702 
THE BUBAL NEW-YOBXEB. 
planted in the same kind of soil, but'did not 
do very well, owing to the dry season. The 
stalks averaged about eight feet in bight. 
It seems to be too late for this section. The 
oats are also late. I obtained only about \)4 
quart. They were struck with rust, and 
lodged somewhat. The tomato seeds did 
well. The wheat was sown over two weeks 
ago, and is growing finely. B. k. 
Pennsylvania. 
Corry, Erie Co.—I overlooked the R U. C. 
until June 17, w hen 1 planted it in rich soil, 
cut it up September 20, a grow th of 95 days, 
and think 1 will have a few ears which will 
make seed, but this is no corn country, or it 
would have done better. My Blush Potatoes, 
brought from Kansus. seem to do very well 
here. Planted Juno 6. the top* are quite 
green and thrifty. The Rural flower seeds 
have done very well. My wife says she had 
some flowers such as she never saw before. 
The tomatoes are a fine lot of rich, smooth 
ones, but they did not get rijie, j. o. s. 
Virginia. 
Disputanta, Prince George Co.—My seeds 
of the Free-Seed Distribution did well. The to 
matoes were some of the finest I ever had. 
The Rural corn came up well, but did not 
yield as well as the Learning. The oats made 
a good growth, tillered well, but are too late 
iu ripening. Of the Garden Treasures some 
are still iu bloom (notwithstanding the 
dry weather), and are the admiration of 
the neighborhood. I have had numerous ap¬ 
plications for seed. I huve 10 nice Niagara 
Grape seedlings. The peas did finely. Very 
dry with us; have not had rain since August 
29. Springs and wells drying up. G. w. P. 
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HIP SWEENY AND POLL EVIL IN HORSES'. 
TV. 11. .S'., iCe.sf Lebanon, hul .—What is a 
remedy for hip sweeny in a horse? 2. What 
for poll evil iu another? 
A ns, —The term sweeny is applied to a real 
or imaginary wasting away of the muscles of 
the shoulder or hip. This wasting away is 
seldom a special evil, but is really one of the 
results of some chronic disease of some part 
of the limb, such as a painful corn, navicular 
disease, contracted feet, ringbone, spavin, 
etc. If a cure of the real ailment is effected, 
the so-called swpeny will dtsuppeur or will 
yield to treatment, but so long as the real 
trouble remains, a cure of the sweeny, which 
is caused by it, is Impracticable, One should 
find out, therefore, by careful examination 
what the real trouble is, and apply the appro 
priato remedy, and until wo leurn the nature 
of this, it will be impossible to give advice. 
In young horses, however, wasting of the 
muscles, especially of the shoulder, is often 
caused hy unsteady pulling with au ill-filting 
collar. Iu SUCli a case the animal should have 
rest, and for some time an application should 
be made, once or twice a day, of equal parts 
of tincture of cantharide* and oil of turpen¬ 
tine. Shake the bottle well before applying 
the contents. Owing to a strain of the muscles 
outside the shoulder blade and on the crupper, 
there is often a waste of the muscles causing a 
shrinkage, so that the skin is drawn tightly to 
the bone. This is generally due to hard pull¬ 
ing on uneven roads, stepping into holes, slip 
ping, etc. In such cases there is u peculiar 
circular motion of the leg in moving, and heat 
and tenderness on the outside of the joint. 
Rest, fomentation, and a light dose of physic 
will generally produce an early cure in such 
cases. After inflammatory symptoms have 
subsided, the horse should have exercise by 
driving on a smooth rood, or light work on 
level ground, and the circulation should be 
increased over the fallen muscles by brisk 
rubbing. If the animal continues lame, the 
following liniment will prove beneficial: 
linseed oil, one pint; chloric ether, one ounce; 
oil of cedar, half an ounce. Mix and rub into 
the shoulder night and morning. 
