34. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
soon drop off. Or they may be clipped off with a pair of 
shears, and the wound touched with a hot iron or lunar 
caustic, (nitrate of silver). If they are broad and flat, 
their removal may be effected by the use of nitric acid 
with which the surfaces may be touched daily, until they 
are eaten away, when the raw spot may be dried and 
healed by the application of a solution of sulphate of 
copper (blue vitriol). Where the warts are very large 
and numerous, and a cure would cost more than the ani¬ 
mal is worth, it should be fed for the butcher. No warty 
animal should be used for breeding. 
Horse Racing at Fairs.—“G. W. L.,” 
Delaware Center, Iowa. Whether or not county fairs 
can be made successful, without horse tr ottin g, must de¬ 
pend upon the condition of public sentiment. There 
are localities, (a very few), where a whiskey shop would 
be an unprofitable speculation ; and in the same degree, 
we fear, a genuine agricultural fair would be very rarely 
successful. The idea has often occurred to us, that if 
farmers who object to the trotting would keep away from 
it, or from the fairs where it is the chief attraction, or 
protest against it, something might be done. But wlrle 
people continue to go to see the racing, and pay for it, 
the amusement will surely be provided for them. 
To Get ISi«l of Quack Grass and 
Thistles.— “H. F. G.,” Allendale, N. Y. To destroy 
quack grass of any of the different species to which this 
term is applied, the ground should be plowed and har¬ 
rowed thoroughly and the roots picked off the surface. A 
rake for this purpose was described in the American 
Agriculturist of Nov., 1865. Any left will grow again. Po¬ 
tatoes, corn, beans, or other hoed crops should be grown 
and kept cultivated and weeded thoroughly. There will 
belittle quack left after three clean hoed crops have been 
taken. Thistles may be destroyed by plowing lightly, so 
as to cut the stem but not the roots, and then growing 
crops that are cultivated continually. 
Salting Beef.—A correspondent in Haver¬ 
hill, Mass., sends the following as his method of putting 
down beef. Select a barrel that is strongly hooped, and 
fit a board of sufficient thickness, so that the bottom of 
the barrel may rest on that, instead of the chine. Place 
it in the cellar, directly under a solid floor beam. Cover 
the bottom of the barrel with salt, then put in a layer of 
beef, the pieces being cut small enough to pack close, and 
pound them down with a club; then sprinkle them over 
with sugar and salt. Continue putting in layers of beef, 
pounding them down, and sprinkling on salt and sugar, 
until all is packed. Use six quarts of salt, and 3 or 4 lbs. 
of sugar to each 100 lbs. of beef. Place a strong follower in 
the barrel upon the beef, and set a piece of joist upon the 
follower, so that the end of the joist will come under the 
beam ; drive a wedge between this and the beam above, 
pressing the beef quite hard ; every twenty-four hours 
drive up the wedge, and the beef will soon be covered 
with brine. After a few days the pressure may be removed. 
Pennsylvania Poultry.— “M. R.,”New 
York. The chickens and capons from Bucks and the ad¬ 
joining counties in Pennsylvania have the best reputa¬ 
tion in the city markets. Capons are made to weigh 12 
pounds, and sell at 35 to 40 cents a pound. The poultry 
is mostly of the Dorking, Dominique, and common breeds, 
but it is the management rather than the breed, that 
produces the high quality. The chickens are brought out 
early in the season, and are well fed from the first. The 
cocks are made into capons. About three weeks before 
marketing the birds are put up in coops, and fed upon 
soft food, consisting of corn and oat meal, potatoes, and 
some scraps of fat meat or chopped suet. This is given 
several times a day in small quantities. Many spring 
chickens are sent to market from these localities which 
bring the highest prices, generally at about 50c. per lb. 
Holes in Trees.— “ W. A.,” Union Grove, 
Wis. The holes around the stocks of your trees are no 
doubt the work of some species of woodpecker. It will 
require an examination to determine whether these 
holes injured the trees, or if it is due to the work of the 
Insects which the birds were after. 
An oilier Potato Enemy —fortunately 
for ns in Algiers, is now reported. The parent insect is 
a moth ; its caterpillar lives in the potato—the tuber it- 
eelf—and by the time it is through with it, the potato is 
not even fit for the pigs The scientific name of the in¬ 
sect is Bryotropha solanetta, and it is hoped that we 
shall only know it by name. 
Answering l»y lumbers. —Sometimes 
a correspondent asks several questions, and puts a num¬ 
ber opposite to each. Thinking it may save space in the 
paper, and save us the trouble of copying his questions, 
he adds, please answer by the numbers. This is a re¬ 
quest with which we can not comply. If we print, “6. 
