recover from it. This is often done under the idea of keeping them
cheap, but it is dear keeping. They never can make as fine animals
afterward.

All grains and vegetables, except beets and turnips, are better for
being boiled or steamed. The increased value is much more than the cost
of cooking, provided persons are not so careless as to allow food to be
injured by standing after cooking. Cooking is supposed to add one fourth
to the value of food. Grinding dry grains adds nearly as much to their
value, as feed for animals, as cooking. If you neither grind nor boil
hard grain for feed, it will pay well to soak it somewhat soft before
feeding. Variety of food is as pleasant and healthy for animals as for
men.

FENCES.

These are matters of great importance to the farmers of the whole
country, but especially to those on the prairies of the west.

In all localities where stone can be obtained from the fields or quarry,
the best and cheapest fence is a stone wall. If the stones are flat,
make the wall two feet thick at bottom, and one at top, five feet high.
If the stones are very irregular the wall should be thicker. Stone walls
should have transverse rows of shingles, boards, or split sticks, about
half an inch thick, laid in the wall at suitable distances. If stones
are quite flat three rows are desirable, one two, the next three, and
the other four feet from the ground. If the wall is made of rough stones
it will require one more course of sticks, leaving them only a foot
apart. The sticks should be of such lengths as to come out just even
with the wall, on each side. The lower courses will be longer than the
upper ones. These sticks are to keep the wall from falling down. Dig a
ditch one foot deep, two feet from the wall, and throw the earth
excavated up against the wall, and the water will run off and prevent
heaving by frost, and such a wall will need the merest trifle of
attention during a generation, and will last for centuries. A cord of
stones will make one rod. We can not too strongly recommend this kind of
fence, in all places where stones can be obtained reasonably. The pieces
of wood laid in a wall, will keep well for thirty years, when they will
need replacing. Next to stone is a good board fence. Well made and of
good materials, it is durable and always in its place. Hence it is a
cheap fence.

Of the various styles of picket, and other fancy fences for front yards,
&c., it is more the province of t