2 Poll-evil is due to blows or bruises caused 
by the horse suddenly lifting its head and 
striking it against a part of the mauger, a 
beam, the ceiling of a low-roofed stable, or 
the lintel of a door. Straining against the 
bridle or halter, rubbing the poll against the 
divisions of the stalls, or other objects, blows 
from an angry or brutal driver, and the irri¬ 
tation caused by forcing a small collar on a 
large horse, are all fruitful causes of this ail¬ 
ment. The evil may exist for some time be¬ 
fore the ordinary symptoms become notice¬ 
able. These consist of a painful swelling, hot 
and tender, about the nape of the neck, gener¬ 
ally on one side, marked by a sense of fluc¬ 
tuation under pressure of the fingers. The 
nearer the seat of the disease to the surface, 
the more noticeable this fluctuation, and the 
more deep seated the ailment, the smaller 
u-ually is the size of the swelling. One should 
not wait till the tumor breaks of its own ac¬ 
cord; but as soon as the matter can be dis¬ 
tinctly felt, an opening should be made at the 
loivest point in the tumor, so that ail the mat¬ 
ter can run out. as fast as it forms. The open¬ 
ing should be large enough to allow' a free 
passage to the discharge. Poultices may be 
used to promote the discharge; or a paste 
made of sugar, soap, and powdered blood- 
root, equal parts, rubbed together iu a mortar 
and spread on cotton cloth, should be kept on 
the tumor by means of a bandage. In recent 
cases the opening at the lowest part, of the 
tumor will suffice to effect a cure. In cases of 
long standing, however, where fistulas have 
been formed, the passages become like cartil¬ 
ages, and will not close readily. Then astimn 
lus must be applied to the interior, either in 
the form of u seton tube passed through from 
end to end and left there and this is the safer 
plan—or by means of chemical injections, 
such as chloride of zinc, one drum, mixed with 
a pint of water and carefully injected into 
every part of the sinuses, or pipes, twice or 
three times a week. It is always best to em¬ 
ploy a veterinarian to perform this sort of 
operation. 
SPLINT IN A HORSE. 
C. J., Raleigh, N. C. —My seven-year-old 
horse has a splint on a foreleg, half way be¬ 
tween the knee uud the ankle; how should it 
be treated? 
Ans.—A splint is a bony enlargement on the 
splint bones on the outside and inside of the 
cannon bone, the inside splint being generally 
more severe and frequent. It is generally at. 
tributed to blows or a sprain, and there is 
often a hereditary predisposition to it. While 
it is forming, there is inflammation of the 
bone-covering membrane, causing lameness, 
and on pressing the leg with the hand, the 
animal w ill shrink where the splint—a small, 
hard swelliug, often not lurgor thun u pea—is 
pressed. Then the horse stands w ith the toe 
on the ground, and the leg slightly bent. When 
the splint is so well developed us to be readily 
seen, it is generally unattended with lameness, 
as the bone covering membrane—periosteum 
—has accommodated itself to the new forma¬ 
tion, and the inflammation has subsided. If 
the blemish is not an eyesore, and there is no 
inflammation, it is far better not to meddle 
with it; for in the course of a few years it will 
disappear by absorbption, as a matter of 
course; while in attempting to cure a splint 
by some irritating application, it often hap¬ 
pens that extensive inflammation is caused in 
the fibrous structure attached to it, and lame¬ 
ness, which didn't exist before, henceforth be¬ 
comes troublesome. If, however, treatment is 
thought necessary, the following blister will 
generally prove effective:—Bmiodule of mer¬ 
cury, oue dram; lard, one ounce; mix, and 
after shaving the hair off over and around the 
splint, rub a little into the skin every evening 
until a free watery discharge is produced from 
the surface. To facilitate this the leg should 
be fomented with very hot water every morn¬ 
ing and afternoon, uud this should lie kept up 
for several days after the ointment has been 
discontinued. If, after the interval of a week, 
the splint does not appear to be much reduced, 
the ointment should lie re-applied, and this 
should be repeated at intervals until the splint 
is removed. In some cases scarification, with a 
seton, or a seton alone, or even firing, may be 
needed, but. in such exceptional cases a vet¬ 
erinary surgeon should Vie employed. 
COWS HOLDING THEIR MILK. 
E. T. ./., Scott, Mo.— What is the best treat¬ 
ment for cows that bold up their milk? I 
have two remedies, but am satisfied with 
neither. One is to feed while milking; and 
the other, to bathe the teats and udder with 
warm water before beginning to milk. 
Ans.— This trouble is usually first noticed 
when the calf is taken from the cow, after 
having been permitted to suck; if the calf is 
not permitted to suck, the trouble seldom oc¬ 
curs—at any rate, if the cow 7 has never been 
allowed to suckle a calf. The most popular 
remedy is to lay, across the loins of the eow, a 
weight, such as a heavy chain, or a bag with 
sand in it. The nerves which control the 
whole muscular system of the hind-quarters 
and the digestive, urinary, generative and 
lacteal organs and their functions, proceed 
from the spinal marrow- near the lumbar re¬ 
gion. A pressure here, therefore, may inter¬ 
fere with the ability of the eow to control the 
voluntary muscles of the udder; for iu holding 
up her milk, the cow draws up the udder in 
such a way as to contract the outlets of the 
milk duct, and if she can be prevented from 
exercising the power to interfere with the 
flow of milk, this trouble w-ill be avoided. 
