Rensselaer Union, Volume 1, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 November 1868 — Agricultural. [ARTICLE]

Agricultural.

FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD. WaLXinu Hohsfa, —1 h« FannerA Homo Jon nuil makM the following jmHcioun aqggestioiis “The best gait A horse «vor had for ev-» ery-rtayuM Is a gufid' wudk. Il T* a gait that not one in ten possesses. Colts are not trained to walk ta all of the Eastern

States. Young America waute more speed. KfDtncKy nw morn ppoa wjmtuig nonjew than any other state, for there horseback traveling has Jong been ta fashion for men and women, over a country where muddy roads st times rendered any other gait imposmlile, and so horses have been bred for the saddle, end trained to a walking gait. This is also the case iu all the Western States, and perhaps njight have been sota New England, wL. nourgrandmothers rode to meeting On a pillion behind our grandfathers. But ouc-horae wagons bavo put . horaeback-ridiug out of fashion, and now a ■ good walking horse is taore rare than one 1 that cau trot a mite in 2;40. At the Springfield, Mass., horae tfhow of 1860, the writer was one of the committee to award prizes to the best walking Iwr.-u s. Olit of seveuteen entered, the committee found but one that was considered a flrst- ' rate walker. This was a Morrill mdre, which walked five miles an hour with ease. Two others w.T«|fAir walkers, and tho rest knew no gait tbtit could be called walking. At tho New York State Fair the same state loi things was agniti developed. A letter from Wisconsin says: ‘I think horses trained to walk fast would be a greater benefit to our farmers in general than fast trotters, as almost all of their work has to bo done with a walls.' I once knew a man in Massachusetts Who, before the railroads ' were built, kept from two to four teams at 1 work on the roiid. aud never allowed them to trot at all. and made she distance in ' quicker time than his neighbors, who made i their borses trot at every convenient place.' He said that when a horse comiuemfed to walk after a trot he walked much slower than his common u»it, if kept on a walk. ,_amL thereby lost more than hv gitined. Will farmers think of this, and pay more ' attention to walking horses ?”

t Bexovatisg Wobx out Soils.—“WLatris the cheapest method of bringing up exhausted Inndr" In ony climate where ! clover will flourish; this plant is uudoubt- | ealy the cheapest manure. If you can get a fiiir crop qf clover to start with, your . success is assured. -This can be done Tn many cases by sowing two bushels of plaster to the arce. If this doos not succeed, .Lone, dust, Peruvian guauo, or fish scrap;' iu moderate quantities certainly will. The clover may be turned in when a little past bloom, or be partially fed by cattle that remain ou tho field, and plowed in later.— Twp or'three crops will prepare the way for grain. Dividing Swabms.—Many people thrt have bees are not satisfied with their doing i well, but wish them to do better; and to have them do better they divide their' strong swarms up, thus making them feeble and weak, uo that they fall an easy prey to worms and robbers. Their owners ‘ learn a lesson, when too late, that they will, i not very soon forget. A heighbor of mine • hod six strong Kwarms, and thought that . lie must increase his stock, or iny bees would rob his, as 1 had some thirty swarms; and to increase his, they must be divided. So ho called to his assistance a I professor of smoke and peppermint, and j they went at it, making of those six swarms some twelve or fourteen. The upshot of the whole affair was that my bees did rob ' bis—every one but two, and those he sold to me for $2.50 per swarm To savetheii-liyig-2 and ho has never had a bee sjnoe.— F. IF. J?., in the Country Gentlenvin- - Build Sheds.—Shelter is food and shelter is health. He who would feed well : and give comfort to his stock must build I sheds to his stables. But a few days and.! winter will chill and destroy, and it is | high time for the economical and the | humane to bestir themselves for their own benefit and for that of their domestic animals. Even the rudest structures are of some account. Four posts, a few poles and a deep covering of slough grass, form a protection better than nothing, if the structure is built upon the highest and dryest ground. A board shed, made close upon one side and two ends, is far better. A good hedge, a grove of trees or a clump of evergreens, are of great value. Cattte, sheep and swine must have shelter if they are not to die of exposure aud disease, or come out ‘'spring poor.” Build sheds now aud furnish them with feeding racks and Rimer. ——— —"* Digging Tbees.—All hardy trees—except evergreens- that are to be transplanted iu the spring may be taken up now; and all broken roots aud the ends of those cut off by the spade should be pared smooth, and then healed in a dry place, covering the roots a foot or two deep. Trees taken up this full, and carefully trimmed and healed in, will be far more certain to grow next year than if the digging is delayed until spring, for the simple reason that the wounds made on the roots will commence to heal during the winter, and be ready to thrnurrmt new feetllug louts early fff tke season. Besides this, spring brings its own work, and wo are likely to delay transplanting until too late for safety. It requires time for the wounds on the roots of tree;; to heal over, and it is better to give plenty when it costs nothing additional)

English Patent Harness Blacking. — Mr. Dodson furnishes the receipt for this well-known water-proof blacking. It will keep the leather soft, and, if properly applied. gives a good polish. It is excellent for buggy-tops, harness, <tc. Old harness, if hard, may be washed in warm water,and when nearly dry’, grease it with neatstoot oil. The ingredients are three ounces of turpentine, two ounces white wax, to be dissolved over a slow fire; then add one ounce of ivory-bluck and one drachm of indigo, to be well pulverized and mixed together. When the wax and turpentine are dissolved, add the ivory-black and the indigo, and stir till cold. Apply very thin; brush afterwards, and it will give a beautiful polish. Keeping Potatoes.—lt is, perhaps, needless for us to caution our readers against •leaving their potatoes exposed to the light either out of doors or in the,collar. They’ ! will, if so exposed, soon turn green, become soggy, and almost unfit for use. They should, if possible, be kept in a dark, cool place, away from all danger, of frost in winter. We think potatoes used to keep better in times gone by, in the old dark cellars, than now, in the modern cellars, with their numerous windows. Some are in the habit of keeping their potatoes in pits in the ground, dug deep enough to be safe from the frosts. This may keep them well, but it is a troublesome plan. We have known them to be kept in the very best condition in barrels, mid covered with sand.

Clear Apple Jelly.—Pare and cut up ■five dozen large, juicy,, acid apples; put 'them In a pan with us much water as will cover them, boil gently until soft, let them cool, than strain them through a jelly bag; put thtrjuice in your preserving pan, and to each pint of juice put one pound of fine sugar, and the peel of two lemons; then boil it until it is reduced to the stiffness of calve’s foot jelly; skim it well; add the juice of a lemon. Queen of Puddings.—One pint of bread crumbs, one quart sweet milk, four eggs, a lump of butter the size of a hickory nut. .When the pudding is nearly done, spread a layer of any kind of stewed fruit over the top of it, and on the top of that, spread the whites of three eggs, beaten to a froth, with three tablespooufuls of white sugar. Set it in the oven again, to stiffen the froth. Eat with cream and sugar.

, Goon Hams.—After hams have been smoked, take them down and thoroughly rub the flesh part with molasses, then immediately apply ground or powdered pepper, by sprinkling on as much as will stick to the molasses, when they must be hung up again to dry. Hams treated in this manner will keep perfectly sweet for two .or throe years. This must be done before the fly deposits Its egg, for after that is done, nothiiig will stop their ravages. * , 1 ■ ' . ‘ *■ '■ •