i89i 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
265 
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.1 
COTTON-SEED PRODUCTS FOR HOGS. 
Several Subscribers.—1. Can cotton seed or cotton-seed 
meal be fed to hogs with safety ? 2. If so, what quanti¬ 
ties may be fed, and with what grains or other foods 
should it be used ? 
Science Will Condemn Cotton Seed. 
Cotton seed is frequently fed to hogs, but always with 
some risk ; the adhering lint, during transition through the 
stomach, twisting strongly together, forms balls or knots 
in the btomach or intestines, which prevent digestion and 
cause irritation and often death. To mitigate these effects 
the seeds are frequently boiled before they are fed, either 
alone or with corn or with wheat bran, or they are im¬ 
mersed in a pond of water, and the hogs are permitted to 
root them out of the mud. These expedients simply lessen 
the above danger, without removing it. The danger is 
not peculiar to hogs alone; for the same results sometimes 
occur in the case of cattle fed on cotton seed. A few days 
since a fine three-year-old Jersey bull, the property of the 
State Experiment Station, at Baton Rouge, was killed by 
eating cotton seed which became impacted in the third 
stomach, and the natural action of that organ could not 
remove it. Inflammation with violent diarrhea was fol¬ 
lowed quickly by death. A post-mortem examination by 
the veterinarian found the seed undigested and woven 
together by the adherent lint. Add to this danger the 
difficulty of making a well-balanced ration of cotton seed 
in combination with other foods on account of its large 
percentage of drastic oil, and I think the day not far dis¬ 
tant when science will condemn cotton seed as an unfit 
food for any animal. 
Not so with cotton seed meal. Here the lint, hull, and 
the greater part of the oil have been removed, leaving, if 
properly made, a food exceedingly rich in albuminoids and 
with a goodly quantity of fat and carbohydrates. Properly 
combined with carbohydrates, itwill serve for all kinds of 
animals. I have fed cows, horses and hogs successfully 
on a combination consisting of the following proportions : 
Two pounds of cotton-seed meal, four pounds of crushed 
corn and cob, and four pounds of bran—wheat or rice. This 
was fed to the hogs twice a day, in such quantities as would 
satisfy their appetites. When properly used as a supple¬ 
ment to coarse fodders, cotton-seed meal has no superior 
among the concentrated foods. william c. stubbs. 
Louisiana Ex. Station. 
Harmful to Virginia Hogs. 
I fed a small handful of cotton seed meal in slop with bran 
and corn meal to each grown hog. A violent diarrhea 
ensued, and was relieved only by ceasing to feed the cot¬ 
ton-seed meal. Smaller quantities were tried, but always 
with the same result. I have fed one pint night and morn¬ 
ing to cows. Its effect was to create such an abnormal 
excitement in the generative organs that they could be 
but seldom impregnated. My advice is, go slowly. If you 
must use it, begin with minute quantities, and work up. 
Spottsylvania Co., Va. , c. H. pierson. 
Roasted Seed May Answer. 
All of the possibilities of cotton seed and its by-products 
are not known. The meal of the seed can be economically 
fed to hogs by mixing it in slops and milk. Not more than 
two pounds per day to each animal can be profitably fed 
in this manner. When the meal is mixed with ground 
feed it is unpalatable, and the hogs rarely eat it freely 
Fed in quantity, it always proves laxative. The whole 
seed, when fed freely, often causes the death of hogs. A 
small quantity seems to have no injurious effects. It is 
claimed that when seeds are parched or roasted no bad 
effects are observed. Roasting is a new departure, and 
practice has not fully verified the statement yet. Death 
from eating the whole seed is thought to be due to an ac. 
cumulation of lint on the lungs of the animal. I have 
never seen a post-mortem verdict bearing on this matter. 
Mississippi Agricultural College. j. h. connell. 
Alabama Experience Adverse. 
It is not safe to feed either cotton seed or cotton seed 
meal, except in very small quantity mixed with boiled 
food of some description. Attempts to experiment with 
cotton-seed meal used in con j unction with corn meal here 
and at the Canebrake Experiment Station resulted in the 
death of the pigs while quite fat, in both instances. I had 
a post-mortem examination made of those which died here 
and found inflammation in the stomach. Our experience, 
so far, is therefore adverse to such food. j. s. newman. 
