AUG. 20 
THE BUBAL NEW-YORKER. 
554 
the labor of carrying it out by hand, I pro¬ 
pose to keep nay cows over the basement or 
cellar so that the liquid and Bolid droppings 
can find their way below together, which, I 
think, will be the easiest way to keep the 
stables clean; but here I am met with the 
objection that the manure cellar will make the 
stable overhead unhealthy for cattle, and my 
object in writing to the Rural is to learn 
whether this is the truth from those who have 
had experience In this mode of stabling cattle. 
Anb. —There 5b no possible objection to the 
use of a manure cellar ou the score of health- 
f ulness, if proper arrangements are made; and 
there are many advautageB arising from it. A 
description of the writer’s manure cellar may 
serve to answer fully all the points of the 
above inquiry. It is under the cow stable and is 
eight feet deep, placed on sloping ground, so 
that the cows enter the stable from a level Bur- 
face and a manure wagon can be backed into 
the cellar to take out manure at the other end 
and at the side through wide doors. The cel¬ 
lar wall is of brick and stone, and the floor is 
not cemented, and is kept covered with swamp 
muck and olher absorbents to take up the 
liquid. The floor above is double plank, with 
joints broken. The manure falls into a gutter 
behind the cows and the gutter has two trap¬ 
doors through which the manure is drawn 
with a broad hoe into the cellar. All the liquids 
are saved. The cows have a dry, clean bed al¬ 
ways. No smells come up from the cellar, as 
it is thoroughly ventilated by the two doors 
and two open windows. Plaster is always 
seat'ered over the floor and gutter when the 
manure is cleaned out, and this absorbs all 
the bad odors. There is less odor about a 
stable so kept than in one where the yard 
adj oins it, and the cows have to tramp back 
and forth through the manure piles. With a 
manure cellar the yard may be kept clean and 
well littered, and be made as free from smells 
as the stable. 
Salt lor Stiffening Straw, 
W. W. P., Karnett, Kansas, having some 
ground on which the wheat lodges every year, 
asks whether applying salt to the soil would 
be likely to stiffen the straw. 
Ans.— The general experience is that the 
application of Balt to wheat stiffens the straw, 
brightens the berry and increases the yield. It 
has been found, however, that it has little or 
no effect near the sea-coast, probably because 
enough of it is carried on the air to the soil in 
6uch places. Spring is the best time to apply 
it, and five bushels per acre are nsnally sown. 
Even iu inland regions its effects vary greatly 
according to the needs of the soil. For our¬ 
selves, we have found little or no benefit from 
salt on the Rural Farm, although the air is 
often bo laden with it that it can be tasted on 
the lips. It has been supposed that salt pre¬ 
vents rust on oats, wheat, etc., yet it certainly 
has not had Ibis effect on the Rural Farm. Our 
friend's land may be too rich, or lacking in sili¬ 
cates—a rare thing—or it may need some special 
fertilizer. It might be well to apply salt, at the 
rate of five or six bushels per acre, on one pari, 
and on another bone flour, at the rate of 600 
or 800 pounds to the acre. Perhaps some of 
our friends who have had trouble under like 
conditions may give us the result of their ex¬ 
perience. 
Using Hen >1 
A. B. K . Ml. Holly, one of the six in 
the country —having collected from his 
neighbors about 200 bushels of hen manure, 
and wishing to drill it in with wheat, asks 
how much it should be adulterated so that the 
seed may germinate, and also with what should 
it be adulterated. He has plenty of good 
marl, and would like to know whether it 
would be an advantage to mix the dung with 
land-plaster or salt. 
Ans. —We would prefer to mix the hen 
manure with dry earth or coal ashes—about 
four parts to one of the manure. Dry muck, 
however, where obtainable, is the best thing 
.with which to mix it. Let the mixture lie 
in a heap until it heats ; then work it over 
and mix more, repeating the operation until 
the dung is mixed with fully four times its 
weight of muck, which will probably be eight 
times its balk. When hen manure is drilled 
with any seed, there is much danger that it 
will “ burn ” the seed, unless it is greatly 
diluted. It is always safer to have a thin 
layer of soil between the manure and the seed. 
Laud-plaster, salt, etc., had better be spread 
separately, 
Raisin Grapes. 
A. G. Somerset, Md., asks whether the 
raisin grapes of California will succeed on 
the Atlantic seaboard. 
Ans. —The raisin grapes all belong to Vitls 
vinlfera, or the foreign class, and all the 
varieties become hot-house grapes upon our 
slope of the continent. They are of little value 
for general out-door culture here ; they differ 
from our native grapeB In being larger, more 
meaty, and of firmer pulp, which adheres more 
to the BkiD, and lets to the seeds than in our 
grapes. There is no good raisin grape among 
our native classes or their varieties. Some of 
our specialiete are working in this direction, 
but the meaty characteristics required for a 
satisfactory raisin grape not being found in 
any of our sorts, it will require many years 
of special development to produce such a 
variety. 
Egg Plants, etc. 
