®6x (Dwrist. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Live Weight of Animals. 
A. 1). Foster. —In there any role for finding 
the weight of an ox by measuring bis girth, 
length, etc. ? If so, please state it in the Rural. 
Ans.— For the convenience of this correspond¬ 
ent and two others who have put a like question, 
wo republish, from a hack number of the Rural, 
the following rule for ascertaining, within a 
trifle, the live height of all kinds of stock; 
Take a btr<ng,putit around the breast,standing 
square just behind the shoulder blade; measure 
on a foot rule the feet and inches the animal is 
in circumference; this is called the girth ; (hen, 
with the string, measure from the bone of the 
tail which plumbs the line with the hinder part 
of the buttock ; direct the line along the back to 
the fore part of the shoulder blade; take the 
dimensions on the foot rule as before, which i? 
the length ; and work the figures in the follow¬ 
ing mannerGirth of the bullock, say six feet 
four inches; length, fivo feet three inches; 
which, multiplied together, mike 31 square 
superficial feet; and that multiplied by 23 (this 
number of pounds allowed to each superficial 
foot of cattle measuring less than seven and 
moro than live feet in girth,) make 713 pounds. 
Where the animal measures less than 9 and more 
than 7 in girth, 31 is tho number of pounds to 
each superficial foot. Again, suppose a pig or 
any small beast should measure two feet in 
girth, and two along the back, which, multiplied 
together, make 1 square feet; that multiplied by 
11, tho number of pounds allowed each square 
foot of cattle measuring lesg than 3 feet in girth, 
makes 11 pounds. Again, suppose a calf, a sheep, 
&c., should measure 4 feet 6 inches in girth, and 
3 feet 9 inches in length, which, multiplied to¬ 
gether, make 15)/ square feet; that multiplied 
by Hi, the number of pounds allowed to all cat¬ 
tle measuring loss than 5 feet, and more than 3 
in girth, makes 205 pounds. The dimensions of 
the girth and length of black cattle, sheep, calves 
or hogs may he as exactly taken this way as it is 
at all necessary for any computation or any valu¬ 
ation of stock, and will answer exactly to tho 
four quarters, sinking the offal, a sum which 
every man, who can get even a bit of chalk, can 
easily figure. 
Tho following rulos are also recommended by 
English usage (1) Multiply the square of the 
girth by tho length, both in inches. The pro¬ 
duct, multiplied by decimal .7958, will give the 
contents in cubic inches, which divide by 570; 
the quotient is the weight in imperial stones, 14 
pouuds to the stone. Or, (2) multiply the square 
of the girth by tho length, both iu iuches, and ! 
divide by 7238 ; the quotient is the Weight, Btoues 1 
imperial. Or, (3) multiply tho square of the 
girth by the length, both in inches, and multiply 1 
that product by .00013810; the product is weight | 
in imperial stones. Or, (4) square the girth, 
multiply by five lengths and divide by 21; the 
quotient will be tho weight in imperial stones, 
Keeping Goats. j 
F. O. Webb, Wes/ Va.—Will you give us j 
through the Rural New Yamnsa some iuforma- c 
tion about raising goats ? Is there a market for i 
their hides, and could they be made profitable ? c 
We have hero a vast amount of mountain land 
which might bo utilized by breeding goats, pro¬ 
vided it could bo done with profit. ^ 
Ans.— A satisfactory answer to this question g 
could only be based on previous experience in 
this country and such an experiment has never a 
yet been made. In many mountainous districts t 
in Europe, especially in Norway and Switzerland, v 
goat-keeping forms an important branch of in- e 
dnstry, but more for tho cheese and butter made l 
from then- milk, generally mixed with equal parts t: 
of cows’ milk, than for the profits from their r 
skins. Those of tho kid and goat, however, are tl 
valuable, the former for making gloves, and the h 
latter for the manufacture of the finer kmds of 
shoes, being soft, elastic and durable. The ^ 
flesh of the Lid is somewhat like venison and 
that of the goat by no means unpalatable, par¬ 
taking of the flavor of mountain mutton. The a 
presence of eaprio acid imparts a slightly pecu- " 
liar, though not unpleasant odor to the milk, W 
of which a good goat will yield a quart three 
times a day, aud which ia rioher and more di- ai 
gestible than that of the cow, aud in tea is as ^ 
grateful as cream. About a dozen yeara ago the rt 
Angora and Cashmere breeds of goats were in- y< 
troduced with considerable eclat into different u 
parts of this country, notably at Gallatin, Tenn., lJl 
and in Guernsey Co., Ohio, but of late little is 
known to the public of the results of the experi- q 
ments. The chief trouble in keeping goats lies 
in their exasperating aptitude for getting into 
mischief, but in the wid» mountain range iu J. 
