1893 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
1 1? 
hand.  A  few  years  ago,  a  saloon  keeper  in  a  village  in 
this  State,  converted  his  show  window  into  a  small  frog 
preserve.  Its  bottom  was  covered  with  a  layer  of  soil; 
this  in  turn  was  overlaid  with  moss  and  in  the  center 
were  a  small  pond  and  fountain.  In  this  window  he 
put  about  two  dozen  frogs,  ranging  in  size  from  that 
of  a  very  small  toad  to  a  frog  that  would  weigh  a 
pound.  They  attracted  much  attention  from  passers- 
by  and  seemed  to  enjoy  their  new  home.  Food,  in  the 
shape  of  worms  and  meat,  was  supplied  in  abundance. 
After  a  few  days,  several  of  the  number  were  missing. 
While  looking  at  them  one  day.  the  writer  saw  an 
explanation  of  their  disappearance.  The  big  frogs 
were  eating  up  the  little  ones.  A  chase  was  started 
and  kept  up  until  a  little  fellow  was  swallowed,  head 
first.  As  the  smaller  frogs  disappeared,  larger  ones 
were  tackled  until  there  were  but  two  or  three  of  the 
original  lot  left.  The  writer  saw  one  of  the  last 
victims  disappear.  He  was  more  than  half  as  large  as 
the  frog  which  swallowed  him  and  for  hours  after  the 
body  had  disappeared,  the  legs  protruded  from  the 
swallower’s  mouth — he  could  not  find  room  for  that  end 
until  the  head  end  had  been  digested.  Frogs  swallow 
their  prey  whole  and  as  their  mouth  is  co-extensive 
with  their  greatest  width,  they  can  swallow  prey 
nearly  as  large  as  themselves.  If  after  passing  from 
the  tadpole  stage,  each  brood  or  family  could  be  kept 
in  an  inclosure,  so  that  all  were  of  the  same  size,  it 
might  be  possible  to  rear  them  for  market,  but  we  fear 
even  then  that  they  would  attempt  to  swallow  each 
other,  and  would  succeed  to  a  measurable  extent. 
Hay,  Milk,  Grapes,  Manure,  Etc. 
D.  C. ,  Massachusetts. — l.  What  is  meant  by  “  English 
hay  ?  ”  and  what  are  its  comparative  merits  ?  2.  Is 
there  any  specific  cure  or  help  for  the  wild  flower 
“  Butter-and-eggs,”  when  quite  well  distributed,  other 
than  persistent  attacks  with  plow  and  mower?  3. 
Keeping  no  pigs,  will  it  do  to  feed  skim-milk  to  cows  ? 
4.  Should  the  manure  pile,  under  shelter,  be  stirred  or 
not  ?  5.  What  would  be  the  best  two  or  three  kinds 
of  grapes  for  the  northern  line  of  western  Massachu¬ 
setts,  to  trail  up  against  the  south  side  of  a  60-foot 
hennery  ?  6.  Why  is  there  a  great  deal  of  common 
field  sorrel  on  my  loamy,  gravelly  farm  ?  7.  What  is 
the  best  farm  book  for  an  intelligent  man  knowing 
little  of  agricultural  pursuits — a  compendium  of  con¬ 
densed,  practical  and  reliable  information  on  the  essen¬ 
tial  things  in  farming  ? 
Ans. — 1.  English  hay  is  generally  understood  to 
mean  Timothy  hay.  It  ranks  below  some  other  hays 
in  nutritive  value,  though  the  most  popular  in  the  mar¬ 
ket.  2.  No.  “  Butter  and  eggs  ”  (Toad  flax)  or  Linaria 
vulgaris,  when  once  introduced,  takes  almost  com¬ 
plete  possession  of  the  soil,  both  by  seed  propagation 
and  root  extension  and  can  be  destroyed  only  by 
plowing  and  cultivating  it  out.  3.  Yes;  or  by  ad¬ 
ding  small  quantities  of  linseed  meal  to  it;  it  is 
admirable  for  rearing  calves.  4.  It  depends.  If  horse 
manure,  and  it  gets  too  hot,  causing  “  fire-fanging,’ 
better  stir  it  to  prevent  this  excessive  heat.  If 
mixed  with  cow  manure,  it  is  seldom  or  never  neces¬ 
sary.  See  article  by  J  oseph  Harris  in  the  first  issue  of 
the  year.  5.  White :  Green  Mountain,  Lady  ;  red, 
Ulster  Prolific,  Vergennes  ;  black,  Worden,  Merrimac. 
