1895 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
665 
spr re after the drains are laid, he can haul soil and 
fill these depressions. 
He should exercise care in locating 1 the outlets at 
the creek; place them where he can protect them 
with stone work or masonry if he wish. Allow no 
willows or water-loving trees, within 100 feet of the 
tile-drains. It would be best to avoid the natural 
outflow of the su face water in locating the drains. 
They would better be put a little to one side, except 
in the low washouts to be drained where, if possible, 
they should be through the lowest parts. If drains 
are located in the lowest land, they are liable to wash 
out because the soil that has been moved is loose, and 
never will become as solid as it was before it was cut 
out. 
The stone on the upland may be used to riprap the 
banks of the creek at the outlet of the tile-drains, in¬ 
stead of using willows to protect the banks, as their 
roots would completely close the tiles in about two 
years. As L. M. M. has had no experience, the safest 
way would be for him to employ an engineer to locate 
the drains, and oversee their cutting and the laying 
of the tiles. Avoid the professional ditcher, for he 
would be almost sure, starting from the creek, to 
bring the drain out at the top of the ground in the 
low washout to be drained. Tile drainage is costly 
work, at the same time, when needed, the most 
profitable investment that can be made on the farm. 
On account of the cost, Hie farmer wants to do the 
work only once in a lifetime ; hence it follows that it 
should be done right at first. 
Metal Si to Roof; Seeding to Grass. 
B. S., Barnesville, O. —1. One of my neighbors says that no kind 
of metal will last as a roof over a silo, more than three or four 
years. Is this so ? I wish a roof on my silo and a pair of hinged 
doors on top, so as to run the ensilage in at the top. 2. What is 
the best course to pursue with a field that grew wheat last 
year, and on which I failed to get a catch of either Timothy, 
clover or volunteer grasses ? 
Ans. —1. There need be no fear of using a metal 
roof for a silo. I have in mind a silo roofed with tin, 
that has done excellent service for 15 years with very 
little or no repairing ; the expense above the first cost 
was only that of keeping the surface well painted. If 
a door is to be put in the roof, it should be raised 
somewhat above the silo roof in order to insure against 
leakage at this point. 2. If the chief object be to 
secure a stand of young grass plants, with compara¬ 
tively little reference to the yield the coming year, 
the land should be plowed this fall and sowed to grass 
seed as early in the spring as the land can be har¬ 
rowed. The seed should be harrowed in lightly. 
If, however, the object be to secure a forage crop 
next year, it would be best to sow to oats as early in 
the spring as possible. Sow grass seed before and 
after the drill. If the land is fairly free from weeds, 
a somewhat less quantity of oats should be sowed 
than if the whole object were to secure a maximum 
yield of this grain. These oats could be cut early 
and cured as hay if so desired. If it is thought best 
not to risk the whole crop in this manner, a part of 
the land could be planted to corn to insure additional 
forage. gko. c. watson. 
The Blackberry Leaf-spot Fungus. 
C. J., Esquesing , Ont .—I send some leaves from my blackberry 
bushes that are dying from some blight. What is it and the 
remedy ? 
ASWSWKKED BY M. Y SLINGERLAND. 
The leaves were badly infested with the Blackberry 
Leaf-spot fungus (Septoria rubi ?). The small, round¬ 
ish spots are of a brown color, and later the tissue 
drops away, leaving holes in a similar manner to the 
Shot-hole fungus which works on plum trees. It is 
said that the spores or reproductive bodies of this 
blackberry disease, pass the winter on the fallen 
leaves ; so it would be advisable to rake up and burn 
the leaves in the fall. But few experiments seem to 
have been made to control the disease. In 1890, 
Prof. Goff, of the Wisconsin Experiment Station, 
treated both raspberry and blackberry bushes with 
various fungicides for the disease. Six sprayings were 
made, beginning May 31, and were repeated about 
every 10 days. He found the raspberry foliage very 
liable to injury from the applications, and the black¬ 
berry was more susceptible than the apple foliage. 
No definite results could be drawn from the experi¬ 
ments from which recommendations can be made. I 
would advise the burning of the fallen leaves, and 
the application of Bordeaux Mixture, about one-half 
as strong as used on apple foliage, at least two or 
three times, beginning when the leaves are nearly 
full grown and the flower buds are yet unopened. 
A Bug With a Long Snout. 
G. E. B., Nashua , N. H.— I inclose a peculiar kind of bug that I 
found three or four days ago. I have shown it to several people, 
but no one knows what it is. What is it ? 
