well, owing to the dry Fall; the rye came up 
better; the flower seeds did well; bloomed 
splendidly, but 1 failed to get much seed, as 
the drought killed them. l. h n. 
Michigan. 
Litchfield, Hillsdale Co.—The Rural 
Union Corn did not grow very tall on account 
of drought; but it had fair sized ears aud 
ripened well. I have about 40 ears for seed. 
The R. N. Y Pea is the earliest I ever saw; it 
ripened so that I planted the second crop of 
seed raised, on July 24; thus I bad two 
crops iu one seasou. The Market Harden Pea 
did not amount to anything. The Harden 
Treasures 1 planted in front of my house, and 
they pi'oved to.tie a treasure, indeed. My 
wife gathered all the seed she could get. The 
tomatoes also proved to be a noble treas¬ 
ure for the table. I could not tell how 
many different kinds there were, and it was 
equally hard to tell which was the nicest or 
the best; yet every thing was cut short by the 
drought. I am highly pleased with the Rural 
seed that I have received I have to day dif 
ferent kinds of wheat, corn, potatoes, oats, and 
other things that the Rural has sent out, that 
I prize very highly, and that are worth all 
that the Rural costs, beside* the abundant 
information it gives about other things, and 
the only sorrow i would ever have would be 
when I could not raise money enough to get 
the good old Rural, and especially since it 
has been pasted and trimmed. G k. 
Yuba, Grand Traverse Co.—The Rural to¬ 
matoes were as fine as any I ever saw. The 
wheat and rye are now sown and looked well 
before they were covered with snow. The 
corn I planted in a lield with eight-rowed 
yellow. It is later than the yellow, but I 
have a few ears that hybridized with the 
yellow, which I will plant next Spring. 
The oats are too late with us, but they made 
a very heavy yield. w. H F. 
Minnesota, 
Freeburgh, Houston Co.— The R. N.-Y. 
Peas were very early and good; Market Gar¬ 
den Peas did well. I saved both kinds for 
set d* The corn was not so heavy as our com¬ 
mon field corn. The oats did well; hut the 
soil was too rich and they fell, and did not 
ripen. The tomatoes were very eood. We 
had some very nice flowers from the Garden 
Treasures. Long live the Rural Nkw- 
Yorker! m. m. 
Nebraska. 
Delta, Otoe Co., Jan. 22.—The Rural 
seeds were all good. The corn did well, and so 
did the peas and tomatoes. The Garden Treas¬ 
ures were as nice a lot of flowers as I ever saw. 
A. A. N. 
North Loup, Valley Co., Jan. 10.—The 
Rural seeds did well. The tomatoes were 
floe, and yielded a tremendous cron. I saved 
the peas for seed. The corn did well; ears 
very large. The Garden Treasures were very 
fine. I have a fine lot of Rural Plush Potatoes 
—a good yield and very few small ones. I 
like this variety very much. Crops were 
good; wheat 20 bushels per acre; oats 40 to 
60: corn 40 to 60; but prices are low; wheat, 
40 cts.; corn, 20 cts.; oats, 15 cts. • potatoes, 
20 cts per bushel. Weather very cold; 27 de¬ 
grees below zero this morning. h. h s. 
Texas. 
Pattonville, Lamar Co.—The Rural seeds 
did finely, except the oats and rye, which I 
planted at the same time—February 26—with 
auti-ru-t oats. The oats grew very fluely, but 
when beginning to head, rusted badly. The 
rye was destroyed by chinch bugs. Of the 
Rural Thoroughbred Corn I raised one-half 
bushel of ears. The peas were 10 days earlier 
than any early variety we had. The toma¬ 
toes proved to be very fine, and we raised 
some very large specimens. The Garden 
Treasures were beautiful, and among them 
were many kinds new to us all. d e r. 
[Every query must be accompanied by theuame 
and address of the writer to Insure attention. Before 
asking a question, please see If it Is not answered In 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions 
atone time.] 
RED water in cattle. 
“ SubscriberNorth Tryon, Canada. — 
What is a remedy for “red water’ in cattle? 
Ans.—R ed water is of two kinds, but these 
can only be distinguished by a critical expert 
examination. One, and the common form of 
it, consists of a brownish-red mutter in the 
urine; the other consists of the presence of 
red blood globules in it. Both are caused by 
disorder of the liver; but tho latter form, 
known as hsematuria, accompanies some feb¬ 
rile diseases in which there are serious disor¬ 
ders of the blood and the kiudeys, such as 
Texan fever; spleuie fever, etc. Usually red 
water is caused by continued indigestion pro¬ 
duced hy the consumption of dry, hard food, 
before the stomach has become used to the 
change; aod also by the fresh, green food in 
Spring after long feeding on dry fodder. 
