The fowl keep better for being

hung up to bleed but, if the head is cut off, the skin must be pulled over the

bone of the neck and tied, and all blood carefully removed from every part of

;

;

;

the fowl, before packing.

The entrails are never to be removed, unless so un-

derstood before shipping.

Packing Poultry for Market.— If poultry is killed in cold weather,

hang twenty-four hours before packing, to allow all

animal heat to pass off, and thus prevent its spoiling then pack in clean rye

straw, if obtainable, but any straw, free from chaff and powdery dust, will do.

First an inch of straw, at least, and the fowls placed in with straw between

for market, it ought to

;

each, so they do not touch each other, then straw again ; the top of the box,

DOMESTIC ANIMALS.

771

or barrel, so filled with straw that there shall be no shaking or Jostling about.

Mark plainly, to whom addressed, the number of chickens, and the weight of

them

;

and also your own name on the package, to show you are not ashamed

of your work, and to help the commission man to keep each lot by themselves,

for they will soon learn who does his work the best,

Guinea Fowl, Their Value to Keep Away Hawks, and Bugs

from Garden Vines. —Although the noise of these pretty animals is quite

annoying to most people, yet, as this very noise scares off the hawks, they

should be kept by all who raise many chickens and also for the reason that

they do not scratch the garden like our common chickens, but " go for the

bugs," on all garden vines, without injuring the most delicate plants ; hence it

would be well to keep a fe-ro ou every farm.

;

AaKIOULTURAL.

The Successful Parmer.— "What he Does, and "What he Does

Not,— Applicable to all Business Men. — The successful farmer does

nothing but farm. He invests his money as fast as made in a way to improve

the farm. He informs himself by magazines, farm journals and books, as to

his business, so he can do his work intelligently.

Upon such farms no weeds

are allowed to mature their seeds after the wheat or other crop

is off; and no

weeds in fence corners, nor other places, stand as high as a man's head; nor

are fences, nor buildings neglected or dilapidated no implements are left

exposed to the weather, nor stock unsheltered and uncared for; but everything

is attended to at the right time; and the consequences are natural and sure.

Enterprise and thrift show themselves in everything.

Let every business maa

Remarks. A whole volume in but few words.

adopt the same rules, and he will be alike sure of success.

;

—

Hay, Time to Cut. —There is scarcely a subject of greater importance

to the agriculturalist, than the proper time to cut hay, so it shall contain to the

fullest extent its nourishing, or flesh-making, properties;

and experiments in

the United States, as well as in England, France and Germany go to show,

As soon as possible after the blossoming

most decidedly, that that time is

:

and setting of the seed, whether it be timothy or clover.

A writer in the Prairie Farmer says: " Do not wait for the grass, or the

clover to get ripe before you cut it for hay.

Any of the meadow grasses are

in their prime for hay, so far as nourishment is concerned, just as soon as they

are out of bloom."

"According to the talk

Dr. Sturtevant, in the Country Oentleman, says:

of Wolff, red clover hay, cut in full blossom, contains 13.4 per cent, of albuminoids (nourishment), and when ripe, only 9.4, or a loss of 80 pounds to each

ton," and this he goes on to show amounts, in the New England States alone,

to 5,000,000 tons difference in its nourishment.

"Dried grass is worth as much as cornmeal, pound for

Dr. Arnold says:

pound, while after grass has blossomed and is made into what is called hay, it

is not worth half as much as cornmeal to feed out."

Remarks. As these points are considered by most writers upon this subject to be the facts, nothing further need be said to induce sensible farmers to

do this when possible considering other work I will, however, give a word

—

;

" The greatest losses

from a writer in the Germantown Telegraph, who says:

of farmers come from late cut hay, cold stables, and, consequently, poor

Btock."

A TiTord to the wise is sufficient.

172

SUCCESSFUL FARMING.

AQRICULTURAL.

773

Mantiring—Its Advantages Shown in the John Johnston

Farm. — The editor of the Country Qentleman gives the following account of

a visit to this farm at Geneva, N. Y. And as I believe it to be applicable,

generally, in all sections of our country, and of such great importance, 1 give

it a place.

He says:

"Mr. Johnston came to Geneva from Scotland, fifty-two years ago, with

little capital, comparatively

but having much of the economy, energy and

thrift necessary to enable any one to succeed in a comparatively new country.

He is now, at the age of eighty-four, a hearty, vigorous farmer, able to oversee

his farm and farm hands, and apparently as capable of directing and conducting all the operations necessary to make a farm pay, as at any time during his

;

long life.

