524 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
August 5 
(Under this beading we propose to print questions) that seem to call 
for a Tarlety of answers. We earnestly 8sk all who have any experi¬ 
ences or suggestions to'OJTer to talk Into Tjib K. N.-Y.'s ear at once - ) 
What is the Worm ?—Can any of the readers of Tiie 
Rural tell me how to get rid of the cantaloupe worm? 
Here in Georgia the pests bore in from the lower side 
just before the melons ripen and completely destroy 
them for either shipping or home use. f. h. k. 
Athens, Ga. 
Do They Scald “> —What is the final conclusion of 
the best Eastern dairymen regarding the winter grain 
feeding of cows for cream or butter purposes ? Does 
it pay for the extra work necessary in making scalded 
slops over the same rations fed dry ? e. g s. 
Athens, O. 
R. N.-Y.—We think the majority feed dry grain, par¬ 
ticularly when ensilage is fed. Are we right ? 
Plow Coulter. —Has The Rural or any of its sub¬ 
scribers used the Lambert plow coulter advertised in 
The Rural, and will it work in a heavy growth of 
Mammoth clover, which I wish to plow in ? w. A 
Plainwell, Mich. 
R N.-Y.—We have not given this tool a practical 
test. Who have ? 
Soiling Experience Wanted —I have had thoughts 
of soiling my 20 cows ; who can give me an idea as to 
the amount 4. e., quantity of rich land that should be 
planted or sowed, and the kinds of crops? 
Hartford County, Conn. tiiomas .t. stboud. 
R. N.-Y.—The articles by Mr. Birge last winter 
covered the subject pretty well. We would like to 
know what our readers are doing now —in this dry 
season. 
What They Say. 
All About Wire Fences. —An inquirer in The 
Rural of July 15, asks for information concerning the 
cost and efficiency of wire fencing as compared with 
rails or boards. Fences are a necessary evil—necessary 
as long as we or our neighbors keep any stock : and 
an evil on account of the first cost, as well as that of 
repairs and care, their occupation of so much land, 
their harboring weeds and vermin, the frequent 
injury they cause to stock, the shade they cast over 
crops, etc. Therefore the fewer the better. The per¬ 
fect fence has not yet been found. Advertisers of 
different woven wire fences would have one think so, 
but I have failed to see a fence that has given satisfac¬ 
tion for all purposes. 
The barbed wire is the only wire fence worth con¬ 
sidering. It is not an experiment, but is a most 
indispensable fence all over the treeless plains of the 
West. Without it, it is difficult to see how they would 
have been fenced. As a Texas friend said, “ Texas 
owes its civilization to barbed wire.” Its strong point, 
of course, is its cheapness. It may not be so much 
cheaper than other fences in Virginia, but G. E. H. 
can easily compare the costs of the various fences and 
determine for himself. Its only drawback is its 
cruelty to stock. This subject has been discussed so 
much that little more remains to be said. Suffice it to 
say that its universal use in the West clearly indicates 
that stock owners believe its advantages far outweigh 
its disadvantages. The fence of the cattle ranch is 
made with two, three or four wires on posts one to 
four rods apart. If well put up, it is very efficient in 
turning stock, very much more so than any other 
fence approaching anywhere near it in cost. Cattle 
or hogs seldom injure themselves on the wires. With 
horses it is different, but two-thirds of the injury done 
to them is by wire lying loose on the ground, which 
injury, of course, could have been prevented. Horses 
sometimes injure then:selves on the fence, but that is 
usually done by getting a foot over the lower wire. 
For this reason I make my field fences with plank 
below and wires above. This also makes the best hog 
fence, as wire alone is not a satisfactory safeguard for 
these animals. This fence is better .than a plank 
fence, as it will turn stock better and be more durable. 
It is also cheaper. The post in the middle of the 
panel need be only five feet long, and may be one 
which has been used before, the other end being now 
turned down. I space the planks and wires as follows: 
First plank two inches from the ground, second plank 
four inches above that and third, seven inches above 
the second ; 10 inches higher is a wire, and 10 inches 
above that is the other wire. This makes a fence 434 
feet high, much more effective in turning stock than 
a plank fence of the same height. The only way a 
horse can get injured on it, is to jump on it, or rub it; 
neither of which he will do when once acquainted 
with it. For a lot I use post and plank. Wire is too 
dangerous, as young or weak stock are almost sure to 
be crowded into it. 
