874 
"staking” on blood-weed. There are many 
instances where crops are raised by feeding 
the work-stock exclusively on this weed. 
It is easy enough to love your neighbor as 
yourself, when your neighbor lives a mile 
away and daily sends over his carriage for 
your gratuitous use; but it is quite a different 
thing when your neighbor lives the other 
side of a party wall, and besides keeping hens, 
a barking dog and a piano-playing daughter, 
borrows creamery butter of you every other 
day, repaying you in oleomargarine at his 
own convenience.—Boston Transcript. 
Sowing Salt. —J. Humphrey of the South 
Haven Pom. Roc., as reported for the Mich¬ 
igan Farmer, says that he sowed salt on a 
patch of Canada thistles several years ago, 
literally covering the ground. The result 
was it did not kill the thistles, but it made 
the grass very green the whole season. He 
has found it to be very good on dry land, 
but not on wet. He is satisfied that an ap¬ 
plication of 200 pounds to the acre will in¬ 
crease the yield of any of the cereal grains 
from three to five bushels to the acre. 
L. H, Bailey said he had certainly killed 
the pear blight by sowing salt under the 
tree, for the trees were all dead. lie sowed 
a strip one rod wide in the Spring across his 
meadow several years ago, but could see no 
difference in the grass. He will make a fur¬ 
ther trial this year. 
Mr. Nagle had sowed salt on his quince 
trees and injured - ome of them, but could see 
no benefit. He put some on apple seedlings, 
and it killed them all. The question was 
a«ked when to sow salt. 
M. H Bixby replied that if salt is sown in 
the Fall there is a large portion of it wasted 
by being washed out of the soil. It is best 
sown on the surface before or during drought. -- 
It will kill some kinds of fruit trees. He I ✓-lA » . 
killed four by throwing fi»h brine on them. |] £ VI 
J. Lannin said that two years ago he got / 
ten barrels of salt and sowed four barrels ~ — 
on 100 peach trees, and the results were good. ASNWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
At this date (May 0) says Prof. Shelton of the rEve ry query must be accompanied by the name 
Kansas State College, when Orchard Grass, and address of the writer to insure attention | 
clover and Alfalfa are fully knee-high on the _ 
College farm, the Bermuda Grass is scarcely "reducible” hernia or rupture. 
an inch above the ground.The rr w tj d- ti Tlr . 
Kansas Industrialist informs us that the pres- w i n . ** \ yoming, 
ent season threatens the excessive increase of 1 V’ ' T 1 ” 1 . ) Uie >e C ‘‘Ff K er tlJe age 
,, . - j.u 4. oi * nr of 40 ? Is Dr. Sherman, of N. Y., who adver- 
the Chinch-bug m thet State. We are very ,. . A * * 
.... , ,, ■ rises to cure rupture trustworthy ? 
sorry to hear it. . . . We see by the same . J 
paper that the college offers for sale a choice Ans. Ihe curability of rupture or hernia 
lot of Berkshire pigs now ready for shipment. depends so much on the nature of the malady 
All are eligible to record in the Am. Berk- that, in the absence of any account of the 
shire Record. ..... Peter Henderson symptoms, it is quite impossible to tel 
mentions a case of sowing superphosphate, on whether it can be reduced or not. Hernia 
alternate rows of asparagus. These produced is said to be reducible ’ when the protruding 
stalks one foot higher than the rows not organ may be returned into the abdomen; 
treated to the superphosphate and the product irreducible ’when it is not returnable, and 
was double.It is strange, says strangulated when, owing to the very 
the Gardeners 1 Chronicle, how much we hear tight constriction the circulation of blood in 
in general society of Darwin’s theories and vessels, or the natural passage of the in- 
how little of his facts.Readers of test,nal contents, is arrested. In the present 
the Rural New-Yorker can not do it a ^ase w e the symptoms of "reducible” 
greater service than by pointing out its hernia, bo that our friend can judge whether 
shortcomings, ..... Words are the they agree with those in the case about which 
adulterated skim milk of life, while exam- we are consulted, 
pie is the pure cream.—Herald.Dr. The symptoms of reducible hernia show 
Voeleker, according to Prof. Caldwell in the themselves in a soft, compressible tumor (elas- 
N. Y. Tribune, makes the startling statement tic when it contains intestine, doughy when 
in a recent report on condensed milk that it It contains omentum, or the membranace- 
is manufactured mostly from skimmed milk, ous covering of the bowels, a combination 
and he even goes so far as to say that really °£ elasticity and doughiness when both are 
good condensed milk is always made either present), its size increasing in the erect, and 
from skimmed milk or from milk naturally diminishing in the horizontal posture, whence 
poor in fat.The Rural’s con- as& ru * e it gives little trouble during the 
tributor, Mr. A. B. Allen, is justly charac- night and becomes more troublesome in the 
terized by The Chicago Tribune (says the N. day time, more especially towards evening. 