6.  Simply  because  the  soil  suits  the  sorrel — some  seed 
has  got  in,  and  it  naturally  spreads.  7.  We  do  not 
know  of  such  a  book — it  has  yet  to  be  written.  To  get 
what  you  want  would  call  for  six  or  eight  books  on 
widely  different  phases  on  farming  and  horticulture. 
Waldo  F.  Brown's  Farm  and  Stock  Cyclopaedia  is  good. 
About  Growing-  Big  Squashes. 
W.  B.  C.,  Toch,  N.  Y. — I  want  to  know  how  to  grow 
Hubbard  Squashes,  in  particular  how  to  trim  the 
vines  and  how  many  blossoms  should  be  allowed  to 
set.  Is  there  any  truth  in  the  story  about  cutting  off  a 
vine  and  sticking  the  end  in  a  pan  of  milk,  i.  e.,  in  feed¬ 
ing  milk  to  make  the  squash  grow.  I  want  to  grow  a 
hundred-pounder. 
Ans. — Squashes  do  best  on  a  soil  containing  a  little 
sand  and  gravel,  and  are  rank  feeders — needing 
liberal  manuring.  Care  must  be  used  in  pinching  off 
the  vines,  not  to  do  it  until  the  fruit  has  got  as  large 
as  a  good-sized  orange.  If  you  want  to  grow  a  big 
one,  leave  only  one  on  a  vine,  and  pinch  off  the  ends 
two  feet  or  more  beyond  the  fruit.  No  vegetable  can 
assimilate  milk  at  the  vine  end.  You  might  as 
well  try  to  make  a  calf  grow  by  soaking  his  feet  in 
Jersey  milk.  Gregory’s  book,  Squashes,  How  to  Grow 
Them,  price  30  cents,  is  supplied  by  the  Rural  Pub¬ 
lishing  Co.  The  Iowa  Experiment  Station,  Ames,  la., 
records  an  experiment  with  this  milk  feeding. 
Which  are  the  Cheaper  Telephone  Poles  P 
O.  C.  M.,  Nova  Scotia. — We  are  building  a  telephone 
line  through  the  Annapolis  Valley,  about  75  miles.  For 
posts  the  best  available  local  timer  is  spruce,  fir  and 
hacmatack.  These  can  be  delivered  along  the  line,  of 
suitable  size,  for  25  cents  each.  We  can  import  cedar 
from  New  Brunswick  at  a  cost  of  SI.  25  per  foot  laid 
down.  The  great  difference  in  cost  leads  us  to  inquire 
whether  the  ends  that  go  into  the  ground  cannot  be 
treated  in  some  way  so  as  to  g-reatly  increase  their 
durability  at  an  expense  that  will  leave  a  saving  over 
the  cost  of  cedar. 
Ans. — Such  treatment  will  no  doubt  be  more  expen¬ 
sive  than  cedar  posts.  The  treatment  with  creosote, 
which  is  the  most  successful  in  preparing  timber  to 
resist  rot,  is  very  costly  and  not  warranted  unless  the 
timber  is  either  very  expensive  or  very  difficult  to 
replace.  Spruce,  if  well  seasoned,  can  be  made  durable 
by  charring  the  portion  to  go  beneath  the  ground  or 
by  coating  it  with  coal-tar.  If  green,  these  methods 
will  lessen,  rather  than  increase  the  life.  Hackmatack, 
or  as  it  is  called  Tamerack  in  the  North,  if  cut  so  that 
the  bark  falls  off  and  the  wood  seasons  well,  is  very 
durable,  but  if  the  bark  remains  on  it  will  rot  very 
soon.  It  would  seem  to  the  winter,  in  view  of  the  high 
price  of  cedar  posts,  advisable  to  use  spruce  or  fir. 
[prof.]  r.  c.  carpenter. 
