absorbed by the blood and escape, in the most 
ready way, in the milk. 
RINGING- A BULL. 
J. B , Fayette , Mich, —1. Wbat is the best 
way to put a ring in a two-year-old bull’s 
nose? Is a steel ring good ? 2. Whatis the ad¬ 
dress of a breeder of small Yorkshire pigs in 
Wisconsin? 
Ans.— 1. Get a trocar and canula, which is 
an instrument made for the purpose of pierc¬ 
ing the cartilage between the nostrils, leaving 
the canula, or tube, in the orifice. The ring 
is opened, and one end is inserted into the 
tube, which is then withdrawn, bringing the 
ring through the cartilage. The riug is then 
closed and the screw to secure it, is inserted. 
The trochar and canula costs ?l,and a copper 
ring would cost $1.25. Before the operation 
the bull should be Grinly secured by fastening 
bis horns to a po3t, and by tying his feet, and 
throwing him. This is best done by ty¬ 
ing the fore feet and then the hind feet and 
drawing them together, pushing the ani¬ 
mal over as the rope is drawn tight. The end 
is then secured, aud while one person sits upon 
the head, the nose is pierced and the ring fix¬ 
ed. In the absence of a trocar and canula, 
the hole in the cartilage of the nose may be 
made by thrusting the blade of a large pen¬ 
knife through it in two directions crosswise, 
making a cut like — | —through which the ring 
is to be put. It is always well to ring a young 
bull before be becomes strong enough to give 
trouble. Six months is a good age; and every 
ball should be ringed for safety. A steel ring 
will do very well, and can be got for 75 cents. 
2, We don’t know. 
THE APPLE-LEAF BUCCULATRIX, 
D, AT., Livingston Co., N. Y .—Sends us an 
apple-limb covered with cocoons, not exceed¬ 
ing one fourth of an inch in length, and asks 
what they are? 
Ans.— This is the cocoon of a minute moth, 
the Bucculatrix pomifo'iella or Apple-leaf 
Bucculatrix, whose larva? feed upon the young 
leaves of the apple from May to September. 
In Western New Y ork they have in some years 
been so plentiful as to greatly injure the 
orchard. We have seen orchards in Winter 
with every limb, from the size of a finger do wu, 
literallv covered on the undersides with these 
cocoons. In May, in this latitude, the moths 
emerge from these cocoons and lay their in¬ 
finitesimal eggs on the young leaves. They 
hatch into caterpillars so small as to be un¬ 
noticed. At maturity they are scarcely one- 
half inch long, and when any of them is 
disturbed it spins a silken thread by which it 
suspends itself from the leaves. There are at 
least two annual broods. The cocoons of the 
earlier broods are attached promiscuouly 
to limbs and leaves; but tbose of the later 
brood are always on the limbs. Luckily, as 
small as they are, there are a number of para¬ 
sites that feed upon them, andthushold them in 
check. There is no doubt but they can be 
entirely exterminated by the persistent use 
of a force pump and the kerosene emulsion, 
or arsenical poisons. 
PRUNING GRAPES, etc. 
C. H. S., No address. —1. I have a straw¬ 
berry plot 30 x 80 feet, on good clay loam, 
heavily manured, when planted, with barn 
yard manure and ashes, what shall I put on it 
to secure the best results, cost no objection? 
2. What is the principle involved in pruning 
grapes? 
Ans —1. Apply 200 pounds of very fine bone 
dust and 50 pounds of sulphate of potash, or 
eight bushels of hard-wood ashes. Put this 
on in Spring as soon as you can do bo, and 
rake it into the soil lightly. W hen they begin 
to grow, apply 10 pounds of nitrate of potash 
made very fine, and when the fruit is half 
grown apply five pounds more of the same, 
putting it on when the plants are dry. With 
a reasonable amouut of rain the berries will 
surprise you. 2. Grape-vines bear their fruit 
on the cui rent year’s canes, growing from the 
previous yeai’s wood, and the principle of 
pruning is to leave only such uu amouut of 
last years wood as shall produce a proper 
number of bearing canes, aud not so much 
fruit as to be unable to ripen it, and the wood 
for future productiveness. The most ap¬ 
proved method in pruning now is to cut away 
most of the bearing wood and depend upon 
renewing the bearing arms for the next sea¬ 
son. 
