Newspaper Page Text
96
.farm, #avie« i gmmit.
I "=*»*——»
J. J. Tim, EfttTOß A PBOPBIJSTfrB.
Improvement of Pasture Lands.
A PRIZE ESS A? BV ALEXANDER HTDB.
Awarded the Fir,st Prig* by a Committee 6/ the Ngu
Snyland Agricultural Society in 1870.
New England with "her hiHsand talleys, in.
numerable apriogs and rivulets, and numer
ous rivers, ia emphatically tbe home of the
dairyman. Grass is the spontaneous produot
of her soil,,and grazing the normal pursuit of
her agricultural population. No where in the
wide world are the pastures naturally greener.
*’ Tne oattle on her thousand hills” testify to
the sweetness and nutrition of the herbage. A
New England woman who embargoed down
in “ Dixie” dnring the reoent rebellion, ex
claimed on her return to the home of her
childhood “ Ob those green hills and verdant
meadows. There is nothing so beautiful
around a home a9 grass. Flowers with all
their beauty of ooioring cannot supply the
place of a velvety turf,” We have never seen
the valleys of Switzerland, but we take the
testimony of travellers that in the extent and
luxuriance of their herbage, they are surpass
ed by many favored localities in New Eng
laud. The butter and cheese made from our
pastures stand unrivalled in the market of the
world. In the city of New York, Orange but
ter and Herkimer cheese have held the pre
eminence simply because the products of the
New EnJgand dairy have mostly a home mar»
ket, and have to a very limited extent com*
peted in that city with those of other dairy
districts. It is only recently that New Eng.
land milk has been carried to the metropolis
fjr the daily consumption of the New York
ers; but they have already discovered
its excellence, and it now commands a cent or
two per quart more than that from Orange
county. We are confident eastern butter
and cheese would stand equally high, were
their virtues equally known.
Notwithstanding the advantageous position
of New England for grazing, and the relative
importance ol her dairy products, the past
ures, which cover one third of the land, and
furnish the raw materials of these products
for more than half the year, have reoeived
comparatively little attention. The mowing
fields have been improved by drainage, cul
tivation and top-dressing. The only objec
tion we have to this is, that not one half has
been done for these lots that ought to have
been done. The improvement in the meadows
of New England in the last twenty-five years
is great, but there is still a wide margin for
further improvement. We wish we could say
as much for tbe pastures. In some limited
districts these may have improved, but in the
country at large we are confident they have
retrograded, and wilt not carry as muoh stock
now as they did in the days of our fathers.
The causes of this deterioration are obvi
ous, and a brief consideration of them will
pave the way for a more thorough under
standing of the remedies. The first and great
cause is that farmers, like the horse leach,
have been continually saying to the pastures
“give give,” and for the wool, milk, beef and
mutton given by the pastures, have returned
no equivalent. Judging from the practice of
the great majority of farmers, they must have
the impression that they are doing justice to
the pastures when they keep their flocks and
and herds upon them day and night, bo that
the land receives all the excrement. They
forget th.*t this excrement contains only a
part of the food consumed, and that a
large fraction goes off in the milk and carcass
of the animal, and that this balanoe against
the land must in the course ot years bring it
and the laud o*ner to poverty.
M>lk and beef are at present the ohief ex
ports of New England pastures; and a mo
ment’s consideration of the compositon of these
staples must ounvinoe the most thoughtless
that neither Providenoe nor the pastures are
to blame for the detonation of the latter. One
hundred pounds of average cow’s milk con
tain
Casein..., 4.48 lbs.
Baiter. 8.13.
Milk Sugar 4.77.
Saline matter .0.60.
Water 87.02.
Total ....100
The saline matter in milk consists prinoi
paliv of the phosphates of lime and magnesia
and the chlorides of potash and soda, and
mu&t all come from the soil, the air not being
able to furnish a partiole of it, though liberal
in her supplies of organio food to plants. A
herd of twenty cows therefore, giving on an
average twelve quarts of ftiilk daily, will ab
stract from the pastures each day in their
milk nearly three pounds of earthy matter.
This may seem a small amount, but as “ a con
tinual dropping will weir away rocks,” so
such a petty theft, practiced for an indefinite
length of time, wilt wear out pastures. It
must be remembered that this saline matter
in milk is not of a gross nature but consti
tutes the very essence of a good soil. How
rich milk Is it) all the elements of animal life
may be inferred from the faot that man and
all animals of the mammalia olass live upon
it in the earl ier stages of their existence.
W here the rearing of young stock or the
fattening of beef is the leading objeot of the
farmer, the draft on the pastures is great, es
pecially iu the former case, in which the oar»
case of the young animal is to be built
up. To form 100 lbs. of bone the animal will
need to incorporate with itself—!?
SfiJbs of Gelantine.
65 lbs of Phosphate of lime.
4 lbs of Carbonate of lime.
8 lbs of Phosphate of Magnesia.
8 lbs of Soda, Potash, and cummoo salt.
-100.
Every calf therefore that is sold from the
farm must carry off a very appreciable an.ount
o! inorganic matter.
The fattening of stock, that have already at
tained maturity, is the least exhausting to the
land of any bran"h of farming. Suoh stock
“ make n>» bones” in growing fat, and hence
their excrements are tar richer than those of
young cattle. Still, the increase of .muscle
and tat mu-4 make some demands upon the
pastures. To add 100 lbs to the muscular
part of a full grown animal requires—*
Water.... *77 lbs.
Fibrin .......... .........22 lbs.
Phosphates of lime £ “
• Other saline-matters....« £ “
The fat of animals is, of course, derived
from their food, but is composed of the organ
io elements, oxygen, hydrogen and carbon,
which plants derive from that inexbaustable
resource of plant food , she aifTFat is almost
identical, in chemical composition, with starch
and sugar, and in these three OQmpouada the
oxygen and hydrogen are in the same propor
tioo as in water, so that foraimplioity we may
say they are eomposed of carbon and water.