Feed  Corn,  Onions,  Potatoes,  etc. 
./.  I.  F. ,  Plainfield,  N.  J. — 1.  What  field  corn  is  best 
for  this  locality  ?  i  planted  Golden  Queen  last  year  ; 
it  yielded  pretty  well,  but  I  think  in  an  ordinary  sea¬ 
son  it  would  be  rather  too  late.  2.  What  is  a  list  of 
onions  suitable  for  frame  culture  ?  I  tried  that  system 
last  year  and  will  give  it  a  better  trial  this.  3.  Are 
there  better  varieties  for  general  cropping  than  the 
White  Elephant  Potato.  4.  What  are  some  g-ood  beet 
roots  suitable  for  feeding  stock  in  winter  ? 
Ans. — 1.  If  you  prefer  a  dent  variety,  there  is  noth¬ 
ing  better  than  Queen  of  the  Prairie.  It  is  an  early 
yellow  dent.  2.  Prizetaker  is  perhaps  the  best.  3.  It 
is  not  a  very  shapely  potato,  but  the  quality  is  excel¬ 
lent  and  it  yields  well.  We  should  prefer  any  one  of 
the  following :  Rural  Blush,  New  Queen,  State  of 
Maine,  White  Star  or  Empire  State.  4.  We  should 
prefer  mangels,  such  as  Red  Globe,  Yellow  Ovoid  or 
Lane’s  Sugar. 
Wanted  !  A  Name  For  This  Apple. 
H.  It.  T.,  No.  Egrernont,  Mass. — I  send  by  mail  spec¬ 
imens  of  an  apple  which  we  consider  very  fine,  and  we 
have  the  only  tree  in  this  vicinity.  It  is  not  known  by 
any  one  here  and  I  would  like  very  much  if  you  would 
tell  me  the  name  of  the  variety.  It  is  a  fair  keeper  and 
comes  from  an  old  grafted  tree. 
Ans. — We  cannot  identify  the  apple  sent.  The  fruit 
is  large  and  of  a  peculiar  shape,  rather  cylindrical  than 
otherwise,  almost  as  large  at  the  blossom  as  at  the  stem 
end.  The  skin  is  a  g-reenish  yellow,  heavily  striped 
and  splashed  with  red.  The  calyx  is  open,  set  in  a 
rather  deep  basin,  which  is  more  or  less  ribbed.  The 
stem  is  small,  half  an  inch  in  length,  set  m  a  small, 
narrow  cavity,  which  is  russeted.  The  flesh  is  very 
tender,  white,  fine-grained,  juicy,  almost  sweet,  with  a 
bare  suspicion  of  acidity,  slightly  aromatic.  Fully  ripe 
when  tested,  February  4. 
Peaches  on  Plum  Stock.  Tile  Irrigating-. 
Fruit  Grower,  Ohio. — 1.  Is  it  advisable  to  set  an  or¬ 
chard  of  peach  trees  budded  on  plum  stock?  Wouldn’t 
they  be  freer  from  borers  and  disease,  and  wouldn’t 
the  wood  ripen  better  and  be  hardier?  2.  Is  it  not  a 
good  plan  to  set  peach  trees  in  spring-  after  budding  ? 
It  seems  to  me  the  loss  of  roots  would  not  be  so  great, 
and  that  it  would  be  somewhat  balanced  by  cutting 
the  stock  to  a  bud,  and  the  planter  could  follow  out  his 
own  ideas  in  forming  tops.  3.  A  great  deal  is  said  on 
the  question  of  irrigation,  but  all  is  with  regard  to 
surface  irrigation.  Is  it  not  practicable  to  irrigate  by 
means  of  ordinary  drain  tile?  If  so,  how  far  apart 
should  the  tiles  be  and  what  size  should  be  used? 
