102 AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. [April, 
Remedy lor Toot Kot in Slieep.—A 
correspondent at Wilmington, Del., gives the following 
directions for treating this disease. “ To 4 ozs. butter of 
antimony, add X oz. of corrosive sublimate. Pare off all 
the loose parts of the hoof and apply some of the mixture ; 
then tie a rag around the foot. Examine it next day and 
if any part has escaped, apply again. It is very difficult 1 
to eradicate this disease from a flock where a number are 
affected, as with the greatest care new cases will occa¬ 
sionally occur, and unless the sheep are valuable, the 
butcher had better have them. [We hardly dare endorse 
a medicine composed of antimony and corrosive subli¬ 
mate. It may be safe, however, and if so, would probably 
be effective.—E d.] 
“ Blind Staggers ” in Sheep.—N. D. 
Townsend, Vermilion Co., Hi. From the description of 
the disease among your flock, we judge it to be “Hydatid 
on the brain.” The Hydatid is a minute parasitic insect, 
that in some unexplained manner finds its way to the 
brain, and forms a small sack containing watery fluid, in 
which it multiplies. These sacs increase in size, press 
upon the brain and absorb its substance, causing derange¬ 
ment, and ultimate death of the sheep. No certain cure is 
known. As the disease is most prevalent in weak ani¬ 
mals, the preventive is to keep them in good condition. 
The malady is most frequent in wet marshy districts, and 
little known upon upland or dry pastures. 
Grub in the Head of Slieep. —“Farm¬ 
er’s Son.” The grub found in the head of sheep is the 
larva of a small fly, ((Estrus ovis .) The winged insect 
is common during the months of July and August. It 
seeks to enter the nose of the sheep to deposit its eggs. 
The animals have a great dread of it, and may often be 
seen standing in a circle holding their heads near the 
ground, to escape it. From the egg, a small worm is 
hatched, which makes its way up to some of the cavities 
opening from the nose, where it remains and feeds upon 
the mucous secreted by the membranous lining. The fol¬ 
lowing Spring the full grown grub crawls out, and enters 
the ground, where it changes to a chrysalis and then to a 
perfect fly. The only difficulty known to be caused by 
the grub, is an unpleasant irritation to the animal: this 
may result in inflammation and disease, but no well au¬ 
thenticated instances are on record. A partial prevent¬ 
ive is to plow a furrow through the pasture where the 
sheep may protect their noses. Some shepherds recom¬ 
mend to tar the noses of the animals during the Summer. 
We know of no cure. If let alone, the worms will leave 
of themselves in the Spring. 
JPoisowed Sheep.—Samuel Cone, Berkshire 
Co., Mass., inquires if wild parsnep is poisonous to sheep, 
and if so, what is the remedy. He has lost several sheep 
apparently from eating hay containing the wild parsnep. 
Apple Pomace for Feed.—William Hull, 
Wayne Co., Pa. We have no experience in feeding 
stock with apple pomace, but should judge it to be of 
small value. Mixed with plenty of corn meal, it might 
be of some service. The experiment is worth trying. 
Hungarian Grass lor Morses.— E. 
Boyd, Cayuga Co., O. We have seen no account of in¬ 
jury done to horses by the beard of this grass adhering to 
the coat of the stomach. The seed alone is too hearty 
food, and liable to induce inflammation. If fed with 
the straw it is generally thought to be safe, we believe. 
Disease Among Poultry.— “J. E. R.,” 
Orange Co., N. Y., writes that many choice fowls have 
died in that place of what seems to be chicken pox. The 
head becomes swollen, and sores the size of a pea appear 
on the combs, gills, etc. The fowls soon become entirely 
blind, and consequently die of starvation. 
To Keep Birds from Corn. —A corres¬ 
pondent at Wilmington, Del., directs to put a bushel of 
corn into a half hogshead or other convenient vessel, and 
set it in the sun, or where it will be warmed. Pour over 
it a half pint of gas tar or a pint of common tar, and mix 
well until every kernel is smeared. Then stir in ashes, 
fine lime, or plaster, until the grains are separated, and 
spread it out to dry. [Without regard to the birds, it is 
generally well to smear the corn with tar, dissolved in 
from four to five times its bulk of warm water, and dry it 
off with fresh slaked lime. This kills smut; the tar is a 
good fertilizer itself; and the lime fits some of the soil to 
nourish the young plants. Birds will not eat it, but 
generally they are not satisfied without pulling up the 
kernels to find out whether they are tarred or not.—E d.] 
