17 % 
MPflEmmi TO THE R IDEAL MEW-VOMER. 
after a long fomentation with hot water. 
After a few days of poulticing, apply some 
moderately active liniment, with gentle rub- 
biog and pressing continued for 15 minutes 
twice daily. 2. The cracked heels should be 
treated in the same way. The animal is not 
in good health evidently. Give a dose of one 
pint of raw liuseed oil, repeated in three days, 
and then give one ounce of hyposulphite of 
soda daily for two or three weeks. 
CONTRACTED FEET IN A HORSE: REMOVING 
FILM FROM A HORSE'S EYE: SPAVIN HE¬ 
REDITARY: FEED FOR A STALLION IN SER¬ 
VICE: FEEDING AN IDLE HORSE. 
A. M. H., Keene, N. H .—1 What is the best 
treatment for contracted feet in a horse? 2. 
What will remove a film from a horse's eye? 3. 
If the sire has a spavin, is the eolt more likely 
to have one? 4. What is the best feed for an 
eleven-year-old stallion during the season of 
service? 5 Would idle horses do well if fed 
only twice a day? 
A ns. —1. Contracted feet are the result of 
disease within the hoof, and are due to the 
shriukiug caused by the beat and dryness 
from the inflammation and the wasting or ab¬ 
sorption of the interior tissues. The fault is 
also produced by rasping the hoof, cutting 
away the frog and sole, and by anything which 
either wastes the substance of the boof or pre¬ 
vents its growth. The first thing to do is to 
remove the cause: then to remove the shoes; 
round the edges of the hoof to prevent crack¬ 
ing. ami keep the feet poulticed for two or 
three weeks, or make the horse stand in wet 
clay during that time. When the dryness of 
the hoof is removed, ointment of Venice tur¬ 
pentine, beeswax aud glycerine, should be ap¬ 
plied to the hoof, which should be shod with a 
shoe having uo bevel on its upper surface and 
with an equal bearing all over. 2. A film may 
be removed from a horse’s eye by blowing 
into it, through a quill, a pinch of burned 
alum, once a day. This will cause a discharge 
which will, in a short time, remove the film. 
3. A colt from a spaviued inare or horse is 
very apt to suffer from the same disease. In 
fact, most of the diseases of this kind which 
prevail among horses, are inherited from dis 
eased parents. 4. Oats are the best grain food 
fora stallion, along with good, sound Timothy 
hay. 5 Any animal will do better on three 
light feeds a day than upon two heavier ones. 
The stomach becomes weakened by long absti- 
ner ce. 
FRUIT QUERIES. 
A. G. F., Leominster , Miss.—1 You say in 
F. C. January 17, that the Newtown Pippin 
does not do well in certain localities; why? 2, 
I have a piece of warm red loam sloping to 
the east, would the variety succeed there? 3. 
Which is correct, Newtown or Newton Pip¬ 
pin? 4. Is the German Prune of high quality. 
5. Which are the three best market plums? 
6 Which are the three best and latest pears? 
7‘ Will quinces grow on pear stocks? 
Ans —We know from personal experience 
that the Newtown Pippin in most places of 
Western New York cracks, grows misshapen 
and scabby. It may be soil, or climate or 
want of proper food—we don’t know. Often 
it is much easier to state facts than to assign 
reasons therefor. 2. They succeed well in 
certain sections along the Hudson, aud do not 
succeed in others, and no man can tell yon 
whether they will succeed on your land till 
tried. The indications arc favorable. 8. 
Newtown is right. 4. No. It does not rank 
more than “good” and this is the lowest qual¬ 
ity iu the catalogue. 6, Lombard. Richland, 
Duane’s Purple, Smith’s Orleans, Washington 
and McLaughlin are all worth trying. Wash¬ 
ington should head the list, if it does not rot. 
6 Bose, Anjou and Angoulcme, Dana's Hov- 
ey, Vicar and Lawrence. 7. Not profitably. 
