Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1882-04-06
AGRICULTURAL,

filer. Trotters may be set aside. The care
and skill required In training, even when
the colt has all the advantage OF pedigree
is such as would make seri 0us threads upon
the time and patience Of all but fortunate
few. So the trotter may be set down as not
u profitable horse for the farmer to breed;
but carriage and heavy draught horses
are. Both of these kinds are scarce in all
our large cities, and the demand for them
greater than the supply; hence prices are
always remunerauve. For some years to
come no sort of farm stock will be more
profitable than these two classes OF horses.
The carriage holse requires good share Of
thoroughbred blood in HIM, else he will
show deficiency in style, SPIRIT action
and endurance, qualities that constitute the
chief value of that class. For draught
horses the native breed is entirely too
small. To remedy thus defect we must
employ the best types of imported stations.
The writer has watched with interest the
lmportations of foreign stock, as telegraph
ed over the country for the last few years,
and gives it as his judgment that the
Clydesdale has been the favorite, and rep
What seems singular the heaviest ship
ment of these horses have almost invariably
been for the Eastern or Western States,
where they seem TO he in high favor.
Rarely has a Shipment tor Ohio been re-
corded. Skipping the details of their ana
tony. appearance and peculiarities, we
can say that no breed of heavy draught
horses is more valuable on the farm, either
as pure breeds OF to improve our native
horses, and this has been a rendered YER
dict IN both the East and the West.
Is HoRsRsHoRING UsRLEss?-A recent is
sEeot Frazer 'S1HdgGzinec contains an arti-
Gle by Sir George w. Cox, In which he es-
Inmates that the English custom of horse
shoeing costs the nation as much as $44,
00O,000. which might be saved if the
horses were allowed to 60 unshod. He quotes
authorities from XenophOn, who marched
his horses from CunaXa over the Armenian
highlands to the walls of Trebizond, down
to the ''free lancers" OF the present day,
and contends that it is safer, cheaper and
better to let horses go Cnshod over the
hardest roads, and especially IN the slip.
perry streets of London. He estimates that
over twelve million dollars would be saved
in farriers' bills alone. And he calculates
further that the working life of horse
would be trebled by the change so that a
horse which is now worn out at twelve
Years would liye 10 tweny-SlX. The fig-
ures seem somewhat startling. and have
hardly been sufficiently proved to be trust
worthy. Meanwhile it is said that med
ical man IN Waterbury, Conn.,, has not put
shoes on his horses for two years, driving
them winter summer, spring and autumn
with bare feet without any trouble. The
doctors theory is that nature has provided
for the horse; that horse can travel over
all kinds of roads; that the hoof will be
moist, and that the frog coming TO the
ground keeps the hoof properly spread,
and free from founder and other diseases.
CULTURE OF ONIONS The kipds of onions
usually grown are the Red Weathers-
field and the Yellow Danvers. About u
pounds of seed are used to the acre. ANY
scotsman can supply the seed. The seed
is sown early in the spring as soon as the
soil can be prepared. The rows are made
nine inches apart. The soil is prepared
by thorough blowing and narrowing, and
should be nchlymanured with Old manure.
The labor consists chiefly in wedding, and
this is Indispensable. The cost of labor
depends upon the cleanness or weediness,
of the ground; if there are many weeds
much hand-weeding will be required, but
labor Is economlzed by keeping the weeds
from growing by frequent stirring of the
ground. This work ls usually doEe by
children, who get through the narrow rows
easily. An average yield is from 400 to
600 bushels per acre. The amount of pro-
fit depends altogether upon the skill and
experience of the grower.
FEW persons know how closely related
to the potato are many other weIl-known
plants. Botanlsts know them all as sola-
naceous plants, and under the more famil-
lar name as ''night-shades. In this class
of plants are to be found the potato, the
tomato, egg plant, pepper and tobacco
plant. Then among the poisonous plants
are the belladonna and the jimson weed;
the beautiful petunia also belongs to it. A
large portion OF the plants of this solana-
Ceous family are permeated by narcotic
principle rendering the leaves and fruit
poisonous. At the same time some afford
nutriclous food, not because free from the
narcotic principle, but because the latter is
expelled in the process of ripenlng ard
cooking, as in the case Of the potato and
tomato.
SWEET Corn FoDDER-The method of
growing sweet COIL fodder is as follows
The ground Is prepared LII the usual man
ner, the corn Is either planted by common
wheat drill through the middle and end
sprouts, all the rest being stopped, or by q
corn-planter, or by opening furrow with
light plow and dropping the seed either
three inches apart slngly, or four seeds one
foot apart in the row. The rows should
be about thirty to thirty-sx inches apart.
Evergreen sweet corn makes the best tod.
der. When the corn Is formed on The cob,
and before the blades turn, the crop is cut
IN the usual way, and when cured is put
up in the field In large shocks, bound very
firmly at the top and halfway down with
straw bands. The fodder keeps better
in this way than in stacks or in the barn,
where 1t would mold. There Will be many
ears On the stalks, bnt all is cut up to-
gether.
PREPARING PLANT BEDs.-Hot beds are
usually employed tor starting early vege
table plants, but beds in the open air an
swer as well for late kinds, AS we'll as fol
tobacco. In preparing such beds plenty
of fine, rich old manure should be used
thoroughly mixed with the surface soil
When The bed Is completed, cover the en-.
tire surface with dry straw, hay, brush, OF