4884 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
on top, thus securing a neat and effectual 
fence. 
GOITRE IN A BULL. 
R. R., Anurrly, Onl., Canada. —How should 
1 treat my valuable young Durham bull, which 
has a hard lump,about the size of a goose egg. 
under the chin, near the upper part of the 
jaw? When I first noticed it. early in Spring, 
it was very small, and as the animal was very 
thin. I thought this growth might disappear, 
when be should he restored to a normal con¬ 
dition: but he is still very lean. I have fed 
him regularly, three times a day, four pints of 
chopped oats, mixed with two pints of bran, 
and in addition what hay he would eat, my 
object being not to over-feed, but to produce 
a full, natural development. The lump is 
under the skin, movable, and does not seem 
sore. His present age is 18 months. His ap¬ 
petite is good. 
Ans. —This is a constitutional disease of the 
character of goitre, and probably a form of 
it. It consists of an enlargement of the gland, 
and is decidedly hereditary, so that the bull 
may not, l>e a safe animal for breeding. The 
tumor should be rubbed with iodine ointment 
daily, a piece as lurge as a bean beiug used, 
and one dra n of the iodide of potassium should 
be given daily. This treatment is to be con¬ 
firmed for two or three months. It is quite 
possible that the condition from which this 
disease results may be due to fusufficieut feed¬ 
ing nud poverty of blood. The present feed 
ing is sufficient, audit might be helped by the 
use of a dram of powered gentiuu root and 
half a dram of sulphate of irou given daily. 
AN INSUFFICIENTLY-FED CALK. 
G. A. R., Rock Valley, Iowa.—A two- 
months-old calf was allowed for the first 
month to run with its mother, a two-year old 
heifer, and then it seemed to be doing well; 
then the joints of its legs began to swell, and 
it could get up ouly with great difficulty It 
was then brought to the house, and its mother’s 
milk, supplemented with boiled flax-seed and 
lard, was given it. There was a temporary 
improvement, and it was taken from its 
mother, and fed butter milk and sour milk 
from a bottle. The stiffness continues; it 
uses its hind legs like sticks, and walks on its 
toes when led; otherwise it lies down all the 
time. It nibbles oats occasionally; how should 
it be treated? 
Ans.— For so young a calf the feed giveu 
now. and since the first month, is quite insuf¬ 
ficient. It is probable that t he mother's milk 
was not su file tent, and the calf suffered from 
weakness. That seems to he the trouble now, 
f lu- food not being sufficiently digestible and 
nutritious for so young an animal. It would 
probably soon recover if fed with eight quarts 
of warm, sweet skim-milk daily, and a few 
oats scalded, but given cold. It Is not at all 
probable that any medicine would help it, 
good food nud nursing being all that are re¬ 
quired. 
FLOWER QUERIES. 
A. E. R. , Hillsboro , Ohio. —1. My cauua 
is planted in good garden soil, but grows very 
little: why? 2. Why do the leaves on my 
Ernest Lautb Geranium turn white when the 
plant is in full bloom? It is planted in good 
garden soil. 3. Will a tuberose bulb that was 
old enough to bloom this year, but did not 
because of improper care, bloom next year? 
4. How should cauna roots uud tuberose bulbs 
be cared for through the Winter? 
Ans.— 1. Either the root was imperfect, 
the plant has suffered from lack of moisture] 
or some auirnul or insect is at work on it. 2. 
It, blooms too freely. Some pelargoniums kill 
themselves by blooming too treely. 3. The 
flower spike is inclosed in the bulb of the tube¬ 
rose, and pushes out under proper care when 
the bulb is mature. It is easily injured by 
cold, and will not bloom if exposed to a low 
temperature; the bulb will theu expend its 
strength in the formation of new bulbs. If 
your tuberose semis up a fiower stalk next 
season, pinch off all small bulbs; it it does 
not, let the bulbs grow and look to them, 
wheu mature, for flowers. 4. Gannas and tube¬ 
roses should be taken up in the Fall, dried off 
and kept in a warm, dry place through the 
Winter. 
THE 8PINBD SOLDIER BUG. 
D. A. J., Springfield, Mass., sends for a 
name a parasite found on potato beetles. 
