272 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
APRIL 4 
WE WANT TO KNOW. 
[Here we propose to print, from time to time, ques¬ 
tions which st em to demand a gem ra) discussion. 
Many questions cannot be answered properly by any 
single ind vidua). They very properly demand a 
wide discussion, and the answers will be valuable 
when made up from the actual exp' rience of observ 
Ing men. We respeetlu ly call upon our friends to 
aid us in solving these problems. He kind enough to 
send us a brief account of any experiences you may 
have had in these lines.—E dsJ 
What Should Beets Cost ?—Having 
beard that beets for cattle could be raised 
for five cents per bushel, I undertook the 
job with this result: they cost me about 
17 cents per bushel, and I did not charge 
for stable manure, and I used about 15 
loads of fine cow manure. I hope the 
many friends of The Rural will tell me 
my mistake. My expenses were: 
820 pounds of fertilizer. 
Plowing. 
Hauling manure. 
Harrowing and marking out. 
1 day planting. 
2 pounds seed. 
9 i day with scuffle hoe. 
2 )^ days thinning out. 
2 hours wiib cultivator. 
14 days with horse plewlng in beets. 
8 days pulling and putting in cellar. 
3 00 
6 00 
8 00 
1 00 
35 
75 
2 ?0 
40 
50 
3 00 
Total 
.$22 25 
I raised 135 bushels of good-sized roots. 
They were mangels and Imperial Sugar 
Beets, half of each. The soil is heavy but 
not clayey. 1 plowed the ground (size cf 
plot a quarter of an acre) in the fall and 
in the winter covered it with manure, and 
plowed it again in May and harrowed it 
with spring tooth and Cutaway until it 
was well pulverized and in fine condition. 
The crop was planted with a Planet drill 
about May 20, 3% feet apart in the drills 
made with a two-horse plow turning two 
furrows together. C. w. c. 
Pleasant Plains, N. Y. 
Shall I Plant Potatoes ?—I sowed mil¬ 
let on about 15 acres of sandy land last 
summer. The prospects were good until 
the crop was stunted by excessive drought. 
It stood thick, but short; so I plowed it in, 
then sowed 2% bushels of rye to the acre, 
which I intend to turn under this spring. 
Now I want to know what would be the 
most profitable crop to put in. Will pota- 
toes or beans do, and, if not, what would 
be advisable ? Would buckwheat pay as 
well as either, considering the feasibility 
of seeding with clover at the same time. 
Spring Lake, Mich. M. w. 
R. N.-Y. Our choice would be pota¬ 
toes, knowing nothing about your 
facilities for planting, cultivating and dig¬ 
ging. Let others nearer home advise, how¬ 
ever. 
What Varieties Suit You ?—I think 
that horticulturists, and others as well, 
would do each other a constant and lasting 
benefit by reporting to the RURAL an¬ 
nually, or oftener, the results of their trials 
with new varieties. We cannot believe the 
catalogues. If we were to divide their 
statements by two and take the “smaller 
half” we would still get beaten in many 
cases. I have just been reading in a .promi 
nent catalogue that the Woodruff Red is 
a long-keeping grape. The fact is that 
often it does not keep even iODg enough to 
get ripe, it is so inclined to crack. Aside 
from that it does not retain its flavor long. 
It is a good selling grape when put on the 
market early in good condition. The Bread 
Stone Turnip turns out to be a good ruta¬ 
baga. The trial cost me over $25. A cor¬ 
respondent from Idaho in a recent Rural, 
reports a good crop. He no doubt had a 
longer season than mine. He also calls it 
a rutabaga. That is what it is. Mine were 
both white and yellow. I tried about 12 
different varieties of squashes, new and 
old, last year. The Fordhook seed had been 
badly mixed and did not amount to any¬ 
thing. The Hubbard is away ahead as an 
all-purpose squash for market. If you 
want pure seed grow it yourself, w. F. B. 
Aun Arbor, Mich. 
Buckwheat Hulls As Fertilizer.—A 
friend has offered me a lot of buckwheat 
hulls; what value have they as a ferti¬ 
lizer ? If any, what would be the best way 
to apply them? Would the plant food 
they contain be readily available for crops 
of vegetables the present season ? 
R. N.-Y.—On page 154 of last year’s 
Rural Dr. Peter Collier, in answer to a 
question about the fertilizing value of 
buckwheat hulls gives the following 
analysis: 
Water. 7-50 per cent. 
