MARCH <6 
*05 
THE RURAL HEW-¥©BKER. 
Ans.— For very obvious reasons It Is Impossible 
to arrive at any direct knowledge of tbe time re¬ 
quired for me digestion of the foods mentioned. 
The nearest approach lo It is In those few cases In 
which post-mortem examinations have been made 
of healthy animals that, have been slaughtered, it 
has been observed by butchers that food Is pretent 
In the stomachs of ruminating animals 12 hours 
after they have been fed; while It Is known that a 
horse digests his food much more rapidly. In Dr. 
Beaumont’s well known observations made direct¬ 
ly upon the stomach of a living man, which had 
been opened by an Injury and had healed, It Is 
recorded that cooked corn meal was completely 
digested In four hours and fifteen minutes. From 
the well known periods of the returning appetite 
of a horse there Is reason to believe that a meal of 
hay or other fodder and corn or oats Is digested In 
four or five hours. A cow or ox requires longer 
man this to completely digest the food, as the pro¬ 
cess of rumination occupies a considerable time, 
it is one of those subjects upou which we shall 
perhaps never have precise data. 
Bitter Milk from a Farrow Cow. 
//. G. c, Watkins. A r . Y„ has a farrow cow that 
gives bitter milk; some time since he saw In me 
Kujur, a recommendation to give one ounce of 
saltpeter a day In a like case; he has tried the re¬ 
cipe for two weeks with Very little benefit. He 
hasbeen feeding corn-stalks and a little straw 
with one quart of buckwheat each day, and he 
asks for some preventive of the bitter milk, 
Ans. —Nothing that you could give the cow could 
change the natural effect of me poor feed you are 
giving. “Nothing can come of nothing,” and it 
would be difficult to And a poorer teed than you 
arousing. Buckwheat la tbe worst possible feed 
for milk and butter, and straw and corn stalks are 
very poor fodder, If you were to cut up the corn¬ 
stalks and straw, and give the cow two or three 
quarts a day of corn meal, It might avoid the de¬ 
tect complained of. But a farrow cow's milk may 
be bitter in spite of all treatment and devices, be¬ 
cause the condition of the cow may cause it, and 
that may not be helped.probably. But to feed a 
farrow cow on poor feed Is provocative of such 
trouble. 
Cleaning Pearl Millet tjeed. 
M. s , Kansas, asks how to clean seed from the 
heads of l'earl Miuet. 
ANSWKKEU BY W. B JONES. 
In the absence of apower’-maehlne” for cleaning 
the Peat l Millet seed, the simplest way of doing it 
Is by use of a common horse curry-comb. Place 
the he .ids of millet on a board or table and pass the 
curry-comb gently along them, combing off me 
seed from the hmk-s. Born 3 one should devise a 
machine ror cleaning this admirable grain and 
make money out of It. t have one, but it is not 
perfected In the mec nanism, yet It dally does the 
work of cleaning from 30 to 50 bushels. This 
grain cannot be thrashed or treated like any 
other, it must be taken off by tbe combing pro¬ 
cess. Nome Instrument or machine lth revolving 
teeth would be the right thing. Pearl Millet as a 
green soiling forage plant ror all the Southern and 
Middle States on rich, sandy soils, exceeds any 
plant yet tried, and must, become a favorite crop 
in the future of soiling and ensilage, r\ trial of 
the Itural Branching Sorghum may change Dr. 
Jones's opinion.—Kns J 
Hen Manure and .Yshra. 
T r. o., Ostreme, Mietu, having a quantity of 
hen manure and wood ashes, asks how to apply 
them, with best results, to cora-would It, be bsst 
to mix them and apply them In the hill and then 
plant, or would It be better to sow them broad¬ 
cast before the last dragging. 
Ans— In no caso should the wood ashes and 
hen droppings be mix-d for any length of time be¬ 
fore they are used, as the former would liberate 
the nitrogen In the latter, most of which would go 
to waste. It mixed Just before application, how¬ 
ever, the soil would retain the liberated nitrogen. 
