davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

Mr.. V. p. Richmond show in the R}lrul
world. how sheep may be kept for moth
ing . | was recently asked. he snv>. "bv
Il reporter Of an agricultural paper what
is the cost of keeping sheep on the farm.
and | answered him not ANYTHING. Pas
uring all farm stock together. the food
eaten 10y the sheep will scarcely be missed
by the other animals, because the sheep
will 90 for the weeds and the briars, CIV
ing Il better growth to the grasses con-
s,imcd by the cattle and horses. OF course
the pasture being benefited by the sheep
eating off a bad growth. he is doing his
master good service and eating something
for his y inter SUPPORT. He is all the time
engaged in another good work that is,
spreading the best of manure, more even
" than any man can. all over his run. and
at al times. For this work he should
have portion of winter feed laid up by Il
kind master. When he comes into winte,
quarters. and we pay our Indebtedness. all
the rest of his winters food is only so
much advance on II large and better clip
of wool and Il good supply Of manure
good for all purposes that manure is used
for. Therefore. taking into our farm ac-
count with the sheep lis good work for
us. We will find that all he does for his
master fully balances the cost of the food
consumed That would be useful to other
animals The wool. be it fine or coarse.
long or short, is clear profit, and the
lambs are clear profit, too. ANY one.who
owns land should own sheep in proportion
t. his possession of real estate; and in no
other investment will he draw Il greater
per cent than on the money invested in
Sheep
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

VALUE OF NIrEoGEN IN F,EMI>G.-Ni-
troTcn i one of the 63 or m, rc elements
of which our Globe il believed TO be com
posed IL, great value - the farmer w:t~
but lately discovered All farmers hal be
for, rroiited by it undoubtedly, but their
protltng was Il mere accident. They
knew nothing of ito agricultural worth, OF
how they could avail themselves of it.
benefits, till Bou>ingault an eminent
chemist. and still more eminent as Il pric-
tical farmer, published to the world the
result of his patient Investigations After
long and continued experiments. both in
the laboratory and in the field. he demon
stratcd that the highest success, in agricul-
turc cannot be reached without additional
supplies of nitrogen, over those furnished
10y Nature. All animal matter accidental
" falling upon the soil adds to its ntrOger
Ruin water gathers nitrogen from the air
in passing through it. and depo-its it in
the soil. Millions of insects perish in or
On the surface Of the earth, and thus sup
ply nitrogen for the food Of plants Other
N very numerous sou ccs of nitrogen are
always supplying ii to the soil. But Meth
ct these, nor all natural sources of nitro
zen furnish enough, in forms available TO
plants. to secure the most profitable re-
suits. Hence the Importance of preserv-
INC and applying the farm manureS. not
only for the nitrogen they contain, but for
their other fcttiIizinE ingrt dicnis as well
OF course the farmer who understands hi
business will be careful toprrserve and ap-
ply all the brrn, pen, and fold manurc>
For like reasons, and for the purpose Of
preserving health in the family. the sink
wash, nght-Soil and all else that is of bad
odnr. should he often and thoroughly
Transferred from the ncighborhood of hli-
man no>tIil> to the soil, the great con
sumner of filth. Farmers are longer live4
than other men. because they are much of
the time in Il pure, open air. Give their
wives and daughters us pure atmosphere.
and they will live rs long and be "a brisk
No dead ANIMAL beast, bird or fish should
be left TO rot on the farm. If deeply buried
in the compost heap. the nitrogen and
phosphatcs in them will be worth much
for the fields; but if carelesSly thrown on,
uncovered. they will only attract ravenou>
beasts and birds; and these may too soon
learn the roosling places of your chickens.
co-lings and young turkeys. All wool
tlccks, bits of wooden cloth, hair hoof>,
horns. bone-dust. scrapings of comb fac
tories, and all other animal matter, should
be put int" the compost heap or directly
buried in the soil. Don't leave ANYTHING
thai has worth for the soil. to polute the
atmosphere. 1t is lanSuor. sickness. in
etfici, ncy and death to the family, but it is
money in your pocket if thrown upon a
large compost heap some distance from
Your doors and windows, and in due time
applied to the soil. The things we have
named. and others which are worse than
thrown away. are worth for the soil all the
way, according to the size of the family,
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

