ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to Insure attention. Before 
asking a question, please see if it is not answered in 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions at 
one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper. 
AILING COW. 
F. S.y Osceola , D. T .—My young cow’s coat 
is always rough-looking; she doesn’t urinate 
enough for a beast of her age, and her horns 
are often cold; what should bedoue for lier? 
Ans. —From this very brief description of 
the case wo are unable to give a definite satis¬ 
factory answer. Try the.following: one-half 
ounce each of powdered gentiau, ginger, sod¬ 
ium carbonate aud uitrate of potash, to be 
given twice daily aud continued for a week. 
Theu twice daily for the next week give two 
drams of sulphate of iron, one-half ounce of 
nitrate of potash and two ounces Epsom salts. 
Alternate thus for several weeks, or until the 
improved condition indicates that no more 
medicinal assistance is needed. The cow 
should also have two or three quarts of ground 
feed (as equal parts corn meal, ground oats, 
and w heat brau or middlings, or some such 
mixtuve) with a piut of ground linseed or 
oil meal night aud morning. A peck of roots 
or potatoes daily would be excellent: while 
the vigorous use of the wire card for half an 
hour daily would probably be very agreeable 
to the animal aud might do more than any¬ 
thing else to improve the condition of her skin 
and the appearance of her coat. 
“WOLF-IN-THE-TA.IL” AND “HORN-AIL.” 
W. R. II.. Kingston, N. ./.—In a late Rural 
it is said that it is a barbarous practice to cut 
a cow's tail; bow then should wolf-in-tkertail- 
and hollow-horn be treated? 
Ans. —As has been repeatedly stated in tlie 
Rural, there are no such diseases as “wolf-in- 
the tail” and ’‘hollow-horn” or “horn-ail” 
known to the veterinary profession. Both are 
terms conveniently employed by ignoraut 
quacks and “cow-doctors” to designate eases 
of disease in cattle that they do not under¬ 
stand. To hide their ignorance aud quackery 
and to impress their unsuspecting patrons 
with their knowledge and importance, they 
designate the disease by some such nonsensi¬ 
cal name as the above, rather than tell the 
truth and say they do not know the disease. 
Since there are no such diseases, no treatmeut 
can be recommended. To say that a cow has 
the hollow-horn (and all healthy horns are 
normally hollow) simply implies that she is 
sick; but gives uo intimation as to the nature 
of the disease She may have any one of a 
large number of diseases commou to cattle. 
With the wolf-in-thotail it is practically the 
same. A veterinary, surgeon of considerable 
experience when once asked the treatment for 
wolf-in-the-tail advised getting the wolf out. 
The answer was as sensible as the question. 
It was said in a late Rural that it was a bar¬ 
barous practice to bore the boms of cattle aud 
fill the hole with irritating ageLts. And so it 
is. As to cuttiugor splitting a cow's tail, the 
operation is not very painful and can scarcely 
be said to be barbarous, but it is certainly 
equally unnecessary and inflicts needless pain 
upon the animal. 
VALUE OF STREET SWEEPINGS AS A FERTIL¬ 
IZER. 
W. D. P„ Camp Spring. Ind .—What is the 
value of street sweeping.s from off concrete 
pavement, that have been thrown in large 
piles and rotted? I can get them eight miles 
away for 25 cents per two-horse wagon load. 
I have hauled three loads for .trial: but the 
Rur4L Editor lives so near "New York I would 
like to know his opinion. 
Ans. —Street sweepings vary greatly in 
different towns and at different seasons. In a 
large tow'n, like New’ York, they consist most¬ 
ly of horse droppings aside from what is 
thrown into the street, while in a small town 
or inland city very much of the sweepiugs 
consist of dirt that is brought in from the 
country on the wheels of the wagons, and in a 
muddy' time more than three-fourths of the 
weight would consist of this. At the same 
time they would make valuable manure where 
they can be used without too long hauling. 
We doubt if it will pay to haul them eight 
miles even if they are given free; but your 
method is the l ight one. Use the three loads, 
being careful to watch the results, If a farm¬ 
er has a good lot of barns and the facilities for 
feeding stock, he can almost always feed some 
sort of stock in winter so as to have the man¬ 
ure, if nothing more, for profit, aud as manure 
made from fattening stock is very valuable 
I 
JAM IS 
this will pay better than purchasing it at a 
distance. 
AILING MARE. 