"On being asked where lay the secret of his success, replied, 'manure, sir,

manure, and plenty of it.' The main object in his farming has always been to

make all the yard manure possible; and by its free use he brought his wheat,

which was then the staple crop in western New York, from 12 or 15 bushels

per acre to 30, and became celebrated as a farmer who would be sure to have

a crop sufficient to meet all obligations.

"After some years he purchased fifty acres adjoining his original farm, the

owner of which said that manure would do no good on the land. In the barnyard there was three years' manure accumulated, which Mr. Johnston obtained with the farm.

He paid $1,500 for the fifty acres, most of which he

borrowed, 'but,' said he, 'that manure paid every cent for the farm.'"

—

Remarks. If Mr. Johnston could double, or more than double, his crop,

by the use of manure, other farmers can do the same. The object of thia

report is to induce them to do it. And until sufficient 'yard manure" can be

made by keeping more stock, a judicious use of some of the '' fertilizers," or

'

"phosphates," as the manufactured articles are called, or lime, or a mixture

of lime, ashes, plaster,

salt,

and hen manure will be used-

These were not

known in Mr. Johnston's days as they are of later years.

Salt, Its Uses as a Manure. —A correspondent of the Country Oenfleman says his experience in the use of salt in agriculture leads Iiim to the

following conclusions

"It keeps the land cool and moist.

ates all soil vermin.

It neutralizes drouth.

It exterminIt glazes and stiffens straw, pre-

It prevents potato rot.

venting crinkjing and rust. It keeps the ground in such condition that the

berry of many kinds of grain fills plumply, however long-continued the hot

and dry weather may be."

Remarks. Unleached ashes, probably " stiffens straw" more than salt

—

does, especially if grain falls from over-manuring with stable manure.

Salt as a Manure, Amount per Acre for Different Crops.

and German agriculturists recommend, salt per acre, for

clover, 150 lbs. for wheat or flax, 250 and for barley and potatoes, 300 lbs.,

2.

—The French

;

;

to be sown broadcast early in the season.

—

3. Ashes, Lime, and Salt for Wheat. A Wisconsin wheat grower

makes an important point on the use of ashes and lime and salt as a manure

for wheat.

He plowed up sod and sowed twelve bushels of unleached ashes,

mixed with ten bushels of air-slacKed lime, to three acres, before the wheat

was sown, and when the wheat was up a little, he sowed on also one barrel of

DR. CHASE'S RECIPES.

^74

salt,

which gave

Mm twenty bushels to the acre of plump, fine berry, weigh-

ing 62 lbs. to the bushel, while another acre of the same field, without these

gave him only ten to the acre. Such facts as these tell the whole story. Go

and do the same.

Wheat-Gro'wing Maxims, or, "Much

in Little."

—A maxim

being a condensation of a well-established fact, somebody has taken the labor

of condensing several facts into short maxims upon the subject of raising

wheat, and although they have got " into print" without credit to the originator, still as they contain so much of real value in so few words, I deem it best

to give them a place :

The best soil for wheat is a rich clay loam.

Wheat likes a good, deep, soft bed.

I.

IL

Clover turned under makes just such a bed.

The best seed is plump, heavy, oily and clean.

III.

rV".

About two inches is the best depth for sowing the seed.

Vo

VI. The drill puts in the seed better and cheaper than broadcasting.

VII. From the middle of September to the last of October is the best

time for sowing.

VIII. If drilled, one bush, of seed per acre if broadcasted, two bush.

IX. One heavy rolling after sowing does much good.

X. For flour, cut when the grain begins to harden for seed, not imtil

;

;

it is hardened.

Raising for Soiling, Winter and Spring Feeding.—

Corn.

In answer to inquiries in the Detroit Tribune as to raising corn-fodder, .J. E.

He

Estes, of Commerce, Mich., gave his plan from ten years' experience.

says:

"I plow my ground early in spring keep it well cultivated until the first

or middle of June, then I mark out with a marker thirty inches wide, sow

with a one-horse drill four bushels per acre, keep well cultivated. It will soon

cover the ground. Cut when the juice is sweet in the joints, with a common

corn knife put in large stocks and let it stand until cold weather, then draw

In this way it will cure green and nice. I have raised

as you want it to use.

from three to five acres for the last twelve years with good success."

;

;

Remarks.

