24,6 
[July, 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
treated in this way for a succession of years, with excel¬ 
lent results, and a steady increase in the rye crop. The 
land yielded each year a green manure crop of buckwheat 
and a crop of rye. Though so generally cultivated with¬ 
out manure, it is much more profitable to apply a light 
dressing of some good concentrated fertilizer. One hun¬ 
dred pounds of Peruvian guano to the acre, or twice that 
quantity of a reliable superphosphate, or of fish scrap, 
will greatly increase the yield of Buckwheat, and add to 
the profit of cultivation. In growing the crop as a green 
manure for poor land, it is especially important to use 
some kind of manure to give it a start. When the crop 
is raised for grain, the cutting is done with the cradle or 
horse-reaper, and raked up the next morning before the 
dew is oft’ from it. No binding is needed for the bunch¬ 
es, which are set up on end, cured a few days in the sun, 
and sent from the field to the thrashing iloor or thrash¬ 
ing machine. The grain is eagerly eaten by poultry, and 
for a variety is one of the best for laying fowls. It also 
makes an acceptable variety for horses when ground with 
corn and oats, or corn and rye, and fed moderately. It 
is too “heating” for swine; the bran given to cows in 
slop helps to increase the milk, but makes the butter 
white. The quantity of seed per acre is 2 to 3 pecks. 
Soiling - of CaSilo.—“S'. G.,” Adams, N. 
Y. The little book, entitled Quincy on Soiling Cattle, 
which is sold for $1.25, is a relation of the personal ex¬ 
perience of the author, and is very valuable to those, who 
propose to soil their cows. This book treats the whole 
subject in a thoroughly trustworthy manner. 
Knisisag SSog’S on Com Alone.— 
“ S. P.,” Evergreen, La. It is doubtful if pork can be 
profitably produced by feeding corn continuously at a 
price of 15 cents a bushel. There arc cases under which 
it may be done, but these are very rare. For instance, 
where there is a good market for light pigs of 80 to 100 
pounds, and such pigs can be made ready for market at 
four or five months old, then there may be profit in it. 
Under the very best conditions a bushel of corn has been 
made to produce 15 pounds of pork, but we doubt if any 
farmer has reached such a result in bis ordinary experi¬ 
ence. When a pig can have a good run in a grass or clo¬ 
ver field during the summer, and a pound of corn a day, 
he may be kept growing, and by the addition of skimmed 
or butter-milk, which would be a great help, the greater 
part of a season’s growth could be gained at little cost. 
It is in this way, and by finishing on corn, sweet pota¬ 
toes, or peas, that you could make the cheapest pork. 
^wriiiticrag’ BBones.—“ W. M. S.,” Tomp¬ 
kins Co., N. Y. Bones cannot, be ground in a hand mill; 
being very tough and hard, they require at least a two- 
horse power. The Bogardus mill is, so far as we know, 
the only one made for this work. If bones are reduced 
with sulphuric acid, they become very soft, and may be 
crushed with ease without a mill. We do not recommend 
inexperienced persons to use this acid, as it is dangerous 
to handle in the method needed to reduce bones. 
Hie BBest Part of Siso Afost for 
Farming.—” Subscriber,” Altoona. Pa. It is a mat¬ 
ter of convenience or taste as to which part of the West 
is the best for farming. For corn or wheat growing, or 
grazing, Nebraska offers great advantages, and the Platte 
Valley is probably the choicest part of this State. Land 
is there both rich and cheap. 
"1'Iie Sugar drove Yormal ami In¬ 
dustrial Scliool sends us a circular relating to a pic¬ 
nic, at which the graduating exercises are to be held, and 
prizes are to be given for some unusual contests, such as 
naming wild plants at sight, estimating the weight of 
horses, estimating distances, the best loaf of white-bread 
made by a boy, etc. There are 14 Sugar Groves in our 
latest Gazetteer, and our readers may “estimate” at 
which one these exercises were held, as there is nothing 
in the circular to indicate it. Singularly enough, a large 
share of the prize lists for fairs fail to give the State. 
JHowisig’ Strawberry IBnds.—“F. H. 
A.,” Youngstown, Ala. Some Cultivators, who Imve 
practiced cutting away the old leaves from the strawberry 
! plants, as soon as the fruit is oft', think well of the 
method, but it has not been done upon a sufficiently 
extensive scale to enable us to say if it can be profitably 
adopted by all. In your climate, where it is desirable to 
give the soil all the shade possible, it would be well at 
first to experiment with a portion of the bed. 
