The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-09-24
FACTS FROM ALL SOURCES.
CURING SELF-MILKERS.

IcdI nletlHS. IIlSF6 ~ SltlpleSt or all, the
tying of hard wood stick, sharpened at
each end, across the horns. An invet-
crate selfmilker will soon learn that the
ends of the stick are pointed, and will
display great perseverance and ingenuity
in turning her head down 50 that she can
get at her milk without hurting herself.
An effective way is to put Circingle
around her body, and attach straps thence
to each of her hofns. And the New York
Tribune gives another simple plan which
IS found to be effective Take two old |
ox-b0ws and fit each in piece of hard
wood, say 2x3 inch stuff, IA inches long,
tying these single yOke-pieces on her |
neck, to stand about foot apart. Then |
connect the hard wood pieces by oak |
pieces like ladder ft1ngs and screw upon |
the bows, on each side, a slender pin OF
hickory, pointed at the end, extending
back to rest upon her sides. The hard
wood pieces should be cut OUT so as not
to hurt the neck.
SUGAR BETS FOR FATTENING SWINE.
Jonathan Talc0tt gives statement in
The Boston CultivatOr of an experiment
performed ona Suffolk pig where sugar
beets were largely employed for fatten-
ing. The animal was about year old,
| and the feeding on boiled sugar beets,
| tops and roots, began on the 10th of
| August, and was continued three times
day until the let Of October, after
which ground feed was given, consisting
Of two parts of corn and one of oats,
| three times a day, till the animal was
slaughtered, the meal being mixed with
| cold water. The result was, on the 10Th
! Of y1-ho tIn
| was begun, that the weight was 306
$50 pounds; November l, $40 pounds.
| This is the substance of the statement
| given, by which we perceive that the in
boiled sugar beets, was at the rate OF
on the same food continued through
September When fed on ground corn
and oats, made into cold slop, the gain
for the next fifty days was less than a
pound and half per day.
MANURE FOR GRASSES.
The Michigan Agricultural college
| experimental with different manurcs as
top-dressing for grasses, with the follow
ing results as reported in the Michigan
Farmer: The results of a single top
dressing on eight plots of nearly half an
acre of sandy, warm soil exhibited the
following facts at the end of three years
the top-dressing was applied in 1864, and
the grass was cut twice each season in
1864 and 1866. The produce of each
cutting and of each lot was weighed
separately and a perfect record kept
, The results of the four seasons were as
follows: On the plot to which no manure
or fertilizer was applied, the total weight
of hay yielded per acre was s, 740 pounds,
Where two bushels of plaster per acre
were applied, the yield per acre was
Is, 226 pounds, a gain Of 4, 4S4 pounds
Where five bushels of ashes were applied
the yield per acre was 12,907 pounds, a
gain Of 4,165 pounds. Where three
bushels of salt were sown per acre, the
yield was 49, 1863 pounds, gain per acre
Of 1921 pounds. Where 20 loads OF
muck per acre were laid on, the yield
was -, Sl6 pounds, a gain of 5,074 pounds
Where 20 loads of horse manure were
laid on, the yield was 1866 pounds, a
gain of 6,244 pounds. These are results
which indicate that there are fertilizers
which VIII produce as good results as
plaster. For instance, the plaster yielded
a gain of 81 per cent, while the horse
manure gave an increase of II per cent,
or nearly a ton more grass per acre in
three years.
HAVING UNDER DIFFICULTIES.
"Wild hay" is the name given by the
Swiss to hay made from the grass grow
ing on strips Of soil to be found on the
Alps, at height of from 5000 to 5000
feet, in places so difficult of access that
even the goatherd and his ventursOme
flock forbear to visit them. This hay is
valuable from its excellent quality and
delicious aroma. The haymakers are
shod with iron, and secure themselves
with ropes to some sure hold when in
especially dangerous places, but fatal
accidents occur every year. 1t is reck-
Oned that one man can make hundred
weight Of hay daily. This he either car
ries home at night in a net slung over
his shoulder or stacks it on the mountain,
whence it is removed on a sledge when
the snow comes. The wild hay is essen
tial to the maintenance of the Alpine
cattle, the produce Of the valley being
insufficient for their winter keep.
ANOTHER SQUASH EXPERIMENT.
They viii not put another squash into
the harness at the agricultural college
| this year, but they are trying other in
| teresting experiments, with a vine Of the
same kind, the mammoth Chilli. They
| have one squash upon the scales to ascer-
tain its final weight, which is now three
pounds per diem. The growth of its
| leaves is also recorded. Another scale
marks the increase Of its vine in length,
| and still another of its tendrils. An in
| genious contriyance is arranged to find
out the movements of an unsupported
| tcndriI; the result is worked in triangles
on paper perpendicular to the free ten
drill. Another arrangement is to test
the strength of the tendrils and their
growth in power relative to the growth
Of the supported squash. A gauge is
being prepared to examine the sap in the
vine and its passage into the fruit.
WHY HORSES BREAK.
A correspondent of the Turf, Field, and
Farm thinks he has learned why horses
break in trotting. He is correct in his
conclusions as to how horses should be
handled, whether he is in his theory or
not. He says: My theory is, that the
power of trotting fast lies more in the
brain than in the muscles; and when a
horse under the excitement of the whip
increases his speed above certain point,
his brain becomes unable to keepu with
the rapid continued motion of the mus
clcs. He loses control of himself. He
is unable to put his legs where he
wants them, and goes into gallop
that gait requires little or no exertion
of the brain. | am almost satisfied in
my own mind that / have hit on the true
theory, and that a horse should be hand
led as not to lose confidence in his ability
to do the work required of him.
Farming Near Atlanta, Ga.
The Atlanta Herald. of Sent. 9TH, has |