C. Ik. Hirer Falls , Wts.—Last spring my 
mare became affected with what a veterin¬ 
arian calls “grease” and rheumatism. He 
bled her and said her blood was in very bad 
condition. After six or eight weeks we could 
work her; but her leg was still swollen to some 
extent, and was always worse after she bad 
stood a few days idle. Now she is as bad as 
ever—leg very much swolleu from hoof to hip, 
can’t rest her weight on it; breathes short and 
seems to suffer much: appetite good: works 
freely’and weighs 1,400, and is sprightly. How 
should she be treated? 
Ans. —Try the following course of treat¬ 
ment aud report condition in two months. 
Give brau mashes night and morning for one 
day, and the next evening give six drams of 
Barbadoes aloes. Follow twice daily’ with 
two drams each of chlorate of potash aud ni 
ter, one-half ounce bicarbonate of soda and 
one ounce of powdered gentiau. Do not over¬ 
feed, especially on corn A daily allowance 
of roots or a pint of ground linseed twice 
daily’ will be excellent. Give special atten¬ 
tion to the general health of the animal. 
Groom thoroughly. Allow light work, driv¬ 
ing, or walking exercise daily. 
SIZE OF WATER-PIPE. 
.7. O. L-, Monteithinlle, Va —I wish to lay 
pipes underground to carry water from ray 
stable to stock lots, a distance of 75 feet. The 
fall from stable to lots is three feet. I use 
a suction pump with one-inch pipe—inside 
measure, What size pipe should be put down 
to carry’ the water about as fast as it could be 
raised with this pump? Is it at all likely the 
water would not flow freely through a small 
pipe—fay one inch—a distance of 75 feet, (three 
feet fall) without being forced? 
Ans.—F or this purpose we would suggest a 
pipe of half-inch inside diameter, if lead pipe 
is used, or three-quarter iuch if the rustless 
iron pipe, with a tank at the pump, or a barrel, 
as a reservoir. This may he kept full aud 
the water permitted to flow to the trough 
where the supply may be regulated by u float- 
valve. a ball, or a large cork, which closes the 
pipe when the trough is full aud opens it when 
the water is used down, An iuch pipe with 
three feet fall will discharge water no faster 
than it can lie raised through a oue-inch pipe. 
The fall will be ample to carry the water 
through a half-inch pipe 75 feet without any’ 
forcing. 
RYE STRAW. 
S. C., West Northfield, Mass .—How can 
rye straw, worth .*10 a ton at the barn, be 
used on the farm so as to be worth more 
money ? 
Ans.—W e think you had better sell the 
straw and invest the money in some good fer¬ 
tilizer or in bone dust, muriate of potash aud 
nitrate of soda, or sulphate of ammonia or 
dried blood. It is unfortunate for the farm 
to have straw worth so much for other uses, 
aud although au application of it does have a 
mechanical effect upon the land that adds 
greatly’ to its manurial value, we hardly 
think it could be used in any way to make it 
worth §.10 if applied to the soil. 
SALT FOR APPLE-TREES. 
B. F. C., Hikes Point, N. F...1 I wish to 
salt my apple trees: when should it be done— 
now or in the spring? 2, The trees are about 
20 yearg old; will a gallon be too much for 
each, and should it be sowu broadcast or scat¬ 
tered only’under the trees? The laud is uovv 
in clover, but I intend to plow it down in the 
last of May and afterwards cultivate it, but 
grow no crop on it. 
Ans. —1. Salt is easily washed out of the 
laud, and if sown now and much rain or heavy 
snow follows, a large part would be dissolved 
and canned out. We should prefer sowing in 
spring after the bulk of the rain has fallen, 
but before all have ceased, so that it may be 
carried well into the ground, but not out of it. 
2. One gallon would not be too much; in fact, 
it would be about the right quantity, and as 
the roots of trees of that age and size extend 
on all sides and completely occupy the laud, 
the salt should by all means be broadcasted. 
Miscellaneous. 
II. S. C., Gaines , Pa. —I have 30 acres of 
hemlock land. The timber has been cut, the 
bark peeled, and the logs will be taken off this 
winter. I want to make pasture of it. Some 
tell me to burn the brush before I sow the 
grass seed; others say it will lie better for the 
land uot to burn it, but that the seed can be 
sown right in the brush. What does the 
Rural say ? 
Ans. —We should advise burning the brush, 
being sure to do so early in spring or, in fact, 
this winter, if possible. Burn it early for two 
reasons—to avoid burning any of the muck or 
leaves or chips that may be on the ground, 
and to be able to sow the seed very early in 
spring—the earlier the better. 
