1877.1 
AMERICAN AaRICUI.TURIST. 
595 
'I'o Keop Flies from Aiiitoyiiiff 
Cows.—" D. A. G./' Cynthiana. Ky. Our plan to pre- 
vent annoyance to the cows during milking in fly time 
is to have a paiifol of carbolic soapsuds, and before the 
milking is begun, the cows flanks and legs are sponged 
Over with it, leading it to dry upon the skin. This 
keeps the flies at a distance, at least for the time of mi tk- 
ing. and is grateful to the cows which have a rest for 
that time, if not longer.- 
IiiipactioBi of tlie Rumen. — " W. A. 
C," East Berkshire, Yt. \yhen a cow is kept in a dry 
pasture in which the herbage is dry, weedy, and innutri- 
lious, she begins to sufl'er from indigestion. In time the 
stomach becomes filled with undigested coarse matter, 
the bowels become torpid and loose, alternately, the 
kidneys becomed inflamed, and unless relieved, the 
animal dies with all the symptoms of redwater, or the 
eo-called Texan fever. The manner of prevention is 
obvious. As soon as the animal, which has been exposed 
to the conditions mentioned, appears to be sick, give a 
copious drench composed of one pound of Epsom salts 
dissolved in two quarts of warm water, sweetened with 
molasses. In your case catechu and opium aggravated 
the trouble ; and had the linseed oil and soapy water 
injections been given earlier, the cow might have been 
saved. Law's "Veterinary Adviser" is perhaps the 
most useful hand book for a farmer, it being plain, 
simple, trustworthy, and very complete. Price $3. CO. 
Xo Iniju'ove ^toaay ^wi-ass B^'.ttB»<T. — 
*-A. H. B.," Troy, Yt. Stony meadows can be improved 
in a better manner than by plowing and turning up the 
stone. They should be harrowed thoroughly iiutil a 
fresh surface is made, seed should be sown, and apply a 
dressing of 150 pounds of guano, or artificial grass | 
fertilizer, per acre. By giving for two or three years a j 
fair dressing of compost or fertilizer, the meadow will 
be brought into permanent and good grass. In choosinix 
the seed, at least one bushel per acre of Kentucky BUie 
Grass should be sown with the other kinds. 
<,;i-ni3i ri*i- Vis-^'—'G, P.," Doming, Ind. 
Corn is not a sufficiently nutritious food for pigs except 
for fattening only. For growing pigs there is nothirg 
better than bran with the corn, and milk if it can be 
procured. Milk and equal parts of bran and corn meal 
will make a good food for pigs. If grain has to be 
grown for the feed, we -would advise ry as the best and 
easiest to be raised. 
■^Tlirii to Si>M' B5e<l Top.— "A. H. H.," 
Muline, 111. In sowing red top on moist laud we have 
succeeded best when the seed was sown in the spring as 
early as possible after the land was free from surface 
water; or when this has been too late, we have had a 
good catch by sowing early in the fall on the dry soil. In 
the latter case the seed does not germinate until the fall 
raius come, when it is not generally in danger of drying 
out. We have lost seed the present year by sowing it 
late in epving; it started into growth, but a dry spell 
destroyed it. Two bushels of seed per acre is required. 
S>iiBieiisioiBs ol" BBoiiie IIBaile Com 
Shellor.— "Subscriber." Clear Water, Fla. Th? 
diameter of the corn shcller described on page 2:)G 
(August), may be i20 to 36 inches as desirud; the discs 
must be so far apart as to permit the cobs to pass 
through, but s > close as 1 1 toarthe corn from the cobs, 
this would h: from 1} to 1} inch; the nails should be 
nbout one inch apart, and tho opening at tlie bt>ttom may 
be six to 12 inches, tlij si23 of this is immaterial, if 
it is only lar^'e enough. 
IIi>S* <I'Bn>lern.— '' J. R.," Napoleon, Ohio, 
criticises Mr. Coburn's statements in his new work ou 
Swine Ilusbandry. regarding liog cholera, stating his 
opinion that the disease is contagious, and no matter 
what the previous care or n',rglecr may have been, a log 
exposed to diseased stock will be sure to have the 
"cholera." lie believes isolation to be the only pre- 
VL-ntivo.— Perhaps mir correspondent has not yet rend 
the book, and it is not fair to criticise it from n-ading 
only a brief notice of it in a paper. Neither Mr. Coburn 
nor any otiier sensiljle man will probably deny that *!u^ 
etatem''nt made in the llrst sentence is gmierally true. 
But as to the latter, most experienced persons would add 
something to it, viz.. that isolation is thnonly preventive 
agai/ist corUayion, Why is cholon^ i)ractiO'iny unknown 
in the Fiattern States where hogs are better managed 
than in the West? 
