Rural Column.

Clutha Leader, Volume IV, Issue 166, 7 September 1877, Page 7

Rural Column.

Pig's do best when their feed is mixfd. Good as corn is for them, all corn duea not answer. A v Californian bee-master, Harbison, in 1876, sent 150 tons of honey to market. He had, at latest accounts, 3000 "hives. His bees are Italians. W. F. Dodge, Hopkinton, N.H., who has tried it, says a bath of strong 1 brine is as g-ood as tobacco wash for killingticks on sheep, besides being* cheaper and less injurious to the animal. When a hen acquires a habit of breaking; and eating eggs, there is no remedy. The only thing* to do is to prevent the evil by killing- the hen, or having* the nest so arranged that the egg 1 , as soon as laid, rolls away out of her reach. The discovery of that terrible American scourge, the Colorado potato beetle, in a potato field in Mulheim has created some consternation in Germany. It is supposed to have been imported with 6ome American tobacco. It is pro.posed.to burn the potatoes and disinfect the soil. Cold turnips, which starve a pig in winter, would, if steamed and mixed with dry meal, fatten him rapidly. Cold milk or cold gruel will scour and kill young weaning calves, but they thrive with food at the temperature of the mother's milk. Coal is a cheaper producer of heat and meat than food. Mansfield, Mass., jewellers, are mak-ing-jewellery of the curd which comes from the cheese factories. The curd is made very hot, colouring matter introduced, and it is subjected to a heavy pressure, after which it appears as " American coral," jet, or celluloid, as the case may be. It is made into all styles of jewellery. The immediate "benefit of wood ashes is most perceptable upon leguminous planes, such as lucerne, clover, peas and beans. A.s a top dressing to grass lands, it roots out the moss and promotes the growth of white clover. Upon red clover its effects are more certain if previously mixed with onefourth of its weight of gypsum. A day lost in making repairs, at hay-ing-time, may make a serious loss in the crop. A poor knife or a broken guard causes a great waste of power. We notice that the makers of the " Buckeye" machines have so reduced the price of knife-sections and guard fingers to all styles of their machines, that repairs can be made at a very small outlay. It is economy to keep a supply on hand. The most effective presprvative for eggs that has yet been proposed, is linseed oil, or cottbn-sefid oil may be' used instead. By carefully coatingfresh eggs with either. of these oils, and packing them, small end downwards, in any dry, porous substance, that is a non-conductor of heat, such as chaff, cork-cuttings, or maple sawdust, they have been kept in perfect condition and without loss of weight for 6 months. The value of bones imported annually into Eng-land to be used for fertilising the land are computed to be worth 10,000,000d015. They are obtained from Russia, Germany, South America, and the United States. Throughout Great Brtain bones are collected from every source of supply. Sp valuable are bones considered in Germany, that a proverb there reads : " One ton of bone dust saves the importation of 10 tons of German corn." The lumps found on the backs of cattle each contain a grub, or larva, of the ox gad fly (CEstrus boms). The lumps should be squeezed to force out the grub, which is to be destroyed. If a drop of sweet oil is placed in the opening*, the grub may be removed much easier. To prevent them, mix a pound of lard with a teacupful of kerosene oil, or one dram of carbolic acid, and rub the mixture on the backs of the cattle, when the flies are laying their eggs. The advantages of asparngus are not sufficiently appreciated. It is said that those who suffer from rheumatism are cured ia a few days by feeding on this delicious esculent, ■while more chronic cases are much relieved, especially if the patient avoids all acids. The Jerusalem artichoke affords a similar relief. It may be well to remark that most plants that grow naturally near the sea coast cotains more or less iodine, and in all rheumatic complaints iodine has long been used. Howeve** abundant may be the crops of grass, clover, or turnips, on which the sheep are folded, i we invariably supply them With mixed and varied food, such as hay and straw chaff, cake, malt culms, and meal. The fold'is removed night and morning, and "they are only allowed as much as they can eatnever spoil any by treading. The fattening sheep go first, followed by the ewes. When ewes and 'their lambs are folded together, a lamb hurdle permits the. juveniles to have the first bite. An excellent salve for dressingcracked teats, cuts, or wounds, in ! cattle, isheep, or horses, is made as 'follows : — Melt together, with a gentle heat, 2 oz each of bees- wax and rosin, add half a pound of lard, and when melted and removed from the 'fire, four ounces of turpentine ; when this is 'well mixed and while liquid stir in thoroughly one ounce of finely powered verdigris and continue stirring until cold, and 'keep ■in ajar. This should be .applied after washing the parts with warm soap and water. ; The number ( of <cdws an. the United

