250 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE BUBAL NEW-YORKER 
APRIL G 
consumed, clover pasture and roots being the 
general food with peas for finishing? 
ANS.—1. An ordinary stove kettle is a very 
good thiug; but we have used a tank with 
wooden sides, ends and cover, and an iron 
bottom, placed on a brick or stone arch. It cau 
be made of almost a.ny size, and cooks the food 
with little fuel. 2. Every breed has its friends 
and advocates, who think it a little better than 
all others; for our use. we prefer some of the 
smaller breeds. They are usually good grass- 
eaters. and will grow and keep fat on what 
they pick. We hope some of our experiment 
stations or agricultural colleges will settle the 
question by actual experiment. 
EXPANSION OF WIRE FENCE. 
A. S., W estover. Md.— What are the expan¬ 
sion and contraction of plain fence wire per 
1000 feet in a climate varying from 8° to 95° 
above zero? 
Ans.—I ron expands one foot in 1600 per 90° 
variation in temperature. Plain wire fence 
will contract and expand so much as to be¬ 
come useless in course of time, because when 
it expands it stretches permanently. The 
best time to make a wire fence is when the 
temperature is midway between the extremes, 
as about 45° or 50°. But it is better to cut tbe 
wires aud have no lengths over 800 feet, and 
then to put a strong spiral spring at the end of 
each length, or a screw in the post which can 
be let out or drawn up iu Winter aud Summer. 
The twisted and ribbon wires do not suffer 
by contraction, as the twist “takes” and 
“gives” sufficiently. 
JUMPING SPIDERS. 
Rockport, Ohio.— Sends specimen of 
a spider found in a bunch of grapes, and asks 
whether it is to be regarded as a friend or foe. 
ANSWERED BY PROF. C. V. RILEY. 
All true spiders are strictly carnivorous,and 
mue or less useful to man by destroying vast 
numbers of injurious or annoyiug insects. 
The only injury some spiders may possibly in¬ 
flict on plants is by spinning their webs over 
tender buds or blossoms, thus preventing their 
growth, but this damage is trifling in compar¬ 
ison with their usefulness. The specimen 
sent belongs to tbe genus Attus, or Jumping 
Spiders, which do not construct a web, 
but catch insects by cautiously approaching 
them and then suddenly jumping upon their 
vi tims. The specimen is immature and hence 
cannot well be determined specifically. 
CAKED BAG OF A COW. 
M. E. Z ., Newark, Ohio,—I have a Jersey 
cow that through bad treatment of a caked 
bag tbe last time she came in, lost one quarter 
of it. Cau it be restored when she comes in 
agaiD, and how! 
Ans. —Much will depend upon how badly 
the udder was injured; if the structure was 
broken up it cannot be restored. Watch it 
carefully, and if much milk is formed, milk 
even before parturition so as to prevent in¬ 
flammation of the udder, and if any cake or 
harduess shows itself, foment with warm 
cloths and apply much rubbing and kneading 
with the bands. ^ 
Miscellaneous. 
W F. K., Clinton, La. —1. How many cows 
ought to be allowed to a young bull; how 
many mares to a youug stallion and how 
many hens to a rooster? 2. Wbat are the 
dimensions of a box to hold a marketable 
bushel of apples and peaches, and what for 
one-third of a bushel? Should they be made 
with several slats to the sides and bottom, or 
close? 
Ans. — 1, One cockerel to 15 hens is enough. 
The rest of the question is too indefinite and 
would take too much space to answer. “Young” 
means any age from one to five years. 2. 
Usually fruit is sold by heaped measure. Ap¬ 
ples and other solid fruits in barrels, or some 
fraction of a barrel, aud peaches in crates, or 
more often in baskets. We gave, on page 
826 of tbe Rural last year, illustrations of a 
suitab’e box for apple shipping. It holds one- 
third of a barrel, and is 16 inches square and 
7 % inches high. The ends are of three-quar¬ 
ter-inch lumber: the sides, bottom and top of 
half-inch, with a door to open in the cover. 
