1891 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
689 
bility of the different kinds of tood for domestic animals ; 
the scientific and economic questions involved in the pro¬ 
duction of butter and cheese, and such other researches or 
experiments bearing directly on the agricultural industry 
of the United States as may In each case be deemed advis¬ 
able, having due regard to the varying conditions and 
needs of the respective States and Territories.” 
In referring to this very matter. Prof. Myers, of the 
West Virginia Station, writes: ‘‘If any one wishes to 
criticise station work, let it be constructive criticism and 
not destructive. In other words, let him tell what the 
station should do, and how it can do it rather than find fault 
with what is being done. It is doubtful whether any one 
can outline a scheme of work that will entirely suit a 
dozen men in his own community.” 
It seems to us that this is a sensible way of looking at 
it. Let farmers call for experiments that would be helpful 
to them and suggest plans for work before they call 
the station “ no good 1 ” 
Influenza In Horses. 
F. M., Rehoboth, Md.— In the past 10 days I have lost 
two valuable farm horses, which seemed to be In good con¬ 
dition in every way, except for a severe sore throat in each 
case. This prevented them from either eating or drink¬ 
ing, and I found it impossible to drench them or touch the 
affected part with anything advised as a remedy or cure. 
After their death I cut into the throat of each, and found 
it very much inflamed and ulcerated. At times quantities 
of mucus came from the mouth and nostrils. Several 
other farmers in this section now have horses affected in 
like manner. What was the probable cause of the disease 
and a cure for it ? 
Ans.— 1 The symptoms indicate an outbreak of influenza 
of a severe type. Keep the sick horses in a clean, dry, airy 
stable, where there is plenty of fresh air, but where they 
will be protected from draughts. Close, damp stables are 
very unfavorable to influenza and liable to cause fatal re¬ 
sults. Allow out of-door walking exercise, according to 
their condition, when the weather is suitable. Where it is 
possible to do so, it is better to Isolate the sick from the 
healthy animals. Feed on a light, laxative diet. Do not 
give active purgatives, but keep the bowels open by feed¬ 
ing bran mashes, scalded oats and boiled flax seed with 
grass or other green food. If more is necessary, give warm, 
Castile soap-suds injections, three injections daily. With 
catarrhal symptoms and sore throat, as in the above cases, 
steaming the nostrils once or twice daily will afford great 
relief. The steaming may be over a bucket of boiling 
water; but preferably by feeding a hot-bran mash, the 
mash to be made by pouring sufficient boiling water over 
four or five quarts of wheat bran in a bucket to make a 
thin mash, which is to be placed before the animal, to be 
slowly eaten as the mash cools. Or, if the horse will not 
eat, suspend the warm mash under the nose In a feed-bag 
or ordinary sack, repeating several times daily if necessary 
or until relieved. The sore throat may be further re¬ 
lieved by applying hot-water bandages to the throat or by 
mustard applications, the mustard being wet up with 
tepid water to the consistency of sweet cream, and well 
rubbed into the hair and covered with a loose bandage for 
20 to 30 minutes, after which It may be washed off. If 
there is high fever give two ounces of liquor of acetate of 
ammonia with two drams of nitrate of potash, in one-half 
pint of water three or four times daily. Or, if there is a 
tendency to dropsical swellings, give chlorate of potash 
instead of the nitrate. If the animal becomes weak, sweet 
spirits of niter may be given in one to three ounce 
doses, instead of the liquor of acetate of ammonia. Mild 
outbreaks of influenza usually make a good recovery, with 
rest, on a light diet, good nursing, and a general course of 
treatment as indicated above. But in severe outbreaks, the 
disease becomes more serious. Various complications, 
many of which are more or less fatal, are very likely to 
occur. In such cases special treatment is demanded for 
each case, which can be prescribed only by a competent 
practitioner from personal examination. 
[dr.] f. l. kilborne. 
What Crops Take from the Soil. 
A. L. B. } Schochoh, Ky.—l. What Is the amount (each) 
of nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid extracted from 
the soil, in the production of the various farm crops, such 
as corn, wheat, clover, peas, tobacco, Timothy, etc ? 2. 
What is a good complete wheat fertilizer ? 
Ans.— 1. We have answered these q uestions a great many 
times, still they are important enough to bear repetition. 
