IPT 45 
@44 
ably closed tightly, and separate them there 
by pinching them apart. Give the cow every 
day half an ounce of hyposulphite'of soda as 
an antiseptic. 2. Bush beans will not turn to 
running beans; your seed must have been 
mixed. 3. Chufas are greatly overrated, just 
as artichokes are; a great deal more feed can 
be produced by a crop of potatoes and corn. 
These two mixed in feeding will be more 
healthful than corn alone. 
COMPOST. 
C. D .«/., Ripestone, Mich .—What is a com¬ 
post? I have plenty of cow and horse manure, 
straw, etc., how can 1 make a compost from 
them for an onion bed? 
Ans.—A compost is a mi xture or composition 
of various manuring substances for fertilizing 
land. It may be made of almost any animal 
and vegetable substance, with lime or other 
inorganic fertilizers. The compost heap should 
be in a high and dry place, and be five or six 
feet high, in order that the rains which fall 
upon it may not leach it and carry away its 
valuable properties. In making the heap, a 
layer of muck or good loam should be first 
started, which may be six inches or a foot 
deep. Upon this should be placed an equal 
layer of horse manure upon which may be 
thrown and mixed with the manure, straw, 
leaves, and cow manure. Then auother layer 
of muck may be used followed by manure, the 
process being repeated until all is used. To 
each load of manure should be added 25 pounds 
of plaster. A fter forming the heap it should 
be covered with muck or loam. Too rapid 
fermentation may be guarded against by 
making the heap in October. Finely ground 
bone will make a valuable addition to the heap. 
NAVICULAR DISEASE. 
P. S., Dtmncille, U«.: One of my horses 
has become lauie in the fore-leg without any 
apparent cause. There is no inflammation, 
and I caD’t tell whether the trouble is in the 
foot or leg. The animal has been lame for 
three months but shows it only when walk¬ 
ing on hard ground. What is likely to be 
the matter? 
Ans. —The trouble is doubtless in the foot, 
and consists of inflammation, and perhaps 
ulceration, of the navicular, or coffin-bone. 
This disease is indicated by the exhibition «»f 
lameness when a horse is trotting down hill, 
or by pointing the toe and lifting the leg 
forward when at rest. The outward symp¬ 
toms are by no means plain to lie perceived. 
There are dryness and heat of the hoof and 
some heat around the coronet and at the 
heels. The sole and lieeU are tender when 
pressed or struck. The treatment should be 
to poultice the whole foot, especially at the 
heels, and after the heat is reduced to apply 
blister to the coronet. Give the horse a pint of 
linseed oil and repeat the third or fourth day. 
ERGOTISM IN A MARE. 
P. A., Tipton, In .—My ono-ycar-old Allies 
showed signs of “horsing” in Spring and Sum¬ 
mer,and on J uly 1 one of them was found lying 
down with the ulva pressed out in a bunch as 
large as a pint cup; shortly afterwards she 
was found dead with half a bushel of the 
bowels protruding. Another Ally is similarly 
affected; what should be the treatment? 
Ans.—T his trouble is due to ergotism, or the 
effect of ergot or smut. The tr eatment should 
consist of cold water applications to the parts 
and of course very careful avoidance of the 
cause, The ergot may be on the grass, or the 
colts may have got smut from com or from 
grass, which is uot imcommon iu wet seasons. 
The treatment for ergotism is to get the 
poison out of the system as quickly as possible 
by giving active purgatives, as Epsom salt iu 
a dose-of eight ounces for a colt, dissolved in 
warm water. Also give tonics afterwards us 
half drachm doses of sulphate of copper with 
one drachm of powdered gentian root. This 
should be done nt the earliest stages. 
PASTURING MEADOW IN THE FALL. 
