ISM 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
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one cow died and the two others were made very sick, 
by eating large quantities of cotton-seed meal. The 
symptoms were spasms, trembling and frothing at the 
mouth. We are more than ever convinced that great 
caution should be used in feeding this meal to cows 
that are not used to it. It is quite evident that some 
cows are less able to endure it than others. In order 
to give all sides of the matter, we give the following 
from a well-known dairyman : 
THE DAIRYMAN'S PISH. 
Does the average dairyman know that it is raining 
gold? And is his dish right side up? What does 
right side up mean ? For one thing, it means cows 
calving in September or October. Butter made from 
fresh cows, brings several cents per pound more in 
winter than that made from cows that have been long 
in milk. Butter made in private dairies has averaged 
22 to 2.5 cents, when sold to the butter buyers here 
in northern Vermont. Perhaps I should say that most 
of the butter made in private dairies here is sold to 
buyers, men who take butter one day in each week, 
or in each fortnight duringthe winter. They paycash, 
and pay according to quality and style of package. 
This is a great convenience to farmers, and the man 
who has bxitter to sell through the winter, has a har¬ 
vest all the year 'round. The fact is, butter is nearly 
as high this winter as it has been for several winters 
past, while the cost of production is less, especially if 
the farmer has a silo and feeds cotton-seed meal. 
When a man finds out a good thing, there are two 
ways for him to do : One is to keep it to himself ; the 
other is to tell others of it. No class of men are so 
ready to give others the benefit of their experience, as 
farmers. A man who has found out a way to make 
money, will go to a farmers' institute, stand up before 
a crowd of men and women, and give away his 
methods. He is glad to do it. Or. he will sit down 
and write out his methods for The R. N.-Y. or some 
other paper, so that thousands can be helped by it. 
Now, cotton-seed meal has had a good deal to do with 
my success in dairying under very adverse conditions, 
and I feel that all Northern farmers ought to know 
its value. To-day, cottor-seed meal can be bought 
at railroad stations in northern Vermont for SI.20 per 
100 pounds, or about $23 to 823 per ton. The Jersey 
cow, winter dairying, the silo, and cotton-seed meal, 
make the dairyman’s dish right side up. 
As to the amount of cotton-seed meal that can bo 
fed, the Pennsylvania Station, Bulletin 17, reports 
feeding six pounds per day without injury to the 
animals. Mississippi Station, Bulletin 15, reports feed¬ 
ing 9.5 pounds per day, and reports no injury. I am 
feeding from four to six pounds per day, and to all 
appearances, the cows are in perfect health every way. 
But my cows are accustomed to it, and I am very glad 
they arc. The R. N.-Y.’s rule of not over three pounds 
per day. is certainly a safe one. The outlook for but¬ 
ter is very bright. If the oleo fiend can be destroyed, 
it will look much brighter. The National Dairy 
Union is the organization of dairymen and others 
which is fighting this gigantic fraud. Now that W. D. 
Hoard is at the head of the Union, its success is more 
assured than ever. Let every dairyman do what he 
can to aid in this fight. Farmers should stand by each 
other, and work together, especially in fighting their 
deadly foes. j. w. newxox. 
What Is a Cream “ Starter ? ” 
P. D. y Southampton, N. 7. —What is the nature of “ Boyd’s 
starter”? Where can it be procured ? What is the price? 
Axs.—This was fully explained in the articles on 
‘ A Pound of Butter,” which were printed last year. 
The object of the “ starter ” is to bring the cream 
rapidly to a uniform degree of acidity. The cream is 
put into a strong, air-tight tank. The “ starter ” is 
skim-milk heated to a certain degree, and then put 
for 24 hours in a tight can—until it sours and forms a 
thick curd. This curd is the ‘•starter.” What it 
starts is a perfect souring of the cream. One day 
before churning, the cream in the vat is heated to 70 
degrees, and one per cent of its weight of •• starter” 
* ii stirred in. Then it is closed tight and left for 24 
hours. With this exact temperature, and exact 
weights, exact conditions of souring are secured, and 
the result is that when churning begins, the cream is 
ripened all through, and in just the right condition 
to yield its butter fat. 
A Continuous Lime Kiln. 
J. M. T7., St. Mary's, Pa. —How can I build a continuous lime 
kiln? 
Axs.—Limestone is a carbonate of lime, and lime is 
the oxide of the metal calcium, which has such an in¬ 
tense avidity foroxygm that it takes fire and burns 
with intense heat and light when exposed to air that 
is at all moist. Thus it i> a rare metal, and used only 
for chemical purposes. Thegreat abundance of lime¬ 
stone, which is more or less diffused everywhere in 
the soil, and in places is very abundant, being found 
in vast beds of marble and other forms of it, might 
lead to the supposition that plants might procure all 
they need without any help. But it is quick lime they 
need, and not the inert carbonate of it; and thus it is 
that the stone is burned to drive out of it the carbonic 
acid, and make it into lime, which is an acrid, caustic 
substance that exerts a most energetic action on all* 
organic matter; and considerable action on mineral 
compounds in the soil, dissolving silica and thus set¬ 
ting free such plant foods as potash, magnesia, soda, 
and phosphoric acid, from insoluble compounds. 