A. B. W., Willow Creek, N. Y.— What is 
the Rural’s opinion of Canada uuleached 
ashes on grass, potatoes and other crops? 
Ans. —Canada unleached ashes are apt to 
vary considerably in manurial value, and^ 
they should always be bought on their analy¬ 
sis. If good, they’ contain from five to six per 
cent, of potash, from '2}{ to four per cent, of 
phosphoric acid, and from 40 to 45 per cent, 
of lime; but some lots do uot contain half 
these proportions of potash and phosphoric 
arid. If good, they are valuable on clover, 
potatoes and corn, markedly so on the first 
two. 
.7. .4., Jr., Ascotink, Va.—Will a heavy ap¬ 
plication of S. C. rock be good for a new 
strawberry plantation on land which the past 
season bore a good growth of corn aud fod¬ 
der, having been well dressed with Bryant’s 
No. 2 at planting time? 
Ans. —We do not know what Bryant’s No. 
2 is. We doubt very much if the S. C. rock 
will have auy’ effect whatever upon the straw¬ 
berries, unless the land is supplied with potash 
and nitrogen. 
II. C. P., Bangor, Me .—There is an apple 
called Peter the Great, that sells quite freely 
about here; is it Ben Davis, and what is its 
quality? 
Ans. —We never heard of it before. “Peter 
the Great” is probably a tree peddler’s name. 
B. F. C., Hick's Point, Ky .—I am thinking 
of sowiug 20 pounds of Alfalfa seed to the 
acre in March, early in the morning when the 
ground is frozen but likely to thaw before 
night; is that a good plan? 
Ans.—W e much doubt if there is a better 
way. 
- - » «- 
DISCUSSION. 
D. S. M., Watertown, N. Y.—A statement 
appeared in a late Rural to the effect that 
bees fertilize grapes. What facts has anyone 
to prove that bees really work on grape blos¬ 
soms to auy extent? If bees do so elsewhere 
they’ do better than here. I have been study¬ 
ing the matter for yea is and I have seen only 
au occasional bee on grape blossoms; also 
common buzz flies and a small bee half the 
size of the honey bee. Except the fly, the 
others come only occasionally. The fly really 
does habitually sip the nectar. According to 
my observations here, insects do not practi¬ 
cally hybridize grapes. 
R. N.-Y.—Our own method of crossing 
grapes is to remove the cap and apply the 
pollen from the variety with which it is de¬ 
sired to effect, the cross; to remove all other 
flowers and to cover those remaining with fine 
paper. We find that in every case the 
pollen is ripe as soon as the cap begins to 
loosen. With such experience it is naturally’ 
a matter of surprise to ns that any oue should 
claim a cross-breed when the application of 
the pollen is made after the cap loosens, or 
merely because two vines grow in close prox¬ 
imity, Unless the stamens are defective we 
believe that grape blossoms are self-fertiliz¬ 
ing. 
R. H., Montreal, Canada.— In a recent 
issue of the Rural, among other things men¬ 
tioned, sand was named as a suitable absorb¬ 
ent in an earth closet. This is surely mislead¬ 
ing, as sand hasno absorptive properties. My 
earth closet, which I have had in constant, 
daily use for seven yeai-s, is simply’ a box with 
a hinged cover, the receptacle being au ordi¬ 
nary- galvanized iron pail, costing 50 cents. I 
lind sifted bard coal ashes the best absorbent. 
R. N.-Y.—We have used ordinary sand for 
this purpose, and also common road dust. We 
have also found hard coal ashes excellent. 
J. F. B,, Michigan. —In a late Rural C. E. 
W., Thetford, Vt. asks the experiences of oth¬ 
ers about the Jewel Strawberry. My experi¬ 
ence with it is the same as his. I set mine in the 
fall of 1885, and many of them did uot make 
a plant during the entire summer. The sea¬ 
son was extremely dry, but May’ Kiug, set in 
adjoining rows in the spring ol 1*80, multi¬ 
plied about thirty-fold. Unless the Jewell 
makes up in fruit what it lacks in plant pro 
duction it will be a dismal failure. Perhaps 
it will be adapted to cultivation in tree form. 
D. B. B., Breckknridge, Minn.—The 
Rural of Dec. 11 submitted to its readers a 
question in regard to open or closed wells 
where pumps are used. 
