JUNE 46 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
37© 
bred stock noted in the herd and stud books? 
8. A neighbor has n. “so-called” pure-bred 
Percheruu; bat no pajiers to sliow It to be so; 
says he bought it “so recorded,” how can he 
prove it to bo a pure Perchcron ? 
Ans. 1. The dam should be fed moderately 
well, but not so liberally us to rentier her fat; 
for excessive fill, in the data interferes with the 
due nutrition of the. fo-tus, while it is danger¬ 
ous at fouling time, when it. not only inter¬ 
feres with the process, but also tends to pro 
duoe fever. The period of gestation in a mare 
averages about ;t-tt days, or lit weeks, and 
when alKHit half this period has elapsed the 
mare should be fed a little more liberally, 
lining allowed one or two feeds of grain a day 
in addition to grass. If the feed is not sufficient, 
the inaro w ill grow thin and starve her foal 
in its growth. 2. No, as a rule; but in the 
National Register of Norman Horses we notice 
that in some eases two or three transfers are 
recorded. In the i’ercheron-Norman Stud 
Book, too, one and occasionally two transfers 
are mentioned. 8, if the horse is 4 'recorded 1 * 
in either of those stud books, these particu¬ 
lars will tie found therein: the color; date 
when foaled; name of breeder or imjiorter; 
and the first, second and, sometimes third 
party to whom the animal was transferred. 
By referring to this record, and t racing the 
horse down to its present owner the purity of 
its descent could bo established or disproved. 
HOW TO RAIHK JAPAN LILIES. 
.1, II. K., Diamond Hill, R L —How can 
Japan Lilies be raised from seed? 
Ans —Sow the seeds as soon as you can get 
them; the fresher they are the sooner will 
they start to grow Take a flower-pot, or a 
little box. as a cigar or salt-box, and (ill it to 
within an inch of the top with rough, porous 
soil, as half rotted sods and partly-decayed 
leaves, and on the top of that put a little light, 
sandy soil. Then sow your lily seeds and cover 
them a quarter of an inch deep with the light 
soil. Then water lightly through a water-pot 
rose, and lay a little moss over the soil to pre¬ 
vent it from drying up quickly. You may 
then place tho pot in a north facing or other 
shady window, or, if it be the Summer season, 
in any convenient place out of or in doors 
and away from tho drying influence of sun¬ 
shine and wind, also from drip or excessive 
moisture. A cold frame in a shady spot is an 
excellent, place in which to start them, as you 
can plunge the pot or box in the earth and let 
it remain there till after the seeds germinate, 
be that a mouth or a year. Some kinds, as 
Thunborgiftnum, germinate in one to two 
months, and Speciosuui in six to twelve 
months. If they do not come up too thickly 
in the pota in which they were sown, leave 
them there midisturbod till the next Spring, 
when you may transplant, them into other pots 
or boxes or iu u row in u cold frame, or, if 
you are prepared to take rare of them, in some 
cosy nook in the garden. When one your 
grown you can transplant them aga in and to 
where you wish them to grow in your gar¬ 
den. They should bloom when throe to four 
years old. 
AN EXCELLENT FAKM GATE. 
11. L. F., Sandy Hill, N. Y— 1. What is the 
most desirable gate for a farm, and how 
should it be made? 8. How can stumps Lie re¬ 
moved from a piece of flhid. and what cheap 
machiue will do it? 
Am, —1. The cheapest, undone of the liest 
farm gates is here shown, Fig. 1138. It is 
made of feuce boards six inches wide. The 
end pieces are bolted between t hem with 
inch carriage bolts. The brace is fitted with 
2', inch holts. Wrought nails may lie used 
instead of bolts, A smart man can make the 
gate in one hour. The tall jsist should be 
about seven feet high, 2, Sec article on “A 
Slump Fuller," page SOU of Rural lor May It'. 
LIME IN THE Son.. 
If. ('., Uplands, Canada,-- 1. Does any fruit 
or other natural growth indicate the presence 
of lime enough in the soil for the thrifty 
growth of wheat? 2. What symptoms indi¬ 
cate an insufficiency of lime for wheat? 8. 
