NOV 4 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. * 
shell well. I had five bushel baskets level 
full of it; some ears 14 inches or over. w. F. H. 
Mission Creek, Pawnee Co., Oct. 11. —The 
Hollyhock furnished 11 plants. I planted 170 
grains of the Rural Flint Corn, 102 came up 
and bore, 58 ears, several of them are 14}^ 
inches. I have 80 Perfect Gem Squashes. The 
“White Elephant” potato has done splendidly 
this year. M - M. 
New York. 
Glendale, Lewis Co., Oct. 16.—The Rural 
Flint Corn I planted on May 15, f 06 *' by 
8 feet apart, one kernel in a hill, there being 
125 hills in all. On June 5,1 found 81 hills 
missing. It has made an immense growth, 
but failed to ripen. When fit for boiling. I 
found an ear 15)^ inches long. The corn suck- 
ered until it was a perfect mass of growth— 
beyond anything I ever saw in corn. The 
little Gem Squashes are nice. The Hollyhocks 
are making a fine growth. G. R. s. 
Ohio. 
Ada, Hardin Co., Oct. 10.—My Rural Dent 
Corn was blown down by a storm and damaged 
somewhat; but I have 178 large ears that are 
ripe. I have 65 Perfect Gem Squashes, c. p. 
©)1 
la— 
ANSWERS 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Everv querv must be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to Insure attention.] 
SWEENY IN A HORSE, ETC. 
E. E., Industry, Pa. —1, What is the cause 
of sweeny and a remedy therefor? Will it 
pay to put manure on an old orchard? 
Ans.— The term sweeny is generally ap¬ 
plied to a real or imaginary wastiug of the 
muscles of the shoulder or about the crupper. 
Coinmouly it is looked upon as a special evil, 
and many cruel practices are in vogue for 
its cure. Generally, however, the sweeny 
or, more properly, atrophy, or wasting of 
the muscles of the horse’s limbs, is really one 
of the results of chronic disease of some part 
of the limb, such as a painful corn, Davic- 
ular disease, contracted feet, ringbone, 
spavin, etc. Jf a cure of the ailment is possi¬ 
ble and has been made, the so-called sweeny 
will either gradually disappear, or will yield 
to treatment, otherwise a cure is not practi¬ 
cable. In young horses wasting of the mus¬ 
cles of the Bhoulder is often caused by un¬ 
steady pulling with an ill-fitting collar. In 
such a case the animal should have a rest, and 
for some time an application should be made, 
once or twice a day, of equal parts of tinc¬ 
ture of cantharidoa and oil of turpentine. Shake 
the bottle well before applying the contents. 
Owing to struin of the muscles outside the 
shoulder blade, moreover, there is often waste 
of the muscles causing a shrinkage, so that 
the skin is drawn tight to the shoulder-blade. 
This is generally due to hard pulling on un¬ 
even roads, to stepping into holes, slipping, 
etc. In such cases there will be a peculiar 
circular motion of the leg in moving, and 
heat and tenderness ou the outside of the 
joint. In such instances rest, fomentation and 
a light dose of physic will generally produce a 
cure in early stages. After inflammatory 
symptoms have subsided the horse should 
have exercise either by driving on a smooth 
road or any light work on level ground, and 
the circulation should be increased over the 
fallen muscles by brisk rubbing. If the ani¬ 
mal continues lame, the following liniment 
will be beneficial: Linseed oil, one pint; 
chloric ether, one ounce; oil of cedar, half an 
ouuce. Mix and rub into the shoulder night and 
morning. 2, We need to know more. Ho ui old 
is the orchard?.What kinds? How well are the 
trees preserved? We do not believe it will 
pay to spread manure on an orchard so old or 
decrepid that it is half used up. 
RINGBONE, ETC. 
J. B., Purdy Creek , N. Y. —1, Is there any 
efficacy in the Indian remedy for ringbone— 
putting a toad on the place—and w hat is the 
best treatment for a ringbone of two years’ 
standing? 2, Is honey a vegetable or animal 
product? 
