat its depredations. An 
 effective method of destroj-ing is to jai' the tree twice a day, when 
 the beetles fall to the gi'ound and lie quite still for a time. By 
 spreading a sheet under the tree the insects may be caught and 
 destroyed. Another pest of the same character is the plum gouger, 
 which remains in the fi-uit, eating its way to the heai-t, and pene- 
 trating the soft stone, where it devoui-s the kernel. The fruit shrivels 
 on the tree and finally drops. From the habits of these insects, any 
 outward application to the tree is of course useless. 
 
 PLANT UCE. 
 
 The family of insects known by the name of Aphis, or Plant Lice, 
 is exceedingly numerous and vai-ied. These pests attack every 2>art 
 of the plants — roots, stems, bark and leaves. Their power of increase 
 is amazing, as the females ai-e able to produce several generations, 
 which reproduce themselves wthout any sexual union, so that a plant 
 or tree once attacked by them is very soon completely overrun 
 Grape vine roots are attacked by one species, which render the 
 cultm-e of foreign vai'ieties in the open air impossible. The orange, 
 apple, peai-, plum and chen-y ai-e infested, both upon the bark and 
 the leaves, with mjTiads of vju-ious species, while some of the willows 
 are so completely covered with them as to become a source of con- 
 tagion to all sorts of trees in their neighborhood. The remedies are, 
 for the bark lice, to wash the bark with a strong solution of concen- 
 trated potash, or with Ume wash, or to scrape oflf the outer bark 
 
Vegetable Pests. 273 
 
 from old trees and burn it; and for the leaf lice, to syringe the trees 
 from underneath, so as to reach the under side of the leaves, where 
 these jjests gather, with a solution of whale oU soap with one part in 
 a hundred of kerosene oil added. Melons, cucumbers and cab- 
 bage are especiallj* subject to these pests. For cabbage lice, a strong 
 decoction of red peppers or sprinkling with di-y, air-slaked lime has 
 been found useful. Tobacco dust or snuft' dusted on when the dew 
 is on the leaves is a certain remedy. 
 
 THE ROSE CHAFER OR BEETLE. 
 
 An ashy brown colored beetle, commonly known as the Rose Bug, 
 but wrongly so, for it is a beetle (all bugs axe sucking insects), is 
 exceedingly destmctive to grape vines, ujjon which it devours the 
 blossoms, and to cheiTies, the young fruit and leaves of which it con- 
 sumes. It also eats into the hearts of the buds and blooms of roses; 
 besides this it infests many other plants and vegetables, but not so 
 injuriously. It is easily captiu-ed from ^'ines, by holding under the 
 insects a common emp)ty fruit can attached to a handle for conven- 
 ience, and touching them with a short rod, when they immediately 
 fall iuto the vessel. A small quantity of water covered with a film of 
 kerosene od kills them at once. As they attack the vine first, the 
 main army of them may be routed by an early raid upon them. A 
 sprinkling of Paris Green in water iipon the leaves of cheiTy trees, 
 when the fi-uit is setting, wlU destroy a good manj- of them, and as 
 the dressing remains for some time, it is quite effective. 
 
 VEGETABLE PESTS. 
 
 These include parasitic plants chiefly of a fungoid chai'acter, as 
 bhghts, mildews, rust and smuts. As our knowledge of this class of 
 pests becomes more accurate, it is learned that they generally attack 
 trees and plants that are either constitutionally weak, or are imper- 
 fectly nourished, or are weakened by some accidental injury, through 
 exposure to excessive cold, or too much heat, or by extreme moisture 
 or dryness. This is seen sufficiently clearly in the cases of many 
 jilants for which oui- climate is too hot or diy, as the gooseberry, 
 the English bean, peas late planted, lettuce, and others, which are 
 subject to mildews to a degree that makes their culture extremely 
 difficult; as well as the rusts, which attack oats and wheat when 
 excessively hot sunshine follows a moist, cool night, with fog in the 
 morning. Generally, we beheve that the most effective preventive of 
 these diseases (for they are reaUy diseases) is to seciu'e robust health 
 to the trees and plants as far as possible, and then to use such remedies 
 as have been found most useful in checking their spread by contagion. 
 
2,74 How THE Farm Pats. 
 
 ]^Iildew consists of a white fibrous growth, the fibres separately 
 being too fine to be visible to the eye, and this gi-o^^-th generally 
 api)eai-s on the leaves, but sometimes on the fmit as well. It cannot 
 be doubted that this outward ajJiseiu-ance is merely the symptom of 
 an internal disesise, originating from some cause of the natui'e above 
 mentioneiL Rust consists of small orange-yellow or reddish oval 
 bodies, so thickly intersi)ersed among the white fibres of mildew as 
 to give the leaf the appeai'ance of being covered with red dust. 
 Other forms of rust consist of cup shaped bodies, made up of these 
 very small reddish ovals. Smut consists of a mass of small, lirownish. 
 round or vaiiegated shaped spores, some being beautifully reticulated 
 and marked when seen under the microscope. It usually occupies 
 the place of the seed in oats and wheat, and also in corn; but in cona 
 it also apjieai-s in masses, breaking thi-ough the stems, leaves and 
 flowers or tassel, thus showing that the whole plant is impregnated 
 with the disease. No doubt in most cases rust and smut are sown 
 with the seed, either adhering to it or infecting it iutemaUj-. The 
 so-caUed potato rot is one of these fungoid, parasitic diseases, closely 
 aUied to the smut of gi-ain. 
 
 But a good deal has yet to be learned in regard to the natui'e of 
 these parasitic diseases, and until our knowledge is more complete it 
 interests us more to consider what can he done to avoid them. This 
 is generally to see that the trees and plants chiefiy affected by them 
 are maintained in vigorous health by the best cultivation, and by 
 fertilizing with lime and potash, which ai'e principally needed by 
 them. And as far as the common farm crops are concerned, to avoid 
 too fi'equent repetition of them upon the same fields, practicing as ^ride 
 a rotation as may be j)ossible, to avoid exhausting the soil of the 
 most needed elements of then gro^Ni.h. Also by preventing the 
 infection of healthy plants by destroying the contagion; cutting off 
 and burning blighted limbs; rooting out rusted plants and destro_\-ing 
 them in some eft'ective manner, but by no means permitting them to 
 get into the manure; by cai'efully destroying aU smutted fodder, all 
 diseased potato tops; and every ])article of smut in the seed sown, by 
 using the pickle referred to in the chapter on the Culture of Wheat. 
 No doubt, too, the regular use of lime in the i-otation of manm-ing 
 may have a good effect in adding to the fertility of the soD and in 
 giving greater vigor to the vegetation. Finally, knowing how 
 infinitely small and light ai'e the spores or seeds of these mildews, 
 rusts and smuts, we should not be suii>rised to find them abundantly 
 distributed in the an, in water and in the soil, so that we cannot 
 wonder that any weak jilaut may become infected ^^•ith them just at 
 the time when it offers the most favorable conditions for their growth. 
 
Faem MAcmNERY. 275 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 FARM MACHINERY. 
 
 This work would be very incomplete if no notice were taken of 
 farm machinery, for this is the age of machinery, in which head work 
 has, in a great measure, displaced hand work, to the verj' great j)rofit 
 of the farmer. No farmer can expect to make the farm f)ay by hand 
 work, as it was done a number of years ago, when the scj-the, the 
 ■sickle, the gi'ain cradle, the hand rake, the flail and the hay fork were 
 in use. He is forced now to use the mower, and the reajjer which 
 now binds tlie sheaves and leaves them ready for the shock; the 
 liorse rake, the threshing machine and the hay and grain elevators; 
 and there are now thousands of farms upon which steam engines 
 do the work of horses, or of the stiU earUer hand work. The farmer 
 now must be a mechanic, and make a study of macliines, as he has 
 done of stock and feed and fertUizers. 
 
 The fii'st implement the farmer thinks of is the plow; and when he 
 remembers the old-fashioned plows, and compares them with the 
 innumerable improved kinds now in use, he gets a fair idea of the 
 advance that has been made in agricultui-al practice by the aid of the 
 mechanic. No doubt this improvement will still go on until the 
 j)resent difficulties in the way are removed, and the fields wiU be 
 plowed by steam power, just as the grain is canned to market, 
 "thousands of mdes, by the same force. 
 
 One of the greatest imjjrovements in the common plows is the use 
 of steel, and chilled cast iron, which is even harder and more durable 
 than steel. This improvement, together mth forms better adajited to 
 meet and overcome the resistance of the soO, has much reduced the 
 draft of plows and eased the work. A plow that represents a type 
 of the modern improved implements, and which deserves more 
 extended notice in this chapiter than has been already given to it, is 
 
 THE ROLAND CHILLED PLOW. 
 
 (See Blustration, iiarje 39.) 
 
 The shape of this plow is such that the whole fi-ont of it is a sharp) 
 cutting edge ; the material is harder than the hardest steel and wiU 
 not rust, and is so smooth and non-adherent that it will scoui- itself 
 
27G How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 in any soil, sticky clay and swamp muck included. The cutting edge 
 can be taken off and {,'rouud shaiiiwben desired; the laud side inclines 
 from the unplowed ground, and so relieves the fiiction; tLe standard 
 cannot choke, and an aiTangement of the heel enables the form of the 
 fuiTOw to be changed with ease, and so balances the plow that it can 
 be held steadily with a very little exertion of the plowman. 
 
 THE SLIP SHARE. 
 
 To avoid the fi-equent change of shares, and the extra cost of 
 replacing them, a reversible, self-shaqsening shp point is now made. 
 "V\'lieu the bottom of this point is worn, and the plow tends to run 
 out of the ground, by reason of the rounded point, the slip point is 
 
 ^ 
 
 taken out and reversed, and thus doubles the length of its useful hfe. 
 AVhen it is wholly worn out a new point is put in in place of it, and 
 thus the share is made to last as long as the plow, and seldom needs 
 renewing. 
 
 THE SWIVEL PLOW. 
 
 The old-fashioned side hill plow has recently been so much 
 improved that it is now used for level plowing with much advantage. 
 By the adjustment of the coulter the fvuTow shce is cut even in going 
 either way, and one former difficulty in its use has been avoided. 
 These plows have not been used so freely as they deserve to be, 
 when wc consider the great advantage in theii' use by avoiding all 
 dead fuiTows, and the perfectly level plowing of tlie land, from one 
 V)ack fuiTow in the centre of the field to each side, tlius laying all the 
 furrows of each half of the field in the same direction. As no ' " lands " 
 ai-e made, the haiTow and the sowing of the seed or the planting may 
 follow the plow immediately, and the seed thus be deposited in the 
 fresh, moist soU. This makes a gi'eat saving of time, which in the 
 sjiring may often be of considerable impoilance. 
 
Plows. 
 
 277 
 
 THE DOUBLE MOLD BOARD PLOW. 
 
 This plow is used for oj^ening dioUs for j)lantiug potatoes and in 
 prej^aring the gi'ound for roots, so that manure may be deposited in 
 these for the benefit of the crops. It may also be made of valuable 
 
 use in opening ditches for making drains, and every well stocked 
 faiTn will find use for it. 
 
 THE Sl'LKY PLOW AND PLOW SULKY. 
 
 The greatest present improvement in plows is the sulky or riding 
 plow, by which the work of the jjlowman is wholly relieved, and he 
 may now ride at his ease, with uothiup; more to do than to guide his 
 
278 
 
 How THE Fahm Pays. 
 
 team. The ■wheels are arranged so that the plow runs level; the 
 draft is, of coui'se, reduced to a minimum, because the weight of the 
 plow does not rest U2)0n the gi'ouud. It is provided vWth a foot lever, 
 bv which the driver can either hold the plow to its place in hai-d 
 ground or wholly lift it out of it. The plow can tm-n a squai-e corner 
 ^-ithout leaving the groimd, and it has only one lever by which all 
 the changes required in its work are made. AVith this plow a cripisled 
 
 man, having but one leg, is able to work as well as an able-bodied 
 man. and cases have occuiTed in which, on the death of a fanner, his 
 widow and daughters have been able to work the fann and support 
 themselves without the aid of hired labor. "With mowers and reapers, 
 riding haiTows, and cultivators, there was only requii-ed the riding plow 
 to till the whole bill, and this is done now by more than one excellent 
 implement of this kind. The engraving here given represents a plow 
 sulky which can be attached to any plow in a few minutes, and so 
 
Sulky Plows. 
 
 279 
 
 makes a sulky plow of any ordinary f)low. The cost of this attach- 
 ment alone is $35 only, and with the plow costs $46. It is called the 
 Daniels Plow Sulky. 
 
 SUBSOIL PLOW. 
 
 Some soils require deeper stirring than can be given by the 
 common plow. This deep stin-iug of tlie soil, at times, may be 
 
 equivalent to drainage and when practiced as a rule, by almitting 
 the au' down into the subsoil, improves its quality and gradually 
 changes its character. By following the common jjlow ■mth the sub- 
 
280 
 
 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 soiler, the land may be broken up to a depth of sixteen or twenty 
 inches, with much benefit in all soils excepting loose sandy loams. 
 
 )'OT.\TU DIGGER. 
 
 As cheapness of jiroduct is now indisi^ensable to profit, and as the 
 han'esting of the potato croii is a work of great labor without an 
 
 SUBSOIL PLOW. 
 
 effective implement, a ]5otato digger that does its work well is very 
 desirable. The improved potato digger here shown has been fully 
 
 1'0T.\T0 DIGGER. 
 
 tested and has been found quite satisfactory in use. It ojiens the 
 rows, i-aises the tubers and throws them upon each side of the row, 
 the loose soil sifting down between the finger bars and leaving the 
 potatoes free and clean. 
 
 THK DI.-<C .^MOOTHIXG Tl.XRROW. 
 
 This haiTow consists of a frame six feet eight inches by six feet one 
 inch, liaving four sets of rollers •with fifty-eight discs, eight inches in 
 
SmoothtxCt Harrow. 
 
 281 
 
 diameter, upon them. The discs ou the front rollers are set six inches 
 apai't, the discs of each set working between the others. The discs 
 on the hind rollers are three inches apart. The cross bar in the 
 centre is set at an angle with the frame and acts as a leveler and 
 smoother. This harrow cuts and giinds the clods and mellows and 
 firms the soil in an excellent manner, sei"ving the purpose of a 
 han'ow and a roller at the same time. It is especially useful for 
 prejiaring the soil for gi'ass seeding, and also for covering seed that 
 has been sown broadcast. An engraving of this harrow is given on 
 page 44 We have used the Disc Smoothing HaiTow for three years, 
 and find it the most valualjle implement in our garden operations. 
 Its cost of 125 or $30 is paid ten times each season. 
 
 THE SMOOTHING HARROW. 
 
 The selection of the harrow for any special work is of great im- 
 poiiance. For harrowing sod ground, for instance, a common heavy 
 straight tooth harrow will undo much of the work of the plow ; while 
 for breaking up stubble ground and fir min g the soil prei^aratory to 
 drilling the seed, it does excellent sei-vice. For use in plowed sod 
 
 THE 8MOOTHI3TO HABSOW. 
 
 and for all other kinds of harrowing, the Acme harrow is probably 
 unsm-passed, while for covering small seed, or harrowing growing 
 crops, such as fall wheat early in the spring, and potatoes and com 
 immediately after the planting, and again after the plants are above 
 
282 
 
 How THE Fakji Pays. 
 
 the surface, the light smoothiug harrow, with sloping teeth, will be 
 found of great value. 
 
 THE ROLLER. 
 
 lu the eaily paii of this work -we have frequently spoken of the 
 roller and its iuilispensable usefulness. There are several kiods of 
 this implement made. One is made of cast iron sections, having the 
 surface covered ^vith sharp projections which crush the clods and 
 
 quickly reduce them to powder. The siu-face is left slightly rough, 
 which is a better condition for it than the smooth hai-d sui-face left 
 by the common roller. It is, however, quite costly, its price being 
 $100. The common rollers are made of cast iron sections twelve 
 
Clod Crusher .\xd Rollers. 283 
 
 inches in length on the face, from thi-ee to sis sections being used; 
 or of wood covered sections, fitted in a draft fi-ame and having a bos 
 on it which can be filled with stone to increase the weight. A roller 
 of some kind, however, is indispensable, and those made with at 
 least two sections are better than those made in one cylinder. 
 
 THE HUMBLER. 
 
 A new implement, of remai'kably simple construction, but of un- 
 doubted value, is called a " mumbler." Its character is seen, at a 
 glance, from the engraving here given. It is a smoothing harrow, a 
 cnisher, a leveler and a smoothing fi-ame all combined in one simj)le 
 
 THE MTJMBLEB. 
 
 implement, and it is so made that, by turning it over, it serves as a 
 sled or a stone boat, or drag for conveying tools or seed to the field. 
 It is cheaply made, costing only $12, with draft chain and clevises. 
 
 THE MANURE SPREADER. 
 
 (.SV^ lUuMralion. pafff 70.) 
 
 The principle of the Spreader is that of a substantial cart of strong 
 construction, moimted on broad tired wheels. The floor of the cart 
 is a revolving apron, jirovided with suitable machinery geared from 
 the asle, and when in gear moves slowly to the rear, biinging its load 
 in contact with a swiftly revolving beater, that j)icks the material to 
 
284 How THE F.uiM Pays. 
 
 pieces and scattei-s it evenly over the land as the cart moves along. 
 By a simple device a fast or slow speed is given the apron to spread 
 different quantities per acre as may be required, and the farmer may 
 know just how much manure he is using without the trouble of measur- 
 ing his field and manure pile. It handles all gi-ades of manure on 
 the farm, from the coai'sest to the finest; also Ume, ashes, muck, 
 marl or cotton-seed, broadc;ist or in driUs, and when in operation will 
 do the work of ten men. It is thi-owu in gear by means of a single 
 lever at left of the driver's seat, and throws itself out of gear- when 
 the load is spent. When traveling to and fi-om a field none of its 
 machinery is in motion. 
 
 This machine is of exceeding value for toj) dressing gi-ain or grass 
 in the siwing. The broad tires caiTy the load over the soft ground 
 without sinking into it and sjwead the manure more evenly than can 
 possibly be done by hand, besides breaking it up fine so that tlie 
 gi'ain or gi'ass is not smothered in j)laces by the lai-ge unbroken 
 lumps. Some personal experience with this machine has strongly 
 convinced us of its great value. It can be made to spread the finest 
 artificial fertilizers with perfect evenness, by fii'st putting on a load of 
 manure, setting the gears to spread as little as five or even two loads 
 to the acre, and then scattering the proper quantity of fertiUzer upon 
 the top of the manui'e. As the revolving floor or apron feeds the 
 manure down to the spreader or revolving beater, the manure and 
 the fertilizer ai-e tkrown out together with jierfect evenness. As little 
 as 100 pounds of fertUizer per acre can be spread in this way. Two 
 minutes is sufficient to spread a load of manure at the rate of twenty 
 loads to the acre. 
 
 CULTIVATORS. 
 
 Cultivated or hoed crops have taken the i^lace in oxix modern farm 
 ■work of the old-fashioned summer fallow, in which, to reach a certain 
 end, a whole season's use of the land was sacrificed. "V\'e have learned 
 to do better than this, by growing what ai'e known as cultivated crops, 
 as corn, potatoes, beans and roots. For these crops there are several 
 valuable implements provided. Perhaps the most useful of all these 
 is the 
 
 PL.\NET Jl'NIOR HORSE HOE, CtTLTIVATOR, PLOW AND COVERER 
 CO.MBINED. 
 
 The various uses of this implement are shown by the engi-aving 
 here given. It is di-awn by one horse, and from jjersonal experience 
 
CULTIVATOES. 
 
 285 
 
 during several years past we cau testify to its value. Being wholly 
 of iron and steel, except the handles, it is light and durable, and the 
 many combinations for which it may be aiTanged, all of which are 
 necessary for their special uses on the farm, make it a very economical 
 implement. For corn and root crops it has no superior. It will work 
 
 is a Civ 
 PLiNET JTTNIOE HOBSB HOE, CULTIVATOB, PLOW AND COVEKEB COMBINED. 
 
 the sou level, or throw it from the rows of plants, or turn it to them, or 
 even hiU up the rows, when desired. It opens furrows for jjlanting, 
 covers the seed, and after the plants are up will do all the requisite 
 work of cultivation. It can be adapted to rows of vai'ious vridths. 
 
 CORN PLANTERS. 
 
 The old method of mai'king out corn ground both ways and drop- 
 ping the seed by hand is not jsroiitable. Machines for planting corn 
 are now made which will plant and finish eight to twenty acres of 
 corn in a day. Some of these in use m the West are made to drop 
 the com in check rows, which is the preferable method there; but 
 where the fields are smaller and where weeds are not so abundant, 
 corn can be gi'own in diills more profitably than in hills marked out 
 both ways. For planting corn in drills, one of the most j)opular 
 machines is 
 
 THE KEY.STONE CORN PLANTER. 
 
 This machine is simply constructed, so that any workman or farmer 
 can use it without difficulty, and it will drop either in single kernels 
 
286 
 
 How THE Fakm Pays. 
 
 or three or four together at any desired spac« apart. This method of 
 planting will produce one-fourth more gi-ain and fodder than hill 
 planting. The machine is provided with fom* di'opping rings, and 
 pinions to regulate the number of grains dropped, and the distance 
 
 of the seed apaii iu the rows. Another good machine of a similar 
 kind is the Albany Corn Planter. This machine will sow all kinds of 
 seed in drills, and can also be used as a cultivator. Both of them 
 have aiTangemeuts for appl^-ing fertilizei-s as well 
 
 GRAIN DRILLS. 
 
 Diilling grain is more economical of seed, as well as of time, and 
 does the sowing better than broadcast sowing. Diill sown grain 
 resists the fi-eezing and thawing of winter better than broadcast, and 
 
 Q&Aiy DKILL. 
 
 it can be better han-owed in the spring. Even oats are better to be 
 drill sown, and some fiuiners prefer to drill them both ways, crossing 
 the first sowing, by which the plants have more room and " tiller " better. 
 
Harvesting Machinert. 287 
 
 There are many good drills iu the market, the difference between 
 them being chiefly in the feeding arrangement. This is a very im- 
 portant jsai't of the drill, because it regulates the flow of seed and 
 secures it from inteiTuiDtion or stoppage. The Force Feed Grain 
 DriU possesses this special feeding arrangement for the gi-ain as well 
 as for the fertilizer. It is provided with a gi-ass seeding attachment, 
 and also a land measurer, which shows the area of ground sown, and 
 also the rate per acre at which the seed is sown. The driU commonly 
 used is that with eight tubes, placed eight inches apart. 
 
 MOWERS AND REAPERS. 
 
 There are a gi-eat variety of mowers and reapers, and the modern 
 ones are now made wholly of iron and steel. The principal differ- 
 ences between the leading mowers are now very slight so far as mechan- 
 ical structure, draft and work are concerned, and a choice between 
 
 IH£ WABBIOB MOWEB. 
 
 them is more a matter of taste, as regards style and appearance, than 
 of intrinsic value. The Buckeye, the Warrior, the Champion and the 
 Champion Haymaker are all excellent. The New "Warrior is one of 
 the most modern make, and has a high reputation for its simpHcity, 
 strength, ease of management, light draft and adai^tation to all con- 
 ditions of surface of the ground, and character of the grass. This 
 
288 
 
 How THE Faum Pays. 
 
 macbine has no gears upon the driving ■wheels, and the rim of the 
 wheel is provided with lugs running lengthwise for the purpose of 
 preventing the machine from slipping do^vn when working on sloping 
 ground. The cutting bar is made to tilt downwards to cut lodged 
 grass and there are several other valuable improvements in its con- 
 struction. It is made for one or two horses. 
 
 Tlie necessities of the grain growers have greatly stimulated the 
 inventive genius of the makers of reapers, and these machines, indis- 
 
 pensable on farms where even twenty acres of grain are produced, 
 can now be procured so cheaplj- that every farmer who gi-ows grain 
 must provide himself ■with one of them. For the larger grain growers 
 self-binding reapers, which not only cut the grain, but bind it into 
 sheaves and throw these oflf onto the ground to make room for the 
 next ones, are made; but upon smaller grain fai-ms the ordinary 
 
Hay Carriers. 289 
 
 reaper, with a self rake, which leaves the grain in gavels, is siiificient. 
 An excellent machine of this kind is 
 
 THE WARRIOR REAPER. 
 
 This machine has a special mechanism, by which the rakes are 
 brought completely under the control of the operator, and can be set 
 and changed without the use of wrench or other tool while the 
 machine is in motion, to deliver tho gavel automatically, witli every 
 rake, or every second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh rake, as may 
 be desired, or the operator may, with his foot, prevent its raking alto- 
 gether, enabling him to cany gavels at the corners to make a clear 
 track for the horse the next time around, or he can deliver the gavel 
 with any rake he pleases, whether the same is set to dehver or not, 
 and it can be set not to dehver the gavel, allowing the operator to 
 discharge it at his pleasure. Unlike any other reaper, when a gavel 
 has been delivered vrith the foot the one following it wilL be of 
 regular size. If the operator carries the gavel on turning the comer, 
 the next rake after removing his foot from the trip will discharge the 
 gavel, and the following one will be of regular size. The small cost 
 of this machine, which is $100, brings it within reach of every farmer 
 who has a few acres to cut. 
 
 THE HAY TEDDER. 
 
 Where the hay crop is lai-ge the hay tedder cannot be dispensed 
 with. This machine is used for stming the hay so as to dry it 
 thoroughly in the shortest time, and by its constant use, grass and 
 
 clover cut in the morning can be made ready for the cock at night. 
 One of these machines wiU turn and spread four acres in an hour, so 
 that the grass cut by one mower can be turned five times in the day, 
 
290 How thj: Fau.m Pays. 
 
 and by this constant turninn; and the light and open condition in 
 ■which it is left by the machine, the hay has been cut, cured, raked 
 and stored in the bam, all in one day. 
 
 HAY RAKES. 
 
 The horse hay rake is also one of the indispensable modem farm 
 machines, and is one of the necessary results of the mower. There 
 are some points about horse rakes which should be considered in 
 making a choice, and the principal one of these is the ease of dis- 
 
 SELF-DISCHAKGING H.VY ltA££. 
 
 charging the load. In the seLf-dischargiag rake above shown this 
 movement is automatic, which of couree fi'ees the hands of the operator 
 and leaves him to give his sole attention to the driving. 
 
 THE HORSE HAY FORK AND CARRIAGE. 
 
 For putting hay and grain away in the bam rapidly, one requii-es 
 the hoi-se fork or elevator and caniage. The hay fork takes the hay 
 from the load, and the elevator or can-iage moves the load to any 
 p;u-t of tlie barn, where it can be di'oppcd. For unloading grain, or 
 com stalks, or fodder corn to be cut for ensilage, slings of rope are 
 used, these being hooked onto the carrier. 
 
 THE DOUBLE HARPOON HAY FORK 
 
 is one of the most effective forks made, and is the only one that vriW. 
 lift loose straw in an effective or satisfactory manner. The Nellis 
 
H.\Y Forks and Carriers. 
 
 291 
 
 Harpoon Fork is made on tlie same principle, but has a single shaft. 
 A very good hay carrier is known as 
 
 PORTER'S HAY CARRIER. 
 
