THE RURAL WlW-YORiKER. 
APRIL 29 
for its effective solution upon chemical change 
in the wood and not altogether upon making 
it water proof. The element which so quickly 
decays mid causes decay in the rest of th“ 
timber, is the vegetable alhumen. which will 
rot even in the drv, producing what is known 
as the dry rot. This alhumen is coagulated 
and made soluble by lime. Lime also neutral¬ 
izes the acids of fh° timber, forming lime- 
salts which are insoluble and give the timber 
a sort of mineralization. Lime is therefore a 
very valuable antiseptic agent for the treat¬ 
ment of timber that is exposed to the alterna¬ 
tions of wet and dry in the soil, The usual 
method of applying it is to dig a pit three feet 
deep in the soil and set the posts upright in it, 
putting the quick-lime in among the posts as 
closely as possible; when the pit is full of posts 
with lime io-ermixed and around them, water 
is thrown in till the lime is covered. The lime 
in slaking becomes hot and heats the posts, 
expanding the air in the pores and driving 
both it and the moisture out of them. When 
the heat subsides and the contraction of cool¬ 
ing takes place, the lime is absorbed by the 
timber and saturates it, filling the pores with 
mineral matter and very thoroughly fixing 
and changing the albumen and acids of the 
wood. The wood is thus made remarkably 
durable. If in addition to this, the posts are 
coated with hot gas-tar an extra effect is pro¬ 
duced and the durability so much more in¬ 
creased. All that would need to be done 
would be to brush the tar over the posts with 
a common stiff tar brush and sett-hem on their 
ends to dry. The tor should be put on a little 
below the lime, and not above it, otherwise it 
would tend to keep moisture in and not out. 
A good fence of the kind descril ed has been 
and can lie made straight quite as well as, and 
more economically than, with a worm. The 
worm fence will go down anyhow when the 
posts decay, and it won’t do more if the fence 
is straight; and as long as the posts are sound 
the straight fence wilt be firm and solid. A 
sheet-iron tank, as mentioned, would serve the 
purpose, but half a barrel or a box of wood 
with a sheet iron bottom put on so that the 
fire does not reach the wood, would do just 
as well. 
rOWPKR INSECTICIDES. 
E. K. S , Rockford, Minn. —A late article in 
the Rural says the Pyrethrum powder, so 
fatal to insects, is made from Pyrethrum rose- 
urn. B. K\ Bliss & Rons’ Hand-Book and Cat¬ 
alogue say it ismadeof Pyrethrum Willemoti, 
and that there are five other varieties of Pyre¬ 
thrum. Other catalogues advertise one or 
more varieties of Pyrethrum tinder the name 
of Keverfew, and probably there are quite a 
considerable number of Rural readers who 
have this plant growing in their yards. If «11 
these “authorities” are correct, there must be 
several sorts of plants that will answer well as 
insecticides. It would therefore be well for 
all who have any variety of Pyrethrum or 
Feverfew growing on their land to make a 
trial of it this year as an insecticide, and re¬ 
port results through the Rural. 
A ns.— Persian Insect Powder is obtained from 
the pulverized flowers of Pyrethrum roseum. 
Pyrethrum Willemoti was a kind cultivated 
by Willemot, a Frenchman, and is supposed 
by some to be the same as P. roseum (see Prof. 
Riley’s article on this subject in American 
Naturalist). The Dalmatian Insect Powder, 
also a powerful iusecticide, is obtained from 
the pulverize'! flowers of Pyrethrum cinera. 
r;jefolium. How many species of Pyrethrum 
would yield an insecticide is unknown. The 
common Feverfew of gardens is Pyrethrum 
Parthenium which has small, white flowers 
arranged in loose terminal corymbs; adouble- 
flowering vaiiety of it is quite a haudsome 
garden plant The Golden Feverfew, or 
Golden Feather, so much used with Coleuses, 
Centaureas and other bedding plants in 
Bummer gardens, is also a variety of this Fev¬ 
erfew. Tue double flowered varieties of Py¬ 
rethrum roseum are among the choicest of 
hardy perennial plants for the garden, and 
the better ones are named by florists as Pelar¬ 
goniums, Fuchsias and Dahlias, There are 
also many other species of Pyrethrum, like¬ 
wise of Chrysanthemum, a genus much mixed 
up with Pyrethrum. 