Different varieties of grains differ slightly in composition, 
but average analyses give fairly accurate figures. The 
following list gives the amounts of these three substances 
In one ton of the products. We give pounds without 
fractions: 
Phosphoric. 
Nitrogen. Potash. acid. 
Wheat. S3 16 11 
Corn. 33 V )2 
Oats. 36 9 13 
Rye. 34 18 li 
Timothy. 2 ) 41 14 
Clover hay. 4U 37 11 
Potatoes. 7 11 3 
This is what leaves the farm when these crops are sold 
and the straw of the small grains, and the corn stalks are 
returned to the soil. A ton of wheat straw, for example, 
contains 11 pounds of nitrogen, 17 pounds of potash and four 
pounds of phosphoric acid. When this straw is used for 
bedding and manure, practically all this fertility goes back 
to the soil, so that all that is lost to the farm is what is 
sold in the form of grain. As to what is “ extracted from 
the soil” in the above table: All the potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid come from the soil, but a portion of the nitro¬ 
gen in clover, peas, and to a less extent, small grains, comes 
from some other source. A crop of clover may yield a 
full crop and still leave the upper soil richer than it was 
before. At the same time, clover is the worst hay for the 
farmer to sell, both because of the large amount of fer¬ 
tility it takes away and its low selling price. Timothy 
hay is preferred for feeding horses—one great reason being 
that the clover is not properly cured. Horse feeders are 
about the only people who make a market for hay, and they 
demand Timothy. A sheep or cow feeder has really no use 
for Timothy unless he grows it to sell and uses the money to 
buy linseed or cotton seed meal to feed with his corn¬ 
stalks. A special grain fertilizer should contain %% per 
cent of nitrogen, 10 per cent of phosphoric acid and five 
per cent of potash. 
Stones for Drains. 
A. E. W., Everett, Pa.— I want to drain a springy field 
which I wish to plant to fruit trees. How deep aud wide 
should I make the ditch, and will it be necessary to run a 
cross ditch to every place where the water crops out. The 
soil is a yellow clay and loam and I intend to use stones, as 
I can get them off of my fields. Would a tile drain draw 
the water faster ? Is it much better, and what does it cost ? 
Ans —Tiles do not draw the water. The water simply 
flows through them by the same gravity that causes it to 
run through any other kind of drain. Where stones are 
easily procured they may be used in the drains quite as 
well as the tiles, and much more cheaply. A stone drain, 
however, needs to be built with care. The stones are laid 
at the sides in such a way that they will not be displaced, 
and the flat ones are laid on the side one3. Small stones 
are then laid on the others and all the openings are well 
closed. This is to prevent any soil from falling through 
into the drain. When stones are used, the ditch must be 
wide enough to take the stones and leave space for the 
water to flow easily. Eighteen inches will be wide enough. 
The depth need not be more than enough to leave room 
to plow over the drains without Interfering with them. 
But It may be desirable in wet land to have the drains 
quite three feet deep. This will appear in the digging, for 
if the ground is found to be full of water, this depth will 
be required to dry the land. When the stones are in the 
field it is by far the cheapest to make the drains of them. 
The land is cleared at little cost and the money that would 
be spent in tiles is saved. The cost of the digging is a little 
more, that is all. As to the cost of tiles, Dr. W. I. Cham¬ 
berlain writes us that his cost $50 per mile for hard tiles 
and $40 for soft—he prefers the hard. 
Diseased Milk Followed by Drying Off of Cows. 
O. S. P., Milford Mills, Pa. —About three months ago 
some of my cows began to give bad milk; first one, tnen 
two teats, finally all the udder would become bad and the 
cow would go dry. The trouble still continues and I have 
lost nearly half of my dairy of 20 cows. I have used tur¬ 
pentine, saltpeter, cattle powder, etc., without any success. 
There does not appear to be any sickness among them. 
Ans. —You omit the most important fact by not giving 
the character of the bad milk, whether bloody, sour, 
lumpy, simply changed in color, or otherwise affected. I 
cannot therefore tell whether the trouble is due to local In¬ 
jury, to disease, or to the feed or drinking water. Make 
a careful examination of the feed and drinking water to 
be sure that both are wholesome. In any case it would be 
well to make an entire change of feed for a time, both as 
to pasture and dry feed; also change the drinking water if 
at all stagnant or charged with impurities from any source. 
