1893 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
461 
Seeding; It Outlives a Man. 
“ How much seed do you sow per acre ?” 
“ A gallon or about eight pounds—or a bushel to 
eight acres.” 
“ After your rotation is well started, do you think it 
would be necessary to sow at all, is there not seed 
enough in the soil ?” 
“ There is plenty in, but it is too deep. Cultivating 
the corn has killed all seed sprouting on the surface. 
The wheat sowing in the fall has killed still more of 
it, so that in the spring there is not enough near the 
surface.” 
“ Have you any idea how long the seed will retain 
its vitality ?” 
“ Yes, 60 years at least. I will tell you why I know. 
Just over here there was an old clover mill—near 
where my grandfather lived. In those days the clover 
burr was tramped off with the horses and the chaff 
was taken to the mill to be cleaned from the seed ; 
just as we went to mill with our corn and wheat- The 
old mill was torn down and the mill race was leveled 
down. After 60 years this race was leveled down 
again, and the clover came up thick from this soil 
freshly exposed to air and moisture. In another case, 
when the banks of a race were leveled after 30 years, 
the clover came up thick.” 
“ When do you sow ?” 
“ I have followed two different plans : as long as I 
sowed no Timothy with my clover, I sowed the latter 
in March cr April, as soon as my ground got dry 
enough to harrow my wheat. Now since I sow one 
quart of Timothy with my wheat in the fall, I prefer 
to sow my clover seed the latter part of February, or 
the first of March, or, better, four pounds any time in 
February and four pounds the first of April.” 
“ What is your reason for this ? The early sowing 
may sprout, and. if caught by a hard freeze while in 
the second leaf before the third leaf forms, it is lost.” 
“ The April sowing is late, and has a chance of being 
killed by drought. But one or the other is apt to es¬ 
cape the vicissitudes of the weather, and often both 
of them, so the chances are in favor of a stand under 
this management.” 
(To be continued.) 
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GRAIN FOR PASTURED COWS. 
What grain should be fed while cows are on good grass, 
where milk and butter are desind, and how much ? 
I would advise the following ration fed, mixed and 
divided into three feeds daily, for butter and fine 
qualify of milk, while cows are in good pasture : four 
pounds of corn meal, two of bran, four of ground oats, 
two of oil meal, old process. john mayer. 
Mountain Side Farm, N. J, 
Bran is very cheap here in the Northwest, owing to 
our proximity to the Minneapolis mills. It generally 
ranges in price at this time of the year from $9 to $13 
a ton. At these figures I believe it will pay well to 
feed four or five pounds to each cow giving milk, even 
though the pastures are good. It would seem reason¬ 
able that the droppings from bran fed cows should 
materially help tre pastures. We have made no ex¬ 
periments yet in this direction, believing that Prof. 
Roberts’s work at Cornell would, when completed, 
give us reliable data. I regard his experiments as ex¬ 
tremely important, and know they are being watched 
by farmers with much interest. w. A. henry. 
Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station. 
“I Wish I Did Know.” 
I don’t know, I wish that I did. The only time that 
I was ever able to make an accurate trial of grain 
feeding for milk on grass, was while working for 
Prof. Shelton at the Kansas Experiment Station. In 
that test, which lasted through the summer, we got 
no returns whatever from feeding bran, and moderate 
returns from corn meal and ground oats. We are now 
feeding our cows two pounds of bran and one pound 
of cotton-seed meal each per day. They are kept in 
the stable and fed all the grass they will eat three 
times a day—the grass being fed fresh from the field. 
If I had grade cows I would substitute corn meal for 
the bran in our ration, as corn meal gives a harder 
butter with a better flavor than that from bran. I 
would like to see our experiment stations make a 
thorough test of the best combinations of feeds for 
butter while cows are on grass, paying particular 
attention to hardness and flavor in the butter. We 
can test the effects of feed fairly well in winter feed¬ 
ing, but in summer, with the hurry of planting, hay¬ 
ing, harvesting and cutting ensilage we cannot find 
the time. h m. cottrell. 
Ellerslie Stock Farm. 
No Grain with Two-cent Milk. 
