She tfrnfrt $1 mortal. II KLli K FONTE, 1' A. iVaBICt7IjTXJE,ii.L. NKWS, FACTS ANII BWKJKBTIONB. Hl* TUT F THE H ATIUHAL WELFARE In THE IHTELU UERCR AND FEOEI'EEITT OF THE FARMER. Every fanner in AIR annual experience itinearer* something of value. Write it anil send it to the "Agricultural Editor of the Dkmochat, Hellefonte, I'enn'n," that other farmer* may have the bene fit of it. Let communication* be timely, and be sure that they are brief and well /Hiinted. Tiik Farmer's Friend , of last week, is kind enough to sj>eak encouraging ly of our fair, anil call the special attention of the 0 rangers, of which society it is the organ in this State, to it. WHIN the potato tops die the potatoes are ripe and should lie dug at once. The fall rains will soon set in, and when the ground is damp the labor of digging is greatly increased, as the wet soil adheres closely to the tubers. Kvery farmer knows this, but many may not think of it in time. An additional reason for early dig ging is that leaving potatoes in the damp soil after they have matured is more conducive to rot than any other one thing. THE "latest thing" in patents which has come under our observation is that of an Illinois nurseryman who claims to have patented a new variety of cherries, and advertises his trees at fifty cents each. We don't want any. Next thing we'd know, some other specimen of the tree agent tribe would come along and prosecute us for an "infringement." Patent cl*r ries, indeed! Now let some other lout take out a patent on air, and then tramp around among the farin jfcjLsclling "royalties" for breathing second the groum^H^HH^^H^^^H and ears both opoQHHH|^^^HH At this writing, September weather continues cold and dry, very similar to that of last "seeding time," ' and in all resects unfavorable to the germination of the thousands of bush- j els of wheat which Centre county farmers have committed to the care j ol Mother Karth. The ground is excessively dry, and the prospects for a good stand of wheat are by no means encouraging. However, croak ing does no good. "All's well that ends well," and we have the promise that he who sows "shall surely reap." Head "Never Despair" in another column. HEADERS of the DEMOCRAT arc aware that it has been a constant and earnest advocate of the doctrine that "like begets like," and lias, therefore, nlways urged the great importance of pure, clean, well-selected seed of nil kinds. Last week we were called upon to show our "faith by our works" in the matter of a bushel of choice seed wheat, of a new nnd very promising variety, which hail, through carelessness, become badly fouled with cockle. Calling to our aid the ladies and children of the household, and even a "stranger" or two who happened to be "within our gates," we spent an evening in hand-picking it, and hail the satisfaction of sowing . at least one bushel of seed as free from cockle as though no such pestif erous weed existed. This matter of good, pure, clean seed is of para mount importance to every farmer, and just now is a good time to think of seed corn for next year's planting, it is a good plan to grow our seed corn on a special lot, and with special care, but as this has not been done, the liest thing now to do is to care fully select the bent ears, from the liest stalks in the. field, and give them such care as will secure their thor ough drying, that the germ may not be frozen during the severe weather. Select hall' a dozen upecially good cars—the. topmost ones ftoiu stalks Inuring two ears—and next spring plant the corn from these in the rich est corner of your (lcld; give it u little extra manure, and a good deal of extra care—keeping it perfectly clean of weeds—and grow but two stalks to tliu hill, with hills at least four feet apart, and from this take your seed for the following year, reserving the hnlf-dozen best ears for a similar experiment. Continue this for five years, and our word for it, you will have the whole neighborhood running to you for "some of that Hplcndid seed corn of yours," and willing to pay you double price for it. Mn. F. A. DUDLEY, of the Michigan