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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
APRILS 
<£l)c (Jhtfrist 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
MANGE IN A HORSE. THE BEAN WEEVIL. 
C. H. ./., Jfarpersville, N. 11, asks, 1, a 
remedy for a bad case of mange in a horse; 2, 
is there any remedy for the bean weevil. 
Ans. —1, Mange in a horse corresponds with 
itch in the human subject and is due to the 
presence of a parasitic insect. It is generally 
produced by contact with, horses previously 
affected by the same disease or with some 
object infected by them. The treatment must 
wo' k the destruction of this insect, or scarus, 
which, as is the case with its congener in the 
human subject, is readily destroyed by sul¬ 
phur, turpentine, arsenic, hellebore and corro¬ 
sive sublimate. The poisons, however, are 
often nearly as dangerous to the horse as to 
insists that prey on him, so that the following 
recipe which is quite efficacious, should be 
preferred. Take common sulphur, six ounces; 
sperm train oil, one pint; spirit of turpentine, 
three ounces. Mix and rub well into the skin 
with a flannel, or, better still, with a painter’s 
brush. The application should be made every 
third day for at least three or four weeks in 
bad eases, and for two weeks in mild ones. 
Should the inflammation from the pests not 
disappear then, the remedy must be again 
used. All the stable fittings around the stall 
or box In which the horse has been standing 
should be thoroughly washed with a solu¬ 
tion made in the following proportions:—Cor¬ 
rosive sublimate, one ounce; methylated spirit 
of wine,six ounces; water, one gallon. Dissolve 
the sublimate in the spirit by rubbing in a 
mortar, then mix with the water, and use 
with a brush, stirriug it up constantly to pre¬ 
vent it from settling. The clothing should be 
destroyed, as it is nearly impossible to free 
them from the parasites; but if this is not 
done, they should be thoroughly washed, and 
when dry, saturated with spirits of turpentine. 
2, There is no remedy for the bean weevil, 
that proves satisfactory. The only way to 
get rid of this pest is for neighboring farmers 
to unite in planting nothing but sound beaus. 
If one man plants weevil infested beans, he 
will supply’ the whole neighborhood the follow¬ 
ing season, with weevils. Seed beans kept in 
tight cans or boxes can sometimes be rid of 
weevils by a little turpentine or by r hot water 
poured upon them just before planting, but 
this is apt to injure the germ, and is not 
advisable. 
AILING COW AND HORSE. 
E. IF. V., Washington, D. C. —1. A three- 
year old cow of mine was served last Septem¬ 
ber, and two weeks afterwards showed signs 
of distress, and within a month a discharge 
began to drip from the vagina. This contin¬ 
ued for about two months, during which the 
cow fell off very much in flesh and milk. 
Lately’ she has improved in appearance and 
again gives a full mess of milk; but the exte¬ 
rior vagina is swollen and there is a slight 
viscid discharge. Is it a case of abortion and 
inflammation of the uterus, aud what should 
be the treatment 1 53. I have a valuable 10- 
year-old mare iu foal (for the first time) since 
last October. She has been troubled with 
looseness of the bowels and indigestion since 
last Summer. The excrement shows undi¬ 
gested food aud is accompanied with a watery 
discharge. The symptoms are worst when 
she is worked hard or exposed to rainy or 
snowy weather; how should she be treated ? 
• 
Ans. —1. We cauuot answer satisfactorily 
your first question, as the symptoms given may 
belong to both abortion or vaginitis. Still we 
are more inclined to look at it as the last being 
the correct diagnosis. If, however, the cow 
is still pregnant, we would not recoin uend 
your interference with the slight discharge of 
the vulva, as auy manipulation or treatment 
might bring on what it is essential to avoid, 
namely, a too early delivery. 2. Looseness 
of the bowels is an affection commonly seen 
and which is due to many causes. The mare 
is old, her teeth may be irregular, and her 
digestion interfered with owing to that condi¬ 
tion. The remedy is plain—get her teeth at¬ 
tended to. It is not uncommon to see mares 
which are pregnant have, by reflex action 
upon the digestive apparatus, disturbances of 
these organs due to their condition. The 
treatment then is simply to wait until they 
are delivered, when the losseness of the bowels 
will subside. And again, we find that condi¬ 
tion very often in nervous animals, especially 
amongst trotters, in those with narrow bel¬ 
lies. With them, as with this mare, thesymp- 
toms are worse when worked hard. The only 
palliative treatment is tonic powders with 
small doses of opium or common chalk; but 
those will give only temporary relief, and so 
soon as the medicine is discontinued the diffi¬ 
culty will reappear as bad as ever. 
