The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1888-09-13
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers
"wooL TASTE" IN MUTTON.

WOOL TASTE = IN MUTTON.
Those who partazc of mutton know full we'll
that there is frequently very strong taste
that has been dqnominated wool taste"
This has been attributed to the contact of the
wool of the fleece with the flesh of the animal
during the process of removing the skin from
the slaughtered animal. The fact that mutton
is considered a very heathful food, and which
is sought for when the flavor is not affected in
a distasteful manner by any means is a suli
Cient reason for the exercise of proper care in
Strengthening. Hon. Cassius NJ Clay who is
considered a good authority upon the question,
states that the taste does not come from the WOOL
but from the infusion of the secretons of the
intestines into the circulation" by which the
flesh is tainted It's claimed that in life the linz
ngstrata of the intestines prevents the offensive
entrance of the excreta into the capillary tubes
of the absorbing surface. But as soon as the
vital powers cease this capacity for resistance
ceases, and the impure seCTetions are infused
into the circulation. Therefore" says Mr..
Clay it is best to starve the sheep for "a hours
before killing, giving water plentifully." At
the time of killing, as soon as sensibiity is lost
by a speedy removal of the blood, the skin
should be taken partly from the hind quarters
and the animal hung up, the skinning speedily
completed, and the entrails removed as quickly
as possible. The gesh is then perfectly sweet,
and no "wool taste" is perceptibe. Those
farmers who raise their own mutton and do
their own butchering will do we'll to heed the
suggestions of Mr.. Clay Germantown Telegraph
CORN FOR ENsILAGE.
Much labor may be saved by allowing corn
ensilage to lie in the gayel in the field where
it grew until partially dried. To make the
economy greater the gaveIs may be turned
over and the stalks deprived of half their
weight by drying. Cornstalks half dried still
contain more than sufficient moisture to cause
fermentation and complete collapse of the fiber
and settlement into a solid mass | have for sew
eral years past cut the partiaily-dried stalks,
from which ripened corn has been husked in
the field. into the same pits with greener en-
silage, with advantage to both kinds from mix
ing. | am convinced that corn enslage is not
injured, but on the contrary is materially i'm
proved by partial drying in the field before
cutting into the pits. Drying the stalks par
TALLY in the field before drawing will econo-
mize labor and make much better ensiage than
to ferment after drawing and after cutting.
NOTES.
According to the Department of Agricul-
lures reports, Fultz is the most popular Winter
wheat grown, occupying something like one
third of the area sOwn.
1t is said that horseshoe nailed on the
forward feet of COW or steer will prevent
jumping fences as the feet cannot spread
hence the animal cannot spring
- The hardest work Of farming is to keep
down weeds and grass. Much Of this labor
could be saved if fighting the weeds should be
continued until the appearance of frost, instead
of giving up the land to them as soon as the
crops are off.
Recently noticed that one of my most valu-
able young apple trees was infested with borers.
Examination proved the difficulty of removal
with a knife, as the pests were at work deep in
the body of the tree. requested a boy present
to get some salt and rub in the holes, and was
rewarded by the basty appearance of four of
the intruders, which were destroyed. Suisse
quent careful search failed to discover more of
the borers in the tree
A sloppy, wet floor in a henhouse is an
abomination, and invariably brings on cramp
colds aud roup. 1t may be too late now to raise
your floor if it is Of that description, but you
can put boards in and cover them with litter.
In the Blue Grass region Of Kentucky
there are no less than 100 fnely-improved
farms devoted to the breeding and rearing of
thoroughbreds and trotters. The farms are
within radius Of 80 miles of Lexington.
The small Melted cantaloupe5 are usually
the best favored. They also come early. The
Montreal nutmeg aud Hackensack ere desir-
able large kinds, and Che Casaba "a long melon)
is an excellent variety of family use.
When hens have sweled eyes, it is usually
one eye and seldom both The reason is that
when a hen is on the roost there is a draught
of air on her head, and directed principally to
the side on which the eye is swollen. All that
can be done is to make a close search for the
opening through which comes the draught. 1t
may be only crack or a crevice perhaps no
larger than a pin-hOle, but it will be enough
to Kill the hen if she rOosts in the same place
every night. Look to the ventilation also, es-
peciaily If at the top, as a current may come in
strike board, and be directed to one side of
the head Of the hen. Swelled heads and sore
eyes nearly always come from draughts.
There should be supply of red peppers
kept during the Winter to be fed to poultry
with their regular food.
With 10 or 10 hens one rooster, with six
ducks one drake and with 20 hen turkeys one
gobbler, IS said to be the proper division.
Eggs packed in salt, 50 that they may not
touch each other, layer of salt and then a
layer Of eggs, with small end down, and put in
cool place, will keep six months or more.
The heaviest OK ever raised iRsthe United
States was owned by Mr.. Sanderson, of Palmer,
Mass, in 1863. The OK was raised on his own
farm and weighed 1860 pounds on the hoof and
2,476pounds dressed Mr.. Day, of Northampton
Mass, raised the heaviest pair of steers known
When killed and dressed Feb %, 1864, the
pair weighed 4, 493 pounds.
"A Western farmer found that his corn crop
cost him too much for profit, the principal ex-
pense being the cutting, which was done by
hand. lie therefore decided to try new way
He picked the stones, rolled tho ground and
sowed the corn broadcast, then cut it with a
mower. He began the work with some mis-
giyings, but found stalks one and half inches
thick were cut through readily.
The old serpentine ridges, which are COM
mon through the whole of Scotland, are said
to have arisen from following the paths of the
cattle, which, left to themselves, naturally pro-
coed in curved line. The sloVenliness and
unskillfulness of the plowmen and the bad
construction Of their ploWs may also in some
measure account for the crooked ridges. Full
century ago it required four horses and three
men to manage pillow in the Highlands-one
person to hold it, another to lead the horses,
who walked backwards, looking and guiding
the course Of the plow, and third with a spade
to turn over any turf that was left by the plow.
The four horses were yoked abreast, and the
same system prevailed in other parts of Scot
land about 100 years ealier.-FaTBIing World
The ''Neck Verse;"
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: I saw the ex-
preston the neck verse" in "a book l was
reading the other day. Can Won tell me what