arm Qztommp. 
FEEDING APPLES; 
Experiment in Feedintr Sour Apple*. 
In the Rural New-Yorker of Novem¬ 
ber 5tb, you invite discussion of tiie feeding 
qualities of apples. Of the value of sweet 
tipples for stock, there seems to be a very 
general agreement, and the opinion is also 
as decided and universal that sour apples 
are worthless tor fattening stock, and abso¬ 
lutely detrimental to milch cows. Of this I 
have always doubted; so, prices favoring, 1 
early planned and entered on as full an ex¬ 
periment a.s my stock allowed. 
NIy crop of apples consisted of about fifty 
barrels of Greenings, and one-lialf as many 
more of second quality, besides a few trees 
to make variety for family use, worth, atcur- 
rent ju ices, $40 or $50 net. 
My stock consisted of two horses, that 
had the range of part of the orchard, from 
early till the close of the experiment, No¬ 
vember 10th, without grain, and with occa¬ 
sional work. The result is a good, solid con¬ 
dition of flesh and ability to endure bard 
labor (as since proved) that I could not have 
attained on grain for less than $15. 
Two huge breeding sows had the same 
range of part of the orchard as the horses 
until about October 15th, when their pigs 
were about one week old, nml were sold. 
They kept in as good condition as I could 
have expected them to have done on from 
$5 to $10 worth of grain. 
Three spring j>igs also were fed in the pen 
almost entirely on apples till October 15, 
when I killed one that bad become quite 
fleshy. The meat was firm and of excellent 
quality. I estimate the saving of grain on 
the jiigs to be about $10. 
I also had one old, poor, lame, dry, cow, 
supposed to be worth, August 15, $25; but 
I offered to take all the way from that to 
$10 for her. I commenced feeding her with 
one quart of meal and all the ripe, mellow 
apples she could eat, changing the variety to 
tempt her appelite. Up to November 10th, 
when I killed her, she had oaten only three 
bushels of meal. 1 took filly pounds of 
rough tallow from her, and her flesh was fat 
and was worth at market rates, $50. I call 
the apples a decided success with her — 
worth from $15 to $20. 
But the great experiment was with my 
milch cow; for everybody said I would dry 
her up. So, to make a sure thing of it, from 
(he 1st day to the last, l selected the hardest, 
sourest apples I oould find, and fed her half 
a bushel daily. The result is that with poor 
pasturage ami no other feed than the apples, 
she became fleshy, and increased her milk 
full half. From October 1st to November 
10th, her flow of milk was two-thirds as 
much as on good June lecd. 
I have delayed writing out this experi¬ 
ment in order to put llie cow to another 
test as to apples. November lOlk I com¬ 
menced feeding her all the com stalks she 
would eat, with six quarts of sliced turnips 
and three quarts of very rich buckwheat 
shorts, daily, and she fell away in one week 
one-half her flow of milk. A week ago 
November 25th, when I write,) I changed 
the turnips and shorts to half a bushel of 
apples daily, and the result is a much better 
flow of milk. 1 put the gain on her in flesh 
and milk, due to the apples, at from $5 
to $10. 
I sold six barrels of apples to a neighbor 
for six dollars; made three barrels cider and 
boiled ii down for cooking purposes, and for 
future strong vinegar; and thus ends 
crop of market apples, 
lam satisfied with the result, for if not 
diiect cash, it saved other grain, and I never 
had my little stock in better condition to 
enter upon the winter. 
To answer some inquiries that may arise, 
I will add that the milk was ofgood quality, 
making good butter. In feeding the cows f 
had no trouble from choking, as I had no 
small common fruit, but fed t he apples whole, 
except some of the very largest which I 
halved with a shovel after they were in their 
iced box. I also boiled some apples for Lite 
three fat pigs, adding a very little meal; but 
was satisfied that they relished them raw 
better. 
Do not defer feeding apples till one-half 
are rotten or frozen, or till the weather is so 
cold that a mess becomes one-half frozen be¬ 
fore they are eaten up. The same of turnips 
or any root crop. Do not judge of the effects 
or value of such feed by the result of an 
accidental one's eating or feeding in too cold 
weather. H. II. Doolittle. 
Oaks Corners, N. Y. 