PEACHES ON PLUM STOCKS. 
S. N., Romeo, Mich. 1, Do peaches on plums 
bear as well as on peach stocks? 2, Do they 
come into bearing as early as those on the 
peach ? 3, Do they stand the Winter better ? 
4, Do all varieties do equally well on the plum? 
5, Are they proof against ground borers? 6, 
When should peach buds be set on plum 
stocks? 
Ans. —1, Like all other plants, when grown on 
dissimilar stocks, the peach, when worked on 
plum stocks, is slower of growth, more strong¬ 
ly inclined to overbear, and, as a necessary 
result, likely to Drove shorter-lived. Plum 
stocks, we think, are rarely used for the peach, 
except to adapt it to moist, cold, or at least 
heavy soils, on which it might not otherwise 
succeed; or with a hope thus to avoid the at“ 
tacks of the Algeria exitiosa, which will not 
attack the plum. 2, For the reasons above 
given, it will usually fall earlier into bearing; 
although this consideration can be of little im¬ 
port with so early a bearer as the peach. 3, 
Doubtful. The grow th will probably mature 
early in most cases; but the comparative lack 
of vigor, and especially the increased tendency 
to excessive fructification, will, in most cases, 
more than neutralize any possible advantage 
from the fact first named. 4, Yes, so far as 
we have had opportunity to observe. 5, An¬ 
swered in reply to query one. (i, Plum stocks 
are liable to a stoppage of growth early in the 
season from the premature Iobs of their foli¬ 
age. Their grow th, moreover, naturally oc¬ 
curs early iu the season. For these reasons 
they must be budded early. Iu fact they are 
usually the first to lie worked in the nursery. 
The proper season in this latitude is in Jidy or 
certainly as early as the beginning of August; 
in all cases, as soou as the young growth is 
sufficiently matured and well developed buds 
can be obtained. 
.SCROTAL HERNIA. 
H. B. S., Fort Atkinson, Mo. My nine- 
months colt was castrated four months ago, 
aud the wound healed well, but in the bag 
there is a soft bunch about as large as a hen’s 
egg. It grows larger iu hot weather and 
smaller in cold. The man who castrated him 
says it is a water sack which will disappear in 
Spring, what does the Rural think of ii? 
Ans. —The enlargement is probably due to 
a hernia or rupture, a portion of the intestines 
protruding in the imperfectly closed sac, in 
which the testicle was situated. If the colt 
has been castrated standing up, aud without 
the application of clamps, we can readily un¬ 
derstand his condition, as this is a complication 
commonly met with in that mode of operation. 
We would recommend you to call a veterinary 
surgeon, a graduate, to be sure that the diag¬ 
nosis is right, aud then let him perform the 
operation required in such cases. The assur¬ 
ance that it would pass away by Spring is 
very doubtful. We are more inclined to 
believe that it will increase with age, and for 
this reason would advice you not to lose any 
time iu having the animal well attended to. 
In case a veterinary surgeon cannot be had 
then the animal should be placed upon its 
back when the bunch will disappear as the 
intestine will be drawn in. A pair of clamps 
should then be applied which will soon effect 
the closing of the opening. It should be re¬ 
membered that the liuiug membrane of the 
scrotum is the peritoneum, w'hich envelopes 
all the intestines in the manner of a sac aud 
that the scrotum lias a direct connection 
with the peritoneal cavity’. This makes the 
operation of castration one to be carefully 
performed. 
PARALYSIS IN A HORSE, 
F. M, Emporium, Pa. My five year-old 
horse lately started from the barn in perfect 
health, but at the end of a mile showed lame¬ 
ness iu one hind leg, sweating profusely. 