What of the Italian Bee?— Siuce the 
excitement attendant upon introducing this variety of the 
bee Into the United States, but little has appeared on the 
subject. We have heard of fair success in raising them 
by a few individuals, but hardly enough to yet advise sub¬ 
stituting them for the ordinary kind. A reliable state¬ 
ment of facts, showing their comparative value, from those 
who have fairly tried the experiment, would be of interest. 
Good. “Coom Hunting.” —E. Haynes, 
thus describes how he got the American Agriculturist 
for 1S63. “ I was out of money and did not know how to 
get any. The thought came that I could make the coons 
pay for my paper; so I got up at 4 o’clock, one morning 
in the middle of last December and started out with dog 
and gun. I got back at 5X o’clock with two coons, being 
gone just lyi hours. I sold one skin for one dollar, the 
other a small one, for 63 cents. I got 3 quarts oil out of 
both coons ; sold 1 quart oil for 31 cents; have 2 qts. left 
worth 62 cents. So you see I made $2.56 before breakfast. 
I send for the Agriculturist , American Missionary and 
the Advocate and Guardian. It pays don’t it ? [Certain¬ 
ly, such successful hunting pays, at such prices for coon 
skins; but it is not often tirat like good fortune is met 
with. As -a rule, hunting hen’s nests will prove more suc¬ 
cessful. Another subscriber says that the eggs and 
chickens produced by one hen last year, sold for enough 
to pay for his paper two years; and that the increased 
product of eggs by 12 hens, from following one hint in his 
Agriculturist about giving them fresh meat scraps, has 
paid for several years’ subscriptions, during the present 
Winter. It always pays to hunt for good papers.—E d.] 
Crop for Newly ©rained —P. 
Putnam, Washington Co., N. Y. Almost any grain crop 
will succeed on well-drained land. A plentiful applica¬ 
tion of lime will be beneficial to ameliorate a sour mucky 
soil. If in good heart, a crop of potatoes will be likely to 
succeed, to be followed by rye the next Fall. 
Ite-seeding Bare Spots.— C. B. Hunting- 
ton, Craneville, N. J. Give the bare spots in pasture land 
a thorough dressing with a heavy harrow ; sow the seed, 
roll it in, and top-dress with finely pulverized manure. 
Giving Coni ;i Good Start.— Gideon 
Archer. Monroe Co., N. Y., writes that he has obtained 
excellent results with corn by applying a mixture of 
equal parts of lime, plaster, and ashes, a handful to a hill, 
before the grain comes up. A vigorous start given to any 
young plant enables it to make strong and rapid growth. 
Binders foi* Com. — “L. F.,” writes us 
that corn which has been sown thick for fodder, makes 
the best binder he has ever used. Strips of the inner 
Basswood tree are sometimes used for the same purpose. 
English Seed Brill.— Win. Grawcock, 
Whitley Co., Ind. We know of no implement answering 
your description, made in this country. 
JFlax Seed.— This is so liigli, partly because 
of the unusual demand for sowing this Spring, and partly 
because the manner in which a large share of it is culti¬ 
vated, keeps it in a few hands. In many places the manu¬ 
facturers of linseed oil furnish the farmers with seed and 
contract for the whole crop at a certain price. This pre¬ 
vents the growers from benefiting by the present advance. 
Cotton in Illinois.— Rev. J. A. Bent, of 
Hoyleton, Ill., (incorrectly printed in March, as Hazel- 
ton,) sends us the following additional note: “Since 
writing you concerning my attempt at raising cotton, I 
have made inquiries at places in Southern Illinois, where 
cotton gins are in operation, and I am convinced that in 
this part of the State, cotton may be reasonably expected 
to do better than mine did. I think in our rich soils it 
should be crowded in the drill to prevent overgrowth of 
stock, and to hasten maturity. Tennesseeans resident 
here now, with whom I have conversed, think that from 
500 to 1200 lbs. of unginned cotton can be raised ; or from 
150 to 350 lbs. of ginned cotton to the acre.—The people, 
stimulated by the extraordinary price of cotton, wilt plant 
a very large amount in Southern Illinois this year. All 
the seed is eagerly obtained at the gins. If nothing un¬ 
toward prevents, you may expect to hear of an unprece¬ 
dented cotton crop this year. Many are proposing to 
plant from 1 to 15 acres. 
Garnet Chili Potatoes.— P. Putnam, of 
Putnam Co., N. Y., noticing our remark that this variety 
became hollow, says that he has not found it to be the 
case, and he thinks we may have mistaken the Chili Red 
for the Garnet Chili. The seed we used came directly 
from Mr. Goodrich, the originator, and was planted the 
first year on tilled land well manured, and the second 
year upon old pasture sod without manure. The pota¬ 
toes were in both instances hollow and unfit for the table, 
though the yield was very large. We shall be glad to 
learn that this is an exceptional case, as the variety seems 
to have the other qualities desirable in a good field potato. 