The Practical Farmer gives the follow
inc directions rs to laying shingles: Inc
correct rule for laying shingles OF any
length. in order to form II root leak
tight" is to Law the courses less than one
third the length of the shortest shingles.
For example, when shingles are eighteen
inches LONG. many of them will not be
more than seventeen inches in length.
Therefore five inches i all that the courses
will bear to be laid to the weather with
the assurance Of forming a rood roof. The
shingles must be three thickncSscs over
the entire roof. If they are not three
tlicknesseS-if now and then Il single
lacks Il quarter or Il half an inch OF being
long enough to make three thickncSscS-
there will. in All probability. be lcaky
place in the roof at such points. MorcOv-
cr. when the lower courses lack hall an
inch. or even i fourth of an inch. of cX-
tending on ftr enough to receive the rain
from the outer most course. in case the
middle course were removed. 1t would be
jus, us well to lay them seven or eight
inches to the weather AS to lay them only
five or five and Il half inches. Many
shingles are only sixteen inches long. and
many that are sold for sixteen inches long
will hardly measure fifteen inches. In
this ease if the roof be rather tlat-say
about one-quarter pitch-fonr and half
inches is rs far us they should be laid to
the weather. In case the roof were quite
steep il might answer to lay the course
four and 1hree-quartcrs inches TO the
weather. There is another important con-
sidcr;dion which is too frequently over
looked il shingling. which is. "hrcakino
Joints" Careless wurkmrn Will often
break joints within half an inch OF
each other. When til" joints Of the diff
tcrcn; courses come 20 CLOSE together the
roof will most certainly leak. Why should
it not? There is nothing to prevent ii
during 4 heavy rain. Unless a roof is
sleeper than quarter pi'ch much care
should be taken to break Joints not les
than one and Il quarter inches. Let all
workmcn and helpers be taught the vast
Importance of rejecting every poor
single except when the upper courses
are being laid
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

KINDNESS TO CATTIE.-A ncighbor re-
Gently remarked to me, - You have a fac
ulty of charming steers" Irepled that
it was n mistake. | simply study their
nature and adapt myself to that nature. In
home (whether they are in
yoke OF not,) though may come with a
rod. Yet | always come with love- If |
am in IL hurry and a steer is in my path.
never give him Il kick or a thrust, with a
yell. Get ont of my way" but instead
allow him the path. while pass qr,s tlv
by, gently rubbing him with the hand us /
pass. The pressure of the hand on the ami
NAL has a powerful influence in training
him, and l had rather engage to bring two
yoke Of Steers to stage of good wOl king
discipline than tame one pair that had
been taught to fear the presence Of man.
-Maine Farmer.
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

The National Foot and Fuel Ref0r,uey
'nstlucilng its markct-going readers how
to select good meat says: Good and
wholesome meat should neither be Of a
pale rosy or pink color, nor of deep pur-
pie. The first dcno;es the diseased con-
dtion, the last proves the animal has
died u natural death. Good meat has
more of Il marble look in consequence of
the branching of the veins which surround
he adiposc cells The fat, especially of
the inner organs, is always firm and suety
and never moist. while in general the fat
from diseased cattle is f1abbv and waterv
and more often resembles jelly or boiled
parchment. Wholesome meat will al
ways show itself firm and elastic to the
touch. and exhibit no dampneSs. while bad
meat will appear soft and moist, in fact,
often more wet, so that the liquid sub
stance runs out of the blood when pressed
hard Good meat has very little smell,
while un>ound meat has II disagreeable,
cadaverous smell, and diffuses a certain
medicinal odor. This can be distinctly
proved by cutting the meat through with a
knife and smelling the blade or pouring
warm water over it. Lastly, bad meat
has the popularity that it shrinks consid.
arably in the boiling; wholesome meat
rather swells and docs not lose an ounce
n weight
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

FLATTERY.-A book agent who has re-
tired from active labor upon the hard-carn-
ed accumulations Of a life of industrious
cheek. says that the great secret Of his
success was. when he went to a house,
where the female head of the family nre-
sented himself he always opened bv saw
ing. So beg your pardon, Miss. bul il
was yor mother l wanted to see Tb,t
always used to get 'em. They not onlv
subscribed for my books themselves hnt
told me where l could find more custom.
ers."
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