Unless land Is very poor and manure scarce we 
nsrsr advise manurlug in the hill. LI 111-manuring 
helps young plants.but renders the least assistance 
when assistance Is most needed. You need not be 
afraid of sowing too much broadcast. The proper 
quantity would depend entirely upou the fertility 
of the soil. It may be that your land does not 
need potash. Try on one part the hen manure and 
on another the ashes. 
A Recipe fur linking Uoxta Durable. 
IP. l>. I. Yakima, IP, 7’., asks our opinion as to 
me value ot me following recipe for making posts 
durable:—•* The American Chemist says that a 
Western farmer discovered many years ago mat 
wood could be made to last longer than iron In the 
grouud. Time and weather, he says, seem to have 
no effect on it. The posts can be prepared for less 
than two cents apiece. This is the recipe: Take 
boiled linseed oil and stir In it pulverized charcoal 
to the consistency of paint. I’ut a coat of mis over 
the timber, and, he adds, there la not a man who 
will live to see It, rot.” 
Ans.— Wood Is rotted by the action ot the air 
and moisture. Any substance which will lend to 
prevent this action will In the same measure pre¬ 
serve tne wood. To what, extent the above recipe 
will effect tbls can be ascertained only by experi¬ 
ment, and we know of none having been made. 
Ualng Ucfuae Animal Mailer a» a Fertilizer. 
s.e., Saugus, Mass ,has loo lonaof theroruse from 
a glue factory, including the residuum after the 
extraction of the gelatine in glue-making, and 
chlpplngs of the skins of animals with some of the 
hair on them, and ho asks how to oouipoat it so as 
lo fit It for fertilizing purposes more speedily and 
economically than by mixing It with muck, 
Ans —Under these circumstances there is no oc¬ 
casion to undertake the heavy labor of composting 
all this ion cons of valuable fertilizer lu the way 
you propose. You can more easily arrive at the 
same end by spreading It directly on the soil aud 
plowing It in with a light lap furrow. Then the 
harrow will mix It with the soli aud It will be the 
very beat compost you could possibly make with¬ 
out the labor of mixing it and turning It and haul¬ 
ing three times as many loads to the field. Pre¬ 
cisely the same end Is reached in either way, and 
you had better choose the simplest and easiest. 
Injury lo n Home's Knee. 
J F. A.,—address rnfstaid— says that about six 
weeks ago bis mare, while pawing In the stable, 
struck her knee. It swelled to twice Its natural 
size. He sweated the place with bran wet with 
vinegar lu which smart-weed had been steeped. 
Tbe swelling was reduced and the Inflammation re¬ 
moved, but the large bone on the Inside of the leg 
above the knee, and also the front or the knee, 
con finite enlarged, and he asks what will reduce 
the enlargement. 
Ans,— Rub tbe following ointment on the en¬ 
larged pait: Canlharldes, half an ounce; blnlo- 
dlde of mercury, two drachms, and lard, four 
ounces. Smear the leg below the blister with 
sweet oil to prevent excoilatlon from the product 
of the blister running down, and secure the ani¬ 
mal so that it will bo Impossible to get her mouth 
to the blistered part. Repeat If necessary. Give 
a couple of weeks’ rest. 
Inriph-ni Ringbone. 
J. C., Stewart, Minn.., has a valuable young mare 
on one of whose fore-legs a ringbone Is making Its 
appearance, rendering her very lame, and he asks 
how to treat It. 
Ans,—H ave a regular veterinary surgeou fire and 
blister the affected limb at once, and give two 
months'rest at grass; and, If any lameness re¬ 
mains, repeat the operation, if there Is no compe¬ 
tent surgeon at hand, take the following ointment, 
aud, after clipping the hair short, apply with fric¬ 
tion ;—cantharides, powder, half an ounce; lard, 
three ounces. Secure the animal so that she can¬ 
not get her mouth to the blistered llmo; give rest 
as In firing, and repeat If necessary. 
Feed for down In Wiuter. 