J. P. H, Mt. Repose, Ohio, asks how to cul¬ 
tivate the Egg Plant; he has tried it for two 
seasons without success. As soon as the plants 
are growing nicely, small black flies infest the 
leaves, causing them to dry up soon. He has 
fought them in vain with ashes, plaster, soot, 
etc., and even with diluted carbolic acid; 2, 
how to get rid of pennyroyal in wood pas¬ 
tures. 
Anb —1. The seed should be not more than 
one year old. Sow in drills three inches apart, 
in hot-beds, from the 15th to 20th of March, 
and when the plants are two inches high trans¬ 
plant them into another bed, setting them two 
Inches apart each way. Protect the sashes at 
night with straw mats till the weather is warm. 
Avoid opening the Bashes until an hour or so 
after removing the mats, so that the plants 
will not " damp off.” Transplant to the open 
ground about May 30. Soil should be deep, 
rich and well tilled. Set the plants three feet 
apart each way and sprinkle bone-dust or super¬ 
phosphate around the rootB. Keep the ground 
free from weeds. The New York Purple is the 
beBt and most productive kind. The aphides, 
or lice, may be desiroyed by the use of the 
atomizer, which is now sold by many seeds¬ 
man. Use tobacco water the color of tea. 2. 
We preBume you mean the American Penny¬ 
royal (Hedeoma pulegioidts). The root is an¬ 
nual, so that if the seeds are collected for a 
Bingle season there can be no more trouble. 
Miscellaneous. 
E. M., Darlington, Pa , asks, 1, for a plan of 
an “eveuer” for three horses hitched abreast 
on a wagon tongue so that the draft may be 
equal for each horse; 2, treatment for a two- 
year-old colt which has lately been afllicted 
with farcy, which has dried up now, leaving 
the animal stiff in the hind-quarters, affected 
apparently in the liver, with scant urine of 
a light yellow color; 3, will theR. B. Sorghum 
be more likely to ripen its seed if the suckers 
are removed ; 4, should clover seed be sown 
with wheat and Timothy. 
Anb —1, Just such eveners were described 
and illustrated in the Rubals of March 26, 
page 209 ; April 2. page 225, and June 4, page 
367, and we refer our friend to either one of 
them. 2, Give the horse 12 ounces of Epsom 
salts; repeat after three days. Then give one 
ounce of hyposulphate of soda daily for a 
month. The blood Is diseased and an early 
cure cannot be expected. Give bran and lin¬ 
seed washes occasionally aud no corn: Avoid 
nmsty or smutty fodder or grain very carefully. 
3, Probably not. 4, We prefer to sow the 
clover in early Spring and harrow it in. 
G. W., Coming, y. Y., has a cow which 
about six weeks ago began to have a thin 
watery discharge from the nostrils. Later 
the discharge become thicker and darker, and 
then bright yellow tinged with blood. The 
poor beaBt delights in rubbing her nose against 
anything, and a stake which she can run up 
her postrils for from one to six inches is a 
godsend which she greets with a snort of satis¬ 
faction. She Is falling of her milk and the 
‘‘maleold grannies” there say, “hollow horn” 
is what’s the matter with her, and our friend 
asks what really ails her and how to cure the 
ail. 
Ans. —The description of symptoms does not 
allow of a diaguosis. We should think it was 
“ nasal catarrh" and would advise fumigation, 
with tonics twice a day; also a liberal supply 
of salt and generous feed. We would like a 
fuller description of the symptoms of this 
case before venturing any further advice. 
W. F, Albion, yeb., says squash and pump¬ 
kins are thereabouts suffering from a white 
grub about an inch long, with a black head, 
that enters the vines near the ground, and he 
asks its name and a remedy for it. 
Ans. —It is the larva of the Squash-vine 
ASgeria, first described by Harris iu 183S. un¬ 
der the name of Nigeria cucurbitcB. This grub 
or borer perforates the stem of the pumpkin 
and squash plants near the ground and de¬ 
vours the interior. It becomes a winged insect 
the second year. A teaspoonful of saltpeter dis¬ 
solved in a gallon of water, and a pint poured 
on each hill, is said to “ do the business." 
M. A. H., Westfield, Mass., asks how can 
clippings from Arbor-vitas be made to root, 
and how far apart should the plants be set. 
Ans —Cuttings of the Arbor-vifae root read¬ 
ily. Cut them into six-inch lengths and plant 
them firmly in mellow soil in & cool, half- 
shady place. Or the cuttings may be placed 
in eaad-boxes, kept moist and cool. Three or 
four inches apart according to the size of the 
cnltings. Other questions will be answered 
next week. 
J. A. R., TWmfeno, la ,, sends for name speci¬ 
men of a grass that has lately appeared in that 
neighborhood. 
Ans. —This is common Crab or Finger Grass 
—Paaicnm sangulnale. It is an annual, pro¬ 
ducing such quantities of seed that it sows 
itself—a very valuable grass for pasture. 
Horses prefer it to almost any other. It is 
valuable also as giving a green nip after clover 
fields are cut and the stubble parched, as is 
often the case from drought. 
