1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
877 
chase  of  nitrogenous  rather  than  carbonaceous  feeds. 
While  the  hulls  might  be  used  without  injury  to  dairy 
animals,  their  character  and  cost  would  seem  to  offer  no 
inducement  for  even  a  trial  at  the  North. 
New  Jersey  Ex.  Station.  e.  b.  voobhees. 
In  regard  to  the  use  of  cotton-seed  hulls  by  dairymen 
to  mix  with  grain  feed,  these  hulls  have  but  very  little 
feeding  value,  and  only  about  $2  per  ton  fertilizing 
value.  With  bran  at  §16  to  §17  per  ton,  no  dairyman 
could  afford  to  pay  §10  per  ton  for  cotton- seed  hulls, 
and  they  would  be  rather  expensive  at  §5  per  ton.  It 
can  be  said  in  general  that  the  cotton-seed  hulls  have 
about  the  same  feeding  value  as  ground  corn  cobs,  and 
most  farmers  have  a  pretty  definite  idea  as  to  how 
much  they  could  afford  to  pay  for  corn  cobs. 
Vermont  Experiment  Station.  w.  W.  COOKE. 
Judging  from  our  own  analyses  of  cotton  seed  hulls> 
I  cannot  see  any  good  reason  why  it  should  be  advan¬ 
tageous  to  Northern  dairymen  to  buy  them  at  §10  per 
ton.  I  inclose  copies  of  our  analyses  of  them  and  of 
good  English  hay  and  clover  from  our  own  upland 
meadows,  which  speak  for  themselves.  Southern 
farmers  can  ill  afford  to  send  them  North  ;  and  North¬ 
ern  farmers  can  do  much  better  by  using  home-raised 
fodder  crops,  than  by  buying  the  former  for  §10  per  ton. 
Massachusetts  Ex.  Station.  c.  A.  goessmann. 
Cotton-Seed 
Hulls.  Hay.  Rowen. 
Moisture .  10.90  10.27  18.07 
Dry  matter .  89.10  89.73  81.93 
100.00  100.00  100.00 
ANALYSES  OF  DRY  MATTER. 
Crude  ash . . 
Crude  fiber . 
_  3.07 
...  45.82 
....  3.31 
6.17 
31.90 
2.30 
....  5.13 
9.60 
50.03 
N.  free’  extract  matter . 
...  42.67 
7.30 
20.39 
3.50 
12.75 
50.00 
100.00  100.00  100.00 
FERTILIZING  CONSTITUENTS. 
Phosphoric  acid . . .  180  209  432 
Potassium  oxide .  1.080  1.550  1.480 
Nitrogen . 750  1.409  1.609 
Cotton-seed  hulls  would  not  be  worth  §10  per  ton  to 
mix  with  grain  feed.  They  cost  from  §3  to  §4  per  ton 
in  Mississippi,  and  are  considered  high  at  these  prices, 
but  would  not  be  economical  for  Northern  dairymen. 
Would  not  clover  hay  be  far  preferable  and  cheaper 
than  this  product  ?  I.  P.  Roberts. 
“Best  Method”  of  Grape  Grafting:. 
S.  L.  L. ,  Niagara  Falls,  Out. — What  is  the  best  mode 
of  grafting  grape  vines  so  the  roots  of  the  graft  will 
not  extend  to  the  ground  ? 
Ans. — The  best  method  may  depend  upon  the  oper¬ 
ator  and  upon  varying  circumstances.  Successful 
grafting  is  most  often  done  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  so  the  “roots  of  the  graft  will”  probably 
“extend  to  the  ground”  unless  care  is  taken  to  destroy 
them.  The  grape  is  more  difficult  to  graft  than  the 
apple  and  similar  fruits,  and  considerable  skill  is 
necessary  in  order  to  insure  success.  Grafting  should 
be  done  in  early  spring.  The  following  is  a  good 
method  :  Dig  away  the  soil  until  a  smooth  place  upon 
the  stem  is  found,  cut  the  latter  off  smoothly  and 
insert  the  scions  having  two  or  three  buds,  as  in  ordir- 
ary  cleft  grafting,  taking  care  to  make  a  perfect  union 
between  the  stock  and  scion.  Sometimes  no  tying  is 
needed,  but  to  be  sure  of  its  remaining  firm,  it  is  well 
to  tie  with  basswood  bark.  Press  the  earth  firmly 
around  the  union  and  fill  up  with  fine  earth  to  the  top 
of  the  scion.  Keep  off  all  suckers.  Instead  of  digging 
down  below  the  surface,  the  grafting  may  be  done 
above,  and  the  earth  banked  up  around  the  scion. 