your neighborhood this source of annoyance '' 
would be reduced to a minimum. A 
<F-2). Curtis, East Syracuse .—Will you please 
inform me, at your earliest convenience, (1.) n: 
where and of whom I can obtain “ Willard's 
Practical Dairy Husbandry,” (2.) also at what 
price. 
Ans.—( 1.) Tho Orange Judd Co., New York 
City. (2) $ 3. 
Swamp or Spotted Alder, 
g A. E. B .—Can some one tell me, (1,) the best 
a, means of getting rid of the common swamp or 
spotted alder ? I have a swamp running through 
j. my farm containing 7 or 8 acres thickly grown 
, alders. 1 think of sometimes putting a 
wide, deep ditch through the whole length of it, 
aa a drain, a small brook of first-rate water rung 
through it. Some say cat them down in the 
month of August and they will not sprout again. 
I have tried this but they sprouted some. I have 
*• juat one more question to ask, although not 
B peitainingto the farm. (2.) Is there tho same at- 
’ traction for the magnetic needle at the South 
ag at the North, if so how does it stand 
' when on the equator. 
) 
, Ans.--( 1.) We know of no better way than to 
, continue to do as yon have done. (2 ) There are 
two magnetic poles, one in tho northern and the 
other in the southern hemisphere ; bat neither 
of them is coincident with the terrestrial poles. 
[ At present the north magnetic, pole is situated 
in the extreme north of the American continent, 
probably about 400 miles southward of the 
terrestrial pole, round which it is moving slowly 
from east to west, completing tho circuit in 
about C50 years. There are multitudinous mag¬ 
netic influences, arising from terrestrial, lunar 
and solar influences, which affect the direction 
in which the compass points, bo that its varia¬ 
tion* or declinations are extremely irregular. 
It ia only along certain lines—called lines of no 
variation—that the needle points towards the 
pole. Bach a line at present passes near Wil¬ 
mington, N. C., Chariotteville, Vft., and Pitts- 
burg. Pa, On tho east of this line the needle 
point 8 away from the polo towards the west and 
this variation amounts to G degrees at this city, 
while at Portland, Me., it amounts to 18®. The 
equator does not mark the line which determines 
tiie superior influence of the north or south 
magnetic poles. This is extremely irregular at 
any tingle moment and is constantly varying, 
eo that science has hitherto been unable to de¬ 
termine either the nature or source of terrestrial 
magnetism. 
Jas. It. Bookei', Tuscarawas Co., Ohio .—I 
have several questions to ask the many readers 
of your paper. 1st. Will bees work well without ( 
a queen, a bee-keeper here says they do. 2nd. j 
I have a stony pieco of ground, and want to till j 
up a ravine close by, had I better throw the 
stones in miscellaneously or form dams across < 
it? t 
Ans.— (1.) Bees gather but very little honey and * 
pollen whan without a queen, if they have no 
queen cells, or eggs, or larvae to make one ; but 1 
when supplied with oue of these, they work as 1 
well as they do with a mature queen, because 1 
they know that they will soon have oue. (2.) 
