425 
SypPLEHEUT 
NEW-YORKER. 
■ E^er? query must be accompanied by thename 
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at one time,] 
{Continued from page 133 ) 
AILING ANIMALS. 
IF. U. H., Wellington. Ohio. —1. A cow of 
mine dropped her calf live or six days ago. 
The day she ‘ came in’ a swelling half the 
size of a man’s head appeared on her breast. 
It still remains; what is it? 2. A mare of 
mine has been more or less severely lame at 
irregular intervals for over two years. The 
muscles around the point of the shoulder are 
shrunken; what ails her? 3. What is the best 
remedy for lice on cattle—one that can be 
easily applied in cold weather? 
A ns.— 1. This swelling is not connected with 
the ‘coming in” of the cow. If is probably 
the result of an injury, and perhaps maybe 
caused by a splinter forced into the part. It 
should be fomented with hot water, wiped 
dry and immediately rubbed with some active 
liniment. 2. The cause of lameness is, no 
doubt, in the foot; but it cannot be correctly 
known without a better description, if the 
foot is pointed forward and rested on the toe, 
the trouble is inflammation of the navicular 
bon*, which is tue most common of all the 
diseases of the horse’s foot, because of the 
very common mistake made iu cutting away 
the frog and removing the natural protection 
of ttie most delicate part of the horse's whole 
system, and the point upon which the whole 
weight ot the body is borne. If the lameness 
iu the foot is removed, the shoulder w ill soon 
com* right, again. Examine the foot, and if 
the sole is tender when struck with a hammer, 
or the horse flinches when the hollow of the 
heel is pressed with the thumb, then poultice 
the foot with hot linseed meal, and then ap¬ 
ply a strong liniment around the coronet and 
on the hollow of the heel, 3 Strong tobacco 
water in which some sulphur has been digest¬ 
ed at a neat near bailing, for 12 hours, with 
frequent stirring, will free calves from lice. 
Apply it to the poll of the head, along the (op 
of the neck and spine, on the brisket and un¬ 
der the legs where the vermin most abound; 
or better still rub the animals with brushes 
saturated with a mixture of kerosene and 
tried pork fat, equal parts. Mercurial oint¬ 
ment should not be used at this season. 
MANURE QUERIES, ETC. 
C. S. C., Sweetsburg, P. Q. — l. Can two 
crops of clover be taken off uud the ground 
plowed in October, and what crop will grow 
best on a clover sod? 2 How much barnyard 
manure should bespread broadcastouau acre 
to produce the best corn crop, alone, aud 
helped with plaster aud ashes? 3. How much 
laud ought the manure made from 1« cattle, 
old and young, three horses, 12 sheep, two 
hogs and 30 fowls, fertilize? 4. How much 
corn should be fed to 12 sheep in connection 
with good Timothy hay, to bring them through 
in good lambing condition, and then how 
much to keep them iugood milkiug order? 
Ans. —1. If the lund is suflieiontly rich, 
there should be no trouble in getting two 
crops of the medium clover in a season. We 
often get two in time to plow aud sow wheat 
on the sod by Sept. 20th. Corn, roots and 
wheat uII do splendidly following clover. 2. 
Everything depends upon the kind of soil and 
its richness In a general way, too much 
could uot be applied; but If the land is a light 
sand and much more was put on than needed 
by the corn, much of its value would lie lost. 
It is safe to use from 10 to 30 loads. A little 
experimenting is the best guide. Where hard¬ 
wood ushes can be bought for eight to ten 
cents per bushel, apply from 50 to 100 bushels 
per acre, aud see how they will muke the 
clover grow. 3 That much stock, properly 
fed aud bedded, if the rnunure is properly 
saved and applied, should make enough for 
from 10 to 12 acres—a good coat. 4 Timothy 
&ay is uot nearly so good as clover for sheep; 
but whichever they get, they should have a 
daily feed of roots. With this and good shel¬ 
ter, three quarts of corn should keep them 
thriving; after lambing, give the same quan¬ 
tity of coru mixed with us much wheat bran. 
