AUG. 17 
564 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
or whipped, especially if this is cruelly don e 
as is usual in such a case, the association of 
the punishment with the act becomes fixed 
upon the memory, and ever afterward the cow 
may be a kicker, because it naturally expects 
/ the punishment at milking time and tries to 
defend itself from it. The frequent change of 
ownership also greatly helps to produce this 
habit, because some cows will resent the ap¬ 
proach of a stranger; but this only happens 
with very fretful cows or those which have 
been habitually ill-used. 
This habit may be prevented by the cautious 
and kindly treatment of the calf and heifer be¬ 
fore she becomes a cow. A young calf will 
usually make an attempt to kick when the 
udder and teats are handled, but the objection 
is soon removed bv gentle persistence in the 
treatment previously recommended both for 
calves and heifers,in regard to handling, brush- 
it g and other familiar attentions. A cow that 
has been thus reared and trained will never 
become a kicker except by very brutal treat¬ 
ment. To cure this Vice is sometimes, If not 
always, easy. I have never found any diffi¬ 
culty about it by using patience and kind and 
gentle treatment, notwithstanding some occa¬ 
sional relapses and annoying accidents. The 
method of treatment has been as follows:— 
First, to secure the confidence and friendship 
of theatimal; second, to approach her cau¬ 
tiously, both to avoid alarmiDg her and to se¬ 
cure myself against au a.tack; lastly, never to 
strike or punish the cow for an attempt to 
kick, but, instead, to soothe her and so remove 
the fear of danger which has given occasion 
for the kicking. All this may be done by 
gently patting aud stroking the cow, speaking 
to her when approaching her, and familiariz¬ 
ing her to the handling. After this milk 
her in a small pail, which can be held so that 
it cannot be upset, aud with the left arm press- 
ng upon the cow’s leg so thut a kick can be 
warded oil as much as possible. While milk¬ 
ing, the cow is spoken to, to attract her atten¬ 
tion, and every movement about ber should 
be slow and deliberate, so as to avoid anything 
to cause her to suspect that a blow might fol¬ 
low the movement. When the milking is safely 
over the cow is petted and spoken to, and a 
handful of meal or oats may be given to her. 
If a kick is made or threatened, the cow is 
never to be beaten for it, but spoken to kindly. 
No other person than the milker should ap¬ 
proach the cow during the milking. Having 
entirely cared some cows that had been in the 
habit of kicking badly, by this treatment, 
wholly dispensing with sticks and ropes and 
other arrangements to prevent the kicking, 
and which only irritate the cow, I have confi¬ 
dence that there are few cows that have been 
so utterly spoiled that they may not yet be 
made quite gentle by it. 
Some cows kick because their 6ight is de¬ 
fective and they cannot distinguish the person 
approaching them. I have one such cow that 
is perfectly gentle and kind and free from all 
vice of whatever kind, that will yet lash out 
the foot when 6he is approached from behind 
without being spoken to, and especially when 
the udder is touched ou the wrong side sud¬ 
denly aud without notice. Nevertheless, when 
spoken to the will turn her head and lick the 
hand which is stretched out to her. This cow’s 
sight is not good, aud the defect is shown in 
other way6. Such cows should bo approached 
and handled always with gentleness, or they 
may be very easily startled, when it is instinct¬ 
ive with them to kick. 
