1874.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
513 
Steameu Food ami Kuminaa ion. — 
"T. W. 0.," Melrose, Mass. If any person hashazardcd 
the statement that cows do not chew the cud when they 
are fed upon steamed food, he is certainly much mis- 
taken. There is nothing unnatural about the practice of 
feeding this food any more than in grinding the com or 
oats instead of feeding it whole. It Is simply making 
the food more easily eaten, more palatable, and more di- 
gestible. Each of these effects is an economy, and the 
only question to be considered by the farmer is the mat- 
ter of convenience. The economy and propriety of 
cooked food is well settled. 
A Question in Dairying. — " Inquirer," 
St. Charles Co., Mo. We should say that there is no 
question as to the profit of keeping cows for the dairy 
upon purchased feed when hay may be bought for $5 to 
$8 per ton, corn at 30 to 50 cents per bushel, aud oats 20 
to 25 cents, with milk at 2J- cents per quart at a creamery 
near by. Under such circumstances, with a run-down 
farm we should keep all the cows we could procure 
and find room for, selecting, of course. good milkers. A 
good milker Bhould yield 1,800 to 2,000 quarts in the year 
and raise a calf. If there were only the manure pile and 
the calf for profit it would pay. Every possible arrange- 
ment should be made to save the manure, both liquid and 
solid, and if the funds are to be hud if would be an econ- 
omy to steam the food. Dairymen in both Eastern and 
Western States, where feed is worth much more than the 
above prices, are making money with milk at 2| cents a 
quart. 
A Harrowing" Question. — "Inquirer." 
It is difficult to say when a perfect harrow will be in- 
vented, or when we shall have one that will meet every 
expectation. The uses of the harrow are constantly ex- 
tending, and every new use to which we apply it brings 
to light some new improvement. We can not, therefore, 
expect to have any one harrow that will meet every re- 
quirement of the farmer; on the contrary the more ex- 
acting he is as to the quality of his work the greater vari- 
ety of harrows he will find useful to him. 
Value of Leaves. — "J. H. B.," Chester 
Co., Pa. There is not much difference between the value 
of a ton of leaves, or that of a ton of straw, as manure. 
The percentage of ash is sligluly greater in leaves than 
in straw, but the valuable constituents of the ash, as 
lime, potash, and phosphoric acid, arc about the same. 
Losing llie IIair.- u T. J. 8.," Tippe- 
canoe, Ohio. When cows are fed with steamed food and 
kept in a warm stable during the winter, the usual period 
of shedding the hair is anticipated and considerable irri- 
tation of the skin is frequently noticed before the hair 
loosens. The cows are uneasy and rub themselves con- 
tinually. The use of too much coru-meal produces the 
same effect, it being what is called V too heating. 11 Some 
wheat bran or linseed cake meal should be fed with the 
corn, and salt should be given sparingly. A small quan- 
tity of sulphur should be given in the feed twice a week 
from January until the irritation of the skin disappears. 
There is not a book on " cattle, 1 '' and probably never will 
be one, which can meet every circumstance which will 
arise in the care of stock. Much must of necessity be 
left to the judgment and experience of the owner. 
Protrusion ol' the Ifttectiisn in 
Fowls.- "George, *' Wcllesly, Mass. Itisnot \tnusual 
for the egg passage in fowls to become relaxed and pro- 
trude in a reverted position. In this case the parts 
should be bathed in some gentle, cooling, astringent lo- 
tion, as cold tea, alum water, or a weak solution of cop- 
peras. It should be immediately returned, aud a piece of 
sponge moistened with the liquid or with tincture of 
opium should be bound upon the part by meanB of a 
suitable bandage. A pill of bread soaked in the tincture 
should be given to the fowl, and it should be confined in 
a dark, quiet place for a day or two. If the protrusion 
Is repeated the fowl may be considered as incurable. 
Use ofConi-Cobs.-'G. E. II.," Schuy- 
lervillc, N. T. We would rather burn corn-cobs if they 
can be procured in large quantities and spread the ashes 
than use them in any other way. 
Price and Value of Plaster.— "E. 
H. M.," Danbury, Ct. Gypsum, or plaster, is a salt of 
lime containing a large proportion of water. It consists 
of 32.5 per cent of lime, 46.5 per cent of Eulphnric acid, 
and 21 per cent of water, when pure. There is a bed of 
gypsum of excellent quality at Manlius, N. Y., and it 
also occurs abundantly from Syracuse westward to Gen- 
esee County. All through this district it can be mined 
and sold profitably at $-i per ton, as it is brought to this 
country from Nova Scolia and sold for $4 a ton. Our na- 
tive gypsum is equally as good as the foreign. Tlie man- 
ner in which plaster acts as a fertilizer has been Ihe sub- 
ject of much discussion ; it is soluble in water and can 
supply both sulphur and lime to the plant; it also has 
the property of fixing five ammonia, and some claim 
that this is its principal office. 
