302 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
Orainin^r Clay Soil-—'' G. W. W," writes 
to the Agriculturist: "I h;ive a clay farm and would 
like to know If it will pay to underdrain it?'* Most 
ceitaintyit will, if there is an excessof water. And there 
is no danger of remieiing it too dry by drains, even if it 
were not excessively wet. "Men whom I think ought 
to know, have toldmelhitt waler will neverdrain through 
this stiff clay into the tiles; but will remain on the puiface 
till it evaporates." Whoever tells you so, knows nothing 
about draining clay soils with tiles. It is impossible for 
waler to percolate through a hwavy soil as soon as a 
light one ; but lliuns;inds and thous;inds of acres of stiff 
clay liave been drained with tiles, and in a year or two, 
changed from a soggy, adhesive mass, to a comparatively 
friable and light soil. It is folly to affirm that water will 
not find the bore of the tiles. We would like to see these 
doubting and " knowing " ones attempt to keep the water 
out of the tiles, by coveiing the joints with clay. *' Please 
tell me also how to loosen the soil ?" Read the Agricul- 
ttirist for June, page ISl. 
ICeoovating' a Barren Soil. — C. A. 
Carpenter, Alleghany Co., Penn., " wishes to know how 
to treat a clayey loam soil 12 inches deep, with impervi- 
ous subsoil, which heaves greatly inwinter. The ground 
is nearly level, cold, wet in winter, and liolds water after 
showers. Ue can get stable manure for $13 per ton, and 
bone dust for $32." The first thing to be done is to drain 
it. It is folly to plow it or to apply barnyard manure, or 
bone dust, until it is relieved of the surplus waler. If 
the water comes from springs through the subsoil, a few 
ditches in the right places will relieve the entire plot of 
surplus waler ; but the effect upon the soil will be noth- 
ing like so good as thorough drainage, with ditches CO 
feet apart over the entire fieM. Then plow deep be- 
fore winter. Next spring apply a half ton of bone, per 
acre, or a dressing of good barnyard manure. Then we 
will warrant a heavy crop of Indian coin. 
Soot as a Iflantire. — *'F. M. B.," lias a 
quantity of soot and wishes to know if it will be a good 
manure for his fiov\er borders. Soot is valuable as a 
manure, and piincipally on accoimt of the arnmoniacal 
salts ii contains. It is best used in the liquid form, and 
it should not be applied in a too concentrated state. As 
Eoot varies a great deal, the proper strength can only be 
determined by experiment. Try half a peck in a barrel 
of water, walch its effects on the plants, and increase or 
diminish the quantity as may seem advisable. 
JBoite Charcoal, — W. S. Demaree, Mont- 
gomeiy Co., Ind. — Bone charcoal is made by healing 
bones in closed vessels, from which the products of 
combuslion may pass off, but no air find access. These 
vessels are called retorts, and are similar to the retorts 
used at the gasworks. The gases which pass off during 
the heating, contain carbonate of ammonia in large quan- 
tities ; thet-e are condensed in water, wiih acidulated sul- 
phuric acid. The liquid is svibsequenlly mingled with fine 
ground plaster, which foiins, with the carbonate of am- 
monia, sulphate of ammonia, and carbonate of lime. 
The liquor is drawn off from the chalky carbonate of lime, 
and the ammonia salt obtained by evaporation. The 
bones are usually, after breaking up somewhat, re-heated 
to free them perfectly from volatile substances. They 
are then broken down to the requisite fineness, and sift- 
ed from tlie dusty particles. The dust may be used to make 
superphosphate of lime. Bone-black, after having been 
u&ed till it is no longer efficient in purifying syrups, is 
washed clean and re-heated in vessels from which the 
air is excluded. Bone-chnrring miglit be very profitable 
at the West, and we presume it is somewhat practised. 
IIoAV to ^lix Cut Feed. — Always sprinkle 
the cut St. aw and hay with water, and mix it thoroughly 
with a shovel, scoopmg up the water from the bottom of 
the trough before tlie meal is put in. If dry meal be 
poured on wet straw, a small quantity will adhere to 
every piece of straw and chaff. But if the meal be 
mingled with the straw before the waler is poured in, 
much of the meal will stick together, and a poition of 
the cut straw will have no meal at all on it. In order to 
induce slock to eat cut straw and hay clean, a little meal 
must adhere to every piece of the straw. 
Ho;*' Oisease in Virginia- — A disease 
called hog-diphtheria is now rapidly killing out the hogs 
in Fairfax and adjoining counties. The animal appears 
well in the morning, but during the day its neck swells 
and by the next morning it is dead. It has been stated 
that no cure has been discovered for this fatal liisease. Mr. 