-- 
DISSOLVING BONES. 
H. F. Sawyer, Colorado, writes that they 
have any quantity of the hones of slaugh¬ 
tered cattle there, which can be had for the 
hauling, and wants to know how to prepare 
them ill good condition for the land as a 
manure, and how many shall be used per 
acre. We should think the best way for a 
Coloradoite to prepare bones would be to 
pound them to powder in a quartz crusher. 
But by this process there would be unavoid¬ 
ably a great loss of ammonia, which is val¬ 
uable. The following method (we have 
never tried it) is recommended as a good 
one for preparing bones for use:—Take one 
hundred pounds of bones, broken into as 
small fragments as possible; pack them in a 
tight cask or box with one hundred pounds 
ofgood wood ashes. Mix with the ashes, 
before packing, twenty-five pounds of slaked 
lime and twelve jiounds of sal soda, pow¬ 
dered fine. It will require about twenty 
gallons of water to saturate the mass, and 
more may and should be added from time to 
time to maintain moisture. In two or 
three weeks, it is asserted, the bones will be 
broken down completely, and the whole 
may be turned out upon a floor and mixed 
with two bushels of dry peat or good soil, 
and, after drying, it is lit for use. We have 
seen it recommended to pour on to this mass 
dilute sulphuric acid to aid decomposition 
and prevent the escape of ammonia. 
Last February (Rural New-Yorker, 
Feb. 19th, page 122) we published a letter 
on this subject from John Collin, Shel¬ 
burne, N. II., which we reproduce. He 
says:—“Last April I made application to 
the Agricultural Department, Washington, 
for information as to the ' liow of it,’ and 
received from the Department Chemist the 
following: 
“If tho bones lie iirtburtiod, every onehundred 
pounds will require forty pounds of sulphuric 
acid (oil vitriol) to eliminate the phosphoric 
acid. Tins should he diluted with tour times (or 
parts) ot water before applying to the bones. I 
l no bones should ho crushed line. If bones urn 
burned, then eighty-seven pouridsof acid should 
be employed, the strength of which should be 
IfilKft or OS* Bitutiie. 
“Thomas Antisicll, Chemist.” 
“I have fairly tested the above,and found 
no difficulty in reducing the bones, other 
than considerable time being consumed, ow¬ 
ing to inability to crush them sufficiently 
fine, thereby presenting so much more ad¬ 
ditional surface for the acid to act upon. My 
four hundred pounds are now reduced to the 
consistency of common putty. I have mixed 
them with a pile of fine manure, which is 
thrown into a eoinjiact Heap, and during the 
winter, when the whole is frozen solid, £ pro 
[lose to ‘chip it’ with an ax, so as to insure 
a complete mixture of the whole, and then 
‘you will see whftl you will see.’ 
“ Another method, which I have not tried, 
commends itself:—Take a keltic holding a 
barrel or more; fill with bones; pour caustic 
ley over to cover them. A gentle fire is built, 
for two or three successive days, to barely 
warm the liquid through. In a week the 
bones will become softened. Mix the mass 
with three loads of muck, afterward adding 
the leached ashes, from which the Icy was 
obtained. Let the whole remain, in order to 
decompose the muck, and apply." 
■-- 
COMPOST AND IRRIGATION. 
ariftc (Boast* 
T. HART IIYATT, EDITOR: 
Post-Ofpicb Addiups. San Fuancisco, Calitocnu. 
SUMMER 
FALLOWING 
FORNIA. 
IN CALI- 
The full or partial failure of the grain crop 
for many seasons, on account of drouth, has 
led the farmers of California to look more 
carefully into the benefit of summer fallow¬ 
ing their lauds; and the experiments they 
have made the past few years have satisfied 
t hem that there is no need of a failure in the 
grain crops, no matter how dry tho seasons 
may be, it they take the precaution to sum¬ 
mer fallow their ground properly. 
The system of summer fallowing in Cali¬ 
fornia is very different from that ol the States 
East. There it may be done almost any 
time during the summer months; while in 
California it has to be done in the winter, or 
spring; so it is not, strictly speaking, sttin- 
mer fallowing, but winter or spring fallow. 
