1870.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
335 
Hen Roosts. —It is a mistake to place the poles at 
different bights, rising from the front, because all will 
strive to get upon the highest one, and the weaker fowls 
are crowded off, and frequently fall to the ground only to 
repeat the process, or, if injured, remain upon the ground 
through the night. Place all the poles at the same 
elevation, and have a separate ladder for each. Do not 
have the poles and ladder combined, for the last pole will 
then he the roost, or the birds will think so at any rate. 
The Wheat Weevil.— This little pest is not, as 
many suppose, brought in from the field, but works upon 
the grain after it is stored. In its perfect state it is a 
little beetle, one-eighth of an inch long, and has great 
powers of multiplication—a single beetle is said to pro¬ 
duce 6,000 eggs. The eggs are deposited on the housed 
grain, and, soon hatching, the grub eats at once into the 
interior of the grain, and in time leaves only an empty 
hull. Fumigating the granary with sulphur is a remedy; 
the sprinklingof air-slaked lime has been recommended. 
If the granary is badly infested, it is better to change the 
place of storage for a year or two, and starve them out. 
A Handy Tiling for the Salt Barrel.— It is 
often the case that the salt will become very hard in the 
barrel, and when some is suddenly needed, as when one 
is in a hurry to catch some animal, it is difficult to get 
the salt out of the barrel. We have seen a person in 
haste use a good chisel for the purpose, which, of course, 
was damaged by the salt adhering, and causing rust. 
Horn does not corrode or rust, and the sharp point and 
hardness render the horn of a cow or young steer spec¬ 
ially adapted for use as a salt loosener. A handle of wood 
can be fitted into the hollow of the horn, as shown in the 
engraving. The crook is not at all objectionable, as the 
point can be pushed to one side all the better. 
Worms in Swine. —“V. S. R,” Tchefuncta 
River, La. Worms in the intestines of swine often cause 
weakness of the loins and partial paralysis of the hind 
limbs. This is due to a loss of force of the lumbar sys¬ 
tem of nerves, proceeding from the lower part of the 
spine, and may be caused by disease of the spine, 
rheumatism, disorder of the kidneys, indigestion, and 
parasites in the muscles of the loins or in the bowels. 
It is almost impossible to indicate the cause until after 
death, when, if more in the herd are affected, they may be 
treated as may be found advisable. Turpentine applied 
to tile loins, orgiven internally, acts favorably in nearly 
all the above complaints, and is, so far as known, the 
best remedy, if used in ounce doses, daily. 
To Repair a Flat Roof.— “G. L..” Machias, 
Me. Flat, leaky, shingle roofs have been well repaired 
by using hot tar in which hydraulic cement has been 
mixed, until it is as thick as can be spread. When it is 
spread, sift more dry cement over it until a person can 
walk over it without its sticking to his feet. The tar 
prevents the cracking of the cement, while that in turn 
prevents the tar from running. If it is well worked un¬ 
der the shingles, and the cracks are well filled, a good 
water-proof roof may be made with' little expense. 
Our Railroads. —The net and gross earnings of 
the railroads of the country for the past eight years ex¬ 
hibit features of interest to every one, and we give them, 
together with the miles in operation each year: 
Year. 
Miles operated. 
Gross earnings. 
Net earnings. 
1871... 
.44.614 
403 millions... 
141 millions. 
1872... 
.57.373 
465 “ 
.166 
1873... 
.66,237 
526 “ 
.184 
1874... 
.69,273 
520 “ 
.189 “ 
1875... 
.71,739 
503 
,.185 
1876 .. 
... 73,508 
497 “ 
.186 “ 
1877... 
. ...74.112 
473 “ 
176 “ 
1878... 
.78.960 
490 “ 
187 
Tlie greatest gross earnings were in 1873, 
but the great- 
est net 
earnings were 
the next year. The number of 
miles has nearly doubled in the eight years, and will be 
fully double in 1880 at the close of the decade. 
Ground Rone vs. Superphosphate.—“ W. 
II. B.” asks, why it is not as well to use Ground Bone as 
Superphosphate, supposing there are the same essential 
elements present in both, and in the same amount.—In 
the crude bone the Phosphoric Acid is not in so available 
a form as in the Superphosphate. The plant can not take 
it up so rapidly because in an Insoluble state, while 
with the Superphosphate the plant takes it up easily. 
The bone is a slow fertilizer, while the Superphosphate, 
on the other hand, gives quick returns for the money—an 
important thing in a fertilizer. The finer the bone is 
ground the quicker will be its effect upon the crop. 
