AMERICAN AGRIOTJLTURIST. 
[June, 
174 
ftSestatioaa o4’ Cows. — Two iieighbors 
)iave gone to law about the damage arising from a bull 
running at large, contrary to tlie laws of the Slate of 
Iowa. Tlie animal ran witli four cows of the plaintiff. 
One of them calved vvilliin 40 weeks, the others were ex¬ 
pected to, at furthest, within 43 weeks. To decide the 
length of time a cow may go witn calf, is of interest to 
all parlies concerned. The period of gestation varies, 
more or less, in all animals. The average period in the 
cow is considered 40 weeks. Tlie late Eari Spencer 
kept a record of 764 cows; they averaged between 284 
and 285 days. Blane says he kept an account of 160 
cases, wliicii varied from 241 to 308 days. 'I'essier says 
he found it to vary from 240 to 331 days, in 570 cases. 
Bergen considers the average period 280 days. Youatt 
makes tlie average 270 ; (tliis is probably an error). Man- 
vie records a case of a cow going 16 months; tlie calf 
died. There is a case recorded in 1831, in the Veterinary 
School of Utrecht, of a cow carrying her calf 15 months, 
less 2 days; tlie calf lived. ■ Tlie sliortest period of 
gestation that we find recorded, wliere tlie calf lived, 
was 220 days. Tlie autliorities cited are reliable. 
asitl are scarcely 
known in well ventilated stables, where cleanliness and 
care are exercised in managing liorses’ feet. J. B. 
Gheeseman sends his method of treatment, wliich is as 
follows: “ Cleanse the heels with soap suds, and, when 
dry, apply hot tallow with a swab. One application is 
sufficient. Fish brine, or a coaling of common white 
lead paint, are equally efficacious.” We approve of your 
application of warm water and soap, and rubbing the 
parts dry, after which the white oxide of zinc ointment, 
or a little glycerine, will be found excellent applications 
for these diseases. They can be obtained of any good 
apothecary, are easily applied, and free from danger; 
which is not the case with the remedies you mention. 
Hjicc OM. Hiwgjsi.—“K. J. D,” Mercer Co., O. 
—The Swine Louse (Hainatopinus Suis) is readily de¬ 
stroyed by a strong decoction of quassia wood ; tobacco 
water is also used, but requires especial caution in its 
application. A little benzine, dissolved in alcoliol, ap¬ 
plied with a shaving brush, or piece of sponge, is said to 
be a certain cure, but, like tobacco water, requires care 
in its use. The pen should be kept clean, occasionally 
whitewashed, and tlie bedding changed frequently. 
’SVisstcriiis' Mog-s ou H'wrnips.—S. M. 
d liurston, Dacota Co., Wis., writes : “I have wintered 
niy hogs on raw rula-bagas for two winters, and think 
them better than potatoes.” Sow ruta-bagas on good 
deep soil in June, tlie earlier the better.. 
'I'lie Siseep §4iesaifistg>>. — There are a 
number of shearine festivals appointed in various parts 
of tlie country. Tliey are of local interest, and we hope 
will be well managed and well attended. In rapid and 
close shearing, humane care for the comfort of the 
sheep, rather, we might say, care not to torture the poor 
animals, is not given sufficient weight in deciding the 
merit of the shearers. Should occurrences of particular 
interest transpire, we hope to receive reports. 
Meat ISoHC-s—E>oia.’t IBnru 'a'hem.— 
Make soup from them, then sledge them up fine, and feed 
them to the hens, or hogs, saving the manure of these 
animals. Or throw them broken fine into a heap with 
horse manure, pei liaps making a regular compost, after¬ 
wards of the manure. Thus you save, and utilize on the 
farm or garden all the nitrogen (as ammonia). When 
they are burnt, even if the ashes be saved, all this is lost. 
j!$olittioi& of ISoueai l>y Aei«l.—“Verd¬ 
ant Farmer” asks how to dissolve in oil of vitriol. It is 
rattier a difficult thing to dissolve bones well. It is best 
not to do it in a hurry. Sledge up (down ?) the bones as 
smalt as you can conveniently, put them into a half¬ 
hogshead tub (made of an oil cask), filling it half full ; 
wet them with water, so as to moisten the whole mass, 
and leave it a day or twm, stirring to make all moist. 