Louis Brandt, Vet. Surgeon, 5lh Ave. &. HOili st., who has 
had many years' experience in managing this disease in 
Texas, says it ran be cured, if attended to promptly. lie 
communicates the following; "Make 6 or fi inrJsions 
from one to two inches long, according to the size of the 
hog, lengthwise of the neck, through the skin, where the 
swelling is the greatest. Then place in those incisions 
as much Corrosive, sublimate (poison) as you can hold 
on (he ix)int of a pen-knife, spreading it on both sides of 
the cuts. Tins outside application counteracts the inside 
inflammation; an improvement is perceptible in a few 
minutes. The animal should be supplied with plenty of 
fiesh water to drink. Hogs are seldom attacked the 
second time, or have a relapse. Yet when it does oc- 
cur, the same process should be repeated. Tids disease 
will appear in various parts of the country nearly every 
year, and it will be a great benefit to agriculturists to 
have a rcmeily aUvays at hand. As it is contagious, often 
proving fatal to entire herds, the medical aid should be 
given in good time, and diseased animals isolated." 
Reinediy ior HeaTes. — G. W Hicks, Brad- 
ford Co., Penn., writes to the ^5^ricit/fwris( : ** Mix equal 
parts of pulveiized borax and saltpetre, and give a horse 
a tablespoonful in wet oats (or cut feed) twice a day. 
Every othei' day give a spoonful of sulphur. Give also a 
tablespoonful of roppeias twice a week. Continue this 
for five or six weeks. When one kind is mingled with 
the feed, omit the others. I have known this lo cure the 
worst kind of heaves." That is a large dose of copperas. 
A Veterinary College. — We have long 
needed an insiilutioit, in which sound veterinary instruc- 
tion should be given, and illustrated by clinical and 
hospital practice. This demand is now met by the New 
York College of Veterinary Surgeons, the advertisement 
of which is in the present number. We believe this 
institution to be well worthy of the confidence and pa- 
tronage of the public, and sincerely hope that the time 
will .':oon come, when the demand for instruction in ve- 
terinary medicine and surgery will be so great that it 
cannot be supplied by any single institution, however ex- 
cellent. At present, there is a great lack of well educa- 
ted veterinarians. Young men of liberal education and 
proper talent can be more useful to the country by pjop- 
erly qualifying Ihetnselves as veterinary surgeons, than 
they can by entering the professions now already over- 
crowded. Those who have desired lo fit themselves for 
this profession, have heretofore been obliged to go to 
Europe, and we are glad that facilities for acquiring a 
knowledge of veterinary medicine are offered at home. 
A I»o«ltry Kcport.— " Old Gray Beard," 
Hunterdon Co., N. J., writes: "I commenced keeping 
an account with my poultry Dec. 1st, having 11 hens and 
I cock. In Dec. I got 141 eggs, in Jan. 118, in Feb. 131, 
in March 19:2, in April 162. in May 136 ; 880 eggs in six 
monihs. At 2X cts. a piece, tlie average price, 8S0 eggs 
would amount to $22. (JO. I set one hen in April on 17 
eggs ; she hatched out 17 chickens on the 3d of May, and 
has them all yet. All the feed has cost me is $3.60 for 
wheat screenings, at 60 cts. per bushel, and some lard 
scraps, valued at $1. In Feb. X carelessly threw some 
fish brine into the poultiy yard, and next morning one 
hen was dead from eating salt, another one so she could 
not walk. I poured sweet milk tlow n her throat and she 
got well. Altogether my piofils from n.y poultry have 
been over $20 in six months. I have alw ays wintered my 
poultry on corn, until last winter, and it has cost me a 
good deal more to winter them, and I never got near as 
many eggs as I did last winter, when they were fed on 
wheat screeiungs. I sometimes pound up oyster shells 
and bones for them, and have just a common wooden 
shed for them to live in in winter, 
IrVill Hens I*ay ? — George Atwood, an- 
swers the question as follows : On the 1st of June 1663, 
I had 13 hens- value $ 6 50 
29 chickens 3 7.^ 
Eggs set per chickens 5 75 
Expended for 9 'a bushels corn 15 03 
Wheat (refuse) 22 10 
Wheat 1 10 
3 bushels turnips I 50 
Making stock and consumption $55 73 
June 1. 1864. I had sold, etc., chickens $28 49 
167 dozen, 7 eggs 37 89 
On hand, 20 bens : 15 00 
45 large chickens 22 50 
54 medium 7 75 
22 small 2 70 
40 eggs under hens I 35 
$115 6S 
Deduct cost, etc 55 73 
Net profit 1 year $59 95 
Freslt Eggs ana I»lenty.— Mr. J. W. 