After traveling another half mile his hind 
part seemed to become useless, apparently 
paralyzed and he fell down. Flesh, very 
hard; eyes, glossy. At first he had spasms of 
suffering at intervals,but a few hours later he 
became quiet and died in IS hours. What 
ailed him I He was very fleshy, 
Ans. —The account of the case points to a 
form of paralysis which English veterinarians 
celled azoturia; which is a diseased condition 
brought on by an excess of nitrogenous ele¬ 
ments in the blood. The symptoms you de¬ 
scribed are manifestly thos.i of that disease, 
and if the conditions in which it is most com¬ 
monly seen agree with similar ones in which 
your horse was placed, we have no doubt of 
the correctness of the diagnosis. It more 
commonly occurs in the case of animals which 
are fat and plethoric, and which, while being 
kept in the stables for a few days—three or 
four, perhaps—for any reason, are still receiv¬ 
ing the same amount Df food as if they were 
put to work. When they are then taken out 
they feel well, are full of ambition and life, 
but after a short time are affected with the 
symptoms described. Tne disease is a very 
serious one and unless taken from the very 
outset, at the time when the animal is yet 
able to staud, with the assistance of slings, 
the result is generally fatal—death takiug 
place from a few hour’s to three or four days. 
BUNCH ON HORSE’S LEG. 
J. A., Wadsworth, IU. My two-year-old 
colt has a bunch about three inches across and 
one inch high, on one of the hind feet just 
l*elow the pastern joint. The leg has been 
svi’ollen up to the hough for a year, how should 
the excrescence be treated. 
Ans. —The bunch described is probably the 
cicatrise of an injury which the colt has re¬ 
ceived, an iujury which has been accompanied 
with a slough of the skin,and which by granu¬ 
lating has left n thickening upon the coronet. 
If the skin is entirely healed there is no possi¬ 
bility of removing the enlargement; but if 
there is yet abrasion of the skin you must try 
to obtain cicatrization from the circumference 
of the sore. To this end you may stimulate 
the edges of the wound by touching them 
slightly with nitrate of silver and applying 
over the parts a small pad of oakum with 
some balsam Peru, keeping it in place with a 
simple bandage. When the skin is entirely 
healed, you will find the bunch will remain 
there, but you may rest assured it will not 
interfere with the animal’s action and will be 
only an eyesore. 
CONVERTING BONES INTO A QUICK FERTILIZER. 
S. B ., Amelia, Va., and several others, hav¬ 
ing quantities of bones, ask how best to fit 
them for fertilizing purposes—by burning? 
Ans. —Yes In the process of burning bones 
lose their organic constituents, chiefly com¬ 
posed of gelatine, and containing from two to 
four per cent, of nitrogen valued, in ground 
bones, at from 1 lc. to 17c. a pound; so thab in 
every hundred pounds of bones burut from 22 
to 68 cents’ worth of nitrogen is lost. Still 
this loss can be so readily restored by the use 
of a little guano or other nitrogenous fertil¬ 
izer that on nearly all farms burning bones so 
as to be able to pulverize them easily to a fine 
powder, is certainly the most economical way 
of utilizing them. Indeed the potash from 
the ashes of the wood fires in which they are 
generally burned, would go far towards com¬ 
pensating for the small loss of nitrogen. The 
bone ash thus produced is about half the 
weight of the raw bones, contains all their 
phosphoric acid and its commercial value is 
about $40 per ton. 
TIMOTHY. 
F. IF. IF., Cheney, IF. Ter.: 1, What 
amount of Timothy seed should be sown per 
acre? 2, How long from the sowing of the 
seed till the grass will be fit to cut for hay ? 
3, If sown on an unplowed meadow will it 
grow? 4, Wbat. will be the yield per acre on 
good, rich laud? 5, What is the best time for 
sowing it? 
Ans. —1, About six quarts per acre on good 
laud. If sown with oats or Spring grain, four 
quarts would be, enough 2, If sown this 
Spriug, next Summer. 3, No, it must be 
plowed. 4, Three tons is a good yield. 5, 
Spring for your climate. 
Miscellaneous. 