THE BEST FOWL, COW AND FAMILY CHURN. 
IF. F. It, Westfield, N. Y. —1, What is the 
best breed of poultry for eggs and young 
chickens ? 2, What is the best kind of cow for 
family use—price not over $75 ? 5, Wberecau 
the above be obtained ? 4, What is the best 
churn in use ? Has any of the new ones any 
real improvement over the old dash chum ? 
Ans.—1, The Light Brahma is the most prof¬ 
itable fowl for both eggs and chickens. It is 
a good Winter layer and broods early; the 
chicks are very hardy, grow fast, and are in 
demand at high prices in the market for early 
broilers, and the fowls reach a weight of 8 to 
12 pounds at 8 months old. Of course all this 
is only secured by the best of care, and no fowl 
living will do well without that. The next 
best fowl for eggs and chickens is the Plym¬ 
outh Rock, and the next best the Game fowl, 
which, while it is extra-good in quality, is 
quite small. 2. The best cow for family use is 
a grade Jersey, which is quite as good as a 
pureb’ed Jersey for practical purposes. 3, 
No doubt a short request published in our 
business columns would secure you a good cow 
at the above price. 4, All things considered, 
the Blanchard Improved churn and the Rec¬ 
tangular are ns good as any made. Either of 
these chums is as far hefore the old barrel 
chum as railroading on a Pullman Palace ear 
Is ahead of riding in a lumber wagon. The 
Blanchard has a dasher, the other has none ; 
but the Blanchard has a means of ventilnt-ion 
while working, which Die other has not, and 
this is quite important: it is also the easier 
cleaned of the two, The writer has had 
both of these churns in use in his dairy for 
some years, and uses both of them constantly. 
We also ha ve heard very favorable reports 
from those who have used the Davis Swing 
Churn, the Stoddard and the Surprise, but 
we have not tested them practieally. 
“ NERVING” FOR BLACK-LEG, 
S. E L . Maple City , Knot. There are per¬ 
sons here who are performing on calves an 
operation thev term "nervine.” They make 
an incision in the front of each leg just above 
the hoof, and cut out a vein which, they say, 
separates, each branch leadine into the hoof. 
They cut out about, an inch of this vein just 
above aud below the junction This, they 
claim, is a. preventive of black-leg. Is there 
anything in it ? 
Ans. —There is something in it, “which it 
is” a gross humbug. Cutting out a puce of 
vein is not nerving, and, moreover, if a piece 
of vein or of a nerve were cut out, it would 
grow together again unless the piece re¬ 
moved were of a considerable length. Then 
the effect would be to dpprive a part of the 
tissues of blood or of sensation, and lead to 
serious damage. The part cut out is. doubt¬ 
less. a portion of one of the inferior tendons, 
which is soon replaced by new growth. Black- 
lee cannot be prevented in any such manner. 
It is a disease of the blood which is caused by 
plethora and disorder of the digestive organs, 
chiefly the liver, by which the blood is over¬ 
loaded with carbonaceous matter; and as this 
cannot be carried off in the usual manner— 
viz . bv thelungs—theanirnal becomes stricken 
with fever, the diseased blood diseases the 
muscular tissue, and produces gangrene and 
all the peculiar symptoms of this form of an¬ 
thrax fever, 
“molding” sand for garden. 
E. C 1 V., Batavia, III. The soil in my gar¬ 
den is very black, rich and wet. I have been 
advised to put sand on it, to be worked in 
well. I can get plenty of molding sand at 
one-fourth the expense of other sorts. It has, 
of course, been burned in a foundry, would it 
be advisable to use it ? 
Ans —Molding sand is not pure sand, but 
contains a certain portion of alumina suffi¬ 
cient to make it adhere when molded. The 
heat to which the sand has been subjected in 
the furnace will have a beneficent effect upon 
the • lamina in the sand and doubtless also 
upon the sand itself, and make it more fertile 
than the soil was previously. On this account 
the used molding sand would be of some use 
for its fertilizing value, but on the kind of soil 
referred to it would be of further use in loosen¬ 
ing the texture and making it more porous. 
