1374.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
207 
As to Piss and Pork.-" Subscriber," 
Sanilaci Michigan. Pigs, unless greatly infested with 
trichina?, show no symptoms of the parasites during life. 
When badly infested they sometimes suffer from stiffness 
of the limbs and partial paralysis, but a pig estimated to 
have sixty millions of trichinae in its muscles has shown 
no symptoms during life. When the flesh has long been 
infested the cysts or envelopes of the parasites may be 
seen upon close examination by the unaided eye as small 
white specks. Infested meat may be eaten with perfect 
safety if it has been exposed thoroughly to a heat of 212% 
the temperature of boiling water. Only pork that is 
thoroughly cooked can be eaten with safety. The yellow 
color of the fat of pork is caused by a disordered condi- 
tion of the animal's liver consequent upon overfeeding 
during fattening. It is not considered unwholesome and 
is a parallel case to that in which the flesh of sheep be- 
comes yellow when the disease known as " rot," a liver 
or bilious disorder, is just beginning. In this condition 
they fatten very rapidly. 
A Great Sale of Horse Stock:.— "Wc 
much regret to hear that the magnificent establishment 
of the Kansas Stud Farm near Lawrence, Kansas, is to 
be sold. The senior partner of the.firm of Messrs. Sprague 
& Akers, the Hon. Arnasa Sprague, of Providence, R. I., 
bv nason of financial reverses has found it convenient to 
dispose of his interest. Two hundred and fifty head of 
stallions and mares descended from the best stock in the 
country, including Ethan Allen, Rhode Island, St. Elmo, 
Comus, Erie, and others will be brought under the ham- 
mer. The sale at Lawrence, Kansas, commences on the 
3d of June, and a sale of equal interest hardly occurs 
twice in one's lifetime. 
Dipping for Scal>.— tl J. S.," Downing- 
ton, Pa. A method of dipping sheep or lambs is shown 
In the Agriculturist for May, 1873. ' The sheep dip used 
for the scab, Buchan's carbolic dip, may be procured of 
the Orange Judd Company, 245 Broadway, New York, in 
packages sufficient for fifty sheep for $3.00, with direc- 
tions for use. The sheep had better be shorn before dip- 
ping, and afterwards kept in a stable if the weather is 
cold. The dipping ought to be repeated in two weeks. 
It will be necessary to rub and break the scabs with a 
piece of coarse cloth or blanket dipped in the liquid, as 
the scab insects burrow beneath it. 
ITlirec Horses Abreast.— "W. H. M.," 
Montgomery Co., Pa. When three horses are used to a 
plow the central line of draft must come in aline with the 
ftuTOW that is being plowed; otherwise the draft is 
greatly increased and the side draft must be overcome by 
great exertion of the plowman. But the side draft caused 
"by the extra horse may be partly overcome by using a 
draft rod from the side of the beam near the standard, 
gradually extending outwards from the left on the land 
side of the beam, and connected with a draft plate pro- 
jecting from the end of the plow beam on the left suffi- 
ciently to bring the inside horse into the furrow. 
Turpentine for Crows.— " W. T. G. ? " 
Chatham Corners, Canada, says that common black hot- 
tics each containing half a pint of spirits of turpentine, 
hung from stakes driven in the cornfield go that the ter- 
pentine can be smelt by the crows in all parts of the field, 
will frighten them away. If the seed is clipped in com- 
mon tar and rolled in plaster or dry sand before planting, 
the crows will not take it. 
Male or Heifer Calves. — "J. A, C," 
Dover, N. J. The accident of the sex of a calf is one 
which we can not control. Any person who offers to sell 
a secret whereby it may be controlled for $1 or any other 
sum is either a knave or a fool. A breeder may very easily 
have ten c. calves this year to one b. calf, but nest year 
the proportion will probably be reversed. On referring 
to the writer's record of seventy calves born in five years 
wc find 37 c. calves and 33 b. calves, and one of the 
cows had c. calves each year, while another never had 
a c. calf at any time. From experience and observation 
as well as on general principles, we have no faith in any 
method or plan to produce either sex at will. 
Value of CSra.de Jersey €ows. — 
"F. M. N.," New Berlin, Ct. Grade Jersey [cows 
(that will make two pounds of butter a day should be 
worth $150 each. If they were pure bred they would be 
Worth $300 to $500, according to their " points " or gen- 
eral appearance. This is not an idle or worthless dis- 
tinction, as some would maintain, for the reason that 
animals which breed true to color or "points" may be 
depended upon to breed true to quality as milkers; and 
a cow that throws a wild-colored calf may also throw a 
poor milker, although she may be an excellent milker 
herself. For this reason a self-colored cow, with all the 
marks that are called " fashionable," and which produces 
calves like herself, is valued at double or treble the 
price of other cows. 
