:- r *. 
lerbsntitn. 
WEN REMEDIES. 
O. W. More writes that the following will 
cure wen in ninety-nine out ot one hun¬ 
dred cases, if applied early and faithfully. 
Take a bottle with a large neck, till with 
balm of Gilead buds, (say one pint,) put in 
enough of the best of alcohol to cover the 
buds; let stand in a warm place two 01 
three days, shaking it often. When the 
gum is thoroughly mixed with the alcohol, 
apply two or three times per day with a 
swab. Continue until the bunch softens; 
then it may be opened; then apply for a 
few days, and the wen will be thoroughly 
and permanently cured. I know it, for l 
have proved n The buds gathered in the 
early spring are best. 
C. J. Graves writes us that wens can 
be cured, and gives the following remedy: 
“ Place one pound of fresh butter in a ball 
upon a pie plate. On the top of this ball 
fasten, on its back, a large live bull frog. 
Place it in the oven and cook to a perfect 
oil. The frog must ho perfectly cooked. 
Anoint two or three times a day. Heat in, 
if possible, and in due time you will find 
the wen killed and the animal cured. In 
some cases three or four pounds may he 
necessary to perform a cure.” What has 
the frog to do with it ? Who can tell us 
the chemical composition of a frog? 
.- - - 
STOCK IN KANSAS. 
Winter Feed for Stock anil Prairie Fires. 
In fids part of the country the rearing of 
cattle is as yet the principal business pur¬ 
sued, though the cultivation of the soil lias 
been successfully entered upon. Our native 
or American cattle are fully equal to those 
of Hie East, and arc being rapidly improved 
by the infusion of Durham blood. In sum¬ 
mer there is abundance of grazing for thou¬ 
sands more than now roam over our prairies. 
It may surprise Eastern farmers to lie told 
that here, in the buffalo-grass region, the 
winter grazing is almost as good as the sum¬ 
mer, though it requires a larger range; for 
what is eaten ofr does not grow up again 
until the next season. 
The buffalo grass, or the “curled mesquite,” 
ripens before it. is killed by the frost. Being 
short and fine, it does not lodge. It is said 
to “ hay Itself.” It retains its nutritive prop¬ 
erties as well as hay during the winter in 
this dry atmosphere, so that where it abounds 
cattle as well as buffalo come out fat in the 
spring. We feed our cattle no hay during 
the winter, except when it is too stormy for 
them to graze on the open prairie. Ten tons 
of hay would ordinarily prove an ample pro¬ 
vision for a hundred head of cattle for the 
■winter. 
It is, however, necessary for farmers to 
protect their winter r anges from fire, or one 
night may leave their herds without subsis¬ 
tence for the coming winter. 
After grass becomes dead and dry, it burns 
like tinder. A (ire started ill it and driven 
forward by one of our furious prairie winds, 
outstrips the speed of the fleetest horse. We 
fight it. with gunny sacks and by back-firing, 
but sometimes all our efforts prove unavail¬ 
ing, and if we have neglected previously to 
burn a space round our houses and stacks, 
all may go to destruction together. This 
fall prairie fires have raged more extensively 
than usual. Millions of acres around us pre¬ 
sent a blackened surface. I lowcvcr, enough 
lms been spared to furnish a winter range for 
our stock, though some will no longer find it 
immediately about their own doors. 
Prairie fires arc not only injurious because 
they destroy the winter range of stock. 
Perhaps the greatest damage they inflict 
consists in the destruction of timber. A 
prairie country has many and striking ad¬ 
vantages to the pioneer over a wooded one. 
Still it is important in any country that there 
should he timber enough for the wants of 
its inhabitants. In Kansas generally, and 
especially in the western part of the State, 
there is a scarcity of timber. I consider it 
entirely due to the prevalence of prairie 
fires. Every season millions of j'oung trees 
shoot up only to be killed by the next fire. 
Rigid laws are enacted to prevent the ma¬ 
licious setting out of fires, but every year 
they rage to a greater or less extent, some 
originating from accidental causes, others 
started carelessly or maliciously. Besides 
denuding the country of timber, they con¬ 
sume the vegetation that should go to enrich 
the soil. They arc an unmitigated evil, and 
it may he that more stringent legislation 
might tend to arrest them. 
