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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
The Farmers' Club. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[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.] 
Navicular Disease in a Horse. 
J. C. 0., Somerset, Ky. —My six-year old horse has been 
lame at times all summer and appears to be getting worse. 
I first noticed the lameness last spring when bringing him 
from pasture. There was a very slight limp in the right fore 
foot. I first thought it was in the foot and had it exam¬ 
ined but found nothing wrong. I was then told that it 
was sweeny and applied liniments, had the shoulder 
rubbed, and also had it rubbed with a hot iron, with only 
partial relief. The lameness only shows when he is forced 
out of a walk. After being driven he stands with the 
right fore foot thrown out in front of him. There was 
some sensitiveness in the right shoulder, when first treated, 
but I have not noticed any since. There is no indication 
of fever anywhere that I can detect. The horse stands in 
the stable all the time when not in use on account of the 
difficulty of catching him when in the pasture. 
Ans —The lameness appears to be due to navicular disease, 
a disease of the bony pulley and flexor tendon of the foot. 
Remove the shoe. Apply a flaxseed poultice to the whole 
foot and renew it daily for three or four days. Then clip 
the hair from the front and sides of the pastern, from the 
hoof upward for a distance of two inches. Rub in well for 
15 or 20 minutes a cerate of cantharides blister, and let it 
remain for 24 hours, or until the blister is well raised.. 
Then carefully wash off and apply vaseline daily until 
nearly healed, when the blistering should be repeated. 
Continue until blistered two or three times. While the 
blister is on and for two or three days afterwards, the head 
should be kept tied to a high rack so that the horse cannot 
reach his foot with his mouth. During treatment give daily 
walking exercise, (except when tied as above) in a small 
yard or large box stall, and keep the hoof coated with an 
ointment of pine tar and vaseline melted together, to pre¬ 
vent the drying of the hoof. A restricted diet, with roots 
or a bran mash once daily to keep the bowels loose, would 
be desirable. Wnen again put to work, it should be gradu¬ 
ally and only at a moderate pace for two or three 
months. 
Butter and Cheese—Which ? 
G. IF., Williamstown, N. Y. —Should a farmer who 
keeps 15 native cows take the milk to a cheese factory 
three miles away and pay $1.20 per 100 pounds for 
making it into cheese, and expenses, or make butter in the 
old way, using open pans ? Or would it be profitable to 
buy a creamer and use ice in making the butter ? Would 
glass cans be better than tin in the creamer ? 
Ans.— The profit depends wholly upon the management. 
It is unquestionably better to have the milk made into 
cheese which would net 80 cents per 100 pounds for the 
milk than to make butter which would sell for only 15 
cents per pound, making not much more than half this 
income per cow. But if a dairyman can make good butter, 
which sells now in Albany, N. Y., for 25 cents per pound, 
he would make $1.00 or more per 100 pounds for the milk 
and have all the skimmed and buttermilk for feeding pigs 
or calves. Quite as good butter may be made with the 
ordinary shallow pans as by the portable creameries if one 
has the skill, but there is less risk and more convenience 
in the use of the creameries than with the pans. Fifteen 
good native cows, well fed, should make 3,000 pounds of 
butter in a year, which at 20 cents for an average, would 
yield $000; equally good cows would bring in about the 
same amount in cheese. Generally there is not much to 
choose between different ways of disposing of the milk, as 
dairy products seem to maintain a pretty even equi¬ 
librium in this respect, and to dispose of the milk to a 
cheese factory involves the least labor and expense. One’s 
circumstances will mostly decide such a question as this, 
and advice can scarcely be given satisfactorily. Glass 
cans would be very much inferior to tin ones for use in a 
dairy. Tin is as insoluble as glass, and quite as easily 
kept clean, and will not break ; but it is most economical 
to use only the heaviest tin made for all dairy utensils. 
Loss of Milk In a Fresh Cow. 