No. Six inches wilt be wide enough, if the material is 
strong,” the one who proposes No. 6 will know what it 
means, but every one of the thousands of other readers 
will be completely in the dark. Those who ask us to 
“reply by numbers,” will see how unfair it is to every 
other subscriber. We have often stated, and we find it 
necessary to repeat it, that if the question is a merely 
personal one, and its answer will be of no use to a con¬ 
siderable number of readers, it has no chance whatever 
of a reply in the paper. This is one of the reasons why 
we insist that every one who asks a question, should 
give name and address. We answer hundreds of letters 
by mail, because we do not care to occupy space with 
matter which, if not of general interest, will at least be 
Useful to a considerable number. To make the matter 
intelligible, we always give the question, or the sub- 
Etance of it, before answering it. 
What to I>o witIs the Straw. — 
“A. M. Yan A.,” Fort Howard, Wis. When a farmer 
can dispose of a load of straw to a livery stable for 8 loads 
of manure in exchange, he wants no better way of using 
his straw. But few farmers are so favorably situated as 
this. There should be no trouble about using the straw, if 
one has roots to feed with it, and sufficient capital to buy 
a few head of cattle to winter over. Then half a dozen 
thin cattle, which are easily picked up for the cash any¬ 
where, may be purchased, and put loose into box stalls, 
and each one fed with a bushel of roots and two or three 
pounds of meal daily, and all the straw they will eat. 
The straw should be cut in a fodder cutter, and the refuse 
used for bedding. The litter and manure may remain 
until spring beneath the cattle. The increase in value 
of the cattle should pay a profit, and there will be a 
valuable pile of manure to grow more roots with. 
A Good Cow in South Carolina.— 
“ W. W. K.,” Pendleton Factory, S. C., writes that his 
cow, a grade Ayrshire, was awarded the first premium for 
the best milk cow at his county fair, where she gave 13j£ 
quarts of milk at one milking. The same cow also took 
the first premium for milk cows at the S. C. State Fair. 
He thinks this a very good result for a cotton State. 
The Value of IPca-uuts as Feed.— 
‘ W. W. L.,” Saluda, S. C. Pea-nuts are a very rich food, 
as they contain from 40 to 50 per cent of oil. When this 
oil has been expressed, the residue or cake has about 7 
per cent of oil left in it. An analysis of this cake re- 
cently made by Dr. Voelcker, gave 
as follows, 
as com- 
pared with linseed cake, 
, viz.: 
Cake free 
ttnhusked 
Linseed 
from husk. 
Cake. 
Cake. 
Moisture. 
. ...9.5S 
9.28 
11.72 
Oil. 
.7.40 
6.99 
12.09 
Starch, gum, and diges. fiber27.63 
23.67 
25.29 
Albuminous matters ... 
...42.81 
32.81 
32.64 
Indigestible fiber. 
.... 7.87 
23.80 
11.79 
Ash. 
3.45 
6.47 
Total. 
...100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
The pea-nut cake contains about 7 per cent of nitro¬ 
gen, and is therefore a very valuable feed for growing 
animals, as well as fattening beasts. We do not know 
of a ly having been used in this country, we believe that 
all that is made here is exported to England, which 
should not he. 
Flat-Bottomed Boats.-" C. H. A. W.,” 
Napa, Cal. A description, with illustrations, of a flat- 
bottomed boat, suitable for fishing or hunting, was 
given in the American Agriculturist for Nov., 1876. From 
this description any one who can use tools can build the 
boat, at the cost of five or six dollars for materials. 
Fg-j»--l*ouii«l Fowls.—“R.,” Garrettsville, 
Ohio. It is not at all uncommon for hens, especially old 
and infirm ones, to become egg-bound. The eggs with¬ 
out shells collect in the egg-passage, and form a mass of 
hard, cheesy matter, which in time causes the abdomen 
to swell, and finally kills the fowl. We know of no 
remedy, except to anticipate the end and decapitate. 
“ Prepared Foods ” for Cattle, 
Poultry, etc.—We dislike secrecy in all things. Se¬ 
cret medicines we do not publish. We have in some 
cases allowed the advertisements of foods for cattle, 
poultry, swine, etc., to appear in our columns. In every 
instance the proprietors of the articles have been inform¬ 
ed that we could publish upon only one condition—that 
they must show us the formula by which the compounds 
are prepared, that we may know their exact composi¬ 
tion. Those who have good articles are perfectly wil¬ 
ling to do this, and the appearance of an advertisement 
of any of them indicates that we know what it is made 
of, and did we wish such an article, would make use of 
it ourselves. We can say in general terms that these 
compounds consist of well known tonics and appetizers, 
and as they are made up ready for use, the owners of 
animals of various kinds have at hand a condiment, 
which is about as cheap, considering the trouble, as if 
they bought the ingredients, and made it themselves, 
and being at hand, they are likely to use it when needed. 
