THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
AOS. 3 
®|f (jurist, 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Grassed. 
P. Corbin, Broome Co., N. Y., Benda 16 
samples of grasses and asks their namoB as num¬ 
bered, together with the merits or demerits of 
oach. Jin sowed different liinda of need from 
their reputation, but canuot tell ono from the 
other, nor does he know their respective quali¬ 
ties. 
Ans. No 1. Antkoxantlmm odoratnm, Sweet- 
Hcented Vernal GraBB. Naturalized from Eu¬ 
rope. One of the earliest in spring and latest in 
autumn. The plant may be known by its per¬ 
fume when pressed betweon the fingers. It is 
valuable for its early growth chiefly. 
No. 2. Festuca nutans, the Nodding Fescue. 
No. 3. Brotuus Becalinns, Chess or Cheat. This 
valuable to some agricultural editors and 
writers as affording a standing topic of contro¬ 
versy. There arc as mauy as two or throe per¬ 
sons about tho country that yet contend that 
Wheat turns to Chess. While this is so the 
controversy must go on. 
4 8. 9. Bdlereut formB of Agrostis vulgaris, 
Itedtop, Rhode Island Beat, and iu the South 
Herd’s Grass. It waB formerly called English 
Grass. Its first value is in its permanonco as a 
pasture grass. It does not yield as largely as 
Timothy. 
6. IIolcus lauatns. Velvet Grass, Meadow 
Soft Grass. This is of little value, oattle not 
oaring for it. It reanily spreads when once in¬ 
troduced as the seeds are light, but is not worth 
cultivating except where other grasses will uot 
grow. 
6. Daotylis glomerata. Orchard - Grass, 
Rough Cook’8-foot. Palatable to stock of all 
kinds and oue of the most valuable of all tho 
pasture grasses. See article of Professor Beal 
next week. 
7. Poa. We cannot determine the species from 
the delapidated specimen. 10. is also Holcus 
lanatus. 
11. Loliutn. Cannot determine species from 
specimen. 
12. 13. Trifolium. Common Red Clover. 
11. Trifolium incarnatum (Crimson C.) This 
is a very pretty Italian Clover and valuable for 
soiling or bay. It is largely cultivated iu Scot¬ 
land. 
♦ 15. Medicago sativa : Alfalfa, Lucern. The 
yield is abundant and of fine qnality in warm 
deep soils. Suited to Southern States. Its roots 
gvci w deep in the ground and the plant therefore 
stands droughts. 
16. Trifolium agrarium. Yellow or Hop 
Clover. 
Manure Ingredionts. 
R. Saunders, Essex Co., Va., has some saudy 
and elay-loam laud rendered poor by years of ne¬ 
glect, so that there is little grass on it. He 
wishes to sow it to olover and timothy, but Las 
not enough of barn-yard manure for this patch 
and for his good land also. He has tiied some 
chemical fertilizers with poor euceesa, and asks 
for a recipe for mixing the ingredients of a com¬ 
plete manure suitable to this soil, as he has 
learnt that iu this way he would bo more likely to 
get a trustworthy article, while there would be a 
saving on the cost of materials and transporta¬ 
tion. 
Ans. —Without knowing the needs of the soil 
wo cannot give such recipe. The following table 
will show the average composition of 1000 pounds 
of timothy and clover : 
Water. 
Organic Matter. 
Mineral Matter. 
1 c 
o 
-I 
p 
u 
1 4-1 
2 
ASH. 
3 
1 O 
53 
•o 
o 
GO 
6 
S 
3 1 
00 
<y | 
a I 
1 
3 
j PlKIS. Acid. ] 
i 13 
o 
ft 
2 
Jj 
Silica. 
143 
791 
82. 
15.6 
_i 
1.5 
4.6 
1.9 
' 7.2 
1.8 
22. 
It. Cl'r 
29. 
**• 
11. 