Limestone is insoluble in water, but lime is soluble in 
700 parts of water. Thus it is that while the roots of 
plants may possibly decompose to some extent the 
common carbonate, and get a little lime in this way, 
it is found very useful, some think indispensable, to 
apply the actual lime to the soil. 
It is not much of a job to make lime. The limestone 
may be put in a heap with wood or coal, and a wall 
built up around the heap to confine the heat. The 
fuel being fired, the stone is made into lime in three 
or four days. But this is a costly way, and thus where 
there is a demand for the lime, kilns are used, some 
temporary ones, but little improved on the heaps, or 
clamps, as they are called, and some strong structures 
called permanent kilns of which Fig. 415 is an example. 
This is made of any kind of hard stone, and lined with 
fire brick. It is egg-shaped, because as the limestone 
is burned, and the coal or wood used as fuel is con¬ 
sumed, the bulk decreases, and thus what will fill the 
belly of the kiln, only fills the throat at the bottom. 
This kiln may have three or four throats or openings 
for drawing out the lime, but each is made in the way 
shown. The lime when it reaches the bottom being 
fully burned, is drawn out into the hearth a, through 
the opening into the kiln, h. In burning the stone is 
broken into convenient size for handling, and a way 
is made to the top of the kiln, which is most often 
built in a bank. A small sloping track is sometimes 
made to the top of the kiln, and a platform around it, 
so that the small cars of lime and fuel may be drawn 
up and dumped into the kiln. The fire is started in 
the bottom by filling in dry wood ; on this is laid other 
wood, from the throat, then more fuel, wood or coal 
(the cheap slack being used), is dumped in at the top, 
then some lime, and then alternately fuel and lime¬ 
stone until the kiln is full, when it is fired, and goes 
on day after day as long as lime is required. About 
the third day, the lime is ready for raking out, which 
is done with long iron bars with a right angled hook 
at the end. It is only necessary to start it, when it 
fills the hearth, where it is left to cool. When it is 
taken out, more lime comes down, or if it lodges, the 
hook is used to loosen it. After the kiln is first 
charged, the stone sinks down steadily, and as this is 
always to be kept heaped at the mouth, as soon as it 
has sunk down to a level, a fresh supply is heaped up. 
As the fumes from the kiln consist of carbonic acid, 
which is a deadly gas when breathed, it is necessary 
for the man in charge of feeding the kiln, to keep on 
the windward side, so that the gas is blown away from 
him. ii. s. 
How to Select a Jersey Bull. 
F. S. W., Sweetwater, Tenn .—At the creamery built here last 
spring, the Babcock test and a separator are used. Twenty-one 
cents a pound is paid for the fat in the milk now (February 2). 
High-testing cows are wanted, and four Jersey bulls are within 
seven miles of me. How shall I select a Jersey bull for extra milk 
and butter qualities when he is a calf, a yearling and full grown 
ready for service; by his color, shape and form of escutcheon? Many 
valuable bull calves of the dairy or “milk” type, have been killed, 
perhaps, from ignorance of their promising points by their owners. 
I have a half-blood Jersey cow of the “milk” type ; long, fine, 
bony head, clean in the throat, small horns incurving, light fore 
quarters, heavy hind quarters, thin hind legs at the hocks, long 
slim tail, with very broad escutcheon extending well out on the 
thighs, with a curl on each thigh at the top of the udder. 
Axs.—You will make a big mistake by selecting a 
Jersey bull by his shape and color alone. The bull 
transmits to his offspring the qualities that he inher¬ 
ited from his parents. Therefore, the first thing to be 
considered is the record of the bull's mother, and if you 
can go back for a number of generations, so much the 
better. The great value of a herd registry like that 
of the Jersey cattle breeders, is that you can accurately 
trace pedigrees, and know, not only what the bull’s 
maternal ancestors have done, but what sort of cows 
his sisters have made. The purchaser of a thorough¬ 
bred bull has this advantage. In these days of cheap 
thoroughbred stock, we would never think of select¬ 
ing a bull by his individual characteristics alone. It 
is true that most superior Jerseys have much the same 
shape and form. The color counts for but little. 
There should be a small, fine head, bright and lively 
eye, a lean, dished face, small ears, slender neck, 
straight back, deep, full chest, deep body and small 
space between ribs and hip; a long thin tail and 
short, fine legs. The hide should be loose and soft, 
with a deep yellow color, particularly in the ears. 