These elements are abundant in nature, so that
in the production of simple fat there 1* nodan
ger ot great exhaustion of the soil of past-,
ures. This theory is confirmed by the obser
vation of our most skillful farmers. We
were lately examining a farm offered for pre
mium in Berkshire county, Mass., when the
owner pointed out to us a pasture which he said
was unrivalled for ita luxuriant herbage, and
which had been grasM for a long series of
year's solely by fattening cattle? Many sim
ilar observations coroborate the theory de
duced from science. *«**»i*am r '.
When pastures have become exhausted of
those elements of fertility which grasses do*
mand for luxuriant growth, a change of pfO
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST: ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 1871.
duct# gradually occurs. A rotation of crops
is by no means of man’s device. Nature ev
idently practiced upon this principle long be
fore Adam came upon the stage of action, and
we see the process everywhere going on
around us now without the intervention of
man. Thus the maple and birches which, a
century since, in many parts of our country
followed the pines in nature’s rotatioy, are
now in their turn dying, and their places are
supplied by their precursors, the pines. N&*»
ture abhors a vacuum, and when the food of
one kind of plant is exhausted, the plant first
becomes dwarfed, and finally dies from star
vation, and another variety takes its place,
requiring a different kind of food. Forty
years since in many of our pastures, rendered
barren by long cropping without the return
of fertilising elements, Canada thistles came
in to fill up the vacuum, and by their long
roots found nourishment at depths to which
the roots of the grasses could not penetrate.
It was curious to notice bow luxuriant was
the crop of thistles where previously the grass
had starved. These long roots brought up
inorganic fertilizing material to enrich the
surface soil'; and we have seen good crops of
clover, red top and timothy, again growing
‘ where once the rank thistle nodded in the
wind.” We have heard some farmers say
that these thistles, which seemed at the time
an unmitigated curse, were really a blessing
in disguise. We must always accept disguised
feelings with gratitude, but if we oan
have our choice, as we can as to the
herbage which shall grow it our past
ures, we greatly prefer the undisguised
blessing of perpetual and abundaat sweet
grasses, thistles, jonsworth, ferns, hardhacks,
sorrel, daisies, mouse ear, and alders may be
better than utter barrenness, but white clover
is better than either of the above nuisances,
and may just as well grow. There is no mis
take, the grasses have a preemption claim to
our pastures, and if justice is done them by
the farmers, their rights will be established.
Weeds and bushes are only squatters with no
titles to tbe land they occupy, and if a little
show of power is manifested, always yield
the ground. We have found good cultivation
and an abundance of good seed the most ef
fectual means of excluding weeds from the
mewing lots, and the practice is equally appli
cable to the pastures. Even when the weeds
have partial possession of the land, a top
dressing has a tendency to increase the growth
of tbe grasses rather than the weeds, and the
former soon choke out the latter. Whether good
or evil, grasses or weeds naturally have the pre
dominance in the world, we will not stop now
to debate, but we have the command to ‘ train
up a child in the way. he should go’ coupled
with the promise, “ When he is old he will not
depart from it,” and we are equally confident
that when a pasture is trained as it should be
the grasses will not depart from it.
Another great cause of the inferiority of
our pastures i9 the superabundance of water.
We have looked over many New England
farms, and there are few on which the kind
and the quality of the grasses, both in the
mowing and grazing fields, do not plainly in
dicate that the land is cold from being water
soaked. This is particularly true of the pas
tures. The meadows have in many instances
been drained, but the pastures that have been
underlaid with tile, are few and far between.
Why this unaccountable distinction between
mowing and grazing lots 1 Do not the latter
sustain the stocks more months in the year
than the former 1 Is not sweet herbage as
essential in the summer as in the winter 1
Asa consequence of this water-soaked condi
tion of the pastures, we have Arrow grass,
Reed grass, Spear grass, bushes and hedges
growing where Red top, White clover, Blue
grass, Timothy, Meadow Fescue and Orchard
grass should grow, and it requires four acres
to summer a cow, whereas it should require
only one. We speak after much observation
and* consideration when we say, that water is
the great bane of New England pastures.
Sweet herbage cannot grow in soil which is
wet and cold, and the amount of this wet,
poached up grazing land in New England will
astnrrsh those whose attention has not been
particularly called to it. It is not necessary
to traverse the pastures, and mire our feet, to
find out the wet places. The cattle have dis
covered them before us, and the neglected, un
nutritious, water grasses too plainly reveal,
even at a distance, the cold soil. - When cat
tle are first turned out to grazing inthespring,
they may eat some of this wiry unpalatable
herbage, for after their long confinement to
dry hay, they are ready to devour any green
thing; but after the sweeter grasses get a start,
the dumb beasts soon discover between good
and evil, and the marshy places are neglected.
The rushes and sedges may make good litter
for stables, but were never designed to be
transformed into dairy products without
first undergoing fermentation in the compost
heap.
As the last cause for the deterioration of
our pastures we will mention our eroppipg
grassas the most long suffering of all vegeta
ble products. Trampled upon and pressed
to the ground to-day, it rears its head again
in the night, and to-morrow looks as green
and vigorous as before. The incisors of the ox
crop off its blades and it shoots forth others to
take their place. The fabled Prometheus bound
upon the rocks of Caucasus, and condemed
to have his heart grow by night as fast as
the vultures consume it by day, living
exemplification in the grasses of our pastures.
But there is a limit to the amount to be eon-
sumed. The roots must be left to absorb nu
triment from the soil, and some blades, or at
least tractions of blades left to vitalize the sap
and absorb other nutriment from the air. It
is a penny wise and pound foolish policy so
closely to crop pastures and meadows as to
destroy the constitutional vigor of the grasses.
They should never be permitted togo to seed
as this exhausts the land'as well as the plant,
but they must ever have leaves—the lungs of
plants—sufficient to breathe and vitalize to
whole system. How necessary these leaves
are for the life of the grasses may be inferred
from the numerous little blades shot forth
close to the giound iu well shorn lawns and
dose cropped pastures. The oftener the lawn
is mowed the more numerous and dwarfed are
the leaflets, till finally it has the appearance
of out velvet. Tne teeth of cattle do not out
so smoothly as the schythes or moyfftg ma
chines, and the jerking motion with which cat
tle crop the grass often takes root and branch.