PITRYIASIS IN A CALF. 
T. H., Salineinlte, Ohio .—On the thigh of 
my year-old calf there is a hairless spot as big 
as the hand, which is white and scaly, itchy 
and sore; what is it? 
Ans. —This is due to a parasitic disease of 
the skin known as pitryiasis. It is caused by 
disorder of the blood resulting from various 
unhealthful conditions, aud may be removed 
by laxative diet and medicines, and the use of 
outward antiseptic applications. For instance, 
a dose of half a pint of raw linseed oil may be 
given, and after this a diet of turnips, bran 
mashes, and linseed oil-cake meal; also a 
daily dose of two drams of carbonate of pot¬ 
ash in the feed. The diseased skin may be 
dressed with the following mixture:—two 
ounces of pure lard, an ounce of flowers of 
sulphur, and one dram of creosote, or, in¬ 
stead of the last, one ounce of pine tar. Apply 
this daily. 
TURKEYS IN LARGE FLOCKS.—WHITE SQUABS 
FOR MARKET. 
S. B. S., Brooklyn, N. F.—1 I wish to 
raise a flock of 100 turkeys on a four-acre 
field, a part of which is in the woods, how 
shall I fence it? Can I clip the wings of the 
turkeys so as to keep them in by a four-foot 
net fence. 2 As white squabs bring more in 
the market, what breed of pigeons will produce 
all white? 
ANSWERED BY HENRY HALES. 
I. I have never known turkeys to be raised 
iu a large flock of anything like a hundred or 
even twenty while restrained in their liberty. 
This may be done for a few weeks^ but when 
older they require wider range. The old birds 
may be kept iu an inclosure by a six-foot wire 
net fence, but not by one four feet high; aud 
then one would have to clip one wing of each 
bird. As the young turkeys gr ow up. they will 
fly very high, and their wings also must soon 
be clipped. 2 To breed pure white pigeons, 
start with pure-bred birds of some white 
breeds and mix them up—say, Owls, Dragons, 
High flyers, or Common Fautails Cross these 
white breeds for market purposes. Bred so, 
they will mostly keep white. 
ACUTE ANASARCA IN A HORSE. 
J. M. C., Whit in r(, Kans. —My eight-year- 
old mare suddenly’ became lame in oue of her 
hind legs which swelled from the hoof to the 
hip, was feverish and broke in several places, 
letting considerable matter escape. Finally 
the hair came off. What is tire matter and 
what should be the treatment? 
Ans.—T his disease isacute auasarca. a sort 
of dropsy, which is caused by disordered 
blood. The origin of the disease is generally 
the absorption of impure matter from foul 
air in ill ventilated, uuclean stables: or by 
suddenly suppressed perspiration due to a 
chill from exposure to cold when the body is 
warm. The treatment in such a case should 
be to give a dose of linseed oil—one pint with 
one ounce of turpentiue—and follow this 
with one ounce doses of sweet spirits of niter 
and one dram of chlorate of potash. The 
swollen part* should be bathed with warm 
weak solution of chloride of zinc —one dram 
iu a quart of water. If the throat becomes 
sore, smear ou the teeth some mixture of one 
ounce of chlorate of potash, two ounces of 
linseed meal and sufficient molasses to make 
a thin paste. 
CHARCOAL DUST AS A FERTILIZER. 
A. B. IF., Bear Creek, Wis .—What is the 
value of flue charcoal dust, or waste, as a fer¬ 
tilizer on ordinary land? 
Ans —Chemistry tells us that charcoal is 
00 per cent, pure carbon, aud that plants 
take most, if not all, their carbon from the 
air, and that charcoal has but little manorial 
value. But actual practice shows on every 
old “pit bottom,” no matter how old, always 
a luxuriant growth, dark colored and healthy, 
no matter what the crop may be. We have 
on our W. N. Y. farm several such spots, aud 
though no oue remembers when coal was 
burned there, every Summer they are clearly 
distinguishable by the extra growth of vegeta¬ 
tion on them. Much of this may be due to the 
power of the charcoal to absorb gases and to 
hold them for the use of the growing plants, 
and this suggests the best use to be made of 
charcoal dust. Use it to scatter about the 
stables and yard to absorb noisome odors and 
escaping ammonia. It is very difficult to 
put a money value on it. 
