36 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Have I exaggerated? Let us see. Farmers’ Bulletin 
No. 21 gives the value of the manure of a 1 , 000 -pound 
cow per year as $20.27, or about $2.44 per month. 
These five Jerseys are notlikely to average 1 ,000 pounds 
apiece. After making due allowances, it will he found 
that my calculation very closely coincides with actual 
experiment, and that the net profit per cow was $ 10 , 
instead of $8.79. At the same time, it is one of the 
strongest arguments in favor of Thk it. N.-Y.’s re¬ 
peated assertion that the Primer Science figures must 
be taken comparatively. If 11. B. W. lived adjacent 
to his selling point, he would probably have to credit 
his cows with about $50 more ; if he lived still more 
remote, the express charges would swallow his milk, 
cans, cows and all. 
I am far, however, from indorsing his ration. It 
lacks clover. In my opinion, clover should be adopted 
as the standard, just as other sciences have adopted a 
particular something and rated it as 1. I may be a 
crank on the clover question. If so, you are at liberty 
to “ turn ” me, but figures will have to be presented 
proving that something else will prove more economi¬ 
cal in the long run. I give below a table of a 100- 
ration experiment which I tried satisfactorily last 
winter with a lot of cows I wished to test. The figures 
give whole pounds and may help the beginner to ascer¬ 
tain the proportionate amount of concentrated food 
necessary for a given amount of roughage in the shape 
of clover : 
Muscle- Fat- Pure Organic 
Pounds, makers, formers, fat. matter. 
Clover hay. 2,000 161 781 43 1,570 
Linseed meal, o. p... 75 21 24 5 64 
Cotton-seed meal — 150 55 28 19 127 
Corn meal. 500 36 331 16 418 
Bran. 300 34 163 10 247 
Total. 306 1,327 93 2,426 
The ratio is 1 to 5.09. The amount of organic mat¬ 
ter fed each day is 24.26 pounds. With clover at $ 8 , 
linseed and»eotton-seed meals at $25, and corn meal 
and bran at $20 per ton, this rich ration costs about 19 
cents per day. Quite a saving on H. B. W.’s ration. 
The 100 rations cost, at the prices given, $18.82. The 
manurial value is $14.63. Deducting 50 per cent, or 
$7.31, from $18.82, we have $11.51 as the actual amount 
appropriated by the cows for their sustenance, and the 
production of milk. We got a fraction over a pound 
of butter a day per cow, for which 25 cents was gladly 
paid at the house. Substitute straw as roughage for 
the clover, and see how much fun you will have trying 
to make a safe ration with concentrated food. I know 
of but one thing that will do it J. C. senger. 
SOME SHORT DAIRY HINTS. 
It is now known that if a cow is frightened or hurt 
while she is being milked, she has power to, and usually 
does, hold back the butter fat from the milk. It fol¬ 
lows that if a cow has a sore teat, her milk is usually 
poorer. The teats of some cows are easily caused to 
crack and become chapped and sore. The best article 
to apply is something like cosmoline or vaseline. I 
get what is called petrolatum. It is apparently the 
same as the first named, but costs only 25 cents per 
pound, or less by the quantity. I keep some in the 
stable, and whenever a sore or crack on a teat appears, 
use it freely. It is a useful thing in the house for 
cracks or chapping of the hands, or for any chafing or 
abrasian of the skin. 
The training of the cow for her life work should 
begin when she is a little calf. Children make the 
best calf trainers, and calves make the best kind of 
children’s pets. Every cow should be trained to stand 
quietly during milking. A properly trained and cared 
for heifer will, in most cases, stand quietly the first 
time she is milked. There are born kickers, and some¬ 
times a heifer’s udder will get sore and then she will 
make trouble. A cow should be trained to lead, and 
it is just fun for children to lead the calves. 
The fashion in cow-stable temperatures is changing. 
It was 62 degrees; now it is going down to 45. It seems 
as though the stations ought to tell us something 
about the proper stable temperature. A stable can 
be too warm, it can be too cold ; where is the proper 
medium ? The tuberculosis scare has set men to 
thinking about ventilation and warmth. Comfort is 
the main thing with cows, and if a cow is cold, she 
cannot be taking comfort. The talk about wasting 
feed in cold stables is true, but may be carried too 
far. The greatest economy of feed would require a 
temperature of blood heat, but no one advises that. 
A stable in which manure does not freeze unless the 
temperature goes below 20 below zero, should be 
warm enoxigh. 
