THE BUBAL NEW-YORKER 
SIPT 28 
Wyandotte cbicken as to origin? 2. From 
what Asiatic breed was the Wyandotte pro¬ 
duced ! 3. What breed produced the Plymouth 
Rock? 
A ns.— 1 and 2. There is no difference. At the 
meeting of the American Poultry Association, 
at Worcester,Mass.. February 1 and 2,1883, the 
American Sebright, known then also as the 
Eureka, was admitted to the “Standard of 
Excellence,” and was given the name Wy¬ 
andotte. What little is known about the 
early history of the breed was given, in full, 
in the Rural of March 10, 1888, page 148. 
The originator of the variety is not known; 
nor can its history be satisfactorily traced 
beyond the time when it appeared simultane¬ 
ously in different parts of the country The 
Wyandotte, however, by its prominent char¬ 
acteristics and “sports,” shews its composite 
origin to have been due to the Hamburg, the 
Brahma and the Cochin, The first appears nee 
of the variety as standard specimens was at 
the exhibition of the Fatieiers’ Club in this 
city, in February 1888, when a large and fine 
display’attracted much attention. 3. There 
seems to be a gcod deal of doubt as to the 
the origin of this breed also, which is a rival 
of the Wyandotte. Strange, that more 
should not be known about the history of these 
two fine American breeds, both of which are 
of recent origin, Ex-Commissioner Loring 
thinks the Plymouth Rock originated from 
the Black Malay and the Dominique. Lewis, 
in his Practical Poultry Book, records the re¬ 
port that it was produced by a Cochin China 
cock with a hen, a cross betweeu the Fawn- 
colored Dorking and a Wild Indian. 1. K. 
Feleh attributes its origin to across of a Light 
Brahma cock on a Black Java hen. Its orig¬ 
ination is generally attributed to Dr. Y. C. 
Dennett who exhibited specimens at Boston 
for the first time in 1840. In the controversy 
as to its origin the Black Java, Cochin, Great 
Malay, Gray Dorking, Dominique, Light 
Brahma, Gray Chittagong, and even the com¬ 
mon dunghill fowl have all figured. 
CONTRACTED FEET IN A MARE. 
A S, C., Fort Covington, N. Y .—Is there 
any remedy for contracted feet in a mare 
worth §1,000? The ailment is due to the gross 
neglect of a hired man who allowed her to 
stand in the stable with her shoes on for two 
months,without any exercise whatever. 
Ans. —Contraction of the foot or hoof is not 
a disease itself; but rather a result of some 
disease, or disability. It exists in nearly all 
diseases of the feet, and sometimes, as in the 
present case, arises from standing idle in the 
stable. Here, owing to the shoes remaining 
on so long, the feet were prevented from mak¬ 
ing their natural growth; or it may be that 
some disease has beeu induced. Iu the absence 
of any account of other symptoms, wu would 
advise the prompt removal of the shoes, if 
this has not beeu already done. A dry, brit¬ 
tle and contracted hoof can always he im¬ 
proved by repeated poulticing with soft soap 
and rye meal, applied cold. This treatment 
should be kept up till the hoofs and frogs be 
come perfectly soft. A good ointment fox- 
smearing the hoof and sole consists of tallow, 
half an ounce; oil of turpentine, one ounce: 
beeswax, four ounces. Another which may 
be applied daily until the heels are fully 
spread, is made of resin, four ounces; bees¬ 
wax, four ounces; lard, two pounds; tallow, 
one pound. Melt together and, when cool, 
stir iu four ounces of oil of turpentine. An¬ 
other good dressing, night and morning, as 
soon as poulticing has softened the hoof, is 
turpentine,linseed oil and powdered charcoal, 
equal parts. Good results have been obtained 
by letting the animal stand all day iu puddled 
clay reaching well up the hoofs. A notion ex 
ists that cow manure has a wonderful effect 
on contracted hoofs ; but filth and dirt of 
every kind must be unfavorable to health}’ 
action, and moisture can be retained about 
the hoofs io cleanlier ways. When poultices 
have softened the hoofs, a run on grass in a 
soft pasture, with nothing more than tips on 
the horse’s feet, is, perhaps, the best treatment. 