Iu filling up your- ravine with stones, you had \ 
better throw them in loosely, (he largest at the 
bottom, and the sma 1 ones into the interstices, 
so as to allow the water to flow off through * 
them. We see no benefit in “ forming dams \ 
across it," whether you design to have an outlet t 
or not. You will require, at least, eighteen 
inches of soil on the top to render it in good c 
condition for cultivation. a 
Beets and Carrots on Muck Soil. 1 fi 
I an.—Can you or any of your readers tell me 
through the Rural whether beets or carrots will l; 
grow and do well on muck noil, 
Ans.—C arrots can be cultivated with profit on 1 
snch a soil, provided it is well cultivated and 
thoroughly pulverized; but of course, they ' 
would do much better on a rich loamy or grav- !' 
oily soil. This kind of soil is also the best for k 
beets, aud experience has taught us that when 
these are grown on ground naturally moist and f 
rich in humus, the roots are watery and very si 
thick, are liable to be hollow iu the middle and IS 
hard to keep in good condition. p 
Buclcwheater.—Viin the Rubai, please tell me 
how far north Lees can be kept with profit ? n 
Ans.— Bees are kept successfully as far north v , 
as Montreal and Quebec, Cauada. Anywhere w 
where bees oan gather honey plentifully six 
weeks in the year, they may be kept profitably, ci 
ft fins of lire ®ff!t. 
HOME NEWS PARAGRAPHS. 
J. A. Younge. —Twenty- five acres of my farm 
are river fiats and are overflowed every spring, 
on which account the fences have to be removed 
every fall and replaced every spring, the ordinary 
rail fence being used. Would you or any of 
your readers tell me what is tho most substan¬ 
tial, and convenient yet cheapest fence for my 
purpose. 
[Will somebody please answer.— Eds ] 
Communications received for the week ending 
Saturday Dec. 29th. 
G. G —W. F. Have attended to your request.— 
J. L. N.—O. W.—J. J. M. V.—J, N. B — Mrs. S. V. 
W. C.—Mrs.S. H. R.—J. R.—•• Jolin Rustlcus,"— 
la. N —May Maple.—J. W. L.—T. W.— J. A. W — 
A. E. B —Bessie —J. M. B.—T. B. M.—H. H,—8. 
<B. P.—W. C. L. D. sent S. plants—C. T.—T. U. H. 
— F. A.— “ Diseases of Apple Trees and Fruit.” no 
name.—Dr. G.—E. 8. 
Dlpt.heria Is prevailing to an alarming extent In 
8t New-Brunswlck. 
)r About 125,000 bushels of clover-seed areannu- 
11 ally sent from this country to Europe. 
The amount of deposits in the Savings banks of 
fl the United States Is estimated at $1, 500 , 000 , 000 . 
Throughout the cotton-producing StateB, the 
18 average yield of cotton per acre Is ITS# pounds, 
e valued at $19.Cl. 
u Of the 270,000 voters In Kentucky, 90,000 cannot 
e read, and more than 40,000 of the men who cannot 
t read are whites. 
In Central Georgia the aunual average cost per 
h head of keeping sheep Is fifty-four cents; average 
I cost of raising a pound of wool, six cents. 
Canadian statistics show that a large number of 
j French emigrants of the better class aro regu- 
9 ia-Oy arriving and settling in the Domlulon. 
j During November, 4,745 Immigrants arrived at 
r New York, i ,4*3 from Germany, 841 from England, 
(ji)3 Horn Ireland, and tho balance scattering-. 
I Tobacco has been such a profitable crop in Wis¬ 
consin tills year, that the farmers Intend to go 
’ Into the business more extensively next season. 
There are about 70,000 orange-1 rees in bearing 
In Louisiana, yielding over 30,000,000 oranges an¬ 
nually, which are worth on the trees about $too,- 
ooo. 
A suit about a yoke of steers lias Just been de¬ 
cided In Campbell county, Georgia, after fifteen 
y ears' litigation, In which the cost3 amounted to 
$1,500. 
Severe frosts on the 29th and 3oth of November 
solidified the Juice In the standing sugar cane In 
portions of Louisiana, and have caused Immense 
damage. 
Tobacco leaves are fatal to cows, as a Kentucky 
farmer learned a few days ago by losing three 
valuable animals which ate some of the weed 
with their hay. 
Florida hogs average a value of $9.72. The av¬ 
erage hog in .Maine Is worth $10.11; New Hamp¬ 
shire, $14.99; Vermont, $10 21 ; Massachusetts, 
$14.90; Rhode Island, $l3,so; Connecticut, $ 15 . 74 ; 
Now York, $10.30. 