Holding up the milk occurs chiefly when the 
cow is fresh. A cow that has been used to 
suckle her calf will naturally prefer that way 
of being milked. It Is most frequent with 
cows that are so habituated, and for this rea¬ 
son it is rare among those cows whose calves 
are not permitted to suck them. It is a fault 
more easily prevented than cured, and at the 
same time one that is very troublesome and 
mischievous in its results. A fresh cow that 
holds up her milk nearly always provokeB 
thereby an attack of garget and fntnre loss of 
milk all through the season, so that the dairy¬ 
man or owner of a family cow should be on 
the watch to avert the trouble. When the calf 
is habitually taken from the cow before it hue 
had time to suck, the cow will come to her 
milk naturally and without resistance, and this 
practice cannot be too Btrougly recommended 
as a constant rule in the dairy. When, how¬ 
ever, the trouble has occurred and a remedy is 
sought, we find how powerless we are to strive 
with the natural Instincts of an animal excited 
to stubborn resistance. Many devices have 
been tried and recommended to overcome this 
vicious propensity, but none of them iB of 
much value. One of these is to hang a heavy 
chain across the loins; another is to press 
upon the loins forcibly with the hands while 
efforts are being made to draw the milk. Oth¬ 
ers axe to give some feed at milking time, or 
to distract in Borne way the attention of the 
oow from her supposed grievance. Soothing 
measures and perseverance, or the use of milk- 
ng tabes, are the only effective remedies. To 
give some feed or Balt, and to sit down aud 
rub the udder and manipulate the teats as in 
milking, aud to persevere with gentleness, is 
often effective; but the only successful method 
of getting the milk is by the use of milking 
tubes (to be more particularly described here¬ 
after), by which the milk flows by force of 
gravity in spite of any unwillingness of the 
cow. The tubes are inserted gently into the 
teats aud the milk runs in a stream until all is 
drawn off. This method, or any other, is only 
temporary, and to be need only in the special 
emergency, because of the danger of injuring 
the lining membranes of the teats and 1 produ¬ 
cing inflammation of the udder. 
Self-sucking is the worst vice which a cow 
can contract. It totally destroys her useful¬ 
ness and is a constant irritation and disap¬ 
pointment. It is contracted by old cows as 
well as by young ones, and cases occur in 
which 10 or 12-year-old animals begin to prac¬ 
tice the vice. How it is learned seems to be 
unknown ; but it is more frequent than might 
be suspected. The remedies proposed have 
been numerous, but all fail excepting that of 
slitting the tongue, by which the act of suc¬ 
tion is made impossible. It may seem that this 
is a crnel and unusual punishment, but it is 
not so severe au operation as castration, and 
we do not hesitate at that to increase the value 
of our male animals. The use of the “ nose 
jewel," which is a piece of board fastened to 
the nostrils so as to hang over.tbe muzzle, and 
of variously arranged pokes, neck bracelets 
and 6traps, has been recommended as snre 
cures, but all have failed in practice. I do not 
hesitate to recommend the operation of slitting 
the tongue when the cow is a valuable one, the 
division being made two inches in length. The 
operation should be performed when the cow 
is dry, and the wound heals very soon. It 
is necessary to give soft food or slop until the 
healing is well advanced. 
CSmlomolotjiral, 
THE FALMETTO-LEAF MINER. 
(Laverna Sahalella.) 
The saw -palmetto (Sabal serrulata) on whose 
leaves the leaf-miner lives, is found in the 
sandy wastes of South Carolina and southward, 
and, as yet. it ib of but little use in manufac¬ 
ture, so that any insect infesting it can scarcely 
be called injurious in the sense that we use 
the term iu applyiug it to such insects 
as the cotton-worm. However, a study of 
its nature, habits andcharacteristics is inter¬ 
esting. 
According to the report of the Entomologist 
to the Department of Agriculture, for 1879-80, 
the larva feeds only ou the upper surface of 
the palmetto leaf, leaving the lower surface or 
skin unharmed. Reference to the illustra¬ 
tion, Fig. 420, will show the manner in which 
the larva? proceed in their work on the leaf, 
and also the neBts which they occupy when 
eating. These nests are delicate sheets of silk, 
covered with excrementitious pellets of the 
lame, the mass resembliug a collection of 
particles of sawdust. These little masses en¬ 
tirely cover that portion of the leaf on which 
the lame are immediately engaged; 
hence the true nature of their work iB con¬ 
cealed, The larvie are about half an inch 
in length, white in color, tinged with yellow, 
the head and mandibles a yellowish-brown. 
They are active in their movements, and, if 
disturbed, they can quickly spin out a silken 
thread by which they descend to the ground. 
Alcohol will change their color to a brilliant 
pink or rose. Inside the neBt the chrysalis Is 
formed, which is about three-fifteenths of an 
inch in length, the color reddish to reddish- 
brown. It is represented on the right of the 
engraving, the larva on the left. In the cen¬ 
ter the moth is shown, which is of asiiver-gr^y 
color, with a slight tinge of lavender in some 
cases. The front wings bear two small, black 
spots, each near the hind margin. These in¬ 
sects have sometimes been found on the young 
Cabbage Palmetto ; but they are generally 
found on the species above mentioned. 
