1878. J 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
315 
Wben a Cow Comes in Season. —“ J. F. H.,” 
Louisville, Mo. As milk is a more valuable product than 
the call, the object should be to make the season of 
milking as long as possible. A cow will generally come 
into breeding condition in three months after calving, 
or,, if well fed, sometimes in two months. By keeping 
the cow from breeding for three months we have about 
ten months of milking, and can give the cow two months 
rest. In general, this plan is the most desirable. 
Cotswold Sheep and Angora Goats.—“E, 
D.,” Pittsburg, Pu. It is a mistake that some people 
make to suppose that the Orange Judd Co., or the ed¬ 
itors of the American •.Agriculturist , deal in, or sell seeds 
or live stock of any kind. No persons officially connected 
with the American Agriculturist has anything to sell ex¬ 
cepting their own farm produce in the ordinary way in 
the markets. The advertising columns of this Journal 
contain in the course of a year the names of persons 
from whom almost anything can be purchased—from 
a copper-toed shoe or a watch-key up to steam-engines, 
farms, live-stock of all kinds, and other things large and 
small, too numerous to mention. 
Hard hump in a Teat.— “E. C. W.,” Mont¬ 
calm Co., Mich. To treat a hard swelling at the base of 
a cow's teat, apply twice a day about a teaspoonful of a 
mixture of Glycerine, 7 parts; Iodide of Potassium, 1 part. 
If the iodide does not readily dissolve, add a little water 
to the mixture. A small quantity of this should be poured 
into the palm of the hand, and rubbed about the swollen 
part, using gentle pressure aud kueadiug. 
Salt for Animals.— “H. M. J.,” Milwaukee, Wis. 
It is better to give horses, sheep, and cows, a daily al¬ 
lowance of salt, by placing a supply where they can them¬ 
selves procure what they want. Otherwise they may be 
supplied once a week on a certain day and at a regular 
hour. Saturday evening is a good time for this. 
Dysentery In Pigs.— “ J. B. H.,” Mount Holly, 
N. J. This disease is frequently caused by close confine¬ 
ment in warm weather. When swine are confined in 
pens, they should be kept clean, cool, and thickly bedded 
with dry earth. Some green food should be provided 
daily. To treat the scouring, give a teacupful of linseed 
oil to an old pig, or a tablespoonful to a young one, and 
repeat the second day. Then give, in some sweet milk, 
the crushed fragments of a pound of flour boiled dry in a 
cloth for three hours. 
When a Cow’s milk is Good.- 1 ' C. P.” 
Milk is fit for table use the fifth day after calving. Many 
people do not object to use the first milk, which coagu¬ 
lates readily by heat, as a material for custard. 
A New Way to Use Paris Green.—“J. B.,” 
uses this pest poison, by mixing two ounces of Paris 
Green with a half pint of flour in just water enough to 
wet the mass; then he fills the pail with water, thorough¬ 
ly stirs it, and says the mixed flour and green stays 
mixed, and washes from the potato-vines with difficulty. 
[We should say one ounce to a pail of water.— Ed.] 
Railroad Conventions are frequently reported 
here and there. We suggest that a pretty general one 
might be profitably held “ on or along” the Long Island 
Railroad. Those attending might then learn some of the 
secrets of the success of the present management; how 
they contrive to please everybody—almost; to reduce the 
number of trains, and the expenses, and yet run just the 
trains everybody seems to want, when and where they are 
wanted, and as they are wanted. The result is, general 
satisfaction, and a much larger business than ever before. 
One of the secrets of success we hinted at some months 
ago; viz, the managers considered the interests of the 
road and its patrons, farmers included, as being mutual, 
and they had the necessary skill, experience, aud common 
■sense to carry out this idea. 
Driving Posts by machinery.— “J. N. M,” 
To drive posts by means of a small portable pile-driver, 
can hardly pay. It is too much like using a trip-hammer 
to crack nuts. The power of one man is sufficient to 
drive any fence-post, aud if a pile-driver is used there 
must be three men employed, and a horse or two. There 
would be a loss of at least of one man's labor, without 
counting the cost of the machinery. 
'The medical Register of New York, Connecti¬ 
cut, and New Jersey, William T. White, M. D., Editor, 
is published under the supervision of the New York 
Medico-Historical Society. As we have a large number 
of physicians among our readers, we call their attention 
to this work as one not only likely to be useful to them, 
but as an example of what should be done for every State 
in the Union. This work not only gives the name of 
■every physician in the States mentioned, but the college 
from which he graduated, the societies of which he is a 
member, etc. In New York City we have not only the 
address of every regular physician, but a directory of 
streets giving the name of every doctor in each locality. 