FERTILIZERS FOR WINTER WHEAT IN SPRING 
IF B. T., Ida, N, C. —1. Is it better to har¬ 
row wheat in the Spring, and, if so, shall I 
sow grass seed before or after? 2. What fer¬ 
tilizer would pay to use on wheat iD Spring, 
and when should it be put ou? 
Ans. —1 The seediug will be much more 
likely to succeed if the ground is first har¬ 
rowed and the seed then sowed. The effect 
of harrowing upon the wheat will depend 
much upon the weather immediately succeed¬ 
ing the harrowing If followed by a nice 
rain, it greatly increases its growth: if by a 
severe drought,it sometimes is quite Injurious. 
2. Nitrate of soda works wonders iu the 
growth of wheat: put it on at the rate of 200 
pounds per acre. Whether it would pay is a 
question best settled by askiug the land, by a 
few experiments. If to be put ou, make it 
exceedingly fine and mix it with two or three 
times as much plaster, aud sow as soon as the 
wheat gets nicely to growing. Sow on a dry 
day. 
ROUP IN TURKEYS. 
C. II. B. Carman, Minn, and others, com¬ 
plain of losses of turkeys from a disease the 
symptoms of which vary a little; but are gen¬ 
erally as follows:—in most cases there is a 
swelling under the eye; aud ofteD about the 
nostrils; the ailiug birds scratch their heads, 
and are generally spiritless aud “droopy,” 
and we are asked what ailed them. 
Ans.—T he turkeys were suffering from 
roup or catarrh, a frequent disease of poultry 
ut this season. It causes irritation of the 
head and eyeH and a discharge from the nos¬ 
trils and mouth. Chlorate of potash is an ex 
cellent remedy used iu strong solution—one 
dram iu a teacupful of water, applied to the 
throat and mouth with a feather. A small 
pinch of the powdered chlorate should be 
dropped into the throat. The treatment 
should be continued daily. 
DRYING UP COWS BEFORE CALVING. 
T. G. P, Springfield, Mo.—Should milch 
cows be dried up before calving, and, if so, 
how long? 
Ans —A cow generally begins to dry off 
naturally when a few months iu calf. A few 
cows may hold on to their milk close up to the 
calviug, aud some continue right up to it. It 
is a dangerous thing to dry up these cows, un¬ 
less great care is exercised, and it is done very 
gradually, as an attack of garget is almost 
sure to follow a mistake. Two months before 
the calf is expected, the cow should be fed 
only hay. and uo meal at all. This will soou 
reduce the milk, and if a little milk is then 
left every time, it will be further reduced. 
Then the cow may be milked only once a day, 
and still a lit Me milk be left, and iu the course 
of a month she may be left without milking, 
unless it is considered too much risk. It is a 
good thing for a cow to be completely dry a 
full month before having a calf. 
MANAGEMENT OF AN INCUBATOR. 
L. II, P., Wolf Run, Pa —1. How often 
should the eggs in au incubator be turned? 
8. How should they be kept moist? 3. At 
what temperature should the eggs be kept 
duriug the period of incubation? 
Ans.— 1. Eggs should he turned two or three 
times a day. 2. A cup of water in the cham¬ 
ber with [the eggs will throw off sufficient 
moisture for a small incubator. A larger ves¬ 
sel full of water should be put in a large one. 
If this cannot be done, moisteu the eggs by 
sprinkling them once every alternate day of 
the last half of the time of incubation with 
warm water. 3 Commence with the heat at 
104 degrees; towards the end of the period of 
incubation let the temperature gradually fall 
to 102 degrees. It should never exceed 104 de¬ 
grees. 