The abortive teats should be large and well placed, 
and the animal erect and full of energy. This descrip¬ 
tion will answer for most good Jersey bulls, but it is 
always of secondary importance to the pedigree. Get, 
if possible, the son of a cow that was an improvement 
on her mother as a butter producer. Don't look for 
the “milk” type in a Jersey. The office of the .Jersey 
is to make butter—not to give a large mess of milk. 
The “escutcheon” or appearance of the space around 
and above the back of the udder, is not now regarded 
as so important as formerly. Pedigree is now con¬ 
sidered first, and rightly so. 
" Worm in the TailWire in the Stomach. 
W. S. Y., Pleasantvills, N. J .—I have a sick cow ; lour months 
ago she began to fail in appetite and milk. The failure has been 
very slow. I milked her three weeks after I noticed her want of 
usual health. She has become very thin in flesh, yet has a bright 
look, and her hair looks sleek. There is no evidence of pain, and 
no cough. If I fix up a nice new mess for her, she will eat once a 
little of it and not much, if any, after. An old, would-be cow 
doctor found “worms in her tongue,” so I let him go to work on 
her, not having faith as a grain of mustard seed myself. He also 
hunted for “ worms in the tail,” but he gave it up. 
Ans. —The general symptoms point to one of those 
cases of puncthre of the stomach (usually the second 
stomach) by a foreign body, which has been swallowed 
with the food. Cases of this kind are not uncommon 
among the older dairy cows. The foreign body 
usually passes through the ventral wall of the stomach 
into the connective tissues between the stomach, 
diaphragm and liver where an abscess i> formed. 
In some cases, several abscesses are thus formed- 
These abscesses vary in size from that of the closed 
fist to as large as the head, or even larger. Occasion¬ 
ally, the foreign body will puncture the diaphragm, 
piss into the thorax, or even puncture the heart, in 
which case, it suddenly proves fatal. These traumatic 
abscesses may exist for months without any apparent 
inconvenience to the animal. But as they increase in 
size, they finally cause loss of appetite, interference 
with rumination, which may be entirely suspended, 
and the animal will gradually run down and die. 
Difficult or labored respiration is usually a prominent 
symptom in the later stages. There is no treatment. 
The trouble may be avoided by preventing the cows 
from getting nails, pieces of wire or other metals in 
their feed. f. l. k. 
Milk Fever in a Cow. 
O. II. L., Traverse City, Mich. —I owned a purebred Jersey six 
years old, always healthy, a good milker and good butter cow. 
One week ago she dropped her third calf, and dam and calf 
seemed strong and well till on the morning of the third day, the 
cow could not get up. was badly bloated, and breathed with diffi¬ 
culty. The local veterinary could not save her ; he called It 
paralysis of the spine and a very fatal malady. She died the same 
night. I find that there have been several similar cases in this 
township within a year, and nearly all fatal. What is the cause? 
How can such attacks be avoided? 
Axs.—Your cow died of milk fever, or, as the disease 
is more technically known, parturient apoplexy. This 
is a disease peculiar to the cow. and will occur only 
in heavy milkers that are well fed, and are usually 
fat (plethoric) at the time of calving. The disease 
can be avoided by keeping the cow on a restricted 
laxative diet for two to four weeks before calving: 
and then in case of an easy delivery, by giving a dose 
of salts immediately after calving—one to two pounds 
of a mixture of equal parts of Epsom and common 
salt, according to the size and condition of the cow. 
F. L. K. 
Colt’s Knee Cap Out of Joint. 
F. W. S., Rome, Ala .—I have a five-year-old colt that has been 
troubled with one of his stifle joints slipping out of place. Since 
he was three days old, occasionally in traveling he has been 
troubled with it. He is in bad condition, has lost all ambition, 
has a good appetite, but does not seem to thrive. What tonic will 
tone up his system ? 
Axs.—The slipping out of the stifle joint is simply 
a partial taxation or dislocation of tne patella or knee 
cap, due to a relaxed condition of the ligaments which 
should hold the patella in position. Apply an active 
blister over the whole joint. Cerate of cantharides 
ointment one ounce, to which is added one-half dram 
red iodide of mercury, will make a suitable blister for 
the purpose. Clip the hair and rub the blister well 
in. Allow it to remain until the skin is well blistered, 
usually 24 to 3(5 hours, after which wash off with 
warm Castile soapsuds. The head must be kept tied 
short so that the horse cannot rub the blister with 
his mouth. Repeat the blister every three weeks, 
until the ligaments become sufficiently tense to keep 
the patella in position. The following powders may 
be given as a general tonic: Powdered gentian and 
sulphate of soda, of each one pound ; pulverized sul¬ 
phate of iron, one-fourth pound ; powdered nux 
vomica, one-half pound ; mix. Feed two tablespoon¬ 
fuls on the feed night and morning. A nutritious 
grain ration should also be given, to consist in part of 
ground oats or wheat bran, to which may be added 
equal parts of corn meal or ground wheat, f. l. k. 