We find the work so full of information of various kinds, 
that we can commend it to the profession generally. 
Plaster Upon Clover.— “ C. J. B.,” Rensselaer, 
Ind. Plaster may be usefully applied upon the young 
clover as soon as the grain is cleared from the field. 
There is no other time in the life of a plant when a fer¬ 
tilizer can bo more usefully given than when it is young 
aud struggling for existence. 100 pounds of plaster per 
acre is a proper quantity to use. The yield of seed is 
improved by it as well as the growth of the fodder. 
A Georgia Flea Trap.— The “ Savannah News ” 
reports the following as from another paper, name not 
given: A gentleman placed a plate of molasses under a 
house where the fleas loved to congregate, drove a little 
stake on each side, and fastened a sheet of writing paper 
to the stakes, so that it stood vertically (or on its edge) 
over the plate. The insects, true to their instinct to 
make for anything white, began to jump against the pa¬ 
per, and to slip down into the molasses. The scheme 
was a success, and thinned out the marauders rapidly. 
The plan sounds plausible, and may be worth trying. 
We can't vouch for the instinctive attraction to white. 
Bntter Coloring. —“R.,” Auburn, Cal. Several 
preparations for coloring bntter have been offered in 
our advertising columns during the past year. These 
are probably preparations of Annatto , the colored pulp 
that surrounds the seeds of a South American plant, 
or Annattoine , the coloring principle separated from 
this pulp. Here is one formula for preparing it: Dis¬ 
solve one pound of besty/otas/i and half a pound of sal 
soda in ten quarts of water, pouring oil' all the clear 
solution possible. Put one pound of Annattoine in two 
gallons of water ; let it stand in a cool place for two 
days, with occasional stirring. Mix the two liquids 
together, stirring occasionally, for two days, then pour 
off the clear portion and keep in a stone jar, or if in glass 
bottles, put them iu a dark place. At churning stir in a 
tablespoonful of the liquid to each gallon of cream, using 
more or less according to the depth of color required. 
Conn. Oleomargarine Laiv.- The last Con¬ 
necticut Legislature enacted that: “ No person shall 
offer for sale or have iu his possession for sale an article 
known to commerce as ‘ Oleomargarine,’ being a sub- 
tancc manufactured from suet or tallow and resembling 
butter, without having the word 1 Oleomargarine ’ 
plainly stamped or written on the enclosure. All per¬ 
sons guilty of violating the preceding section, shall be 
fined the sum of fifty dollars for each offence, one-half to 
him who shall prosecute, and one-half to the town where 
the offence shall be committed.” 
Paris Green. —“ F. W. M.,” Hudson, N. Y. It is 
no new lact, that when Paris green is brought in contact 
with a cut or abrasion of the skin, the person may get 
poisoned. The attention of the readers of the American 
Agriculturist has been frequently called to this, and 
proper warning given again and again. Paris green 
is dangerous, as a sharp axe is, aud needs to be handled 
with care ; but it should no more be tabooed on this ac¬ 
count than the axe. 
Field of a Cross-Bred Cow.— A correspond¬ 
ent from Cumberland, Md., sends a statement to the 
effect that a cross-bred Jersey and Shorthorn cow, owned 
by a resident of Frostburg, in his vicinity, gives a daily 
yield of 21 quarts of milk, from which 18 pounds of butter 
has been made in seven days. The cow is five years old, 
and lias been fed on pasture alone. 
Kerosene for Hen I,ire.—“ J. B.,” Naugatuck, 
Ct, While the kerosene will destroy vermin by the 
thousand, its effects are not lasting, as it soon evapor¬ 
ates. To be effectual it should be applied to the roosts 
and wood-work frequently, say once a week. The red 
color of some of the lice is due to the blood sucked by 
them from the fowls, as mosquitoes become red after 
dining on human blood. 
To get rid of Poultry Vermin. —"L. A. G.,” 
La Salle. N. Y. To cleanse a hen-house or a barn, of lice, 
you may wash the inside in all infested parts with a 
strong solution of carbolic acid ; then close the building 
for a day, and afterwards whitewash the interior, re¬ 
peating the same two or three times a year. Wiih such 
treatment, and keeping the coops free from droppings, 
no trouble will be experienced. Lice on laying fowls , 
can be destroyed by the use of carbolic nest eggs. 
Cramps in Turkeys.— “G. G.,” Greenville, Ill. 
