bottom of vats several feet square aurl 14 
inches deep. We could not make the descrip¬ 
tion sufficiently plain without cuts, so that one 
could make the appliances, and if we did so, 
it would require very much experience to en¬ 
able one to do the work successfully. 
Miscellaneous. 
F. F, O., Alta, III —1. The apple trees, both 
old and young, in all the West are univer¬ 
sally dyiug, what is the cause? 2. Will tarred 
paper wrapped loosely around the trees dur¬ 
ing Winter, prevent rabbits from injuring 
them ? 8. Please name a few trees able to re¬ 
sist disease and cold Winters? 4. Does root¬ 
grafting injure the stamioa of apple trees? 5. 
What breed of horses is the best for general 
purposes? 0. What is a good remedy for 
chronic bronchitis in a horse? 
Ans. —1. This is a question no one at pres- 
sent is competent to answer; our guess is 
that, as yet, varieties just precisely suited to 
the soil and climate, have not been obtained, 
and we have great faith in the Russian varie¬ 
ties, especially for the more northern parts, 
perhaps not so much for what they now are, 
as for a start of new stock adapted to the vi¬ 
cissitudes of climate, from which better sorts 
may be bred. 2. If the paper is anyway 
fresh, we should much prefer to first wrap the 
tree with stroug wrapping paper, putting the 
tarred paper outside. 8. We can do no better 
at present than to name Wealthy, Pewaukee, 
and Fameuse, We think it is as much 
the dry, hot Summer, succeeded by a wet, 
warm Fall preceding tbe severe Winter, that 
kills, as it is the cold. 4. We think not In 
fact, if tbe root is of a tender variety, it may 
be a benefit. 5. We shonld prefer a cross of 
Clydesdale or Norman. 0. Give a free laxa¬ 
tive, such as a pint of linseed oil, repeated the 
third day; theu give a warm bran mash, and 
occasionally a quart of linseed steeped over¬ 
night in hot water. Give every morning one 
ounce of hyposulphite of sola, and every al¬ 
ternate evening an ounce of niter. Give no 
dry grain until the cough has disappeared. 
Keep a bottle of pine tar with a stick in it, 
and stir the stick in the drinking water before 
the horse takes it. Use precautions against 
over heating aad showers when hot, and keep 
the stable clean and well ventilated, and the 
fioors sprinkled with plaster, to avoid any 
scent of ammonia, which irritates the air- 
passages. 
“Subscriber,'' Charleston, S. C. —I have 
three acres of new land, at my summer home 
in Jackson Co., North Carolina, on a hill side, 
reaching down to bottom land. I have culti¬ 
vated and planted it in two successive years 
with cow-peas, this year getting a fine growth 
for that country. Can I turn the peas in 
green and sow rye and Red Clover in Septem¬ 
ber, using rye as green food for my cows next 
Spring, or had l better sow rye now, and theu 
harrow clover in early next Spring ? 1 have 
used ashes as a fertilizer for peas: should 1 put 
on any other previous to sowing rye? 
A ns. —There would scarcely be need to plow 
under tbe peas, as long as the land is iu good 
heart. It would do no harm, but it might be 
better to make hay of the pea-vines and plow 
up the laud at once and sow it with rye, seed¬ 
ing to Timothy and clover in the Spriug. As 
cow peas are a good renovuting crop and 
almost as good os clover in this respect and 
the mountain soils are deficient mostly in lime, 
if any fertilizer at all is used, some finely 
ground Charleston floats, or rock phosphate, 
would probably be the most useful; 300 or 400 
pounds per acre of it might be used. 
•/. 11. I)., Natick, ATciss. —1, Where cau I 
procure the European Larch aud when should 
it be set out? 
Ass.—\ ou can get the European Larch of 
any nurseryman. In planting the European 
Larch only such trees should be set out as have 
been once transplanted. As the leaves appear 
early, it must be planted as soon as the ground 
can lie prepared iu Bpring, aud great care 
should be taken to protect the roots from the 
air. It would he well to dip them in mud 
composed of a rich, mellow soil and water, of 
about the consistency of whitewash. The 
roots should be kept damp until they are fi¬ 
nally set. The other tree you mention is prob¬ 
ably Schwerdler's Maple. 
J. C. 11,, .4Hums Co,, Idaho. —1. What is 
the best washing machine ? 5. Give name 
and price of some reliable medical work for 
family use'? 
Ans. —The “Lovell” washer manufactured 
by the Lovell Washer Co., Erie, Pa., seems to 
give good satisfaction. See advertisement iu 
Rural for July 25th. 2, The best work we 
know of for a farmer is “A Compendium of 
Health,” published by the Americau Book Co., 
Chicago, price $0. This treats fully aud plaiuly 
of the diseases of mankind uud of all domestic 
animals. 
•1, 5. F., Holden, Mo. —My four year-old 
burse began to lose flesh about six weeks ago. 
W ben fed eoru, be slobbers almost a troughful. 
His dung is covered with a white mucus. 
