i89i 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
the slide; make the other slide the same. To feed, turn 
the slides out: take out the coarse stuff; open the end 
door and sweep out the bottom; then put in the grain; 
turn the slides in and put in the hay ; then l§t the sheep 
into th6 shed. This keeps the wool clean and saves the 
feed better than any rack I have ever used. E. B. E. 
Avoca, N. Y. _ 
MAKING A FERTILIZER. 
A Massachusetts subscriber sends us the following 
question : “ I intend to plant this spring four acres in 
potatoes, and wish to use cotton seed meal, acid phos¬ 
phate, kainit, pigeon manure, hen manure and loam, and 
keep the mixture moist with soap-suds. My land is a 
sandy loam, with a heavy sod, and will be broken up as 
early as possible in the spring. What would be the 
requisite quantity of each to make a perfect ratio ? ” 
Suggested by Prof. E. F. Ladd. 
The question cannot be directly answered, for there are 
too many conditions that one unfamiliar with the char¬ 
acter of the soil could not judge of. Besides, the question 
is wholly an experimental one to be determined by each 
individual and for the various parts of his farm. Of the 
three leading fertilizing constituents contained in the sub¬ 
stances to be used we have as follows : 
Nitrogen. Phosphoric Potash. 
Acid. 
Per Cent. 
Per Cent. 
Per Cent. 
Cotton seed meal. 
. 6.00 
1 50 
1.95 
Acid phosphate. 
. . 
16.00 
Kainit. 
. . . . - 
— 
13 50 
Pigeon manure. 
. 200 
2 00 
1.25 
Hen manure. 
. 1.80 
1.75 
.90 
How much fertilizing 
matter is removed per 
acre by a 
crop of potatoes ? Let us suppose the yield of potatoes to be 
300 bushels of tubers and 2,000 pounds of tops. Then from 
data at hand we estimate there would be removed from 
one acre in pounds as follows: 
Nitrogen. Phosphoric Potash. 
Acid. 
Pounds. Pounds. Pounds. 
300 bushels of potatoes. 61.2 28.8 102.6 
2,000 pounds of tops. 10.0 3.2 8.6 
71.2 32.0 111.2 
According toVille, however, the potatoes should have 132 
pounds of potash per acre fora full crop. In order to 
secure the fertilizing matter contained in the potatoes we 
may take the following mixtures : 
Nitrogen. 
Phosphoric 
Potash. 
Acid. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Cotton seed meal, 1,0001 bs.. 60.0 
15.0 
19.5 
Acid phosphate, 50 lbs. 
_ _ 
8.0 
Kainit, 620 lbs. 
. . . . - 
_ 
83.7 
Pigeon mauure, 200 lbs, 
. 4 0 
4.0 
5.0 
Hen manure, 300 lbs. .. 
. 5.4 
52 
2.7 
69 4 
32.2 
110.9 
This material would 
furnish the 
ingredients to grow 
300 bushels of potatoes, but it is not necessary to furnish 
the full amount, since a considerable portion maybe taken 
from the soil. Probably one-half of the above cotton-seed 
meal in the mixture would furnish the necessary amount 
to grow the full crop. It is better, however, to make a 
few experiments and find what the lacking ingredient is; 
then knowing of what our soil stands in greatest need, we 
are no longer obliged to purchase those ingredients that 
are well supplied in the soil itself. 
Answered by Prof. H. J. Wheeler. 
The composition of hen and pigeon manure is affected 
by the feed used, by the amount of sand, feathers and 
other litter which may have been mixed with it, and also 
by its state of dryness. Between fresh hen and pigeon 
manure there is little difference in composition, and I have 
assumed them to be the same, and that the manure in ques¬ 
tion is partially dried. To make a mixture equal to 800 
pounds of a good “potato manure” containing four per 
cent of nitrogen, 12.8 per cent of total phosphoric acid (with 
5 per cent soluble) and 6.8 per cent of potash, use : 350 
pounds cotton-seed meal; 175 pounds pigeon manure ; 175 
pounds hen manure ; 566 pounds dissolved South Carolina 
Rock, and 348 pounds kainit. 
The whole could be applied more easily and would prob¬ 
ably produce as good results if used immediately after 
mixing, without the use of soap-suds. Soap-suds from 
soft soap contain potash; those from hard soap soda; 
hence the greater fertilizing value of the former. 
SOME PITHY STOCK TALK. 
Why Cows Scratch.— On page 36 a Massachusetts sub¬ 
scriber asks for an improved cow stall to prevent a cow 
from scratching herself with her hind feet. I would sug¬ 
gest that he should try the curry-comb and corn brush. 
My card has a large tail comb on the back, and my beasts 
like it well, though at first they kicked against it a little. 
That cow scratches because she itches, and if she didn’t 
itch she wouldn’t scratch. I don’t like to be crowded my¬ 
self, and so my beasts have no stalls; like potatoes in a 
trench, cattle are sociable and like to see one another, but 
"Crummie” was too fond of squirming round, so now 
when she stands at the full length of her rope she finds 
her feet level, but if she steps up to the manger her front 
feet are on a bank about five inches high; she doesn’t like 
a side hill, as it spoils her balance, and now she is quite 
clean and never tries to put her tail in the manger. Of 
course, we have plenty of bedding, as farmers (?) in this 
country burn their straw in piles when thrashed, so it is 
worth nothing but the labor of hauling. T. H. 