Ilo'kv <*► IP<»o<l all llic Itsny, SJi*;i\v, 
olc.—'- A Young Farmer." LancisttT Co.. Pa. All the 
hay und straw on tiny farm, whatever si/,-' It maybe, may 
be f'd during tho wintiT without ovcr^tockin;; the farm 
in t'lr snnimor tinn\ The stock should be purchased in 
the full and fed and faUoned on the hay, straw, and roots 
raised, with some kinds of purchased food, such as bran, 
oil cake meal or corn, and sold in the spring. In this 
manner the feed is used to greater profit than in any 
other way, and the supply of manure is very greatly in- 
creased and enriched. Nothing that can be used as feed 
should be thrown into the manure heaps, when any other 
materials, even sand or earth, can be procured. Leaves, 
road scrapings, swamp muck or ditch scourings arc 
worth as much for manure as straw; the land is not 
robbed if the straw is fed, but a gain is made through 
the bran or meal fed with it. 
A Ooo4l Com-.— "W. F. W.," Bridgeton, 
N. J., sends a record of his cow, a 9^^ -grade Jersey with 
iii-Short-horn. She has given an average of 18 quarts of 
milk, daily, for 5 months, gaining 10 pounds in weight 
during that time. Tlie cow is 7 years old, and at three 
different trials one pound of butter has been made fro;n S 
quarts of milk. She has given her weight in milk three 
limes over in 5 months. 
l^oisoning' l>y Ear-riiagss. — It has been 
stated in Europe, that serious diseases of the ears and 
eyes have resulted from the use of ear-rings made of cop- 
per. Those ridiculously cheap articles— it is not fair to 
say of jewelry or of ornament, for they arc neither — those 
ear-rings and such trash of which whole sets can be p;:r- 
cliased for a fraction of a dollar, and are worn by persons 
who foolishly tliink that such stuff improves their appeir- 
■aucc, must be largely of copper. If a sense of the fitness 
of things will not prevent the wearing of such, it is to be 
hoped lliat the fear that it may poison and seriously in- 
jine Iho^^c who wear it, may. 
:?loB4l Sbh :i :TIiS!i Ilotif^e.— " "W. McK.," 
Montgomery Co., Pa. Although an un'lerground milk 
house may not seem damp, and may be well ventilated, 
yet the presence of an adjoining ice house will certainly 
give rise to moldiness, and tliis will aflect the milk. To 
get rid of the trouble temporarily, close the milk house 
tightly, and burn four ounces of sulphur in ituponsome 
live coals. Keep it closed for a few hours and then open 
it and air it. To remove the trouble permanently, the 
ice house must be got rid of. 
CarJiivay is a bienaial plant grown for its 
arunialic fruits, or seeds, which are only borne the second 
year. " C. G. G.," Manliattan, Kas., has a bed of it, the 
first year from the seed, and wishes to know if it will be 
necessary to take up the mots and keep them, like beets, 
etc., lhron;;h the winter, and stj, thcin out again in the 
spring. The caraway is a notably hardy plant, and so far 
as cold is concerned, the roots may be left in the bed. In 
some of the older States, and even in Canada, it has be- 
come more or less naturalized, the ]ilants surviving a 
Cuiadian winter. There is more danger that the roots 
may decay, if in a wet place, and the winter is mild, and 
provlsiiiu should be made for carrying off the water. 
B^isoi'di^r oTtlae BCadneys- — "A. L.," 
York, Pa. A difficulty or inability to move backwards, 
and stiffness in the hind quarters, accompanies disorder 
of the kidneys. When it is not accompanied with tender- 
ness of the loins on pressure, the disease is slight, but 
should be treated at once. The treatment is to open the 
bowels freely wiLli doses of olive oil or raw linseed oil, 
rub tlie loins with mustard plaster, give copious drinks of 
linseed tea and an ounce of gentian daily in the food. 
All such irritant diuretics as turpentine, rosin, or salt- 
peter, should be avoided. A sheepskin dipped in liot 
water, and strapped over the loins, would be beneficial. 
^VoiftBit of a C^oi'il or ^lacaiivc— 
*■ J. J. L.," Turner's Falls, Mass. A cord of manure con- 
tains 138 cubic feet, and a cubic foot of manure, which 
contains 75 iier cent of water, wel-^hs abmit 5S lbs.; Ilius 
a cord of manure wlil weiirh nearly 3^ tons. There is no 
appreciable dlfierence between the weight of horse and 
cow manure, except when fresli ; then the cow manure is 
somewhat heavier, because it holds more water. When 
they are decomposed th .'y will weiglt about the same. 
How U> I^wo B:«an Meal.— *'M. T. B.," 
L--xtngiun. Mass. Bean meal is readily eaten by pigs 
wiien cooked or scalded, lightly salted and fed cold. If 
the pigs do not cat it with relish, it may be made into a 
slop with milk or mixed with corn meal. Beans mixed 
with corn form a very iiutritious food. 