— All, so far as I know, agree that drilling

is the best plan,

espe-

then, by frequent

probable that weeds will be troublesome

but all do not agree as to the amount of

cultivation they will be kept down

seed per acre. In Western New York one claims that two bushels produce

cially so if

it

is

;

;

any other amount of seed — the thicker it

Ten acres of corn, no doubt, are now sown for

stalks nearer the right size than

stands the smaller the stalk.

fodder where one was ten years ago.

2.

Corn For Summer, Pall, and Winter Feeding—Time to

So"W, Etc.

—For soiling in early summer, sow as early as the middle of May,

For later summer and fall feeding sow every two or three

weeks after the first. For winter, sowing from the middle to the last of June

in fair seasons.

is considered the best time tor sowing.

In

all

cases of drilling, keeping well

cultivated is of the utmost importance ; and as soon as the ends of the leaves

AGRICULTURAL.

775

begin to get dry it is thought to be the best time to cut it, the juices then being

just fully matured, the fodder gives the greatest

fed.

amount of animal heat when

If drilled, cut with a common corn-cutter; if broadcast, cut with a cradle

or self-raking reaper. Let lay until wilted and a little dry; then bind into

moderate sized bundles and put about a dozen into a "stock" or ''shock,"

binding the top securely to shed the rain and to keep standing until perfectly

And if drawn in at all, unless it is perfectly dry. it must not be stored

dry.

too thick, as it gathers dampness and molds without these precautions, except

The soil for this purpose, if not rich in itself, ought

in cold winter weather.

to be made so, as well as for rye.

3.

Co"WS.

Corn Cut

in the

Blossom Better than Hay for Milch

—An Illinois dairyman, name not given, claims that "corn cut when

in blossom, bound and set up till cured, is better for

hay." Certainly several tons of

then " go for it."

it

milch cows than the best

can be raised where one of hay can be

4. Rye— Its Value for Pall and Spring— Green Feeding.—

Those who need fall and spring green feed for stock should not fail to take a

piece of their best land, and if not naturally rich, make it so with barn-yard

manure or good fertilizers, then plow and make fine with the harrow, and

have it ready by the last of August or early in September, and sow to rye.

This will give fall feed and what is not cut till spring will grow up again, and

give two or three more cuttings, according to the season. It is strange that

more rye is not sown tor this purpose, for it is wonderful what an amount of

feed it will furnish upon good, rich soil.

;

1.

Sweet Potatoes, Fruits, Seed Corn, Etc., to Keep for

Months, Even in the South. — A correspondent of the Southern Guttivator

writes that after testing every plan given for preventing decay in fruits without success, had adopted the following with entire success

He says:

"Take good, perfect sand, free it from trash, etc., by sieving it. Put it

in a large metallic vessel I use large syrup boilers mixing flour of sulphur

through the whole, enough to fumigate it well, then heat to a temperature

After maintaining this heat till the sand is

that will volatilize the sulphur.

dry, let the mass cool to a moderate warmth, and putting your sweet corn or

other grain difficult to keep into barrels or boxes, pour the sand in, filling the

same well, and packing down closely In heating the sand, the vessel should

be covered to retain as much as possible the sulphurous fumes. I put in the

corn, stripped of the shuck, and thus the sand sieves well through the barrel.

This certainly balks the wevils, and even rats do not burrow in it. It is applicable to any grain even seed wheat, so difficult to preserve in this latitude.

This sand keeps perfectly all such fruits as oranges, apples and lemons, putting

them away in shallow boxes in a cool place. I've kept these fruits for months,

perfect and plump, when if exposed to atmospheric heat and moisture they

would have decayed in a few days."

—

—

—

—

—

Remarks.

—This gentleman does not speak of sweet potatoes, but I know

the dry sulphurous sand will do it, as well as other kinds of fruit, hence I have

named them in my heading. I think, however, that apples should pass

through what is called " a sweating," by laying two or three weeks about three

DR. CHASE'S RECIPES.

776

feet thick on a barn floor before putting up for the next season's use, or before

shipping on sea voyages. The same with sweet potatoes before putting into the

sulphured sand. I have not a doubt, either, but what with a little extra care

in pacliing and getting the sand well among them, and covering the boxes

In our northern

nicely, grapes may be kept in the same way for spring use.

country, what he calls a " cool place," must not be such as to freeze in winter.

Still,

2.

The True Secret of Keeping Fruit over winter is, to keep it as

near the freezing point as possible, not to freeze; say at 34° or 35°, which is 3

or 3 above freezing. But a few degrees above this, never above 50°, and

always below 40°, is better; but to do this ice house arrangements must be made

to suit one's conveniences, and amounts to be put up the best plans for which

With ice-houses the sand packing is not

all are now supposed to understand.

necessary; and for small amounts the " poor woman's ", plan, next below, will

;

be all sufl3cient.