In shoeing, let the shoe be without bevel on 
upper side, and let the bearing be equal on all 
parts of the hoof. 
PRESERVING AND MARKETING CELERY, ETC 
IF. T. C., Hunts, N.Y.—1 How is a cold- 
frame made and when should seeds be sown 
in one ? 2, How is celery preserved and mar 
lceted ? 
A ns.— 1. Our friend is kindly refex-red to 
the seedsmen’s catalogues, which will be is¬ 
sued in time for his purpose. We shall give 
timely instructions as to sowing the seeds 
It can be preserved iu cellars or in ti-euches; 
the first is perhaps best adapted to the family 
wants. Place the plants in narrow boxes a 
trifle less in depth than the bight of the celery. 
Have a little damp sand at the bottom of the 
boxes, but do not allow any between the stalks. 
Rack closely together. When the boxes are 
not at hand, the celery can be placed on the 
floor in narrow strips, using boards to keep 
the strips intact. Most of our market garden¬ 
ers preserve celery in trenches. These are dug 
in some well drained portion of the field that 
will remain as dry as possible. They should 
be narrow—not over a foot wide—and just 
deep enough to let the top of the celery stand 
below ground. The plants are then packed 
closely iu the trench—as closely as can bedone 
without bruising. As cold weather approaches 
these trenches should be gradually covered 
with litter—leaves or salt hay are good—to 
the thickness of six inches, or enough to pre¬ 
vent severe freezing. The celery will stand 
an ordinary frost; but severe weather kills 
it. Some gardeners prefer to pack the plants 
in frames placed in some light soil. The soil 
is thrown out to the depth of two feet and 
placed as a bank around the outside of the 
frame. The roots are then placed closely in 
the bole, upright in rows, the spaces between 
the roots being filled with sand. The frame 
is then filled with dry leaves and covered 
with tight, shutters. Celery is sold in the mar¬ 
kets in flat bunches—four heads to the buuch. 
The stalks are washed with the greatest care 
and the roots are shaved with a sharp knife 
so as to leave four flat sides tapering to a point 
at the bottom. The bunches are tied with 
stout twine and packed in crates, boxes or 
baskets. 
HOW TO MAKE A RAIN GAUGE. 
W. H. IF., Cranford, N. J.— How can I 
construct a rain gauge sufficiently accurate 
for ordinary purposes .and cheap? 
Ans. —Procure a glass tube of exactly one 
inch inside diameter, and 21 inches long. 
Tbeu procure a rubber stopper large enough 
to fit the bore, and crowd it up into the lower 
end three-quarters of an inch; with a three- 
cornered file mark this tube into inches and 
tenths, commencing at the upper end of the 
Btopper. Then have a tin can made with 
straight sides, and 3 56 inches iu diameter, with 
a hole in the bottom that will just receive the 
glass tube. To the underside of the bottom 
solder a socket just lai’ge enough to crowd 
snugly over the glass tube, and one inch long, 
and into this cement the glass tube with its 
upper end just even with the bottom. Make 
a stand of some heavy wood, one foot square, 
with legs long enough so that the lower end of 
tube will not come within six or more inches 
of the ground, and through this stand bore a 
hole large enough to receive the tube and 
socket, and hollowed out about the socket hole 
so that the tube can be clearly seen. The di¬ 
ameter of the tube will be sufficiently near 
one tenth that of the can, so that if a half 
inch of rain fails in the can it will fill five 
inches of the tube; so that the reading of the 
amount of water in the tube, divided by 10, 
will be the amount of rainfall. This will 
work up to two inches, if more than that 
amount has fallen, the excess will remain in 
the tin can. In this case have another rubber 
cork attached to a handle that will close the 
upper end of the tube extending one fouth of 
an inch into it. Close this, pull out the lower 
cork and when the water in the tube has run 
out, replace the lower cork aud pull out the 
upper one, when the second reading can be 
made, and so on till the whole is measured. 
