20 4 = 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
[May, 
water, or other water free from these animals. Sheep in 
Which the attaok does not amount to Rot, have been cured 
by a mixture consisting largely of Salt and Spirits of 
Turpentine Indeed the free use of Sal is regarded as 
an important preventive. We learn from a correspon¬ 
dent in Oregon, that Rot has within a short time made 
its appearance in some localities in that State. 
Bronzed Oranges. — The fruit in the Orange 
groves of both Florida and Louisiana has of late yours 
been much discolored. The rind becomes, either in part 
or completely, colored a dark brown. The cause of this 
discoloration has not thus far been ascertained, a careful 
examination by those expert with the microscope having 
failed to detect anything like fungus, the cause of so 
many fruit troubles. It does not appear to prevent the 
fruit from coming to maturity, or to in the least affect its 
quality. We recently saw some boxes unloading, on 
which was marked in conspicuous letters, “Genuine 
Florida Bronzed Oranges,” with the grower’s name, etc. 
This is shrewdly making “a virtue of necessity,” and 
it may be that those whose groves are now free from 
the defect will be looking for a method by which their 
oranges can be “ bronzed,” and thus increase in value. 
The Cost of Tillage.— Other things being eqnal, 
that laud which is tilled with the least expense, is the 
best land. It is not the size of the crop that determines 
the profit in farming, but the excess of the income over 
the outgo. If it costs more to keep a corn field perfectly 
■clear from weeds than the value of the increase of the 
crop caused by that culture amounts to, then, so far as the 
corn crop is concerned, such excess of corn is a loss. But 
the influence of the care bestowed on one crop upon those 
that follow it. must not be overlooked. It may he the 
best system that grows a certain crop at a loss in order to 
raise succeeding ones at a profit. The value, and, there¬ 
fore, the cost, of tillage, In a well established system, de¬ 
pends very largely on the time and place that is done. 
Snakes Swallowing their Young.— While 
St is a well established fact that most snakes do swallow 
their young, it has been doubted that this was done 
by venomous snakes. We recently gave an account, 
showing that Rattle Snakes have this peculiarity, and 
now comes Mr. C. C. Lobingier, of Alleghany Co., Pa., 
with a case, or rather cases, in point, which must add the 
Copperhead to the list of swallowers of their young. Mr. 
L.’e account is given with great precision and circum¬ 
stance of time, place, and persons, but as we have no 
reason to doubt his statements, we need give only the 
results. On Aug. 26th last, on going home from the sta¬ 
tion he came across a boy of 14, who had just killed four 
large Copperheads, which he had found together at the 
fool of a stone wall. Noticing that two of the snakes 
were much puffed out, lie opened the largest with hia 
penknife, and found its belly full of young Copperheads; 
this led to the opening of all four, and every oue had 
young Copperheads, and he took out iu all 34 young 
snakes from four old ones, but did not think at the time 
to note the number from each. The young snakes were 
from 34 to 6 inches long, and all showing more or less 
life. This testimony added to that given last month 
would seem to be sullicient to settle the question that 
venomous snakes, like others, do swaliqw their young. 
Teeth as an Index of Age.— “B. A. B.,” 
©esro-Gordo Co., Ia. Th: teeth are an indication of the 
age of animals to a certain extent. They are not exact 
to a month, or even six months. Animals differ in pre¬ 
cocity. and some have their teeth earlier than others. 
In a heifer, the second permanent incisor appears at 28 
to 32 months, the fifth molar appears near the end of the 
second year, in the back part of each jaw ; in the course 
of the third year, the second permanent molar appears. 
The third permanent incisor comes after 3 years, but it 
may not come until near the end of the 4tli year. A chart of 
the teeth may be had at this office, (price $1, post paid), 
by which their manner of growth can be understood. 
Sheep Keeping in Kansas.— “F. M. M.,” 
Girard Co.. Ky. Sheep can be kept easily in Western 
Kansas. About Dodge City is a suitable locality, as it is 
not thickly settled. For a flock of 1,000, a capital of 
at least $3,000 will bo required. The sheep can be pur¬ 
chased at Denver, Colorado, and driven slowly across the 
country to Kansas. One man can care for 2,00) sheep. 
