462 
MARCH 44 
son will probably bv-and-by get a flock of 
them and get up a boom in them. In the 
mean time your best sheep will be the South 
Down or the Hampshire which iR a larger 
sheep. 2, The cheap lands of N. Carolina and 
E. Tennessee are all covered with timber and 
a large range is needed for a comparatively 
small flock. The best shefp lands in the South 
are in Georgia and known as 41 the piney 
woods region.” The woods are open and 
Wire Grass, " Elensine tndica,” grows freely 
in them upon which the sheep feed. 
Let the 
AILING PIGS, ETC. 
IT. G. V., Lockjiort, N. I'., asks, 1, wbat 
ails his pigs—they are badly swollen under the 
jowls, can hardly open their months, while 
their eyes are blood shot and nearly closed; 2, 
what is the best authority on planting trees on 
the prairie. 
Axs.—1. Pigs are subject to many of the 
diseases natural to human beings, among 
which are quinsy and other throat distempers. 
These pigs may have violent colds, caused by 
sleeping in a draught. It would do them good 
to give them bran mashes as hot as they can 
eat. Rubbing the swollen surface with tur¬ 
pentine and alcohol would lie beneficial. Hot 
salt and vinegar would be a good external ap¬ 
plication; or blister by rubbing on croton oil, 
the skin being first thoroughly washed with 
soap-suds as hot as the animal will bear. Ex¬ 
posure to cold hhould be avoided, and a dry, 
warm bed should be given to them. 2. A 
pamphlet on the subject, published by the 
Iowa Horticultural Society, will be forwarded 
by Professor J. L. Budd, Agricultural Col¬ 
lege, Ames, Iowa, on receipt of three cents. 
The articles written by Dr. John A. Warder 
for the Rural New’-Yorker will give full 
information on this subject, and there is no 
better authority than Dr. Warder. 
little's chemical fluid—feeding grain 
TO MII.CH COWS. 
M. E. If., Guit/ord, IT. Y., asks, 1, whether 
Little’s Chemical Fluid is really as destructive 
to insect parasites as represented; 2, when and 
how to feed corn meal and wheat-bran to milch 
cows so as to obtain the best results—cutting 
the hay and mixing the grain with it is not 
practicable. 
Axs.—1. Little’s Chemical Fluid is an excel¬ 
lent preparation, based upon a substance which 
is intensely destructive to all insect life. It 
will destroy all insect parasites on animals 
that it can be brought in contact with. It is 
also an excellent remedy for parasitic diseases 
of the skin, as mange and ring worm, and if 
given under competent knowledge might be 
useful as an internal medicine in blood dis¬ 
eases, which are in fact parasitical. 2. There 
is a very great saving, both in the feed con¬ 
sumed aud its effect after digestion, by giving 
meal and bran with hay that is cut into chaff. 
If this cannot be done, the only way is to give 
the meal aud bran separately; but the feed 
should be given dry, because an animal cannot 
swallow itso fostas if it were given wet, and is 
forced to masticate it and moisten it with sa¬ 
liva before it can be swallowed. 
dairy information. 
J. P., KerrviUe , Tessas, asks, 1, does any 
book treat exhaustively of the latest improve¬ 
ments in dairy implements, 3, what manufac¬ 
turers publish a good illustrated catalogue of 
such implements; 3, would creameries lie of 
much service in extremely hot climates; 4, 
what root crop for stock would be likely to 
resist the extreme heat and probable drought 
of Southwestern Texas. 
Ans. —1. “ The Dairy Cow,” by our contrib¬ 
utor, Henry Stewart, which is in preparation 
for publication in book form, will treat fully 
of all sorts of dairy furniture. 2. Burrell & 
Whitman, of Little Falls, N. Y., and the va¬ 
rious makers of dairy implements, as Porter 
Blanchard’s Sons, of Concord, N. H.; the 
Vermont Farm Machine Co., of Bellows Falls, 
Vt., and some others whose names appear upon 
our business pages, all issue fully descriptive 
catalogues of dairy appliances, 8. A creamery 
could be run very well in any hot country by 
the help of an artificial ice machine and by 
making the building partly underground. 4. 