Y. Tribune) as "one of the authorities in There is a more or less distiuct impulse on 
America upon all subjects pertaining to the coughing, and when the intestinal contents 
breeding and raising of cattle.". are pushed back into the abdomen a gurgling 
vary in regard to the peach crop. I examined 
one orchard and found Hale’s Early and 
Bilyeir’s October only alive; all others were 
killed by frost. Apples will be scarce and 
cherries plentiful. Provisions high. At a 
public sale recently corn sold for 85.05 per 
barrel, and each barrel w r ould shell about four 
bushels. Bacon in salt brought Hi cents per 
pound. Corn is likely to reach move than a 
dollar per bushel in the local market. Eggs, 
10 cents; butter, 30 cents; potatoes, $2.50 per 
bushel [—per bushel! ? Ens ]; wheat, fd.40@ 
1.50. Pink-eye has appeared here. G. n. s. 
Hall’s Corners, Allen Co.,May 17.—Crop 
prospects hereabouts are very poor, as it rains 
nearly all the time. Only a little corn planted 
yet; but what is in must have all rotted in the 
ground. Potatoes are not nearly all planted, 
and some of the “seed "has rotted. Wheat 
a partial crop. Fruit w ill average a fair crop. 
Weather cold and wet. Health generally 
good. w. h. H. 
North Carolina. 
Tryon, Polk Co., May 17.—Weather cool 
for the season. Fruit has set full on this 
"belt;” damaged on tho mouotain and low 
lands. All kinds of small grains look well. b. 
Texas, 
Georgetown, Williamson Co.,May 18 —We 
have had a month or more or very dry weath¬ 
er, which ended on May Otb with a very hard 
raiu of about 12 inches in 30 hours, which has 
done a great deal of good to wheat, corn, cot¬ 
ton, etc. We cut barley as early as April 2i), 
which was good. We have ripe peaches now. 
Plums, dew-berries and strawb rries have been 
ripe some time. Crops look well; wheat and 
oacs are ready to cut now. We had but one 
really cold spell last Winter, and that lasted 
only 30 hours. H. m. w. 
which the hernia protrudes is greater. The 
truss is frequently laid aside at night, be¬ 
cause in the horizontal posture the tendency 
of the contents to descend is greatly lessened. 
The truss or bandage should, however, be 
worn day and night. If, after the hernia is 
once returned, it is never again allowed to 
comedown, there is a probability of a cure 
taking place; but if it is allowed to come 
down occasionally, as it may do, even during 
the night, in consequence of a cough or from 
turning suddenly in bed, the parts are 
stretched, and the contracting process which 
may have been going on for weeks is undoue. 
The two other kinds of hernia can be alle¬ 
viated by the use of trusses but they are not 
generally considered curable. We cannot 
here describe the various kinds of trusses, 
but those made by Dr. Sherman have a fair 
reputation, and so has the doctor. 
THE SKIM-MILK BILL BEEORE THE NEW YORK 
LEGISLATURE. 
E. C., Logan's Ferry , Pa. The Skim-Milk 
bill now before tbeN. Y. Legislature is a move 
in the right direction; please give it in the 
Rural, sc> as to lead farmers in other States 
to insist on the passage of similar bills. 