Ans. —The ‘‘peculiar bug” proved to be a near rela¬ 
tive of the well-known Plum curculio ; that is, it 
belongs to the same great family of beetles known as 
the curculios or weevils. The specimen sent belongs 
to a group of the family which are noted for their long 
snouts, sometimes twice as long as the remainder of 
the body. The snout of the insect sent is nearly 1% 
time as long as its body, and the jaws are on the ex¬ 
treme end of it, with its elbowed antennm or feelers 
coming out at each side near its middle. The insect 
is probably the one known as the Acorn weevil 
(Balaninus quercus) whose grub is so often found 
burrowing in the meat of the acorn. The female 
weevil makes use of her long snout in laying her 
eggs. She first bores a deep hole into the acorn with 
the snout, drops an egg in the hole, and finally pushes 
it to the bottom of the hole with the snout. I once 
caught one of these curious beetles at this interesting 
process of egg laying. It had its snout buried in an 
acorn up to where the antennae are given off. 1 suc¬ 
ceeded in killing the insect in that situation, and it 
furnished the material for the unique figure of this 
insect in Prof. Comstock’s “Manual for the Study of 
Insects” recently published. m. v. s. 
How to Harvest and Thrash Millet. 
N. W. B., Randolph , 0. —How should I harvest and thrash millet? 
What machinery is used in thrashing? 
Ans. — Millet grown for seed should be sowed 
thinner than for hay—the larger heads are wanted, 
the same as when corn is planted thinner for ears, 
than for fodder. Five pecks are about right for hay, 
if harrowed in, but one bushel if drilled in through 
the wheat hoes—not through the grass-seed sower. 
For seed, I would sow one peck less. It should be cut 
in the thick dough state, with some seeds quite hard, 
and none watery. After thrashing, this straw will be 
little better than wheat straw. For hay, be sure not 
to let a seed get past the thick milk stage, and half of 
them should be watery. Millet for seed is not bound 
as Timothy and wheat usually are, but treated just 
like hay, and thrashed from the windrow, except that, 
being cut ripe, it does not need tedding like green hay 
to cure it. To ted it would shatter the seed. The 
clover liuller grinds it and does not get it out clean ; 
but the common wheat separator, with the concave 
lowered, and half of the teeth out, will do good work. 
Of course the riddles must be changed. Millet thrashes 
easily, and does not need to be very dry like clover, 
but more like wheat. It yields from 15 to 30 bushels 
per acre—we usually expect about 20 —and sells from 
first hands at about 60 to 70 cents a bushel. The 
machine men charge 20 to 25 cents a bushel. It is 
considered an exhaustive crop. e. h. collins. 
Central Indiana. 
Bone and Potash for Pineapples. 
W. J. D., Stuart, Fla. —How long will it take the nitrogen and 
phosphoric acid in raw ground bone to become available ? I 
wish to give my pineapples a dose of bone and high-grade sul¬ 
phate of potash. Would it be advisable to put the bone on now, 
and apply the potash later, say, about Christmas? Or would it be 
better to mix and put both on now ? Pines bloom about February 
1. Our winters are usually very dry. The soil is nearly pure 
white sand with but little vegetable matter, and as it is impossible 
to get stable manure here, we must depend entirely on cotton-seed 
meal, tobacco stems and commercial fertilizers; yet we raise the 
finest pines produced anywhere in the world. 
ANSWERED BY DR. E. H. JENKINS. 
It will probably be wise for W. J. D. to apply the 
raw ground bone immediately, but I would consider 
it safer not to apply potash till the crop is ready to 
assimilate it; for on such a soil as he describes, it is 
quite likely that a part of the potash will be carried 
off by rains, if applied before the roots of the crop are 
ready to take it up. Bone needs to decay in the 
ground before the crop can assimilate its nitrogen, 
and will probably need the moisture of the fall rains 
to decompose the material in time for the crop. If 
with muck or peat and tobacco stems, he can keep 
enough vegetable matter in his soil to make it hold 
water sufficient for the crop, I doubt whether he 
will be embarrassed for lack of stable manure. The 
nitrogen of cotton-seed meal and of tobacco stems, is 
much more rapidly and completely available than that 
of stable manure. 
Organic forms of nitrogen, such as blood, bone, 
tankage, fish, cotton seed, castor pomace, etc., are not, 
like nitrates, immediately available to the crop, but 
need to decay in the soil and their nitrogen, gradu¬ 
ally, in whole or in part, and always by means of cer¬ 
tain bacteria in the soil, becomes converted into 
the form of nitrates. The special forms of bacteria 
present in a soil, or the amount of water and air 
within it, may be more favorable to the decay and 
nitrification of a given form of organic nitrogenous 
matter than of another. But the bacteria, or the con¬ 
ditions of water and air in a second soil, may have a 
very different relative effect on the two kinds of 
nitrogenous matter. It is very possible, then, that a 
single form of nitrogenous matter, cotton-seed meal 
for instance, will become available on one kind of 
soil more quickly than dried blood, while on another 
kind of soil, the blood will be the quicker in its action. 
It is probable that dried blood, linseed meal, cotton¬ 
seed meal and castor pomace, are not very unlike as 
regards the availability of their nitrogen. Hence, if 
they are about equally fine, the choice between them 
should be determined by the cost per pound of nitro¬ 
gen in them. It is probable that the value of nitroge 
in fish scrap and in tankage, has been over-estimated, 
and that it is, as a rule, considerably less available 
than that of the fertilizers named above. Finally, it is 
not unlikely that the nitrogen of fresh stable manure 
is less available than that of any of these other forms. 