Mangels and sugar beets thrive in warm cli¬ 
mates. They should be planted early or late. 
PUNCTURED WOUND IN THE FROG OP A HORSE. 
G. G., Jamestown, Dakota, says the frog of 
a valuable horse was pierced by a nail, which 
was extracted and the place bathed and poul¬ 
ticed with cow dung, hut the horse is getting 
lame, and our friend asks how to treat him. 
Ans. —A punctured wound is very difficult 
to heal unless by special treatment: this is to 
keep the wound open at the surface until it 
Leals from the bottom, which is done by in¬ 
serting a plug of lint in the wound and apply¬ 
ing dressings to the bott m part. In this case 
the wound in the frog must be opened by cut¬ 
ting away the horn and getting down to the 
part that, is inflamed by the injury done by 
the poiut of the nail. Then inject with a 
common syringe a small quantity of tincture 
of benzoin and put a plug of lint dipped in 
the same into the opening. Fill the foot with 
wet clay, wrap it up in a piece of bagging 
and then drench it with cold water, 
horse rest a little while. 
SORE ON A HORSE’S LEG. 
E. B.,Paris, Ark., has a mule troubled with 
a running sore on the right fore leg a little 
below the knee, sometimes it forms a crust for 
a few days, and then, all at once, it breaks out 
again, and he asks for a remedy. 
Ans.—I f the sore is in the coronet it is a quit- 
tor or fistula of the coronet and difficult to heal, 
because the pus cannot flow out and burrows 
in the foot, forming passages which can 
scarcely be reached. If this is the case, the 
sore should be kept from forming a crust by 
keeping a plug of lint in it aud forcing a 
solution of carbolic acid, one part in 20 parts 
of water, into it until it is well washed out 
twice a day’. By-and-by it will heal from the 
bottom, and then the top may be permitted to 
close. If it is on the leg below the knee and 
close to the knee, try the same treatment, 
excepting that a pad of lint dipped in the 
carbolic acid solution should bo bound on the 
part, and no crust allowed to form on the 
wound until the bottom heals. 
DISHORNING CALVES. 
FI. C. P., Albion, Mich., asks, how to dis¬ 
horn calves 
Ans,—T t should be done when the first, but¬ 
ton of the horn appears. Then apply a hot 
iron to the part and sear it thoroughly; that 
is, touch the part with a very hot iron for 
an instant and let the horn cool and then 
repeat the application until the embryo horn 
is destroyed. After a while if the horn 
appears repeat the process and so keep the 
horn from growing. If the iron is kept on 
too long it would injure the adjacent parts. 
Miscellaneous. 
IF. M., Camden, Ohio, asks, 1, whether his 
asparagus will not. do well if allowed to re¬ 
main in the bed where the seed was sowed. 
The ground was spaded deep and well ma¬ 
nured late last Fall; the tops were cut off and 
the ned covered about, six inches deep with 
sawdust. 2 What is the best way to treat 
peach seeds laid aside last Fall, to insure t heir 
germination. 
Ans.—I f you thin out sufficiently we do not 
know why the plants should not do well. 
Give each plant at least two by four feet of 
space. 2. They should be kept in moist sand 
during Winter and exposed to freezing and 
thawing. You may now soak them in water 
until the shells are swollen, and arrange them 
on the surface of the ground where they may 
lie exposed for several weeks to the actiou of 
frost. They should, however, be covered with 
soil to prevent their drying Finally, when 
planting time arrives, crack them carefully 
so as not to injure the seed, aud plant an inch 
or so deep, according as the soil is stiff or 
sandy. 
L. II. S, Kingston, III., asks, 1, what trees, 
especially forest and fruit trees, will stand 
the climate of Northern Dakota in 47X° 
north lat itude; 2, where can he get the Ameri¬ 
can Wonder Pea; 3, are wood ashes good for 
beaus, and how' should they be applied. 
Ans. —1. The forest trees, growing mostly 
on the river bottoms, are black walnut, oak, 
elm, ash, poplar, white wood, maple, pine, 
box elder, willows aud cottonwood. Pine 
forests crown the hills, Cultivated fruit 
trees have nnt yet. been tested enough in Da¬ 
kota to enable pomologists to decide which 
thrive best there, but wild apples, plums, 
grapes and cherries grow along the streams in 
the Missouri and other valleys. Some kiuds 
of cultivated fruits that do well have also been 
mentioned in back numbers of the Rural by 
residents there. 2. Of the leading seedsmen, 
send for catalogues announced in adv. coL 8. 
