338 
jywE u 
THE BUBAL NEW-YOBKEB. 
Canada. 
Rt. Catharine's, Ont., June2 —Fruit trees 
are out of bloom and we ran tell something 
o f the pr<ispeetl. A bou t G H rnsby, tbe f rui t ga r- 
den or (Canada, the mercury last Winter went 
22 degree** below zero, and ns ft consequence t he 
peach trees look as though tire had been through 
them, and there i* scarcely a bloom in all that 
section. About Niagara it was only eight de¬ 
grees below, and the prospect there was fair, 
only I hear the trees are suffering much from 
the eurl leaf. Other fruits in this vicinity 
have bloomed profusely, and there is good 
prospect of abundant crops. W eat and north 
the frosts of last week damaged the straw 
berries, and in some places grapes and other 
fruits suffered much. There has been much 
planting of small fruits this year, and our 
people are going largely into the growing of 
grapes. Farm crojis are looking remarkably 
fine, and farmers are very hopeful of old time 
good crops. A - M - 8 * 
Illinois. 
ltJDOTT, Stephenson Co., Ill.. May 29,— 
Crojis are looking well. Corn about all in and 
most of it up: generally a good stand. Win¬ 
ter wheat partly winter-killed. ThoR. N.-Y. 
seeds all came up nicely and look well. K, ,i. I. 
KeutucBy. 
Brandenburg, Meade Co., May 30.—There 
will lie a half crop of apples, no peaches, very 
few. if any, plums or cherries, a few pears, no 
blackberries. Grass not very promising. 
a. D. R. 
New York. 
Amenia, Dutchess Co., May 30.—We had 
a very severe frost last night. Corn and pota¬ 
toes are fro/.eu to the ground; almost all gar¬ 
den vegetables are killed; so are small fruits, 
including grapes. B * p * 
Avooa, Steuben Co, May 30—The severe 
frosts on May 2S and 29, did considerable dam¬ 
age to early fruits and vegetables. CheYrita, 
pears and grapes are a good deal hurt. Ap¬ 
ples are injured, but not very seriously. Rye 
was somewhat damaged, but. wheat does not 
appear to be at all injured. Only little corn 
and potatoes were forward enough to be in¬ 
jured. The prospect for grass and grain of 
all kinds is very favorable; that for fruits 
was equally good before the frost. M, a h. 
Chatham, Columbiu Co., May 31.—Tbe 
frost made sad havoc all through this county 
on t he night of May 29. Fruit has suffered 
much injury, and in some sections it will be a 
total loss. Mr. Goo. T. Powell, of Ghent, rsti 
mates his loss on fruit at between $2,000 uud 
$3,0(10, Vegetables,though well protected,were 
killed; grapes a total loss; corn and potatoes 
in the Helds were cut dowu. It was the heav¬ 
iest, frost ever kuowu in this vicinity at this 
season. J. w. D. 
Coxsackik, Columbia Co., May 30.— Ice 
three-eighths of au inch thick formed on a 
pau of water set out-of-doors lust night. Every¬ 
thing in the garden is frozen. J. b. l. 
Wright’s Corners, Niagara Co., N. Y., 
June 1st.—A severe Trust on May 29 and 30, 
did much damage to early potatoes and toma¬ 
toes; corn was uot up, and the freeze was uut 
hard enough to injure fruit. Fortunately as 
it came only iu patches, killing one Held and 
skipping the next, it did not kill over one-third 
of the crop. It has not. rained for over two 
weeks, and the weather is getting somewhat 
dry: but it is a splendid time to kill weeds. 1 
have just been over my potato field with a har¬ 
row. and it is as clean as when planted 1 shall 
go over it again in about a week, and this har¬ 
rowing will nearly obviate the use of the hoe; 
nothing pays better than the use of the harrow 
on potatoes or corn. Apples are out of bloom, 
and seem to have set an abundant crop, 
though it is yet too early to feel at ad sure; 
the same is tbe case with pears. Wheat, and 
clover are booming, and if the favorable 
weather continues, clover will lie ready to cut 
by June 23d, which will be fully a* scon as I 
shall be ready for it, as work seems to be all 
crowded on to us at once by these very warm 
spells. H. m. J. 