Smut in the corn fodder also produces this 
disease from irritation of the liver aud kid¬ 
neys. The reason of this is that the undigest¬ 
ed food fills the system with crude, irritating 
matter, which, passing through the liver, dis¬ 
turbs the bilo and loads the blood w-ith impu- 
riiity. This is discharged through the kid¬ 
neys, greatly over-working the organ, and 
causing it to excrete not only the excess of 
nitrogenous matter aud salts from the blood, 
but some of the blood itself. The brown 
matter found in some “red water,” is prob¬ 
ably disorganized hannatin from the blood, 
and consists of broken dowu and decomposed 
red blood globules. Prevention is easily seen 
to be the best “cure,' 1 But when this has been 
neglected, the following simple treatment will 
relieve the animal. Give a pound of Epsom 
salts or a quart of linseed oil (raw), which will 
relieve the bowels and liver; then give flux- 
seed tea with one-ounce doses of sweet spirits 
of niter. The food should be soft aud laxa¬ 
tive—cut hay or clean corn fodder, wetted 
with boiling water and liberally sprinkled 
with meal of oats or corn, and coarse wheat 
middlings or fine bran,aud a warm bran Blop 
once a day. 
HEDGE PLANTS FOR “THE COLD NORTH.” 
J. II. S.,Brantford,Canada -I wish to plant, 
next Spring, a hedge around an orchard of 
16acres; would Russian Mulberry be a suitable 
hedge.' The soil is a light, sandy loam on one 
side, and on the other a black loam with a 
yellow sandy loam subsoil. The thermometer 
sometimes goes down to 20 degrees below 
zero. If the Russian Mulberry isn't, what is? 
ANSWEHKD BY T. H. HOSKINS, NEWPORT, VT. 
The best wind-break iu our cold climate is 
an evergreen one. This gives protecti nwhen 
most needed, which deciduous trees do not. 
Buckthorn is hardy, but not sufficiently vigor¬ 
ous. Spruce, especially the White spruce 
(Picea alba) makes an excellent hedge, and, 
grows fast. So does hemlock, but hemlock in 
an exposed place will winter kill at tempera¬ 
tures lower than 20 degrees below zero. In 
some places Arbor-vita; is winter-killed, but 
not by cold as much as by damp winds. Ttiis 
killing is most common near the sea In 
Northern Vermont Arbor-vita; seems uever 
to be injured, and it grows very rapidly, even 
in a dry, poor soil, if, when a youug orchard 
is set, the rows are run north-ease and south¬ 
west, or nearly in these directions, aud an 
Arbor-vitae hedge is set between every three 
rows, the trees will be well protected from 
the wind. The Arbor vitae does not seem to 
injure the soil perceptibly for the fruit trees. 
I have seen orchards where the hedges had 
become 30 feet high, and so wide at the bot¬ 
tom that the nearest row of fruit trees (apples 
and pears) seemed to spring out from the edge 
of the hedge, yet the trees were large, thrifty, 
and productive, and the fruit very fine. I 
think it best to have no cross hedges, as they 
prevent a proper circulation of air, and ex¬ 
perience has shown that they are quite un¬ 
necessary. 
TUMORS ON A HORSE.—COUGH IN A COW. 
li. T T., Shunjnke, N. Y.—For two years, 
bunches from one to two inches long have ap¬ 
peared on the breast of my horse; otherwise 
he is always in good condition; what should 
be done for him? 2. What should be the 
treatment of a cow troubled with a persistent 
cough, which does not seem to affect her 
health generally. It appears to be in her 
throat. 
Ans.—T hese tumors are probably due to the 
chafing of the collar upon the skin of an ani¬ 
mal constitutionally disposed to this cutaneous 
disease. The tumors shoo Id be dressed with 
chloride of antimony ointment, or with a 
solution of nitrate of silver, or with iodine 
ointment. It would be advisable to give the 
animal a lung course of alterative medicine, 
as one ounce of hyposulphite of soda daily for 
a mouth. 2. The cough is probably due to irri¬ 
tation of the throat, or chronic bronchitis. 
Give one dram of chlorate of potash finely 
powdered and mixed with molasses, spread 
this on the back part of the tongue, so that it 
is slowly swallowed, once a day for a month. 
Give twice a week, for two weeks, one pint of 
raw linseed oil and one ounce of turpentine in 
the morning one hour before feeding. 
RUPTURE IN HEIFER. 
H. C U., Fulton, N, Y .—What ails my 
heifer? She was one year old last Spring, and 
is supposed to be “coming in.” There is a 
soft swelling under the middle of the belly. 
It does not seem to bo sore; but feels like a 
bag of fluid under the skin, which seems to be 
loose over an area several inches in diameter. 
