jbicp wnslutubri), 
II. S. 1UXDALL, LL. D., EDITOK, 
Of Cortland Village, Cortland County, New York. 
WOOL INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED 
STATES. 
Hon. Erastus B. Bigelow, President of 
the National Association of Wool Manufac¬ 
turers, delivered m address on the above 
named topic, at the American Institute, in 
New York, a few days since. We have seen 
only brief abstracts of the opening portions 
of it. lie stated that the annual value of 
wool manufactures in the United States, and 
those of which wool is a component part, is 
$175,000,000; that more than four-fifths of 
those manufactures arc made of American 
wool; that our annual consumption of wool¬ 
en goods amounts in round numbers to 
$240,000,000, of which $175,000,000 are do¬ 
mestic and $65,000,000 imported; and he 
presents the following statistics: 
IflfiO. I860. ISfiS. 
Items. ms. Mis. Lbs. 
rounds of Wool grown,53,51S,059 00,511,849 177.000,000 
Hollars. Dollars. Dollars. 
Value Of W<hi1 imported 1,031, UK! 4,312,153 5,915,903 
Value of Wui d .Man illuc- 
tures imported.17,161,600 37,937,190 32,409,750 
A r alueof Domestic Wool 
.Manufactures.45,381,701 08,305,903 175,000,000 
The concluding part of the address Is de¬ 
voted to the subjects of the wool tarilf and 
free trade theories. Coming as it does from 
the representative man of the wool manu¬ 
facturing industry, it will be read with great 
interest by the wool glowers of the Puited 
Slates, and we accordingly give it entire, to 
the exclusion of much other matter. He said : 
It has often been asserted that Iho depressed 
condition of llio wool Industry is duo to i ho pres¬ 
ent high larilf on wools and woolens. The facts 
and figures Just adduced show how baseless this 
assertion Is. That beneficent law, ho far from 
having; any injurious effect on thisgreut national 
interest, may rather be said to have saved it 
from destruction. I have already referred to 
the agency of tho cotton famine in stimulating 
elsewhere tin? growing mid Hie manufacture of 
wool. It led to over-production In other conn 
trios as 'veil as in our own. For several years 
past tho stock of mortno wools — those wools 
which i hielly compete with the AidCricnn pro¬ 
duct- has been unprecedentedly large in the 
foreign market, and has sold at prices ruinously 
low. Had our wool growers not been defended 
against this olitstdo surplus, by mi increased 
duty, millions upon millions of their sheep must 
have gone to the shambles, and their business 
would have been ruined. It would be a satis fac 
Hon to many if those persons who ascribe to the 
tariff the present low prices of American wool, 
will just point, out how those prices would have 
been raised by the Introduction of that foreign 
surplus at a lower rate of duty, 8o, too, of 
manufactures. When the war ended, the Gov¬ 
ernment ceased to buy, and having on its hands 
a vast accumulation of army clothing, threw it 
into tho market at rates that were extremely 
low. Since that time the surplus of foreign 
manufactures offered at low prices, has helped 
to weigh down our market. In this crisis, what 
but the increased duty on foreign goods hits 
saved our manufacturers from a general over¬ 
throw'! 1 Will not some one show us in what way 
the reduction of those duties, and the flow of 
foreign goods which would inevitably have del¬ 
uged our overstocked market, could lmvo helped 
the American producer? Until questions like 
these are satisfactorily answered by tho oppo¬ 
nent of the law, his positions and assertions 
must be regarded us of small account. Our wool 
industry being depressed by over-produotion, its 
restoration to the normal relations of demand 
and supply can alone bring relief. In some 
classes of wool manufacture, where the excess 
lms been less marked, this desirable change has 
already come, and these branches are again rea¬ 
sonably prosperous. Unless some hasty and dis¬ 
astrous alteration is made in our tariff laws, lime 
and progress cannot fail to bring the same relief 
t'i ail. 