Alabama Station. 
Good Results Reported from Texas. 
Cotton seed and cotton-seed meal may be fed to hogs 
with good results. It is safe to feed say one part of cotton¬ 
seed meal by weight to three parts of shelled corn by 
weight. Still better results will be obtained if it is given 
in slop of some kind, either house slop or skim-milk, in 
which case the proportion by weight may be increased to as 
high as one-third. We are now conducting an experiment, 
already in progress some two months, regarding the feed¬ 
ing of hogs on cotton-seed meal and corn, cotton seed 
boiled and corn, cotton seed roasted and corn, as compared 
with corn alone; and trust we may have something in¬ 
teresting to report later. We have for years fed cotton¬ 
seed meal to our hogs in the slop, and always with good 
results; but have never before this winter fed the seed. 
Many farmers, some in our immediate vicinity, have 
practiced feeding it soaked or boiled for some years, and re¬ 
port good results. Occasionally we hear it stated that a 
hog has died from eating raw cotton seed. I am not pre¬ 
pared at present to state whether in such cases it was the 
seed wh'.ch killed the hog or something else which was not 
noticed. This much I may state with certainty: hogs 
will not eat a sufficient quantity of cotton seed alone to 
fatten rapidly. Cotton seed is very strongly nitrogenous, 
the meal excessively so, of a nutritive ratio of about one 
to one, and we should, therefore, expect that it would be 
better given with less concentrated foods. Our best re¬ 
sults practically have been obtained, as above stated, on a 
moderate amount of cotton-seed meal, given in slop as an 
addition to the regular corn feed. GEO. w. CURTIS. 
Texas Station. 
Hogs Dislike Boiled Cotton Seed. 
The feeding of cotton seed and cotton-seed meal to hogs 
is a problem of great interest to the Southern farmer and 
one in regard to which we have few reliable experiments. 
I tried at one time to feed the boiled seed to hogs, but 
failed to get them to eat any amount and finally gave it 
up. Having now facilities for grinding and cooking by 
steam, I shall make another attempt at the earliest oppor¬ 
tunity to see if it can be used profitably. We wish to use 
cotton seed products as largely as possible for cattle; and 
if they can enter into the fattening of hogs and the feeding 
of mules or horses, even to a limited extent, it will be a 
great aid in economical feeding, all grain feeds being very 
high this year. E. A. BISUOP. 
Talladega Co., Ala. 
Practices at a Southern Oil Mill. 
We never feed hogs on either cotton seed or cotton-seed 
meal owing to the fact that there is something in both 
which does not agree with the animals. If hogs are allowed 
to eat cotton seed through the winter they will droop and 
die on the approach of warm weather. Both the meal and 
seed seem to be too heating for their constitutions. I have 
just had an interview with the Superintendent of the 
Southern Oil Mill located in onr city, and he informs me 
that to his knowledge the attempt to fatten hogs on seed or 
meal has never been made. He also tells me they are feed¬ 
ing 6,000 cattle on meal and hulls, which form a splendid 
food for cattle and one on which they are cheaply and rap¬ 
idly fattened. If a visitor to our cotton-seed mills examined 
the hulls he would be much surprised to see cattle whose 
only feed consists of hulls and cotton-seed meal, in such 
fine condition. On taking up a handful of the hulls he 
would think, at first sight, that their feeding qualities 
would be about equal to those of dry oak leaves; but those 
dry, chaffy hulls fully supply the place of first-class hay 
and sell at the mills for $2 50 per ton. The cattle are given 
all of them they will eat, and over them the meal Is 
sprinkled dry—about one quart per head at each feed. 
The cotton seed here sells for $7 per ton, and when run 
through a corn crusher and mixed with half its bulk of 
ear corn, it makes one of the best of feeds I have ever tried 
on which to fatten cattle, and one of the cheapest and most 
economical. wm. p. F. 
Little Rock, Ark. 
Grafting Wild Grapes. 
T. M., Clarke County, Ohio .—What are the directions 
for grafting on wild grapes, mentioned by A. H. Mulloy, 
in The Rural of December 6, 1890? 
