276 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



I 



person with the phthistic. The scurf or scab may 

 have been caused by a fever. Have you or any of 

 your readers a name and remedy for the diseai^e ? 



As a change in the breed of ho^s I have obtained 

 a Red Rock sow, from which I hope to raise pigs. 

 I think them the best Ivind of hogs in my knowl- 

 edge. They are of a light red color, large, well- 

 proportioned, hardy, and make the whitest pork I 

 ever saw and the thinnest rind. Frank. 



Woodstock, VL, March 22, 1869. 



Remarks. — The difficulty ia the breathing of 

 your hog would naturally suggest the probability of 

 some disease of the lungs or heart. Did you exam- 

 ine them ? The great variety of ills to which swine 

 have been subject of late has very justly alarmed 

 not only farmers but those who use pork, as well 

 as baffled the skill of veterinary surgeons. Sul- 

 phur, coal, ashes, &c., are recommended as pre- 

 ventives of disease. 



Our correspondent also replies to Mr. R,obert's 

 inquiry for information as to the best means of 

 preventing the ravages of the canker worm, by 

 saying that plugging the trees with sulphur, "as 

 soon as they commence to build their nests," will 

 cause them to disappear in less than a week, or 

 such has been his experience. The remedy is an 

 old one, in which we have no faith ; and as the 

 canker worm builds no nests, we conclude that 

 "Frank" is, most happily, unacquamted with its 

 habits. 



HOESE "WITH POOR APPETITE. — ROSE BUGS ON 

 GRAPES. 



"Will you, or any of your readers, inform me 

 through the Farmer, what is gco I to give a^horsc 

 to make him eat heartily ? Also, how to prevent 

 rose bugs from eating my plants, especially the 

 grape leaves and blossoms ? 



A Constant Reader. 



Apponaug, R. I., April, 1869. 



Remarks. — A healthy horse will cat heartily if 

 he is worked moderately, fed regularly with a suit- 

 able amount of food, and stabled so as to be warm 

 and comfortable in other respects. We have never 

 known a horse that was well refuse its food under 

 such circumstances. If he does refuse to cat, he 

 is probably siik, and the first thing to do is to find 

 what that sickness is. 



Rose bugs are a plague. "We have more than 

 once had a realizing sense of it. Have tried 

 syringing the plants with whale oil soap and other 

 things, but never found much reli.f exc#pt in 

 fingering them. Pick them off and throw them 

 into water, hot or cold. Get the women and child- 

 ren to assist you ; follow it up thoroughly for a 

 few days, and you will save the crop, if your vine- 

 yard is not too extensive. We know of no other 

 way of doing it. 



DISEASE AMONG 8H0ATS. 



I have a horse-barn 25 by 40 feet, a shed under 

 the whole building high enough for cattle; two- 

 thirds of ono side next to the jard optn. A few 

 years ago I i>ut under the same, six shoits. Thty 

 nestid as ttiey chose on the manure hejp from the 

 stable above. 



It was in warm weather, and the open space was 



closed only by bars, so there was plenty of ventila- 

 tion. They were fed with sour milk from the 

 dairy. After thriving nicely for two or three 

 months, one of them, eating well in the morning, 

 was dead at noon. The second day after, one was 

 heard to squeal out suddenly as it in great distress, 

 was looked after, and was dead in a few minutes. 



The swine were immediately removed and there 

 were no more symptoms of disease. 



One year ago last summer we put our swine into 

 the same place, and experienced a result similar 

 to that related above. 



What is the disease, and what the cause ? Can 

 we safely keep shoats under ihe horse-barn and 

 suffer them to lie on the manure heap ? s. p. i. 



Washington Co., Vt , 1869. 



COVERING FOR FLAT ROOFS. 



Will you please inform me of the best roofing 

 for a flat rooled building ? I have a barn 50 by 84 

 feet, the roof pitches three feet each way from the 

 centre. It was formerly covered with "New Eng- 

 land Roofing." I do not like it, and wish to ascer- 

 tain the best thing to cover it with. I used to see 

 advertised in your paper the Plastic Slate Roofing. 

 What has become of it, and how does it work ? 



Milton, Vt., Feb. 27, 1869. A. M. Austin. 



PtEMARKs. — This matter of roofing is one of 

 much importance to farmers. In this climate a 

 good covering to buildings is very necessary, and 

 is becoming quite expensive. Some such material 

 as the Plastic Slate is claimed to be is so desirable 

 that, notwithstanding the failures that have been 

 reported, we still hope that when its preparation 

 ar?d use have become a trade, it will prove a suc- 

 cess. We do not think it advisable for those not 

 acquainted with its use to attempt to apply it. 

 Plastering the walls of a house is theoretically a 

 simple operation, but practically it is a difficult 

 job for the inexperienced. We understand that 

 Mr. Geo. Holland, of Rutland, Vt., has operated 

 to a considerable extent in that vicinity with the 

 plastic slate, and perhaps he would reply to any 

 questions you wish to ask. 



SCRATCHES ON HORSES. 



I have cured bad cases of this disease by 

 applying to the affected parts common whale lamp 

 oil, and rubbing it in until the scabs soften and 

 come off; then keep the parts moist with the oil 

 until thsy get well, which they usually do in a 

 few days. Amos Melvin. 



Concord, Mass., March 22, 1869. 



Remarks. — Alexander Crozier, of Fletcher, Vt., 

 writes to us that he has treated scratches f jr thirty 

 years by paring and greasing the castors or issues 

 on the leg, without any application to the sores, 

 using his horses as usual meantime, and has 

 always succeeded in effecting a cure. 



DEPTH OF TAPPING MAPLE TREES. 



In your paper of April 3, G. F. says that he 

 gets as much sap by boring thrce-founhs of au 

 inch as by l)oring three or lour inches deep. Can 

 lie raije as much corn on half an acre as he can on 

 ^ix times that amount of ground ? It' he cannot, 

 will he tell me how he can get the sap without 

 lioring to it. My lather lias workid at, sugaring 

 some sixty ycais. About twenty tiie years ago 

 he let out his sugar lot to a man who tliuuulit one 

 inch was as good as more, lie wanted tailicr to 