If land is to be rastured instead Of hay
ing the crop ga hcred by the >cvlhe or
mower, it should be fed as it grows 1t
would not be profitable to NOW Il field
every day; the harvest would be too small
to pay for the labor. but cattle can gather
the feed as it grows without much extra
effort while the grass will be in It's very
hes: CONDITION. For the production Of
milk nothing has yet been found superior
to the short. sweet. recently grown leaves
of grass. If pastures are under stocked,
or if they are turned into too late in the
spring, the grass gets old and tough and
Is rejected 10y the cattle unless they are
very hungry.
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

Every one who trains and pruncs his to-
mato plants knows that bis hands become
covered with an adhesive, yellowish. strono-
smelling cxcretion ofthe leaves. A French
horticulturis;. NJ Sisroy. discovered, bv ac-
cident. that this strong smelling emulation
is poisonous to aphides. and that water in
which tomoto leaves had been macer,,ed
was quite as effective in destroying plant
lice rs tobacco water
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

1t i usually supposed that the earth or
angle worm does ~ harm To vcgcta-
ton. feeding only on dead and decaycd
matter But the correspondent Of an cX-
change newspaper is of Il different opin-
ion. He says: My garden turnip> are
badly SCARED ana groovcd bv worms
A. | find no worms in contact with the
turnip- but earth worms. the presumption
is that the mischief is done bv them. In
several instances | found the mouths of
worms in the grooves. the fl, >h Surftcc
of tie turn p atfording unmi>tak"abc cv-
idcnce thltthr worms were thcn and there
engaged in their ncialiuu> work In two
instances, y worm had eaten a hole IN the
body of the turnip. nearly an inch in
depth. and was so firmly wcdged in that
il was impossible to rNtricatc it without
breaking it. 1t may be objected HAT. rs
rarIhwOrms have no teeth. they cannot be
the cause of the observe fleets. They
may, however. by sucking out the nat
ur;l UicrS of the turnip, destroy the
vitality of the part, and SO cause lis grad
nal destruction, and the characteristic
growing Of the turnip y nci"hbor who
* an experienced gardener and ohserv in .
man, frequently finds the tops of his onion
leaves drawn into holes in the ground, and
looking rs il thcy had hccn parhoi!ed, or.
a. lie expire sod it. the Juices sucked out
On di1min-.. into these holes. to ascertain
the cause of the evil. he la, found Garth
worms apparently engaged in feeding up
on the onion leaves.
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

The great procession in New York on
st. Patrich's day suspended its music for
four blocks while passing the Hippodrome.
A courteous request WAS thus generously
responded to. a Catholic procession right
ly took pains not to disturb Protestant
Admirers of St. Patrick
we will 20 and do likewise.''
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

EAsrFE-EGG HANGING KEr-Opcn
4 hen, duck. or goosc-egg ut the pointed
end; let all the contents run out, and cut
the upper. smaller half away with small
sharp scissors; fill it almost up with earth,
md plant Il sedum. which, despite the
small space, thrivcS splcndidlv. and
spreads out its little twiys on every side
As outer decoration for this improviscd
tlowcr-uot, 4 network of crochet. su>-
pended BY 4 cord made of change stitches.
aud trimmed with tassels. will do nicely
The net is crocheteI Of scarlet silk :;
fringe Is knotted in at the top, and string
drawn through to make the net ii: firmly
to the egg. Draw the net together at the
bottom. AMI finish off with Il ta>srl =
From NoH>eho'd Llfyanrits.
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

Says the Poultry World: 1T SCENE as
though the fowl in its domestcated state.
was the special aid and comfort of the
poor, as they can naturally keep but few.
and usually succeed better than those who
keep large f1ocks. The secre. of the sue
ccs>ful management of Large numbers
will be found in adhcring to the following
rules: Let each family not exceed fifteen
or twenty individuals: making Yourself
acquainted with their habits; understand
all their wants, and supply them; do not
increase too fast. and never allow one fam
lily to trespass on the grounds of another"
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