A New Clover Enemy:—The Supposed Army 
Worm. 
Prof. Riley called at this office on his way 
to attend the Scientific Ag. Association at Cin¬ 
cinnati and Am. Asso. Ad. Sc., of which he is 
General Secretary. He will spend some time 
on the way in Yates County,N. Y., looking into a 
recently reported injury to clover by a large 
snout-beetle (Phytonomu6 punctulatus), which 
has never been found in this country before, 
and which is apparently an importation from 
Europe. He states that he has recently reared 
the smaller worm which did so much injury 
to the grass in the dairy counties of this State 
in June, and was at first looked upon as the 
Army worm. It proves to be a common moth 
(Crambus vulgivagellus), belonging to a genus 
which, in the larva state, is partial to grass. 
®|f fituprir. 
THE NEW WHITE GRAPES. 
At a recent meeting of our Western New 
York Horticultural Society, this question was 
asked: “Is there any hybrid grape that can be 
recommended for general vineyard (field) cul¬ 
ture in Western New York ?” The replies were 
to the effect that while there were many that 
were very desirable for the garden, no hybrid 
could safely be planted extensively in the field. 
The Lady Washington Grape is superior to 
Pocklington or Niagara iu quality and beauty, 
but as it is a hybrid, and as the other two are 
natives, I should be tempted to offset the de¬ 
merit of foreign blood against the merits of 
superior quality and beauty. I am glad to 
learn from Mr. Bensel that the public is be¬ 
coming more discriminating in regard to the 
quality of fruits, but the facts in the premises 
incline me to the belief that, while we can see 
some Blight change for the better in New York, 
Boston and Philadelphia, the present race of 
fruit growers will have departed from this 
life long before the masses will pay twice the 
price of Concord for CatawbaB. But if they 
did pay twice the price, still the Concord 
would be the more profitable in New York 
State at large, for there are only a few favored 
sections where the Catawba can be grown 
successfully. 
I have a high opinion of the Lady Washing¬ 
ton. With slight protection it wintered with¬ 
out the loss of a bud with me. At Rochester 
W. C. Barry tells me it was injured as it hung 
on the trellis, but last Winter was exceptional, 
and I infer from the Rural's report that the 
Niagara was more or less injured at the Rural 
Grounds, though it does not Bay so. [The 
Niagara at the Rural Farm, on the ocean, was 
not harmed in the least. The Lady Washington 
at the Rural Grounds, Bergen Co., New Jersey, 
(in a valley) was killed nearly to the ground. 
Eds.] Lady Washington is preeminently 
vigorous and productive here, aud thus far 
perfectly healthy. The clusters are very large 
and often double-shouldered. Should it prove 
hardy and healthy enough for vineyard plant¬ 
ing in Western New York, it will exceed our 
present expectations of hybrids, yet it may 
prove au exception, and I sincerely hope it 
may. There is a vast difference in tastes re¬ 
specting the quality of fruits. What is one 
man’s meat is another’s poison. As highly as 
I respect the opinions cf our pomologlcal 
authorities, I cannot but think it best that 
Individuals should express their own opinions 
as to quality, otherwise we shall be led into 
error. It Is altogether too common at the 
present day for writers to express opinions 
that are simply reflected ; if an authority says 
a grape or a strawberry is of ordinary or poor 
quality, such writers dare not risk their repu¬ 
tation by giving a contrary report, whereas in 
their peculiar locality the quality may be vast¬ 
ly different, and tbe diff erence plainly percep¬ 
tible to them. Geo. W. Campbell thought his 
Triumph Grape wanting in character at Dela¬ 
ware, Ohio; but in Missouri, George Hus- 
mann, Samuel Miller, and others Lhmk it one 
of the most attractive table grapes they have. 
The Crystal City Strawberry is reported by 
good authorities as of poor quality, but here 
it is delicious, though faulty in other respects. 
Clifton, N. Y. Chas. A, Green. 
-♦ • ♦ 
VitU Arizonica aud VitU Californtca. 
