1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER- 
69 
ington.  In  the  summer  time  they  eat  very  little  grass, 
and  in  my  brush  pasture,  if  I  did  not  let  sheep  run 
with  or  follow  them,  grass  would  grow  up,  dry  out 
and  go  to  waste  every  year.  Angora  goats  are  in  their 
glory  if  they  have  plenty  of  green  brush  to  eat,  and 
towards  the  end  of  summer,  when  the  grass  dries  up, 
they  are  still  doing  finely  and  getting  fat  and  saucy. 
It  takes  from  two  to  four  years  to  kill  brush,  accord¬ 
ing  to  how  closely  it  is  browsed.  While  the  income 
from  the  Angora  goat  is  not  large,  still  it  is  from  land 
which  heretofore  has  brought  us  nothing,  so  that  it 
seems  like  so  much  clear  gain.  The  young  wethers 
and  kids,  especially  the  latter,  furnish  the  best  and 
healthiest  of  meat.  Eating  about  the  same  kinds  of 
food  as  the  deer,  their  meat  tastes  considerably  like 
venison. 
“  Here  are  my  reasons  why  any  one  owning  brush 
land  that  is  now  bringing  nothing  should  keep  Angora 
goats.  Start  with  a  flock,  say  of  25  ewes.  Good  high- 
grades  can  be  bought  for  from  $3  to  $5  per  head.  They 
will  shear  from  three  to  four  pounds  of  mohair  apiece, 
which  sells  on  an  average  for  more  than  25  cents  per 
pound.  They  will  raise,  say,  20  kids,  worth  850.  To 
provide  feed  for  these  goats  would  require  12  acres  of 
brush  land  to  be  slashed  and  burned,  which  would 
cost  about  800.  It  would  need  for  grass  seed,  say  810, 
which  should  be  sown  in  the  fall  after  burning  the 
brush.  A  shed  large  enough  for  50  goats  can  easily  be 
built  for  820  or  less,  to  protect  the  goats  during  stormy 
or  rainy  weather  ;  and  in  bad  storms  when  one  might 
have  to  feed  them  85  worth  of  grain,  or,  what  would  be 
better,  good  oat  hay.  They  are  very  hearty  eaters, 
and  will  eat  oat  straw  with  great  relish.  It  would  do 
a  farmer  good  to  see  them  eat  it  by  the  mouthful,  not 
picking  it  over  as  sheep  do.  They  are  hardy  and  not 
subject  to  nearly  so  many  diseases  as  sheep.  They  live 
longer,  and  will  protect  themselves  somewhat  better 
than  sheep  from  dogs  and  coyotes,  and  will  come  to 
their  corral  every  night  if  they  have  a  clean,  dry  place 
to  lie.  Some  farmers,  and  also  sheepmen,  having 
sheep  running  on  the  range,  are  adopting  the  plan  of 
putting  a  few  goats  carrying  bells  with  their  sheep, 
to  turn  them  homeward  in  the  evening — a  good  idea. 
Now,  to  place  the  above  expenses  and  profits  in  book¬ 
keeping  form : 
ANGORA  GOATS. 
Or.  to  cash  for  25  ewes  at  $4 . 8100  00 
slashing  12  acres  brush .  GO  00 
“  seeding  to  grass .  10  00 
“  shed .  20  00 
“  grain  for  bad  weather .  5  00 
$195  00 
Cr.  by  80  lbs.  mohair  at  25  cents . $  20  00 
10  ewe  kids  at  $3  .  30  00 
“  10  buck  kids  at  $2 .  20  00 
$  70  00 
“  By  the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  we  have  expended 
8195,  and  made  870  the  first  year,  or  nearly  30  percent, 
on  the  money  invested.  The  second  year  we  would  do 
better  and  make  over  65  per  cent,  on  the  money  invested 
as  there  would  be  no  shed  to  build,  and  the  brush 
would  be  already  cut  and  the  land  seeded,  and,  besides, 
we  would  have  a  larger  flock  for  business.  In  addition, 
we  should  credit  them  with  the  land  they  are  clearing 
for  us  and  making  valuable.” 