The peach crate to hold one-third of a bushel, 
should be inches long, six inches wide 
and r J){ inches Jiigh—width and hight inside 
measurement. It should have three ends (one 
in the middle) three-quarter-inch thick cut 
6 x 9# inches. The slats are of about one- 
quarter of an inch stuff, and for bottom and 
top should be five Inches wide, and for each 
side they can be inches wide, using two, or 
2% inches wide, using three. Larger crates 
are in shape somewhat similar, only larger. 
W, E,, Sheboygan, Mich.— 1. I have 500 
two- horse loads of turf taken from the sur¬ 
face of a bog, w hich I set with cranberry 
vines last season. Will it pay to haul it 80 
rod?, and spread it on poor, yellow, sandy 
land for garden purposes? If so, would lime, 
plaster or salt improve it, and how mu-h 
should be used per acre? 2. Would celery do 
well in black muck bogs, such as cranberries 
grow in, if well drained, the muck being from 
two to four feet in depth, with white sand 
underneath? 
Ans. —1. We should think well of applying 
as indicated, especially if fairly well-rotted. 
It would have been better if mixed, as piled, 
with one bushel of lime, slaked with brine, to 
every thirty of the turf. Apply 50 loads or 
more per acre. 2. Such land, if manured 
slightly, makes the best of celery ground. It 
is sucb land that gives Kalamazoo. Mich., its 
fame for celery growing. 
F. H. D., Hamilton, Ind. —1. Our land is a 
mixture of nine parts clay and one of sand; 
with barn-yard manure we can raise straw 
enough for 40 bushels of wheat; but when 
large enough for over 20 it lodges, what cau 
we do to prevent this? What shall we do 
with our peat marshes? They grow good 
corn, but will not grow wheat. 
Ans. —1. We should recommend the appli¬ 
cation of bone dust, ashes and salt, or an 
alkaline phosphate aud salt. The lodging is 
caused by too much nitrogenous manure, or, 
more properly, by the absence of potash and 
silica, and the failure to produce graiu is 
largely due to a want of phosphoric acid. 
A. F., Neligh, Neb —1. I lately lost a num¬ 
ber of pigs, and found that the sows ate them 
as soon as they were born. So far as I could 
ascertain, they did not eat them alive, but 
first lay on them and smothered them. 2. 
What is a good yield of mangels per acre! 
Ans. —1, It i3 a very common thing for sows 
to eat up pigs when they fiud them dead in the 
pens; but it is unnatural and unusual for them 
to kill them and eat them. They never do 
unless made ferocious by fright, unnatural 
parturition or sickness. It is likely that these 
pigs were chilled with the cold and this made 
them dumpish so that the sows lay on them. 
2. Fifteen to thirty roos. 
-4. R W., Oswego Falls, N. Y.—l. What 
would nitrate of potash cost for agricultural 
purposes? 2. How can I utilize a dead horse 
for manure? 
Ans —1. Nitrate of potash is saltpeter and 
costs six cents per pound. You can buy potash 
cheaper in ashes or in muriate or sulphatt, and 
nitrogen in dried blood, or nitrate of soda, 
2. Cut it up and compost it with plenty of 
I stable manure, covering the pile, if it smells 
bad, with a sprinkling of gypsum or with sod. 
W. II, W., Deadwood, JJ. T. —1, How much 
sorghum seed is needed per acre, when it is to 
be used for fodder? 2. Can 1 make silage of 
it without pitting it, by merely covering it 
with hay! 8. How much Johnson Grass seed 
I is needed per acre? 
I Ans. —1, Sow a half bushel in drills 30 
inches apart. 2. No. To be at all advisable, 
the silage must by some means be kept from 
becoming too sour, 3. Twenty-five pounds. 
J. L. S„ Broxton Falls, P. Q —What is the 
value, as manure, of ashes made by burniug 
spent tan bark * 
I Ans. —If tbe tau bark is oak. the ashes would 
contain about five to six per cent, of potash, 
and would be a valuable manure; but if hem¬ 
lock, the ashes would contain scarcely a trace 
of potash, and would scarcely be worth 
scattering. 
i O. (j , York, Mich —If Johnson Grass is so 
j hard to eradicate, as some maintain, wouldn’t 
I it be advisable to “let it alone,” as there 
I are so many forage crops against which 
no objection can be made? 