Says writer in the No'o England Farm
er: IF | owned u good Vermont farm. in
tested by thistles, would spend all my
spare time, if necessary. the first two years
in killing the thistes, for believe it can
he done. If very abundant. | would run
over al the fields with moving machine
or scvlhe before the thslcs had time to
perfect seeds. If only Il few Wee scatter
ed here and there, | would get light,
sharp hoe, with Il blade not over two
inches wide, and before n single thistle
went to seed | would Just strike my hoe
under the lowest leaf and cut the stalk ut
a single hlow,and then 90 for another. and
another. for no plant can live long with
out leaves. This course followed up for
two or three Years. think, would give me
clean bundles of grain. a haymow that
could run my hand into. and Il spot of
green turf | could sit upon. if l chose,
while eating my lunch
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

A florist writing on the subject of fuch-
urr Il handsomely shaped plant. This ca,
be done by pinching out the tirs of the
branches, rs whenever the tip is taken out
two or three branches Will start, and thus
with faciIitv,you can make the plant what
ever shape YOU please. \ good way j. to
let the central stalk grow Is tall rs it will,
and pinch the end, of the side branches
when they have grown Il few inches from
the main stem. You will in This manner
secure Il thick. handsome plant. BY cut
TING back, new wood is also produced in
greater abundance. and therefore Il more
profu>c bloom. No plant grows more
readily from cuttings which start. us those
from most other plants do. more readily in
wet sand. Get II tox three or four inches
deep and Of any size that YOU may require
cut off lust above III eve, leaving two CT
three inches below, and put them in the
sand nearl Y to the upper eye. If of new
wood (Which will make the plant grow
more rapidly there viii be two leaves ut
tie eve. Cut the point of each leaf off
half WAY back. Set the box where it will
be convenient to water.and keep constantly
wet. Keep the sand always saturated with
water, and very soon the cutting will send
out roots As soon as the roots start. plant
hem separately in small pots In thi~
way YOU can with ease multiply Your
plants to almost any extent. Roses. ger
plants can he raised in the same way
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

If the surface of Your lawn be rough
there are tw" ways for making it smooth
and even. The first is by breaking up the
Who'll" ground. working and c-workin1
till fine and mellow. and rc-Sreding or re-
tultin~. If the ground j, rr-seeurd. sow
at the rate of at least two bushels of seed
per acre, and roll OF brush in. Red top
white clover and Kentucky blue grass will
Give good Green carpet. If returfed,
make the bare surface perfectly even and
level cut the turf from an old, even pas
tue. with straight edges, bv means Of :,
stretched line. and then invert the pieces
or blocks n n broad board. ana srrapc the
earth side perfectly even by means of :,
sharp hoe. They will thus form an even
srrlacr when Laid, and rolling will make
the whole rs smooth rs Il floor The sec
ond mode of making an even surface, is to
applv sand and fine sandy loan To the sur
face and rake 1t level. by which it will fiji.
up all hollowS and deprcssions, and the
grass will grow through the sand. This
is we'll adapted to lawns which have but
Slight inequalities Of surface.
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

\ Pennsylvania 1;.rmcrtcllS, in a con
temporary, how lie treats muck. and ii
may be a good way, though many persons
prefer To kecp it Il Year exposed to the
weather and then. when dry. use it Il an
absorbent in the stables and cow-vard>
As the muck was dug. he mixed with every
five loads one barrel of fresh lime. | his
was spread evenly in layers between lay
els of muck Il foot thick. In twenty
four hours the heaps were smoking hot.
He threw more muck over the top and
beat the surface closely to exclude the All
and then in :. few days the heat went
down When he came to draw the muck
it bad become Il black rich mass, that
eNhalcd u very pungent odur, much like
barn-vard manure; and although it WAS
late in October when it was spread upon
the grass the color of the field became at
once a deeper green. and Il rapid growth
started. Wood ashes. half Il bu>hcl o.
more to Il load Of muck, will produce
equally good results. but more time is re-
Iuircd for decomposition.
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

TIE BEST MAEkLT FOR CoEN-ts q
general rule, the best marke, for corn is
unIoub cdlv N the stall aud piI-stv. Yet
there are exceptional eases when grain
may be sold with advantage. But " hen
it is best to sell it, and when to feed it on
the farm depends on the price Of meat
butter cheese or wool, the value of the
manure on each particular farm, and on
what it would cost them to buy the ma
nure. In the case Of pigs, seven bushels Of
corn. fed properly. will give on an aver
age one hundred pounds Of increase in the
live weight. The manure from this corn
is worth twenty cents for each Of the
seven bushels. When. therefore, ordna-
ry pigs are worth seven SCENTS a pound or
over, live weight, it is clearly better, even
at this price for the pork, to feed our corn
to pigs than to sell it at seventy cents per
bushel Finally il is true that none of the
other domestic animals will gain as fast
in proportion to the food consumed as a
well bred II'UNcSs.
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