Onion  Sets  and  Alfalfa. 
M.  L.  R.,  Oneida  County,  N.  Y. — 1.  What  should  be 
the  size  of  onion  sets  to  be  planted  this  year,  to  get  a 
good  crop  of  sizeable  onions?  2.  Will  alfalfa,  sown 
on  April  1,  yield  a  good  crop  of  hay  by  July,  on  good 
ground  ? 
Ans. — 1.  Small  onion  sets  are  best — large  ones  are 
apt  to  split  and  go  to  scallions.  Those  exceeding  an 
average  hickory  nut  in  size  are  not  desirable,  though 
some  of  them  will  answer.  2.  No.  It  is  a  rank  grower 
when  once  fully  established  on  good  ground  of  suitable 
quality  ;  but  it  requires  considerable  time  to  get  it 
established.  Under  favorable  circumstances,  you  may 
look  for  a  good  crop  the  second  season — not  before. 
Sink  Drain  ;  Iron  for  Fruit  Tree  “Juices.” 
E.  W.  N.,  Plymouth  County,  Mann. — 1.  What  is  the 
best  method  of  disposing  of  sewage  from  the  sink 
drain  ?  2.  A  neighbor  drives  nails  into  his  fruit  trees 
in  order  to  supply  the  juices  with  oxide  of  iron  ;  what 
does  The  Rural  think  of  the  practice  ? 
Ans. — 1.  If  you  can  convey  it  into  a  running  stream, 
large  enough  not  to  be  seriously  contaminated  by  it,  that 
is  always  the  best  way  of  getting  rid  of  it.  Other 
methods  by  which  it  is  utilized  “  cost  more  than  they 
come  to.”  Where  this  cannot  be  done,  it  is  wise  to 
convey  it  to  a  safe  distance  from  the  house,  where  it 
can  be  discharged  on  a  muck  pile,  or  mixed  with  fresh 
earth  so  as  to  deodorize  it.  A  cesspool  should  be  only 
a  last  resort.  Why  not  try  the  plan  described  by  M. 
Cook  on  page  20  ?  2.  Probably  it  will  not  do  any  seri¬ 
ous  harm  to  drive  nails  in  the  trees,  but  we  are  equally 
sure  that  it  will  not  do  any  good.  Where  did  the  man 
learn  that  fruit  trees  require  oxide  of  iron  as  a  consti¬ 
tuent  of  their  “  juices”  (sap)  ?  It  is  of  a  piece  with  the 
old  remedy  for  insect  pests — that  of  boring  a  hole  in  a 
tree  trunk,  filling  it  with  sulphur  and  plugging  it  up, 
in  the  belief  that  the  sap  would  carry  the  sulphur  to  the 
foliage  and  render  the  leaves  obnoxious  to  the  vermin 
that  preyed  on  them.  It  did  not  work.  If  your  neigh¬ 
bor  needed  “  iron  in  his  blood”  would  he  inject  it 
through  the  skin  or  take  it  through  the  mouth  ? 
Sawdust,  Fertilizers  and  Apples. 
V.  F.,  Breakabeen,  N.  Y. — 1.  What  is  the  value  of  saw¬ 
dust  when  used  for  bedding  and  as  an  absorbent  ?  Is 
it  worth  hauling  two  miles  ?  2.  What  fertilizers  should 
be  used  with  spring  wheat  on  clay  loam  ?  3.  If  roots 
are  not  obtainable  for  breeding  ewes,  how  will  apples 
do  ? 
Ans. — l.  A  good  deal  depends  upon  the  amount  of 
other  bedding  you  have  on  hand.  As  a  direct  source 
of  plant  food,  sawdust  has  practically  no  value.  In 
fact,  fresh  sawdust  from  pine,  spruce  and  similar 
woods  may  injure  crops  when  used  in  large  quantities. 