The question of feeding grain to cows at pasture is 
one that with me would depend on two points: the 
price realized for the product and the condition of the 
pasture. In no case would it be profitable to feed 
grain and sell milk at 1% cent per quart, or butter at 
18 cents per pound. But suppose that a fair price is 
realized, will it then pay to feed grain ? With good, 
luxuriant pasture, I still say no. I have had oppor¬ 
tunities to compare the two systems—grain and no 
grain. While employed at the Cornell University Ex¬ 
periment Station, such experiments were in my 
charge, and we found no gain, or only about enough 
to pay for the grain consumed. Since then I have had 
occasion to notice it under different conditions. Last 
year, with a large herd on a limited amount of past¬ 
ure, I fed grain in moderate quantity. I am confident 
that we were greatly benefited by it. Possibly not 
more than enough to pay for the grain, but the cows 
were in much better condition for their winter work 
than they could possibly have been without the sup¬ 
plementary grain ration. Under such conditions I 
think it wise to feed grain. Of course, we should 
consider the increased value of the manure from grain- 
fed animals, but this would be hard to estimate. If 
feeding grain to cows on good pasture, I would feed 
from four to six pounds, according to the individual 
requirements of the cow, of a mixture by weight of 
two parts of wheat bran, two parts of cotton-seed 
meal, and one part of corn meal. Besides the above 
feeds, I have had excellent results from corn bran 
substituted for the wheat bran, when a prime article 
of the latter could not be obtained. e. tarbell. 
Sullivan County, N. Y. 
The Experiments at Cornell. 
We have conducted a series of experiments with two 
different herds of cows, extending through four sea¬ 
sons, upon this subject. In brief, we have never 
obtained any results which go to show that any money 
return will b? received from feeding grain to cows 
upon fresh, full pasture. In one experiment extend¬ 
ing through a whole season, with cows thin in flesh 
upon rather scant pasture, we got enough increase in 
milk and butter to just about pay for the grain con¬ 
sumed. In other experiments, with cows in good 
flesh in June and July on a luxuriant pasture, we 
obtained no more product from those fed grain than 
those that had no grain. This present season, although 
we have been making no experiment, we have noticed 
that many of our cows, when turned upon grass, re¬ 
fused to eat grain at all, although it was offered to 
them. The feeding of grain to cows at pasture un¬ 
doubtedly results in a considerable saving of pastur¬ 
age, just how much it is extremely difficult to esti¬ 
mate. It is also true that so soon as the pastures be¬ 
gin to be dry the cows will show an increase in 
production from the grain fed. Just when it will 
best pay to begin to feed grain is a question that 
must be decided separately in each individual case. 
It should be just so soon as there is any falling off in 
the luxuriance and succulence of the pastures. In a 
great majority of seasons this will come between the 
first and middle of July. This present season, with 
us, it is even earlier than that. In occasional rare 
seasons it will be delayed until the first of August. 
We ordinarily use bran and cotton-seed meal, three 
parts of bran to one part of cotton-seed meal, by 
weight, for the summer grain ration. Many prefer a 
less nitrogenous ration for summer use, and some are 
even inclined to advocate a ration of clear corn meal. 
Where corn is abundant and cheap, it may certainly 
form a prominent part of the summer grain ration. 
(prof.) h. h. wing. 
Big Knee in Cows. 
W. L. M. P ., Roxbury, N. Y .—What is the best treat¬ 
ment to give cows that have enlarged knees caused by 
coming in contact with stanchions ? 
Ans. —If the enlargement of the knee is general and 
hard, in the nature of a chronic enlargement or thick¬ 
ening of the tissues covering the joint, treatment will 
be of little or no benefit, especially if the cows con¬ 
tinue to be stabled. Painting daily with the com¬ 
pound tincture of iodine until well blistered might re¬ 
duce the enlargement somewhat. If, however, there 
is a swelling which apparently contains liquid, this 
should be repeatedly drawn off with a small trocar 
and canula or aspirating needle, after which the 
tincture of iodine can be applied as before, f. l. k. 
Strained Muscles in a Horse. 
Q. L. B., Walter, S. C .—I have a horse that has 
strained the leaders below the knee. It has been done 
about a month, but doesn’t seem to get much better. 
The leg is very sore below the knee ; the joint is all 
right, but he doesn’t want to put his weight on it. It 
is swollen some, with some fever. I have used lini¬ 
ments, but they don’t seem to do any good. What 
would you advise ? 
Ans. —At the outset, instead of using strong lini¬ 
ments, you should have employed soothing measures, 
as frequent bathing with hot water, or cooling appli¬ 
cations, until the heat and tenderness had subsided. 