Ans. —The bill, as read a third time in the 
Lower House, at A litany, on Tuesday last, 
May 24, was as follows: 
As Act for tho protection of consumers of milk, ami 
to prevent deception la the sale of niJllc: 
Section 1 —Every person who shall sell, or who shall 
expose or offer for sule, any mil - from which the 
cream, or any part, (hereof, has been reino*i-t. shall 
distinctly i ejirosent It as such, and - hall duruiily murk 
in letters not less limn one Inch in length, In a con¬ 
spicuous place uborc the center, on the outside of 
outside of 
every can. vessel or iim-kaac containing such milk, 
the words "Skimmed Milk " and such milk shall o ly 
ho sold In or retailed out of cans or vessels or pack¬ 
ages so marked. 
bec 2 —Every person who shall sell, offer or expose 
for sale any milk except in the county In which the 
same Is produced snail distinctly and durably mark 
wit h letters not 1- *x than one Inch In Icngt h, In n eon- 
.spleuuus place above the center on tile outside of 
every can, vessel or package Containing such milk, 
the name of tho county from welch the some Is pro¬ 
duced, and such ml k shall only bo sol ’ or feta.led 
out of a cun or ve»»ol or nacknge so marked. 
8rc 8— Any person who shall violate any of the 
provisions or tfils act shall he doomed guilty of a mis¬ 
demeanor. »nd lu addhiou thereto shsll li.> Ital ic in 
a penalty of g5d, and on trial for such misdemeanor 
or penalty the sole or offer or exposure for rale of 
milk or unifies contrary to the prorlrlona of tills act. 
shall he presumptive evidence of knowledge by the 
accused of the enarnctcr of the milk or article so sold 
or offered or exposed for sale, and that t he can. ves 
hc| nr i nek age was no* marked us required by this 
act unless Inal the accused can conclusively rhow 
that ho purchased tho milk in good raltn an Hilly 
believed he was not violating any of tie provisions of 
this act. 
*Kr 4.-All penalties Imposed under the provisions 
o' this act may he recovered with cost*of suit by any 
person or persons In his or their own mimes before 
gay Justice of the peace la the cou' ty where the of¬ 
fence w.is committed nr where therteron<J»nt resides, 
or where such Suit xliull hf brought in thecity of New 
York, before any Justice of any district court, or the 
Marine Court or said city: or such pensllies may he 
recovered In an action lu Ihe •- unrcine Court of 1 his 
State by any person or person® In his or their own 
names, which action shall be gove tied V»v the same 
rules hh other net,Ion®In said supreme Court, and said 
penalties when eoPected shall lie paid by the Court 
before, which recovery •hull be had, one-half to the 
prosecutor and ihe remainder to the overseer nf the 
poor for the use of the poor of the town lu which the 
offeucc w»s committed, ami lu the elites to the per¬ 
sons holding the like relations os overseer of t.hcpo r. 
Skc, 5 —On the non payment of the penalty the de¬ 
fendant shall hr sent tot ccommon Jail Of tee county 
for a period of nor. less than otic day for ouch dollar 
of the amount of <he judgment Any Court of Spe¬ 
cial .Sessions In this State shnll have Jurisdiction to 
try and dispose of nil and any of tin* offences nrlslng 
In the snine county against the provision* of this act, 
and every justice of the peace shall hiive jurisdiction 
within his county of actions to recover any penalty 
hereby given or created. 
Sec fi. All nets or parts of acts Inconsistent with 
this act are hereby repea 1 ed. 
Sec. 7.—This act ahull tuke effect Immediately. 
The M. Co. 8. of Dayton O. reports that 
strawberries looked bad enough. Wilson’s 
best. A fair crop of raspberries. Goose¬ 
berries and currants none. A small crop of 
early pears and apples—a good crop of late. 
. . . , . Sec. Garfield’s Mich, Hort. 
Report says that Loudon-purple or Paris- 
green is powerless to destroy the rose-bug. At 
South Haven boys are employed to gather 
them and they average four quarts a day. 
0b,COjtl) lici’t’. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Dakota. 
Aquilo, Beadle Co.,May 15.—Plenty of rain. 
Immigration immense. Corn planting on sod 
ground goes on rapidly. Prospect for crops 
good. c. h. E. 
Indiana. 