The existing law has done good service in pro¬ 
tecting tho American producer against excessive 
and ruinous importations, at a time when the 
danger of such importation Was great; and there 
is good reason to believe that it is well adapted 
to insure the continued development and tho 
enduring prosperity <>f American Industry. At 
the least, let US give it a lair trial. The Unusual 
condition of the woolen interest and of tho Na¬ 
tional currency, have interfered with its legiti¬ 
mate working, and made it somewhat dilHcnlt to 
estimate its eligibility as a permanent policy. 
Not until the business of the monetary interests 
of the epuntry rests once more upon a natural 
basis, shall we be fully prepared to decide the 
point. The consumer, certainly, has some reason 
to be satisfied with its results; for the prices of 
many woolen goods (reckoned in gold) are actu¬ 
ally less than they were before the war. 11 was, 
as you are aware, at a conference of loading 
manufacturers and growers of wool from all 
parts of the United States, and after full consid¬ 
eration and discussion, that the principle which 
underlies our present tariff on wools and woolens 
was unanimously adopted. It is, in fact, only a 
clearer and stronger expression of t lie idea on 
which the (sp-ealied) “Morrill Tariff” of 1801 
was partly based. It aims to give equal protec¬ 
tion to him who raises and him who works up 
the raw material. It tends directly to reconcile 
great interests which had been falsely regarded 
as antagonistic. And, best of all. by substituting 
united endeavor for hostile* action, and a system 
well considered for capricious ignorance, It 
gives a ground of stability, and a reason to 
hope lor it, which our tariff legislation has long 
and greatly needed. While it protects the wool 
grower, it simply places the manufacturer 
where lie would be were his raw material free. 
The duties on wools are practically neutralized 
by a specific duty on woolens, which, for pur¬ 
poses of revenue and protection, are also taxed 
with an ml valorem rate. 
Another and very important feature of the 
present tariff is its now simple and entirely 
pract ical classification of wools. Our wool man¬ 
ufacturers have been subjected to much severe 
and unjust remark, under the mistaken notion 
that the whole amount of the duty on woolen 
fabrics operates as a protection for them. The 
true state of Uie ease is very different, and ought. 
t< i be k nown. In the first place, the specific duty, 
so far as t hat goes, gi ves t hem uo protectiou. It 
is compensatory merely, balancing the duty 
which they pay on the wool. The ml. valorem 
rate, also, is neutralised, in part by llie duties 
on other materials used Iu manufacturing pro¬ 
cesses, and by local taxes, from which their for¬ 
eign rivals arc exempt. The actual protection 
which the tariff gives to the wool manufacturer 
(if we except a few goods of the filler descrip¬ 
tions) is less than thirty per cent., a rate which 
cannot be regarded as excessive or unreason¬ 
able. 
Considered ns an element of national pros¬ 
perity, the growing of wool is no less essential 
t hat its manufacture. 1’erImps it should be re¬ 
garded ns even more important, in view of tho 
food which is thus supplied, and of the support 
which is given to agriculture. However this 
may be, it is certain that these two great indus¬ 
tries are mutually related, and bound to one 
another by common interests. Neither of them 
can long prosper unless the other prospers also. 
Let our manufactures come to an end, and tho 
grower, unable to compete with foreign wool 
raisers, would have no market for his dip. The 
manufacturer, on tho other hand, needs con¬ 
stantly a reliable supply of home-grown wool, 
not only to regulate tho cost of his raw material, 
but also to insure soundness and uniformit y In 
his fabrics. Impartial justice uud sound policy 
require that both of these important depart¬ 
ments of industry should be kept, so far as legis¬ 
lation can thus keep them, on a footing of 
equality, and in such a position ns will leave to 
their foreign rivals no advantage over them. 
On the great questions of protection and free 
trade, it may bo expected that f should say some¬ 
thing on an occasion like this, and at a time 
when they arc receiving more than usual atten¬ 
tion in the discussions and tho journals of tho 
day. I believe there cun no no greater mistake 
than to suppose that the principles of cither free 
trade or protection art' universally applicable. 