Ans.— This is a rupture or hernia, and from 
its position seems to be umbilical, or con¬ 
nected with the naval. The right treatment 
is to turn the animal on its back, and when 
the intestine is returned into the abdomen to 
fasten a pair of clamps over the loose skin 
and bring it together so as to close the open 
iug into the peritoneum, or lining membrane 
of the abdomen, in which the rupture exists. 
The clamps are fixed tightly and firmly with 
strong waxed cord, and hold the skin together 
until it grows into contact at the edges, when 
the loose skin and the clamps fall off. It may 
be that a bandage with a pressure pad placed 
over the part tnay be effective, as the animal 
is young; but the clamps are certain. 
FERTILIZER QUERIES. 
F. A. B., Backdate, Mass. —1. What is the 
analysis of cotton seed meal and its value as 
a fertilizer? 2. What is the cheapest form iu 
which to buy potash and phosphoric acid t 
Ans.— 1. It contains from five to nine per 
cent, of nitrogen; from two to three per cent, 
of phosphoric acid, and from one and-oue-half 
to three per cent, of potash; and is worth from 
$25 to $30 per too. as a fertilizer; but it is 
poor economy to use it first for that purpose, 
as by being fed to stock in connection with 
other foods, it loses but comparatively little of 
its manural value, while a large proportion of 
its cost can be secured iu the increased value 
of the animal fed. 2. The cheapest form in 
which to buy phosphoric acid is in pure South 
Carolina Rock; next, in bone dust; but, un¬ 
fortunately, in these forms it is so firmly lock¬ 
ed up with lime as to be insoluble, aud thus 
unavailable for plant food, and one must pay 
more for it in the form of the best brand of 
acid phosphate, for the sake of having it 
available. The forms in which potash may 
most easily be obtained are muriate, sulphate 
and kainit, and they contain respectively 
about 50 per cent, 25 per cent, and 12j^ per 
cent of pure potash, and by finding the price 
at which they are sold aud taking into account 
the cost of transporting au equivalent 
amount of each for the actual quantity of 
potash in it, you can easily and accurately 
tell which is the cheapest. 
TESTS AT THE RURAL GROUNDS 
W, M., Mt. Chiliad, o.—l. In testing new 
kinds of potatoes at the Rural Grounds, what 
is done with the surplus, as nothing is sold 
at the Rural Office but the paper? 2. 1 
have three new kinds to be tested, the coming 
season; what amount had I better send to get 
a fair test, und how soon? 
Aus.—1. New potatoes come to us in small 
quantities. We select a small box of each at 
harvest, label them and arrange them in the 
cellar to show to visitors, and also to judge of 
their eating and keepiug qualities. The rest 
ure all thrown together and eaten by the 
family. We sell nothing to our subscribers 
but the R. N.-Y. Were we to advertise iu 
our own columns the crops or trees or shrubs 
or seeds which we raise, we should consider 
the Rural, to that exteut, a so called trade 
paper. Trade papers are legitimate; we have 
nothing to say against them; but we must not 
look to them for disinterested advice as to the 
articles they offer for sale. 2. Three pounds 
will answer. It will be necessary for you to 
name the three kinds. It will occut to you 
at once that our reports of potatoes under 
numbers merely, can be of no value to our 
readers. 
JOHNSON GRASS. 
M. C A., Augusta, Mich— When a field 
under Johnson Grass is plowed up aod sown 
to wheat, oats or corn, will the gruss be likely 
to prove troublesome? Would it make a good 
pasture on rather light soil? Would it pay 
to plow it under as a green manure, like 
clover? 
Ans.— Our readers must remember that the 
Johnson Grass has never been tried in the 
North on a large scale. The Rural has just 
ascertained that it is hardy. Iu the South the 
roots tako possession of the soil, aud it is a 
diflicult matter to kill them with the imper¬ 
fect implements there in use. With the thor¬ 
ough cultivation given our corn crop, we 
should not fear as to killing the Johnson 
Grass. What the effect of fall plowing iu the 
North would be is yet to be fouud out. How 
long it will last in a given Held would depend 
upon the richness of the soil. We know ot no 
reason why it should not make a good pasture. 
The roots penetrate deep in the soil, the fleshy' 
root-stocks forming nearer the surface. We 
should, therefore, suppose it would, like 
clover, bring up the nitrogen from the lower 
strata of the soil. 
THE HAIR ON AN ANIMAL. 
T. B. N , Crookston. Minn.— What will re¬ 
store the hair removed from a horse’s leg by 
lye, the sore caused by the alkaline, having 
healed? 
Ans. —The hair grows from bulbous roots 
which are plauted iu the dermis, or true skin, 
* under the epidermis or outer aud insensible 
skin. The glands which nourish the hair are 
called the hair follicles* By the application 
of any caustic substance—as the lye used in 
this case—the skiu and the hair follicles may 
be destroyed and when destroyed cannot be 
replaced. If iu this case, the destruction has 
not been complete, the growth may be re¬ 
stored by the use of a stimulant, such as 
alcohol, to which should be added one-fortieth 
part of its bulk of tincture of cantharides. 