Dorchester Co., May 16.—We have had a 
wet Spring, excepting a part of April. Corn 
planting commenced about the 15th of April, 
and is not yet done. Wheat looks well and 
there is a pi ospect of a good crop. Opinions 
sensation is perceptible by the fingers. Such 
a tumor may be met within any part of the 
abdominal wall, but the chief situations are 
—(a) the inguinal or groin region, in which 
the neck of the tumor ljes immediately above 
Poupart’s ligament (a cord-like ligamentous 
structure which can be felt stretching from 
the anterior superior ppiuous process of the 
ilium to the spine of the pubis immediately 
above the genital organs); (5) femoral region 
in the upper part of the thigh, in which the 
neck of the sac lies immediately below the in¬ 
ner end of Poupart’s ligament; (e) the umbili¬ 
cal region, in which the tumor appears at the 
navel. As the inguinal hernia increases 
in size it tends to pass into the scrotum in 
the male, into the labium in the female; while 
the femoral hernia, appealing first below 
Poupart, tends gradually as it increases in 
size to pass upwards superficial to Poupart’s 
ligament. 
The treatment of reducible hernia consists 
in pushing back the coutents of the tumor in¬ 
to the abdomen, and applying a truss or elas¬ 
tic bandage in order to prevent the contents 
from again escaping. The younger the pa¬ 
tient the more chance there is of the truss 
acting as a curative agent, as the natural 
tendency to contraction of the channel through 
HOW THE COMMON HOUSE FLY PROPAGATES 
ITS KIND, ETC. 
A IT., Oskaloosa, la. 1, Where and how 
does the common house fly propagate its kind? 
2. Is the ash-colored snowbird a bird of pass¬ 
age, or does it change its color in the Fall and 
Spring? 
Ans—L The eggs'are about four-hundredths 
of an inch long, says Professnr C. V. Riley,oue- 
fourth as wide, dull white in color, and pitted 
with elongate, hexagonal depressions—mne 
whitish specks to the unaided eye, laid in little 
agglutinated piles in warm manure or in de¬ 
composing vegetation, especially that about 
our stables anil bain-yards. From BO to 100 
are laid at a time, and probably at three or 
four different intervals by the same fly, though 
on this point we have no exact data. Within 
24 hours, in Summer, they hatch into footless 
maggots, which, after rioting in filth till their 
tender skins seem ready to burst from reple¬ 
tion, become full-fed in less than a week and, 
descending into the earth or sheltering under 
some old board, contract to brown, shining 
objects, rounded at both ends, and technically 
known as puparia. Within tho darkness of 
this hardened skin profound changes rapidly 
take place, and the insect passes through the 
pupa to the perfect state, and finally, in about 
five days, the anterior end of the puparium is 
pushed off and the fly quickly crawls out. At 
first its parts are pale and soft, and its wings 
are crumpled aud useless, but these soon ex¬ 
pand, and suddenly, without practice or 
teaching, the new-fledged fly wings its way to 
your table to mock your displeasure—to share 
your repast. The length of time required 
from hatching to maturity varies with the 
season and temperature, but will not 
exceed ten days in midsummer, while the 
life of the perfect fly lasts about three weeks 
at the same season. As cold weather ap¬ 
proaches propagation ceases, and the older 
flies perish. A few of the more vigorous 
females, however, retreat to some nook or 
e cranny where, in a state of torpor, they sur- 
j- vive till the ensuing season—*• 1 nks ’twixt the 
y Summer gone by and to come.” The insect 
l. may also hibernate in the pupa state in the 
e ground, as ihe puparia has been found quite 
is Into in the Fall. In rooms kept continuous 
o 1 r warm, or in some southern latitudes 
e the fly remains active all Winter, and our 
e palace sleepiug cars bri g them daily to us 
g from Florida during tho coldest months of the 
□ year. 2. In this section the snow birds ap- 
e pear from the South early in April, while the 
!i ground is still covered with snow, on their 
way farther North to breed. They return 
i- South late in the Autumn. 
WATER LILIES IN A SMALL TANK. 
