S74r 
AMERICAN AGHICULTUKIST. 
[JUI.Y, 
Ringrworiii in Cuttle. — " G, F. P.," 
BiDgworm consists of a round scurfy spot, generally ap- 
pearing about the head— probably because animals are 
apt to rub the head on posts, fences, and trees— from 
which the hair falls off. These spots when rubbed, bleed 
and become sore. The cause is a minute fungoid growth 
which is communicated from one animal to another, and 
thus produces a contagious disease of the skin. The 
remedy is to rub these spots with an ointment of lard 
and carbolic acid, (4 oz, of lard to 1 dram of acid), twice 
a day. Rubbing posts and fences become infected and 
■will give the disease to other cattle^ thus spreading it 
very widely when once it appears. 
lilglit of ^prinsT Honse.— '*C. F. J.," 
Leavenworth, Kansas, A spring house that is 5 feet un- 
der ground should be at least 7 feet above it. It would 
be well to have the building 10 or 12 feet high above 
ground, with an upper apartment, which would make the 
lower one much cooler than otherwise. 
Corn in Caoada.— "J. K./' Greensville, 
Ont. Com, of the kinds gro\vn in Indiana, will not ripen 
in Canada, as the season is too sh rt and cool. A very 
good kind of corn for planting in Canada, or for late 
planting in the Northern States, is the "Early Canada," 
a small, but fairly prolific. 8-rowed. yellow variety. We 
have grown this kind for fodder, in rows 2 feet apart, and 
the seed one foot apart in the row, planted on the 21st of 
June, which gave a very fine crop, with ripe ears, and 
stalks 7 to 8 feet high, very suitable for foddering by be- 
ing cut up, stalks and ears together, and fed dry or 
steamed. 
Are Sfaiieliioik!ii preferal>le to 
Stalls ?—'■ J.," In the opinion of the writer, stanch- 
ions are in every way preferable to stalls. The prevalent 
idea that cows are uncomfortable in tbem is unfound- 
ed; the fact that they are safe and cleanly kept is far 
more important than the consideration whether the cows 
wotild choose to be tied with chains or confined in 
fitanchions. We have not yet heard a single objection 
against stanchions that should weigh in the least against 
their convenience and safety. 
SaAvanst iov Kedding.— " W. B. S.," 
Manchester, Vt. Hard wood sawdust not only makes 
excellent bedding, but when decomposed with the 
manure, it is useful as a fertilizer, especially upon 
clay soil. Pine sawdust is not so good, and on light 
eandy soil is objectionable, as making it still lighter. 
For clay soils there is no objection to pine sawduBt or 
even shavings. 
StiiTness in a Mai*e.— "H. H.,'* Benton 
Co.. Ind. The stiffness of the hind quarters, the swelling 
of the udder, disarrangement of the urinary functions, 
feverish condition and pain, are all very prominent 
symptoms of the existence of renal calculi or stones in 
the kidneys. Sometimes these are formed of consider- 
able size, a number in our possession being from the size 
of a pea up to that of a pigeon's egg, and of very irregu- 
lar surface. If blood is seen in the urine, or if on ex- 
amining it with a microscope crystals are seen in it, the 
presence of this disease may be considered certain. 
There is no cure. Some palliatives may be used, such as 
to keep the bowels loose and the action of the kidneys 
and bladder easy by laxative food and demulcent mashes 
or drinks. Linseed meal, oat meal and chopped carrots 
will be proper food, and when the pain is severe, a drink 
of sweetened gum water with half an ounce of tincture 
of opium, (laudanum), may be given. If a purgative or 
diuretic is needed, give a pint of linseed oil, or olive oil, 
but no salts, saltpeer, or rosin. 
Xreatment ofPleuro-pBieiimonia. 
— "J. F. S.," Londonderry, N. H. The period of incuba- 
tion, or of attack after exposure, of the contagious dis- 
ease known as pleuro-pneumonia, is from 14 days to more 
than a month. An animal is not accounted safe until 
after six weeks from contact with infected cattle. The 
first stage of the disease is an increased temperature, 
only to be discovered by applying a thermometer to the 
mouth or the fundament. This may last several days be- 
fore any further symptom occurs, and if discovered, treat- 
ment is now the most effective. An increased secretion 
of milk is often observed in this period with cows. The 
temperature of the animal rises to 103 or 104 degrees, in- 
stead of 100 to 101 degrees. A shivering fit may occur in 
this stage. When these symptoms have been observed, 
sick animals should be isolated, and all others closely 
watched. The most certain treatment is to slaughter in- 
fected animals at once, as danger to others is avoided, 
and disinfect the stables by the plentiful use of carbolic 
acid or burning snlphur. Otherwise the sick animal 
should have one pound of Epsom SaUs, and an injection 
of a solution of 1 dram of Carbolic Acid in two quarts of 
warm water. This should be followed by doses of half- 
an-ounce of Hypo-sulphite of Soda, morning and night, 
for several days. If this treatment is of no avail, and the 
succeeding fever sets in, with discharge from the nose 
and frothing at the mouth, the chances of cure are so 
small and few, and the danger to other animals so great, 
that the best course is to slaughter the animal and bury 
it under at least 3 feet of earth, with a load of quicklime 
all around the carcass. A very wise precaution would 
be to have some law enacted to provide for the destrnc- 
tion of all infected animals, and partial compensation to 
the owner from the public revenue. This would be the 
cheapest way in the end to treat this dresidful disease, 
which has cost the English people fifty millions of dollars 
in the past few years. 
