168 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[May, 
Mow muck Corn cun a ntaa Husk 
in a Day ?— In a late number of the Agriculturist , 
“ Walts and Talks ” desires information concerning the' 
amount of com that can be husked by one man in a day. 
Two of my neighbors, B. Funk, and L. Funk, tried their 
skill for half a day. Each husked seventy (70) bushels 
ears of corn. Another person husked eighty-three (83) 
bushels in five hours and twenty minutes, and eighteen 
years ago the same person, in the working hours of one 
day, husked one hundred and forty-five (145) bushels ears 
of corn. In each case the corn stood in the hill and was 
untopped. Four rows being thrown in one row of piles. 
The above can be proved correct. C. C. F., Rowsburgh, O. 
Selection. <>3" Hairy Cows.—D. C. Sco¬ 
field, of Ill., writes: ‘'Cows of extraordinary milking 
qualities are found as often among native as among grade 
and thorough-bred animals. The greatest milker that 
has come under my observation was a native. She would 
fill two pails of two-and-a-half gallons each, or five gal¬ 
lons at each milking, during four or five months of the 
year. The best milkers in my dairies have been, with 
few exceptions, natives. The grades of Durham and 
other stock, never excelling. As a rule, the progeny of 
these extra milkers become the best cows; and every 
heifer calf from such should be raised, except it fail to 
carry the prevailing mark indicating a good milker. 
This mark is the upward growth of the hair on the inside 
of the thighs of the calf from immediately behind the ud¬ 
der, as high as the hair goes. If it be found running up 
in a smooth, unbroken column, all other things being 
equal, with good care and continued thrifty growth, there 
will scarcely he a failure. But whatever extraordinary 
qualities the cow may possess, unless this mark is found 
on the calf, it is not worth raising for a dairy cow. 
There are several other signs, or conditions, indicative of 
valuable milking qualities, some of which attend the first 
described. Smooth and fair-sized teats; a large and 
long milk vein ; slim neck; and sometimes six teats; 
a yellow skin apparent about the eyes and nose, and 
other bare spots, are indications of rich milk, and one of 
the characteristics of a good cow.” 
Colic in 2®Ig§.—“A. J. M.,” of Rhode 
Island, writes: “Ihave a pig three months old, which 
eats and grows well, but has spells of falling down, 
trembling all over, breathing fast, and squealing frantic¬ 
ally.”—lie probably has the colic. For immediate relief, 
give two table-spoonfuls of castor-oil and fifteen or 
twenty drops of laudanum. But try to discover and re¬ 
move the cause. It is probably indigestion. Do not 
make his food too sloppy, but see that he has a daily sup¬ 
ply of fresh water in a separate trough from the food. 
Give him a little glaubcr salts—say not more than the 
size of a wheat kernel, given with his food three times a 
day ; given in these small doses, they seem to have a won¬ 
derfully beneficial effect in correcting the disorders of 
the stomach and bowels. 
Bosaglatosa WSicat.—“T. P. C.,” Perry 
Co., Pa. The Bough ton is not a new variety. Wc have 
known it in Western New York for a dozen or fifteen 
years. It was introduced there from Maryland. It 
ripened early, and could be grown in sections, where the 
Soules was seriously injured by the midge. It never be¬ 
came, however, a favorite variety. On good, rich land it 
produced a fair crop of handsome wheat, but in unfavor¬ 
able seasons, or on poor, undrained land, it was apt to 
winter-kill. The Diehl has all the good qualities of the 
Boughton, and is early enough to escape the midge, and 
is not so liable to winter-kill, or he smothered by heavy 
snows. We believe the Tnppahannock, Boughton, and 
Early May are one and the same variety. 
Norway Oats.—Thomas P. Cochran, of 
Penn., writes : “ Last spring I got of Ramsdell & Co. one 
bushel of Norway oats, for which I paid $7.00. Sowed 
them on % of an acre of good black, flint loam, early 
in April. Yield, 12 bushels of poor oats. As nice a 
swindle as ever was got up.”—We [“ Walks and Talks ”] 
never had any faith in Norway oats. But it is evident, in 
this case, that there was something wrong either in the 
soil or season. People “ swindle ” themselves, when 
they imagine that there is any breed of animals or variety 
of plants that will give great returns without food and 
care. A11 that can be claimed for the Norway oats is, that 
in favorable conditions of soil and season, they give a 
large return of a somewhat inferior product. 
Cranfeerry lLa sills. —“New Subscriber.” 