Ash. 1.96 ;* 
Aloumsnolds. 4 fcb ‘ 
Crude fiber. 50.71 
Carbohyurates.84 18 “ 
Fats...... M “ 
100.1.0 
He could find no analysis of the ash ; nei¬ 
ther can we. The hulls have about one- 
fifth the feeding value of wheat bran. If 
any of our readers have used any of them 
for manure, we will thank them for their 
experience. 
Kill The Bugs.—Is there anything that 
will kill or keep off the large bluish bug 
that is so destructive to squash vines, both 
winter and summer squashes ? M. E. B. 
To the subscriber who inquired about 
rubber roofing, I would like to say that I 
have tried corrugated iron and whau is 
called felt roofing and find rubber the best.' 
Cumberland, Md. F. B. R. 
AILING ANIMALS. 
ANSWERED by dr. f. l. kilborne. 
Obstruction of Bowels In a Lamb. 
F. D. S., Ithaca, N. Y. —I recently lost a 
lamb by an ailment having the following 
symptoms : Stretching when walking; 
laying down by itself in a natural position; 
slight passage of the bowels as if consti¬ 
pated the first day ; no passage afterwards; 
died the fifth day from the first attack; 
gradual sinking and hard breathing at last. 
It ate nothing, but was constantly thirsty 
after it was taken sick. Treatment: two 
ounces of linseed oil, two doses; two 
ounces of Epsom salts with a little ginger 
and peppermint, two doses ; two ounces of 
castor oil, one dose; also rhubarb, ginger 
and gentian together; small doses, all at 
intervals of six hours. On opening the car¬ 
cass I found the heart flabby and the lungs 
slightly congested. There was some blood 
in the abdominal cavity; but there was 
nothing that looked serious, except in the 
small bowels, four to six coils of which 
were wholly stopped and grown together, 
having a white gristly look and being ap¬ 
parently filled with tumors the size of 
beans, but on being cut open these proved 
to be what appeared well digested food of 
a pea-green color, that could get no further. 
There was active imflammation where the 
stoppage commenced. I could find no for¬ 
eign substance. What was the trouble ? 
ANS.—The death of the lamb was prob¬ 
ably due to the accidental rolling of a por¬ 
tion of the bowel upon itself—volvolus—or 
to the. slipping of one portion of the bowel 
within that adjacent—invagination— 
either of which would cause more or less 
complete obstruction of the bowel, and 
death, with the symptoms and lesions given. 
The small lumps with the pea-green con¬ 
tents, were parasitic tumors, due to the 
presence of a small, round worm. These 
tumors are very common in the bowels of 
sheep, often causing much trouble ; but in 
this case they were apparently not con¬ 
nected with the death of the lamb. The 
course of treatment given was good, and 
had there been no mechanical obstruction, 
would undoubtedly have moved the bowels. 
Slipping of The Stifle in a Colt. 
B. C., Sterling, N. Y.— Is there any cure 
for a two-year-old colt whose stifle has 
slipped in walking since he was four 
months old ? 
Ans. —Try the daily applications of the 
compound liniment of camphor, rubbing it 
well in with the hand for 15 to 20 minutes. 
The liniment can be obtained of any regu¬ 
lar druggist. If this fails to give any 
relief after a few weeks, blister with the 
cerate of cantharides, following the direc¬ 
tions and precautions for blistering fre¬ 
quently given in these columns. 
IttissceUanjeoujs 
In writing to advertisers please always 
mention The Rural. 
JUST PUBLISHED—ENTIRELY NEW. 
WEBSTER’S 
INTERNATIONAL 
DICTIONARY 
A GRAND INVESTMENT 
for the Family, the School, or the Library. 
Revision has been in progress for over 10 Years. 
More than 100 editorial laborers employed. 
$300,000 expended before first copy was printed. 
Critical examination invited. Get the Best. 
Sold by all Booksellers. Illustrated pamphlet free. 
G. & C. MERRIAM & CO., Publishers, 
Springfield, Mass., U. S. A. 
C&ution! —There have recently been issued 
several cheap reprints of tho 1847 edition of 
Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, an edition long 
since superannuated. These books are given 
various names,—“ Webster’s Unabridged,” “The 
Great Webster’s Dictionary,” “ Webster’s Big 
Dictionary,” “Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictiona¬ 
ry,” etc., etc. 
Many announcements concerning them are 
very misleading, as the body of each, from A to 
Z, is 44 years old, and printed from cheap plates 
made by photographing the old pages. 
COOLEY CREAMERS 
ARE THE MOST POPULAR AMONC DAIRYMEN. 
BECAUSE THEY MAKE MORE BUTTER. 