Do oats and barley require less liuie than 
wheat? 4. Is lime in I lie form of crystallized 
imestono available for plant food? 
Ans.— 1. Lime is an essential ingredient of 
all plant food, generally supplied by tho soil 
in sufficient quantities. Additional applica¬ 
tions serve to render other plant food avail¬ 
able. 8. There are no “symptoms.” If wheat 
looks bad in spite of favorable weather and 
a well-prepared seed-bed, it needs food of sonic 
kind. Farm manure furnishes all it needs if 
enough is used. If not, nn application of ni¬ 
trogen in some form and phosphoric acid 
(bone Dour) will supply the deficiency. Lime 
would have a quickening action. 8. The 
term “limestone” is more particularly applied 
to those rocks composed principally of ear 
bonate of calcium, that are not crystalline 
Perfectly crystallized carbonate of lime is 
Icelandic spar or calc spar. When it, is im- 
pcrfeetly crystallized and has a fine grain, 
whether pure white or veined, it, is called mar¬ 
ble. Whatever the form of limestone may 
lie, so far as its fertilizing properties are con¬ 
cerned. Prof. S. W. Johnson treats of it fully 
and quite intelligibly in bis excellent article in 
the Rural of May 12, page 3ft4. 
SETTING THE NIAGARA GRAPE-VINES OUT-OF- 
DOORS. 
T. ILK., Diamond THU , If. /.—When should 
tho Niagara Drape vines be set out-of-doors in 
this latitude? 
Ans.— If there is but one plant to a pot 
they may now lie set out, in the open ground 
w ithout, disturbing the roots. Merely thump 
them out of the pots and plant the “ball” in 
the soil. If several plants are growing in one 
pot or box it would lie safer to plant them in 
the same way so as not to disturb the roots. 
They will then continue to grow and may lie 
transplanted next, Spring. If the roots must 
be disturbed then preserve all the earth possi¬ 
ble about the fibers and shade and water for 
a few days. 
RINGBONE. 
Cl. IF. S., Tfollenberg , Kans .—How should I 
treat a ringbone on the hind leg of my six- 
year-old mure; it came on last, Summer and 
Fall and lames her. 
Ans. —Have a regular veterinary surgeon 
fire and blister the affected limit at once, and 
give two months’ rest at grass; and, if anv 
lameness remains, repeat the operation. If 
there is no competent surgeon at hand, take 
the following ointment, nnd, after clipping 
the hair short,, apply w ith friction:—Cantha- 
ride-s powder, half an ounce; lard, three 
ounces. Secure the animal so that, she cannot 
get her mouth to the blistered limb; give rest 
as in firing, and repeat if necessary. 
REMEDY FOR LICE ON HOGS. 
L. N. T., Opel, Mo .—What is a remedy for 
lice rfn hogs? 
Ans.— Wash the hog all over with crude 
petroleum, and next day give it a thorough 
washing with warm soft water nnd soap, 
using tho scrubbing brush freely. This is as 
good and as easy a way of destroying lice on 
hogs as any of the other ninety-nine. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
C. It. T., fill inelwrk, N. V. —1. The braneht 8 
of some of inv five-year-old apple trees, 
standing on dry ground, are affected with 
the blight; is there a remedy? 8. When trees 
are girdled, should anv of the bark be ro- 
moved? 8. Can anv kind of fruit trees lie gir¬ 
dled to Increase their yield? f. What, will re¬ 
move bunches on a horse’s body, caused by ly¬ 
ing on tho sharp caulks of his shoes last. Win¬ 
ter? 5. How much grain and wheat should 
working oxen have besides liav? fl. What 
should young chicks he fed to prevent gapes? 
Anh. —I. Regarding the death of branches, 
if it is really caused by blight there is no ivm- 
odv hut to cut back to tho sound wood ? 8. Is 
this for promoting fruitfulness? If so. a ring 
of hark from one-eighth to one-half au inch 
should lie removed. As a rule, we do not. fa¬ 
vor this practice, and do not believe it will 
pay, but as an experiment it is interesting. 8. 