A physiologist estimates that there are 2,400 
disorders to which the human frame Is liable, and 
there are plenty of poople who believe they have 
etery ono of them. 
ft is a singular coincidence that all of the Unit¬ 
ed Stales ships lost in the last ten years were ' 
named after Indian tribes, viz., the 8aranac, Sug- 
lnaw, Idaho, and Huron. 
A German woman Is at;work In Meriden, ct, 
digging ditches lor gas pipes. She does not heed 
the gaze of the idle but handles her pick and 
shovel to good purpose. 
There are six families In West Middletown, Al¬ 
legheny County, Penn., that contain sixty-eight 
chfidreu. The smallest family contains ten and 
the largest fifteen children. 
The Tax-Collector’s books show that the value i 
of real estate, subject to taxation, lu the city and 
county of San Francisco, is $190,972,880, and the . 
personal property, $ 03 , 720 ,oso. 
Chinamen have been destroying the fish In 
Napa River, Cal., by some poisonous compound 
which kills every form or animal life, aud makes ] 
tho water unfit for household purposes. 
A Lewis County 1 , Mo., farmer, sold his wool 
crop for $3,880, and Missouri farmers generally 1 
are beginning to seetbat there is money In sheep, ; 
and are Increasing their flocks or starting anew, i 
Fourteen bushels of chestnuts have, this fall, 
been sent lu small packages by mall, from Merrl- 1 
mack County, N. If., to Helena, Montana. The - 
postage ou them was $102.37, or $T,3t per bushel. 
A Minnesota farmer’s boy brought the village ! 
editor an ear of corn whtch was truly wonderful ] 
rorslze. 11.measuredlijtf lnoho3 iu length ami 1 
10 , 14 - Inches In circumference, and contained 1 , 6 -jo £ 
kernels. l 
The Illinois Central Railroad has arranged with 1 
the New Orleans and Liverpool steamship line, 1 
so that gram can be carried from Chicago to 1 
New Orleans, at 40c. per hundred, and to Liver¬ 
pool for 70c. < 
The population of Georgia Is 1,264,240, and the 1 
number of hogs Is 1,261,440, or one hog for every s 
person In tho State, and 200 hogs left over with 1 
which to regale the strangers that may happen ? 
within their gates 
The farmers of North Alabama find great dlffi- l 
cutty lit procuring bands ror field-work. In conse- [ 
quence of which half the cotton crop remains In 
the field,and will necessitate agood deal of finan¬ 
cial embarrassment. ^ 
The returns from the savtugs banks of Massa- c 
chusetts for the year show a large decrease in j 
deposits, roughly estimated at $ 2 , 000,000 to $ 4 , 000 ,- a 
000, This la the first time In the y'ear that there I 
has been a falling off. a 
The superintendent of a factory In Canada, I 
which manufactures paper Irora wopd, 9 ays that 8 
the process Is now so much improved that the 
paper can be made ready for use lu six hours fi om 
the cutting of the tree. v 
Illinois, this year, Is the great corn-producing v 
State. With this grain 6,935,411 acres were n 
planted, which gave an estimated average yield J 
of 28 bushels per acre, aggregating a total prod- e 
UCt Of 340,623,246 bushels. C 
On the 30th of November, Henry M. Marvin of 
Boone Co., Ind., sold eighteen fat pigs, thirteen 
months of age, for $4 per hundred gross, that 
weighed 81 S pounds each, after being driven over 
a rough road seven miles. 
The first, prisoner at the Jolle\ Ill., penitenti¬ 
ary*, was received In 1858, and since that time 
about 12,000 prisoners have been committed. The 
largest count was on Nov. 26 of this year, when 
the. inmates numbered 1,865. 
The permanent exhibition In Philadelphia lias 
received In all since It was opened, last May, $107,- 
800, and now has a debt of $275 000. Neither open¬ 
ing It on Sundays nor closing it Seems likely to 
save It from bankruptcy and the sheriff. 
Connecticut valley tobacc-o raisers bave nearly 
stripped this year’s crop, and report that It Js an 
unusually good one, despite contrary opinions 
earlier In the season. ITicespromlse to be lower, 
the New York strike having had a depressing 
* effect. 
Texas made this year 700.000 bales of cotton, 
from which will be sro.ooo.'ooo pounds of seed. 