Bertha, Man. 
Chaff bad for Milch Cows.—Does L. L. W., who 
speaks on page 5, know that eating chaff from a staw 
stack will dry up milch cows ? I thought that, perhaps, 
might be the reason why his cow lost her flow of milk. Cows 
have different tastes ; some are always munching chaff if it 
is accessible, while others will not touch it. One of my cows, 
fresh seven weeks ago, has nearly dried up, In consequence 
of her liking for the stack. She would eat holes in it large 
enough to cover her all over, and stand there all day. I 
couldn’t make out at first what was the matter, as the 
calf was tied beside her at night, and I thought that per¬ 
haps he got more of the milk than I intended he should ; 
but she dried up so fast that I came to the conclusion that 
it was the chaff that did it, having heard years ago that it 
would have that effect. I have shut her off from the 
stack, and am feeding her sloppy food, trying to bring 
back the flow of milk. Since then a neighbor, an old lady 
of 80, says she has never known chaff to fall to dry up a 
cow, where she has eaten much of it. p. j. K. 
Getting Hay out of the Barn.— It is an easy matter 
to “stick the fork” and unload a load of hay with horses, 
but it is not quite as easy to loosen the hay in the winter 
with a hand pitchfork. This Is especially true where hay 
is put in the barn in large forkfuls, and allowed to roll 
down in any way so as to give room for the next forkful. 
It is well to “mow away ” the hay in sections and stack it 
nicely in the barn, but 90 per cent of the farmers are often 
forced by approaching storms, lack of help, breakages or 
other causes to put the hay In quickly without regard to 
how it tumbles. When hay thus put in has settled, it 
needs a well muscled and good-tempered man to get out 
a ton in 45 minutes. Probably the majority, if not all, of 
our Western hay barns, have four by four wooden tracks 
supported from the rafters by malleable castings and 
hooks at intervals of four to six or eight feet. It was not 
until I tried the experiment that I had any idea of the 
strength of these hooks and castings. To get the hay out 
by horse-power is a very simple process. Reverse the 
car on the track; bore holes about every 15 or 20 feet 
through the four by four track so as to bolt on the iron 
casting which holds the car in place until the forkful is 
elevated. Put a pulley on the end of the track that pro¬ 
jects out-of doors, and another on a stake driven into the 
ground just beyond the wagon on which you intend to put 
hay. Stick the fork, but not too deeply, in such densely 
packed hay, and start up. Go slowly when the forkful 
nears the end of track above the wagon. Trip it with the 
trip rope and turn the team around for another load. In 
this way two men and a team can put on a ton in 20 to 25 
minutes without sweating like a Southern negro on a 
cane plantation. Two of my men have spent an hour 
with hand forks to do the same work. 
As many barns are comparatively low, an open shed ex¬ 
tension—see Fig. 63—with a feeding hay rack in the center, 
would greatly economize handling uncut hay, and would, 
furthermore, save the droppings from exposure to rain 
and snow. The hay could be dropped from the horse-fork 
into the feeding rack directly underneath and save con¬ 
siderable labor. j. N. MUNCEY. 
Sows Eating Their Pigs.— On page 117 W. P. T. gives 
his experience with his hogs and brood sows. Dr. Kil- 
borne gives his reply. I notice this for the reason that I 
do not think the doctor’s answer is a practical solution of 
the difficulty. If I were to feed a lot of stock hogs and 
brood sows as W. P. T. had fed his, I would not expect any 
other result. The trouble is not in the hogs themselves, 
but in the food given. Not a sow of mine has killed and 
eaten her pigs for years Sometimes when overlaid the 
carcasses of the little things lie in reach of their dams for 
hours without being eaten. A sow that comes to the farrow¬ 
ing bed on a full feed of corn can hardly be in a worse 
condition to care for her pigs: the corn is too heating; she 
is feverish ; her teats are very tender, and on this account 
the pigs, in their effort to suck, cause her intense pain. In 
her frenzy she kills one, gets a taste of blood and the work 
of destruction is commenced. Instead of being fed only 
corn, the breeding sows should have a variety of food. If 
they cannot have the run of a pasture field they should 
have roots, clover hay cut and moistened, with an addi¬ 
tion of bran or shipstuff This will keep the system cool 
and free from constipation, which was the trouble with 
that lot of hogs and brood sows. I do not believe that a 
sow properly fed will ever become a confirmed pig-eater, 
or if she has once eaten her litter, that she will do it again 
if not constipated when she farrows. I aim to allow my 
hogs all the salt they want by keeping it lying in lumps 
in the lots or fields. A limited amount of corn is excellent 
163 
as a part of the ration for store hogs and brood sows ; but 
if I had to make it the main part of the ration for such 
stock, I would abandon pig growing. 