The  latter  method  is  easier,  but  there  is  more  risk  if 
the  season  should  prove  dry.  Another  method  of  graft¬ 
ing  above  ground,  seldom  practiced  in  this  country,  is 
by  inarching,  and  is  thus  described :  “A  slice  of  two 
or  three  inches  long  is  cut  from  one  side  of  the  vine  to 
be  grafted  with,  ani  a  similar  slice  from  the  vine 
which  is  to  serve  as  stock,  as  near  to  the  base  as  pos¬ 
sible  (of  course  graft  and  stock  must  be  close  together). 
The  two  cut  portions  are  then  brought  face  to  face,  so 
as  to  fit  neatly,  and  are  bound  together  with  basswood 
bark,  or  other  grafting  bandage,  and  wrapped  in  moss, 
which  should  be  kept  moist.  In  the  course  of  a  fort¬ 
night  partial  union  takes  place,  when  the  bandage 
should  be  slightly  loosened,  to  allow  of  expansion.  In 
six  or  eight  weeks,  if  successful,  the  stock  and  scion 
are  firmly  united,  when  the  bandage  may  be  removed. 
The  graft  immediately  below  the  union,  and  the  stock 
immediately  above  it,  should  then  be  cut  in  a  week 
or  two.” 
Feeding  Linseed  Meal  to  Stock. 
0.  A.  0.,  Garden  Plain,  111. — What  is  the  value  of 
linseed  meal  and  ground  oil  cake  as  a  food  for  horses, 
cows  and  young  stock,  where  the  hay  is  wild  or  prairie, 
and  how  should  any  or  all  these  feeds  be  combined  with 
corn  and  oats  ? 
Ans. — We  understand  you  to  mean  the  ground 
product  left  after  the  oil  has  been  extracted  from  flax 
seed.  This  is  a  valuable  food  when  given  in  small 
quantities.  Too  much  of  it  is  too  laxative  for  a  horse, 
and  has  a  bad  effect  on  the  butter  of  cows.  It  is  a 
highly  nitrogenous  food,  and  its  great  value  lies  in  the 
fact  that  a  little  of  it  will  “  balance  ”  a  ration  com¬ 
posed  largely  of  rough  fodder.  For  example,  the  writer 
is  feeding  a  horse  on  com  fodder  instead  of  Timothy 
hay.  A  pound  of  oil  meal  per  day  with  the  fodder  and 
usual  grain,  keeps  the  animal  in  fine  condition,  appar¬ 
ently  as  well  as  when  fed  on  the  hay.  A  work  horse 
of  average  weight  might  be  fed  a  daily  ration  of  15 
pounds  of  hay,  6  of  corn,  6  of  oats  and  2  of  linseed 
meal.  We  should  not  feed  over  two  pounds  per  day 
to  a  horse,  and  it  should  be  fed  very  cautiously  at 
first,  as  some  horses  are  unable  to  eat  even  that  quan¬ 
tity  without  scouring.  For  young  stock  two  rations 
might  be  tried  : 
I.  II. 
16  pounds  corn  stalks.  15  pounds  hay. 
10  pounds  wheat  bran.  3  pounds  corn  meal. 
3  pounds  linseed  meal.  4  pounds  wheat  bran. 
2  pounds  linseed  meal. 
The  bran  will  be  profitable  to  buy  for  the  young 
stock,  though  crushed  oats  would  answer  about  as  well. 