Ohio. 
Croton, Licking Co , May 29.—We had a 
very hard frost this morning, which killed 
beans and other tender plants ou black lands. 
J. H. B. 
Vermont. 
East Potjltney, Rutlind Co., May 29.— 
All vegetation is further advanced than last 
year at this time. Grass is looking Hue. Apple 
trees are just goiug out of blossom, which was 
heavier than i ever saw* before. Pears bloomed 
full. Potatoes are mostly planted—about the 
same acreage as last. year. The farmers are 
now planting corn, and the majority will have 
finished this week. Oats are looking flue; so 
are winter grains, especially rye. Not much 
wheat is raised in this section, as this is a po¬ 
tato and dairy region. Cows are in full flow 
of milk. We had quite a severe frost ou low 
places last night; I am afraid it may hurt 
fruit. J* a. B. 
HOME-MADE FERTILIZER: ABORTION IN COWS. 
./. M., Greenland, N. If.—1. I want to make 
a superphosphate, using muriate of potash, 
ground boues, and nitrate of soda; how much 
of each shull I use, and how much of the mix¬ 
ture can I apply to the acre iu a bearing or¬ 
chard!' 2. My cows abort each year; what is 
the cause and cure? 
Ans— 1. This mixture, though valuable for 
the orchard, would not be a superphosphate; 
tbe bone would contain over 20 per cent of 
phosphoric acid and 50 jier cent, of phosphate 
of lime, and in this form it, would be nearly 
insoluble iu water, and, of course, so long ns 
it remained in this condition it would be use¬ 
less as a fertilizer. By adding sulphuric add 
in proper proportion, the acid would, as it 
were, wrest two-thirds of the lime from its 
combination with the phosphoric acid, form¬ 
ing sulphate of lime, or land plaster, and leav¬ 
ing a monocalcic or superphosphate, iu which 
form it is all readily soluble in water, and, of 
course, available as plant food. Should you 
buy soluble bone—that is, that which baa been 
treated with sulphuric acid and should you 
use 1,000 pounds of that, you would have 140 
pounds'of phosphoric ucid; 200 pounds of 80 
per cent, muriate of potash would give you 
100 pounds of actual potash; 300 pounds of 
nitrate of soda would give 58 pounds of am¬ 
monia; add to this 500 pounds of good rich 
soil, and you have one tan, containing 7.0 per 
cent, of soluble phosphoric add; ft per cent of 
actual potash, and 2.9 per cent, of ammonia, 
which would he a pretty high grade super¬ 
phosphate, and you could use us much as you 
could afford, with no fear of doing any harm. 
2 There are two kinds of almrtion; one is 
sporadic or occasional, and may be due to 
accidental circumstances, or to some special 
condition of an animal, u whole herd, or a 
locality; the other is epizootic and Infectious, 
and once appearing in a herd will go through 
it, and will even affect fresh herds brought, 
into an infected stable, unless this has been 
thoroughly disinfected, Sporadic, or occa¬ 
sional abortion, may be due, 1, to sudden 
changes of the weather; 2, to bad or indigest¬ 
ible food, or food damaged by the presence of 
fungous growths, as mold, smut, rust, or ergot, 
which is quit® as common upon some grasses, 
as Timothy, Foxtail, etc., as upon rye. 3. 
Excessively rich food w ill readily pr oduce con¬ 
gestion of the uterus and a loosening of the 
placenta from its connections, and its dis¬ 
charge along with the foetus. 1 Drinking 
much cold water, so as to fill the stomach, 
and bj contact reduce the temperature of the 
foetus, lias produced abortion. So has feed¬ 
ing on frozen herbage or succulent food—as 
mangels und turnips. 5. Drinking foul water 
is also a frequent cause. 0. Unusual muscular 
action or exertion, and u cramped and unna¬ 
tural position by which the foetus is injured 
by compression, often produce this disease 7 
Unusual nervous excitement or fear, annoy¬ 
ance by the presence of other cow* In heat, 
the violent strain of leaping or being leaped 
upon, and injuries from the horns of com¬ 
panions are all fruitful causes of abortion. 