Ans —You need not be in the least afraid 
of Johnsou Grass Try it in a small way and 
you can judge without danger. 
J. S., Woodland Mills,Ala. —Tbe Rural ad 
! vises the use of nitrate of soda on growing 
| wheat; wnere can this fertilizer lie obtained 
< and what is the price per 100 pounds? 
Ans —All dealers in chemical fertilizers sell 
it. See our advertising columns. It costs 
I about $2 75 per 100 pouuds, 
G. A. B , Tompkins Co., N. Y. —How old are 
the lambs you mention in Rural of March 
28, as selling from 87 to #9 each? 
Ans— The ewes dropped all Iambs between 
December 15tb to March 1st. We hivealready 
marketed over 100, aud are now selling about 
14 per week. 
H. W., Pella, Iowa. —What is the best 
farmer’s account book, and where can it be 
obtained ? 
Ans —There are so many good ones we can¬ 
not say which ia best. We should think some 
of the publishers would do well to advertise. * 
II. M., Pueblo, Col, —We have a slug of a 
yellowish color somewhat fuzzy,that eats our 
bean leaves and prevents tbe crop from tilling, 
what will destroy It, or prevent its ravages? 
Ans. —Use Buhacb or the kerosene emulsion, 
when the pest first makes its appearance. 
H. F., Longivood, Fla ,—Is there any way 
. of preparing lemons for market, so that they 
will keep? 
Ans —We know of none, nor can we fiud 
out by inquiry. Pickled limes and lime 
juice are articles of commerce. 
B, F. D., Newton, Kansas.— What is the 
best grass to sow iu a bearing orchard? 
Ans.— If by this question is meant what 
grass will do best., we answer, Orchard Grass. 
If it is meant to ask which is best for the or¬ 
chard, we answer no grass. 
W.Cr, C.,Mitchell. —What can be used in¬ 
stead of plaster for dusting cut “seed” pota¬ 
toes, where plaster cannot be had? 
Ans —Use the finest siftings from coal 
ashes. In the absence of these, fine road dust 
will answer. 
H. L. F., Cutchogue, N. F.—What would 
be the best top dressing for strawberries, 
where earliness is the principal object ? 
Ans. —As a matter of guess-work, we should 
say raw-bone Hour and muriate of potash. 
G R , Grand River, N. F.— Where can the 
Early Harvest Blackberry described in a late 
Rural, be obtained? 
Ans.— J. T. Lovett, Little Silver, Mon¬ 
mouth Co., New Jersey, is the introducer. 
A D., North East, Pa —Who is the largest 
dealer in pop-corn in New York City ? 
Ans.—J. L. Allen, 40 Cortland St., is as 
extensive a dealer as any. Pop-corn is worth 
here from 2 to 2)4 cents. 
J S., Fluvanna, N. F—Is it advisable to 
plow quite early between the rows of straw¬ 
berries that have become matted? 
Ans.—W e should prefer to do this work in 
the Fall. 
F. L. *4 , Enfield Centre, N. II —Is there 
any distinguishing mark on an egg by which 
to determine the sex of the chicken? 
Ans.—N othing with any certainty. 
J B. C. Albion, La. —Is there any difference 
between the Soubegan, Doolittle and Tyler 
Raspberries? 
Ans —Decidedly there is. 
G. H. F., Morley, Mich.—Is the Russian 
Mulberry a good tree to plant on a farm ? 
Ans.—W e should much prefer any one of a 
dozen other trees. 
H. CL, Norwich, Conn. —Is A. C. Hawkins, 
who advertises Wyandotte eggs for sale, in 
tbe Rural, responsible? 
Ans —Yes. 
H. E., Hector, N, Y.— Where can I get pure 
ground bone? 
Ans —From W. Williams, West Troy,N.Y. 
M. H S., Brandon, VI. asks for our method 
of potato culture in full. 
Ans.—S ee elsewhere in this number. 