For  milch  cows,  a  ration  composed  of  15  pounds  of 
hay,  5  of  corn  meal,  7  of  ground  oats  and  2  of  linseed 
meal  would  answer.  We  do  not  include  other  and 
cheaper  foods,  because  you  ask  for  combinations  of 
these  three  grains. 
Cream  and  Butter  Questions. 
S.  R.,  Marian,  N.  Y. — 1.  What  is  the  best  temper¬ 
ature  for  a  room  in  which  to  raise  cream  set  in  open 
pans?  Would  45  or  50  degrees  be  too  cool  ?  2.  It  is 
recommended  by  some  to  hasten  the  souring  of  milk 
in  winter  by  putting  a  little  sour  milk  into  the  pans 
of  new  milk,  saying  that  the  loppering  makes  the 
cream  rise  more  quickly  and  abundantly.  Is  that  a 
fact  ?  3.  If  scalding  milk  before  setting  it  for  cream 
is  a  good  plan  in  winter,  why  is  it  not  also  a  good 
thing  for  summer  ? 
Ans. — 1.  No;  just  about  right,  but  it  is  important  that 
the  milk  be  set  as  soon  as  possible  after  milking,  the 
nearer  98  degrees  in  temperature  the  better.  If 
allowed  to  cool  below  that  point,  the  cream  will  not 
all  rise.  2.  You  must  try  to  get  your  cream  all  to  the 
surface  before  the  milk  sours  or  you  will  not  get  it  at 
all.  Adding  sour  milk  to  cream  for  the  purpose  of 
ripening  is  practiced  by  some,  but  only  after  it  has 
been  taken  from  the  milk.  The  use  of  John  Boyd’s 
starter  is  a  good  plan.  To  ripen  cream,  a  higher 
temperature  is  needed  than  for  raising  it.  3.  We  do 
not  think  “  scalding  ”  milk  is  ever  a  good  plan,  but  to 
get  the  cream  you  must  set  it  not  much  below  98  de¬ 
grees.  Artificial  heat  is  more  necessary  in  winter 
than  in  summer,  because  the  milk  cools  more  in  milk¬ 
ing  and  straining. 
A  Sick  Cow. 
II.  J.,  Mission,  B.  C. — What  is  the  matter  with  one 
of  my  cows  ?  All  summer  at  intervals  she  passed 
blood  with  her  urine.  She  would  be  all  right  for  a 
day  or  two,  then  pass  blood  again.  She  has  milked 
well  and  keeps  in  good  condition.  She  ran  in  the 
brush  all  summer,  but  is  now  in  the  stable,  where  she 
is  fed  clover  hay,  turnips  and  a  little  pea  meal.  She  is 
due  to  calve  next  April.  I  have  not  given  her  anything 
for  the  trouble,  thinking  she  would  get  all  right,  but 
she  keeps  in  about  the  same  condition. 
Ans. — The  reddish  appearance  of  the  urine  is  rarely 
due  to  a  discharge  of  blood  through  the  kidneys,  but 
is  caused  by  some  organic  disease  of  them  or  some 
disorder  of  the  blood,  as  in  cases  of  anthrax  of  a 
malignant  form.  This  appearance  is  much  oftener 
due  to  disorder  of  the  liver,  resulting  from  indigestion 
of  coarse  food,  as  in  cases  in  which  cattle  are  kept  in 
woods,  and  feed  on  weeds  and  coarse  growth  common 
in  what  are  called  bush  pastures.  Turnips  even, 
grown  on  newly  cleared  land,  frequently  produce  this 
condition  of  the  liver  and  the  resulting  appearance  of 
the  urine.  The  usual  treatment  in  such  cases  is  to 
clear  out  the  bowels  by  a  dose  of  one  pint  of  raw  lin¬ 
seed  oil,  repeated  the  second  day.  The  food  should 
be  soft  and  mucilaginous,  such  as  a  bran  mash  with  a 
fourth  part  of  linseed  meal  in  it,  given  once  a  day 
with  cut  hay  moistened  and  mixed  with  the  usual 
ration  of  meal.  Pea  meal  is  not  recommended,  as  it  is 
too  nitrogenous  under  the  present  circumstances ; 
corn  meal  would  be  better  until  the  cow  has  quite 
recovered.  It  might  be  well  to  suspend  feeding  the 
turnips  for  a  short  time. 
