The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-09-12
Agricultural Nuggets.

III Sil
best workmen in the world cannot
make a good job with them. 1t Is
economy to get the best, no matter
what the price may be.
For some sort Of vegetables, as
lettuce. cress, radiShes and others,
the Chinxse system Of keeping the
soil continuously wet is the best
that can be adopted. 1t produces
a crispness in the vegetables that IS
obtained only when there has been
no check in the growth.
In mosl cases the best time TO
top-dress grass land IS in August or
Septembor. before the fall rains
occur, and after the burning heat
of summer is past: if then applied
the rains soak it and carry the fer
tilizing properties directly TO the
grass roots, where it IS needed.
In purchasing sheep it IS judi
cious to select those that uave been
fed on soil inferior to that for
which they are desi gned; and the
best symptoms of a healthy condl-
ton are redness of the gums and Of
the skin Il. the brisket, whiteness
and evenness Of ,he teeth, tirmness
of the wool, sweetness OF breat,a and
GOODNESS of feet.
Put three tablespoonfuls of oat
meal into a quart jug, with or
without IA small pinch of salt; mix
with a little cold water, string
brisklv the while. Let stand to
settle, and use either hot OF cold.
Nourishing and re .reshing IN Eases
of sickness, and, the London Agrl-
cultural Gazette says, splendid for
harvest or bayfield,"
1t has been recommended, where
sheep have been killed by dogs, to
skin what the ~depredators may
leave of their carcasses, and llber-
ally inoculate the defunct mutton
with strychnine. Both dogs and
foxes are obliged to succumb to
this dose. An Ohio farmer has
quietod many dogs in this was-as
many as four IN one night.
Score another for the United
States. American agricultural
machinery has captured eight out
of the eleven prizes offered by the
agricultural society for exceptional
merit, while the United States ag-
ricultural display in the Exhibition
has been awarded a diploma of
honor, and the United States edu-
cational exhibit a gold medal.
When a few fowls are confined in
a small space, they may be incou-
ragged to take needful exercise by
~suspending a piece of meat just
ni.,h enough SO that they must
jvmp a little to reach it. Forking
a piece of ground and raking there
in grain or scraps, is another good
way to accomplish the like result,
and at the same time divert the
active minds from such mischief
mischief as e%gg-eatlng and feather
plucking.
The horses on our railways, says
the Germantown Telegraph, are
not fed with oats, chopped corn
and hay being found to be a more
desirable fodder. They fatten
more rapidly on this food, which it
is said gives them more strength
and endurance than any other.
The cost, too, of corn is mvch less
than oats. Fifty years ago the
principal food for work horses
was cut straw and bran, mixed and
moistened with the addition oil
:, corn in the car.
To cure and heal up places OF
broken skin on the shoulders oil
draft horses, dissolve six drachms
) Of iodine in half a pint Of alcohol,
and apply it on the sore as Don as
; the collar is removed, and when a
} rest, twice a day, morning and ev.
ening. The article should be il
5 the stable of every hostler, as it i:
an excellent application on horse:
l where the skin is broken by kicks
r or other accidents. and is a sure
g cure for splints if used in apropel
manner, says an exchange.
A correspondent writing to thu
, New York Tribune, for a goot
; farming section IN Pennsylvania
!. says that he commenced soilins
t%hirty-fiye COWS IN 1875, and nov
has increased the number to sixty
@ and dnring the past year has raised
Q enough fodder, hay, corn, and oats
! to keep them the entire year with
out purchasing anything from of
!, the farm, which contains but eigh
ty-four acres. Six horses have ais,
! been kept on the farm from tn
same home crown Grain and fo6