A Wisconsin Farm Going to Louisi¬ 
ana.— A Grant Co..Wis.. farmer writes that he does not 
like to see hundreds of acres of the very best land, all 
the manure and sometimes the crops too. washed into the 
Mississippi and carried down to New Orleans, probably 
to help form the Deltas. This is a question in agricul¬ 
tural engineering, and the remedy can only be suggested 
by an inspection of the locality. The situation of the 
land may be such that it conld be thrown into terraces 
hy the plow, and thns prevent washing. Onr correspon¬ 
dent does not state whether the land is the river "bot¬ 
tom” and the loss arises from overflow, when diking 
would be the remedy, or is steep river banks and the 
washiug is from heavy rains. It may be th>; host use 
of such land to pu; it into grass, and thus hold the land. 
Sulphur Fumes for Ants.—" E. M. S.,” writes 
from Perth Amboy, N. .1., that when he lived in Texas, 
parties went about with apparatus for destroying ants. 
It consisted of an arrangement for forcing the fumes of 
burning sulphur into the nests, and was found very effec¬ 
tive, though the price charged by the operators was re¬ 
garded as extravagant. A similar method lias been found 
useful in California, for the destruction of ground squir¬ 
rels. Those who have failed with all other methods for 
ridding their grounds of ants, may act upon this hint. 
An ordinary bellows conld be rigged up to answer. 
Out of His Name.— It is very annoying when 
every pains his been taken, to find, when it is too late, 
that an advertisement which one man has paid for, is ac¬ 
credited to some other man. Mr. G. H. Rathbnn tried 
recently to tell people that he sold Plymouth Rocks 
and other fowls at Hartford Co in , but when the ad¬ 
vertisement was published, it was mado to appear, that 
it was one J. II.—another Rathbnn altogetder. G. II. 
Rathbnn is the man who has the famous chickens. 
A Feed Back.— A reader sends sketches of a cheap 
feed rack and says; “ I use 2 hy 4-iuch scantling, seven 
feet long for the posts, of which 
there are three pairs in a 16 
piot rack. They slionld be bolt¬ 
ed together at the top; and it 
is better to holt the scantling 
on too.” A 2 by 4 scantling is 
put on each side above the bot¬ 
tom board, shown in an end 
view of the rack in figure 1. 
The posts should project, a few 
inches below the bottom board. 
The arrangement and position 
of these posts, makes it impos¬ 
sible for stock to get their feet into or upset the rack. 
It can be used for a part of a fence, around stacks, though 
Fig. 2.—BIDE-VIEW OF RACK, 
in that case the cattle can only eat from one side, ordi¬ 
narily they eat from both sides. Figure 2 shows one of 
the sides of the rack ready for use. 
Mucilage from Cherry Gum.-“H. B. D.,” 
there is a most excellent reason for your failure to make 
mucilage from the gum that exudes from cherry and 
other fruit trees—it is not soluble in water. Though 
fruit-tree gums, when dry, have some resemblance to the 
poorer kinds of Gum Arabic, they are really very unlike. 
Gum Arabic will completely dissolve in water, but these 
gums from the cherry, etc., merely swell up. but do not 
dissolve; no matter how much the mass is stirred and 
broken up, it will, after standing a while, all settle, 
leaving the water without any stickiness. 
Buying Seeds of Strangers.— A correspondent 
in Augusta Co., Va., writes that a man passed through 
his and other counties “ selling Swedish Clover Seed, 
representing it as having been introduced into Penn, in 
1876, through the Shaker Seed Co.” The seller has since 
been published in some papers as a swindler, and his 
seeds as those of injurious weeds. Onr friend and a 
number of other farmers are in trouble, and fear to sow 
the seed lest they fill their land with vile weeds, nnd wo 
are written to for information on the subject. The 
safety of these farmers consists in the fact that it is 
much easier to get seeds of useful plants than those of 
weeds. This chap no doubt furnished old clover seed of 
some sort. But why buy seeds of strangers and believe 
their nonsense! By consulting the catalogue of any 
first class seed house they would have found that Swedish 
Clover was a regular article of their trade. Desirable 
novelties are not hawked about the country in this way. 
Black Leg in Calves.—"H. T. F.,” Peoria Co., 
Ill., writes that he has lost three sucking calves in as 
many weeks. " I first find them quite lame in the front 
shoulder, with blood gathering under the skin, which 
moves with the pressure of the hand. Death soot fol¬ 
lows. Upon being skinned, the blood is black, and all 
next to the skin.”—This trouble, called variously “ Black 
Leg.”"Black Quarter.” “Bloody Murrain.” ( Carbunct/- 
lar EryH/Klas), is most frequent In yonng, well-fed, and 
rapidly growing stock. It consists of a remarkable 
change in the blood, with its accumulation in the 
shoulder, neck, breast, and near side. The disease ia 
very rapid iu its work, and a recovery from an attack is 
exceptional. If noticed in time, it may be prevented from 
taking its malignant form by changing the food to a 
lighter diet, and employing a purgative of 2 to 6 ounces of 
Epsom Salts, and a little Linseed Oil. The warm weather 
of early spring is the most favorable time for the devel¬ 
opment of the disease, and it should be watchod for. 