We have given considerable thought to this matter, and 
acting wholly in the interest of our readers, have taken 
the course above indicated. Of course, each one must 
judge for himself, if it is desirable to use such condi¬ 
ments, and if he decides to give them, he can do so with 
the assurance that he is giving nothing deleterious. 
“ Science Applied to Farming,” 
Correspondence. 
Composting Cotton-Seed. — “ J. B.,” Mississippi. 
The newspaper articles on composting cotton-seed, you 
refer to, are evidently abbreviated from Circulars 22 and 
26 of the Georgia Department of Agriculture. I cannot 
testify to the utility of the processes recommended from 
actual experience, but from the chemical standpoint, the 
plan of mixing cotton-seed with manure, earth, and acid 
phosphates, is eminently rational, and ought to prove ex¬ 
cellent. The directions below are taken from the circu¬ 
lars referred to. The farmers of Georgia, by the way, are 
remarkably fortunate in having so enterprising an Agri¬ 
cultural Department to look out for their interests. 
FORMULAS FOR COMPOSTING COTTON-SEED. 
If the stable manure and cotton-seed have been pre. 
served under shelter, and the compost is for oak and 
hickory lands, use the following: 
NO. 1.—POR A TON OP 2,000 LBS. 
Stable manure. 750 pounds. 
Cotton-seed (green). 750 “ 
Acid Phosphate or Dissolved Bone.500 “ 
Directions for Composting .—Spread under shelter a layer 
of stable manure 4 inches thick; on this sprinkle a por¬ 
tion of the phosphate ; next spread a layer of cotton-seed 
3 inches thick; wet these thoroughly with water and 
sprinkle with phosphate; next spread another layer of 
stable manure three inches thick. Continue to repeat 
these layers in the above order until the material is con¬ 
sumed. Cover the whole mass with stable manure or 
scrapings from the lot one or two inches thick. Allow 
the heap to stand in this condition until a thorough fer¬ 
mentation takes place, which will require from three to 
six weeks, according to circumstances, dependent upon 
moisture and the strength of the materials used. When 
the cotton-seeds are thoroughly killed, with a sharp hoe 
or mattock, cut down vertically through the layers; 
pulverize and shovel into a heap, where the fermentation 
will be renewed and the compost be still further im¬ 
proved. It is now ready for use. 
For Cotton .—Apply in the opening furrow 200 pounds 
per acre, and with the seed at planting 75 or 100 pounds 
per acre, making in all 275 or 300 pounds per acre. If it is 
desired to apply a larger quantity per acre, open furrows 
the desired distance, and over them sow broadcast 400 
pounds per acre ; bed the land, and then apply 100 pounds 
per acre with the seed. 
For Corn .—Apply in the hill, by the side of the seed, 
half-pint to the hill. An additional application around 
the hill before the first plowing, will largely increase the 
yield of grain. . 
For sandy pine lands, dissolve sixty pounds of muriate 
of potash in warm water, and sprinkle a proportionate 
quantity of the solution on each layer of stable manure 
and cotton-seed. The same weight of cotton-seed and 
manure, or 60 pounds of the two, may be omitted when 
the potash is used. 
If lot manure, or that which has been so exposed as to 
lose some of its fertilizing properties, is composted, use: 
NO. 2.—FOR A TON OF 2,000 LBS. 
Lot manure..650 pounds. 
Cotton-seed... .....650 “ 
Acid Phosphate.600 
Sulphate of Ammonia . 60 “ 
Muriate of Potash. 40 “ 
Mix as in No. 1, except that the sulphate of ammonia 
and muriate of potash must be dissolved in warm water, 
and a proportionate part of each sprinkled on each layer 
of manure and cotton-seed. 
Directions for the use of these composts have been 
given only for corn and cotton—the two crops to which 
fertilizers are principally applied in Georgia. Experience, 
however, has shown them to be equally efficacious when 
applied to other crops, either field or garden. From 300 
to 400 pounds to the acre on small grain have produced 
perfectly satisfactory results. 
Varying proportions of Cottonseed Manure .—In making 
these composts the proportions of stable manure and cot¬ 
ton-seed may be varied to suit the supply at command, 
though care must be taken, if the cotton-seed are largely 
in excess, to avoid excessive heat and consequent cook¬ 
ing of the seed. When killed, the seed should be soft 
enough to he readily mashed between the fingers. If only 
cotton-seed and acid phosphate are composted, the seed 
should be rolled in the phosphate, and shoveled into a heap 
to ferment. If composted in layers without stable ma¬ 
nure, the seed will cake together. 
Potash, where needed .—Tn the above formulas the potash 
may be omitted on lands, comparatively fresh, and on 
which the original growth was oak and hickory ; but if 
such lands have been much worn, it will be well to retain 
