THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
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ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Preparing Caterpillars bp Inflation-A Natural 
History Cabinet—Pita-Wood, Etc. 
A Header, asks 1. liow caterpillars are prepared 
by inflation. 2. a design for a Natural History 
cabinet. 3. what is Pita-wood and what is it 
used for. 4. where can a book, treating of the 
preparation of Natural History specimens, be 
bought. 
Ans.— 1. T® prepare caterpillars by inflation 
the specimens must be dead, and they may well be 
two or three days old in death. Pushing the end 
of a knitting-needle into the hole at the hind end 
of the body, taking pains not to break the skin, 
the viscera may be stirred up. Then lay the 
caterpillar on a piece of paper or cloth which 
will soak up much liquid, and with a stick, round 
like a lead-pencil, rolled along the body toward 
the vent, press out the viscera. Begin not far 
from the vent, and press with caution, loosening 
the ■viscera more if they resist much. Then 
press from a little farther from the vent, and so 
on until tho skin is emptied, and no specks are 
Been in it when it is held against the light. Then 
insert a straw, bringing the mouth of the hole 
close around it, by tying it with a thread if neces¬ 
sary, and inflate the skin. The skin must be 
thoroughly dried while inflated. For this pur¬ 
pose it is well to make an oven, as follows: 
Hang a long, tin box, such as a mustard-box, on 
its side, either without its cover or with a hole 
in the cover, cut large enough to admit the cater¬ 
pillar freely. Place a lamp under the box, to 
heat it. While the akin of the caterpillar is kept 
iuflated by blowing into it as strongly as is safe 
to prevent bursting or stretching, hold it on the 
straw in the box. When your breath gives out, 
remove the caterpillar from the box, so that it 
shall only dry while distended. 
Being dry, if may be mounted by twisting a 
fine wire on a pin and pushing the two free ends 
into the hole, putting liquid shellac or glue on 
the wire to hold the skin firmly to ii; or a pin 
may be thrust directly through the skin aud 
through the straw iuside of it. Iu the former 
case, the straw should have been inserted as lit¬ 
tle as possible and afterwards removed; in the 
latter case, it should have been thrust to tho 
head and loft in ; in the latter case, be careful 
not to tear the skin, aud it is well to thrust the 
pin through a very small piece of cardboard 
which is to be glued to the under surface of the 
skin. Mr. 8. H. Sceddeb, to whom we owe the 
introduction of this method into general use 
among us, fastens his wire in the body, as above 
mentioned, but thrusts the outer end of tho wire 
into a cork and keeps every specimen protected 
in a bottle. Hairy caterpillars must be soaked in 
alcohol at least half an hour and lie on drying- 
paper or cloth for two days, and must not be 
rubbed. Keep the skin clean. 
2. Tightness is the first essential aud darkness 
is the next, for a cabinet. Let the joint betwoen 
the lid and tray of the box always be a flange if 
not a tongue-and-groov6, The boxes should not 
be much longer than broad, and may bo smaller 
for beetles than for butterflies. It is weH for 
any one collector to have all tho boxeB of the 
same size: 48x40x7 cm. outside, is the approved 
size for musouma, and about 35x25x6 or 7 or 1C 
for private collections, according as the boxes 
are to hold specimens iu the tray only, or in both 
tray and lid. Glass-lidded boxes may be kept in 
a cabinet with closed doors. 
3. Pita- wood is the flower-stalk of the “Ameri¬ 
can Aloe ” (Agave Americana). It has been used 
with great success as a substitute for cork, to 
make the lining of boxes for specimens of Nat¬ 
ural History, where a wood easily penetrable by 
pins is wanted. It has been found to preserve 
the specimens in the box from mold when the 
specimens in oork-liued boxes were ruined under 
circumstances the B&me in every other particu¬ 
lar. It has the additional advantages of being 
lighter and cheaper than cork. It is also used 
to make strong, coarse cordage, and in Mexico 
for the manufacture of paper. 