Hence we see in closely grazed pastures the
dried roots of the grasses lying scattered over
the surface. If the roots are not eradicated,
leaves are not left in sufficient quantity to vi
talize the sap and keep up the vigor of the
grasses. The great objeot In leaving a good
growth of grass on the meadows and pastures
in the fell, is not so much to protect the roots
from the cold, as to give them vital energy
for a vigorous start the succeeding season.
Pastures, like the eagle, may renew their
strength from year to year, but like the eagle,
they need something to live upon, and must
not be too closely shorn* —if a as.Ploughman.
n be continued.
Market Oardxninq in tub Unitzd States.
The census returns show, in the Eastern and
Middle States, a decrease in the production
of live Mode and of staple grains, and an in
crease in vegetable and garden crops. Grain
farming and stock raising are rapidly shifting
to the West. Texas has shown an indefinite
oapaoity to'erowd the markets of the country
with low-priced beef—a competition which
the Extern farmers cannot resist. The vir*
gin lands of the frontier, with their unbroken
fertility, are as yet too much for the worn soils
of the older States, even with the advantage
of scientific culture. Instead of bewailing these
new conditions of production, the farmers of
the East are turning attention to vegetable
crops to supply the necessities of the large
village and city populations that the last de
cade has amassed. Potatoes, turnips, cab
bages, onions,-beans, eggs, milk, poultry, all
find a profitable home market, and relive the
farmer from his most laborious tasks. The
farmer must no longer be ashamed of his
truok-patch, for here he finds his greatest
profit.
Root Crops—Mangel Wurtzel.
Accidentally coming across a copy of your
paper, I noticed an Article signed “ M,” in
quiring with reference to raising roots for
stock—“ whatever would be the least trouble
and the most valuable. With your permis
sion, 1 beg leave to offer a few suggestions to
“ M.,” although not a subscriber to your pas
per.
We experience the same trouble in Cape
May couuty, New Jersey, that he speaks of
viz: “ to keep the amount of stock we need
under our present mode of cultivation, with
out buying a little grain and a small portion
of fodder.” Our soil is a sandy loam, and by
using patent manures and constant ploughing
it'has become so exhausted and worn out, that
we are obliged to resort to something beside
growing corn, or cease farming.
A famous club was instituted here (So.
Seaville) about a year and a haif ago, and al
most the first thing that was noticed
was “ root crop for stock.” Last summer
experiments were made by several of our far
mers, which together with former experience,
gave this conclusion :—That carrots, parsnips,
turnips, rutabagas, beets, &0., are valuable;
but taking all things into consideration, the
ease of cultivation, and the amount of crop
grown to theacre, “ the Yellow Globe mangel
wurtzel beet,” is decidedly the best.
The seed oan be obtained at any of the seed
stores, at about twenty-five cents a pound,
sent by mail. It requires three pounds to
plant an acre, if put in by hand. If a seed
drill is used, five pounds will be necessary. I
have never yet used a drill that would plant
the seed even ; so that thinning out and trans
planting would be as expensive as hand plant
ing. No doubt there are machines that would
do the work more perfectly. They should be
one foot apart in the row, by about three feet
the other, or give just room to work between
the rows with a plow or cultivator. A fur
row must be made and partially filled with
well rotted barnyard or composted manure,
and a furrow thrown on from each way. The
ridge should rake down a little and the seed
covered to the depth of two inches. They
must be kept free from grass or weeds—
stirring the dirt occasionally around them ;
and you will get three hundred to five hun
dred bushesl to the acre. In some cases,
with a rich soil and extra care, they have gone
as high as seven hundred bushels.
If the tops are cat in the field and plougned
under, the land will improve, if planted year
after year.
The time for planting is about the middle
of May ; but very good crops are sometimes
raised if planted in June.
So well satisfied are the farmers with its
value for feeding stock, that it will be exten
sively planted this season, to the exclusion of
most all other root crops. Its value for milch
cows is equal to two bushels of beets for one
of oorn, for milk and butter. They are also
valuable for hogs. For fattening purposes,
of course, the corn would be worth much
more. The corn oan be kept until late in
the spring, or if cittle are soiled, until early
beets or turnips can be raised.
We think tnat this is the true way to bring
up our lands, by raising beets to keep more
stock, and of course it will make a correspond
ing increase of manure.
I had forgotten to say that they should be
buried in the ground—just dirt enough over
them to prevent freezing—as most cellars are
too warm to keep them more than a month
or two without wilting so us to injure them.
I am glad farmers are turning their atten
tion to root crops, for there is no dtubt of
their great value of wintering stock, particu
larly in point of expense, when compared to
feeding corn, as has been our previous custom.
W. D. in Practical Farmer.
Bee Hires and Bee “ Charming.”
The secret of “ charming” bees, is to sub
due them with a little smoke from burn
ing rags, or trom a pipe or cigar. Smoke
them gently until they retreat into the
hive, then jar the hive by striking it
with the hand, or by rapping on it with a
small stick. The bees will soon set up a hum
of submission, then the danger of being stung
is over. When bees are frightened they rush
to their stores and fill their sacks with honey,
upon the wise principle of saving what they
can in time of disaster; once filled, they will
not sting, unless compelled to do so by being
mashed. Young swarms are not apt to sting,
because they fill their sacks for the journey
before leaving the hive. To make them still
more amiable, sprinkle them with sweetened
water before attempting to hive them. Spread
a sheet on the ground, in a shady place, set
the hive on it, and shake the bees in front of
it, and they will quickly take possession, if the
hive is clean and cool. Avoid making quick
motions when working with bees, and never
fight at one, it you do not want to get the
worst of it. New beginners may wear a bee
hat, made by sewing coarse milinet around
the brim of a summer hat, and tuck inside the
vest oollar. To protect the hands, India rub
ber gloves are best; but coarse woolen gloves
do very well. —Rural Carolinian.
"7T." : .•"*"* ..
Fertilizers and tbeir Applications.