Ans.— l, We have heard of the so called 
Indian remedy for ringbone, and although it 
may appear to be absurd, yet, like most pop¬ 
ular usages and beliefs, there is some truth at 
the bottom of it. The “poor Indian’s” med¬ 
icine chest is very limited, and there is no 
drug store around the corner for him to go 
to, and so he has to depend altogether upon 
nature’s remedies. The toad secretes an acrid 
liquid from its skin, which one may discover 
by handling one and putting the hand to the 
tongue. This liquid causes considerable irri¬ 
tation to the skin and a bruised toad is in fact 
a sort of mild blister, at least as powerful as 
mustard, and in a mild fresh case of ringbone 
might exert some beneficial effect no doubt. 
But we need not go back to original princi¬ 
ples in this respect while we have iodine, 
cantharides, ammonia and turpentine, not to 
mention others much more powerful as bi¬ 
chloride of mercury, etc., which should not be 
used unless under the guidance of a surgeon. 
A ringbone of two years’ standing is proba¬ 
bly past any cure, as the deposit of bone has 
become formed to a greater or less extent and 
cannot be removed. If the bony deposit is 
not conspicuously large the proper treatment 
is to give the animal rest, to apply cold water 
to reduce the inflammation, and then use blis¬ 
ters. The joint may be eased by changing the 
shoe, raising it either at the toe or heel to 
conform to the way the foot is carried when 
the horse is at rest. 2, Honey is a true vege¬ 
table product; it is only collected and stored 
by bees, and is not made or changed in its 
character by them. For once the little hymn 
is right when it says in regard to the busy bee: 
“And gathers hODey all the day 
From every opening flower," 
PUMPKINS FOR MILCH COWS. 
W. F. R, Westjield, N. J.—What is the 
effect in quantity of milk produced by feeding 
pumpkins to milch cows? How much and how 
often should they be fed, if fit to be fed at all? 
Ans.— Pampkins have no injurious effect 
upon cows. The seed has a slight diuretic ef¬ 
fect when eaten in large quantity, as when 
the seeds alone are given to cows. But pump¬ 
kins, and especially the seeds, are very 
nutritious, as may be seen by the following 
analyses made by Professor Storer at the 
Bussey Institute. 
Dried part of 
Pumpkin. 
A 
at 
< 
£§ 
<-*■3 
uo a 
si 
GO 
O 4) 
r—1 *-• 
A si 
© >» 
a 
0 
Cellu'ose. 
•J 
m 
Flesh. 
10 '16 
12.63 
61.65 
15.26 
1.93 
Kind. 
9.95 
20.30 
44.78 
24.97 
3 62 
Seeds and stringy 
substance. 
6.51 
25.91 
50.54 
17.01 
29.92 
This shows the pumpkin ■to be a very nutri¬ 
tious fodder, and the highly nutritious char¬ 
acter of the seed fully explains the reason for 
the popular prejudice against them, viz: they 
are too rich a food to be given alone; besides, 
the oil they contain is of an acrid character, 
which makes it exceedingly useful as a remedy 
for tape-worms; but when given with the 
whole pumpkin there is no noticeable effect 
produced. One good-sized pumpkin or even 
two, cut in pieces with an axe or a sharp 
spade, would make a useful and rich food for 
a cow. Pumpkins increase both the milk and 
the cream; the latter especially. 
GOAT MANURE. 
R. M., Charlestoivn, W. Va. What is the 
comparative value of goat and sheep manure? 
Ans. —The value of all manure from aui- 
mals depends greatly upon the food consumed 
and the treatment the manure receives. That 
from a goat stall-fed on grain is much richer in 
nitrogenous elements than that from an animal 
that has to pick up a living on herbage, etc.; 
and manure that is protected from leaching is 
much richer than that from which rain has 
washed the soluble parts, as is too often the 
case in farm yards. The following table, how¬ 
ever, from analyses by Boussingault and 
Payen, shows the comparative value of goat 
manure with that of other animals,farm-yard 
dung being taken as a standard: 
1 
Nitrogen 
Quality I 
Equivalent 
Water 
in 100 
according 
according 
per 100 . 
parts. 
to state. 
to state. 