Rlicnmatism in a Morse.—“ F. G.,” 
Ottawa Co.. Kansas. There is no such tiling as chest- 
founder. The stiffness in the shoulders of your horse is 
doubtless rheumatism, as there is no desire in the animal 
to stand with his fore legs apart, and liis breathing is 
regular and normal. Bloodroot, alum, resin, lard, and 
linseed oil could not be expected to give any beneficial 
result, as they are totally useless in such a case. We 
would wrap around the shoulders a coarse rug, and keep 
it saturated with cold water for a day and niglit. After¬ 
wards rub ttie parts with a mixture of equal parts of 
olive oil and chloroform once a day, with considerable 
friction with the band. Then give 25 chops of tincture 
of aconite root, every four hours until six doses arc taken. 
Pour the tincture upon some sugar, and place it on the 
back of the tongue, when it will be readily swallowed. 
Half-ounce doses of sulphite of soda may be given every 
day in the feed, for a week or two, or until the horse 
recovers. 
Hoof Slicers.—“ S.,” Saybrook, Ohio. A 
cheap home-made root-slicer is described and illustrated 
in the American Agriculturist of January, 1S72, and root- 
pulpers in April, 1872, and June, 1874. 
Dipping' SSieep.—“ Dr. -,” Spartans- 
burg, S. G’., sends the following recipe for a dip for sheep, 
which is used by one of the largest wool growers in 
south western Texas, with entire success. He says: 
“ Steep 25 lbs. of tobacco in lOO.gallons of boiling water, 
add 13 lbs. of flowers of sulphur, a pound and a half of 
arsenic, and two boxes of concentrated lye. Continue 
the steeping process until the leaf of the tobacco parts 
from the stem. Hip the sheep in this liquid while it is 
hike-warm.” The effect of the dip is to free the sheep 
from all sorts of external parasites and parasitical skin 
diseases, and also to cleanse the skin and encourage a 
healthy growth of wool. In using arsenic in a sheep dip, 
care should be taken not to wet the bands any more than 
can be helped, and no one should work with it who has 
cracks, scratches, or sores, upon his hands. With proper 
caution it is safe, but its poisonous nature should be 
known and kept in mind. 
l^otsssla Halils.—“E. D. C.,” Poolesville, 
Mo. The quantity of potash contained in the various 
salts of this alkali used for fertilizers, when pure, is as 
follows: muriate of potash contains 50 per cent; sulphate 
of potasli 30 to 40 per cent; Kainit 12 to 15 per cent, and 
nitrate of potasli 42 to 44 per cent. The only soda salt 
of value as a fertilizer, is nitrate of soda, which contains 
more nitric acid than the potasli salts,- being equal to 
19 per cent of ammonia. 
Value <>raIjeB2efl'u«>e of ZBSae'ksmiJ Jr 
Shops. —“ J. H. J.,” Lindaie, Ohio. The sweepings of 
blacksmith shops are valuable as a fertilizer. The hoof- 
parings are especially rich in nitrogen, tlie droppings 
from the horses are of course valuable, and the fragments 
of iron contained in the refuse, are not at all injurious, 
but oil the contrary, may be in some cases of considera¬ 
ble service. The refuse should by no means bo allowed 
to go to waste. 
Marltct Tor Angora Goal’s Wool. 
—“F. E. W.,” EUeltsville, Ind. We believe the James¬ 
town (N. Y.) Mohair Manufacturing Company, are pur¬ 
chasers of mohair. The use of this wool in the United 
States is increasing, and as soon as a sufficient quantity 
is produced, there will probably be abundant use for it. 
3£o 0B3> in Fowls.—“ T. J.,” Kensico, N. Y. 
When fowls have a discharge from the mouth, eyes, or 
nostrils, the head swells, and the eye or eyes become 
closed, the trouble is known ns roup. The proper remedy 
is to wash the mouth and affected parts with a solution 
of half-a-dram of chlorate of potash in one ounce of wa¬ 
ter, and pour a tea-spoonful down the throat. Do this 
three times a day. Give for food corn-meal mush or 
curdled milk with a little salt and powdered copperas in 
it, made into pills and put down the throat. Damp and 
filth are the chief causes of this disease. 
A Two-teated Cow.—“ G. B.,” Cum¬ 
berland Center, Me. It is probable that- a two-teated cow, 
more especially as she came from a dam similarly defec¬ 
tive, will produce calves which are malformed in the same 
manner. But she may not, and if site is otherwise a good 
cow, we would not sacrifice her for this fault alone, unless 
her calves are found to possess her defect. 
