1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
253 
the  more  rapidly  plants  satisfy  themselves  with  potash 
and  phosphoric  acid  so  much  the  greater  is  the  avid¬ 
ity  with  which  they  assimilate  the  atmospheric  ni¬ 
trogen  and  elaborate  it  into  the  harvest  substance.  We 
know  well,  and  we  experience  daily  anew,  how  a 
liberal  dressing  with  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  will 
increase,  in  an  extraordinary  manner,  the  yield  of 
peas  and  beans,  of  vetches  and  lupins,  of  clover 
fields  and  meadows. 
Phosphoric  acid  and  potash  are  the  means  which 
are  placed  at  our  disposal  to  render  accessible  to 
leguminous  plants  the  cheapest  of  all  supplies  of  nitro¬ 
gen — the  nitrogen  of  the  atmospheric  air.  Prof. 
Wagner  has  had  prepared  photographic  representa¬ 
tions  of  some  of  his  cultivations.  Fig.  131  will  illustrate 
experiments  made  with  vetches.  How  very  feebly  the 
plants  have  grown  without  manuring,  how  luxuriantly, 
on  the  other  hand,  they  have  developed  after  a 
dressing  with  phosphate  and  potash,  and  how  this 
dressing,  without  any  addition  of  nitrogen,  has  already 
been  sufficient  to  produce  a  maximum  harvest.  An 
addition  of  nitrogenous  salts  only  gives  rise  to  a  quite 
unimportant  increase  in  yield.  A  dressing  with  salt¬ 
peter  and  ammonia  salts  may  therefore  be  regarded 
as  a  worthless  extravagance  on  clover,  lucern  fields, 
etc.  Nevertheless  Fig.  132  presents  quite  another 
picture. 
On  the  same  soil  and  under  exactly  the  same  conditions 
as  employed  when  growing  vetches,  summer  wheat 
was  cultivated.  Manuring  with  potash  and  phos¬ 
phoric  acid  alone,  without  any  addition  of  nitrogen, 
produced  no  effect  in  this  case.  It  was  only  when 
nitrogenous  salts  were  also  employed  that  any  action 
was  evident. 
In  order  to  present  the  final  results  of  this  experi¬ 
ment  in  a  tangible  manner,  Prof.  Wagner  has  put  the 
yields  of  grain  obtained  in  glass  cylinders,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  133. 
The  cylinders  contain  : 
No.  1.— 82  grams=to  2.9  oz.  vetch  corn 
Obtained  without  manuring. 
No.  2.— 703  grams=to  24.fi  oz.  of  vetch  corn 
Obtained  after  potash  and  phosphoric  acid. 
No.  3.-724  grams=to  25.4  oz.  of  vetch  corn 
Obtained  after  potash,  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen. 
No.  4. — 25  grams=to  0.8  oz.  of  vetch  corn 
Obtained  without  manuring. 
No.  5.-22  grams=>to  %  oz.  of  vetch  corn 
Obtained  after  potash  and  phosphoric  acid. 
No.  6.— 460  grams  to  10.3  oz.  of  vetch  corn 
Obtained  after  potash,  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen. 
It  is  therefore  evident  that  phosphoric  acid  and  pot¬ 
ash  are  the  materials  by  the  use  of  which  we  can 
render  this  cheapest  source  of  nitrogen  accessible  to 
leguminosao  (vetches,  for  example),  namely,  that  store 
of  nitrogen  which  is  present  in  the  atmospheric  air, 
by  the  use  of  which  we  can,  moreover,  induce  peas, 
vetches,  lupins,  serradella,  esparsette,  lucern,  all  kinds 
of  clover,  etc.,  to  develop  luxuriantly  without  any 
extra  outlay  for  nitrogenous  salts.  The  enormous  ad¬ 
vantages  which  are  hereby  presented  to  us  are  so  very 
palpable  that  they  do  not  need  any  further  elucidation. 
