The Lake County star., 1876-06-08
AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

from composition consisting mainly o.
glue ard molasses, and this has beer
found to be an excellent manure. Large
quantities of the old waste material Car
sometimes be obtained at the manufac
tories in our large cities, and it shOulC
not be permitted to 60 to waste, as il II
valuable for composing with muck ol
common soil.
SOME men will keep a dog or dogs
that's settled question. Now, let those
who desire to keep sheep also keep dogs
but of breeds which will protect theil
focks. A good we'll trained shepherd
dog is an animal worthy of the affection
of mankind and especially valuable to
the farmer, as he can usually do more
work of certain kind than man, and
will guard focks against intruding ours
of low degree.
PROF. @. V. REILLY, the State EntO-
mologist of Missouri, in the course of a
recent lecture in st. Louis on Insects u
said that the annual loss to farmers
caused by insects, averaged 500, 900, ,O0l
a year that the chinch bug alone, dur
ing 1875, caused loss of $50, 600, 900 in
Western States, of which $4,000, ,00C
were lost in Missouri. Prof Reilly esti.
mated the losses by locusts (grasshop
pers), duling the last three years, al
$5O, 100000.
SUNFLOwERs are rich in honey and are
consequently good neighbors for bees
Oil, hardly to be distinguished from olive
oil by any one but an expert, may be ex'
tracted from the SEEDS in the proportion
of one gallon to one bushel. One acre
will produce something like fifty bushels
of seeds. The seeds, too, make food, not
unpalatable for human beings, and very
good for animals and poultry. The POrtu.
gnese and the American Indians make a
kind of bread from them, and use them as
substitute for coffee. The stalks may be
used as bean poles while growing. Dry,
they make passable roofs for sheds and
the like, and burn readily on the hearth.
The ashes are very rich in potash. AL
together it is very useful plant, and to
crown all, it has a reputation which the
scientists have never disproved, for alb
sorbing malaria, and acting as an efectual
screen against that scourge of low lying
districts, fever.
INCREASED interest is manifested in
several of the Western States in regard
to flax culture which, we believe, will be
of vast benefit to the farmers in the re-
giOns entering into the culture of this
crop. Itrequifes rich soil, and nowhere
else i'm The world is there such vast area
of it as ia the West; hence the farmers
there should take advantage Of these cir
cumstances and reap profit therefrom.
In regard to the Introduction of this
plant into Anne ica, it is supposed that
the first seed was BROUGHT over from En-
gland as early as 1929, soon after the
fiber commenced to be used and woven
by hand and about fifty years later fac.
tories were erected in Massachusetts,. 1t
is time, however, that we were enabled
to raise all the fax required for home
use, either for thread or cloth, and
that the importation of Irish linens
cease.
DR.. N. S. TOWNSEND, Of the Ohio
Agricultural College, in a recent address
said that grub in the head was caused by
a small fly that lays its eggs in the DOS
tris of sheep, and from which small
worms hatch and crawl up into the head
He said he thought it seldom proved an
injury to the sheep. He recommended
as remedy to blow tobacco smoke up
the nostrils. He then spoke of the fire.
quent and annoying dying of lambs at
about one mo lth d without auy ap.
parent disease. He thought it was caused
by coaguation of the milk in the Ct. ohd
stomach of the lamb, produced by having
taken too much milk. Recommended
turning the ewes on thinner pasture to
reduce the quantity of milk, and if dis
covered in time, give the lambs ginger
tea with little salts mixed. Others
spoke of thisiamb disease, recommending
sulphate of iron with salt and ashes rs a
good remedy, and others thought liberal
sailing of the lambs and ewes both was a
good preventive.