Dry Wei 
Dry 
Wet. 
Dry 
Wet. 
. 81.4 
Sheep. '* 
Cows (solid) 22 :! 
Horse. H*" 
Farm dung. ,a - a 
3.93 2.16 
201 
540 I 
50 
WK 
13.37 U.63 
172 
[157.5 
58 
63 
2 99 1 1.71 
153 
277.5 
65 
.86 
2.30 0.82 
2.22 0.55 
1.95 |0.4l 
117 I 80 
113 137.5 
100 1100 
84 
lit 
125 
73 
100 
* V- 
It will be seen that of all the manures 
quoted, that of the goat stands first in value. 
cough in cows. 
W. O. O., Falls Run City, Pa.—About ten 
months ago one or two of my cows com¬ 
menced coughing; but at the time I was feed¬ 
ing them dry bran (wheat and buckwheat) 
and 1 thought then that the dry bran might 
cause the cough; but now the young cattle 
begin to cough though they have had no bran 
at all. The cough seems to be worse after 
they have been driven, especially if they are 
made to walk fast, and the cows cough as 
often as once or twice while being milked. 
Except the cough, they seem to be healthy. 
How should they be treated? 
Ans.— This is an indication of pneumonia; 
but it does not seem to be of a serious char¬ 
acter as yet. So long as the cows have no 
shivering, or do not become rough and staring 
in their coats, it will be sufficient to give them 
each a tablespoonful of piue tar and molasses 
mixed, morning and evening; and take care 
not to expose them to cold or wet or drafts. 
The stable should be kept tight and warm and 
clean. Give no dry feed; dusty feed or fod¬ 
der is sufficient to produce a cough. A cough 
is also caused by parasitic worms in the throat 
and air passages, and this is not at all uncom¬ 
mon with young cattle. If the cattle have 
been used to drink from ponds or stagnant 
water or to feed in swamps, this may be the 
cause of the trouble. If this is thought to be 
likely, a tablespoonful of turpentine may be 
added to the tar and molasses and the mixture 
given one hour before feeding in the morning 
and just before milking time. 
IMPORT DUTY ON WOOL. 
R. H., Newark, Ohio. —What is the pres¬ 
ent import duty on foreign wools; and about 
how much does it “protect” American farmers? 
Ans. —The duty on foreign-raised clothing 
wools valued at less than 32 cents per pound 
is 10 cents per pound and 11 per cent of the 
value of the wool. Say, the wool is worth 30 
cents; it pays 10 cents per pound and 11 per 
cent of 30 cents, or altogether 13.3 cents per 
pound. On clothing wools valued at over 32 
cents per pound the duty is 12 cents per pound 
and 10 per cent ad valorem. On carpet wools 
valued at loss than 12 cents per pound the 
duty is three cents per pound. On carpet 
wools valued at over 12 cents per pound 
the duty is 6 cents per pound. In 1860 the 
country had 23,000 sheep and produced 59,000,- 
000 pounds of wool. In 1880 we bad 41,750,- 
000 sheep and produced 270,000,000 pounds of 
wool. The number of sheep in the country 
was not quite doubled in 20 years, but our 
wool product was multiplied nearly four 
times. The average shearing from each sheep 
was more than doubled. The average increase 
in tbe value of our wool clip in 1880 by pro¬ 
tection was not less than 10 cents per pound 
of the whole clip, or in all $27,000,000. This 
mostly went into the pockets of sheep-owners. 
THE PECAN TREE. 
“ SubscriberMoline, Kans. —1. When does 
the pecan tree begin to bear? 2, How much 
nuts do the trees yield? 3, Is the timber useful 
and how large is the tree? 