This is approximately correct. 
ABOUT MUCK. 
//. M. G. —1. Is Dana's Muck Manual, 
printed in 1855, authority now? 2. How 
should muck be treated to make it valuable as 
a manure? 3. Could not muck be treated 
with Jime, and then bone and potash he ad¬ 
ded, making a valuable manure; if so, how 
should it be done? 
Ans —1. It is the best there is on the sub¬ 
ject, though it contains numerous errors. 2. 
Muck should be exposed to the action of air 
and frost to break up its structure, and also to 
get rid of the injurious gases it contains, and 
the longer it is exposed the better. 3. It could 
be so treated; but we should prefer piling it, 
using only lime, as freshly burnt as possible, 
adding one bushel of the stone to every 25 
bushels of muck; covering the lime with the 
damp muck as quickly as possible so as to iu- 
duce and confine as much heat as the lime 
would make. After six months, add 200 
pounds of bone and 100 pounds of sulphate of 
potash, or 50 pounds of muriate of potash, to 
every 50 bushels of the muck, and after three 
months more you would have a valuable com¬ 
post heap. The value of muck as a manure 
varies greatly, however, some being of very 
little manurial value, and some, when proper¬ 
ly weathered, nearly as valuable as farm 
manure. 
PINCHING BACK BLACK-CAPS 
./. L , Provincetoim, Mass. — How shall I 
trim black cap raspberries? Shall I keep 
pinch iDg them hack aud force them to assume 
a tree form, or let them grow at ramdom af¬ 
ter once pinching? 
Ans.— Black-caps should, every year, have 
the new growth that comes from the crowns 
of the roots, pinched off when they have 
reached the bight of feet—not more. Af¬ 
ter this, they will throw out laterals which 
should be allowed to grow as long as they will, 
aud from the ends of these new plants can be 
procured by causing them to take root. Early 
in the succeeding Spring these laterals should 
be cut back to about 12 or 14 inches in length. 
They will then throw out a young growth of 
from 12 to 15 inches, and on the ends of these 
young shoots the fruit will be borne. Pinch¬ 
ing back the laterals the first season, not only 
weakens the growth, but forces the fruit buds 
to break, and both these things injure the 
next year's ci*op. The wood that has produc¬ 
ed fruit may be cut out, either after it has 
ripeued its crop or the next Spriug, as is most 
convenient: better we think, soon after the 
fruit is picked. 
OVERFED PIGS, 
H. B., CobbUskill, N. F.—The past Spring, 
a sow had eight well pigs, which were fed on 
milk, and bad a pasture of two acres, with 
plenty of running water. For about two 
months, they did exceedingly well; then oue 
day one of them made a strange noise, got up 
on its fore feet, squealed, panted for breath, 
and in less thau five minutes laid down and 
died. Within the following four weeks, 1 lo»t 
three others in the same way. Wbat was the 
trouble, and what should have been the treat¬ 
ment? 
ANSWERED BY COL F. D. CURTIS, 
It was the same old trouble—overfeeding. 
These pigs were doubtless filled up inwardly 
with fat, and it affected the circulation, and 
produced apoplexy, or a stoppage in the 
action of the heart. When pigs are highly 
fed, they take very little ex&rcise, and this 
makes it all the woxse for them. There does 
not seem to have been any obronic disease, 
like thumps, but an acute trouble. It. might 
have been inflammation of the bowels or 
stomach, but not likely, as pigs are generally 
stupid when thus affected, at, least for a day 
or two, and the stomach is always discolored. 
The resemblance to choking in the symptoms, 
would correspond with a want of action of 
the heart. Too much food and fat. 