I have met one man, and but one, who 
thought them useful. lie proposed that by 
legislative enactment the whole country 
should annually be entirely burned over to 
destroy grasshopper*' eggs (/) If these were 
destructible by prairie fires, the West would 
long since have been free from one of its 
sorest pests. 
If prairie fires are so destructive to tim- 
her, it may be thought strange that any of it 
should he left in the country. Under the 
shelter of existing timber and near streams 
the grass remains green longer than on the 
open prairie, and will not burn so early in 
the season, if at all, nor will it burn so late 
in the spring. In case the fire should be 
driven through a belt of timber, it does not 
kill the larger trees, unless there is sufficient 
dead wood gathered about their trunks to 
keep up a fire long enough to burn the bark. 
In Iowa and other prairie States further 
East there are low, wet river bottoms. Hence 
there wc find wide strips of timber along 
the streams. In Kansas the bottom as well 
as bluff lauds are -dry. For this reason 
prairie fires here leave but a narrow strip of 
timber along the streams. The eastern part 
of the State is better timbered than the 
western; hut until prairie fires are arrested 
Kansas will not become a well wooded 
State. L. Sternberg. 
Ft. Marker, Kns. 
-■*--*-♦- 
Grazier* \ot Cuttle Brokers.—A decision of 
general interest to farmers, especially to large 
stock raisers of the W<->i, has just boon made by 
Commissioner Delano. In some districts persons 
had been assessed for tax as cattle brokers who 
were in the habit of buying cat tle in t he sum¬ 
mer and turning them into their pastures and 
stilling them tor beef to butchers arid drovers as 
soon as they were in proper condition. The 
question of their liability having been referred to 
the Commissioner, hedoetded that they were not 
liable, if such buying. pasturing, and selling 
were necessary to their business as farmers and 
graziers, or properly incidental thereto. The 
real cattle broker, under this decision, is hold to 
be one whose regular business is to buy and sell 
cattle in values greater than ten thousand dol¬ 
lars anuully, smcl simply for prolit. — Prairie 
Farmer. 
-*♦«- 
Vegetable Oils for Milcli Cows.— Your X. A. 
WiULAltD gives ns n good article on cotton-seed 
meat. Although the oil is devoid of the proteine 
compounds it. is much relished by the cow; 
when I Jel l out tbellax-seod meal my cow would 
knock the pail over to find it, thus spilling the 
bran. As groat milkers are poor In flesh, they 
eruve vegetable oils more than l'at ones. Am 1 
not right ? - s. w. 
-- 
Lire on Cottle.— A. B. C. is informed that if ho 
will look through the back numbers of the cur¬ 
rent volume of the Ritual, he will find a score 
or more of remedies given. People who do not 
preserve the Bubal for reference, make a great 
lyistalce. 
Ultra I Architecture. 
A HORSE BARN. 
Tim barn is designed to be built of wood 
with substantial underpinning of stone or 
brick, although the latter materials may he 
substituted for the body of the structure if 
desirable. The design is plain, simple, com¬ 
modious and convenient. It is well adapted 
to the farm. The carriage room is here re¬ 
presented, twenty-five by thirty feet in size. 
It has a wide entrance, and, at least, four 
sided with weather - boards. The whole 
should be ceiled up on the inside with worked 
boards,filling in between with sawdust, tan- 
bark, or salt hay, well rammed down while 
putting in the filling. There should be at 
least six inches of lime mortar filled in all 
round, to keep out rats and mice. There 
should he an inside and outside door, and 
tight shutters to the windows. 
Such a house will he frost and damp 
proof, and the inside will not he subject to 
the changes of the outside atmosphere. The 
second tier of beams need not be nearer than 
six feet, as they tie the sides of the building 
together without having any weight to bear, 
larsnmw 
- 03 ^ - 
$ J 
A HORSE BARN -ELEVATION. 
windows. We should say that this barn 
should be placed facing the south or east if 
possible. The carriage room forms the main 
body of the building, to the stable it is the 
wing. This should be twenty feet wide, and 
regulated in length by the number of stalls 
desired, allowing five feet width for each. 