Ans. —1. The pecan begins to bear in from 
eight to twelve years from seed, and in half 
that time when grafted. 2, Large trees will 
yield from one to five bushels of nuts. They 
vary greatly in this respect, just like other 
kinds of fruits. They can be vastly improved 
by cultivation and grafting the finer varie¬ 
ties on the species. 3, The timber is coarse¬ 
grained, hard, strong and durable, and in 
Texas is much esteemed for handles of tools 
and wagon materials, but some of the other 
species of hickory are preferred, especially 
for axles. Pecan is largely used for spokes, 
whiffle and ionble-trees, etc. The tree grows 
to the bight of 60 to 70 feet, and is found in 
the country bordering the Mississippi and 
lower Ohio from Iowa southward to Louisiana 
and Texas and westward to the Indian Ter¬ 
ritory, but most of the nuts come from Texas- 
TREATMENT OF WAX PLANT. 
A. C. M. , Mich. —Why do the leaves of my 
wax plant rust ? 
Ans. —We cannot tell. The plant may be 
unhealthy; tbe rusting may be caused by in¬ 
sects, or tbe plant may be kept too wet or 
placed in too cool a situation. We advise you 
to turn the plant out of its pot, remove as 
much of the soil from around its roots as pos¬ 
sible without injuring them, and repot in a 
clean pot, using a compost composed of loam 
and well-rotted leaf mold in equal parts, with 
the addition of a little sand, in order to ren¬ 
der the compost porous. Be careful to drain 
the pot well, then water thoroughly and after¬ 
wards sparingly, until it commences to grow. 
During the Summer water freely, and in the 
Winter keep rather dry. During the Winter 
it requires a temperature of from 55 to 60°. 
In a cool place the plant is of no use, for it 
requires heat. When grown in a room sponge 
the leaves occasionally, to remove dust, etc. 
CORN-AND-COB MEAL. 
W. S. t Rochester, N. Y. —Is corn-and-cob 
meal good for sheep l 
Ans. —The cob of corn has about the same 
nutritive value as chaff. But as it cannot be 
ground fine and the flat, horny, chaffy scales 
passing through the mill without being ground, 
the meal of corn and cobs is indigestible 
to that extent, and sometimes causes trouble 
with horse6 and sheep. Sheep masticate their 
food very thoroughly, aud, as a rule, it will 
not pay to grind grain for them. These 
animals also are very susceptible to anything 
which interferes with digestion, and it is 
hardly safe to feed them on ground corn ears. 
Such meal may perhaps be fed to cows with 
advantage, but it would be well to use caution 
in feeding it to sheep. Many country mil la 
grind corn ears, first breaking the cobs in a 
coarse iron mill like a bark mill, and then 
grinding grain and cob together. If the mil¬ 
ler will keep the stones sharp the meal will be 
much finer and better. 
Miscellaneous. 
G. R. T., Glendale, N. Y. —1, What is a 
remedy for a cough in cattle. 2, What is the 
hardiest, earliest grape in cultivation—one 
that i9 also moderately productive? 3, What 
is a well flavored family strawberry! 
Ans. —1. For ordinary cough the following 
is a good remedy: Powdered liquorice, one 
ounce; balsam of Tolu, one teaspoonful; boil¬ 
ing water, one quart, to be given at a dose. 
For other remedies see answer to w. G. G. 
elsewhere on this page. 2. Moore’s Early 
Grape is good. 3. So i3 the Cumberland 
Triumph Strawberry. 
Z. J. E., Ennis, Texas, sends for names 
specimens of grass looally called Texas Blue 
Grass, and Running Mesquite—and seeds of 
another grass which has no local name. 
Ans.—T he grass is Sorghum nutans—Indian 
or Wood Grass—that named as Mesquite or 
Texas Blue Grass. The other is Andropogon 
argenteus—Beard Grass. Mesquite grass is 
given a number of different names causing 
much confusion. 
W. II. L., Tanner, Mo.—Is the progeny of 
a cross between two distinct breeds a “grade?” 
Ans. —Animals produced by breeding to¬ 
gether two distinct breeds are “cross-bred,” 
according to the rule established by custom. 
“Grade” animals are the produce of a cross 
between a “pure-bred” and an animal of 
mixed breed or a “native,” the progeny 
taking the name of the breed to which the 
pure-bred ancestor belonged, as a grade Short¬ 
horn, a grade Cotswold, a grade Berkshire. 