As  an  absorbent  sawdust  is  better  than  sand,  as  it  is 
lighter,  more  absorbent,  bulk  for  bulk  and,  when 
saturated  with  the  liquid  manure,  readily  decays  in  the 
soil  or  compost  and  thus  has  much  the  same  mechan¬ 
ical  effect  upon  the  soil  as  stable  manure.  2.  With¬ 
out  knowing  more  about  the  soil,  we  should  say  use  a 
“  complete”  fertilizer — not  a  “  phosphate.”  3.  Apples 
will  do  first-rate  if  they  are  not  frozen  or  rotten.  You 
cannot  safely  feed  as  many  of  them  as  of  the  roots, 
but  a  smaller  quantity  will  supply  the  needed  “  succu¬ 
lence,”  which  is  about  all  the  fruit  is  fed  for. 
Ration  for  a  Milch  Cow. 
C.  F.  A.,  War  chart  lie,  Out. — How  much  is  considered 
a  proper  ration  for  a  milch  cow  per  day,  say  of  corn 
fodder,  corn  meal,  wheat  bran,  clover  hay  and  chop¬ 
ped  oats?  How  many  pounds  of  each?  I  wish  to  feed 
so  as  to  have  as  little  waste  of  fat  as  possible. 
Ans. — We  assume  that  the  corn  fodder  is  the  stover 
or  stalks  left  after  the  corn  is  husked  and  cured  in  the 
field.  We  give,  first,  analyses  of  the  feeds  in  question 
as  follows,  showing  the  digestible  nutrients  in  100 
pounds  of  each  : 
Protein. 
Carbohydrates. 
25.60 
Fat. 
Corn  stalks . 
.  1.88 
0.62 
Wheat  bran . 
.  10.0. 
48.5 
3.1 
Clover  hay . 
.  7.82 
40.25 
1.49 
Chopped  oats . 
.  9.0 
43.3 
4.7 
Corn  meal  . 
.  8.4 
60.6 
4.8 
The  theoretical  ration  in  pounds,  as  generally  now 
established  as  best,  is,  albuminoids,  2.50;  carbohydrates, 
12.50;  fat,  0.40.  Remembering  this,  it  ought  not  to  be 
very  difficult  to  compound  rations  from  the  above 
materials.  The  following  would  be  a  very  good  one  : 
Albuminoids.  Carbohydrates.  Fat. 
15  pounds  clover  hay .  1.00  5.04  0.31 
4  “  bran .  .40  1.94  0.12 
0  “  corn  meal .  .50  3.00  0.28 
Total .  2.50  11.18  0.71 
The  slight  deficiency  of  carbohydrates  is  nearly  made 
up  by  the  excess  of  fat  and  so  the  ration  is  practically 
complete.  Oats  are  so  nearly  a  perfect  ration  in  them¬ 
selves  that  they  will  not  seriously  disturb  the  equilib¬ 
rium  of  any  well  arranged  ration  to  which  they  may 
be  added  and  the  same  is  true  of  wheat  bran.  When 
corn  fodder  is  used  instead  of  clover  hay,  a  little  cot¬ 
ton-seed  meal  would  make  the  work  of  balancing  the 
ration  more  simple.  The  sample  ration  given  above 
ought  to  be  ample  for  a  cow  of  medium  size.  Careful 
watching  would  enable  a  wise  feeder  to  modify  the 
quantity  if  necessary. 
Late  Oats  for  Arizona. 
J.  A.  M.,  Cochise  County,  Arizona. — Is  there  any  such 
thing  as  a  late  variety  of  oats  and  are  they  strong 
growers.  Are  the  Black  Russian  Oats  as  early  as  the 
White  Russian,  and  which  will  yield  the  most  when 
cut  for  hay.  I  live  in  the  mountain  regions  of  Arizona, 
where,  as  a  rule,  no  rain  falls  from  the  last  of  May 
until  about  the  middle  of  July;  my  object  in  wanting 
a  late  variety  of  oats  is  that  I  think  they  will  not  get 
too  far  advanced  in  maturity  to  be  benefited  by  the 
July  showers.  A  heavy  growth  of  straw  is  desirable, 
as  it  is  cut  for  hay. 