BEST AGE FOR A HEIFER TO COME IN. 
T. R. J., Belleville, Dak. —Wbat is the best 
age for a young heifer to come in? Some ad¬ 
vocate lettiug heifers come in when two years 
old, aud then lettiug them run farrow a year 
before they are served again; is this a good 
plan? 
Ans.— Two years is the best age for beifers 
to come iu. It is thought advisable by mauy 
experienced and skillful breeders to continue 
the milking as long as possible, aud to encour¬ 
age it by every possible means, so as to de¬ 
velop and stimulate the growth of the udder 
before the heifer comes in again, so as to have 
a period of IS months between the first and 
second cal ves. This has been the system un¬ 
der which the Jersey cows have been managed, 
and it seems to have been effective for the 
purpose intended. 
CREAM RAISING 
C. P. L., Caldwell, Idaho Ter. —Would it 
be practicable to raise cream promptly aud well 
by making cans with two compartments for 
water ou the outside, one on each side, so that 
a small stream of cool water could run into 
one division an 1 from that through an open¬ 
ing near the bottom into the other division, 
and then on to the next can, thus causing a 
slight circulation of the milk? 
Ans. —To raise the cream the milk must be 
stationary; circulation would keep the cream 
mixed. Deep cans set in cold water Is the 
best system for raising cream quickly. Use 
cans 90 iuches deep and nine inches wide, and 
set these iu water as near 45 degrees as possi¬ 
ble. Your plun is only a round about way of 
doing the same thing. 
WEAKNESS OF PATELLA TENDONS IN A COW. 
Z. N., Hastings, Minn. —A cow of mine is 
lame in her biud leg; when she walks the 
bone just below the hip seems to move in and 
out, and I can hear it “cruck” as she goes 
along What causes the trouble and wbat 
should be the treatment? 
Ans.— The trouble is caused by weakness of 
the tendons which control the motion of the 
patella, or knee cap, a loose bone which covers 
and plays over the stille-joint. The treat¬ 
ment should be as follows: Bathe the part with 
strong salt aud water, cold, twice daily fora 
week; then apply an active liniment with 
plenty of friction with the hand. The trouble 
is, no doubt, the result of a sprain, but it may 
be constitutional. A daily dose of two drams 
of muriate of iron would be useful as a tonic. 
WHEEL-HOES, ETC. 
W. R. G , Vaneeburg, Ky. —1, What are 
some of the best wheel hoes for hand cultiva¬ 
tors? is the Gem of the Garden a good one ? 
3. Will they do good work where the ground 
is cloddy or a little hard? 4. Are the early 
varieties of Sweet Corn destroyed worse by 
the boll worm than later varieties? 5 Is 
superphosphate good for garden vegetables, 
aud does it hasten their maturity ? 
A N8. There is no best, so far as we have 
tried. There are a good many good ones. The 
beLtor way is to send for circulars aud study 
them. What would please us might be very 
objectionable to another. 3. The Gem of the 
Garden works very well. 3. .Not as good as 
when in good condition; but as good as any 
other implement ou such land. 4. Only in so 
much as the worms I ave a longer season to 
work. 5 Yes; but we like it best mixed with 
stable manure. Wo think it docs somewhat. 
GROWING RASPBERRIES, ETC , FROM SEED. 
S. F., Herman, Minn. —1. How can rasp¬ 
berries, currants and goose berries be raised 
from seed, and how large should the plants 
be to plant in nursery rows? 
Ans. —If you have the seeds now, place 
them at once in good, rich earth, made fine in 
boxes, aud put them in the window of a warm 
room, and keep them moderately moist. 
When the plants show, if too thick, plant 
them in similar boxes so that they will stand 
two inches apart each way. Keep them 
properly watered till all danger of frost is 
over, and then plaut them out m good, rich 
ground; in the Fall bend them down, and 
cover them lightly with earth the first Wiuter. 
