The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1871-04-20
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.

y
those of us who make use of horsehesh,
terrible roads " come in for good
share of general remark.
We do not know of more wonderful
thing than that our road laws should
remain in their present condition. Only
that Americans are good-natured and
a long-suffering people, the present state
of things would not be tolerated a single
day. One citizen votes a man. into
Office to look after affairs. If he does
not do what he is paid to do, he takes
no steps to make him do it but, vowing
mentally not to vote for that man again,
endures till the next election. The man
who goes in follows in the rut of him
who went before and so the taxpayer
jogs along from year to year, through
mud and slush, half killing his horses,
or having double the number that he
needs; besides wearing away good
temper at the same.
Can nothing be done to mend this ?
The Germantown Telegraph recently
moved that the State take all the roads,
and manage things pretty much as 1T
manages schools and some other matters.
Certainly we cannot see why some system
cannot be adopted whereby man can
be regularly employed over given
length of road, just as postmaster Is
paid for the regular work OF his station.
1t a very little were done on roads at
the proper time, they would cost no
more than they do now, and be always
in order. The great enemy of a good
road is Uater. If bitches are kept open
so as to drain water away. and hollows
are kept filed so that water can turn
out into the cleared gutter as soon as it
falls, the roads would be always pretty
good. Ruts should particularly be at
tended to, for these collect water after
rains, which softens the whole road bed.
A good horse and scraper on dry day
will close up ruts, and make the whole
surface so smooth that the next heavy
rain, if the road be but lightly rounded,
instead of making, as now, mess OF
mud, leaves it harder than ever-indeed
as solid as a macadamized drive can be.
Such roads, indeed, are preferable in
many respects to the usual stoned roads.
Every one knows how hard it is to drive
over these in the summer time, and how
uncomfortable when driven over but a
dirt road-a summer road us a per-
feet Elysium to the horseman. That
system is undoubtedly the best which
will combine the advantages of sum-
mer road with good spring driving. A
regular system of ditching and hole-fill-
ing would do this. When shall we see
it done?
On CHUENING BUTTER.--I would ask
you, or any of your correspondents, il
there ever have been any experiments
with cream to prove that quick churn-
ing is injurious to the quantity or quail
ity? 1 don't agree with your CORE
spondents and others, as regards the
time required to churn. will give you
our experience in butter-making for over
twenty years. In this length of time il
is very seldom that we were five min
utes in churning, except sometimes late
in the fall or fore part Of winter, when
it takes little longer. The quality Of
our butter is as good as can be made by
any process, however long, in my opinion
Now, if there is any secret about ouI
butter coming so quick, it is the skim
ming of the milk and the kind of churn
we use. My wife always skins the milk
herself, if she can, and is very particular
that no milk is taken off with the cream
She thinks that loppered milk is worse
to work out of butter than buttermillz
and it takes five times as long to churn
The churn we use is the common crank
churn, one of my make land the only
one), the wheel fitting close to the inside
of the churn, so that in turning the
crank the cream all moves at the same
time, and when any comes it all comes
When the cream is put into the churn
we never fill quite to the centre of the
wheel.-C0r. Of Country Gentleman.
CLOVER AS SHADE.-There is prob.
ably no other plant in the world of such
value to the farmer for this purpose. II
furnishes the most perfect protection tc
the soil during the fierce drying heats
of summer. Being constantly decidu-
GUS plant, its leaves are perpetually fall
ing, and soon form delicate covering
for the entire soil, sufficiently thick fol-
shade, and easily penetrated at all points
by the air, which is the great carrier tC
the worn out soil of those atmospheric
elements that are to enrich it. In thi:
way the clover plant not only contrib
utes directly to the fertilizing of the
soil, by giving its own substance to it
but it furnishes protective covering to
the entire ground, which encourages
and stimulates those chemical processes
by which the hungry and exhausted
soil is recuperated from the vast supplies
of nutriment that are held in the at
mosphere. 1t becomes to the farmer
the most valuable fertilizer in the world,
as it imparts fertility to the entire soil.
Southern Farmer.
SETTING HENS EARLY.-In setting
hens in the early months of spring, it
will be found that the losses in Matching
will be much less if the nests are made
warm as possible. Instead of placing a
handful of straw in square box, one or
two shovelfuls of ashes, or fine pulver-
lied earth, or even coal ashes, should be
thrown in. This has the double advan-
tage of being readily followed out into
a concave nest, which will keep them
free from vermin, and found a much
warmer nest, and to keep the eggs at a
proper temperature in spite of the colder
weather.
WHITE HAIR.-A correspondent of the
Massachusetts, Plou0Aman gives this remedy
for white hairs that appear on horses
from the use or wear of the saddle OF
harness: Take a piece of fresh butter
or lard large enough to give the spot a
thorough greasing; rub the same thor
oughly with the hand until it becomes
quite hot, repeating the operation at
| least fOur or five +;n,os an5 4bo .,,I;1o