./. C. A , Castile, .V. r., asks what feed Is the best 
for milch cows In Winter. 
Ans,—T here Ls no better food than clover hay 
or well cured corn fodder, out and well mixed with 
corn, oats and wheat or rye bran ground together 
In equal parts. Four lo bIx quarts a day of this 
ground feed may be given to a cow that ls milking 
well, if the labor of cutting and preparing tbe 
food Is more than the extra uallk la worth the feed 
may be given dry. But the cut and moist feed 
will add at least one-third to the quantity of 
milk and one-third less hay or fodder will be used. 
Ilartly Cuc(uh«-h. 
F. F. A , Loudonvtlle, A r . r., csks us to name 
and describe tbe kinds ot cactus that are hardy 
enough to stand the Winters of this Stale. 
Ans.—O punlla vulgaris, the common prickly 
pear; o, Mlasouriensls, which ls thickly covered 
with tufts of bristles; O. Kartoesqull which is 
somewhat Uke vulgaris and several ot Us Western 
forms: also Eohloocaclua Slmpsonl, a neat but 
rather scarce whlte-spiued “ pincushion ” species; 
and Kchlnocereus Krauael, a handsome, red- 
blooming •• bunch ” cactus. 
MtacHlauenu*. 
W. If., Van Wert, Ohio, asks what percentage ot 
nutriment Is there In oat straw, turnips and wild 
prairie grass. 
A ns. -The following table gives the Information 
desired: — 
Per cent of 
Total albuminoids, or flesh-formers. 
Digestible albuminoids. . 
Total carbohydr’* fat formers, Inc. liber. 
Dis-estible carbohydrates. 
T^tal fat ... ....... 
DUfcstlblo fat . . 
o 
H 
c*- 
1 ■’» 
1 
1 p 
•b * 
CD 
3- 
i 
2.3 
Til 
u> 
t.i, 
3S.4 
B.l 
;s.; 
*>.il 
i i 
• 1.1 
0. 
U.l 
U} 
e 
v 
co 
tr 
» 
3.4 
n.7 
14.» 
1.5 
0.5 
It will be noticed that the whole ot the organic 
matter or turnips Is considered as digestible nutri¬ 
ment. It must be taken Into account that these 
are combined with 8S percent, ot water, while the 
oats and prairie hay have but 14 per cent. This 
fact leaves the Indigestible organtc matter of tur¬ 
nips so small in amount as to be practically not 
worth considering. Taking acoount of the fact 
that turnips contain six times as much water as 
the other substances, they are seen to be much 
more nutritious In proportion to the dry matter. 
a subscriber,—address mislaid — has five fields 
for a rotation of crops for mixed husbandry, but 
he (lads that ho can never gel enough or grass and 
he asks whether he should make another field, re¬ 
ducing the size, of course, of those he has now. 
Ans.— The rault with a rive-field rotation Is that 
it Is exhaustive of the soil and does not produce 
manure. It ls necessarily confined to corn, oats, 
wheat, clover and grass, and tnese crops are to¬ 
tally lnconalsient with good farming and the keep¬ 
ing of sufficient live stoek. A seven-course rota¬ 
tion la preferable, and It may be worked on four 
fields very well by Uavlng three fields under two 
crops. This rotation would be wheat, grass, pas¬ 
ture, corn, roots or rodder crops, barley or oats, 
seeded to clover, and lastly clover. The advan¬ 
tages or this rotation are, two fields ror hay and 
one for pasture, one field of roots or fodder crops, 
and two succeeding cultivated crops by which the 
soil Is cleansed from weeds. These advantages are 
obvious. A nve field rotation is but little better 
than a four field one, because enough cattle can¬ 
not be kept. 
IK. A. D„ Clinton, Conn., says that a year ago 
he had some raspberry canes which he thought 
had gone through the Winter unlDjured, but 
when they should have put forth leaves they 
failed to do so, as they had been badly winter- 
killed. Last Spring he bought from Mr. J. T. 
