354 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
MAY 34 
entirely hardy at the Rural Grounds since it 
was planted about five years ago, though 
growing on the north side of the house. 
The Farm Journal says: “See that the car¬ 
riage blankets and buffalo robes are put away 
from the moths.” We may add to the above: 
Saturate a small sponge or bit of rag with 
kerosene, und put this in a trunk or box: with 
the blankets or robes. Moths will not trouble 
them. This is better than camphor. 
Pi, a nt fodder corn. Plant early potatoes 
for a late crop. Plant seeds of cucumbers, 
squash, melons. Don’t set out the tomato and 
egg plants too soon..... 
Thk Farm Journal also says that H. C. 
Webster, of Delaware County, Pa., is feeding 
his horses this Spring on white potatoes 
and bran, instead of the usual allow¬ 
ance of grain. The ration is half a peck of 
raw potatoes and two quarts of bran twice a 
day, to which was added a small quantity of 
clover hay. They are as fat and sleek as 
moles.... 
Cucrtjtoljfw. 
Florida. 
Boahdman, Marion Co , May 9.—The 
weather is exceedingly dry, and crops are 
suffering very much. Owing to the late frosts 
in February, the rabbits and the tong-con¬ 
tinued dry weather, our profits in vegetables 
will be quite small. Nearly 50 per cent, of 
our crops go to pay freight and commission 
charges. Negro labor is unreliable, and this 
fact adds greatly to our troubles. We would 
like to have some of your unemployed white 
laborers, if better than our soul-vexing negros. 
W. A. D. 
Illinois. 
RUSSELLVILLE. Lawrence Co., May 12— 
The prospect is that wheal this year will not be 
over 50 per ceut. of the usual crop. Oats and 
grass arc looking line. Corn planting has 
fair!y begun. Peaches a total failure. Black 
berries badly injured. There is a fair show 
for other fruits. s. j. h. 
ntassiichiiseltsa 
Charlton City, Worcester Co., May 12.— 
Nine of the Niagara Grape seedlings are com¬ 
ing on finely. I left them out of-doors, with 
out any protection, to test them. u. L, C. 
New Jersey. 
Montclair, Essex Co., May 13.—Asparagus 
beetles (Crioceris asparagi) are more u onerous 
than ever before, and many of the young shoots 
arc badly eaten before they are fairly up. The 
first broods of currant worms have batched 
und beguu their ravages. Give them hell¬ 
ebore! The dear little English sparrows are 
now eating off the tops of the young peas. A 
vexed friend of mine in despair asks: “ What 
won’t, they eat?” 1 reply: “ Worms and bugs, 
if they can get anything else.” Fruit blos¬ 
soms are abundant. Apple trees are the most 
beautiful and attractive features of the gen¬ 
eral landscape. The country in Its Spring 
attire is now indeed charming. The Superb 
Raspberry canes were badly injured bv the 
Winter. Sorry! Dandelions are more abun¬ 
dant than usual. Lawns are full of them 
where they have been before unnoticed. They 
aiv quite popular as corsage bouquets. They 
are quite ns handsome as the hateful Ox-Eye 
Daisy , and less pernicious. w - 
New York. 
Wright’s Corner, Niagara Co., May 17.— 
I last Fall sowed the following varieties of 
winter wheat: Clawson, Red Mediterranean, 
Long, Laudreth, Mediterranean Hybrid, 
Mold's Ennobled, Fill Measure and Royal 
Prize. The three last are imported English 
varieties, of which 1 sowed a peck each. I 
also sowed experimental rows of the above; 
also several selected heads, one a long-headed 
white-chaffed, bald, red wheat from a field of 
Clawson. They came through the Winter 
pretty well, except the three English wheats, 
and these, both in field and in planted plots, 
were badly injured, the Mold’s Ennobled being 
almost, all killed. The Royal Prize suffered 
least, but even that was so badly injured (and 
last Winter gave a great deal of snow and 
protection) tint though from the way it is 
now growing I am satisfied it. will yield 
well, 1 shall not care to experiment 
further with it. The most promising of 
all my field wheats now is the Medi¬ 
terranean Hybrid. There is but little 
difference in appearance between Laudreth 
and Clawson. In my trial plats, planted 
six inches by eighteen inches apart, the Eng¬ 
lish wheats are entirely killed. The sort men¬ 
tioned above as selected from the Clawson 
fiehl, is by far the strongest grower, and has 
stoed the severe test of Winter, and is grow¬ 
ing xtiy finely. Wheat in the fields and clo- 
x er continue to improve rapidly, and both pro- 
111 ite as good crops as ever grown, n. m. j. 
THE MAX' BEETLE. 
