KiARCH 45 
474 
ROOTS FOR STOCK. 
./. IF. R , New Paris, Ohio. —1. What is the 
value of carrots aud artichokes for feeding 
stock, hogs especially? 2. Where can seeds be 
got? 
A ns. —1. Neither of these roots is better 
than turnips or beets for hogs and both are 
more troublesome to grow. It is not advisable 
to grow roots at any time ou sod ground, be¬ 
cause of the trouble from grass. A clean corn 
stubble is the best for any kind of roots. If a 
crop of roots is desired for feeding hogs, man¬ 
gels come first, sugar beets next, ruta-bagas, 
next. Pumpkins grown alone yield a very 
large quantity of the best of food for hogs and 
will keep almost as well as roots, if the right 
kind is planted. As a feeding crop pumpkins 
are too much neglected either for cows, sheep 
or pigs. 2. Seeds of all garden and field vege¬ 
tables can be obtained from any of the 
seedsmen who advertise iu the Rural or 
whose catalogues are noticed therein. 
QUINCES ANP ENGLISH %AZEL-NUTS IN MIN¬ 
NESOTA. 
E. K. S., Rockford, Mian .—1. Can quinces 
be successfully raised here? 2. Will English 
hazel nuts, known as filberts, do well here? 
ANSWERED BY PROF. J. L. BUDD. 
Axs.—1. Our experience on the College 
Farm at Ames, Iowa, would lead me to answer, 
No! lu Europe I did not find the quince north 
of the Carpathian and Caucasian -Mountains. 
As with the peach, I know of no hardier varie¬ 
ties thau those common on the west coast of 
Europe and in China 2 The English varieties 
of the hazel or filbert live and bear fruit in 
New York, but have proven relatively tender 
and unproductive iu Iowa, yet we can hope to 
secure varieties of the filbert from the East¬ 
ern plain of Europe, that will prove hardy 
and fruitful in Minnesota, ns I saw in Central 
Russia the plants laden with fruit fully equal 
in size aud quality to those of England. 
VENTILATING A LIVING-ROOM. 
J. G., North Jackson, Ohio .—What is the 
best plan for ventilating a family living- 
room? 
Ans. — Usually there are ample spaces 
around the windows aud doors to let in fresh 
air, if there is only a place made to let out the 
foul ait - . This is al ways found at the top of 
the room aud the ventilator through which it 
may escape may best be made in the chimney. 
The draft of the chimney w ill draw in the air 
from the room quite rapidly and will cause a 
number of small currents of air to enter the 
room from every crevice about the windows 
and even through the floor, and these numer¬ 
ous small currents are much safer than a 
large one from a special opening which may 
cool the room too rapidly or make a strong 
draft. The principle of ventilation is that 
fresh air should come in at the bottom and 
the warm, foul air escape at the top; aud all 
our efforts to reverse this will fail. 
TROUBLE WITH MARE’S TEAT. 
.S’. C., Baxter Springs, Kans. —One of the 
teats of a mare is drawn up into the bag and a 
hard, bloody matter oozes out, a piece about 
the size of a bean issuing iu three weeks. I 
have been washing it with warm water and 
applying carbolic salve. What should be the 
the treatment? 
Ans.— It is quite probable that there will 
be trouble with this half of the udder when 
the mare foals. It is most likely that the 
gland is inflamed and the teat has been partly 
a 1 (sorbed. As but oue teat is left, it will hard¬ 
ly be sufficient to nourish the colt. Do not use 
carbolic salve. Examine the teat carefully 
and find the exact condition of it aud apply 
tincture of benzoin. If the teat does not come 
down when the foal arrives, the half of the 
udder must bo emptied by a milking tube and 
the colt helped out w i’h cow’s milk diluted one- 
third with warm water and sweetened. 
THE WEAVER PLUM. 
