davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-06-09
Food for Fowls.

The Scientific Farmer has this on the
food of fowls.
We believe that feed liberal, varied
aud regular supply, is indispensable to the
highest success. The free production Of
eggs is supposed to be heavy drain on the
fowl system. Great layers, like great milk.
ers, are proverbially thin in flesh, yet large
consumers. The more they eat, the more
they shell out, aud there have been cases
where exhausted nature surrendered to over
production. The large Asiatic fowls are
more likely to be sterile, through fatness,
than smaller Spanish Leghorns, and conse-
quently different varieties should have diff
ferent treatment. Corr, alone, may be too
stimulating for some fowls and hence bulky
food like bran and potatoes should be occa-
sionally given. Scraps, fresh meat, pulver-
lied bones, ami oyster shells, the refuse of
the kitchen, mixtures of meal and bran,
clean water, busting and scratching place,
and a comfortable roost, are some OF the
leading persuasives to this egg-producing life.
The summer and winter food may reason
ably vary, conforming to natures rules. A
successful breeder of Spanish fowls uses
bran and meal mixtures in summer, and
whole corn and wheat screenings largely in
winter. We do not believe in keeping
supply of food constantly before fowls, or
any other creature. 1t is doubtless better
for all to have, each day, fresh supply,
with an interval between. In matters Of
appetite, all the world is kin.
We have observed marked difference in
the color and favor of eggs. 1t is doubtless
attributable somewhat to feed. The style
Of living ST. itself even here. Fowls fed
on garbage, onions, and manure heaps, will
very likely have these Aavors in their eggs !;
and those fed on sound grain, and clean
grass or hay, will have the better Aavors.
Generally the richer the food, the higher
the color of the fruit. Buckwheat is said
to make eggs colorless, and wheat and corn
to give them the best color. Hens love hay
and the nearer it approaches to tender grass
the better A poulterer with, 200 fowls,
chaffs and steams hay occasionally for them,
and finds that they love it,
Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-06-09

l also stated that some persons would as
soon have school several miles from rail.
road, as some of these schools are, aud We
may add the very useful school at Randolph
is thus situated. am accused Of tanning
to pull down mapyexistipg institutions, and
the idea of school away from the railroad is
"nonsensical." There was in my articles no
expression that was intended Is injure those
schools, and as to distance from the railroad,
there are many academies and high schools
so nonseOsically situated that are doing 20 cd
service in the education of the youth Of the
state.
Why should literally educated men show
such an iliberal spirit when farmers school
is mentioned They look with charity upon
the establishment Of Methodist, Baptist or
Congregational schools, also approve of medi-
ical commercial, singing, dancing writing
and Sunday schools, yet when school is
planned where those things are taught that
aid the producing classes in their labors, and
where manual labor aids physical develop.
ment then they use the bitterest invective
aud assert that to consider education any.
thing less than the full Development Of
every talent is pernicious in the extreme"
They favor "billiard tables and bowling-al.
leys as means ef recreation for students" but
when productive physical labor is advocated
as recreation or as necessary exercise, it is a
"nelarious scheme"
After such an attack shall we abandon all
desire for practical education and shall we
be filled with jealousy aud suspicion toward
each other. Let u.s. however, know the
worst. The editor says; "If further evi.
dence is asked by the farmers what the real
designs of these agitators are, it can be pro.
duced." Let him be flooded with your let
ters demanding this further evidence that is
promised, even il it causes such men as SEN
ator Morrill,, Col. Mead, Douglas, Cotton,
Hoskins and many others to regret that they
ever mentioned industrial schools, and causes
me to be placed in false attitude before
you. Demand IL. u. H. JAMESON.
Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-06-09
Change of Clothing.

According to the calendar we should have
warm weather, but though the middle Of
May is past, iurs and velvets still are seen
on Broadway, and spring hats hold divided
empire with those that have been worn all
winter. 1t is possible that warm weather
will come, and when it bursts upon US, if it
does burst, we need to exercise care with
respect to a sudden change Of clothing. As
many cases of inflammation of the bowels,
dysenterY and like diseases, especially in
children and elderly people, result fron a
chill taken by the body, as from improper
eating There are very few who would not
be in better health for wearing gauze fan
mel, at least during the summer, than they
would be going without it. This is espe.
oially true OF all localities bordering on tho
sea. An easterly or south. .easterly
wind comes to us from the mid-Atlantic
laden with moisture and suggests an imme-
diate increase Of clothing, Those who
watch the weather vane and thermometer
closely enough may dress as they feel
like dressing without Inconvenience, but
those who put on in the morning what they
intend to wear till night will wisely provide
against change OF atmospheric conditions.
A great deal of suffering and disease is
caused by cod-far more than by heat
even in the summeB time. Sudden changes
of temperature are always to be guarded
against, and as far as possible provided for,
In tropical India the British soldiers wear
flannel during all the summer season, aud
statistics show that since this has been an
army regulation mortality (ohieAy from
bowel eomPlaiptsl has very largely dimin.
ished. Ia malarious districts if one keeps
dry and warm he is in slight danger of hav.
ing chills. The hunter in the Indian jun
giles, abOundiug in malaries wraps himself
warmly, kindles a fire to drive away the
dampness, and deies the fever successfully
These hints, It is hoped, may he Of benefit
to young mothers, IN clothing their children,
and to others 10 too great haste to throw
aside their warm clothes for lighter fabrics
midsummer reOstumes.-C Nei0 York TriJ.
uRs,
Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-06-09
Study of Natural History.

