1878.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
207 
Wiiy they ESimi Corn.— 11 A Farmer’s 
Boy,” Nebraska, tells us wliy they bum com out there. 
He lives twenty miles from timber, and by going that 
distance can buy green cot.t.on-wood for $9 a cord, paying 
for it with cbm at fifteen cents a bnshel. At this rate, 
counting the value of two days’ hauling, one cord of 
wood costs 100 bushels of corn, which will burn three 
times as long and make a better fire than the wood. It 
is therefore the cheapest fuel that can be procured, to say 
nothing of its convenience. 
Fare for Iffo-ren.—A. Cliavanues, Knox¬ 
ville, East Tenu., writes that in cases of hoven in cattle 
he has administered, with entire success, a table-spoonful 
of sulphuric ether in one pint of water. If the case is a 
bad one, a second dose is given in fifteen minutes after 
the first. The cow is made to walk up and down_gently 
until relieved. 
Will it Fay to ©raw IPffasanve 
Seven Miles ?—A correspondent has recently bought 
a run-down farm, seven miles from Montreal. He has 
been hauling manure all winter with two teams, one trip 
per day ; men receiving $90 per month and board them¬ 
selves. He “ can get any amount of manure merely for 
the hauling. Will it pay? Also, is the manure Irom 
cow-stables as valuable as horse manure ? ” We think it 
will pay well, especially if you cou'.d find something for 
the teams to draw into tile city. If the cows are fed on 
bran, brewers’ grain, and clover hay, the manure is better 
than ordinary horse manure. 
Wlaat 4® Hbo witla. tine Manure.— 
The same gentleman asks whether he bad better use iiis 
manure for hay or for potatoes, both of which, he says, 
bring a good price in the Montreal market.—We think it 
would be better for the land to apply it to grass. First 
make the land rich, and then a few years lienee grow 
potatoes. 
Flow of Water Tlarongla Fipes.— 
‘‘P. T. D.,” Deans Corners, N. Y. It depends altogeth¬ 
er on the amount of pressure or the height of the spring 
above the discharge, what amount of water would pass 
through a % inch pipe 1,500 feet long. If the head was 
40 feet there would he a pressure of over 15 lbs. per square 
inch, which would be sufficient to overcome the friction 
and yield a good flow. But if the head was only 2 feet or 
less tlie flow would he very much diminished by friction 
or the adhesion of the water to the sides of the pipe, unless 
the diameter were increased. In the writer’s experience 
a half-inch pipe of over 1.200 feet with a head of three 
feet above the outlet only yielded a few drops of water in 
a minute; and when half the pips was changed for an¬ 
other an inch in diamet.er.it gave about one pint per 
minute ; with the other half changed to 1)4 inch there was 
a good flow. 
Fotasla on San<1y Soils.—“ D. F. W.” 
Snclt very soluble fertilizers as carbonate of potash, 
(common potash) and other chemical manures, have not 
been found of much use on light, sandy soils. They are 
very soon washed out. of reach of the roots of plants by 
rains and lost. Stable manure or clover plowed under 
has been found of greater use in improving such soils 
than anything else. 
Steaming Feed.—“ H. A. S.,” Hartford 
Co., Ct. It makes no difference in the process of steam¬ 
ing feed whether the steamer is higher or lower than the 
steam-ch st; but the steam should always enter at the 
bottom of tlie chest. It is not easy to drive heat down¬ 
ward. There would be no greater consumption of fuel 
worth speaking of with a pipe 100 feet long properly pro¬ 
tected than with a pipe 5 feet long. The amount of fuel 
needed for a Prindle Steamer to steam for 20 head for 6 
months, would he about two cords of dry, hard wood, or 
two tons of coal, or somewhat less. 
f*»po4te<l Essex Figs. —A correspondent 
asks : Are the pure, improved Essex at the present day 
ever parti-colored ? My case is this; An Essex sow 
bought in Mass., of a most reputable breeder, lias just 
bad her third litter from a boar purchased of tlie same 
breeder ; and there arc three of tlie pigs spotted, buff and 
black and white and black. Iler two previous litters 
from another boar were all jet black.”—We have heard 
of such cases before. It does not necessarily follow that 
the pigs are not pure-bred. The truth is, however, that 
there is a kind of mania among pig breeders botli in this 
country and in England for “improving" their pigs by 
crossing, and the probabilities are that some of the an¬ 
cestors of these pigs came from suoh a breeder. Tlie 
breeutr 'rom whom our correspondent got the-pigs may 
have been a most careful and reliable man, but if he got 
Borne of this cross-bred stock tlie alloy may bIiow itself 
many years afterwards. The Essex was originally a 
parti-colored pig, and tills may be another instance of 
reversion. Still we should be inclined to reject the stock. 