Stable  Manure  or  Leached.  Ashes? 
E.  L.  C.,  Belding,  Mich. — Which  is  the  more  profit¬ 
able,  town  manure  at  25  cents  a  load,  or  leached  ashes 
at  10  cents  a  load,  to  be  put  around  young  trees  and 
vines  ? 
Ans. — A  ton  of  good  stable  manure  should  be  worth 
§2  or  more  as  compared  with  fertilizers  for  which  one 
must  pay  cash.  A  ton  of  leached  ashes  on  the  same 
basis  will  be  worth  not  quite  so  much — say  §1.80  or 
over.  Still  the  manure  may  be  the  cheaper  to  be  used 
around  the  trees.  It  makes  a  better  mulch  and  con¬ 
tains  some  nitrogen,  none  of  which  is  found  in  the 
leached  ashes.  At  the  same  time,  at  10  cents  a  load 
and  for  a  short  haul,  leached  ashes  make  a  cheap 
source  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid.  In  an  average 
ton  of  such  ashes  there  are  nearly  20  pounds  each  of 
these  substances  as  well  as  1,000  pounds  of  lime. 
These  ashes  are  most  serviceable  spread  on  very  light, 
open  soil  or  on  very  stiff  clays.  They  make  the  former 
more  compact  and  better  able  to  hold  moisture,  and 
the  latter  more  open  and  easily  worked. 
What  to  do  With  Bones. 
A.  L.  S.,  Spokane,  Wash. — I  can  gather  here  large 
quantities  of  raw  bones,  how  can  I  treat  them  to  get 
them  in  shape  for  use  as  a  fertilizer?  Would  burning 
spoil  them  for  this  purpose  ? 
Ans. — How  to  “  reduce”  bones  so  that  they  will  be¬ 
come  readily  available  as  plant  food  is  one  of  the 
toughest  problems  in  fertilizer  making.  At  the  fer¬ 
tilizer  factories  they  can  be  kept  in  superheated  steam, 
ground  in  powerful  mach  ines  and  then  treated  with 
sulphuric  acid.  None  of  these  processes  is  readily 
practical  on  the  farm.  Some  writers  advise  farmers 
to  buy  sulphuric  acid  to  be  used  on  bones,  but  the  acid 
is  too  dangerous  to  be  handled  and  we  do  not  advise 
its  general  use.  The  bones  may  be  softened  or  buried. 
With  a  heavy  sledge-hammer  smash  them  up  as  fine 
as  possible  and  bury  them  in  horse  manure.  This  will 
soften  them  somewhat,  but  not  very  satisfactorily. 
Pack  the  pieces  in  barrels  or  boxes  between  layers  of 
wood  ashes  or  potash  salts.  Keep  the  whole  moist 
with  urine  from  the  stables.  In  five  or  six  months 
the  bones  will  become  soft  and  so  pliable  that  they 
may  be  broken  up  still  further,  though  not  in  the  best 
condition  for  use  as  a  fertilizer.  Burning  them  drives 
off  all  the  nitrogen  but  leaves  the  phosphoric  acid  in 
good  condition  for  use.  With  a  large  quantity  of 
bones  and  plenty  of  wood  probably  this  will  be  the 
best  way  for  you.  Make  a  large,  slightly  hollowed 
place  for  the  fire.  Put  kindling  and  light  wood  at  the 
bottom,  then  a  layer  of  bones,  then  more  wood  and  so 
on.  The  fat  in  the  bones  will  make  a  fierce  heat  and 
all  will  be  burned  up,  leaving  a  mixture  of  wood  and 
bone  ash  containing  both  potash  and  phosphoric  acid. 
Bunch  on  Colt’s  Throat. 
0.  F.  R.,  Clifford,  Tex. — Last  March  a  tumor  between 
the  bones  of  the  under  jaw  of  my  18-month-old  colt 
broke  and  discharged.  Owing  to  inattention,  it  is  dis¬ 
charging  all  the  time.  What  can  be  done  for  the 
animal  ? 