Agricultural College, in a letter to the Ilurnl New Yorker, on the subject of subsoiling, commends the practice highly, and suggests the latter part of summer and fall as the liest lime for doing it. "Where the ground is dry, it will do much better work than in the spring, and the effect will lie more lasting." Mr. (iulley's chief trouble seems to be in getting a plow that does its work well, and wears well. We have experienced this same diffi culty, and finally overcame it, by casting aside all so-called subsoiiers, and adopting for this purpose the ditching plow described and illustrat ed on page 138 of Thomas' "Farm Implements and Machinery," and manufactured by K. 11. Allen V <'o., of New York. This makes the last subsoilcr wi-lhavecvcr seen: does its work cffcctuWy, is of light draft— taking into the amount of work done—wears well, and is very convenient to work with. WITH the close of "seeding" we are apt to consider the heavy "fall work" as done, ami put away the plows and harrows for next year's work. It is well to cWnsider whether we cannot do some of next spring's work now, Fall plowing for spring N o* g and planting, is rapidly grow *> * - jr# Mavor, and the experience of proves the wisdom of Not the least of its is that it puts the spring much further ahead, same amount of work in the cool fall days, and men are in good and practice, much the spring, after idleness. The the greater the ticncfH^ from course with wpiol effect to < Vt " Hi k cannot fail, undoM^^Mr'" ,M,tn,, ciJfc, to be benefited by it/jBI r - v ,r i proportion of the plow county would be improver! fallow. . "Tiy; FENCE QUESTION," in all its forms and nil its bearings, is more thoroughly discussed and agitated than perhaps any other pertaining to the farm. We presume no Rnc will contrndict the statement that fences, at their very best, arc one of the most grievous evils which afflict the farm ing community, but all will admit that the evil, in some form, and to some extent, is necessary, and must be borne. To mitigate this evil, by reducing the cost and increasing the permanency of fencing material, is an object which has occupied the thoughts and attention of some of our first inventors, and its attainment is worthy the best efforts of our liest thinkers. Stops arc constantly being made in this direction, amt successes of greater or less degree nrc crowning the efforts of inventors. Our atten tion has very recently lieen called to a new fenco post or standard, which in our estimation, promises to go a great way toward the solution of the rpiestion"Wherewithal shall we fence our farms?" The immature condi tion of business arrangements con nected with its manufacture njll pre vent us from giving n detailed de scription of it now, but in the near future we hope to be able to s|>eak of it as an accomplished fact, and suc cessful business enterprise. It is sufficient for the present to say that the post is coOstructed wholly of iron, treated in such away as to secure the maximum degree of strength and durability at the minimum coat of labor and material; that it can IK; used with equal facility lor either permanent or portable fence, and that it is perfectly adapted to the use of either wire or wooden rails. 4n brief, after the careful examination of this new post which we have been privi leged to tuake, we think the iuventor may safely cjry "Eureka," and lielievc that an entire revolution in fencing and fences will soon he inaugurated, which will prove an immense relief to the burden which farmers and ail land-owners are now compelled to hear. As A general rule it is better to avoid pasturing meadows, after tlif growth has ceased for the season. Hut there are exceptions to this rule, there being some cases in which we would pasture as closely as possible. Where the soil is rich, and the after math heavy, there may he a mass of dried dead stuff in the bottom next year, which will interfere much witli, the mowing, unless it is pastured down now. In this ease we would pasture the meadow closely, and give some tO|Mlressing, if necessary, tak ing care to spread the dtoppings