Besides these external causes, the internal 
causes include: 1. Excessive fatness of the in¬ 
ternal organs, preventing healthful action 
and causing (lie death of the foetus. 9, Exces¬ 
sive stimulation of the milk orgaus during 
pregnancy. 8. The most frequent internal 
causes, however, arc internal diseases—lung 
disease, fevers, constitutional weakness, scro¬ 
fula, and disease or lack of vigor iu the male 
from over w ork. 
Precautions should be taken to avoid all the 
conditions and accidents which produce this 
kind of abortion. If, iu spite of all care, 
abortion happens to be imminent, the utmost 
quiet should he preserved, aud the stable, if 
possible, should be darkened. Injections of 
from one to two-aml-one-half drams of lauda¬ 
num every half hour have proved successful; 
so have three-drain doses of chloroform, giveu 
hourly. Doses of two drams of camphor or 
of assafnothin, giveu hourly, have also prevent¬ 
ed threatened abortion. 
Contagious abortion often appears without 
any apparent cause, aud nearly always affects 
the entire herd. The proximate cause of this 
ailment is a species of bacteria, or vegetable 
growth, which produces irritation or decom¬ 
position of the fo tal membranes, resulting iu 
abortion. It appears from the third to the 
seventh month of preguuncy, aud sometimes 
even later. The only warning symptoms are 
some uneasiness and swelling of the external 
parts, with sinking of the flanks and descent 
of the abdomen; but the animal appears well 
and yields its usual supply of milk. The sym¬ 
ptoms, however, are seldom noticed, aud the 
foetus generally appears unexpectedly, some¬ 
times with tbe enveloping membranes, but 
oftener without them. Their retention is a 
serious trouble, as they rapidly decompose 
and produce blood poisoning. Often escaping 
parts, loaded with infectious germs, spread 
the contagion, infecting the manure, and, 
through it, the stable, the yards, and even the 
soil, 
if tbe warning symptoms are observed, the 
animal should be completely isolated. Ihe 
usual dose of assafoefcida and injectiug into 
the uterus a weak solution of carbolic acid— 
one part to 100 of warm water—may possibly 
prevent the abortion. W hen the foetus appears 
it should be burnt with all the litter. Who¬ 
ever attends the cow sboul not go near the 
rest of the herd. The droppings should be all 
burnt, and the floor bo frequently sprinkled 
with a solution of one part of carbolic acid in 
20 of water, and wherever the cow is soiled 
she should tie washed with the same solution. 
To prevent the contagion from affecting the 
rest of the herd, the whole stable should be 
thoroughly disinfected by libeially swilling 
the floor with oarholized water, and by giving 
each cow daily a dose of four drams of hypo¬ 
sulphite of soda for 18 days after the mishap. 
A cow that has once aborted is likely* to do so 
again for three periods, even with the best of 
care. The best preventive is to give the 
suspected animal the usual semi-daily dose of 
assafuitida once a week, and use the carbolic 
solution liberally about the stable. 
A CONCRETE CISTERN: A HOME-MADE KILTER, 
ETC. 
II. W. K., Clayton, Pa.— 1. Will a concrete 
wall be strong enough for a cistern seven feet 
deep, dug in a lull,t hat is to be banked to top, 
and bow should it be built? 2 Will soft 
bricks suffice as a filter in a cistern? 3. Is 
water falling during a thunder shower as good 
as water from melting snow? 4. How can I 
make a cheap Alter for home use? 