“curing” pork and beef. 
IF, F. s., Anthony. —Whac is the process of 
curing meat —pork and beef—dry-salted and in 
brine? 
Ans.—I n curing pork, first see that it is 
thoroughly cooled. Cut into proper size, and 
for curing in brine first coat the bottom of the 
barrel heavily with pure salt; the solar or 
coarse is the best; but good tine salt will an¬ 
swer; then place the meat ou the edge, com¬ 
mencing next to the sides of the barrel, and 
place the rind out, or next the staves. Con¬ 
tinue in this manner, with the rind always on 
the ou ter side and packing as closely as possi ble, 
until the course is full. Next cover this course 
a half inch thick with salt., taking pains that 
all interstices are filled. Pack the meat thus, 
layer after layer, until the barrel is full. On 
the top place an iuch-and-a-balf of salt, and 
put in the upper head, if one is to be used. 
Next, fill the barrel with brine made with 
well water and as much saltasit will dissolve, 
the whole having been boiled, skimmed and 
allowed to cool. If the barrel be kept full of 
brine, and the meat in open barrels be kept 
down by weights or otherwise, it will keep as 
good as new any length of time desired; but if 
it is to be kept more than one year, it is a good 
plan to draw off the brine in tbe first Spring 
after packing; boil and skim it, and after it 
has become cold, poor it back on the meat. 
For dry-salting, it is sufficient to rub each 
piece iu salt, packing it up iu piles, though it 
is much better to have the salt in an iron ket¬ 
tle and beep it at a temperature of about 350 c 
and by using a wooden paddle put every piece 
of meat into the salt separately for a half 
minute, more or less, and tliea pack the pieces 
into piles. It is well to go over the meat in 
about ten days, repiling and resalting. When 
properly salted, it should be smoked, more or 
less, to taste. Beef, we think, is never dry- 
salted, and for winter use iu the family should 
be put into a pickle just strong enough to 11 jat 
a potato and having euough sugar or molasses 
to taste quite sweet. For market purposes 
beef is made much salcer, 
DEATH TO WEEVILS.—FERTILIZERS. 
J. C. O., Somerset, Ky. — 1 Will theremedy 
recommended for killiug the pea weevil also 
kid the bean weevil; and if so, will it injure 
the beans for culinary purposes? 2. A Cin¬ 
cinnati firm will furnish bone flour at $35 per 
ton, which the State Chemist values at *48 75. 
The firm knows nothing of muriate or sul¬ 
phate of potash, but will sell me actual potash 
at 5>£ cents and uitrateofsodaat 4j* cents. I 
can get stable manure at $1 50 per two-horse 
load; soil a light clay and sand, with a red 
clay subsoil. 1 wish to use the fertilizer iu a 
peach, plum and cherry orchard, and plant to 
corn and potatoes. Now what would you 
advise me to use of the fertilizers mentioned? 
Ans —1 The remedy we recommended was 
bi sulphide of carbon, to be put with the peas 
or beans into a tight box, barrel or room, and 
kept there for a few hours A tablespoonful 
to the bushel of grain Is sufficient. It is a 
deadly poison, aud very inflammable, aud 
should therefore be handled with care It is 
equally efficacious in killing the beau weevil, 
aud will not iu the least injure the beans for 
food. Merely exposing them a short time to 
the air will dispel «U the poison, as it is very 
volatile. 2. Tbe bone flour i* certainly cheap 
euougb, if as good as you represent. Tbe 
potash you should have tested, as nearly all 
commercial potash is largely adulterated with 
salt. Mix 400 pounds of bone flour and 100 
pounds of potash, dampening it slightly and 
covering t he surface with land plaster, aud in 
a couple of weeks apply it to an acre. The 
nitrate of soda should not be applied until the 
plants have started to grow, aud it would be 
better if whatever quantity is used was divid¬ 
ed into two portions, and used at different 
times, several weeks apart. 