of the stock evenly. Again, strong hut t'tin clover and grass meadows will be benefited by close pasturing, by which the stubble will he eaten off, the coarse growth rendered finer and closer, and the yield of next season be improved in quality. A moderate top-dressing of the manure w ill he of more value than all the stubby after math. Soiling Cattle. This means nothing more nor less than carrying the green feed of sum mer to the cattle in the barn or shed, instead of driving the cattle to the feed in the field. That this w ill ulti mately Income the practice of all good farmers we firmly believe. The advantages of the system arc thus presented by the Connecticut farmer: There i* no doubt but the system of soiling rattle ought to be practiced on many of our farm*, and could be done t i immense advantage, 'l ake an ordin ary farm of *av one hundred acre*, which keep* filteeti to twenty head of cow*, it by more thorough cultivation, and soiling, the Mine number could b* kept on fifty acre*, with the increase in tho quantity of manure that would come from that system when properly managed, would not the profit be double what it i* now? And then by constant enrichment, if that fifty acre farm could Im* divided again and twenty five be made to keep the same amount id stock that the one hundred formerly did, it is easy to see what a vast increase there would be in the actual profit. It iatrue that on some of our rough, rocky farms, that exist in portions of the State, the old pasture may still be worth more as a pasture than for any other purpose, even though they do have the sheep's noses to grind; but wo know of pas ture* that are a* smooth and free from stone, as any portion of the farm, nnd the land a* capable of producing any kind of crop. I* it not nn actual, and u*eles* waste to give these acres up to the range of stock year after year? The urine is all wasted, and the more solid portion* of the manure almost e pially so. And there are portion* of the summer at least when the cow* will gt but a scan ty subsistence, and the flow of milk will t*> reduced to almost nothing, lly a judiciou* system of soiling, those pas ture* could lie made to produce twice the amount, or more of feed, in a season that they now do, and of a quality which for milk production is no doubt double in value. Rye, clover, oat*, peas, Hungarian, sorghum and corn, may fol low in succession, all through the sea son. If cool open shed* are provided w# think the cows are as well off, and oa contented as if they had the range of the pasture all the while. They should have nn opjortunity to exercise in an open lot or yard occasionally. Hut it ia the nature of cows, when they have eaten n sufficient quantity to satisfy themselves, to remain quiet and chew the cud. Why could not thia be done in open shed* a* well as under the tree* of the pasture? Give a roomy stall with plenty to eat, and good water to drink, and the cow is in perfect contentment. We believe the milk would be better than when the cow's blood is heated by constant (ceding in the sun, and by be ing driven home from |>asture, and not always in the gentlest way. The argument* in favor of soiling may be briefly summed up ss follows ; More than double the amount of #t~ck on the same number of acres, or half the num ber of acres for the same amount of stock, less expense in fencing pastures, more than double tbe quantity of ma nure, and a large increase in the average flow of milk tfirough the season, flood cow* will pay only as they are well kept. And we believe ex|ierimenta will prove that soiling is the system of the present as well as future agriculture. Flow up two or three or more acre* of the pasture lot this fall and enrich a part of it with some kind of fertilizer tor a crop of rye next spring, on anoth er part put oats, double the quantity of seed that you would put fur harvesting the same, and on the remainder corn for balder. Try the plan of toiling care fully at first, and we think it wul not be abandoned, but increased to a large extent, and that experiment will fully demonstrate that the same number of