J. R , No address.— Where cau I get the 
Shoe-peg Corn? 
Ans — All fertilizing firms sell it. 
J. H , Kingston, III —Has the Rural ever 
tested the Black Java poultry. 
Ans —No. 
Alston B. Ester, Williamsboro, N. C., asks 
who in the South is a breeder of Red Polled 
Norfolk and Suffolk cattle? 
A. L Bridge, Farmer, Tangent, Linn Co., 
Oregon.— Wants Creve-couir poultry. Why 
don’t those who have them for sale offer them 
through our advertising columns? 
D. D., Enfield, Canada. —We do not know 
of the Egyptian Oat. The Black Tartarian is 
a side oat. The Rural Thoroughbred or Ensi¬ 
lage Carn will not ripen in Canada. It will 
give you lots of leaves and stalks. 
. «*» ■ — 
DISCUSSION. 
D. A. P., Traer, Iowa.—In the Rural of 
January 3, the editor says that, except for 
propagating stocks, he will never plant the 
Concord Grape aguin. Now, we would like to 
learn some of the reasons for this resolution. 
We live in a country where the mercury goes 
down to 38 degrees below zero, and we have 
planted a great many grapes. The Concord is 
the only sort that gives general satisfaction, 
with the farmers, who leave it without cover¬ 
ing or pruning. The following are some of 
my reasons why the Concord Grape should be 
planted iu Iowa:—1. It is perfectly hardy 
without covering. 2. It will bear a fair crop, 
if never pruned. 3 It is a nice, large grape 
for market. 4. It is a fair wine grape. 5. It 
does not mildew. 6. It is early and, if properly 
pruned and covered, will bear an abundant 
crop. Taking all these things into considera¬ 
tion, where will you find a grape that is Detter 
for all purposes? It is time there are sweeter 
grapes, and better wine grapes, but as 
Iowa does not drink wine any more, we have 
no use for the latter, and, considering all 
things, we do not know what will do better 
than the Concord Grape. 
Remarks. —We shall not plant the Concord 
any more for the reason that there are other 
grapes of better quality which are just as 
hardy. Moore’s Early is ten days earlier than 
the Concord, while the vine is just as hardy. 
Let our friend try tbe following—one vine of 
each: Worden, Brighton, Lady, Lindley, Ni¬ 
agara, Wilder, Herbert, Jefferson.Vergeunes. 
E. W. B., North Topeka,— With me the 
Rural is “law and gospel” on all sorts of sub¬ 
jects, but once in a while little inaccuracies 
appear in its columns. Proud of my adopted 
State, I don't like to read in such a paper 
as the Rural (iu one of Mary Wager- 
Fisher's letters) that our principal tim¬ 
ber is elm. Had she taken a ride through one 
of our large apple orchards, instead of Bis¬ 
marck Grove, and then stated that our princi¬ 
pal timber was apple,sbe would have beeu more 
nearly correct. Waluur, ash, oak ifour kinds), 
hickory (two kinds), hackberry, pecan, maple, 
cottonwood, box-cider, linden, sycamore, wil¬ 
low, wild cherry, mulberry and black locust all 
are found. When the seeds are planted and 
properly cared for, all make a wonderfully 
rapid growth. I never saw finer specimens 
of walnut in Ohio or Indiana than i have 
seen on the Neosho River, Kansas, and there 
are fine forests of oak as far west as the Solo¬ 
mon Valley. I predict that 25 years hence 
the eastern half of Kansas will have more 
timber than all Ohio. 
Prof. Knapp says corn in Kansas is quoted 
at 15 cents. Perhaps it is in a few out-of-the- 
way places, but hern at Topeka aud all along 
our lines of railway it sells at from 20 cents to 
28 cents per bushel, and back in the western 
third of the State the local demand for feed¬ 
ing cattle makes a market at from 40 to 50 
cents per bushel. The report that our colored 
people were dissatisfied and leaviug is not 
correct, A less number of colored people 
than of white have left Topeka in proportion 
to their respective numbers during the past 
year. 
“ Does your Mother know you're uuir" AJ 