Then take of oil of vitriol, about iialf the weight of the 
bones, dilute It by pouring it carefully into an equal 
quantity of water, or more—(it will become very hot, and 
may spatter), and pour this upon the bones. Stir tlior- 
oughly and often—daily, for a week, mashing and break¬ 
ing the lumps. Add more water, if necessary, to be able 
to stir tlie mass, and finally dry off by addition of bone 
dust, saw dust, coal ashes, dry leaclied ashes, plaster, or 
muck. If big pieces of undecomposed bone bo found, 
rake them out. This drying operation is best done 
on an eartli floor. 
Wliy «lo Ciitlle iiSsiaw Oid Bones ?— 
“II. H.,” Westchester Co., N. Y., asks; “What is the 
cause of cattle wanting to be cliewing pieces of old 
bones, as is the case witli mine? I give them salt, but 
tliey refuse it, and if they can find an old bone they would 
chew it all day if I would let them. Can you tell the 
cause?” You have sold corn, hay, milk, veal, young 
cattle, cows, etc., off your place, until the bone-material 
phosphate of lime is so nearly exhausted that tlie animals 
have got tlie “ bone disease.” Feed them a little bone 
meal daily, for some time, and sow bone dust on your pas¬ 
tures, and mowing land. It will greatly increase your crops 
besides. This advice is good for tiiousands besides you. 
Barley Sjn'onfs as Manure. —“ J. S.,” 
Tamaqua Co., Pa., has used the barley sprouts of tlie 
breweries, with very good results on potatoes and otlier 
vegetables, (two liandfuls to the hill of potatoes), and 
asks, if it can be regarded as a substitute for stable ma¬ 
nure ? No, not by itself. Composted with swamp muck, 
and adding lime, ashes, plaster etc., to the soil, in mod¬ 
erate quantities, it may substitute stable manure. 
Antlirncite Ooal Aslies. —“New Sub¬ 
scriber” writes: “An English writer states that tlie 
ashes of English (bituminous) coal are good to mix with 
animal manures, to absorb or retain, till needed by vege¬ 
tation—those good qualities of the manure which might 
be lost; or as I understand it, that they might have the 
same effect, in some degree, as plaster,” and asks : “ Are 
the ashes of anthracite coal of any value for tlie same 
purpose?”—Yes—but not of uniform value. Screened 
free from clinkers, they make a good addition to dung 
composts, or may be used alone on grass in autumn. 
Buried a.iid Ex» 
posed.— Bidwell Bros., Ramsey Co., Min., send us the 
following communication, wliich has special interest for 
bee-keepers. We print it, hoping to receive from our 
correspondents a statement of tlieir method of burying 
tlieir bees. Tliey write“ On tlie 26th of October last 
we selected ten stocks of bees to winter out of doors, 
and weighed each. On March 25th (nearly five months) 
we weighed them again, and found the following result,: 
Oct. 26. 
March 25. 
Loss. 
Oct. 26. 
March 25. 
Loss. 
75 lbs. 
55 % lbs. 
PJ%lbs. 
74 lbs. 
41% lbs. 
3-2% lbs 
Slif “ 
53% ■“ 
27% “ 
77% “ 
49% “ 
28 “ 
73% “ 
47 “ 
26% “ 
79% “ 
53% “ 
26 “ 
73% “ 
48% “ 
25% “ 
77% “ 
51 “ 
26% “ 
73% “ 
47% “ 
26 “ 
70 “ 
46‘i “ 
23% “ 
Wliole number of pounds of honey consumed.265 
Average consumption in each hive.26K 
The thermometer ranged from 68 above to 33 below zero. 
