1874] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
35 
Gtra.peavin.es rim Wild.— A subscriber 
in Plymouth, Iowa, asks what he shall do with vines 
three or four years old that " have always grown as they 
pleased. '*— This is a difficult conundrum to answer. 
Could we Bee the vines wc could decide at once, but it li 
difficult to prescribe without seeing the patient. When 
the leaves are off the buds will be plainly seen. Let our 
Iowa friend remember that each of these buds will pro- 
duce a shoot next spring, upon which the fruit will be 
borne. If he cuts all the canes made this year back to 
two buds each, he will probably leave twice as many as 
are needed. No invariable rules can be given for prun- 
ing a vine. One should understand the way in which a 
vinegrows, and adapt hi* knowledge to the case iu hand. 
Mushroom,,— u J- C G." The plant iu 
question can not be, from your rough outline, the edible 
mushroom. It is more probably the Morel. We can not 
decide without seeing a specimen. The attempts at cul- 
tivating the Morel have not been very successful. 
Smoking Pork.— Hams and pork are 
almost always over-smoked. When saturated with smoke 
the meat is rendered indigestible and unpalatable, and 
we notice that there is a general complaint now-making 
in regard especially to the excessive smoking of Cincin- 
nati pork. The common practice of allowing meat to 
hang in the smoke-house during the whole winter, and 
< to smoke it for a few hours almost every day for several 
weeks, is destructive to its proper flavor and wholesome- 
ness. For bacon, two days' smoking with corn-cobs or 
hickory brush is sufficient ; for hams, four days' is quite 
enough, and sufficient flavor will have penetrated in that 
time to the center of the meat to make it palatable to 
the most smoke-loving taste. 
Value of Brewers' Grains. — 
M Hawthorne." Brewers' grains fed to cows help the 
production of milk, but we would not advise any feed 
when the production of butter is in view but the very 
sweetest and most perfect meal. Sour feed will inevit- 
ably make its If known iu Ihe flavor of the butter. 
"Weevil in Barns.— " J. S. R," East 
Moriches, L. I. When a barn is infested with weevil it 
is a difficult matter to get rid of them. If the granary 
only is infested they may be killed by washing the floors 
and walls with strong, boiling hot soft-soap suds. The 
granary should then be washed over with lime-wash in 
which carbolic acid is dissolved. The weevil may be 
kept out by having wire-gauze over the windows and by 
making the walls of the building very tight and close. 
On the approach of cold weather the weevils leave the 
wheat and hide in the crevices of the granary; then is a 
good time to destroy them. No grain should be stored 
nntil the granary has been thoroughly swept and cleaned. 
All the dirt and weevil swept out should be burned. 
Injection Syringe.— "J. W. T.," North 
Haven, Ct. An injection may be given to a horse by 
means of an ox or pig's bladder, in the neck of which a 
wooden pipe is inserted. The pipe may be made of a 
piece of elder from which the pith has been forced out. 
It should be reduced in thickness, mad- 1 very smooth by 
eand-paper, and should be well greased or oiled when 
used. The injection of a pint of linseed oil or a quart 
of salt and water is needed to remove the worms which 
infest the rectum or lower intestine. 
Th<- Diula or Karth Almond.- " E. 
L. S.," Phelps Co., Mo. The chufa or earth* almond 
(Cyperus escxdentus) is a plant of the same genus as the 
Nut-grass which is found such a pest in Southern fields. 
It was introduced from Spain about 90 years ago ; and the 
fact that during that lime it has never made any sufficient- 
ly favorable impression upon those who have experi- 
mented with it to induce them to continue its growth is 
not a i-r<-'>mni<-nii;ilion to it. Its only use has been as 
food for swine, and for this purpose it has been favorably 
Spoken of by some of I lie Southern agriculturists. 
Spreadi.it;> I, inn- in Winter*— "J. C. 
W.," Manasses, Va. Lime may be spread upon the 
snow OT frozen ground during winter as well as late in 
the fall. It Should, however, be finely slacked and evenly 
spread. This plan will answer upon wheat or rye or 
upon meadows which may require liming. As a general 
thing it has been found desirable to apply lime in tills 
way upon clover fields which arc to be broken up the 
next season for corn or wheat. 
Pleuro - Pneumonia. — "F. R. W," 
Waterbuty, Conn. The first symptoms of pleuro-pneu- 
monia in a cow or ox are such as are only to be noticed 
by a person who has observed the habits of healthy 
animals. They arc a slight increase of the temperature 
of the body, difficult breathing, with drumming or whir- 
ring noise in the bronchial tubes. A cough frequently 
occurs, the appetite fails, and the animal becomes thin. 
