JAN. 24 
89 
a largo portion of the foul matter and cause a 
reflux, so to speak, of the contagion. 3. No 
well in gravel soil should be nearer than 100 
feet to a cesspool. If a clay subsoil is near 
the bottom of the cesspool and dips towards the 
well, 200 feet might not be a safe distance. If 
the bed of clay dips from the direction of the 
well, 50 feet might be perfectly safe. To make 
the matter secure, it might be well to test the 
water. This may be done easily by pouring a 
few drops of nitric acid into a small narrow vial 
filled with the water. The bottle should be 
made perfectly clean and rinsed several times 
previously with some of the suspected water. 
If the water is colored yellow or brown by the 
acid, it is tainted with organic, matter, An¬ 
other test is to make a solution of perman¬ 
ganate of potash In pure water. If the color 
of the permanganate is weakened, the added 
water may be considered impure. 
Preparing Peat lor Fuel, Etc. 
•/ B , Union, N. Y., wishes to know the ad¬ 
dress of some oue who has experience in grow¬ 
ing basket Willows, where cuttings can he had, 
and at what price per 1,000 ; 2, if there is a 
ready market for willow shoots ; the price per 
pound, and if they have to be peeled before 
they are sold. 3. He also wants to know how 
to prepare peat for fuel. 
Ans. —At present we are unable to give the 
address of any one who has practical expe¬ 
rience in the business. Cuttings can be had 
from most nurseries; we do nut know their 
price. 2. Thecuitureofbasket Willowsdoesnot 
prove a success in America, Some say labor is 
too high to allow of any profit, Willow shoots 
of the proper size for basket-making are worth 
only five ceuts a pound prepared and delivered 
at the place of manufacture. One ton to a ton 
and a half to the acre is a large yield, and is 
seldom reached. Willow plantations suffer 
also much from destructive insects. There is 
not always a ready market for the growth. The 
best way hi to contract with some manufactur¬ 
ing firm for the disposal of the crop. The 
6hoots are generally peeled and prepared for 
use before they are sold. 3, In Europe, where 
in some countries peat is used almost exclu¬ 
sively for fuel, we have seen it prepared as 
follows:—A large quantity—several hundred 
loads—of peat is dug up and drawn together 
in a convenient place in a layer about three 
feet thick. When enough material has thus 
been collected, it is next worked up with water 
to one homogeneous mass to fit it for the form. 
This is done by driviug a team and a wagon 
constructed for the purpose around in the 
mass til) it has attained the proper plastic con¬ 
sistency, water being thrown ou it all the time 
as needed. As soon as ready, the turfs, or 
peat bricks, are formed. A i'oria with holes 
of the desired size is laid on the grouud, filled 
with the peat, and then lifted up and drawn a 
little forward, again filled and so forth, till all 
the material has been used. When a large 
quantity of turfs are made, it requires much 
space to put them on. The peat is transported 
to the forms in wheelbarrows. After tbe lapse 
of a week or ten days, the turfs are turned on 
the edges to facilitate the dryiug, and, a little 
later, piled up in a conical stack for the same 
purpose. This is done mostly by children. The 
drying being done by the sun, the manutacture 
of this fuel must, of course, take place during 
the warm weather iu summer. 
Trouble with Churning and Butler. 
N. J. G.. White River, Washington Ter¬ 
ritory, says that her cows feed iu the day-time 
on timothy and clover pasture or meadows 
where, owing to the great mildness of the sea¬ 
son, they find lots of green, short grass; at 
night they are tied iu the barn and fed tim¬ 
othy and clover hay with some Horn car¬ 
rots—say a bucketful to each cow every 
night and morning. The butter from their 
milk is white, soft and tasteless. She usually 
makes flue yellow butter, but as soou as car¬ 
rots are fed, this poor stuff aloue comes. A 
neighbor’s cows are fed in precisely the 6ame 
way. yet the butter from their milk is nice 
and yellow ; and she inquires what causes her 
butter to be white aud tasteless oi sometimes 
bitter, while her neighbor’s is good and yellow. 
