PEC 30 
THE 
soil be imparted to the fruit ? 2, In connec¬ 
tion with growing grape-vines from the seeds 
of the Niagara, would not it be desirable to 
obtain information about seedling grape 
growing from those who have had experience 
in the business ? 8. We lost three young 
pigs by disease in the Spring of 1880, and 
buried the ca icasees under cur Lady grape 
vines, what will be the result—a pork flavor 
in the grapes ? 
Awa. —11 Nothing we could apply to the soil 
would materially alter the flavor of fruits. 
Each plant derives its food from the soil and 
air and each elaborates its own peculiar 
nutriments which are constant no n atter 
where it grows. 2, There is little to be said 
as to raising grape seedlings. They ere as 
easily raised as apple or pear trees from seed. 
Instructions will be given in full in due time. 
All may raise grape-vines from grape seeds. 
3, The vine will grow more vigorously in 
consequence of the animal fertilizer. There 
will be no difference in the flavor of the fruit 
except that fruit grown upon vigorous vines 
is better than that upon feeble vines. 
J. T. S, Ridgewood, N. Y— The knee of a 
cow of mine has been swollen to nearly twice 
the natural size for two or three months. 
Originally the swelling came from what was 
supposed to be rheumatism, it has become 
very hard ; is there a “ cure ”t 
A ns.—Y ou can do nothing but give the cow 
one ounce of hyposulphite of soda daily and 
apply turpentine well rubbed on the swollen 
parts once a day. The disease may he due to 
a deposit of tuberculous matter, at first lymph, 
changing to soft cheesy matter afterwards, 
and finally breaking out into sores If this 
should occur yon may slaughter the animal 
as soon as yon like. If the trouble was due to 
rheumatism the cow would be lame. If there 
is no lameness you should not use the milk if 
the cow is giving any. 
G. H., Rochester Mills, Pa —What ailed my 
yearling heifer ? She appeared in good health, 
but last evening I found her lying dead in the 
pasture with blood oozing from her nose. 
Ans. —Was the animal swollen in any part ? 
The symptom mentioned alone gives but 
little information. It was probably a case of 
anthrax fever, in which the shoulders or bind 
quarters would be soft and swollen. This 
disease is quite prevalent at this season with 
young cattle running on fields or pastures, and 
is caused by the coarse food acting upon the 
liver and causing disorder of the blood. 
Nothing is of any avail except watchful care 
to prevent it. 
G. W. G„ Mar da n, D. T. 1, Which variety 
of potato is the earliest ? 2, Which sort of rasp¬ 
berry is the hardiest ? 3, Which of plum? 4. 
Is there any remedy for the corn worm ? 
Ans —1, Alpha is claimed so to be. We 
have never tried it. Early Ohio is the earli¬ 
est of any we have tried. 2, Turner. 3, 
Wild Goose is as hardy as any. 4, The ap¬ 
ple question v»ill be answered later. The corn 
and cotton worms are identical—Heliothis 
armigera. The only known remedy is bill¬ 
ing by hand. On going over a field when the 
ears are in silk, the presence of the worms 
can be detected by the silk becoming prema¬ 
turely dry or by its being partially eaten. 
H, F L , Sutton , Mass —If I am feeding a 
horse 13 pounds of hay and six quarts of corn 
a day, how much must I increase the grain 
ration in substituting straw for hay ? 
Ans.— It would be better to use meal and 
cut the straw and wet the chaff and mix the 
meal with it. Three quarts of mixed corn and 
oats ground will be fair feed if given with cut 
straw wetted, three times a day. This would 
be a fair ration for a horse at moderate work. 
If you feed the straw alone the horse will not 
eat enough of it. Give a small handful of 
salt with each feed when straw' is used. 
IF. S., Salisbury, Pa , Can the Rural rec¬ 
ommend the metallic shingles made by tbe 
Anglo-American Roofing Co., of New York? 
Their calamined shingles cost here f8.83 net 
per square, to which freight, nails, labor, etc., 
have to be added. A roof of tin can be put 
on for $7 per square, and one of wood for 
over roughnesses and will not be heavy on the 
horses ? 