W. B. H., Como, Mont —1. Is the Weaver 
Plum better thau the best wild plums? 2. Is 
it good for drying? 8. Is it a free-stone? 4. 
How does it compare with the Green Gage in 
size? 
Ans.— t. The Weaver Plum is not widely 
disseminated. It is a native or Chickasaw va¬ 
riety, aud its introducers claimed for it great 
hardiness uud superior quality. We have 
grown it since its introduction, (about 1872 or 
1878.1 but, although abundantly hardy, it has 
proved a tardy bearer. We have never seen 
its fruit. 9 and 8. We think it, (like all of 
the class, if we mistake not,) a cling and not 
desirable for drying. 4. We aro not informed 
as to its size. 5, It Is probably, at least, as 
good as any of its class, but will by no means 
compare in quality with the better varieties 
of Primus douiestica. (1. We suppose it to be 
purplish-red like nearly all of its class. 
FOR EARLY PASTURE. 
H. B.. Janesville, Mich. —Will oats or rye 
sown early in the Spring make good early 
pasture, and what kind of grass should be 
sown with it for after-feed? 
Ans.—O ats sown as early as possible will 
afford good pasture in June and July. It 
would be well to divide the lot by a portable 
fence, and pasture half at a time. The best 
grasses for a permanent pasture would be 
Orchard Grass, Tall Oat Grass (called Ever¬ 
green Grass iu Michigan), Meadow Fescus; 10 
pounds of each and five pounds of Red Clover 
to the acre. If only one grass is sown, we 
would choose Orchard Grass, aud sow 20 
pounds of It, with six pounds of Red Clover per 
acre. Orchard Grass gives the earliest feed in 
the Spring and the latest in the Fall, and if 
the lot is divided as above, would give con¬ 
stant pasture. 
ABOUT TILE DRAINING. 
W.B. R., Rushville, III. —1, How close should 
parallel drain tiles lie where the surface of 
the field all slopes one way? 2. Is a three- 
inch tile put down four feet as good as a four- 
iuch tile three feet down? 
Ans. —1 It depeuds upon the wetness of the 
ground. On very wet ground 50 feet apart is 
about right; 66 feet (four rods) is a common 
distance, aud 100 feet suits some soils. Three 
feet deep is quite enough. One-inch tile is 
large enough unless the soil is very full of 
water; at auy rate the upper half may be one 
iuch aud the lower half two inches. A pre¬ 
cise reply cannot be given without knowing 
the condition of the land and the area to be 
drained, because the size of tile must be pro¬ 
portioned to the quantity of water to be car¬ 
ried off. 
A BARREN COW. 
IF. H. C., Decatur, 'lexas — A ten-year-old 
cow has not had a calf for four years, but she 
has milked all the time till the last two months 
For a year the bull has run with her, but she 
has shown no inclination to come into heat. 
What should be done with her ? 
Ans. —It is quite possible the cow may be iu 
calf unless she has been spayed, which seems 
probable from the unusual length of time she 
has givan milk. If you know the history of 
the cow and know that thus is not so. the cause 
may be a natural destruction of the ovaries 
which would be equivalent to the artificial re¬ 
moval of them by the usual operation of spay¬ 
ing. If the cow exhibits no tendency to 
breed, it would be as well to fatten her for 
beef. It is not likely that any treatment 
would be availing. 
CHEAPEST SALT FOR STOCK. 
J. IF. M., Bloomington , Kans ,—Is rock 
salt at $2 per 100 pounds cheaper thau barrel 
salt at $2.80 for the use of stock? 
Ans. —Common salt is purer and therefore 
stronger than rock salt, because the latter 
contains some clay and oxide of iron. Com¬ 
mon salt is made (sometimes) from rock salt 
dissolved aud purified and evaporated. The 
reason why rock salt is dearer than refined 
salt is that it is imported—as none is mined in 
this country—for special purposes and in 
small qUanties. Rock salt, however, for stock 
purposes may be cheaper at $2 per 100 thau 
other suit at half the price, because it will not 
waste so fast and the cattle lick it more slow¬ 
ly’, especially when it is used in large pieces 
aud is kept under cover. 