Your young turkeys, which, when two weeks old, had 
their “ legs all drawn up and toes twisted out of shape,” 
had the cramps or rheumatism, probably caused by close 
in and in-breeding, or confinement in damp quar¬ 
ters, or from being reared by hens. It is held by some 
that as a hen always broods in the same place at night, 
the young turkeys thus take injury, perhaps generate 
some poison, which results in the disease. On the first 
appearance of the cramps, bathe the parts in hot mustard 
water, by letting the chicks stand in it; feed two grains 
of bromide of potash in soft food daily, and move the 
brooding coop each day. (A hen turkey left to herself 
j will not brood twice in the same place.) I. K. Fei.cu. 
CJiicken Cholera .— 1 “ P. S.,” Fort Erie. Chick¬ 
ens which have a diarrhoea, voiding sulphur-colored drop¬ 
pings, and mope for a day or two and then die, probably 
have the cholera. Of the many reported “ specifics ” for 
this disease, very few, if any, will effect a cure. To pre¬ 
vent the scourge, feed a tablespoonful of sulphur to 25 
fowls, twice a week in their food ; and keep crushed 
charcoal where the poultry can eat it when they like. 
Canada Thistle.—“J. L. M.,” ‘-J. D.,” and others. 
Cut now, before it goes to seed, and burn —that will 
prevent further seeding. There is no special application 
to kill this or any other weed, that will not injure useful 
plants. Canada Thistle usually appears in a patch, in the 
field or on the roadside. It is rather late ; still, go at it, 
mow and burn. If it springs up after the mowing, mow 
again, and do this as often as it starts this season. Next 
spring, look for it, mow and keep mowing; whenever it 
is six inches high, cut it. By keeping at it, you can sub¬ 
due it, but if you have not the needed persistence, it will 
get the better of you. Where the thistle appears in 
small patches, we have known it to be subdued by mak¬ 
ing these the regular places for salting sheep. 
Farm Accounts.- “Young Farmer.” It is as 
necessary for a farmer to keep accounts as for any 
other business man. Not one farmer in a hundred, or 
perhaps in a thousand, knows how he stands with the 
world, how much he owes, how much his crops cost him, 
which of them are profitable, which grown at a loss, how 
much they yield, or what a proper day’s work of a man 
is. Few can tell how much grain a man can, or should 
thrash in a day, or decide any such common question ; 
and the majority of old farmers have spent their lives in 
guessing, or perhaps not even caring to do so much as 
that. To succeed fully in any undertaking, one must 
keep accounts. To do this is very easy. Get a small 
book, and have one page for every crop and every kind 
of stock. Have another in which every day record all 
that is done, every purchase, every sale, the quantity of 
feed used, cost of work done in each field, and the value 
of each crop. From this book the items are carried to 
the separate accounts in the other book to which each 
belongs, and in each account the total at the end of 
the year will show the charges aud credits for each field, 
for each kind of stock, and for each crop. There is no 
need to keep these accounts in any complicated way : 
the more simple and plain they are the better. 
Composting Dead Animals.— “T. B. P.,” 
Goldsboro, N. C. The best method of utilizing the car¬ 
casses of dead animals is to put them in a compost heap 
of stable-manure or muck, either whole or cut in pieces. 
The heap should be wet from time to time to forward 
the decomposition. There need be no offensive smells 
if there is sufficient muck, or if the heap, when manure 
is used, is well covered with earth. In six monihs at 
farthest, the carcass will be thoroughly decomposed, and 
converted into an excellent fertilizer. 
Poultry in Stables.— “ Reader.” It is best to 
avoid keeping poultry in or near stables, because they 
are generally neglected, and become infested with vermin, 
which get upon the cows or horses. But it is only for this 
reason, and if the fowls are kept clean, there need be no 
such objection. Poultry houses may be kept perfectly 
free from vermin by painting or whitewashing the interi¬ 
or, making the floor of cement, and keeping it cleanly 
swept and sanded at least once a week. 
Fine Asparagus.— The winners of the prizes for 
Asparagus at the Spring Exhibition at Mineola, Queens 
County, N. Y. Fair, were Valentine Frost, Locust Val¬ 
ley, and George H. Townsend, Glenhead, both of Long 
Island. When the exhibition was over, they sent us 
their exhibits, and though we may have seen larger sin¬ 
gle bunches, we do not think that we have before seen 
so much large and really fine asparagus together. Both 
these prize winners attribute their success to the use of 
“ Mapes’ Special Fertilizer for Asparagus,” which was 
the only fertilizer used upon the crop. 
James Fleming, well known as a gardener, and 
later as a seedsman, died on July 10th at New Canaan, 
Conn., at the age of 45. Mr. F. was a native of Ayrshire, 
Scotland, and came to this country while quite a young 
man ; he bad charge of some of the finest private collec¬ 
tions in the country, and in the capacity of gardener, ae 
well as that of seedsman, he made a large circle of friends. 