Such soils have been found to repay a large 
expense for sanding them. 1’rof. Storer gave 
un instance, in the Rural some time ago, of 
such an operation done at very large expeuse, 
that was very profitable in its results, aud it 
is a very common agricultural process in 
Europe. 
sawdust for bedding. 
J. D. IV., Waterford, N. Y .—What is the 
value of stable manure where sawdust is 
used for bedding as compared with manure 
where straw is used for that purpose? 
Ans. —The theoretical value would be very 
much the same and with some kinds of hard 
wood, as elm, maple and birch, the sawdust 
would be better than the straw. Besides, 
sawdust is the very best of litter, being more 
absorbent than straw, and as it cannot be 
used for fodder and straw can, the fodder 
value of the straw is gained by using saw¬ 
dust. But it should be hard wood and not 
pine sawdust, hb the latter is too dry and is of 
very low degree of fertilizing value. For 
cow manure we would greatly prefer hard¬ 
wood sawdust to straw', as it mixes with the 
paaty dung and causes it to break up fine, 
and it also absorbs the liquid perfectly aud 
saves the loss of it. But for bedding horses 
straw is better, because the sawdust makes the 
manure too dry and it overheats and spoils 
very soon if not watched very closely. 
MILKING 8HOBT-HORN8. 
J. McC., West Hebron, N, Y. Which strain 
of Short horns is best for milk; who is a 
breeder of that strain, and what would be the 
price of bull and heifer calves? 
Ans.—T he Princess is the best strain of 
Short horns for dairy purposes. The only 
pure bred herd of this stcck in the East kept 
for the dairy known to us is that of Harris 
Lewis, of Frankford, Herkimer Co., N. Y. 
Mr. Lewis is a well kuown and leading dairy¬ 
man and his hal'd is reported to have a record 
of 250 pounds of butter each per year. This is 
bv no means a large yield and in facta moder¬ 
ate one and surpassed bv many Ayrshires that 
are mneh more easily kept, and that can be 
purchased for about one half (he prices of the 
Short-horns, which run from $150 to $300 
each. The profit of a herd of this stock comes 
certainly more from animals sold at these 
prices than for milk and butter. 
OLD AND NEW PROCESS OIL MEAL AS FEED. 
A. T. T.. West Andover, Ohio. Which is 
the best for calves—old or new process oil 
meal ? 
Ans —The old process linseed oil meal is 
considerably more valuable as cattle food than 
the new process. The new process takes every 
particle of oil out of the linseed by means of 
solution in benzine or benzole, or a similar sol¬ 
vent. The oil is a valuable aid to digestion, 
and acts favorably upon the bowels, prevent¬ 
ing any injury from the excess of nitrogenous 
matter nr the large quantity of alhumen in the 
meal. The old process meal contains about 10 
per cent, of oil, and this made the meal a well 
balanced and nearly perfect food, leaving the 
carhonnceous and nitrogenous elements in a 
healthful ratio. With the oil or carbonaceous 
matter absent, the other is in large excess, 
and the food is not so digestible or nutritious. 
If mixed half-and half with corn meal, the 
new process would be more healthful than if 
used alone. 
BEST TIMBER FOR WELL CURBS, ETC. 
A S, Wyoming, Minn. Which timber is 
best for curbing a well, so as not to taint the 
water for butter-making ? I can get pine, oak, 
ash. maple, bass wood, butternut and tamarack. 
2. Would the Hardy Catolpa—C. speciosa— 
thrive so far north as this place ? 
Ans. —1. The best timber for curbing a well 
is hemlock, which is very durable when under 
water, and gives no flavor to the water. Of 
the woods you mention, all would rot very 
quickly except ]line and tamarack, hut pine is 
objectionable on account of its strong flavor. 
If hemlock cannot he procured, tamarack 
would he the best. The timber should be cut 
in two or three inch planks and put together 
by halving the timbers at the end and holding 
the halved parts dovetailed or cornered toget' - 
er, so that the sides cannot be forced in by the 
pressure of the earth; the upper half of one 
piece fitting upon the lower half of the other 
piece. 2. We are afraid not. 