Cotton-seed meal was never so low in pi-ice befoi*e 
in the North. It is $1.25 per hundi*ed, the same as 
corn meal. Bran hei*e is $1.10. I have fed cotton-seed 
meal for 12 years to many animals, and have never 
seen the least ill effect. I have had only one cow get 
off her feed in this time, and she only twice. I never 
give a cow cotton-seed meal until she is past three 
years old. I have given old cows that were accustomed 
to it, three or more quarts a day, but the ration I have 
settled down upon as best for me, is whole corn ensi¬ 
lage in the morning, about 30 to 40 pounds ; hay at 
night, 6 to 10 pounds ; cotton-seed meal thrown on the 
hay, one to two quarts. This may not be an ideal 
ration for many, but for a man who lives among the 
lulls on a wet, stony farm on which he can grow only 
grass and corn, it serves a good purpose. 
Lamoille County, Vt. J. w. newton. 
R. N.-Y.—What does a “ quart” weigh ? 
THE WINTER IN TENNESSEE. 
VOLUNTEER CRIMSON CLOVER ; STOCK ANI) FEED. 
Last summer I spoke of my experiment with Crim¬ 
son clover. After cutting the plot for seed, I thought 
that I was done with the clover as an annual, until I 
should prepare and sow other ground. But imagine 
my surprise, when, in passing over the ground about 
a month after cutting for seed, I found a fine stand of 
volunteer clover fi*om the shattered seed. I had in¬ 
tended to plow up the lot for fall-setting of straw¬ 
berries, but left it alone to see if the little plants were 
hardy enough to hold their own on unplowed ground 
against our hot July and August sun and drought. 
We had the driest fall up to October 1 that I ever 
saw, but the little plants endured it well, and now 
show a better sod than any Red clover sown last 
spring in this neighborhood. I have pastured it some 
to hold it back, and until this present blizzard, it was 
holding its own and looking well. When a neighbor 
fai’mer objects to Cinmson clover because it is an an¬ 
nual, I show him this plot; then show him my 10 -acre 
field adjoining it of the Crimson clover, sowed in well 
prepared soil August 31, in the midst of our drought. 
The general verdict is, Wonderful ! Wonderful! 
We are now having a severe spell of winter, the 
worst known in December in 40 years. I hope that it 
has come in time this year to save us a fruit crop ; the 
past two years, the mild weather of December and 
January advanced the fruit buds so far that all were 
killed. With the frost now in the ground, they will 
certainly not be started in January, and we have 
hopes for some fruit. 
Ours is a noted stock country ; the saddle horse and 
the mule get a great deal of attention. Many noted 
pacers have this as their native heath. Our stock 
x-aisers are now well supplied with fine young stock, 
but prices are so low that they feel badly discouraged, 
though many are learning to economize in feeding, 
sheltering and care, so as to be able to rne’et the mar¬ 
ket. Much feed, usually wasted, has been saved this 
year. We had a very fine corn crop. We raise and 
feed sorghum heavily to mules, horses and cattle. I 
find in my own exper.ence that with sorghum cut up 
for my dairy cows, my coi'n ground with the cob, a 
few acres of cattle beets, turnips and carrots t give 
succulence, I can feed at about half what I have been 
paying for bran and cotton-seed meal, and my cows 
are doing just as well. J. N. M. 
Darks Mills, Tenn. 
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Six Best Sour Cherries. 
A. B., North Syracuse , N. Y .—I wish to get some dis¬ 
interested information on the merits of some of the 
newer sorts of morello or sour cherries, such as Dye- 
house, Ostheim, etc. I notice that certain nursery¬ 
men having the young trees, recommend the Dyehouse 
and Ostheim as being a great acquisition, while others 
not having them for sale say that they are “ no good, 
let them alone,” and the same of some other fruits. 
Now it seems to be difficult to get impartial and reli¬ 
able information from some nui-serymen (not all) re¬ 
gaining new fruits. They are likely to overpi'aise 
some new fruit offei’ed by themselves, and condemn 
with faint pi*aise, or ridicule, what others are intro¬ 
ducing. As I expect to plant a sour cherry orchard, 
I would like a list of about six of the best sour cher¬ 
ries for market, eai*ly, medium and late. I have an 
orchard now in bearing of Early Richmond, Louis 
Phillippe and Montmorency. I am well satisfied with 
Montmoi'ency for mid-season, but want one or two 
later sorts as satisfactory. Louis Phillippe is fine in 
quality, but too shy a bearer. If Dyehouse is really 
what is claimed for it, I would plant it for early in 
place of Early Richmond. Is the Dwarf or Rocky 
Mountain cherry worth planting for its fruit ? Can 
any reader of The R. N.-Y. give any facts regarding 
the Dwarf Rocky Mountain cherry ? The sweet cher¬ 
ries are short lived here, and when they live long 
enough to bear a little, the birds get the lion’s share. 