Ans. — Yes,  the  American  Triumph  is  the  latest  oats 
tried  at  the  Rural  Grounds,  and  all  of  the  leading  vari¬ 
eties  have  been  tried  there.  This  variety  was  sent  out 
by  Hiram  Sibley  &  Co.,  in  1886.  It  bears  a  spreading 
panicle  of  medium  size — about  70  spikelets.  The  color 
is  white.  The  Russian  White  is  also  late.  This  variety 
was  sent  out  by  J.  A.  Everitt  &  Co.,  under  the  name 
of  Yankee  Prolific.  VVe  have  never  tried  the  Black 
Russian.  Mold’s  Black  Tartarian  (side  panicle)  is  the 
best  black  variety  known  to  us. 
A  Complicated  Tree  Wash. 
J.  L.  Mulvane,  Kansas. — Is  this  good  for  a  tree  wash? 
1)4  pint  of  asphaltum,  1  quart  of  linseed  oil,  )4  pint  of 
pine  tar,  3  ounces  of  liquid  shellac,  3  ounces  of  sulphur, 
M  of  a  box  of  Lewis  lye.  Heat  the  tar  and  oil,  then 
mix  all  together,  then  add  enough  coal  oil  to  make  one 
gallon;  with  a  small  brush  put  it  on  the  body  of  the 
tree  up  to  the  limbs,  about  as  thick  as  paint.  Let  it  be 
about  milk-warm  when  put  on,  so  that  it  will  be  thin 
and  run  down  around  the  roots  and  destroy  the  grubs 
and  root  lice.  Use  it  about  December  1,  in  setting  out 
young  orchards.  Use  it  at  the  time  of  setting  out 
the  trees. 
Ans. — VVe  should  not  trouble  over  such  a  complicated 
wash.  We  much  doubt  if  there  is  a  better  wash  than 
lime,  darkened  to  about  the  natural  color  of  the  bark 
with  lampblack  and  brown  or  red  mineral  paint,  to 
which  may  be  added  crude  carbolic  acid — a  quart  to 
two  gallons  of  the  lime  water,  giving  it  a  consistency 
somewhat  thicker  than  ordinary  whitewash. 
Miscellaneous. 
Currant  Fly. — C.  E.  M.,  Spring  Hill,  N.  B. — The  in¬ 
sect  troubling  your  currant  is  probably  the  Currant 
Fly  (Epochra  Canadensis).  It  is  a  little  fly  which  lays 
its  eggs  on  the  green  currant  when  small.  The  grub 
enters  the  currant  and  feeds  on  its  contents  the  same  as 
does  the  codling  moth  grub  upon  the  apple.  The  point 
of  entry  may  often  be  detected  by  a  small,  black  scar. 
The  currants  usually  ripen  prematurely  and  drop  to 
the  ground.  The  grub  is  about  one-third  of  an  inch 
long.  How  to  kill  the  fly  or  grub  in  an  economical 
way  is  not  known'  in  so  far  as  The  R.  N.-Y.  is  in¬ 
formed. 
Use  of  Canada  Ashes. — A.  P.  H.,  Connecticut. — There 
is  no  better  way  for  you  to  learn  how  to  store  ashes, 
how  much  to  use,  for  what  crops  they  are  best  suited, 
etc.,  etc.,  than  to  send  to  the  Experiment  Station  at 
New  Haven  for  a  set  of  the  bulletins  on  ashes.  This 
station  has  made  a  specialty  of  investigating  the  values 
of  ashes  and  has  published  facts  of  great  interest.  The 
last  bulletin,  just  issued,  shows  how  different  samples 
of  ashes  vary  in  value  and  how,  through  imperfect  or 
fraudulent  sampling-,  the  buyer  is  often  deceived.  This 
bulletin  also  states  that  the  quality  of  “  Canada  ashes” 
has  deteriorated  of  late,  and  various  cheaper  and 
equally  serviceable  substitutes  are  named.  A  ton  of 
ashes  contains  approximately  110  pounds  of  potash,  39 
pounds  phosphoric  acid  and  1,220  pounds  lime.  Now 
if  the  farmer  should  apply  in  the  fall  20  bushels  of 
burned  oyster  shell  lime,  and  in  the  spring  500  pounds 
of  cotton-hull  ashes,  he  would  have  more  potash,  more 
phosphoric  acid  and  as  much  lime  as  in  the  Canada 
ashes  and  would  save  handling  700  pounds  of  matter. 