-4. C. H., Fredoniu, N. Y., has an eight- 
year-old horse which lor nearly a year has 
been troubled with a white dandruff about the 
bead, neck aud shoulders; to get rid of the 
irritation it causes, the animal has rubbed tbe 
skin off his neck and shoulders; he eats well 
and seems in good spirits, what ails him and 
w’hat is the remedy ? 
Ans. —It is quite difficult to answer this 
question. What was the original trouble with 
the horse? Many skin diseases have for symp 
toms the white dandruff spoken of, aud before 
advice can be given it would be essential to 
know the first nature of the affection of the 
skin. The fact, however, that the animal has 
by rubbing scratched the skin off the neck and 
shoulders, indicates that a great deal of irrita¬ 
tion was present, aud it is first of all neces¬ 
sary to relieve this. An application of sugar 
of lead water and laudanum in equal parts to 
the skin, three or four times a day, with a small 
sponge, will do this in a few' days. We have 
no doubt that once the irritation is removed, 
the haiis will grow again. 
J. G. B., Dunmore, Pa. —What is the per¬ 
centage of nitrogeu, phosphoric acid and pot¬ 
ash in cotton seed meal as it is used for feed ? 
Ans. —The percentage of each varies consid¬ 
erably in meal sold by different parties. Last 
year Professor S. W. Johnson analyzed three 
specimens sold by three different parties in 
Connecticut, with the following result:— 
No. 1 No. a. No. 8 
Nitrogen. 3 56 6.ol 6.80 
Phosphoric acid. 1.70 1.70 3.27 
Potash. 1.57 1.20 2.IX) 
Estimated value.$14.84 $22.35 $27.48 
Cost.. $30.00 $21.00 §30.00 
No. 1, sold by B. G. Stanton, New London, 
Conn., contained the black hulls, which were 
almost worthless, yet the same price was 
charged as for the best quality 
M //., Salem, N. Y ,—Is Manning’s Illustra¬ 
ted Stock Doctor the best work of the sort for 
the farmer ? 
Ans.—I t is a good work, carefully compiled 
chiefly by Jonathan Periam, a well known 
agricultural writer of the West, now editor of 
a Chicago agr icultural paper. The arrange¬ 
ment of the work is good, and the language as 
free from technical terms as the subject per¬ 
mits. We would not say it is the best veterin¬ 
ary work, however, nor would we care to 
style any of the works we know the best. 
Several excellent works were mentioned under 
"Querist” in last issue, with names of pub¬ 
lishers and prices. 
C. M. C., Trappe, Md.: 1. What is a cheap, 
durable and pretty wash for the exterior of a 
frame house? 2, What will exterminate rose 
bugs? 
Ans. 1, For a house we know of nothing bet¬ 
ter than mineral color mixed with linseed oil. 
A little lead and lampblack may be used to 
make a drab or brown shade. 2. Nothing 
that we have discovered. Of course poisons 
may be used—hellebore, London purple or 
Paris green. Hand picking is the only remedy 
J. McM., Henderson, N. C .—Where can 
roller mills be obtained and what is their 
price ? 
Ans.—S o anxious are several reliable man¬ 
ufacturers that this and all other friends of 
ours should be posted on this matter, that they 
are paying pretty tidily to give tbe needed 
information through our advertising columns. 
To these really instructive and interesting 
columns we refer our inquirer. 
L H.,Carlisle,Ky , asks, 1, how old tbe White 
Mulberry must be before leaves sufficient for 
silk production can be raised; 2, is the above 
mentioned tree adapted to Kentucky ? 
Ans.— 1, In three years it will yield, under 
fair conditions of soil and cultivation, ten to 
twelve pounds of leaves. At seven or eight 
years of age it will yield tenfold more. 2. Yes. 
R, .11., Steubenville, Ohio, A late Rural 
in answer to a query, said that lime should 
not be sown with superphosphate—why ? 
Ams.—B ecause if lime is mixed with su¬ 
perphosphate or applied to the soil along with 
it, the lime combines with the excess of phos¬ 
phoric acid and forms insoluble phosphate, 
thus destroying the value of the dissolved 
phosphate. 
O. F. McN., Means, Mich .—Which is the 
best variety of sugar-cane for making sugar 
as far north as the 43d parallel of latitude ? 
