i89i 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
325 
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.] 
Feeding Cows on Fish. 
J. H P., Coldwater, Mich. —A neighbor tells me that 
cows will thrive on fish, meat or other animal food in 
place of grain. I say such an idea is nonsense. Am I not 
right ? 
Ans. —We have read of a number of instances where 
such food has been fed to cattle without injurious effect; 
bone flour is quite frequently given to supply phosphates 
In a ration otherwise weak in these substances. An in¬ 
teresting account of feeding fish is found in the last re¬ 
port of the Connecticut Experiment Station. A Mr. 
Galston of the Nutmeg State sent the station samples of 
herrings or alewives which he had been feeding to stock. 
This is what he says: 
“ I have fed the fish for the past three years. Three 
years ago last July I had a part of a barrel of alewives 
left over; not having enough to All it I could not ship it 
to New York with my spring catch. Remembering that 
years ago when shad was plentiful, if our cows went 
wrong at calving, we used to give as a remedy, the tails 
of these fish with good results, it occurred to me that ale¬ 
wives would answer the same purpose. This thought led 
to others. I remember that the largest sheep I ever saw, 
and one whose usual clip was about 16 pounds, was a cos¬ 
set that fed near our fish place, and frequently used to 
steal our fresh shad as they lay on the banks of the river 
and eat them. This was 60 years ago, when I was a boy. 
I concluded to try salt alewives on my cows, and accord¬ 
ingly gave each of them a fish. Some of them would at 
first only lick theirs, while others would eat them at once. 
By degrees all of them began to like them exceedingly ; 
since then I have fed them regularly during the winter, 
from three to six salt alewives each, once or twice a week. 
When I give them the flsh I withhold their ration of 
grain. I give them the flsh in the morning, that they may 
have free access to water should they want it. We have 
noted no effect either in the flow or flavor of the milk, but 
find the cows greatly improved in condition. 
“ For poultry, we soak the flsh till quite fresh, boil 
them and mix them with meal or boiled potatoes, say 
about equal weights of each. We have now 41 hens 
and five geese, to which we give, every other morning, 
seven fish thus boiled and mixed. The poultry eat every 
bone and scale. The result is good. These fish are caught 
in the spring in all rivers emptying into the ocean between 
Cape Hatteras and Nova Scotia. They can be bought at 
the fish place in bulk, at from $30 to $35 per ton. Hayti 
and St. Domingo have been our markets for them since 
the war of the rebellion, in which markets they usually 
bring about $4 per barrel of 200 pounds, delivered 
in New York. Previous to our late war the slave 
States bought them at about the same price. The 
additional expense of fitting them for and plac¬ 
ing them on the market as food for man, together 
with commissions for selling, would make $30 per ton at 
the flsh place as remunerative to the fisherman as the 
price obtained In foreign markets. Are they worth $30 
per ton for food for stock, with cereals or hay at the pres¬ 
ent prices ? ” 
The flsh came to the station quite wet and very ten¬ 
der, easily breaking to pieces. A dozen of them weighed 
four pounds and fifteen ounces. A chemical analysis 
showed that they contained more albuminoids than hay or 
any of the cereal grains, two per cent more than wheat 
bran and 2 % times as much fat. There was too much salt, 
half a dozen of the herrings containing six ounces. Dr. 
Johnson says that fish suitably prepared—we presume 
that means with the bones taken out and not too heavily 
salted—is a valuable cattle food and is regularly used 
for that purpose in some places. He says that finely 
ground fish scraps and dried blood are worth cautious 
and intelligent trial as food for stock. They would be 
most useful fed with corn fodder, ensilage, straw or other 
fodders that are weak in albuminoids. 
Bones as a Poultry Food. 
E. D. O., Ashburnham, Mass.— With corn at $1.50 per 
bushel, what does P. H. Jacobs consider the value of green 
bone as poultry food after it has passed through a bone 
cutter ? 