 This runs ujjon a track of two by three and thi-ee-quarters inch plank, 
 ■which is attached to the 'peak of the bai-n by hooks; the top of the 
 
 PORTEB'S HAT CARRTEK. 
 
 canier is open and passes by the hooks which hold the running track. 
 There are several other hay carriers, which differ, however, very httle 
 
2U2 How THE Fakm Pavs. 
 
 from tliis in the method of operating. "With the best hay carriers one 
 horse is able to lift about 2A0 lbs. of haj- at one haul. A ten-horse- 
 power engine will lift a whole load at one haul, if room could be made 
 to receive and handle it conveniently. A single hoi-se will lift over a 
 single pulley about 125 lbs. at one haul; with two pulleys the power 
 is doubled, or verj- nearly. 
 
 FODDER CUTTERS. 
 
 Fodder cutters are indispensable for the profitable feeding of stock. 
 By their aid and use coarse fodder may be so prepared and mixed 
 with ground grain, bran or other fine feed, as to make it equally 
 Tiduable as hay. This is one of the points to which the fai'mer will 
 give speciid study, because it is useless to grow good crops imless 
 these ai'e expended in the most economical manner. By the use of a 
 good fodder cutter, and ground feed of various kinds, thi-ee cows or 
 horses can be kept where only two were kept on long fodder or hay 
 and whole grain. For hand or light power 
 
 THE COPPER STRIP FODDER CCTTER 
 is an excellent machine, as it cuts easily and rapidly. For cutting 
 
 THE CtH-PEB SIRIP rODDEK CUTTKR. 
 
 com stalks and for tearing them into pulp for ensilage 
 
Machines fok Preparlng Fodder. 293 
 
 THE FODDER CRUSHER 
 
 has been devised. This is made on a new j)rinciple, and is probably 
 the best machine for 23i"eparing corn stalks and other fodder tor feed 
 for stock. It is durable, not liable to get out of order and makes the 
 fodder in good condition for the stock. There are two sizes made, 
 differing in the size of the cylinder. In feeding the machine the 
 
 feeder stands at the side and feeds the fodder in crossways. By this 
 process it is readily seen that the fodder will be broken up and torn 
 into shreds much better than can possibly be done by a cutting box 
 of any kind, and the fodder is left fi-ee from those shaii^ edges 
 produced by the cutting process when knives ai'e used. 
 
 THE CORN HUSKBR. 
 
 Nest to a corn harvester, which so far has baffled the inventive 
 genius of mechanics, the corn husker is the gi-eatest help to the com 
 grower in reducing the cost of his crop. The only one in use is 
 
 PHILLIPS' SPIRAL CORN HUSKER. 
 
 This machine does its work thoroughly — stripping every ear, large 
 or small, soft or hard, completely of its husks and silk. The stalks 
 being crushed, not torn in pieces, nor left stiff and hard, make much 
 better fodder for stock and rot more quickly in the manui-e heap; 
 while the husks, separated fi-om cobs and stems, are always useful. 
 
294 
 
 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 or salable for the iiurpose of making mattresses, mats, paper stock, 
 and for many other uses. Any ordinaiy two-horse power, such as 
 used for threshing, is su£Scieut to operate this machine. It has now 
 
 been in operation several years, and is liu-gely used. It husks about 
 500 bushels jser day, and sepai-ates tlie ears in a clean state, free 
 from the husks, and these fi'oni the stalks. 
 
 CORN SHELLERS. 
 
 A good com sheUer should deliver the corn clean and free from 
 the chaff and cobs. For small quantities a sheUer is made which 
 does all this very wcU, having a fan attached to the driving wheel 
 
 For large quantities the Cannon Corn Shellei", so called from its 
 lengthened cylindrical foi-m, is in general use. It has a capacity of 
 about seventy-five bushels per hour. 
 
Farm Grain Mills. 
 
 295 
 
 FARM GRAIN MILLS. 
 
 As it iiosts one-tenth of the value of the gi-ain fed to grind it, it is 
 a profitable expenditure, where many stock are fed and where suffi- 
 cient power is available, to use a grain mill at home. A miU occupies 
 veiy Httle space and can usually be run on stoi-my days when out- 
 door work is susf)ended. There ai'e a large variety of farai miUs 
 made, but it is advisable to choose one of these with a view to its 
 
 GBIFFING S CORN 
 
 durabUity and sohdity, as gTinding is hard work. The Fanner's 
 Iron Frame IMill is made especially for fann work, and is simple, 
 strong and durable, as all faiin machinery should be. With two- 
 horse power it is able to grind ten or more bushels per hour, and the 
 
29G 
 
 How THE Fakm Pays. 
 
 cutters can be regulated to piind fine or coai-se as may be desired. 
 But in all cases and for all kinds of stock, the finer the feed is ground, 
 
 the better it will be as regai-ds the welftire and profit of the animals; 
 the fine feed is easily digested and therefore goes fm-ther in use than 
 ■when coarsely ground. 
 
 Carts are in general iise upon English farms, and doulitless they 
 might be made available upon American farms to a much larger 
 extent than they now are. The gi-eat advantages of carts ai-e, the 
 ease with which they are turned about in a small space; the rapidity 
 with which they ai-e luiloaded by tipping; the fact that but one hoi-se 
 
Farm Carts. 
 
 297 
 
 is required, and that bj- tlie use of an extra man in driving the force 
 employed in loading may by kept busy without waste of time iu 
 waiting for the return of the empty vehicles. Carts are exceedingly 
 useful for bringing in roots, com fodder and other loads from the 
 fields, which can be dumped very quickly, also for carrjdug out manure. 
 When cattle are fed upon soihng crops and the feed is brought 
 iu from the field, it is frequently a gi-eat saving of time to take back 
 
 to the field a load of manure instead of going empty. Farm carts 
 should alwaj-s have wide tu'es, foiu- or five inches at least, and should 
 be made as light as is consistent with strength and durabihty. The 
 cost of a good cart is fi-om $-50 to $70. At times light hand carts are 
 very useful for distributing feed in the stables, and where twenty or 
 thirty head only are kept, the three-wheeled hand cart wiU. be found 
 to save much time and labor. 
 
298 
 
 How THK Faum Pays. 
 
 THE FRUIT EVAPORATOR. 
 
 The improved process of (li-yin-,' fniit wliich is known a.s "evaporat- 
 ing, " has added anotlier to the many profitable domestic employments of 
 the farm. Evaporated fruits are so miu-h better in quahty than the 
 ordinary dried fruit, that they bring four times as much in the market 
 and yet cost less in labor to produce. This fact of course shows that the 
 demand is much gi-eater than the supply. The most convenient machine 
 for this purpose is that here shown, viz.. The American Fruit Evaporator. 
 
 Its manner of use is clearly indicated by the engraving. Tlie fruit 
 being tirst prepai-ed and sUced, is laid upon wire frames, and is carried 
 
 gradually through the drier, in which it is exposed to the hot air 
 from the heater below. This heating is really a process of ripening 
 Jind develops the sugar of the fruit, so that fruit prepared by this 
 process is sweeter than any other, and even unripe fruit may be 
 passed through it, and come out fit for use and sale. The machines 
 are made of small sizes for family use and as low in price as $25. 
 
Farm Engines. 
 
 299 
 
 FARM EN'GINES. 
 
 The use of steam on the farm for such pui-jDoses as cutting fodder, 
 pumping water, grinding grain and threshing is now qviite common, 
 and, as the economy and simf)heity of this power is better under- 
 stood, it is certain that its use will be very much extended. The 
 hea\ier work, such as plowing, harrowing, and esjjecially the deep 
 grubbing of hea\'y clay and gravelly hard pan soils, will no doubt, 
 before long, be done by steam power, and this more effective, work 
 will gi-eatly help to make the farm pay. For as horse power is much 
 cheaper than human power, so steam is cheaj)er than horses, and it 
 has the advantage that when it is not at work it has not to be fed, 
 nor is an engine subject to disease which shortens the useful hfe of a 
 horse so much. 
 
 A recent exp)erience in the use of plowing hj steam both in Kansas 
 and in Dakota holds out the most sanguine hojjes that in such 
 locahties and under such conditions as jDrevail there, steam engines 
 will yet be used for plowing with economy and advantage. The re- 
 quirements are large fields, faii'ly level ground, and such suitable 
 plows as may be best fitted for the work. The engine here repre- 
 
 E UP E PUUTABLE ENljINE 
 
 sented is the one which has been used in both these cases. It has 
 di-awn a gang of eight plows, cutting a furrow four inches deep in 
 raw prau-ie soil, at a cost of one dollar per acre, and plowing twenty- 
 uve acres in ten hours. The saving in cost, although very important, 
 is not so great an item as the raj)idity with which the work can be 
 pushed foi-ward in the short seasons, and another great advantage is 
 that a very large force of men and animals are not required to be 
 
300 How THE Farm Pats. 
 
 kept over during a slack season, so that they may be available when 
 work ijresses for a short time only. 
 
 A portable engine is much more useful than a stationary one, as it 
 can be taken to its work, for forcing water to the buildings, clearing 
 land of stone or stumjis, threshing in the tield, hauling loads, etc., iind 
 for use in the barn can be drawn into its i^lace, where it will 
 stand and work without any costly bedtling in permanent masom-y. 
 In procuring a steam engine the mistake is almost invariably made of 
 getting too light and small a one, and in a shoit time this has to be 
 discarded for the lai'ger one, which should have been procured at 
 fii-st. A safe iiile in this resjiect is, where a thi-ee-horse engine is 
 thought to be sufficient a five-horse jjower should be chosen, and for 
 all larger ones a teu-horse engine will be found the most economical 
 even at the rather larger cost. . 
 
CuLTCRE OF Vegetables and Fedits. 301 
 
 CH.AJTER XI. 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR THE FARM CULTURE OF VEGETABLES AND FRUITS. 
 
 BY I'ETER IIEXDERSOX. 
 
 Principal Market Garden Crops. 
 
 It seems appropriate tliat a short chapter on the cultivation of 
 vegetables and fruits should be introduced into this work, not only 
 for the information of the farmer himself, for his own private use, 
 but also for the advantage it may be to him in localities where he 
 can dispose of such products at a much greater profit than he can 
 dispose of ordinary farm produce. There are tens of thousands of 
 farmers adjacent to the smaller towns and villages, hotels, watering 
 places and summer boarding houses, where the want at the table, 
 of fresh vegetables and small fruits, is most conspicuous. In 
 many such places it is unquestionable that, if the farmer would 
 devote a few acres to the cultivation of fniits or vegetables, or both, 
 the chances are more than equal that they would be found much 
 more profitable than ten times the amount of land cultivated in 
 ordinary farm crops; for most land that wiU grow a good crop of 
 corn or potatoes will, under proper tillage, yield a good crop of 
 either fruits or vegetables. HoAvever, I will say, that whenever 
 choice can be made, the land used for such pui-pose should be as 
 level as possible, and be of the nature of what is known as sandy 
 loam ; that is, a dark colored, rather sandy soil, overlaying a sub-soil 
 of sand or gravel. AU soils that have adhesive clay for their sub-soils 
 are not so well suited for vegetables, besides requiring at least double 
 the amount of labor for cultivation. Above aU things necessary for 
 success in growing either vegetables or fruits, is manure. It may be 
 laid down as a settled fact that, unless manure can be obtained in 
 quantity sufficient, the work is not hkely to be half as remunerative 
 as where plenty of it can be had. The quantity of maniu-e used per 
 acre by market gardeners around our large cities is not less than 100 
 tons per acre each year, and if barn-yard manure is not accessible, 
 concentrated maniu-e, such as bone dust or suijerphosphates, should 
 be harrowed in the land after plowing at the rate of not less than 
 two tons per acre, if no other manure is used. For fuller instnic- 
 
302 How THE Faum Pays. 
 
 tioDS on this subject see chapter on " Manui-es, ami their Modes of 
 AppHeation," in this work. 
 
 Such large quantities of manure per acre will, no doubt, be appall- 
 ing to the average farmer, as it is no unusual thing for a farm of 
 fifty acres to get no more than we mai-ket gaixlenei-s put on a single 
 acre ; but every one who has had experience in growing vegetables 
 or fruits knows that the only true way to make the business profitable 
 is to use manm-e to the extent here ad^•ised. It is safe to say that 
 the average profits to the market gardener in the vicinity of our 
 large cities, where he pays sometimes as high as $100 per acre 
 annually for rent, is at least $300 per acre. The usual amount of 
 ground cultivated by market gardeners is ten acres, and they think 
 it is a poor year when their profits fi'om that amcuut of land do not 
 average $3, 000, and that, too, when nearly all the products are sold 
 at wholesale to middlemen, in large quantities, and which, before 
 reaching the consumer, costs him at least double the original jmce 
 paid. The fanner, in most cases, growing vegetables or fniits, has a 
 great advantage in selling direct to the consumer, and the small 
 amount of land necessaiy for gi-owing these crops will cost liim com- 
 pai'atively little, so that, with jirojier attention, I think there is every 
 inducement for many farmers to add this profitable bi-anch to their 
 faiTU ojjerations. A case in point, which has been communicated to 
 me by a friend, is as follows: His farm adjoined a village of 2,000 
 inhabitants. He had one year a large sm-plus of strawbenies and 
 sweet com, and had many appUcations for the fniit and the corn by the 
 ■village people. He conceived the idea of employing a man with a 
 cart to supply this unexpected demand in the ■\-iUage, and sold the 
 whole of these products at such prices as paid a clear profit of $175 
 per acre, which was about five times as much as the average value of 
 the farm crops. In addition, the sale of the strawberries created a 
 large demand for cream, wliieh was equally profitable. No doubt 
 this example could be followed in the neighborhood of nearly every 
 rillage in the country. 
 
 I will give in detail brief, and as clear directions, for the culture of 
 the leading varieties of both vegetables and fi'uits, as an experience 
 of neai'ly forty yeai"s in the business may enable me to do. Any one, 
 however, who may desire a more lengthy and elaborate treatise on 
 the subject, I would refer to my work, ^^•ritten especially for market 
 gardeners, entitled " Gardexesg for Profit. " 
 
 The following Ust of vegetables and fruits, whose culture we 
 describe, are such only as are likely to be wanted for the purpose 
 alluded to, suppljnng smaller towns and villages, hotels and summer 
 boardinsr bouses. 
 
Culture of Asparagus. 303 
 
 AJl references made to quantities of seeds, number of plants, or 
 amount of profits, are by the acre. I simply do this as a matter of 
 convenience, taking the acre as a standard, although cultivators wiU 
 of coiu-se understand that in application any amount of land can be 
 used in the same proportion. 
 
 ASPARAGUS. 
 
 This is i^erhaps one of the most profitable vegetables that is culti- 
 vated. The reason for this is the fact that because it requires two 
 or thrae yoars before it gives a full crop, cultivators ai-e usually so 
 impatient, or are compelled by necessity, that they will plant only 
 such crops as give them a return the first season. That being the 
 
 ASPAEAGUa 
 
 case, comparatively few jalant asparagus, and hence the supply is 
 rai-ely equal to the demand. It is a plant of the easiest culture, only 
 requiring, as nearly all vegetables do, a deep soil and hberal 
 manuring. The usual method has been to transplant the Asparagus 
 into beds five feet wide, with three rows planted in each bed, one in 
 the middle and one on each side, a foot distant, thus bringing the 
 rows one foot apart, with alleys two feet vsdde between the beds; the 
 plants being set in the rows nine inches apart. In planting, a line is 
 set, and an opening made a little slanting to the depth of six or eight 
 inches, according to the size of the plants. The plants are then laid 
 
304 
 
 How THE Farm Pavs. 
 
 ayainst the side of this ti'ench at a distance of uine or ten inches, cai'e 
 being taken to fii"m the roots well ■with the foot. The plants should 
 be covered with about three inches of soil, and immediately after 
 planting the beds should be touched over with a rake, or, if on a 
 large scale, the brush harrow, which wOl destroy the weeda This 
 raking or harrowing should be continued at intervals of six or eight 
 days until the jjlants start to gi-ow, when the hoe or cultivator may 
 be apphed between the rows and alleys, but the weeds that come up 
 close to the plants must of necessity be taken away with the hands. 
 
 ASPAHAOUS DUNCHIiU 
 
 Another method, and which probably would be sinii)ler for the 
 farmer to j)ursue, is to line out just as for turnips or mangels, the 
 hues being three feet apart, in which the Asparagus seed should be 
 sown about the first week in April by a seed drill, using at the rate 
 of six 2)ounds to the acre. This would be less expensive than the 
 roots, both in labor and seed. In the beginning, in most cases it 
 would pi-obably not be well to plant more than one-fourth of an acre, 
 but to be sure of getting a "stand," not less than two pounds of 
 seed should be used for a quarter of an acre, the seed for which would 
 cost about $1, while the jjlants for that amoimt of land would cost 
 at least $10, and there is more labor in planting the roots. 
 The advantage in using the plants, however, is that a year's time would 
 probably be gained, as the plants are usually fi-om one to two years 
 old when planted. If the aspai-agus crop is to be gi-own from seed 
 
DWAKF BEiNS. 305 
 
 in this way it is all important that the ground should be kept clean. 
 It is no use putting in the crop unless pro^-ision is made for keep- 
 ing down the weeds. Othei-wise they would inevitably be destroyed, 
 as it is a jjlant of compai-atively feeble gi-owth for a month or two. 
 The seeds will come uj) thickly in the rows, and should then be hoed 
 out to a distance of six inches between the plants. If the ground has 
 been put in proper condition by plowing, liarrowing and manuring a 
 pai-tial crop wUl be got the thii-d year fi'om the time of sowing, and 
 a full crop the fourth year. After that, the Asparagus bed, with a 
 top di'essing of two or three inches of manure every fall, will last for 
 a lifetime. I have seen beds that have been in culture for over thirty 
 years without abating an iota of their vigor. Aspai'agus, when old 
 enough to give a full crop, in the vicinity of New York brings 
 annually about $500 per acre, the labor costing, at the extreme figui-e, 
 not over $100 j)er annum, so that a clear profit of $400 per acre can 
 be made each year. The kind now grown is what is known as 
 Colossal, which should be grown to the exclusion of all others. It is 
 generally known that the part used of the Asparagus is the young 
 bud or shoot coming up, which is cut off when it is live or six inches 
 above the ground. It vai'ies in thickness from half an inch to an inch 
 and a half, and is tied in bunches usually weighing about one pound 
 each when sold in the market. 
 
 BEAN— BUSH, KIDNEY OR SNAP. 
 
 This vegetable is so well known by every one who grows any vege- 
 tables at all, that but httle instruction in its culture is necessary. It 
 may be grown on poor soil, although it wiU always be more tender 
 when quicklj' gi-own on rich or highly manured land. The bush bean 
 is a tropical plant, and hence should not be sown untU the ground 
 becomes warm. A good nile is to sow it about the date of corn 
 planting, in rows eighteen inches to two feet apart, the seed being 
 diopped in the drills at about two inches afjart and the soil drawn 
 over them with the foot, as that is the best way to cover seeds of this 
 size. Like aU crops, after planting, they should not be allowed to 
 remain over a week before the hoe or rake is apphed to keep down 
 the weeds. We cannot too often insist on the necessity of this for 
 every crop, as the work of an hour with a rake five or sis daj's after 
 planting or sowing, so as to break the crust on the soil, and destroy 
 the embryo weeds, will be more effective than ten hom-s' labor if this 
 is neglected until three weeks after. It will be understood, that this 
 crop is used almost always in the pod in a green, unripe state, and is 
 
306 How THE F.utM Pats. 
 
 rarely ever used as a shell bean. To ensure a succession of bush 
 beans tkroughout the season they should be sown at inteiTids of ten 
 days from the first week in May (or time of com planting) until the 
 first week in August. They are a faii-ly profitable crop, but not so 
 much so as some othei-s, as their cultui-e is so simjjle and easy. The 
 best varieties for cultivation are the Eaiiy Valentine and the Golden 
 "Wax. 
 
 BEAN (LIMA). 
 
 This is the best known and the best of all the running or pole beans, 
 although there are quite a number of kinds in cultivation. They are 
 rather more tender than the bush beans, and a verj- common mistake 
 is to plant them too early, in which case they are almost certain to rot. 
 In the latitude of New York they should not be planted sooner than the 
 middle of May, and will come just as quick into bearing if planted 
 then, as ten days earlier, besides the chance of loss by the chilling of 
 the seed. They should be planted in hills fi-om three to fom- feet apart 
 and five or six seeds in each hill. The seeds should be planted about two 
 inches deep, and ai'e better placed edgewise, with the eye downwards. 
 In each hill should be placed a pole seven or eight feet high, for the 
 bean to climb on, as it is no use to grow it unless it has some such sup- 
 port. This variety is used in a gi'een state, shelled just as jjeas ai'e 
 used, although they are occasionally dried and used in winter, or 
 when good samples are dried they can be sold to the seed stores at 
 well j)aying i^rices. 
 
 "When grown for table use this root should be sown in di"Uls about 
 one foot apaii, if to be worked by hoe or by hand cultivator, or two 
 feet apai-t if to be worked by horse cultivator. We always prefer to 
 sow the seed by hand in diills about two or three inches deep, tread- 
 ing in the seed with the foot, as there is hardly any other seed so easily 
 dried up and its growing properties destroyed as this. Wlien sown by 
 hand twenty pounds of seed to the acre is required; or, by seed diill, 
 half that quantity. WTien grown for table use in the vicinity of our 
 large cities, beets ai'e usually a very profitable crop, generally yielding 
 a clear profit of about $300 per acre. Upon the first introduction of 
 Egyptian beet, a few years ago, the crop sold for $1,500 per acre in 
 the New York market, as it was ten days eai-lier than any other vaiiety. 
 After sowing and treadinjj in the seed, the row is covered up and the 
 
Beets. 
 
 307 
 
 gi-ound again firmed by being beaten down with the back of a spade, 
 or rolled. The first crop is usually sown about the middle of April, 
 and about the first week in May the plants' will have shown through 
 the ground sufficiently to define the rows, and should then be culti- 
 vated between to stir the soil and keep down the weeds. After they 
 have attained a height of three or four inches they should be thinned 
 out, so that the plants are left four to five inches apart in the rows; 
 these thinnings are often used as spinach, and usually wUl pay for all 
 
 BLOOD TURNIP 
 
 LONG SMOOTH BLOOD BEET. 
 
 EGYPTIAN BEET. 
 
 the labor of thinning. The earliest kind is that known as Egyptian, 
 ■which is a round variety of a deep crimson color. The next in 
 earliness is the Blood Turnip, which comes in some ten days later 
 than the Egj^jtian. Another variety, known as Long Smooth, makes 
 a root about three inches in diameter and eight or nine inches in length, 
 is equally tender as the other two kinds, although not quite so early, 
 and is the kind usually gi-own for winter use. For the best manner 
 of keeping in winter, see chapter in this work on ' ' Roots for Farm 
 Stock." 
 
308 How THE F.UIM Pays, 
 
 CABBAGE AND CAULIFLOWER. 
 
 As these are usually the most pi-ofitable of all vegetable crops, I 
 give fuU extracts on their culture taken from my new essay on that 
 subject, published in 1883: 
 
 Manui-e for the early cabbage crop should always be spread on 
 broadcast, and in quantit;\- not less then 100 cart loads or seventy-five 
 tons to the acre, which will leave it, when spread, about two or tliree 
 inches in thickness. It iscjuite rare that much choice can be made in 
 stable manure, but when such is the case ecjual portions of cow and 
 horse manure is jjrcferaljle, not that there is much diflerence in value, 
 weight for weight, but that it is advantageous to have the maniu'e of 
 the cow stable mixed vrith. that of the horse so as to prevent the 
 violent heating of the horse manure, which, if not repeatedly tui-ned, 
 wiU generate heat so as to cause it to "fire fang" or burn, which 
 renders it comparatively useless. Always bear in mind that the more 
 thoroughly rotted and disintegi'ated manure can be had, the better 
 will be the results. "\Mien manui-e is thoroughly rotted and short, no 
 matter for what crop, it may be turned in by the plow just as it is 
 spread on the land ; but if long, it is necessary to draw it into the 
 fiuTo w ahead of the plow so that it is completely covered in. After plow- 
 ing in the manure and before the ground is haiTowed, our best growers 
 in the vicinity of New York sow from 400 to 500 jiounds of guano or 
 bone dust, and haiTow it in deeply, smooth over with the back 
 of the harrow, after which the bed is ready to receive the planta 
 
 In the vicinity of New York, and, in fact, now wherever the business 
 of market gardening is intelligently followed, the best 
 
 VARIETIE.S OF CABBAGE 
 
 for early crop are recognized to be the " Eai-ly Jei-sey "Wakefield " and 
 "Hendersons Eru'ly Summer" for general culture, and to describe 
 others of the scores named would be only confusing. The " Jersey 
 Wakefield " is the earhest and is alittle the smallest, and is planted usually 
 twenty-eight inches between the rows and sixteen inches between 
 the plants, thus requiring from 10,000 to 12,000 plants per acre. The 
 " Early Summer " grows a Uttle larger, and should be planted thirty 
 inches apart and eighteeen inches between jjlauts. requiring from 
 8,000 to 10,000 per acre. The reason for placing the rows so wide 
 apart and the plants so close in the rows is to admit of a row of 
 lettuce, spinach or radishes between the rows of cabbage. AH of 
 these vegetables mature quickly, and can be cut out before the cabbage 
 
Growino Cabbage Plants. 309 
 
 grows enough to interfere with them, and it is necessary that this 
 double crop should be taken off the land so as to heljj pay for the 
 nianiu-e that is so lavishly used, but which is absolutely necessary to 
 jjroduce a good crop of cabbages. TVTiere eai'ly cabbage is grown 
 alone (and for the farmer, whose labor is scarce, they had better be 
 giown alone), then it would be better to plant about two or two and 
 a half feet each way, so that cross cultivation can be done ; and also 
 in cases where maniu'e in sufficient quantities is not attainable, they 
 are better thus planted when manure has to be ajiplied in the hill. 
 If appUed in the hiU, a go<jd shoveU'ul of stable manure should be 
 used to each, mixing it weU with the soU, but raising the "hill," so 
 called, no higher than the general sui'face. The 
 
 RAISING OF CABBAGE PLANTS 
 
 for the early croj) is a very important jjoint, though when small 
 quantities ai'e wanted they had better be bought from those who make 
 a business of growing them. The great majority of plants for early 
 
 crop are sown by the New York market gardeners between the 15th and 
 20th of September, that is, when the "Eai'ly Wakefield" is used; but 
 the " Eai'ly Summer " should not be so-mi until the 2.3th to the 30th 
 of September. C.ireful attention is given to have the sowings made as 
 near as possible to these dates, for if earher, many of the jjlants will 
 go to seed — j)ai'ticulai'ly the " Early Summer " variety. Again, if much 
 later than the dates last given, the season -will be too far advanced 
 
310 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 and the plants vrould not be strong enough to keep over winter in the 
 cold frames. 
 