Follow the general treatment advised for bloody milk in 
young cows in this issue. Should the trouble then con¬ 
tinue, write again, giving full particulars as to feed and 
water, and especially as to the character of the affected 
milk and the condition of the udder, whether hardened or 
soft when diseased. Are there any scabs or crusts on the 
nose-pad, udder or teats ? [dr.] f. l. kilborne. 
What to Do with the Land. 
J. C. D., Viola, Del.—I have one acre of land that in 
May, 1860, I fertilized with 400 pounds of the Mapes fertil¬ 
izer and sowed to oats. The product was only 10 bushels 
of oats. I put It in wheat on November 6, using gOO pounds 
more of the Mapes fertilizer and the product was only 10 
bushels of wheat and a little straw. It was seeded to Red 
Clover in March last, and now there is as fine a growth of 
clover as I ever saw on any land in this State. What will 
be best for its improvement ? Shall I cut this growth this 
fall and let it remain to rot on the land, or shall I let it re¬ 
main standing, and next year grow a first crop of clover 
for hay. I presume my best plan would be to let this 
growth remain standing and grow a crop of hay, and cut 
that about June 1, 1892, and then when the second crop of 
clover has about three weeks’ growth turn it under and 
plant la e potatoes in the furrow a3 it is plowed. I believe 
in an application of from 1,200 to 2,000 pounds of high grade 
fertilizers to the acre, and believe that planting the piece 
to po.atoes in the spring, and applying the manure down 
the potato rows and then sowing to wheat and grass Is the 
cheapest way of improving the level land and growing 
crops. I have experimented since 1880, and my experience 
leans to this opinion. 
Ans.—I f the field were ours, we should cut the clover 
this fall and let it stay on the ground. Next spring we 
should plow it all under and plant corn. The following 
year we should plant potatoes with at least 1,000 pounds 
of fertilizer and then follow with the regular rotation of 
wheat and two years in grass. 
Planting Quince Trees. 
A. D. S., McEwen, Term. —I have bought 100 quince 
trees to be delivered the last of October. What is the best 
way to set them out, etc. ? Would wood ashes be advisable 
as a fertilizer for them, and should I use any stable man¬ 
ures, or salt in limited quantity ? My soil is poor clay, but 
all kinds of fruits I have tried on it here do fairly well. 
My location is near the highest elevation between the Cum¬ 
berland and Tennessee Rivers. The natural growth of 
timber here in the woods is Red and Post Oak, with some 
hickory and chestnut, with Black Jack on the poorer 
points. The ground where I shall plant my trees is nearly 
level, just inclined to the north while there Is a deep road¬ 
bed on the south side. How close will it be advisable to 
set the trees out where ground is scarce ? 
Ans.—D ig holes large enough to take in the roots with¬ 
out crowding. Loosen the soil in the bottoms of the holes 
and All in around the roots with fine surface soil well 
packed in all the interstices, leaving the soil loose on top. 
The trees should be planted eight to twelve feet apart each 
way. Wood ashes and bone flour are excellent applied in 
the spring. Stable manure as a mulch is good. The soil 
is not an ideal one for quinces, which thrive best on a rich 
soli containing a large amount of vegetable humus, still a 
trial with liberal fertilization may prove satisfactory. 
The trees should be pruned back severely immediately 
after planting, and the ground be cultivated in some low- 
growing hoed crop. 
Broadcasting vs. Drilling Wheat. 
H. S. W., Little Utica, N. Y. —In which way will 200 
pounds par acre of commercial fertilizer do the more good: 
when the wheat and fertilizer are sown together with a 
drill, or when the fertilizer is sown broadcast after har¬ 
rowing and the wheat is sown with a drill, the fertilizer 
being stirred Into the ground ? 
Ans. —We should prefer the broadcasting. The fertilizer 
is more evenly distributed, more perfectly worked into the 
soil and not so liable to Injure the seed by coming directly 
in contact with it. We speak of what will do the more 
good. It is undoubtedly easier and quicker to drill in the 
fertilizer. 
About Some Flowers. 
N. E. D., Hillsboro, Ohio.— 1. Should the top3 of dahlias, 
cannas and caladlums be allowed to be killed by frost ? 
Should they be allowed to be frost bitten at all ? 2. What 
is the best way to keep them through the winter ? 3. 