4. A book of directions for collecting insects is 
sent by the Smithsonian Institution of Washing¬ 
ton, for twenty-five cents. The Naturalists’ 
Agency, of Salem, Mass., sells Maynard’s Natu¬ 
ralists’ Guide for two dollars. This latter book 
treats especially of the preparation of birds’ 
skinB. 
Remedies for Roup in Poultry. 
Silas Wright, Montcalm County, Mich., having 
within the last four years lost by roup fully 50 
hens, but not a Bingle oock, and having in vain 
tried several reputed cures for the disease, asks 
the Bubal to suggest some that may be more 
successful. 
Ans. — Roup is frequently caused by wet 
weather, or cold winds, but it may also result if 
the fowls are long kept without food and water 
and then have an unlimited quantity of dr ink , 
Confinement, however, is the chief cause of the 
malady, especially if the birds are shut np in 
tainted coops. Here, as in other diseases inci¬ 
dent to man and animals, prevention is better . 
than cure, and precautions should, therefore, be 
taken against the first attack. When the fowls 
have become affected, however, th6 earlier they 
are treated the better, for it is generally a diffi¬ 
cult task to effect a eure if the ailment has been 
permitted to secure a firm hold on its victim. If 
fhe eyelidB be swollen, the nostrils closed, the 
breathing difficult, the discharge from the beak 
and eyes foetid and continual, the oure is sure to 
be slow at best, and perhaps the best thing to do 
would be to kill tho bird, if not a very valuable 
one. 
In the early stages of the disease, however, a 
cure is generally easy. Keep tho fowl in a warm 
place; feed it with soft food only, such as meal, 
mixed with hot ale and chopped vegetables, such 
as cabbage leaf. Wash the head, eyes, and in¬ 
side of mouth night and morning, with dilute 
vinegar, or a solution of five grains of sulphate 
of zinc. In aggravated cases the following is 
highly recommended: Powdered sulphate of iron 
* half a drachm, capsicum powder, one drachm; 
extract of liquorioe. half an ounce; make into 
thirty pillB; give one at a time, three times a 
day for three days. Tegetmetb, the great 
authority on poultry matters, advises the follow¬ 
ing treatment: Feed on oat-meal mixed with ale 
and green food unlimited, washing the head with 
tepid water, and giving daily one grain of sul¬ 
phate of copper. 
In all oases the affected bird should be prompt¬ 
ly separated from the others, as the disease is 
very readily communicable, probably by drop¬ 
pings from the beak infecting the drinking 
water or food. 
Flavoring Butter 
J. 1)., Pittsburgh , Pa., asks whether there is 
any “ Butter-Flavor," safe and good, for the pur- 
pose of improving butter. 
Ans.— We know of no artificial “flavor” for 
butter. In a late issue we mentioned what is 
said to bo the practice of a German farmer to 
produce this effect. It is said he hangs a bunch 
of sweet-smelling herbs in the churn juBt before 
churning, and their flavor is imparted to the agi¬ 
tated cream. Having never tried this, we men¬ 
tioned it merely as a bit of news that might be 
of interest to some of our readers. 
Make the butter clean from all foreign and 
uoxiouH matter; work it as free as possible from 
buttermilk; salt it with salt liberated from chlo¬ 
rides of calcium and magnesium, such as any of 
the standavd dairy salts, and you have the best 
recipe for flavoring butter. 
Butter from New Milch and Farrow Cows. 
Jacob Fisher, Steuben Co., JV”. Y., asks whether 
he will get as much butter by churning together 
the cream from new milch and farrow cows as 
by churning the cream from each kind sep¬ 
arately. 
Ans. —The cream from new milch cows often 
helps that from farrow cows to come to butter 
and to gather. Wo have known cases where a 
farrow cow’s milk would not make butter alone, 
but mixed with that of a new milch cow, batter 
could be made from it. The globules are so 
small, or fine, that by themselves they will not 
unite readily, but will becomo attaohed to larger 
ones and so swell the mass of butter. It would 
be an easy matter for our correspondent to try 
the experiment of keeping a churning separate 
of the farrow cow’s milk, and see what the result 
would be, but, generally, it iB best mixed with 
other milk for tho above reasons. 