COTTON-SEED AS A MANURE. 
A. G. It, Marshall, Texas,—1. What is the 
mammal value of a ton of cotton seed, as it 
comes from the gin? 2. Is the meal, after the 
oil is extracted, of more value than whole 
seed? 3. Would composting it with leaf mold 
and bone meal make a good manure, aud if 
so, how should it be done? 
Ans.— 1. Cotton seed consists of 14 per cent, 
of oil, 46 per cent, of hull, and 40 per cent, of 
mea l_tke residuum atter the oil is extracted. 
The oil is mostly pure carbon, and has little, 
if any, mammal value. The hulls are com¬ 
posed of vegetable fiber and ash, five per cent. 
UPPiOAENT T© THE RURAL HEW-YORKER. 
MAR 2ft 
being asb, of which, if pure, about 57 per cent 
is potash, and from six to thirteen per cent, 
is phosphoric acid. The meal contains about 
seven per cent, of nitrogen. 2.8 per cent, of 
phosphoric acid, and 1.5 per cent, of potash. 
This makes the seed, as coming from the gin, 
worth about $12 or $14 per ton for manurial 
use. 2. A ton of meal is worth, as manure, 
much more than a ton of whole seod. At the 
same time, the meal does not by auy means 
contain all the manurial value of the seed. If, 
however, we could have the hulls saved, 
ground fine and the meal added, or even burned 
and the ashes added, we should have nearly 
the whole manurial value of the seed retained 
in these two refuse products, 
FITTING CLOVER SOD FOR WHEAT. 
J, G., Mahoning Co., O.—l. In fitting afield 
no tv set in clover for wheat next Pall, would 
you first mow the field and then plow the stub¬ 
ble, or would you plow early aud sow on 
buckwheat, and plow that down? 2. I have 
a half acre on which I grew potatoes last 
year; it is now seeded to rye, and I wish to 
again plant potatoes on it; which would be 
best, to plow the rye in, or let sheep eat it off 
before plowing? 
Ans. —1. We never could afford to plow 
down a clover crop. Cut the first crop for 
hay; then let it grow till the middle of August 
without pasturing; plow into suitable lands, 
and plow well; roll or cultivate till the lower 
soil is packed firmly, and the surface mellow; 
sow with the wheat, or sow broadcast before 
drilling, as much superphosphate as the crop 
of clover hay would bring, if sold. This is 
just equivalent, in expense, to plowing in the 
clover before cutting, aud we think there 
will b«> a much better crop. Feed the clover 
hay, and carefully save the manure for that or 
some other field the next year. 2. Plow it in. 
It will then not only contribute all the plant 
food it con ains. but it will have much mois¬ 
ture, which will be available for the growing 
potatoes. 
FISH GUANO. 
J. A. W, Dunkirk, N. Y. —How is fish 
guano made? 
Ans. —Fish guano is made in factories. For 
the work, tanks and hydraulic presses, an oil 
room and other apparatus are necessary. The 
fish are placed in large tanks and are cooked 
by steam; when they fall apart the water 
about them is drawn off and carried to an oil 
room. The fish are then raked into perfor¬ 
ated cylinders, and hydraulic pressure is ap¬ 
plied. The water thus forced out is also car¬ 
ried to the oil room, where it is skimmed to 
gepat ate the oil from the water, after which 
the oil is bleached and barreled for sale. It. 
is nsed in paints, etc. The fish, after being 
pressed, is emptied from the cylinders and a 
fermentation takes place, causing much of 
the ammonia to escape. It is then run 
through a ''picker,” a cylinder armed with 
teeth revolving against set teeth; it is then 
very fine and is next dried, either in the sun 
or by artificial heat, after which it is piled in 
a heap, and by means of perforated pipes 
through the pile, all latent heat is carried off. 