When the farmer gets caught with a lot of sows out of 
condition at farrowing time or a lot of constipated stock 
ers, the first thing to do is to overcome the trouble by a 
change of food as indicated above. Besides this, a piece of 
fat meat is recommended as a preventive against further 
destruction when it is known that a sow is eating her 
pigs. I have used a copious injection of warm soap¬ 
suds when I knew the sows were constipated ; this would 
allay all fever and the sows would enjoy having the pigs 
take their feed. It is a dangerous undertaking to put 
kerosene on pigs so young. I have learned to manage my 
sows and stockers in such a way as not to develop an ap¬ 
petite for flesh of their own kind, and I find a pleasurable 
relief in the fact that I do not have to use artificial means 
to prevent loss of the pigs by their dams eating them. 
Ross County, Ohio. JOHN m. jamison. 
FRESH FROM THE FARM. 
Nursery Trust Entirely Possible.— A few years ago 
I was far back in the mountains of Pennsylvania, and saw 
persons receive their dry goods by mail from the merchant 
princes of New York city. The next summer I was in the 
wild mountains of North Carolina, and there, 50 miles 
from the railroad, I saw the United States mail deliver 
the dry goods of a Philadelphia dealer, while, in the town 
where I live, a large portion of the groceries are furnished 
by the great grocers in Philadelphia. If the great dealers 
in dry goods and groceries can monopolize these lines of 
trade, certainly the nursery trade can be controlled by ono 
great corporation. The United States mail and the great 
express companies enter every hamlet in the whole land. 
Prices can be fixed below those of the local dealers. Thero 
can be in each township an agent who can yearly visit 
each house and take orders. To me it seems entirely 
feasible to do the thing, and I believe the effort is going 
steadily forward. [DR.] G. G. GROFF. 
Union Co., Pa. 
Electricity on the Farm.— The Farm Implement 
News for January, ’91, has an article copied from the 
Journal of Commerce, which tells of apian for using elec¬ 
tricity on the farm,that seems feasible if the cost is not too 
much. A windmill is used to elevate water to the neces¬ 
sary height, and the writer advocates the use of a water 
motor which could be attached to a dynamo for lighting 
purposes. The water could be utilized for domestic pur¬ 
poses or Irrigation after leaving the water motor. The 
windmill could run according to the wind and the dynamo 
could be run steadily by the water motor as long as re¬ 
quired. As the water motor would be the power, it could 
also be used for running the usual farm machinery. En¬ 
gineers claim this could be done, but what about the cost ? 
Chicago. w. D. 
R. N.-Y.—From all we can learn, it would cost too 
much for ordinary work. 
“Pick Your Flint ” Corn.— I used a small plot of the 
Rural Thoroughbred Flint Corn last year, and think it 
one of the best fodder plants I have ever tried. It will 
produce as much fodder as Stowell’s Evergreen Sweet 
Corn, and for winter feed it Is away ahead, as it will cure 
out and keep better. It is a little late for this climate; but 
I managed to save about a peck of seed. I purchased one 
of Breed’s Universal weeders on the strength of The 
Rural’s recommendation, and can truthfully say it is one 
of the best implements I have ever bought. 
Sheboygan County, Wis. d. j. johnstone. 
Silos and Hot -bed Covers.— I believe The R. N.-Y. 
is worth as much to me as a hired man, and by its precepts 
I am changing my mode of farming completely and 
branching out into directions entirely new as compared with 
those followed in this locality. My greatest obstacles to 
success are my own Ignorance and mistakes, but by study 
and work I hope to overcome them largely. At our Cat¬ 
taraugus County Farmers’ Institute one of the members 
told his experience with his silo. It cost, he said, about 
$12 and was made of two courses of rough hemlock lumber 
with tarred paper between. The fodder corn was put in 
uncut, when very wet, which he thinks the best way. He 
said it handled out of the silo better, and he thought that it 
kept better without cutting. He did not weight down the 
ensilage in the pit, but covered it with a foot or two of 
loose straw. He claimed that he was about three weeks 
filling it. He would put in a few loads, taking pains to 
lay it In snugly ; then let it settle and then draw in more, 
and so on. The waste was less from 12 acres thus treated 
than from a quarter of an acre cared for in the old way. 
I raised five acres of corn, and the husking alone would 
have paid for building two or three such silos; besides, I 
have quite a load of waste stock. D. c. allen. 
Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. 
A Washington Parsnip.— In the first week of May last 
I sowed one pound of Hollow Crown Parsnip seed, and in 
getting the crop out of the ground I found one a little 
larger than the others, that measured 27>£ inches round, 
and weighed just eight pounds. The land had been used 
nine years in growing hops without any manure until 
last spring, when a little manure from the horse barn was 
spread over the ground before it was plowed, and the land 
received but little attention during the summer, as the 
weather was so dry during June, July and August. If 
there is any better record than this, I should like to hear 
something respecting it. E. R. 
South Seattle, Washington. 
“Sown on Good Ground.”— I still have several varie¬ 
ties of flowers from seed received from The Rural a good 
many years ago, and I grew this year five acres of Rural 
Blush Potatoes, the direct descendants of the little tuber 
received from The Rural. a. l. crosby. 
Baltimore County, Md. 