If,  for  the  sake  of  example,  we  observe,  as  is  fre¬ 
quently  the  case  in  practice,  that  a  manuring  of 
Thomas’s  phosphate  powder  and  kainit,  costing  about 
30  marks,  can  raise  the  yield  of  hay  about  100  cent¬ 
ners  per  hectare,  (or  for  an  outlay  of  13s.  to  15s.  per 
acre  the  yield  can  be  raised  by  two  tons  of  hay  per 
acre),  it  is  a  result  which  needs  absolutely  no  further 
recommendation. 
[Every  query  must  be  accompanied  by  the  name  and  address  of  the 
writer  to  Insure  attention.  Before  asking  a  question,  please  see  If  It  Is 
not  answered  In  our  advertising  columns.  Ask  only  a  few  questions 
at  one  time.  Put  questions  on  a  separate  piece  of  paper.] 
Permanent  Pastures  ;  Hay  Sling-s. 
O.  H.  H.,  Yellow  Creek,  Pa.— 1.  Will  some  of  the 
readers  of  The  Rural  give  directions  for  making  a 
permanent  pasture  ?  2.  Is  there  any  advantage  in  hay 
slings  over  any  of  the  forks  now  in  use  ?  3.  Is  there 
anything  cheaper  that  will  take  the  place  of  lime  and 
sand  for  plastering  inside  walls  ? 
Ans.—  Read  the  article  by  Prof.  Shaw  on  page  214. 
We  shall  be  glad  to  have  our  readers  give  their  expe¬ 
rience.  2.  You  can  unload  faster  and  easier  with  the 
slings.  The  “  sling”  is  really  a  net  of  rope  and  wood 
which  covers  the  whole  wagon  space.  The  hay  is 
pitched  on  to  it  till  about  one-quarter  of  the 
load  is  on,  when  another  sling  is  put  on,  and  so 
on  to  the  top.  There  is  a  stout  rope  at  each  cor¬ 
ner  of  the  sling.  In  unloading  the  four  ropes  are 
brought  up  together  and  hooked  to  the  hay  carrier. 
When  that  starts,  the  whole  slingful  goes  with  it 
without  any  pitching  or  forking.  There  are  as  many 
“  bites”  to  the  load  as  there  are  slings.  It  is  cleaner, 
quicker  and  handier  than  the  fork,  and  the  slings  can 
be  used  for  unloading  beans,  stalks,  etc.  3.  Write  to 
the  Adamant  Manufacturing  Co.,  309  East  Genesee 
Street,  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  for  a  circular.  We  believe  the 
process  they  have  is  superior  to  the  ordinary  plaster. 
How  to  Mark  Sheep. 
L.  L).,  Mattoax,  Va.— What  is  the  best  way  of  marking 
sheep  with  numbers,  say,  from  1  to  500,  so  that  the 
numbers  can  be  seen  without  handling  the  sheep  ? 
Can  these  numbers  be  branded  into  their  faces  or  else¬ 
where  ?  Where  can  the  necessary  irons  be  obtained  ? 
Ans. — We  shall  have  to  ask  our  readers  to  answer 
these  questions. 
Rupture  of  Stomach  in  a  Horse. 
0.  P.  J.,  Allen,  Md. — A  neighbor  of  mine  lost  a  horse 
a  short  time  ago.  To  all  appearances  he  had  been  in 
good  health  and  was  doing  very  little  work.  One  day 
he  was  driven  five  miles  and  came  back  all  right.  lie 
was  put  in  the  stall  and  fed  his  usual  feed.  When  his 
owner  came  to  the  stall  next  morning  he  found  him 
down  and  rolling.  When  I  arrived  I  found  the  horse 
standing  in  the  barnyard  sweating  very  profusely, 
breathing  very  irregularly  and  in  a  very  prostrate  con¬ 
dition.  He  died  in  about  an  hour.  After  death  I  made 
an  examination  and  found  his  stomach  ruptured  and 
in  a  very  soft  condition;  that  is,  I  could  pull  the  stom¬ 
ach  to  pieces  very  easily  with  my  fingers.  All  of  the 
other  organs  were  in  a  healthy  condition  except  the 
intestines  which  showed  more  or  less  inflammation;  in 
some  places  they  looked  blood-shot.  What  was  the 
matter? 