animal* may be maintained by soiling, in equally good or belter condition, on leas than half the quantity of land that is required to *up|iort them in pasture. NEVEE DESPAIR, OMirallr II- rM. J liiin would iuqirus* on Tho wory 1411 < I nad Tlo) truth* of a lesson In rnoiH|ihor clad. Still in life'* Journey tho Ifritvest, otato crop fiom seven and a half acres of land takes away the need constituents of four wheat crop*, le --sides aiiout 600 |iound of potash. The average turnip produce of- the aatne area removes the seed constituent* of fous wheat cro|i* and about I,INN) pound* of potash. Nmilarly also grapes, clov er, pods, tieans, lucerne, and nearly all leguminous vegetables remove potash in immense quantities. Hi* evident that in such casi-s potash i* the mater ial which the land most requires to pro duce a new crop. To buy |>otash and add it to the soil would !>e expensive; true, it may he procured in combination with other substance* in varioua fertil izers, but there i* a much simpler source for it. nnd that source is the ash heaf, which otherwise the soap man pur chase*. Professor Storer, whose recent paper on the fertilizing properties of wood ahe we find in the /lu/ffli* of the Rua *ey Institution, give# the latest informa tion on the value of this most useful material, lie saya that the analysia of thirteen samples of house ashes show* a range of from 6 to 10.8 per cent, of potash, and from 0.4 to 4.6 per cent, of phosphoric acid. The lowest per cent ages of potash. 6 to 6.5, were from ash es of a mixture of maple, oak, and white pine wood, collected by a soap boiler in a country village. The highest percentages, 10 to 10.8, were in asbe* of mixed beech, birch and maple in one case, and in those of pitch pine in the other. Kight of the sample* ranged, a* to potash, from 7.4 to 9.5, the average of them, as well as that of all the thir teen samples, being about 8J per cent. This, it must be borne in mind, ia tbe proportion of the chemist's potash and corresponds to about 10J per cent, of the potash of commerce. Ihe material is a useful dressing for the ground about orchard trees, as it not only improves the soil, hut prevents in considerable degree the inroads of insects in the roots and bark. It only remains for us to show that there i* not merely a loss to the land affected, but that a direct expenditure of money is the result of using ashes in a manner otherwise than we have pointed out. In order to thrive, the farmer muat keep his land in producing condition, and, as we have already re marked, to soils which require potash, potash must be returned. Potash ia worth about six cents a pound, and idiosphorio acid is sold in the New York markets for about 12} oenU for the same quantity. A bairel of wood a*hes is bought by the soap maker for say twenty-two cents, and it weighs 125 pounds. These ashes contain on an average, as we have already shown, 8 Cr rent., or 10 pounds of potash, and i >ie* include two per oent., or two and a half pounds of phosphoric acid.l H i/mm, Mrt'arUme ***• much of the excellence of the thorough bred sire, and the female* of these half blood* again, bred to a thoroughbred sire, will produce animal*, for all prac tical purposes except that of procreation, quite equal to the average thoroughbred. The same is true of sheep, swine, poul try, and, in fart, of all kinds of farm stock. Ily procuring thoroughbred male* of the purest lineage, and of great individual merit, and carefully selecting the lost of the female produce for breeders, using thoroughbred male* only, for three or four generation*, the farmer may engraft effectually all the excellence of the thoroughbred atock upon his flock* and herd*. In these time* of low price# and active competition, the man who ba the best stock, and who practice* the most economical method* of feeding if the man who will make the money, while all other# will find the balance on tbe wrong side of the ledger. And while on this subject, it may not be out of place to direct attention to the fact that good care and liberal feed ing cut quite a figure in the economy of stock