The policy which would benefit one country 
inightbc highly injurious to another. Even in 
the same country the condition of things may 
so change, In course of time, os to Justify and 
require the abandonment, of a system which 
had been highly beneficial. EmhumI|y, there¬ 
fore, may tho tariff question be regarded us a 
practical question. All discussion of It on 
theoretic grounds,and apart rrom racks, i.s worse 
than hill!, fur it lend-, to mislead. Production 
being the source, and the only source, of national 
wealth, can It be doubted that our tariff legis¬ 
lation should aim at imparting to Iho labor of 
the country the highest, degree of productive 
efficiency? For this we lined a largely <li versified 
Industry, giving employment to persons of every 
class ami condition, and calling Into uhci all the 
additional power that machinery anti science 
can briOig to its aid. To adopt and enforce the 
system of those who arc now clamoring for free 
trade, would bra tho very reverse of this. It 
would result In u tumo surrender to other na¬ 
tions of all Hint we have accomplished in the way 
or manufacturing industry and improvement, 
and would remand us to those ruder descriptions 
of labor in which mechanical skill and science 
have, comparatively, blit a limited application. 
We ask protection for American manufac¬ 
tures, not, certainly, because our countrymen 
are less capable than their European rivals; for 
in intelligence, ingenuity and aptness to learn, 
they have no 'superior. It is not because our 
natural advantages arc less, nor from inability 
to acquire the requisite skill; l'or we have car¬ 
ried some manufactures to a perfection nowhere 
else attained. There arc, however, certain con¬ 
ditions which affect, directly, or indirectly, the 
cost of production, in respect of which other 
manufacturing nations have a decided advan¬ 
tage over us. I refer to the rates of wages paid for 
labor, tho rates of local taxation, and the rates 
of interest on capital. That these are things be¬ 
yond tho control of our manufacturers, no one 
will deny. That the necessity of paying, in all 
these respects, much higher rates than their ri¬ 
vals luivo to pay, puts them at a serious disad¬ 
vantage, seems equally certain. That there is 
one way, and only one, by which this damaging 
disparity can bo counterbalanced, 1 think you 
will also allow to be perfectly clear. 
Let us see how this case stands. David A. 
Weils, Special Commissioner of Revenue, who 
has investigated this subject at home and abroad, 
thus states tho difference between the rates of 
wages paid In the United Stales, and the rales 
which obtain In several other countries, (gold 
being taken os the standard iu all oases.) In tho 
cotton manufacture the excess of wages paid in 
the United States over the wages paid iu Great 
Britain is 27 7-10 per cent.; over Belgium the ex¬ 
cess 48 per cent. In the wool mamifnetnre tin; 
excess over Great Britain is, in the woolen mills, 
25 per cent.; in carpet and worsted mills, 58 per 
cent. Over France, Belgium, Prussia and Aus¬ 
tria, the average excess is 100 per cent. In iron 
foundries and machinery building the excess 
over British wages Is f>8 por ccut. In tho manu¬ 
facture of iron, the average weekly wages paid 
to puddlera (tu gold,) is #16.24 in the United 
States, #8.75 in England, $8 iu France, #6 in Bel¬ 
gium, $1.39 in Russia. In reference to the in¬ 
equality that exists in the rates of local taxation, 
the same statist!earn thus reports: 
“If we select, as au example, the cotton man¬ 
ufacture in Great, Britain and the United States 
respectively, we find that in the former country 
the incidence of all local or other direct taxa¬ 
tion extends only to the rental value of the 
buildings for the reception of machinery or the 
promotion of other details of the business; and 
does not. in any way regard the value of ihe 
machinery which may be placed in such build¬ 
ings, or the capital employed in Its workings. 
On the other band, in tho United States the 
incidence of local taxation falls on everything 
connected with the business of cotton man¬ 
ufacture that is accessible, - namely, build¬ 
ings, land and machinery; and is, moreover, 
not unfrequcntly duplicated in tho following 
: manner: Thus, factories, ore often built in this 
j country under acts of Incorporation iu one 
State, while the stock is held or owned chiefly in 
other States. Tho municipality in which the 
factory is located taxes the buildings and ma¬ 
chinery, and collects the tax of the corporation ; 
tho municipality, on the other baud, in which 
the stockholder resides, taxes the stock to him 
at its market value as personal property, and 
leaving the owner no remedy. Iu one instance 
(not an exceptional one) brought to the notice 
of tho commissioner, the aggregate of the local 
taxes imposed on a particular corporation in 
i860 amounted to 19-10 per cent, upon the capi¬ 
tal invested, and iu 1868 to over 4 percent. But, 
vicious as this system is upon its face, its effect, 
especially in a national point of view, cannot bo 
realized until wo take Into consideration the fact 
that the capital required In the United States to 
build a cotton mill is about double the amount 
required for a similar purposutn Great Britain. 