But the restoration of the hair is very un¬ 
certain. 
PLANTING AND CULTIVATING CORN. 
H. D. H., Piercetown, Ind.—l. How far 
apart should corn be drilled iu in the row, 
and how far apart should the rows be? 2. 
What implement will kill the weeds and 
keep the ground level when the com is up? 
Ans. —Let the rows be the same distance 
apart as for hill culture, ami plant the grains 
from 12 to 16 inches apart in the row. accord- 
ing to the variety of corn, the distance apart 
being greater for the larger than for the 
smaller kinds. 2. A harrow with slanting 
teeth, after the style of the smoothing harrow-, 
is a good tool, and should be used as soon as 
the corn begins to appear. It should be used 
about three times before the corn is six inches 
high. This will effectually keep the weeds 
down to this time, and then auy shallow-work¬ 
ing cultivator can be run close to the rows, 
and will render hand aud hoe work unneces¬ 
sary, or nearly so. 
TOUGH, HOLLOW-STEMMED CELERY. 
J. G. M, Brookfield , W. T .—For two years 
I have plauted several kinds of celery, and 
always find them tough and most of the stalks 
hollow. Why this toughness and “hollow¬ 
heartedness,” and what is a preventive? 
Ans—T he great trouble with celery grow¬ 
ing is that the plants, at one stage of growth 
or another, are permitted to suffer for water. 
This invariably causes tough and hollow 
stalks. Keep the plants growing from the 
time they appear aboveground in theseed bed. 
Transplant them to rich soil—give them water 
as often as they need it, aud give it in abun¬ 
dance, and you will have teuder, plump celery. 
Miscellaneous. 
W. C. B., Bardolph, III. —1. When and how 
should apple seeds be planted? 2. How old 
should the apple stock be for budding or 
grafting? 3. How can strawberry plants be 
raised from the seed? 4. When and how 
should Russian Mulberry seedliugs two to four 
feet high, be set out' 8. Is stable manure 
good to put around small trees? 
Ans. —1. Plant as soon as possible in Spring 
in rows three feet apart, the rows being six 
inches wide nml a half inch deep; keep clean 
and well cultivated. 2. One or two years, 
the proper age depending upon the size of the 
seedlings 8 If you have seed now, plant it 
in boxes of fine, light loam, and keep them iu 
a cold place till towards Bpring. Then they 
may be kept in a sunny window or green - 
house, care being taken that they bo not 
allowed to dry up aud that they be not watered 
so much as to mold—damp off. When 
they have made three or four leaves and the 
weather is suitable, plant them into rich soil, 
two feet apart eacd wuy, and keep them well 
cultivated all Summer. 4. Plant them in the 
same way us auy other tree, as soon as pos¬ 
sible In Spring. 5. Yes, if not piled too 
closely about the trunks. 
C. K., Sinclaireville, N. Y .— 1* My straw 
berries, set last Bpring, have some plantain 
and sorrel in the rows, not matted, shall 1 
take them out or leave them until after fruit¬ 
ing? 2. What is the standing of R. V. Pierce 
of the World’sDispensary.of Buffalo? 3. Where 
can 1 procure Pekin ducks’ eggs near here? 4. 
Is N. D. Batterson, of Mt. Jewet, Pa., manu¬ 
facturer of fruit packages, reliable? 5. What 
makes the best package? 
Ans. —1. Hoc and weed them verv r early, dis¬ 
turbing the plants as little as possible, 2. R. 
V. Pierce had a good business standing before 
his bankruptcy over a year ago. The com¬ 
pany that now advertises largely under his 
name, will fill whatever orders it may secure; 
hut we do not indorse the claims made for the 
goods. 3. From W. E. Overton, Bridgehamp- 
ton, N, Y ; R. Vuinlerhoven, Rahway, N. J.; 
Evans & Guthrie, Homer City, Pa., or Jones 
& Wilcox, East Chatham, N. Y. 4. He is not 
there; his works burned up and he is not now 
manufacturing. 5. ThoDisbrow Manufactur¬ 
ing Co.,Rochester,N. Y.,make a good package. 
\V. li., Long Pine, Neb. — Will Chester 
County Mammoth Corn do well as far north 
us this place— latitude between parallels 42 
aud 43? IIow car one got rid of Johusou 
GrasB when the laud is to be used for some¬ 
thing else? 3 Which is tho best large corn 
for this latitude, und where can it be got? 
Ans— 1. Chester Co. Mammoth Corn would 
not ripen there. Last season was the first we 
discovered it to be hardy at the Rural 
Grouuds. Iu harder Winters it may not prove 
