24r8 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
mer. I hnvc sown the land to wheat this spring. Will 
seeding down and pasturing sheep kill the thistles?" — 
No. A heavy crop of clover, mown in June for hay, be- 
fore any of the thistles go to seed, and mowing a second 
time for hay in August, will kill many of them and check 
the growth of the others. Heavy crops of clover treated 
in this way, followed by a corn crop or a summer fallow, 
is a good way to get rid of these pests. But thorough 
cultivation is necessary. Not a thistle should be allowed 
to show its head above ground. This will answer 
11 L. D.," Laporte, also. 
Arithmetical IProblena. — We are 
obliged to several correspondents, professors, principals, 
and others who have helped to elucidate the arithmetical 
problem given in the Agriculturist of May last. They 
arrive at a different resnlt to that given by us, by — to 
use the words of one — ll using a little artifice." and make 
the result 04 sheep, 1 hog, and 5 cows=100 animals, cost- 
ing $100. The original inquiry was simply if the ques- 
tion could be solved by alligation alternate, and by the 
rule generally in use the solution was as we gave it; 
but by " using a little artifice," or, in other words, work- 
ing by analysis, the solution is easily arrived at. as given 
above. Our correspondents will accept our thanks. 
draining.— J. W. E.," Westerville, Ohio. 
The distance on each side of a drain that is acted upon 
by it, depends on its depth below the surface, and the 
nature cf the soil. On some very heavy clays, drains 
should be laid four feet deep and Thirty-three feet apart ; 
on some porous clays, the surface may be dried by drains 
eixty-six feet apart, at four feet deep. Again, other 
soils may be drained at a depth of three feet, while 
others may need drains six feet or more in places before 
they are rendered dry. Unless a very strong spring 
6hould he cut, main drains of three-inch tile and others 
of one and a half-inch will be found sufficient. 
Water in a j?IiIl£-troias,li.— '■ J. W T . 
E.,' 1 Westerville, Ohio. The water ni a milk -trough used 
for cooling purposes, if ice is addeu to it. may remain in 
the trough two days. But as water readily absorbs the 
impurities in the atmosphere, and as there is a strong 
animal odor evaporated from the cooling milk, which 
the water will take up to some extent, it is well to 
change it as often as may be convenient, even though 
that be every twelve hours. A running stream is prefer- 
able to standing water in every case. 
Scales on Cltiolten*.* Feet.—" I. M. 
I?.." Sumner Co., Kansas. We have used a weak solu- 
tion of potash, or "concentrated lye." to wash the scaly 
legs and feet of fowls with success. But we believe it to 
be constitutional in the fowls, and have always picked 
such out for fattening for the table or market. It is al- 
ways best to weed out all fowls with this tendency, re- 
serving only thrifty ones, and keep them dry and clean. 
The Mole-plow.-'-C. S.," Allen Co.. 
Ohio. The mole-plow may be made very serviceable in 
draining wet lands where it is not convenient to use any 
other method. The plow has a sharp coulter, at the 
bottom of which is fixed a round, wedge-shaped share, 
which, being drawn through the soil fourteen or six- 
teen inches below the surface leaves a sort of mole- 
burrow shaped channel, through which the water es- 
capes. This sort of plow is also excellent for breaking 
up an impervious hard-pan, and allowing surface water 
to escape through it. The best and cheapest plow of 
this character we know is the Miner Plow, made by R. 
E. Allen & Co., Water street. New York. 
Roots of Tree* in the Well.— "J. 
C. L.," Warsaw, Ind. The presence of many roots of 
fruit or shade trees in a well is sufficient to cause a bad 
taste iu the water, due to the presence of decomposing 
vegetable matter. We would go down the well and cut 
off the roots with a sharp knife every season. Wells 
should be occasionally cleaned out, especially if they are 
shallow. 
Preparing* IhTaniie. — '*A. G. P.," Glyn 
Co., Ga. A machine for preparing ramie, or China-grass 
fiber, is a desideratum not yet supplied, at least in this 
country. We notice a report of its culture and prepara- 
tion for market in Europe with profit, but do not know 
by what process it is prepared, unless by hand. 
Castration of Colts and otlier 
Animals.— "W. R. T.,"' New Kent, Va. TJnless there 
was something which would prevent or make it incon- 
venient, we would castrate young stock as early as pos- 
sible. The younger they are, the more easily they get 
over the effects of the operation. Lambs and young pigs 
rarely snffer any inconvenience if operated on before 
they are weaned. We have seen scores of young lambs 
castrated by simply clipping off the scrotum with a pair 
of sharp shecp-shears when they were a week old lose 
scarcely a drop of blood, and the wound healed at once. 
