isre.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
87 
the same way, one bud at the surface, mulch with, loaves, 
aud water if need he. Some varieties of grape can not be 
grown ill this way, such as Delaware and Norton. Do 
not set cuttings where they are to grow, but give them 
their first year in a bed. 
Pine- Wood Allies. — " J. M. W. K.," 
Morristown, finds that Dana in bis "Muck Manual" 
states that pine-wood ashes contain four times as much 
potash as hard-wood ashes. Dana, on the authority of 
Berthier, certainly says this ; and J. F.W. Johnson (John- 
son's Agricultural Chemistry), on the authority of Spren- 
gel, says that beech-wood ashes contain ten times and 
oak seven limes as much potash, as pine ashes. Sprengel, 
and not Berthier, is correct; we never saw or heard 
of potash made from pine ashes, while it is largely 
made from those of hard wood. No backwoods house- 
keeper would think of using pine-ashes for her soap. 
Value of Tanuei-s' Refuse. — "C. S. 
E.," Peabody, Mass. Tanners' refuse is composed of lime, 
hair, and some animal mutter, and is useful as a top- 
dressing to grass lands, or for orchards. It can hardly be 
compared with stable-manure, as it contains no potash or 
phosphoric acid, and is rich only in lime and nitrogen. 
Value of Marl.— <( G. A. P.," Churlestown, 
W. Va., has a bed of mar], composed of the following: 
Organic matter, with traces of ammonia, and water, 15.00 
per cent; carb. of lime, 54.60; peroxide of iron and 
alumina, 2.40; silica and insoluble silicates, 27.40. What 
is its value as a manure, and in what quantities should it 
boused? — This marl is of value only for the lime and 
ammonia; it would make a good material to compost with 
swamp-muck as a dressing for grass lands. Alone, three 
or four tons per acre would be a proper quantity to apply 
on a meadow. Its value is about one dollar per ton, but 
might be increased by burning. 
Hen Manure. — Vindex, Long Island, lias 
ten barrels of hen manure, " and now the question occurs, 
* What will I do with it? ' " Poor man ! we are sorry for 
you ; head up the barrels tight and pay the freight to our 
place and it won't trouble you any more. When it arrives, 
WQ shall mix it with two or three times its bulk of the 
driest earth at hand, shovel it over and mix thoroughly, 
and put it in a heap, with a few inches of earth over 
that. If it does not heat in a few days, we shall make 
the heap over, and wet it as we go, and cover the new 
heap with earth. If any ammonia escapes, put more earth 
on the heap. It will soon disappear as hen-manure aud 
be incorporated with the earth, aud we shan't buy any 
guano this year. We shall use it for corn and all sorts of 
quick-growing crops, top-dress cabbages, and anything 
else for which we would use guano. As it is very strong, 
it will not do to put it in direct contact with the seed. 
If he chooses to take the trouble, u Vindex " can do this 
himself, but we should be glad to do st for him. 
Swindled in Eg-g'S. — A correspondent in 
Wisconsin wishes us to expose the manner in which an 
individual in Chambersburgh, Pa., swindled him in an 
egg trade. He ordered geese, duck, and liens' eggs, and 
sent the money to pay for them. The hens' eggs came, and 
not a single one hatched. No duck nor goose eggs were 
received, nor has our correspondent been able to get the 
money back. We are always ready to expose swindles 
when we have the documentary evidence to back us. 
While we have not the least doubt that the case is as our 
Wisconsin friend represents, we should be subjected to 
great inconvenience were we called into court to auswer 
for publishing it in full. The Chambersburgh man has 
long been denied admission to our advertising columns. 
Dlamii'aetnringf Bone Manure. — 
C. II. Stolfers, Knox Co., Tenn., wants to engage in 
making bone manures in a small way, and asks what the 
machinery would cost. It will not pay to engage in this 
business in a small way; the mill for crushing bones 
alone would cost $150 to $000. The mill figured in the Agri- 
culturist h November, 1S71, p. 417, might be built for $150, 
without the power. Thevats for dissolvingthe bone, and 
machinery for pulverizing and preparing the superphos- 
phate, might cost $150 more for a small manufactory. A 
power of six to ten horses is necessary to grind bo tough 
an article as bone. 
Seeding 1 Down Corn witU Clover 
is sometimes adopted with excellent results. Cultivate 
the corn on the flat, and after the last cultivating, say in 
July, mount a horse, aud with a Cahoon's broad-cast 
sowing machine sow five quarts of clover seed per acre. 
