The weekly Shasta courier., 1873-09-27
FARM AND GARDEN.

| could be found better adapted to the
sustenance and fattening of cattle thar
Alfalfa. Its merits are based on sew.
eral distinct facts, established by expe.
rience First, it is more nutritious
than ordinary grass; second, it produces
more abundantly; third, it requires but
little attention; fourth, it is good fol
pasturage when green, or hay wher
cured. These conclusions were arrived
at in debate held the other day before
the Farmers Club of Napa County
Mr.. Cornwell stated that he had twenty
acres in Alfalfa, seeded in 1854, and
although it had suffered greatly from
the depredations of gophers, he regard
ed it as the most profitable piece o.
land he owned. 1t yields three times
more feed for cattle than any other pas
ture. In sowing, he first seeded with
grain, and when it was half an inch
high, sowed the Alfalfa and brushed il
in. He gave the grain a start so that
it would protect the Alfalfa from frost
He understood that seed raised here is
not as tender as that which comes from
Chile. The seed is worth from 25 to
80 cents per pound. The second yeal
after sowing mis-. he cut it down five
times. Loose soil is more favorable
than heavy.
Mr.. Trubody has a neighbor who
sowed three or four acres of Alfalfa on
low, close land, and cut from it seven
tons to the acre. He thought there
was no trouble in producing it, if it was
safe beyond the danger of frost. Mr.
McIntire had similar experience tc
relate. Alfalfa, he said, does well when
it is properly cultivated. One of his
neighbors has drained and plowed
twice before sowing; another has plowed
and narrowed well, and both pieces
were fine. The former was seeded on
the 10th of April. Mr.. Lane, near st.
Helena, has ten acres from which he
cut two crops of hay before August,
and then kept stock on it till late in the
fall. Thought spring sowing the best.
Had sowed with barley, but thought it
better to SOW Alfalfa alone. This con-
currence of testimony ought to be sat
isfactory as to the superiority of Alfalfa
as food for live stock, and secure it
more popularity with farmers than it
has hitherto possessed.
Lux & Miller, who are amongst the
| largest cattle-raisers in the State, for
! beef. own extensive ranges of land on
the San Joaquin and its tributaries. Oh
late they have seeded large tracts oi
land with Alfalfa, which fourishes to
such an extent as to make one acre Of
land supply as much food for cattle as
was formerly yielded by twenty. acres.
More than this, the Alfalfa land sup
plies food for cattle the year round,
whereas hitherto the same land fur
nished grazing only five or six months
in the year. The general introduction
of Alfalfa into grazing regions will not
only improve the quality, but increase
the quantity of beef, and besides ena-
BILE the grazers to dispense with the use
of three-fourths of the land now occu-
pied by them.-Cal. Horticulturist.
THE Cows TEAT.-In Europe, as
milking is mostly done by women and
girls, who have small hands, the size
of the cows teat is not so important as
in America, where the milking is most
ly done by men with large hands. This
is point which should be particularly
attended to hereafter by breeders Of
dairy stock. No bull should be used
by them which is not dropped by a COW
with good sized teats, placed square on
the bag, several inches apart and slight
ly pointing down. Of course the dairy
qualities of the dam of this bull should
also be considered extra good. Ayr
shire, Devon and Jersey cows of the
present day do not, as general rule,
have as long and large teats as they did
twenty years ago, according to my best
recollection; aud the bodies of the lat
ter, more particularly, strike me also,
as general rule, as being of dimin-
ished size, compared with those we used
to see imported by the late Messrs
fainter & Norton, of Connecticut
The blood of these old importations is
highly appreciated by the breeders ot
the present day, and their descendants
command high prices. These cows
gave very rich milk, churning extra large
quantities of butter.--Live Stock Jour
nal.
MARKING SHEET For marking, any
good linseed oil paint will be perma-
nent, but on the dark surfaced Merinos
the principal color used should be ''Ve-
nitian red" This will show at all sea-
sons of the year. 1t is better to mix
Japan varnish with the paint, as il
will wear better. Cast iron figures fol-
stamps can be found at most hardware
stores. In order that the same number
may be put on any sheep every year,
ear-marks should be used. Numbering
the sheep gives the breeder chance to
weed out the most improbable animals
with unerring certainty. One success
ful breeder informed me that as soon as
he began to shear unwashed, and to
number and register the yield from each
animal, his focks increased four ounces
of wool to each sheep per annum, until
he reached ten pounds per head Stock
Journal.
Salt as a manure for potatoes is as
good as it is for almost any and all crops.
We notice that agricultural journals are