And it comes on here, at a very convenient 
season, just after t he sowing or seed time is 
over, which is usually from November to 
February—according us the land shall have 
been prepared beforehand. Ground that 
has been summer fallowed, or plowed early 
in the season, may be sown in November, 
without waiting for the autumn rains. 
Whereas, ground that has not been plowed 
thus early cannot, only in exceptional cases, 
and with powerful teams, lie plowed and 
prepared for seed until after the first rains; 
and if they happen, as is often the case, to 
be late in the season, il is so late before the 
grain can be sown that it Inis not time to 
grow and mature before the dry season com¬ 
mences, in May, often April, and hence there 
is a short crop, or an utter failure, should it 
jirove a dry season. 
While on a visit to Solano and Yolo coun¬ 
ties, in the latter part of October, we noticed 
farmers in many jilnccs, already putting in 
their wheat, chiefly, however, those who 
were adopting a system of volunteering , so 
called; that is, taking the stubble land of 
the past season, scattering a little or no seed 
upon it, then running over it a chisel culti¬ 
vator, next a harrow, and then leave il for 
the first rains to start, the growth. 
During the long, heated term, that lasts 
usually from first of May to first of Novem¬ 
ber, or until the autumnal rains commence, 
the ground bq^u i s-i dried and hard, in j 
California, that it is impossible to do any¬ 
thing, of consequence, at plowing. But 
nearly all over the State wc hear of farmers 
who have extensive fields that wore fallowed 
lust, spring, and are now being sown, al 
though we have bad but slight rains as yet. 
During the past season, many portions of 
Califoruia suffered severely from dry weatli- 
I have a large lime-stone spring, from I ^ 11 Southern California, especially, was 
successfully venture upon plowing- new land. 
The labor required to put the seed on summer 
fallowed land is simply to level with the harrow 
the furrow made with the plow, sow the seed 
and again apply the barrow. Too sowing r.f iho 
seed on stubble land is the first work, and then 
chisel cultivators are applied, harrows follow, 
and the work is done. Already some fanners 
have seeded nil the lend they can possibly pre¬ 
pare without more rain. In the cour.-e of two 
weeks at farthest, every acre- of hind fallowed 
Inst year, or cropped the present season, will tie 
seeded, and then the farmers will lie on their 
oars until suet* time as Jupiter Pluvius vouch¬ 
safes a sufficient supply of liquid from the 
clouds to soften new land so that the rust con 
again be rubbed from the plows. In thiscounty, 
outside or U>c black land, which is embraced m 
a circle of about eight miles snu t, I mast and north 
of Stockton, the work of preparing for u forth¬ 
coming crop o/ grain has nor, by any means, 
been neglected, and the prospect* now favor 
the belief that Son Joaquin and the countries 
smith will, in 1871, have double tho breadth of 
cereal crops than 1870 exhibited. The yield, as 
a mutter of course, will depend altogether on 
the season.” 
We think there cuu scarcely remain a 
doubt, that with a general system of sum¬ 
mer fallowing, and deep plowing at that, 
there is never any danger of a failure of the 
grain crop of California. 
CAUSE OF SMUT. 
portsmatt. 
GREYHOUNDS. 
my 
which I irrigate my lands, and have at com¬ 
mand plenty of horse and cow manure, 
leached ashes, lime, and a river some one and 
H-halt miles distant, which overflows often 
and leaves a linn sediment which could be 
obtained very cheap—the hauling about one 
dollar per load ; also, any amount of leaves 
and bones; also, a saltpeter cave, the dirt 
of which will make six pounds of salt¬ 
peter to one bushel. With the above at com¬ 
mand, bow must 1 ajtply it, and wliat pro¬ 
portion ot each, or as many ns is necessary 
to make a good compost; and when and 
bow shall 1 put if. on the land to make good 
crops of corn, wheat, sweet, and Irish pota¬ 
toes, and the common kind of garden vege¬ 
tables? The land is naturally rich, and per¬ 
haps has enough of limn in it. My object 
is to make my land produce as much ns pos¬ 
sible, as labor is high and we have to use 
artificial irrigation. 
Would it not be a good plan to build rail 
pens near the ditch that is used for irriga¬ 
tion, and put in the manure, and when the 
crops are being irrigated throw it in, and 
convey it to different portions of the field in a 
liquid form? J. W. Fleming. 