H, 0., Coui'tlaiultonm, N. Y: A neighbor 
asks permission to pasture bis cattle on my 
meadow (Timothy, Orchard Grass and clover) 
until snow comes, saying that the droppings 
will compensate for the grass eaten. 1 do not 
cut a second crop and the meadow is in good 
condition. 1 am inclined to refuse as I think 
it will seriously hurt next year’s crop. Am I 
vigilt. y and if so, ichy? 
Ans. - As a general rule, it’s best not to pas¬ 
ture a meadow. The second growth or after- 
math makes a protection to the crowns of the 
plants and to the roots in Winter, and in the 
Npriug it decays and enriches the ground. The 
lust result could be obtained by feeding it off, 
but the droppings of the stock would not be so 
evenly distributed as the original covering. 
No meadows (and this applies especially to 
one of Timothy or Orchard Grass) can be made 
permanent when fed off in the Aiitumu. Those 
grasses require all the protection that they can 
get. Orchard Grass may 1«> fed, being of 
rapid growth, provided time is given to make 
a good aftermath before cold weat her. 
CORN-SMUT. 
C. H. H. y St. Albans, FC—What causes 
*n*Ht on coru, aud what is a remedy i 
Ans. —Smut is a fungus growth, known to 
botanists as Ustilago mayclis. It manifests it¬ 
self by abnormal growths upon various parts 
of the plant, but more frequently it attacks 
the growing grain. A single kernel will 
sometimes be found transformed into a sort 
grayish, fungoid mass as large as an egg or 
larger. This, when broken open, will be 
found to contain a blackish powder—the 
spores. This disease is uot only destructive to 
the corn, but dangerous to the animals that 
eat it. It is claimed that animals have died 
from eating coru thus affected, that mules fed 
upon corn thus diseased lose their hoofs, and 
that it produces abortion upon cows. Ergo¬ 
tism, noticed elsewhere iu this Department, Ls 
one of its not infrequent effects. For a reme¬ 
dy we know of nothing better than thorough 
drainage, (as the disease is more likely to be 
prevalent in wet seasons.) good culture, high 
manuring, and a judicious rotation, so that 
corn may not be planted upon the same laud 
more than two successive years. 
TOWER FROM PULLEY TACKLE. 
F. P., Muskegon, Mich. —1. How much power 
would be acquired by hitching one horse to a 
chain, the chain to be attached to the block A, 
Fig. 633, run over pulley B. uuder pulley block 
A, up again and oyer pulley C, dowu again 
under pulley D, the horse to be attached to 
the chain at E ? 2. What is the best shape of 
a gralshook for pulling out roots ami bushes ? 
Axs.—1. Where a rope runs over two single 
pulleys, the gain in power is double, because 
twice as much length of rope is drawn as the 
load Is raised. With four ropes over the pul¬ 
leys the gain is fourfold, aud so on, the gain 
being in exact proportion as the length of 
draft rope is to bight hoisted. A horse-power 
is equal to 150 lbs. raised over a single pulley. 
Tackle of this kind may be used to pull stumps, 
but not so well as the lever recently described 
in these columns. 2. A grab-hook for holding 
the stump should be made of the form shown 
iu Figure 634. The point is driven into the 
stump and the chain is loojied to the ring. 
TREATMENT OF OLD HORSES. 
Ik O B., Etta, Wis.: Whnt ails my 20-year- 
old horse? He hauled manure all right a few 
days ago, but after a Sunday rest, he seemed 
loose-jointed on Monday, and walked as if 
drunk. He eats well and looks all right in the 
eyes. 
Ans, —It is necessary to be very careful of 
a horse of this age, because his digestion will 
begin to fail and this is what is the matter 
with him. Give him bran mashes frequently; 
feed no corn, but oats steeped in hot water 
over-night and with a handful of linseed 
added. Water hiui always 15 minutes before 
eating aud never soon after, aud see that the 
collar does not press ou las ueck. Do not pull 
him hard and give him resting spells. A horse 
of this age is about the same as a man of TO 
and should be treated about the same. If this 
is doue he may be good for some years yet. 