BLOODY MILK. 
J. A. W., Hancock, N. Y. My nine-years- 
old cow, in fine condition, dropped a calf 12 
days ago. At first she gave no milk to speak 
of, and when the milk came in quantity it wus 
very bloody and continues bloody until now, 
although it is less so than formerly. The cow 
looks well The udder is soft, and there are 
no lumps in the milk. How can the trouble 
he removed ? 
Ans —There is no remedy but patience. The 
cow will probably soon fall off in her milk and 
become fat. as this is the usual behavior of 
such cows. You may try the effect of some 
cooling medicine, such as 12 oz, of Epsom salts 
and one oz, of saltpeter dissolved in water and 
given by means ot a horn or drenching bottle. 
If this does not remove the excitement of the 
milk glands and cause a proper secretion of 
milk, the case must he left to work its own 
cure, in its own time, by a natural process. 
The cow will probably be more valuable for 
beef than as a milker. 
FEED FOR PIGS. 
IF. II. A,, Westfield, Mass. 1. What is the 
best food for pigs from the time they are 
taken from the sow till slaughtering time— 
about Dec. 2. Ail the feed has to bo bought; 
there is no milk, and but little refuse from the 
house? 2. Is pig manure more valuable from 
having been covered ? 3. What, besides weeds 
aud grasses, should be supplied to pigs kept in 
confinement ? 
Ans —Ground oats, mixed with wheat mid¬ 
dlings and allowed to sour slightly in a swill 
barrel, are the best feed for young pigs when 
milk cannot be bad. It is best to mix house- 
slops with the feed. The bulls of the oats 
should be sifted out. Coin inenl should be 
added when the pigs are frtm four to six 
months old. 3 All manure is better covered, 
to prevent washing. 4. Clover and sweet 
corn-stalks, or sugar cane. 
Miscellaneous. 
J. D. F., Woolston, N. Y .—I set out an or¬ 
chard of 70 apple trees. Two years ago the 
grasshoppers so ruined the young leaves that 
47 of the trees died. Wishing to fill up the 
vacancy, I have been advised to plant Russian 
and Transcendent Crabs Uf>ou which to graft 
apples, for the reason that the crabs grow 
faster than the common apple, and so the 
grafted trees will “catchup" with the sur¬ 
vivors of old orchard; moreover, they are 
hardier, nnd less liable to the attacks of 
borers. What should I do in the matter? 
ANS.—Our advice is emphatically not to do 
it. It is reasonable to suppose that apples 
grafted on the crab will he dwarfed aud 
will consequently not live so long. The 
Transcendent Crab is a variety of the Siber¬ 
ian. There is no crab called the Russian 
that we know of. Mnnv kinds of Russian 
apples are now offered bv ntirservmen; for 
instance, Alexander, Duchess of OIdrnburgh, 
Tet.ofskv and others of later introduction. 
E. B., Linn Co.. Mo. 1. How large should 
be the box for Cabidinm eseulentum grown on 
the veranda ? 2. Would the Argentenil, or 
Giant Dutch Asparagus be more ornamental 
for putting on the lawn than the common sort? 
3. Tn tskitig up ennnas for keeping over Win¬ 
ter, shiuld the tender root.letj be trimmed off 
or left on to dry ? 4. I have a young smilax 
in a 2!^ inch pot; shall I keep it. in the house, 
on the veranda, or in the garden during the 
Summer ? 
Ans. —1. They should have a large sized box 
to do their best. They like a rich soil and 
plenty of water, thou eh the box must be 
thoroughly drained. Eighteen inches square 
would be small enough. 2. We do not know. 
Our plauts wore raised from seeds last year. 
Asparagus phitnosus would probably he show¬ 
iest. 3 We leave them on to dry. 4. Should 
prefer either the garden or veranda, if the 
latter receives sun enough. 
II. L.. Lebanon. Pa. 1, Where can I get 
seed of Earlv Amber Cane? 2, Is a soil like 
that of Florida suitable for it ? 
Ans.— 1, From I. A. Hedges. St. Louis, Mo. 