This seed, converted Into oil, would bring over 
$ 11 , 000 , 000 , The total exports of cotton from the 
port ot Galveston for the season just closed, were 
195,814 bales, or which 256,928 went to foreign and 
233,860 to domestic ports. 
FOREIGN NOTES. 
At Glasgow, Scotland, one Iodine factory uses 
up 6,000 tons of seaweed every year to produce 
this chemical. 
The highest price paid In the Egyptian market 
for the young Nubian women la $500, and for fair 
Circassians $ 3000 . 
Berlin Is celebrated for its excellent schools, 
but teachers there receive only about, two hun¬ 
dred and fifty dollars a year. 
French statistics recoid on an average about 
200 cases annually of hydrophobia. Tnere aro 
said to be 3,000,000 dogs In France. 
lets Only lately that the flavor of WJntegreen 
has been known In Europe, but now It has be¬ 
come all the rage with confectioners. 
Beef can be bought In Belgrade at ono penny 
per pound, and lor warded to London by express 
trains lu six days, or leas, at a coat of three far¬ 
things a pound. Fat pigs can be bought for 2.v<J. 
per pound, and lambs at XI per score. 
Milan Is preparing for an international Exhi¬ 
bition In 1879. The outlay for the building, which 
Is to bo In t he London Crystal Palace style, Is set 
at the modest sum or $ 150 , 000 , two-thirds of which 
sum have tlready been subseilbed In England 
and the rcM lu Italy. 
British India Is becoming a strong competitor 
for tl e tea trade of the world fnuci only 1 , 300 ,- 
eoo pounds were exported from Ilhuloostan, hut 
the export has now grown to more than 23,000,uuo 
pounds, and the area of land brought under tea 
culture is increasing even more rapidly. 
English experience In dressing well-fed hogs Is 
as roliows: The per cent, or pork from a hog, the 
five weight or which Is above 650 pounds. Is 67 to 
83; a hog live weight600 to 650, 84 to 86 per cent, 
of pork; 250 to400, 61 to 32 per cent.; 200 to300, 
79 to so per cent.; under 200 pounds, 75 to 77 per 
cent. 
Tho Australians are turning to good account 
the rabbits unhappily Introduced to that country, 
and which have Increased so rapidly as to cause 
wide-spread damage. During tho month, of 
August 50,437 rabbits were petted, chiefly for ex¬ 
port. Thousands ol skins are sent to England lor 
use In making hats. 
The following a re some of the endowments of 
colleges and schools In Ireland : Trlulty College, 
$30u,00t); Queen’s University, $ 200,000 ; the Royal 
College of Science, $40,000; the Diocessan, Royal, 
Irish Society, Erasmus Smith, and other en¬ 
dowed schools, $ 210,000 ; and the Training and 
Model Schools, $285,ouo. 
It seem3 the English bees Imported a few years 
ago into Australia are on a strike. The peren¬ 
nial Summer of those parts of the country where 
they were located gave them opportunities ror 
seeking food at any time. Hence, there being no 
freezing weather to destroy the sources of their 
food, they ceased storing up honey either for 
themselves or tlu lr owners. Their hives areslrn- 
ply castles ot indolence. 
Concerning lhe English wheat crop J. B. Lawes 
of Rolhamstead, states that the average yield 
per acre Jn number.of bushels is very nearly tho 
same In isrr as lu IS 70 , but that the quality, as 
Indicated by the weight per bushel, Is much In¬ 
ferior lu 167T. Thus the average weight per 
bushel on the selected spots in the permanent 
wheat fields was 2# pound-!, and among the vari¬ 
eties or wheat nearly 3 # pounds less In 1877 than 
In1S7C. 
-♦♦ » - ■ - - 
The Best in the World.—The superiority of 
Wheeler & Wilson's 7!ew Sewing Machine Is as 
clearly established as human testimony permits. 
In addition to the Vienna, Centennial and other 
awards, there la au unbroken series of American 
Institute awards tor live years, published lu an¬ 
other column, that unqualifiedly proves this Sew¬ 
ing Machine “the best in the world.” Still It Is 
sold on as favorable terms as any In the market. 
Happy tidings for nervous sufferers, and those 
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