A rail fence made in the regulation manner, as a 
worm fence, is a nuisance and should not be tolerated 
on any well-regulated farm, except maybe to make a 
temporary lot. It takes up too much room and is a 
harbor for weeds, besides being a constant care. Fur¬ 
ther advantages of a wire fence are that it is easily 
put up and removed, and it will not blow down or 
cause snow to drift. While it is durable, it will not 
harbor weeds or vermin, does not obstruct the view, 
shade crops or exhaust the soil, and takes up as little 
room as a fence possibly can. Where land is worth 
$50 an acre or more, this last point is worth considering. 
There is another side to this fence question, and 
that is the sentimental. The barb-wire fence is en¬ 
tirely unpoetical to one who is used to the hedge-bor¬ 
dered roads of Illinois. A ride across the prairies of 
western Kansas, where the only indication of a road 
is a track through the Buffalo grass, bordered by an 
almost invisible wire fence, is devoid of much which 
makes a ride pleasant. It is like listening to a tin 
horn when you expected to hear an orchestra. 
Jasper County, Iowa. e. b. w. 
In reply to J. J. A., in The Rural of July 15, I 
would say that I have a small dairy and have used a 
14-foot Halladay geared mill for the past 12 years to 
grind and cut my feed, shell corn and pump water, 
and have found it perfectly satisfactory. I would 
not be without it for several times the cost if I could 
not get another. f. j. c. 
Batavia, Ill. 
Windmills and Rams. —The windmill is a success 
for grinding clear grains, sawing wood, thrashing and 
shelling, fodder cutting, pumping, etc. Connecticut 
has many of them, and Kansas must be a fine place 
for them if reports are true. The 12-foot geared mill 
does the work above mentioned. A 16-fcot mill would 
probably grind corn, cob and all, more satisfactorily. 
Let the horses rest. When from two feet and up¬ 
wards of fall, and from one gallon of water and above 
a minute can be had, use a ram. After the first two 
> 
e-i 
W O 
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& 
feet, 20 feet elevation can be counted on to each foot 
of fall. A ram of recent invention claims to do this, 
and is so much simplified as to be comparatively ex¬ 
empt from the usua 1 “disorder.” A. wetmore. 
Try a Ram. —On page 490 A. J. P. inquires about a 
pump or hyydraulic ram. While the conditions are not 
all stated, I think he can manage to use a ram by mak¬ 
ing a large box at the spring, sav 10x12 feet and 1% 
foot deep. It will hold some 4,500 quarts. Then, if 
the spring will yield six quarts and the ram uses eight, 
with this amount to start, the ram would run 2,250 
minutes, or 3724 hours. Then if it stops, the box 
will fill in 750 minutes, or 1234 hours. Plumbers fur¬ 
nish an arrangement to start and stop it automatically. 
I believe the arrangement works well. Gawthrop & 
Sons, Wilmington, Del., make a ram the plunger of 
which is provided with eight holes; by stopping 
one or more up to eight, it will still run, using less 
water. I believe A. J. P. will find lead pipe of light 
weight much the best he can use, and a ram just what 
he wants. j. p. 
THE TAG ON A DUCK. 
NO FISH IN THIS FOWL. 
A few weeks since, The R. N.-Y. gave an account 
of the Atlantic Duck Farm at Speonk, Long Island. 
The raising of ducks has been reduced to a perfect 
science there and upon other farms in the neighbor¬ 
hood. The first stage of the business is successfully 
done. A good product is turned out. But this product 
must be well sold to bring the profit that is the object 
of all the investment of capital, skill, experience and 
labor. Well grown is half sold, but the other half 
must be performed all the same. For years the ducks 
from Mr. Hallock’s farm, as well as those from several 
of his neighbors’ farms, have been sold by Mr. Edward 
DeNoyelles, of West Washington Marktt, who makes 
a specialty of this kind of goods. 
“ How are the Long Island ducks selling now?” I 
asked Mr. De Noyelles, a few days ago. 
“ The market is dull just now. The receipts of 
ducks have been heavy from different parts of the 
country as well as from Long Island, and many of the 
people who buy ducks are out of the city, so that the 
demand is not so heavy as ordinarily.” 