SUPERPHOSPHATE, ETC. 
E. J. B., Canterbury, Conn —l. How many 
pounds iu a ton of superphosphate? 2. lhave 
seen the statement that phosphoric acid, 
after applying it to the soil, was liable to re¬ 
vert. thus injuring its value. What is “re¬ 
verting," and is raw bone liable to the same 
injury? 3. What is buckwheat worth for 
feed where Western corn costs 70 cents per 
bushel ? 
Ans —1. A ton contains 2,000 pounds, in¬ 
cluding packages. 2, Pure superphosphate is 
a mixture of equal parts of lime and phos¬ 
phoric acid. In its manufacture, sulphuric 
acid is added to bone meal, and the lime hav¬ 
ing a greater affinity fur it than for the phos¬ 
phoric acid, two of the throe parts of lime 
leave their combination with the phosphoric 
acid and unite with the sulphuric,-thus leav¬ 
ing the lime aud phosphoric add united iu 
equal proportions, or superphosphate, which 
is perfectly soluble in water uud thus avail¬ 
able food for plauts. When commercial 
superphosphate is applied to the soil, unless ut 
once takeu up, probably iu a few hours, the 
soil takes a proportion of the sulphuric add 
from its combination with the lime, thus al¬ 
lowing one half of the lime to go back to its 
former combination with the phosphoric add, 
making a compound of two parts of lime aud 
one of tbe acid. In this form it is called 
“reverted,” uud although uot soluble iu 
water, it is still, through the action ot the 
living roots of plauts, available plaut food, 
though not as readily available as in the more 
soluble form Of superphosphate. The phos¬ 
phoric acid of raw bone is in combination 
with three times the quantity of lime, and in 
this form is entirely iusoluble and unavailable 
as plant food, and can only become of use as 
it slowly decompos s in the soil. The rapid¬ 
ity of its decomposition and its value as a 
fertilizer depend entirely upon its fineness— 
the more minutely It is divided, of course, the 
more it comes iu contact with air, moisture 
and soil, and the more rapidly it decomposes 
and can be used by the growing plants. 3. 
For milk production it is worth more, pound 
for pound, than corn, but not for fat or butter 
production. 
WORK OF HIRED HAND. 
“Hired Man," Kmderhook, N. Y. —1. Last 
year I worked eight mont hs at $20 per month, 
always beginning before sunrise and often 
working as late as nine o’clock. Now, what 
privileges should a man hired by the month 
have? 2. Is he compelled to work on Sundays 
when ttiere is no bargain ab >ut it? 3. Do you 
think wages will be as high as last season ? 
Ans. —1. It is reasonable that a man hired 
hy tbe month should be expected to feel an 
interest in his employer’s success, and in case 
of threatened rain, or other necessity, he 
should be willing to work all night if neces¬ 
sary; but the employer who would not appre¬ 
ciate such a favor is but little entitled to such 
a man, and we hardly think it reasonable to 
ask one to work habitually till nine o’clock. 
We have found about the best results from 
about ten hours’ good, taithful labor. 2. We 
suppose there is no law compelling a hired 
man, in the absence of a bargain, to work 
more than six days in the week, but tbe cus 
tom is for mouth men to do the ordinary 
chores of the farm on Sundavs, We think a 
reasonable man would be willing to do this; 
but, ou the other band, the employer should 
realize that his is the part of good fellowship, 
and should be willing to at least feel that he 
is well treated. 3. This is a hard question to 
answer: but we think wages arefn’ly as high 
as farmers, at the prices for their products, can 
afford to pay, and that the tendency will be 
downward, especially so for all but the best. 
STARTING FARMING. 
C. W. L , New York City .—Will you ad¬ 
vise me in regard to baying or hiring, or tak¬ 
ing shares in a small farm, I am very anx¬ 
ious to commence tbis Summer. 