Ans. — The  horse  died  of  rupture  of  the  stomach,  due 
to  some  form  of  indigestion  or  to  over-feeding.  Rup¬ 
ture  of  the  stomach  is  of  quite  common  occurrence 
among  horses,  and  is  to  be  avoided  by  correcting  the 
diet  as  far  as  possible,  especially  as  regards  over¬ 
feeding,  feeding  when  very  warm  or  much  fatigued, 
and  continual  hard  work  or  fast  driving  immediately 
after  a  full  meal. 
Uricana,  or  Nettle-Rash  in  a  Young'  Mare. 
F.  M.,  Naples,  N.  Y. — Two  weeks  ago  I  noticed  that 
my  three-year-old  mare  staggered  a  little  when  moving 
from  place  to  place,  and  lately  “  bunches”  as  large 
as  the  hand  appeared  on  her  body  from  her  neck 
to  her  flanks  one  morning,  but  they  had  disappeared 
the  next.  Her  eyes  are  good  and  bright  and  she  eats 
and  drinks  well  and  appears  in  good  health.  What 
ails  her  ? 
Ans. — The  mare  is  apparently  suffering  from  a  form 
of  nettle-rash,  with  a  tendency  to  stomach  staggers. 
She  is  evidently  receiving  too  much  feed  for  the  exer¬ 
cise  she  gets.  Give  a  drench  of  one  ounce  each  of  the 
best  aloes  and  ginger  to  open  the  bowels.  Repeat  the 
dose  in  three  days  if  not  purged  by  the  first.  The 
drench  should  be  given  on  an  empty  stomach  and  be 
followed  by  a  bran  mash  diet  until  she  is  freely  purged. 
Then  give  on  the  feed  twice  daily  one-fourth  of  an 
ounce  each  of  gentian  and  ginger  and  half  an  ounce  of 
Glauber  salts.  If  the  staggering  continues,  give  tea¬ 
spoonful  doses  of  powdered  nux  vomica  twice  daily  for 
three  or  four  days  ;  then  increase  the  doses  to  two  tea¬ 
spoonfuls  ;  and  if  necessary,  in  a  week  to  three  tea¬ 
spoonfuls.  Keep  the  bowels  open  by  feeding  oil  meal, 
an  occasional  bran  mash,  or  by  repeating  the  dose  of 
aloes.  The  diet  should  be  light,  and  the  colt  given  more 
daily  exercise.  If  the  stable  is  close  or  otherwise 
unhealthy,  the  mare  should  be  moved  to  an  airy,  light, 
dry  stable.  [dr.]  f.  l.  kilborne. 
Pumps,  Nozzles  and  Copper  Solutions. 
J.  P.  M.,  Somerville,  N.  J. — 1.  Is  a  Douglass  force 
pump,  such  as  is  used  in  washing  windows,  etc,,  suit¬ 
able  for  spraying  a  few  apple  and  pear  trees,  also 
grape  vines  ?  2.  Is  the  Stott  nozzle  sold  by  Thorburn 
satisfactory  ?  3.  Would  the  following  mixture  be 
likely  to  prove  effective  :  Four  pounds  of  sulphate  of 
copper,  four  pounds  of  lime,  each  dissolved  in  six  gal¬ 
lons  of  water,  then  diluted  by  12  gallons  more  water  ? 
I  judge  from  reading  your  ever-reliable  and  instructive 
paper  that  the  knowing  ones  are  using  less  copper 
than  formerly,  with  equally  good  results. 
Ans. — 1.  Yes,  if  you  procure  a  suitable  nozzle.  The 
Yermorel  nozzle  we  have  always  considered  excellent. 
2.  We  have  not  tried  the  nozzle  advertised  by  Thor¬ 
burn.  We  will  look  at  it  the  first  opportunity  and 
report.  3.  Yes.  The  old  Rural  formula  was  one- 
quarter  pound  of  sulphate  of  copper,  one-quarter  pound 
of  lime  and  one  gallon  of  water. 
Raw  Recruits  Wanted. 