Yes. 4. They will disappear of themselves in 
time if t he cause is not repented. Their dis¬ 
appearance mav possibly lie hastened by fre¬ 
quent frictions with a stimulative liniment. 5 
Corn-meal and ground oats in equal quantity 
sufficient to keep them in good order, being in¬ 
creased in proportion to work, A minimum 
feed would be two quarts of the mixture three 
times a day. fi. The fowl has nothing to do 
with t in' gapes, so long ns it is not sour, musty 
or unclean. It is caused by a little worm 
in the throat, which may be removed by in¬ 
troducing a small feather and drawing it out 
with a twist. Chickens that run free rarely 
have the gapes. 
IF. Cl, C ., Yellow Springs, O. —1. My four- 
year-old mare has had, for five weeks, a soft, 
feverish swelling half wav lietwoon the top 
of the nock and the bottom of the shoulder; 
what should be the treatment ? 2. My yearling 
Norman colt apjioars to have the colic all the 
time: he is restless and lies down, frequently 
groaning; how should he bo treated? 8, 
Wlmt are tho cause, preventive nnd remedy 
for gapes in chicks? 4. My 18-yoar-old homo 
passes water with great difficulty i what is a 
remedy? 5. What is tho hostage for “altering’* 
colts and calves? 
Anh.— 1. Tho swelling is duo to pressure of 
tho collar; it cannot be cured while the collar 
is worn. If a breast strap is used so that the 
swelling is not touched or pressed, the mare 
may be worked. A poultice should be applied 
to the swelling until it breaks when it will 
doubtless heal without trouble. 8. Give the 
Colt a pint of linseed oil and repeat it the third 
day, then feed bran mash once a day. Give 
the animal a thorough brushing twice a day. 
A teaspnonful of sulphur In the mash might 
help him. 8. Gapes is caused by the gape 
worm, (Strongylas filar ia). To prevent it never 
keep young chicks upon ground that has been 
fouled bv the old fowls a previous year; or if 
they are so kept the ground should be spaded 
or plowed. For remedies sec last issue in this 
department. 4. It is probable that the horse 
wants cleaning. Give him some scolded bran 
with two ounces of Epsom salts in it each 
night for a week. 5. A colt, should not be 
“altered” until two years old; he then gets a 
good form and the neck and shoulders are 
better developed. Calves may tie altered when 
a mont h or six weeks old. 
D. C., Hermitage Landing, La —1. Have 
my Sharpies*, Capt. Jack and Monarch of the 
West Strawberries been improved by 
by being planted near each other? Are any 
of them pistillate? 2. How can I tell a pistil¬ 
late flower when I see it? 3. What are good 
books on strawberry culture? 4. Where can I 
obtain a small family evaporator; something 
for tho household? 
Ans. —l. Probably not. They'nil bear perfect 
flowers and need no assistance, 8. Pistillate 
flowers have in tho center a little ball of fine 
pistils as large as u small pea. Perfect flow¬ 
ers have, besides, an outside circle, of stamens, 
tho yellow anthers of which are conspicuous 
You have but to look at the two kirn Is to be 
able to toll '‘which is which” at once. 8. Suc¬ 
cess with Small Fruits, by E. P. Ron, pub¬ 
lished by Dodd, Mead ft Co., New- York, 
price ©5; Fuller’s Small Fruit Culturist, Amer¬ 
ican News Co., Now York, price #1.50. 4. 
Write to S. E. A' J. M. Sprout, Muncy. Ly¬ 
coming Co., Pa., for the desired information. 
S. L. fl,, Slacks anil. Whites , Fa,—1. What, 
had I host plant for food for bees in this 
locality'? 2. Where can T get colonies at the 
lowest price? 3. What is the liest hive made 
and what is ‘he cost? 
Ans. —l. The Cow Pea is highly recom¬ 
mended, as is also the Horse Mint (Monarda 
punctata). The Sweet Bay which grows in 
Virginia, is also said to furnish a large amount 
of nectar. See article on Honey Plants in 
Rural of Dee. Ifi, 1882. 2. Write to G. M. 