Cots-wolds or Leicesters.— "W. P.T., 11 
Clearfield, Pa. Our experience with these sheep is in 
favor of the Cotswold as hardier and altogether better 
than the Leicester. We would rather breed for early 
maturity than for excessive size, and would choose a 
moderate-sized ram with good, close, heavy fleece rather 
than a very large one with an open, light fleece. We 
would also rather use a good Cotswold ram, although he 
was the sire of the ewes, than a Leicester ram that we 
did not. approve of. One such cross might not be objec- 
tionable with sheep if it could not well be avoided. 
The Cause of Chicken Cholera.— 
" Farmer's Wife," Franklin Co., Ohio. We do not think 
the introduction of foreign fowls is the cause of chicken 
cholera. The foreign breeds are no more subject to 
disease than any others. Besides, what breeds have we 
that are not originally of foreign origin ? The cause of 
cholera is undoubtedly lack of attention to cleanliness, 
warmth, and to a proper diversity of food, and want 
of pure water. 
Poultry Raising-.— "D. K. R.," Shclby- 
ville, Ky. The best time to commence keeping poultry 
is in the fall or early winter. At that time young hens 
can he purchased readily. In the spring farmers' wives 
arc not anxious to sell their fowls. If they are fed well 
and a warm place provided, some of the hens may be set 
in February or earlier, end some early broods may be 
hatched out and sold for early chickens. On eight or ten 
acres 500 fowls might easily be kept, or if skillfully man- 
aged double that number. One variety would be found 
most profitable, unless fancy poultry were kept, when of 
course there must be a separate house and yard for each 
kind. A change of roosters should be made each year. 
Contraction of the Hoof.— "J.H.D.," 
Adams Co., Ohio. Probably the best thing to he done 
in a case of contracted hoof is to fit a set of the Good- 
enough shoes to the feet without any paring or rasping, 
to leave the frog and bars altogether untouched, and to 
depend upon nature to restore the sonnd condition of the 
hoofs, which has been destroyed by wrong treatment. 
Hasping the hoof and cutting away the frog and bars arc 
the chief causes of contracted hoofs, and this injurious 
practice should be discouraged. The hoof may be occa- 
sionally washed with cold water and anointed with 
glycerine. Tar should not be smeared upon the hoofs. 
nog Cholera.— A. G. Wallace, of Tuscola, 
111., recommends the following as a feed for hogs when 
the cholera is raging: Use two swill barrels. Mix a feed 
of bran, shorts, or middlings, and water and feed only 
after fermentation. Thi3 mixture soon becomes sour 
standing in the sun and is devoured eagerly by the bogs. 
Feed once a day through the season when hogs are most 
likely to have the disease. By using two barrels, and 
mixing in one in time for fermentation to take place be- 
fore the supply is exhausted in the other, the same degree 
of " sourness " is maintained. He has fed this regularly 
for five years in the cholera season, and has not lost a 
single animal. Others who have tried it have met with 
the same success. Mr. Wallace has in the same time lost 
no chickens or turkeys by disease, and he attributes their 
freedom from disease to the use of the fermented food. 
The cholera has made sad havoc among the hogs in Cen- 
tral and Southern Illinois this season, and as all the old 
preventives and remedies have failed, the very simple one 
above given may prove of value. 
Wool-hearing CJoats. — "P. H. W.," 
Washington Co., Md. The Cashmere goat is the wool- 
bearing goat. The wool or down grows beneath the 
hair and next the skin, and is very fine and valuable. It 
is the material of which the costly Cashmere shawls are 
made. We do not know of any of these goats in this 
country. The Angora goat, allhougb frequently called 
the Cashmere by people here wdio raise them for sale, is 
a different animal altogether, and comes from another 
and a distant locality. Its fleece is of long hair and is 
used for various small manufactures, such as trimmings. 
The market, value is from 30 to 80 cents a pound. We do 
not recommend persons to keep goats where and when 
they can keep sheep, because they arc not so docile to 
manage, are not so profitable, and are equally subject to 
disease, death, and destruction by dogs. 