E. C. McE ., Sligo, Pa. —1. I have a large 
number of two-year-old Fox grape-vines, from 
seed of a wild native grape grown in a neigh¬ 
bor’s garden for over 80 years; can such tiny, 
thread-like things be grafted ? 2. Could the 
Niagara seedlings be grafted on them ? 
Ans. —1. No. A strong root and stem are 
needed for stocks. 2. Grafting the grape is no 
easy matter. We refer to the article in R. 
N-Y., of 1881, pp. 163-3, and for the method 
to Rural of March 4,1882, page ISO. 
L. J., Black Oak, Mich. —What are the 
principal Poland-China Records. 
Ans. —American Poland - China Record. 
John Gilmore, Secretary, Vinton, Iowa; Ohio 
Poland China Record, W. H. Todhunter, Sec¬ 
retary, Middletown, Ohio; Central Poland- 
China Record, A. K. Saunders, Secretary, 
Indianapolis, Ind. 
M. McC., Adelphi, Ioica. —My Rural cel¬ 
ery plants are eight inches high now, what 
shall I do with them? 
Ans. —Bank them until freezing weather, 
then cover them in pits, according to the tem¬ 
perature. 
J. M. R., Marlborough, N. J. —What is the 
method of flat culture of potatoes ? 
Ans. —Just the same as hill culture, except 
there is no hilling up. The pieces are planted 
rather deeper—say four to five in light, three 
to four inches in heavier soil. 
J. W., Painesville, Va., sendB leaf and 
berry of tree for name. 
Ans.— It is the Sorrell Tree, Sour Wood 
(botanically Oxydendrum arboreum.) It is 
a native of rich woods from Pennsylvania and 
Ohio southward and along the Alleghanies. 
We do not know that it has any special value 
except as an ornamental tree. 
W. F. H., Champaign, III. —1, When must 
reports of the Rural corn be sent in by those 
competing for the premiums? 2, Are there 
separate prizes for the Flint and Dent vari¬ 
eties of corn? 
Ans.— 1, All reports must reach this office 
on or before December 1, next. 2, The prizes 
are offered for each kind. 
W. H. S., Mendota, III. —What was the 
origin of Morgan horses? 
Ans. —Morgan horses are descended from 
the stallion Justin Morgan, which was foaled in 
1798, and was the property of Justin Morgan, 
of Randolph, Vermont, where the horse died 
in 1821 at the age of 28 years. 
E. W. B., Long Plain, Mass. —How are 
seedling grapes raised ? 
Ans.— See Fair Number. We shall give 
additional and full instructions as soon as we 
send out tbe seeds of the Niagara. 
E. W. B., Clinton, N. Y. By whom is a 
first-rate hand corn-sheller made! 
Ans. —Sandwich Manufacturing Co., Sand¬ 
wich, HI., and Trernan, Waterman & Co., 
Ithaca, N. Y. 
E. R. H„ Moorseville, Ind., sends plant 
for name. 
Ans. —Aster ericoides. 
Communications Rkcsivkd foe tub week Ending 
Saturday, October 28. 
E. D. M., Poor Farm Series—C. P — J. F. C.—F. H. 
S —F. B. H.—W. F. Howard, different prizes—should 
think you stood some chance—it is a good yield.—VV. 
F. B.-G. M. D.—J. C A—W. A. C., Texas—thanks-J. 
M. S.—A. Domas for series—M. T. Miller, for series— 
A. L. J. Mrs. F. G. L, Poor Farm Series—F. D. C.— 
J. B. Smith. A good yield. You will have to give us 
the pounds in shelled grain also In competing for 
premiums—K W.—T. C. 3.—A. J. A.—N. J. S., •'J^es”! 
—E. S.-S A. M.-S. K. W.-S. K. W. G. W. C., thanks 
—R. C„ (Gilman. Ill.) Thanks namesake. It Is seldom 
we see the name in the West—Mrs. H. H.—J. A. C.— 
A. J. C.—G. H. F.-W. L C.-J. J. M. —J. P.-H. R. 