When cool, it is ready for the fertilizer man¬ 
ufacturers, who use it in complete manures 
and also mix it with various other materials. 
PLUMS. 
E. B , East Clarendon, VI. —1. Please des¬ 
cribe the Lombard Plum? 2. What is the 
best treatment for plains in a sandy soil? 3. 
Will the Lombard and Niagara be hardy as 
far north as this place? 4. Will these two 
trees fertilize each other? 
Ans. — 1. Tbe tree of Lombard is a fine 
grower and very productive, but is very liable 
to black knot, so much so as to sometimes 
destroy the orchard. The fruit is of medium 
size, roundish-oval, slightly flattened on tbe 
ends. Skin a very dark violet red, with a 
thin bloom. Flesh yellow, juicy, but, not 
very rich. Ranks not more than good aud 
adheres considerably to the stone. Ripeus 
about the last of August. In New England 
this plum i3 often knows as Bleecker’s 
Scarlet. 2. Use plenty of barnyard or 
chip manure, and sow a pint of salt about 
each tree in early Spring; if the soil is very 
sandy, apply a third of a load of clay about 
each tree, forking it into the soil. 8. The 
Lombard is not recommended for Ver¬ 
mont by the Am. Pom. Society, but it receives 
one star in Maine and two in New Hamp¬ 
shire. The Niagara is as hardy as tbe Lom¬ 
bard. 4. Any plum tree will fertilize itself, 
though it may fertilize others. 
ABOUT BEANB. 
F. 1)., Central N. J. —1. What is the best 
bean for market? 2. At what price does it 
usually sell in the New York market? When 
should it be planted? 3. W hat manute should 
be applied, and what culture given? 4. What 
would be the probable yield per acre in Cen¬ 
tral New Jersey? 
Ans. —l. The best selling bean in the New 
York market is the Marrow, or White Mar¬ 
rowfat. 2, Tbe price paid by dealers is given 
each week in our market reports. 3. When 
the ground is warm—from May 15th to June 
10th. A light, warm, sandy soil is best, and a 
mixture of pure flue ground bone and un¬ 
leached wood ashes, saturated with water in 
tight barrels, and at the end of two or three 
weeks mixed with enough plaster or ashes to 
render it dry euougb to apply easily, is a good 
fertilizer. The ground should be kept free 
from weeds; from two to four workings in a 
season will be required, according to the 
weather. 4. The yield varies from 12 bushels, 
as an average crop, to 30 bushels as the best, 
per acre. 
SPASMS OF THE NECK OF THE BLADDER IN 
A HORSE. 
J. W. H., Cleveland, Ohio. —My horse is 
troubled with some ailment of which the fol¬ 
lowing are the symptoms: When standing 
he puts his right fore leg far out in front and 
lifts his left hind foot up close to his abdomen, 
puts bis nose close down to his breast and 
sometimes around toward his side; at the 
same time he switches his tail down between 
bis legs. In other respects bis actions and 
condition are as usual. What ails him ? 
Ans. —These symptoms indicate spasms of 
the neck of the bladder. If the urine con¬ 
tains whitish sediment, it is accompanied by 
inflammation of the bladder. Tbe remedy is 
to give half ounce doses of liquid ammonia 
(aq. am ) duriugthe spasms in a pint of water 
by the mouth; repeat in half an hour, if the 
pain continues. Also inject, by the rectum, 
a pint of tobacco decoction, or t wo drams of 
tincture of belladonna, with half a pint of 
sweet oil. As the spasms are produced by 
ammoniacal urine (unless there is stone or 
gravel), resulting from excess of uitrogen in 
the food and in the blood, it is advisable to 
give half ounce doses of carbonate of ammo¬ 
nia in the food daily and to feed bran mash 
with a quart of linseed in it, twice a day; also 
to give an infusion of linseed for drink. 