For operating on colts with perfect safety, without loss 
of blood or need of firing or clamps, an instrument called 
an ecraseur is made and used in Philadelphia. 
Eggs for Winter Use.— "A. B. M.," 
Clariou Co., Fa. Eggs can not be put up now for winter 
use without losing a great many. It is better to wait 
until September, when the fowls, having had a good run 
on the stubble fields and grain barns, begin to lay plen- 
tifully, and eggs become cheap. Then they may be put 
down in kegs of strong lime-water, or milk of lime, and 
kept in a cool place for several months. Or if they arc 
carefully oiled with linseed-oil, and packed in bran or 
dry oats, they may be preserved in good order. 
Aoorlion in Cows. — U J. B.," Carthage, 
Mo., writes that he has had several cases of abortion iu 
his herd which could be distinctly traced to the ill-effect 
of the odor from dead animals. In one case three cows 
aborted when the only known or supposable reason was 
the effluvium from three dead cows which were permitted 
to lie in an adjoining field to be eaten by hogs. Another 
case occurred, and a dead hen was found beneath the 
feed-box, under the cow's nose. lie says if foul odors 
wiU bring about this effect in one case, why may not 
other foul odors have the same effect in other cases, and 
a cause little suspected be the origin of the mischief in 
many mysterious cases ? 
Xo Cure a. Snake-bitten Horse. — 
" G. G. T.," Madison Co., Tenu. An old wound from a 
snake-bite, which now Ewells and discharges freely, 
might probably be cured by poulticing with bran or 
linseed-meal poultices frequently repeated and put on 
hot. When the wound is well cleaned, it might be 
washed with a solution of carbolic acid (1 part acid to 
100 of water), or with a weak solution of chloride of 
zinc, and then healed as a common sore by injecting a 
little compound tincture of benzoin daily. 
Rye for €ows.- " J. T. G.," Hanover Co., 
Va. If the rye is free from ergot, or what is commonly 
called "spurred rye, 1 ' which consists of a dark brown 
fungoid body, an inch or less in length, and an eighth of 
an inch ■ thirls, growing on trie cars, it may be safely fed 
to cows at any time. But as the ergot may be so easily 
overlooked when only slightly developed.it. would be 
safer not to feed it to cows in calf after it has headed out. 
Cholera, in Chickens. — " B. F. H.," 
Washington, Pa. The best '"cure" for cholera is pre- 
vention. Keep the fowls dry, and their roosts and yards 
perfectly clean and sweet. Change their food occasion- 
ally, and now and then give cooked meal in thick mush, 
or boiled potatoes mashed with meal. Cholera is very 
often the reaction from constipation, caused by too much 
dry grain. A little copperas in the water is a good tonic, 
and might be given once a week. To cure the disease 
when it has occurred, we have known alum-water given 
for drink, and food soaked in alum-water, with pills of 
bread crumb and red pepper, to be used. But it is much 
easier to prevent than to cure ; at least we have always 
been successful iu preventing it in our flocks. 
Oil-cake for Poultry.—" A. C," Haver- 
hill, Mass. There is no necessity to give oil-cake or any 
other grain-feed than corn to poultry while that can be 
procured. With some meat-scrap?, pounded oyster-shells 
or bones, a little chopped cabbage or other vegetables, 
and corn in moderation, poultry will do very well with- 
out any additional feed. 
Ponltry - farming-. — "C. H. G.," Salt 
Lake city. Where eggs are thirty cents a dozen the 
year round, and fowls fifty to eighty cents each, it cer- 
tainly will pay to keep poultry. On ten acres, one thous- 
and fowls might be kept by using five acres alternately, 
but it would only be through tact and experience that it 
could be successfully done. It would be safest to com- 
mence with oue hundred or two hundred, and increase 
gradually. The feed should be mainly corn, boiled pota- 
toes, chopped cabbage, and. meat-scraps, with broken 
bone and plenty of clean water. If the houses are white- 
washed monthly, cleaned out weekly, and the roosts 
greased or oiled once or twice a month, there will be no 
lice. Lice and filth accompany each other. A hen will 
raise, on the average, ten chicks, and produce, for sale, 
five dozen eggs besides, at least. 