What ails him, and what should be tbe treat¬ 
ment? 
Ans. —One trouble is intestinal worms. See 
the F. C., Aug. 1, for “Intestinal Worms 
* in a Horse.” Also examine bis mouth care¬ 
fully to see that he bas no decayed or over¬ 
grown teeth. If any are found, they should 
be removed or cut off, as the case may be, by 
a veterinary surgeon. 
A. M. T., Fernwood, III ,—I have a wistaria 
vine planted in May last, 13 inches from a 
stone wall. It seemed to do nicely for a 
while, growing about four feet. About a 
month ago it appeared to stop growing all at 
once, and has remained so till now. The 
leaves are quite yellow and are getting brittle; 
what is the matter and what can I do with it? 
Ans. —Something is injuring the roots you 
will find. 
J. C. V., Fort Scott, Kans .—It is reported 
that hanging uncorked bottles containing 
spirits of turpentine on plum trees, has been 
a perfect safeguard against the cureulio; does 
the Rural know anything about this 
“remedy?” 
Ans. —Yes, it has been tried repeatedly 
without any appreciable effect in keeping the 
“Little Turk” away. 
Subscriber, Lafayette, Mich.— Where can I 
get ground bone for the chickens as near this 
place as possible ? 
Ans. —From the Homestead Fertilizer Co., 
of Detroit; but it would be better to buy a 
hand bone mill of Frank Wilson, Easton, 
Penn., and grind the thousands of bones lying 
about the farm. This will put a nuisance to a 
good purpose. 
A. IP. S., Plainvitlc, Conn. —Has the Rural 
had any experience with the Soja Beau and 
and other lupines, and if so. what does it think 
of them to be used as a crop for green manur¬ 
ing? 
Ans. —We have no faith whatever in either 
for the North, and we think che cow-peas 
much the better in the South. 
F. J. D., Cincinnati, Ohio. —1. Which is 
the more effectual method of separating cream 
from the milk, the centrifugal process or 
deep setting in cold water? 2. Which is the 
cheaper? 
Ans. —1. The deep setting in water and ice 
with a temperature of 40 deg. F. we think the 
more effective by several per cent. 2. Deep 
setting is much the cheaper. 
New Beginner, NewTork City, X. Y. —What 
is a recipe for making good butter? 
Ans. —Such a thing can't be given; but else¬ 
where in this issue we publish tbe first part of 
an article that will tell you all that can be 
told; the rest must be learned by experience. 
L. E. 8., Chagrin Falls, N. Y .—In my 
Diehl-Mediterrauean Wheat there are two 
stools that have no beards, and these are 
larger aud heavier than the others; was either 
of the parent varieties beardless? 
Ans. —Yes; tho Diehl. 
J. H., Bvsf Granby , Conn,—Where can I 
get a rain gauge of a good kind, and at what 
price? 
Ans.—O f Prentice & Son, ITS Broadway, 
New York City. Price $6.50. 
IP. M. II., Toledo, Ohio. —Where can I get 
Law's Farmers’ Veterinary Adviser? 
Ans, —From Prof. James Law, Cornell Uni¬ 
versity, Ithaca, N. Y.; price |3. 
Subscriber, Pomeroy, Ohio. —The grass you 
seud is Polygonum avicnlare—Knob grass, 
Goose-grass or Doorweed. In spite of some of 
its names, it is not a real grass, but belongs to 
the Buckwheat Family—Folygouacetv. 
L. K., Clinton, Mich. —The variety of wheat 
with the short head, which you send for name, 
was sent out by the Department of Agricul¬ 
ture as Swamp. The other resembles Valley 
J. W. IP., South Cameron, N. 1'. —The po¬ 
tato you seud us for name is, so far as we can 
judge, a sport or seedling not fully fixed. 
E. K. 11., New York City. —The plant you 
send for name is an anemone. We cannot 
tell the species without the flower. 
J. M. F., Anna, 111 —The “grass” you sent 
is Bromus seoalinus—Chess or Cheat, the pest 
of the wheat field. 
H. G. IP., Fayette, Mich. —The flower you 
send is a species of Coreopsis—Tickseed. 
DISCUSSION. 
DRAINAGE AT THE SOUTH. 
J. F. K., Pontotoo, Miss.—In a recent 
number of the Rural, I noticed a reply to a 
correspondent who wishes to know how to 
prevent land from washing. Here at the 
South we are greatly troubled with the washing 
and gullying of hillsides. It is evident that 
under draining will not help u* much at pres¬ 
ent. Tiles are too expensive for the present 
state of Southern agriculture, and there is 
uothiug that wo cau use as a substitute. Theu 
agaiu, the conditions of soil aud rainfall iu 
this country are entirely different from those 
in sections where tile drainage is most com¬ 
monly employed. During our “rainy season” 
the rainfall is remarkably heavy at times. 