Itf'mi Bisis'vesjinp; Mn ell inc. — A Cana- 
dian j uirnal. In ref.Tence to ;■ stati'mcnt in the Amtfican 
A rj !/'(•'// f'tri.-tf, t!iat there was no machine in use for har- 
vesting bean?, remarks that such '''a machine is in use 
in Canada, operated by horse-*, by which several acres of 
beans are harvested U'^ neatly as if done by hand " We 
do not clearly understand the latter part of the S'^itencc, 
but the fact, if /n/t\ is interesting. We referred to the 
beans commonly grown in this country, and not to the 
English beans, which grow with stiff upright stalks three 
feet high. These we were aware are sometimes harvest- 
ed by a machine, but this machine would be no more 
useful here than a mowing machine. If a machine ia 
made that harvests our common field bean, we will thank 
the manufacturer for a description of it. 
Am Kn^lisU 5^al»orer's I>ay"s 
Work,— We notice in the English (lapers occasionally 
some very hard cases of excessive working of laborers. 
Eecently a farm laborer was brought before a riiagistrate 
on a charge by his employer of refusing to work. He 
had been to work from 5 in the morning, when he fed 
his horses, to 7.30 in the evening, when he refused to 
draw two more loads of hay. The magistrate wisely dis- 
charged the man. thinking that he had done a fair day's 
work. The man's wages were $3.25 a week with house 
free. Bad as many consider the condition of laborers 
in America to be, yet with at least S(j a week and pro- 
visions, etc., much cheaper than in England, our labor- 
ers in reality are better off than their brethren in any 
other country in the world. 
Clean Out tBie ISarii Yai-rts.— At this 
season every particle of manure should be taken out of 
the barn yards and the surface scraped clean. There is 
leisure to do this now which cannot be had in the hurried 
time of spring. Instead of a wagon bos. use loose planks 
for bottom and sides ; these may be removed or turned 
over one by one from behind, without stopping the team 
and the manure dropped along a row through the 
field. One hand should remain in the field to spread it 
upon each side of the row, and as he can cast it twelve 
feet on each side, the rows may be 25 feet or a rod and a 
half apart. If each load is dropped in aline 80 feet long, 
there will then be 201 -ads to an acre; or if 160 feet long, 
10 loads to the acre. Two wagons should be used, one 
going to the field while one is being loaded in the yard ; 
two men can be loading while one is drawing, unless the 
haul is a long one, and it is an easy matter to lift the 
double tree from the empty wagon on to the leaded one. 
B38 TTotes for October. 
El' L. C. KOOT, MoilAWK. N. Y. 
The honey yield for the present season is now ended. 
To ascertain whether bees have sufficient honey for win- 
ter, leave no room for doubt, but place each hive upon 
the scales, and find its exact weight. If bees arc to be 
wintered in-doors, each hive should have 20 lbs. of hon- 
ey. If to be wintered out of doors, 30 lbs. should be al- 
lowed. It will be necessary to know the weight of the 
hives and combs, to find the exact weight of honey. It 
movable frame hives are used, combs in heavy and light 
hives may be exchanged, both being benefited. What- 
ever deficiency there may be after thus equalizing them, 
must be supplied by feeding. Those who have read 
these "Notes" for the past year, will remember that 
many bees were lost last wiuter, from being too heavy 
with honey, there not being sufficient empty comb for 
the bees to cluster in compactly. If any hives are in 
such condition, and the heavy combs arc not needed in 
lighter hives, combs filled with honey should be removed 
and replaced with empty ones, or the honey may be re- 
moved with the extractor, and tnocmi)ty combs put hack. 
At this season all upward ventilation should be closed, 
and the entrance, if large, should be contracted. 
Qin'siions :iiiil Aiis^vt-r-J. 
Moving Bees.—" I wish to move my bees to a now lo- 
cation, about too feet distant from the present one. Can 
it be done safely, and v.-hcn is the best time?" The 
best time would he in the spring, when they are removed 
from wiuter ciuarters, yet it may he done at any season, 
by removing them only about two feet nt a time, and al- 
lowing them to work freely from each hive, at intervals, 
before moving again. 
ExrosixG lIoNET.— " Is it necessary to put out honey 
for bees to eat after taking honey from a hive to keep 
other bees from robbing it?" Decidedly the reverse. 
In all operations, at this season, very great care should 
be taken not to expose honey, or in any othey way :o in- 
duce robbing. 
Bees ix Trees.— " I have a swarm of bees in the bel- 
low of a trco. Will it be best to leave them in the tree, 
or remove them to a hive?".... If you arc not experi- 
enced in handling bees. I would advise cutting off the 
tree, above and below the bees, and after nailing a ]ncce 
of wood on each end, set it upright in a sheltered plac. 
After it has given off its swarms in the spring, the at- 
tempt may be made to transfer the colony to a new hive. 
\i%(ioiiu1 nrrUrriirr's <"onvrilHnn. 
The beckeeperfj-of this country ar." to hold a Conven- 
tion in New York City, commencing on Octcber 16th. 
Exhibits of honey and of beekeeping supplies generally, 
will he made nt the Fair of the American Institute, 
and the meetings of the Convention will be held at the 
Cooper Union Hall. 