“ Have prices gone lower this season than in former 
years ? ” 
“ Yes, lower than for a, number of years at least. 
They have sold for as low as 14 cents per pound this 
year, but are doing a little better now. I don’t re¬ 
member their going below 16 cents per pound before 
since the Long Island people have been making such 
an extensive business of duck raising.” 
“ What is the cause of the depression ?” 
“The business has been overdone, I think. The 
supply has increased faster than the demand.” 
“ Are the Long Island ducks superior to those raised 
in other parts of the country ? ” 
“ Some of them are superior to the average run of 
ducks from other places. Most of the ducks are forced 
so rapidly in growth that they weigh five or six pounds 
at 8 to 10 weeks of age, and make very nice eating.” 
“ Is there a difference, then, between the ducks of 
different raisers on the island ? ” 
“ Yes, there is a great difference.” 
“ What causes the difference : the breed, the feed 
or the handling ? ” 
“ The feed principally. Many of the duck raisers 
feed their growing stock largely on fish, and this pro¬ 
duces an inferior article. Mr. Hallock, of the Atlan¬ 
tic Farm, his brother-in-law, Mr. Wilcox, and others 
feed no fi6h to the young ducks and produce a super¬ 
ior article. These people were the first to dispense 
with fish, and they have a good reputation for their 
goods.” 
‘ ‘How are their ducks distinguished from the others?’| 
“Every duck is tagged, and these tags have come 
to have the value of a trademark. One of them on 
a duck is an assurance that the quality is all right.” 
One of these tags used by the Atlantic Farm is re¬ 
produced on this page. 
“ Have you any of these ducks on hand now ?” 
“ Yes, here are a few barrels, and I will open one. 
You see the top is covered with canvas, and plenty of 
broken ice is used all through the barrel. They know 
how to pack stock out there. They always come in 
in first-class condition. You see that every duck has 
one of these tags.” 
“ About how many do they pack in a barrel ?” 
“ About 40. We get on an average about five barrels 
a day from the Atlantic Farm, or about 200 ducks, 
besides large quantities from other raisers.” 
“ Do they ever ship you any duck eggs ?” 
“ None excepting those from the incubators, which 
are infertile and are tested out.” 
“ Who buy them ?” 
“The Italians mostly. They sell for a loev price 
and are not bad eating. The people who buy them 
think they are a great luxury, and we can hardly 
supply the demand.” 
“ Is there much of a demand for duck eggs gener¬ 
ally ?” 
“ In the spring, they are wanted in large quantities, 
then the demand drops off, and later they sell for 
little more than hens’ eggs.” F. h. v. 
TEXAS FEVER, OR “ TICK ” FEVER. 
COMMENTS ON SOME AUTHORITIES. 
( Continued .) 
Ticks Are at the Bottom of It. 
It has been apparent for some time that the cause 
of Texas fever, direct or indirect, is attributed to the 
cattle tick, the Ixodes bovis of Riley. This is no longer 
a mere conjecture, but, though the tick has long since 
been suspected of being the culprit, the fact has only 
recently been demonstrated beyond dispute by our 
efficient Bureau of Animal Industry. 
The cattle tick makes its habitation in the warmer 
sections of the country, chiefly south of Mason and 
Dixon’s line. Here it gives preference again to certain 
sections of the several States it infests, and in these 
sections it prefers certain localities as well as certain 
grasses and other vegetation. But there is no denying 
the alarming fact that its march is gradually towards 
the North, seeming by degrees to become acclimated 
in colder latitudes. 
As the tick glories in a hot and dry atmosphere, it 
will now be apparent why I called particular attention 
to certain statements. It is claimed, and pretty well 
established, that, being a parasite, the tick cannot 
come to maturity and reproduce itself unless it can 
feast on the blood of cattle. No cattle, no ticks ; no 
ticks, no Texas fever. From this the valuable lesson 
is drawn that if they are not allowed to linger on cat¬ 
tle, a check is put on their multiplication, and their 
ultimate extinction might be secured. 
They make their appearance with the first really 
warm and dry days of spring in limited numbers, and 
it is known that there are two broods of young ones 
during the season. The first are hatched sometimes 
in July, according to the conditions of the weather. 
Their number becomes incalculable as the days become 