Ans. —When corn reaches $1.50 per bushel feed may well 
be considered high. The usual estimated allowance of 
corn, or its equivalent, for a hen, for one year, is five 
pecks,valued where corn is worth $1 50 per bushel, at $1.87X- 
At 20 cents per dozen for eggs (as an average price) a hen 
must lay 10 dozen eggs a year, to give a profit on the feed, 
and when the estimate is made for a whole flock the prob¬ 
ability is that nine dozen eggs per year will be nearer the 
number. Green bones, cut (they cannot be ground), con¬ 
tain meat, oil and phosphate of lime. The bones also con¬ 
tain a considerable proportion of nitrogen independently of 
the adhering meat, cartilage and marrow. As they differ 
in composition from grain, a proper comparison is not 
easily made between the two, especially as much depends 
on the kind of bones, and the amount of meat adhering to 
them, and whether It is fat or lean. Bones are more con¬ 
centrated food than grain, about one ounce of cut bone 
being considered a fair allowance for each hen per day, or 
about 23 pounds per year. The bones alone are not suf¬ 
ficient, as the fowls will need also grain and green food, 
but bones may assist in reducing the quantity of grain re¬ 
quired. Grain is not a complete food either, and in feeding 
bones, or other food, the allowance of five pecks of corn is 
reduced in proportion to the amount of other food given as 
a substitute. The value of the 23 pounds of green bones 
depends on the locality. I buy them from the butcher at 
two cents per pound, but probably could not get them at 
all if there were strong competition to secure them. The 
labor of grinding the bones is also an item, bub cut bones 
just as they come from the mill, and as fine as sausage 
meat, are now on the market, in small boxes, at five cents 
per pound. At this price the 23 pounds would be valued at 
$1.15, which would be cheaper than corn at $l.87>£ for five 
pecks. The bone being more concentrated (containing less 
water than corn) is really more valuable, bulk for bulk, 
than corn. Leaving out the labor of grinding, the bones 
are valued at 46 cents. This estimate is made for a year’s 
supply of corn and of bones. It must not be overlooked 
that bones alone will not answer, while the same may be 
stated of corn. Five pecks of corn a year is an allowance 
of about three ounces per day to each hen. By reducing 
the amount of grain to 1 % ounce, and the amount of bone 
to half an ounce, the proportions will be fair, but of course, 
in feeding, it is to be considered that the hen requires less 
help in the shape of feed in summer; green food is also a 
factor, and the condition and breed of the hens are very 
important considerations to say nothing of the fact that ap¬ 
petites differ, and that individual characteristics must be 
observed. p. h. Jacobs. 
R. N.-Y.—The butcher at our home place throws many 
bones into the river, there being no sale for them. It is 
much the same in other small places. There is a chance 
for some enterprising poultryman to secure a lot of valu¬ 
able hen food for little or nothing. The mill Mr. Jacobs 
refers to was described on page 33 of this year’s volume. 
We have used the ground green bone and found it to be 
excellent. 
Killing Out Bermuda Grass. 
Subscriber, (no address). —How can I kill out Bermuda 
Grass which is a great pest on some of my land ? 
Ans.— It is a common belief in the South that Bermuda 
Grass cannot be killed, but my experience with it has 
been that it is more easily killed than some other kinds of 
grass, and in many places where it abounds farmers have 
clean fields. A wet season when work is prevented, of 
course interferes very much with keeping the land clean, 
but little trouble is experienced when the right methods 
are used. These are to plow the land deeply, completely 
covering the roots and to work the ground afterwards 
with a scraper which will cut off all the young grass as 
soon as it appears. It will not do to neglect it and give 
the grass a chance to start and make new roots, but if the 
land is kept clean no new roots will be able to grow and 
the old ones will decay. 
This is one of the most valuable grasses for pasture and 
hay, and if the land can be turned to this use more money 
can be made from it than from any other crop. To make 
the work of destroying it most successful, the land should 
be turned, not bull-tongued, seven inches deep in June, 
and exposed to the hot sun for some days, then peas may 
be planted in rows and the ground kept well cultivated. 
HENRY STEWART. 
Hen Manure In a Special Fertilizer. 