L. L. IF, Wellsvtlle, N. Y .—A friend has a cow which 
calved on October 25. Since then she has not given over three 
quarts of milk a day. Always before at this time from calv¬ 
ing she has given about 20 quarts daily. She seems to be 
in good health and condition. Can anything be done to 
restore her to her milk ? 
Ans.— If there is no disease, either local or general, to 
account for the diminished flow of milk, we know of noth¬ 
ing except a liberal diet and good care that will restore 
her lost milk flow. If these fail, the cause is probably due 
either to some individual peculiarity in the cow, or to 
some chronic disease. Possibly regular milking and good 
attention may yet “bring her to her milk.” 
An Alleged Gate Patent : Patent Sharks. 
W. H. A., Thompson, Tenn. —A man hereabouts claims 
a patent royalty of $10 on a gate. The patent consists 
simply in diagonal cross-bars to strengthen the gate. 
Thousands of farmers have such gates in use, and many 
of them have been up for years, but none of the owners 
ever dreamt that his was an infringement on any patent. 
Is it an infringement, and, in any event, what should we 
do ? If the man is allowed to go on unchecked he can col¬ 
lect $20,000 in this section alone. 
Ans.— We have already seen several notices of this mat¬ 
ter. From the sketch and description we cannot tell 
whether there is any patent on the gate; but we are quite 
certain none ought to have been granted on such an ante¬ 
diluvian, device. There are probably two or three thou¬ 
sand patents still alive on gates, most of them worthless. 
Some of them are extensively used for the purpose of ex¬ 
tortion, however, for as they are employed almost exclu¬ 
sively by farmers, who from time immemorial have been 
the favorite prey of all kinds of sharpers, patent sharks 
have used gates very freely for their swindling purposes. 
Before a patentee, or his agent, or his lawyer can make a 
valid claim for a royalty on a patent, he must prove that a 
patent covering the specified device has been issued and 
still survives. He must give the number and show the 
“ claim” and “specifications.” He must also prove that he 
either owns the patent or is the authorized agent of the 
owner. His mere “ say so” is by no means enough. How¬ 
ever old a device may be, if it is covered by a patent, a 
royalty may be legally claimed and recovered on it, until 
the patent has been declared invalid by the United States 
Courts. The case is always first brought before the United 
States Circuit or District Court of the section, and what¬ 
ever Its decision may be, it is binding on all living within 
that particular court’s jurisdiction,until the United States 
Supreme Court, if an appeal to it is made, gives an ad¬ 
verse decision. Thus, if two of the Circuit or District 
Courts give different decisions on the same case, royalty 
can be collected on a patent within the jurisdiction of one 
court, but not within that of the other. In ail cases 
like the present, ;the best, indeed the only plan that 
should be adopted by the alleged infringers of the patent 
is either to pay the royalty at once, or form a combination, 
engage a good lawyer, contribute the amount of his fee and 
contest the case. The judge should be requested to require 
the claimant to give security fox costs in case he is defeated, 
as such fellows are generally irresponsible, and if they 
lose, they can pay nothing. If such a bold and united front 
is presented, the patent shark will generally sneak away 
to “fresh fields and pastures new.” If a patent device has 
been publicly used in this or any other country two 
years before a claim for a patent was made here, the 
courts will decide that the patent is invalid. There is no 
doubt that the present patent is invalid on this ground. 
Tumor in a Heifer’s Ear. 
IF. E. J., Smithton, West Virginia.—I have a yearling 
heifer that has a wart, or protuberance of some kind, in 
its ear. It is now about as large as a pint cup. She has 
rubbed the hair off of her head in several places near the 
affected ear. What should be done in this case ? 
Ans.—E mploy a veterinary surgeon, or in the absence of 
such, the family physician and surgeon, to remove the 
tumor, either with the knife or an elastic ligature as he 
thinks best. 
Blackberries. 
E. E., Beaver County, Pa. —What are the merits of the 
Erie Blackberry as compared with other varieties ? 