Prof. Riley, the first of American entomol.
ogists and probably the equal Of any in any
other country, thus writes in regard to the
value of a study OF the natural sciences :
1.-The prosperity Of people does not depend
solely upon its material WORTH but to
great extent on its material activity. If you
would inspire your children with love of
rural influences; if you would make of them
thinking, rejecting, observing men and
women, then teach them, among other things,
some of the wonders of inse ects and plant life
about them teach them to read the great
book prepared by the Almighty. There is an
inexpressible charm in animated nature for
those who have learned to commune with and
understand her. They read it IN air, in the
water, in the vast sky above in the bowels
Of the unlathomable earth beneath. They
see everywhere around them significance,
barmOnies, chains of causes and effects end
lessly interlinked, which inspire them with a
Joy and contentment most desirable to pos
sess No wonder Carlyle exclaims For
many years it has been one Of my constant
regrets that no schoomaster of mine had n
knowledge Of natural history, so far as to have
taught me the grasses that grow by the way
side, and the little wngless neighbors that
are continually meeting me with sautatior
which | cannot answer, as things are Yes
those who have learned to unlock the arcana
of nature ever find there new inspirations
and pleasures, aud you cannot leave youl
children better legacy than the love and
habit Of studying her manifold wonders
Under every stone, under every cloud. there
is a little world in miniature, if we but know
how to look for it and there scarcely grows
plant but what contains in natures owl
hieroglyphs a whole volume of natural his
tory, written by the Great Author Of oui
being. Deep insight into natures truths is
not, therefore, of practical value only, it il
eunobliug and purifying aud leads to sublim
est contemplations of the indnlte. The study
of nature is not only struggle for tho mas
tery Of the external world, but as Agassi,
said, it is a struggle Of man for the intellect.
'ual assimilation of the thought Of God.
Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-06-09
Raising RNmpkins.

Mr.. W. II. White, q well-known agricul-
tural writer Of Come ecticut, writes Of the
pumpkin;
remember how, in my younger days, a
good supply Of nice yellow pumpkins was
produced by every farmer, furnishing veg.
etable which found place in domestic cook
cry as we'll as good supply for mich cows,
iattening cattle, hogs aud other stock. Why
the product is less priced at the present time
(if it is less prized) am unable to say; |
only know the fact that pumpkins are less
cultivated than formerly, in large sections
Probably the more general introduction of
the squash as q substitute in domestic and
family use, is the principal cause Of lessened
culture Of the pumpkin. The squash, being
so much preferred for table dish, lessons
tho desirability Of the pumpkin for similar
purposes. Still the latter is the more sure
easily grown crop, when treated similarly.
Pumpkins were always planted among corn,
aud as a rule there was an equally good crop
of each, as it grown alone, and find that
similar results may be had now with good
culture. Perhaps our corn cannot be planted
rs close in the row where pumpkins are
planted among it as where aloae, but the
quality Of the grain and fodder is superior
to the close planted and the yield in bushels
per acre, is nearly or quite as great; and
then we have several tons Of pumpkins, which
are excellent food for any kind of farm stock,
and the following year no difference will be
perceived in lessened product, by any sue
cessive crop in the rotation.
prefer to put in the pumpkin seed by
"stieking" them after the corn is planted and
begins to come up, then | can distribute the
pumpkins US | choose over the field. A
good way is to stick the seed in every other
row, and every third hill in the row, or more
space can be given if desired. This mode of
culture infers that dWar6sh, or rather low
growing variety of corn is cultivated, such as
is grown in our New England towns.
AS an exclusive crop, the writer has grown
and seen cultivated, small patches Of half to
several acres, with quite uniform success,
and there is little doubt but that this might
prove paying crop in the vicinity of a
good market, or as food for stock. As a
feed for cattle and farm stock during the
fall and winter, the pumpkin is not duly ap-
| preciated.
Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-06-09