At any rate, we would not breed from any that are not 
entirely black. 
Tiaree CJiaestlons.— Wm. Marshall, Adams- 
town, Md., asks, 1st. “Does the bottom of a carriage- 
wheel move when in motion ; if so which way?” 2d. 
“ Will two railroad trains of equal weight moving with 
equal velocity collide with greater force than one of equal 
weigiit and velocity running against a solid rock ? ” 3d. 
“ Does the pendulum of a clock stop between its vibra¬ 
tions ? ”—Replies.—1st. The motion of any given part of 
the circumference of a wheel is in the form of an arc of a 
circle whose chord is equal to the circumference of the 
wheel, and whose height is equal to the wheel’s diame¬ 
ter. The direction of the motion of any point in the cir¬ 
cumference would be that of a succession of these arcs. 
2d. Tlie two trains would collide with double tlie force 
with which the one would strike the rock. 3d. A pendu¬ 
lum stops for an instant of time between each vibration. 
There can he no abrnpt change from a forward to a 
backward motion without Bitch a stoppage. 
Would Ise n Civil Engineer.— 11 J. F. 
S.,” Hanover, N. II. There is no other method of becom¬ 
ing one of a corps of engineers on a railroad survey than 
first, becoming a competent engineer, and then procuring 
a situation from the engineer-in-chief who lias charge of 
the survey, or through some party having influence with 
him. The latter is the most difficult part of the business. 
Wlaat is a Ton of Mansere.—“J. E. 
C.,” Douglas, Mass. When “ a ton of manure ” is spoken 
of, 2.000 pounds is meant. “A load of manure” is sup¬ 
posed to mean an ordinary two horse farm wagon loaded 
in an ordinary manner. Generally such a load of barn¬ 
yard manure, not water-soaked, will weigh about one ton. 
If the manure is piled up until no more can be put on 
without squaring up tlie s.des, two tons may be put on to 
a wagon, but few farmers haul more than a ton on to the 
soft soil of their fields. 
Ilycla*aailic Ceamesat — “ J. W. R.,” 
Bnckhannon. W. Ya. In the Agriculturist of November, 
1872, will he found directions for laying cement pipe, fully 
illustrated with engravings. 
Advice to uat 3mmigrtin i .—G. Walker, 
Ballinasloe, Ireland. A young man intending to pur¬ 
chase a farm in America would do well to stay a year 
with a good larmer here ; hut as “ farm stewards ” are 
unknown in this country it would not be possible for one 
to act as sneh. Neither would it lie likely that a young 
foreigner could secure a salary for the first year’s work 
except as a laborer, because, instead of being of any value 
to an emp’oyer, he would have much to learn of our cli¬ 
mate, soil, productions and method of agriculture, all 
widely different from those peculiar to Ireland. 
“Orange Co. Fails.” — “ J. H. B.,” 
Burlington Co., N. J. The Orange Co. butter package is 
a pail or tub holding 50 pounds, with a close-fitting'lid, and 
painted, genera ly, blue. A very excellent butter pail is 
made of oak the same size and shape as the Orange 
Co. pail, with metal fastenings, and known as the “ West- 
cott return pail.” 
5s Fea-S4raw Injurious.— “A. J. S.,” 
Eel River, Cal. There is nothing in pea-straw itself, 
saved in good condition, to account for a fatal attack of 
red water in cattle fed upon it, nor indeed, for any ill- 
efl'ects on tlie urinary organs. But. sometimes a species 
of rust, or a fungoid growth similar to rust, appears upon 
pea-straw, especially when a heavy crop has been laid 
and the weather is hot. Plants affected by smut, mildew, 
and similar diseases, are unwholesome to cattle, and it 
was probably something of that kind which injured them 
in this instance. In such cases a pound of. Epsom salts 
should lie given immediately, and copious drafts of linseed 
tea. The disease called red Water originates almost 
every time from unwholesome fodder. 
ISairning Hones.—“ S. F.,” Chester Co., 
Pa. It will be cheaper to burn bones than to give half 
for grinding them. The fat contained is of no use as 
manure for any purpose, but the gelatine is valuable as 
it furnishes nitrogen. This, ot course, is lost in the 
burning, and itamounts to about 40 per cent in dry bones. 
