1891 
545 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
-WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH GREEN?” AGAIN. 
Some years ago, when I was considerably younger than I 
am now, I was listening to a young man talking to a suc¬ 
cessful business man and giving him considerable advice. 
The man heard him through and he quietly remarked 
that about the only thing he knew of, that was cheaper 
than blue sky was advice, and I have lived long enough to 
find out the truth of the remark, especially since The 
R. N.-Y., invited the thinkers to tell Green what was the 
matter with him. I had always thought the trouble was 
that he lived as well as his neighbor, whose Income was 
double what Green’s was; but it seems that I have been 
mistaken. 
Before I go any further I want (in justice to my banker) 
to make a correction. In my first communication of Jan¬ 
uary 24, I said : “ I know by bitter txperience that the times 
aie hard;” but the typo made it “terms," which puts 
quite a different meaning on the sentence, when the fact 
is my banker charges me only six per cent interest in ad¬ 
vance, and ten cents if I renew my note at maturity, with 
my 12-year-old boy as an indorser. Could any of the wisest 
reformers ask any better terms then that ? [To decipher 
the penmanship, or rather a good deal of the penmanship 
in friend Green’s manuscript, would be no easy task for a 
Champollion or a Wilkinson, or any of the other famous 
experts in hieroglyphics.—Proof-reader.j 
E. A. B. has it that I am locoed ; but what is it to be 
locoed? In my travels out West, if I remember aright, 
they told me if a horse ate a certain weed, it unfitted him 
for use of any kind, and they said he was locoed. How 
would it do for E. A. B. to take au occasional nip of the 
weed himself, and then, perhaps, he could In time make a 
report to The Rural wherein he could say that he had 
douhled his property valuation, and had nothing particu¬ 
lar to grumble about. He says, suppose Mr. Green’s farm 
had depreciated 30 per cent instead of appreciating 100 per 
cent; he will have to take it out in supposing, for I never 
have as yet owned any real estate that I allowed to de¬ 
preciate on my hands, and notwithstanding the present 
depression, I have been offered $1,003 advance on the pur¬ 
chase price of my 50-acre mortgaged farm. He further 
says : “ Now, honestlDjun, don’tyou grumble sometimes?” 
Of course I do, but not at the other fellow very often; I 
try to have him do the most of th-tt. I don’t pay $30 for a 
ton of fertilizer until I am fully well satit fled that it is 
worth the money. My plan is to find some man that wants 
to sell badly enough to take $30 for something worth $35. 
Thanks for the invitation to “come West and take a broad 
view of the country. It is a big one.” There are few 
counties south of Jackson, Mich., that I have not been in, 
and I never saw batter land than most of it or better 
farmers or farm tu'.ldings, and in justice to all of them 
that I met, E. A. B. is the first one to ask odds of any man 
at any business. 
Another correspondent is afraid that some one will take 
Green as the model American farmer, and sounds a note 
of warning, and Green says, Amen ! better follow such 
men as T. B. Terry, of Ohio, Theron Loomis, of Wiscon¬ 
sin, Scott Elliott, of Kansas, I. W. H , of Illinois, and 
scores of men that have made tarming a success by hard 
work and good management, but who find no time to go 
fox hunting on a cold trail left by Jay Gould 
_ w. b green. 
The Farmers Club. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
| Every query mim be acco npaiiieU by the name and address of the 
writer to Insure attention. Before astlm a question please see If it Is 
not answered In our advertising columns. Astc only a few questions at 
one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
ARE YOU THE FRIEND OF A WEED ? 
W. J. S.. Albion, N. Y. —1. Are weeds of any value on 
land where there is no crop ? 
2 What would be the effect, as regards fertility, of cul¬ 
tivating such land thoroughly clean all the time ? 
Under Certain Circumstances, Yes. 
