Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1874-10-30
agricultural.

DESIRABLE QUALITIES IN A PIg.-Of all the
desirable qualities in pig vigorous appetite ia
OF the first importance. hog that will not eat
Is oil 20 more use than mill that will not grind
And il is undoubtedly true that the more pig
VIII eat IN proportion to his size, provided he can
digest and assimi late it, the more profitable he
VIII prove. The next desirable quality is per-
haps, quietness Of disposition, and blood ia de-
rived from the food, and flesh is derived from the
blood. Animal force is derived from the trans
formation of flesh. The more of this ia nsed in
unnecessary motions the greater the demand On
the stomach, and the more food will there be re-
CURED merely to sustain the vital functions and
the more frequently flesh is transformed and
formed again the tougher and less palatabIe It
becomes. This quality, quieiness of disposition
combined with small amount of useless parts.
Or oifal has been the aim of all modern breeders.
It's Importance will readily be perceived if We
assume that 20 per cent. of the food is ordinarily
consumed to support the vital functions. and
that the slight additional demand of only one
sixth more food is required for the extra ofaI
parts and unnecessary activity. 4 coarse, rest-
less animal would gain, in flesh and fat, in pro-
portion to the food consumed, only half as much
fat as the quiet, refined animal. To assume that
rough, coarse, savage, ill-bred rnongrel hoe
VIII require one-sixth more food than quiet.
refnd, well bred Berkshire, Essex or Suffolk is
extrGyagant.
LIQUID MANrRE.--Notw;thstan the ae-
knowledged necessity Of husbanding all the re-
sorrces of manure on the farm, it is not too
much TO say that fully fifty per cent. Of the vir-
tue or soluble portion of all the baruyard manure
made in the United States is allowed to be wash
ed away by drenching rains and the melting
SHOWS of winter, and be borne along with III
Vulnerable branches and streams until Il reaches
the ocean. 1t is only necessary that a eursory
view be taken of four-fifths of the barn and
stable yards, hog pens, &C., of the farms and al
most every neighborhood TO substantiate. the
above assertion. And what seems still more re-
markable is that all this loss should be borne
With so much indifference when the means to
prevent II are so simple and easy. In order then
to guard against SO serious a drawback. barn
yards should be made dishshaped, j. G.: lowest
in the middle, and in addition to the other maize
rlals usually found on every farm, be well sup
piled with earth from the hollow or depressed
places in the woods, (overlaid as they always
are with superabundant accumulations of rotten
leaves, &c.,) scrapings from the lanes and fence
corners, pine Skaters, &C., in fact every sub
stance in the shape of vegetable matter tina: car
be procured, 10 absorb and hold the LIQUID as II
accunulates from the flterings of the fernlent-
Ing manure in the barnyard. Bit this not all.
Thprp ShOuld . lsO ha ebar 10, -.
dug Immediately outside the barnyard, the bot
tom OF which should be ''pudded; in order to
prevent its contents from sinking, 81 what is
better, (and indeed absolutely necessary where
the undersoil is not of clay formation,) the
whole interior Of the cistern lined with brick laid
with cement, and into which any superabundant
accumulation Of the liquid manure in the barn
yard should be conveyed by means Of 2 small
drain or culyert leading from one to the other,
and the same hauled out as often as NAV be and
distributed over the most convenient grass land
and vegetable garden, or in saturating compost
heaps, as may be desired. We're sucn precau-
tions adopted generally there can be no doubt
that millions would be annually saved the couu-
try.--BGlt;a1ors AaagTfcGa
LAWNS SilOulu never De moved l1Le, Dut good
mass of soft grass be allowed to grow and re-
main, TO protect the roots during winter. The
lawn will become green much earlier in spring
for such protection. This is belter aud iucoru
parably neater in appearance than covering Will
4 coating Of coarse, offensive manure. Amerf
can lawn mowers drop the grass as cut, and no
thing is carried off. Hence the gradual increas
ing richness of the soil from vegetable accumU
lations, and one reason why old lawns are bette
than new. 1t is better to make the ground
rich as may be necessary before the lawn is SOW
cd. end tV odd whaterer may be needed after
wards IN the shape of finely pulverized compost
guano, or superphosphate.-Coa Country Ge1.tls,ag,
ABsURD1TIEs.-Frosted grass does not tend E.
dry up cows. Apples in moderate uuantitie.
have no such tendency, but on the contrary ma,
be fed to aGVantage-especially sweet apples
Potatoes are said to dry UP cows also-notAic
is more absurd, for they are an eminentIy milk
producing food-and when small potatoes N
not boiled and fed to pigs, the cows ought [
have theT- Pumpkins are well known as ey
ceiLent milk feed. The seeds, however. ar
d;uEetic in this tendency and very likely reluc
the quantity of milk.-RuTdI Nsw Yorker.