W. K. S., Parkesburgh, Pa. —That paragraph, in a late 
Rural, on chemical fertilizers as made by Mr. Johnson, is 
worth several times the price of the paper; but what and 
how much chemical fertilizer should be substituted when 
part of the hen manure Is lacking ? What also would be 
the comparative values of the raw bone and dissolved bone 
and bone black used by Mr. Johnson ? The Rural’s advice 
to use a high priced potato fertilizer will not hold on my 
farm. Last year I tried about 9J0 pounds of Mapes, at $43 
per ton, and about an equal weight of raw bone, plaster 
and dissolved S. C. rock, at $18 75 per ton. Help was 
scarce, and rot played havoc with the crop, so that it 
could not be weighed ; but when the tubers were dug the 
appearance was only very slightly in favor of the Mapes. 
Ans. —As nearly as an average can be made, 100 pounds 
of ordinary hen manure are worth about 30 cents—that is 
all. It is low in nitrogen, having not over an average of 
from 1.50 to 2.50 per cent, and especially low in phos¬ 
phoric acid, not over 2.00 per cent, and especially low in 
potash—not over 0.90 per cent. Our friend might well 
ignore the composition of the hen manure and buy a high- 
grade complete fertilizer and use that In addition to his 
hen manure. In raw bone we have about 3.50 per cent of 
nitrogen and upwards of 20 per cent of phosphoric acid. 
Bone-black super-phosphate contains about 16 per cent of 
phosphoric acid without nitrogen. The dissolved bone 
should contain 10 per cent of phosphoric and about two 
per cent of nitrogen. The fact that raw bone gave as good 
results as Mapes’s complete at $43 proves nothing 
against the Mapes. It simply goes to show that the land 
needs more of phosphoric acid and less of potash. Mr. 
Johnson’s soil needed phosphoric acid and potash more 
than it did nitrogen. The value of this report lies in the 
fact that he found by experiment that the hen manure 
gave all the nitrogen his soil needed. He thus formed a 
special fertilizer for his own soil, which while suiting him 
might not suit your soil at all. Nothing but careful 
experiment will show what you need. Until you know, 
probably the complete manure will prove cheapest. 
What Does This Soil Need? 
H. D. D., Clyde, N. Y. —I have a piece of land along the 
bank of a small river on which neither corn nor wheat 
will grow to any extent without an application of either 
manure or phosphate, but when this is given it will yield 
from 25 to 30 bushels of wheat per acre, and 100 bushels or 
more of corn in the ear. With corn I get the best results 
by plowing under a light dressing of manure and applying 
a little phosphate in the hill. By using manure alone the 
corn will be small and yellow until about the middle of 
July, when beginning to feed on the manure, it will 
assume a better color and make rapid progress and if 
there is no early frost will give a fair yield. If phosphate 
alone is applied in the hill the plants will look well and 
grow rapidly in the early part of the season, but about 
the time of earing, the phosphate now being exhausted, 
the tips of the leaves begin to dry up and Anally the 
whole stalk does so before the corn matures. I cannot ap¬ 
ply any manure this spring; would it be advisable to drill 
about 150 pounds of phosphate per acre with an ordinary 
grain drill before planting the corn and then to put a 
little in the hill to give the corn a start and depend on the 
drilled phosphate scattered through the ground to supply 
it with plant food in the later part of the season ? Judging 
from the above, what element of plant food is lacking ? 
Oats, buckwheat and Timothy will grow well there natu¬ 
rally. But wheat would not yield over 10 bushels an acre, 
while corn will hardly grow at all unless it is a very old 
sod. Next to the bank of the river the soil is sandy but 
as it recedes from the river it becomes more clayey. 
Ans.—T he above communication shows in connection 
with fertilizers the necessity of abandoning words which 
have several meanings. What is the phosphate to which 
the inquirer alludes ? “ Phosphate,” properly, means a 
fertilizer that furnishes but one of the three most impor¬ 
tant plant foods that the soil does not usually furnish in 
abundant quantity. Probably our friend alludes to a 
“complete” fertilizer. At any rate his statement goes to 
show that his land needs potash, phosphoric acid and ni¬ 
trogen. We would advise him to use the fertilizer at dif¬ 
ferent periods—first (250 pounds at least) sown broadcast 
before harrowing; second (150 pounds) when the plants are 
six Inches high; third (150 pounds) when the plants are 
knee high just before cultivation. 
Butter That Changes Color. 