Ans.— 1. If the soil is sufficiently firm, so 
that, the cistern when dug will retain its shape 
while being plastered, dig it of any desirable 
size —round or oblong—the sides sloping a little 
inward as you go down, aud when deep 
enough, let them slope to a point in the center, 
so as to have the bottom something the shape 
of that of a big kettle. Be sure to have it 
deep enough so that, when walled up aud cov¬ 
ered, the top will be below frost. To wall it 
up, use good water-lime or cement, and good, 
clean, sharp sand; one part of cement to four 
of sand, is the right proportion. Mix both in¬ 
timately together und only wet a small quan¬ 
tity at a time, so that It can be used before it 
“sets.” To begin walling the cistern; if round, 
place a flat stone in the center of the bottom; 
if oblong, place a row of them along the hot. 
tom, well and firmly bedding them in the ce¬ 
ment. On these you can stand for all future 
operations. If stones three or four Inches in 
diameter can be obtained, they will make an 
extra-good wall. Begi lining along the edge* 
of the flat stones, bed each stone in the wall 
with plenty of cement.. Owing to the sloping 
sides, this can be easily done, the stones being 
fitted together so as to make a solid wall. 
When high enough for the cover, take pains 
to have the top course level and solid. The 
ground should bo cut back level with the last 
course, forming a ledge not less than six inches 
wide, on which tbe cover is to re»t. Standing 
iu the bo tom, commence at the top; with a 
plastering trowel, put on a coat of cement uot 
less than one inch thick in the thinnest place, 
working it well, to insure that no air-spaces 
arc left in the cement. Put. on a cover, leaving 
a hole—to be surrounded with a curb—large 
enough for a man to get in and out. In four 
days, make a thick wash of cement and water, 
and with it aud a brush, wash the inside so as 
to fill all cracks which may have come in dry¬ 
ing. If the stones cannot lie had, the sides 
can be coated with three inches of cement 
mixed very thick, working slowly. The writer 
built one as above 20 years ago, aud it Is 
as sound as a jug to-day. 2. A layer of soft 
bricks will strain the water, taking out dirt, 
but will not cleanse it from any* chemical im¬ 
purities. 3 It makes no difference, generally; 
the first water that falls in rain or snow, 
washes tbe atmosphere and takes all iropuri 
ties from it, and, of course, the water that 
fulls later is the purest. 4. Secure a first-class 
barrel oi tub, aud in one side, four inches 
from the bottom, bore a hole and tit a wooden 
faucet iuto it water-tight, letting the end pro¬ 
ject two or three inches inside. Fill this ves¬ 
sel n couple or inches with small stones or very 
coarse gravel; get a six-gallon stone crock, 
and drill iu one side, close to the top, a hole 
that shall be large enough to receive the end 
of the faucet, which projects into the tub; 
drill, also, another hole in the bottom, three- 
fourths of au inch iu diameter: into this fit a 
cork having a hole through it, into which is 
fitted a piece of lead pipe reaching iuto the 
crock. Put the crock iuto the barrel, bottom 
up, placing tbe hole in its side over the end of 
faucet, aud fill up under aud around it with 
coarse gravel until it is firmly fixed in the tub, 
and the gravel comes two inches above the 
inverted top. Now fill about the crock and 
several inches above, with hard-wood charcoal 
broken quite fine, say from the size of quails’ 
eggs down, wetting it as put in and pounding 
down quite firmly with the end of a stick. 
The lead tube coming from the cork should 
pass on one side to the top and a little down 
on the outside of tbe vessel. On the charcoal 
in the latter, put a couple of inches of flue 
washed sand, and on this coarse gravel to 
wit hin two inches of tbe top of tbe barrel. 
The water should lie put on top of tbe gravel; 
the filtered water can be drawn from t he fau¬ 
cet. If well made, this will prove as good a 
filter as auy that can be liought. for $15. 
SOWING RYE TO HE FLOWED UNDER.—BLACK 
LEG IN CATTLE. 
E S. P, Grove Hilt, la —1. When should 
rye be sown aud wlieu plowed under to pro¬ 
duce tbe best effect as a fertilizer? 2. What 
are the cause, preventive, and cure of black 
leg in calves? Many die here every year. 