During her last churning after working one 
hour, the cream foamed aud filled tbe churn 
so full that she had to take oat a panful; then 
after another hour’s churniug that cream 
foamed up to overflowing again so that an¬ 
other panful had to be takeu out, and it took 
from four to five hours to finish the churning, 
and she asks the cause of the trouble, which 
has occurred only while carrots are led to the 
cows. 
Ans. —Perhaps the quantity of carrots is 
too large for the cows' health. Try half the 
quantity aud note the result. Late-cut hay 
makes white butter. The hay used may have 
been too ripe before it was cut. Tbe bitter¬ 
ness in the cream comes from not skimming 
soon enough, and the difficult and frothy 
churning from having the cream too sour aud 
too cold. Have a kettle of boiling water over 
the stove aud when the milk is brought in 
and strained, set each pan over the kettle 
and scald the milk till the top wrinkles pretty 
briskly, and then Bet it where it will keep at 
fttioyt 6Q pklrn at the first ap¬ 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
pearance of souring—not later than 36 to 48 
hours. Churn in about 12 hours after skim¬ 
ming and have the cream at 50 to 62 degrees, 
and you will have more and better butter and 
easier churning. 
Windmills at Sea. 
S. E. H. s Milton, Ky., asks what would be 
the result of using a windmill on a ship for a 
mast and sail combined, using the power of 
the mill instead of steam power for propelling 
the vessel. 
Ans. With any windmill made, the effect 
would be that in the first stiff gale that ship 
would lose every Btitch of “sail” and probably 
her masts also. Those living on prairies have 
some idea of the force of the wind in a storm, 
but aB it sweeps over the level expause of 
ocean its power is still greater, while the stress 
upon the Bails and the rigging is vastly in¬ 
creased by the tossing of the vessels amid the 
waves. Then again, it would be impracticable 
to set the “sail ” so that the vessel could make 
any headway on her proper course iu a con¬ 
trary wind. Iu a moderate wind now a square- 
rigged sailing vessel can.sail within six points 
of the wind, owing to the set of her sails, and 
a fore-and aft-rigged vessel several points 
closer, eight poiuts being at a right angle to 
the directiou of tbe wind. By “ tacking” 
therefore across her course she manages to 
gain some distances on it at every tack, but as 
a windmill fuses the wind point-blank, there 
is uo such thing as setting it aslaut. aud if it 
could be doue, the impulse of the wind upou it 
could not aid in propelling tbe vessel, unless 
the wind was abaft the beam, owing to its 
level surface. As a sail, therefore, it would 
be worse than useless iu contrary winds, while 
with a favorable breeze its necessarily small 
surface would give but littlepropelliug power. 
As a generator of power to be used instead of 
steam, what wiudmill can produce from 3,000 
to 4,000 horse power, the average power used 
in transoceanic steamers? There is a host of 
other considerations which would render such 
employmenlof windmills impracticable. These 
are exceedingly useful devices, but their only 
use on vessels is for pumping water out of Ihe 
hold, aud then in rough weather they have to 
be “ furled ". 
Irish Potato Culture in 8. C. 
H. B , Greenville, 8. C., asks: 1, when should 
Irish potatoes be planted in that section; 2, 
what varieties would be likely to thrive best; 
3, shjuld fertilizers be used, aud, if so, what 
kind and bow much; 4, how often should they 
be “ worked.” 
Ans.-tI, Plant as soon as the soil is in proper 
conditiou, which will probably be early in Feb¬ 
ruary iu that latitude. Frosts may occur late 
enough to cut them down, which may retard 
the growth, and it would be well to leave a 
part for plantiug the last of the month, or 
early iu March. The best crop of early pota¬ 
toes a friend of ours ever raised, was planted 
iu March, in latitude 42 °, and was twice cut 
down by frost. 2, Early Rose for the main 
crop. It might be well to try some of the 
newer sorts, such as tbe Beauty of Hebron, in 
a small way. 3, Apply any good manure broad¬ 
cast, plowed under. Unless thoroughly rotted 
and made hue, it should never be used in the 
bill. Ashes are excellent mixed with the soil 
in the drill or hill—the more the better; or, 
they may be mixed equal parts with plaster, 
and about a gill applied to each hill after the 
first hoeing. Cotton seed is also good—a quart 
or less to the hill. If commercial fertilizers 
are. used, choose those rich in potash. 4. Twice 
is usually enough, if thoroughly performed; 
or work once aud mulch with pine straw 
which, besides preventing the growth of weeds, 
keeps the soil cool and moist—an important 
consideration so far Mouth as our friend's home. 