Excellent. "We prefer broadcast sowing in¬ 
variably. A small quantity may be mixed 
with the soil of each hill if you have not 
enough to apply otherwise. 
D. B. S., Greenville, Ky., asks, 1, how to 
double-crop a field so as to get the largest 
amount of Winter feed for cattle from the 
smallest quantity of land; 2, f hould German 
millet be ripe when cut for hay; 3, would 
pasturing his very rank wheat injure it. 
Ans. —1, It is quite possible to raise two 
crops on the same ground in one year. Rye 
sown in September, can be cut in June, and 
corn planted at on 'e will be ready to cut 
before the rye need be sown again. There are 
no better crops than t hese for producing fod¬ 
der. Oats come in better than rye, and the 
oat stubble would do for raisiug a crop of 
millet which can be sown in August early. 
But if the ground is cropped in this way it 
must bo fed—that is manured; for the best 
farmer iu the world cannot get something out 
of nothing. 2, Millet should be cut just as 
the blossom is drying up. It is then in its tiest 
state for fodder. 3, It will not do much harm 
to wheat to pasture it unless it is very forward 
and the seed sterns have begun to show. 
G. W. B., Dayton, Ark., asks, 1, what is the 
best tame grass for pasture in that latitude: 
2, what is the best time to sow clover and Tim, 
othy in a warm climate; 3, what kind of clo¬ 
ver will best stand the long Summer of tba* 
latitude; 4, where can he get seed of the 
White Elephant Potato; 5, bow is the land 
prepared for wheat on the Rural Farm. 
Ans.— 1. Blue Grass or Orchard Grass. 2. 
In the Fall, or even during the Winter. 3. 
Our impression is that common Red Clover 
will stand your climate as well as any other. 
4. Send for catalogues annouueed in our ad¬ 
vertising columns uni you will find many 
seedsmen offer it. See also “ Brieflets” in this 
issue. 5. We row’ wheat generally after oats. 
We use about 20 two-horse loads of farm ma¬ 
nure, and sometimes 200 pounds of bone flour 
in addition, sown broadcast and never used 
in the drill. We make it a first consideration 
to prepare the land thormiyhly by barrowing, 
and drill in about IX bushel of seed to the acre 
as near Septemlier 20 as may be. 
IF. II., Lumber port, Va., asks, 1, if the 
wheat of the regular Didribotion is Spring or 
Winter wheat. 2, when and how’ should 
celery be sown and how cultivated. 
Ans.—W inter wheat. 2, Sow’ celery as soon 
in April as the soil is dry enough to work 
nicely. Make drills about one foot apart each 
way, and sow the seed thinly, and cover 
lightly. It is advisable to cut off the plants 
w’heu they are three or four inches high to 
give a stocky growth It is best to transplant 
in damp weather if possible. Mark out rows 
three or four feet apart Recording to size of 
plants, and, with a dibble, set the plauts five 
to six inches apart in the row. In garden 
culture the hand hoe and rake are the only 
tools that w ill tie needed for a month or so. 
and when the celery is 12 or 15 inches high 
loosen the earth w-ith a cultivator. The 
"banking” process should t«iin about the 
middle of September. 
V. J. C., Lowell, N. Y., asks, the name, 
cause and treatment of the uilment. that 
causes the hair to fall off from round the eye 
of his Ayrshire cow, and the hare place to 
become scabby. 
Ans, —The uutne and cause cannot be given 
on such a hare statement. It is some disease 
of the skin, which will probably r •rnedy itself 
if the part is washed with «arm water and 
carbolic soap once a day. It is probably 
nothing more than a local outbreak of an un 
important Mood disorder eaustd by the dry 
food given at this season A daily dose of 
one ounce of hyposulphite of soda for a week 
would doubtless correct the mischief at its 
source. 