ProtecSing: IVaater 'Wlieat.— " A. J. 
31.,'' Waukegan, III. The use of straw, or coarse hay, as 
a mulch for protecting winter wheat during the winter, 
is advisable. But care should be exercised lest too much 
straw may be used, and the wheat smothered. Six inches 
of straw would be too much. One inch would be enough. 
The object should be to protect the soil from thawing 
repeatedly, during the winter, as it is the frequent freez- 
ing after thawing, which destroys the wheat. 
Slieep foi" ^Vool and MiitttoM.— '' W. 
W.," Marshall, Minn. A pure Colswold would probably 
be the best ram to use on a flock of native and grade 
ewes, when wool Iambs and mutton are all desired. In 
feeding unthrashed oats, we have found that the straw 
was greatly wasted : the sheep eating only the heads and 
leaving the straw. On thrashing the oats, and feeding 
the straw in racks, it was eaten up nearly clean, and then 
the grain was fed by itself. Tiiis plan prevented the waste 
and kept the sheep much more quiet at feeding time. 
Olnd^rin or daclTvyn, — E. Oswald. 
This is the common name, also written Gladdon, Gladeu, 
and Glader, for a species of Iris or Flower de Luce, a na- 
tive of England. — Jrlsfcetidisszina, so named as its leaves 
have an unpleasant smell when bruised. Thu flowers are 
usually purple, and not especially showy, the plant being 
cultivated for its seed vessels, which open when ripe, 
exposing the orange or scarlet seeds, and are nsed for 
Christmas and other decorations. Your other question 
can not be answered iu the paper, and the omission of 
the address prevents answering by mail. 
Xhe doing^s of a !\aiiieless Co\t-» — 
Mrs. M., of Vineland, N. J., writes: "The paper en- 
closed is a 'Milk measure.' I have no lactometer, but 
after reading about 'Maggie Stewart,' concluded to im- 
provise one out of a glass preserve jar. I give the meas- 
ure of the result, the length of the paper indicating the 
depth of the milk, the notch the cream. Our cow has 
no name, no portrait, no blood, and came from nowhere 
— as anybody knows of ; is a good feeder, (especially of 
salt), IB not quiet, but full of fun, enjoying herself fijiely 
in a 7x:9 barnyard, never stabled, never curried, never ill- 
used, never petted and fondled ; she never holds up her 
milk, and never geta angry ; her cream makes splendid 
yellow butter, without artificial coloring, in five minutes 
Churning. I do not doubt Mr. Crozier's statement, but 
a little home observation and measurement may be found 
very satisfactory to the poor small dairy- ^voman. ready 
to give up in despair at the wonderful * blooded stock' 
results."— Our friend's measurement would have been 
more satisfactory had her jar been taller and narrower ; 
as it is, the measm-e shows 22 per cent of cream, which, 
whatever may be said of the cow's other characters and 
qualities, is by no means negative. 
Cure of" Fistula. — "W. J. T.," Warren 
Co., Ky. Fistula cannot be cured without the use of 
corrosive substances, by which the pipe is destroyed. 
There may be cases in which the knife may be used to 
open the pipes and cut loose the diseased growths with- 
in the fistula, but then some corrosive substance, such as 
arsenic or other mineral acids, are used to eat these away. 