Ans. —An excellent plank roller may be 
made as follows : First make a piece for each 
end, of plank crossed for the purpose of 
More preparations for taking good care of 
stock than usual, as most farmers have an- 
ticicipated a cold Winter and have prepared 
for it ahead. N. J. s. 
New York. 
C andos, Tioga Co., Dec. 9.—Very, very 
dry here. Wells and springs are dry that 
never were bo before. Some of our neighbors 
go three-quarters of a mile for all the water 
they use. People are getting alarmed about 
water for tbeir stock Good sleighing: thlukthe 
prospects are that Vennor’s predictions may 
become true for December. k. t,. 
rpnnHyl'vnnla. 
Loyalhanna, Westmoreland Co., Dec. 9 — 
We had a very backward cold season, 
and it rained almost every week, with the 
exception of two weeks in harvest. Hay 
and pasture were never better, nor was 
wheat. With regard to oats, some bad excel¬ 
lent crops, while with others they were not so 
good on account of the rust. Corn on the av¬ 
erage was a good crop. Tbe early potatoes 
were good; late ones not a quarter of 
a crop; the blight struck the vines while 
growing and the tops died before the tubers 
came to maturity. Tbe outer edge of tbe 
leaf first became black, and finally the 
whole leaf; then the stalk, and to com 
plete the ruin, half the crop rotted. 
The poorest crop I ever raised. Fruits of all 
kinds were an entire failure, with the excep¬ 
tion of blackberries, which were very plenti¬ 
ful. The early sown wheat is not doing well; 
it was getting very yellow before the cold 
weather set in a couple of days ago. Prices of 
grain: Wheat, $1 per bushel; corn, 50c.; 
oats, 88e. Fat hogs, 6c. live weight: fresh 
cows, $50@$60; horses scarce and high. w. 8. 
[Every qnerv must be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to Insure attention.] 
BEETS AND CORN FOR HOGS. 
W. B. P., Indianapolis, Ind, —I planted, 
last Spring, a little over half an acre to Red 
Qifirit Ovoid Mangel-Wurtzel Beets—had a 
fair crop. About middle of September com¬ 
menced feeding two pigs, giving them, after 
a few days, all they would eat, with plenty 
of slop from the kitchen, including about 15 
quarts of milk, mostly sour, per day. They 
have mode carcass finely, but do not seem to 
put on fat as two hogs did last year that were 
fed exclusively on small 3weet potatoes. Will 
beets make pork without corn ? Is there any 
time from October to June at which they 
have a greater value for fattening hogs than 
at other times ? I have about 200 bushels 
well stored in cellar which I should be glad 
to feed at the most profitable time, if there 
is anv difference. My horses will not eat 
them in any form in which they may be pre¬ 
pared, but my cow “goes for” them with a 
rush. 2 My potatoes always sprout wonder¬ 
fully before I am ready to plant; is there 
any preventive ? 
ANSWER BY COL. F. D. CURTIS. 
1. Beets are better calculated to make car¬ 
cass than fat, for the simple reason ( hat a pig 
cannot eat a sufficient quantity, beyond what 
will make a vigorous growth, to furnish 
sufficient nutriment to produce much fat. It 
is different, however, with old hogs which 
have their natural frame or growth of body; , 
for in their case the body already being 
grown, the beets and other food go directly 
to make fat, beyond what may be needed to 
sustain life and the power of locomotion. 
Beets are excellent food to give young pigs 
to build up a frameand make healthy growth; 
but they need more concentrated food to 
l'ound them up to a pork standard, which, by 
the way, is too fatty for either profit or 
health. A pig in a leaner condition, such as 
beets would make, is really more palatable 
food, and if the sides are made into bacon, for 
which they would be particularly suited, in¬ 
stead of pickled pork, they can be used fully 
as economically, aTid are really more desira¬ 
ble for family use. Sweet potatoes contain a 
larger per cent, of sugar, in proportion to 
bulk, than beets, hence pigs would fatten 
faster on them. This is also true of corn, but 
in the ease of corn, the food is so concentrated, 
and on account of tbe oil in the corn—which 
is carbon, or in other words fuel—it is so heat¬ 
ing as to produce fever and at the same time 
inflammation of the bowels. For the above 
reason and because there is so little waste 
material—indigestible substance—in it to 
keep the bowels in healthy action, corn 
should not be fed exclusively to young hogs. 