Other methods are those mentioned by our in¬ 
quirer; but the most effective method is the 
use of u rnilkiug tube. When this is inserted in¬ 
to the teat, it penetrates into the milk reservoir 
above the base of the teat, and draws off the 
milk in spite of the cow’s effort to retain it. It 
bos also been found effective to refrain from 
milking until the udder has become painful 
from tb© retention of the milk, when the cow 
is usually very willingto be relieved. Patience 
is also a remedy for this trouble; if the milker 
will tire out the eow by continuing to rub the 
udder, and draw upon the teats for a consider¬ 
able time, the milk will come in the end. To 
irritate the cow, is to make matters worse. 
KEEPING CABBAGES IN WINTER. 
O. TP. />., Danvers, Mass —My mode of 
keeping cabbages (of which I have several 
thousand to sell in the Wiuter) is as fol¬ 
lows:—After stripping off the outside leaves, 
I put them into a cellar in tiers about six 
feet wide from the bottom of the cellar to 
the floor above, leaving between each tier 
alleys wide enough for a man to walk through; 
but the cabbages waste too much stored in 
this way. Dee* the Rural know of a better 
plan? How would it do to pack them in saw¬ 
dust. or something of that kind? 
Ans. —Cabbages contain, in 1,000 pounds, 
885 pounds of water. It is obvious that if 
they are stored in such a way as to be exposed 
to the air—as in the manner described—they 
must lose a considerable port of the w ater, and 
waste and shrink in bulk. A better way, and 
one which is practiced by market men, is to 
make, iu the field, trenches about two feet deep 
and wide; put some straw in the bottom; lay 
the cabbages, heads down wards, not cutting off 
the stems or roots, and fill the trench with 
them; then lay three rows on the top of the 
lower ones, in this way, 0 ° 0 ; cover these with 
straw, and then with the soil that has been 
thrown out. The roots of the top rows staud 
upwards. Borne bundles, or large wisps of 
straw, are placed on end every six feet apart 
to insure ventilation, and keep the cabbages 
cold Care is taken to avoid the risk of water 
entering the trench, by making this on high 
ground If the cabbages freeze, no hanu is 
done The cooler they are kept the better. A 
cellar is too w-arm for them. 8a wdust is not a 
good packing, as some of it would get in 
among the leaves, and spoil the sal©; besides, 
it encourages mildew. Straw is the best cov¬ 
ering under the soil. A pit of this kind is 
opened with the greatest ease any time iu the 
Winter, on© end being broken into; aud when 
the cabbages required are taken out the pit is 
closed with some sheaves of straw. 
GROWING A HONEY LOCUST HEDGE, ETC. 
J. M \V , Fernhill, Ont. —1. What quantity 
of Honey Locust seed will it take to plant 
half a mile of hedge, and how-should it be at¬ 
tended to from the planting of the seed till the 
hedgeis fully grown? 2. Describe Rosaseti- 
gera, and is it worthy of cultivation? 
Ans. 1. Bo much depends upon the quality 
of seed that we caunot definitely state the 
quantity needed; get enough—say four pounds, 
if good. By fur the best way is to sow the 
seed iu nursery beds in rows If) inches apart, 
and quite thickly in the row. The seeds 
should first be scalded; that is, hot water 180° 
Fah, should be poured on them, aud they 
should stand 24 hours in the water before 
they are sown. Give clean culture, and 
the trees will be large enough to plant 
in a hedge when one year old. The ground 
for a hedge should be cultivated iu some hoed 
crop one year before planting, and kept clean. 
Set the plants one foot apart iu rows one foot 
apart, so that they will “break joffcls;’’ that is, 
a plant in one row will be opposite a vacant 
space iu the other. When planting, cut them 
back to three inches above ground, and give 
them good, dean culture. The next Spring 
cut them back to within two inches of the 
first cut; continue to give good culture, and 
if making good growth, cut back each suc¬ 
ceeding Spring w-ithiu about eight inches of 
the previous cut, until the hedge is 45 inches 
high, which bight it should never be allow-ed 
to exceed. Much of the beauty, efficiency 
and longevity of a hedge depends upon a pro¬ 
per system of pruning. 2. Rosa setigera is a 
wild prairie rose, growing from 12 to 20 feet 
high; the flowers are deep roseate aud scent¬ 
less. Varieties of this in cultivation are some 
of the best hardy climbers—such as Baltimore 
Belle, Prairie Queen and Rosa superba. 
TREATMENT OF A MARE THAT HAS ABORTED. 
W. .4. P., Milfordton, Ohio.—I bred a mare 
when she was eight years old. and raised a 
colt; two years later I bred her again, and 
she lost twin colts; a year later I bred her 
once more, and she again lost her colt, though 
she received no injury, so far as I know-, and 
bad been very carefully worked, and fed on 
corn aud Timothy hay. 1. Did the twins 
cause the premature parturitions? 2. Is it 
likely she will abort again? 3. What should 
be the care and treatment to prevent such a 
mishap? 
ANSWERED BY PROF. F. L. KILBORX. 