A Wet Cellar. 
A n old Rural Friend asks for the best and 
cheapest way to fix a wet cellar, which during 
some parts of the year, has a good deal of water 
it; and he also inquires whether snob a state 
Afc things is unhealthy. 
Ans. —There is nothing to prevent water ac¬ 
cumulating in snch cellars as have loose walls, 
fluring long periods of rain, except a good coat¬ 
ing of cement upon the outside and floor of tho 
foundation. If the cellar is too low—too deep— 
then the floor must bo covered with small, 
broken stones and puddled with cement (one 
^art cement, two parts sand) to an even surface. 
If water still accumulates, drains must bo laid 
to oarry it off. Earthen pipeB, four inches in 
diameter, are as permanent and cheap as any 
other effectual drain. 
There can be no doubt that water in cellars 
'is unhealthy. Of course it becomes stagnant 
very soon, and becomes favorable to the ex¬ 
istence of many forms of low vegetable life and 
poisonous exhalations, known to cause various 
diseases. 
Wants Silver-Spangled Bantam Eggs. Etc. 
A Constant Reader, Nunda, N. Y., asks 1. 
where can he get eggs of the Silver-spangled 
Bantam; 2. the name of a cheap work on Tax¬ 
idermy, and whore obtainable. 
Ans.—1. Write to Henry Hales, Ridgewood, 
N. J. 2. Taxidermist’s Manual, by Oapt. Thomas 
Bbown. Also “ Taxidermy,” a volume of Labd- 
nbr’s “ Cabinet Cyclopaediaboth of which 
workB any local bookseller will purchase for a 
customer, just as cheaply aud with less trouble 
than they can bo got direct from the publishers. 
Plants fot Name. 
X. R. Oneida. Co., N. Y., No. 1. Kerria Ja- 
pouica fl. pi. The variegated Kerria J. is de¬ 
sirable. The margins of the leaves are lined 
with white. No. 2. Silene pendnla, a native of 
Sicily. No. 3. Geranium Robertianum (Herb 
Robert.) This is common north. 
Miscellaneous, 
A Subscribe, r, Boltngton, V(t. , sends speci¬ 
mens of insects for name, and asks whether they 
will injure the wheat crop, and if so, how. (2) 
He, or she, also inquires why grain does not 
form on the lower part of a head of wheat which 
iB forwarded. 
Ans. -There were three crushed specimens of 
the tree-hopper (family Membracidae). We 
suppose, therefore, they must have been the in¬ 
sects inquired about. The habit of the family is 
to puncture twigs and 8tems and drink the sap ; 
but we have never known any marked harm to 
be done by them. 
(2) The cause of the seed not forming in the 
lower part of the spike, is owing to the lack of 
BOmo manorial ingredient in the soil—probably 
phosphoric acid. Try manuring with super¬ 
phosphate of lime. 
Col. Curtis, writes us that he has white Tiukeys 
This in answer to a question by a correspondent 
whose name we have lost. 
Communications received for the week ending 
Saturday, June, 15th. 
L. 8. — B. P. M.—S. W. J.—E. W. S.— E. B. W.— 
W. J. B.-R. W. F.—F. M. B.—A. C. W.—A. C. F.- 
E. B. W.—W. F.— W. L. C. D.-I. P. R.—W. W. — 
M. F. McC.—I. N. W.—8. 8. 8. — V. D. C. —G. C. C. 
—I. H. —F. D. C.—D. S. M., thanks — F. D. C., No. 
2—E. B. S.—R. S.—E. L.-M. 0.—L. A. R.-8. E. H.- 
a. m. van A.—w. H. w.— a. w. c.— s. m. —p.— 
W. J. F.—B. C. — H. J. W. — M. W. — T. H. H. — 
J. E. McC.—M. G. R.—J. W. A. 
NORTH CAROLINA NOTES. 