The best plan is just what, our inquirer has 
been doing—to build up a healthy carcass on 
beets and other light food end then, if pork 
is wanted, to finish up by feeding corn about 
a month. A longer feeding would make 
feverish meat and endanger tbe breaking 
down of the stomach and bowels, which pro¬ 
duces so-called cholera in some cases, and in 
others founder or stiffness. Beets are in their 
best condition to feed about the first of Octo¬ 
ber, or a little later, as the cool nights in my 
opinion mature them, or, in other words, 
bring the sugar to a more perfect condition. 
They are equally valuable if not more when 
harvested, to feed during the Winter but the 
cold weather with them as with othpr food, has 
a counteracting influence and this with beets 
is greater lhan with corn, because there is 1 q fs 
carbon (heat) in them in proportion to bulk 
tban in com. To feed beets therefore profitably 
in cold weather, the pigs should be kept in a 
temperature sufficiently warm so that their 
food would not be required to maintain a 
normal condition of warmth, or, in other 
words, be burned up in their bodies to keep 
out the cold. It is evident, then, that the 
different degrees of cold to which pigs may be 
exposed “ make a relative proportion ” in the 
value of beets for Winter food, the same being 
true also of any other feed. Horses may be 
taught to eat beets by keeping salt away from 
them for a short time and then sprinkling a 
little of it upon pieces of beets and putting 
They will 
Fig. 493. 
strength as shown in cut, Fig. 493. The inner 
portion of the end piece is made of strips two 
inches thick laid in the form of a square so 
that no ends are presented to the outer cover¬ 
ing for the spikes to be driven in. This makes 
the spikes hold more firmly. The end is then 
cut into a circular shape, three feet or more in 
diameter as may be desired ; 40 inches make a 
good-sized roller. Tbe planking is cut into 
lengths of 33 4 feet sud spited on to the end 
frames making a half roller 3X feet long. 
The whole roller is thus in two parts which 
make it easy to turn. The two rollers are 
drawn by means of one long iron axle or bar, 
put through both, with two loose hard-wood 
Illinois, 
Pilot. Kankakee, Co., Dec. 11.—The Golden 
Heartwell Celery was the finest I ever raised; 
some bunches were six inches in diameter 
with six or seven crowns. The little Gem 
Squash is excellent; good for Summer or 
Winter use; very prolific. I. h. s. 
Indiana. 
Alma. Whitlev Co., Dec 10.—Planted 139 
grains of the Rural Dent Corn, one kempl in 
a hill. Of these 81 kernels sprouted, but only 
77 produced stalks. I had 125 pounds of ears 
and 93^ pounds of shelled corn. One kernel 
produced five perfect ears. a. b. g. 
Iowa. 
Oskaloosa, Mahaska. Co.. Doc. 4.—I sowed 
my wheat in rows about as you would sow 
onions. It made a splendid growth: beaded 
out in good shape, but tho wet weather, rust 
and Chinch hug damaged it some, but it did 
quite well, especially the Clawson. I think 
Fall wheat sowed in the Spring should be 
sowad qnite thick. Rural Dent Corn was 
planted on quite poor ground; did well; ma¬ 
tured in season. a. b. 
Maine. 
Bolster’s Mills. Cumberland Co., Dec. 
11.—The Rural Dent Com didn’t ear. though 
it grew very stout. Th6 White Elephant has 
done better tban any potato I had. The 
Beauty of Hebron did fairly well Drought 
hurt, both of them very much. Potatoes pell 
at fiO cents; corn, 25 to 30 cents; eggs, 28 
cents; appleB scarce, p s P. 
New York. 
Farmersvillk Cattaraugus Co., Dec. 8.— 
Celery did well. Had 14 squashes on one vine. 
Expect, hollyhocks to bloom next year. The 
crows took all the corn except one hill which 
didn’t ear. k. t. 
Texas. 