A. V. G., Archbald, Co.—Three pear trees 
of mine were “loaded” with fruit buds early 
in Spring; now I find all the buds eaten out; 
what euemy has done this? 
A NS. —It was, doubtless, the May Beetle, 
commonly called May or June-bug, or Dor-bug 
—Lachnosterna fnsea—a buzzing beetle, with 
slow, erratic flight. Unlike other beetles, this 
is a voracious feeder in its perfect state. Rest¬ 
ing during the day, the pests are exceedingly 
active at night, when they congregate on 
cherry, plum, chestnut, oak, beech and other 
trees, sometimes completely stripping them 
of foliage. They remain in the beetle state, 
however, but a short, time, and the damage 
they do then is small in comparison with that 
which they inflict in their prolonged grub 
state. Soon after pairing, the female enters 
the earth to the depth of a few inches, und 
having deposited from 40 to 50 eggs, soon dies. 
The eggs hatch in about a month. The small, 
white grubs begin at once to feed on the root¬ 
lets of plants. They are three or four years 
in reaching maturity, uml hence larvae of 
different sizes are generally found in the 
ground at the same time. When full- 
grown, they are almost as large as a 
man’s little finger, soft, dirty-white, 
with a mahogany colored bead, and six legs. 
The pest is then known as the White Grub, 
and is ver y destructive to straw berries, eating 
the roots and destroying the plants. It feeds 
also on the roots of grass and other plants, 
and when numerous, completely ruins large 
areas of pasture lands and lawns. Ou the up 
proach of cold weather, the grub buries itself 
beyond the reach of frost, and then: remains 
until Spring. When ready for its final 
changi-K.it forms a cavity in the ground, in 
which it changes first to a pupa and finally to 
a perfect beetle. 
The jx-st, when in the beetle state, should be 
destroyed, uot only on uecouut of the injury 
it does, but to prevent it from having progeny. 
Large numbers may be destroyed by placing 
sheets under the trees they infest, early in the 
morning, when the pests are torpid, when they 
can be shaken from the trees, gathered, and 
killed. As the beetles are attracted by light, 
traps should be set for them by placing a lamp 
over a tub containing Several inches of xvater. 
The insects, attracted by the light, fly towards 
it, and striking the glass, fall into the water, 
ou which n thin film of kerosene should rest. 
As war can be best waged against them while 
in the perfect, state, every means should be 
employed to kill the beetles. Hogs are very 
foud of the grubs, and they should be allowed 
to root at will in badly-infested lund. They 
are, likewise, eaten by domestic fowls and in¬ 
sectivorous birds, the crow, especially, being 
a most, destructive enemy. The skunk, too, 
destroys largo numbers, and several insect and 
vegetable parasites thin their numbers. 
A PORTABLE FENCE, ETC. 
A. S., Monongahela , /’a.—1. How can a good 
portable fence, that will turn cattle, he made? 
2- Why does a cow’s milk become thick when 
scalded or brought to the boiling point? 
Ans. — 1. The following description will en¬ 
able you to make a stroug and readily- porta¬ 
ble fence. Take three six-inch fence-strips 
and three upright cross pieces; nail these with 
wrought uails into the panel. The ends of the 
cross-pieces are on© foot longer than the panel, 
and are pointed as here shown: 
At the back of each panel are two braces 
loosely fastened to the end upright strips 
with fence wire aud of the same length. To 
set up the fence the panel is simply set on the 
grouud. the pointed ends holding it firmly; the 
brace is then set and pushed into the ground a 
little. A stake is then driven iu firmly near 
the end of the brace, and wired to it, by which 
the panel is sustained against the wind. No 
quiet animal will interfere with this fence, 
and it has been found very satisfactory in use. 
2. When a cow’s milk thickens when heated, 
it indicates the presence of au excess of albu¬ 
men. There is alw-ays some albumen in milk, 
aud this forms the skiu or pellicle upon the 
surface when t.be milk is heated. When there 
is a laree quantity of albumeu in the milk, ns 
at calving and soon after, heating coagulates 
it, and on this account this first milk, or colo¬ 
strum, is sometimes used for making custards 
without eggs. 
GROWING POTTED STRAWBERRIES, ETC. 
H. F. T., Peoria, Kan.— 1. What is the best 
and cheapest way of raising potted strawberry 
plants, aud will they bear a full crop next 
year if planted in August? 2. How is early 
cabbage seed raised? S. What is the best 
cherry and the best, dwarf pear for Kansas? 