 A case occiUTed some years ago in Philadelphia where a market 
 gardener sowed " Early York " cabbage on the 6th of September; 
 nearly every plant ran to seed. The gardener sued the seedsman for 
 damages, got non.suited, as he desen'ed, as the seedsman had no 
 difficulty in showing that other gardeners who had pui-chased this 
 same seed, and who had sown it at the proper time (in that latitude, 
 20th September), had no such bad resulta 
 
 In about thirty days from the time cabbage seed is sown in 
 September, the plants are of the right size to " prick out," or trans- 
 
 H£XDEItSO> S FARTT STTfSIER CABBAGE. 
 
 plant into the cold frames. The plant must be planted down to the 
 tii-st leaf, the root well firmed with the dibber — about 500 is the 
 number allowed for a three by sis feet sash. The cold fi-ame, as 
 most gardenei^s know, is simply two boards run parallel six feet apart, 
 the back board being ten inches and the front one seven or eight 
 inches. "We generally have all our cabbage plants transplanted here 
 from the seed-bed to the cold frames by 1st November, and it seldom 
 happens that we have the weather cold enough to have the sashes 
 put on before the end of NoTember. We are repeatedly asked the 
 question, 
 
 WHAT DEGREE OF FROST C.\BBAGE PLANTS WILL STAM) 
 
 in the frames before being covered with the sash. Much depends 
 on the condition of the plants; it sometimes hajipens that after the 
 transplanting is finished in October (we usually be^n the trans- 
 
Management of Hot Beds and Cold Frames. 311 
 
 planting in the frames about the 15th) that we have a continuation of 
 comparatively warm weather, which induces a quick and soft growth 
 in the plants, which, of coiuse, renders them very susceptible of 
 injury from fi-ost. When in that condition, we have seen them injured, 
 when the thermometer only marked tweutj'-seven above zero or but 
 hve degi-ees of frost; while if gradually hai-dened by being exposed 
 to chilly nights, they would receive no injury, even when the ther- 
 mometer mai-ks ten or twelve above zero. This will be well under- 
 stood when we remember that in midwinter, when covered with sash 
 alone, they sustain a cold often for days together of ten degrees 
 below zero, but then of course they have been gi-adually inured to it. 
 In sections of the country where the thermometer falls to fifteen or 
 twenty degi-ees bilow zero, it will be necessary to use straw mats or 
 shutters over the glass. At aU times, fi'om the time of putting sashes 
 on in fall until taking them off in spring (which is usually from 15th 
 March to April 1st), abundant ventilation should be given, so as to 
 render them as Lardy as possible. The sure indication that they ai-e 
 in the "frost proof" condition is when the leaves show a bluish color, 
 which they get when they have been gi-adually hai-dened o&. Al- 
 though the most of the Jersey market gardeners still use the cold 
 fi-ames for gi-owing the bulk of their early cabbage crop, yet of late 
 years the system of sf)ring sowing and transplanting, and sometimes 
 even without ti-ansplanting, is also used to a considerable extent. 
 This is usually done by sowing the seeds thickly (about one ounce 
 to tlu'ee sashes) in hot-bed or green-house about Febmaiy 1st and trans- 
 planting into a shght hot-bed about Mai'ch 1st, j^lacing about GOO or 
 700 in a three by six feet sash. The hot-beds must, of course, be 
 carefully protected by straw mats from fi'ost, and with the projjer 
 attention to ventilation and watering, fine jilants can be obtained by 
 April 1st. We ourselves have grown nearly a quarter of a million 
 plants each spiing in this manner for years vfith most satisfactory 
 results. Another plan is to sow the cabbage seed in cold fi-ames from 
 15th Februaiy to March 1st, or even later for second early. By this 
 method one ounce of seed is enough for five or sis sashes, and it had 
 better be sown in rows at six inches apart, a* thus sown the au- gets 
 better around the plants, making them stronger. "When the seed 
 is so-wn in the cold fi-ames in this way, it is absolutely necessary that 
 the frost should be excluded by covering the glass with straw mats 
 and shutters, for, of course, unless kept above the j)oint of fi-eezing, 
 the plants cannot grow. The cold frames to be used for this ^Jui-jjose 
 should be placed in the warmest and most sheltered place possible, 
 the soil should be hght and well enriched with slwrt manurs, nicely 
 dug, leveled and raked for the reception of the seed. If sown in 
 
312 How THE F.vioi Pavs. 
 
 drills, they should be about two inches deep; if sown broadcast, 
 it is best to " chip " the j^-ound all over with a steel rake so as to sink 
 the seed to the depth of au inch or so, but in both cases do not omit 
 to firm the soil by pattin;; the surface over with the back of the spade. 
 All these directions for spring sown plants are given for the latitude 
 of New York, where operations of planting cabbage plants in the 
 ojjen ground is usually begun about 25th March and finished by the 
 middle of April. For it must be always borne in mind that cabbage, 
 being a hardy plant, when wanted for an early crop, its setting out 
 in spring should be done in any section as soon as the land is 
 drj' enough to work. As a guide, we may say that whenever spring 
 crojis of rye, wheat or oats can be sown, cabbage may safely be 
 planted in the open field, for if jilants have been properly hardened 
 they wUl not be injured after being planted out, even by eight or ten 
 degrees of fi'ost. 
 
 The conditions in the different Southern States are so vaiied that 
 it is not easy to give directions. It may be taken, however, as a gen- 
 eral rule, that in any section of the country, where the thermometer 
 does not fall lower than fifteen o/wce zero, cabbage plants should lie 
 sown about 1st October, left (without coveiiag) in the seed-beds all 
 winter, and transjilauted to the oi^en gi'ound as soon as it is fit to 
 work in spring, say Febi-uary or March. In some sections, where 
 the fall weather continues fine into November, transplanting is done 
 in that month where the crop is to mature. After planting iu the 
 field, no crop takes so kindly to 
 
 HOEING OR Cl'I.TIVATING 
 
 as cabbage. In ten days after the planting is finished, cultivation 
 should begin. If the cabbages have been set two or two and a half 
 feet apart each way, then the horse cultivator is the best pulverizer, 
 but if a crop has been sown or planted between the rows of cabbage, 
 then a hand or wheel hoe can only be used — we ourselves now use 
 the wheel hoe exclusively and find it a saving of three-fourths in labor, 
 with the work better done. 
 
 The price at which early cabbage is sold now varies so much at 
 difl'erent dates, and in difl'erent jiarts of the country, that it is impos- 
 sible to give anything like accurate figiu-es, the range being jiU the 
 way from $2 to $12 per 100. Perhaps $4: would be a fair average for 
 "Wakefield" and $5 for "Early Summer." so that counting 11,000 as 
 the average per acre of the former and !),000 of the latter, we have 
 respectively $440 per acre for "Wakefield" and $450 for " Eai-ly 
 
Transplahtixg the Cabbage. 313 
 
 Summer." These are tlie wholesale prices for large markets, like 
 New York. In smaller cities, where the product is sold direct to the 
 consumer, one-third more would likely be obtained. 
 
 LATE CABBAGE 
 
 are such as matui-e during the mouths of September, October and 
 November, the seed for which is sown in open ground in jNIay or 
 June. Perhaps the best date for sowing for general crop is about 
 1st of June. We alwaj's prefer to sow cabbage seed for this jiurpose in 
 rows ten or twelve inches apart, treading in the seed with the feet 
 after sowing and before covering; we then level with a rake length- 
 wise \\dth the rows and roU or beat down with the back of a sjjade, 
 so as to exclude the air from the soil and from the seed. Sown in this 
 way cabbage seed wiU come stronglj' ujs in the driest weather, 
 and is less likelj' to be injured by the black flea than if it made a 
 feeble growth. As the ground used for late cabbage only yields one 
 crop, unless manui-e is cheap and abundant, it will not often j)ay to 
 use it in the profusion required for the early cabbage, so that it is 
 usual to mamu'e in the hUl, as is done for early crojj, if with stable 
 manure, but when that is not attainable, some concentrated fertilizer 
 such as bone dust or guano should be used, using a good liandful for 
 each hiU, but being careful of course to mix it well with the soil for 
 about nine or ten inches deep and wide. In this way about 300 pounds 
 per acre will be needed, when 6,000 or 7,000 plants are set on an acre. 
 In our practice, we find nothing better than pure bone dust and 
 guano mixtd together. For further information on this subject, 
 see chapter on "Manures and Modes of AijpUcation,'' in this work. 
 In 
 
 TRANSPLANTING CABBAGE 
 
 from the seed-bed to the open field in summer, the work is usually 
 done in a dry and hot season — end of June or July — and here again 
 we give our oft-repeated warning of the absolute necessity of having 
 every plant properly fii-med. If the planting is well done with the 
 dibber, it may be enough, but it is often not well done, and as a 
 measure of safety it is always best to turn back on the rows after 
 planting and press alongside of each plant with the foot. This is 
 quickly done, and it besides rests the planter, so that he can with 
 greater vigor start on the next row. In some sections of the country, 
 pai-ticularly in the New England States, six or eight cabbage seeds 
 are planted in the hills, and when of the height of two or three inches 
 
314 
 
 How THE Faum Pays. 
 
 are thinned out to one plant iu each hill This we think not only a 
 slower method, but is otherwise objectionable, inasmuch as it compels 
 the iiianiu'e to be placed for three or four weeks iu the gi'ouud before 
 the plant can take it up, to saj- nothing of the thi-ee or four weeks' 
 culture necessary to be done before the seedliDgs in the hill get to 
 the size of the plants when set out The cultivation of late cabbage 
 
 is, in all respects, similar to that of earl}-, except as it is usually 
 planted alone; the work is done entirely by the horse cultivator, the 
 rows and jjlauts in the rows, lieing according to the kind, from twenty- 
 fom- to thirty inches apart. There .are a gi-eat number of kinds oftered 
 in the different seed lists, but experienced cidtivators confine them- 
 selves to but veiy few kinds. These we give in the order in which they 
 are most approved: " Henderson's Selected Late Flat Dutch," "Ameri- 
 can Dinimhead," and '' ]Murblchead ^laiumoth." The late cabbage seU 
 all the way from $2 to $10 per 100; but it is always a safe crop for 
 
Winter KEEPracx of Cabbage. 315 
 
 the farmer, because if he is unable to sell the cabbage for table use, 
 they will pay even at $2 per 100 as a food for sheep or cattle. 
 
 In adtlition to these the "American Drumhead Savoy" is grown to 
 a considerable extent, audit is really surprising that it is not grown to 
 the exclusion of nearlj' all other sorts, as it attains nearly as much 
 weight of crop, and is much more tender and finer in flavor. The 
 "Green Scotch" and "Brown German Kale" belong to the cabbage 
 famUy, but do not form heads. The curled leaves of the whole jjlant 
 can be used, and are, like the "Savoy," much finer in flavor than the 
 plain head cabbages, particularly after having been subjected to the 
 fi-ost in fall. There are various methods of 
 
 KEEPING CABBAGES IN WINTER. 
 
 It is best to leave them out as late as possible, so that they can be 
 lifted before being frozen in. In this latitude, they can be safely left 
 out until third week in November. They are then dug or pulled up, 
 according to the nature of the soil, and turned upside down — the 
 roots up, the heads down — ^just where they have been gro«dng, and 
 the heads placed closely together in beds, six or eight feet wide, with 
 alley's of about same width between, care being taken to have the 
 ground leveled so that the cabbages will set evenly together. They 
 can be left in this way for three or four weeks, or as long as the 
 ground remains so that it can be dug in the aUejs between the beds, 
 the soil fi'om which is throvm in on the beds of cabbage, so that 
 when finished they have a covering of sis or seven inches of soil, or 
 sufficient to cover the roots completely up. Sometimes they are 
 covered up immediately on being lifted, by plowing a furrow, 
 shoveling it out wide enough to receive the heads, then plowing so as to 
 cover up, and so on till beds six or eight feet wide are thus formed. 
 This plan is the quickest, but it has the disadvantage, if the season 
 proves mild, of having the cabbages covered up too soon by the soil, 
 and hence more danger of decay. After the gi'ound is frozen, stable 
 litter, straw or leaves, to the depth of thi-ee or four- inches, should be 
 thrown over the cabbage beds, so as to prevent excessive freezing, 
 and to facilitate the getting at the cabbages in hard weather. 
 
 IN.>^ECTS. 
 
 The insects that attack the cabbage tribe are various, and for some 
 of them we regret to say that we are almost helpless in arresting 
 their ravages. Young cabbage plants in fall, or in hot-beds in spring, 
 are often troubled with the aphis, or, as it is popularlj' known, the 
 "green fly" or "green louse." This is easily destroyed by having 
 
316 How TBE F.U5M Pats. 
 
 the plants dusted orer once or twice with tobacco dust This same 
 insect, of a blue color, is often disastrous to the growing crop in the 
 field, jiiid on its first appearance, tobacco dust should be apphed. a«, 
 of coui-se, if the cabbage are headed up it could not be used. 
 Another insect which attacks them in these stages, is a species of 
 slug, or small eateri)iUai- — a green, glutinous insect, about one-fourth 
 or one-half inch iu length. This is not quite so easily destix)yed as 
 the other, but will also succumb to a mixture of one part white hellebore 
 to four jiarts Hme dust, sprinkled on thick enough to sUghtly whiten 
 the plants. This same remedy we found to be the most efficacious in 
 preventing the ravages vf the black flea, or "jumping jack," that is 
 often so destructive to cabbage plants sown or planted in open 
 ground during May and June, but in this case its application may 
 have to be repeated daUy often for two weeks. 
 
 Another most troublesome insect is the cabbage cater])illar, which 
 attacks the crop often when just beginning to head. This is the laiTie 
 of a species of small white butterfly, which deposits its eggs on the 
 crop in May or June. "SMien fields of cabbage are isolated, or 
 where neighbors can be found to act in unison, the best plan is to 
 catch the buttertiies with an insect-catching net as soon as thej" show 
 themselves. This is the most eflVetive and quickest way to get rid of 
 them. However, if that has been neglected, the catei^pillar can be 
 destroyed by dusting white hellebore on the cabbages, but, of coiu^se, 
 this cannot be done when the heads ai'e matured enough to be ready 
 to use, as the hellebore is to some extent poisonous, though used 
 when the plants su-e about half gi'own it wiU do no harm, as the rains 
 viiH have washed it sufficiently oflf by the time they head up. The 
 insects here described are not, probably. !iU that afliict the cabbage 
 crop. A letter just received from a gentleman in Montgomery, 
 Ala., says that the young cabbage plants in that region are often swept 
 iu twenty-four houi-s by a small green woitq — a species of slug or cater- 
 pillai", no douV)t The remedy for all such is white hellebore powder, 
 which had better be dusted on the plants once a week as a preventive, 
 before the insect makes its appearance. In fact, all remedies against 
 insects are best used as preventives, or at least, on the verj- first appear- 
 ance of the pest But the insect enemies which attack the roolji of the 
 cabbage are not so easy to destroy. In fact, with the wire worm and cab- 
 bage maggot we are almost helpless, as far as my experience has gone. 
 For the latter, which is the worst enemy, a remedy has recently been 
 recommended to me, which, as yet, I have had no opportunity to test 
 It is to make a hole with the dibber, five or six inches deep, close to 
 the root of each plant, and drop into it nine or ten drops of bi-sulphide 
 of carbon, closing up the hole again. Last year the cabbage and 
 
The Cabbage Maggot. 317 
 
 cauliliower in our "trial grounds" were attacked by the cabbage mag- 
 got at the roots early in May. A small handful of Peruvian Guano 
 was nt once strewn around each plant and hoed in around the roots. 
 This at once started an unusual vigor of gi'owth, which sustained the 
 plants until they matured excellent heads. Understand, the Guano did 
 not injure the insect, it only enabled the cabbage to outgrow its attack. 
 For the destruction of the insect which causes the excrescence known 
 as " club root " in cabbage a heavy dressing of lime in fall and spring 
 •sviU check it to a great extent. In fact, on lands adjacent to the shores 
 of New Yor];; Bay, where the soil is mised with oyster shell, " club root " 
 is rai'ely seen, cabbage having been grown on some fields successively 
 for fifty j'ears without a trace of it being seen, showing that the insect 
 that causes the "club root" cannot exist in contact with lime; for it 
 is found on lands where there is no oyster shell deposit, a quarter of 
 a mile distant, and cabbages cannot be gro^vn two years in succession 
 on the same land, unless heavily di-essed with lime, and even then it is 
 always deemed safest never to plant cabbages two years in succession 
 on the same gi'ound ; for while such crops as onions show but little 
 benefit by rotation with other crops, cabbages, perhaps more than 
 anything else, are benefited by such alternation; and when it can be 
 done, nothing is better than to let the cabbage crop be alternated 
 with grasses, such as German miUet, timothy or clover, or a crop of 
 oats or rye. This is the method pursued by many of the Long Lsland 
 mai'ket gardeners, who gTow for the New York market, where their 
 lands are cheap enough to allow them to do so ; but the gai'deners of 
 Hudson County, New Jersey, which is in sight of New York City, 
 whose lands now are limited in area, and for which an average of $50 
 per acre rentispaid per annum, cannot well afford to let then- lands lay 
 thus comparatively idle, and in consequence do not now raise as fine 
 crops as the lands thus ' ' rested " by the gi-ass or gTain crops. 
 
 If the land for the cabbage crop is of a kind suitable to grow a 
 good crop of corn or potatoes, and is tilled or fertilized in the 
 manner advised, it is rare indeed that a crop will fail to head, if the 
 plants are in good condition, and have been properly planted, unless 
 they are attacked by the maggot or " club root." In our trial 
 grounds, where over a hiindred difterent stocks of cabbage are tested 
 each year, we have found that every kind of cabbage tested, early or 
 late, have produced solid heads, showing that wJien the conditions are 
 right all kind:i of cabbages will head up and produce a crop. A circum- 
 stance came under our notice, in the summer of 1882, which well 
 illustrates the necessitj' for care in planting. We had sold, some 
 time in Febraary, a large lot of our " Early Summer " cabbage seed 
 to two market gardeners in Eochester, N. Y. The orders were filled 
 
31H How THE Farm Pats, 
 
 from tlie same bag of seed. Some time about the end of June one 
 of the men wrote, sa's-ing that he had evidently got some si)urious 
 kind of cabbage from us, as his neighbor was marketing his crop, 
 while in his field of ten acres he had not a head lit to cut, nor was 
 there any aj)pearance of their ever doing so, he thought Investiga- 
 tion showed that no maggot, " club root" or other insect was affecting 
 the roots; the land wan nearly identical with that which had made a 
 successfid croji, and had been ecjually well manured and cultivated. 
 So the only probable solution of the matter was that the plants in the 
 case of failure had been Inoufhj planted and had failed to make a 
 promjit start, as in the other case, where the planting had been 
 proj)erly done, so that while the one lot advanced without a check, 
 the growth of the other lot was arrested. This was undoubtedly the 
 case, for there could be no cause for the difference unless on some 
 such hypothesis. But there was a fortunate sequel to the case. It 
 luckily hapjjcned that a heavy rain stonn oceiuTed while the cab- 
 bages were yet in this unheaded condition. This started, as it were, 
 a second growth, which resulted in their forming splendid heads by 
 August 1st, at a time when cabbages were scarce, which, luckily for 
 the owner, brought a much higher price than had they matured at 
 the proper season, in June or July. The result was fortunate for us, 
 who had sold the seed, for had not rain come so opportimely, the 
 crop might never have headed \ip, and it would then have been hard 
 to have convinced the man that he had not been furnished with 
 spurious seed. "What has been advised for cabbage crops, either 
 early or late, is exactly the culture necessary for a crop of 
 
 CAULIFLOWER. 
 
 Cauhflower being a plant of more deUcate constitution than cabbage, 
 it requires to be more carefully handled ; for instance, whore the cab- 
 bage plants in the cold fi-ames will keep safely over winter in this 
 latitude, with no covering but the glass sash, cauhflower plants require 
 the use of straw mats over the sashes, as the plant is much more 
 easily hiu't by frost. In fact, it is better never to keep the jjlants 
 through the winter ; those sown in Febi-uaiy, and traus))laiited into 
 cold fi-ames in Mai'ch, and jjlanted in the open ground in April, as 
 recommended for spring sown early cabbage, being better. The 
 plants, however, must be stju'ted early enough so that they can be 
 set out not later than middle of April, for if not rooted well before 
 Avarm weather sets in, they will either "button" — that is, form small, 
 stunted flowers — or else fail entirely to head up. Cauliflower delights 
 
Culture of Cauliflower. 
 
 319 
 
 in a cool atmospnere, and never does well when the season is hot and 
 dry, unless complete irrigation can be given when the jjlant is about 
 half grown. If this can be done the crop is certain. We have grown 
 in this manner nearly an acre for many yeai's, the crop seUing for an 
 average of $1,200 per acre annually, and that was before we hacj 
 introduced the now famous 
 
 known as " Henderson's Early Snowball," which is ahead of aU other 
 kinds in its certainty to make a crop. The next in succession to this 
 is the " Early Erfiui," which is again succeeded by the " Early Paris, " 
 
 HENItEBSON'S EARLY SNOWBALL CAULIFLOWER, 
 
 but neither of these in any resjject is equal to the " Snowball." For 
 late crop the varieties known as " Algiers, and Erfui-t," are the kinds 
 usually grown. The plants are obtained by sowing at the same dates 
 as for late cabbages. It is planted three feet each way and cultivated 
 exactly as late cabbages, and often sells as high as $25 per 100 in 
 November and December. We are of the opinion, however, that the 
 " Snowball," of which twice the number can be grown per acre, wiU 
 prove a more profitable crop even for late than the " Algiers," as it is 
 
320 
 
 How THE Fakm Pats. 
 
 always more certain to form heads. It is not once in twenty years 
 that a variety of vegetables or fruit makes such an advance in earliness 
 and quiility as this " Snowball " cauliflower, and we have much satis- 
 faction in the knowledge that we were the tirst to bring it into cultiva- 
 tion, about five yeai-s ago. It is now grown to almost the entire 
 exclusion of all other e:u-ly kinds of cauliflower in this country, and 
 hunch-eds have succeeded both North and South in raising a crop 
 fi'om this variety, who had previously completely failed with all other 
 kinds. In cauliflowers, as in cabbages, it is folly to attempt the experi- 
 ment of many kinds. Long experience has taught us that two or 
 three of each, for early and second early, is aU-suflicient Although 
 our seed catalogues enumerate scores of kinds, gardeners, who know 
 what they ai'e about, fight shy of all except those whose merit has 
 been proved beyond any question of a doubt For this reason, we 
 oulv give the names of such as we hwiv to be the best 
 
 The cultivation of this vegetable is almost identical with that given 
 for the beet, excepting that the crop may be thinned out a little closer; 
 
 DAXVKBS CAKBOT: 
 
 EAB1.T ECARLET SHORT HOBS CARBOT. 
 
 that is, caiTots may be allowed to stand at a distance of three or four 
 inches apart, while the beet requires five or six inches. This is a 
 pai-ticularly safe crop for the farmer, and he can never go far wrong 
 
Carrots. 
 
 321 
 
 in growing plenty of it, as it is a hardier root than beet, and can be 
 left uutn late in the fall and dug at leisure times, but always before 
 there is danger of its being frozen in; and will always sell at a fair 
 price even as feed for horses and cattle, rarely bringing in our markets 
 less than $1.00 per baiTel. The average crop on suitable soils is about 
 300 barrels to the acre. The carrot crop has one advantage over many 
 others — if the gi-ouud is fairly good, it may be grown without manure, 
 pai'ticularly on lauds that have been broken for potatoes or com the 
 year previous. I might say here that the seed of the carrot, being 
 
 BAI.F LONG SxnMP CAfiROT. 
 
 very small, is easily affected by drought, and gi-eat care should be 
 taken to firm it in the soil well, and I would ask the reader, if he has 
 not ah-eady been thoroughly imbued with the importance of iirming 
 seeds, to read the chapter given in this work on the " Use of the Feet 
 in Sowing and Planting." The kind used for table purposes is the 
 Early Horn, a short, beautifully colored, dark orange variety. For 
 a second crojj the Half Long is grown. That used for farm cultui-e 
 is known as Long Orange, or the Danvers. The quantity of seed 
 required, if sown by di'iU, is four to six pounds per acre ; if sown 
 by hand, eight to twelve pounds per acre. When sold at retaU for table 
 use it is equally profitable as beets, but comparatively few carrots are 
 wanted in the summer months. 
 
322 How THE Faum Pays. 
 
 CELERY. 
 
 Celery is annually becominff of more and more importance as a vege- 
 table crop. Thousauils of acres of it are grown in the neighborhood of 
 all oiu- large cities; of late, in the x-icinity of New York, the demand has 
 been iu excess of the siip])ly, and the extraordinary circumstance of a 
 vegetable of this description Ijeing sent from Michigan to Kew York 
 occurred last yeai'. The soil and cUmate of Michigan seem to be 
 particulaiiy suited to the growth of Celery, and the sami)les sent to New 
 York exceeded auj-thiug gi-own in tlie neighborhood, and brought 
 a 2)rice sufficient to justify the heavj' fi-eight fi-om that gi-eat distance. 
 CJelery requires rich soil and heavy manuring to have it of the best 
 (juaUty; although on land that has not been used for it before, such 
 us following after j)otatoes or corn, fine crops may be raised, if the 
 ground is iu good heart, without extra manuring. As a little more 
 requu'es to be said on the cultiu-e of this crop than a good many 
 other vegetables, I insert the following from my Horticultiu'al Essays, 
 published in 1882, which contains, iu my oi)iniou, about all the informa- 
 tion necessary on the subject. 
 
 ON THE GROWING AND PRESERVING OF CELERY FOR WINTER. 
 
 The seeds ai-e sown on a well jjulverized, rich border, in the open 
 groiuid, as early in the season as the ground can be worked. (For 
 instructions in sowing, see article beaded " Use of the Feet in Sowng 
 and Planting.") The bed is kept clear of weeds untU Jul}', when the 
 plants ai'e set out for the crop. But as the seedling plants ai'e rather 
 troublesome to raise, when for private use only, and as they can 
 usuallj' be purchased cheaper than they can be raised on a small scale, 
 it is scai-cely worth while to sow tlie seed. But when ^vanted in 
 (liumtity, the plants should always be raised by tlie gi'ower, as Celery 
 plants are not only difficult to transplant, but are usually too expensive 
 to buy when the crop is grown to sell. The Eui'opean plan is to make 
 a trench six or eight inches deep in which to ]ilant Celery; but our 
 violent rain storms in summer soon showed us that this plan was not 
 a good one here, so we set about planting on the level surface of the 
 gi'ound, just as we do with all vegetables. Celery requires an abun- 
 dance of manure, which, as usual with all other crops, must be well 
 mixed and incorporated with the soil before the Celery is set out. 
 When the ground is well prepared, we stretch a line to the distance 
 required; and beat it slightly with a spade, so that it leaves a mark to 
 
CuLTn'ATioN OF Celery. 323 
 
 show where to place the plants. These are set out at distances of six 
 inches between the plants, and usually four feet between the rows, 
 when tlie Celery is to be " banked " uj) for early or fall use; but when 
 grown for winter use, fi-om two to three feet between the rows is suffi- 
 cient. Great care must be taken, in ijutting out the Celery, to see 
 that the j)lant is set just to the depth of the roots; if much 
 deeper, the " heart " might be too much covered up, which 
 would impede the growth. It is also important that the soil be 
 well 23"'Cked to the roots in planting, and this we do by retiuTiing 
 on each row, after f)lanting, and pressing the soil against each plant 
 finiily -s^ith the feet; and if the operation can be done in the evening, 
 and the j)lants coijiously watered, no further attention will be requii-ed. 
 