States is said to be about 10,000,000, and their actual pi'oduotion of cheese is estimated ac about 100,000 tons, ol which about three-fifths are consumHd at home, and for the rest a market is sought all over the world. The breeds of cattle seem to comprise all the wellknown European races ; but, for dairy purposes, those allied to the A^rshirp, shorthorn, or Holstein breeds are preferred. -The feeding seems much the same as with us, except that the heat of the climate requires more cut green food to be given in the house in summer. Bee trees may be found by trapping* the wild beesin small boxes, which have been smeared with hone}'. The bees' are attracted to the boxes by burningsome paper which has some honey rubbed upon it, in the woods where they are found. The trapped bees are let out of the box one by one, when they are filled with the honey, and the direction of their flight is observed. This is followed until the tree is found. When loosed from the box, the bees rise to the . tops of the trees, and then dart off in a ''bee line" for their hive. It requires skill to keep track of the bees in their flight-. " To throw a^ horse safely, a strong strap should be passed round the body at the saddle girth. A loop is fixed beneath the belly. One fore foot is lifted and fastened to the loop. In this condition the horse cannot kick. Straps are passed around the hind fetlocks, and a rope fastened to these ia passed through the loop. A strap is also passed around the remaining fore foot, and a rope is attached to this. The last rope is drawn up until the horse is on his knees, when the other rope is drawn up, and the horse is gently pushed ovdT upon his side. The ropes are then drawn up quickly and secured, when the horse is powerless. Ringworm consists of a round scurfy spot, generally appearing about the head — probably because animals are apt to rub the head on 'posts, fences, and trees-— from which the hair falls off: These spots when rubbed, bleed and become sore. The cause is a minute fungoid growth which is communicated from one animal to another, and thus produces a contagious disease of the skin. The remedy is to rub these spots with an ointment of lard and carbolic acid, (4 oz. of lard to I dram of acid,) twice a day. Rubbing posts and fences become infected and will give the disease to other cattle, thus spreading it very widely when once it appears. Dynamite is amongst the agencies used on the estates of the Duke of Sutherland, Scotland, for breaking up land. Dynamite cartridges are burned at regular distances, and at the required depth. They are fired by electricity, and so well acquainted are experts becoming in the use of this agent that, we are informed by private letter, •'There is no waste of power ; just the amount of loosening or tearing required is accomplished. When the roots and stones are removed, and the levelling harrow passed over, we can sow oats, or, as I should suppose, you could plant cane or corn." By-and-by, perhaps. Go on experimenting, gentlemen ; you can afford it. Nothing seems more rare than to find a person who understands the philosophy, of sweeping properly. Almost everyone, on beginning to sweep, opens doors and windows with the avowed object of c( letting the dust blow out." Of course, some dust blows out, but at the same time' more dirt is raised up and carried into every crevice^ hitherto clean perhaps. That this is wrong* all welltrained housekeepers know. The air should be kept as still as possible, and the broom moved near the floor with a lio-ht brushing motion until all the dirt is collected and carried away, Houses swept in this manner always have the. most tidy appearance, and the carpets are not prematurely worn out. It is possible to raise calves without giving them fresh new milk, for with a little skimmed milk and hay tea they will thrive almost if not quite as well as upon the pure lacteal 'fluid. Fifty years ago Sir James Stewart Denham, of Scotland, instituted experiments in raising calves with hay tea, taking them from their mothers when three days old, and those experiments were eminently successful. Two pounds of. hay were steeped in 20 quarts of water, and then boiled down one-half, and to 'this was added a quart of skimmed milk. In some instances molasses was added also to give sweetness, and the calves not only thrived upon this diet but preferred it to fresh milk. The cleaning of pots and pans is a work that housekeepers would gladly avoid if they could. Pots must be cleaned, however, and to save the finger nails, chips, spoons, knives, and other substitutes are used. t fn some parts of the country, a pot-scrubber made, of iron rings, is used, but it is by 'ho means so well known as it ought to be, as it serves a most excellent purpose.. When taken in the hand it may be gathered up, in the same manner as a 'piece of'cloth, When anything sticks \ to the pot or other utensil, or has been burned -to the bottom of-if,a little hard •rubbing with this scrubber quickly removes it; and, when the pot merely needs rinsing, "the scrubber may be' loosely rubbed around a few timps. ■ The Jersey cows are noted for their ' precocious milking capacity. Having been bred so long with a view to early and copious production of milk of great richness, it is not'a't all strange that the ilei'sey heifers -should -show ;grea"t preco- ' •VV;,!'= ' •