What is a “ weed ? ” Is it ‘ a plant out of place ? ” In 
this sense I am opposed to wee is. But if it means all 
spontaneous herbage in our fields and gardens, we shall 
have to discriminate. It is much better to have the ground 
shaded, held together and filled with harmless and easily- 
destroyed vegetation, than to leave it bare, if that were 
possible. In light soils, for instance, sorrel is the farmer's 
friend, for it spends its time in making the potash of such 
soils available to succeeding growths. The same is true 
with regard to many other so called weeds These are as 
much “Nature’s sweet restorers” as “ balmy sleep.” Let 
them grow. Plow them under occasionally, and let them 
grow again, until you are ready to make some better use 
of the land. God knows His business. He did not make 
this infinits variety of vegetable growth which will not 
leave any spot of earth quite barren, without a purpose. 
Ltt the weed grow until you are ready to make some¬ 
thing of more worth grow In its place. T. h. hosklns. 
Orleans Co , Yt. 
Weeds Are “ No Good.” 
I am no friend to weeds. They are among the worst 
enemies of the farmer. I know of no place where they 
can be useful. I certainly would plow them under in or¬ 
der to exterminate them, and with that purpose only. I 
can’t conceive that a weed would be useful under any cir¬ 
cumstances, and would prefer clean cultivation always. 
d c. LEWIS. 
Weeds Have Their Good Points. 
To me any plant growing where it Is not wanted is a 
weed. Weeds thus defined are always worse than useless. 
But perhaps this correspondent uses the term “weeds” 
to designate such plants as grow voluntarily, and are 
found by the farmer to be of little or no value, and which 
he finds it necessary to destroy so that his planted crops 
may thrive. Weeds according to this definition, I think 
are sometimes useful I think their growth and decay 
upon the land add considerably to its fertility. I once 
heard a man in Tennessee remark that he did not see why 
he had no better crop of wheat, as he had plowed in a good 
crop of weeds. I can certify that the crops of weeds which 
I saw growing were bounteous, being very thick and as 
high as my head. That man evidently believed weeds 
were good for manure. When I bought this farm there 
was one field which had been left to produce weeds for a 
year or two previous, and that field yielded a much better 
crop of corn than I expected, and I credited a considerable 
share of the excess to the crop of weeds which I plowed in. 
At the present time I allow weeds to grow among my 
blackberry canes after the last cultivation, which is about 
in blossoming time. The weeds cover the ground and pre¬ 
vent the dust from soiling the fruit If they get too high 
I cut them down. I think the mulch which they form is 
beneficial to the canes in winter. I suppose I could use 
a mulch of old hay or straw, but it would be quite expen¬ 
sive, and as the weeds are annual*, they leave the ground 
in good condition to be cultivated in the soring. I sowed 
millet two or three times as a mulch, but now a kind of 
wild annual grass much resembling millet, comes up 
abundantly. As to using weeds for shading the ground, 
presumably to prevent evaporation, I do not think the end 
would be attained. My experience is that the more vege¬ 
tation is growing on the ground the faster the moisture is 
used up. There is more evaporation from the foliage of a 
heavy plant growth than could possibly take place from 
the surface of the soil. I think the effect of cultivating 
the land through the summer, and keeping it bare of 
vegetation, would be wasteful of fertility and injurious 
on any soil like mine—a fine loam. I would certainly not 
recommend such treatment. M. m. 
Medway, Mass. 
Can Weeds Arrest Nitrogen? 
I wish to call attention to the experiments of L iwe3 and 
Gilbert, which seem to teach that of soluble nitrogen ap¬ 
plied to the soil only a small per cent is recovered as an in¬ 
crease of the crops. Neither does it accumulate in the 
soil, but is always present in the drainage water, showing 
that soluble forms of nitrogen do not tend to form insol¬ 
uble combinations with the soil; but rather to drain away 
and be lost. This, then, is the fate of a considerable por¬ 
tion of all soluble nitrogen applied to the soli in t ie pres¬ 
ence of vegetation, and of ah of it in the absence of vege¬ 
tation. Again, the processes by which the insoluble com¬ 
bined nitrogen of the soil in the shape of vegetable mould Is 
nitrified and made to furnish soluble nitrogen for the use 
of plants go on as natural processes within the soil and in¬ 
dependent of the presence or absence of vegetation. Such 
soluble nitrogen is subject to oss by drainage, and the 
only agency by which the total loss of this precious article 
can be prevented is the roots of growing plants. A per¬ 
petual fallow would then be continually subject to loss of 
) itrogen, and any portion that may be caught and retained 
by vegetation is clearly a clean saving of fertility, what¬ 
ever the character of that vegetation may be. Therefore 
as to weeds, I would say both “No” and “Yes.” In the 
summer when nitrification is active and during the dry 
months when there is no 'rainage, allowing weeds to pos¬ 
sess the ground is but to again render Insoluble and for the 
time inactive much nitrogen that might otherwise go to 
the production of a useful crop. I question if they do any 
good. On the other hand, during the heavy rains and 
drainage of the fall and winter mouths the land ought not 
to be destitute of vegetation, and rather than nothing, I 
would prefer the weeds, yet why not grow something bet¬ 
ter ? [PROF.] EUGENE DAVENPORT. 