1.2 
13.5 
H 
4.(1 
1.6 
PoBsibly plaster alone would, for a time, render 
tho laud fertile. It may require potash, phos¬ 
phoric acid, nitrogen, one or all. Bone if finely 
pulverized, or dissolved iu sulphuric acid, is 
immediately available in supplying phosphoric 
acid. But to pulverize it, a bone-mill would be 
necessary, aud to dissolve it in sulphuric aoid in 
a small way is both dangerous and unprofitable 
to iuexperieuoed workmen. Wood-ashes would 
furniBh potash ; aud salts of ammonia, nitrate of 
Boaa, fish, horn, hair, dried blood, etc., would 
supply nitrogen. 
Very likely the phosphate used was an inferior 
article. The bulletins of Prof. Johnson, which 
we publish from time to time, will help to de¬ 
termine what establishments throughout the 
country sell fertilizers that are, in reality, what 
they profess to be. Actual fertilizing ingre¬ 
dients have a certain market value, aud whenever 
any article is offered as such, considerably below 
that value, it is safe to conclude that it is in¬ 
ferior or worthless. 
The commercial fertilizers now sold are com¬ 
pounded somewhat in accordance with the nGeds 
of the speoial crops to be raised, so that, unless 
one makes a business of it, we eannot suppose 
that it would be cheaper to buy the “ chemicals ” 
and mix them one’B self. 
Telling a Horse's Age by its Teeth. 
John W. Olover, Gibson Co., Tennessee, asks 
how to tell a horse’s age by his teeth. 
Ans. —A horse has forty teeth, composed of 
twelve incisors or cutting teeth, placed in front 
of the dental arch ; four tushes or canine teeth, 
ono oach side behind tho incisors iu tho upper 
and lower jaws; and twenty-four molars or 
grinders, occupying the back of the mouth. The 
marc lias the Barne number of teeth, except tho 
tushes, which, iu her case, are almost invariably 
absent, thus leaving her only thirty-six teeth. 
All teeth are composed essentially of enamel, 
destiue and cement or crusta petrosa, corres¬ 
ponding to bone. The teeth are constantly 
growing from their first development lo the ani¬ 
mal's death. As material is removed from their 
top by attrition, they are forced up from their 
sockets to Bupply its place. Tushes are never 
shed; they make their appoaranoe when the 
animal is from four and a half to five years old. 
Henco, if they are just protruding, one can 
readily know, without any other evidence, the 
horse's ago. Either at birth, or witliin four 
days thereafter, the colt has four milk teeth, 
called centrals. The lateral teeth appear be¬ 
tween four and six weeks after birth ; the corner 
teeth about the eighth mouth. Tho centrals, or 
those that first make their appearance, are shed 
when tho owner is between two and a half and 
three years old; the laterals are shed between 
three and a half and four years old; the corner 
teeth between four aud a half and five years. 
About this time, or a little before the tushes are 
full grown, horsemen say the animal has a full 
mouth. On the incisors, in the upper and lower 
jaws, are black spots, called infuudibula. 
Those are worn out of the smooth surface of the 
central teeth in the lower jaw at six years of age, 
while those on the laterals commence to dis¬ 
appear at the same time, and have vanished 
when seven years old. Thus at this age the 
wearing surfaces of both central and lateral in¬ 
cisor teeth are smooth, the black marks having 
been worn away by attrition, and the marks of 
the oorner teeth begin to disappear, and have 
entirely disappeared when the animal becomes 
eight years old. The horse is now considered 
“ aged,” and no conscientious veterinary Bur¬ 
geon or horseman would positively assert the 
animal’s age, only approximately. Some people 
aver they can determine the exact age by signs 
other than the teeth, but such indications are 
unreliable. 
As the animal advances in age his teeth gradu¬ 
ally grow long, and appear to become more hori¬ 
zontal. Tho mouth, which at five years old was 
cup-shaped, now loses this appearance aud be¬ 
comes elongated. The teeth, which were in the 
age last mentioned nearly perpendicular, are 
now slantiug ; and this process increases with 
advancing age. 
As a horse grows old, its teeth lose their bsau- 
tiful whiteness; assume a cloudy or smoky yel¬ 
low hue instead, and become streaked with 
brown and black marks, while not infrequently 
the tushes drop out. 
A Good Potato Store-house. 