San Saba, Texas. 
Use all the cow and horse manure you 
have; also all the leached ashes in the com¬ 
post; add fresh slaked lime enough to hasten 
decomposition—say a bushel to a cord, and 
leaves enough to absorb all the ammonia, 
which the jwocess of decomposition liberates. 
It is possible the addition of llie salt peter 
soil to the compost will increase the fertility 
of irrigated lands; otherwise, we doubt if it 
would add to the value of the compost. Well 
decomposed compost of this character may 
be applied to I he land profitably many time, 
when the soil is being prepared lor the crop, 
or Spread Oil the land just before irrigating it. 
Our knowledge of your soil is so limited, and. 
live 
soil. 
the drouth severe—having had, if we recol¬ 
lect aright, but some four or live inches of 
rain, during the whole season of seed time 
and growth, in the region of Los Angelos, 
San Diego, &c. Nine inches are about ihe 
average for that region,in common seasons; 
while in Northern California, the range is 
from twenty to forty inches. It was twenty 
at Vacaville, Solano Co., the past season 
In the San Joaquin valley, the drouth was 
felt, severely. The Stockton Republican, in 
an article which appeared just, before the 
usual time of harvest, had a very suggestive 
article, illustrating the importance of sum¬ 
mer fallowing for grain. It, said 
On tho western Mile of tho Sari Joaquin 
&r tho wheat, croj* ts a total failure this sea- 
. Thu whole surface of tho country now 
present-a dry, r>ai-ohed-up appearance, and llie 
anitol nr death, in tho shape or dry, hot winds, 
lifts desolated tho grain Helds. There is, how¬ 
ever, one small oasis-a green spot in tho desert 
—Which yreolS lhr eve ol tilt- traveler end irhul- 
dens Hie heart of the owner. About two miles 
from Banta’s, and adjoining Pkok’s ranch, lies 
one hundred and sixty-throe uerc«, which is 
green, and promisee to yield ;i fair Crop. All 
round this Hold there urn miles of the smio soil 
seeded in who.it on which not a grain will bo 
raised this season. Seed, soil andevery thing, 
except tho manner or seeding, is similar, yet his 
neighbors raise nothing, while A. ft. Stocking 
h,is uiiw hundred and sixty neves of lair wheat 
Tho ordinary custom of sowing wlmm is to plow 
tho ground, (a very shallow plow at that,) sow 
the seed and harrow It beneath the surface 
Stocking pursued a different plan. H<- first 
deep or subsoil plowed his ground; In tho fall 
he replowed it. and harrowed m the seed. In 
the spring rite whole area was heavily rolled 
1 he result is h fair crop, while ground seeded in 
the ordinary- matt net- produces nothing." 
Prospects, however, are looking brighter 
in that region, this season. A late number 
of the Stockton Independent (of Nov. 5ih) 
ays: 
“ Gradually tho farming- prospects of tho Val¬ 
ley brighten. The past year, one of tho most, 
inauspicious of many past, pave the farmers a 
good living profit on their labors, and encour¬ 
aged with this experience of what has been 
generally oonsidt-rod an unfavorable season, 
they have gone to work with more earn¬ 
estness and vigor than ever before to yen lure 
in extended grain raising operations. 
In the report of the American Institute 
Farmer’s Club, in your issue of November 
5 lb, I find the following: —“Watson De- 
vine, Tolono, Ill., asserted that smut in 
wheat, is caused by an insect, as any one 
could discover by microscopic examination. 
Mr. Fuller gald it would he equally sensi¬ 
ble lor a housewife to say that because site 
found skippers in moldy cheese the skippers 
caused the mold, or the mold caused the 
skippers.” 
Now,Mr. Fuller, whether Mr. Devine’s 
theory is " sensible” or not, I agree with him, 
and there can readily be found a great num¬ 
ber of intelligent, observing farmers who 
take the same view of the subject. Last 
harvest I, with others, carefully examined 
smut heads of wheat, with the view of as¬ 
certaining the cause of the blight. We 
thought, and still believe, that it is caused 
by tut insect. Unless our eyesight deceived 
us, we could see where the insect had laid 
its egg, and we bad no microscope at that. 