Ans.—S orghum canes alone will thrive so 
far north, and of these the Orange Cane is re¬ 
ported to have hitherto yielded the most sat¬ 
isfactory results. Seeds can be obtained 
from I. A. Hedges, St. Louis, Mo. 
A. A , Frith, Neb. —What is the price of a 
good, reliable work on diseases of farm ani¬ 
mals? 
Ans.—L aw’s Farmers’ Veterinary Adviser, 
$3, to be had through any local book-seller, or 
from the American News Company, New 
York City. 
S. C. McM., Lexington, Va. "Which is the 
best tile draining machine ? 
Ans.—N ot having tried them all, we can¬ 
not honestly tell which is the best. A good 
one can be obtained from J. W. Penfield, Wil¬ 
loughby, Ohio. 
R. IF U., Elysian, Minn .—Is the Rural 
sure A Vinter wheats sown here in Spring will 
mature ? 
Ans.—W e don’t lruow anything about it, 
but we hope our Minnesota friends will try 
the Rural wheats as Spring wheats. 
.1. S,, Dunnsville, Va., sends a lot of berries 
to learn the name of the evergreen that pro¬ 
duced them. 
Ans.— It is the American Holly — Hex 
opaca. 
L. S., Crystal Springs, N. V .—Where can I 
obtain instruments for caponizing poultry ? 
Ans.—H. H. Stoddart, Hartford, Conn. On 
application he will furnish price lists, etc. 
J. M. Allen, Urbana, Kans. I wish the 
breeders of Shropshire Down Sheep would 
insert notices iu the Rural so that I might 
learn where to buy some. 
R C'.» Queens Co., L. I., It is by no means 
certain that silica does strengthen the plant. 
There is more silica in the leaves than in the 
stems of plants—more in the upper than 
lower stems. It appears, therefore, that 
there is most silica where it is least needed. 
Experiments made by Wolff upon corn and 
oat plants grown in water nearly free of silica 
bore stems just as firm and as little inclined 
to lodge as those which grew in the field. . . . 
♦ < •- 
Communications Rkcbivkd kob thb Wbek Ending 
Satubday, April 1,1882. 
Mrs. M. A.—0. G. A — J. M. F —R. M. L.—W. F. B — 
E. I..—A. L. J.—C. W. II.-II L.-D. S. M.-E. W. !>.— 
N. K.—T. H. H. E. H. L. -J. M. R.-F. II. R.-M. B.- 
A.J.C.—J. H.-E. H. A—G. W. B.-0. W. G_C. C.— 
W. F. B.—J. S. Bodge, the drooping head is Dot the 
Rural Branching Sorghum. It does not sucker 
much and ceases to grow after being cut .—A. J. IV.— 
H. H B.—A. C. R.—O. T. S.—N. S.—Snyder Robin- 
sou—the raspberry cuttings were received. Please 
see other answers. Your card and the cuttings have 
only at this date been placed together.—A. K.— 
F. D O.-F. G. M.-M. ti. II.—W. Z. H.—R. W. H.— 
A. S. Crnnncll. thanks.—L. S. E.—M. B.—J. S. B., 
Lost Nation, thank you.—N. T. A.—H. C. B.—W. F. 
Kernan,, thanks for watermelon seeds—F. McM.— 
R. A. W.—J. S Bodge, box of potatoes well preserved, 
very deep eyes—X. A. W.—R. Fnrkhurst, thanks for 
White Towse Wheat.—H. S.—F. I). O.— Mrs. A. C. 
[*• Nell ”]-J. E.—F. W. S,—R. K. M., we are over¬ 
crowded Just now—M. \V. F.—L>. M. R H., thanks 
S LS.-A.P.-E. F.-B.O.-I M.—K. B.— 0. A B.— 
E. J. N.-K. F.-A. C.—I. H.—M. C.—C. O.-W. B.— 
E. McG.—A. W.—E. IL-K. S.-J. S.-VV. B.-A. G. T.— 
A. G—A. A-J. Y.—W. J.-A. W.-C. E. P—W. F.— 
J, O. L.—A. McM.—J. K.—0. B.-AH.-A.A.-B.H.-C. 