Trotting Horses.— At the close of the trotting sea¬ 
son of 1879. there were fifty-four horses with a record of 
2:20. Of these over one-half are the descendants of Rys- 
dyk’s Hambletonian. St. Julian, the fastest trotter on 
record,—time, 2:12%—is a combination of the trotting 
elements of the Hambletonian and Clay families of horses. 
English Rental Better tlmn American 
Proprietary Farming.—Here is what the owner 
of a farm in Wisconsin writes and we give his view of 
the matter. Comment is unnecessary:—"Valuable as the 
American Agriculturist is, it would be much more so, if it 
would leave alone comparisons between English and Am¬ 
erican farmers. The truth is this: An English Farmer on 
a good rented farm with any surety of holding it for any 
length of time, is infinitely better off than an American 
farmer, and is placed in a much better position to make 
money: that is payings rent of $5 to $10 per acre annu¬ 
ally, in England, is better than owning land in America. 
I know of what I speak. I have farmed in England. This 
is the third and last time that I have been in the United 
States. Probably yon think me crazy—maybe I am. I 
am just crazy enough to go right back again and rent a 
farm in England. Wliatis a rent of $5 to $10 or $15 per 
acre in England for good land, compared to the prices 
they realize for products, and compared with our prices.” 
An Unfruitful Vino.—A correspondent at 
Dobbs’ Ferry, N. Y., writes that he has an “Isabella” 
vine 8 or 10 years old that blooms abundantly every year, 
hut bears no fruit, ne has tried severe pruning, no 
pruning, and enriching the soil, but all to no purpose, 
while other vines of the same variety nenr by have an 
abundance of frnit. Onr friend does not wish to destroy 
the vine, ns it affords shade where it is needed, and asks: 
“ What is the trouble with the vine We think he has 
answered the question very completely: It does not boar. 
The vine may be a chance seedling, and it is a very com¬ 
mon tiling for seedling grape-vines to hear only staminate 
or sterile flowers. Or it may be a sport; it sometimes 
happens that one branch of a vine will bear different 
leaves, or larger or differently shaped or colored frnit 
from the rest of the vine. In this case a cane may have 
sported in the direction of producing only staminate or 
male flowers, and that cane was used in propagnting. 
Wo should set a new vine or vines, to take the place of 
this; as the new vines get large enough to produce 
shade, cut away a part of the old one ; in two or three 
years it can he replaced by other vines, and no percepti¬ 
ble amount of shade be lost, while frnit will be gained. 
Corn Cobs.—During the past six months corn cobs 
and the meal from them have attracted considerable 
attention. Not many years ago they were thought worth¬ 
less as an article of food, and are now generally thrown 
away. Of late a number of analyses of corn cobs have 
been made, all of which are mnch in their favor. Prof. 
Stoeckhardt, of Germany, rates the nutritious value of 
cob meal as high as that of fresh potatoes, and says that 
it is more digestible than straw. The next question, and 
the one which as yet does not seem to be answered, is: 
What is the influence of this meal upon the animal? 
Does it clog the paunch as c’aimed by some ? The chem¬ 
istry of cob meal is one thing and the practical feeding 
value of it, is another ; will they both agree in its being 
an important addition to the list of onr feeding staffs? 
Any analysis may show a nutritive valne that the ani¬ 
mal's stomach fails to discover. The valne to the farmer 
of cobs, as a feeding stuff, can only be ascertained by 
accurate experiments in feeding. If any such have been 
made they should be made public. 
Our Field Experiments.—Prof. Atwater writes 
"In the descriptive pamphlet prepared to go with the Ex¬ 
perimental Fertilizers offered by the American Agricul¬ 
turist,! have taken pains to explain ahont the experi¬ 
ments, and how to make and interpret them. I shall 
be happy to receive qnestionssnd suggestions, ami win 
reply as promptly and fully as my time will allow.” 
Address communications to Prof. W. O. Atwater, Middle- 
town, Ct.—[E ds.] 
Toads Eating Bees.— A French observer, It. 
Brunet, has seen a single toad in liis garden catch, and 
devour, twelve honey bees in rapid succession. Upoa 
moving the load to some distance from the hives, it re¬ 
turned to its attacks upon the •* hot-looted ” insects. 