A Subscriber—No address— has a root-house 
built of logs ; one end extends into a bank and 
the rest is filled with dirt two feet thick. It 
will hold about 800 bushels. Last year the 
potatoes put into it rotted very badly aud he 
inquires what sort of bins should be put into it, 
and how should it he ventilated so (hat another 
time the potatues would keep well. 
Ans. —There were probably two causes for the 
crop rotting so badly: first, tbo house was too 
warm, we Bhould judge from the above descrip¬ 
tion. Second, too many potatoes were placed 
together. Roots of all kinds require a cool, dry 
place for storage; just warm enough to be safe 
from frost. He should have an alley at least 
throe feet wide running through the center the 
eutiro leuglli of the cellar, with bins on oach 
side to bold not more than fifty bushels each, 
narrow and deep, and raised a few inches from 
tho ground by means of scautlings plaoed under 
them. Tho biuB should stand with tho ouds to 
the alley, with a space between them sufiioiently 
wide to admit of a free circulation of air. Too 
many roots deposited in a mass, are liable to 
sweat and be seriously injured by the heat and 
moisture. A shaft or flue, eight inches square, 
constructed of rough boards, and descending 
from an opening in the roof to within a foot or 
two of the floor near the center of the cellar, 
would he sufficient for ventilating purposes. 
The foul odors which arise from the decayed, 
or decaying vegetables, if retained in the cellar, 
will materially hasten the decomposition of the 
sound roots. 
Salt and Water in Pastures. 
IV. L. Chambers, Linn Co., Kansas, asks 
how often should stock be watered aud salted. 
Ans. —If auimalB while pasturing can drink 
whenover they wish, they will do so often but 
never take much at a time; but if they can get 
drink only twice or thrice a day, they will fre¬ 
quently Bwallow enormous quantities, a thing 
which eannot be healthy. The same is true 
with regard to salt. If salt is always within 
their reach, animals will lick it once or twice a 
day or once evory couple of days, just as their 
systems may need it; whereas, if they are given 
salt only occasionally, they should net be allowed 
all they are inclined to take. Both Balt and 
water should be always within reach of cattle, 
aud where this is impossible, they should be 
watered at least throe or four times a day, 
especially in warm weather. 
Cholera among Poultry. 
A Subscriber, ML Morris, New York, writes 
that tho poultry iu his neighborhood are drop¬ 
ping off suddenly without auy known cause, 
after a sickness of, at most, twenty hours. The 
first thing noticeable is that the droppings of tho 
afflicted birds are yellow ; the birds are dumpish 
and look as if they were lousy, though they are 
uot. They mope around for maybe only an 
hour or two, and drop dead sometimoe wbilo lay¬ 
ing in tho nest. Tho young chicks are going 
too. A neighbor who had forty old chickens the 
other day, has now only three left, aud thoHo 
may die any moment. Some try alum water, 
korosene, copperas; others, sulphur aud pepper, 
but all are useless, and he inquires whether 
there is any remedy. 
Ans. —The disease which afflicts tho poultry is 
cholera. Green rue chopped up fine and given 
iu thick oatmeal gruel, with about 20 drops of 
white carbolic acid to half a pint of gruel, is an 
excellent remedy. Pour two or throe teaspoon- 
fnls down their throats three times a day, while 
they cannot or do not care to eat. We have 
known this to work wondei ini cureB. Whilo tho 
fowls arc weak, lay them in boxes of clean straw, 
dusting oarbolale of lime over the boxes and 
through the feathers of the fowls. 
Miscellaneous- 
Henry Smith, Granville Co., N. C., has a 
Calla Lily that has been blooming three years. 
At first it did well in a two-quart can. then stop¬ 
ped growing, until put into a water bucket last 
winter; and he is, very naturally, anxious 
whether it will be necessary to go on enlarging 
the vessel in tho same proportion. Tho bulb 
doesn’t seem any larger than it was at first, and 
when turned out to dry in the Bummer it soon 
starts growing. He sends a leaf of what was 
sold to him sb a Water Lily, but which he thinks 
a Calla Lily, and &1bo a leaf of another plant 
whose name he has no idea of, aud asks for in¬ 
formation. 