Handley, Tarent Co., Dec. 7.—The Rural 
Dent Corn gave me great satisfaction. It 
made a growth from 10 to 12 feet high: near¬ 
ly every stalk hnd two ears; very larvegraim 
remarkably heavy. T was agreeably surprised 
that it yielded roasHng ears almost ns early 
as my earliest garden corn; the ears were 
very larve, although it was planted Feme days 
later. This is a great advantage for this 
country. It was my intention to contend for 
the prizes, but a part of the corn was pulled 
for roasting ears through mistake. I have 
plenty for seed and consider it invaluable— 
worth many times the price of ynnr excellent 
paper. TIip wheat I planted according to di¬ 
rection® in the Spring. It grew rank and fine 
but, did not mature. The hollyhocks made a 
ftue growth but, have not bloomed. The Gem 
squash yielded prodigeously. M. w. v. 
Wisconsin. 
Merrimack. Sauk Co., Dec. 8.—Celery 
plants came up well; too many to count. 
Gave some away to persons used to cultivat¬ 
ing eelerv; they pronounce it very nice- 
Th« hollyhocks are looking well but “nary ’’ 
a blospom. Sowed the Surprise Wheat last 
Spring; it came up well but too thick; rusted 
somewhat; no signs of anv heads; still green 
.f it lives through the Winter it will have a 
„ood start. h. w. j. 
Fig. 494. 
washers between the two to prevent them 
from binding and to keep them about an inch 
apart. They are fitted in a frame made as 
shown in Fig. 494. If found necessary it will 
be easy to arrange a seat for the driver and a 
cover in the form of a box which may be 
loaded to increase the weight, 
dilation of the heart in a hog. 
B. F. S., Manchester, III —A fine fat hog I 
have just lost, yesterday refused to eat or 
drink, breathing as if he had been driven 
until tired, or as if he were very warm in 
midsummer weather. He had been in pasture 
all Summer, and had been fed with corn in the 
pasture in the Fall, what ailed him and what 
should be the treatment of any other that 
may become similarly affected ? 
Ans —This is a case of disease of the heart, 
known as dilation of that organ. The first 
symptom is loss of appetite and spirits, this is 
followed by faintness and difficulty of breath¬ 
ing. It may be caused—and was probably in 
this case—by the exercise when feeding. It is 
more common in pigs than in other animals 
and it is therefore safer to feed these in a 
comfortable ppn where they can be kept quiet 
and rest a good deal. There is no cure for it 
and the only w ay ro save the pig is to slaughter 
it as soon as the difficulty of breathing appears. 
Tbe meat is not effected in any way as the 
trouble is wholly due to obstructed circula¬ 
tion of blood. 
incipient wind gall on horse’s leg. 
H. J B , Solina . Kans.— My two-year-old 
horse has a hard lump on both sides of the leg 
just above the fetlock joint, caused, I think, by 
a kick some three months ago. He is slightly 
lame ; what should be the treatment ? 
Ans.— This is an incipient wind-gall in all 
probability. It may be the result of a kick, 
but this is doubtful unless the fact were cer¬ 
tainly known. It seems more likely to be due 
to a sprain or to constitutional defect which 
would make its appearance about this time 
and become fully developed by the third or 
fourth year, or the age of puberty in the 
horse. Proper treatment at, this stage may 
prevent its full development. This should 
be to apply cold water bandages until tbe 
tenderness is removed. Then apply stimulant 
lotions well rubbed into the part with soft 
pressure pads bound upon tbe swellings. 
These must be used with caution and if they 
are found to irritate most be removed The 
best application will be iodine ointment or 
the tincture of iodine. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
A. L., McHenry, III, 1, When a childl picked 
up an apple that was strongly spiced with a 
cinnamon flavor: by adding spices to the earth 
around a fruit tree could the flavor Jof tho 
the salted pieces in their mangers, 
eat the beets to get a taste of the salt and in 
this way learn to like them. They are ex¬ 
cellent feed for horses in connection with 
grain. 2 Potatoes will always sprout if put 
in large heaps or in barrels if they are kept 
in a light cellar, especially if it is a warm 
one. The only remedy we know of is to 
spread them thinly over the cellar bottom 
and make it dark and cool. 
A PLANK ROLLER 
T. F. M., Fredericksburg, Va. —How can I 
make a substantial field roller that will ride 