Four per cent., therefore on the capital of a 
cotton mill In the United Suites represents 8 
per ccut. on tho same productive power In 
Great Britain, ora rate which is almost double 
tho average rate of Interest Iu the hitter coun¬ 
try.'' 
The rate of Interest on capital in the United 
States is, on au average, double its rate in Eng¬ 
land and In the other manufacturing countries 
of Europe. Capital Is tho basis of all business; 
and nowhere is it more essential to success than 
in the creation and conduct, of manufacturing 
establishments. When it costs us t wlceas much 
as it costs our foreign competitors, wc set oiitat 
a disadvantage of loo per cent. But for these 
inequalities of condition, our manufacturers 
could enter tho race of competition with littlo 
fear of being distanced by any ordinary 
rival. It is mainly on this ground that they 
need and ask tor protective duties. They seek 
no monopoly no exclusive privilege. Give 
them an equal chance In tho game, and they 
will take rare of themselves. Not until tho 
cost of labor, taxation and capital, through a 
gradual approximation, or by some great altera¬ 
tion here or there, shall have become nearly the 
same in Europe and America, Will It be safe to 
abandon the present policy. In view of such 
I'nots, you will readily perceive the mistake of 
those who adduce the rates of duties in oilier 
countries ns examples uml guides fonts. Tho 
conditions of wages, taxation tuuI capital In the 
manufacturing nations of (ho European Conti¬ 
nent, (Russia excepted,) are so nearly alike that 
high duties, as between themselves, would bo 
inoperative. Under snob duties their interna¬ 
tional trade would cease* in Franco, Belgium, 
Austria and Prussia the cost of imvnufactoring 
the leading articles is so nearly uniform that a 
duly of ten per cent, protects them against each 
other as effectually as our higher rates defend us 
against them. The same, in effect, may lie said 
of the Anglo-French treaty, so loudly vaunted 
as a great, step in the progress of liberal ideas. 
It pan lie proved that, French producers under 
Hint arrangement, receive more protection 
against British Industry than is afforded by our 
tariff to Americun uiuiiuruotiirera, in their sharp 
competition with Franco and England. So Jong 
sis our local taxation elmII depend on tho will 
and act ion ot the several States; so lung as the 
rates of wages and of interest in our country arc 
kept np by the abundance of land and the de¬ 
mand for labor, ncitliorskUl nor assiduity on the 
pai l of our producers can remove the causes of 
that disparity which places them at so great dis¬ 
advantage. The remedy, the only remedy, is in 
Hie hands of our National Government. With 
that power it rests to say whether, in this grea t 
question of public and economic policy, their 
own people or foreigners shall be first consid¬ 
ered. Let it be remembered,however, tlmtcqual- 
ity is all wc ask. 
Congress has, wo think, wisely entered on a 
protective system. To give it a fair trial wo 
need only confidence In its stability. A changing 
and uncertain legislation disheartens Hie pro¬ 
ducer, and is a constant cheek on enterprise. 
Tho talk about l’reo trade would be harmless 
enough but for the doubts and tho fears of 
possible change which it inevitably excites. 
Weighed by its real merits, seen in its true 
light., It. seems hardly possible that suabascheme 
should find favor with the, American people. 
Utifortunately, as our history shows, and as wo 
witness dally, othor cmisidorutIons, wholly irrele¬ 
vant, are too oftou brought iuto the discussion 
ot questions which arc purely, economic. What, 
ha ve party politics, what have benevolent efforts 
at reform in morals or manners, to do with meas¬ 
ures which relate directly and solely to Iho in¬ 
dustrial interests and policy of tho nation? 