If the ground has been thoroughly cultivated and is moist 
and mellow, the clover will soon start ; and if it should 
not, go over the field again after the first rain, and sow 
Bix quarts of timothy Beed per acre. Wo would suggest 
this plan to J. T. B., of Maryland. His five-field rota- 
tions would then be : 1. corn, seeded with clover in 
July; 2. clover, pastured; 3. pasture or summer fallow, 
aud sow with wheat in the fall; 4. wheat, seeded with 
clover; 5. clover for hay and seed, or pasture; G. corn, 
etc. If clover seed is grown, sell it and buy manure, or 
bran, cotton-seed cake, or other food with the money, 
and keep a flock of mutton sheep. 
Steam -Engine. — "Subscriber." Why 
don't you sign your name ? Do you and a thousand others 
think we will answer matters of an entirely private na- 
ture in these columns? Your name and a stamp would 
have given you a reply. 
Rotation or Crops in Maryland.— 
"J. T. B.," a young Maryland farmer, whose soil is light 
but not sandy, wishes our opinion as to the best rotation 
for five fields. He has hitherto raised nothing but corn 
and wheat, but thinks this brings the land too frequently 
in wheat and corn. We suppose the present rotation to 
he— 1. corn, 2. wheat, 3. clover, 4. clover, 5. clover, G. corn, 
7. wheat. If the corn-stalks, wheat-straw, and clover 
are all consumed on the farm, the above is not an exhaust- 
ive rotation. If the land is well cultivated when in corn 
and is clean, we do not see how to better the rotation. 
If the wheat crop will not average 30 bushels per acre, 
we should be inclined to use some artificial manure, say 
Peruvian guano, or nitrate of soda, and a phosphatic 
guano or superphosphate. 
The Wild Onion. — A correspondent in 
Albemarle Co., Va., asks how to destroy the wild onion. 
If this onion is one which propagates by seed, putting 
the land in grass, and mowing, would certainly destroy it 
in time. If it propagates by offshoots from the roots, 
nothing but plowing, harrowing, and gathering the roots 
will avail, so fur as we know. We have heard that 
trenching the ground and thus burying the roots deeply 
will kill them. As this is a serious trouble in some 
localities, we should be glad to hear from tho?c who have 
had experience with it. Fortunately we have had none. 
Itraueltin^ Corn. — Wo have published 
testimony adverse to the "Branching Sweet Corn," and 
we now give the only favorable report that has come to 
us. Mr. J. M. Beckwith, Norwich, Ct., who planted 
the corn aud raised from two to five ears to the stalk. 
Some of the hills had from five to ten ears each. 
Catalpas and Magnolias. — " L. D. S.," 
Hudson, O., asks which are the best varieties. The common 
Catalpa is well known ; it is barely hardy at New York. 
C. Kcmnpferi seems to be hardier. It is more dwarf, very 
leafy, and a free bloomer. G. Bungei is recommended, but 
we have not tried it. All the native Magnolias (except 
the Southern M. grandijlora) are hardy, and the Chinese 
varieties are likely to be so with you, though the spring 
frosts may catch the flowers. M. compicua, white ; M. 
purpurea, purple ; and M. Soulangeana, a hybrid between 
the two, are old sorts. M. Lennei is a newer variety, and 
the finest, but scarce and dear yet. 
Evergreens. — "L. D. S." Both Cupressus 
Lawsoniana and Thuyopsis borecdis are generally hardy in 
the Middle States. They sometimes get badly injured 
near New York. 
Burned Swamp Land.— "E. G. II.," 
Lake Co., Ind., asks how com, oats, potatoes, or onions 
would grow on a tract of peaty soil, which has been 
burned over from six inches to two feet deep. Such soil, 
when plowed and mixed with the ashes, would grow corn 
or potatoes exelleutly ; oats would probably lodge on it 
until two or three crops have been taken off. 
Diseases of Cattle.—" S. C. B.," Topcka, 
Kansas, asks for the best work on cattle diseases. " Dadd's 
Diseases of Cattle" is a useful work, aud as good as any. 
Colorado. — " G. E. S." wants to know all 
about the climate, soil, etc., of Colorado. The climate 
is dry, healthy, and cool on cloudy days and at nights; 
during winter there are occasionally severe storms, dur- 
ing which cattle need feed and shelter. Crops need irrigat- 
ing, and then yield about equal to a good farm in New 
York or Pennsylvania. There is a colony near Pike's 
Peak— we do not know the name of it. 
THelSest HeeiT-Cattle.— " ASubscriber" 
wants to know which is the best breed of cattle for 
beef? For a hilly country with light pasture, the Devon ; 
for a moderate pasture, the Ib.rcford : and the Durham or 
Shorthorn is best for the richest pastures on level plains. 