WOOD-ASHES FOR STRAWBERRIES. 
II. K. } Kansas City, Mo ,—How much ashes 
should t>e put on an acre of strawberries, aud 
when should they' be put on ? 
Ans. —Even unleached ashes vary consider¬ 
ably in strength. Much also depends upon the 
character of the subsoil. It this is porous, the 
ashes if applied in excess will In' likely to 
leach downward beyoud the reach of the roots 
of the plants. If, on the other hand, the sub¬ 
soil Ls retentive, there is little danger of au 
excessive dressing. A bushel of Unleached 
ashes upon a square rod of ground will be au 
abundant dressing for a siugle year, but if the 
subsoil will retain it, six or eight times that 
amount may lie applied without danger, while 
the good effect will bo observable for several 
years. If the ashes have been leached, a very 
much larger amount should be used. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
F. K. P , Delat'dn. H is, .• 1, How often will it 
do plants good to hoe them, aud what time of 
day is best? I have always heard that the 
best time was 1" ’"<”T*iug when the 
dew is on. 2, In what Entomological publi 
cation can I best learn about friendly insects 
We want to know our insect friends as wel 
as foes? 
Ans. —1, On general principles we should 
uot disturb the soil when moist. There is no 
reason that we can discover why plants 
should he hoed “when the dew is on.” The 
objects of hoeing are to loosen the soil and to 
destroy weeds. Both are effected better by 
hoeing when the soil is dry. 2, The frieudly 
in sects are those that, prey upon the injurious 
ones, and all good works on entomology treat of 
these, such as Harris’s Insects Injurious to Veg¬ 
etation, 84 aud 8G.50; Packard's Guide to the 
Study of Insects, $6; Saunder’s Insects Injuri¬ 
ous to Fruit Trees, $8, or au excellent little 
work, Mrs. Treat’s Injurious Insects of the 
Farm aud Garden, 81 50. All can be had 
through t he next bookstore or the American 
News Co., N. Y. 
M. II., Piedmont, Ohio: 1, Is it injurious to 
land to plow aud barrow it when it is very 
dry? 2, What is the best season to cut oak 
trees for shingles aud for fence posts? 
Ans. —1, It will not injure land to work it 
when very’ dry so much as when it is too web 
Farmers say when land is very dry, “it kills 
it” to work it, that is, makes it the opposite of 
light and active, or pulverizable, while when 
wet it becomes packed and lumpy. 2, The 
climate of the United States is so variable that 
it would be quite impossible to fix this time by 
a general rule. Timber cut in the seasou when 
vegetation is suspended, or in deciduous 
species, when the leaves a re off and the growth 
of the year is ended, lasts longer, and seasons 
more readily, than if cut when the tree is full 
of sap in the active season of growth. All 
timber that is to be peeled, must lie cut iu the 
early part of the Summer, as it will season 
then better than if the bark bad been left. On. 
Timber for hoop-poles should never be cut 
when tiie bark will peel, as their utility and 
value will be lessened. For fence posts and 
shingles, probably the wood will be in better 
condition to ent from November 1, to March 
1, than at any’ other period. 
A. II., JBayport, L. N. Y. —Long Island 
farmers use au immense quantity of sea weed 
mixed with barnyard manure. We can get it 
for 15 cents per one-horse load. Is it suitable 
for a sandy loam ? Are mussels and fish good 
for land, or would it be better to buy artificial 
fertilizers t 
Ans.— We should use au immense quantity 
of sea weed at that price if we didn’t have to 
draw it too far. We have seen fine crops of 
potatoes grown from its use alone. We have 
given au analysis in previous numbers. Our 
land is a sandy loam. Mussels aud fish are 
both excellent fertilizers. The price must de¬ 
termine the quantity to be used. We should 
all be more careful as to the use of chemical 
fertilizers than we are. Though they may 
give good returns on one farm, they’ may fail 
on auother. 