 Planting maj' be done any time fi'om the 25th of June to the second 
 week in August. After pilanting, nothing is to be done but keep the 
 crop) clear of weeds untU Sei^tember; by that time the handling 
 process is to be begun, which consists in drawing the eaiih to each 
 side of the Celery, and pressing it tightly to it, so as to give the leaves 
 an uj)ward gi'owth prepai'atory to blanching for use. Supf>osing this 
 handling process is done by the middle of September, by the first 
 week in October it is ready for "banking up," wliich is done by 
 digging the soil from between the rows, and laying or banking it up 
 with the spade on each side of the row of Celery. After being so 
 banked up) in October, it will be read}' for use in three or four weeks, 
 if wanted at that time. But if, as in most cases, it is needed for winter 
 use only, and is to be put away in trenches, or in the cellar, as will 
 hereafter be described, all that it requires is the operation of " han- 
 dling." If the celery is to be left in the open gi-ound where it was 
 grown, then a heavy bank must be made on each side of the rows, and 
 as cold weather approaches — say in this latitude by the middle of 
 November — an additional covering of at least a foot of leaves or Utter 
 must be closely packed against the bank, to protect it fi'om frost; but it 
 is not safe to leave it in the banks where it grows, in any section of the 
 country where the temperature gets lower than ten degrees above zero. 
 
 Perhaj)s the best way to keep Celery for family use is in a cool 
 cellar. This can be done by storing it in narrow boxes, of a depth a 
 little less than the height of the Celery. A few inches of sand or soil 
 are jilaced in the bottom of the box, and the Celery is j)acked upright, 
 the roots being placed on the sand at the bottom; but no sand or any- 
 thing else must be put between the stalks of the Celery, aU that is 
 needed being the damp sand on the bottom of the box, the meaning 
 of which is, that before Celery will blanch or whiten, it must first 
 start at the root; hence the necessity of placing the roots on an inch 
 or so of damp sand. Boxes thus packed and placed ia a cool cellar 
 
324 How THE Fak-m Pays. 
 
 in November, will be blanched fit foi- use during January, February 
 and Mavcli, tbon-^'h for succession it will be better to put it in the 
 boxes, fi-om the open ground, at three difierent times, say October 2otli, 
 November 10th and November 20th. Or if the boxes ai'e not at 
 hand, the Celery may be i)ut away ou the floor of the cellar, in strips 
 of eiglit or nine inches wide, divided by boanls of a width ecjual to 
 the height of the Celery. That is, if the Celery is two feet high, the 
 boai-ds separating it must be about the same height. The reason for 
 dividing the Celery in these narrow strijjs by boards is to prevent 
 heating, which would take place if placed together in too thick 
 masses. The dates above given apply, of course, to the latitude of 
 New York; if further south, do the work later; if further north, eai'licr. 
 If one has no suitable cellar, the Celery can be very readily 
 jDreserved in the manner followed by market gardeners. Thus, after 
 it has been " handled " or straightened up, as before described, what 
 is intended for use by Christmas should be dug up about October 
 25th; that to be used in January and Februarj-, by November 10th; 
 and that for March use, by November 20th, which latter date is as 
 late as it can be risked here. Although it 'sntU stand quite a sharp 
 frost, the weather by the end of November is often severe enough to 
 kill it, or so freeze it in the ground that it cannot be dug up. The 
 ground in which it is to be jDreseiTed for winter use must be as diy 
 as possible, and so arranged that no water can remain in the trench. 
 Dig a trench as naiTow as jsossible (it should not be wider than ten 
 inches), and of a depth equal to the height of the Celery; that is, if 
 the plant of Celery be eighteen inches high, the trench should 
 be dug eighteen inches deep. The Celery is then packed exactly 
 in the manner described for storing in boxes to be placed in 
 the cellar; that is, stand it as near upright as possible, and 
 pack as closelj' together as can be done without bruising it; no soil 
 or sand must be j^ut between the stalks. As the weather becomes 
 cold, the trenches should be gi-adually covered with leaves or litter to 
 the thickness of six or eight inches, which will be enough to prevent 
 severe freezing, and enable the roots to be taken out easily when 
 wanted. Another method now practiced by the market gardeners of 
 New Jersey is as follows: before the aj^proach of very cold weather 
 — saj' the middle of December — the Celery in the trenches is pressed 
 somewhat closely together by passing a spade down deeply alongside 
 of the trench on each side, but about tlu'ee or four inches from the 
 Celery. It is best done by two men, so that thej* jiress against each 
 other, thus firming the top of the Celery in the trench until it is com- 
 pact enough to sustain a weight of three or four inches of soil, which 
 is taken from the sides of the trench and spread over the Celery. 
 
Varieties of Celery. 
 
 325 
 
 This earth covering keeps it rather fresher than the covering of 
 litter, though on the approach of cold weather the earth covering is 
 not sufficient, and a covering of sis or seven inches of leaves must yet 
 be placed over the earth covering. 
 
 From 200 to 500 roots are usuaUj- required for use by an ordinary 
 family. The varieties we recommend are the Golden Dwarf, Sandring- 
 ham, White "Walnut, and London Eed. The red is as yet but little used 
 
 in this country, though the flavor is better, and the j)lant altogether 
 hardier than the white. A new variety, known as the Parsley leaved, 
 has just been introduced, which will be very useful for table decoration, 
 as well as for all purposes for which Celery is used, as it is equally as 
 good as any of the others. 
 
32G How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 "We are often asked for the cause of aud remedy for Celery 
 rusting or bui-uiug. The cause, we thiiik, is the condition of 
 the weather, which destroys the tender libres, or what ai-e called 
 the working roots of the plant, for we find it is usually worse in 
 seasons of extreme drought or moisture, particularly in warm 
 weather. 
 
 We know of no remedy, nor do we believe there is any. We may 
 say, however, that it is less hable to appear on new, fresh soils, that are 
 free from acids or sourness, than on old soils that have been surfeited 
 with maniu-e, aud have had no rest. 
 
 Although, under ordinary conditions, if j^roper vaaieties of Celery 
 are used, the crop should never be jjithy or hollow, yet we have found 
 that now and then even the most solid kinds of Celery have become 
 more or less hollow when planted in soft, loose soils, such as reclaimed 
 peat bogs, where the soil is mostly composed of leaf movdd. In fact, 
 on heavy or clayey soils the Celery wiU be considerably heavier than 
 on lighter soils. 
 
 THE WHITE PLUME CELERY. 
 
 Since writing the above, we have this season, 1883, been fortunate in 
 originating a new kind of celeiy known as the " White Plume, " a 
 name given to it from its resemblance in structui'e to an ostrich 
 plume. It has a most beautiful j)innated leaf cut in segments, and 
 in all respects, as regards quality, is unsurpassed by any of the veiy 
 best kinds. The great advantage which it possesses, is a peculiarity 
 in its nature that is going to do away with nearly all the labor that 
 we have heretofore had in banking or trenching celery. When the 
 plant attains its fuU growth, the stems and all the inner leaves are 
 white, and all that is necessary to do in order to blanch it, is to draw 
 or hoe the soil up close against each root with the hands aud again 
 plow or hoe it up, and the work is done, so that the celery will come 
 out in as fine a blanched state as other kinds will do, even when 
 banked up, with a spade, two feet in height. This banking up 
 with the spade is always a slow process, and very difficult to learn, 
 unless with lai'ge practice, and has been the drawback more than 
 anything else against the cultivation of celerj-. This new kind will 
 do away with all this labor and expense, and will open a new era in 
 celery culture, so that anybody can grow it just as easily as they can 
 grow a head of cabbage. The only disadvantage attending this new 
 celery is that fi'om its whiteness and consequent tender nature it will 
 not keep later than the middle of February, but for fall and cju'ly 
 winter use there is no kind that wiU answer the pui'pose so weU. 
 
The White Pi.ume Celery. 
 
 327 
 
 As the greateist demand for celery is at the Thanisgiving and Christ- 
 mas holidays, this only drawback is of little account. For general 
 us« we advise that three-fourths of this variety be grown, the other 
 
 foiuih being London Red and Golden Dwarf. The White Plume 
 should therefore for this reason always be used as the first crop, the 
 green kinds, whose culture we have just described, being used for 
 
328 How TiiE Farm Pay.s. 
 
 second crops. One great disadvantage with the older kinds is that 
 the work of banking up of two or three feet requu-ed to be done, may 
 in the event of severe rain stonus be Uiade completely useless, as tliese 
 banks become saturated with the rain and washed doAvn and the 
 whole work has to be gone over again, but with this new kind, no 
 banks being necessary, all such danger is avoided. About 30,000 
 of this new kind of celery (planted three feet in the rows and six 
 inches between the plants) can be gi'own on an acre. At the very 
 lowest price of $2 per 100 roots, $G00 would be the gross receipts. 
 Estimating $200 for manure and labor, we have a net jirotit of S400 
 per acre, but in many parts of the country celery is sold at twice and 
 sometimes three times this price. 
 
 CRESS (WATER). 
 
 I allude to this vegetable here, not to recommend its cidture to the 
 farmer unless under special favorable conditions. The special con- 
 ditions requii'ed for it may, however, occasionally be found, and in 
 such cases, by a Httle attention, it may be made an exceedingly 
 in-ofitable crop. Many a fanner in the vicinity of lai'ge cities may 
 realize more profit from this plant on his fann, with but little labor, 
 than he could from months of hard work in his corn or jiotato field. 
 The following brief iusti-uctions wUl be found to be all that is re- 
 quired for the cultui'e of this vegetable, where the proper conditions 
 are present Suppose there is a stream running through the fai-m 
 one to three feet deej) and three to twelve feet wide, with level banks. 
 A simple jjlan of cultivation is to make excavations at right angles 
 with the stream, forming sunken beds six or eight feet wide and about 
 eight inches deep, with alleys raised between of the same width, so 
 that the beds can be Hooded by the stream, the i^lauts of the Water 
 Cress being planted in the sunken beds at eight or ten inches apart 
 each way. Wliere the beds cannot be drained dry, tlie slips or cut- 
 tings are made into small Italls with clay, and these are dropjied into 
 the water; they settle to the bottom, and the slii)s (juickly take root. 
 The advantage of ha^dng the beds made at right angles to the stream 
 is that, in the event of freshets, the crop is less liable to be washed 
 out. It is not easy to detenuine the vjilue of an acre of Water Cress, 
 as so much depends on the thickness of its gi'owth ; yet I think it safe 
 to say that, whenever sold in any of our lai-ge markets, such as New 
 York, Boston, Phdadeljihia or Chicago, it would rai'ely fail, at 
 present prices, to bring less than $1,000 per acre, and one gi-eat 
 advantage of it is that it is so Ught in proportion to its value that from 
 $100 to S150 worth can be easily placed in a single wagon load. For 
 
Sweet Coen. 
 
 329 
 
 full pai'ticiilars on this subject I would again refer to luj work, 
 " Gai-deuing tor Profit." 
 
 CORN (SWEET). 
 
 It may seem presumption in me to instruct the farmer how to grow 
 corn; but as theii- methods of growing this special variety of corn for 
 table use are probably not as well known as for the field vaiieties, I 
 will here give them. AU the viu'ieties of sweet corn may either be 
 sown in rows four and one-half feet apart and about sis or eight 
 inches between the seeds, or i:)lanted in hills at distances of three or 
 
 four feet each way, according to the variety of corn or richness of the 
 soU. The smaller and earUer varieties, as the Tom Thumb and Eai-ly 
 Minnesota, may be j^lanted in hills two feet apart each way. The 
 taller the variety or the richer the soil, the gi-eater should be the dis- 
 tance apart. Such later varieties as Egj-jjtian and Evergreen require 
 to be planted at least tkree feet apart, or even more, on very rich 
 soil. We make om- first plantings in this latitude about the middle 
 of May, and continue successive plantings eveiy two weeks until the 
 last week in July. In more southern latitudes, or in warm, li^-ht 
 soils at the north, planting is begun a month earlier and continued a 
 month later. I have rejjeatedly sold it in the New York markets 
 realizing as high as $200 per acre, and this, too, at the first wholesale 
 
330 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 price, the consumer paying about twice as much. An ordinary yield 
 is about 11,000 ears to an acre. In such cases, however, it was either 
 an early crop or a very late one, biinging two or three doUai-s per 
 100 ears, while the iateiTening crops, which came in competition with 
 the full market, often sold as low as seventj'-five cents per 100 ears. 
 The importance, tlien, will be seen, of striking the market at such 
 seasons when the ai-ticle will be sciu-ce. The quantity of seed required 
 per acre is from six to eight quarts. 
 
 CCCUMBER. 
 
 This vegetable is l)est suited for warm, rich, sandy, loam ground. 
 It should not be planted until there is a j^rospect for settled wjirm 
 weather — in the vicinity of New York about the middle of !May — and 
 in hills four feet apart each way. The hills should previously be pre- 
 jsai-ed by thoroughly mi.King in a shovel full of well rotted stable 
 manure. Li the absence of maniu'e, a small hantlful of bone dust, or 
 some well known superphosphate, may be used instead. In each hill 
 
 IMl-UOVbU \SHlIi; stmE cucu. 
 
 should be planted fi-om eight to ten seeds. "UTien all danger from 
 insects is passed, and the jjlants ai-e well started, they are thinned 
 out to three or four to each hiU. The fruit should be gathered while 
 green, as, if left to ripen on the vines, it verj' soon destroys their pro- 
 ductiveness. Quite a number of fai-mers in the vicinity of New York 
 have of late yeai's grown cucumbers for pickhng very largely, some 
 devoting as much as twenty acres to this piu^josc. When gro-s\-n for 
 I^ickUng they are usually not sown until the middle of July, the 
 gi-ound used being such as has been so\\-n with rye, oats or clover. 
 They are planted in hills about foiu- feet apart, and manm-ed as for 
 table use, and it is claimed that they give an average profit over aU 
 expenses of $75 per acre. The kind used for table use is that known 
 as the Improved "White Spine; that used for pickhng is the Green 
 Prohfic. Care should be taken not to get these viu-ieties revei-sed, 
 or the pickhng vaiiety wUl be foimd of httle use for the table, while 
 the "White Spine would be too lai-ge for pickhng. Quantity of seed 
 requu'ed for cucumbers in hiUs, about two pounds per acre. An 
 
Cdltdre of Cucumbers tok PiCKUCsa 331 
 
 experienced grower gives the following information in regard to this 
 crop: 
 
 " The culture of cucumbers for pickling is very jarofitable under 
 some cu'cuuistances. These are when the grower is near a large city, 
 or has facOities for disposing of his product in a fresh state to fac- 
 tories in which the vegetables ai'e pickled either in salt or \'inegai-, or 
 when he has facUities for preserving them himself for sale in distant 
 markets, as in manufacturing towns, lumbering or mining villages 
 and camps, or to dealers in ship stores, or even to village stores, 
 where the pickles can be retailed duiing the winter season. As there 
 is a large and regular demand for pickles, there are many places 
 where factories can be established for their manufacture with success 
 and profit, and more conveniently in conjunction with the business of 
 cider making, with a view to providing a supply of pure vinegar; can- 
 ning and drj-ing vegetables and fruits ; making jellies, and even adding 
 to all these an outfit for making sorghum syrujj and sugai* from the 
 cane. A factory of this kind could find work the whole year round, 
 and would require only a very moderate capital for its fiirnishing, 
 because the same building and much of the apparatus would serve for 
 aU these purposes, and some only would be required for each special 
 use. But a pickle factory should be erected in a good ajjple country, 
 where fruit for cider could be procm-ed very cheaply. 
 
 "The cultiu'e of the cucumbers is very simj)le. Although this 
 vegetable consists almost wholly of water, yet it requires rich soU, or 
 at least a Hberal quantity of manure, to force the growth so quickly 
 as to secure the requisite tenderness and succulence. A light, sandy, 
 warm soil is the best. This is plowed deeply, because the roots of 
 all the gourd tribe spread widely and love a loose soil, in which 
 they can find adequate moisture and warmth. For the pickling 
 varieties, of which the Green ProHfic is the best and is almost 
 universally gi-own, the ground is marked out four feet apart each 
 way, a deep f uitow being made so as to leave room for a good shovel- 
 ful of rich compost at each crossing. This is worked in with the 
 spade or hoe and the ground leveled. Five pr six seeds are dropped 
 in each liUl, about one j)ound of seed being required for one acre. 
 A\Tien the plants are up they are thinned out to three to each hiU. 
 A\Taen the seed is sown a broadcast dressing of 300 or 400 pounds of 
 Peiiivian guano per acre may be given with great advantage, as this 
 fertUizer seems to have a specially good effect on this crop; super- 
 phosphate of Ume is the next best, and fine bone flour comes next. 
 With this preparation and -100 pounds of guano jjer acre, costing $15, 
 we have grown over 300,000 cucumbers to the acre, which is double 
 the average crop and equal to about 100 to each hill. The excess in 
 
332 How THE Fabm Pays. 
 
 this case was clearlj' due to the fertilizer, as the product was more 
 than doubled by it, so that the expenditure of 815 repaid nearly $200 
 in increase of crop, as the cucumbers were sold at $1.50 per 1,000. 
 Some attention is required to secui-e a good yield. The ground must 
 be kejat loose by frecjucut cultivation untU the vines cover the ground. 
 The main vines must be i)inched at the ends to keep them ^^•ithin 
 bounds and to encourage the outgrowth of side branches, which are 
 the most prohfic of fruit. The main branches bear chiefly male or 
 staminate flowers, which are baiTen of fruit, and the side branches 
 bear the pistillate or productive flowers; so that the gi-eat secret in 
 gi-ovfing this crop, as well as aU kinds of cucumbers, melons and 
 squashes, consists in tliis shortening in of the main vine and the 
 encoui-agement of the laterals. The fruit is gathered every morning 
 as soon as it has reached a proper size, which is from two to three 
 inches. These cucumbers are never cut, but are always preserved 
 and pickled whole. The chief labor is in preventing diunage by hce 
 and the small cucumber beetle; for the former we liud the best 
 remedy to be to pluck off the fii-st infested leaves, by which the other- 
 wise rapid spread of this pest is prevented. For the other pest 
 dusting with finely ground gypsum is the best and usual remedy." 
 
 EGG PLANT. 
 
 This vegetable is not likely to be much wanted in country towns, 
 although it is used to a considerable extent at the wateiing places in 
 
 YonK IMPROVED EGU 1'L.VNT 
 
 hotels and boarding houses. It is not worth whUe for the farmer, for 
 all he would be likely to want of this crop, to go to tlie ti'ouble of 
 raising his own plants, as it is rather a (hflicult process, and requires 
 waiTU hot beds to start them in during the early spiing months. He 
 
Lettuce. 333 
 
 can purchase the plants cheaper than he can raise them. The nature 
 of this vegetable is very much similar to that of the tomato, being a 
 very tender plant, and shovild never be set out, in the latitude of 
 New York, sooner than the 15th of May. It should be j^lauted at 
 distances of four feet assart each way. It wiU begin to produce its 
 fiTiits by the middle of July and continues fruiting until September. 
 It is not unusual for single jjlants to produce ten or twelve large 
 fi'uits, enough to fiU a bushel basket. They are usually retailed in 
 our markets at $1.50 per dozen fruits. 
 
 This is, perhaps, one of the most universally cultivated of all vege- 
 tables, and from its tractable nature and freedom from nearly all 
 insect diseases, it is easQy managed by every one. For main crop the 
 seed is usually sown by market gai'deners in the open gi'ound, about 
 the middle of September, and transplanted to cold frames as soon as 
 
 IMP.SON LETTUC 
 
 large enough to handle, being wintered over in the same manner as 
 early cabbage, which see. But when sown in dry, weU sheltered 
 spots and covered vnth leaves or litter late in the fall, lettuce j^lants 
 win be safe through the winter without glass covering, particular!}' in 
 southern sections. "We have often seen plants in sheltered places, 
 even in New Jersey, coming out in the spring perfectly fresh, simply 
 by having sown the seed in the open ground in the middle of Sep- 
 tember. These plants that are sown in September, it will be under- 
 stood, are for the earh' spring crop, to be planted in April in the open 
 ground. For such as are wanted for successive crops sowings may be 
 
334 How THE Fabm Pats. 
 
 made in the open ground as early astlie season opens, sar loth of April, 
 until July, and, as it is somewhat difficult to transplant in hot weather, 
 the best way is to sow it in drills twelve inches apart, and thin out 
 the plants in the rows so that they will stand eiyht or ten inches 
 apart- The crop in this way is exceedingly easy to handle; all that is 
 necessary to do is to hoe it once, so as to keep down the weeds. It 
 is a plant of comparatively tender growth, and unless care is taken to 
 promptly destroy aU weeds it may be quickly choked up so as to be 
 worthless. The kinds best to use are those known as Black Seeded 
 
 KiLASULM^Eii txmx 
 
 Simpson nnd Salamander: the one is a curled leaved variety, the 
 other is plain or smooth leaved, and forms a sohd head. Many of 
 the German gai'deners in the Ticrnity of New York make an excellent 
 hving on half an acre of land by this process of sowing lettuce, which 
 they sell at not more than one cent per head; but as they get four 
 croj^s in a season, and the plants aie set about one foot each way, half 
 an acre four times cropped will sell for upwards of $800. even at one 
 cent per head. When lettuce is sold at retail direct to the consumer. 
 it is fair to presume that, in most places, it will bring two or three 
 times that amount. 
 
 MELOX i>rrSK). 
 
 I have often wondered that a delicious fruit, so easily grown as 
 melon-s, is so little cultivated by fiunners who have often acres uiwn 
 acres of land of which they make but httle or no use. Melons will 
 thrive best in a rich, light soil, although there is no necessity for 
 heavy manuring on soils where a good crop of com or potatoes, which 
 has been well manured, has been gro-wn the previous year. Tsually 
 a shovelful of rotted manure or compost is put in each hill, and the 
 best growers use also a small handful of guano or superphosphate in 
 
Musk Melons. 335 
 
 addition. A clover sod, plowed in, is esjieciaUy favorable for this 
 croj). The main point in melon growing is to push the crop fonvard 
 as quickly as possible, so as to catch the high prices which rule then. 
 A well known melon grower of Hackensack, N. J., where this crop is 
 
 HACKENSACK aiUSK ilELON. 
 
 largely produced, mentioned an instance where one farmer admitted 
 having lost the whole of his late crop of melons by a frost, which 
 would have been avoided by the expenditure of $25 or $30 in guano, 
 used at the planting, as this would have pushed the crop forward 
 
 MONTBEAI. MARKET MUSK MELON. 
 
 several days and have saved it. For this reason, a dressing of guano 
 in the hih should always be used. They, like cucumbers, should be 
 planted in hills, but somewhat wider, from five to sis feet apart each 
 way, according to the richness of the soiL Ten or twelve seeds are 
 
336 How THE Faum Pays. 
 
 planted in each hill early in May, and when well up the plants are 
 thinned out to three or four of the most promising. It is a crop that 
 can be as easily raised as a crop of corn, and when sold at wholesale, 
 it is safe to say, will pay a protit of at least $100 per acre. The 
 viirietj' most preferred for this section is that known as Hackensack, 
 wliich is gi'own by the thousands of acres for the New York market 
 The flesh is of a greenish-yellow color, and is of the most dehcious 
 Havor. Another variety is the Surprise, equally good in all respects, 
 ths flesh being of a salmon or pink color. This variety, however, is 
 not so popular in the markets as the green-fleshed sorts. The most 
 successful gi'owei-s greatly increase the yield of this crop by a system 
 of pinching the main vine, so as to encourage the lateral shoots, upon 
 which the fruit is borne. A large gi-ower in the vicinity of Hacken- 
 sack, N. J., a noted locality in this respect, gives the following details 
 of the cultiu-e : 
 
 ^Melons ai'e a speciiil crop which needs particular care and culture. 
 In some locahties they ai-e gi'ovsTi for market in great quantities. It 
 is said that, on one evening last summer, IGO two-horse wagon loads, 
 each of about 1,000 melons, crossed by one ferry from a subui'b of 
 New York City. And this was by no means an extra occasion. The 
 melon season lasts fi-om July into October, so that some idea may be 
 gained from this of the magnitude of this business. The croj) is a 
 ^ery profitable one when skillfuily cultivated, and often realizes $500 
 to $1,000 an acre, and more rai'ely even as high as ^l.-'SOO, when the 
 melons ai'e the first in the mai'ket and bring the highest jirice of the 
 season. But as with other products, these large jsrofits are only 
 realized by those gi-owers whose long experience and skill give them 
 more than usual advantages. The methods, however, are no secret, 
 and any one who will follow them may just as easily meet with the 
 same success. 
 
 The most suitable soil for melons is a rich, warm, deep, sandy loam 
 having a southern or south-western exposui-e. The latter is prefer- 
 able, as it gets the last rays of the sun and the soil is thus wanned up 
 for the night, and, being sheltered from eastern and northern winds, 
 retains this warmth iintil the morning. This may make several days' 
 difference in the ripening of the crop, which may be equivalent to 
 $300 or $400 an acre in the value of the fruit. The best fertilizer is 
 well decayed stable manure and night soil in equal inu-ts, with a 
 moderate addition of Peruvian guano appUed in the hill. The 
 manner of cultm-e is as follows: The soil is plowed in the fall or 
 ejulj' in the spring and is cross-plowed the fii-st daj-s of May, about 
 twenty loads per acre of manm-e being plowed under. The gi-ound 
 is then well harrowed and fuiTowed out six feet apiu't each way. A 
 
Pests of the Melon. 337 
 
 full shovelful of mixed fine manure and night soil is used in each hiU, 
 being well mixed with the soil; a liberal dusting of guano or super- 
 phosphate of hme is then scattered about the hill and sis or eight 
 seeds are planted. The first jilanting is eaiij' in May ; other plantings 
 may be continued through June. The hQl is raised two or three 
 inches above the surface, and is made about two feet broad and quite 
 flat. AVTien the plants appear above the surface they require protec- 
 tion from cut worms, which would otherwise cut the steins and destroy 
 them; and as the rough leaves appear the weaker plants are 
 thinned out and three only left. A good method of j)rotecting the 
 plants against the cut worms is to make a ring of thick pajjer, about 
 a foot in diameter and three inches broad, and j^lace this around 
 them, so as to form an obstacle over which they cannot cUmb. The 
 after cultivation consists of deep plowing at intervals at least 
 tvnce and frequent cultivation, until the vines begin to rim, when the 
 teiTuinal buds are pinched off to cause the growth of the lateral 
 branches. The main vine produces chiefly male and barren flowers, 
 and if this is left to run the laterals would not push out and there 
 would be little or no fruit. The lateral vines bear the female or 
 perfect flowers, and to encourage the growth of these is one of the 
 secrets of melon cultui-e upon which the i^rofits depend. The same 
 peculiarity of growth is found in aU the goui'd tribe, and apj^lies to 
 squash, cucumbers and water melons, as well as to musk melons. 
 
 The pests of the melon are hce, the striped beetle, and the squ.ash 
 bug. The hce appeaa- on the under side of the leaves and are diffi- 
 cult to get at, so that the simplest and most efifective remedy is to 
 flinch off the afi'ected leaves or the part of the vine and carry it away 
 and burn it. If left undisturbed the hce fi'om one hiU will quickly 
 spread over several square rods and completely destroy the crop. The 
 striped beetle is the worst enemy to deal with. It lays its eggs on 
 the stem at the ground, and the small grubs work their way to the 
 root and feed upon it. The first indication of their jjresence is the 
 wilting of the leaves — "going down" of the vines, the gTowers call it 
 — and vine after vine thus goes down, until at times the larger pai-t of 
 the croj) may be destroyed when the melons are half grown. The remedy 
 for tins pest is to apply strong tobacco water around the stem on the 
 first appearance of the small striped beetle and repeat it in a few 
 days, and to repeat it again as soon as the wilting of the tu'st leaf is 
 noticed. The fruit begins to " net " about two weeks before it ripens, 
 and the indications of ripeness are the fi-agrant scent, the softness 
 of the blossom end of the melon, and the cracking and easy parting 
 of the stem. 
 