Lovett some Culhoert Raspberry plants which 
wore very fine and made a rapid growth. Ho 
pinched them back from time to time and conse¬ 
quently they grew scout, bushy canes. But seeing 
It stated. In our Special Small Fruit Number, 
that the cutboert had been somewhat Injured In 
some places, and thinking, therefore, that he 
might be mistaken In Ills belief with regard to the 
safety of his own, he has cut off the tops of several 
canes and sent them to us for our opinion on the 
matter. 
Ans.— The specimens sent us are not Injured In 
the least. 
- v - Pittsburgh, ind., sends us a piece of the 
small Intestines of a sheep that died suddenly 
without having shown any noticed signs of sick¬ 
ness. The bit of Intestine, like all other small 
ones, was covered with little hard lumps, and In 
one place a large hole allowed the food to pass 
through; at ibis place there was a large, soft 
lump; and our friend asks what was the matter 
with that unfurl unate sheep. The village doctor 
says the Intestines showed signs of tjphold fever, 
but our friend “ can’t see It.” 
Ans The village doctor la right; under the mi¬ 
croscope the peculiar organisms present In enteric, 
Intestinal or typhoid fever are abundant. The 
inflammation caused the rupture of the Intestine 
which Is always ioilowed by death lu a few hours. 
The lumps arc old deposits, resulting from previous 
Inflammation, and have no connection with the 
present trouble. They consist chiefly of phosphate 
of lime and are by no meaus uncommon in the 
viscera of animals. 
s c. lKe.sC Xorthjteld, Mass,, asks, l, how, much 
ground planted to lodder corn wfil It take to fill a 
pit. twenty feet long, twelve feet wide and six feet 
deep, or 1,440 cubic feet; and, 2, If such;a pit, were 
properly' filled what would be tbe value of its con¬ 
tents as compared with that of hay. 
Ans.— 2, Green corn tedder packed m such a pit 
weighs one ton for every 4T cubic feet. Tbe pit 
will therefore hold about 31 tons. Tbls may be 
raised on one acre; It has been grown on half an 
acre; but can be easily grown on one, by planting 
any large kind of corn, as the Southern white or 
Western Dent corn, and manuring and cultivating 
It liberally. The feeding value, as compared with 
hay, must be estimated In proportion to the water 
contained In the corn, which la equal to 75 per 
cent, while In hay there Is ooly 15 per cent. Other¬ 
wise the fodder ls nearly as valuable as the hay. 
H. s„ Easton, Mil, asks whether It ls advisable 
to plant, whole potatoes; he has always cut them 
to a tew eyes tearing to have too many plants In 
a hill. 
Ans.— A good deal has been said In our columns 
on this question, to which our Inquirer is respect¬ 
fully referred. Whole potatoes will give a larger 
yield of small potatoes. Single eyes, if placed 
eight inches or more apart In the drills will give a 
better yield of large potatoes. We made some 
very careful experiments touching this subject, at 
the Rural Farm last season, the result ot which we 
publish In tms issue. 
J. D. K., Lebanon, Ya„ asks, l, how far from the 
ground and from each other should the wires be 
paced in making a wire fence to render It effectual 
against pigs, sheep and other stock; 2, will cut- 
tlngs of Osage Orange of last, year’s growth, grow, 
If planted, and when should they be cut and set 
out. 
Ans.— 1, The lowest should be six inches from 
the ground. Tms and tbe next should be one foot 
apart, after that it doesn’t so much matter, i. 
'There are only two ways of making hedges ot the 
Osage Orange—from cuttings from the roots and 
from seed. The method or making such hedges 
was described lu full In the Rural tor May 22 80. 
G. H. Parkhurst, Kings Co., X. Y., desires to 
know it the Chinese Yam (Dloseorea batatas, we 
presume) would not be a good substitute for the 
potato which ls now so difficult lo raise on account 
of the bugs. 
Ans —No. This has been tried again and again. 