There are so many wayB of cultivating this 
crop, all of them good enough, that we haveu't 
space here to give them. A great deal of valu¬ 
able information on potato culture, the result 
of actual experience iu different parts of the 
country, was contained iu our special Potato 
Number, published Out. 18, 1879. 
Preventing Bust on Wheat, etc. 
R. L. 8., Tangent, Oregon asks, 1, if there is 
auy remedy for wheat rust; 2, what Pruue is 
the. earliest and best for his locality aud where 
can he buy grafts. There are no curculios 
iu Oregon, he says, and plums grow there to 
perfection. 
Ans.— There is no remedy that iu all cases 
and under all circumstaucea will prevent wheat 
from rusting. A distinguished German agri¬ 
culturist states, however, that about six hours 
before sowiug his wheat he prepares a steep 
of three measures of powdered quiek-lime aud 
ten measures of cattle urine. Two quarts of 
this are poured on a peck of wheat and stirred 
with a spade uutil every kernel is covered aud 
white with the preparation. He has found 
it an effective preventive for rust, and he has 
followod the practice for many years. 2. The 
Peach Plum aud Drapd’ Or are the earliest of 
which we have reliable reports from Oregon ; 
but many excellent varieties will do well 
there, among which, besides the above, are 
Washington, Yellow Egg, Jefferson, Relue 
Claud« tie Bavay, Prune d’ Ageu. German 
Prune, Coe's Golden Drop, Bradshaw, Col¬ 
umbia and others. Procure grafts from 
Eastern nurserymen if uone can be had in 
your neighborhood. 
8ore Eyes in Hogs. 
TV 8. T-, Cornwall, Ont., Canada, has four 
Berkshire pigs which have swelled eyes; the 
swelling seems to be under the eyelids, aud 
these are red and inflamed. He has been bed¬ 
ding them with oat bnlls, and wants to know 
if the dust in the bedding is the cause of the 
disease, or what else can occasion it, and a 
remedy. 2, If oat hulls are fed to cows, will 
they dry up the milk ? 
Ans. 1, The dust from the' chaff or hulls of 
oats would Inflame the eyelids of pigs and so 
would the hulls, as it would be almost impos¬ 
sible for pigs to nest in a bed of chaff without 
getting the chaff into their eyes more or less. 
The dust would of itself be cause enough. The 
eyes of pigs sometimes become iufiimed by 
colds in the head when they are exposed to 
a cold draught. They are often afflicted with 
catarrh caused by colds, which affects the 
eyes. 2, Oat hulls will not increase the flow 
of milk beyoud bay, but will make, it less. 
They are better than straw. Whether they 
will dry up the milk depeuds upon what the 
cow has beeu fed previously. 
Destroying Stumps. 
P. R. II., Avoea , IV. Y., wishing to destroy 
Borne hard-wood stumps by slow combustion, 
by impregnating them with nitrate of potash, 
asks how much should be used; how it should 
be applied, and how long it would be likely to 
take to penetrate the slump. 
Ans. —It is said that by boring holes Into tbe 
head of a stump and putting into each hole an 
ounce of saltpeter, and after leaving it to pen¬ 
etrate the substance of the stump, setting the 
latter on fire, it will he completely consumed. 
This may he so. It is easy to try it when one 
has some stumps. Wu would suggest that a 
trial be made now; boriug a hole diagonally 
downwards from each of four sides of the 
stump to a depth of 12 inches, inserting one 
ounce of saltpeter into each hole, leaving tbe 
stump until the spring. When it has dried con¬ 
siderably, put fire to it. Then please re¬ 
port tbe result, If you are successful, it will 
he the first case, that has come to our knowl¬ 
edge. But we think it worth a trial, if for uo 
other purpose than to settle this question. 
