The Hickman courier., 1874-03-07
USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.

USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.
= SWEETS OF THE SAw.-The Ignite
which Is plentiful in all sawdust may /
be turned chemically, by treatment /
with mineral acids, into good grape su-
gar and the Manufacturer and Builder |
suspects that it is from sawdust comes |
the artificial sugar French firm is said |
to be able to sell for fourth of cent |
pound.
THE DAvY LAMP VULNERABLE.-The |
sound-wave produced by the slightest |
explosion of gunpowder in q mine is |
shown to be capable of destroying the |
safety-property of a Davy lamp, and |
causing it to communicate its fire to In
fiammable gases outside. So, at least,
saws MIR. Galloway, who should be good
authority. IL such is the case it was to
n defect of Davy's immortal invention,
and not to the mere gunpowder flash
of blasts, that SO many recent explo-
sions of fre-damp were due.
y. Ace OF HoRsEs.-A new L" wrinkle" "
bout the age of horses is the discovery
of an Illinois farmer, who determines
,uthe age of all animals over nine years
by the following novel method
|er the horse Is nine years old "A
1ukle comes on the upper corner of
the lower lid, and each year thereafterhe
has one well-defined wrinkle for every
year over nine. IF, forenstance, horse
has three wrinkles, he is twelve, if he
has four, he is thirteen. Add the num-
Der of wrinkles to nine and you will
get it.
HARNESS FOR OxEN.-Theyoke as we
use it, does not In its best state place
the strain farther back than the base of
tho nh fl,a Iotv 20
neck-worn on your cattle, and see if
you can convince yourself that the spot
was intended by nature to be subjected
to the strain put upon it. In Africa,
and elsewhere. the yoke is bound to
-.fSsse. sa.-f
-. I 8, 2 = S we'll as its disadvat-
fages. The yoke, in the first place, is
< of simple form, being merely straight
piece of wood, and it may be lighter,
for it is not awkwardly cut across the
grain. On the other hand, the cattle
cannot move their heads freely, nor can
they use the pushing power of their
shoulders. We may, therefore, dismiss
the plan as not practicable here. A
simple-contrived harness, combined,
rerhaps, for use before two-wheeled
cart, with light yoke, resting If possi-
ble on the shoulders, or upon collar,
would distribute the strain, and make
matters easier for man and beast.
A BUG ExTERAINAToR.-Hot alum
ter is a recent suggestion as an in
5ticide. It will destroy red and black
Ats, cockroaches, spiders, chintz Bugs,
4 and all the crawling pests which infest
n2ur houses. Take two pounds of alum
nd dissolve it in three or four quarts
bf boiling water let it stand on the fire
until the alum disappears (; then app y
il with a brush, while nearly boiling
hot, to every joint and crevice In your
closets, bed steads, pantry shelves. and
the like. Brush the crevices in the
floor of the skirting or mop-boards, if
you suspect that they harbor vermin.
If, in whitewashing a ceiling, plenty of
alum is added to the lime, It will also
serve to. keep insects at a distance.
Cockroaches will flee the paint which
has been washed in cool alum water.
Sugar barrels and boxes can be freed
from ants by drawing a wide chalk
mark Just round the edge of the top oi
them. The mark must be unbroken OF
they will creep over it, but continu-
Gus chalk line half an inch in width
will set their depredations at naught.
HOUSE PLANF.-A pretty adornment
<Qr picture frames is German ivy, a com
"a trailing vine which grows with
reat lrxuriance. All the old medicine
phials which infest out-of- the-way clos
ets, may be utilized for this purpose.
These should be filed with water and
hung behind the pictures, and a slip of
the ivy inserted. The vine is quite
hardy. We have seen single slip, in
pint bottle, grow NATL it ran along
the entire length of moderate-sized
xEZ4. 4..,..aa1.,aEl4- y,atad a uar 10
acorn inside and a little above the water.
sponge moistened, with fine seed
scattered IN its pores, soon becomes a
mass OF living verdure, though a pret-
tier ornament, we think, can be made
OF large pine burr similarly prepared
and hung, like the acorn, over water.
Fine grass seed is the best to use.
About as pretty vine as can be selected
Tor window dressing may be obtained
from the ordinary sweet potato. The
Dulo need only be set in hyacinth
glass, and it will soon send out shoots.
lfSGLIsH FARMING.-The farming in
Heiand is the best in the world. The
arms are usually large, and the farmers
men OF intelligence and of large capital
More attention is paid there than any
where else to the making of manure !.
gram IS largely grown and the system
OF regular rotation of crops, TO main
~AAAhJ VI b1lc SOIL. Is almost
universal. Over a large part of the
country the cash profit of farming Is
secured by the sale of grain, but the
fertility of the land, the ability to pro-
duce grain, Is kept up by the feeding
OF heavy stock of cattle or sheen
which are kept mainly for the sake Of
the manure they make. and which ara
largly fed on purchased food-in great
part olI-cake and Indian corn imported
from America. Such complete system
could hardly be carried out on SO large
a scale on many farms in this country.
Iof lew OF our farmers have the neces-
sary capital but it is. after all the
ystem toward which we shonld work
td to which we must look for the per
manent future of our agriculture. Our
Ia ming can never be perfect, nor any
pg ike 1T, until we shall have reached
tpolnt OF constant Improvement of
SOIL. A constant deterioration has
oeen necessary consequence of the
rapid spread of population over tbe
%noie breadth OF the laAd, but it must
peIore long. be followed by wave of
netter farming, which alone can enable
Son PoPnlation to be self-supporting.
ABUSE OF HORSES. s.-There is no mora
common and often merely thoucbtIese
abuse OF horses by their owners and
orivers, than the habit of keeping them
out at work or standing in harness be-
3ond the regular hours for their meals.
Mr. John II. Russell, of Leicester
Mass, who rivals both parsons MurrayS
ana Beecher, as literary authority on
horse-hesh- has an earnest article in
! pasa - .,sssss-'si- {. !
Bergh, on this special wrong to his |
fayorite animal. The horses stomach |
is small for lack of space, and because |
he was not intended TO carry the weight |
of extra food. He has great activity |
OF digestion when his stomach is filed, |
and, In a state of nature, is frequent |
feeder. He cannot fill his stomach for
all day he must feed often, or suffer-
He is a dainty feeder, and has to masti-
cate and insalivate his food thoroughly, |
as human being does. In state of |
nature, the horse fills his small stomach /
and travels rapidly away. to fresh fields, I
eating and constantly 47ipestino. He I