Ans. —The wood for grafting is cut up into lengths of 
eight to eleven inches in the fall before freezing weather 
occurs : these are tied in bundles and packed in damp saw¬ 
dust or sand away from frost. In the spring, after frost 
is out of the vines, they are cut off near the surface of the 
earth, and the soil is removed to a depth of about a foot; 
the stump is then cut off about eight inches below the sur¬ 
face at a clean, smooth place. The grafts are then whip- 
and-tongue-grafted on the stock, thoroughly wound with 
twine, the earth replaced and packed firmly about the 
graft and a stake set to mark the place. The grafts must 
be kept perfectly fresh. If for any reason It is impracti¬ 
cable to dig down and graft below the surface, the graft¬ 
ing may be done above ground and the earth banked up 
around the graft. 
Locations for Fruit Culture. 
A. L ., Mansfield, Pa .—If a young man without much 
means wished to engage in fruit growing, in what part of 
the United States would Mr. Henry Stewart advise him 
to settle? What would be his first and second choice? 
Under what circumstances would he make his selections 
for a person with a natural taste for fruit growing ? 
Apples and pears might be successfully grown here in 
northern Pennsylvania were it not for late spring frosts; 
our winters are too cold for peaches. 
Ans.— Locality and soil have a remarkable effect upon 
the qualities of all fruits. There are some localities which 
are naturally well adapted to the growth of various fruits, 
as the high banks of the Hudson River, the South snores 
of Lakes Ontario and Erie, the East shore of Lake Michi¬ 
gan, the West shore of Lake Huron and other localities 
within the influence of the water. In all these places 
apples have the highest color and the best flavor, more 
especially those varieties which are distinguished for these 
qualities, as the Spitzenberg, Baldwin, Northern Spy, 
King, Rhode Island Greening, Bellflower and the famed 
Newtown Pippin. The Southern or Yellow Newtown 
Pippin, known as the Albemarle Pippin, grows to perfec¬ 
tion on the foot hills of the Blue Ridge lu Virginia, es¬ 
pecially in Albemarle County and the vicinity. High land, 
with limestone soil, and a north or west exposure seems to 
be particularly favorable to apples and pears, while light 
soils influenced by a large body of water, produce the 
finest peaches. Thus the east shore of Lake Michigan for 
25 or 30 miles from the lake produces excellent peaches, 
notwithstanding the high latitude. There are many lo¬ 
calities where these precise conditions do not prevail, but 
where the local climate is similarly affected by various 
circumstances, and where the soil has similar necessary 
qualities. When we consider the fact that the ash of 
the apple contains 71 per cent of lime and that of the pear 
even more, we cannot fail to realize the advantage of a 
limestone soil for the growth of these fruits and the cause 
of failure where lime is deficient in the soil, for it is only a 
good tree, that bears good fruits. In selecting a locality, 
then, for the purposes of fruit culture as a business, these 
things are to be considered : first, the special climatic con¬ 
ditions depending upon topography and the ameliorating 
effects of bodies of water or prevailing winds ; second, the 
nature of the soil, and, third, its fertility, for no land can 
be expected to produce the best fruits that is not able to 
yield good ordinary crops. And all these must be in con¬ 
junction, one alone being deficient neutralize the others. 
HENRY STEWART. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Cherries Ripening in Succession all the Season. —E. G. 
G , Lewisburg, Pa.—For a succession of cherries we would 
name the following: Sweet Varieties— 1, Eirly Purple: 
2, Rockport Bigarreau; 3, Coe’s Transparent; 4, Elton, 
Gov. Wood and Knight’s Early Black; 5. Cleyeland and 
Yellow Spanish; 6, Black Tartarian ; 7, Black Eagle and 
Napoleon; 8, Mezel; 9, Downer’s Late; 10, Buttner’s Yel¬ 
low; 11, Tradescant; 12, Windsor. Sour Varieties— 1, 
Early Richmond; 2, May Duke; 3, Belle de Cnoisy ; 4, 
Royal Duke; 5, Montmorency Ordinaire and Large French 
Montmorency; 6, Reine Hortense; 7, Late Duke; 8, Belle 
Magniflque; 9, English Morello. The varieties in the 
above list commence to ripen in June and last till late in 
July. 
Seed Potatoes: The Thoroughbred Flint Com.— T. B. 