F.  L.  B.,  Joy;  N.  Y. — Kitchen  help  is  very  scarce  in 
this  town.  How  could  we  get  German  immigrant  girls 
to  come  here  from  New  York  without  going  there  ? 
Would  we  be  likely  to  get  good  help? 
Ans. — The  questions  are  difficult  ones  to  answer. 
The  better  way  would  be  to  look  over  the  advertising 
columns  of  the  city  papers  and  write  to  those  desiring 
situations.  The  raw  immigrant  would  not  be  valu¬ 
able  at  first,  but  could  be  taught  and  transformed  into 
excellent  help. 
Miscellaneous. 
About  Potato  Fertilizer. — B.  G.  Brant,  N.  Y. — The 
man  who  grew  the  prize  crop  of  potatoes,  847 M  bushels, 
lived  in  Colorado,  where  he  had  the  advantage  of  irri¬ 
gation.  His  success  does  not  show  just  what  everybody 
can  do,  but  only  what  is  possible  when  every  condition 
is  perfect.  You  ask  :  “  Suppose  I  had  a  good  clover  sod 
which  would  give  150  bushels  per  acre,  how  much  more 
would  half  a  ton  of  good  fertilizer  per  acre  yield  ?  ” 
We  cannot  possibly  tell  you,  nor  can  anybody  else. 
It  is  utterly  impossible  to  say  what  the  fertilizer  will 
do.  We  have  always  found  that  it  increases  the  present 
yield  as  well  as  that  of  subsequent  crops,  but  no  one 
can  tell  how  much  it  will  increase  it. 
Shoe  Leather  for  Fertilizer. — F.  E.  Y.,  Charlotte,  N.  Y. 
— It  would  hardly  pay  you  to  haul  “  scrap  from  a  shoe 
factory  ”  to  fertilize  sandy  land.  It  would  take  years 
to  rot  it  so  that  it  would  be  available. 
W.  JI.,  Lewiston,  Idaho. — The  plant  sent  is  Erigenia 
bulbosa — Harbinger-of-Spring,  Pepper-and-Salt.  This 
last  name  is  given  it  on  account  of  its  dark-purple  or 
brownish  anthers. 
Ombs ;  “  Odorless  Phosphate .” — O.  A.  O.,  Garden 
Plain,  Ill. — Pinch  the  grubs  out  of  the  heifer’s  back. 
By  squeezing  around  them  with  the  forefinger  and 
thumb  they  will  easily  come  out.  “Odorless  phos¬ 
phate,”  or  basic  slag,  supplies  phosphoric  acid  and  is 
not  a  complete  fertilizer.  If  your  land  needs  potash 
or  nitrogen,  this  phosphate  will  not  prove  satisfactory. 
W.  S.,  Point  Terrace,  Ore. — Instead  of  being  injuri¬ 
ous  to  breeding  ewes,  turnips  make  excellent  food  for 
them  when  fed  with  hay  or  straw  and  grain, 
Raw  Bone  and  Ashes. — L.  A.  E. ,  East  Randolph,  Vt. — 
You  need  not  be  afraid  of  using  too  much  of  these 
substances  for  fertilizing  onions — 50  bushels  of  un¬ 
leached  ashes  and  1,000  pounds  of  bone  per  acre.  Apply 
broadcast  before  the  last  harrowing. 
Parls-yreen  or  London-purple. — L.  E.  S.,  Neenah, 
Wis.  At  the  prices  given  we  should  use  the  Paris- 
green.  We  have  found  London-purple  harder  to  mix 
with  water,  less  uniform  in  its  composition,  and  more 
injurious  to  potato  vines.  Experiments  indicate  that 
Paris-green  is  best  for  mixing  with  the  Bordeaux 
mixture  to  destroy  bugs  and  blight  at  the  same  time. 
B.  S.  W.,  Cutchogue,  N.  Y. — The  sheep  you  allude  to 
are  the  Dorset.  They  are  horned  sheep — male  and 
female  being  horned — and  noted  for  being  very  pro¬ 
lific.  They  may  be  had  of  Woodward  &  Jacques, 
Lockport,  N.  Y. 