338 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 MELON (WATER). 
 
 Water melons requii-e the same soil as musk melons for their best 
 development, and tluive best in -warm latitudes. Unless the soil is 
 especially vr&mi and simdy they do not usually gi\e as pood ressult 
 in the Northem and Middle States as the musk melon, and ai-e now 
 essentially, for mai-ket imrposes, a plant of the South and South- 
 
 rUINNET'S EABLT WATEB MKLON. 
 
 ■western States, where hundi'eds of thousands of tlu-m ai-e annually 
 grown for our Northern mai'kets. The culture is exactly the same as 
 lor musk melons, except that the hiUs should be just double the dis- 
 tance apart, namely, nine to ten feet. Of Viuieties, the Black Spanish, 
 Ice Cream and Pliinney's Early are the favorites for this section, and 
 the Georgia or Rattlesnake variety in the Southern States. 
 
 OKKA, OR GUMBO. 
 
 This vegetable is extensively grown in the Southern States. Its 
 long joods, when young, are used in soups, stews, etc., and ai'e very 
 imtritious. It is easily cultivated and grows freely, beaiiug abun- 
 dantly in any garden soil. It is sown at the usual time of all tender 
 vegetables, in May, in di-ills, two inches deep and thi-ee feet apart, 
 the seeds being dropped at two to three inches apart. 
 
 ONION. 
 
 It is the generally received oiiinion that onions grow best in old 
 ground. This Ave think is an en'or; it is not because the ground is 
 " old," or has been long cultivated, that the onions do better there. 
 
Soils Suitable for Onions. 339 
 
 but because such lands, from Iheir long culture, are usuallj' better 
 pulverized; and experience has shown us repeatedlj' that when new 
 soil has been equally well pulverized and fertilized, an equally good 
 crop is obtained, and usually a cleaner crop, more exempt from mst 
 or mildew. As a matter of fact, the finest crop of onions we ever 
 beheld was on sandy swamp land, which had been first thoroughly 
 drained and broken up. In fact, new soils, iiarticularly when broken 
 up fi'om pastui-e land — tm-ned over early enough in the fall so that 
 the sod is rotted comjjletely — make excellent land for onion crops, as 
 they are usually free from weeds. Such land, however, must be well 
 
 EAELT FL.iT RED OSION. TEIXOW DUTCH ONION. 
 
 pulverized, by the use of the plow, harrow and smoothing harrow, 
 or good results may not follow. Much depends on the quality of 
 such soil. If rather sandy loam, it will, of coiu'se, be much easier to 
 pulverize than if stiff or clayey loam, and such soil, in our experience, 
 is always preferable for most crops. Such soils, also, are nearly 
 always free from under water, rarely requiring artificial drainage, if 
 the land is level, and it always should be selected as level as possible 
 for the onion crop, as when land slopes to any great extent, much 
 damage is often done by washing out, the onion roots being near the 
 surface, and consequently cannot resist floods as crops that root 
 deeper. 
 
 Many onion growers, who make a specialty of the business, find it 
 is economical to alternate the crop with a green crop such as Geiman 
 millet, which can be cut for hay in July, the "stubble" plowed 
 down in August, giving a fresh fibrous soil, clear of tveeds, for the 
 onion crop to be sown next spring. It is not claimed that the alter- 
 
340 
 
 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 nation of a preen crop with the onions is a necessity, as it is weU 
 known that the onion is one of tlie verj' few crops that does not seem 
 benefited hy altematinf^; but it is claimed that it gives ahnost entire 
 fi'eedoni fi-oni weeds, as, after a crop of millet which has been cut 
 before its seed ripens, few troublesome weeds will come up the next 
 year-. 
 
 I have always held the opinion that when well rotted stable manvire, 
 whether from horses or cows, can be procured, at a cost not exceeding 
 $3 per ton dehvered on the ground, it is cheaper and better than any 
 kind of concentrated fertilizer. It should be plowed in at the 
 rate of thiiiy tons per acre. The concentrated fertilizers in the 
 
 ronxrcAi. onion. 
 
 YELLOW DANVEHS OKIOS. 
 
 mai'ket are now so numerous, that it would be invidious to specify 
 particular brands. We ourselves, excejjt in iising occasionally the 
 "Blood and Bone Fertilizer," which we have proved to be excellent, 
 use only pure Ground Bone and Peinivian Guano, which, for onions, 
 we jirefer to mix together in equal jjai-ts, sowing it on the land after 
 plowing, at the rate of at least one ton ])er acre of the mixture (when 
 no stable manure has been iised), after sowing to be harrowed in, as 
 described in " Prejiaring the Ground." 
 
 One of the most valuable manures for the onion crop are the 
 di'oppings from the chicken or pigeon house, which, when mixed 
 with twice their weight of lime, coal or wood ashes, so as to disinte- 
 
Fertilizeks for Onions. 
 
 341 
 
 grate and pulverize, may be sown on the land after plowing, to be 
 haiTowed in, at the rate of three or four tons per acre of the mtsture. 
 Night soil, when mixed with dry muck, coal ashes, charcoal dust, 
 lime or hme rubbish as absorbents, and spread on after jjlowing at 
 the rate of six or eight tons per acre, and harrowed deeply in, will 
 never fail to produce a heavy crop of onions in any suitable soil 
 
 There ai-e many other manures that wiU answer the jjurpose, often 
 to be had in special localities, such as the refuse hops and " grains " 
 from breweries, which should be used in the same mamier and 
 quantities as stable manure, ^lule fish guano, whalebone shavings. 
 
 Vr£IH£BSFI£LO BED ONION. 
 
 « 1 
 GIANT ROCCA ONION. 
 
 or shavings from horn, when pulverized so as to be in proper condi- 
 tion to be taken up by the plants, are nearly equal in value to ground 
 bone. "Wood ashes alone, spread on at the rate of five or six tons jser 
 acre, will usually give excellent results. 
 
 It is well ever to keep the fact in mind, that it will always be more 
 profitable to fertihze one acre of onions well than two imperfectly. 
 If thirty tons of stable manure or one and one-half tons of concen- 
 trated fertilizer are used to an acre, the net profits are almost certain 
 to be lai-ger than if that quantity had been spread over two acres; for 
 in all jDrobability nearly as much weight of crop would be got from 
 the one well maniu'ed acre than from the two that had been done im- 
 perfectly, besides the saving of seed and labor in cultivating two 
 acres instead of one. In 
 
342 
 
 How THE Farm Pats. 
 
 PREPARING THE GROUND 
 
 tor the reception of the seed (if it has been plowed the fall 
 previous), j)lo-wing should be begun as soon as the land is dry 
 enough to work, first having spread over the laud weU rotted stable 
 maniu'e, at the rate of thirty tons to the acre. This should be lightly 
 turned under, jjlowing not more than five or six inches deep, and 
 covering the manure so that it will be three or four inches under the 
 surface. For this reason, the manure must be well rotted, othei-wise 
 it cannot be well covered by the plow. If concentrated fertilizers 
 are to be used, it is best to plow the land up roughly, sow tlie 
 fertilizer at the rate of one to two tons per acre, accoi'ding to its 
 
 60CIBP0KT YELLOW GLOBE ONION. 
 
 SOITTHPORT WHITU (iLlUlE ONION. 
 
 fertUizing proj)erties; then harrow thoroughly, so that it is regularly 
 incorporated with the soil. After haiTowing with an ordinary toothed 
 hari'ow, the sui'face should be further leveled with some kind of a 
 " smoothing " haiTow, either Meeker's Smootliing Disc HaiTow, or 
 some sort of chain liaiTow. The former we like best, as the revolv- 
 ing discs pulverize the soil, to a dejjth of three inches, much better 
 than it can be done by raking, and the smoothing board, which 
 follows in the wake of the revolving wheels, makes the surface, if free 
 from stones, smooth as a board — iax better than it can be done by 
 rakiuK. 
 
Cdltration of Omoxs. 343 
 
 The gi'ound being tlius prepared, the next thing is the sowing of 
 the seed (about six pounds being used jjer acre). This, of coui"se, 
 nowadays, is done always by the seed drilling machine, of which 
 there are a dozen or more in the market, nearly all of which do the 
 work well. In our business at the present date, we sell the Planet, Jr., 
 and Mathew's, giving the preference in the order in which they 
 are named. In sowing the first row, a line must be stretched so as to 
 have that liue straight, after which the sower can readily regulate 
 the other Unes. The favorite distance for onion rows to be placed 
 apart is fifteen inches, though they are sometimes sown as close as 
 twelve inches, leaving out every ninth row for an alley, thus forming 
 them into beds of eight rows each. "Where there is reason to believe 
 weeds may be troublesome, this plan of forming in beds has the ad- 
 vantage of the alley (twenty-foiu- inches wide) to throw the weeds. 
 "We so fixmly believe in the value of firming in the seeds after sowing, 
 that we advise, in addition to the closing and fiiTaiag of the seeds by 
 the drill, to use a roller besides, particularly if the land is Hght, or 
 where the soil has not been sufficiently firmed down. There is no 
 crojD where the adage of " a stitch in time " is so applicable as in the 
 onion crop; so that just as soon as the fines can be seen, which will 
 be in ten or twelve days after sowing, af)ply the scuffle hoe between 
 the rows. There are a great many styles of hand cultivators, many 
 of which are exceedingly useful, after the onions get strong enough, 
 after weeding, but for the first hoeing, after the seed shows the lines, 
 use the scuffle hoe or some onion wheel hoe. The distance at which 
 onions should stand iu the rows is fi'om one to two inches, and if the 
 crop is sown evenlj' and thinly few require to be taken out. In hoe- 
 ing, whether it is weeds or onions that are to be removed, one thing 
 should never be lost sight of — that when this oi^eration is done, eveiy 
 inch of the sirrface should be broken; this is best done after the 
 machine, by using a wooden lawn rake, all over the land, lightly 
 raking across the rows. It is one of the most common mistakes, 
 when weeding or hoeing, if the laborer sees no weeds, to pass over 
 such portions without breaking the crust. By this neglect, not only 
 is it likely that he passes another crop of weeds in embryo under 
 the imbroken cnist, but the jjortion unbroken loses the stirring so 
 necessary for the well-being of the crofi. In our long experience in 
 garden operations, we have had more trouble to keep our workmen 
 up to the mark in this matter than in any other; and I never fail 
 when I discover a man in such negligence to set him back over his 
 work until he does it j)roperly, and if he again fails to do so, promptly 
 dismiss him. 
 
344 How TiiK Faioi Pays. 
 
 The onion crop is usually iit to liaiTest in this section ft-om 5th to 
 2()th of August; that is, when the seed has been sown in early spring, 
 wliich should he not later than Hay 1st, if possible, and if by Ajiril 
 1st all the better. If the seed is sown too late, it may delay the time 
 of ripening, which may result in a complete loss of the crop; for if 
 the bulbs iu-e not ripened by August, there is danger, if September is 
 wet, that they will not ripen at all ; hence the gi-eat necessity of early 
 seeding in sjiring. If the onion croj) is gi-owiug yery strong, it wiU 
 facilitate the ripening jjrocess by bending the leaves down with the 
 back of a wooden rake, or some such ini]ilement, so as to " knee " 
 them, as it is called, at the neck of the bulb; this checks the flow of 
 sap and tends to rijjeu the bulb. 
 
 After the tops of the onicius become yellow and wither up, they 
 should then be jiulled without uunecessaiT delay, for if continued 
 wet weather should occur and delay the jjulling too long, a secondaiT 
 growth of the roots may be developed, which would injure the crop 
 seriously. After pulling, lay the bulbs in convenient rows, so as to 
 cover the ground, but not to lay on each other. By turning them 
 every day or two, in six or eight days they will be usually dry enough 
 to be caiied to their storage quarters, where the shriveled tojjs are 
 cut off, and the onions stored on slatted shelves, to the depth of six 
 or eight inches, in some dry and airy place. It is of importance to have 
 the bottom of the shelves slatted, so as to leave sj^aces an inch or so 
 apart, that air can be admitted at the bottom as well as the toji of the 
 heap. The shelves, when aU the space at hand is to be made avail- 
 able, may be constructed oue above another. But if to be kept 
 through the winter, they must be protected in some building capable 
 of resisting severe fi'ost, or covered with hay or straw, as a protection 
 against extreme cold. For although the onion wiU stand a moderate 
 degi-ee of frost, yet any long continuation of a zero temperature 
 would injure. "WTien frozen they shoidd never be handled, as in that 
 condition they are easily blemished and would rot. When kept in 
 barrels holes should be bored in the sides, and they should be left 
 unheaded until shipping so as to permit the escape of any moisture 
 that may be generated. 
 
 For tiie 
 
 INSECTS AND OTHER KNEMIES 
 
 that attack the onion crop, I am much afraid there are few, if any, 
 ort'ective remedies. Every year's expc?rienco ■with the enemies that 
 attack plants in the open tield convinces me that with very few of 
 them can we successfully cope. The remedy, if remedy it is, for rust. 
 
Profit of Gbowinxt Onions. 345 
 
 smut, or other mildew parasites, must, iu my opiuiou, be a preventive 
 one; that is, whenever practicable, use new laud, or renew the old 
 land by a green crop, such as rj'e, timothy or millet, in all sections 
 subject to these diseases. The same plan had better be adopted iu 
 all sections where the onion maggot, or other insects, attack the croj^. 
 The theory for this practice is that it is beheved that nearly all planfs 
 affected by insects or disease, have such peculiar to themselves, and 
 that the germs lay in the soil ready to fasten on the same crop, if 
 planted without intermission on the same ground, while if a season 
 intervenes, the larva or germ has nothing congenial to feed on, and 
 is, in consequence, destroyed. In practice, we usually find that 
 cultivated land "rested" for a season by a grass crop gives always a 
 cleaner and healthier crop to whatever vegetable following it. 
 
 THE PRODUCT 
 
 of the average onion crop varies very much, ranging from 300 to 900 
 bushels per acre, the mean being about 600 bushels -per acre. The 
 price is variable, Kke all perishable commodities, ranging from fifty 
 cents per bushel, the price at which they usually wholesale iu the 
 New York market in fall, to $1 or SI. 50 jjer bushel for winter and 
 spring prices. The estimate, then, of profit jjer acre may be given 
 about as follows: 
 
 Manure, per acre $72 00 
 
 Plowing, weeding and harvesting crop, per 
 
 acre 100 00 
 
 6 lbs. seed, average, §2 per lb 12 00 
 
 Rent or interest on land, jjer acre 9 00 
 
 Marketing crop, per acre 7 00 
 
 $200 00 
 
 600 bushels per acre, at 50c $300 00 
 
 Cost 200 00 
 
 Profit, $100 00 
 
 This estimate is a moderate one, for if the crop is sold in spring, 
 the chances are that the profit may be two or three times as much. 
 
 ONIOXS SOLD GREEN. 
 
 All the foregoing relates to the onion crop ripened, but in all large 
 cities immense quantities of onions are sold in the green state, many 
 of them before they have half attained their gi-owth. To get the 
 
346 How THE Faiim Pays. 
 
 earliest crop of onious iu tliis couditiou, the onion sets ai'e used, 
 which are small onions from the size of a pea to size of thi'ee-quarters 
 of an inch diameter, but the smaller the better, as they make a crop 
 neai-ly as quick and never run to seed, whDe the large ones occasiouallj- 
 do. Onion sets must all be f)lanted by hand, in rows made by the 
 garden marker at about nine inches apart, the sets being planted 
 from two to three inches apart; they are most conveniently planted in 
 beds of eight rows each, lea^■ing a s^jace of eighteen inches for an 
 allejTvay. The green onions are tied in bunches of eight or ten each, 
 and often sell at eight and ten cents per bimch. The crop is usually 
 begun to be mai-keted by the middle of June, and is sold ofl' by 
 middle of July. This garden crop of onions is usually heavier manured 
 and requires more labor than the field crop, but its market value is 
 often three times that of the field crop. Onions are also sold in this 
 way when gi'own from seed, but of coui'se this matures two or three 
 weeks later and is not usuallj- so remimerative as the green crop from 
 the sets. 
 
 POTATO ONIONS 
 
 are increased by the bulb as it grows, spUttiag into sis, eight or ten 
 sections, which form the crop from which the "set" or root for next 
 season's jjlanting is obtained. These are planted in early spring, in 
 rows one foot apart, the onions three or four inches between, and 
 like the onions raised from sets, are generally sold green, as in that 
 state they are very tender, while in the drj- state they are less desir- 
 able than the ordinary onion. 
 
 TOP ONIONS, 
 
 so called, are propagated by the pecuHar proijerty of this variety of 
 onion jiroducing a cluster of small bulblets on the onion stalk, an ex- 
 crescence of bulblets is fonned instead of flowers and seeds. In all 
 respects its cultui-e is the same as the Potato Onion, only that, as the 
 bulbs are smaller, they can be planted closer. 
 
 SHALLOTS, 
 
 a vegetable nearly allied to the Potato Onion, only that it never 
 forms an individual bulb, but always grows in clusters, is jilauted in 
 the fall, same distance apart as tl:e Potato Onion, and stai'ts to 
 
Y.uiiETiES OF Onions. 347 
 
 grow ou the first opening of spring, so that the crop is usuaUy 
 mai-keted in ilay. 
 
 VARIETIES OF THE ONIONS. 
 
 We here give a short description and illustration of the leading 
 varieties of onions. The seeds of onions have heretofore been raised 
 mainly in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Ehode Island and Michigan, 
 but of late years, large quantities have been raised in California. A 
 prejudice against that raised in California originated in consequence 
 of the first lots raised there being from inferior stocks, but latter ex- 
 perience has shown us beyond question, that, when the quality of the 
 stock from which the seed was raised has been the same as used in 
 the Eastern States, the crop has been in aU respects equal. In 
 our "trial gi'ounds," where upwards of fifty stocks of onions are 
 tested annually, we find that the California raised seed is in no way 
 inferior to that raised in Connecticut or Massachusetts. Onion seed 
 loses its germinating power sooner than almost anj' other seed, and, 
 unless the sample is very fine indeed, it is of little use the second 
 year. This is the reason for the great disparitj' in the price of seeds, 
 for as the onion seed crop is a very uncertain one, and from its 
 germinating qualities being limited so that no stock can be held over, 
 the price in different seasons fluctuates from $1 to $.5 per pound. 
 First Early. Extr.4. Early Fl-^t Ked, a thin, and a good keeper, 
 
 rather light colored onion, but earUest of all. 
 Laege Red "Wethersfiexd. One of the favorite sorts for general croj), 
 
 and a good keeper and jielder. 
 Yellow Globe Danvers. A half globe shaped stock, one of the best 
 
 yielders and a splendid keeper. 
 Early Eed Globe. One of the eai'liest of Globe varieties, smaller 
 
 than the large Red Globe. 
 Ijahge Red Globe. Later and larger than above, but a favorite 
 
 market sort, and a perfect globe shape. 
 SouTHPORT Large White Globe. One of the best, and a favorite sort 
 
 in New York rnarkets, always bringing the highest price. 
 SouTHPORT Large Yellow Globe. Similar to the white globe, except 
 
 in color, and a good keeper. 
 White Portugal, or Silver Skin. One of the leading sorts of white flat 
 
 onion, a most excellent keejier and good yielder. 
 Yellow Dutch. A flat yeUow onion, good j-ielder, but not so desir- 
 able as the other yellow sorts on account of its color and shape. 
 
 This and the Flaf Yellow Danvers are very similar. One of the 
 
 heaviest croppers. 
 
348 
 
 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 Italian varieties ■well adapted for growing in tbe Southern States: 
 Queen. The earliest of all onions, small, flat, white and mild flavor. 
 Neapolitan JLarzajole, an early white flat onion, fine flavor. 
 XiAiiGE "White It.uli.\n Tripoli, grows to a large size, later than 
 
 either the preceding. 
 XiAitGE Ked Itauas Tripoli, simDar to the preceding, except in color. 
 Olant Eocc.a. a verv large gi-owing globe shaped variety of a reddish 
 
 brown color; flavor mild and sweet. 
 
 This is a crop used almost exclusively in winter, and is probably 
 not often wanted for the market which the average fanner could 
 
 LONG SMOOTH l-All* 
 
 supply. It is, however, tbe most valuable of all roots for farm feeding, 
 and can always be turned to good use in this way, if in no other. 
 Moreover, it is verj- convenient, as it may be left iu the ground all 
 
Parsley — Peas. 
 
 349 
 
 winter -without injury, and used in the siwing. Still, it is a vegetable 
 well worth growing for private use. Its cultui'e is almost identical 
 with that of caiTots. It is sown as early in the sj)ring as the weather 
 will permit, in di'iUs fifteen inches apai't, if the culture is by hand, or 
 two feet, if by horse cultivator. The seeds aie covered half an incli 
 deep, being cai'eful to firm them in the soil with the foot, as they are 
 very Ught. When well uj) thin out to five or six inches ajsai-t in the 
 rows. Unlike carrots they ai-e improved by frost, and it is usual to 
 dig up in the fall only what are wanted for vidnter use, leaving the 
 rest in the ground until sjjring, to be dug up as required. 
 
 is only used for soups, and but very little of it is wanted, unless for 
 this purpose or for gai-nishing or flavoring. As the seeds germinate 
 very slowly, three or foiu- weeks will be required for it to make its. 
 
 DOUBLE CUKLED PAESLEY. 
 
 appeai'ance. It should be sown early in the spring, thickly, in rows 
 one foot apart and half an inch deep. For winter use it is kejit in 
 boxes in a hght cellar or sittiug-room. The variety most in use is 
 that known as Double Curled. 
 
 For table use this is really more a crop for the farm than the garden, 
 as they require more sjjace than market gardeners near large cities, 
 paying high prices for hind, can well afford to spare. Consequently, 
 peas are growu mainly by farmers, and where j)ickers can be obtained 
 
350 
 
 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 at the proper season, they are often found to be a very paying crop. 
 For early varieties sow in drills three inches deep and tlu'ee feet axiart, 
 requiring two and one-half bushels to the acre. The land need not 
 
 be very rich for peas, and they will follow verj- well after com or 
 potatoes, if the ground is in good heart, mthout nian\u-e. The 
 variety most favored for market piu-jioses is that sent out in 1883, 
 known as " Hendei-son's First of All," which matiu-es about five or 
 
Varieties of Peas 
 
 351 
 
 six days earlier than any other sort we have ever tried. Daniel 
 O'Roirrke is another popular variety, very similar to the above, but, 
 as we have said, five or sis days later. A recent inti'oduction is the 
 sort known as American Wonder. It is very dwarf, and can be grown 
 
 in rows about two feet apart, ^Jroducing a heavy crop of the very 
 finest quality. The profit of the 25ea crop is very variable. Occa- 
 sionally, when the market is glutted, they will hardly pay the price of 
 picking. Again, when the crop comes in at the proper season, they 
 
352 How THK Fah.m Pays. 
 
 will often pay a profit of $150 to $200 jjer acre. In sowing peaa the 
 seed should be dropped in the drill from half an inch to an inch 
 ajjaii. 
 
 POTATO. 
 
 The cultui'e of the potato as a gai'den crof) in no way differs from 
 that of the field — which see in chajiter under that head. The only 
 necessity for refeniug to it here is the advice we can give in using 
 the earher kinds, when used as an early mai-ket vegetable. For this 
 jimi^ose there ai'e no varieties better than those known as the Eai'ly 
 Kose and Beauty of Hebron, which, when grown in wanu situations 
 imder favorable culture, will often prove a profitable croi> for eai-ly 
 mai'ket. There are, however, so many new varieties being introduced 
 every year, that it is quite probable these standard kinds niaj' soon 
 be superseded. These new kinds should be tested in a small way as 
 they apj)ear. 
 
 Like asparagus, this is a vegetable that does not requu-e to be 
 renewed each season, having a perennial root, and, when once well 
 set in the ground will remain without replanting for at least eight or 
 ten years; but it is better to take up the roots when fiye years old. 
 
 and divide them and moke a new jilantation. The quickest way, 
 perhaps, if a small quantity is wanted, is to procm-e the roots, which 
 should be set out in hills about three feet ajiart each way. It is one of 
 the grossest feedingplants of all vegetables, and requires, for perfection. 
 
Radishes. 353 
 
 a large amount of maniire to be incorporated eveiy rear with the soil 
 in each hilL K a large quantity is •wanted it is best sown in diills 
 three feet apart and thinned out to about one foot apart in the rows 
 when a few inches high. When the plants of rhubarb become large 
 they can be taken up in the fall, placed in the cellar, or in some place 
 safe from frost. The roots are simply taken up with the soil adhering 
 to them, and packed closely together in a comer of the cellar. As a 
 matter of coiu'se this forcing process is done at the expense of the 
 root, which is of no further use. The shoots wiU gi'ow in the 
 dai'k just as well as in the light, and in this condition are veiy tender. 
 A couple of dozen roots of rhubarb will be sufficient for the use of a 
 moderate sized family dming the entire winter months. "WTien grown 
 in this blanched condition it is a most desu'able article for table use, 
 coming, as it does, at a season when fresh fi'uit is scarce and a change 
 is agreeable. 
 
 This vegetable does best when sown in a Ught, sandy loam. Heavy 
 or clayey soils not only delay matui-ity, but produce crops much 
 inferior both in appeai'ance and flavor. For a successive supply sow 
 
 WHITE OLIVE-SHAPED KADISH. 
 
 from the middle of April until the middle of September at intervals 
 of two or three weeks. They can either be sown broadcast or in 
 drills. "WTien sown broadcast about twenty x^ounds of seed is required 
 per acre ; if in diills, eight to ten pounds. The vaiieties mostly grown 
 
354 
 
 How THE Farm Pats. 
 
 are tlie Scai'let Turnip, and the Long Scarlet Short Top, the one 
 being round and the other long. It is a profitable crop, and one 
 •which the market gardeners always depend on to get their first money 
 
 lOSO SCABLET BADISB. 
 
 from, after the dull winter months, as it matures usually in this lati- 
 tude from the middle to the end of Jklay, and generally yields a profit 
 over all expenses of $100 per acre. 
 
 This is one of the easiest managed crops, although it is one of the 
 most important in oiu' market gai'dens. The main crop is sown in drills 
 just as we sow beets or radishes, the drills being one foot ajjsu-t. ITie 
 first croj>— that intended to stand tlu-ough the winter and to be used 
 the succeeding spring — is sovm in September, and if it keeps well dui- 
 ing the winter it rarely fails to become very profitable. In exposed 
 places it is usually covered with straw or marsh hay dvuing the winter, 
 which prevents it from being cut by the frost, but in sheltered fields there 
 is no necessity for its being covered. This covering is only necessary 
 in the latitude of New York. South of Philadelphia it is rarely done. 
 
Squash. 355 
 
 It is also grown in the summer as an early crop, sown the same way 
 as is done in the fall, about the middle of April, when it comes in 
 before cabbages or other greens, about the end of May. The spiing 
 crop is not usually so profitable as the winter crop, but there is hardly 
 anything that requires so little labor and produces so much weight. 
 The kinds now in use are the Savoy Leaved and the Round Leaved. 
 The quantity of seed used is fi-om ten to twelve pounds per acre. 
 SiDinach is now grown in Norfolk, Va., and other Southern localities, 
 for Northern markets, bringing about $300 or $400 per acre, or twice 
 as much as that grown in the North. 
 