The two on the extrema end should be 
formed to throw together, making a box¬ 
er -? /3n 
Carriage Room 
30 X25 
o 
ESSAYS ON HORSESHOEING. 
The Directors of the Scottish Society for 
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, offer 
three prizes for the host and most practical 
essays on HorseShocing in connection with 
the comfort and soundness of the horse. 
Will not some American liorseshoer write 
an essay upon the subject, based upon the 
following hints given by the above Society 
to show how the subject may be treated: 
1. Suppose a horse sound and hitherto un¬ 
shod, describe the present method of prepar¬ 
ing the hoof for shoeing, the amount of horn 
taken away, and the instruments employed, 
so as to bring the whole natural hearing sur¬ 
face In contact with the ground. 2. Can 
you suggest anything better? 8. How would 
you prepare the shoes (fore and hind) for va¬ 
rious kinds of horses, as race horses, hunters, 
hacks, coach, cab, buss, and heavy draft 
horses. 4. In describing the forging of shoes 
(whether hand or machine-made,) slate very 
exactly the number, relative positions, and 
direction of the nail holes, and give reasons 
therefor. 5. Describe the best manner of 
fitting tim shoe, and give your opinion as to 
the propriety of applying it in a heated state 
in order to secure an equal bearing; and 
whether that can he obtained without burn¬ 
ing into the hoof. 0. Point out any evils or 
abuses in existing system of horseshoeing. 
?. Suggest any improvements in* the form, 
material, or mode of fitting shoes. 8. How 
may the hoofs of horses lie best, preserved ? 
0. Give any suggestions as to how a thor¬ 
oughly scientific knowledge of the horse’s 
foot might best lie acquired by horseslioers. 
-- 
What Alla ray Colt ? — Several mornings 
during the latter part oL' last winter, on going to 
m.v barn, T found one of my colts had lost the 
use of one of its hind legs. The I eg appeared to 
bo too long, and was dragged with the hoof 
turned up, mid thoooltwould drag its leg in this 
way for a luilf-bour after being turned out in 
the barn-yard, and than go off all right and not 
show the least sign of lameness. 1 1 was not con¬ 
fined to tim same leg, but tlrsr one and then the 
other of its hind legs. I have found the colt in 
the same situation once or twice this month, 
i N r ov.) If any one will inform me through the 
Rural what ails ray colt, and a remedy, they 
will confer a favor on—i, it. 
-- 
Remedy for (billons Wanted. — Can you. or 
any one through your columns, tell me what 
will remove a callous on my horse's foot? It 
was done by being eallced and not being properly 
oared for by Ills owner, li is on the front side 
of the hind loot, and the hoof is grown out of 
shape, but not so bad as to injure him very 
much for farm work; but he can't travel faster 
than a walk on the road.—S. W, CltOPKoilD. 
-- 
Rubber Cushions for Horses' Feet.—Are the 
rubber cushions used between the shoes and 
feet of horses injurious to the feel? If not, 
they ure very useful in winter to prevent ball¬ 
ing.— h. m. c. 
Gbound Plan. 
stall by means of a side door. An alley, a, 
in front of the horses, gives easy and safe 
access for feeding the animals. Next the 
wall in the stable, b , in the rear of the 
horses, a walk should be built, three led 
wide and raised six inches above the floor. 
Above this, and against the wall, work har¬ 
ness may hot lnmg-yj»lie harness and robe 
room is shown at 3. 
-- 
A SQUASH HOUSE. 
T ite Squash House should he built on 
dry, open ground, and not adjacent to any 
trees, as il is necessary to have the outside 
exposed to the fVee action Of the winds and 
suli, to prevent moisture in the interior. We 
give herewith a front view and section of the 
Squash House — Front View. 
interior of an improved and approved squash 
house. It. is twenty-six by thirty feet square, 
eighteen feet posts, with cellar under it seven 
feet deep, the walls of which should lie laid 
up iu cement; and there should lie a cement 
floor. The stove should be placed in the 
cellar with pipe running to the back end and 
running up to the top of the plate to connect 
r. ~- t -n 
_ > 
■ ±&t=\ % ;5EE 
S, .c.jlWhvI 1 
~t SAtft_ \ 
CELlABIfKI DEEP 
C - f\£NT£.0 UOTTOI* AN6 SICES 
Squash House — Interior Section. 
