Rensselaer Union, Volume 1, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 December 1868 — Agricultural. [ARTICLE]

Agricultural.

FARM, HARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD. Ta vino Cattlh Ya»dh-However excellent our blaek prairie noil may be for producing crop*, it. ia certain that it ia a very poor material for cattle yorda. Jt jß,noft,' porona and yielding, The rain that falls upon it BaiurateH it with water like a sponge. The feet of tho poor animals tramp iuta tliia their own offal, while their urine is added to the ulrertdy miry muss. Tbtit feet are constantly wet, and the cold sn received extends to their whole bodies. No hnman being can be comfortable with cnntiniiftl.wnt fiat, nor is it possible long to remain in a perfect atatc of health under inch circumstances; and tho same is true, though not perhaps to the same, e^tilit, with cattle. , A few years ago it was found that the horses on the Ni.w York city liotso-rail-ronds suffered greatly from pneumonia, lung complaints, rheumatism, and diseases of the hoof. An inquiry into the matter brought out the fact that their feet were in water for a considerable portion of th<r tinii. they ‘•Swe’yiu the road. This water , was in some Macs produced by melting snow by means of salt; it being found cheaper "to remove the snow from the track in this manner than by the use of the shov 1. A similar course produces much sickness amitrig farm stock; and there can be no donbt that one greet reason yhy so many cattle get through the winter badly, is owing to the l*et that they are rendered veiy uncomfortable from having no suitable ’ place on which to sumd in tho yard, It requires much more food to keep stock in even tolerable condition, in sack a vaxd. than would be required to keep thorn in good order in a suitable yard. It is believed that there would bo enough saved in hay aud grain in two years, in tho majority of cases, to thoroughly jiave a yard, and to put it in a condition to last a life time. We are well aware that there is a great scarci tv of paving material in most parts of the Weal; still, there arc few places where some substance suitable for the purpose cannot be obtained. t Flat stones laid on a smooth and somewhat elevated surfiice, will answer the purpose nicely. Bricks laid in mortar are also good. A plank flooring in many localities is not expensive, and is only open to the objection of bftjng slippery in wet weather. - Any of tlusie surfaces can be easily cleaned off, and cattle can stand ou them with comfort to themselves ,aud profit to Akeir owners. It.jjj.BULnecessary thattho entire "yard"be so covered, but there should bo Sidlicient standing room to accommodate, all the stock. There would be an advantage in having t\V>-or more places in the yard so covered that young cuttle driven from one place can take reluge on the other. It would ba well to have snch a flooring under one of the open sheds which should bo in every yard, and one. where it would be exposed to the constant sunshine. . Doubtless the Nicolson pavement would bo tho very best covering for farm yards; but as it is expeusive, and patented withal, it is perhaps not practical to nite it. If laid, it will be best to iirrange it so as to form aii undulating surface, like several, street tracks placed side by side. This would afford good drainage; aud it* is found that cuttle prefer such :i surface to Ole which is on a level. Piairie Parmer. Culttoe of Flowkbs. —“S. W.” writes to the N. Y r . Timi s toiiehing the cnltnie of flowers, thus: “I read con amore. yonr essay on floriculture. David Thom is used to say that it pained him to look upon house plants struggling for dear life against their wouldbe friends. It once did me good to hear him dilate on the matchless beauty of the great pond-lilly,' only to be found in full perfection when grown up from vegetable remains in stagnant water. He looked •upon it as one of Nature’s fairest and purest floral perfections, that no artificial culture could hope to attain. How often do we see house plants languishing in pots, stuck out in Irout of an ambitious mansion as • a ‘rare show,’ wheu they look worse to the true lover of Flora than did tho standing flower that struggled so hard to live in Picoli’s prison yard. AVe have a gorgeous bed of verbenas in variegated bloom when everything else is ‘sere mid yellow,'in our never-ending drought. Leaf mould, such as we get from the great deciduous leaf deposit in our northern swamps, is indispensable to the perfect bloom of flowers. Our calcareous clay is rich in coloring matter, particularly iron in. a peroxide state, but I take it that do flower in a pot can put on the fine fresh tints that it acquires in the well-treated-berder. An ngapablhus makes a fine show in full bloom in a large pot, at a distance; but it will nos boar close examination, and no wonder, as the sides of the largest pot will be found matted on the inside with tlie-fine roots of the plant, struggling for more earth.” i. . V

To make Sausage.—A good sausage grinder is almost as essential to a well ordered kitchen as a coffee mill. Tho propoi tion of tot meat to lean will depend ’ "somewhat ou the taste of different people, but there should iii all cases, be a sufficient amount of fat in them to supply what is needed iu cooking. If the pork you design for sausage contains too little lean, you i can supply tho dettcioncy by adding beef, which is less expensive, aud which forms with the jiork a mixture whicli is preferred by many to pork uloue. The most difficult part of sausage making is the seasoning. Many housewives have no rule about it, but add some salt, and pepper, aud sage; cook a sample; find it not seasoned highly enough, and try it over again; finally, from too little seasoning, the maker manages to get in too much, for having tasted for some time the substances used, theirflavor is not so distinct as at first. An excellent proportion is to add to 100 pounds Of chopped meat, tvxj and a half pounds of salt, ten ounces of black pepper, and eight ounces of well : dried sage leaves. It is preferable to buy : the whole pepper corns, and to grind them i at home, as ground pepper is often aduli terated, and always loses its strength after being ground. Sage also often deteriorates by exposure to the air and moisture; but if it is in good condition, the above proportion will be most acceptable to the majority of tastes. | It is true that there are some persons who prefer other herbs besides sage, such as summer savory and thyme, and there are a few who relish spices of various kinds; but where sausages are to be made to suit the tastes of several persons, we must be careful not to add any substapco that will offend the taste of any one. All the ingredients should be thoroughly mixed together, stuffed in skins or bags made of cotton cloth, or placed in shallow earthern dishes. Their flavor is better after they have been made some days, than it is immediately after they are made. An Item for Tree Gbowebs. —Charles Downing says he witnessed a remarkable change produced on the body of a pear tree by means of wrapping it in straw. The tree was a Brown Beurre, grafted about 7 feet high, upon a stock which for years had not grown as rapidly as a graft usually does, and presented a decMed bulge or swelling at the junction of the graft. This smaller portion was incased in straw about two inches thick, and at the end of two seasons it was found on removing the straw that the heretofore smaller stem had become the full size of the graft above, presenting but slight indication of the .past union between graft. This ia an item of interest, and many treegrowers who have .frees with contracted stems, evidence of some natural leant of affinity with the graft, may find it a hiht for practical use. We have ourselves practiced wrapping jho stem of Morello cherries when worked at a height of two ‘or three feet, with the free growing or sweet varieties, with moss, and thus kept them swelling regularly with the growth ot the graft for yeafs, says a grower. Soston Cultivator ,: -.-The Saxonv flouring mill q: Leonhard At Scheuncht, ouLombard street, St. Louis,was partiallv destroyed Ire fire on the 24th. ' Loss, V 7,000; insured, 410,000.