The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1868-11-05
Agricultural.
FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD

is represented by those who have seen il,
and examined specimens Of the wool. NJ
being in every respect n fine animal. At
the Smithheld Cattle Show, samples of this
cross excited great admiration, and were
for a long time the subject of comment
and eulogy in the various agricultural and
other journals.
In a number of the Farmers QIondon)
Magazine, Lord Western published q let
ter, accompanied by documentary Stats
tics and proofs, going to demonstrate the
high value of this breed, both in reference
to carcass, and the superiority Of the wool
The weight of some of his wethers, was
after being dressed, one hundred and fifty
pounds. OF this weight from twenty to
twenty-five pounds was fat from the intes-
tines. The wool averaged, in the cross
breeds, more than FIVE and a half pounds
per head, in q flock Of two hundred and
one sheep.
The chief object Of Lord Western in in
stituting his interesting series Of expert
ments, appears 10 have been the desire TO
ascertain, practically. the feasibility Of en-
grating the Merino wool on the Leicester
carcass. In his letter he remarks that his
sheep may not fatten so early or equal TO
the weight of the Leicester, yet they give q
handsome carcass, and carry a heavy fleece,
equal in quality to the Merino; aud that
they are, upon the whole, an improvement
in hardness, upon the Merinos.
The sheep is n valuable animal, and one
which is, perhaps, more readily s%uscepti-
BILE of improvement through the instru-
mentality of good keeping and judicious
crossings, than any other domestic animals
kept upon the farm. -Nac England Fdrmer.
WILD PLuMs.-ATl over the State wild
plums can be found in great abundance.
Most people seem to imagine them worth
less, Judging all of them by some poor
specimen they have tasted somewhere, and
cut down the trees when they clear the
land in the same way they would 80 many
blackberry briars.
Here in this part of the State we have
but very few tame plums, and those few do
not seem to de very we'll, so we have re-
course to the wild varieties. We select the
trees when their fruit Is ripe in the fall,
choosing such as bear good juicy fruit, and
remove them to our gardens in the spring.
There il as much difference in the quality
of the wild plum as there is in that OF the
cultivated variety, We cut them back and
prune quite severely when we transplant
them. In -four years we have the satisiac-
ton Of having large, fine, healthy trees;
they will bear when very small. The fruit
is greatly improved In size and quality by
cultivation, and the trees are very produc-
tive. Some kinds are almost equal TO the
tame kinds. For preserving they are
equally M good. l think If farmers gener-
ally would cultivate these plums instead of
cutting down the trees, they would change
their opinion respecting them.
Stephensville, Wis. E. f. II.
How TO KILL T~HIsTLEs. There are two
ways TO do it, both sure, as / nave often
proved. The frstis to NOV them Just as
the blossoms are opening, before the seeds
are ripe enough 10 grow; NOV them all and
close. and on the third year there will be
very few to NOW. The reason is this: The
roots OF no seed-bea1ing plants can live
without mir which must be received through
the leaves, and the roots, having nearly eX-
hausted their vitality by forcing up then
seed stalks, il deprived of them at this
time all at once they must die. Another
way is 10 pillow them mp and to harrow the
ground thoroughly with q common spike
tooth harrow, and when you plant il, pull
ne many roots as you can, and when you
hoe it, cut every thistle deep into the
ground; hoe II again, and cut them n little
deeper, if possible. The third time take a
chisel, put a long handle to il like q hoe
handle, and with that cut down deep below
the new sprouts, and tho work is done. i
have killed Canada thistles in both ofthese
ways, and know whereof / speak. To pillow
aud hoe once does no good, but more hurt
than good. To NOW them hut one year is
but a temporary check; but if lnown three
years in succession, at the time / have
named, it will kill hem.-COryespoEdcnc
Boston Clliudtor.
POULTRY. A pullet Matched early in the
spring begins TO lay ut the approach of
winter, and pullets Matched late in the
summer begin TO lay in the ensuing spring,
and ii is by saving o certain proportion OF
pullets from the early and late broods that
you make sure Of winter eggs, n few carly
hutched chickens for catching the high
est markets, and numerous flock ofchick-
ems in the warmer months, when rearing
is least precarious. The hen continues in
her prime for two, and, at most, three
years therefore save every year pullets
equal to a third Of your brood stock, sell.
ing of at a trihing price the same number
OF aged hens, or offering them mp in @
stewed dish or well baked pie. However,
1 have no scruples about keeping a heavy,
symmetrically made, s%plendidly feathered
''partlet' for four years for the sake of hei
stock. Many farmers grumble about theil
poultry, from not paying attention TO sucf
"A simple matter AZ their not looking ovel
their brood stock once a year, drafting Ill
the old danes Cknown by the developed
scales on their legsl, and reserying ron
the market basket the most promising pull
let's raised during the season.
PRUNING IN WINTER.-D. Beebe, o
Hillsdale, Mich, writing in The Western
Rural, says:
/ have been pruning my orchard.
commenced about the middle of Novem
Der, and finished about the middle of De
cemLer. The first man that came alonl
asked; 'Why do you trim your tree
nowf' The next one says: "You vii
spoil your orchard" Another said: ether,
was but ffty.two days in the year tina
trees ought not to be trimmed (Sundays).
To all these / replied, | trimmed them be
cause / Lad time, I had now about tw,
rows trimmed, aud, lest something NIGH
be wrong about it, / thought l would con
suit some authority. Going to my library
/, I took down "Cole's American Fruit Book,
where | read (page 81: II should prefC
October, November, or even December, h
the spring, which is the worst season. an
l kept on trimming.
To KEEP the FEET DRY.-We notice il
orr exchanges numerous recipes 70
making shoe-leather water proof, most q
=, them compounds, involving c~onsiderRbl
: trouble in preparation and more or les
J expense, and none Of them half so good a
! the simple article castor oil, which can b
! bought at the drug stores for twenty-iv
to fifty cents n pint, according to your lC
0 eatity. Apply it 10 the boot when dry an
I soak il by the fire until the leather is satu
, rated. Treat the soles IN the same way
u being careful to dryit well sothat they wi
, not grease the carpets, We once treated
4 pair of calf boots in this way, and q ie'
I days after we walked Eve miles in saturate
. snow aud water from six to ten inches dee