The effects of coarse ground bone are seen on the land 
for several years after its application When the bones 
are treated with Sulphuric Acid, and the Phosphoric Acid 
rendered soluble, the first crop gets most of the benefit. 
The Potato Disease.— The (London) “ Garden¬ 
ers’ Chronicle ” for July26th, speaksin desponding terms 
of the Potato Rot. With the excessive moisture of the 
previous few days, the fungus has developed rapidly. In 
France the potato crop is already greatly injured, and 
other European countries are suffering. The “Chronicle” 
says, “A summer without fruit, a spoilt hay crop, the 
potatoes rotten, and possibly a wet harvest, are events 
that will hardly help England through her present trade 
and commercial embarrassment.”—We may look for the 
Potato Rot in this country after excessive rains, but hap¬ 
pily no signs of it as yet have come to our notice. 
The Silk Crop. —There is an almost entire failure 
of the silk crop in Italy and France, and the raw article 
has advanced rapidly in market value. Silk goods will be 
necessarily high for some time to come. This encour¬ 
ages the establishing the culture of silk in the United 
States, many parts of which are well adapted to this in¬ 
dustry, the chief difficulty being the cost of labor. 
Value of Foods.— Thevalue of foods for stockis 
not to be measured by the market price per ton, but by 
that as compared with the actual nutritious value. Thus, 
cotton-seed meal, containing 13 per cent of oil and 30 or 
40 per cent of nitrogenous or flesh-forming matters, and 
which sells for $25 or $26 per ton, is evidently a cheaper 
food than corn meal, which has 5 or 6 per cent of oil and 
10 per cent of flesh-formers, but which sells for $23 per 
ton. In selecting a food, this point of actual feeding 
value should not be overlooked; at the same time, the 
digestibility of the food and its effect upon the system 
should not be neglected. In general, the healthfulness 
of an animal is best secured by a mixed ration, such as 
bran, corn-meal, and cotton seed meal, in proper propor¬ 
tions, and in making up the proportionate rations, 
this should be done in reference to the feeding and 
money values of the different substances. 
Was it Pleuro-Pneumonla ? — “J. C. S.,” 
Pendleton, S. C., writes: “Did our cows have Pleuro¬ 
pneumonia or not ? In February last, we imported seven 
head of young Jersey cattle, and about June hrst we no¬ 
ticed following symptoms: First, a cough with the back 
bowed slightly, then a running of a yellow watery sub 
stance from both the nose and eyes, which thickened 
daily. When the cows were well stricken with the dis¬ 
ease, they had little inclination to eat or move about.” 
This may have been a case of cither Pleuro-Pneumonia or 
of Bronchitis, as the symptoms belong to both. The 
most marked symtom of the former, is the condition 
of the lung which becomes solidified ( hepatized ), as the 
disease progresses, and this is discovered by the dullness 
in place of the usual resonance of the chest when it is 
struck by the closed, gathered ends of the fingers. We 
should say that the disease was Bronchitis, caused by the 
warm weather, in animals accustomed to a cool climate. 
Warts. —“ M. S. G.,” Morristown, N. J. Warts are 
excrescences growing from the skin into which nerves 
and veins sometimes penetrate, and they then become 
vascular and sensitive. The cause cannot he satisfactorily 
given, but in many animals, they are constitutional and 
seem to accompany a scrofulous condition in which there 
are deposits of abnormal matter in the bones and in the 
cellular tissue and the skin. The only remedy is to de¬ 
stroy the warts by caustics, when they are flat, and by 
tying a waxed thread or a wire ligature tightly around 
the base when they are long. Unless they cause trouble 
or inconvenience, they are best let alone. If they are to 
be removed, this should be done when they are small. 
Another Good. Cow,-“B. J. F.,” Wallingford, 
Conn., reports a 3-year-old Jersey cow owned by Mr. 
Malley, of New Haven, as giving three times her own 
weight of milk in June last, and a yield of 58 lbs. of but¬ 
ter from the month’s milking. This is a valuable cow. 
Twenty Years in the Price of Corn.— In 
1859 corn was worth 70 cents a bushel; and the price did 
not vary much until 1864, when it went up to $1.10, fol¬ 
lowed by the remarkably high price of $1.75 the next 
year (1?65). A fall to 85 cents came the next year, and a 
rise to $1.10 during the two succeeding years (1867-’fiS). 