Ans. —The Erie is very like the Lawton, but it seems a 
hardier variety at the Rural Grounds. Taylor’s Prolific 
is one of the hardiest varieties known. It is productive 
likewise and the quality is very good. Its one fault is 
the small size of the berry. Minnewaski is a promising 
variety in every way. Berry large, quality good—as good 
as the Lawton and as hardy as the Kittatinny. There is 
no blackcap known to The R. N.-Y. that is as large and 
as firm as the Gregg, which is also hardy. 
Lameness in a Horse; Enlarged Glands in a 
Cow’s Throat. 
J. E. A., El Dorado, Cal.— 1. I have a horse that has 
been lame at times for over three years; at first he was 
only lame on rough or uneven ground, and for months 
would not be lame at all; but within the last six months 
he has become so lame that I cannot use him. In driving 
him he will work off to the left all the time, and I ha^e to 
hold the right line tight to keep him in the road. He will 
not walk on sideling ground, and can hardly go down hill 
at all. When so doing he gets his hind feet under him, 
nearly touching his fore feet to keep from falling, either 
when driving or loose in the field. Some days he is worse 
than others. The only place showing any defects is his 
chest, which is sunken. He keeps fat all the time, and is 
full of life and tries to play when with other horses, but 
when he tries to run he nearly tumbles over. A veterinary 
surgeon called it chest founder and said it could not be 
cured. What is the matter wich him and can he be cured? 
2. I have two Jersey cows with swelled jaws. The lumps 
are hard and about as large as a Pound Pippin Apple. They 
are situated just behind the jawbones and about the en¬ 
trance of the windpipe. At times the animals breathe 
hard and sometimes it seems difficult for them to swallow. 
They have been so for about two weeks. I have used hot 
bran poultices, rubbed them several times daily with tur¬ 
pentine, and also tried mustard and ammonia made into a 
paste and rubbed on; but the swellings are as large as 
ever. What is the disease and what will cure it ? 
ANSWERED BY DR. F. L. KILBORNE. 
1. I suppose the lameness is in the fore feet, although you 
do not say so, except indirectly; neither do you write 
whether it is in one foot or both. You will have to be 
more definite in your description. What is the position 
of the lame foot while standing ? Is the lameness im¬ 
proved or aggravated by exercise ? Is it worse on hard or 
soft ground ? Is there any dragging of the fore feet with 
undue wearing off at the toes ? Can the horse readily step 
over a bar 12 or 15 inches high ? By answering these ques¬ 
tions we can probably diagnose the seat of lameness and 
prescribe a course of treatment. Chest founder as usu¬ 
ally applied to horses by horsemen is only a symptom of 
disease elsewhere, and is not necessarily incurable. 2. The 
swellings are probably due to glands enlarged by tuber¬ 
culosis or consumption, and if so, are incurable; except, pos¬ 
sibly, by Dr. Koch’s recently discovered “cure ” for tuber 
culosis, which has not, as yet, as far as we know, been ap¬ 
plied to cattle. Try blistering with the following blister : 
powdered cantharides and oil of turpentine, each one-half 
ounce ; lard, one ounce ; mix thoroughly. If there is no 
improvement after two or three blisterings, my diagnosis 
of tuberculosis is probably correct. If possible, have the 
heifers examined by a competent veterinary surgeon, pre¬ 
ferably the State veterinarian. 
A New Mode of Growing Celery. 
R. N., Providence, R. I., sends some specimens of celery 
of which he says: “It was grown by a new mode of culture. 
It was planted one foot apart each way, so that there were 
over 43,000 plants to the acre. No banking was required. 
It was planted in July, just after a crop of bunch beets had 
been removed from the ground. The expense of growing 
it was less than a quarter of the outlay needed to grow a 
crop in the ordinary way.” 
R. N.-Y.—We have rarely seen finer bunches. The sys¬ 
tem is new to us. It Is hard to understand that without 
handling, the bunches (stems) should be as upright and 
compact as they overgrow by the carefullest handling and 
banking up. 
A Stream as a Boundary Line. 