Leaden Pipe. — "J. C. S.," Rose Point, 
Pa., says in relation to the use of lead pipe that science 
is a good thing, but it needs to be corrected by expe- 
rience; and therefore,* admitting that the U6e of lead pipe 
for conveying drinking water is dangerous scientifically 
considered, yet experimentally he has found it .o be per- 
fectly harmless. Even a leaden tank for storing drinking 
water has been found perfectly innoxious by one of bis 
friends, and thus practical experience overcame theoreti- 
cal prejudice. Nevertheless the use of lead pipe is always 
dangerous: it is least so when a constant current of 
water is passing through it. No drinking water should 
be stored in a leaden tank. And further, while there are 
certain impurities in some waters which cause them to 
act less vigorously on the lead than pure water, without 
knowing whether these arc present or not there is a 
great risk run. The purer the water the more rapidly it 
dissolves the lead. 
WBien to Water Cattle.— " A Parmer," 
Grape Island, W. Va. The usual time to water cattle or 
horses is after feediug in the morning, a little before and 
after feeding at noon, and before feeding at night. These 
times are most convenient, and are probably as good as 
any other time that could be chosen. Copious watering 
at any one time should be avoided. 
Plaster in Stables.— "J. E. M." sees a 
statement in the Agriculturist that plaster will not fix 
ammonia unless it is dissolved in water; why then, he 
asks, is plaster recommended to be scattered in stables 
and manure-heaps to fix the ammonia? For the reason 
that stable floors are always wet, and much liquid is in 
the manure, and the same \t_ true of manure-heaps. Then 
the plaster scattered is dissolved by the water, which 
holds much ammonia in solution, and decomposed, and 
sulphate of ammonia is formed, which is not volatile. 
Manure heaps should be kept moist that the solution 
and fising of the ammonia, which is always forming 
during fermentation, may be completely effected. 
SSenelitv of Snow. — "Subscriber" asks 
in what way suow is beneficial to agriculture. It acts as 
a protection to meadows and wheat fields against severe 
cold and sudden changes of temperature. It also con- 
tains a larger proportion of ammonia than rain-water 
usually docs, and thus, by furnishing a supply of this 
valuable fertilizer, has gained the name of the " poor 
man's manure ; "" but it is equally true that it may have 
also gained this name for the reason that the man who 
relies upon it as the sole source of his manure will always 
be a poor man. 
Thumps.-" G. G. T.," Madison Co., Tenn. 
Thumps is caused by spasms of the diaphragm, or mem- 
brane which separates the abdomen from the chest. It 
is the result of over-driving or over-exertion. It may 
sometimes be relieved by placing the horse in an airy, 
cool place, and giving him a copious drink of cold water. 
We know of no permanent cure. 
Composting " Salt-fish."— " T. J. J," 
Bath Co., , says he has read a good deal about com- 
posting fresh fish, and now would like to know how to 
compost salt-fish, which he can buy at ^ix dollars per 
ton. — Is salted fish here meant, or salt-water fish as dis- 
tinguished from fresh-water fish ? We can not understand 
how salted fish can be for sale at that price. However, 
there is no difference iu the method of composting 
whichever it may be. It should be mixed with earth in 
layers until rotted, and then spread upon the plowed soil 
and harrowed in. Such manure should be kept near the 
surface. 
Thomas Harrow,-"C.W. fit," Spring- 
field, Vt., asks if the Thomas Harrow is fitted for use 
amongst stones and rocks. — By no means. The teeth are 
very light, and are not adapted to such rough usage. But 
why not get rid of those stones, at least the loose ones? 
In plowing stony soil, if the stones are all thrown into the 
furrow and covered by the nest furrow slice, this harrow, 
or any with sloping teeth, will not bring them up again 
to the surface ; and no stone that can not thus be covered 
should be allowed to lie upon the surface even in 
Vermont. 
Loss of Milk.— "N. S.," Amlover, Mas?., 
has a cow that had an inflamed udder at last calving, and 
since then two teats have been dry. He would know 
whether or not it is worth while to try oer once more 
with another calf, or slaughter her- It is quite possible 
that the cow, with good care and attention, may come 
out all right next time. Siie should be watched closely, 
and if the udder becomes hot or hard, it should be bathed 
in warm water and rubbed gently with the hand. The 
cow should he kept warm, and a pound of epsom salts, 
with one ounce of powdered ginger, be given in slightly 
warm water, with a tcacupful of molasses in it. If the 
trouble again becomes serious, the udder should be 
rubbed twice a day with one ounce of tincture of iodine 
and one ounce of soap-liniment, mixed. If this should 