Ans. — The  swelling  was  probably  due  to  disease  of 
the  sublingual  gland,  which  lies  under  the  tongue  in 
the  space  between  the  bones  of  the  lower  jaw  near  the 
front  angle.  Treat  it  as  follows  :  Dissolve  20  grains 
of  bichloride  of  mercury  in  a  pint  of  filtered  rain  water. 
Wash  out  the  opening  with  warm  water  and  pure  Cas¬ 
tile  soap  by  means  of  a  syringe,  and  then  inject  about 
a  teaspoonful  of  the  solution.  It  would  be  desirable 
to  use  a  bandage  made  so  as  to  cover  the  wound  and 
protect  it  from  the  air.  As  the  abscess  is  probably  the 
result  of  an  attack  of  strangles  or  distemper,  and  the 
blood  is  not  in  good  condition,  a  dose  of  one  ounce  of 
hyposulphite  of  soda  should  be  given  daily  for  several 
days  in  a  bran  mash.  The  food  should  be  of  the  best 
possible  kind,  and  clean  oats  will  be  better  than  corn. 
A  bran  mash  will  be  especially  useful. 
Potato  Shape  ;  Phosphoric  Acid. 
.7.  S.  JET.,  Port  Gibson,  N.  Y. — What  reports  come  in 
with  regard  to  the  shape  of  the  Rural  No.  2  potatoes  ? 
Hereabouts  they  grew  unshapely  and  rough,  which 
was  not  the  case  heretofore.  The  yield,  however,  has 
been  good.  Is  raw  basic  slag  available  for  plant  food, 
like  finely  ground  bone,  and  is  the  phosphoric  acid  in 
the  slag  worth  as  much  per  pound  as  that  derived 
from  bone  ?  Should  bone  be  added  to  ashes  when  used 
to  fertilize  an  apple  orchard  ? 
Ans. — We  have  never  before  received  or  heard  of  a 
report  against  the  shape  of  the  No.  2.  Basic  slag  is 
not  soluble.  Unless  dissolved  it  is  worth  neither  more 
nor  less  than  South  Carolina  rock.  If  rendered  soluble 
the  phosphoric  acid  is  worth  just  the  same  as  phos¬ 
phoric  acid  in  bone.  Soluble  phosphoric  acid  is  just 
the  same,  no  matter  what  it  is  found  in.  It  would  be 
better  not  to  mix  the  raw  bone  and  the  unleached 
ashes.  Bone  contains  about  three  per  cent  of  nitrogen, 
a  part  of  which  would  be  released  by  long  contact 
with  ashes. 
Miscellaneous. 
Wormy  Potatoes. — We  have  raised  potatoes  on  the 
same  piece  of  land  for  10  years,  using  every  year  the 
Mapes  fertilizer.  The  last  crop  was  as  clean  as  the 
first.  Our  friend  who  says  he  used  manure  and  fertil¬ 
izer  together  and  found  many  wormy  potatoes  will 
find  that  it  was  the  manure,  not  the  fertilizer  that 
supplied  the  worms.  No,  the  No.  1  potato  is  not  for 
sale.  Every  tuber  is  reserved  for  seed  to  be  planted 
next  spring. 
Chips  For  Mulch. — G.  W.  K.,  Harnedsville,  Pa. — 
Planing  mill  chips  would  be  a  good  and  effective  win¬ 
ter  mulch  for  strawberries  and  would  also  serve  an 
excellent  purpose  in  keeping  the  weeds  from  growing 
and  dirt  from  the  berries  in  the  following  season. 
But  we  should  not  like  to  use  too  many  of  them,  es¬ 
pecially  if  strawberries  were  to  be  grown  on  the  same 
ground  for  more  than  one  or  two  seasons.  From  a 
single  application,  we  do  not  think  harm  could  follow, 
but  too  much  of  them  in  the  soil  would  not  be  desir¬ 
able.  Apply  them  when  the  ground  is  frozen  hard. 