We buried in the ground eighteen miscellaneous stocks, 
October 26th, and re-weighed tliem the 27lh of March, 
with the following result. There were eight hives in the 
bottom tier, six in the middle, and four in the top tier. 
Oct. 26. 
March 27. 
Loss. 
92% lbs 
.... 78% lbs; .. 
92% “ 
.... 79% “ .. 
.. 13% “ .. 
.. top tier. 
92 “ 
.... 79% “ .. 
.. 12% “ . 
.. top tier. 
91% “ 
.... 79% “ . 
.. 11% “ . 
.. top tier. 
90% “ 
.... 80% “ .. 
.. 9% “ . 
.. middle tier. 
87% “ 
.... 78% “ .. 
.. 8% “ . 
.. middle tier. 
72% “ 
.... 65% “ .. 
.. middle tier. 
87 “ 
.... 80 “ . 
-.7 “ . 
.. middle tier. 
82 “ 
.... 75% “ . 
.. 6% “ . 
.. middle tier. 
87 “ 
.... 78% “ . 
.. 8% “ . 
. . middle tier. 
93 “ 
.... 85% “ . 
.. 7% “ . 
.. bottom tier. 
90 “ 
....83 “ . 
..7 “ . 
.. bottom tier. 
90% “ 
.... 83% “ . 
..7 “ . 
.. bottom tier. 
78 “ 
.... 72% “ . 
.. 5% “ . 
.. bottom tier. 
69% “ 
.... 6.5% “ . 
..4 “ 
.. bottom tier. 
63% “ 
.... 60% “ . 
...3 “ . 
.. bottom tier. 
67 “ 
.... 64% “ . 
... 2% “ . 
.. bottom tier. 
56% “ 
.... 54% “ . 
..2 “ , 
.. bottom tier. 
Total amount of honey consumed,.. 
Average,.. 
. .. 136% lbs. 
“We miglit remark that the greatest stocks out of doors, 
and the strongest in the ground, consumed proportion¬ 
ately the most honey. Those at the bottom of the pit 
less than those at the top. The dirt was four feet through 
at the bottom, and only one at the top. The stocks that 
wintered in the open air lost about half of their numbers, 
while those buried increased some, and came out bright. 
We shall bury all our bees next winter.” 
'I'o ^top C!iij»iii«iclcs Bulliug" Com. 
—S. M. T. says his neighbors “ soak their corn in a decoc¬ 
tion of tobacco, and it has invariably put a stop to the 
depredations of tlie Chipmucks.” Still, he asks for a bet¬ 
ter remedy. Why is not this good enough ? 
Mixing- of Blnints.—G. Paul, St. Louis, 
Co., Mo., and others. According to the laws of plant life, 
as we now understand them, admixture of different kinds 
of nearly related plants, can only take place through the 
seed. That the fruit which encloses the seed may be 
changed by cross impregnation is quite probable, but it 
is not proven. Carrots and beets may be raised for seed 
in close proximity to ruta-bagas, or any other turnips, 
without the slightest clianoe of any change from this- 
cause, although the turnips or the other vegetables may 
deteriorate, for the reason that the plants were not well 
grown. As to the question of potatoes mixing in the 
hill, we have many assertions that they will do so, but 
1 no proof, and we should require evidence, such as would 
convict a man of murder, before we could be convinced 
of the truth of the statement. That potatoes may vary, 
and that a colored variety may produce tubers partly ; 
white, or a white variety yield tliose liaving colored 
markings, we can readily admit, but instead of attribut- ] 
ing- it to any influence of mingling sorts, we should 
rather ascribe it to the breaking out of some latent pecu¬ 
liarity. We have seen one brancli of a grape vine pro- i 
duce leaves mottled, and margitied with white, and so 
with other plants, and see no reason why, under favoring , 
circumstances, potatoes, which are merely branches pe¬ 
culiarly developed, sliould not sport as well. || 
^el4-ISeg'iilatiiig- IFountaiii. — S. 1). 