When I made my new plantation of small 
fruits last autumn, I plowed in a liberal applica¬ 
tion of manure from the horse stable, and soon 
learned that a mistake was made, as tho ground 
was soon occupied with oats aud weedd. I hoed 
this spring before tho flowers appeared, yet there 
was enough seed left in the ground to produce 
another luxuriant crop. Either I had better 
have used rotted manure, or else applied it ear¬ 
lier in tho summer, giving tho oats etc. time to 
grow aBd he destroyed by frequent cultivation 
before planting time. However, 1 now have 
them pretty well Bubdued ; all tho fruit, but es¬ 
pecially the strawberries, look fine. 
Currants are cultivated to a very limited ex¬ 
tent here, and as far as I can learn with poor 
success. This being my first experience with 
this fruit in North Carolina, I am unable to give 
any reason why it should not tbrivo where all 
other fruits flourish so finely. My plants are 
somewhat injured by borors, though not to any 
serious extent; but of tho Currant-worm I see 
no indications, neither did I ever on my own 
bushes even when my neighbors' crops were 
wholly destroyed. This exemption oau be attrib¬ 
uted to nothing except that mine were always 
kept cultivated aud weeded clean, while others 
allowed theirs to stand in sod with the additional 
protection, toward the latter part of summer, cf 
a rank growth of weeds. Will some one versed in 
entomology tell us if thorough cultivation is 
known to be any protection ? M. B. Prince. 
--. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS, 
Neosho valley, Coffey Co., Kan., June od, 1S78. 
This is a very busy time for the farmers. 
Everybody seems to be rushing the work instead 
of letting the work rush him. We aro having 
splendid corn weather at present, making it fair¬ 
ly jump, and promising a larger crop than in '77. 
Wheat is ripe, harvesting commenced last 
week, and the promiBo of an extraordinary crop 
was never so encouraging. The fruit crop will 
also be very large. 
New potatoes and peas in market on the 20th 
of last mouth—something unusual for this part 
of the country. Immigrants coming into the 
State rim over each other in their hurry to Becure 
a home in the “ Eden of America.” 
Prof. Tice is our prophet, and we rely on him 
as implioitly as the good old farmers of New 
England on “ Thomas’ Almanac.” 
* E. C. Field. 
brookston, n. c., June io, lsrs. 
Wheat harvest has commenced, and a good 
average crop will be made. This part of the 
State will have wheat enough for home con¬ 
sumption the present year, and wo hope to be 
able to make our own bacon next year, if not 
this. One cheering indication is that merchants 
are selling muoh less meat than last year. We 
have no more excuse for buying our bread, 
meat, butter and oheese, than we have for 
tolerating our numerous grog shops. Prices are 
for corn, 60e.; oats iu the sheaf, 75c. per owt.; 
egg 8 1 tOc.; butter, 25o. for prime, and “ as you 
can light o' chaps ” for grease; tobacco, $1.50 
for some small selections of flue-cured, down 
to one-hal f a cent for dark lugs. m. b. p. 
Dunnsville, Essex Co., Va., June 4, lsrs, 
Haevestino wheat has fully commenced in 
the Rappahanock Valley. The growth of wheat 
is generally good, as is also the head, but tho 
grain is very short and inferior and the product 
as far as heard from, can’t be half a crop of 
poor quality. Corn is not looking well; we 
have through April and to date, had cold snaps 
and cloudy and rainy 'or very unseasonable 
weather. Hay very good. The fruit crop is 
good now, but it is falling off. b, s. 
i __ 
Rural Grounds, June 15. 
The gray skies, rainy weather and cool nights 
following tho frosts recorded have much inter¬ 
fered with many of our experiments, notably 
those with strawberries which, so far as flavor is 
concerned, it is hard to distinguish ono variety 
from another. Crops of all kinds, however, are 
looking well though little in advance of previous 
eiiBons. The rye fields were never looking bet¬ 
ter. The grass is as green as grass can be, and 
the country altogether looks—to use a word which 
somehow we think ought to be monopolized by 
the gentler sox—charming ! 
Brown Co., Wls., June 11. 
We aro having good growing weather just 
now, and the small grains aro beginning to re¬ 
vive and get over the cold and wet weather of 
early spring. Early planted corn is up and looks 
poor and yellow. Potatoes are looking well. 