Ans. — 1.  We  would  prefer  plum  stock  if  the  orchard 
was  to  be  set  in  a  stiff  clay,  damp  or  cold  soil.  In  soil 
adapted  to  the  peach,  the  plum  stock  is  of  no  advan¬ 
tage.  2.  One  cannot  always  be  sure  that  the  bud  will 
grow,  even  if  it  be  alive  and  started  in  the  spring  be¬ 
fore  it  is  transplanted.  In  case  it  dies,  one  has  lost  his 
labor.  Barring  that,  we  do  not  know  why  the  plan 
would  not  answer.  3.  Yes.  The  celery  growers  of 
Tecumseh,  Michigan,  irrigate  by  means  of  tile  and 
covered  ditches,  filling  the  soil  full  from  the  ditch  to 
the  roots  near  the  surface.  In  their  soil — muck — the 
drains  are  about  two  rods  apart. 
The  Ways  of  “  Green  Goods”  Men. 
Several  Subscribers. — We  receive  circulars  from  parties 
in  New  York  offering  to  send  us  counterfeit  money. 
Don’t  you  suppose  their  plan  is  to  tempt  unprincipled 
men  to  a  personal  interview  in  some  out-of-the-way 
place,  and  then  rob  them  of  their  money  instead  of 
selling  them  countei’feit  notes  ? 
Ans. — These  fellows  do  not  have  any  counter¬ 
feit  money  to  sell — they  play  a  simple  rogue’s  game. 
Some  rascal  answers  their  circular  and  agrees  to 
meet  them  here  or  in  some  smaller  town.  The 
“green  goods”  men  show  their  dupe  some  good 
money  and  agree  to  let  them  have  85,000  in  bills  just 
like  those  shown  for  8350  and  8400  of  h is  money.  He 
agrees  and  sees  what  purports  to  be  a  big  roll  of 
bills  tied  up  in  a  package.  This  package  is  put  into 
a  satchel  and  given  to  him,  he  paying  his  good 
money  for  it  and  agreeing  not  to  open  it  until 
out  of  town,  “because  detectives  might  spot  him.” 
When  safely  out  of  town,  he  opens  the  package  and 
finds — one  or  two  good  bills  and  a  bunch  of  pieces  of 
green  paper,  a  brick  or  block  of  wood.  The  “green 
goods  men”  played  a  sleight-of-hand  trick  on  him  and 
did  not  give  him  the  package  he  saw  wrapped  up.  It 
is  difficult  to  convict  such  fellows  because  they  do  not 
deal  in  counterfeit  money  and  because  the  dupe  does 
not  wish  to  advertise  the  fact  that  he  is  in  such  busi¬ 
ness.  Such  circulars  are  sent  at  random  to  addresses 
found  in  printed  lists.  If  you  receive  one,  it  does  not 
imply  that  somebody  is  watching  you.  personally. 
Miscellaneous. 
Varieties  of  Onions. — C.  M.  S.,  Willcox,  Neb. — For 
winter  market  onions,  to  be  started  in  hot-bed,  plant 
some  each  of  Red  Weathersfield,  Yellow  Danvers  and 
the  White  Portugal  or  Silver  Skin.  “  Which  is  best,” 
you  can  settle  after  trial.  Climate,  soil  and  market 
demands  are  all  factors  for  your  consideration. 
Brewed  Hops  for  a  Fertilizer. — J.  J.  1'.,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
— As  to  the  “  manurial  value”  of  hops  after  they  have 
gone  through  the  various  processes  at  a  brewery  :  if 
they  are  wet,  containing  75  per  cent  of  water,  they 
will  have,  on  the  average,  about  the  composition  given 
below.  For  comparison  is  given  an  analysis  of  “mixed 
farm  manures.” 
Waste  Hops.  Mixed  Manure. 
Per  cent.  Per  cent. 
Nitrogen . ;..  .84  .78 
Phosphoric  acid .  .84  .21) 
Potash .  .14  .77 
It  may  be  doubted  whether  the  nitrogen  of  the  hops 
is  as  available  as  that  of  the  manure.  Probably  the 
hops  on  the  whole  are  considerably  less  valuable  than 
stable  manure,  but  are  worth  trial  if  they  cost  little  or 
nothing  and  need  not  be  carted  far. 
Wrapping  Twine  In  Grafting. — C.  A.  1).,  Belton,  Mo. 
— When  plants  are  set  out  in  the  nursery  rows,  Profes¬ 
sor  Bailey  says  the  wrapping  twine  should  be  left  on,  as 
it  will  rot  off. 