There is, undoubtedly, something plausible in 
the general idea, something attractive iu tho 
mere name of free* trade. It assumes the tone 
of cosmopolitan good will, and professes to aim 
at perpetuul harmony among the nations. Re¬ 
garded abstractly, its theories are charming, and 
promise us “a consummation devoutly to bo 
wished.” But the question is, Cat) we confide in 
this premise? There fi a class of amiable en¬ 
thusiasts who believe in tho possibility—as well 
as believe til tho desirableness—of universal 
peace. Would the nation hut listen to them, site 
would forthwB.li mao every fortification, freight 
her war ships with corn ami cotton, and molt, 
iter great guns into rails and plows. Why docs 
she not listen? Why does she, wlty must she, 
still lot i ll’y iter harbors, replenish her arsenals, 
and keep up her navy? Because the arguments 
and exhortations of tho Pence Society are 
founded on human nature, not as it. is, but as it 
»houhl iu*. Because they strangely underrate the 
ever-present, though sometimes dormant power 
of selfishness and passion. When “the woll' 
shall dwell” peaceably “ with the lamb"—when 
the nation shall all see eye to eye—tho pleasing 
dream of the non-resistant shall become a 
blessed reality. Of kindred origin and charac¬ 
ter, as it seems to me, is tiic illusive notion of 
free trade—very fair in theory, hut wholly un¬ 
satisfactory in practice. Ignoring, as it were, 
the great law of self-interest and the lesson of 
all history, It goes upon the absurd assumption 
that henceforth the different communities of 
mankind will be governed, iu their intercourse 
of trade and business, by iho golden rule. It. is 
a system which will probably work well in the 
millemum, but it Is decidedly premature in au 
age like our.-.. Unless these views are fallacious, 
it is just us much Hie duty of a nation to protect 
its owu indusyy against, the injurious effects of 
foreign competition as it is to provide the means 
of defending its soil and its homes against the 
aggressions of open war. 
-♦♦♦-. 
Hliw>|i Shearing Machine, * Can you tell me 
whether there fs a sheep shearing machine that 
works successfully, and where I can obtain a 
circular? It. It. Willis, lUulilo, ('. 7*. 
There are two machines on exhibition at the 
American Institute Fair which are sukl to work 
successfully. Wo have not soon them operate, 
nor do wo know the mid rests of their proprietors. 
By addressing the Secretary of the American 
Institute, New York City, you can probably 
learn, further of them. 
-—- 
Sprain*.—The bust treatment for sprains is to 
immerse the limb immediately in hot water, 
repeating tiie operation sovoral times a day. The 
cure is often rapid. 
iclh j?'rops. 
SOWED CORN. 
Noticing iu the Rural of Sept. 25th an 
article, on sowed corn for fodder, 1 take the 
liberty to send you my plan for raising it, 
Which 1 think will insure a good yield of 
prime fodder for milch cows. I select a piece 
of wheat, stubble, manure it well and fall 
plow; leave it in ftirrow until spring, and as 
soon as dry in spring barrow it well to keep 
down weeds, then let it lie until about iho 
10l.li of June, when I sow about three and 
one-half or four bushels per acre of any of 
tliC smaller kinds of corn. When up about 
four or five inches, i sow on plaster quite 
liberally. Then the work is done until 
it is ready to harvest, which I do with a 
grain cradle, letting it remain in tho swath 
three or four days to euro. Then hind it. in 
jfljt ||frbsmsff, 
A cS 
A SINGULAR CATTLE DISEASE. 
Thp.uk is a singular and wide-spread dis- 
oase among cattle prevailing in Monroe Co., 
and perhaps other sections of Western New 
York. It is rarely fatal as yet, but trouble¬ 
some. it broke out suddenly, and at ouce 
nearly every farmer found some animals in 
his herd infected. It is not communicated 
from one animal to another—at least such 
are not its means of spreading, for it appears 
in herds that have been isolated from others 
the entire season. 1 said it has been rarely 
fatal, yet some animals have died with it. 
The first symptom is usually a scabby sore 
on the fore leg—usually under the dew-claw. 
