The Beaufort tribune and Port Royal commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1877-1879, 1877-04-05
FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD.
Questions and Answers,

Questions and Answers.
What kind of millet is the best to SOW
in eastern North Carolina?
The seed of the common millet, which
can be obtained at any seed store.
How are the breeds of sheep in this
country classified2
There are three general breeds oi
sheep in this country-long woods, mid.
die wools and fine woods. Under the
first come Leicesters and Cotswolds
under the second-which are specially
mutton sheep, producing small amount
of wool-come Southdowns, Lincoln and
others; and under the third are three
families, viz. D.: French, Spanish and
Silesian merinoes.
What then are the so-called American
merinoes
The American merino is the result OF
the three varieties above described;
they have been bred together until they
have produced what is now known as the
improved American mcrino; which for
weight and fleece are not to be excelled.
This breed is rather small, with a clean
head and broad, sound body; the fleece
is long, fine, thick set, white and extends
over the whole body down to the hoof.
What will insure early sown peas,
beans, lettuce, etc., from the ravages OF
rats and mice, as well as of all kinds OF
birds 4?
These pests, says an English garden
er, will not touch any seeds that have
been mixed with little red lead and wa
ter, before sowing, and the red lead does
not affect the terminating power of the
seed in the least. 1t must be powdered
lead that is employed for this purpose;
Just enough water should be used to
make the lead stick to the seeds; stir it
around until it dries on and SOW at onse.
What are the peculiarities of the
snowflake" potato?
Earliness in ripening, being only few
days after the early rose; smooth, attrac-
tive appearance; the excellent quality,
having fine grain, richness in flavor, and
foury whiteness and dryness, and uni
formity in size. They are also desirable
because the bugs do not seem to relish
them to the same extent they do other
varieties. Their hardness in sprouting is
another merit; this last is due probably
to their dryness.
What are the difference between the
three families of merinoes?
French merinoes, which are tender and
require great care, are long in the leg,
thin through the shoulder, fiat ribbed,
with clumsy head, and grow short, yel-
low wool that is thick set, uneven and
gummy. The Spanish are much harder,
and their fleece is long, white and firm
er, and more even than the French; in
form they are compact, having short,
heavy legs and heavy necks, with small
heads. The Silesians are less compact
again, with light, short legs and fine
heads, while the fleece is winter, longer,
finer, and more even than any of the
others. These last are more hardy than
the French and less 80 than the Spanish.
Temperature of Cream for Churning.
If different cows cream requires diff
ferent temperature for successful churn-
ing, or if the average cream from differ
ept herds requires temperature little
higher, or q little lower than certain
other herds, then each dairyman must,
by experiment, determine the best tenn
perature for his own dairy. Some COWS
certainly make butter softer or harder at
the same temperature than certain other
COWS, and in the absence of experiments
made especially to determine the point,
it would seem safe to conclude that
cream that will make hard butter would
bear a higher temperature in the churn
than cream which produces butter which
handles with great difficulty. Yet we do
not know this to be fact. In our own
dairy we have the best success in winter
when the cream is chrrned at a temper
ature of sixty-three degrees. 1t comes
then without too long churning, and it is
50 firm and solid that it does not gather
into a solid mass at the first appearance
Of butter. We prefer to have our butter
come so bard that it will float in little
crumbs in the buttermilk even after
every ounce of cream is thoroughly
churned; then we can rinse off the but
termilk nearly clean, instead of having it
shut up in the butter, as is too often the
case when the butter is gatherel in a
solid mass in the churn. England
Farmer.
The Canker Worm.
A communication to the American
farmers club on this subject explained
that there are several species OF the
canker worm, which is sometimes also
called the span worm; all Of these are
very destructive to the foliage of the
trees they breed upon. If undisturbed
they mature in about month, when
they are an inch in length. They have
an ingenious way of letting themselves
down by a spun thread to the earth, into
which they crawl and remain during the
winter season. With fine weather the
matured insect makes it's appearance a
moth. The female, which is wingless
(the male has wings), crawls up the
trunk of the tree and lays its eggs among
the branches. These appear to be glued
over with substance that is waterproof.
It's mission over, the moth dies, and in
due time ;e eggs left behind hatch, and