My experience is that manures containing
straw, hay and the like should be plowed un
der, but those containing little or no straw
should be spread on. Coarse manures will
rot much sooner if plowed under, and they al
so serve to lighten the soil, and this is the one
great want of those old farms which have been
cultivated many years. Other manures
should be applied on or near the surface, first
because if applied in any other way they
lose much of their fertilizing properties by
evaporation and by wash, while if appljed on
the surface in small quantities eaoh year the
crops receive all or nearly all the benefit,—
and second, because the labor of application
is much less. Viewing a fine farm burden
ed with a splendid crop of grass, I remarked
to a friend on its fine appearance, that ten
years before, it wa9 dhe of the poorest farms
in the town, and that two things had made it
what it now is. One, was the present owner
had built a barn and with it a large, fine cel
lar in which he kept his farm manures until he
was ready to use them, thereby saving all the
solid and the other cause was, he applied the
greater part of his manures on his grass as
top dressing.
I once had a field of grass nearly run out
and ni t able to plow it, spread on about
three cords of manure to the acre for three
years and now it is as fine a field of grass as
one would wish to see.
1 have found plaster one of the best fertili
zers for grass land on day loam but not on
sandy soil; and should like to hear the ex*
perience of those who have used it on such
land.— Cor. Maine Farmer.
Catgut is the name applied to strings, made
chiefly from the intestiues of sheep, used for
harp, violin, guitar and bow strings, hatter’s
strings, etc. It is said that the best strings
are made in Naples, because the Italian sheep
from their leanness, afford the best raw mate
rial—the membranes of lean animals being
tougher than those of animals in high condi
tion. The same name is also given to a spe
cies of linen or canvass with wide inter-
Culture of Squashes.
The Western Farmer gives the following
ohapter on this subject, furnished by a con
tributor. There are some suggestions that
may be new to our readers. We copy :
With your permission I will give your
readers the items I depend on for success in
squash culture. When I have observed each
of them carefully, I have never failed of suc
cess —even in the worst seasons —always se
curing a good crop of well ripened squashes
of excellent quality. Success, you know, is
the evidence of merit; so my plan has merit,
as my uniform success shows.*
First item —The seed should remain as long
as possible in the squash, that it may ripen.
Ripe squashes do not always contain ripe
seed at the time the squash is taken from the
vine, but on the contrary, the seed is frequent
ly quite green. As long as the squash re
inaius sound it is well to keep it, as the seeds
absorbs the soft inner part of the squash and
grow fat and oily, being of much more sub
stance than the green seeds. It is necessary
to the fullest development of the germ of the
seed, that the seed be dried before planting.
This keeping seed out of the ground aud al
lowing to dry and ripen the germ, constitutes
ote difference between cultivation and the
state of nature. Thoroughly ripened seed
will give larger young plants, as there will
be more substance in the seed to sustain the
young plant.
Second Item—Don’t plant too early.
I would not recommend planting sooner
than June 1. I have had premium squashes
from seed planted June 6, and again June 4,
and never found the season too short to give
ripe squashes when planted then. The ground
will be warm, and the plants will grow right
along then without hindrance. Ten years ex
perience on this plan convinces me that any
time before June first, is too soon in this lat
itude.
Third Item—Put in plenty of seed for the
bug.
I can’t afford to fight the little striped ras
cals every day for two or three weeks, and I
presume you can’t. Don’t be stingy of your
seed-—put in forty or more in each hill. You
will find it cheaper than boxes, or turpentine,
or kerosene oil. As the plants begin to crowd
one another,cut the poorer ones off, and when
they are ahead of the bugs, cut off all but
three of the best plants. That will be enough
if you plant eight feet apart, as I would re
commend. It is better to cut the plants off
with a kitchen knife than to pull them out,
as you would not disturb those remaining so
much.
Fourth Item —Choose a warm, southern
slope and a dry, light soil.
✓lt need not be butof fair fertility,not excess
ively rich. In each hill put a shovel or two of
very best manure you have—hog manure well
decomposed is first rate. This will stimulate
the young plants to grow strong, and when
.they flower they will have rooted beyond its
influence, and the plants will set fruit instead
of growing an exoess of vines as they will do
if the entire soil is excessively rich.
Fifth Item—Plant pure seed.
To have uniformly good results, plant a
good variety, and if you grow your own seed,
the plants should be isolated at least forty rods
from pumpkins and othe.r squashes. The
Hubbard squash is the best keeping, really
best winter squash 1 know of, and the Ameri
can Turban oue of the best fall squashes.
Now with the ordinary precautions of good
culture and careful attention while young, so
as to get strong, young plants, your success
will be assured, i nevenihave found pruning
the t ines practical.
Cucumbers require moist soil, and melons
thrive best on sandy soil-
Cultnre of Celery.
r*kn*» of no vegetable on the culture of
which there is so much useless labor expended
with such unsatisfactory sesults as celery.—
Peter Henderson.
Those who will compare “ Henderson’s
method” with the directions given in other
works jWill be ready to agree with the
above.
About the first week in April prepare a bed
by thoroughly pulverizing and mixing with
well rotted stable manure; make marks
about ten inches a part; plant the seed thin
ly and “ pat” the bed with the back of a hoe
or spade ; this will cover the seed sufficiently ;
water lightly, and scatter a little green or
wilted srass or a few twigs over the bed to
prevent “drying out.” Hoe and weed as soon
as the plants can be seen. Cut the tops off
the plants twice before transplanting; this
makes them more stocky, and able to bear
removal.
Prepare the ground, into which you pro
pose transplanting the celery, about the latter
part of July, by plowing and harrowing until
in a condition to receive any seed such as you
would yplant in garden beds. Make marks
three stet apart, and set out the plants six
inches apart in the rows. If the weather is
dry, press or “ firm” the ground well around
the plants. In about forty-eight hours the
plants will begin to form rootlets, and they
will be out of danger. If your bed is small
it is better to water every evening for a few
days. Nothing else remains to be done for
six or weeks, except keeping down the
weeds.
About the middle of August begin “ earth
ing up.” Hold the shoots together in draw
ing up the earth so they will not “ spread”
or lay on the ground. Then throw the dirt
“ to” the celery with a one-horse plow, finish
ing up with the spade. This is the blanching
process, which whitens the stalks. During
the first part of November, and until the 25th
(which is as late as it may be risked out for
fear of kavy frosts,) attend to digging up that
which is intended for winter use. Dig a nar
row trench,not more than twelve inches wide,
and having it the exact depth of the height of
the ojlery. Place the plants (stalks, root, <fcc.)
in the trench. Do not remove the dirt which
adheres to the roots. Cover gradually, as too
much earth put on at once will cause the
mass “to heat” and decay. Your covering
should be finished by the middle of December.