Should the tops of geraniums that are taken up in the fall 
and are to be hung up in the cellar in the winter be cut 
off ? If so, how closely should they ba pruned ? 4. Does 
soil affect the color of roses f 
Ans.— 1. Slight frost will do little if any harm, but a 
severer frost is liable to harm them. 2. In sand in a cellar 
of equable temperature. 3. Geraniums cannot ba kept in 
this way. The story appeared some years ago in print and 
has been ‘‘going the rounds” ever since. 4. No, the soil 
does not affect the color of roses materially. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Periods of Gestation and Incubation —J. W. N., 
Keyser, N. C.—The periods of gestation and incubation In 
the same species and breeds of animals vary considerably 
according to conditions. Approximately, however, they 
are as follows in the cases mentioned: elephant 20 to 23 
months; giraffe 14 months; dromedary 12 months; buffalo— 
different varieties—10 to 12 months; ass 12 months; mare 11 
months; cow 285 days; bears 6 months; reindeer 8 months; 
monkeys 7 months ; sheep and goats 5 months ; sow 4 
months; dog, fox and wolf 62 to 63 days; cat 50 days; rab¬ 
bit and hare 30 days; squirrel and rat 28 days; Guinea pig 
21 days. The period of a mare may be diminished five or 
extended six weeks—the shortest recorded period being 287 
days and the longest 419 days, the average being 330 days. 
In case of 764 cows noted by Earl Spencer, the shortest 
period was 220 days ; the longest 313; the average 285. 
None of the calves born at an earlier date than 242 days 
could be raised. In case of 420 ewes noted, the extremes 
were 143 and 156 days. Darwin says that Merinos and 
South Downs kept under exactly the same conditions, vary 
as follows: Merinos, 150.3 days; South Downs, 144.2 days; 
half Merino and South Downs, 146 3 days ; three fourths 
South Downs, 145 5 days ; seven-eighths South Downs, 
144.2 days. In case of 25 sows noted by Mr. Tessier the ex¬ 
tremes were 109 and 123 days. The period of gestation ap¬ 
pears to be shortest in the breeds that mature early. It 
appears to be the general opinion that the period of gesta¬ 
tion is longer with male than with female offspring, 
though the evidence is hardly sufficient to warrant the 
conclusion. The duration of gestation seems also to de¬ 
pend somewhat on heredity. Indeed, size, maturity and in¬ 
herited tendencies may all have an Influence in determin¬ 
ing the period of gestation. 
The periods of incubation among birds average as fol¬ 
lows: Turkey, 26 to 30 days; Guinea hen, 25 to 26; pea-hen, 
28 to 30; ducks, 25 to 32; geese, 27 to 33; hens, 19 to 24; or an 
average of 21; pigeons, 16 to 20; canary birds, 13 to 14. 
Cold weather or an East wind will lengthen the period a 
day or two, while warm weather and a steady sitter will 
cut it short. Stale eggs also hatch later than fresh. The 
period of incubation is said to be shortened when hens’ and 
ducks’ eggs are set under a turkey. 
Wheat for Soiling.— B. W. B., Saratoga Spa, N. Y.— 
For a wheat to sow this fall for a soiling crop we should 
use any rank-growiDg, beardless variety like Clawson. 
Influence of the Moon— E. O. B., Ireland, Ohio.—Here 
is an answer “ in a nutshell” to your question : “ Has the 
moon any influence at all on plant growth or the ripening 
of grain, or on the weather, in any of its phases ?” No ! 
Chestnut Culture.—J. H. C., Tabernacle.—You can pur¬ 
chase the best varieties of chestnuts and pecans of H. M. 
Engle & Son, Marietta, Pa., or of Samuel Moon & Sons, 
Morrisville, Pa., and probably of other nurserymen adver¬ 
tising in The R. N.-Y. Paragon and Numbo are probably 
as good as any, if not better than any other varieties of 
the chestnut. The Pennsylvania Experiment Station has 
just issued another bulletin of chestnut culture with a 
talk on varieties. The address is State College, Center 
County, Pa. 
Drying off a Cow.—A. F. J., Mineral Springs, N. Y.— 
As to your cow that has “ been milked six months, for two 
of which she has carried a calf,” and which you wish to 
dry up and fatten, we do not know why you should want 
to beef an in-calf cow. We should dry her off by shorten¬ 
ing her feed and leaving a little milk in her bag at each 
milking. It is next to impossible to dry off some cows. 
While they live they will give milk. 