W. A. S., Nepany, Connecticut .—A and B own land 
with a river as a boundary between them. A’s cows and 
oxen cross the stream into B’s truck patch, and do much 
damage. The stream never was fenced before. Can the 
fence-viewers order B to build half of the fence on A’s 
land to keep A’s cows on his own land ? What is B’s 
remedy ? 
Ans.—I n Connecticut when the dividing line between 
two farms is a stream or pond which proves not to be a 
sufficient fence, and it is impracticable to make the fence 
on the line, if either party shall refuse to make a divisional 
fence on either side, two selectmen of the town, on 
application of either party, shall determine on which side the 
fence shall be erected and maintained, or whether partly 
on one side and partly on the other, and what part each 
shall make and maintain, and they shall deliver their 
decision in writing to the parties, and if either shall refuse 
to make and maintain his part of the fence, the other may 
do so and recover the expense from the party so refusing. 
B’s remedy would be a suit for damages; but as the 
stream had for years proved a sufficient boundary, it’s a 
trifle doubtful whether he could collect. But isn’t there 
some doubt about the outcome of every law-suit? 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
S. A. U., Babylon, L. I. —Which would be the better 
plan—to spread manure now for the purpose of saving 
labor in spring, to be then plowed in, or to delay spreading 
it till then ? The land will be under corn. 
Ans.—I f the ground is level we would spread the ma¬ 
nure this winter. 
W. G. S., Benedict, N. Y.— I want to plant 100 apple, 
10 pear and 10 plum trees for home use. What varieties ? 
ANS.—Esopus Spitzenburg, Fameuse, Northern Spy, 
Porter, King of Tompkins County. Pears : Anjou, Bose, 
Dana’s Hovey, Lucrative, Reeder, Seckel, Sheldon, Win¬ 
ter Nelis. Plums: Bavay, Green Gage, Imperial Gage, 
McLaughlin, Purple Favorite. 
A. J. S., Grand View, Mo.— Where can I get pure seed 
of Goldeq Beauty and Early Mastodon Corn ? Does the 
R. N.-Y. know anything about them ? 
ANS —Both varieties are offered by W. Atlee Burpee & 
Co.. Philadelphia, Pa. See their catalogue, page 83. The 
R. N.-Y. has not tried them. 
E. G. C., Bernardston, Mass.— I have bargained for a 
farm at an administrator’s sale. The deed cannot be made 
out without the consent of the Probate Judge. The farm 
is leased until April, 1891. The party said nothing about 
the lease, but promised immediate possession. The tenant, 
however, refuses to leave. What should I do ? 
Ans. —The case is not clearly stated. Unless the lessee 
has violated any of the forfeiture clauses of the lease, the 
latter is good until the end of the term for which it was 
made. 
E. J. G., Clifton, N. Y. —What is the penalty for taking 
more than legal interest on a mortgage in this State ? 
Ans. —Six per cent is the legal rate of interest in New 
York State. The excess over this rate may be recovered. 
Usury is punished by a fine of $1,000 or six months’ impris¬ 
onment or both. 
J. W., Vineland, N. J. —Where can 1 get Japan Chest¬ 
nuts ? 
ANS.— Japan Chestnuts are sold by The Storrs& Harrison 
Co., Painesville, O.; by J. T. Lovett Co, Little Silver, N. J.; 
by Wm. Parry, Parry Post Office, N. J.; by II. M. Engle, 
Marietta, Pa. The last named sells the “ Paragon,” which 
is a fine chestnut, though possibly not of foreign origin. 
G. IF. E., Carlwick, O. —What is a suitable form of 
grace or blessing for a young Christian before and after 
morning, noon and evening meals ? 
Ans.—A ny book of common prayer contains forms of 
grace suitable for different meals and occasions. A thank¬ 
ful heart ought to find expression in simple, earnest 
language for mercies received, or about to be received, 
more suitable and appropriate than any form of words 
that we or any one else might give. 
“ When ice find a paper that has hack-hone 
enough to tell the truth, let us have hack- 
hone enough to help it along — l. w. lightly. 