Then ‘‘ pile on” at least a foot of some cover
ing, such as straw, Hay or leaves. It will be
ready for use in about four weeks.
Never plant the “ Giant” varieties when
you can obtain dwarfs.— Amaleuro.
How to Improve Sandy Soils.
A correspondent in Baltimore County, Md.
writes the Country Gentlemen as follows .
Noticing an inquiry as to the most valua
ble fertilizer for a thin sandy soil, I have con
cluded to give you some experience of
mine.
About twenty five years since, I came into
possession of about nine acres of thin sandy
land. There had been within, say three or
four years previous, two crops of corn taken
from it that did not exceed ten bushels per
acre. I had it plowed deeply, and sowed
heavily to oats. A9 soon as they began to
ripen we plowed them in, and applied about
seventy bushels of lime-kiln ashes to the acre;
we then seeded it with rye, and also sowed
clover and timothy. We cut a splendid crop
of rye, and for several years mowed a good
swarth of grass, since which we have kept up
a rotation of oorn, then wheat or rye, followed
by grass which has been either mo wed or pas
tured ; two of the years, potatoes have taken
the plac~< of thh corn. The corn has averaged
from fifty to sixty bushels per acre of shelled
corn, and the other crops have been above
the average of the balance of a good farm.
We have put but little if any manure upon
it, except a moderate amount with potatoes.
I may add that a large portion of this lot >•
so sandy that it does well for building purpo
ses’
Facts in the Natural History of the Honey
Bee.
There are three classes of Sees in a hive, the
Worker, Queen , and Drone.
Queens are raised by peeuliar food and
treatment from eggs that would otherwise
produce workers.
The worker is an undeveloped female.—
Workers in the absence of a queen sometimes
lay eggs. These invariably produce drones.
The queen lives from two to five years.
The worker from two to three months in the
working season, and from six to eight during
the season of rest.
The queen is perfected in fifteen or sixteen
days from the egg, the worker in twenty to
twenty-one, and the drone in twenty-four.
The queen usually commences laying from
seven to twelve da} s after leaving the cell,
and is capable of laying from two to three
thousand eggs a day.
The impregnation of the qeen always takes
place outside the hive, on the wing, and gen
erally the fourth or fifth day after leaving the
cell. Excepting in rare cases, one impregna
tion answers for life. The drone she has mat
ed with dies immediately.
The eggs of an unimpregnated queen pro
duce nothing but drones; and it is generally,
conceded that impregnation does not affect
the drone progeny ; consequently, the male
progeny of a pure Italian queen i t pure with
out regard to the drone she has mated
with.
The queen and worker are provided with
stings; but while the latter will use it upon any
provocation, the former will only use it on
her own rank. The drones have no stings.
One queen, as a rule, is all that is tolerated
in a hive ; but previous to throwing off “ after
swarms,” two or more queens are permitted
in the same hive for a short time; but the ex
tra one ate soon disposed of. In case of super
ceding a queen, the old one is preserved until
the new oue is fitted to take her place. Queens
have a deadly hatred for each other, and will
destroy, if permitted, all queen larvae or
cells in the hive, and will fight each other un
til there is but one living one left.
A frightened bee, or one filled with honey,
i9 not disposed to sting.
A good swarm contains about twenty thou
sand bees.
A strong or medium hive, with a good lay
ing queen, is never seriously troubled with the
moth worm ; but a hive without a queen or the
means ot raising one is sure to be taken by
them.
Bf es recognize each other by their scent.
The first one or two weeks of the young
bee’s life is spent inside the hive, as nurse or
wax worker.
The range of a bee’s flight for food is gen
erally within two or three miles, much great
er range is of but little benefit to them.—A ra
tional Live Stock Journal.
Turkeys aud Chickens.
I desire to write what I know of raising
turkeys and chickens.
The receipes for curing chickens of the
gapes, such as whites of an egg, corn meal
with peppef, wheat soaked in turpentine, and
a number of others, are of little if any value.
The gapes in chickens are caused by small
worms getting into the windpipe. I have
raised thousands upon thousands of chickens,
bought and sold chiokens, and believed that
gapes is a contagious disease, for my chickens
never had them until I bought strange chick
ens. I have tried many cures, and there are
none that amount to anything except the
horse hair. By inserting the horse hair in the
chicken’s windpipe you draw the small red
worm out, and this at once relieves the chick
en and the gapes are cured.
In regard to raising turkies, the best plan
is to feed them on milk made into a cheese
with wheat and wheat screenings. In time
of rain keep them in the dry, for when they
get wet they get draggled and die. Corn
meal I have tried, and upon a clear examina
tion 1 find it does not agree with them and in
many instances kills them. Old turkeys, I
think, do best out in the oold, on trees, rather
than in sheltered places. Let every farmer
be cautious of what he feeds his young turkies
until they are eight to ten weeks old. After
this period they will know what to eat.
I know that the foregoing is correct, for I
have tried many plans, and experience is al
ways the best g uide. —Reading Gazette.
Painting Iron Works.
There is no production for iron work so ef
ficatious as well boiled licensed oil, properly
laid on. The iron should be first well cleaned
and freed from all rust and dirt; the oil
should be of the best quality, and well boiled
without litharge or any dryer being added.
Theiron should be painted over with this, but
the oil must be laid on as bare as possible,
and on this fact depends in a great measure
the success of the application, for if there be
too thick a coat of oil put upon the work it
will skin over, be liable to blister, and scarce
ly ever get hard ; but if iron be painted with
three coats of oil, and only so much put on
each coat as can be made to cover it by hard
brushing, we will guarantee that the same
will preserve the iron from the atmosphere
for a much' longer time than any other pro
cess of painting. If a dark ooioring matter
be necessary, we prefer burnt umber to any
other pigment as a stain ; it is a good hard
dryer, and has many other good properties,
and mixes well with oil without injuring it.