Pelciu I>iicU:s. — H. Terrell asks certain 
questions about Pekin ducks, which are dispara^^d by 
some breeders of good reputation. Nothing is more 
common than the disparagement of famous breeds of 
cattle, horses, and fancy stock of all kinds. In some 
hands the best stock will run down in a few generations, 
and become little better than scrubs. A well known 
breeder of Pekins, who has raised them for four years, 
side by side with Rouens, Aylesburys. and Cayugae, 
says : *' The Pekins easily maintain their supremacy 
over the other varieties. They not only look larger, but 
weigh heavier, taking the flocks through at the same 
age and under the same treatment, which is the true test 
of excellence. In my flocks the Pekins will run two 
pounds a pair heavier than Rouens and Aylesburys, and 
the difference is still more marked between the Pekins 
and Cayugas. The Pekins are not only larger, but they 
are far more hardy and more easily raised. They lay on 
the average twice as many eggs as either of the other 
varieties. The real merit of the Pekins is proved by the 
demand for them. Although I have all four varieties 
advertised and sent out in my circulars the last two 
years, and have bred from the best stock in the market, 
there has been very little demand for anything but Pe- 
kins. of which I have sold at least ten times as many as 
of all the other varieties put together. The experience 
of ray neighbors, who have bred Pekin?, is similar to my 
own. They are driving the other ducks out of the mar- 
ket, and this may be the secret of the disparagement of 
the Pekins by some of our breeders."— We give this 
testimony for what it is worth. We have no reason to 
doubt that the Pekins are sustaining their reputation 
as the largest, most prolific, and profitable ducks. 
IVill Ornlks ill the - Sead Kill 
Slieep ?— " S. J." Chatham Center, N. Y., sends some 
grubs taken from the head of a sheep that died, as a 
proof that the grubs were the cause of death. This is not 
likely, as four grabs of this kind would hardly trouble a 
sheep. As the sheep ran at the nose, and would neither 
move nor eat, the cause of death was probably pneu- 
monia. When grubs ti-nuble sheep, they hold their heads 
down and snort violently, and stamp with their fore feet. 
If grabs were fatal to sheep, there would scarcely be a 
flock surviving, for the majority of Ebeep carry them in 
their heads. 
TIse Time to Cnt Cliestnnt Xim- 
ber.— ■' J. B. W.," Hartford, Conn. The time for cut- 
ting depends upon whether it is desired that the Chest- 
nut stumps should sprout or not. Chestnut cut in the 
winter, will sprout from the roots, and in a few years 
will be ready to cut again for posts and rails. If cut in 
July or August, it will not sprout, but it is said that the 
timber is more durable than when cut in the winter. This, 
however, we can not vouch for. 
Preservation of Eggs.— "J. F. B.," 
Chanute, Kansas, and several others. The most effective 
preservative for eggs that has yet been proposed, is lin- 
seed oil, or cotton-seed oil may be used instead. By care- 
fully coating fresh eggs with either of these oils, and 
packing them, small end downwards, in any dry, porous 
substance, that is a non-conductor of heat, such as chaff, 
cork-cuttings, or maple sawdust, they have been kept in 
perfectcondition and withoutloss of weight for 6 months. 
Artificial Hatcliing: of Eggs.— "G. 
A.," Patereon, N. J. In the American Agriculturist of 
July, 1876, was an illustrated article with full informa- 
tion about the hatching of eggs in incubators. A little 
book. " The Poultry Farm and Market," price 75 cents, 
published and sold by the Orange Judd Co., contains a 
full account of artificial incubation. 
Paris Green and tlie "i*otato Bug. 
There are some parts of the country, mainly in New 
England, in which the Potato-bug has to be fought for 
the first time, and in these, as well as elsewhere, the pro- 
priety and safety of using Paris Green to destroy the 
insect are discussed. One or two persons, of some 
scientific reputation, have condemned the use of all 
mineral poisons as dangerous, bnt propose no substitute. 
Tho question is one of great importance, and had we 
any doubt of the propriety of using Paris Green, we 
should feel it our duty to express it. The facts are 
these : No other poison than Arsenic in some form is ef- 
fective, or applicable on the large scale. Paris Green 
(Arsenite of Copper) is the best form in which Arsenic 
can be applied. It is a deadly poison, and is widely known 
as such. Moreover, its color is an element of safety, 
as it serves as a warning, and for this reason, if for no 
other, this is preferable to any colorless compound of 
Arsenic. All the danger attending its use is due to care- 
Jess handling and keeping. It does not poison the pota- 
to by being taken into the circulation of the plant. The 
tests for arsenic are among the most delicate of those 
known to chemistry, and repeated trials, where exces- 
sive quantities of the poison were purposely used — many 
times more than are applied in practice, have failed to 
show even a trace of Arsenic in the tuber. 
Fears have been expressed that the soil may be poi- 
soned and thus rendered unfit for future crops. The 
amount used is so small, only a fraction of a grain to the 
cubic foot of soil— that were it unchanged, its presence 
would not be appreciable, but it is well known that it is 
decomposed by the iron in the soil, and rendered inert, 
and under some conditions converted into a gaseous 
compound, and disappears in that form. The poison 
has been used now for six years or more, each year in in- 
creased quantities, so that the annual consumption 
amounts to tons, yet there is yet no authentic case of any 
injury resulting from poison communicated to the tuber. 