 SQUASH. 
 
 Squashes are of luxui'iaut and vigorous growth, and, although they 
 will grow rapidly iu almost any soil, they wiU repay generous treat- 
 ment. Like aU vegetables of this class, it is useless to sow until 
 the weather has become settled and warm, say the 15th of May. 
 
 — -"ffjiv^"'^ 
 
 Light soils are best suited to its growth, and it is most economical of 
 manui-e to prepare the hills for the seed in the ordinary manner by 
 incoi-porating two or three shovelfuls with the soil in each hill. For 
 what is known as the Bush varieties, a distance of thi-ee or four feet 
 each way is required, and for running sorts from six to eight feet. 
 Eight to ten seeds should be sown in each hill, thinning out, after 
 they have attained their rough leaves, to three or four of the strongest 
 plants. 'Wlaen only a limited quantity of this vegetable is wanted, as 
 wiQ be understood by most farmers, they can be gi-own in the hUls 
 of com, where they will mature without interfering with the latter 
 crop, although I myself do not like this system of feeding two crops 
 on the land at the same time, believing that it will always be better 
 to allot the land for each particular crop, as I think the saving of 
 labor and better jdeld more than compensate for the extra land and 
 manure. The favorite kinds for summer use, of the bush varieties. 
 
356 How THE Faem Pays. 
 
 are White Bush Scalloj) and Yellow Eiisli Scallop; for winter use ihe 
 Hubbard and Yokoliaiua are preferred. A special point in the 
 management of this crop is the pinching in of the main vines to force 
 out a gi-Qwth of lateral branches. These bear the fruits, as in all of 
 
 HUBBABD SQUASH. 
 
 the gourd tribe of plants, to which this, as well as melons and cucum- 
 bers, belongs. When the main vine has reached a length of three 
 feet the terminal bud is pinched ofif with the finger and thumb. The 
 same kind of pruning is done with the laterals to prevent the ■sines 
 spreading too far and to encourage the growth of fruit. 
 
 Tlie tomato is now one of the most important of all garden vege- 
 tables, tens of thousands of acres of it being grown for canning pur- 
 poses. '\A"hen the plants are to be raised, the seed should be sown in 
 Mai'ch in a hot-bed or greenhouse. Or they may be sown in a bos 
 and kef)t inside the -window of a room where the night temperature 
 is not less than sixty-five degrees. They should be sown in drills five 
 inches apart, and half an inch deep. ^Mien the plants are two or 
 three inches high, they should be set out in the same temperature, or 
 planted in small flower pots, allowing one plant to each pot, or in 
 soap or similar boxes, cut to a de^sth of tlu'ee inches, and planted in 
 them at three inches apsu^; each way. They ai-e sometimes trans- 
 planted a second time into larger pots or into hot-beds, at five 
 inches apart, bj' which process the plants are rendered more sturdy 
 and branching. By the middle of May in this latitude the plants 
 
Culture and Varieties of the Tomato. 
 
 357 
 
 may be set in the open ground. Thej are planted for early crops on 
 light sandy ground in hills three feet aj)art. A good shovelful of 
 rotten manui'e is mixed in each hill. On heavy soils, ■which are not 
 suited for an early crop, they should be planted four feet apart. It is 
 
 not absolutely essential tuat manui'e should be used for a tomato crop. 
 If the ground is in good heart following a com crop, potato or root 
 crojj that has been -well manured, it 'wiU usually be sufficient to carry 
 them through. In fact, if the ground is too rich they will grow to 
 
 PERFECTION TOMATO. 
 
 leaves and branches instead of fruit. It is only when wanted for a 
 very earlj' crop, ia a Ught sandy soU in some sheltered place, that the 
 recommendation, to use manm-o in the hUls, applies. When it is not 
 convenient for the grower to raise his ov.-n plants they can be had at 
 
358 How THE Farm Pats. 
 
 very low rates from a dealer, as the tomato plant is probably more 
 easily raised than any other vegetable plant ■we grow. The most 
 popular kinds for market use are the Perfection and the Acme. The 
 Trophy was long a favorite, but is not now considered so desirable 
 as some of its newer competitors. Tomatoes for canning puqwses 
 are usually grown in immense quantities, and by farmers rather than 
 gardeners. The profit over all expenses is generally not less than 
 $50 per acre, and occasionally when the crop is heavy as high as 
 $100 per acre. "When grown for table use, in particulai-ly favored 
 positions as to sod and shelter, and sold in the markets, a profit of 
 $300 per acre is not unusual. 
 
 TURNIP. 
 
 Although this vegetable has been treated in the chapter of this 
 work devoted to " root crops," yet its culture for a table vegetable is 
 somewhat different, and it may be well to allude to it here. Turnips 
 do best on highly enriched and Hght sandy or gravelly soils. Com- 
 
 STIt.U* LEAF 
 
 menee sowing the earher varieties iu Apiil, in diiUs from twelve to 
 fifteen inches apart, if hand cultivation is used; if by horse cultivator, 
 two feet apart Thin out as soon as the islauts are large enough to 
 handle to sis or nine inches in the rows. For a succession of crops 
 sow at intervals of a fortnight until the last week iu July, from which 
 time until the end of August sowings may be made of the fall or main 
 crops. Turnips may be presened until spiing by cutting oti" the tops 
 at one inch from the bulb, and jjlacing the roots in a cellar or pit 
 during the winter. For further partieulai-s see chapter entitled 
 " Root Crops for Farm Stock. ' The quantity of seed required, which 
 should be put in by the di'ill, is about one pound to the acre. The 
 favorite kinds for early table use are the "UTiite Egg and Pm-ple Top 
 
Turnips. 
 
 359 
 
 Strap Leaf; for winter use, the Yello-w Aberdeen and Purple Top 
 Ruta Baga. TMierever the soil is suitable for early tm-nips, and •wUl 
 produce them in a clean condition, without being affected with the 
 maggot, they ai-e a safer and more profitable crop to grow than beets; 
 but it is only in special localities where this cleanliness of crop can be 
 had, and hence the profit to the fortunate owner of such soils. They 
 
 ■WHITE EGG TUHNIP, 
 
 PURPLE TOP RUTA BAGA. 
 
 are largely grown in the yieinity of New York on Long Island, in 
 locations near the sea, where they seem to be exempt from the 
 maggot and wire worm. It is no uncommon thing for them to pay a 
 profit of $.500 -pev acre when these special conditions can be obtained. 
 The turnij) fly or flea, which damages and sometimes destroys the 
 first sowings, may be driven off by dusting fine lime or wood ashes 
 along the rows as soon as the young jjlants apjiear aboye the ground. 
 
 QUANTITIES OF SEED. 
 
 The following table will give the quantity of vegetable seeds 
 requii-ed to sow an acre: 
 
 Beans, dwarf, in drills 2 bushels. 
 
 Beans, pole, in drills 10 to 12 quarts. 
 
 Beets, in drills 5 to 6 pounds. 
 
360 How THK Farm Pays. 
 
 QUANTITIES OF SVIED.— Continued. 
 
 Cabbage, iu beds to transplant J pound. 
 
 Carrot, in drills i! to 4 ]5ound8. 
 
 Corn, in hills 8 to 10 quarts. 
 
 Corn (for soiling) 3 buslicls. 
 
 Cucumber, iu hills 2 to 3 pounds. 
 
 Melon, musk, in liills 2 to 3 pounds. 
 
 Melon, water, in hills 4 to 5 pounds. 
 
 Onion, in drills .5 to 6 pounds. 
 
 Onion (sets), in drills G to 12 bushels. 
 
 Parsuip, in drills 5 to 6 pounds. 
 
 Peas, in drills 2 to 3 bushels. 
 
 Kadish, in diills 9 to 10 pounds. 
 
 Spinach, in drills 10 to 12 pounds 
 
 Squash (bush varieties), in hills o to G pounds. 
 
 Squash (running varieties), in hills 3 to 4 pounds. 
 
 Tomato (to transplant) ^ pound. 
 
 Turnip, in drills 1 to 2 pounds. 
 
 Where thills are referred to the seed should be put in with seed 
 th-ill. 
 
 Table showing the quantities of seeds required for a given number 
 of plants, number of hiUs or length of (b-ill: 
 
 Asparagus, 1 ounce GO feet of diiU. 
 
 Beet, 1 ounce 50 feet of thill. 
 
 Beans, dwiU-f, 1 quart 100 feet of chill. 
 
 Beans, ])ole, 1 tjuaii. 150 liills. 
 
 Carrot, 1 ounce 150 feet of drill. 
 
 Cucumber, 1 ounce 50 hills. 
 
 Corn, 1 quart 200 hills. 
 
 Melon, water, 1 ounce 30 liills. 
 
 Melon, musk, 1 ounce (iO hills. 
 
 Onion, 1 ounce 100 feet of drill. 
 
 Onion, sets, 1 quai-t 40 feet of drill. 
 
 Parsley, 1 ounce 150 feet of drill. 
 
 Parsnip, 1 ounce 200 feet ot <lrill. 
 
 Peas, 1 (luart 75 feet of drill. 
 
 Radish, 1 ounce 100 ftet of drill. 
 
 Spinach, 1 ounce 100 feet of drill. 
 
 Squash, early, 1 ounce 50 hills. 
 
 Turnip, 1 ounce 150 feet of drill 
 
 Cabbage, 1 ounce 1,5(>0 plants. 
 
 Cauliflower, 1 ounce 1,000 plants. 
 
 Celerv, 1 ounce 2,000 plants. 
 
 Egg Plant, 1 ounce 1.000 plants. 
 
 Lettuce, 1 ounce 3,000 jjlants. 
 
 Tomato, 1 ounce 1,500 ijlauts. 
 
The Cultctre of Sjiall Fkuits. 361 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 PRINCIPAL SMALL FRUIT CROPS. 
 
 As with vegetables, so there are many fruits that can be cultivated 
 ■with but little trouble on the fai-m, particulai-ly the kinds known as 
 small fruits, which consist of strawberries, blackbenies, raspberries, 
 currants and grapes. The larger fi'uits, apples, pears, peaches, 
 cherries, plums and quinces, may also be grown in limited quantities 
 ■with advantage. 
 
 STRAWBERRIES. 
 
 This fruit is perhaps the most important of all, as there is hardly a 
 to'wn where this fruit cannot be sold at remunerative rates. For, as 
 is the case ■with fresh vegetables, tbe want of fresh fruits at our 
 summer hotels and boarding houses is rarely stifficiently sujopHed. 
 As strawberries occupy the most important place, we •wiUhere describe 
 their culture at greater length than wiR be necessary with most of 
 the others, and for that purpose I will insert in full my essay on that 
 subject -wiitten in 1882, which I am happy to know has already been 
 the means of causing hundreds to grow this delicious fruit with suc- 
 cess never before attained. 
 
 STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 
 
 Strawberries will grow on almost anj' soU, but it is all-important 
 that it be well drained, either naturaUj- or artificially; in fact, this is 
 true for the well-being of nearly all j^lants, as few plants do well on 
 soils ■where the water does not freely jiass off. 
 
 Thorough culture requires that the soil should be first dug or 
 plowed, then spread over with at least three inches of thoroughly 
 rotted stable manure, whicb should be dug or plowed under, so far as 
 practicable, to mix it ■with the soU. If stable manure cannot be had, 
 artificial manure, such as ground bone dust, etc. , should be sown on 
 the dug or jDlowed gi-ound, thick enough to nearly cover it, then har- 
 rowed or chopped in -with a fork, so that it is well mixed with the soil 
 
362 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 to at least six inches in deptli. This, then, is the prehminarv work 
 before planting, to ensure a crop the next season after planting — in 
 nine or ten months. The plants must be such as are layered in jjots, 
 and the sooner they are planted out after the loth of July the better, 
 although, if not then convenient, they will produce a crop the next 
 season even if planted as late as the middle of September; but the 
 sooner they are planted, the larger wall be the crop. They may be 
 set from po< lai/ers either in beds of four rows each, fifteen indies 
 apart, and fifteen inches between the plivnts, leaving two feet between 
 the beds for pathway; or be set out in rows two feet apai-t, the plants 
 in the rows fifteen inches apart; and if the plants are proi)erly set 
 out (care being taken to firm the soil ai-ound the plant, which is best 
 done by pressing the soil against each plant with the foot), not one 
 plant in a thousand of strawbeny plants that have been gi-own in 
 pots will fail to grow. For the first thi-ee or four weeks after planting 
 nothing need be done except to hoe the beds, so that all weeds are 
 kept down. Be careful to do this once in every ten days; for if the 
 weeds once get a start it will treble the labor of keeping the groimd 
 clean. In about a month after planting they wtH begin to throw out 
 i-unners, all of which must be pinched or cut off as they appear, so that 
 by the end of the growing season (1st of November) each jjlant will 
 have foiTued a complete bush one foot or more in diameter, having 
 the uceesS!U-y matured " crowns " for next June's fiiiit. By the middle 
 of December the entire beds of strawberry plants should be covered 
 up with salt meadow hay (straw, leaves or anything similai- will do as 
 weU) to the depth of two or tlu-ee inches, entirely coveiing up the 
 plants and soil, so that notliiug is seen but the hay. By April the 
 plants so protected will show indications of growth, when the hay 
 aroimd each plant is jiushed a httle a.side to assist it in getting 
 through the covering, so that by May the fully developed plant shows 
 on the clean smiaee of the hay. This " mulching,'' as it is called, is 
 indispensable to the best culture, as it protects the plants from cold 
 in winter, keeps the fruit clean, keeps the roots cool by shading them 
 fi-om the hot sun in June, and at the same time saves nearly all 
 further labor after being once put on, as few weeds can jJush through 
 it. By this method we jjrefer to plant new beds every year, though, 
 if desired, the beds once planted may be fruited for two or three 
 years, as by the old jjlans; but the fi-uit the first season will always 
 be the largest in size, if not greatest in number. Another advantage 
 of this system is that, where space is limited, tliere is quite time 
 enough to get a crop of potatoes, jjease, beans, lettuce, radislies, or, 
 in fact, any summer crop, off the ground first before planting the 
 strawberries, thus taking two crops from the ground in one yeai-, if 
 
Culture of Steawbekries. 363 
 
 desired, and there is also plenty of time to crop the ground with 
 cabbage, cauliflower, celery, or other faU crop, after the crop of 
 strawberries has been gathered. The plan of getting the pot layers 
 of strawbenies is very simple. Just as soon as the fruit is gathered, 
 if the beds ai-e well forked up between the rows, the runners or 
 young plants wiU begin to grow, and in two weeks will be fit to layer 
 in pots. The pots, which should be fi-om two to thi'ee inches in 
 diameter, are fiUedwith the soil in which the strawberries are grooving, 
 and " plunged " or sunk to the level of the siu-face; the strawberry 
 layer is then laid on the pot, being held in place with a small stone. 
 The stone not onlj- ser\-es to keep the plant in its place, so that its 
 roots will strike into the pot, but it also serves to mark where each 
 pot is; for, being sunk to the level of the surface, rains wash the soil 
 around the j)ots, so that they could not well be seen unless marked 
 by the stone. In ten or twelve days after the strawberry layers have 
 been put down the pots will be fiUed with roots. They are then cut 
 from the parent plant, placed closely together, and shaded and 
 watered for a few days before being planted out. Some plant them 
 out at once when taken uj), but, unless the weather is suitable, 
 some loss may occur by this method ; by the other plan, however, of 
 hai'dening them for a few days, not one in a thousand will fail. 
 Strawberries for field culture are usually planted from the ordinary 
 laj'ers, either in August and September in the fall, or in March, 
 April or May in the spring. They are usually planted in rows, two 
 to thi'ee feet apart, and nine to twelve inches between the plants. 
 In planting, every plant should be well firmed, or great loss is almost 
 certain to ensue, as the strawberry is a plant always difiicidt to 
 transplant. They are usually worked by a horse cultivator, and gen- 
 erally two or three crops are taken before the beds ai-e plowed under; 
 but the first crop given (which is in the second year after planting) 
 is always the best. The .same care must be taken in planting by pot 
 layers; the groimd must be kejot clear of weeds, and the runners 
 pinched or cut off to make fraitiug crowns. By the usual field 
 method of culture, it will be seen that there is a loss of one season in 
 about three; for in the yeai' of planting no fniit, of coui'se, is produced, 
 and for this reason we incline to the behef that, if a portion were set 
 aside to ju'oduce early jjlants, so that pot laj'ers could be set out by 
 the 15th of July, a fiiU crop of the finest fruit could be had every 
 season, and with less cost, we think; for the only labor after planting 
 is to keep the ground clean and pinch off the runners, from July to 
 October, with the certainty of getting a full crop next June, or in less 
 than a j'ear fi'om the time of planting, while by planting by ordinary 
 layers, if planted in August, we have three months of fall culture, and 
 
364 
 
 How THE Fakm Pavs. 
 
 six or seven months of the next summer's culture, before a crop is 
 produced. Again, if the crop is continued to fruit the second or 
 third yeai', every one who has hud experience with the nature of the 
 plant, knows that the labor of keeping the plants free from weeds 
 is enormous; while by the pot layeiing method of taking a fresh crop 
 each year, all such labor is disjiensed with. 
 
 Although it is difficult to give any list of kinds of strawberries that 
 will do well imder aU conditions, yet, taking the suburbs of New 
 York as a standard (which, with its great vaiiety of soil, is likely to 
 "be as good as any other), we find that the best six kinds, having the 
 greatest combination of good qualities, that we can select from a 
 coEection of fifty leatling sorts, are the following, which we name in 
 the order of their excellence: 
 
 The Hjesdekson. — This new strawberry originated with Mr. George 
 Seymoiu', South Nonvalk, Conn. , who named it in our honor. It is 
 doubtful if there is another strawbeny in cultivation having such a 
 combination of good qualities as the " Hendei'son." The fruit is of 
 
 the largest size, rich, glossy crimson in color, looking as if 
 Tarnished, early and exceeding!}' productive, but its excelling 
 merit is its exquisite flavor and aroma. WTiether for family or 
 market use the ' ' Hendei-son " is certain to become a standard sort, 
 and its strong and healthy gi-owth will adapt it to almost every soiL 
 It is a perfect flowered vaiiety, and, therefore, will never fail to 
 
The Best Varieties of Stkawberries. 365 
 
 set its fruit. By the pot layer system this vigorous and produc- 
 tive strawberry, planted in August, is certain to give a full crop of 
 fiTiit in June of the next year, or in ten months from time of 
 planting. It is sold for the first time this year — 1884. 
 
 Jersey Queen. — This variety was sold for the first time in the 
 fall of 1881', and is, perhaps, one of the very best straw- 
 berries so far introduced. The size is immense, often measuring 
 six inches in cu'cumference. Shape, roundish conical; color, a beauti- 
 ful scarlet crimson; perfectly solid, and of excellent flavor. It is an 
 
 enormous bearer, many plants averaging a quart of first quality fmit. 
 It is one of the latest strawbeiTies, the crop in this vicinity being in 
 perfection about the 2.5th of June, while the average crop of straw- 
 berries is at its best by the 15th of June in the locality of New York. 
 
 Bldwell. — One of the earhest, abundantly productive, medium 
 size, excellent flavoi", and hght scarlet in color. Plants set out 
 from pot layers on August 5th, 1880, had fniit rijje June 5th, 1881, 
 ten months from date of planting. The plants averaged one quart of 
 fruit each. 
 
 Sharpless. — "With the exception of Jersey Queen, the largest and 
 one of the heaviest beiTies of this collection. It is of fine flavor, a 
 good bearer, and has now become a standard soii. 
 
 JucDNDA. — This is an old, well known sort, possessing so many 
 good qualities, that we place it as one of the best six in preference 
 to scores of others of later origin. It is of full average size, wonder- 
 fully productive, of great beauty of color and form, and excellent 
 flavor; but its distinctive value is in its ripening, extending from the 
 earhest to the latest of the crop, the first berries being ripe here about 
 June 4:th, and extending unto July 4th. 
 
 Downing. — One of the best of the older sorts. It combines all the 
 best qualities, being large, early, rich in color and flavor, and abun- 
 dantly productive. 
 
366 
 
 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 Glossy Cone. — Although this has been grown by the raiser, Mr. 
 Durand, for several jeai's, it was issued last season for the first time. 
 In a test of fifty kinds in our grounds, we fovind it the earliest of all, 
 and very prohfic, of good size, tine flavor, and altogether has a com- 
 bination of good qualities rarely found in any earhj strawbeny. Its 
 only fault is, that it is riither a weak grower, and requires a rich and 
 rather heavy soil to develop its best qualities. 
 
 Strawbei-ries rarely sell at less than an average of $8 per 100 quarts, 
 and when retailed to the consumer, average one-thii-d more. As 
 about 20,000 plants are gi-o-mi on an acre, and an average crop under 
 
 BIDWEIX KTRAWBEHBT. 
 
 ,rI.Ei>S STKA^-BEItBY. 
 
 good culture wiU give at least 5,000 quaiis per acre, the crop, when 
 sold even at lowest rates, is a very profitable [one. But it is a crop 
 that must be promptly attended to in hoeing and weeding. It never 
 can be made profitable under sUpshod culture, for, from the 
 nature of the plant, it cannot defend itself against weeds, and if 
 neglected will quicklj- get overwhelmed and destroyed. Thousands 
 of acres of strawbemes are planted annually, wliich, from the want of 
 l^rompt work at the proper time, are allowed to be destroyed by 
 weeds. At a small cost in labor at the proper time, such crops might 
 have paid a clear profit of $300 per acre. 
 
 BLACKBERRIES. 
 
 Although blackberries are found in a wild state in almost all 
 sections of the country, yet the varieties are so much inferior to the 
 cultivated kinds, that it is poor economy to depend on them for a 
 
Blackberries. 
 
 367 
 
 supply, no matter how abundant they may be. Cultivated black- 
 berries comprise varieties which are not only double the size of the 
 wild kinds, but have the advantage of ripening in succession through- 
 out the season, from the middle of July until the last of September. 
 To have blackberries in perfection, the soil should have the same 
 thorough culture and manuring that we recommend for all vege- 
 tables and fruits, for it should always be kept in mind that the richer 
 the soil and the better the cultivation, the larger the fruit will 
 be, and hence the greater the return in quantity for the space 
 cultivated. The distance apart to plant blackberries may be, if in 
 rows five feet, with the plants two feet apart in the rows. Or, if in 
 separate hUls they may be set five feet apart each way. In either 
 case they should be supported by strong stakes driven into the 
 ground, having a height of from four to five feet, to which the canes 
 
 KITTATLNS 
 
 or shoots should be tied. They may be set either in the fall or in 
 the spring. If in the fall a covering of four or five inches of rotted 
 manure or leaves should be spread over the roots, to prevent them 
 from being frozen too much. The plants of blackberries set out 
 either in fall or spring will not give fi-uit the first season, but 
 if a good growth has been made they will give a full crop the next 
 year. That is, if planted, for instance, about the middle of April, 
 1884 (or the previous fall), by the middle of July in 1885 a full crop 
 should be obtained. After the fniit has been picked, the old canes 
 or shoots should be cut out to give the new ones a chance to grow. 
 As the new shoots are veiy vigorous, when they reach a height of four 
 feet or at most five feet they should be checked by pinching the tops 
 off. .This will cause an abimdance of side shoots to start, which are 
 to be pinched when about a foot long. This treatment increases the 
 productiveness of the plants and keeps the fruit within easy reach 
 
368 
 
 How THE Farm Pats. 
 
 for gatliering. The bushes should he carefully tied to the stakes. 
 Of the varieties, that kno^vn as AVilson's Earlj' comes in a week before 
 any of the others. It is a deep black, large and of excellent quality, 
 being destitute of that hard centre so pecuUar to wild sorts. The 
 Kittatinny comes next in succession. It is an immenselj' large berry 
 of line flavor, of a deep shining black color — one of the verj' best. It 
 is somewhat given to rust, which may be checked by removing all 
 the rusted young shoots as they appear. The next is the old Lawton 
 variety, which is hardly as good as either of the others, but has the 
 merit of coming in after they are neai'ly done fiiiiting. Any one 
 growing strawberries to supply a local demand must of necessity 
 have such fruits as blackbemes to succeed them, as the season ad- 
 vances, and in most localities they will be found equally profitable as 
 strawbeiries, although perhaps for local demand they could not be 
 sold in as large quantities. 
 
 RASPBERRIES. 
 
 The culture of the raspberry is almost identical with that of the 
 blackberry, except that they may be planted one-third closer, and that 
 in some sections the raspberry is not quite so hardy, and it is better 
 
 to take the precaution of laying the shoots down close to the ground 
 in the fall, being careful not to break them, and covering them up 
 with com stidks, straw, leaves or litter. This should not be done, 
 however, until the weather is quite cold, say, in the latitude of New 
 
Raspberhies. 369 
 
 York, the first week in December. The covering may be from three 
 to six inches thick, and should not be removed in the spring until the 
 middle of April, as, if removed too soon, the shoots, which would then 
 
 THE GEEGU aAaPBEItUT 
 
 "be beginning to start, might be hurt by the late spring fi-osts. Rasp- 
 benies are of three colors — red, black and yellow. Of the red, Cuth- 
 bert, Hansen and Hudson River Antwerp are the favorites. Of the 
 black varieties, the Gregg is of the largest size, an enormous pro- 
 
 THE HAN8ELL RASPBERRY. 
 
 ducer, of excellent flavor, and should, perhaps, be grown to the exclu- 
 sion of aU others of the "black caps." A yellow variety, known as 
 ' ' CaroUne," is of rich orange color, entirely hardy and of excellent 
 flavor. Another yellow kind, known as " Brinkle's Orange," is of the 
 
370 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 most delicious flavor, but it isnot hardy uuless in well sheltered si>ots. 
 It is somewhat cuiious, when the true reason is not known, that this 
 vaiiety is more hardy in Canada than in the United States, the reason 
 being that it is jDrotected by the deep and long continued snow 
 through the colder Canadian winter. Cultivated varieties of Rusp- 
 ben-ies, hie blackbemes, are so much superior to the wild kinds, that 
 it will be found, wherever raspbenies are wanted, their culture will 
 well reiDay the trouble. About the same quantity of rasjiberries are 
 usually in demand as of blaekbenies. A new vaiiety of red raspben-v. 
 called " Hansell," promises to become one of the best standard 
 varieties. (See engraving.) 
 
 CURRANTS. 
 
 The eun-ant is but little used except for pies and for preserving 
 j^mi^oses. There is jjerhaps no other small fmit that will give more 
 weight of croj) for the sjiace it occupies than the cun-ant. However, 
 as it is only used for these special purjjoscs, and is but little used to 
 eat as dessert, in an uncooked state, comparatively few are requii-ed. 
 The jilants should be set out in the garden in rows about four feet 
 apart, and three feet between the jilants; for market puiijoses these 
 distances may be increased one-half. The young shoots requii'e to l)e 
 jDnined in the fall, cutting ofif about one-thu-d of their growth, and 
 thinning out the old shoots when they become too thick. They are 
 all trained in bush form to a height of three or four feet. The best 
 red vaiieties groAvn are known as the Eed Dutch and the Chen-y. 
 Of the white kinds, that known as the White Dutch is the besi It is 
 of a yellowish white color. This variety is sweeter than the reds, 
 and for that reason is better for dessert paqjoses. Black curi'ants 
 are but little gro^\ai, ami then exclusively for jams and jelhes. They 
 should be cultivated in the same way as the whites and reds, although 
 they are an entii-ely different plant, belonging to a different species. 
 