with a brick chimney to run out of the apex 
of roof at the back end. The first floor 
should have openings to allow the heat to 
rise. The posts should be made of plank 
ten inches wide and two inches thick; it 
should be covered with hemlock boards on 
the outside, then with tarred paper, and 
and their distance apart facilitates the pass¬ 
ing the squash up, merely laying a loose 
plank down on them when necessary. The 
uprights which support the squash, start 
from the first floor and run to the top of the. 
building; therefore the whole weight rests 
on the first floor and foundation, which re¬ 
quires to he made strong enough to support 
it. The uprights should lie four by four, 
with cross-pieces two by four set in them, 
on which are nailed the strips forming the 
shelves to lay the squash The top corners 
of these strips should be rounded off, to pre¬ 
vent bruising the squash. The strips should 
be one and one-fourth inch by two and one- 
half inches, and placed seven inches from 
center to center. The roof should project 
over three feet to protect the sides of the 
building from drip. The rafters should he 
ceiled up on the inside of building, and filled 
in same as the sides. After the squashes are 
thoroughly dry, the lower windows should 
be closed, and only the small windows at 
the top, in each end, be used when ventila¬ 
tion is necessary. Light hastens and pro¬ 
motes decay. J. b. 
-- 
IMPROVED SMOKE-HOUSE. 
_ I 
I 
I wish to suggest a few improvements 
to your brick smoke-house. A four-inch or 
solid eight-inch wall, where ashes are placed 
against it, will absorb moisture from the out¬ 
side, and impart that moisture to the ashes, 
and create alkali, especially in frosty weather. 
When the wall becomes dry in summer, ab¬ 
sorption commences from the inside, thus 
filling the brick with alkali, which can, in 
no case, be extracted, causing the brick to 
crumble and fall out. 
A double wall, nine inches thick, one inch 
space in the center, is a sure -preventive. It 
should be tied across, by heading in above, 
where the ashes are likely to touch. 
Two doors (one may he set aside in sum¬ 
mer,) will prevent freezing, and it will he 
very cool in summer. A board chimney 
should come down through the roof and 
hoarding overhead for the escape of smoke. 
It should have a slide at the lower end so as 
to make it fly-tight when smoking is com¬ 
pleted. A draft below the door that can be 
shut fly-tiglft, will cause the. smoke to pass 
off and leave the meat much sweeter. 
A smoke-house thus constructed is very 
convenient for keeping fresh meat from freez¬ 
ing in winter and away from flies in sum¬ 
mer. It will be much cooler than a solid 
wall. E. Reynolds. 
Foil du Lac, Wis, 
Sizing for Old Buildings. —Tho following- lias 
been tried and found to answer admirably: 
Fill u uominnn paint keg two-thirds foil of 
Spanish whiting; add one pint of soft soup anil 
water enough to make it of tho consistency of 
rich cream, stirring it well. Apply with a brush, 
following il up with two coats of paint. R. F. 
WOLC -T, Luis Cm, Fij. 
Stillman, Otsego county, N. Y., writes: 
Take a quantity of flax seed, pour on hot 
water; after standing a fow hours thin with 
water, if necessary, and mix iu Spanish white. 
This will make a good priming coat.” 
Painting Old Buildings, -Tn 18:24 1 assisted in 
painting an old bouse whose sidings had become 
much worn by twenty-five years'exposure with¬ 
out any paint. It was done in the following 
manner: — Ground linseed cake was mixed with 
water, so thin that il could bo applied with ft 
paint or whitewash brush. Two coats of the 
mixture wove put on to llie house, and two of 
common paint. Tho building looked well when 
painted, and the paint wore well, —so well that 
I think the house has not been painted but once 
since.—B. Keith. Stamford, Conn., Nov., 18ti9. 
--- 
To Rural Readers. —Wo shall be glad to re¬ 
ceive and fif used) pay for designs, plans and 
specifications of buildings of all kinds adapted 
to the use, convenience and comfort of industrial 
men from whatever quarter they may com-■. '' e 
like those best, other things being equal, which 
are working plans with detailed specification . 
Arboriculture. 