Ammonia as Cattle Medicine. — One of
Professor’s Johnson’s books on chemistry has
a foot note explaining the use of hartshorn, a
solution of ammonia in water, of much inter
est to cattle raisers. When cattle eat 100
abundantly of clover or other sucoulent food,
fermentation takes place in the stomach, and
“ bloat” ensues. The fermentation produces
carbonic acid gas, which is the immediate
cause of the undue distension of the stomach.
By administering hartshorn diluted with wa
ter the ammonia combines with the acid to
form a carlo nite much reduced in bulk. It
also stops further fermentation. It is said to
be much better than lime water, sometimes
used for the same purpose.— J. A. Whitney.
The Veteran Printer.
The Lebanon Herald of the 20th says: Last
Sunday, the 16th of April, was a day of more
than ordinary interest to the proprietors and
the attachees of this office. On that day
the venerable William Lawson Barry, who is
now a compositor in this office, completed the
ninety first year of his age. On the day be
fore and the day after his birthday, the old
gentleman did a full days work. He is at
the case promptly at seven o’clock, and puts
up his six thousand a day without trouble.
There is no pecuniary necessity for his labor
ing at all, and he sets type purely from the
love of the art which he has followed so long.
There is no doubt that Mr. Barry is the
oldest printer in America, if not in the world.
He commenced to set type in 1798—seven
ty-three years ago—and has continued at the
business ever since. He is still hale and
hearty, and every printer at least who reads
this will, we are sure, join us in the hope that
the life ofthis venerable “jour” may be spar
ed for many y ears to come.
Dry earth sprinkled plentifully under the
roosting perches daily, cannot be too highly
recommended, it acts as a deodorizer, pre
serves and increases the value of the manure
made.
Blank Books, manufactured to order in the
best style, at the Franklin Steam Printing House,
and Book Bindery—Railroad Officials supplied
with all required Stationery at this establishment.
Coanty ana other officers supplied with Blanks
and other Stationery at this house. Work good,
durable, neat and cheap.
Timely
Just after the close of the late war there
were two natural brothers, as well as brothers
of the Baptist church—the oldest a deacon—
who contemplated building and running a
still. By some means their pastor found out
the contemplated arrangement. Happening
to meet the younger brother one day, he men
tioned to him what he had heard. The brother
made no reply, so the parson went on : I
say brother, 1 had rather you would wait a
few days, as I have a proposition to make
you. (still no rtply.) t want to go in with
you myself, and 1 expect brother (the oth
er deacon) will go in with us, and by using
skill, we might make it pay. Ido not like
the ground you have selected, there is one
objection—it is too convenient for you and
brother .Suppose we move it on the
branch of the church spring ; it is public and
we will sell a great deal more and besides, it
will be more convenient for myself and brotho
er ,and as well for yourself and broth*
er .At this juncture the theme was chang
ed by the younger brother, who was quite
anxious after the health of the parsons fam»
lly. The still is not built yet. A. R. F.
Clayton Cos , Apr. 2 6th, 3871.
Falaclesln Building.
To suppose that timber growing in the
woods or floating in water tosday, can be
placed in a building next week, and stay w here
it is put.
That if such timber be used, the walls will
not crack.
Tuatthe base, window panels, casings, etc.
made of such timber, will not part company
with the floors from one fourth a> 4 three fourths
of an inch in less than a year, and that the
builder put unseasoned lumber in the latter.
That kiln dried lumber is as good as lum
ber thoroughly air seasoned, or that the at
mosphere has no influence upon it.
That a joint once tight will always remain
so.
That if trimmings be put up before plaster
ing, or trimmed on green walls, that putty
will not be in great demand when they dry.
That hot air from a furnace will not start
and open every piece of wood work with which
it comes in contact, nine times out of ten.
That if partitions be not properly braced,
bridged, and secured at angles, that plastering
will not crack.
That ceilings are less likely to crack if cross
furred.
That a pailful of lime to a cart load of sand
will nriake mortar of any practical use, eith
er for plastering or brick work.
That it injures iportar by mixing it some
time before using it, or that if mixed one day
and applied the next, it won’t blister and
crack.
That a cement roof, so soft that it fills the
leaders in summer, or so hard it cracks in
the winter, will not occasion the want of new
ceilings iif a little time.
That a “ botch” can build as good a house
as a thorugh mechanic.
That in all cases money is saved by con
tracting with the lowest bidder.
That all knowledge in relation to building
is embodied in every one who signs “ Archi
tect after[his name.
That architects and builders never “ lay in
together,” and owners never get “ shorn”
through that little arrangement.
That architects, as a rule, get no other com
missions on buildings except the traditional
“ five per on the cost.”
That builders always carry out plans and
specifications to the letter.
That there are no high-minded, conscien
tious, competent architects, and no honest,
reliable builders; and that either class doe 9
not bear a reputation equal to that of any oth
er business men.
That a builder does not require an extend
ed theoretical, nor an architect as extended a
practical knowledge, to be successful.
That no builder can be a successful archi
tect, or that a practical architect cannot be a
successful builder.
That you, reader, without practical knowK
edge, know a great deal more about the de'
•ails of a house than of a locomotive. —John
Henry , Patterson N. J.
DRUGS, MEDICINES, Etc.
pLUMB & LEITNER,
• AUGUSTA , GEORGIA ,
Wholesale Dealers In
PUREMEDICINES, CHEMICALS, DRUGS,
PAINTS, OILS, GLASS, PUTTY, BRUSHES,
WARRANTED GARDEN SEEDS, FISH HOOKS, LINES,
POLES, and a genera! assortment of FISHING
TACKLE, including the celebrated Augusta Bub am
Hook,
Plumb’s, Single, Double, and Belle Augusta Cologne
Waters,
are standard articles with the ladies
PLUMB & LEITNER,
2529 Augusta Georgia.
DR. WM. 11. TUTT’S
IMPROVED HAIR DYE.
This DYE is warranted superior to any ever discov
ered for imparting a Beautiful Natqral Black or Brown
Color to the Hair.
tsr It is warranted not to injure the Hair.
BT Its effect is instantaneous.