Michigan Agr’l College. 
Loss of Cud In Cows, Etc. 
J. P. D., Dickey, Idaho. —1. What is the proper treat¬ 
ment for a cow that is ‘ losing her cud ? ” 2. I have a fat 
yearling calf that wheezes and coughs as if there were 
some obstruction in the throat; aadasmall lump can be 
felt in the windpipe. What should be done with it ? 
Ans.— 1. A cow “loses her cud” when from digestive 
disorder or any other disease she ceases to ruminate. The 
loss of the cud is but a symptom of various diseases, and 
is not a disease of itself. The cow loses her cud very much 
as we lose our appetites when we are sick from any cause 
When we recover, our appetites return ; with the cow her 
appetite will return, or she will “ find her cud,” when she 
recovers sufficiently to feel like ruminating or chewing the 
cud. The common practice of giving artificially prepared 
cuds is of no benefit whatever, unless some constituent of 
the preparation possesses medicinal properties and assists 
in correcting the disorder. In that case, it would be much 
better to give the medicine in solution or as a drench in¬ 
stead of in the form of a ball. Treatment consists in 
treating whatever disease is the cause of the loss of ap¬ 
petite. The animal should be carefully watched for other 
symptoms in order to ascertain the nature of thedisetse. 
No special treatment can be advised on so general a 
symptom as loss of cud. 2. A personal examination would 
be necessary to ascertain the nature of the trouble, before 
advising treatment for the calf. Such cases cannot usually 
be satisfactorily treated from descriptions. If the calf is 
not especially desirable for breeding, being fat, it might 
be best to kill it for meat. 
Quantity of Paris-green for Potato Beetles. 
E. P. B , QaUupville, N. Y.. —In Mr. Carman’s book on 
“ Potato Culture” he says that a dessertspoonful of Paris- 
green thoroughly mixed with two pailfuls of plaster is 
sufficient for destroying the potato bugs; is that the or¬ 
dinary Paris green or something more powerful ? I have 
used an ordinary tablespoonful to a pail of plaster thor¬ 
oughly mixed, with no success whatever, and I have also 
used a tablespoonful to a pail of water with about the 
same results. In order to save th vines I had to catch the 
bugs. The Paris-green was put p in pound boxes and 
marked “strictly pure.” How am I to know whether it is 
adulterated or not ? Can I send a sample of it through the 
mails and to whom to have it analyzed ? My applications 
were all made within a week with no rain intervening and 
I put about three pounds on ah acre. 
Ans.—O ur friend may rest assured that a dessertspoon¬ 
ful of pure Paris green will suffice for two pailfuls of plas¬ 
ter if the green an plaster have been thoroughly mixed. 
So, too, a dessertspoonful of green (If pure) to a pailful of 
water (about two gallons) is ample. Either our friend has 
failed to get pure Paris-green or he has not mixed it suf¬ 
ficiently with the plaster or has not kept it sufficiently 
stirred in the water. A sample of the Paris-green may be 
sent to Dr. Peter Collier, Geneva, N. Y., for analysis. 
Rural Wheats. 
J MR, Riverda'e, Mo —In a package accompanying 
this I send The R N.-Y. three kinds of wheat heads that 
grew from the packet of Stewart Wneit. The growth 
was about equally divided bet ween the long bearded and 
smooth varieties, with a few of the short white heads. 
What are they ? In testing a new variety I would like to 
know what I am raising. Tne others contain only one va¬ 
riety to the plot. 