I have no doubt, as Mr. Devine says, that 
with the aid of that instrument the sting 
could be very plaktly discovered. But if 1 
understand Mr. Fuller, lie does not deny 
the feting, but claims that the sting is subse¬ 
quent to the “ blast,” or at least does not 
cause the “ blast.” 
Why is it, then, Air. Fuller, that on the 
same head of wheat some kernels are sound 
and olhers blasted? Why is it, then, that 
every blasted kernel has the sting of an in¬ 
sect tm it ? 
A satisfactory answer to the above ques¬ 
tions is respectfully asked for from Air. Ful¬ 
ler. If some one should ask him the cause 
of the plum dropping off and not coming to 
maturity, he would probably answer, * It is 
caused by the sting of the curculio.” 
Oh! no. Air. Fuller ! The plum first 
became diseased, and as a consequence, is 
stung by the curculio! Why, of courso that 
is so I To say that the sting of the curcu- 
lio causes the plum to drop, would be as 
“ sensible” as “ for a housewife to say that 
because she found skippers in moldy cheese, 
the skippers caused the mold, or the mold 
caused the skippers." 
Aly humble opinion is, that it is the cur¬ 
culio that causes the plum to drop, that it is 
the insect that causes the kernel of xvheat 
to blast. Aud I shall believe so, notwith¬ 
standing the sneers of Air. Fuller— or any 
other mere theorist—until I see some better 
arguments advanced to the contrary than I 
have yet read. John Barnd. 
Martinsburg, III., 1870. 
-- 
FIELD NOTES. 
The Cliul'a in Florida. 
F. Dibble sends us tubers of Chufa, and 
writes : — “ They me said to be ns good for 
hogs as peanuts. As they have been only 
recently introduced here, and as 1 have not 
seen those who have raised them, I fear to 
plant until 1 get their merits from a reliable 
source.” We should not invest much money 
in an experiment in Chufa culture. It is a 
very nutritious food, analysis shows; both 
chickens and pigs eat and thrive ou the 
tubers. But while we have known many 
experiments in its culture, in the West, we 
have never known any to prove so profitable 
as to be continued more than a season or 
two. We never knew any one to make a 
fortune by Chufa culture. 
our total inexperience in your climate and ■ exrenn.-a grain raising: operations. Wo are 
with irrigation practically, prevents more i told that already nil tho fallowed land of i a «t 
positive and dogmatic directions. I summer.and likewhothe whole areafrom which 
n urup has boon obtained the present year, both 
In Stanislaus and Merced counties. Is nearly nil 
prepared for another crop. Tile fine, sandv ul- 
How to t'sc Superphosphate of l.ime. 
D. L. IIiTcncocK asks renders of experi¬ 
ence “ the best method of using superphos¬ 
phate of lime, or bone manure, on land for 
potatoes, corn, oals, and grass— whether to 
sow broadcast before plowing or after; or 
should the manure be put in the hill for corn 
and potatoes.” 
liivinm between the Stanislaus and Tuolumne, 
and likewise farther snuth, and mi ihe east side 
of llie San Joaquin river, which was summer 
fallowed or cropped last year, is again seeded 
and a wailing- lime only for another harvest. 
Farmers, thus far, have confined their labors 
exclusively to the work of preparing the land 
which was plowed last spring and left fallow 
throughout the season, and to the stubble land, 
and await rain before they can reasonably and 
Wisconsin and Minnesota Importing Po¬ 
tatoes 
In consequence of the ravages of the 
Colorado potato bug the St. Paul, Minn., 
papers slate that thirty to forty thousand 
bushels of potatoes have been imported in 
that State this fall. 
The Watertown (Wis.) Democrat says sev¬ 
eral car loads of potatoes from Alichigun and 
Iowa have been brought to that city—the 
first time it has been necessary to import 
potatoes. The Beloit papers report a similar 
state of affairs. 
Our readers are presented with a portrait 
of a pair of common Greyhounds, which 
show the physical characteristics of this 
breed. They are distinguished for their 
swiftness and power of endurance in run¬ 
ning. There are several varieties of these 
dogs, which differ in minor characteristics. 