IMPORTING SEED CORN. 
A. B. A., Ash Grove, Mo. —Does it pay to 
import seed corn from another State; if so, 
should it be brought from a State north or 
south of one’s place? 
Ans.— The experience of the past clearly 
shows that the best results are obtained from 
a good variety of corn raised in the neighbor¬ 
hood where it is to be planted, if properly 
selected and cared for. lu case of a shortage 
of seed corn in any place, it is advisable to 
procure some from some place on the same 
isothermal line or north of it. The experience 
of thousands of Illinois, Indiana aud Iowa 
farmers who used seed corn from Kansas and 
Southern Missoiri in 1883. shows that corn 
from points south of the place where it is 
planted, does not mature early enough in case 
of early frost9. Reports of the Rural seed 
corn also show it is generally late north of this 
latitude, and early south of it. 
FERTILIZER FOR ONIONS AND POTATOES ON 
MUCK LAND. 
F. A. P., Oswego, N. Y —What fertilizer 
shall I use in place of barnyard manure on 
clear vegetable muck that has been a long 
time in meadow, to fit it for onions and po¬ 
tatoes? 
Ans.— Use for onions 1,000 pounds of a 
complete fertilizer containing as much as six 
per cent, of ammonia, 10 per cent, of phos¬ 
phoric acid and eight to ten per cent, of pot¬ 
ash; or, if you can’t get this, apply 200 
bushels of unleacbed, hard-wood ashes and 500 
pounds of very fine bone dust per acre For 
potatoes, apply the ashes broadcast and 200 
pounds of bone, and after trenching and par¬ 
tially covering the potatoes, apply 200 pounds 
more in the trenches and cover. 
STONE DRAINS. 
Frank Lynde, Boston, Mass. —How can 1 
use stone from the size of a man’s head to the 
size of ben’s eggs for uuderdrains? 
Ans.—I t is expensive using such stones for 
the purpose, because the ditch must be dug so 
large. The only safe way is to have the ditch 
so large that a row can be laid along each 
side, the rows being three inches from each 
other in the center, and then place a row on 
top of and between the other two, und then 
fill in at least one foot with smaller stones. 
Only forgetting rid of the stones, it is cheaper 
to buy tile than to use them after being picked 
up. Another point—where stones are used, the 
most perfect outlets must be provided. 
ORANGE WINE. 
Subscriber, Jacksonville, Fla. —What is a 
recipe for orange wine made from sweet or¬ 
anges. 
Ans.—M ix equal parts of water and orange 
juice, and to every gallon of the mixture add 
three pounds of sugar; pat into a barrel and 
let It stand until fermentation ceases, which 
will be in from six weeks to two months. Keep 
an extra supply of wine, to fill in the bar¬ 
rels as the fermentation goes on. The juice 
must be well strained before adding tbe sugar. 
Keep the bung covered with a, thin cloth, 
After fermentation ceases, it is better to draw 
off the wine into other barrels, then stop up 
the bung tight and keep in a cool place. 
FERTILIZER FOB CORN. 
E. W.G , SI. Louis, Mo. —Having 40 acres of 
dark loam, which has been in corn two years and 
onlyaverages 25 bushels per acre, what ought 
I use this season as a fertilizer to double the 
crop, planting according to the Rural’s meth¬ 
od of flat culture. 
Ans —Use 400 pounds of fine raw bone flour 
and 100 pounds of sulphate of potash to the 
acre, broadcast, as soon as the land can be 
worked. Wtion the corn plants are six inches 
high, sow at the rate of 150 pounds of nitrate 
of soda to the acre. Not knowing what your 
land needs, the above is the best guess we can 
make. 
APPLES AND PEARS FOR THE “FAR NORTH.” 
C. D. S , Drummond, Mich. —1. What kind 
of apples will succeed best here at the head of 
Lake Huron; soil a light, sandy loam? 2. 