The  cost  in  Connecticut  would  be  811. 15 — a  little  less 
than  the  cost  of  the  ashes.  Again,  800  pounds  of  the 
lime,  220  pounds  of  high-grade  sulphate  of  potash  and 
150  pounds  of  bone  would  equal  the  ashes  in  value,  at  a 
cost  of  811  ;  or  220  pounds  of  muriate  of  potash  would 
take  the  place  of  the  sulphate,  in  which  case  the  cost 
would  be  89.45. 
Graf  tiny  Roses  on  Hardy  Roots. — A.  R.,  Oneida  County , 
N.  Y. — In  American  Gardening  for  January,  1892, 
VV.  F.  Massey  says  that  the  Marcchal  Niel  Rose  may 
be  enjoyed  indoors  by  planting  it  near  a  cellar 
window,  through  which  the  vine,  properly  pruned, 
is  drawn  into  the  cellar  on  the  coming  of  winter 
weather.  He  also  makes  it  plain  that,  with  easily- 
provided  protection,  very  nearly  all  other  tender 
bloomers  of  extreme  beauty  and  value  may  be  enjoyed. 
Of  course,  grafting  on  hardy  roots  will  not  be  against 
success  in  all  such  attempts  at  adaptation  to  colder 
latitudes,  and  is  not  that  necessary  in  such  cases  ?  The 
Rural  says.  Yes. 
Lime  and  Brine. — C.  H.  I).,  Oakland,  N.  Y. — Lime 
slaked  with  brine  would  not  be  a  manure  and  would 
be  but  little  if  any  more  valuable  than  so  much  ordi¬ 
nary  slaked  lime.  On  some  black,  thick,  rich  soils 
it  might  prove  useful ! 
Studding  i/n  Siloes. — C.  S.  O.,  Eaton,  N.  Y. — In  build¬ 
ing  a  silo  12x14  feet  inside  measure  and  16  feet 
deep,  we  should  put  the  2x8  studs  18  inches  apart.  The 
objections  to  filling  with  uncut  stalks  are  that  more 
will  be  spoiled,  and  it  will  be  harder  to  take  them 
out.  You  save  the  cost  of  cutting. 
Starting  a  Grange. — Granger,  Wading  River,  N.  Y. — 
To  organize  a  Grange,  13  or  more  persons  who  desire 
the  organization  must  communicate,  through  one  of 
their  number,  with  the  Secretary  of  the  State  Grange, 
in  New  York,  now  II.  S.  Goff,  Spencerport,  N.  Y.,  and 
make  an  appointment  for  him  or  a  deputy  to  meet  the 
company  and  explain  the  objects  and  benefits  of  the 
order.  If  all  is  satisfactory  and  a  sufficient  number 
are  present,  the  Grange  may  be  organized  at  once. 
Any  person,  14  years  of  age  and  of  good  moral  charac¬ 
ter,  who  is  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  and  has  no 
interest  ;n  conflict  with  the  purposes  of  the  order,  may 
become  a  member.  The  13  members  required  must  be 
made  up  of  not  less  than  nine  men  and  four  women. 
All  further  information  necessary  will  be  furnished  by 
the  State  Secretary. 
Clover  Seed  In  Plaster. — H.  E.  B.,  Breckenridge, 
Minn. — As  to  soaking  clover  seed  and  rolling  in  land 
plaster  before  sowing  in  dry  weather,  if  the  soil  is  so 
dry  that  it  will  not  moisten  the  seed,  we  should  not 
hope  for  much  from  the  plaster  treatment.  It  is  better 
that  seed  should  not  germinate  in  such  a  drought. 
Some  Seedy  Shaffers. — J.  W.  Athey,  Marietta,  Ohio. — 
To  “renovate”  a  patch  of  Shaffer  Raspberries  that  have 
not  been  cultivated  for  two  years,  we  should  prefer 
todo  the  plowing  after  the  fruit  is  gathered  in  the  fall; 
next  to  this,  as  early  in  the  spring  as  possible  or  at  any 
time  in  the  winter  when  the  land  will  permit. 