Any one can apply it.
tsr It preserves and beautifies the Hair.
t3T The Barbers universally pronounce it the best—
fg* Because it takes less time to Dye.
yr Because it imparts a natural color.
|3T Because it does not stain the skin and bed linen.
I3T Because its application is so Biptple.
gay* MoKESSON A ROBBINS, Wholesale Druggists,
New York, write—
“ Send us Five Gross more of your Improved Hair
Dye' It meets with ready sale, and is taking the place
of all others.”
The most Fashionable Barbers and Hair
Dressers in New York USE NO OTHER
HAIR DYE but TUTT’S.
pßt Sarsa fCo I
| Queens peughtJ
“18.A.D BLOOD.”
SCROFULA.
This is a taint or infeotion of the human organism, and
probably no one is wholly free from it. It exhibits itself
in varmm shapes—asUlcersand Sores, Decayed Bones,
Diseased Scalp, Sore Byes, Weak and Diseased Joints,
St. Vitus’ Dance, Foul Discharges from the Nostrils,
Eruptions, Giaudular Swellings, Throat Affections,
Rheumatism, Heart Affections, Nervous Disorders,
Barrenness. Disorders of the Womb, Drop»y, Syphilitic
Affections, Liver Complaint, Salt Rheum, Dyspepsia,
Neuralgia, Loss of Manhood, and Geneial Debility. It
has been customary to treat these diseases with Mer
cury and other mineral substances, which, though
sometimes producing a cure, otten prove injurious, and
entails mi-ery in after life. The long known injurious
properties of these so-called alteratives and purifiers
has led the philaothropical man of science to explore
the arena of nature, the result of which has been the
discovery of vegetable products which possess the
power of eradicating these taints from the Blood.
UK. WM . H. TUTT’S
compound extract op
Sarsapparilla and Queen’s Delight,
la the acknowledged antidote to all Blood Diseases.
By its use the afflictions above enumerated cap be per
manently banished, and tbe Source-the Centre of Lite
—THE BLOOD be maintained in ull its vigor and pu
rity. For Diseases produced by the use of Mercury,
and for Syphilis, with its train of evils, this Compound
is the only sure Antidote. Being free from violent
minerals, it is adapted to general use, Tbe old and
young may use it; tbe most delicate female at any time
may take it: the tender infant, who may have inherited
disease, will be cured.
FOR PUR IF UNO THE BLOOD-Us* Dr. Putt’s
Extract of SarutppariUa and Queen’s Delight —lt acts
promptly on the LIVER AND KIDNEYS . producing
a healthy action of tbe important organs by which ail
the impurities of the system are carried off, and the
result is« Clear Skin, Good Appetite and Buoyant
Spirit*.
Sold by Druggists everywhere 8498—1 y
STOVES.
THE STEWART COOK STOVE.
WITH DUMPING GRATE.
LATEST IMPROVEMENT! BEST IN THE WORLD.!
MAXTTFACTURKD BY
FULLER, WARREN & CO.,
TROY. N. Y.
The Stewart Stove, which has been in use for more
than a quarter ot a century, and by its economy and
complete adaptation to the wauts of the kitchen, has
maintained an acknowledged superiority over all other
stoves, is now introduced to the public with all the
modern convenience* of Front Draft, Ash Drawer
and. Dumping Grate* The Alms have aleo beeu
n * tt Vr improved, so as to ensure an exceU&nt
Draft at al I times, and still to retain in the Stove its
unrivalled economical features. No utovg has ever yet
been made to do as much work with ns little fuel as the
1 he following briel summary is the result
of Due Day s Work, recently uccumpliahed at Ulo
versville, N- Y., with one Stewart Stove:
Baked 415 pounds of bread, half a bushel of po
tatoes, 5 apple pies. Roasted 73 pounds of beet.
Boiled 1 barrel of water; also, 17 gallons heated to
15U degrees. All this with one coal fire, not a jiurticle
of coal being put into the stove alter the file was start
ed in the morning. Those in wantof Cook Stoves will
secure the most economy by procuring the best. The
Stewart Stoves are for sale in nearly every town and
city throughout the United States.
FULLER, WARREN & CO.,
Exclusive Manufacturers,
Troy, N. Y.
Bra.ct|H.«e. = IS
The Warren Double Oven Cooking Range,
the most perfect operating Range iu the mat kit, ami
the Lawson Hot Air Furnaces, (he very best lor
heating Churches, Public Buildings, and Private Resi
dences, are also manufactured and lor sale by
FULLER, WARREN & CO.
ESP* Descriptive Pamphlets furnished on application.
For sa.e in Atlanta by J. WARLICK,
248(1 Peacliiiee Street.
BUSINESS CARDS!
YA. CO BIST ABT TIN li > S
.Persian Healing Soap.
Patkntbd MAP.cn 12, 1887.'
FOR THE TOILET, BATH AAD NURSERY.
This Soap has no equal. It preserves the complex
ion lair, the skin soft, fiexib e and healthy. It removes
all dandruff, preserves the hair soft and silkv, and pre
vents it from falling off. It cures Pimples, u‘ll Diseases
of the Scalp and Skin, and is a GOOD SHAVING
SOAP. Agents wanted. Office, 43 Ann St, New York.
Ask any dealer for A. A. Consiantink’s Soap.
2582-t
MENEELY’S bells.
(Established in 1826.)
BELLS for Churches, Academies,
Factories, etc., of which more have
f been made at this establishment than
at all the other foundries in the
country combined. All bells wur
ranted. An illustrated Cotalogue
sent free upon application to
2496 —y* West Troy,* N. V.
* TRAVELERS’ GUIDE.
WESTERN AND ATLANTIC RAILROAD CO.
E. W. Cows, Superintendent, Atlanta.
Night Passenger Train — Outward.
Leave Atlanta f> 30 P M
Arrive at Chattanooga 1.43 A.M
Day Passenger Tiain— Outward.
Leave Atlanta... - .8.15 A.M
Arrive at Chattanooga ..4.25 IMVL
Accommodation Train — Outward.
Leave Atlanta 340 P.M
Arrive at Dalton 11.56 P.M
Night Passenger Train — lnward.