In Hungarian liny Injurious to Horses 1 
R. H. C., Orleans, Nebraska, asks whether 
Hungarian hay is injurious to horses. He 
has fed it more or less for three years past. 
He has frequently been told that it would kill 
his horses, and last New Year's Day his best 
horse died. He is not sure the hay hastened 
his death. Iu the spriug of '79. being anxious 
to get ati old team into good condition for 
work, he fed heavily both of hay aud corn. 
He found his horses growing stiff, and substi¬ 
tuted bright oat straw for hay. and their limbs 
gradually regained tbeir wonted suppleness. lie 
is not sure but substituting chaff, or, better, 
oats, for corn would have been followed by the 
same happy result. If Hungarian hay is a 
dangerous feed, wherein lies the danger? 
[Our correspondent, Mr. W. I. Chamberlain, 
who has had much experienes with Hungarian 
grass and auy of our other friends who have 
had experience iu this connection, will, per¬ 
haps, kindly answer.—Eds.] 
Scaly Leg* in Fowl*. 
M. B , FYedertoktown, Ohio, asks the caffee 
of, and a remedy for, scaly legs in chickens. 
Ans. The scurfy or scaly matter on the legs 
of fowls was carefully examined microscop¬ 
ically by Dr. Moxen and Mr. Tegetmeier who 
ascertained that it is due to the presence of a 
minute aearus, or mite, allied to the- itch insecr 
on the human subject. The remedy they pre¬ 
scribe is to soak tbe legs in warm water, so as 
to remove the scurf without Injury, and to 
apply sulphur ointment. But we have cured 
it by the free use of kerosen* upou the legs. 
The affected birds should be separated from 
the others, as the disease is contagious. 
Sour Soil. 
S. R. M., Dcslge Co., Neb., is In blissful 
ignorance, yet has tbe folly to seek to be wise, 
thusly:—“ Will some one, please, tell me what, 
a “sour soil” is; where it is found; what 
causes it; how it is known from other soils ; 
iu fact give me such a description that I cau 
be 6ure of it when I meet it? I am totally 
ignorant on the subject, aud don’t baEeve we 
Lave 6uch a condition in Nebraska. "I have 
never found anv one here who conld tell me." 
JVliM'dluneonM. 
J. II. S,, Lowell, Mass., asks which are the 
staudard works on the following subjects, and 
where can they he procured :—1. ou the cul¬ 
ture of all the small fruits—Strawberries, 
Raspberries. Blackberries and Currants; 2. 
on the culture of tbe Grape, aud on wiue- 
makiug; 8. on sheep hn-bandry; 4, on poul¬ 
try-raising ou a large scale; 5, on bee-keeping. 
Ans. —1, Barry’s Fruit Garden, price $2.50 ; 
Fuller's Small Fruit Guitarist, $1 50. 2. Haraz- 
thy’s Grape Culture and Wine-making. $5 00 : 
Husmau’s Grapes and Wine, $1.00 ; Buchan¬ 
an’s Grape Culture and 75c. 
3, Stewart’s Shepherds’ Manual, $1,50. 4, 
Gcyelin's Poultry Breeding, $1.25; Wright’s 
Poultry-Keeper, .$3 00; Stoddart’a “An Egg 
Farm," 75c. 5. Cook’6 Manual of the Apiary, 
$1 50. and Quinby’s New Bee-Keeping. $1.50. 
All the works can be obtained through the 
American News Co., Chambers 8t., N. Y. 
P. S. W., Newmarket, Va,, asks whether 
packing butter in a vessel and putting this in¬ 
side another vessel with a layer of salt all 
round the butter package, is a good plan for 
keeping butter in summer, and if so. whether 
a large unglazed earthenware crock would do 
for the outride vessel; 2, how many ducks 
should be allowed to one drake; 3, instructions 
to children how to play chess. 