The seed is best kept,by placing it in common 
loam as soon as gathered, and burying it in 
some safe place until Fall. 
SITE FOR A HOUSE. 
M. F., Cincinnati, Ohio, —t own 37 acres of 
land, of which five acres of fine bottom land 
front on a good pike, the rest which is hilly, 
stretching back from it. All my neighbors 
advise me to build on the pike on the bottom 
land, because a bouse on a bill is too cold in 
Winter, and storms cause a family there a 
great deal of uneasiness and fear, and hauling 
to the place is more laborious; what does the 
Rural think? 
Ans.—T he hill site is much freer from 
malaria and liability t.o being troubled by in¬ 
sects. You can make the house as tight and 
warm as you please by the employment of 
some sort of felt paper, and the use of more 
thau one thickness if necessary. Of course, if 
the building site is on a hill there would be 
more hauling. A good deal depends upon 
taste. Consult your wife’s taste, as she lives 
in the house more than you do. 
BF.KH IN THE FAR NORTH. 
A G St. Andrews, D T. —Can bees be kept 
profitably as far north as this place—40 miles 
south of the 40th parallel? 
ANSWERED BY PROF. A. ,T. COOK 
Bees are kept successfully in the very north 
ern parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Dakota. 
Iu such latitudes they must be protected in 
Winter; but such is the case iu all our North¬ 
ern States. Bees in a good cellar are just as 
safe in such a Winter as this, if they have 
good food, as they are in milder seasons; 
while bees unprotected will sull'er greatly even 
in the latitude of Southern Ohio. We may 
feel sure of success anywhere. If our bees can 
have access to abundant nectar secretiug 
flowers Such flowers are abundant in Dako¬ 
ta and Minnesota Some of our best bee¬ 
keepers think the honey secured in higher 
latitudes is much superior to that secured far¬ 
ther south. 
A BARREN CHESTNUT TREE. 
IF. TL, Hobart, Mich —1. A chestnut tree 
bears a plentiful crop of burrs every year, 
but no nuts. The nuts are formed in the 
burrs, but there is no “meat” iu them. There 
are no other chestnuts in the neighborhood^ 
this the reason why there are no nuts? 2 If 
so. cau I graft on the tree, cions of the right 
kind to fertilize the female flowers, or must I 
plant another tree and wait till it grows? 
Ans -It is said that many chestnut trees 
do not ripen the pollen flowers and pistillate 
flowers at the same time. The female flowers 
of such trees are depeudeut for fertilization 
upon pollen from other trees iu the vicinity. 
This may be the case with yours. 2. You 
might work cions in,here and there from other 
trees to supply pollen at the right timo. 
MORE ABOUT FERTILIZERS. 
C. W. C., Boston, Mass. —"Which is the best 
fertilizer for corn for ensilage—kainit at ?12 
per ton, 25 percent, of sulphate of potash and 
32 per cent, of salt; or good, line ground bone 
at (88 per ton? 2. Whut is the best way to 
apply kainit? 
Ans 1. The question cannot be answered 
except by trying them separately ou your 
soil. If it needs only prosphorio acid, the 
bone would be cheaper; if potash only, the 
kainit. We should, iu the absence of know¬ 
ledge of what the soil does need, use both, uud 
add nitrogen, In some form, beyond what the 
raw bone contains. 2. Make it fine by putting 
it ou the floor and pounding it; then sow it 
broadcast and harrow in, or, if in corn, cul¬ 
tivate in. 
SPREADING MANURE IN WINTER. 
“An Ignoramus,'' Windom, Minn, —Would 
it be advisable to spread coarse manure on a 
light, sandy upland now, and plow it under 
iu the Spring? 
Ans. —The best possible method of applying 
manure to all laud not subject to overflow, is 
to draw it as fast as made, and at once scatter 
it over the surface. The rains wash the fer¬ 
tilizing material into and distribute it through 