OSAGE HEDGES. 
Prof. J. B. Turner, of Illinois, who has 
clone so much in years past, to introduce 
Osage Orange hedges, says in a late number 
of the Prairie Farmer that lie has come to 
the conclusion that placing tlic plants near 
together makes the most perfect hedge. For¬ 
merly lie recommended a distance of a foot 
in the row, but after fencing some two 
thousand acres, and making extensive obser¬ 
vations for twenty years, hu has quite 
changed his opinion. lit* now sets about 
12,000 plants to the mile, or four or five 
inches apart. This close proximity lessens 
the strong growth of the plants, and renders 
the cutting back an easier task. It entirely 
excludes pigs, which is important in those 
districts where these animals arc allowed the 
run of the farm. For larger animals the 
thinner hedges answer well. The cost of 
the closely planted hedge is twelve or fifteen 
dollars more to the mile, but he thinks this 
more titan repaid by the improved security 
of the barrier. 
-- 
GAS AND SHADE TREES. 
The College Courant says: — “The im¬ 
pression is very common that the action of 
ordinary coal gas escaping from the street 
mains is exceedingly injurious to the shade 
trees in the neighborhood. But it would 
appear, from some experiments made with 
great care by Dr. Poselger that this view is 
incorrect. He has proved that the death of 
fin© trees growing along the streets and 
promenades of many of our large cities is 
not due, as has been too often asserted, to 
the effects of leakage in gas mains. His ex¬ 
periments made on trees and shrubs of vari¬ 
ous sorts, demonstrate that no damage can 
accrue to the trees, nor can their growth he 
interfered with, by any quantity of gas which 
may escape in the soil and find its way to 
(heir roots. Wlmt then is the cause of the 
frequent death of such trees? Dr. Poselger 
maintains that Is because they are so utterly 
neglected; no care whatever is taken to 
keep the soil which covers the roots friable, 
so that the air may permeate freely, it, being 
too often as hard as rock. Ollier causes are 
undoubtedly active also.” 
-- 
Ramie In Florida.—THEO. BtSSELL, Moline, 
Fla., writes us that he is growing; Ramie, but has 
no suitable machinery for its preparation for 
market—that he has great faith In it, and believes 
it destined to take the place of cotton in the 
market. Mr. Biss eli. ‘8 difficulty is doubtless 
that of hundreds of others who are now culti¬ 
vating this plant ; and tin; party who first ena¬ 
bles cultivators to utilize this product will make 
a fortune. 
tht Ihncmirtr. 
GRAPE VINE-TERMINOLOGY. 
Dr. Warder, in the Journal of Horticul¬ 
ture, says that it would be well if pomolo- 
gists or horticulturists could agree as to the 
precise meaning of several terms by which 
they designate the different parts ot the 
grape vine. With a view to facilitate the 
adoption of regular terms which may be used 
and understood by writers and readers, he 
presents some terms which he obtained from 
the works of Dr. Mayr. 
The definitions of Mayr are simple, ex¬ 
pressive, and easily understood, and may be 
summed up n.s follows: 
The stock is the main stem of the vine. 
The stem includes all portions that are 
more than two years old. 
The com is the young or bearing wood 
when from six to eighteen months of age. 
In short, it is a spur. 
Lateral canes are the lateral shoojs in their 
second year. 
Shoots are the growth of the current year 
until the fall of the leaf. 
iMterals spring only from the buds of 
shoots. 
Nodes are the joints or breaks in the shoots 
and canes. 
Internodes are the spaces between the 
nodes; both these disappear in the stem. 
Buds or eyes occur only at the node and 
in the axils of the leaves. They are ar¬ 
ranged alternately, and often produce lat¬ 
erals, in which new buds are produced at 
their base. 
Leaves are arranged alternately at each 
node. 
Tendrils are situated opposite to the leaves; 
they are sometimes wanting. 
Bunches or clusters are transformed ten¬ 
drils. 
Ptdides are the ultimate sub-divisions sup¬ 
porting the fruit. 
Berries are the fruit, varying in size, shape 
and consistence. 
Brcds are lhe germs of future plants; the 
normal is four ; but many of tbe best varie- 
1 ties have fewer, and some are seedless. 