Newbro, of Ingham County, Michigan, writes that he 
employs for securing a small but regular discharge of 1 1 
cider into the sawdust leach box, in the’process of l] 
making vinegar in the quick vvay, an apparatus similar !' 
to tlie one liere figured, in which R is a reservoir, T a :i 
trough connected with R by 
a pipe, the pipe entering 
first a box below, from 
which the flow into the 
trough is regulated by a 
valve attached to the float 
F. When the float rises to 
a certain hight, tlie valve 
closes, but re-opens again 
when the cider is drawn 
down. The spiggot, S, is inserted at any convenient 
place in tlie trough. Mr. N. suggests the value of this i 
contrivance for maintaining a regular flow of sap into 1 
the evaporating pans in maple sugar making, and also its 
application as a fountain of fresh water for poultry,—for 
which purposes it is available, if the valve close lightly. ) 
West Jersey Pruit Gro-wers’ Asso= 
ciatioii.—The second annual Report of this Society is 
at hand. It is a modest little pamphlet, but much more I 
valuable than some of greater pretension, as it records 
the experience of its members with certain varieties of • 
fruits, in a concise and definite manner. Any one living i 
in Burlington Co., and w ishing to know what fruits suc¬ 
ceed there, can find in this little report just the informa¬ 
tion he needs. We have looked over its contents witli 
interest, and commend the example of the West Jersey 
Association to other Horticultural Societies. 
Ca.talog'iies, etc., ISeceivetl. —John 
Vanderbilt, 23 Fulton street, has issued a new illustrated 
catalogue, full of cngr.avings of everything in the way 
of agrieultural and horticultural implements, from a 
threshing machine to a garden rake, with descriptions in 
both Englisli and Spanish.The Report of the State 
Board of Agriculture of California is at hand. Though 
it treats mainly of local matters, it abundantly shows 
that the people of that Slate fully appreciate their wond- i 
erful natural facilities for making California a leading 
agricultural State, and mean to improve them. 
The Veg'ei.ahle.s oif AaiiB.erica.— A new 
edition of this work, by Fearing Burr,J r., has been publish¬ 
ed by J. E. Tilton & Co., of Boston, and is a most elegant 
specimen of book-making. The letter-press, engravings, 
and paper are of a character not often seen in books of 
tliis class. With regard to the matter, it is a most useful 
compendium of tlie cultivated vegetables, giving descrip¬ 
tions of varieties, with interesting notes concerning their ' 
origin and history. Altliough it was not within the inten¬ 
tion of the author to write a hand-book of practical i 
gardening, he has given brief directions for the cultiva¬ 
tion of the different varieties of vegetables. Both author \ 
and publishers can congratulate themselves upon having ; 
produced a work that is both useful and elegant. i 
Trimraing' Trsiit Ti*ce.<s. If “ young 
Farmer” had read the calendar carefully, he would have 
learned that fruit trees may be “ trimmed” at any con¬ 
venient season with the knife, but that limbs large enoiigli 
to require the saw are best removed in summer or later. 
Spring- Bud«liiig- tl»e fl®curli.— Several | 
correspondents stale that they have been more success¬ 
ful in budding the peach in spring than at any other lime. ■ 
The twigs containing buds should be cut before vegeta- , 
tion starts, and preserved in the same manner as cions. ! 
Tlo-wers foi,* Slundy SitHations.— 
The Pansy and the Forget-Me-Not, the Primroses and 
Nemophilas, all do well. For tlieso last, we wish to 
speak a special kind word. The N. maculata is one of 
the largest, white, and blotched with violet. N. insignis, 
is sky blue, small, but a great bloomer. N. discoidalis, 
is a rich maroon, bordered with white. They are all 
Californian annuals of the easiest culture, and if they 
have a partial shade, will bloom freely. 