 GOO.'^EBERRIES. 
 
 The goosebeiTy is but Httle grown in this climate, as our summer 
 is entii-ely too hot for it, and it is rarely seen iu good condition, as it 
 ripens just in the heat of summer, when the weather is the hottest, 
 thus forcing it unnaturally to matuiity, so that the fine flavor obtained 
 in milder cUmates such as Great Biitain is never found here. For 
 that reason it is not much grown, except to be used in a gi'eeu state 
 for pies or tarts, and is iu but httle demand. Many of the Eughsh 
 
Culture of Grapes. 
 
 371 
 
 varieties are offered for sale Lere, but tliey are so subject to mildew, 
 that they rai-ely do any good. Of the native varieties, that known 
 as the Downing is of a greenish white color when ripe, and of very 
 
 fair quality. "We have also a red native seedling known as Houghton's, 
 which is of average size and flavor. The cultui'e is same as that of 
 the currant. 
 
 Although gi-ape vines can be gi-own in almost any soU, yet if a 
 position can bs obtained on a sloping bank, facing south or south- 
 east, running at an angle often or fifteen degrees, where the soU is stony 
 or shaly, they wUl be found usually to do better than when planted 
 on level lauds, particularl3' if they can be manured. All the finest 
 ■Nineyards in Germany and France are so located, and the fi'uit is 
 always better flavored and freer from mildew and other diseases than 
 when on the level. However, such conditions are not always to be 
 obtained, and the vines of course are not so easily worked as when 
 planted on the level. There is now so much advance made in our 
 hai'dy native varieties of gTajjes, that those who have not had 
 opportunities of seeing them wUl be surprised to find the vast im- 
 provement that has been made in this deUcious fi'uit within the last 
 ten or fifteen years. We have now grapes of the finest flavor of all 
 colors, ranging through all the shades of green, amber, red and black, 
 ripening in succession from the middle of August until the middle of 
 October. Immense areas are now being planted with the kinds 
 which have proved most profitable for market iDurposes, and as they 
 can be safely shipped to almost any distance, there is no need of 
 being dependent upon a local market. There is much misconception 
 
372 
 
 How THE Farm Pays. 
 
 as to the age at which a grai)e ^-ine should l)e planted. It is the 
 general impression that they should always be three or four years 
 old. This is a popular eiTor, for no matter how large the vine is. it 
 will never fi-uit to any extent the same season it is j'lanted, and the 
 
 lai-ger it is, the more it will suffer in being hfted and transplanted. 
 Therefore I always recommend pm-chasei-s to buy young plants, 
 which not only can be bought at one-thii-d the price of two or three 
 year old ones, but are iuiiuitcly better, even at the same price. If a 
 
Popular Tarieties of Grapes. 373 
 
 trellis is made for them they should be planted at a distance 
 of six feet apai-t. The trelhs may be any height fi-om six to 
 twenty feet, as desired. If planted in vineyard style in the 
 open field, without trellises, they may be set six feet between the 
 rows and three or foiu- feet between the jDlants, and tied up to strong 
 stakes. 
 
 The first year after pilanting, if with vineyard cultui'e, they should 
 be cut down, and only one shoot left to reach to the top of the five or 
 six foot stake. If it has grown strongly and ripened well, that shoot 
 will give a few bunches the second year and may be pnined close, so 
 as to resemble a walking stick, but, with the lateral shoots cut back 
 to one eye only — that is, the main shoot is allowed to stand, and the 
 side shoots or laterals are trimmed to one bud or eye. This is what 
 is called the Sj^ur System, and will be found to be the most convenient 
 for the inexperienced cultivator. There are special modes of prun- 
 ing, which are best shown by illustration, and for such as require 
 fuller information on this subject, I will refer to my work, " Garden- 
 ing for Pleasure," where the subject of pruning is fuUy treated. 
 The six kinds which we would recommend for general cultui'e are 
 the following: 
 
 Mooke's Early. — This variety has large and compact bunches; 
 berries large, black and covered with a rich bloom ; excellent flavor, 
 and is one of the earliest, ripening about the 1st of September, or a 
 week before Concord. 
 
 Peextiss. — Is of greenish white color, sometimes tinted with rose; 
 of medium size for a white gTape, flavor almost equal to the best 
 hot -house grapes; is immensely productive, and sold in the New York 
 mai'keta last year for twenty-five cents per pound, while Concord 
 and other older varieties sold at six cents per pound; rij)ens middle 
 of September. 
 
 Wilder. — Has benies of medium size; color reddish bronze; beiTy 
 of exquisite flavor, ripening middle of September. 
 
 S.tLEM. — Has large bunches; color, white, tinted with pink; of 
 mediiun size; deUcate flavor; ripening about 1st of October. 
 
 Brighton. — Color reddish bronze, bunch and bemes of average size, 
 flavor excellent; a most abundant bearer, and one of the very best. 
 Eipens about the 1st of October. 
 
 Concord, the last we name, is one of the best known of all the 
 sorts. It is much inferior in flavor, but it has the valuable quahty of 
 never failing to bear abundant crops, and is indispensable in 
 any collection, and if but one gi-ape is grown this should be 
 chosen. 
 
374 How THE Fakm Pays. 
 
 ORCHAliP FRriTS. 
 
 Unlike the "small fruits," such as strawbenies and i^aspberries, 
 when once planted in suitable soil, the lai-ge fr'uits will hvst a life-time, 
 and as many of them ai-e several years before they come into 
 bearing, any eiTor made in the selection of kinds is a serious one. 
 Whenever practicable, therefore, the purchase of trees for the orchard 
 should bo made direct from nm-sei^Tuen whose reputation is beyond 
 question. Manj- thousands of farmers in nearly every section of the 
 country have been ^dctims of the in'esponsible tree peddlei-s, who, 
 whether from ignorance or design, have palmed upon the \uifoi-tunate 
 patrons apples, peai-s, peaches and plums which after years of 
 anxious waiting for have proved eutfrely worthless. No doubt there 
 are honest and tnistworthy tree agents; but these be:u- such a small 
 proportion to those who ai-e otherwise, that the safest pl.iu, for the 
 uninitiated fanner, as I have before said, is to make his purchases 
 direct fr'om his ueai'est reUable nursery-man, kee])ing always the point 
 in %-iew, that it is best to buy noiih of his latitude. 
 
 It is not safe to leave the selection of kiuels exclusively in the hands 
 of the nurseryman, for no matter how resjjectable he may be, there is 
 always a temjitatiou to send out such kinds as he may liappen to have 
 a surplus stock of. For that reason I will in all cases, as has been 
 done with all crops throughout this work, give a list of what in my 
 experience are the safest kinds to use for general planting. 
 
 The soil and its preparation for the orchaixl are also ^■ital matters. 
 For most fruits a deep and rather sandy loam is best, but, as in all 
 other crops, it is useless to plant trees unless tlie soil is free from 
 water, anel if elraining is necessary it must be thoroughly done. (See 
 article on elraining.) A Umestone gravelly soil is best for apples, 
 pears succeed best upon gooel clay loams, jjlums retpiire a rather 
 moist soil for the best results, and jjeaches must have a wai-m hgbt 
 sandy loam with a somewhat heaN^ier subsoil, but well drained, either 
 naturally or artificially. The location of an orehsu-el is quite important. 
 Apples anel peaches elo best ujson hilly or rolling ground, while jiears 
 anel jilums elo well in low lands. A western exposiu'e, and in some 
 cases a northern slope, is preferable to any other, for all fiiiits. A 
 southern slope is the worst of all, as the trees in such a case ai'e forced 
 by the sun"s warmth into a too early growth, and often suffer from 
 late spring frosts, which destroy the blossom, while the more back- 
 ward trees upon western or noiihem slopes ai'e uninjured. The 
 advantage of a western slojie is that it escapes the morning sun, which 
 is sometimes injurioas after a colel frosty night, wliile it enjoys the 
 
Orchard Culture. 375 
 
 last of the evening sun and so gets a large share of warmth which 
 remains during the night. 
 
 The preparation of the soil and the manner of planting the trees are 
 of the utmost importance, and should be thoroughly well done. A 
 rich soil is not required. If the land is able to produce a good croji 
 of com, potatoes or clover, it is rich enough ; if made too rich the 
 trees are apt to make too much wood, or a weak, rank growth, which 
 must be cut away by pruning, and thus really exhaust the tree and 
 put off its bearing period for some considerable time. The following 
 details will suggest a proper method for the average conditions. 
 The planter of course must study his particular case and make a 
 judicious apjilication of these suggestions. The land shoidd be well 
 plowed in the fall or late summer, asdeejjlyas possible; deep plowing 
 in this ease is beneiicial, when it might be otherwise for an ordinary 
 croj). The next thing to be done is to jDrepare a sufficient quantity 
 of good compost of rotted leaves, sod, scrapings of the barn-yard, 
 lime, wood ashes and some rotted manxu-e. These are well mixed 
 and put into a heap ready for use. The trees are then ordered to be 
 delivered at a special time, and for safety, and the proper guidance 
 of the nurseryman, full and accurate directions should be given for 
 shipping. The orders should be sent so as to give the nurseryman 
 ample time to ship the trees. The next work is to stake out the 
 ground, and dig the holes, two feet deep, and large enough to give the 
 roots ample spread, say four feet wide. The top soil shoidd be 
 thrown on one side by itself. The compost is then hauled onto the 
 ground, and a liberal quantity of it is thrown into the hole and 
 spread, and partly mixed with the earth in it, being left shghtly 
 raised in the centre for the tree to rest ujson. Everything is now in 
 readiness for the trees. A^Tien these arrive, they should be unjjacked 
 and sorted at once, and each variety laid in the wagon by itself. 
 Each variety should be jjlanted separately in a row or block. The 
 wagon is then taken to the Held. The planter, who has a boy to assist 
 him, takes a tree, sets it firmly u^jon the earth in the hole so that it 
 is a little deeper than it has been in the nursery, and while the 
 assistant holds it, he spreads the roots and carefully works the soil 
 among them so that they are in as natural a position as possible. 
 This is very important and should be well done. After this, the rest 
 of the top soil is thrown in and well trodden with the feet. Then 
 the subsoil is put in with a httle of the compost mixed with it and 
 thoroughly well firmed with the feet, but left in a slight mound, so as 
 to turn water from the stem. After all the trees have been thus 
 planted, each one should be properly pruned, the young wood being 
 cut back one-third and the head properly shaped. Fall jolanting, 
 
37G How THi: Farm Pays. 
 
 ■which is generally preferable, should be done from the 15th October 
 to the 15th November, and spring planting as soon as the ground is 
 ft'ee from frost and dry enough to work. 
 
 The after treatment of a young orchard should be as follows: For 
 the first thi'ee years such crops as potatoes, beans or turnips, that are 
 cultivated and manured, may be grown, but no others, both to 
 manm-e the ground, destroy weeds and for the sake of the cultivation, 
 file trees being hoed as the rest of the crop. Afterwards the gi-ound 
 may be sown to clover, but not to grass, as a sod is injurious to a 
 young orchard, although it may be permitted in an established one. 
 
 APPLES. 
 
 Apples being a crop that can be shipped from any distance, unless 
 they ai-e known to do well in a locality, had better not be grown 
 largely, as, if the locality is not suited to their gro\\'th, they are not 
 likely to be satisfactoiy. However, as the trees cost but little, a hun- 
 dred or two is a necessity for the farmer, if only for his own use. 
 The}' should be planted at about thii-ty feet apart each way. The 
 kinds best suited for most localities are, for early, Eai'ly Harvest, 
 Sour Bough and Red Astrachan; for fall, Tweut}- Ounce Pippin and 
 Fall Pippin; for winter, Baldwin, Greening, Rambo, King and 
 Northern Spy. The caution may be given, that even if a hundred 
 acres should be planted, only a few vai'ieties should be chosen. As a 
 guide to the choice of varieties for a northern locality it might be 
 mentioned that at the exhibition of fruits held in November, 1883, 
 l>y the London Horticultui\il Society, the following varieties were 
 sent fi-om Nova Scotia, viz.: Ribstoue Pijjpin, Baldwin, Rhode Island 
 Greening, Newtown Pippin, Hubbai'dstou's, TaUmau's, King's and 
 Blue Peai'maiu. All these were remarkable for their quality and 
 size, indicating that these kinds are especially suitable for a cold 
 climate. 
 
 Pears, like apples, are adapted to certain localities, although, as a 
 rule, they are usually a more certain crop in most sections, and when 
 the dwarf varieties ai'e planted they come into bearing more 
 quickly than apples do. "Wlien standard jjears, so called, only were 
 grovm, it required a life-time to get them into bearing; but the dwarf 
 kinds, which are grafted on the quince stock, will fruit in two or 
 three yeai's after planting. The dwarf varieties can be planted at ten 
 feet apart each way, while the standai-d sorts require about the same 
 
Pears — Peaches — Plums. 377 
 
 distance as apples, thirty feet apart each way. It is a convenient 
 way, and saves room, to plant dwarfs between the standards alter- 
 nately; when the standards come into bearing the dwarfs may be cut 
 out. The best varieties are Manning's Elizabeth, Clapp's Favorite, 
 Tyson, Bartlett, Duchess, Seckel, Flemish Beauty and Lawrence. 
 These are all exceUent, and give a succession from July to midwinter. 
 These varieties ai-e named in the order of their ripening. The late 
 kinds are kept in a cool cellar, free from fi'ost, and ripened in a warm 
 loom as thev mav be wanted. 
 
 Peaches are not likely to do well unless the locality specially suits 
 them, and should not therefore be gro-mi in large quantities, 
 unless in sections that are known to be adapted to them. "When the 
 soil does suit, however, they are often one of the most valuable crops 
 of the farm, as they mature much more rapidly than either ajsples or 
 pears, and the finer sorts never fail to sell at a good price in the 
 markets of our large cities. The soil best suited for a peach orchard 
 is a dry sandy or gravelly loam. The tree is short-Uved in most sec- 
 tions, and attains its best fniiting condition when from five to ten 
 years old. The great difficulty in growing jDeaches is a disease known 
 as yellows. It has been found that liberal di-essings of Hme to the 
 soil tends to prevent this disease and lengthen the life of the tree. In 
 the best peach growing districts cultivators are well satisfied if 
 they get three crops in five years, because contingencies, such as early 
 frosts, may occasionally destroj' the whole crop in certain districts, 
 while others are exempt, this exemption being due, in nearly every 
 case, to the well chosen selection of a western or northern slope ujjon 
 which to plant the orchards. The distance apart ma}' be from twelve 
 to twenty feet; if the soil is very rich, the greater distance. The 
 "best kinds kno^Ti in the markets are Crawford's Early, Crawford's 
 Late, Honest John, Stump the World, Yellow Earerijae, Morris 
 "White, Troth's Early and Alexander. 
 
 The cultivation of the plum is rendered exceedingly difficult in 
 almost all sections of the country by the attacks of what is laiown as 
 the Curculio or Plum WeevO. All j'roposed remedies have been 
 applied without any permanent satisfactory results, excepting the old- 
 fashioned jjlan, which has been in use for over fifty years, of jarring 
 
378 How THE Farm Pavs. 
 
 the tree and sliaMng down the insects and catching them in sheets. 
 If this is done as soon as the fruit is formed, and energetically per- 
 sisted in every other day untU ripe, the croj) may be saved ; but if 
 neglected, the chances in most jjlaces are that the crop will be destroyed. 
 It is claimed, also, that when plum trees are planted iu the poultry 
 yard they are rarely affected by the Curcuho, as the fowls pick up the 
 insects in the larvae state. No doubt this may be eflfective to a cer- 
 tain extent; but it is not as safe as the jarring of the ti'ees. There 
 are sections of the country, isarticularly about Newburgh, N. Y., 
 where this i)est does not seem to have got a foothold, and that district 
 suijplies plums maiuly for the New York market, and must be 
 immensely profitable from the prices obtained. It would be well for 
 farmers having heavy clay lands to plant a few trees as an exjieri- 
 ment, or on lands where they can be planted near the banks of a 
 i-unning stream, as it seems that in such lociUities they are less liable 
 to be troubled vs-ith the insect. The trees should be set out at dis- 
 tances of from fifteen to twenty feet each way. The most approved 
 kinds are Golden Drojj, Green Gage, Purjjle Favorite, Wasliington, 
 Lombard and German Prune. The Damson is also a good kind 
 for preserving, as is also the Wild Goose Plum. This is an exceed- 
 ingly hardy tree, and bears so profuselj- as to always furnish a crop 
 in spite of the Cui'culio. 
 
 The cheny, like the peach, bears in two or three yeai-s after plant- 
 ing, and continues annually to enlarge its growth and productiveness. 
 It is a long-lived tree and often attains a great size. It grows freely 
 on almost any soU, preferring, however, one that is deep and loamy. 
 It should be planted at distances of from fifteen to twenty feet apart. 
 The varieties are Black Tartiu-ian, a purj^lish black color; American 
 Amber, yellow or amber colored; May Duke and Early Richmond. 
 Cherry trees are very subject to a disease known as black knot, by 
 ■which they are gi-eatly disfigured, and, at length, destroyed. The 
 remedy is to cut out every branch which shows the fii-st sign of the 
 disease as soon as it appears and V)uni the cuttings. A liberal dress- 
 ing of wood ashes and Ume has been found a preventive. 
 
 QL'INCE. 
 
 This fruit is only grown for use in preserves. It requires little 
 attention, and for that reason it is often much neglected, and when so 
 neglected makes a very unsightly ti-ee. A Uttle pruning, however. 
 
The Quince. 379 
 
 rounds up its form and brings it to a symmetrical shape. In that 
 condition it is an ornamental tree when in blossom or fruit, and the 
 fiTiit is more regularly distributed over the tree. The kinds are the 
 apple shaped or orange, a round vaiiety of a golden yellow color. 
 Pear shaped, of a greenish yellow color, is larger than the former, and 
 is considered to be better flavored when used in preserves. The 
 Champion is a popular new variety, which ripens later than either of 
 the others. The quince does best ujion a low marsh soil, and when 
 well grown is a very profitable market fruit. The trees, or rather 
 bushes, being small and dwai-f, may be planted ten feet ajjart. 
 
IISTDES:. 
 
 (Illustrations are marked by an '.) 
 A.. 
 
 PAOZ. 
 
 Abortion in cattle J05 
 
 Acme harrow for spreading manure 17 
 
 *Acme harrow, value of 44 
 
 Acre, seeds for an 241 
 
 Acre, plants in an 241 
 
 Age for breeding heifers I74 
 
 Agricultural colleges 11 
 
 Alderney cattle 15g 
 
 *Alfalfa, culture of 87 
 
 Apple worm 271 
 
 Apple, culture of 376 
 
 Area of cisterns, square and round 246 
 
 *Army worm 267 
 
 *Arrangement of dairy stables 205 
 
 a, culture of 303 
 
 g, profits of 305 
 
 Ayrshire cows, profitable for milk 146 
 
 *Ayrshire cattle 157 
 
 Ayrshire cow, points of 164 
 
 B. 
 
 *Bantam fowls 237 
 
 *Bam8 209 
 
 Barley, cultivation of 80 
 
382 LxDES. 
 
 PAOE. 
 
 *Barrack for hay 134 
 
 *Barn for sheep 200 
 
 Beans, field cultiyation of 81 
 
 *Bean harvester 82 
 
 Bean, varieties of 305 
 
 Beets, sugar, composition of 144 
 
 *Beets, cultivation of 306 
 
 *Berkshire s-wine 201 
 
 ^Bermuda grass, its value for hay 119 
 
 *Blackberry, culture of the 366 
 
 *BIack Spanish fowls 231 
 
 *Bloat in cattle 100 
 
 Bloat in cattle, remedy for 101 
 
 Borers 271 
 
 *Bot flies, varieties of 252 
 
 *Blne grass, Kentucky 131 
 
 Bone dust, value of 26 
 
 Bone from glue factories 31 
 
 *Brahma, light, fowls 229 
 
 *Bralima, dark, fowls 235 
 
 Breeding age for heifers 174 
 
 Buckwheat as green manure 36 
 
 Buckwheat, cultivation of 83 
 
 Buckwheat, varieties of 84 
 
 *BuiIdings for the farm 204 
 
 Buildings, poultry house 227 
 
 Bushel, weight of 247 
 
 Business of farming, training for 9 
 
 Butter, feeding cows for , 169 
 
 *Butter, churning and management of 179 
 
 *Butter workers 180, 181 
 
 *Butter box for shipping 182 
 
 C. 
 
 *Cabbage, cultivation of, for market 308 
 
 Cabbage as a fodder crop 77 
 
 Cabbage, insect pests of 265 
 
 Calf, management of 171 
 
Index. 383 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Calf, five months old, in milking 173 
 
 Calf, lung -worm of the 261 
 
 *Caps, hay 137 
 
 *Carrots, culture of 64, 320 
 
 Carts for farm use 296 
 
 Cattle, clanger of choking 5i 
 
 Cattle, feeding potatoes to ... 54 
 
 Cattle, advantage of currying 104 
 
 Cattle, abortion in 105 
 
 *Cattle, Jersey 146 
 
 Cattle, Alderney 156 
 
 *Cattle, Ayrshire 157 
 
 *Cattle, Dutch or Holstein 158 
 
 Cattle, Devon 158 
 
 *Cattle, Scotch polled 159 
 
 *Cattle, Hereford ... 160 
 
 *Cattle, Short Horn 161 
 
 Cattle, PoUed Norfolk 159 
 
 Cattle, Swiss 162 
 
 Cattle, Texas 163 
 
 Cattle, young, care of 170 
 
 *Cattle, shed for 208, 220 
 
 *Cattle, bot flies 253 
 
 ^Cauliflower, cultivation of 319 
 
 *Celery, culture of 322 
 
 Centrifugal separator 182 
 
 Characteristics of good and bad soils 13 
 
 Cherry, culture of 378 
 
 Chickens, early, rearing of 226 
 
 Chickens, gape worm of 261 
 
 Choice of a farm 18 
 
 *Choking in cattle, remedy for 54 
 
 *Churns and churning 179 
 
 Churning, temperature of cream for 181 
 
 Cisterns, contents of 246, 249 
 
 Clay land, retains manure 16 
 
 Clay land, how drained 22 
 
 ♦Cleveland Bay Horse 186 
 
 Climate, effect of, on crops 14 
 
38-t IXDEX. 
 
 PACK. 
 
 Clover as green manure 36 
 
 Clover as green fodder 92, 137 
 
 *Clover, mammoth 115 
 
 Clover, Japan 126 
 
 Clover as a special crop 131 
 
 Clover hay, how made.. . 136 
 
 *Clydesdale Horse 184 
 
 ♦Cochin fowls 236 
 
 *Collie dog 241 
 
 Collie dog, sagacity of 242 
 
 Colorado beetle 263 
 
 Compost, how much per acre 17 
 
 *Com, Chester Co. Mammoth 53 
 
 *Com, Golden Beauty 53 
 
 Com, time for cutting 70 
 
 Com for fodder 97 
 
 *Corn marker 98 
 
 Com silk worm 266 
 
 *Com planter 286 
 
 *Com husking machine 293 
 
 *Com shellers 295 
 
 *Com, sweet, cxiltivation of 329 
 
 Cost of cultivating ten acres. 78 
 
 Cow-peas, for fodder 95 
 
 Cows that have made fourteen pounds of butter in a week 150 
 
 Cows, the best for the dairy 167 
 
 Cows, feed and care of 169 
 
 Cows, kicking, how to manage 177 
 
 Cows, how to milk 176 
 
 *Cow milker 178 
 
 Cream, proper temperature for raising 246 
 
 Cream, how managed for churning ] 79 
 
 *Crevecoeur fowls 234 
 
 *Crops, pests of 263 
 
 Cucumber beetle 268 
 
 Cucumber, culture of 330 
 
 Cultivating 45 
 
 ♦Cultivator, Planet, Jr 45, 285 
 
 •Culture of vegetables and fruits 301 
 
Index. 385 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Currants, culture of 370 
 
 Cut worms 269 
 
 Dairy, the best cow for 107 
 
 *Daiiy, management of 176, 182 
 
 Dairy, construction of 183 
 
 Dairy, stable for a 205 
 
 Devon cattle 158 
 
 Devon cow, points of 165 
 
 *Disc harrow 4i 
 
 Disease, potato 57 
 
 Diseases, scab in sheep 199 
 
 Diseases, foot rot in sheep 199 
 
 *Dogs for the farm. Collie 241 
 
 Dogs as farm pests 251 
 
 ^Double mould board plow 278 
 
 Drainage, cost of 21 
 
 *Drains, construction of 23 
 
 *DriU for grain 286 
 
 *Ducks, rearing of, and varieties 239 
 
 Dutch cattle for milk 146 
 
 *Dutch cow 158 
 
 Dutch cow, points of 165 
 
 E. 
 
 *Egg plant, culture of 332 
 
 *Engines for the farm 299 
 
 Ensilage discussed 140 
 
 Ensilage not safe feed 141 
 
 Ensilage, F. D. Curtis' opinion of 142 
 
 EnsOage versus roots 144 
 
 *Ergot in grasses causes abortion 108 
 
 *Ergot in rye 108 
 
 Escutcheon, significance of 173 
 
 Essex swine 203 
 
380 ISBEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Exhaustion of lauil a fallacy 18 
 
 Exhaustion of land only temporary 22 
 
 F. 
 
 Farm, how to choose a 18 
 
 Feeding fowls 227 
 
 Feeding potatoes 54 
 
 Feeding roots 99 
 
 Feeding soiling crops 100 
 
 Feeding cows for milk and butter 169 
 
 Feeding hoi-ses 187 
 
 Feet, use of, in sowing 47 
 
 Fences 222 
 
 Fertilizers, effect of, not permanent 27 
 
 Fertilizers, preparation of, for use 28 
 
 Fertilizers, quantity per acre 28 
 
 Fertilizers, special, objected to 30 
 
 Fertilizing by feeding stock 37 
 
 Firming the soil 47 
 
 Fortunes made on rented land 18 
 
 Fodder corn, culture of 77, 98 
 
 Fodder corn, composition of 144 
 
 Fodder crops 85 
 
 Fodder crops , feeding . . 100 
 
 Fodder for the South 120 
 
 Fodder cutters, etc 292 
 
 Fowls, rearing 224 
 
 *Fowls, Plymouth Bocks 224 
 
 Fowls, management of early chickens 226 
 
 Fowls, feeding 227 
 
 *rowls, Brahma 229, 235 
 
 *Fowls, Hamburgs 230 
 
 *Fowls, Black Spanish 231 
 
 *Fowls, Leghorns 232 
 
 *Fowls, Houdans 233 
 
 *Fowls, Poland 2U 
 
 *Fowls, Crevecoeurs 234 
 
Index. 387 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 *Fowls, Wyandotte 235 
 
 *Fowls, Cochin 236 
 
 *Fowls, bantams 237 
 
 *Fowls, water 239 
 
 Fowls, turkeys 238 
 
 "*FoxtaiI meadow grass Ill 
 
 Fruit culture , 361 
 
 *Fruit dryer 298 
 
 Truit, orchard varieties of 374 
 
 G. 
 