ITIice iin<l Trees.—“ R. T. H.,” Prince Ed¬ 
ward's Island. You do not state whether the injury to 
your fruit and ornamental trees and hedge was done dur¬ 
ing the past winter or not, but it is most likely that it 
was done at that season, as they at other times find food 
in abundance. They rarely attack trees where the ground 
is clear of rubbish from dead weeds, and other litter un¬ 
der which they find shelter. They often work under the 
snow. The chief moans of prevention are to make a 
conical mound of earth 12 or 18 inches high around the 
trunk in the fall, and level it in the spring. After each 
fall of snow, let the snow be trampled down so hard that 
the mice can not work through it. The mice may be 
caught in holes a spadq'deep, with the bottom some inch¬ 
es wider than the top, asid the sides inclining inwards 
from the bottom. Owls and snakes are their natural en¬ 
emies, and should not be needlessly killed, and cats may 
be encouraged, though objectionable when they destroy 
birds. Arsenic, mixed with meal, and made into a hard 
dough, may he used to poison them, if placed where use¬ 
ful animals can not get at it. Girdled trees may be saved 
by inserting several grafts, the upper end above and the 
other below the wound. 
TanBioi-’s UteTsise. —At the Annnal Con¬ 
vention of The Tanner’s Association of Pennsylvania, 
which recently met at Philadelphia, one of the speakers 
referred to the value of tanner’s waste as a fertilizer. 
There is much refuse about a tannery which, while 
worthless otherwise, is of great value as a fertilizer, when 
properly saved and used. There' are the fleshings, hair, 
spent tan-bark, ashes, and the sediment from the lime- 
vats and beam-houses. When properly saved, all these 
matters may be made to realize to the tanner, a sum 
equal to one cent a pound upon the whole product of 
leather, and at, this rate it is a cheap fertilizer to the 
farmer. It contains lime, nitrogen, potasli, and phos¬ 
phoric acid, with other less important matters. Having 
used much of this waste, we have found that the best way 
to manage it is to compost the whole together, along 
with some barn-yard manure, which excites the necessary 
fermentation for its decomposition. 
Sundry Humbugs. 
Early in the present year 
it was remarked that it 
would be strange, if the in¬ 
genuity and enterprise of 
those who get tlieir living 
by humbug, should let the 
occasion of the Centennial 
Exhibition pass, without 
availing themselves of the 
advantages it offers. The 
Centennial has afforded an 
opportunity for that, which 
is much worse than a hum¬ 
bug—a crime, and a crime 
so foul that we are at a loss 
for a suitable name to'de¬ 
scribe it. Long before the 
exhibition opened, adver¬ 
tisements appeared in va¬ 
rious papers, published at a 
distance from Philadelphia, 
offering employment to girls 
for good pay. One of these, which appeared in a New 
York paper that is regarded by its friends as respectable, 
reads thus: “ Girls ! (Cut this out.) Go and see the 
great Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia. Plenty 
Places—Good Wages. Call or address,” etc. This is 
the very mildest form; in other cases circulars have been 
sent to girls in country towns, bolding forth flattering in¬ 
ducements of good pay, and advising the recipient of the 
circular, not to let their parents know of their intention 
to go. So far as any employment for girls at the Exhibi¬ 
tion goes, there is no doubt that Philadelphia can supply 
all the help wanted for ten such exhibitions, and there is 
not the slightest need to call in any from abroad. Every 
one who knows the ways of the world, knows just wliafc 
such circulars and such advertisements mean, and it is 
not necessary for us to defile our columns by any plainer 
speaking. Wc are only surprised that any paper could 
publish such an advertisement, but we arc not at all sur¬ 
prised at the letters expressing indignation that we re¬ 
ceive from various parts of the country. It may be that 
there are thoughtless creatures, who, tempted by the of¬ 
fers of good pay, would conceal such a matter from their 
parents, but wc trust that no girl who reads tlie American 
Agriculturist , whatever her age, is so far on the road to 
“ the bad,” as to have any secret from her mother. 
THE VARIOUS LOTTERIES 
still present their schemes, and still letters come, asking 
if this one or that is not “ honest.” “ Constant Readers ” 
or “ Subscribers ” can have read their paper to very little 
purpose, if they are not aware of our views regarding all 
lotteries. Holding, as we do, that they are wrong in 
principle, that their tendency, no matter how fairly con¬ 
ducted, is to teach persons that they may somehow get 
money without working for it, or giving some equivalent. 
We know of no lottery that we can recommend, no mat¬ 
ter whose name is connected with it, while some are 
frauds of the meanest kind from the start. Some of our 
correspondents complain that the 
TOPEKA, KANSAS, LOTTERT 
is flooding the country with its circulars. We do not 
know if these could be excluded from the mails, under 
the law against using the mails to defraud the public, and 
perhaps the fact that some few—wc are happy to say very 