S. H. Calkins, Clinton County, N. Y-We milk from 8 
to 12 cows and furnish private families throughout the 
year with butter fresh in summer, and packed in fall for 
their winter use. One of my best customers called me in a 
few days ago to see a jar that I furnished last fall. The 
top of the butter was as white as lard for a quarter to three- 
quarters of an inch in depth ; though there was no bad 
smell or taste. He thought that I had used butter color 
and that it had faded. I had used no coloring matter; how¬ 
ever, I thought the jar had been left with the cover off and 
that the light had effected the change; but his wife said it 
had been kept in a rather dark room with the cover on. I 
have since heard of similar cases. What caused the change 
and how can it be prevented? 
Ans.—T his loss of color may be due to the effect of the 
air on the butter by not having the jar made air-tignt, or it 
may be due to the salt and the air together. Butter packed 
for winter use should be sealed against the air, and not 
permitted to dry, and only the very best fine ground dairy 
salt should be used. If the butter was covered with dry 
salt not of the best quality and containing lime or mag¬ 
nesia, this loss of color might be expected. To keep the 
butter unchanged it should be packed firmly, a small quan¬ 
tity being put in at one time and pressed down hard with 
a hard wood presser, round and shaped like the potato 
mashers found in many kitchens, about four inches in di¬ 
ameter. Any brine that collects on It should be poured 
off. When the jar is filled to within a quarter of an inch 
of the top it should be covered with parchment paper cut 
to fit closely to the jar and turned up a little. Then dry salt 
should be put on and another parchment paper tied tightly 
over the jar; then a cloth should be laid over and thick 
wrapping paper be tied down over all. If the butter is put 
up in this way, and is good when made it should keep for 
six months perfectly, and without any change of color. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Sulphate of Ammonia.— C. T., Niagara, Out.—This is 
one of the products of the burning of bituminous coal as a 
fuel. The nitrogen escapes in the form of ammoniacal gas 
which is condensed in water. The addition of sulphuric 
acid to this liquor forms sulphate of ammonia—a nearly 
white salt in fine crystals. Standard sulphate is 96 per 
cent pure with 24>£ per cent of ammonia. It is a cheap 
form of ammonia, though last year it cost a little more in 
this form than in nitrate of soda for the reason that there 
was a very heavy demand for ammonia for ice machines 
during the “ice famine.” The sulphate is slightly les 3 
soluble than the nitrate. When applied It should be 
ground as fine as possible and mixed with an equal part 
of dry earth or gypsum. Use before a rain. From 150 to 
200 pounds per acre will give about as much ammonia as 
is contained in 1,200 pounds of high-grade potato fertilizer. 
Bordeaux Mixture.—A. D. S., Ashburnham, Mass.—The 
R. N.-Y. has not tried the Bordeaux Mixture for potato 
blight enough to give any definite conclusions. Send for 
bulletins on the subject issued by the Experiment Stations 
of Ohio, at Columbus; New Jersey at New Brunswick; 
and Connecticut at New Haven. Also send for a pam¬ 
phlet Issued by the Department of Agriculture at Wash- 
ngton, D. C. v 
Juneberrles Not Profitable.—J. O. T., Brighton, Mich. 
—We do not believe that any juneberry will prove profit¬ 
able at present. The fruit is insipid. We know nothing 
of the “ Tree ” Cranberry. 
Water in Butter. —E. B. S., South Byron, N. Y.—Yes, 
butter contains water, though not as much as is generally 
supposed. The Connecticut Station analyzed 18 samples 
of butter—11 from private dairies and six from creameries. 
Here is the average composition given in per cents : 
CREAMERY. 
PRIVATE 
DAIRY. 
W ater. 
. 9.1 
Water. 
. 10.8 
Curd. 
. 1.1 
Curd. 
. 1.5 
Salt. 
. 2.9 
Salt. 
. 3.8 
Fat. 
. 86.9 
Fat. 
.83.9 
In other words, in buying 100 pounds of butter we pay for 
10 pounds of water, 1>£ pound of curd or cheese, and 
three pounds of salt; yet it is doubtful if we would be 
satisfied to eat pure fat. The water enables us to 
“spread” the butter, and the salt suits most of us. It 
might be well to have more of the butter made by some of 
the famous cows in dairy tests analyzed to see if there is 
not an extra amount of curd or cheesy matter. 