One thing is certain, no preparation of leather yet on 
the market, is of any considerable value as a fertilizer. 
What Is June Budding ? 
J. IF., Nashville, Tenn .—Will you explain to an amateur the 
process of “ June budding ” ? 
Ans. —June budding is just the same as budding in 
any other month. The bark of some trees peels from 
the wood earlier or later than others. Unless the 
bark peels readily, it is next to impossible to insert 
the bud, and if it were possible, the bud would not 
unite with the stock upon which it was btidded. Be¬ 
tween the bark and the wood, is what is called the 
cambium layer, and upon this layer the growth of 
the tree depends. In its early formation, it is muci¬ 
laginous ; then is the time when the bark would peel 
from the wood, and then is the time to insert the 
bud, whether it be June or later. June-budded peach 
trees offered by some nurserymen, are those budded 
in June, and the tops grown the same year. They 
are more tender than those grown in the usual way, 
because more immature. 
What Ear for Seed Corn ? 
II. G., Hamburg, Conn .—I have in my garden a medium stalk of 
Zigzag corn, with three good-sized and well-filled ears, the top and 
bottom ears are about the same size, the middle one is about one- 
quarter larger; all are well filled. Which shall I save for seed ? 
Ans. —We would prefer to save the largest and most 
perfect ear, no matter whether it be the lowest or the 
highest on the stalk. 
A Badly Afflicted Horse. 
T. W. K., Cavendish, Vt. —1. My eight-year-old horse has been 
troubled by his right eye, off and on, for two or three years. It 
runs some when in the sun, and sometimes in the barn. At one 
time he could not see plainly, the next day it did not run so much 
and he could see better, while the pupil looked milky. The barn 
is well lighted—a window about two feet to the left of Ins head. 
What will cure him ? 2. He stumbles some with his right front 
foot, and left hind foot ;■ his feet appear brittle and somewhat 
contracted. Some advise having him stand in muddy water. 
Would that help him ? 3. About a year and a half ago, while 
going down a steep hill, he stumbled, almost falling down ; since 
then, he has been lame in his right front foot at odd times. Some¬ 
times he is taken lame suddenly without apparent cause ; at 
other times he will start away from home lame, and it will gradu¬ 
ally wear off after going a mile or more, while at other times he 
will be taken after standing in the wind a few minutes. What is 
the matter, and what will cure him ? 
Ans. —It would be impossible satisfactorily to pre¬ 
scribe for a clironie case of this kind, without a per¬ 
sonal examination to determine the present condition 
of the eye. 2 . Yes, or in soft clay sufficient just to 
cover the hoof, for two or three hours daily. First 
remove the shoes ; then as soon as dry after each 
soaking, cover the whole hoof with an ointment of 
pine tar and vaseline melted together, to prevent dry¬ 
ing. 3. The lameness is probaby due to navicular 
disease. In addition to the soaking advised above, 
apply a fly blister around the coronet; clip the hair 
and rub the blister in thoroughly, allowing it to re¬ 
main until the skin is well blistered ; then wash off 
with warm Castile soapsuds. If not well blistered in 
36 to 48 hours, repeat the application and rubbing. A 
cure cannot be expected ; but repeated blistering 
should improve the trouble. f. l. kilborne. 
Abortion In Heifer ; Dairy Schools. 
I. I)., East Iladdam, Conn .—1. My 18-months-old heifer was 
driven to bull when 14 months old. September 4 she was again 
driven, and immediately afterwards her udder became full of 
milk, and we milked her a little to take the hardness away. Shall 
we stop milking her ? What caused her to take the bull again? 
What shall we do to dry her up if this need be done? We found no 
signs of her having lost a calf. 2. When does the short course in 
dairying begin at Cornell ? Would an applicant for admission 
from this State be accepted ? What is the cost of the course ? 
Ans. —1. The heifer evidently aborted. At four 
months the fetus would be small and easily overlooked, 
especially if dropped in the field. It would probably 
be better to dry her off, although you could continue 
milking during the winter if you wished. To dry her 
off, simply discontinue regular milking, and milk out 
once daily or every other day or two, just enough to 
prevent the udder from caking. 2 . The Short Winter 
Course in Agriculture and Dairying begins January 3, 
and extends through one term of about 11 weeks. 
“ Persons who are of good moral character, and 16 
'years ot age, upon application to the Director of the 
College of Agriculture, may be admitted to this 
course.” An applicant from Connecticut would be 
admitted the same as from New York or any other 
State. Tuition is free. There would be an expense of 
$5 to $10 for the term, to cover the cost of materials used 
in the laboratories. This, together with text books, 
stationery, etc., is the only college expense. Living in 
Ithaca would vary with the aste and habits of the 
individual; being from $3.50 to $10 per week for board 
and lodging. For full partieulars and application for 
admission, address Prof I, P. Roberts, Director of the 
College of Agriculture, Cornell University, Ithaoq,,. 
N. Y. F. L. K. 