Perhaps there is a crack on the back, side of 
the knee joint. Other sores show themselves 
on the lore legs. Tnlhinimatiou. sets in, the 
small bundles and set up in shocks, whore it. log swells; meantime 1 dialers appear on 
may stand until time to haul to the barn. 
If sown thick on well manured hud, tho 
stalk will be line, and yet grow tall, there¬ 
by securing a good yield of fodder. If 
sown thick on ground not well manured, the 
stalk will he fine but short. If sown lliin 
on good ground, the stalk is coarse and does 
not make as good fodder. 
I find the richer the ground the more seed 
it will bear, and consequently a larger yield 
results. My land is a clay loam, which 1 
think is greatly benefited by fall plowing. 
Ido not approve of feeding sowed corn to 
stock until it is well cured. I like it best 
for winter feed, out up and mixed with meal 
ground from corn, oats and the screenings 
from wheat, about two quarts of meal to a 
bushel of the cut feed. 1 like this meal 
much better for milch cows than clear corn 
meal. It will cause a greater flow of milk. 
I have tried both, and could not help no¬ 
ticing the difference. d. s. m. 
Shiawasseeo Co., Mich. 
-$_♦_*-• 
LIME FOR WHEAT. 
In answer to A. K. Harris’ inquiry about 
applying lime to wheat ground, let me say I 
that I have done so for the last three years 
with the best results. 1 turn under my oat 
stubble as soon us possible after harvest, and 
then top-dress with from thirty to sixty bush¬ 
els of refuse lime to the acre. Just before 
sowing the wheat 1 scatter it on the land, 
out of a wagon, with a shovel. It costs ton 
cents per bushel with us. By this treatment 
l have raised over thirty bushels of w heat 
per aero each year. 
My object in early plowing is to have the 
oats come up; then thorough harrowing 
before sowing kills the oats, and mixes the 
lime and manure in with the soil thoroughly. 
I have put. on nearly one hundred bushels 
of lime to the acre, this year for experiment. 
I think it is a great benefit to the land for 
several years. 1 cut nearly four tons of bay 
per acre, this season, from land that was 
limed for wheat three years ago. 
Broome Co., N. Y. D. L. Dunning. 
-- 
SECOND CROP POTATOES. 
R. Garner, Toledo, Ohio, writes us under 
date October 6, as follows:—" I will say that 
it is not necessary to plant under glass to 
raise second crop in one season. May, 1808, 
I planted one pound Early Rose, single eye 
in bill, on one rod of ground, from which I 
raised two hundred and forty pounds, first 
crop, besides live small potatoes taken from 
the hill before they were dug. These five 
potatoes were planted, and from them 1 
raised potatoes weighing one pound each, 
and one of one and a half pounds, which I 
planted again this spring, and see no differ¬ 
ence between them and the seed of the first 
crop. 1 have taken the premium at the Ohio 
State Fair, both years, for the earliest and 
best potatoes on exhibition.” 
In the spring of ’67 I planted a quantity 
of Ash-leaf Kidney potatoes, — by far the 
earliest variety 1 ever planted excepting the 
Early Rose; but nearly worthless in other 
respects on account of their poor yield and 
poor qualily. A part of them were dug and 
marketed early in July, and the balance left 
for seed. When l came to dig them in Sep* 
tember I found they had sprouted again, 
and formed a mass of green tops from six 
to eight inches high. Had tho season been 
long enough I have no doubt a second crop 
of potatoes would have been produced. In 
fact, they were recommended as “a six 
weeks’ variety,” that would produce two 
crops in a year. J. B. Timurs. 
Livonia, Mich. 
“ Wyaluslug ’’ Had Top.—An Ohio correspon¬ 
dent asks how this (so spelled in his letter) Red 
Top grass differs from tho common rod top—and 
if It will make more and better hay, etc. Wc 
never heard of “ Wyulusing" red top before, 
and are half inclined to doubt if anyone else 
ever did! 