We are putting iu root crops and will next week 
sow millet. Sowing season with us lasts aB long 
aB there is growing weather, almost. Rye is in 
blossom in many fields, aud where not winter- 
killed looks well. Van. 
Cop.rt, Erie Co., Pa., June 8, 1878. 
Thebe was quite a freeze on.the .night of the 
fifth, which cut things pretty badly on the low 
grounds. Potatoes and gardes had to suffer 
heavily, on tho hills it hardly iujured things at 
all. We are having a nice rain this morning, 
which makes things look splendid c. d. s. 
Bennington, Morrow Co., Ohio, June ll. 
Oub fino crop of wheat is nearly covered with 
red rust. It is just iu bloom. Other crops are 
looking well. Nights aro cold with some frost 
occasionally. j. w. 
Ijfrtematt. 
STERILITY IN MALES. 
In most cases of impotence male animals on 
the farm are born all right, and only lose their 
pavtoe of procreattou in consequence of living 
too high aud not having sufficient exceroise. 
8oinetimes too, when very much tuclined to lay 
on flesh, tho animal becomes barren from want 
of exercise an the natural way, aud accumulates 
fat so as to destroy all sexual uudjuation. I had 
two bulls which would never got stock when fat. 
One of them was from Sir Charles Knightlev’s 
herd, aud yet afterw ard, when iu store condition, 
ho sired upwards or 200 calves per year and 
would have sired many more if deemed advisable, 
for as we always led him to tho cuws aud only 
once, he did not do as much as one having his 
freedom and lying with 20 cows only, would do. 
The other hull I did not possess at the same 
time, but he was at all limes so injured by good 
foul that ho lived entirely on the rough odds and 
ends of hay and oat straw and then he was 
literally like a ■’ straw-yard ” hull, which is an 
EugliBU saying duo to the fact that a bull lying 
out loose iu a straw yaid is always more anx¬ 
ious than others to mate with cows. 
The best stallion my father possessed got so 
lazy with mares, when he was nine years old, 
that he was worked daily at plowing and the 
work was beneficial, as he not only was always 
ready when w»nted but there were fewer barren 
mares than when ho was extra fat. 
Having hud a great deal of experience in 
breeding every variety of agricultural live stock, 
I have proved, over and over again, that all 
males are more vigorous for being freely em¬ 
ployed, the only euro required being prevention 
of repeated and useless jumping, and auy far¬ 
mer permitting a mala to lie uiirestraiued with 
the herd or flock when a groat many females 
have to be served, Is devoid of proper judgment, 
and any one with clear common sense can see 
that these statements are true. 
A bull can serve five cows to every single more 
served by a stallion, aud tho number of owes for 
which a rum is good, is double the number or 
cows whien a bull can properly serve and ten 
times the number of mares a stallion should be 
allowed to cover ; that is, if the ram is restrained 
like the horse. As all beyond one intercourse is 
usoless, when a male is desired to sire a great 
number of animalB he ought to be prevented 
from tiring himself to no purpose. 
One who knows. 
WEANING CALVES. 
Having weaned many hundreds of calves, and 
having 50 years ago fed them morning and night 
myself, I can say with entire confidence tUat 
after the first week, skim milk warmed a little 
more thau new milk is when drawu from the 
cow, will keep them iu good growing condition. 
There is no if or doubt about this fact, for many 
thousands are raised in this way every year, aud 
have been for years out of mind, before my day 
in the county I was barn in, and also, iu tho 
.States for tho last twenty years; while in 
Canada, they are treated j ust the same by hun¬ 
dreds of people. 
About four quarts of sweet skim milk for the 
first few times is enough, as giving more will 
relax thour too much sometimes; six quarts 
afterwards and. if it can be spared, ruore as the 
calf grows larger. In winter or early iu spring 
the calves require feeding with hay, a very little 
at first, and, of course, It should bo nice soft 
green hay and a little bran aud oats or brun 
and meal—two-thirds bran will make them all 
thrive very fast. An Old Farmer, 