Leave Chattanooga ....5.10 P.M
Arrive at Atlanta 1.42 A.M
Day Passenger Train — lnward.
Leave Chattanooga 5 00 A.M
Arrive at Atlanta 1.36 P.M
Aecommodation Train — lnward.
Leave Dalton 3.25 A.M
Arrive at Atlanta 10.20 A.M
GEORGIA RAILROAD.
S. K. Johnsoj-, Superintendent, Augusta.
Day Passnger Train.
Leave Augusta.. 8.00 A.M
Leave Atlanta 7 10 A.M
Arrive at Augusta •• •• 5.40 P.M
Arrive at Atlanta 0.20 P.M
Night Passenger and Mail Train.
Leave Augusta 8.15 P.M
Leave Atlanta 5 30 P.M
Arrive at Augusta 3.45 A M
Arrive at Atlanta 0.40 AM
Athens Branch Train leaves Union Point daily,
Sunday excepted, at 1.15 P.M., arriving at Athens Ht
4.35 P.M. Leave Athens at 0.15 A.M., arriving nt
Union Point 12.50 P.M. On Monday and Tuesday
nights, a train leaves Union Poiut hi 2 20 A.M , arrives
at Athens 5.15 A.M.; leaves Athens, 6 P.M., arriving
at Union Point, 11 P.M.
Washington Branch.— Train leaves Washington
at 10 A.M.. arrives at Barnett, 1t.30 A.M.; leaves
Barnett 2.15 P.M., arriving at Washington at 4.10
P.M. On Monday and Tuesday nights, leaves Wash
ington at 10.20 P.M., arriving at Barnett. 12 at night.
Leaves Barnett, 1.50 A.M., arrives at Washington,
3 30 A.M.
Macon and Auousta Railroad.— Train leaves
Camak. 12.40 P.M., arriving at Milledgeville Junction
4.20 P.M.; leaves Junction at (3.15 a.M, arriving at
Camak, 9.25 A.M. Connects Augusta with South
Carolina, Charlotte, Colombia and Augusta, and
Augusta with Savannah Railroad.
ATLANTA AND WEST POINT RAILROAD.
L. P. Grant, Superintendent , Atlanta.
Day Passenger Train — Outward.
Leave Atlanta 7 10 A.M
Arrive at West Point 11.40 A.M
Day Passenger Train—lt ward.
Leave West Point 12.45 P.M
Arrive at Atlanta 5.15 P.M
Night Freight and Passenger — Outward.
Leave Atlanta 3.00 P.M
Arrive at West Point 10.45 P.M
Night Freight and Passenger — lnward.
Leave West Point 3.00 A.M
Arrive at Atlanta 10.07 A.M
MACON AND WESTERN RAILROAD.
A. J. White, President, Macon.
Day Passenger Train.
Leave Atlanta 0 00 A.M
Arrive at Macon. 11.30 A.M
Leave Macon 7-20 A.M
Arrive at Atlanta . 2.23 P.M
Night Repress Passenger Train—Daily.
Leave Atlanta 3.28 P.M
Arrive at Macon .11.05 P.M
Leave Macon 5.05 1* M
Arrive at Allanla .10 15 P.M
AJR-LINE RAILROAD.
S. K. Buford, President. «
Leave Atlanta for Norcross every Wednesday- and
Friday at 5 A.M-, connecting at Norcross with stages
for Gainesville. Leave Norcross at 4 P.M. Passen
gers reach Gainesville the sayie day.
NASHVILLE AND CHATTANOOGA RAILROAD.
J. W. Thomas, Superintendent, Nasnville.
Day Passenger Irain.
Leave Nashville 9.30 A.M
Arrive at Chattanooga 4.20 P.M
Leave Chattanooga 3 45 A M
Arrive at Nashville 1.30 P.M
Night Passenger TYain.
Leave Nashville 13.15 P.M
Arrive at Chattanooga -.4 30 A.M
Leave Chattanooga.. b 00 P.M
Arrive at Nashville ~ 5 00 A M
Night trains run daily; day trains run daily, Sun
days excepted.
Both trains connect at Chattanooga for Rome, At
lanta, and all principal Southern cities.
SOUTH GEORGIA AND FLORIDA RAILROAD.
H. S. Haines, General Superintendent.
Express Passenger Train.
Leave Savannah every day at 4.00 P.M
Arrive at Jessup (Junction M. Sc B. R. R.)
every day at... •• • • 6.55 P.M
Arrive at Live Oak every day at 1.35 A.M
Arrive at Jacksonville every dny at 6.19 A.M
Arrive at Tallahassee every dav at 6.22 A.M
Arrive at Quiucy every dny at b. 27 A.M
Arrive at Bain budge every day hi 5 15 A.M
Arrive at Albany every day at 7.15 A M
Leave Albany every day at 7 00 P.M
Leave Bambridge every day at 7.45 P.M
Leave Quiucy every day at 5.42 P.M
Leave Tallahassee every duy at 7 42 P.M
Leave Jacksonville every day at 7 47 P.M
Leave Live Oak every day at 12 45 A.M
Leave Jessup every day at 7 20 A.M
Arrive at Savannah every day at........ ,10.20 A.M
Macon Accommodation.
Leave Savannah (Sundays excepted) at... .5 00 A.M
Leave Jessup (Sundays excepted) at 8.30 A.M
Arrive at Macon (Sundays excepted) at 6 15 P.M
Leave Macou (Sundays excepted) at 9.15 A M
Leave Jessup (Sundays excepted) at 7 i5 P M
Arrive at Savannah (Sundays excepted) at 10.15 P.M
No* change ol cars between Savannah and Albany.
Passengers for Bambridge change cars at Thomas*
ville.
Passengers for Brunswick take 4 P.M. train from
Savannah-
Passengers from Brunswick connect at Jessup
wi'h train for Savannah, arriving at 10,20 A.M.
Passengers leaving Macon at 9 15 A.M., connect at
Jesaup with tram for Florida and Western Division.
A Passenger Car will be attached to Way Freight
Train leaving Savannah Tuesday and Thursday at 7
A.M., and arrj Wednesday and Thursday at 3.20