Seed of these two classes of grapes was 
kindly sent me by the Commissioner of Agri¬ 
culture. I sowed it in a common hot-bed 
with seed of Ioua and Eumelan: all were 
cared for alike. Result: the young plants 
of Arizonica and Californica are nearly all 
dead, or so badly mildewed that I fear I can¬ 
not save them. The loua plants are mildewed 
to some extent; the plants from the Eumelan 
are apparently free from the mildew, but 
making a slow growth. It should be stated 
that it has been a cold season here, and that 
there is more or less mildew on the old vines 
in the same garden. The following varieties 
are injured about in the order in which they 
are here named: Sweet Water (a foreign 
vine), Othello.Rogeis’sNo. 5,8aleni,Metrimac, 
Agawam (all hybrids with the foreign), Dela¬ 
ware, Iona, Adirondac and Creveling. Other 
Varieties are not much injured. Both the 
leaves and young canes of Arizonica, Califor¬ 
nica and Sweet Water are attacked ; the fruit 
on the others suffers most, turning white, 
hardening, and growing darker. The fungus 
is perhapB Oidiuiu Tuckeri, or a kindred va¬ 
riety ; my glass does not magnify enough to 
tell me which for certain. My first thought up¬ 
on observing the young plants was, that I had 
introduced with the seed a new fuDgus, but 
upon comparison with the old plants, I con¬ 
cluded it wa6 the old enemy in au nuusual 
form. The lu son seems to be that these new 
classes will net stand our Atlantic seaboard 
climate and th*t the European and its hybrids 
must give place to our more robust classes, 
their hybrids aud varieties. D. S. Marvin. 
Jefferson Co., N. Y. 
Jtthstrial Copies. 
RAISING CARP. 
In answer to an inquiry, we have received 
the following communication from the head 
of the United States Commission on Fish and 
Fisheries: 
“The European Carp are propagated in the 
United States breeding ponds iu Washington 
for distribution throughout the country. In 
distributing these fish, imported some few 
years since for the purpose of supplying to the 
innumerable ponds over the country a good 
food fish that could be readily domesticated, 
it has been my aim to send them to persons 
who have localities aud conditions in which 
they would be likely to succeed. In order to 
enable me to do this, I have solicited the advice 
of the Members of Congress, as beiDg more fa¬ 
miliar with the capabilities and surroundings 
of their constituents than any others to whom 
I could apply, and have based the issues of the 
fish on their indorsements. 
The only conditions of the distribution are 
that the small fish issued Bhall be properly 
cared for, f, e., placed in water likely to be 
suitable for their maintenance, and which are 
not filled with other fish. The number given 
to an individual is, of course, governed by the 
supply. This, the first season, was limited to 
16, but the increased production of last year 
enabled me to furnish from 20 to 25 to each 
applicant. To persons in the adjacent States 
Lhe issue is made from the breeding ponds in 
Washington; but for those in the more remote 
ones central localities are selected as points of 
distribution to which the fish are transferred 
from Washington free of cost to the appli¬ 
cants, who are required either to send to the 
points designated or pay the cost of their re¬ 
shipment. 
The Expi ess Companies have been so suc¬ 
cessful lu transporting the young fish during 
the colder months, that I propose, the coming 
Winter, to send to all those persons whose ap¬ 
plications are favorably indorsed and who are 
willing to meet the cost of transportation from 
the ponds, as many fish as can possibly be 
allowed them. By this arrangement those 
parties who are willing to pay the express 
charges will be enabled to receive the llahmore 
promptly aud without the risk and contingen¬ 
cies of a general dlstributiou. 
Spencer F. Baird, Commissioner.” 
The carp has a small mouth, thick lips with 
barbels, or feelers, at the corners of the mouth. 
Instead of having the teeth, as usual, in the 
jaws, they are situated on the pharyngeal 
bones which are arranged in three rows lead¬ 
ing to the gullet. The general color of the 
back and sides iB a dark or olive-brown, the 
abdomen being often of a whitish-yellow or 
orange tint, the coloring varying somowhat 
with the Beason, water and soil, as well as 
with the age and food of the fish. The carp 
has been known for centuries In Europe, hav¬ 
ing, it is thought, .been orginally imported 
from Persia. It has ^een extensively cultivated 
in different parts of the continent, especially 
PALMETTO LEAF MINER—FIO. 420. 