A. C. It., Mill Villa ye, Pa , asks, 1, whether 
we would advise mixing plaster or lime with 
phosphates for corn and potatoes; 2, is the 
Mapes Complete Potato Manure as good as 
represented; 8, would we advise the purchase 
of the McSherry grain and fertilizer drill iu 
preference to all others. 
Ans. —1, Lime should not be mixed with 
phosphates; and nothing would be gained, 
that we can see, by mixing plaster beyoud di¬ 
luting or "extending” the phosphates and add¬ 
ing the effects of the plaster. 2. According 
to many analy ses the Mapes fertilizers are ns 
good as any. 3. We could not advise as to 
this, never having tested it. 
“ A Subscriber,"Albion, Mich , says that a 
canvassing agent, claiming to represent nur.-e 
ries at Waterb o, N. Y , is traveling through 
that section, and warrants the following five 
kinds of peaches against winter killingr-Early 
Canada, Wager, Alexander, Susquehanna, and 
Waterloo. He also warrants these five varie¬ 
ties of pears against, blight for five years;— 
Tyson, Souvenir du Congres, Brockwortb, 
Park and Duchesse de Bordeaux, and we are 
i sked our opinion as to the trustworthiness of 
the statements. 
Ans.—B oth guarantees show either igno¬ 
rance or bad faith. 
E. A. II, Houier, N. Y., asks howto render 
the marking on ziuc and wooden tree labels 
permanent. 
Ans. —For zinc labels, ordinary black lead 
pencil is best. The writing becomes plainer 
with age and will last for years—we think for 
a life-time. It is far better than the ink s 
which come with the zinc labels. For wood 
labels it is better to give them one coat of thin 
white-lead paint, and mark with jiencil before 
they are quite dry. 
V. B. II., Castile, N. Y., asks, 1, whether 
horse manure which has been piled up and 
partly heated during the Winter, is suitable 
for hot bed purposes; 2, what fertilizer in ad¬ 
dition to barnyard manure, of which there 
isn’t enough, should be used for onions—soil a 
mixture of sand, gravel and black dirt, a good 
sod having been turned under last Fall. 
Ans.—L It is the beat alone which is needed 
for hot-beds, The more the manure beats prior 
to use for this purpose, the less it will after¬ 
wards. 2. We advise bone flour, in this case. 
J. B., Nv.nda, N Y., asks where can he send, 
in this city, to secure a good farm hand out 
of the thousands of immigrants that arrive 
here every week. 
Ans.—A pply to the Labor Bureau, Castle 
Garden, New York City. This institution is 
constantly sending laborers and mechanics al 
over the country, singly and in batches, to 
places engaged for them. 
T. M., Bruinard N. Y., asks whether the 
smut in the Washington Oats is the fault of 
the oats or of the season. 
Ans.—T he numerous reports from all parts 
of the country leave no doubt that the fault 
is in the oats. This tendency can be counter 
acted hereafter by “ vitriolizing” the seed, 
as prescribed several times in the Rural. 
S. W. G., Salisbury , Pa., asks, 1, whether 
the Fultzo-Clawson, Shumaker and Surprise 
wheats are Fall varieties; 2, is a hill side fac¬ 
ing N. W. a good exposure for young peach 
trees. 
Ans— 1. They are all Fall wheats; but we 
would advise that those received from the 
Rural should be sown in Spring in sections 
where Spring wheat only is grown. 2. Yes. 
L. P., San Marcos, Texas, asks when to 
graft grape vines 20 miles south of Austin; 
2, where can Alfalfa seed be obtained, and 
how to cultivate it. 
Ans —1. We should say February. 2. Many 
of the catalogues announced offer Alfalfa. As 
to its culture we must refer to back numbers, 
in several of which it is fully described. See 
also Rural of Feb. IS—Querist Department. 
B. F. II, New Franklin, Ohio, asks, 1, 
whether the New York Seed Drill, advertised 
in the Rural, is the same as the Matthews’ 
Drill; 2, if not, were they both invented by the 
same man, and, 3, which do we think the bet¬ 
ter drill. 
Ans.— 1. No. 2. We don’t know. 3. Both 
are good. 
II. M . launyblood. Ark., asks if either of 
our wheats of present seed distribution will 
answer for Spring wheats. 