New Jersey is the great cranberry region. We gave the 
whole story of Cranberries upon Uplands in November 
last. 
Chinese Yam. — C. W. Mills, Rome, Ga. 
The tubers are usually sold by seedsmen, but aro rather 
scarce this year. Ordinary price is $2 per dozen. The 
small bulblets may be had. The great depth to which the 
tubers descend, and the consequent labor of digging, is 
the reason the plant is not grown more. It is perfectly 
hardy at the North. 
Earth from Under Old Mouses.— 
J. A. Forney, Mo., states that during the war he saw a 
great deal of saltpeter made, by leaching the earth taken 
from under old houses, evaporating the lye, and allowing 
it to crystalize. He asks if earth of this kind is not val¬ 
uable as a fertilizer ?—Certainly, any earth containing 
nitrate of potash or saltpeter is valuable as a fertilizer. 
For a similar reason the lime rubbish from old houses, 
which contains a considerable portion of nitrates, is much 
valued by gardeners. 
Raisins.— “J. W.,” Shirley Village, Mass.— 
Raisins can not be made from any American grape. The 
grapes raised in California are European varieties, some 
of which make raisins. 
Gang Plows and Perchcroa 
Morses.—A Constant Reader asks: “Do Gang-Plows 
pay ?”—Double ones do... .‘‘Do they work well on ordin¬ 
ary prairie land?”—Yes “Would not a pair of large 
Percheron horses handle a gang plow, carrying two 
shares, with sufficient ease ?”—Yes_“And, altogether, 
would it not be a good investment for a young man just 
1 entering the profession ’ of farming The Percherons 
would be the greater investment, and a very desirable one 
they would make. Two or three young Percheron mares 
from which you could get two colts a year would do all 
your plowing, and bring a large increase besides. You 
would have to import them. The gang plow, or double 
plow rather, drawn by two or three heavy horses, is just 
what is wanted for the prairies. 
Will IFisli Breeding 1 Pay ?—“Sub¬ 
scriber,” of Lewisburg, Preble Co., O., describes his water 
privileges, and asks advice, which, as we are not practical 
pisciculturists, we shrink from giving; and were we to 
answer the questions simply, it would require pages. 
Write to Wm. Clift, Mystic Bridge, Ct.; Dr. Slack,Blooms- 
burg, N. J.; or S. H. Ainsworth, West Bloomfield, N. Y., 
for advice. If good fish are so abundant in your vicinity 
as you state, it would hardly pay; but in most parts of 
the country they are not, and it would pay to raise them. 
Where to ILocate.—A gentleman in St. 
Louis, who “can’t stand the summers there,” and who 
is tired of commercial life, wants “ a good country home, 
with enough land to furnish butter and milk, fruit, vege¬ 
tables, etc., for the small family, and food for the animals 
on the place. Does not want to farm for profit, hut for 
health for himself and his family.”—He wants us to tell 
him where he had better locate. Of course, we do not 
propose to tell him. He must decide for himself. There 
arc thousands of just such places as he wants. If he 
doubts it, let him advertise in the Agriculturist. And 
then let him visit all the places offered him. He will 
thus find abundant occupation for a year or two, and the 
travel and change of air will do him good. But seriously, 
and in point of fact, such a place as he wants is hard to 
find. A small farm in good condition, with a comfortable 
house and well-arranged barns, ice-house, garden, fruit 
and ornamental trees, with a well-made lawn and good 
roads and walks, is a rare thing to find, and, when found, 
the owner does not want to sell it. For a bracing at¬ 
mosphere and charming scenery we should look among 
the hills and valleys of New England—say Berkshire 
County, Mass. With money enough, some charming 
places might be found on the Hudson. If good land is 
desired, in addition to charming scenery, it may be found 
among the Lakes in Western New York—say New Au¬ 
rora, Geneva, or Canandaigua. 
Boiled Corn for Hog's.—W. H. Barnes, 
Anderson Co., Kansas, asks: “ Why is it that my pigs 
will not eat boiled or soaked corn ?” He says: “ They 
will run about and squeal and fret with their trough full 
of boiled corn, and if boiled corn and raw corn are scat¬ 
tered together in the pen, they will Bort out the raw corn 
and leave the soft boiled corn. Nothing hut hunger will 
drive them to boiled corn.”—We presume they ate it 
greedily at first, but they want variety. Potatoes would 
help the matter. 