R. T-, Ulster, Pa., sends specimens of a 
grub for name. 
Ans— it is the larva of the common May 
beetle. The eggs batch in about four weeks 
after being deposited, and the grubs grow slowly 
until the 8pring of the third year, when they 
are transformed to the beetle state. They in¬ 
fest grass the worst and such crops as the po¬ 
tato and strawberry. These should be planted 
on land that has not been to grass for at least 
two years. No effectual remedy is known. 
R. P., Slenensville, Montana , says he was 
surprised to read, in the Rural of July 16, 
“ 8ow buckwheat generally Ihree bushels to 
the acre,” and he asks whether that isn’t too 
ranch. He sowed five bushels on ten acres and 
the stand was too thick. 
Anb. —The oversight was corrected on the 
editorial page of the next issue—July 23- 
having been detected too late for correction 
in the issue of the 16th. Pecks were intended. 
R. A. Pine. Rivei, Wis., asks what kind of 
wheat would be the best for his neighborhood— 
Lost Nation, Russian or Fife. 
Ans. —Fife is a hard wheat and rates No. 1 in 
the markets, bringing the highest price. Lost 
Nation and the Russian wheats are soft and 
have a bad reputation among millers; although 
they are growing in favor with farmers be¬ 
cause they are generally more productive than 
the harder varieties. 
A. 0,, Wesiover, Md , asks what is the dif¬ 
ference between agricultural lime and stone 
lime. 
Anb. —There is no difference, except that the 
so-called “ agricultural lime" in Maryland 
has been air-slaked by exposure to the weath¬ 
er. As in siakiug, lime is greatly it: creased in 
bulk, a bushel of fresh stone lime is worth 
twice as much as one of the common powdery 
“ agricultural lime." 
F. T. J., Mt Oscar, Canada, asks, 1, for 
the name of a book on cider and apple vinegar 
making; and, 2, one on bee-keeping. 
Ans. —1. The Cider Maker's Manual, by J. 8. 
Buell, published by Haas & Kelley, 198 Main 
St., Buffalo, N. Y. Probably $1. 3. Cook’s 
Manual ..'f the Apiary, $1 25, published by T. 
G Newman & Son, Chicago, III., is the best 
work on bee-keeping. 
Communications bkcbivbd bob thb wbbk bnd- 
ing Saturday, Aug. 13. 
E. A. P.—K.W.—W. H. A.—G. S. J.—D. S. M.— H. 
S.—C. C., thanks tor “Golden Grains.”—L. B. A. 
(Pair No.)—G. \V. F,—E. W., reserved to accompa¬ 
ny Illustration.—C. C.—G. 8.. we are always thank¬ 
ful for drawings or labor-saving Implements.—J. 
B. V. Wheeler, we are always happy to answer any 
questions without compensation of any kind—un¬ 
less, as It sometimes happens, we receive a greater 
number than we ean attend to or fiud space for — 
W. J. V.—W. F. B.—J. A. J.—N. J 8.—W. F. H — 
W. B. If.. Mobile, Ala., thanks; we fear It la too 
lorn? for Fair No.—E. A P — H. A. C.—F. H. S —P. 
B. M. — W. F. K—W. W. T —C. E. P.—W W. P._ 
F.—T. T. L.—1’. B. H.-H. A. W.-,J. R.—O. J. C. 
gfmpUnunts and gHarltinery. 
THE PLOW OF THE PERIOD. 
THE “OLIVER CHILLED. 
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Ten years ago almost unknown—to-day doing service ou over 
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HALF A MILLION FARMS. 
Sales steadily increasing, and showing the largest ratio of gain where it is best 
known. 
Endorsed by the best agricultural authorities in the country—and its superior 
merits confessed by a brood of puny imitations. 
With 700 men, nearly a million dollars of capital, and acres of buildings and 
machinery, employed in its production—the demand for this— 
THE LEADING PLOW OF THE AGE, 
has been during the past year beyond our capacity—a state of facts never before 
witnessed in the 
./.V.V.//>V OF THE PLOW* TRADE. 
Beware of imitations, and see that the name “Oliver” is on the beam. 
“CASADY” SULKY PLOW. 
A revolution in the art of plow-mak¬ 
ing. Has no Landside ! Carries every 
pound of side and bottom pressure on 
its wheels ! Guages the width of its own 
furrow ! Turns square corners without 
lifting out! Rides over buried stones 
without disturbing the truck ! Works 
in the hardest, dryeet ground ! and ac¬ 
complishes other results not possible to 
any other plow on wheels. 
Address for Circulars, Terms, etc. 
OLIVER CHILLED PLOW WORKS, 
SOUTH BEND. XND. 
Indianapolis, Ind, Mansfield, O. Habbisbubg, Pa. Bai.timopf. Md. Dallas, Texas, 
St. Louis, Mo, Kansas City, Mo, Ckdab Rapids Iowa, tyi. Paul, Mink. Rochester, N. Y. 