Ans. —The leaf is that of the Calla Lily, so 
called, though it belongs to the Arum family. A 
pot eight inches in diameter is largo enough. 
The other leaf is a Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis. 
Mary Wager Fisher, Bryn Mator, Fa., a.-kn: 
I. Will Roses be as llkoly to do well procured 
from nurseries in tbo fall as in the spring ? 2. 
If so, what fall month is best suited for their 
transplanting, speoial reference being had to 
climbing, hardy varieties. 
Anb.— Roses (hardy) can, on the whole, be 
moved equally well iu fall as iu spring, if not 
better. Planted in the fall, they may, under un¬ 
usual weather iu winter, die; but tho chance of 
their death is equally great, and indeed greater, 
when planted iu spring. They are vory ex¬ 
citable in spring, aud sudden droughts are 
therefore apt ta kill them. Plant them from 
Oct. 15th to Nov. 15th. The hardy, climbing 
varieties will endure more hardship than many 
other kinds reputed quite hardy. 
J. L. Tomlinson, Albion, III., asks : Where 
can a person buy an Automatic Cow-Milker ? 
How much do they cost, and are they good ? 
Anr. —Tbore are two cow-milkers in the 
market; one sold by W. F. Ely, Madison, N. J., 
was spokeu of iu the Rural, July 13, by Col. 
Weld, who had been asked by us to test its 
value. Another milker—and both of these 
spoken of are automatic iu action—is sold by 
George E. King, 575 Broadway, New York city. 
This milker is now being tested for the benofit 
of the Rural's readers, aud the report will be 
published as soon as received. We have hoard 
informally that it does satisfactory work. 
In consequence of a number of inquiries of 
this nature, reoeivod lately, wo may bo pardoned 
for asking, wby do not readers consult our ad - 
vertisi. g columns on all such matters ? The 
space devoted to the anuouuoemouts of mer¬ 
chants and manufacturers is as important to our 
subscribers as any department of tho paper, aud 
they throw away one of the pronounced advan¬ 
tages of a high-olass journal by not giving the 
business announcements thoir duo importance 
and attention. 
Communications received for the week ending 
Saturday, July zttu : 
E. If. B. -R. S. - T. W. —M. W. F. — E. It. C.— 
S. S. If. - D. E. 8 .-L. T. - E. S. II. — W. T. A. — 
W. B. — C. D., many thanks — “Subscriber” — 
J. E. M. C.— I. F. T„ thauks—A. M. V. A. — 
A. C. W.-A. II. W. -A. B.-C. N. C. -II. A. W.- 
J. L. N.—W. J. B. — R. W. F., thanks — W. J. B., 
No. 2- L. A If.- D. 8. M. - Jj. H. H.—T. II. II.— 
L. E. K. T.—8. P.— A. W. W.—M. B. D.—M. L. D. 
—11. H. —“ Busy Brains.” 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
PODOK Co., Nob., July 16, ’T8. 
We aro having a heated term—thermomoter, 
101° iu tlie shade, and 125 in the sun at 5 r. m., 
I do not believe we could keep cuttings alive iu 
such a top heat. I am beating the world (of 
Nebraska) this year in corn. Planted on the 
29th and 30th of April, it is now six feet high , 
showing tassols. It is common Yellow Dent or 
Horse-tooth as you call it in the East. Have 
been “ through it ” with shovel-plow three 
limes aud shall give it auother touch,—all horse 
work, not a hoe or a hand put to it in any way. 
Planted by machine, cultivated by machine, and 
as regular in the field as machine work, it is a 
eight to see, and 30 acres of it. This is a small 
field out here, but a very big oue it would be in 
tho East. Nights aro so hot that corn fairly 
jumps. The whole country is ono big green, 
novor had a better season for growth, and crops 
aro sure to bo very full. Why don’t you folks 
send the tramps and communists out to fight 
the Bannocks ? They complain that they can’t 
get bannocks to cat at home. Wo have rather 
too many of them in Oregon, &o. Great country 
this West! Wo can feed the world and lick all 
creation as soon as they’ve done dinner. 