city, in this way. In one herd known to us, there wero two ■virgin 'heifers giving milk, and tit ki.t'.g 'their .place at , the pail with the oovvp. Another, a \ yearling, aUo known to us, was 'brought to milk by merely handling the udder and teats, it is 'nothing to be alarmed at, therefore, that a Jersey heifer should mnke n frond-siznd uddov long before she is due to calve. J n such a case it would be well to avoid exciting the organ, either by handling or by stimulating feed. — American Agriculturist. The worms found in the windpipe of young chicks are those known as gapeworms. It is quite possible that 'those often found in the intestines -are the same woims, but the full history ,of the gape- worm is not well understood. It is supposed, however, that the old fowls carry the worms, and discharge them with the eggs in the dung. The eggs are picked up by the 'chicks, and are hatched in the stomach, from whence they crawl up the gullet, until they reach the windpipe, where they stay. A very similar worm infests sheep and young lambs, in very much such a way as this. It is easy to prevent lambs from being affected, by keeping them from pasturing after the old sheep, and it is equally easy to prevent gapes in chickens, by keeping them upon fresh ground. Prevention in this case is easier and better than cure, especially when there is no cure that can be depended on. On the authorit} r of the Carriage Monthly, more injury is done to carriages and and waggons by greasing' too much than the reverse. Tallow is the best lubricant lor wood axles, and castor oil for iron. Lard and comtnoa grease are apt to penetrate the hub, and work their way out around the tenons of the spokes and spoil the wheel. For common wood axles, just enough grease should be applied fco the spindle to give it a light coating. To oil an iron axle, first wipe clean with a cloth wet with turpentine, and then apply a few drops of castor oil near the shoulder and end. One teaspoonful is enough for the four wheels. Carriages are sometimes oiled so much that their , appearance is spoiled by having the grease spattered upon their varnished surface. When they are washed in. that condition, the grease is sure to be transferred to the chamois from the wheel, and from thence on to the panels. WAT ETI ING MANURE HEAT?. If manure can be kept- where it is always filled with water in which it is partly submerged, and which fills the rest of the lifiap by capilarity, it will neither heat too much nor ioose anything by evaporation. It is usually not difficult to manage this in barn collars, or under cover, provided ib be built up over a tank or lies in a tight basin. In warm wen* her, however, evaporation goes on so rapidly from the spongy heap, that unless water is pumped over it, or in' some way be present in abundance, it will heat — burn — " fire-fang" tremendously. The treading down of the heap by cattle is. alone not sufficient, unless the admixture of cow-dung be considerable. We have been busy getting our manure lately, and I have been impressed with the fact that it is not that which is least fermented which is really the best, but that in which there has been a regularbut corn trolled fermentation. In one case, the c-n^talks are still tough, the straw, swamp hay, &c, saturated with liquid and incorporated well with the solid manure, but in no fit shape for plant food. On tho contrary, in those . portions of the heap whore the strawy mess could absorb the liquid manure, and be sprinkled by water thrown over the heap from that which leaked into the low parts of the cellar, all the vegetable fibre was rotten and easily cut or broken, and at the same time there was no odour of escaping ammonia. The fermentation -had obviously gone on almost all winter, though the surface was frequently frozen, CARE OE FARM MACHINERY. Not only" should the reaper and mower be protected from the alterations of weather, that is, kept under 'shelter, but the -manner and condition in which they are laid away must bo very carefully attended to as well, if their future userulne&s is expected or desired. First of all, then, let them be well cleaned and dried, observing to pick away all tufts or blades of grass that may have become entangled amid the iron gearing, for whatever-* there are found moisture is not fur off, and moisture, iron, and air in contact, mean rust. Remove the cutter bar. This 'is 'by far the better plan, for it obviates the sagging and twisting 1 which usually follow either a folding up of the bar, or the more common practice of letting it lie in cutting order upon the 'ground. Wipe every portion of the iron perfectly clean. For this purpose common oil is very serviceable to loosen and dissolve any oil that may have caked about the joints or axles. Dry thoroughly, and j^ive the whole a light coat of' good sweet oil. The woodwork may be treated "in tire, same manner with the best results. The whole job may Jfc accouj polished in an hour or so, and^M^ the expense of about 6d, y«t by fh||i hour's labour and insignificant ex|||. pendkure at the proper time, you dcM*. more 'to preserve your . machine in.||| good order than could be secured fcr|||| twenty times the amount haditbee&||j left, as so many are, uncared for $ad w& exposed. . .■ '.- . ■ ' ■'•''"■■ 1