Beet Sugar In Illinois.— C. H. Thayer, 
of Livingston Co., informs us that an extensive factory 
for beet sugar and sorghum is being erected at Chats- 
worth. The Ill. Central R. R. freight all beets raised 
along the line of the road free of charge. Preparations 
are being made for extended planting of the beet, and he 
promises to advise us of the success. 
The Big’ Beet Beaten.— J. V. Kinney, 
Somerset Co., N. J., writes that last Summer he raised a 
beet of the Bassano variety, from seed distributed at the 
Agriculturist Office, which measured three-feet in circum¬ 
ference. This beats the heet mentioned in the January 
number, by ten inches. [How much did it weigh ?] 
Quantity of Seed to the Acre.— Pres¬ 
ton H. Smith. Seeds vary so much in their quality, 
especially some of the kinds you enumerate, that it is 
difficult to give precise quantities. There are sown of 
beets from 2 to 4 lbs ; carrots, IX to 2 lbs.; parsneps, 2 to 
4 lbs.; turnips, 1 to IX lbs.; X lb. of cabbage seed should 
give plants enough for an acre, and enough to replace all 
destroyed by the cut worm. 
Hard Coal Ashes.— Chas. Booth, Worces¬ 
ter Co., Mass. If the soil of the garden is stiff and clay¬ 
ey, coal ashes would be beneficial. Composted with the 
contents of the privy they would not be as good an ab¬ 
sorbent as muck or loam. 
Grass for a Name.— T. C. Wells, Kansas. 
The grass is Uniolalatifolia or Broad-leaved Spike-grass. 
It grows wild at the West, and is so beautiful that it is 
often cultivated in gardens. It is a perennial. 
Average Yield of Grain.— A statistical 
•subscriber wishes to know if any one can inform him of 
the average yield per acre of wheat, corn, rye and oats in 
the United States, or in any single State or district. 
Chenango Strawberry Apple.— The 
account of this apple, given on the authority of one of our 
best pomologists, is objected toby another fruit grower of 
large experience who says: “ To my taste it is very 
nearly ‘very good’—ripe in September and continues un¬ 
til the middle and last of October. Flesh tender, juicy, 
pleasant sub-acid ; a very good amateur’s fruit, but too 
tender for carriage to market. This is distinct from the 
Washington Strawberry.” 
Sweet and Sour Apple.— “T. H.” This 
is an old variety which becomes unequally flavored. One 
side of it is slightly different from the other. The stories 
about producing an apple half sweet and haif sour by 
budding with two half buds of different kinds, is all bosh. 
Apples in Southern. Illinois.— A. R. 
Rankin, of Crawford Co., Ill., says the following apples 
have proved good in Southern Indiana, and Illinois, viz.: 
Rawles Jannet, Belleflower, Rambo, Domine, Golden 
Gate (very fine,) Newtown Pippin, and Pryor’s Red. 
Fall Pippin, Red Streak and Smokehouse also do well. 
Trees from Gutting's. — N. Gilbert., 
Oswego Co., N. Y. Peach, plum and cherry trees can 
not be successfully raised from cuttings in this climate. 
The quince is propagated easily from cuttings planted in 
a shaded place in the Spring. 
Stocks lor Dwarf Apples.— J. H. Mil¬ 
ler, Pa. Doucin and Paradise stock are propagated by 
lavers. The plant is cut off near the ground so as to in¬ 
duce it to throw out numerous shoots which are allowed 
to grow one season. The next Spring a mound of earth 
is heaped up around the shoots, so that the base of each 
one of them will be covered by at least three inches of 
earth. The shoots will take root and maybe removed 
from the parent root in the Fall. The stocks can be pro¬ 
cured cheaply from the large nursery establishments. 
Ashes for ©each Trees.— E. Rex, Craw¬ 
ford Co., Ohio, says that when the trees are large enough 
to bear, he removes the sod in the Spring so as to lay bare 
the upper roots, and fills in the space with leached ashes. 
In the Fall the ashes are removed, and leaf or other veg¬ 
etable mold put in their place. He says that he finds do¬ 
ing this every other season, preserves the trees in fine con¬ 
dition and prevents the attacks of the borer. 
Apples from Sprouts.— I. G. Wolfe, 
Union Co., Pa. “ Like produces like,” even in apple 
trees. Trees from sprouts nearly always throw up suck¬ 
ers or shoots about the trunk. True, they can be fre¬ 
quently cut away; but the tendency to form suckers weak¬ 
ens the parent, besides involving the labor of removal. 