Ans.— It is the common Spined Soldier Bug 
(Arma spiuosa. Dallas.) It abounds all over 
the country and feeds upon the larvae of many 
injurious insects. It is especially fond of the 
larva? of the Colorado Potato Beetle. Its eggs 
are minute, bronze-colored, caldron-shaped 
objects, each with a convex lid surrounded by 
15 or Jfi white spines. They are placed side 
by side iu clusters of a dozen or more upon 
leaves or other objects, and are much subject 
to the attacks of hymenopterous parasites. 
ll»e young larvtc are black with red spots; 
the full-grown larva? are black with red ami 
yellow marUmgs, especially on the hind body, 
and the full-grown insect is of a dirty ochre 
yellow color. It is a very voracious insect, 
and consumes a great many potato bugs in 
the course of its growth. 
Miscellaneous. 
•S'. S’. C, Bingham Center, Pa. —1. My cows 
have a sort, of white scab around their eyes 
and on their neck nud sides, and when rub¬ 
bed off, the places bleed. What is it. and 
what will cure it? 2. Is winter barley a prof¬ 
itable crop? 3 Can water in* pumped a dis¬ 
tance of six rods up hill, nud what pipe 
should be used? 4. 1 am testing White Eli 
pliant and White Star Potatoes to see which 
will keep the longer. Would the Rural 
like specimens at the end of the trial ? 5. 1 am 
testing 10 kinds of potatoes; shall I send you 
results? 6. When shall I sow winter rye, and 
how prepare the ground? 7. Will new ground 
uow growing a crop of peas, be a good place 
for wheat? 
Ans.—1. The cows are troubled with the 
rnauge. we think. Wash them thoroughly 
with soap-suds and a coarse cloth, uud as soon 
as dry apply Little’s or Lawford’s Sheep Dip 
diluted with three parts of water to one of Dip, 
or apply crude petroleum and lard oil, half 
and half, rnbhiug it in well with a stiff brush. 
2. We have seeu very large crops of winter 
barley but it is too tender to be depended upou 
so far north. 3 Whut do you mean—by a 
suction, or force pump? Water can lie lifted by 
suctiou 33J£ feet on a fine day at the sea level; 
on wet. foggy ilavs and at higher elevations] 
the atmospheric pressure—the force that lifts 
the water iu the exhausted pipe—is less, and 
consequently the bight to which the water 
can be lifted, will also be less. On the cle 
vated table lauds of the West the best suction 
pump cannot raise water over 18 to 20 feet. 
If the pump Is attached to the eud of a pipe 
the other end of which rests iu the water in a 
well six rods away, it would not be safe to 
attempt to “suck” the water from a depth of 
over 18 to 20 feet, as the friction of the fluid 
in the pipe would add to the difficulty, even if 
the pipe extended horizontally. If a force- 
pump stationed near the well is used, water 
can be elevated t > any reasonable bight, pro¬ 
vided the pump and the pipe are strong 
enough to bear the pressure, which will be It 
pounds to the square inch for every 33 V feet 
in perpendicular elevation. Use only the best 
pipe, plain or galvanized wrought irou, and 
bo very sure the couplings art. air tight. 4. 
It would hardly pay. 5. Send us a careful, 
report. I). At the same time as, or a little 
later than winter wheat. Prepare the grouud 
iu the same way. 7. Yes, plow well as soon 
as the peas are off, and harrow and cultivate; 
the proper way to prepare ground for winter 
grain, is to have it mellow on top and firm 
below; but rich all through. 
Inquirer. Delaware, Ohio.— 1. What is the 
best method of keeping tender and half hardy 
roses in Central Ohio? 3, Will seed saved 
from single stocks produce double flowers? 8. 
In taking buds for rose budding, should old or 
new wood be used, and should the wood be 
removed from the hud? 1. Will seed saved 
from fringed or variegated petunias produce 
the same again? 5. How can pansies be win¬ 
tered in a bed? ♦> Why should the Big Bob 
Strawberry go? 7. What about the hardiness 
of the Wager Peach or of Canada Iron-Clad 
or the Russian Apricot and Mulberry? 8. 