The Rev. George MearcS Drought, writ
ING from Ireland to the London Iin4cs
SAYS: q" For three years have lived in 4
town. and during that time my sitting
room has been free from flies three or four
only walking about my breaktast-tab
while all my neighbors rooms were crowd
ed. often congratulated myself on my
escape, but never knew the reason until
two days ago. | then had occasion to
move goods to another house. while re-
manned for two days longer. Among the
things moved were two boxes of gcrani-
ml- and calrcolaliaS, which stood in nv
window. the windows being always open
to the full extent. top and bottom. The
boxes We're not gene half an hour before
nv room WAS a> full of flies rs those
around me. This, TO me, is Il new dsrov-
cry. and perhaps it may serve to cncour-
age others N that which is always a source
of pl, ASSURE, and which now proves also to
be Il source Of comfort, namely, window
gardening.
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

To KEEP EDG> FHI>!I-I often notice
inquiries in Your paper and others Il to how
to keep eggs. My way has stood the test
to my entire satisfaction for forty Years at
least: if any were induced to try it am
sure they ould like it, take a half bar
rel and put two quarts OF good rock salt,
one quart Of recently air Stacked lime, o.,
a ritle less if it is unslackcl and one and
one half pail of water. If put fresh cgy~
in that lime always find them fresh, o
matter how long they nave been kept.
Our cog tub is seldom empty though |
find il quite a temptation to sell close
when they are worth fifty cents a dozen.
If need to add bl inc To cover the cyrS |
use the same proportions. My home is on
farm; begin to lay down eggs as soon
rs the price gets below twenty cents :.
Dozen IHt U01SAO7d
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

To keep up a full supply Of feed in pas
lures through the season. have rs many
varieties OF grasses suitable for pastures
as you can make grow. More feed can
be produced on an acre from ten varieties
than can possibly be from one variety,
even if the ten all bloom at the same time,
just rs Il wood lot will grow more wood
and timber with several varieties growing
together. than if wholly devoted to one
kind.
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

from twenty to a hundred dollars a year,
when rightly cared for; nor can the farm
or earn rs much in an easier way.-Pr0f.
NdSh III Erd11Geltst.
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

A lady writes to the Indiana Farmer:
Some years ago rs | was passing through
a room only used occasionally. l per-
ceived strong odor of fresh flowers that
surprised me. as none were ever kept there !;
but, being in haste it soon passed from my
mind. Not long after, being in the room.
| noticed the same fragrant perfume again,
and this time 1 proceeded TO investigate
the matter. On raising the curtain of the
east window. l found that branch OF
sweet scented honeysuckles had found Its
way between the two sashes ut one corner
while growing in the summer. and had
extended itself quite across the window
and on the branch inside there were three
or four clusters of well-devcloped flowers,
with the usual accompaniment of leaves.
while on the main bush outside, there was
not as vet Il leaf to be seen, and they were
just rs beautiful and fragrant as if they
had waited until their natural time OF
blooming. Since then have tried the
experiment purposely, and always with
the same result If the room is warmed
through the dav the blossoms will open in
February have sometimes used the
coral variety with the sweet scented, and
that generally blooms little later
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-26

A correspondent Of the Maine Farmtr
has been examining his apple trees, and
removing from the limbs of last year :
growth the little lunches. about the size
of an acorn. and Of the appearance of
shocmaker> wax. Which are familiar TO
every fruit, grower. He has made expert
mcntS on one of these lunches. which
proved that it contained the EGGS of about
four hundred cankcr worms. One of his
Young trees. not four inches in diameter
contained twenty of these bunchcs-or
probably the eggs of eight thousand can
ktr worms. Farmers Will DO we'll TO look
to their orchards now. before the trees be-
come covered with leaves, and see if this
ravaginr army cannot be DIES roved before
it has time to do any damage