An  Electrical  Training. — L.  R. ,  Alexandria,  Pa. — 
Competition  is  so  keen  to-day  in  all  the  departments  of 
electrical  science,  that  a  young  man  who  has  not  had 
the  training  of  a  competent  technical  school,  is  very 
seriously  handicapped — indeed,  he  has  but  a  small 
show,  save  in  the  event  of  his  being  a  genius  of  more 
than  ordinary  ability.  So  many  are  working  in  this 
field  and  the  zeal  shown  is  so  great,  that  save  for  a 
favored  few,  it  is  not  a  remunerative  line.  Better  make 
a  fight  for  the  professional  training.  Try  the  Univer¬ 
sity  of  Pennsylvania — we  believe  it  makes  some  pro¬ 
vision  for  helping  such  cases  as  yours. 
Fertilizers  for  Peas  and  Corn. — A.  S.  A.,  Pittsfield,  Ill. 
— For  growing  early  crops,  nitrate  of  soda  is  at  once 
soluble  and  may  help  the  early  crop  quicker  than  the  ni¬ 
trogen  from  the  stable  manure.  We  would  advise,  how¬ 
ever,  that  a  trial  of  bc/ne  superphosphate  and  potash 
(kainit  or  muriate)  be  used  on  a  portion  of  the  field  to 
afford  means  of  comparison  with  the  part  treated 
with  nitrate  of  soda  alone. 
Stock  for  Grafting. — E.  H.  H.,  Warwick,  Mass. — As  to 
whether  favorite  varieties  of  apples  should  be  grafted 
on  seedling  trees  or  stock  from  the  nursery,  one  is 
just  as  good  as  the  other.  The  nurserymen  graft  on 
seedlings  which  they  grow,  and  you  may  as  well  do  the 
same. 
“ Red  Dog  Flour." — B.  B.,  Sardinia,  N.  Y. — We  do 
not  know  what  this  substance  is.  Some  stockmen  feed 
what  they  call  “  dog  flour,”  which  seems  to  be  discol¬ 
ored  wheat  flour  that  cannot  be  used  for  cooking.  Who 
can  tell  us  what  “  red  dog  ”  is  ? 
Making  a  Cistern. — A.  M.  T.,  Moundsville,  Mo. — We 
suppose  you  propose  to  store  rain-water  in  your  cistern, 
and  that  you  will  build  it  in  the  ground.  Make  it  of 
ample  size.  A  cistern,  circular  in  form,  eight  feet  in 
diameter  and  eight  feet  deep,  will  contain  2,506  gallons. 
One  of  the  same  diameter  and  10  feet  deep  would  con¬ 
tain  3,182  gallons.  A  square  cistern  eight  feet  on  the 
sides  and  four  feet  deep  would  contain  1,594  gallons. 
From  these  figures  you  can  easily  arx-ive  at  the  needed 
size,  taking  into  consideration  your  daily  consumption 
and  carefully  calculating  on  the  longest  periods  with 
little  or  no  rainfall.  Make  the  excavation  large  enough 
to  allow  room  for  the  walls.  If  stone  is  at  hand,  lay  up 
a  good  wall  with  cement  mixture,  and  then  put  on  a 
cement  lining.  Put  a  layer  of  crushed  stones  in  the 
bottom,  pound  it  down,  pour  over  this  cement,  and 
when  hardened,  go  over  it  again  with  cement  to  make 
sure  of  its  being  water-tight.  Then  build  a  brick  filter 
in  the  cistern,  just  as  if  it  were  a  chimney,  laying  the 
bricks  in  cement  from  the  bottom  to  above  the  water 
level.  Be  sure  to  make  all  the  joints  perfectly  tight. 
Put  your  pump  down  into  this  flue  or  filter — the  water 
will  pass  through  the  brick  rapidly  enough  for  all  pur¬ 
poses  and  will  be  comparatively  well  filtered.  The 
cistern  must  be  housed  or  protected  from  freezing. 
Such  a  cistern,  carefully  made,  will  last  forever.  The 
water  will  at  first  be  a  little  ‘  ‘  hard”  from  contact  with 
the  cement,  but  the  “hardness”  will  soon  disappear. 