Then the milk falls off, and shivering fits commence the 
second Btage, after which the animal rapidly becomes 
worse. The best treatment has been found to be careful 
nursing, warmth, and hanging sacks saturated with car- 
bolic acid in solution before the animals' heads, so that 
the vapor can be breathed ; warm gruel and mashes, and 
one to two drams of elixir of vitriol in a gallon of water. 
Potato Rot.— "C. a," Westbrook, N. J. 
It is generally accepted that potato rot is due to a species 
of fungus, though some doubt whether the fungus is the 
cause or the result of the rot. The more interesting 
question to the farmtr is how he shall avoid the disease 
It has been found that drainage of moist land, avoiding 
the use of raw barn-yard manure, or, in fact, any fer- 
menting substance, and the growing of potatoes upon dry 
gravelly loams, or light dry soils, with the help of super- 
phosphate of lime and wood asses as manures, tend to 
the growth of healthy potatoes. Excessive moisture, 
and the presence of decomposing vegetable matter, cause 
abundant growths of various species of molds and other 
fungi, and are, therefore, greatly provocative of rot in 
the potato. The best plan is to avoid the causes, and 
mitigate, if not prevent the tnmble. 
Manufacture of Fertilizers. — " B. 
S.," Allen Co., Ind. Guano is not a manufactured arti- 
cle, but a natural product, the origin of which is a dis- 
puted point. Superphosphate of lime is simply bones or 
mineral phosphate of lime, treated with sulphuric acid in 
such a way as to separate a portion of the lime from the 
phosphoric acid, leaving the phosphoric acid in excess, 
hence the term supdr-phospnate. The extra phosphoric 
acid is thus soluble in water, and can he readily appro- 
priated by plants. Artificial fertilizers are now so 
largely manufactured, and there is so much competition 
in the business, that they may be purchased much 
cheaper and better than they can be made by the farmer. 
Plaster upon Wlieat.— "P. W," Bun- 
combe Co., N. C. It is better to apply plaster upon any 
crop in the spring thau'in the fall. The best time is as 
soon as growth has fairly commenced. About 100 to 200 
pounds per acre is a heavy dressing. 
Cats. — "H. C. B.," Ellsworth, Me., writes us 
that he stops the depredations of cats upon his poultry 
houses by setting a fox-trap in the entrance hole and 
covering it with chaff, by which plan ho has trapped 10 
in a 6hort time. To this wc would remark that this is 
an unnecessary barbarity. There is not the slightest 
need to have cats or any other nightly depredators in the 
poultry houses. The entrances should be closed every 
night and opened every morning. This would not only 
keep the fowls safely during the night, but prevent 
much disease and loss from their early wanderings 
amongst wet grass and weeds. Cats should be well fed, 
as being necessary farm animals, and not be allowed to 
exist iu a half-starved condition, which is often a satis- 
factory excuse for many of their so-called thefts. 
The Florida Settler. — We have received 
a pamphlet, entitled " The Florida Settler and Immi- 
grant's Guide," a manual of information concerning the 
soil, climate, and productions of that State, prepared by 
the commissioner of lands and immigration, whose office 
is at Tallahassee, Fla. Now that attention is turned 
towards the mild climate, orange groves and gardens of 
Florida, this pamphlet is opportune. It will be sent 
by the commissioner on receipt of request with stamps 
to cover postage. 
Poisonous Pastures. — Not long since 
wc noticed a statement of the death of forty-four out of 
A herd of over seventy cattle upon an English pasture, in 
consequence of their feeding upon poisonous plants, 
chiefly or wholly an umbelliferous plant, known as the 
Drop-wort (Qffianthe crocata). Similar losses of stock 
have occurred recently iu Australian pastures, from cer- 
tain species having been eaten during periods of scarcity 
of wholesome fodder. During the past few years many 
cattle have died in various localities in the West, from 
various disorders, to which many fanciful names have 
been given. Murrain, fevers of all sorts, red water, 
black water, and in loss for another name these deaths 
have been attributed to "new" and "unknown dis- 
eases." The symptoms of the cases of poisoning above 
referred to, and those of the deaths which have been re- 
ported to us or have been described by other journals, 
arc strikingly similar. Staggering gait and profuse 
frothing at the mouth, convulsive twitchings of the flank, 
blood-shot eyes, bloody urine, congested membranes, 
and often offensive diarrhea, a lateral curvature of the 
neck, and in many cases violent frenzy equally mark the 
whole, and point unmistakably to poison of some kind. 