Ans.— The shorter white heads should be W Hit’s, nearly 
beardless. Bailey is also nearly beardless with white 
chaff. Roberts is bearded, brown chaff. Stewart is 
bearded, the longest heads of all and the latest. Beal is a 
club-head, bearded, white chaff, and Johnson is a sym¬ 
metrical head with white chaff, bearded. 
A Hard-milking Heifer. 
E. D. Q., Ashburnham, Mass .—Wnat is the remedy for 
hard milking In a heifer? Can the teat slitter used for re¬ 
moving ob tructions in the teat be employed without dan¬ 
ger of causing leaky teats? 
Ans —The use of the lead probes would be much more 
certain than the teat slitter. Iu fact, the use of the teat 
slitter might cause the teats to close entirely, while heal¬ 
ing, if the probes were not used to ke9p them open. Insert 
and tie a lead probe in each teat, and allow it to be worn 
until the opening Is dilated. Such lead probes can be ob¬ 
tained of John Reynolds, No. 303 Fourth Avenue, New 
York city, m l probably of other dealers in milking tubes 
and tt at slitters. There is very little danger of causing 
the cow to leak her milk, unless the treatment is carried 
too far. 
Melon Pests, Etc. 
M. P. B., Huntsville, Ala.— 1. Wnat should be done to 
multitudes of ants, bugs and grub-worms that infest my 
melon vines ? The grubs appear to have grown in the 
manure. 2. Which are the best blackberry, 3, raspberry, 
and, 4, strawberry ? 5. What is the best time to plant 
each ? When can I get a crop ? 
Ans —1. They maybe the larvae of the striped melon 
beetle. 2. That depends. The best for one place is not 
necessarily the best for another. At present we are in¬ 
clined to regard the Mlnnewaski favorably. Next to this, 
try the Klttatinny. 3. We should at present choose be¬ 
tween Hllborn and Lovett’s Early. 4. Sharpless, Down¬ 
ing, Shuster’s Gem, Bubach, Parker Earle. 5. Plant 
strawberries from now on until September 15, or wait 
until early spring. If you plant within two months, the 
plants will give a small crop next season. Raspberries 
and blackberries may be transplanted as soon as the leaves 
begin to turn in the fall. 
Weak Wheat Stems. 
C. S M., Franklin, Tenn —My farm of 125 acres has 
been seeded to wheat for 12 to 15 years in succession. The 
land is so rich that it produces too much straw; the wheat 
grows from five to six feet high, and is so weak that it 
lodges and is badly tangled. For three years I h ave sown 
clover in the spring and turned it under in September and 
put the wheat in about October 5 to 15. What can I do to 
stiffen the stems or keep the crop from growing so tall ? I 
don’t want to plant any other crop unless I am forced to 
do so. 
Ans.— Probably there is no remedy except that of raising 
other crops without manure. We should, however, try a 
dressing of lime or leached ashes. Try an application of 
salt on a small plot. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
The Qandy as a Fertilizer.— J. C. T., R'chmond, Va.— 
For a strawberry to fertilize the Haverlanci and Bubach we 
would choose Gandy’s Prize. 
Abortion in Heifer 8— N. J., Walton, N. Y.—As to your 
heiftr that aborted last fall and which has since failed to 
become pregnant though she comes into heat regularly 
and is apparently healthv, an examination per vaglnum 
should first be made, to ascertain the condition of the neck 
of the womb, as well as of the womb itself, to enable us to 
advise treatment. 
Abundance Plum, etc —F. S , Puiladelphia, Pa —1 We 
think the Abundance Plum comes up to what Is claimed 
for it. It is of excellent quality and has been immensely 
productive. It is the same as the Botan. 2. Transplant 
trees either in the fall or spring as you prefer. For your 
climate the middle of October would bo about right. 
Discharge from Cow's Nose.— J. A. Carey, Idaho.— 
About your cowthaj has “ pus or water form d a ound 
her nose in the morning,” we cannot advise you without 
further information. If there is a nasal discharge, try 
steaming the nostrils once daily from a sack hung over 
the head, containing a hot-bran mash. If, however, the 
trouble is purely local, with sores or scabs on the nose, 
anoint t wice daily wltn curb slated vaseline until healed. 