- — --- 
Corn for 8owing.—What kind of corn is prefer¬ 
able for sowing ? Some say cows will eat sweet 
corn stalks better than they will the common 
or Western corn. What say the Rural read- 
ora?—a, u. w. 
the udder and tents, followed by lumps and 
raw Bores. The animal is inclined to lick 
the sores, and the poison is communicated to 
the lips and mouth, and they swell and be¬ 
come raw. If the disease runs its course, 
the legs swell to the body, and the animal 
goon dies, evidently poisoned by the virus. 
A ll classes of cattle arc liable to be attacked. 
Happily, lew eases, as yet, have been fatal. 
The disease seems to yield readily to reme¬ 
dies. Sulphur and saltpeter arc given in¬ 
ternally, and hot tar applied to the lower 
sores on the legs, and camphor and alum 
ointment to the udder, &e. Various other 
remedies are used. Something healing and 
that will keep away the flies seems to he host. 
We should very much like to know what 
this disuarie is,and till about, it. Some attrib¬ 
ute it to the flies, which have been terrible 
the latter part of this season, in conjunction 
with so much wet. But it prevails on hills 
as well as lowlands, and unless we have, 
some new species of fly, why should they be 
more venomous than beforeV We should 
like to have some light on the subject, and 1 
wish you would, dear Rural, suggest to the 
modest young Becrelary of our State Agri- 
1 cultural Society, and his friend the inquiring 
Treasurer of the same, (that would he suffi¬ 
cient. of the officers', for one could do the 
wriling and the other pay the expenses,) 
that they appoint a committee up this way 
to investigate the disease. But I'm afraid, 
as it originates in our own State and not in 
Texas, they won't, mind it. 
Monroo Co., N. Y. Peiun Tone. 
-- 
POTATOES FOR MILCH COWS. 
In the Rural of September 4, A Reader, 
Taylorville, Va., inquires “whether Irish 
potatoes are good to feed to milch cows, and 
what way, time and quantity, &e?” 
Ves, they are good to feed to milch cows, 
as we can certify, after feeding some thou¬ 
sands of bushels in the course of fifty years. 
Fetal any lime when the weather is mod¬ 
erate or warm, and other feed is dry and 
tough. The spring of the year, just before 
the. new grass comes, is tho best time, and 
when the greatest quantity should be fed. 
If the cow scours badly, the potatoes 
should he partially or wholly withheld till 
she recovers. A large feed in very cold 
weather would cause the cow to shiver, and 
would do harm. 
Any reasonable quantity, to he regulated 
by the condition of the bowels, may he fed. 
Potatoes are also good for beef, having a 
tendency to make a dry cow fatten and a 
milch cow to increase her milk. They are 
good for horses in limited quantities, more 
especially In time, of spring plowing, when a 
small feed of them will loosen the bowels 
and carry off the heat. 
Cat He Choking with Potatoes .—I have a 
faint recollection that my father prepared a 
tough hickory stick, about tho size of a ram¬ 
rod of a rifle, with a large rag on the end. 
This was covered with lard and rammed 
down the throat and the potato pushed down 
without; injury. But as far as my experience 
goes, the choking of cattle with potatoes is a 
very rare occurrence. John Manross. 
8 took bridge, N. Y. 
—__-♦♦♦-—— 
Horn-dlatrmprr In Cattle.— Can any one inform 
mo, through the Rural, why cattle are troubled 
so much more with horn-distemper on some 
farms than on others? I keep from four to 
twelve head, and have from oao to four cases 
each year, they being taken at various seasons 
and different ages—from Six months upwards. 
They are kept In good condition, and why they 
should bo troubled more I lain those of all my 
neighbors' put together is u mystery to me, as 
Home have the same kind of land, so mo dryer 
and some widter. The catllu are Troni various 
localities; not many of them have been raised 
on the farm. Cun any one give the reason, and 
I is there no remedy ?—j, n. c. 
I -- 
! A Conundrum for Herdsmen. — I wish you 
would answer mo through the columns of tho 
Rural what is the causa of wrinkles on cattle's 
horns. Cun they be prevented? Why are there 
no wrinkles on Texas cattle ?—J. M. N., ScilaUa, 
Mo. 
Improving Texas Cattle.—Have any of yom 
readers had experience In crossing improved 
breeds with Texas cattle?—a. f. p. 