It is an important question if a large portion of the 
deaths amongst our native cattle in the West are not due 
to the presence of poisonous plants in the pastures. 
Generally late in the summer, when the grasses have be- 
come dry and withered, the Western pastures are covered 
with a mixed herbage, of which a large portion is innu- 
tritions and indigestible, and may be poisonous ; of 
this the cattle are impelled by hunger to partake. Iu 
the cases of poisoning referred to, the supposition was 
originally that some sudden disease had stricken the 
animals, but on examination of the contents of 
the stomachs the fatal plants were found, and the 
true cause of death ascertained. A knowledge of the 
nature of poisonous plants would be very valuable 
to stock owners, as would also such habits of observation 
as would lead to the easy detection of the causes of 
deaths. Doubtless murrains of various kinds, Texan 
fever, and other obscure disorders, owe their existence 
to causes which a careful observer might discover. 
Cost or a Crop of Corn.— " J. B. 3.," 
New York. The cost of raising an acre of corn, where all 
the labor is hired and a man and team costs six dollars per 
day, will be more than the value of the crop. For instance, 
the following estimate will show what result may be ex- 
pected : One day plowing, a quarter day harrowing, a quar- 
ter day marking out, and one day in all cultivating, equal 
to two and a half days' team work, $15. The planting, cut- 
tiug, and husking will occupy five days of a man's labor, 
equal to $10 ; total, without counting seed and fertilizer, 
$25. The crop may yield 25 bushels shelled corn under 
these peculiar circumstances ; but if 40 are realized an 
even account will result, leaving the fodder to cover 
some expenses not enumerated. 
Renting: Dairy Farms.— "W. R. R.," 
Buchanan, Mich.— We arc not prepared to say from ac- 
tual knowledge what proportion of the final produce the 
renter of a cheese dairy farm should receive for his 
labor. In renting a grain farm on the half share of all 
the produce, the tenant has more labor to perform than 
he would have on a dairy farm, and the owner would 
have a larger investment on a dairy than on a grain farm. 
The value of the produce of each ought to be about the 
same. A just division should include a proportionate 
recompense to the owner for his increased investment; 
but if the tenant Bhould supply all the extra feed which 
ought to be purchased on such a dairy farm, this would 
certainly restore the balance, and an equal division of the 
total proceeds would, we judge, be just for each party. 
Xan - XSark for Straw berries. — 
"J. L. D.," Bloomsburg, Pa. A mulch of tan-bark will 
not sour the strawberries. The great objection to it is 
that the fine particles will adhere to and soil the fruit. 
Leaves or coarse hay or litter from the stable Bare better. 
Information Wanted.— u G. II. E., M 
Napa Co., Cal., has two acres of land so situated that a 
creek runs through it and overflows it during winter, and 
in summer the ground is very dry. lie asks what crop 
he should raise upon these two acres. — We are at a loss 
to advise in such an extreme case, and request some of 
our California readers to give us their opinion upon it. 
We would suggest, however, that here is an opportunity 
to overcome a difficulty by mechanical methods; dam- 
ming out the water in winter and irrigating in the spring 
and summer, and then growing market crops suitable to 
a moist soil, as cabbages, celery, cauliflower. 
Heaves. — ''Teamster/' Sharon, Pa. The 
cause of heaves or broken wind is not yet satisfactorily 
accounted for. It is said by some veterinarians to be in- 
curable; still we never found a case in our experience 
that was not either greatly relieved or entirely cured by 
simple treatment. This was as follows : To aid the di- 
gestive power by simple tonics, and to feed the most 
nutritious and least stimulating food in small bulk, 
avoiding all dry, dusty food. For instance, a horse pur- 
chased by the writer for a very small sum, as being in- 
curably diseased with the heaves, was fed three times a 
day with a pailful of cut timothy hay and oats in the 
sheaf, soaked in hot water and fed when cold, mixed 
with three quarts of oats, corn, and rye bran ground 
together. A handful of salt was given in each feed, and 
occasionally a few raw potatoes or carrots cut and sprin- 
kled with bran were given in addition. Nothing else 
was done, no medicine was given, no long hay was fed, 
and nil dust In the feed was carefully guarded against. 
The result was an immediate change for the better, and 
no trouble from the disorder at all after a few weeks. 
The horse was then able to drive rapidly, and might be 
considered cured. On the other hand, horses have been 
known to become diseased immediately after feeding 
upon dusty clover hay, the inhalation of the dry seed- 
chaff or other dost doubtless causing the trouble. 