4. Will fig trees grow here? 
Ans.— 1. Use old strawberry boxes, thumb 
pots or old oyster cans or any other suitable 
tiling. Dig a little hole just under where 
the runner is going to take root, and, having 
filled the box or pot with very rich soil, place 
it in the hole just dug. burying it to the rim, 
and in it place the runner, holding it down 
with a stone or any other weight; if well 
watered, ft will root readily and quickly, and 
when well established, ran l.ie removed and 
planted in the plot where it is to fruit. Blunts 
grown and treated in this way in the Fall, 
will bear a fair crop of fruit the next season, 
but uot as large or satisfactory a crop, as if 
planted in the Spring. 2. Early cabbage seed 
is raised in the same way as any other Bort, by 
planting selected heads that, have been care¬ 
fully wintered so as to keep the roots alive. 
Earliness depends upon the kind, and not upon 
any particular method of growing 3. The 
Early Richmond Cherry anil the Duehessod’ 
Angoulcmo Pear. 4. There would probably 
be no trouble in growing figs in your section. 
As figs are tender, however, they would have 
to be grown in pots, or else be transplanted 
into the cellar every Fall and taken back in 
the Spring. 
PRESERVING EGGS, ETC. 
L. />., Passaic, N. .7.-1. What is a good 
way of preserving eggs? 2. What should be 
the treatment of a horse having skin disease 
from over heating? 3. Is pulverized hen ma¬ 
nure good for corn? 
Ans.— 1. Eggs may be preserved in good 
order for several months in the following 
manner: Slake a peck of fresh lime iu five 
gallons of water; wlicu thoroughly slaked, add 
five gallons more water; stir it well, and strain 
it through gunny bagging into a barrel. Let 
it settle,and draw off the clean liquid into a pro¬ 
per vessel—a keg, jar or barrel—until it. is half 
full; then, being careful not to crack the shells, 
put fresh eggs into this lime xvater with a 
dipper, until the vessel is full and the eggs are 
covered with two inches of the limo water. 
Cover them with a cloth that fits closely around 
the edge of the vessel, and dip out the thick 
lime aud spread it over the cloth ono inch 
thick, leaving one Inch of water over it. This 
water must be renewed as it evaporates. I he 
eggs should bo kept in a cool place. 2. Give 
the hom a pint of linseed oil, and if it does 
uot operate freely, repeat the second day. 
Afterwards give him a bran mash, with one 
ounce of bisulphide of soda in it, daily for two 
weeks. Brush the skm thoroughly twice a 
day; do uot use a curry-comb. 3. Yes. it is 
good for any crop, aud needs no preparation 
but to mix it with the soil lightly, if it is ap¬ 
plied near the seed. 
GETTING RID OK DRONES. 
B. K. A., New Providence, Pa — Is it desir¬ 
able to destroy the drone bees, and how can it 
be done? 
ANSWKRKD BY PROF. A. J. COOK. 
The drones are great eaters, aud do no good 
in the hives, except to aid in keeping up the 
heat, which may as well be done by the useful 
workers, so the best bet-keepers keep the 
drones mostly out of all but a few of their best 
colonies. Of course, as the drouesare the male 
bees, there must be some to insure the fertili¬ 
zation of the young queens. The best way to 
keep the drones out, is by giving only worker 
comb, or wo rker foundation to such colonies 
as one may desire to be without drones; then 
if drone comb is built, it should be cut out be¬ 
fore the brood develops. If the drones do 
come forth from the cells, they can be easily 
removed by the use of the drone guards. 
These are zinc pieces which are placed at the 
entrances of the hives. Blits are cut in them, 
which are so small that, while they permit 
the passage of the workers, they prevent the 
entrance of the drones. If these are put at 
the entrance of all the hives, ami then if the 
beeB of any hive are all shaken just at night 
on any w arm day, in front of their hive, the 
workers will all enter, the queen can be put 
into the hix-e. and after all the other bees are 
in, it is easy to kill all the drones, as they will 
gather iu a cluster about the hive. 
THRUSH IN A HORSE, ETC. 
IF. U., Chesapeake City, Md. — The front 
feet of my maro are soft; and rounding iu 
the center, and the crock in the frog emits an 
offensive smell, and a white secretion collects 
unless it is washed out often; what is the mat¬ 
ter? 2. Would oyster shell lime, at four cents 
a bushel, be a good application to raspberries, 
currants, grapes, aud other small fruits, and 
i how should it be applied ? 