S’. I?., Grand Junction.—1. About a year 
ago my horse bad pink-eye, aud now his eyes 
run badly, aud he keeps them closed a good 
deal. What should be done tor him i 2 4 Af¬ 
ter plowing uuder corn fodder for wheat, how 
long should the ground rest before sowing l 
Ans —1. Give the horse one ounce of hypo¬ 
sulphite of soda daily. Bathe the eyes with a 
solution of two grains of sulphate of ziue iu 
one ounce of water, aud inject some of it into 
the eyes with a glass syringe. Cover the eyes 
with a shade while the horse is at work, so 
that they are protected from the sun and 
light. 2. It is a bad practice to turn so coarse 
a crop as corn fodder under for wheat. 
Wheat will not do well with a loose soil under 
it. The ground should now lie rolled thor¬ 
oughly and made as solid as possible. Then 
the surface should lie harrowed so as not to 
disturb the bottom. Leave the sow-iug to the 
latest possible. 
b. B. L ., Saxton’s River, Vt. —1. Last year 
my’ celery was fine-lookiug, but the stalks 
were nearly all hollow; will clipping the tops 
prevent tins? 2. Will bone meal bo better than 
ashes for straw berries? 3. How much ashes 
should he used for strawberries? 
Ans. —1. The celery was checked at some 
stage of its grow th, probably by drought. 
No, clipping the tops would uot remedy it. 
This would merely induce a stockier growth. 
2. We would uot use bone meal on strawber¬ 
ries at all. It dissolves too slowly. Fine bone 
flour or perhaps superphosphate would be bet¬ 
ter. 3. We new! scarcely’ be afraid of using 
too much wood ashes. This question is 
answered at greater length elsewhere in this 
Department. 
./. G. K., Providence, B. 1 .—What should 
be the treatment of imperfectly grown quinces 
affected with a yellow rust? Is salt a useful 
application for quinces? 
Ans. —The yellow rust upon the fruit is 
doubtless the fungus so common upon the 
quince, and which sometimes extends even 
upon the wood. The only remedy is in the 
nature of a preventive— to prevent the dis¬ 
semination of the spores (seeds) by cutting 
away the affected part as soon as discovered, 
and burning it. at once. Quinces are said 
to like salt. They certainly like moisture 
and coolness, which may’, to some extent, be 
secured by the application of salt to the soil. 
Care must, however, be had not to use 
it in excess. 
W. IF. R., Lewiston, Mo.: I am trying to 
“mix” Blount's Prolific Coru with an earlier 
sort w ith a view’ to getting an earlier and 
better-shaped variety while retaining the pro¬ 
lificness of the Blount; am I likely to succeed 
better by gathering the seed from the Blount 
stalks or from the other ones? 
Ans. —We do not know there would be any 
difference whether the selection was made 
from the female or male plant. Should prefer 
the mother plant to be the earlier variety. 
G. D., Bunker Hill. Ill,: sends plants for 
name, one of which is said to tic- a daisy. 
Ans. —The grass Ls Drop-seed Nimble Will 
—Muhlenltergia diffusa—well-known in Ken¬ 
tucky’ and Tennessee, where it forms pastures 
of some value. Cattle eat it readily. The so- 
called daisy is not the Ox-eye Daisy, but the 
plant w as so badly broken up when we received 
it, that we cannot name it- It belongs to the 
Composite*, however. The w eed is Pig-weed 
—Chenopodium album. 
C. A. B. M.,Mas8ey, Md .—How fardo roots 
of wheat, clover and corn go into the ground? 
Ans.—T he roots of clover have been known 
to go six or eight feet deep. The depth de¬ 
pends somew’hat upon the nature of the subsoil 
and the degree of moisture. This year being 
very wet. they were found only about two feet 
deep. Wheat and oats often send down a 
portion of their roots to the depth of four 
feet or more, June Grass the same. Corn is 
even more of a surface feeder than wheat, but 
occasionally’ its roots are found three or four 
feet deep. 