Potatoes aro “ sum punluns ” this year. 
B. E. M. 
Brown Co„ Wla., July 11. 
Our haying is just well under way and it is 
keeping up the old adage that “ it never rains 
but it pours,” and if we had a little less hay 
down we would be more complacent in our ob¬ 
servations of things. Hay is a good crop and 
was being got in good shapo before this storm 
played Cain with our calculations. Tho midge 
is at work in wheat fields aud will probably help 
to roduco our threatened overplus of that graiD. 
Corn is just beginning to grow, having had a 
sorry time of it thus far this year. Potato bugs 
are quite plentiful this year, but they dou't 
terrify us auy more. Rye harvest will begin 
next week and soon after we shall be in the oat 
fields. By the way, we are growing tall rye in 
this region this year. Tho ball was started by 
some one taking to one of our local papers a 
stalk six feet eight inches high, and farmers 
have been going one better until one has brought 
in one a little over nine feet. Who will heat 
this ? _Van. 
Unicoi Co., Tenn., July 22. 
We have passed through a few mouths of 
vory remarkable weather. The last half of the 
wiuter was unusually warm aud dry, the spring 
but little if any warmer than the wioter with 
not sufficient rains to push the wheat forward, 
leaving it behind to he overtaken by rust which 
has injured the crop severely—some fields are 
not worth harvesting. Tho weather continued 
cool till July, and now wbon the change has 
come, tho heut is almost unbearable to the 
farmer. Oats aro a medium crop, while com 
and potatoes promise an abuudant yield. A 
heavy rain storm passed over our towu on Fri¬ 
day last, accompanied l>y heavy thunder. A 
lightning bolt struck the house of a neighbor 
instantly killing two children aged 7 and 9 years. 
Three other members of the family were se¬ 
verely shocked, but it is thought they will re¬ 
cover. Little or no damage was done to the 
house. _ 12- B. Hulin. 
Clinton Co., Iowa, J uly 20,1878. 
The farmers are iu the midst of their spring 
wheat harvest at present, but they find the crop 
injured to a considerable extent by too much 
rain iu the early part of tho season, followed by 
excessive heat and superabundant chinch bugs. 
Otherwise the agricultural out-look is very good; 
the hay crop is very large, aud the pasture is 
extra good. Wheat, 81icts.; corn, 30 cts.; oats, 
22 cts. per bush.; butter 8 to 10 cts. per lb.; aud 
eggs 8 cts. per doz. Daniel Conrad. 
Walker Co., Ala., July 24. 
We aro having very hot and dry weather; 
crops aro suffering severely in some localities ; 
the rain Beems very partial. I have had suffi¬ 
cient rain at my place until the last two weeks, 
while only two miles east of here there has been 
none for a month; and only two days ago a 
considerable shower fell four milos south-west 
of hero. Tho fruit crop iB good, aud so would 
be the prospects of the ooru aud cottou crops 
but for the drought. Buel Andhub. 
St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., July 15. 
Weather vory warm aud dry ; rain is needed 
very much ; tho hay crop not yet half secured , 
new meadow good; grain good; potato bugs 
very abundant; hired help plenty at 75 cents to 
$1.00 per day and board. Excursions, pio-uics, 
fishing parties and oamp meetings seem to bo 
the order of the day along the St. Lawrence and 
among the Islands. A Subscriber. 
Jefferson Co., N. Y., July26tb. 
Wheat and early crops were flue. Up to last 
week the hot weather and drought burned up 
everything. All things aro so dry that fires 
along the railroad are frequent. Corn is all 
curled up, and the farmers’ blue-grass pastures 
burnt up._ 
Mekkek Co., Minn. 
Crops of alt kinds are promising a good yield. 
Barley aud rye are being harvested and oats 
will be ripe in about two days. Grain iB unusu¬ 
ally tall this year aud some of it is lodged. 
Rains very frequent. m. e. n. 
Essex Co., Va., July IS. 
Our wheat crop is very Bhort this season and 
*• quality is poor. B- Saunders. 