It is not uncommon to have a down-pour of 
over an inch in a very few hours. The com¬ 
position of much of our surface soil is such 
that this great body of water readily changes 
it into a vast sea of mud that will slowly 
move down any inclined surface. As a re¬ 
sult, unless extra pains are taken to check tbe 
rapidity with which this mass of liquid mud 
moves, tbe surface soil of steep lands will be 
washed away, deep gulleys will form on hill¬ 
sides, and the richer bottom lands will be 
slowly covered with the poorer soli from 
above, A thick coating of grass will do much 
to protect the soil. On steep hill sides, perhaps 
this is the cheapest and most practical solu¬ 
tion of the difficulty. We have seen rough 
gulleys seeded down iu this way, that are 
gradually filling up. The mass of grass holds 
the mud back until it forms in miniature Band- 
bars and islands, not unlike the action of the 
soil in large rivers. In large cultivated fields 
something of a like result is obtained by means 
of terraces. At intervals of more or less 
extent, according to the slope of the land, 
narrow patches of grass are placed, running 
along the hill sides. These hold the mud long 
enough to allow a deposit to form, and gradu¬ 
ally the field is formed into something like a 
series of terraces, or level platforms of earth. 
The same result can sometimes be obtained 
by running deep furrows around tbe hills and 
forming banks above them. The water rush 
ing down the hill strikes the bank, and slowly 
creeps along seeking for an outlet. Tbe 
amuuDt of sediment that water can carry 
will diminish or increase as the current is re¬ 
tarded or hastened. In slowly passing along 
the bank,the water loses much of its sediment, 
and is carried over to the ditch below compara¬ 
tively free. By prope” connecting ditches 
the water can be conducted to its proper out¬ 
let. This system, considerably elaborated, is 
in use on the Agricultural College Farm of 
Mississippi, where it has been very successful. 
Its advocates believe, and I think rightly, 
that before our broken lands can be profitably 
worked and fertilized, a system of ditching 
must be employed, that will regulate and con¬ 
trol the action of water, and thus prevent it 
from washing out fertilizers as fast as they 
are applied. 
SUBSTITUTE FOR BRICK CHIMNEYS. 
O. K. B , Georgia, Vt. —On the subject of 
a substitute for brick chimneys, discussed in 
the Rural of August 29, page 581, I may add 
a word of interest to Rural readers. Several 
years ago a prominent Baltimore firm introduc¬ 
ed a fire-clay flue or chimney which has had a 
large sale and has given very general satis¬ 
faction, as a cheap substitute for bricks and 
mortar. Later, a large sewer pipe manufac¬ 
tory at Columbus, Ohio, has made this an im¬ 
portant feature of its business, and is turning 
out large numbers of the flues; also flue linings 
for brick chimneys. These flues possess sev¬ 
eral advantages over brick and mortar chim¬ 
neys, and 1 do not know of any disadvantages 
except that they do not have the heavy,stable 
appearance of brick chimneys. If I were 
building chimney stacks aud wanted a good 
job. I would certainly use the fire-clay linings 
and the terra-cotta tops. For all ordinary 
6tove chimneys 1 would use the flues made for 
that purpose, without any bricks. They are 
safer than any brick chimney, because they 
are not subject to the destructive action of 
the chimney gases which destroy the mortar 
and render thousands of chimneys unsafe. 
The flues are smooth, aud, unlike the brick 
chimneys with a rough daub of mortar on the 
inside, do not afford lodgment for soot and 
ashes,aud otherwise obstruct the draft. They 
terminate in a hooded top, technically called 
a bonnet, to keep out water aud snow; or 
the more ornate terra-cotta top is sometimes 
substituted. They do not require a heavy 
support from below as do brick chimneys, but 
may lie suspended from the floor above, ofteu 
affording very great accommodation in the 
matter of location. With a little cemeut to 
close the joints on the outside, they are easily 
and quickly put into positiou aud are compar¬ 
atively indestructible. And last, though by 
no means, least they meet the hearty approval 
and commendation of insurauee men. I de¬ 
cided several years ago to substitute them for 
brick chimneys iu my owu house whenever I 
got ready to make some other changes,and am 
now doing so. 
R. N.-Y.—These cement chimneys are very 
good, and yet they do sometimes crack, and 
the buildings burn by reason thereof. 
Communications Kkckived for the Week Ending 
Saturday, September is, USS5. 
R. H. Y.—J. 8, P.-N. G.-R. and H.-A. M. T.—W. 
8. C.—U. W. H.—N. S.— W. II. N., peas received, 
thanks.— H. S.—Q. T , an article will soon appear.— 
H. R. tliauks.-J. M. S.-I. C. R.—T. D. R—C G. A.— 
S. G. T.-C. W. D.-H.-F. E. H.—B. L. A.-C. M. G 
—R. F.-M. R.'H.—O. R.—G. B.—F. D, C.—C. S.— 
M.H.-.T. D. S.-W. R. H—C. S.-N. S.-P. P. K.-G. 
E„ (banks. 
“ Harper's Magazine" is brimful of season¬ 
able and delightful reading.—Observer, N. Y. 
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