Ans.—L Rye should be sown early in Sep- 
temtier quite thickly and be plowed down 
the next Spring when just getting into head. 
We think corn a much better crop to be plow¬ 
ed in as a fertilizer, as it can be sowed in the 
Spring and plowed down in time for wheat. 
Corn might be sown now, plowed dowu the 
first of September, and rye might be sowed 
then to be plowed down next. May or June. 2. 
Black leg is anthrax fever, a contagious and 
very fatal disease, animals attacked by* it very 
rarely recovering. It chiefly affects young 
cattle aud such as are in prime condition, 
milch cows aud lean stoek being seldom at¬ 
tacked. It is caused chiefly by eating bad 
food, pasturing on swampy land* in Summer, 
drinking stagnant water. Its first symptom 
is a lameness iu the fore leg causing the 
animal to limp. Next the shoulder or flank 
swells, and if the band is passed over the swell¬ 
ing the skin rustles or crackles. The beast 
soon dies, and after death the swollen parts 
will lx* found black and soft like jelly, aud the 
blood thick and tarry iu apiiearance, Ou 
examination under a microscope the blood aud 
flesh are found full of small vegetable organ 
isms called bacilli, and these deprive the 
blood of its oxygen, and cause it to become 
carbonized; hence the name of the disease, 
anthrax, the Greek for charcoal or carbon. 
When first attacked an animal may sometimes 
I>e saved by giving it immediately one-dram 
doses of chlorate of potash twice a day. H ypo - 
sulphite of soda is also valuable iu the early 
stages, especially as a preventive, in doses of 
two drams for a calf, and four drams for a 
yearling. The disease run* such a rapid 
course, however, that there is little time for 
remedial treatment; the important poiut is 
to secure the rest of the herd from the dis¬ 
order. Give to each a good purge, from one- 
half to one pound of Epsom salts, according 
to the age of the animal; follow with two-dram 
doses of chlorate of potassa or saturated solu 
tiou of quiniu, or common salt, or suiull doses 
of turpenttue twice a day—dose a dessert 
spoonful mixed with white of egg or linseed 
oil It possible remove the animals to another 
locat ion, and change their food; quality must 
be good, and quantity generous. The affected 
animals must, of tjourse, bo separated at once 
from the rest of the herd. All animals that 
die of the disease, should be promptly* buried, 
as every part of the carcass, as well as the 
excrements, will convey contagion which, iu 
very malignant cases, may be spread by flies, 
etc., that have alighted on the infested body 
or its infected surroundings. The stable, etc., 
should be thoroughly disinfected, aud care 
should be observed iu haudling the carcass, 
as human beings are liable to contract the 
malady if infected by the poisonous principle 
through wounds iu the hands or person. Thou¬ 
sands have died from eating diseased meat. 
WOLF TEETH IN HORSES. 
R. M. G., Hush ford , N. F.—What are wolf 
teeth in horses, aud do they cause blindness? 
Ans.—W olf teeth are two small superfluous 
teeth which appear one ou each side immediate¬ 
ly iu front of the first molar, or double tooth, 
on the upper jaw. Among horsemen there is 
a general impression that these teeth are inju¬ 
rious to the eyes. frequently causing blindness, 
unless removed. Veterinarians, however, do 
not coincide in this opinion, for if the belief 
were correct, all horses would go blind, as all 
have these superfluous teeth at some time of 
their lives, generally* between tbe first and 
fifth year'. So strong and widespread, how¬ 
ever, is the belief iu tbe blindiug effect of 
these teeth, that, whenever a horse is attacked 
with ophthalmia, the owner is likely to look for 
these teeth, aud, if found, they are thought to 
be the cause of the ailment and are roughly 
knocked out. In doing so the gums are gener¬ 
ally bruised, causing considerable inflamma¬ 
tion, which acting as a couuter irritant, at¬ 
tracts the inflammation from the eye, and, of 
course, the belief is confirmed that “wolf 
teeth” causes blindness. 