raising. The very best breed will not show any marked suteriorily over native atock if left entirely to shifl for itself in the hand* ot the average farm er, but the improver! breeds do furnish the means by which more pound# of beet, or milk, or butter, or wool, or muttin, or pork, or lard, and of a better quality, can be produced from a given quantity of food, than from unimproved stock. Labor and Capital Make Land Profitable. Tmm tW Connwtirhl F*rtnv, One great reason that many farm er# are loth to try the exjieriment of (toiling is the extra amount of labor that it will bring. Hut they should remember that it is labor, and that only, that makes the farm pay at all. What If it does take an extra hand ? Land, indeed, is only valuable ss it affords an opportunity to apply la bor. Without lalor and capital land will yield no profit; and just in proportion as labor and capital are judiciously expended upon it, can land be made to pay. Onr of the plainest indications of unsuccessful farming is to ace ma nure going to waste or unemployed. When this is seen there is no need of looking beyond the stable and yards to find out the condition of the farm, or to judge of the success of its own er. Wr think a little management would enable many of our farmers to decrease their fences fkalljr twenty per cent. Hkllkfonte a- know shoe —TluieTl'4* lit .flirt ob au4 *fl' r lirr. 7.'Vl A.M., km i <-■ lo llall.f.,nte 8.20 A. M 1., a?.-. 11. Ilrfobt* 10.30 A. arrln-. at Huuv Mm# 11.'.7 a. B. I..aw Mauw Kline 242 p. a arrl tr# in ki-ll.fnbtn 4 12 r B. Uain li.ll.funt. A,!,'. t u arrl.r* al Know Kbue 8.127 p, M- IMNIKL KIIOAU6, OA LI) EAGLE VALLEY KAIL ' " KOAll.—3l, IfcTT K*j Ma,l liirt/ilii. Kip. Mail. 5 * ' " J * aw. i '•* c Arrito* at !>**• 7 0* h :> 4 /> ft !> .. 7 15 H 3 4 f ' X\ 4 Vail ... ?| V a i2 ' r ' *• lla!. J fog!* M ... 7£i h4? I '*•* ** ni " llantiah 44 ... 7 '.A V (jj ' Jj * I* Jo ;yj JV" 4 'I " ll' war.] M _y<* J< 1 4-, i i ! if? M m -tmio '.i ?J? ! M M BwM'rffiffik - ... vJ2 Iti .'.7 534 4 O.i " MiJ Hall 44 ... y3411 Jo JJf 4 J? " X~* •*-* 44 k IJjiuii u ... 942 11 la I >ENXK YL V A NIA RAILROAD. WKATWAKH. KRIK Mill, kiii, hillaiiliAi. ]j V> p m " llarf 1.1.11 Ig 42Ua 10 W illiaio.j.ol . .V. a 10 " U-k Ha.mi b 4,'a in JUI. r lb arrliM .1 Erl. ; jinn NIAGARA f.\ I'll k*K Int. ri.tla4.tjji l. 7 ;•>, . llamaliuig lb fau ain M i!li*ni.|..t 2 tin j. in an nul l(i'ii<-10 .. 4 4-. ~ b , Paaa.nr.ra by ll.i. train „,.* it. h.ll. * bint. at 4 .u . m KAfl MM iK.a l'liliai|.j|.lija )| i. . llaili.latrji J SI M llliainu. 'tt m 7 >j j, i,i " "I'm at tan k llan-n tin|> m EAfTWARII, PlClil' Cli'lllKi lia.M In J Hum A 40 a in " Hllliiatjuiit.. 7 . IM arriiM at llarri.t.iite 11 u a in " I't.ilati Ij.l.ia A 41 |. in JlAl Rll'liEf? lam. ilrnciTo m ]r, . j,, •• I>-A llatMi ... 11 311 ain " WHltatn.jn.it......... JJ 4oan " ain tm at Ilarrtatnir 4jo ~, " iliilad. Ij l.ia 730j, m KRIK MAIL Irain. JUnot.,.. . . v ( Innk Ilani, 4f. j, m " A'iiUaina|a.rt 11 (Ja m " arritM at llattlaliat j 2 4!t ain " l*tiila4i-!t.lita„.„_.._... t linn 'Alt LIM laataa tt,i Ijl ............ jj jj a [{| " airtiaa at llauiatmia. iUan " f*kiHa4i IjJita 7Sta la Kttr Mail Walt, Niagara tijina Wat, Uk Hat an Am otn floatation it mi ami 101 Elji m Kait mat a float ' 'iinacAioniat Norttimiito-iinnil ailfa LAB. k. K train* for W iJlnatiafTa ami N ranton F.ila Mail W.t, Niagara |l|m*a Wial, ati 4 Rnn Kai-ma* Swt arid la a a llati-a Afaaanaiiaiatinn Mint, mak* fl< ronnrrtinii at M'il|iamatitl situ N. C. K. W. tiauif o -rtk k't" Mail U mt, Niagara lt|*iM Wmt, an 4 JtaT j:>|,ria* Ka*t mik* cl.r noun**lion at LA llama M .th H 7. t K II train* Kr! Mail lu.t and Hot oonnmt at Kti with train# on I. a A M. S k. k at Oorrj ailh O C. A A V K N . at Kmpnrinln villi II N V A P K k an I al r>rtno4 vilh A V k K Patlfir f-ai* VIII ran ltv*i I'tiilmMtliia ami M'illiam*i-.rt OB Niagara K|n.v* * .t krtf I>, >m *~t. Pkila4rl t .l,ia kaprva* Kait ami l*aj k>|grva lAt, and fiin.U; kijnv Km Mrt.|i,g y mail to club* at the following rate* : JMKI |* mjiy pag ym*t to a rlav at t*v. AAO par i a rlvb 4 iv.at*. UM per rnf'j pM jnar p,