The roots are loo tender and too long; they grow 
too deeply In the grouud. The largef end Is at 
the bottom and It Is difficult, rherelore, to har¬ 
vest the crop. Besides, the taste ls not agreeable 
to most persons. Its first value ls as a hardy, her¬ 
baceous, ornamental vine. 
J. w.,mpon, Wis , says that If we wish he will 
send on tor trial a specimen of the Jordan Broline 
Potato w hleh does well in that neighborhood. 
Ans — Yes, thanks. We are glad to try all very 
promising things and to report upon them. It is 
the only way by which we are enabled to present 
our readers with Jresh, original, trustworrhy in¬ 
formation regarding new things. But we beg of 
our friends not to send us new varieties which are 
plainly Inferior lo old kinds. 
M. A. P., Sterling Station, .V I', asks, 1, where 
can a Weeping Beech, like that figured In the Ru¬ 
ral of February 12th, be obtained. *2, Whether 
Blount Corn will ripen thereabouts. 
Ans.— Of any ot the nurserymen advertising In 
our columns. Bend for ibelr catalogues. 2, it is 
doubtful if it will mature, could not you try a 
small plot 7 It ripened with us last year two 
weeks earlier than it did the year previously. 
Perliaps you could acclimatize It. Dr Chamber¬ 
lin, who raised the first-premium crop, advertises 
seed at Medina, It. Y., not far from your place. 
A Subscriber, smithtown, L. asks, 1, what 
kind ot spring wheat ls best for Long island; 2 
whether Spriug wheat makes good flour. 
Ans —We have trted many different kinds of 
Spring wheat, but have never been very successful 
with any. Spring Mediterranean and “China 
Tea,” as It ls catalogued, have proven best. Cham¬ 
plain aud Defiance promised finely one season, but 
hot weather and Ircqweut showers seemed to 
shrivel the grain. Yes, good Spring wheat makes 
good flour. espectaUy by the “new process” mill, 
mg. 
R. P., Okolona, Miss., asks us to recommend a 
washing machine for a family of six. 
Ans.— We cannot very well auswer such ques¬ 
tions satisfactorily, because we need the informa¬ 
tion which can only he gained by experience with 
rniny different machines, a friend, however, 
recommends the Erie and Keystoue Washers made 
by F. F. Adams & Co., Erie, Pa. Another, the 
Nonpareil Wasuer; still another, the Doty made 
by the Metropolitan Wringer Co., No. 32 Cortland 
st., N. Y. Perhaps the Robbins would answer 
nicely. 
w a., Pittsburg, Pa., asks, 1, whether we have 
tried the Russian White Oats, and If they are 
good; 2 , when a clover sod has been turned under 
for wheat, will clover catch again. 
Ans—I. No. We propose to try them this 
Spring. 2, Decidedly, yea. A clover catch de¬ 
pends upon the seed, the preparation of the soil, 
and the weather which follows. Home talk of % 
clover catch as ir chance had to do with It. Clover 
ls as certain to grow as wheat If the conditions are 
made as favorable. 
//. V., concord, has a cow from one of whose 
teats pieces ot curdled milk come once or twice a 
week, and he asks bow lo treat her 
Ans —This Is probably caused by a disordered 
condition of the blood, or it may be caused by con¬ 
gestion of the udder. Give the cow eight ounces 
ot Epsom Halts, and afterwards one ounce of salt¬ 
peter once a day for three or four days. If the 
cow’s dung Is hard or dry this should be remedied 
by laxative food such as bran, without corn meal 
S. If., Auburn. .V. J'., asks, 1, what Is the speed¬ 
iest way of restoring ammonia to charred bone and 
leather which had been used in case-hardening 
tools; 2 , having received the White Elephant ro¬ 
tate, he asks whether It will be necessary to send 
more postage stamps to secure the rest of the 
Beed. 
Ans. — l. Mix them with blood, hen manure and 
muck, guano, sulphate of ammonia, fish, farm ma¬ 
nure, or, Indeed, any substance rich In nitro¬ 
gen, 2 . No. You have sent, your share of post¬ 
age ; otherwise you would not have received the 
Elephant. 