Locality far Market and Fruit 
Gardening.— Book-Farmer asks if a place on Long 
Island, 25 miles from New York City, would be a suitable 
locality for him to raise fruit and vegetables for the 
New York market, and what kinds he shall raise.—We 
think 25 miles rather too far out to profitably raise fruit 
or vegetables for New York; the distanc should not 
exceed 10 or 15 miles from Washington or. ulton mark¬ 
ets, New York, for the reason that, for'the business to 
be profitable, particularly for vegetables, the less hand¬ 
ling the better; and if you are within the distance named, 
they can be carried in and sold out of the wagon without 
removal. For the kinds of vegetables best adapted for 
market, we refer you to Henderson’s “Gardening for 
Profit;” of fruits, to Fuller’s “Small Fruit Culturist,” 
both of which are sold at this office. 
Swamp-mud Ashes.—“ A. J. M.” If 
they can be readily gathered, they are well worth drawing 
and spreading on upland. 
In teres tc«l Recommendations.—C. 
Thurston asks: “ Is it not a fact that nearly every thing 
connected with farming is only or mostly recommended 
by those who have the articles for sale ?”—As far as the 
Agricultural Press is concerned, we can say decidedly no. 
There may be exceptions to this, but as far as our obser¬ 
vation extends we think that the leading agricultural 
papers throughout the country praise or condemn imple¬ 
ments, seeds, breeds of stock, and other matters, without 
the least interest whatever in the articles under consider¬ 
ation. A few papers published in connection with stores 
and manufactories are of course mere advertising me¬ 
diums, and it is well understood that they are such. We 
often request a person to give us an account of an article 
that he is engaged in raising, when this is the only way 
in which we can get the information required. 
Large ffig'g'S.—A. Clark, Passaic, N. J., 
brings in four hen’s eggs, which weigh 15J4 oz. The 
largest one weighs 4 oz., and measures 8)4 inches in its- 
largest circumference. Who can beat it? 
Smut in Wheat.—H. Boand, St. Paul, 
Minn. The “black” upon wheat is called smut, and 
the use of blue vitriol that you have seen iu Switzerland 
is common here as a preventive. 
Gas.lime.—“ S. R. 31.Hadlyme, Conn. It 
has freqently been stated in these columns that gas-lime 
that has been exposed to the air for some time may be 
used wherever other lime would he beneficial. 
Importation of Poultry.—Mr. G. II. 
Leavitt, who makes a specialty of Cochins, has recently 
imported four hens and a cock each, of White and Par, 
tridge Cochins ; birds which have taken prizes at recent 
shows in England. 
Timothy in Pa. —Warren Brink, Pike Co., 
Pa., .thinks that his region is especially favorable to the 
growth of timothy. We are disposed to agree with him 
when he states that on new land the stalks are six feet 
high, with heads 10 to 12 inches long. 
Rye, and-Abortion, in Cows.—“ E. R. 
W.” fed his cow with 8 or 10 quarts of unground rye 
a week, for two or three months previous to the time of 
calving. The cow dropped her calf prematurely, and 
asks if this was due to the rye.—Rye is often more or 
less ergotized, i.e., infested by a fungus. Ergot is one of 
the most powerful of known agents for producing abor¬ 
tion. It is very probable that some ergot was mixed 
with the rye, and that the effect is due to this rather than 
to the grain itself. What say others ? 
Kerry Cows.—Mr. Ezra Drew, of Orange 
Co., N. Y., wants to know where he can get Kerry cows, 
and whether they would be profitable on a mountain 
farm. The late Sanford Howard visited the native dis¬ 
trict of the Kerry cow, and spoke of them in the highest 
terms. Some of them have been imported, but we do 
not know whether they have proved any better than 
some of our small, hardy, native cows. 
The Tropliy Tomato Premium.— 
A premium of $100 is offered for the largest tomato that 
shall be grown during the coming season from Colonel 
Waring’s Headquarters seed. Those to whom seed has 
been given as a premium for subscriptions to the Agri¬ 
culturist , or Hearth and Home , can compete for the ize. 
The fruit is to be sent by express, prepaid, to the office 
of this paper. The award will be made by the Editors, 
and will he given to the largest (heaviest) fruit that is 
perfectly ripened, and free from irregularity of form. 
Hundreds of persons have announced their intention of 
competing for the premium; and it may not be amiss 
for ns to give a word of advice to such of our readers as 
desire to enter the lists. The secret of raising large and 
smooth tomatoes (it being understood that the seed of 
the best-selected fruit is a sine gtid non), lies in giving' 
them an abundant supply of water; not so much during 