Cotswold is the hardiest and largest mat ton sheep. South 
Down is the choicest quality, but medium weight. 
See Page 119, 
^leasnriiigf Hay i:i tlte Stack. — W G. 
W. B.," Lafayette, Ind.— Hay is measured in the stack by' 
the same rule as hay in the mow. Sec American Agricul- 
turist for January, 1S7-3, page 7. 
How to Feed Carrots- — "P. P." says 
bis horses will not eat carrots ; how shall he feed them ? 
Cut or chop them with a sharp spade In a box, and 
sprinkle a little salt and ground feed over them. Roots 
are often refused at first, when fed whole. 
Lolling' of the Tongue in Horses. 
— "O, W.," Newfane, N. Y., asks for a remedy for the 
unsightly habit in a horse, of hanging the tongue out of 
the side of the mouth. A bunch of small links of chain 
fastened to the center of the bit is sometimes used to 
prevent this habit, by occupying the attention of the 
horse, and causing him to champ the bit; a strong bitter 
decoction, as of gentian root, rubbed on the outside of the 
mouth will sometimes make him withdraw his tongue. 
l*aint tor 'fools. — u Mcchauic"says there 
is difficulty in procuring crude petroleum in some cases, 
and recommends Venetian rod or French yellow and 
boiled linseed oil as cheap paints for implements. 
Raising; Roots. — V. Vannier has Bandy, 
warm, black soil, and asks which would be the most 
suitable roots to raise. We would recommend him t<> 
raise a variety— carrots, sugar-beets, mangels, and ruta- 
bagas. They can be grown side by side, and cultivated 
together. Manure is needed for all roots, and bone-dust 
and gnanoare especially useful. Artichokes are not t» 
be recommended as a farm crop, unless the land can be 
given up to them. 
Are Twin Cattle Slarren ?— 'Sub- 
scriber " has avaluable twin heifer, which has shown no 
inclination to change her condition, and asks if this is 
inevitable. Not always. Some believe twin animals are 
necessarily barren. We do not believe it, having had a 
cow which was twin-sister to a useful bull. 
Buying Food for Hogs.-W. S. Pay- 
son, 111., writes: "Ogden Farm Papers say that a man 
can afford to buy food for stock if be can afford to feed 
what he has raised. Is this always a safe rule? If so, 
would it pay to make a specialty of pig-raising, calculat- 
ing to buy all or most of the corn for fattening? Could 
such a business be depended on as profitable through 
a series of years? Will hogs do well in warm sheds or 
bouses without straw ? "—To answer the first question, 
the rule is always a safe one. Whether it would pay to 
make a specialty of raising pork, is another proposition, 
but it is one that is not at all affected by the question of 
raising or buying corn. The profit of such an operation 
would be very much affected by the value of manure in 
the locality where it is carried on. The question is a 
purely commercial one, in which the prices of pork and 
of corn and the value of manure are the factors. It is, 
we think, fair to assume, that no staple article like pork 
will sell, ono year with another, for less than the cost of 
producing it. It is from the profit made by the production 
of staple articles that the population of the world mainly 
gains its living. The chances of success would probably 
be very good, if the business were carried on on a largo 
enough scale and with sufficient care as to details. Hogs 
should have some sort of dry bedding, either straw, dry 
earth, or something else, that will keep them out of the 
mire, especially in cold weather. If many are kept to- 
gether.their quarters should be very thoroughly ventilated. 
Cabbage* Cor Fattening.— " G. B.," 
Lodi, O., asks if cabbages are profitable to raise for fat- 
tening sheep and catttle. No. Ruta-bagas, with the 
manure needed to grow a good crop of cabbages, would 
make a h^avy crop and would be a much more valuable, 
feed for fattening. 
Yorkshire Swine. 
The modern improved Yorkshire hog is an instance of 
what may be done in improving a breed by care and ju- 
dicious selection for a series of years. Originally, the 
Yorkshire breed was reputed to be the worst in England, 
but by crossing on another race, and by care in selecting, 
it has been brought up to be one of the best. They are good 
feeders and quick growers, and readily attain a weight 
of four hundred to five hundred pounds at twelve months 
old, and eight hundred pounds when full grown, and are 
veryprolific. Prize animals have been feduptollOO and 
1-2U0 pounds. The specimens represented in the engrav- 
ing on the first page, arc the property of Brodic, Son & 
Co., of Rural Hill, N. Y., who took four prizes at the 
New York State Fair of last year, on their Yorkshires. 