A Subscriber, address mislaid, asks whether 
English Walnuts do well In the latitude of central 
New York. 
Ans— English Walnuts do not grow as thriftily In 
tills country as In England especially In the north¬ 
ern latitude. The nuts are of as good quality, but 
the trees do not bear as well as they do In a more 
favorable climate. With high culture and a shel¬ 
tered location they would produce more than they 
usuaffy do growing in lawns without any care. 
G. G ll., Manchester, vt,, asks how much more 
per month for a year can a farmer afford to pay a 
hired man If he does not board him tliau If he 
does. 
Ans.—I t ls very clear that the difference should 
be the value ot the board. This Is easily ascer¬ 
tained, and It should be added to the amount of 
the wages. A frequent rate of wages ls $15 a 
month and board, and $25 a month without board, 
$io a month being generally considered as the 
price ot a month s board. 
I ■!. Johnston, X. Y, has a Japan Snowball 
whtch In Spring ls Infested with small green 
worms that do not eat the leaves, but cause them 
to curl and tbe blossoms to tall. They don’t seem 
fond of Hellebore, and be asks for some remedy 
they would be likely to take to more kindly. 
Ans —Try a tablespoonful ot Paris-green to a 
pall of water, sprinkle the bush as If It were a 
potato plant. 
.4. M., Lomont, Mich , having 12 peach trees to 
set. out the coming Spring, asks, l, how early 
should he plant them; 2 , whether he can find the 
Rur al at the newspaper offices; 3, what 1s the best 
fruit drier, and where can It be found. 
Ans.— 1. As scon as the frost ls out of the ground 
until the buds begin to push. 2 Sometimes; not • 
always. 3. We must refer you to our advertising 
columns. We do not know which ls the best. 
ir. B. x, no address, asks, l, whether there la 
any known complete and thorough protection for 
plums and peaches against the cmcullo, one that 
ls Inexpensive, easy of application and not Inju¬ 
rious to tree or fruit; he says he has Just such a 
thing, and asks, 2 , whether tt would be advisable 
to apply for a patent. 
ans —l. No. 2 . Yes, If you are certain as to Its 
efficacy, etc. 
W. S , Lincoln, Neb., says that some eight years 
ago he saw In Missouri a fence built of pickets 
waltled In between wires, and having been told it 
was covered by a patent he asks whether It ls 
patented, as he wanted to build oue like it. 
Ans.— We have mad" some Inquiries about this 
sortof fence; but can learn notlilng definite. It 
ls probably patented, however. 
E. F. D Lynn Mass., asks what value as a fer¬ 
tilizer have wood ashes and charcoal (mostly char¬ 
coal) the remains of a burnt frame building. 
Ans —The ashes would have only the value of 
leached ashes, as they are leached we presume. 
The charcoal would have no value a3 a fertilizer, 
as It la Insoluble; but on a stiff soli It would 
have some mechanical benefit in tightening it. 
F. M. B„ Pucklin, Mo., asks whether there ls 
any preparation Into which pine shingles can be 
dipped, to preserve them, without Injuring the 
water from tho roof tor cistern purposes. 
Ans.—T o steep them in crude petroleum Is the 
best; It would flavor tbe water, but after a 
time this difficulty would disappear. 
B. M. L„ Oakburn. X Y„ asks whether the firm 
of G. H. W. Bates, of Boston, who advertise violins 
for $3 fli), is trustworthy. 
Ans.— Allowance must in some cases be made 
for extravagant language In advertisements. A 
fine violin can not be sold except at a loss for 
$3 50. The firm ls good. 
J. M M, Strawberry Plains, Tenn., asks 
whether there Is lu this maiket a grass called 
Oat Grass. 
Ans.— We do not find any grass of that name In 
any of the seed-men’s catalogues, nor Is it 
quoted In any of the market reports. 
C. P. It., Brighton, o., asks tor a recipe for a 
cheap, light-colored paint for a board fence. 
Ans.— The Rural has given several within the 
past year. But we have had no experience with 