BECAUSE THEY MAKE BETTER BUTTER. 
BECAUSE THEY SAVE MOST LABOR. 
Because the process EXPELS the 
animal heat IMMEDIAXELY, and PRE¬ 
VENTS the development of BACTERIA, 
thus producing the PUREST FLAVOR, 
and accounting for the great number of Medals 
awarded viz.; . 
22 G0LD MEPA 18 
and Silver medals and First Premiums too numerous to mention 
Illustrated catalogue free. VERMONT FARM MACHINE 
Manufacturers of and Dealers In Churns, Rutter 
Printers and Carriers, Cheese Vats, Cream Vats, 
Boilers, and all Dairy and Creamery supplies. 
CO ,,BELLOWS FALLS,VT 
T TheLibrary of AmericanLiterature s9 
It will pay yon to find out by writing to C- L. WEBSTER & CO., 3 E. 14th ST., NEW YORK, 
ON EVERY TABLE. 
ON EVERY FARM. 
THE FARMER’S BEST CROP—THE NATION’S STAPLE. 
The potato is raised by more Individual growers than any other crop in the world 
and it is the chief food crop for whole countries. The “trucker” raises it by the acre 
and harvests by machinery and every little garden patch that helps out the poor man’s 
income includes a few hills. There have been countless experiments in raising potatoes, 
hundreds of test plantings made to find out the best and most profitable methods of 
planting and culture. Among these none are more interesting and valuable than those 
made in the past 15 years by ELBERT S. CARMAN, Editor of The Rural New-Yorker, 
and told in his new book, entitled: 
THE'NEW POTATO CULTURE. 
Do you want to know how to grow 500 to 1,000 bushels per acre ? 
Do y u want to know why the methods are used ? 
Are you in doubt between Manures and Fertilizers ? 
Are you up to the new “trench idea” ? 
Do you want to make your crop pay ? 
GET THE BOOK. 
It is a grand “tuber” full of meat. It will pay to read before planting. It Isa 
book to have in the library and to stick in the pocket while in the potato field. 
Price, bound in cloth, 75 cents; in paper covers, 40 cents. 
THE RURAL PUBLISHING CO., Times Building, New York. 
We are enabled to offer our readers a most attrac¬ 
tive combination, by which all may obtain a copy 
of the modern Cook Book,” which contains 
320 Pages, Over 1,200 Recipes and 
Hundreds of Illustrations. 
The recipes are the choicest selections from 20,000 that 
were received from practical housewives living in all parts 
of the United States, to which were added hundreds of the 
newest, best and most practical recipes of this progressive 
age, all of it set in new and large type, and the whole book 
handsomely illustrated. 
IT IS A PRACTICAL. BOOK. 
It Is an admirably arranged volume of recipes for practical, everyday 
use. Among Its points of excellence are the following: 
Practical Suggestions to Young Housekeepers, Necessary Kitchen Utensils, Suggestions 
and Recipes for Soups, Fish, Poultry, Game, Meats, Salads, Sauces, Catsups and 
Relishes, Breakfast and Tea Dishes, Vegetables, Bread, Biscuit, Pies, Puddings, 
Cakes, Custards, Desserts, Cookies, Fritters, etc. Also for Preserves, Candies 
and Beverages; Cookery for the Sick, Bills of Fare for Family Dinners, 
Holiday Dinners, etc. A Table of Weights and Measures; Chapters on 
the Various Departments of Household Management and Work. 
Any person accepting our oiler will receive this paper nearly a year, and also that charming home 
journal, the Ladies’ Home Companion, one year, together with the Cook Book, all 
mailed, postpaid, for less than the regular price of the two papers alone. 
THE LADIES’ HOME COMPANION 
is a large and popular 16-page journal, published twice a 
month, and gives information about those things which women 
particularly wish to know, and is mostly written by women. Original or Selected Stories by pleasing 
writers are found In each Issue. A special feature Is the variety of departments, each of which is conducted 
by a special editor. It gives the latest Fashions, arranged for practical use; timely hints to House Weepers; 
cheering and helpful talks with Mothers; valuable information for lovers of Flowers; a pretty and pleasant 
page for pretty and pleasant children. All handsomely illustrated. It is not an ultra fashion paper, but a 
journal for the home circle, full of common-sense ideas and suggestions for home happiness and comfort. 
iw* OUR 
Home Companion 
Cook Book, postpaid. 
HCPPR Send us $1.25, and you will receive The Rural New-Yorker or The 
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If your own subscription is paid for the year, you can sell the subscription to 
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