Which are the best white grapes? !*. r have a 
yard on which hogs have been fed lor 30 years, 
but none for six years, and it hi* now been 
cropped one year; is it too rich for strawber¬ 
ries? 
Ans. —The best method of keeping tender 
roses is to take them up and heel them iu, in 
earth in a dry, cold cellar, and after severe 
pruning replaut them in Spring. The same 
may be done with half-hardy roses, or they 
may be covered with a thick coat of straight 
straw, to be tied around the shoots, and the 
whole should be shaded from the sun on bright 
days by a wide board placed on the south side. 
2. In growing seeds from such plauts as have 
the very double flo wers sterile,all single flowers 
are removed, and only the double aud semi- 
double allowed to grow. Heeds from these 
produce a fuir proportion of double flowers. 
8. If mature buds from the young wood are 
taken,success is reasonable, both by leaviug and 
removing the adhering wood; if left, the bud 
should be so out that but very little is taken. 
4. Like tends, to produce like, though you might 
not get a single plant the exact duplicate of the 
parent. Mauy plauts will not bear fringed flow¬ 
ers. 5. As the weather gets very cold, cover the 
bed with a bundle of corn-stalks or with ever 
green boug ha, and remove the covertng i 11 early 
Spring, fi. It is neither large enough, good 
enough nor sufficiently productive. 7. These 
peaches are no hardier than other varieties. 
Go slow on all things Russian till further tried. 
8. Tastes differ greatly, and what does well 
here may not succeed at all with you; try a 
singk vfna of Lady, Prentiss, Duchess, Vic- 
toria, Niagara and Elvira. 9. No; there is 
not much dauger of its being too rich. 
J. IF. G.. Horace, Tenn.—l. How can I keep 
worms from dried fruit? 2. How cun I propa¬ 
gate roses from slips? 3. What will remove 
mildew from cloth? 4. Should mares lie bred 
every year? 5. Does running on fresh clover 
have a tendency to prevent a mare from 
breeding? 
Ans— 1. In a small way: put the fruit in 
some sort of dishes, and haviug sprinkled it a 
very little, pla-e it in a moderately hot stove 
oven till all insect eggs are killed by the heat, 
and Mien put. it into tight paper sacks or tight 
boxes, and nail up tightly, pasting paper over 
every crack, 2. Some roses root easily if slip- 
are made from young wood and put into moist 
sand under a glass vessel; others will scarcely 
root at. all without bottom heat. Iu the Rural 
of August 2 we told how to grow them from 
layers. 3. If the cloth is colored, rub strong 
soap on the mildewed spot*, aud lay (u the 
bright sunlight for a while; then wash out and 
repeat. If it fie white goods, wash thoroughly 
in soap au<l caustic soda water, then soak for 
several hours in water containing chloride of 
lime iu the proportion of two gallons of soft 
water to one pound of chloride; then rinse 
thoroughly and dip in vinegar aud water—one 
part, of vinegar to four of water—and after it 
has remained there a few minutes, rinse again 
in clear water, aud dry. Do not leave any 
Chloride of lime water in the goods; it would 
rot them. 4 if moderately worked or not at 
all, it will not injure them 5. No. It is 
sometimes well to have them fast a few hours 
before service. 
D. V. S., Woonsocket, D T.—l. Iu washing 
a horse that Is foul.-whatkiudof soapshould 
be used? 2. Which is the better food for stock 
-flaxseed meal, or od cake? 3 In adminis¬ 
tering raw linseed oil to a horse, how is it to 
lie giveu? 4 What is a good cure for galled 
shoulders? 5. My cow calved April 9, and has 
not yet been in heat: what can I give her; 
she seems to be healthy? 
Ans.— 1. Use castile soap aud a soft sponge 
or cloth. 2. If you ineun simply grouud flax¬ 
seed when you say “flaxseed meal,” then, of 
course, the cake is host, ouly it should lie 
grouud, as the flaxseed has too much oil iu it; 
it is medicinal. If you mean to inquire us to 
old and new process meal, then we say old pro¬ 
cess contains 11.5 per cent, of free oil and 29 7 
per cent, of albuminoids or flesh-formers; the 
new process contains 1.3 per cent of free fat 
und 34.25 per cent, of albuminoids; so at the 
same price the new process is best, and as it 
has less free oil, it can be fed more freely. 8. 