Ans.—1. The disease is thrush, or iutlamma- 
i tiou of the frog. Cut away the decayed horu 
of the frog, aud open the crack so that an in¬ 
jection may be forced in. Wash out the part 
with warm, soapy water, and syringe. Then 
inject a solution of pyroligneous acid—one 
part of acid, to four parts of water. Dip a 
plug of lint in the solution, and fill the crack 
with it. Keep the horse upon sawdust, made 
wet under the fore-feet, with water and a little 
carbolic acid. Give the mare an ounce of hy¬ 
posulphite of soda daily for a week, and re¬ 
peat again after a week. Treat the frog as 
above, twice daily. 2. We should advise the 
use of oyster shell lime freely at that price, 
and would apply it on the surface and culti¬ 
vate, or hoe in and use as much as 100 bushels 
per acre; 200 would not be injurious. 
OBSTACLES IN A COW’S TEAT. 
“ SubscriberEaston, N. Y.— After calv¬ 
ing a year ago, a part of a cow’s bag was so 
inflamed that we got no milk from one teat. 
The same double has recurred now after 
calving again, though milk flows freely wbeu 
a quill is introduced. There appears to be some 
obstruction iu the teat about half an inch from 
the end. There is no inflammation now except 
that produced by inserting the quill; what 
should bo the treatment? 
Ans. —A milking tube should be used in this 
case. It will not do to cut or wound the teat 
while the cow is milking, or worse may hap¬ 
pen. A quill is too rough for this purpose. 
A milking tube can be procured of Kolbe & 
Co., Chestnut St., Philadelphia, for 50 cents. 
The teat may bedressed with iodine ointment, 
over the obstruction, once a day, for a few 
days. The cause of the obstruction is an in¬ 
ternal tumor, which may disappear shortly. 
If it remains permanently, it should be cut by 
a proper instrument when the cow is dry, and 
Iks kept open by a wooden plug kept in the teat 
during the healing of the wound. 
PARALYSIS OF THE LIMBS OK A nKIFER. 
G. W. P., Lynden, Wis.—A yearling heifer 
has lost the use of her limbs for the last two 
weeks; she eats as well ns ever, and appears 
in good condition, bat she cannot bear any 
xveight on her limbs; what ails her? 
Ans. —The paralysis is probably due to some 
disease of the spinal cord, which is the source 
from which the nerves of motion of the limbs 
proceed. It is not possible to indicate the 
cause of it for want of sufficient information. 
The treatrneut should be to foment the back 
along the spine with hot water; then apply 
turpentine, or alcohol, and some strong lini¬ 
ment inixsd in equal parts. After this has 
been well rubbed in, and immediately after 
the skin has been dried with u cloth, a rug 
should be strapped around the body. It would 
be advisable to give 10 grains of nux vomica 
daily for three days, and then stop two days, 
and repeat, with five grains for a few days, 
if the limbs are observed to twitch, the medi¬ 
cine should lie stopped. The limbs should be 
well rubbed with a rough cloth twice a day. 
Give some warm bran mash once a day, and 
some cut grass. 
STRANGLES IN A COLT. 
.7. S., Raleigh, Jean.—The lower jaw of one 
of my colts swelled. I applied a warm flax¬ 
seed poultice, but being called away, I had to 
leave the animal iu charge of my boys, and 
on returning iu the evening found it threat¬ 
ened with suffocation, of which it died before 
morning. W hat ailed it, and w hat would have 
been the best treatment? 
Ans. —This trouble was the common disease 
with young horses, known as strangles. It 
consists of inflammation and swelling of the 
glauds of the throat. This should be treated 
at once, by hot bran poultices fastened under 
the jaws; aud if the swelling is severe, the 
part should he rubbed with tincture of iodine 
before the poultice is applied. A dose of one 
pound of Epsom salts for a horse, or eight 
ounces for a colt, should be given, and followed 
once a day by one ounce (or hal f as much for 
a colt) of bisulphide of soda. Care should be 
taken to avoid cold, and a blanket should be 
used to keep the animal warm. 
DEATH TO SHEEP TICKS. 
IF. S., Conner's Creek, Wayne Co., Mich. 
—What will destroy the large black bugs that 
infest my sheep? 
Ans.— These bugs are sheep ticks. After 
the sheep are sheared, the ticks will leave 
them aud gather on the lambs, and unless 
something is done they will injure the latter 
seriously. A good remedy is to make a decoc¬ 
tion of one pound of tobacco in four gallons 
of boiling water, aud add four ounces of flow¬ 
ers of sulphur. Stir it several times until it is 
reduced in temperature to 120 degrees, and 
then pour about a pint of it along the back so 
that it spreads down among the wool all over 
the lamb. It is still better to make enough of 
it, and to dip the lambs in the liquid. Another 
very excellent remedy is the Chemical Sheep 
’ Dip, sold by T. W. Law ford, Baltimore, Md. 
GARGET. 
77. S T., Gibson, Pa.—Last Summer, a cow 
1 of mine seemed greatly hurt when milked. 
Sometimes hard lumps would form in the teats 