Doolittle. Borodino, New York. 3. The Tong- 
stroth Hive. Prices range from $2 to $3.50. 
There isn’t a question here which hasn’t been 
answered over and over again within the last 
year. It would save some trouble and delay 
to our friends and much repetition to us, if 
our readers would cither clip out articles con¬ 
taining information they are likely to need soon, 
or, better still, preserve files of the Rural. 
O. II., Fox Lake, III. A week ago while 
dragging with a beam drag, it tipped over on 
the horses from the back end when turning 
around: the team were seared and one of them 
fell on the drag three teeth of which stuck in¬ 
to her hip nnd leg; three days afterwards she 
died, and tilua I lost $175. I want a substitute 
for a drug therefore; is the sulky' harrow a 
reliable tool? Will it do good work in place 
of a drag? Doeait work well in a clay soil; 
Anh. —The Sulky harrow is a reliable tool, 
but it can not lie used for the same purpose ns 
a drag. We use it as a harrow and cultivator. 
Our friend can do no liet tor than to send for 
circulars of thorn advertised and compare | 
them. It would ho well to see one working in 
tho field before pureha'ing. We have never 
t ried a sulky in clayey laud. 
Cl. IP. IF., Clifton, Arizona .—l How does 
Alfalfa compare with clover as a fertilizing 
crop for land ? 2. Which is the better wav to 
sow it—with grain or alone ? 8. Will either 
common. Red or Mammoth Clover do well on 
sandy soil in a moderately' warm and very dry 
climate, if properly irrigated? 
Ans.— I To use as a fertilizer clover is 
most excellent, lielng ranch superior to Alfal¬ 
fa. 2, Sow it alone, at the rate of 20 pounds 
to tin* acre. 8. Tf properly irrigated we 
should think all of them would do well. 
./. D, Mapletnn , Minn. —1. Where can the 
wire mentioned in the Rural of May 12 lie 
obtained? 2. What is the address of tho com¬ 
pany that manufactures the wire used by the 
McCormick Self-Binder? 8. How many 
pounds of flour, junk, lieans, butter, sugar 
nnd potatoes will one man devour in the 
course of a year? 
Ans. I. Roe answer to “Many Subscribers’* 
in the Querist of June 11, under the heading of 
"Steel Rods for Fencing.” 2. We cannot give 
it. Write to the McCormick Co. for it. 3. 
It will depend upon his appetite and the ex¬ 
tent to which he masticate# hi# food and iv> 
quality. Here we make an exception to a rule 
which consigns to the waste paper basket a 
large number of foolish questions. 
fl. F. If., PhtmiitB, N. Y .—Please give the 
address of some reliable paper devoted to Nat 
urn! History. 
Anh.—T he American Naturalist, published 
by McCalla & Stavely, Philadelphia, Pa., is 
the best magazine in tin* country devoted to 
Natural History. Ward’s Natural Science 
Bulletin, published by Prof. H. A. Ward, 
Rochester, N. Y., is a good quarterly. The 
Scientific Canadian, Montreal; The Popular 
Science Monthly, New York and The Jour¬ 
nal of Science, Chicago, Ill., are all first-class 
periodicals. 
/'. IF. C., Waterford, Pa .—How can I kill 
Canada Thistles, Elders, Alders and Golden- 
Rods? 
Ans. —Tho Elders and Alders should bo 
thoroughly dug out and burned. The Canada 
Thistles and Golden-Rods can best he killed 
off by mowing them down with a scythe or 
plowing them under before the seed ripens. 
But if your neighbors grow the latter two 
pests upon land adjacent, to your own. you will 
find it impossible to eradicate them. 
./. If. If., Lawrence , Texas,—t. Where can 
the seed of Sorghum nutans—Indian or Wood 
Grass be bought? 2. W1 at grass makes the 
nicest lawns for Texas? Bermuda is not de¬ 
sirable a.s it takes possession of everything 
around it. 
Ans. —1. It is not offered for sale that wo 
can find. 2. Bermuda is the best we know of. 
Mr. P. J. Bercktnans, of Augusta, Ga., uses 
it for lawns, cuts it with a lawn-mower, and 
likes it. 