Crop for Wet Soil.— "G. W. F.," E. 
Brookfield, Mass. The best crop for a rather wet soil 
would probably be oats. If the land is plowed in narrow 
ridges of ten to sixteen feet with deep, open furrows be- 
tween them, the crop would suffer less from the wet. 
But before laying down to grass such land should be 
drained. Potatoes should never be planted on wet soil ; 
they succeed best upon dry, warm land. 
ImproTimg- a Cold. Clay Pasture. 
— " Old Subscriber, 1 ' Taunton, Mass. The first thing to 
be done to improve a cold clay pasture is to drain it. It 
Bhould then be well harrowed to tear up the moss and 
loosen the soil upon the bare spots, and dressed with fifty 
bushels of lime per acre. Clover and timothy seed should 
then be sown and the surface rolled or again harrowed. 
If a fair dressing of fine manure could be given iu the 
fall so much the better. 
Draining Sandy Soil.— " W. T. L.," 
Marshall, Texas. There may very easily be a draining 
mania as any other kind ; and the idea that every soil 
needs draining, whatever may be its character, Bavors 
much of such a mania. A sandy soil with a clay subsoil 
does not necessarily need draining. It is more than 
probable that the "clay" subsoil itself contains a large 
proportion of sand, and is not really a clay. If it should 
be broken up by subsoiling it would probably he all that 
is needed. We would advise an experiment of this kind 
before expending money upon drains. 
Spasmodic Colli* • — " G. F. J.," Mason 
Co., Texas. The readiest remedy for spasmodic colic 
in horses is to give an injection of warm water (not hot) 
with plenty of soap aud a handful of salt dissolved in it. 
The horse should be walked about to excite the bowels 
to action. The injection may be given by means of a 
bladder with a pipe of elder, or other wood, made smooth 
and greased before using. 
"Wild Onion — Boriuuda 4*rass. — "H, 
B. B.," Greenville, S. C. There is no thoroughly effect- 
ive means of getting rid of these weeds but by summer 
fallowing; with several plowings and frequent harrowing. 
The roots of the grass must be picked off after each plow- 
ing or harrowing. 
To Stimulate the Growth of Hair. 
— ■* G. W. E.," Walden, N. Y. The growth of hair upon 
the mane aud tail of ahorse may frequently be stimulated 
by rubbing the skin with a mixture of common whiskey 
and tincture of cantharides. If the follicles of the skin 
from which the hair grows have been destroyed by dis- 
ease or other causes, it is not probable that any applica- 
tion will be effective. 
Value ofttas Lime.— "Old Subscriber," 
Philadelphia. We have not a high opinion of the value 
of gas lime. We would rather pay twenty cents a bushel 
for ordinary lime than have gas lime brought to our 
place and delivered free. As an absorbent in place of 
plaster it is worse than useless. When gas lime is fresh 
it contains much sulphuretted hydrogen which it has ab- 
sorbed from the gas in the process of its purification. 
This is poisonous to vegetation, and until it has passed 
off on long exposure to the air the gas lime should not 
be used for any agricultural purpose. By the action of 
the air some gypsum or sulphate of lime is produced, and 
the rest is mainly carbonate of lime, or what is known 
as mild lime, and of little use for any purpose. 
How to Catch Hawks.-^A. K.," 
Lunenburg, Mass., sends us his plan of trapping chicken 
hawks, as follows: "Take a wire bird-cage, put a live 
chicken in it, and set it on the ground near the buildings 
in an exposed place. Then take a steel trap, tie a small 
dead chick on the pan. Then place a small stick about 
an inch and a half long under the chick's throat, so as to 
bring the head in the natural position. Open the chick's 
eyes, and he will look as if alive. Place the trap on the 
ground about three feet from the live chicken in the 
cage and set it. Shut up all the young chickens. When 
the hawk comes, he will hear the live chicken calling for 
its mother, and will go for it. But as he can not take it, 
he will quickly see the chicken on the trap and clutch it 
iu a moment. Then you have him." 
Epilepsy in Pigs.—" W. E. M.," Ash- 
tabula Co., Ohio. Pigs are very subject to epilepsy, pro- 
bably because no animals arc so subject to internal para- 
sites, to the presence of which this affection is often attri- 
buted. The attack occurs without any previous symptom. 