2, There are several sorts of soil in Florida, 
though principally light sandy on the uplands, 
and black mimky in the swamps nnd hottoms. 
The sugar cane (Raoohirum < flicinarum) is the 
best cane for Florida, where there is a very 
large area which drainage can readily and 
cheaply ada.pt to its growth. Sorghum cane 
has not yet. been tried, to any extent, for sugar 
making so far south. 
D. W, Lancaster, Wis —Where can pinks 
and carnations, as beautiful as those sent out 
by the Rural, be obtained ? 
Ans. —We imported most of the pink seeds. 
The best of them are offered in seedsmen’s cat¬ 
alogues at from 25 to 50 cents per packet. 
Some of the strains we do not think can be 
equaled in this country. Many of them were 
common enough. 
C. C Van II., Evarts, Midi. How can I 
obtain the Report of the Agricultural Depart¬ 
ment for 1880? 
Ans.— Apply for it to the Representative in 
Congress for your district, and he will either 
send it to you, or order it to be sent from the 
Department of Agriculture, 
W. E. TF., Almond, N. Y. If a Chinese 
Yam is cut in pieces, will each piece grow? 
Ans.— It is our impression that cuttings of 
the entire tuber will grow. We have never 
tried it, however. Many of our readers can 
doubtless answer. 
S. W, C,, ScipiOf N. Y. Who sells dynamite 
for blowing up stumps and stones? 
Ans. —Write to the Atlautic Giant Powder 
Co., Varney Doe, Agent*, 59 Park Place, 
this city, and they will tell the nearest dealer 
from whom tt can be obtained. 
E. B. l\, Ann Arbor, Mich. Where can I 
get the green striped Bergen Squash, spoken 
of by P. B. Mead in a late article in the 
Rural ? 
Ans. —We find it in Thorburn’s Catalogue 
only—15 John St., N. Y. 
./. M. D., Cherubusco, Ind. —Where can I 
get Osage Orange seed, and what is its price ? 
Ans. —Of Robert Douglas & Son, Wauke¬ 
gan, Ills. About $10 per busheL 
E. A. F., Brighton, Ohio. See Swineherd 
in this issue. 
IF A. Carswell, Brinkley, Ark., wants the 
price-list of some dealer in incubators for 
chii ken hatching. 
D. II. Allen and others .—It would be better 
to plant the Catalpa speciosa seeds in a pot; 
plunge it to the rim in the ground, cover with 
glass and keep soil moist until the seeds sprout. 
Then transplant to thumb pots, or, if to the 
open ground, to a sheltered spot that can be 
shaded at will from the sun. 
-- 
Communications Hkckivkd fob tiik Wekk Ending 
Saturday, April 22,1882. 
W. B. D.—Subscriber. W. A. T., your letter and 
questions overlooked.—W. J. C.—E. W. W.—H. and S. 
-w. J. c.-x. A. W.-F. B. B.-M. J. Evans, thanks. 
—W. A. S., thunks,—A B. T., the sample is certainly 
fine wheat. C E. P.—G A. O., Jr.-J. M D.-D. E. 
Stevens, many thunks.—J. D. K. W,—J, M. M.—L. H. 
N.—N. F,—W, D. H.—A. M. B.—E. W. S.—Gregory. 
11 D. V. J. li. L. C. G. D.-J. S. tV.—T. L.— 
W. 11. It.—tv. F., thanks -O. A.—B. O. D.—F. D. C.— 
M. D. C., thanks —A tV. (Everett)see as to Mr. Fowler 
& Co., Rukai. Brleflets; we do not know as to the 
Other*.—I,. S. W.—0. 1\ lt-W. J. a—P. Bowlejr, 
thunks. The twig is a Juniper.—U, M. D., thunks.— 
H. R —W. F-—W. S. P.—R. B., Jr., thanks alwsys for 
tleniH of experl°nce.—E. B —J. Southwlck. Winter 
wheuts.-D. H. A.—L. W. S.—E. O. T.—J. B.—E. K. li.— 
W. JR. L.—C. G. O,—A. J. C.-tV. G. 8.—F. R. I.-D. 0.0. 