They have great slenderness of form, long 
limbs, elongated muzzles, prominent eyes, 
with very keen sight; but their scent is not 
acute, and they depend more upon sight 
and less upon scent iu pursuing their prey. 
The Scottish Greyhound, however, which is 
said to be a cross of the Grey with the Stag 
bound, combine qualities of scent with those 
of the ordinary Greybouud. 
Greyhounds have the parietal bones con¬ 
vergent, not parallel, as with common 
hounds. The face exhibits an almost 
straight line between the ears to the nose. 
The ears are small and sharp, half pendu¬ 
lous in the British Greyhound, but quite 
erect in many of those of other countries. 
The chest is deeji; the belly much con¬ 
tracted; paws small; hair long and rough 
in some varieties, but short, smooth and 
silky in others; tail, long and slender, curved 
at, the tip in tho British Greyhound, and 
covered with hair similar to that of the rest 
of the body. There are other varieties 
which have bushy tails. 
The smooth haired variety, (the British, 
and which is best known in this country,) is 
used tor bare bunting in England. It was 
imported from France, and improved by 
cro-sing with Importations from Greece,Ita¬ 
ly, Africa and India. 
Tho Irish Greyhound, (perhaps extinct 
now,) was large and powerful, and used, in 
early days, to hunt wolves. The Italian 
Greyhound is small and delicate, of gentle 
manners, ami is a drawing-room pet. The 
attachment of these dogs to individuals does 
not seem to bo as strong tus in other dogs; 
nor are they so teachable and serviceable to 
man. Yet the Grecian and Turkish varie¬ 
ties have been trained to stop, if a slick is 
thrown among them when in full pursuit of 
a doubling bare. A whole pack is thus 
slopped, and one singled out to pursue the 
game. In addition to the vatic lies named, 
are the Arabian, Persian and Russian Grey¬ 
hound—the last named being distinguished 
j, for its Light. 
- . 
SPORTING NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Can Game bo Smoked Out. 
Will some one be so kind as to tell us, 
through the Rural New-Yorker, if there 
is any way to get minks, woodchucks, rab¬ 
bits, &c., out of their burrows, without the 
trouble ot digging them out or setting traps, 
as it may be some dayB before they will 
come out; even then they will not always 
gel, into the trap; and when they do, they 
are liable to get away by gnawing or twist¬ 
ing off their legs. 
I wish to be informed whether smoke 
driven from a tube (tilled with some material 
which will smoke but not burn much) down 
into the bole where an animal is, with a 
bellows, will drive it out. or not. Who can 
tell ?— Amateur, Paumtille, O. 
Don’t Trun Itnbbits. 
I ell “ Rustic 1 that it is not honorable to 
trap rabbits; but shooting them is fun, and 
this is the way to do it:—Use a shot gun, a 
double-barreled one is best. Place yourself 
at the edge of the thicket and have a boy to 
come in from the other side to drum them 
out, Whenever you see one, blaze away! 
You will miss at first; but with a little 
practice you will fetch them every crack. 
How to Keep u Gun Clean. 
Tell P. G. AIoueton that the best M ay 
to keeji a shot gun clean is to always blow 
the smoko out after it is discharged. Al¬ 
ways use a tight wad when loading.—N im- 
k®d, Harlem Springs, O. 
How to Catch Rabbits. 
In answer to “ Rustic,” page 318 of Rural 
New-Yorker, to trap rabbits, take brass 
wire, make a noose large enough for them to 
put their Lead through; then trim a small 
tree near their road, fasten the wire to the 
top, bend over aud fasten by a notch to a 
peg driven in the ground; then make a 
fence of fine bruslt a little across their road, 
leaving a hole to hang Ihe wire in. 
Settle use box traps, baited with sweet 
apple; also steel traps laid in their roads 
and fastened.—F armer's Boy. 
Who Has Fox Hounds For Sate? 
A reader, Livonia, N. Y., asks where be 
can obtain pure-bred fox bound pups. lie 
knows of three or four parties who will look 
for an answer with interest. The answer 
must appear in our advertising columns. 
Deodorizing Skunk Skins. 
A correspondent asks our sporting 
readers how to deodorize skunk skins so as 
to take the offensive smell out of them. 