Ans.—W e do not know’, but should much 
like to know. As we have said before, we 
hope that those farming in Spring-wheat sec¬ 
tions will make the experiment. 
IF. B. P, Indianapolis, Ind., says that J. 
J. H Gregory announces inhis catalogue that 
he has Branching Doura seed for sale, and 
asks w hether he can rely upon its being the 
same as the Rural Branching Sorghum. 
Ans.—W e do not know. Write to Mr. 
Gregory and trust his answer. 
E A. II , Mason, N. II., sends for name some 
specimen grains of wheat received from the 
Department of Agriculture in 1SS0. 
Ans. —The grain is shriveled and we cannot 
tell. It resembles both Yellow Missouri and 
Swam p. 
A. S. II., Hillsdale Co,, Mich , asks how to 
raise onions—has had no experience. 
Anr.—S ee ‘‘GrowingOnions—The Different 
Kinds." in Rural of February 2,% and "Grow¬ 
ing Onion Sets,” elsewhere in this issue. Both 
are by experts in the business. 
M. J. B., Northville , Pa., sends for name 
specimen of plant from hanging basket. 
Ans. — Othonna Crassifolia (Thick leaved 
Ragwort) it seems to be. Asteracoea is the 
order. 
E. K. S., Rockford, Minn., asks which is the 
better planter—Planet Jr. No. 2, or Mat¬ 
thews. 
Ans.—W e have tried only one, aud there¬ 
fore cannot answer. 
A Subscriber, He Ruyter, N. Y ., asks w hether 
the World Man’f’g Co., advertising the Am. 
Popular Dictionary for $1, will do as they ad¬ 
vertise with regard to that work. 
Ans —Y es. 
IF. E., address cut of, asks whether Messrs. 
Atlee Burpee & Co., of 219 and 221 Church 
St., Philadelphia, are trustworthy. 
Ans.—Y es, so far as we know. 
IF. E. II., Kingsbury, Ind., send seeds of R. 
B. Sorghum, and usks w hether they are ripe 
enough to germinate. 
Ans.— Yes. 
I. A. T. E. —Jacob’s Ladder is Polemonium 
ccerulium, from the cleft leaves. 
Communications Received for the Week Ending 
Saturday, March 4, 1882, 
S. SI. H.-A- D. V.- I. N. I’.-W. F.-Dr. A. L. A.-P. 
B. M.-A. B. S.-F. D C. I..1I. P.-H. 8.-A. B. D.—ti¬ 
lt. T.-N. J. S.-J. SI.L.—X. A. W. -F. II. E.-W. II. K 
—G. G.—K.E. F.—No. Springfield, Slo,. thanks to you. 
A. R.—W’ 1 C. - II. S.-W. H. L. It thanks fer seed 
—K. S. B., seed uoi arrived.—L & S., thanks.—F O.— 
Geo C. PeBnlt. Yes. they are the same.—Julius B. 
Iloyt, we do not kmnv the innn or the nursery.—G. 
Hart, thunks.—H. <•. W.—Warren Mason, the papers 
referred to have never been received at this office, or 
we should have followed Instructions. Such papers 
should be add eased to the editor personally.—J. L. 
P,—T K. B., tnnriKs.—Mrs H. R. W.. It Is Clia ter.—II. 
R. W—S. I>. W.-C. H.-Mra E E P.-G. K. B. L.- 
J . G. Y.-C. D. K., wo cun hardly use this —C. D. W., 
answer by mall.—B. C.D.—A. B. D.—H G. N.—M. C. J. 
-C. U. II — G. W. 8 , thanks.—H. & S.-A, C. R.-W. 
C. S. (Auburn, Ala.), thunks.—W. n„ thanks — H. L. 
\V., thanks.—J. G., thanks.—V. It. H.-J. D. tt. (Plqua 
O.), thanks; answer by mall.—T. H. IL—W. Z. H.— 
J., thanks for correction.—W. P. D, ears not ye 
received; thanks.—H. H. C.—M. H.—Mrs. E. Starr, 
please call.—S. L. G., thanks.—H. S.—F. D. 0.-A W. 
H Mrs. B. B. A. —O. H.. W.- A. B. A.— S. W. A.—I. J. 