Douglass, of Brooklyn, writes as follows : " I should like 
to give you my experience in keeping hens. Last win- 
ter I tried lo see what could be done by a city man to- 
ward having fresh eggs, and selected from my brother's 
flock two hens and one cock of the white Leghorn vari- 
ety. A space 4>; feet wide by 22J< long was fenced off, 
and on one end a plain house was built. About the 10th 
of March I added two Black Spanish hens, .and on the 
15th of March I received one egg. From that time till 
now I have had a constant supply, in all, amounting to 
four liundred and twelve eggs ; or an average of one 
hundred and three for each hen ; they average six to the 
pound, making a total weight of 68?^ lbs., or more than 
four times the weight of the fowls. They have cost 
me for food, not to txceed $1.50 ; they get the leavings 
of the table, with a liitle corn and oats, and a little scrap- 
cake. Twice a day (morning and evening) I allow tliem 
to tun on the grass plot to pick grass, &c., which they 
enjoy very much. I think the whole secret in making 
hens lay, consists in regular feeding and good attendance." 
l*recoeion« Cliiclcen. — D. Breed, "West 
Attleboro, Mass., voui'hes for the statement of " sub- 
sciiber," that a chicken 12 weeks and 1 day old laid an 
egg. " Subscriber" challenges the World for a parallel. 
Prolific Queen Bee. — Bidwell Bros., Api- 
arians of Minnesota, write us that they have taken from 
one Italian stock of bees one comb well filled with eggs 
each day for 30 days. The combs measure Sxl5 inches, 
making 210 square Inches on both sides, which contain 
25 to the inch, or 6,000 cells to each comb. Allowing one 
sixth for bee bread, thequepnhas laid 150,000 eggs in one 
month, and can lay X million during tha working season. 
Lard and Tobacco on Xrees.— E. 
Gaylord, Floyd Co., Iowa, used a preparation of lard 
and tobacco upon his pear trees, and succeeded in pre 
venting the rabbits from barking them. Most of the trees 
are growing well, but as some have stopped growing, he 
wishes to know if these trees are injured by the applica- 
tion. This is a point difficult for us to decide, and one 
which our subscriber, with the facts before him can, by 
taking a little pains, settle satisfactorily by experiment. 
As we have no occasion to keep rabbits from our trees 
we have no experience to offer. Our impression is, that 
the mixture did not hurt the trees. The fact that some 
among 150 young pear trees stopped growing, is nothing 
unusual, and is no strong proof that the greasing was 
the cause. It is not an unusual thinet to grease young 
trees where rabbits are tioublesome. and we have not 
heard of injury from the practice. If any of our readers 
have used grease in this manner either with or without 
tobacco, will they please give the results. 
Buclc^^lteat Stra^v for Iflnloliiug:. — 
Melvin L. Casler, DeKalb Co., III., writes : '• I wish to 
know whether buckwheat straw is good for mulching. 
Father thinks it is not, because it poisons the land.'' We 
have used buckwheat straw for more than 20 years for 
feeding stock, making manure, beading animals, and 
mulching trees and plants, and we never have met with 
any phenomena that led us to think there was any per- 
nicious influence attending the use of the straw. 
I'^ine I>elaT>'are Cirapes. — Those who 
object to the Delaware on account of its small size, 
should see some now on exhibition at our oflice, raised 
by Van Wyck & Johnston. Fishkill, N. i*., and sent by 
T. & W. Ryer & Co., 134-6 West Washinglon Market. 
Seven bunches weighed 53 oz. The largest bunch was 
8 inches long and weighed 9>i oz., and others weighed 
9 oz., 8 oz., etc., down to 6 oz., which was the smallest 
bunch. The berries were about as large as the Dianas 
usually arc— large enough. 
IPreserving Orapes,— J. C. Ashley, N. 
Y. In preserving grapes in a box or jar in a hole in the 
garden, the hole is to be covered. The grapes sold in 
boxes are preserved by keeping them at an even temper- 
ature, which is as low as possible and not freeze the fruit. 
IVild Cherry for Sloclts.— D. Drury, 
inquires about a small red wild cherry of New England, 
which is used successfully as stocks. The species al- 
luded to is probably Prunns {or Cerasus) Pennsylvanica, 
which forms a tree 15 to 30 feet high, and is a true cherry, 
wldle the common Wild Cherry belongs to another sub- 
genus. The tree is not rare in southern New England, 
and quite common in the northern portions. Doubtless 
some of the Maine nurserymen could collect the fruit. 
Harliness* Nni-sery Tree I>is:ser-— 
In April last we published an engraving and description 
of an implement, used at the West for digging trees from 
nursery rows. We prefaced it by the remark that * east- 
ern nurserymen do not think favorably of digging in any 
other way than by the spade." Our fried F. K. Phoenix, 
of Blooniington, III., who is enthusiastically in favor of 
the digger, writes in its defence as follows. " Why not 
quote eastern nurserymen that good trees can't be grown 
West? Why not quote sorneold fogy stagedriver against 
rail-roads, or seamstres.<! against sewing machines? The 
simple truth is, that here spade-digging of nursery ireesis 
absolutely a humbug, a nuisance lo buyer and seller aliice, 
i 
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