The Most Profitable Stock.-" Sub- 
scriber," Ponghkcepsie, N. Y. It is impossible to say 
definitely what breed of cattle may be made most profit- 
able to raise for selling. There is no one breed that holds 
any pre-eminent position, and the choicest specimens of 
any breed are sought for by the fanciers of that particular 
stock as eagerly as those of any other breed by their fan- 
ciers. It is a question of capital and skill altogether. 
The breeding of Short-horns would require more capital 
than would the breeding of Jerseys, Ayrshire s, orDevons 
because they cost more and need more costly care and at- 
tention, and the risk is greater. The price is proportion- 
ately higher, but the profit is no greater than with less 
costly stock. If there is any choice of breed so far as 
ease of keep and readiness of sale at remunerative prices 
are concerned, the Jersey, Ayrshire, or Guernsey stock 
might probably be the best. 
Galloway Pollen Cattle.— "D. W. 
C. H.," Clifton, 111. There are breeders of Galloway 
cattle in Michigan and in Canada, but as we have not 
their addresses at hand wc can not give them. The 
number of inquiries which conic to us for the names of 
breeders of these cattle suggests the propriety of their 
making themselves known in the usual manner. 
A Yearling' Jersey Bull.— "A. J. W M " 
Broome Co., O. " A large and vigorous yearling Jersey 
bull" may be allowed to serve about a dozen cows ; but 
be should be fed a quart or two of meal a day in addition 
to his regular feed. A Jersey heifer may be bred at 
twelve months without injury. This breed is remark- 
ably precocious, and has been bred purposely to produce 
this condition. 
Big' Head. — "A. B.," Cass Co., Iowa, and 
others. The disease in horses known as osteoporosis, 
or "big jaw," or "big head," is incurable. Its seat is 
in the bone, which can not be removed without destroy- 
ing the horse. 
Breeding Hules. — u M. A.," Florence, 
N. C. The best mules are bred in Kentucky, and it is 
not uncommon to find teams there sixteen bands high 
and weighing 1,-400 pounds each. Although occasionally 
there are larger mules, even as high as eighteen hands, 
such are rare and undesirable. The use of mules is rap- 
idly increasing in this country, there being over 1,150,000 
in use in 1870, against 570,222 in 1850. When properly 
and kindly used the mule is not the vicious animal it is 
generally supposed to be, and it is a mistake to be prej- 
udiced against it on that account. 
Remedy tor Foot Rot.— "J. H.," 
Lime Ridge, Pa. The best remedy for foot rot is to pare 
away all the loose horn and dress the diseased parts with 
muriatic acid. When the fungoid growths have been 
thus destroyed the foot should be washed in a solution of 
two drams of chloride of zinc in a pint of water, and if 
there are any holes in the foot they should be plugged 
with tow soaked in the solution until they heal. 
Keeping; Sheep for Health.—" Read- 
er." East Tennessee doubtless offers some advantages 
to a seeker after health and profit together in keeping 
sheep. But the Western plains would be found equally 
healthful and far more profitable, as pasture is practically 
free and unlimited in extent. The whole capital could 
therefore be expended in purchasing sheep, and no land 
need be bought for many years. 
Diarrhea in Calves. — "C. A. N.," Dun- 
ville, N. J. Diarrhea in yearling animals exists as a 
symptom of disease rather than as a disease of itself. It 
may indicate the presence of worms or other irritants in 
the intestines, or it may accompany disorder of the liver 
or of the blood. Without knowing anything but the sim- 
ple fact of the complaint it is difficult to say what would 
be the best treatment. It would be safe, however, to 
give only the most digestible food and no fresh green 
fodder. Good clover hay cut and mixed with some fine 
middlings or mi lis tuft* and a handful of linseed meal, 
and the whole scalded and given in moderate quantity 
when cold would he beneficial. Three ounces of cpsom 
salts, two drams of carbonate of soda, and two drams of 
ground ginger may be given in half a pint of slightly 
warm water. After this has operated one ounce of tinc- 
ture of rhubarb, an ounce of tincture of cardamons, with 
one dram of carbonate of soda may be given in half a 
pint of water, and a tablespoonful of molasses, once a 
day for a few days. 
Baling Hay #«v Haricot. — When a 
person buys a bale of hay, it is supposed that he trusts 
something to the honesty of the person who packs it. 
This is a great and sad error. It may contain chaff-dust 
or damaged ha}', but the farmer who packs the bale is 
really the one who suffers. It is a sad reflection that not 
even a bale of hay is taken on trust any more, and tho 
shipper who has not made a reputation for honesty, 
although his bales may be perfect in every respect, can 
not hope to get a top price for his produce. The risk of 
bis dishonesty is discounted by the dealers, who have to 