What kind of pears also? Corn does well, 
wild plums and wild grapes are plentiful. 
Ans.-I There has been but very little exper¬ 
ience with fruit in that region. We suggest 
a trial of the following:—Wealthy, Olden 
burg. Yellow Transparent, Alexander. Tetof- 
sky, Ben Davis aud Fameuse. 2. Try Flemish 
Beauty and Bloodgood, aud even these may 
fail. We have great hope of good results 
with some of the Russian fruits. 
RAISING FLAX-SEED FOR FEED. 
J. B. B., Bridgeport, Conn .—Why will it 
not pay to raise flax-seed to grind with oats 
or corn for feed 
Ans.— For three reasons: It will not yield 
crop enough. It is worth too much for oil 
making, and, lastly, the oil is not, by far, the 
most valuable part for feed, as it is almost 
pure carbo-hydrate, and useless for muscle, 
blood or milk production; it only makes fat 
and heat. 
REMOVING A BLOOD WaKT. 
F. K. C., Lincoln, Neb.—Ho * can 1 remove 
a blood wart three inches in diameter, from 
the fetlock joint of a colt? 
Ans.— Remove with tbeknifeand cauterize 
with nitrate of silver or oth6r mild caustic, 
after which dress with tar or carbolate vas¬ 
eline. Be sure to remove all diseased flesh, 
but care must be taken not to open into the 
joint If possible, the operation should be 
performed by a surgeon. 
- IM — 
Miscellaneous. 
A. Y. V., Geneva, N. Y. —1. Is it a well- 
established fact that hens will lay more eggs 
without than with cocks? 2. Is a nine-year 
old Jersey, whose ancestors on both sides were 
registered, eligible to registry? 3. If not, 
could her progeuy by a registered bull be 
registered ? 4. Is the phosphoric acid in South 
Carolina rock available as plant food until it 
is treated with acid? 5. Wbieh is more avail¬ 
able, soluble rock or solubleground bone? 6. 
What is the market value per pound of pot¬ 
ash, phosphoric acid, ammonia and nitrogen 
as found iu commercial fertilizers? 7. What 
proportion of these would make a complete 
manure? 8. Why does salt gather in scales 
on the surface o' well worked butter when 
exposed to the air? 
Ans. —1. It is well-established fact that 
the company of cocks has nothing to do with 
the production of eggs, aud if anything, their 
presence is detrimental, probably because 
they disturb the hens. 2 She is eligible if 
the facts of her ancestry he well established. 
8. The calf could not i e registered unti'after 
its dam was. 4. Noi. »' any appreciable ex¬ 
tent, although : f extremely fine it is probable 
the acids of the soil and the action of growing 
roots would render it a little available. 5. If 
equally soluble, there would be no difference; 
the bone is much tho most likely to bo the 
most soluble, and therefore the best 6. Pot¬ 
ash iu muriate, at wholesale, is worth about 
4>£ cents; phosphoric acid, soluble, 10 cents 
per pound, aud ammonia in dried blood, 
about 14J^ cents, and in sulphate of ammonia 
about 17 cents. 7. That depends upon the 
crop for which it is to be used; from three to 
five per cent, of ammonia, six to twelve per 
cent, of phosphoric acid, aud from three to 
six per cent, of potash. 8. The salt comes out 
of the butter, in solution in the form of brine; 
the water evaporating leaves the salt on the 
surface in crystals or scales. 
O. G. R., New Rome, Wis. —1. How does 
buckwheat middlings compare as stock food 
with oats, wheat middlings, wheat bran aud 
rye middlings 2. My hog, 4>j mouths old, 
has been fed heavily this Winter and has had 
a dry, warm place; ho will weigh 200 pounds, 
but Is weak across the back; what shall I do 
for him? 3. How does butternut compare iu 
durability for posts with cedar? 
Ans.— l. Chemically considered, there is 
not a very great difference; practically, 
much depends upou tho object with which the 
feed is given and the grain with which it is to 