1. No, unless the uterus was unduly sensi¬ 
tive, when the twins would, by their greater 
activity, cause more irritation of the uterus 
than a single foetus. More likely the corn 
was the cause of the trouble, especially if fed 
heavily. It should have been supplemented, 
in part, by shorts or oats. 2. If properly 
cared for, and there is no disease of the urin¬ 
ary or generative organs, the mare ought to 
breed w ithout aborting, although she will be 
more susceptible to causes tending to produce 
abortion or premature parturition than if she 
had not lost any colts. 3. First of all, allow 
the umre to run over a year before breeding 
again: when this precaution is not taken, a 
second abortion very frequently follows. 
Then, when the mare is bred, give special at¬ 
tention to the care and diet so as to avoid in¬ 
digestion, constipation, or diarrhea. Do not 
overfeed, but simply keep her In good con¬ 
dition—not fleshy. Avoid ergott-d grasses, 
smutty or rusty graius or fodder, aud impure 
water. Keep her in a cool, dry, well ventila¬ 
ted stable (if iu a stall the floor Bhould not in¬ 
cline backward) free from offensive odors, 
especially of decomposing animal matter: or 
in a dry pasture with good runuing water. 
Work her carefully, especially after having 
been idle for some time, and in no case should 
she be allowed to do heavy draft work. 
BALL IN COW’S STOMACH. 
L. S., O eland, hul.— On opening the stom¬ 
ach of a slaughtered four-year-old cow, a 
ball weigning nearly a pound was found; 
how was it formed ? 
Ans. Balls of this kind are generally found 
either in the first stomach or paunch, or, 
more rarely, iu the abomasum, or lourth 
stomach, which is the true digesting stomach. 
In the latter case, the ball is composed exclu¬ 
sively of hair irregularly matted, and held 
together by the mucus of the stomach. "When 
found in the paunch or, rumen, there is gen¬ 
erally in its texture a mixture of food or 
earth} 7 matter; and in the center u nail or bit 
of wood; although frequently there is no dis¬ 
tinct central body. Such bulls are generally 
round, though sometimes of other shapes, aud 
they vary in weight from au ounce or two to 
five or six pounds. Tbeir existence is due to 
the habit cattle have of licking themselves 
and each other. Some of the hair is loosened 
by the rough tongue, and most of it ia swal¬ 
lowed, and the stomach appears to have the 
power to sepurute (his indigestabie substance 
from the other matters it contains. These 
hairs, which the stomach cannot grind dow n, 
gradually accumulate, and form into bard 
masses, often at a very early age of the ani¬ 
mal. Generally various compounds of lime 
uud silicious matter can be detected in the 
balls by chemical analysis, aod sometimes, 
when they are sawu asuuder, the parts are so 
hard as to be susceptible of considerable 
polish. Although it i* not clearly known 
what effect their presence has on the health 
of tlie animals, they are found oftener and in 
greater numbers in ailing than in healthy 
beasts. Their presence in the stomach, fre¬ 
quently in considerable numbers, ought to 
produce a sense of oppression and impairment 
of appetite. 
RAISING ASPARAGUS AND RHUBARB FROM 
SEED, ETC. 
S. C. S., Westover, Md.—l. What mode of 
treatment is best for raising asparagus and 
rhubarb from seed? 2 How must 1 proceed 
to get seedlings from strawberries? 3. How 
aud when should seeds of evergreen* he plant¬ 
ed? 4. Of whom can I obtain the seed? 
ANS —1. Asparagus seed is sown iu good 
soil iu the Spring, and ihe plants are trans¬ 
ferred the next season to a deep, well-enrich¬ 
ed, permanent bed. Rhubarb seed may be 
sown where the plants are to remain. Seed 
sown in the Spring will give large plants by 
Fall, aud these will be ready to use the next 
Spriug. 2. The seed is washed out of the ber¬ 
ries, and it is better to plant them at once; 
but seeds can be planted now iu sand, and 
raised uuder glass, or the seeds can be put in 
sand and kept in a cool pluce until Spring. 3. 
Seeds of evergreens should be sowu early in 
the Spriug, iu a light, sandy soil, covering 
them not more than one-fourth of an inch 
deep. The young plants will need shade in 
Summer and protection in Winter. 4. Of 
Thomas Meehan, Philadelphia, Pa.; or, Thor- 
burn & Co., No. 15 John Street, New York, 
N. Y. 
HOPS. 
T. P. t Charleston, TP. Va. —1. Where can I 
get bop-roots? 2. What is the price per bush¬ 
el? 3. What kiud of soil is best for them? 4. 
What time is best to plant them? 5. How far 
apart should they be planted? fi. What is 
the average price per pound? 
Ans.— 1. You can get them of George W. 
Hoffman, Elmira, N. Y. 2. Two dollars per 