AN AILING MARE. 
J. J. J., Nunda, N. F.—My mare has rubbed 
her mane partly off. In the warm season she 
has pimples on her throat aud here and there 
on her body. 
Ans. —Give the mare a pint of linseed oil 
repeated after two days. After that give a 
warm bran mash every evening, adding to it 
one ounce of hyposulphite of soda finely pow¬ 
dered. In the moruiug’s food give half a 
tablespoonful of cream-of-tartar. Continue 
this two or three weeks. Be sure to cleanse 
theskiu thoroughly twice a day with a soft 
brush, but do not use a curry-comb. Also 
keep the stable clean and well supplied with 
pure air. Feed no corn at present, but cut 
feed with coarse middlings and oats ground 
coarsely. 
HEN MANURE FOR WATERMELONS. 
IF. C. D., Carthage, Mo. — Cau ashes and 
hen manure he profitably used on watermel¬ 
ons on a black loam soil < 
Ans.— You could not have a better fertilizer 
for watermelons for a light soil. Mix tlie 
ashes and hen manure only as you are ready 
to apply, lucoporato it thoroughly with the 
soil. If you were to hoc or dig holes for each 
hill, mixing the manure iu the soil of the hill, 
we should look for large melons; if used in 
the hill, say oue quart of each—not more. If 
used broadcast and harrowed in, you mav use 
almost auy quantity you cau afford, with¬ 
out danger. Perhaps four barrels of each 
would suffice. 
SUPPLEMENTARY FOOD FOR A COLT. 
If. D. M., Jr., Magview, Mo. —What is the 
best supplementary’ nourishment for a colt 
whose dam is a bad nurse? 
Ans.—I f the mare is deficient in milk, give 
herplenty of warm bran inash with some oat¬ 
meal in it. Feed her with soft food to en¬ 
courage the secretion of milk. If then the 
milk is not sufficient, get milk of a fresh cow; 
add to it one-third as much warm water, and 
one teaspoonful of sugar for each quart. 
Teach the colt to driuk as a calf is taught by 
giving it a finger at first, and give about two 
quarts at a meal, iu the forenoon and after¬ 
noon while the mare is away, or between the 
times when it sucks the dam. 
FERTILIZERS FOR POTATOES 
J. H. IF., Richards, Ohio —1. If wood asheS 
are dropped directly on seed potatoes before 
they are covered, would these be injured? 2 
Would it pay to use a mixture of ashes aud 
plaster in the hill? 8. Should commercial 
fertilizers be dropped in the hill? What com¬ 
mercial fertilizer would be best to apply along 
with plaster and ashes? 
Ans —1. No, if in moderate quantity. 2. 
No; use the plaster on the surface after the 
potato vines have attained considerable size. 
8. No: the fertilizer should never come in 
contact with the seed. The best practical 
way of usiug special fertilizers is to apply 
them to the soil and mix them with the sur¬ 
face before the potatoes are planted. 3. Any 
of the high-grade special potato fertilizers are 
good, as they are largely composed of potash. 
FEED FOR YOUNG PIGS. ETC. 
B. K. A., Netv Providence * Pa. —1. What 
should be fed to sucking pigs in the absence of 
milk? 2. What are cold-blooded animals? 
Ans. —1. Young pigs may be fed on gruel 
made of corn and oats ground together, well 
boiled and given a little warm. Not more 
thau a pint should be given at a time. A few 
boiled potatoes may be given warm. But the 
greatest care must be taken to feed sparingly 
—a little and often. If they should become 
costive add a little linseed to the meal for the 
gruel; add a small pinch of salt to the feed. 