CURING TOBACCO FOR HOME USE. 
T. J., Tynnerville, Neb .—How can I cure a 
little tobacco for my own use in smoking ? 
Ans.— After all the leaves have taken on 
their cinnamon coloi’, take the tobacco down 
from the place where it is hanging. Choose 
a moist time, when the leaves are pliable; 
strip the leaves from the stalks and tie them 
into small bundles, placing the butts all oue 
way. If the leaf stems (mid ribs) are wet and 
clammy, pack the bundles in a double rank, 
placing the tips in the center, and the butts 
outwards, and cover the top and ends of the 
rank with boards. Leave them in this con¬ 
dition a fortnight or longer, or until the stems 
are nearly dry. Then pack the bundles into 
a box, pressing them in firmly by placing a 
wooden follower upon the tobacco, aud forcing 
this down as far as possible with a lever. If 
the leaves are so dry that they are not en 
tirely pliable at the time of packing, they 
should be moistened by surrounding the pack 
a few days with a pile of damp straw. After 
packing, nail a cover on the box, aud place it 
in a warm room. If this is not convenient, 
leave it in an outbuilding until next Summer, 
when the warmth of the air will cause it to 
go through the proper amount of fermenta¬ 
tion. 
DEW-SPANGLED PASTURES. 
J. I. C., Marietta, Ga.—l. I take more in¬ 
terest in the Rural than in all the other 
papers 1 read, and it has given me more in¬ 
formation thau the others combined. Now I 
wish to kuow whether it is good for stock to 
go on the pastures w’heu wet with dew ? 
Does it injure the grass to be trampled wheu 
the dew is on it worse than wheu it is dry? 
Ans.— When first “turning to grass” in the 
Spring after a long Wiuter of dry food, it is 
very dangerous to turn stock ou grass wet 
with dew or rain. One of the reasons is that 
when in that condition it is more palatable, 
and they will eat it faster and are apt to gorge 
themselves aud produce boven. But after 
they have become accustomed to the grass, 
not only does it do them no harm, but really 
it is muc h better for them to have au oppor¬ 
tunity to eat it in the early morning when cool 
aud glistening with the pearly drops. 2. It 
does not. It will Injure it to be trodden when 
frozen or covered with a heavy frost, but not 
in the least when it is only wet with dew. It 
is of course different when the ground is sat¬ 
urate! aud made soft with a heavy rain. 
PREPARING TO RAISE STRAWBERRIES, 
J. A. B., A nnvllle, Pa.— 1. I have a low, 
but not wet bottom—sandy loam borderiug 
on a small stream. It is wow covered with 
potatoes which will come off soon. I wish to 
cultivate strawberries on this land;how shall 
1 go about it aud what shall 1 do to get it in¬ 
to a paying condition ? 2. What varieties 
would you l-ecomineud for market purposes ? 
ANS.—1. You can manure it highly and 
plant it at once, and with a fair Fall can 
market a partial crop next year; but we 
doubt whether that course would pay as well 
as to put it into the finest order aud plant 
next spring. If planted now and the plants 
have good care next year, they would produce 
a partial crop, and he in sbape for a full crop 
the year following. 2. The market in which 
the berries are to he sold has much to do in 
deciding what varieties to plant, and without 
knowing the market we canuot advise as to 
the kinds. In a general way, Manchester, 
Sharpless, Crescent, aud in many places, Wil¬ 
son, are standard sorts. You should try a 
few Jewells; they seem to promise success 
generally. 
POTATOES FOR POULTRY, ETC. 
G. T. M., Norwalk, Conn,— 1. What are 
potatoes worth per bushel for chicken food? 
3. Where can I purchase the purest strain of 
Buff Cochins? 3. What kiud of pears are best 
for ripening in August and September? 4. 
When should they he planted? 