“  Exercise  Without  Concussion .” — Several  subscribers. 
— This  is  what  the  Breeder  and  Sportsman  calls  the 
swimming  exercise  for  horses  described  on  page  183 
The  following  items  are  given  to  show  the  value  of 
swimming  horses  : 
Ono  of  the  most  conclusive  proofs  of  the  benefits  of  the  system  Is 
given  by  the  performances  of  Allerton.  This  great  horse  was  dis¬ 
tanced  by  Margaret  S.  In  a  four-year-old  stake,  and  he  was  supposed 
to  be  hopelessly  broken  down.  To  every  one’s  surprise  he  was  trotting 
races  again  in  a  few  weeks,  and  the  horse  whose  enterprising  owner 
Mr.  Williams,  “  had  killed  this  time  for  sure,”  rounded  to  wonderfully. 
He  had  been  swimming  In  the  river— getting  regular  exercise,  keeping 
flesh  down,  building  up  new  muscle  and  lung  power,  and  giving  Nature 
a  chance  to  heal  the  battcred-up  leg,  while  the  rest  of  the  body  was 
developed  and  freed  from  soreness. 
During  the  past  year,  time  and  again,  It  was  reported  that  Allerton 
was  hopelessly  broken  down ;  but  ho  always  came  up  smiling  for  a  new 
whack  at  his  record,  and  It  was  the  swimming  that  enabled  him  to  trot 
to  his  mark  of  2:09!4- 
A  heavy  horse  generally  becomes  sick  of  the  whole  business  long  be¬ 
fore  his  superfluous  flesh  is  worked  off  even  If  his  legs  do  not  give  out; 
by  swimming,  flesh  can  be  quickly  and  safely  taken  off,  legs  and  feet 
made  better  instead  of  being  knocked  out,  and  the  drudgery  of  track 
and  road  work  can  be  wonderfully  reduced. 
Bordeaux  Mixture. — G.  A.  K.,  Massena,  N.  Y. — The 
Bordeaux  mixture  (described  scores  of  times  in  our 
columns)  consists  of  six  pounds  of  sulphate  of  copper, 
four  pounds  of  lime  and  22  gallons  of  water.  It  is  ap¬ 
plied  by  means  of  a  spraying  machine.  Paris-green 
could  be  added  if  it  is  desired  to  use  it  on  potatoes.  It 
should  be  applied  first  as  soon  as  the  potatoes  are 
above  ground,  and  as  often  afterward  as  the  condition 
of  the  plants  would  indicate.  Generally  two  or  three 
times  would  be  sufficient.  Send  to  the  Cornell  Exper¬ 
iment  Station,  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  for  a  bulletin  on  this 
subject. 
To  Prevent  Smut  in  Wheat. — S.  T.  M.,  Seneca  Falls,  N. 
Y. — To  prevent  smut  in  wheat,  steep  the  seed  in  strong 
brine  or  sulphate  of  copper  in  this  way:  Dissolve  a  pound 
of  sulphate  in  a  couple  of  gallons  of  hot  water;  pour 
the  solution  into  a  tub  and  add  three  or  more  gallons 
of  hot  water.  Then  put  a  basket  in  the  liquid  and 
turn  the  wheat  into  it.  Let  it  soak  20  minutes,  then 
spread  it  on  the  floor  and  sift  plaster  over  it  to  dry  it, 
and  sow  on  at  once. 
Fish  for  Fertilizer. — C.  S.  M.,  Cheriton,  Ya. — It  will 
pay  you  to  give  $10  a  ton  for  “  sharks  and  other  scale¬ 
less  fish,  as  well  as  for  those  with  scales,”  to  compost 
with  manure.  It  will  pay  you  to  smash  up  the  heads 
and  bones  of  the  larger  fish  with  a  sledge.  Use  plenty 
of  plaster  in  making  the  compost,  and  pack  the  bones 
in  horse  manure.  Fish  contain  no  potash.  To  make 
a  complete  manure,  therefore,  this  must  be  supplied. 