2. In breeders’ parlance a cold-blooded aui- 
mal is oue which has no pure blood in it, or 
very little, and is the opposite of a full-blood 
or pure-bred. Naturally it is an animal whose 
blood is cold, as a frog or fish. 
A WORN-OUT COW’. 
J. W. J., Greenville, Pa .—A rather old cow 
of miue can’t eat hay very well, and much 
shorts, bran, or scalded chop gives her the 
“scours ” She has a week-old calf, which is 
doing poorly. How should she be treated? 
Ans. —There is a time when a cow is worn 
out and caunot be kept profitably any longer. 
This cow seems to have reached this period. 
Perhaps it may be kept along by cutting and 
wetting the hay and puttiug fine corn meal 
on it, and mixing all together. Shorts and 
bran together are not good feed for any cow; 
it would be better to grind corn and oats to¬ 
gether and mix with half as much bran. It 
will not pay to keep the cow any longer than 
she can eat hay. 
DEAD HORSES AS MANURE. 
R. H E, Damon, Mich. —What is the best 
plan for using the bodies of dead horses for 
manure? 
Ans —Divide the carcass into pieces; make 
a pit as large as a wagon body, put three 
inches in depth of quick-lime in the bottom 
of it, spread some of the carcass and cover it 
with lime, then with a foot of earth; then 
make another la^er aud repeat, aud so on, 
until the whole is disposed of. Cover with 
two feet of soil. In three months the whole 
may be worked over and used for manure. 
The hardest bones may be used over again 
until they are softened. The compost ts use¬ 
ful in the hill for corn. 
GRASSES FOR SWAMP LAND. 
S. IF. G., Bellevue, Mich. —I am cutting 
tamarack timber off a swamp, which is not 
boggy, being partially drained by a creek. I 
want the land for pasture. Will it help the 
pasture to sow auy kind of grass seed, and how 
should I act i 
Ans. —First, to correct auy acidity, sow 
about five bushels of unleached wood ashes per 
acre, which iu your section you can buy for 
eight or ten cents per bushel, Then sow per 
acre half a bushel of Red Top f Ygrostis vul¬ 
garis) seed, five quarts of Timothy (Phleum 
prate use), and three pounds of Alsike Clover, 
well mixed, as soon as you can get on the land 
iu Spring. 
SULPHUR OR COPPERAS FOR STOCK. 
IF. McF., Wilmington, O. —Is it advisable 
to give sulphur aud copperas to sheep without 
regard to the weather? 
Ans.— It is not advisable to give either of 
these to sheep or auy other animal without 
some good reason and as medicine for some 
special disorder. Sulphur is an active diaph¬ 
oretic aud excites the skin to active transpira¬ 
tion. It is a useful medicine when an animal 
requires it, but. as a rule, no animal of any 
kind needs it or any other mediciuo when it is 
managed with proper care, fed regularly with 
good food, watered with pure water, supplied 
with pure air and a clean stable, and protect¬ 
ed from storms. 
BRONCHITIS IN A MARE. 
N. F. G., Balston, Oregon —For two weeks 
my mare has been breathing heavily with a 
rattling in her head, and a discharge of green 
saliva from the nostrils, together with a cough. 
She refuses to eat bran mash or chopped oats, 
eating nothing except wheat and Timothy 
hay. What ails her? 
Ans.—T he mare is suffering from bronchitis. 
Give her half an ounce of chlorate of potash 
in a drink of thin bran or oatmeal gruel. 
Wheat is a bad feed for her. If she will not 
eat bran mash or scalded oats let her go with¬ 
out grain until she will. 
RAISING WATER WITH A HYDRAULIC RAM. 
J. F C., New Florence, Conn. —How high 
can water be raised by a ram with five or six 
feet fall; also with a 10-foot fall in the feed 
pipe? 