3.

Keeping Sweet Potatoes over Winter in the Living Room.

— "A poor woman," says one of the editors of a northern paper, " just told us

how she keeps her sweet potatoes over winter, as follows

:

When dug and

properly dry for packing, she obtains dry sand, with which the bottoms of

kegs or boxes are covered. Then a layer of sweet potatoes is put in, not

touching each other then sand, and so on. They are kept in the living room,

;

raised two inches from the floor."

—

Remarks. The only secrets seem to be dry sand and raising the boxes

from the floor by means of strips of plank, to allow air under, as well as

around them. Then, why not in any room or cellar that does not freeze ?

They will do as well, at the same time being more out of the way. There is

not a doubt, however, that the sulphur heated

among the sand, in drying as

above, is a very valuable addition.

4.

S-weet Potatoes.

How to Grow and to Keep. — It has been

considered heretofore that sweet potatoes could only be grown upon sandy

in ridges

but the Ohio Farmer informs its readers that they have

grown 160 bushels to the acre of good, merchantable sweet potatoes upon thin

clay soil, by a shallow cultivation, applying only ten good two-horse loads of

manure, worked in with a cultivator after the shallow ploughing, and then

planting in hills made on the ridges the ridges three feet apart and the hills

three feet from each other.

He cultivated several times after plowing before

planting, and made the hills high, so as to brush off three or four inches at

the planting, to set the plants in fresh earth only one plant to each hifl. The

hills are made small, to allow the sun to keep the hill warmer than if made large,

and the shallow cultivation is to keep the potatoes nearer the surface than if

soil and

;

—

—

ploughed deep. The idea of only one plant in a hill is to obtain larger potatoes than if two or more were allowed, on the same principle that not more

than two stalks should be allowed to stand in a hill of common or " Irish"

potatoes, as recommended below.

AQRICULTXntAL.

777

To Keep Well, he dried them by spreading upon boards a few days in

the sun as you would apples.

[The great apple raiser, Pell, on the Hudson,

who ships largely to England, "sweats" his apples two or three days, in his

apple house, three feet thick, then takes to an upper room and spreads out to

dry before packing ] "Whether this would do as well for sweet potatoes I am

not certain.

Test, only, can settle that.

There must be no bruising of either,

if expected to keep long.

POTATO CULTIVATION.— Soil Needed, Seed to Select,

I.

—

Soil Needed.— Perhaps no plant appreciates a good, rich soil more

nor pays for it better, than the "Irish," or common potato. Then take your

best soil and make it as rich as you can, if not already so.

etc.

I.

Selecting the Seed.—Although in the United States it is gener"crown," or seed end eyes, are the best, yet there

has been a controversy in England upon the subject of seed, some claiming

for a number of years, that the stem end only should be planted

and that

these furnished a larger, and consequently a better potato. I think I can

explain this difference of opinion readily, although I have but little experience

in raising them.

It is well known that the eyes on the seed end are much

more numerous than on the stem end. It has been the custom generally, until

recently, and is still the custom except by a few, to cut off the seed end and

to put two or even three of these pieces to each hill.

This, of course, gives

a large number of stalks to each hill, while the stem end, having not half aa

many eyes, has only had two or three pieces to the hill, the stalk, of course,

being equally less in number. And now, of late years, a few persons have

found out that the hill of potatoes with only two or three stalks gives a larger,

and consequently a better potato than the hills having many stalks. Therefore, the stem end men have got the largest and best potatoes, because they

have less stalks in the hills, as they have less eyes. The author is willing to

stand or fall by a fair test of this opinion.

II.

ally understood that the

;

Potatoes. How Many to the Hill, Etc.—It is claimed, of

by those who have tested it, that large potatoes only, should be

selected for seed, and that only one eye should be kept on each piece, and only

two pieces for a hill, if you want large marketable potatoes. Henry Ives, of

Genesee Co., N. Y., says "That cut seed from large potatoes yield 8 to 10

III.

late years,

:

" You

Another writer says

always find your largest potatoes when there is only one large vine." A writer

in the American Cultivator reports he has thinned his potato vines, when they

exceed this number, to two in a hill, and that his father did the same for fifty

Pulling up the weaker ones as he would weeds from the

years before him.

A writer in the Indiana Farmer says " One great secret in potato

hill."

cultivation, is, not to have too many eyes in one piece, and cut large ones for

per cent, better than small ones planted whole."

:

:

seed."

—