I 1 roiu a bottle, os a drench. 4. Clean every 
night with tepid water, and apply strong cop¬ 
peras (sul, iron? water, wind a cloth around the 
collar, above or below the sore. 5. We think 
you fail to watch closely enough to detect her 
iu heat. We don’t believe in giving any drugs. 
It. .S'. A,, Lorraine, Va —1. Is there a broad¬ 
cast seeder worked by horses, and where is it 
made? 2. Is there a good implement for the 
checkrow plantiug of corn? 3. What is the 
best time to dig Irish potatoes to obtain the 
greatest weight of tubers? 4. Will land plas 
ter put on potato vines during a drought have 
a tendency to modify it? 5. Will Golden 
Grains or Palestine Wheat suit this latitude? 
<5. Does plaster exposed to the air lose strength ? 
7. Are the inclosed bugs injurious to potatoes? 
8. What is the color aud shUpe of Early Beauty 
of Hebron? 
Ans.— 1. Yes. Heveral are made in the 
West. P. P. Mast & Co , Springfield, O., make 
one. 2. Yes; there are half a dozen of them 
all made in the West. We have tried ouo 
mude by the Farmers’ Friend Manufacturing 
Company, Daytou, O. It sows iu rows or iu 
checks, leaviug a mark for uoxt row. 1 taiso has 
a fertilizer attachment. 3. Assoon as fully ripe; 
but for keeping, it is probably best to leave 
them iu the ground till cool weather, unless one 
has a cool, dark place in which to store them. 
4. Probably a very little; it should be put on 
earlier. 5. No; it cannot be depended upou. 
Get up a club aud try the Cross-bred Diehl- 
Mediterranean ; that will stand it. (5. No; 
not if kept 100 years. 7. The bugs were so 
badly broken we could hardly tell any except 
one, which wo thought was the Spanish fly or 
blister beetle. Not much. 8. It looks very 
like the Early Rose, ouly it is a little larger. 
F. H. R., Perry, N. Y. —1. Whut is the aver¬ 
age numbejr of quarts per acre for the differ¬ 
ent varieties of small fruits? 2. How many 
tomato plants should be put on an acre, aud 
what is likely to be the average yield? 3. Are 
the terrni “degree - ’ and “rod” synonymous 
wheu used in surveying? 4 Is New York 
surveyed into lots of uniform size throughout 
the State? 5. What is the population of Los 
Angeles, California? 
Ank.— 1. The yield will depend upon soil, 
cultivation, and climate. Probably, under 
good condition, 2,OUO quarts would tie a good 
crop of strawberries, raspberries and black- 
berries. 2. It all depends upon toe fertility 
of the soil; from 800 to 2,000, and from eight 
to 25 tons of fruit. 3. No: “degree” has re¬ 
ference to points of the compass in giving 
directions of line: aud “rods,” if used at all. 
to the length of lines; but the term “rods,” is 
seldom used. 4 No. 5. It had a population 
of 11,183 in 1880, and there has been a con¬ 
siderable iucrease since. 
D. R. H , Rone Star, Mo .—1 Does wheat 
turn to chess? 2, Do moles eat corn? 3, 
What harrow does the Rural recommend for 
general use? 4. Which is the better plow for 
general use—one of steel, or chilled irou? 5. 
What is “big head” in a horse? 
Ans 1 Chess and wheat are no nearer 
alike than oafs and barley, aud a change can 
uo more he made from one to the other. 3. 
No; they injure the roots in searching for in¬ 
sects. 3. If you mean ordinary harrows, we 
know of nothing better than some modifica¬ 
tion of the Scotch harrow. Of the Spring- 
tooth , there are so many good ones so nearly 
alike, that it would by hard to till unless one 
should spend a year or two in a critical test. 
4. For the sticky prairies, where there are no 
stones, we think the steel best; for Eastern 
soils, or those considerably stony, the ehilled 
plows seem to be most popular. 5. For “big- 
head,” see elsewhere in this department iu 
this issue. 
H. V., Hampden, Sidney College, Fit.—1. 
Will Augora goats aud sheep cross? 2. What 
is the inclosed plant ? 