Ans— 1. A moderate quantity of potatoes 
boiled and fed to poultry, are a very valuable 
food, particularly iu Winter: but it is very 
hard to say how much they are worth in 
money, os prices of other food are so vari¬ 
able. The small potatoes eau be used and are 
worth more for this than for any other pur¬ 
pose. 2. Of any dealer near you. as we think 
birds of this breed are uniformly pure. 3. 
We could uot answer this without knowing for 
wbat purpose they were wanted/wlietber for 
home or market, and then what pleases one 
might not please another. You might try 
the Rostiezer, Bartlett, Clapp’s Favorite, 
Seckel and Howell for family use. 5. Plant 
in Spring, as soon as the ground is in condi¬ 
tion. 
CARE OF YOUNG TURKEYS. 
M . L. C., Patton, III .—Several of my young 
turkeys have been ailing of late, and two 
have died. One of them wa3 found to be 
covered with lice; what is a remedy, and were 
the lice the cause of the sickness? 
Ans.— Foung turkeys are very tender, and 
cannot withstand hardships of any sort. Cold, 
damp surroundings, over/eeding, improper 
feeding and, above all, vermin, will quickly 
destroy the turks. The indispeusable requi- 
sites lor raising young turkeys are a dry and 
clean coop, in which ihey must be shut up un¬ 
til the dew is entirely off the grass; proper 
food, as cracked corn, coarse oatmeal, cracked 
wheat, buckwheat, stale bread crumbs and 
chopped onions, always given dry; pure water 
to drink; protection from rain and from ver¬ 
min. To get rid of the latter, dust them at 
night when iu the coop, with flowers of sul¬ 
phur, or spi inkle Persian Insect Powder in 
the coop a little while before they go in at 
night. Turkeys are raised far better by a 
common hen than by a turkey hen. 
CHRONIC SORE THROAT IN A HORSE. 
R. M., Golden City, Mo. —Last Spring one 
of my horses caught a cold, and ever siuce he 
has been coughiug badly. There is no nasal 
discharge, but he drinus with difficulty, and 
often in opening his mouth, the water flows 
back into the drinking vessel. He eats well, 
but appears dull, and coughs severely when 
worked. His breath smells very bad. What 
should be the treatment? 
Ans. —The trouble is due to chronic sore 
throat, with catarrh aud fetid mucous secre¬ 
tion. First give one pound of Epsom salts, 
and after it has operated, give an ounce of 
acetate of potash daily iu a bran uiash, or lin¬ 
seed gruel with an alternate dose, also daily 
of the following mixture:—solid extract of 
belladona, half an ounce; tannic acid, one 
dram; hyposulphite of soda, four drains; hon¬ 
ey, four ounces: dose, a tablespoonful put 
ou the back of the lougue and teeth, so as to 
be swallowed gradually. 
MUCILAGE. 
,/. D., East Rookaway, N. 1.—Can mucil¬ 
age be made from glue? 
Ans.— Gum arable aud water form the base 
of most of the mucilage of commerce. Glue 
is a form of gelatine, of an impure quality, 
aud hence only used as an adhesive medium. 
It dissolves under the influence of heat, but 
again becomes hard when the heat is with¬ 
drawn. A very “sticky” liquid glue is pre¬ 
pared l>y the addition of strong acetic acid, or 
weak nitric acid. Two pounds of glue dis¬ 
solved iu one quart of hot water, will, with 
the addition of seven ounces of ordinary nitric 
acid, make a powerful adhesive mixture. 
Great care must, of course, be exercised in 
handling the acid. 
SAND-REFINED CIDER. 
L. D,, Thom Hill, /’u.-How is what is 
called sand refined cider made? 
Ans.— The cider is made from sound, ripe 
apples; them put into a large tank where it is 
allowed to ferment from 24 to 72 hours, ac¬ 
cording to the temperature. It is theu leached 
through from four t> six inches of pare sand, 
placed on cloths supported on racks ou the 