E. H. C., Ottawa, Kansas: How long should 
pop-c-orn be allowed to dry before popping? 
What is the best variety of pop-corn? 
Ans. —Pop-corn should be thoroughly’ dry to 
pop well. It is not a question of time but of 
condition. A dry room is the proper place to 
cure it—uot in the sun or by artificial heat. 
Rice Corn is one of the best varieties as it pops 
well and is tender. Small white and yellow 
are good and yield well. 
G. C. M., Annapolis, Md,: How are Gladio¬ 
lus and Tube-rose bulbs kept over Winter? 
Ans. —They should be carefully dug and re¬ 
moved to some cool, dry place, where there is 
no danger of freezing. In such a place they 
will easily’ keep. All soil should be shaken 
from them. Before bringing them into the 
house it is best to dry them in the sun for a 
few hours. 
T, F. F., Jay, X. Y.: Where can I get a 
good work on farming—practical and compre¬ 
hensive? 
Ans.—N o really good work of the kind is 
published. A yearly volume of any good ag¬ 
ricultural paper would contain much better 
information and much more of it, than any 
work of the kind published in this country, 
.V. Q. R., Gustavus, O .—1. What is the ad¬ 
dress of Professor Budd, of Iowa ? 2. Is Rex 
Magnus as good a preservative as is claimed ; 
Ans. —1, Prof. J. L. Budd, Ag. Col., Ames, 
Iowa. 2. Rex Magnus is indorsed by Prof. S. 
W. Johnson, and no better indorsement could 
be given. We were the first to denounce the 
Ozone humbug. 
G. M. IF., 6on.:ales, Texas. —What is the 
relative value of com fed dry and boiled in 
the ear for the purpose of fattening cattle? 
Ans. —There would bo so little difference 
that it would not pay to boil the corn. In 
feeding coni iu the ear it is best to feed it in 
the husk as it will lie better masticated. 
C. E. F.. Braintree, Mass. —Now that my 
raspberries hav e finished beariug, is it a geod 
time to cut out old canes ? 
Ans. —Many’ good small fruit growers think 
that it is best to cut out the old canes after 
fruiting. We aim to cut in the early Fall. 
V. C ., Venangoboro, Fa. —Where can I get 
the Surprise wheat ? 
Ans.—F rom Hugh L. Wysor, Newbern, Va., 
if at all. 
O. S., Amisonia, Mo. —Is the Waterburv 
Watch Company’a reliable concern? 
Ans.—Y es. 
Communications Received for the week Ending 
Saturday, Sept. S. 
T. D. C.—A. J. C.—Emma M.-T. J. W.—II. S. - C. & 
A. -J. K. McM.-B. M. J,—W. H. S.-C.E., Jr —C. F. 
F. —E. S. M.. wt'.’havf forwarded your questions to 
Mr. Chamberlain.-H./S.-J. M. H-W. A. Clark, 
thanks—M, W. F.-.l. R*E.-M.:W.—L.JO. G.-R. G. 
Oreenloar, thanks for seed potatoes E. N. L.—M. M. 
W. Q. R.-II. A, O.-W, J.;R, 0.,A.„ B.-D. R.-L. R. 
G. —O. H. A.—J. V. C., Jr.-R. D. W.-M, B. A.-R. 
W.—L. C — H, ti.—A. C. E.—EmmnM. W. G.—A. R. 
— •HortutUS’*-P. C. A. R.-J.,r.C—l>.B.— M S.K- 
K. F. D.-W D. B.-W.S.-H. M.-I. J -E. E 8.-E J 
B. -W, H. R -J. P -L. W. B.-W. W. K„ thanks-H. 
A. C.-B. C. B—C. D—H, A. E., thanks, yea.—Rose¬ 
bud Thorne—B. E. G.—J. H.—D< P;—P.C.—H. M. L.— 
A. R.-O. M 