 *Gooseberry, culture of the 370 
 
 *Grain drill 286 
 
 ^Grapes, culture of 371 
 
 Grapes, varieties of 373 
 
 Grass seed per acre 93 
 
 *Grass, Orchard 110 
 
 *Grass, Ergot in 108 
 
 Grass, management of 110 
 
 Grass, mixed 112 
 
 *Grass, meadow foxtail Ill 
 
 *Grass, red top 113 
 
 *Grass, Italian rye grass 113 
 
 "*Grass, sweet vernal 114 
 
 *Grass, hard fescue 114 
 
 *Grass, sheep's fescue 114 
 
 *Grass, meadow fescue 115 
 
 Grass seed, how to sow 114 
 
 *Grass, Bermuda 119 
 
 *Gras8, Southern crab 121 
 
 *Grass, crow's foot and barn yard 122 
 
 *Grass, Guinea 124 
 
 *Grass, Johnson 125 
 
 *Grass, Rhode Island bent 1 28 
 
 Grass seeds sown alone 129 
 
 *Gra8s, June 131 
 
 *Grass, Kentucky blue 132 
 
388 L\T>EX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 *Grass, fowl meadow 133 
 
 Grass lands, when manured 17 
 
 Green manuring 35 
 
 Grubs, white 270 
 
 Guano, value of i 26 
 
 *Guinea grass 124 
 
 *Guem3ey cattle 153 
 
 •Hamburg fowls 230 
 
 Harrow, for spreading manure 17 
 
 *Harrow, chain 41 
 
 *Harrow, Acme 42 
 
 *Harrow, disc 44, 281 
 
 *Harrow, smoothing and brush 68, 281 
 
 Harrowing 38, 41 
 
 Harrowing sod 76 
 
 Hay, cutting and curing 134 
 
 Hay, clover, how made 136 
 
 *Hay caps, how made 137 
 
 *Hay, bams and sheds 210 
 
 *Hay making machines 287 
 
 Hedges for fences 223 
 
 Heifers, age to breed 174 
 
 ♦Hereford cattle 160 
 
 Hereford cow, points of 165 
 
 Hillsides, effect of, on crops 15 
 
 Hillsides, grasses for 128 
 
 *Holstein cattle 146, *158 
 
 Holstein cow, points of 164 
 
 Homestead, Mr. Crozier's 205 
 
 Hops, refuse, value of 20 
 
 *Horses for the farm ■ 184 
 
 Horses, how fed 187 
 
 Horses, profit of breeding 188 
 
 Horses, market prices of 189 
 
 *Horses, Kussian 191 
 
Index. 389 
 
 PAGE, 
 
 Horses, how to breed 190 
 
 Horses, bams for 211 
 
 Horse-power, what it is 248 
 
 *Horse, bot flies of 253 
 
 *Houclan fowls 233 
 
 House for poultry 227 
 
 Hungarian grass 96 
 
 I. 
 
 *Implements, seed drill 61 
 
 *Wheat Cultivator 71 
 
 *Bean Harvester 82 
 
 *Corn Marker 98 
 
 *Harrows 281 
 
 *Plows 275 
 
 ♦Roller 282 
 
 *Mumbler 283 
 
 *Manure Spreader 70, 284 
 
 •Cultivators. 285 
 
 *Corn Planters 28C 
 
 ♦Grain Drill 286 
 
 ♦Mowers and Reapers 287 
 
 ♦Hay Tedder 289 
 
 ♦Hay Bakes 290 
 
 ♦Hay Porks, etc 291 
 
 ♦Fodder Cutters 292 
 
 ♦Corn Husker 293 
 
 Insects, potato beetle 57 
 
 ♦Army Worm 75, 267 
 
 ♦Sheep Tick 199, 255 
 
 ♦Bot Flies 253 
 
 Lice, Fleas, etc 254 
 
 ♦Louse of Sheep 255 
 
 ♦Scab of Sheep 256 
 
 ♦Potato Beetle 263 
 
 Chinch Bug 264 
 
 Hessian Fly 264 
 
 Butterfly 265 
 
390 Index. 
 
 Insects, Turnip Beetle 265 
 
 Pea Weevils 266 
 
 Corn Worm 266 
 
 Tobacco Worm 266 
 
 Cuoumber Beetle 268 
 
 Squash Borer 269 
 
 Onion Maggot 269 
 
 Cut Worms 270 
 
 White Grubs 270 
 
 Borers 271 
 
 Apple Worms : 271 
 
 Leaf Slugs 271 
 
 Plum WeevUs 272 
 
 Plant Lice 272 
 
 Rose "Bug " 273 
 
 Insects injuring cabbages 315 
 
 Insects attacking onions Si-t 
 
 ^Intestinal worms 261 
 
 *Italian rye grass 113 
 
 J. 
 
 * Japan clover 126 
 
 Japanese bantams 237 
 
 *Jersey cattle 146 
 
 Jersey cow, yield of 148 
 
 *Jersey bull, portrait of 149 
 
 Jersey, points of 1*53 
 
 Jersey calf, precocity of 173 
 
 Jersey cattle, highest price for 174 
 
 Jersey cross, how improved 175 
 
 Johnson grass in the South 125 
 
 Johnson grass in Florida 127 
 
 June gi-ass 131 
 
 K. 
 
 *Kale, Scotch, cultivation of 314 
 
 *Keutuoky blue grass 132 
 
Index. 391 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Lambs, lung worms of '^^^ 
 
 Leaf slugs ^'^ 
 
 ♦Leghorn fowls 232 
 
 Leicester sheep -^^^ 
 
 *Lettuce, culture of 333 
 
 Lice, plant 272 
 
 *Light Brahma fowls 229 
 
 Lime, value of 32 
 
 Lime, how applied 23 
 
 Live stock of the farm 146 
 
 *Liver rot in sheep 260 
 
 *Louse of the sheep 255 
 
 Lncem, for soUing 86 
 
 *Lucern, culture of °' 
 
 Lung worms of calves, lambs, etc 261 
 
 *Machinery for the farm 275 
 
 ♦Machines, various fai'm 275 
 
 ♦Manure Spreader "^"^ 
 
 ♦Corn Shellers 295 
 
 ♦Portable Engines 299 
 
 ♦For making hay 287 
 
 ♦Bean harvester "2 
 
 ♦Com Marker .• • ' 98 
 
 ♦Com Planter 286 
 
 ♦Corn Husker 293 
 
 ♦Cultivators 285 
 
 ♦Fodder Cutters 292 
 
 ♦Grain Drill 286 
 
 ♦Hay Forks and Elevator 291 
 
 ♦Hay Tedder 289 
 
 ♦Hay Bake 290 
 
 ♦Mower and Reaper 287 
 
 ♦Mumbler 283 
 
392 Index. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 *AIachines, Plows 275 
 
 *Roller 282 
 
 Management of calves 171 
 
 Management of dairy 176 
 
 Management of horses 190 
 
 Management of a brood mare 191 
 
 *Maugels, culture of 59 
 
 Maugels, composition of 144 
 
 Manure retained in the soil 16 
 
 Manure, how much per acre 17, 29, 52, 302 
 
 Manure, when applied to grass 17 
 
 Manure, spreading 17, 69 
 
 Manure, comparative value of 26 
 
 Manure, green, value of 35 
 
 Manure for wheat 69 
 
 Manure, top dressing with, after hay 135 
 
 Manure, weight of a cord of 244 
 
 *Manure spreader 70, 283 
 
 Manure for onions 340 
 
 Manuring grass lands 17 
 
 Mare, management of breeding 191 
 
 Market prices of horses 189 
 
 Market garden crops 301 
 
 *Marker for corn 98 
 
 Masonry, measures for 249 
 
 Measures 246 
 
 *Melon, culture of the 334 
 
 *Merino, American, Sheep 197 
 
 Mildews 274 
 
 Milk, the best cows for 146 
 
 Milk, how to 176 
 
 *MiIk tube 177 
 
 Milk, how managed 178 
 
 Millet for fodder 95 
 
 Millet, pearl, cultfvation of 96 
 
 *Mill for farm use 297 
 
 Mixed farming the safest 19 
 
 Molds and mildews 274 
 
 *Mower and reaper 287, 288 
 
Index. 393 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 !Muck, swamp, value of 29 
 
 Muck, swamp, how used 33 
 
 *Mumbler, the 283 
 
 N. 
 
 Necessity for personal work 9 
 
 *Norman horses. 184 
 
 O. 
 
 Oats, culture of 76 
 
 Oats, yield of, per acre 76 
 
 Oats, weight of seed 79 
 
 Oats, rust in 80 
 
 Oats, with peas, for soiling 93 
 
 Okra, cultivation of 338 
 
 Onion maggot 260 
 
 Onion, cultivation of 338 
 
 Onion, varieties of 339 
 
 Onion, manures for 340 
 
 Onion, insects attacking 344 
 
 Onion, profits of 345 
 
 Onion, varieties of 347 
 
 Orchard fruits, culture of 374 
 
 Orchard Grass, for soiling 93 
 
 Orchard Grass, feeding value 99 
 
 *Orchard Grass, description of 110 
 
 Orchard, selection of soil for an 374 
 
 Oxford Down Sheep 194 
 
 P. 
 
 ♦Parasites of sheep 255 
 
 *Parsley, eultui'e of 349 
 
 *Parsnip, culture of 64, 348 
 
394 IsjDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Pasturing slieep on wheat 73 
 
 Peaches, culture of ■. 377 
 
 Pears, culture of 376 
 
 Pea Weevil 265 
 
 Peas and oats for soiling 85 
 
 *Peas, culture of 350 
 
 *Pekin Ducks 239 
 
 *Pens for pigs 217 
 
 *Percheron Horses 185 
 
 Perraanent grass, how procivred 130 
 
 Peruvian Guano, value of 26 
 
 *Pests of the farm 251 
 
 *Pits for storing roots 66 
 
 *Piggery of F. D. CurHs 218 
 
 Planet, Jr., Cultivator 45, 285 
 
 Plants, cabbage, growing of 309 
 
 Plant lice 272 
 
 Plaster, value of, etc 34 
 
 *Plow, Roland chilled, and others 275 
 
 Plowing 38 
 
 Plowing in seed, advantage of 70 
 
 *Plows 39, 277 
 
 *Plows, slip point for 276 
 
 *Plows. subsoil 40, 280 
 
 *Plow sulky 277 
 
 *Plow swivel 277 
 
 Plum Weevils 272 
 
 Plum, culture of the 377 
 
 *Plymouth Kock fowls 224 
 
 Points of cattle 1G3 
 
 *Poland China swine 202 
 
 *Poland fowls 234 
 
 Ponies, Shetland, breeding of 190 
 
 Pork, method of curing 203 
 
 Potatoes, culture of 53 
 
 Potatoes, feeding to stock 54 
 
 Potato rot, remedy for 57 
 
 Potato bugs 263 
 
 Potato, sweet, culture of 58 
 
Index. 395 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Potato, digger for. . 280 
 
 Potato, garden culture-of 352 
 
 Poudrette, value of 29 
 
 Poultry, rearing and keeping 224 
 
 Poultry house 227 
 
 Power of liorse and man 248 
 
 Preparing fertilizers for use 28 
 
 Preparing land for tillage 52 
 
 Prickly Comfrey 85 
 
 *Probang for choking cattle 54 
 
 Profit from ten acres of land 78 
 
 Profit from Mr. Crozier's dairy 152 
 
 Profit from a pure bred buJl 168 
 
 Profit of breeding horses 188 
 
 Profit of market gardening 302 
 
 Profit of growing onions 345 
 
 Q- 
 
 Quantity of fertilizers per acre 28 
 
 Quantity of feed for a cow 103 
 
 Quantity of mixed grass seed per acre 112 
 
 Quantity of seeds to the acre 244, 359 
 
 Quince, culture of 379 
 
 *Radish, culture of 353 
 
 *Kaspberry, culture of 368 
 
 Rearing of poultry 224 
 
 Record of Mr. Crozier's herd 151 
 
 Record of Guernsey Cows 154 
 
 *Red Top grass 113 
 
 Refuse hops, value of, for maniu-e 29 
 
 *Rhode Island bent grass 128 
 
 Restoring worn soils IS 
 
 *Rhubarb, culture of 352 
 
396 Index. 
 
 TJkOZ. 
 
 Koads, the value of good 21 
 
 ♦Roller, use of 46, 282 
 
 Koots compared ■writh ensilage 144 
 
 Root crops, soils for 15 
 
 Root crops for feeding 59, 99 
 
 *Root crops, harvesting and storing 65 
 
 Ropes, strength of 248 
 
 Rose bug 273 
 
 Rotation of cropp 52, 74 
 
 Rotten bone, value of, as a fertilizer 31 
 
 Rust on wheat 75 
 
 *Ruta Bagas, culture of C2 
 
 Rye as green manure 35 
 
 Rye, cultivation of 80 
 
 Rye for soiling or feeding green 86 
 
 *Rye, Ergot in 108 
 
 S. 
 
 Sagacity of CoUie dog 242 
 
 Salt, value of 29, 34 
 
 Salt, value of, upon hay 134 
 
 Salt, quantity of, for butter 179 
 
 Saunders, Wm. , Report on Grasses 125 
 
 *Scab in sheep 255 
 
 *Scotch Kale, cultivation of 314 
 
 ♦Scotch Polled Cow 159 
 
 Science of agriculture as compared with practice 12 
 
 Seed, choice of 53 
 
 Seed, plowing in 70 
 
 Seed, wheat, weight of 74 
 
 Seed, best, the cheapest 78 
 
 Seed, oats, weight of 79 
 
 Seed, mixed grasses 112 
 
 Seed, mixed, how sown 129 
 
 Seed, quantity to the acre 244, 359 
 
 Sewage, utilization of 138 
 
 Shallots, culture of 346 
 
Index. . 397 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 *Share, slip point for plows 276 
 
 Sheep, experience with I9I 
 
 *Sheep, South Down 192 
 
 *Sheep, Cotswold I93 
 
 *Sheep, Shropshire Down I94 
 
 Sheep, Beacon Down 192 
 
 *Sheep, Hampshire I95 
 
 *Sheep, Oxford Down 196 
 
 Sheep, Leicester 192 
 
 *Sheep, American Merino 197 
 
 Sheep, feeding in winter 198 
 
 Sheep, foot rot in 199 
 
 *Sheep, barns and sheds for 213 
 
 *Sheep, bot flies 253 
 
 *Sheep, dipping for scab 256 
 
 *Sheep, insect parasites of 255 
 
 *Sheep louse 255 
 
 Sheep, pasturing on wheat 73 
 
 *Sheep ticks 199, 255 
 
 *Sheep, bladder worms of 257 
 
 *Sheep, fluke worm 260 
 
 *Sheep, liver rot in 260 
 
 *Shetland ponies 190 
 
 *Shipping box for butter 182 
 
 *Short Horn cattle 161 
 
 ♦Short Horn fat heifer 162 
 
 Short Horn Cow, points of 166 
 
 *Slip share for plows 276 
 
 Small fruit culture 361 
 
 *Smoothing harrow 68, 281 
 
 Smut in wheat 75 
 
 Sod, yalue of a 26 
 
 Soil, characteristics of 15 
 
 Soil, a good or bad 13 
 
 Soil, how to restore 18 
 
 Soil, good, how known 18 
 
 Soil, what it needs 32 
 
 Soiling and fodder crops 85 
 
 Soiling crops, feeding of 100 
 
398 LvDEx. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Soiling, cost and profit of 103 
 
 Soiling, peas and oats for 85 
 
 Sowing seed 4tj 
 
 Spinacli, culture of 354 
 
 *Spreading manure, machine for 70 
 
 Squash borer 269 
 
 Squash, culture of 355 
 
 Steam engines for the farm 299 
 
 Steam engine, power of 248 
 
 *Stone drains 23 
 
 Straw, beau, value of 83 
 
 Strawberry, culture of 361 
 
 Strength of ropes 248 
 
 *Subsoil plows 40, 280 
 
 Success, how a young man met with 10 
 
 Sugar beets, composition of 144 
 
 *Sulky plow 277 
 
 Summer feeding cattle 102 
 
 Swamjj lands 15 
 
 Swamp muck, value and use of 29, 33 
 
 Sweet potatoes 58 
 
 Swine, breeding of 201 
 
 *Swine, internal parasites 259 
 
 *Swine, Berkshire 201 
 
 *Swine, Poland China 202 
 
 Swine, Essex 202 
 
 Swine, management of 203 
 
 Swine, Large Yorkshire 203 
 
 *Swine, pens for 217 
 
 Swiss cattle . . 162 
 
 *Swivel plow 277 
 
 T. 
 
 Tables of weights and measures 244 
 
 *Tape worms of sheep and swine 258 
 
 Temperature, eflfect of 30 
 
 Temperature for setting milk 178, 181 
 
Index. 399 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Temperature for churning 181 
 
 Timothy grass, feeding value 100, 117 
 
 Timothy and clover, culture of 116 
 
 *Tomato, culture of 356 
 
 Top dressing grass lands 139 
 
 Training for farming 9 
 
 *Trichiua sjiiraUs of swine 262 
 
 *Trochar and canula 100 
 
 Turnip beetle 265 
 
 Turnip, culture of 59, 77, 358 
 
 *Turnii3, Cow Horn, value of 63 
 
 Turnip, feeding sheep on 198 
 
 *Turnip, varieties of 358 
 
 Turkeys, rearing of 238 
 
 ^r. 
 
 Value of manures 26 
 
 Vegetable pests of crops 273 
 
 Vegetable culture 302 
 
 *VegetabIes, varieties of 303 
 
 Vetches for fodder 85 
 
 Water Cress, culture of 328 
 
 Water fowls 239 
 
 *Water melon, culture of 338 
 
 Weevils, plum 272 
 
 Weight of Clyde Horses 185 
 
 Weight of a cord of manure 244 
 
 Weight of bushels 247 
 
 Weight of lead pipes 248 
 
 Weight of water in pipes 249 
 
 Weights and measures 244 
 
400 Index. 
 
 PAOK. 
 
 Wlieat, culture of 68 
 
 Wheat, manure for 69 
 
 Wheat after a root crop 71 
 
 * Wheat, cultivator for 71 
 
 Wheat, effect of late sowing 72 
 
 Wheat, pasturing with sheep 73 
 
 Wheat, seed 74 
 
 Wheat, remedy for rust and smut 75 
 
 Wheat, rust and smut 274 
 
 Wire fences 223 
 
 Wire worms 270 
 
 * Worms, intestinal 261 
 
 *Woodeii drains 24 
 
 *Wyandotte fowls 235 
 
 Yards for poultry 227 
 
 Yield of Jersey Cow 148 
 
 Yield of remarkable Jersey Cows 150 
 
 Yield of Guernsey Cows 154 
 
 Young cattle, care of 170 
 
GARDENING FOR PROFIT. 
 
 PETER HENDERSON. 
 
 To such as are intending to begin the business of Market 
 Gardening, we offer for their instruction our work, " Gardening for 
 Profit," fiublished first in 186C, and a new edition in 1873. "Gar- 
 dening for Profit " has had a larger sale, probably, than any work 
 ever published on the subject of Horticulture. Upward of 100,000 
 copies have been sold, and we have hundi-eds of grateful testimonials 
 from those who have been benefited by its teachings. The subjects 
 of its contents are: 
 
 The Men Fitted for the Business.— Amount of Capital Required and Working 
 Force per Acre.— Profits of Market Gardening.- The Market Gardens near 
 London.— Location, Situation and Laying Out.— Soils, Drainage and Pre- 
 paration.— Manures.— Implements.— The Uses and Management of Cold 
 Frames.- The Formation and Management of Hot-beds.— Forcing Pits and 
 Green-houses.— Seeds and Seed Raising.— How, When and Where to Sow 
 Seeds.— Transplanting.— Packing of Vegetables tor Shipping.— Preservation 
 of Vegetables in Winter.— Insects.— Vegetables; their Variety and Cultivar 
 tlon.— Monthly Calendar of Operations. 
 
 Sent post-paid, on receipt of $1 .50. 
 
 PETER HENDERSON & CO., 
 
 35 & 37 Cortlandt St., New York. 
 
PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 
 
 PETER HENDERSON. 
 
 The fii-st edition was pubUshed in 18G8, the second edition in 
 1873, and the thii-d edition in December, 1878. It was written to 
 teach how flowers and plants can best be " grown for profit." The 
 success of this book has been fuUy as marked as that of " Gardening 
 for Profit," when we consider that it only refers to a business exclu- 
 sively a luxury. Tpwai'd of thirty thoumnd copies of this work have 
 been sold, and it has been the means of estabhsbing thousands of 
 persons in an agreeable, and, in a majority of cases, profitable 
 business. Its contents embrace : 
 
 Asi>ect and Soil.-Laying out the Lawn and Flower Garden.-Designs for Orna- 
 mental Grounds—Planting of Flower Beds.-Soils for Potting.-Temperature 
 and Moisture.-The Potting of Plants.-Cold Frames; AVinter Protection - 
 Construction of Hot-beds. -Green-house Structures. -Green-houses attached 
 to Dwellings—Modes of Heating.-Base Burning Water Heater. -Propaga- 
 tion of Plants b.v Seeds.-What Varieties come True from Seed.-PropagatL 
 of Plants by Cuttings— How Plants and Flowers are Grown.-Propagationof 
 Lilies.-Culture of the Rose— Culture of the Yerbena.-Cnlture of the Tube- 
 rose.-Orchid Culture -Holland Bulbs. -Cape Bulbs ; Varieties and Culture. 
 -Culture of Winter-Flowering Plants— Construction of Bouquets, Baskets. 
 etc.-Wire Designs for Cut Flowers.-HangingBaskets.-Parlor and Window 
 Gardeuing.-Wardian Cases, Ferneries, etc.-Formation of Rockwork.— 
 Insects. -Are Plants injurious to Health ?-Nature's Law of Colors— Packing 
 PJants.-Plants by .Mail. -The Profiu of Floriculture— How to Become a 
 Florist.— Short Descriptions ol Soft- Wooded or Bedding Plants of the Leading 
 Kinds.-What Flowers will Grow in the Shade.-Green-house and Stove or 
 Hot-house Plants. -Annuals, Hardy Herbaceous, Perennial and Biennial 
 Plants, Ornamental Shrubs and Climbers— Culture of Grape Vines under 
 Glass.— Diary of Operations for Eacli Day in the Year. 
 
 Sent post-paid, on receipt of $1.50. 
 
 PETER HENTDERSON & CO., 
 
 35 & 37 Cortlandt St., New York. 
 
GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 
 
 PETER HENDERSON. 
 
 This book was written by lli-. Henderson in 1875, to meet the 
 wants of those desiring information on gardening for their private 
 use, and wlio had no desire to make it a business. It is flatterincr to 
 state that the demand for this book, for the time it has been issued 
 has been gi-eater than either of its predecessors. Its scope of subjects 
 is naturaUy greater than either " Gardening for Profit ' or "Practical 
 Floriculture," as it embraces directions for the propagation and cul- 
 ture of fruit, flowers and vegetables. Its contents include: 
 
 Soil and Location.-Draiuage.-Preparation of the Crround.-WalU-s.-Mauures - 
 How to Use Concentrated Fertilizers—Special Fertilizers for Particular Plant. 
 -The Lawn—Design for Garden—Planting of Lawns and Flower Beds - 
 Fall or Holland Bulbs— Propagation of Plants by Seedg.-Propa<.ation of 
 Plants by Cuttings-Propagating by Layering.— \bout Grafting and Bud- 
 ding.-How Grafting and Budding are Done.-Treatment of Tropical Bulb. 
 Seeds, etc-The Potting of Piants-^'inter Flowering Plants. -Unhealtby 
 Plants ; the Remedy. -Plants Suited for Summer Decoration— Ilan-in."- 
 Basl<ets— Window Gardening.-Parlor Gardening, or the Cultivation of Plantl 
 in Rooms— Wardian Cases.-Ferneries— Jardinieres.-Winter-Forcing the 
 Lily of the Valley. -Green-houses attached to Dwellings.-.i Detached Green 
 house or Grapery-Heating by Hot Water.-Green -house Pits without Artifi- 
 cial Heat— Combined Cellar and Green-house— Hot-beds.-Shrubs— Climbers 
 and Trees.-Hardy Herljaceous Perennials.-Annual Flowering Plants - 
 Flowers which will Grow in the Shade.-Insects— Mildew.-Frozen Plants.'- 
 Mulching— Are Plants in Rooms Injurious to Health ?— Shading.-The Laws 
 of Color in Flowers— Pruning— Hardy Grapes.-Cold Grapery— The Hot- 
 house or Forcing Grapery.-The Strawberry.-Cottage Gardening; a Digres- 
 8ion.-The Vegetable Garden.-Gar.len Implements— Monthly Calendw of 
 Operations. 
 
 Sent post-paid, on receipt of $1 .50. 
 
 PETER HENDERSON & CO., 
 
 35 & 37 Cortlandt St., New York. 
 
GARDEN AND FARM TOPICS. 
 
 Published in January, 1884. Contains porti-ait of Peter Hen- 
 derson and embraces -nithin its scope the following subjects : 
 
 Popular Dulbs and their Culture.— Window Gardening, and Care of Plants in 
 Rooms.— Propagation of Plants.— Rose Growing in Winter.— Green-house 
 Structures, and Modes of Heating. — Formation and Renovation of Lawns. — 
 Onion Growing. — How to Raise Cabbage and Cauliflower. — On the Growing 
 and Preserring of Celery. — The New Celery "White Plume." — Strawberry 
 Culture.— Root Crops for Farm Stock. — Culture of Alfalfa or Lucern. — 
 Manures and their Modes of Application. — Market Gardening around New 
 York. — The Use of the Feet in Sowing and Planting. — Popular Errors and 
 Scientific Dogmas in Horticulture. — Humbugs in Horticulture. — Draining. 
 
 Sent post-paid, on receipt of $1 .50. 
 
 HENDERSON'S HAND-BOOK OF PLANTS. 
 
 — BX — 
 
 PETER HEXDERSON. 
 
 This new work is designed to fill a want that many amateur and professional 
 Horticulturists have often felt, the need of a concise yet comprehensive Dictionary 
 of Plants. The work above named, written and compiled with great care, we 
 think will fully meet such a want. 
 
 The scope of the work embraces the Botanical Name, Derivation, Linnaean 
 and Natural orders of Botany of all the Leading Genera of Ornamental and Useful 
 Plants, up to the present time (comprising every plant of importance relating to 
 the mechanic arts, as well as to the green-house and vegetable garden), with 
 concise instructions for propagation and culture. A valuable feature of the book, 
 particularly to amateurs, is the great care that has been given to obtain all known 
 local or common names ; and a comprehensive glossary of Botanical and Technical 
 terms is also given, which will be found of great value even to the experienced 
 Horticulturist, 
 
 As a book of reference, HENDERSOX'S HAXD-BOOK OF PLAXTS will 
 take the place, for all practical jiurposes. of the expensive and voluminous 
 European works of this kind, as it has been written with a view to meet the wants 
 of those engaged in Horticulture in this country. Instructions for the culture of 
 many important lilanis have been given at length. 
 
 HEXDERSOX'S H.AXD-BOOK OP PLAXTS is a large octavo volume of 
 412 iiages, i)rinted on line white paper, and handsomely bound in cloth. 
 
 We will forward the book, post-paid. l)y mail, on receipt of $3.00: or we will 
 send it, as well as any or all of our other books, as a Premium on orders for 
 Seeds OT Plants seXeciei from our Catalogue of "EvEBrTHiso for the G.^rden." 
 Fall information as to how these Book Premiums may be obtained will be found in 
 the Catalogue, which we shall be pleased to send to any address free of charge. 
 
 PETER HENDERSON & CO.. 
 
 35 & 37 Cortlandt St.. New York.