coarse or inferior fodder 70 work up, and
wishes to make up for its inferiority by the
use Of grain, and If the principal object is
selling milk by measure, without special re-
gard to quality, and if the number Of cows
kept is large, say twenty or more, and one
expects these conditions to exist several
years, it will pay to purchase good steam
boiler and cook the feed for his COWS; bnt II
the number Of animals is small, the quality
Of hay is the very best, as when good grass
is cut before it blossoms, and the object Of
feeding is anything but making milk for
market, he had better make his stables as
warm and comfortable as possible, and feed
his hay whole and raw, rather than incur the
expense and extra labor necessary for steam
ing food. We also believe that many who
have adopted steaming and have, at the
same time, made their barns warm and COM
Portable by tighter covering or by the FIRE
from the furnace, or by both, and have also
warmed the water drank by the cows, would
find II not little puzzling to decide just how
much Of the improvement in the condition of
the animals, the increase in tho amount OF
milk, and the saving OF fodder Is due to
steaming or cooking the food, aud how much
to the general improvement in the care and
management Of the animals which usually
accompanies the introduction Of a steamer
on the farm.
Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-06-09
Trial of Mowers and Reapers.

Among the interesting experiences Of the
great centennial season, will be the trials Of
various improved farm implements, and es-
pecially among these mowers and reapers.
A purely American invention-and particu.
larly product of the great American cen.
teunial era-the thoughtful person will see
in these a mark Of American progress
deeper probably than in any other feature
Of the great show. There have been many
an invention Of greater power, many that
have enabled people to save labor aud to
amass wealth but probably nothing that
has ever been invented has had such init.
mate relation 10 human welfare as the now
ing machine.
To be sure we owo much to the railroads,
to the electric telegraph, to the friction
match, and the sewing machine. We can
hardly Imagine what we should do without
these now but the moving machine has
driven away the hardest Of all farm work,
and it enters directly into the question Of
cheap food, which is the great foundation
stone Of human prosperity.
The respers and mowers will be the cen.
ter of attraction to the students of human
history, as well as TO farmers themselves,
who will all be anxious to learn among so
many improvements which one is to be pro.
nounced the best This will be, however,
matter that will require an immense amount
of experience and good judgment to decide
properly. A machine that to-day is inferior
to another, the day being little damp, will
beat all tomorrow if the material be dry.
Another finds its best work in a heavy math,
and its competitor in light one. Some
work to best advantage on an incline, some
on level land, and others going down hill.
Nothing but series of trials day after day.
under all sorts of circumstances and condi.
tions, and then footing up the sum total of
points, which is absolutely the best. Wher-
ever varied elements enter into a calcula-
tion only numerous trials will give a fair
average. Even in an ordinary "toss up" it
is the best two out of three that wins, and it
ought to be this and more in so complicated
an article as a moving machine. We throw
out these hints for the benefit Of the contest
ants in the forthcoming great trial.
Those who have the management Of this
branch Of the centennial, are among the
most competent and fair men in the United
States. No man need fear to submit his
invention to the test for fear of any igno.
rance or partiality on their part. Every
care will be taken to have the great trial as
fair as circumstances will permit. There
will, however, be some defeated ones, who
in spite of all will feel their machines to be
the best, and there is this consolation for
them. that under some other circumstances
the victory may have been the other way
Germantotcn Telegraph.
Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-06-09
Treatment of Orchards.

Hon. Warren Brown Of Hampton Falls,
N. H., attributes the barrenness Of fruit
trees to a want Of suitable plant food in tho
soil. lie believes iruitfuness may be re.
stored. In communication to the Country
Gentleman, Mr.. Brown says:
From 1864 to 1870, the orchards pro-
duced but little fruit, in this part of the
country. Two old apple trees in my garden,
which were literally treated with barn-yard
manure, bone, ashes and limo, bore plenti-
fully in fact were loaded with fruit each
year. This in connection with the fact that
the orchards that did boar were those which
received the most care and manure (yet none
of them were heavily manured), led me to
believe that the want Of fertility was the
whole cause Of unfruitfulness.
Three years ago commenced system-
attic course with my orchards. The trees
were from twenty to thirty years Of age,
and had been in grass for a number of years.
Not wishing to plow, (for unless much more
carefully doue than is usually the case, il is,
IN my judgment, an injury | gave them a
| heavy top-dressing Of yard manure, using
the coarsest aud strawy, that it might act
as mulch. This and the leaves from the
trees made such a covering that it checked
the grass very much, and the soil became
quite mellow, The next year We spread on
gas lime at the rate OF hundred bushels an
acre. Lime has always been recommended
for orchards; it has tendency to make
the soil fine aud put it in condition to be-
come plant food. Gas lime is very distaste-
ful to insects. have seen orchards where
ii had been used freely that were not
troubled with canker worms, while others in
the neighborhood were badly infested with
them. Last year we spread ten bushels Of
refuse salt to the acre, also a good dressing
Of bone dust and ashes. The pomaee from
the cider mill was also spread on, Being
spread on the surface, the atmosphere will
correct the acidity. In other crops it is
the rule to return as much Of the crop to the
soil as possible. Why should it not hold
true in the case Of the applet We have
kept the trees moderately pruned. The ap.
pearanoe Of the trees is now very much i'm
proved, the foliage being Of much deeper
green than formerly, and they in every way
present more healthy appearance. LasI
year We had very good crop Of apples, aud
Of superior quality. The trees are budded
very full this year.
intend to pursue this course for year
to come, nothing less than high manurinl
and high culture, and have not the leas
doubt of its resulting in perfect success
There is no doubt in my mind that product
i've crops Of fruit may be grown in this par
Of the country by the course 1 have
described.
Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-06-09
FOR the Vermont FARMER,
Farmers Schools.