F., Lake Park, Minn.—1. For seed, our experience leads 
us to cut medium-sized, well-matured potatoes to two or 
three eyes with all the flesh that can be given. The quan¬ 
tity of seed to the acre will depend on the size of the seed, 
the number of eyes planted, the number of eyes to the po¬ 
tato and the distances apart. There is little doubt that 
whole medium-sized potatoes for seed will give the heav¬ 
iest yield; but whole seed will give a greater pro¬ 
portion of small tubers. Then, too, the considerable 
cost of whole seed must be considered. Seven barrels of 
potatoes of medium size, cut to two or three eyes each and 
planted one by three feet, will plant an acre. 2. We have 
raised as high as 90 bushels of grain to the acre from the 
Rural Thoroughbred Flint. Be careful not to allow the 
plants of this variety to stand closer than two (or even 
three) feet by four feet. 
Galvanized Pipe for Well— A. S , Mansfield,* Pa.—Gal¬ 
vanized iron pipe, like all other galvanized ironware, is 
merely iron coated with zinc or zinc and tin, the tin, when 
used, being applied on the zinc as an outside coating. 
The process is employed mainly to prevent oxidation or 
rusting, and In the case of iron water pipes, to prevent or 
lessen the corroding action which certain substances held 
in solution in the water in some districts, exercise on 
iron. The “iron taste” imparted to such water by con¬ 
tact with “ naked” Iron pipe is avoided by the use of gal¬ 
vanized pipe, and the latter lasts longer. There is, there¬ 
fore, no danger of being poisoned by using a galvanized 
iron pipe in a well. Indeed, such a pipe would be as safe 
as any that could be used. Whenever a pump has not 
been used for some time, however, it is always well to 
pump out all the water in the lift or suction pipe as well 
as in the pump, to get rid of the stagnant water. 
Phosphate Salts.— E. M. P., Linwood, Mich.—We cannot 
tell you how to obtain the best results from a ton of 
‘ phosphate salts,” for we do not know what is meant by 
the term. 
Draining a Cellar.— II. T. T., Franklin Park, N. J.— 
Yes, a fall of 3% feet in 750 is ample “to drain a cellar 
through a three-inch round drain pipe.” One foot would 
be sufficient if no more could be obtained conveniently. 
There is no necessity to cement the collar, and common 
round pipe would answer the purpose quite well if it were 
laid in a groove at the bottom of the drain or so well packed 
with soil as it is laid that it could not be displaced in fill¬ 
ing. It is best to begin laying the pipe at the upper end if 
water is flowing, so as to avoid any danger of getting 
earth In the pipes as’they are laid. It would also be well 
to thoroughly drain all under the cellar at least a foot deep 
by laying several one or two inch pipes to collect all the 
water. Then the floor would always be dry and there 
would be no necessity of any wire gauze over the inlet, as 
you propose. 
Drying “ Pie Plant.”— T. Me A., Raymond, S. D.—Ex¬ 
perts tell us that it is not practicable to sun-dry “pie 
plant ” or rhubarb like apples or berries. The pie-plant 
contains too much acid. It can be canned, however, with 
success. • 
Hickory King Corn.— F. B. R., Hanover, N. J.—We 
think this corn will mature 24 miles north of New York 
city. 
Fertilizer. —H. D., Holyoke, Mass —We do not know the 
fertilizer made by J. S. Reese & Co. Send to Dr. C. A. 
Goessman, Amherst, Mass., for his analyses of fertilizers. 
Alfalfa Seed.— J. A. S., Raleigh, Tenn.—Sow anywhere 
from 15 to 20 pounds of Alfalfa seed to the acre. A deep, 
rich, porous loam is best for Alfalfa, though it has done 
well on heavier soils. It is a delicate plant to start and 
will not stand pasturing until firmly established. 
Hen Manure and Chemicals.— E. W. S., Barnesville, 
Ohio.—Wny not mix your hen manure in the proportions 
used by Mr. Johnson ? See page 262. We have not used 
the inodorous phosphate. 
Greenhouse Building —H. W. L., Linwood, Ind.—Hen¬ 
derson’s Practical Floriculture gives more complete in¬ 
structions on greenhouse building and heating than 
any other work we know. It will be mailed from this 
office for #1.50. 