Axs —W ater can be raised any bight pro¬ 
portionate to the quantity raised and the 
quantity flowing through the feed pipe into 
the ram, aod the hight of tbs fall. If the two 
latter amount together to 10 feet and a certain 
quautity of water, one-tt nth of the water can 
be raised 100 feet or one-hundreth part, 
1,000 feet About four-fifths of the water is 
expended iu power for one-fifth raised. 
ABOUT RURAL SEEDS. 
W. H. S. -If.. South Monaghan, Can .—1. 
Are the wheat and rye of the Free Seed Dis¬ 
tribution Fall or Spring varieties? 2. Why 
did not the packages sent to this neighborhood 
contain corn? 
Ans. — 1 Fall grains—both. 2. The corn was 
purposely omitted from the packages sent to 
our Canadian friends for the reason that we 
did not suppose they would care to plant it. 
Is there a dent corn that will mature in Can¬ 
ada? All who desire the corn may so advise 
us by postal, and we will send it at our ex¬ 
pense. 
MILK HOUSE FOR TEN COWS. 
T. B. W. M., Crookstown, Minn. —What 
should be the size of a milk-house for 10 
cows, and how should it be built? 
Ans.—I t depends upon how the milk is set. 
If in shallow pans on shelves, a room about 10 
xl‘2 will be required with four tiers of shelves. 
If deep pails are used, a pool six by seven 
feet will be sufficient, and a house large 
enough to cover the pool and give room to 
move around it will be needed. If you wish 
to have a place for skimming and churning in 
the bouse, it should be about 20x12, divided 
into two parts. 
GRAVEL IN A HORSE. 
C. IF. F., Eimont , L I. —My horse stamps a 
great deal when he attempts to urinate; what 
ails him? 
Ans —The symptom indicates gravel. The 
i treatment for this disease is to gree mucilagi¬ 
nous drinks, and one dram daily of caustic 
soda in a pailful of water for drinking. A 
handful of wood ashes daily in the food isuse- 
I ful, and where the water is hard, may be given 
] with benefit once a week. In this disease the 
, urine is generally seen to be thick and muddy 
! at the end of the discharge. 
Miscellaneous. 
C. K., Cairo , O —1. Will it pay to grow 
barley to feed to fattening hogs next Fall? 
2. Are oats of the same fattening value? 3. 
What causes smut iu sweet corn and what is 
a remedy? Is it contained in the seed? 4. 
What caused my tomatoes to rot. and the 
remedy? 
Ans —1. Barley meal fed with boiled pota¬ 
toes will fatten pigs as fast and more health¬ 
fully than corn. As corn can lie grown more 
easily than barley and will yield more food 
per acre, it is best to grow the eoru. 2. Oats 
are at least 25 per cent, less valuable pound 
for pouud, which is equal to cue-halt' less per 
bushel than barley. This is on account of 
the larger quautity of husk in the oats. 8. 
Smut is a parasitic fungus which grows all 
through the plant from root to stem and 
flower, it appears mostly in the flowers (the 
tassel) and the seed. The germs may be in 
the soil, if corn has beeu grown there the year 
before, or it may be in the manure or adhe¬ 
rent to the seed. The seed should be steeped 
in a solution of four ouuccs of sulphate of cop¬ 
per in one gallon of water per four bushels of 
seed. 4. The cause of rot iu tomatoes is sup¬ 
posed to be a parasitic fungus allied to that 
which causes rot iu potatoes. 
.1/. 6’. B.. Angola, N. Y. —1. What is the 
best fertilizer for a gravelly clay seeded to 
Timothy? 2. Will potatoes planted on laudon 
which potatoes rotted last year, be more 
likely to rot thau if planted on other land? 
S. Would it pay to seed to clover alone in the 
Spring and harvest a crop? 
Ans.— 1 . A useful application would be 150 
pounds of superphosphate of lime. 100 pounds 
muriate ot potash and 50 pounds of nitrate of 
soda to the acre. A liberal dressing of wood 
ashes would no doubt be useful, in some 