Having been appointed by the state
grange, at its last session, one Of a committee
to consider the subject of farmers school,
where young man might by his labor de.
fray part Of his expenses while acquiring an
education, and at the same time become skilled
in those arts by which producers gain live.
lihOod in agriculture, horticulture or aOri.
culture, have written several articles
bearing upon that subject, as some Of the
readers of the FARMER will remember.
One result is, that am classed as Gu
"ape, guerrilla, BedOuin, literary gypsey,
demagogue, etc, with homespun and pigmy
ideas whose Office is to throw 6rebrands and
SOW dissatisfaction" See third column Of
the issue of May 10Th.
l consider that am one of the agItators
referred TO, because | referred to the schools
at Fairfax, Waterbury Center, Lyndon and
Mortified, and stated that they were not
doing the full amount Of educational work
that their capacity fits them to do, aud
Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-06-09
WHOLE NO. 2S7.
Mnlching Strawberries.

Mr.. p. T. Ounce, the noted writer on
fruits, says in Scribner's Monthly for june
In strawberry culture the soil must be
rich and mellow prior to planting the
weeds aud grass must be kept out OF the
beds the first season, and there should be no
disturbance Of the ground near the roots, at
any time in the spring Of tho second year,
before the fruit is ripe. From the time the
blossoms come out until the fruit is matured,
strawberries require great deal ofmoisture.
IT. from any cause, this moisture of the soil
is cut off even for a short time, the yield as
well as the size Of the fruit will be materially
reduced. In climate like ours, where We
are subject to long droughts, it is Of the ut
most Importance to guard against such con-
tingencies. The most simple, practical, and
inexpensive way of doing this is by "mulch-
ing" or covering the ground between the
rows, and among the "stoos," with salt
marsh hay or straw. This can be done any
time through the mouth of May, and will
always repay literally for the outlay.
When the mulching material-saIt hay,
straw or pine hays plenty, it may be
put on a couple of inches in thickness, no
injury resulting from the quantity. Tho
mulch answers double purpose--of keeping
the ground moist, cool, and Of even temper
ature, and at the same time preserving the
fruit clean and free from sand and grit, Of
which there is sure to be much in the fruit
when the beds are left without it. BY run
ming the mulching material through a hay
cutter, the labor of putting it on is greatly
lessened, especially if the rows and plants
are close together The mistake is often
made of using fresh hay as mulch on straw
berries, which results in giving a frst.class
"set" in grass that will choke the vines.
Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-06-09
Oil Cake for Mich Cows.

A correspondent OF the Toledo Farm
Journal gives his experience in feeding oil
cake
Dairymen in this vicinity, whero continued
feeding Of milch COWS is requisite from five
to seven months Of the year, who have not
tested the virtue Of oil cake as an ecoBo-
mizer in fodder can scarce believe how
profitable its results are, especially during
the long, cold, severe winters. Owning
about forty COWS several years since, all Of
which were stabbed during the winter season,
the writer's attention was called to the value
OF cotton seed oil cake as an economizer of
fodder and trial was given it, ton or two
being purchased at st. Louis and shipped TO
Toledo in January. Several bushels were
thrown into barrel, which was then 6lled
with water and when tho oil cake had be-
come dissolved about a quart Of the fluid
was poured over the quantity OF middlings,
out hay, or whatever fodder was given
each animal at one feeding, great care being
taken not to give too much, in order not to
cloy the appetite result which follows if
caution is not observed IN this respect. The
consequence was that the COWS grew sleek,
we're perfectly healthy, gave more milk, and
required far less food than before a very
desirable result at that time, as the winter
proved long one and feeding had to be
kept up until the middle of May. So long
as / coutOuod to remain engaged in tbs
dairy business never again gave up the
use Of oil cake, although il became difficult
to obtain the ootton.soed oil cake, aud l
tried linseed oil cake, using it in the same
manner, with good results, although pre-.
fer the former, but would always use the
latter when that is not obtainable. When
fodder is scarce aud dear the value Of this
experiment is great, indeed, especially in
winter: and | would advise all who are Gu.