Then strong liniments or blisters would have been 
advisable. If there is still much swelling and tender¬ 
ness, bathe frequently with hot water and follow with 
an application of soap liniment, rubbing well into the 
skin with the hands. This liniment can be obtained 
of any first-class druggist. If the horse stands with 
the heels raised, apply a high-heeled shoe for a few 
days When the tenderness and swelling have sub¬ 
sided, if there is still lameness or thickening of the 
tendons, apply a bin-iodide of mercury blister. F. L. k. 
An Itchy Mare. 
J. H S., Girard, Kan. —My mare has an intolerable 
itching when she is worked and gets warm or g-ets 
wet. After working her she will bite her legs and 
sides ; is uneasy when in the harness. She took the 
complaint about a year ago. She does not show any 
bare spots or rough places to indicate mange or sur¬ 
feit, only when she is worked regularly in hot weather. 
She Is apparently healthy otherwise, and keeps in 
good flesh. The mare is never entirely free from the 
complaint, but is a great deal worse when warm from 
work or when wet. 
Ans.— Pruritus is usually due to over-feeding on 
grain, and to close, hot, or otherwise unhealthy sta¬ 
bles. The trouble is most common in hot weather, 
but may occur from the above causes during the 
cooler seasons. Nearly every horse suffers more or 
less from severe itching, caused by sweating in har¬ 
ness during hot weather. This natural condition 
must not be mistaken for disease, unless it becomes 
too marked or continuous. The condition can be 
largely avoided by restricting the diet and feeding 
grass, roots, or an occasional bran mash, sufficient to 
keep the bowels loose. Occasionally washing the 
horse so as to keep the skin clean, using Castile soap, 
a little borax or bicarbonate of potash in the water, 
will greatly reduce the itching. Treatment consists 
in giving one pound of Glauber salts, dissolved in one 
to two quarts of warm water, as a drench to open the 
bowels. Then give one large tablespoonful of the 
following powder on the feed night and morning : 
sulphate of sodq and carbonate of potash of each one- 
fourth pound, powdered nux vomica one ounce, mix. 
To relieve the itching of the skin, wash with water 
made alkaline by the addition of the bicarbonate of 
potash, or slightly acid by adding a few drops of sul¬ 
phuric acid. F. L. KILBORNE. 
Questions About Manure. 
A. K. S., Van Wert, Ohio. —1. Will not manure put 
under cover heat and firefang just as badly as when 
piled out-of doors ? 2. Is Prof. Massey correct when 
he says that manure will not heat enough to kill weed 
seeds and that it will not heat to 100 degrees, and that 
a hot-bed will rarely heat to over 80 degrees ? 
Ans. —1. The method of keeping manure under 
cover in an open shed, does not expose it so much to 
evaporation as that of keeping it in heaps out-of-doors. 
These manure sheds are used as a run for the stock in 
wet weather and during the winter, and the manure 
becomes packed hard by the treading so that there is 
little moisture lost and injurious heating is prevented. 
2. I don’t know that any one has positively said that 
manure will not heat under any circumstances over 
100 degrees, but only that it has not been known to 
get up a temperature over 100 degrees. There may 
be conditions under which it may be so dry as to heat 
to 150 degrees; it is then the loss of moisture that 
encourages this heating, as, so long as it is kept moist, 
it cannot well get hotter than 100 degrees, as then the 
change of the water into steam or vapor takes up most 
of the heat and keeps the temperature down. In a 
hot-bed the manure is not exposed to much evapora¬ 
tion and the soil upon it keeps it cool, and this is the 
reason it is used for that purpose, viz., to keep a 
steady, moderate heat. And it is the business of those 
who use hot-beds to prevent them from drying out 
sufficiently for the production of great heat. I have 
tested the heat of many manure heaps and when they 
were steaming freely, and never found one to be as 
hot as 100 degrees, but ranging from 70 to 80 and no 
more. Some steaming manure will feel quite cool to 
the hand. h. stew art. 
Sport in the Potato Field. 
W. L. D., New Millport, Pa. —Last year I had a nice 
field of Dakota Red potatoes and among them at dig¬ 
ging time I found one large white tuber exactly like 
the Dakota Red in shape, but instead of having deep 
eyes it was perfectly smooth. Is this a sport or how 
came it there ? 
Ans. —Unquestionably a sport if but one tuber to the 
vine differed as you describe. If all the tubers of the 
vine so differed, it was no doubt other seed. 