Herd Law in Kansas.— A correspon¬ 
dent, who is one of the Commissioners of Crawford Co., 
Kansas, states that their Legislature a year ago gave 
County Commissioners the powor to prescribe what ani¬ 
mals should not be permitted to run at large, and provid¬ 
ing for the recovery of damages by parties injured against 
the owners of trespassing stock. Tlie Commissioners of 
Crawford Co. have made an order restraining all stock 
from running at large. The fact, tiierefore. that special 
enactments for separate counties were decided to he un¬ 
constitutional should not lead to the mistaken idea that 
there is no “herd law” in Kansas as stated by a former 
correspondent. 
Eate Corn. —“ W. M. M.,” Northampton 
Co., Pa. We have secured perfectly ripened corn which 
was planted so late as the 24th of June, lint it was an 
early sort, viz., tlie early Canada, whicli is excellent for 
replanting or for planting on a newly-mown clover sod. 
Tlie Blest Fertilizer for Corn.- “ W. 
M. M.,” Easton, Pa. Our observations last year proved 
very satisfactorily that tlie best fertilizer for corn is tlie 
dried flesh-and-blood manure. It acts immediately, pro¬ 
duces a great growth, and pushes the crop rapidly for¬ 
ward, thus causing an early ripening. 
Manni’c for Corn -“J. F. W.,” Center 
Co., Pa. Bone-dust is not sufficiently active as a manure 
for corn. Tlie best manure we have used or know of for 
corn is blood or flesh-manure. It lias a large proportion 
of ammonia, is very soluble, and acts immediately. If 
not possible to apply it with the seed a handful maybe 
hoed in around the young plant with the best results. 
Horse-Powers. — “ J. G.,” Bristol, Ct. 
There are hut two kinds of horse-powers, the lever pow¬ 
er and the tread-power. The latter is the most conven¬ 
ient where two horse-power is sufficient, as it occupies 
bnt very little room and may be set up on the barn floor. 
There is no danger to be apprehended in using a tread- 
power if common precautions are taken, and oxen may 
run them as well as horses. 
Managing- Manure. —“F. H. W.,” Bun¬ 
combe, N. C. It is a disputed question whether it is 
most economical to draw manure fresh from the stables 
and spread it on the surface where it shall remain until 
plowed under or it has rotted on the surface, or to work 
it in the barn-yard until it has rotted and become fine. 
Tlie latter practice is the one generally adopted, and al¬ 
though it causes more work, yet there is abundance of 
time during the season when field work can not be done, 
when this may he without extra cost. If the manure is 
piled up and fermented and then turned over and heated 
once more with proper care, it becomes so fine that it 
may he worked into the soil with the harrow along with 
the seed. We do not know how manure can he more 
profitably used. 
Coras on Made Lnnd, — “ C. H. S.,” 
Miami Co., Ind. Corn will not thrive on muck land 
without a good dressing of wood-ashes or lime. The rea¬ 
son of the crop turning yellow and perishing on such 
land is simply that vegetable matter alone will not sup¬ 
port a crop ; mineral matter is needed. If not too costly 
a process the addition of two or three hundred loads of 
clay to the acre would vastly improve muck land. 
Fodder Corn,- “ J. M.,” Jefferson Co., 
Ohio. There is no better crop to raise for fodder than 
corn. It may lie planted in rows 30 inches to 3 feet apart, 
at the rate of 3 or 4 bushels per acre, which will give 12 
grains to the foot or thereabouts. It should be cultiva¬ 
ted as carefully as ordinary corn, and on rich soil will 
yield an immense crop. Sown broadcast it will not 
yield so much as when in rows. 
Loss of Wool. —“ J. M.,” Butler Co., Ohio. 
Loss of wool is not necessarily a sign of disease. Some 
sheep have a habit of shedding their wool in the spring. 
Such should be sheared as soon as the fleece becomes 
loose, andjif the weather is excessively cold protect them, 
Mole-Flow For Irrigation. —“ S. B. 
W.,” Greeley, Col. In a loose friable soil it is not likely 
that the channels made by a mole-plow would last for 24 
hours. If water were turned into these channels they 
wo'uld collapse at once. It would not pay to go to the 
cost of making the experiment. In a stiff clay the chan¬ 
nels might be more permanent, but it is inevitable that 
loose earth would fall in and close them very frequently. 
Irrigation must necessarily be from the surface. 
Egg-Eating Fowls.— “G. H. W.,” Hub- 
bardtown, Mass. When fowls are confined they will eat 
their eggs, and no persuasion but that of the axe will 
prevent them. They must be freed from confinement and 
given their natural employment of scratching, or they 
will get into this mischief. 