The pig suddenly staggers, drops upon his haunches, 
foams at the month, becomes rigid, and falls; the eyes 
protrude and are turned upwards, the muscles are vio- 
lently convulsed, and the animal strnggles involuntarily 
aud unconsciously. Recovery is often very speedy, and 
the animal regains consciousness and goes about its 
business again. It is supposed that worms in the 
stomach and intestines, or minute eggs and larvae of 
parasites in the blood or the muscles, are the chief causes, 
although sometimes defective nutrition by reason of in- 
digestion may doubtless produce it. An ounce of tur- 
pentine given daily twice, and followed by an ounce of 
castor oil, or two ounces of linseed oil, or an injection of 
soap and water in the rectum, has been recommended as 
proper treatment; but these are of doubtful benefit. 
Iiiflammntion or the •• Hook." — 
"E.," Madison, O. When the covering membrane of the 
eye of an ox is seriously inflamed after the loss of the eye, 
it may be removed without injury either with a sharp 
knife by a surgeon or by the application of nitrate of 
silver in solution. The fungoid growth which occurs 
under such circumstances must he removed before there 
can be any cure. It would be best to have some profes- 
sional advice about it. 
ISestoritB^ Batter.— " J. O. B." We 
know of no method of restoring rancid butter to a good 
condition. The ill smell and flavor is caused by a chem- 
ical decomposition of some of the constituents and the 
formation of some peculiar acids which can not lie got 
rid of nor effectually disguised after they are once formed. 
A Slieep witU a " Propensity."— 
11 B. S. H., 1 ' Tarry town, N. Y. Sheep have a natural 
propensity for eating bark, which is incurable. They 
should not be allowed in a young orchard, and it is not 
safe to keep them in an old one for many days at a time. 
When they have become at home there they will he on 
the lookout for mischief. 
Wart on a Horse's ISreast. — **E. 
D.. ,T Labette Co., Kansas. If the wart is small it may be 
removed by tying a stout fine cord or a fine iron wire 
tightly around the base. It will in time drop off. Other- 
wise it may be removed by touching it daily with a 
strong solution of nitrate of silver (lunar caustic). Be 
careful in using this solution, as it is poisonous. 
The IBest Slieep Tor Ohio.— "S. C," 
Pomeroy, Ohio. If we should judge by the practice and 
success of sheep farmers in Ohio we should say that the 
Merino and its grades are the most profitable sheep in 
that State. What is the best sheep depends greatly upon 
the locality. It is certain that there are comparatively 
few places in which the large long-wool sheep can profit- 
ably snpersede the full blood and the three-quarter or 
half-bred Merino. Those few places are where a large 
carcass of mutton is desirable, and where abundant pas- 
ture and roots are attainable. It must be remembered 
that by far the largest demand is for fine and three-quarter 
clothing wools, or, in other words, Merino wools, and 
that the demand for combing wools is far from general. 
Few common country woolen factories are able to card 
the lung wools, and such factories use up the great bulk 
of the wool produced here. 
IMcU's Success.— "J. S.," Union Grove, 
111., relates the following story about Dick. lie was 
called the Elephant from his immense size. He weighed 
alive 76S pounds at the age of two years. By that time 
he had eaten 40 bushels of corn, three litters of young 
pigs, three calves, and two dozen hens and chickens, all 
of which charged against him amounted to $34. Dick 
required the services of four men and a span of horses 
to dress him, when he made 614 lbs. of pork, and sold 
for $24.56. The balance against him is made up of little 
iU-ms which are not usually charged ; otherwise he would 
have been a profitable pig. He was a Poland-China, and 
an ornament to his race. In one of his frisky moments 
he injured his back, and was therefore killed before he 
was fattened. "J. S." thinks if he could only raise a lot 
of hogs like Dick he would do well. 
Itloo<ly Urine.— " C. A. N.," Morristown, 
N. J. The cause of bloody urine in a cow after calving 
is a congested state of the blood-vessels of the kidneys 
consequent upon the recent condition of the cow. It is 
always accompanied by some fever, and a cooling aperient 
draft frequently relieves it at once. We would give 12 to 
1G ounces of Epsom salts with an ounce of ground ginger, 
and apply cold, wet cloths to the loins. No corn-meal 
should be given, and linseed cake-meal should be substi- 
tuted. Scalded crushed oats, given cold, may be alter- 
nated with the linseed. It is also advisable to keep the 
cow quiet for a few days and feed lightly. 