Ans—T his is a fair sample of many ques¬ 
tions we receive. Now it might be possible 
for a prophet to answer this intelligently, 
I giving the desired information; bat we can’t 
We don’t know whether the inquirer ever 
worked a day on a farm; whether he is old or 
youug; whet tier he has or has not any knowl¬ 
edge of farming or of plant growth even, 
and so what can we say? Simply this: every¬ 
thing in farming, as to the land to buy, and 
where and what to raise, depends upon the 
man, ami success will only come from profi¬ 
ciency. So if you have uo experience, look 
about, see what you think would suit you. 
No matter how much rnouey you have, hire 
out to the owner.savmg uothing about buying, 
and at the same time study the land and the 
business, and wheu you have lioth weillearced, 
then, if they suit yon. buy, and you can’t be 
far wrong. No matter if you are a million¬ 
aire, a year or two of good, honest toil will 
pav, in muscle and good constitution if in 
nothiug else. 
CODLING MOTH LARV.E IN AN APPLE, AND 
YELLOWS IN A PEACH ORCHARD. 
H., Lockhaven. Pa.— 1. My orenard, early 
in the season, looked very promising. In 
August, the apples commenced to decay and 
dropoff, having been previously stung. What 
can 1 do to prevent the recurrence of the same 
trouble uext season! 2. The peach trees in the 
same orchard looked well iu the Spring and 
promised au abundant crop, the fruit got 
prematurely red, not ripe, ami fell off, haviug 
partly rotted on the trees. Some of the trees 
turned yellow though most remained green, 
what is the trouble? 
Ans.— 1. Tbe apples were eaten by the 
larva* of the codling moth, aud from many 
experiments t hat have been reported, we think 
the pests can be destroyed by spraying the 
trees, when the fruit is about the size of 
cherries, with a mixture of Paris-green and 
water. We dislike very much to recommend 
Hits, as it is a very deadly poison, and when 
used should he handled with the utmost care, 
aud animals should not be allowed to pasture 
about the trees until after a heuvy rain, 2. 
We are very sorry for our friend, and dislike 
very much to be obliged to tell him the cause 
of trouble with his peach orchard, aud we very 
much hope we are iu error, but the indications 
are so plain that wo have no doubt that the 
trees are affected with the yellows. It they 
were all yellow, we might have concluded it 
was from the effect of borers or improper 
care; but wheu a tree looking green and vig¬ 
orous, has its fruit prematurely reddened, es¬ 
pecially if the appearance of the fruit was 
mottled-red with much red on the inside, 
there can be very little doubt. We advise the 
use of a mixture of 250 pounds of muriate of 
potash and 450 pounds of dissolved bone, 
putting not less than seven pounds to the 
tree. While there is no certainty that this is 
a specific, we are very favorably impressed 
with the healthy appearance of some peach 
trees about which we used the mixture dur¬ 
ing the past Sommer. 
ASPARAGUS: SAGE: CELERY. 
o. V. W., Lyons, Wis— 1. What two va¬ 
rieties of asparagus are best for market? 2 
Should I plant seeds or roots? 3. What va¬ 
riety of sage is best for market? 4. Can the 
leaves be properly dried in a fruit evapora¬ 
tor? 5. What is the average product of dried 
sage per acre? 6. Where can I get seed of the 
Half-dwarf Golden Heartwell Celery? 7. 
W hat is a reliable work on market gardening 
and small fruit growing? 
Ans.— 1. We have tried all kinds and find 
more in the soil and cultivation than in the 
variety The Colossa 1 and Argenteuil are, at 
any rate, as good as any. 2 As you like. 
From roots you will get cuttings one year 
earlier. The Argenteuil seed will cost you 
$1.50 a pound: the Colossal 50 cents. Two- 
year-old roots of Colossal will cost $1.00 per 
hundred. 3. The Common, or Red-leaved. 