Ans. —“ We are sorry to say that it is not in oxxr 
power to give satisfactory information concerning the 
varieties of cherry, Dyehouse and Ostheim ; we have 
not fruited them sufficiently to warrant xxs in giving 
an opinion of them. The Dyehouse we fi'uited once 
or twice and as nearly as we can remember, the fruit 
is so small as to make it of little value in this coxxntry. 
The best sour, or acid, cherry that we have found, 
after having tested a great many varieties, is Mont¬ 
morency ; it is so good that it supersedes almost all 
others. It ripens about 10 days later than Richmond. 
For other desirable sour cherries, we would name 
Royal Duke, Late Duke and Reine Hortense. The 
difficulty with some of the sour cherries is that they 
do not bear sufficiently ; the fruit that is produced is 
good, but some of them are very shy bearers.” So 
say Ellwanger & Barry ; we shall be glad of other 
opinions- As to the Dwarf Rocky Mountain cherry, 
we have already given a full report from personal ex¬ 
perience. It is a dwarf, luxuriant bush that bears the 
next year after transplantation, and it bears bounti¬ 
fully. The cherries are of medium size with large 
pits, scanty flesh which is, if not insipid, of low 
quality. 
Plant Trade Marks; Cherry Roots. 
H. W., Clinton, 111. —1. A tree peddler claims that 
the firm for which he is working, have a patent or 
copyright on a cei’tain kind of apple, and says that 
no one has the right to propagate and sell it except 
this firm. I claim that any one can x-aise the trees and 
sell them, providing the label that is copyrighted, is 
not used on them. Which is right ? 2. The same 
person claimed that mahaleb cherry roots are of a 
deep yellow color, the same as osage orange. If they 
are, I have never seen any mahaleb roots. 
Ans. —1. You are right. The copyright or trade mark 
name belongs to the party who has procured it. Any 
one can propagate the same thing, and sell it under 
another name, but must not use the assumed name in 
connection with the trade mark name. The mahaleb 
roots are not yellow like the osage orange, but are 
more the color of a plum root, or a cherry even. 
A Chemical Formula for Potatoes. 
Subscriber, Denton, Md .—The following formxxla has 
been sold here for the nominal sum of 50 cents to each 
individual, to xise on the white potato crop. Many 
would like to know what per cent of ammonia, potash 
and phosphoric acid are available : 
Pounds. 
Nitrate of soda. 200 
Sulphate of ammonia. 100 
Dried blood. 200 
“ Fine” ground bone. 200 
Dissolved bone black. 600 
Dissolved S. C. (rock) bone. 200 
High-grade sulphate of potash. 200 
Double manure salt. 300 
Total.2,000 
Can you give a better formula ? 
Ans.—L et us see what average samples of these sub¬ 
stances contain : 
Pounds. 
Nitrogen. Phos. acid. 
Potash. 
200 Nitrate of soda. 
... 32 
100 Sulphate of ammonia 
... 20 
200 Blood. 
... 28 
200 Bone. 
7 40 
600 Dissolved bone black 
. 32 
200 Dissolved rock. 
. 24 
200 Sulphate of potash,.. 
ioo 
300 Double manure salt.. 
75 
Total. 
... 87 96 
175 
In other words, the ton contains nearly 4% per cent of 
nitrogen, not quite five per cent of phosphoric acid, 
and nearly nine per cent of potash. If this foi'inula 
has been prepared for certain soils as a result of ex¬ 
periment, an analysis which has shown that more than 
the average potash and less than the average phos¬ 
phoric acid is needed, that proportion may stand ; but 
ordinarily we think you would do as well to use less 
potash and more phosphoi’ic acid. You will also find 
it difficult to mix so many small amounts with ordin¬ 
ary home tools. The manufacturer can mix these 
eight different substances perfectly because he has all 
the appliances for mixing and grinding. To make 
home mixing successful, you should take as few sub¬ 
stances as possible. That makes an easier job of mix¬ 
ing, and also makes easier bxiying as you can buy 
larger amounts. In this case, by dropping the double 
manure salt, sulphate of ammonia and either dissolved 
bone black or rock, and adding to the quantities of 
sulphate of potash, nitrate, bone and the form of 
phosphoric acid retained, you will have a cheaper 
mixture, one easier to mix, and about as effective. 
Brown Streaks in Potatoes. 
F. S. H., Bridgeport, Conn .—Many of my potatoes 
have brown streaks running irregularly through or 
N into them. I think it a kind of dry rot. I have had 
no trouble before this year, and so blame the unfavor¬ 
able season for it. The potatoes are free from scab, 
the seed having been treated with corrosive sublimate. 
If these potatoes are used for seed, will the crop be 
similai-ly affected, the season being favorable ? The 
variety is White Star. 
Ans. —We are not familiar with this particular 
affection of the potato. The White Star, of late years, 