L. If., Dansville , Y. Y. — My cucumber and 
melon vines were entirely destroyed last year, 
the roots being perforated by a white worm 
about one-eighth of an inch long; is there any 
remedy ? 
Anh. —This is pirobably the work of the 
Striped Cucumber Beetle. A toaspoonful of 
saltpeter in a gallon of water will make a 
good solution to apply. Pour a pint of It on 
each hill. 
O D., North Salem, N. H .—What is a rem¬ 
edy for black warts on trees? 
Ans.—C ut out the diseased part clean to the 
sound wood as soon as the knots begin to ap¬ 
pear. and burn up all the substance cut out. 
Apply a plaster of grafting wax to the wounds 
and cover with a cloth, or wash with carbolic 
acid, sulphur and lime. 
L. M. L„ Mayfield, N. F.—Will the Ghent 
Azalea stand the Winter in this latitude, and 
how should it be grown? 
Anh. —It stands the Winter here (Rural 
Grounds). It. needs no special care. Any 
good garden soil suits it. Ours nre in bloom 
as we write, carried through tho Winter with¬ 
out protection of any kind. 
./. Q. .4., Three Tons, Pa .—In the Rural 
of May 12, J, R. recommends grafting the 
Quince upon Thorn: what Thom is meant? 
Ans. —The common Hawthorn (Crataegus 
Oxyacanthu) would answer as well as anv. 
There are reasonable grounds for doubt 
whether it is a good stock for the Quince. 
C. .9. .V., Reach Haven : How should wood 
ashes anil hen manure he put.on with corn ? 
■ Ans.—W e should wait until the time to cul¬ 
tivate the corn, then mix both hen manure 
nnd ashes with an equal body of moist earth 
nr dry muck, then at once sow broadcast and 
cultivate. 
C. 9. T., Wat malic Kans.: The fetlock 
joints of my two-year-old colt, slip forward 
while he is walking; what should lie done ? 
Ans,— It is a constitut ional defect. It mav 
possibly mend itself as the colt becomes old, 
but proliablv not. Nothing onn he done for it. 
fl. II., Cilia drove. Col .—What is the ad¬ 
dress of the Superintendent of the Labor 
Bureau at Castle Garden ? 
Ans.—A ddress, Superintendent of Labor 
Bureau, Castle Garden, New York City. 
K. A. T.. Cross Plains. Wis .—Should Vick’s 
Pomegranate be kept, in a pot or set in the 
ground ? 
Ans.—I t grows readily in any ordinary 
good garden soil. 
./. F. d. E. If. C , Savoy, III.— What is the 
address of Sir J. B. Lawes? 
A ns.— Rothamsted, St.. Albans, England. 
IF. /). Van S.. Old Chatham , N. Y .—For 
full account see Rural of November 2, 1878; 
also June 2.8, and August. 5, 1888. 
-——-—-- 
Communications Hkokivkii for the week Ending 
Saturday. Juno 4: 
F. M. L. R. A. O. H. s. p.— h. s. (Kansas), thanks; 
we like such notes—G. P. L., thunks, Glad to hear 
from you T.. M. N.—IT. L. E. t thunk* H. D, M. M. O. 
T. K. H. r*. H. T, H. IT. — L. J.-Mr* M. W.—W. S 
J. H, W. W. E, L. Wo cannot answer hy mall. 
Our frlcmls must excuse us J. L. we are always 
triad to get concise crop reports—A. 7.. T. M. R.—a. 
M. H. H. K. W.-S. S.—B. Calkin*, vorv much 
utilised -L. S. II. K. S. M -L. R. K.-W. W. W.-A. J- 
P.-M. W. F. -M. D. L.-E. P. -\V. H. A T. H. H.-W 
T. C.-K. J. A.—O. W.T. M L.—J. A. N.—C. S. N.. 
It Is trerely a irultlpl* cr— Mrs. J. tb R.-O. D. B - —0 
H.-F. P.-A. C. W. R. F. W E. !>. t,,-G E, F -# 
W. B. -Mrs, David C.. Uiankg -/ f. 
