The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-10-14
AGRICULTURE.

farmers Of any pretensions in Chester
county, PU., but have an iCe-hOuSe, and,
with few EXCEPTIONS, they are pits dug
in the earth OIL some knoll for tho sake
Of the natural drainage afforded by the
more porous nature Of The ground on
elevations. Their capacity ranges from
twelve to thirty-six two-horse loads,
consumer. Building above ground,
except for storing large quantities, fails
to give satisfaction owing to the ditli-
Guilty of excluding air from the Ice
around the sides, which is the chief
cause OF ice not keeping. AS an exam
pie, an ice-pit we made some years ago
will answer as we'll rs any. a square
chamber, dug in q sandy subsoil, and
walled with II fifteen inch wall, well
mortarcd for six or eight inches, thick
next to the ice, ten feet square at the
bottom, ,-cleycn feet at the top and ten
feet deep. On the wall six inch hcwn
joice were laid, and OH these Il floor,
with trap door on one side to admit the
ice. On this q room, boarded
and shinglcd, serves for churning with
II power ohurn; but usually Il frame is
laid on the wall, raftcrs put up with
sharp pitch, u board roof nailed on,
ends boarded up, leaving a door TO slide
the ice through, and the job is done.
In GUS pit we left the space at two
stiles, between the floor and wall, open
to admit air to carry of mi isture from
the melting ice, it mattcring little about
air passing over the surface of ice, so it
is kept from the sides. The work of
digging, walling and building the
house was done by farm laborers dur
Ing lull In the press Of other work,
and is a good substantial job, We fill
|; H. l, ri
to fourteen threc-hOrse loads Of ice,
hauled from a mill pond onc-third of Il
mile distant, the ice thrown in with
little care for arrangement, except to
level 1t every two or three loads. Gov
CT with oat-straw well packed down,
and we never fail to have Il suillcicncy
Of Ice, till late in October, for all pur-
poses about the house and dairy.
MILK RApIDLY.--'rhc faster and more
gentle Il COW is MIXED, the greater will
be the amount given. Slow mixers
always gradually dry up cow, and for
the reason that If the milk be not
drawn about as fast rs 1t is given down
it will subsequently be withheld, and
that withheld, is, rs q matter Of course,
what is known ne the strippings, in
fact, the upper surface of milk IN the
| uddcr. Many mixers draw the milk
with strong downward pull. in fac:,
| with jerk. This should never be al
lowed; it irritates the COW, and often
Injuries The bag. Fill the tcat and with
finn pressure Of the last three fingers
empty it; drawing slightly on the teat
and uddcr at the same time, soprocced
alternately with each hand until the
milk supply is exhausted. Many milk
crs get the habit of slow milking be-
cause steady, firm, quick milking tires
the fingers and wrists. until by practice
tho muscles get used to the work. Un-
til this use comes Eaturally the indivi-
dual should only milk such number rs
they can without severe crnmping of
the hands; what are MIXED fast, i'll
crcasing the number until at last there
is no firing whatever. Five minutes is
about the limit that should be allowed
for milking 4 COW. There is another
thing we'll worthy Of being remembers
ed. Cows should be MIXED as nearly
ut given hour morning and evening
as possible, since undue distcnllon Of
the uddcr Is always Injurious.
MEADOWS THAT lIAvE BEEN RUN
DowN.-Meadows that have been run
| down, become s0d-hOund or covered
with moss, SOrrcl or other weeds, may
be renovated without plowing. The
old sod needs to be disturbed but n
| thorough narrowing or chOpping Of
the surface with disk harrow will
disturb It sufficiently without blowing.
| Fresh seed is needed, and Il dressing of
lime may in many eases be all that is re-
| quircd In the way Of Il fertilizer. Ifit
can be afforded, Il moderate quantity OF
| fine manure used as atop.drcssing, and
J narrowed in uSt before sowing, will be
| ,,f h, l,,
done ut any time before September. 40
that the grass and clover, the latter
more particularly, should be well set
before severe frosts occur. Orchard
grass will thrive upon soils that arc
not rich enough for timothy, but il is
better to have the ground good enough
for the latter, even il tho former Is to
he sown. Grass is crop for which the
soil cannot be too rich, for If the growth
Is excessive It can be cut at any time
and made into hay or fed green.
HARDNESS OF THE QU1NcE.-A cor
respondent to test the comparative hnr-
dincss Of the peach and the ounce,
planted them side by side some years
ago, since which the ounce has rcceiv-
cd no harm from winter frOSts, while
the shoots of the peach have been fro
zen back nearly 20 tho trunk every win
tor. The winter killing Of the peach
the writer unintentionally explains
himself. The tree makes from three to
seven feet of growth each year, aud it
evidently stands in very rich soil, and
probably In low situation, where the
frost settles. A late succulcnt growth
Of seven feet cannot be expected to cn-
dure the intense cold weather, and we
mcLtion this matter merely to show
how oasy 1t is TO draw erroneous con-
clusions when all the circumstances are
not taken into account. The ounce
will bear different soil from the beach.
TIE necessary steps tcwnrd an i'm
proved hllsbandry are: 70 cultivate
less land. 10 make that which is cul.
tivated rich in plant-tood, so that it
may produce large crops. The practice
of rigid system of rotation of crops.
and mixed farming. The cultivation