L. C., N. Y. City. Could I raise any water 
r lilies in my turtle tank which holds two pails 
of water? Would they grow in a not very 
heavy clay soil in the tank ? 
Ans. —Yes, you can raise water lilies in 
your turtle tank and in the soil you mention, 
r but you cannot have large plants, nor, when 
s the plants are in full vigor, cau you keep their 
3 leaves from spreading out over the top of the 
* tank. But if this is not unsightly to you it 
will not iujure the lilies. You cau get nice 
j little plants from seed the first yo*r, hut they 
, will not be large enough to bloom till they are 
two or three years old, according to kind and 
I circumstances of growth. The Nymphmas 
! should rest six months in the year, and in the 
| ordinary course of things will begin to grow 
in April or May, and blossom in June or July; 
or, if tropical ones, a month later. They keep 
on blooming, under favorable conditions, for 
several weeks, and the " roots” live on and 
increase year after year. Seeds should be 
planted as soon as they are ripe; roots are best 
planted in Spring—just before they begin to 
grow. But we do not think you can be suc¬ 
cessful with water Jibe* ir you keep turtles in 
the tank with them. Villarsia nympbcooides, 
yellow; Liinnocliaris Humboldtii, yellow; 
and Apouogeton distachyon.white, are smaller 
and freer hlooming plan's than Nymphmas,and 
might give you more satisfaction in so small a 
tank; or, you may have Nympitcas in Sum¬ 
mer ana ihe Aponogeton in Winter, as the 
latter is a Winter grower and has deliciously 
fragrant blossoms. 
COMPOSTING MUCK WITH COMMERCIAL FER¬ 
TILIZES. 
C. L., Newark N. J.. Can sulphate of am¬ 
monia, muriate of potash and raw muck of 
best quality be composted without loss of 
ammonia ? 
Ans, —There would be no loss of ammonia 
in such a compost, but to be entirely safe a 
literal addition of ground gypsum (plaster) 
would prevent all danger of it. If the muck 
is pure vegetable matter, thoroughly decayed, 
and can be broken up small vrheu half dry, 
it will soon become friable and in a fine con¬ 
dition. We w ould rather compost the muck 
with fine air-slaked lime and turn it over once 
a week before it is used, or use it as it is in the 
heap and plow it in and apply the sulphate 
of ammonia and potash salts by themselves. 
In this case the muck and lime should be vreli 
mingled in the heap, so that the lime can have 
its full effect and after it is plowed in, the 
sulphate and the muriate should be spread as 
a top dressing and lightly harrowed in, or 
spread upon the harrowed soil. This depends 
somewhat o.i the crop to be sown, which you 
do not mention. 
SWOLLEN HOCK IN A COLT. 
W. J. Ft., Cedartoivn, Ga. The hind leg of 
my one year-old colt is Rwollen all round at 
the hock, the hock joint also being swollen, 
what is the remedy ? 
Ans —The swelling probably arises from in¬ 
flammation of the joint. The treatment should 
be as follows: Apply first, warm water fo¬ 
mentations for a few days, and afterwards 
rub a mixture of one pint of alcohol and one 
drachm of tincture of cantharides on the 
swollen part, and a little above and below it. 
Do not deprive the colt of exercise but keep 
him loose in a roomy place where he can move 
freely. Do riot give the animal any bran or 
oats, but feed for a while corn-meal with an 
equal quantity of linseed oil-cake meal, or 
even the liueeed meal alone. The colt may 
possibly have a constitutional tendency to 
spavin ; if this is the case ad food that pro¬ 
vokes bony development, and bran is such a 
food, should be avoided. 
TO PREVENT SHEEP FROM GNAWING THE BARK 
OF FRUIT TREES. 
M. M., Greenfield, III. What will surely 
prevent sheep from gnawing the bark of trees 
in an orchard? 
Ans. —Any wash that is soluble, applied to 
the trees, is too apt to be removed by rain or 
to have its effective qualities dissolved out in 
a short time; and any such application as 
gas tar aud oils is daugerotis or positively 
injurious aud is to be avoided. The safest 
is thick lime wash flavored w ith carbolic acid 
in the proportion of one part of acid to 40 of 
the water used in making the wash. This 