Ans.— Yes; yes. 2. Three. 8. We cannot spare 
sufficient space to give instructions enough 
to be useful in teaching the art of chess-playing 
By far the. easiest and best way is to get some 
one who knows the game to tell how to make 
the moves and to form plans, the latter being 
essential in anything like fair chess-playing. 
We may. however, in a short time spare time 
and space for an article on this subject in the 
Literary Department. 
R. 8, Dunsvi’le. Va., asks if there is an in¬ 
strument used to ascertain the strength of 
vinegar, after the. method of testing the strength 
of whiskey; if so, where can it be had and its 
cost. 
Ans. —There is snch an instrument used to 
test the strength of vinegar. The specific 
gravitv of acetie acid, as compared with pnre 
water, is 1.063, water being one. But ordinary 
vinegar contains only from two to three per 
cent, of acetie acid, and its specific gravity will 
therefore be very little, more than water. In¬ 
struments of that kind can be had of E. B. 
Benjamin. 10 Barclay St., N. Y. City. We do 
not know the cost. 
J. L. K.. Middlesex., N. Y. T. D. IT.. Roch¬ 
ester, N. Y.. J. R G., Leavenworth, Kan., R. 
II. Newark, Ohio, 8. T. M.. Ontario, Can., 
asks whether the American Book Exchange, 
of this city, is a responsible concern and if it 
is safe to send it money in advance. 
Ans. — Having had a great many queries 
of this kind of late, we made several inquiries 
from reliable parties who bare dealt with 
them, and are satisfied that they are reliable 
dealers and Lave therefore admitted their ad¬ 
vertisement into our columns. 
J. M. W.. FernMU, OnL. asks: 1, what is 
the proper name for Lilac; 2. what is the 
proper name for a flowering Almond which 
blooms early in summer and grows about two 
and a half feet high. 
Ans. —L, The botanical name of Lilac is 
Syringa. Syringa vulgaris is the common 
Lilac from Europe, of which there are pale 
violet and white varieties. 8. Persiea is the 
Persian Lilac; it is more slender than the 
above, with lance-ovate leaves and looser 
cymes. 2, Amygdalus nana is the botanical 
name of the little 6hrub known as the Flow¬ 
ering Almond. 
I. G. C-, (no address) wants to know the 
best mode for starting seed from Pinus 
Sibiriea. 
Ans. The seed may be sown in the open 
ground in the spring, but probably the best 
way would be to sow it in a pot or box during 
tbe winter, keep it moist and in a moderately 
warm room till it sprouts ; then, in the spring, 
thnrap out the pot in the open ground and 
shade the young plants. 
TV C- N.. Rtce Co. Kan. . asks. 1, what varie¬ 
ties of Magnolia will succeed in that locality; 
2. will it do to dwarf the Pear on the Orange 
Quince 
Ans —1, Magnolia tripetala, M. acuminata, 
M. glanca. M. macrophylla and, in fact, all 
the deciduous Magnolias ought to do well in 
Kansas. 2 The Quince is an excellent 
stock for dwarf Pears and the one generally 
used. 
TV. E. E . Lamartine, Ohio., wants to know 
the best way to get out osage orange seed, and 
at what time* 
Ans. —The seed is obtained by rotting the 
fruit and washing away the pulp ; it is then 
scalded and kept warm and moist until it is 
sown. The best way to preserve it is to lay 
it in alternate layers with sand slightly moist. 
C. E. J„ Inglestile, Md., asks where he 
could get an incubator. 
Ans. They are sold and have been adver¬ 
tised in the Rural, by A. M. Halsted, Rye, 
N. Y. 
Note.—In reply to the nmnv questions we 
have received as to where seeds of the particular 
kind of Doura of which “Notes from the Rural 
Grounds” spoke so highly in a late issue, we 
have ascertained that for the present, R. H. 
Alleu A Co , 1S9 and 19L Water St., N- Y., can 
supply them in small quantities. We speak 
of this because we really de-ire that our read¬ 
ers should try this (with us) very valuable 
fodder plant, and we know of no ether house 
that can supply this particular variety. The 
variety described by other journals as Doura 
develops a single stem and is valuable chiefly 
for jts grain. 