Ans.— 1 No. 2. Tri folium arvense—Rabbit- 
foot or Stone Clover, Tills is a naturalized 
foreigner, aud is entitled to the notice of the 
farmer only on account of its prevalence and 
worthlessness. Its presence Is an indication 
of thin soil aud poor agriculture. With good 
manuring it is readily superseded by more 
vuluabie plants. 
IP. II. It., Shelburne, VI. — What is the best 
way to treat gooseberry aud currant seeds 
intended for planting? 
Ans.—W e have Mils season sown the seeds 
fresh from the berries ns an experiment 
Should they germinate before frost, we shall 
try to protect the young plants. If not this 
Fall, they should germinate freely in the 
Spring. A good way is to preserve the seed 
in sand, und sowin the Fall or Spring. 
F. II. M , Wehburg, Inc?.—1 . Can a rhodo¬ 
dendron be loft out during Winter without in¬ 
jury to the plant? 3. Does the Cross-bred 
Diehl Mediterranean Wheat stand the Winter 
better than other varieties? 
Ans. —1. Rhododendrons are hardy, but 
should be planted iu a shady place; they will 
not grow iu a limestone soil. 2. It is as hardy 
as the Mediterranean. 
L. N (I., West Chenango, N. Y .—1. Is the 
disease which makes the heads of my fowls a 
bright crimson, and the feathers to fall out, 
roup? 2. What is the plant Bent? 
Anh.— 1. We cannot tell from such a mea 
gre description. Wo should hardly expect it 
was roup, as you would have found their eyes 
closed and a foetid discharge from the nose. 2. 
We have not received the plaut. 
J. R., Brooklyn , H. Y .—What is the value 
of salt meadow grass? 
Ans.—W hen properly cured and fed with 
other grasses, it is considered valuable—per¬ 
haps one-quarter us valuable as Timothy. 
F. R. If., Tunneil Hill, III., sends plant for 
name. 
Ans. —It is Gonobolus hirsutus belonging to 
the order Asclepiadacem, or Milkweed Fami¬ 
ly. 
DISCUSSION. 
H. S., Bergen Co, N. J.—In the F. C. of 
August 9, page 514, it is said that “ no tna- 
nurial value is claimed for plaster: it is situ 
ply a stimulant, and uo may can tell, without 
actual trial, whether it wi ll lieneflt any par¬ 
ticular soil.” Furtis said “plaster 
is an Impure sulphate of lime." Whak is a 
stimulant? I f plaster contributes food to plants 
it is a manure. Yon cannot stimulate a plant; 
as, unlike an unituul, it will take iu nochiug 
that is not food. Agalu, plaster is not 
impure sulphate of lime, but pure sulphate 
Ca CH*SO*-f2HjQ, If there are any impurities, 
the plaster is impure. As all plants contain 
lime and sulphuric acid, and some contain sul¬ 
phate of lime, why is not gypsum amanure as 
much as superphosphate of lime? Eh! Say! 
Thai uo one cau tell if it is going to do good, 
applies to every sort of fertilizer. 
Communications received for thk week ending 
Saturday, August 16. 
B. D. W -T. H O. -W. K.-S. R. B. -M. E. A.-G. A. 
R.-J. B. W.-W T. A.-A. L. J.-A. E. B.-S. C. B., 
thunks.—J. L. M.-F. G.-B. B.-S. B. II.-W. P.-J. 
W. 8., thunks,—E. M. D., »hank«.-H. S.-G. A. B.-D. 
G. A—T. B. H.-J. B.-F. 8.—K. K.-fJ. H,—VV. P. A.— 
G. O. L.—8. S, FC- 1L G.-A. M., thunks.—J. E. O.— 
W. R. M., thunks —L N. VV., thanks.~H, G.—“Elm.” 
T. T. M., grapes received In good order.—H. R.—J 
C. G. G.-E. M. P.-T. 8.-G. VV. G.-H. J.-W. H. J.- 
•I. G. C.—S. E. T.—J. D. S.—O. E. D., thanks for sketch. 
“H' B h.-r. D. C.-H. Hi Ci—M. t\ S.-J. G.-H. W. 