Ibere is little difference. The first bears lar¬ 
ger leaves; the second, small leaves in greater 
numbers. 4. With care iu regulating the heat 
not to dispel the essential oil. 5. We do 
not know. 6. Perfection Heartwell is the 
name of the kind sent out by the Rural. It 
was first catalogued by Thor burn & Co., 15 
John Street, N. Y. 7. Peter Henderson's 
Gardening for Profit; price, $1.50. Fuller’s 
Small Fruit Guitarist; price, $1.50. They 
ought to be sold for half. Thanks for kind 
words. 
FEED FOR FATTENING STEERS. 
L B E„ West Fort Ann, N. Y.— 1. I have 
two fair-sized steers, 21 months old, which I 
wish to sell fat in April; which will be the 
most profitable food at the following prices: 
wheat bran, $19; middlings, $23; corn and 
oats, ground together, $25: sifted corn meal, 
the same price? 2. How much for a daily ra¬ 
tion; 3. If I feed white Swede turnips daily, 
will they cause the meat to have a bad taste? 
Ans. 1. You should be able to get corn- 
meal by buying corn and getting it ground, 
for much less than $25. and need not pay any- 
thing for having it sifted. Yon also can get 
ofi-meal (old-process) by driving over to Am¬ 
sterdam. Mix 150 pounds of coru-meal with 
100 pounds of bran and 5U pouuds of the oil- 
meal, if you get it: if not, feed corn-meal and 
bran alone. 2. You should gradually increase 
the ration, till you feed as much as they will 
eat and digest well. This yoo can know by 
the smell of the stable. The more they can be 
induced to eat and digest, the larger will be 
the profit in feeding. 3. Feed the Swedes by 
all meaus. They will enable the steers to eat 
aud digest nearly one half more feed, and 
there is no danger of their causing the meat to 
“taste.” 
AMOUNT OF HAY IN A STACK AND OF CORN 
IN A CRIB. 
J. W. B., Memphis, Mo —1. By what rule 
can I estimate, approximately, the tonsof hay 
in a stack? 2. Also the amount of corn in a 
crib? 
Ans.— 1. Ascertaining the hay in a stack by 
measurement is much like the method of esti¬ 
mating the weight of pork in Pennsylvania in 
early days. They nut a rail across the fence, 
piled the pork on one end aud balanced it 
with a pile of stones, and then guessed at the 
weight of tbe stones. The amounc of hay all 
depends upon the kind of hay, how much set¬ 
tled, and how large t he stacks are. In a roug h 
way, ascertain the cubic feet of bay by mea¬ 
surement, and, if Timothy or other tame bay 
well settled, allow about 400 or 45U cubic feet 
to a ton; if clover, it will take from 500 to 
600 feet, and if Blue Grass, as low as 350 feet 
may make a ton. 2. If you wish to ascerta 
the bushels of ear measurement, find the cu¬ 
bic conteuts of the crib, multiply this by 2S 
and divide the product by 43. which will give 
the heaped bushels of ears. To ascertain the 
bushels of sbelledcorn. find the cubic feet, as 
before; multiply by four and divide by nine, 
which will give the number of bushels of 
shelled corn weighing 5b pounds, nearly. 
GROWING BITTER NUTS AND GRAPE-VINE 
CUTTINGS. 
IF. L , Centerville, Wis.-l. Will it pay to 
grow Bitter-nut hoop poles at $1 per 100? 
What time should they be plauted and how? 
2 . What is the best mangel for stock feeding? 
3. How are grape-vines propagated from 
single eyes? 
Ans —1. We can’t say, as we know nothing 
of the cost of the laud or its adaptation to the 
crop. Try a small piece first. Plant on ground 
prepared as foi coru, 1 ■., foot apart, in rows 
three feet apart. The nuts should be plauted 
as early iu Spring as possible, having been 
kept over \\ inter in damp moss or sand, an 
allowed to freeze. Keep cultivated aud free 