Since this time there has been a gradual fall to 40 cents, 
the price for last year. In 1875 there was an exception 
in a rise of 10 cents (85), followed by a fall of 25 cents (60) 
for the next year. It is to be seen that during all the 20 
years corn was never so low as at the present time. 
Plans of Lime Kilns.— “R. W. S.,” Manataw- 
ny, Pa. Plans for lime kilns were given in the American 
Agriculturist for February, 1875, and September, 1871. 
Honey Dew was in olden times supposed to be 
the tears of the gods, but at present it is better under¬ 
stood, and not considered of celestial origin. In many 
cases, if not in all, it is due to small plant-lice, (Aphides), 
which feed upon the plants, and exude from their bodies 
tliis sweet, clear semi-liquid, which glistens in the sun 
like dew-drops, and falls to the ground in little patches. 
This dew is often gathered by bees and made into honey 
—a honey which is the work of two distinct insects. 
Weights of Hay in Stack.— “E. A.,” Jefferson 
Co. Hay in bulk varies in weight in proportion to its 
kind, condition of ripeuess, and its compactness. Clover, 
Red-top and light meadow hay, cut when nearly ripeand 
put up in stacks of 4 or 5 tons, will measure 700 cubic 
feet for a ton. Timothy of similar character and condi¬ 
tion will measure 500 feet to a ton. Half Timothy and 
half Clover will measure about 600 feet. Dead-ripe com¬ 
mon meadow hay will measure 900 feet for a ton very 
frequently ; this kind is very uncertain and is of so little 
value that it does not matter much how large a quantity 
goes to a ton. Much depends upon the compactness. 
Weaning Calves.— “W. L.,” Farmington, HI. 
The practice that calves sometimes have of sucking each 
other or of sucking cows, may be prevented and in time 
cured, by using the Calf-Weaner here illustrated. The 
device is old and has been found effective, but there has 
Fig. 1.— CALF JEWEL OPEN. 
heretofore been a difficulty in fixing it upon the nose of 
the calf. This is now avoided by the invention of Mr. 
Rice, in which the points of attachment can be opened 
Fig. 2.— CALF JEWEL CLOSED. 
to fix the Weaner on the nose, and then closed to fasten it. 
The engravings, figs. 1 and 2, show it in both positions. 
Balancing a Burr-Stone.— “E. T.,” Cal. It 
a burr-stone is truly centered ani balanced on the spin¬ 
dle, the spindle is perfectly upright in every direction. 
If the spider is set in true and the stone truly faced, it will 
preserve a running balance when at work. But to do all 
this, includes a large part of the practical education of a 
miller, and how to do it cannot be so told that an inex¬ 
perienced person can succeed. Milling is a business that 
requires a great amount of practical knowledge of details, 
such as this, and which can only be learned in the mill. 
A Grain Drill for Cultivating Wheat.— 
“G. E. S.,” Licking Co., Ohio. Mr. Brandon, the inven¬ 
tor of the Wheat Hoe, to which we have often referred, at 
first combined his Hoe with a wheat drill, but soon after 
abandoned this arrangement, probably for good reasons. 
As a wheat hoe can be very cheaply made, it is probably 
better not to hamper the drill with the attachments, but 
procure a separate implement. From our repeated testa 
we are led to strongly recommend some carefully made 
experiments in cultivating wheat. The practice will, 
in all probability, eventually become general. 
Bearded Straw and Chaff Injurious to 
Cattle.— “R. L. H.,” W’averley, Ya. When horses, cat¬ 
tle, or sheep, consume straw or chaff of bearded grain, 
they are apt to suffer from the penetration of the coats of 
the stomach by the sharp awns or beard. Sheep and 
cattle have died in consequence of the walls of the ru¬ 
men being completely filled with masses of rye or wheat 
beards. As the chaff is largely mixed with broken beards, 
this is as injurious as the straw. There is no objection to 
it for use as litter. Many separate the beards in threshing. 
American Devon Herd Book.— The 5th vol, 
of the American Devon Herd Book, published in July, 
1879, contains 825 pedigrees, 273 of these are of bulls, and 
552 of cows; this volume is sent to applicants by the edi¬ 
tor, H. M. Sessions, Hamden, Mass., for $2.00. The 6th 
vol. will he published as soon as one thousand entries 
have been sent in. Acceptable pedigrees sent to Mr. 
Sessions, with a fee of 50 cents, will be received and 
filed for record in the next volume of the Herd Book. 