I should say that in wells the diameters of 
which are large enough to contain quite a 
body of water, the frequent introduction of 
air into the water seems necessary to keep it 
pure. IVhere water is drawn with a bucket 
air is introduced at every descent of the pail, 
the oxygen of which keeps the water good. I 
have known cistern water to become very of¬ 
fensive when it was drawn by a siuk pump: 
but by opening the cistern once a day’ for sev¬ 
eral days and drawing a few pailfuls and 
pouring the w’ater back into the cistern it en¬ 
tirely lost its offensive smell. In putting a 
pump into either well or cistern, if the pump 
goes directly into the water, I alw-ays leave di¬ 
rectly under the spout a place tha t I can open 
so that I can pump water back, letting it fal 1 
directly into the water below. This I find 
always keeps the contents of the w'ell good. 
In the case mentioned in the Rural, where 
the pump is not over the well, a pipe might 
be so arranged that when needed it could be 
connected with the spout of the pump, run¬ 
ning to the. well, entering near the top (the 
nearer the better); then every day a little 
water could be pumped and allowed to fall 
into the water in the well, the well being 
opened at the top at the time; at other times 
it should be kept closed to keep out dirt. If 
anybody objects to the correctnees of my 
theory,I can only say’ that I have always found 
it correct in practice which is what we are after. 
(Cvcntw 1) m\ 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Illinois. 
Chicago, Cook Co., January 5.— There is 
to-day a very fair covering of snow on the 
winter wheat in Illiuois, Ohio and Indiana, 
varying in depth from three to eight aud ten 
inches, the depth of the snow increasing as we 
go east. In Wisconsin aud Michigan snow 
lies upon the ground about 12 inches deep. In 
Missouri aud Kansas there is very little if any 
snow, with very cold weather for the last 
three or four days, the effect of which we 
shall no doubt hear of as the season advances. 
The South seems still to be drawing on the 
West, and particularly Kansas City, for corn 
and oats, and a lack of cars seems to be the 
only limit to this demand. New Orleans comes 
direct now to Kausas City for grain. As this 
is the season when a large amount of taxes 
become due all over the West, upon farms, 
and rent for land also, and a general squar¬ 
ing up of indcbtedness.it is not improbable 
that we shall see some increase in the move¬ 
ment of grain out of farmers’ hands. It may 
not, however, show itself in the largo grain 
centres, the grain for the time being, particu¬ 
larly corn, going into cribs or in a shelled con¬ 
dition into country elevators. The new corn 
has graded well this season and is generally 
of au excellent quality, and the long-continued 
dry weather puts it into fine condition for 
shelling. There is no area to-day in the corn- 
belt that T know of, except in the far western 
portion of Nebraska, whore corn is not bring¬ 
ing a fairly good price. The iuter-State de¬ 
mand still continues good, and feeders who 
have beeu waiting for coni to go down.finding 
that not the case are still large buyers at prices 
from three to five cents above shipping; 
and this fact alone has much to do with 
the small receipts which we note at Chicago. 
There is no practical change in the spring 
wheat situation. The weather, while cold, 
has beeu good and roads the best ever known 
at this season of the year. Considerable snow 
is reported in Dakot a. We had a rei i mrkably 
Hue season at harvest: no rain for several 
weeks from Dakota to the Ohio River, and the 
oat crop was secured iu very excellent condi¬ 
tion. The price at harvest was quite satisfac¬ 
tory' to the producers, and more than a usual 
movement thou took place. Country ware¬ 
houses have, been very largely filled up with 
oats, anil even now contain a large quantity. 
The scarcity of corn has, however, on the oth¬ 
er hand, caused a very large, in fact au uu - 
usual quantity, to be fed out. The South has 
been a very good customer for our oats this 
season, anil it would not be surprising that if, 
after the oat seeding was over, wo should see 
a much smaller quantity' to come forward 
than has been generally expected. The hog 
crop still continues to come forward a little 
more freely than it did in December. If the 
hogs in the country’ are fit for the packing 
season of 1880 aud 1*37, they must show them¬ 
selves very soon. Nebraska uud Kansas find 
now as good a market for their hogs in Kan¬ 
sas City and Omaha as they do in Chicago. 
The hog cholera,so-ealled,still seems to prevail, 
aud I think a little on the increase, but I do 
not call it epidemic this season. The fear of 
the disease, however, is still strong enough to 
prevent, farmers from goiug into or keeping 
as large stocks of hogs on hand for breeding 
purposes as in former years. Hence we hear 
oftenor the expression, “ Hogs are being sold 
closer than usual.” n. w. 
Elgin, Kano Co., Jan. 3.—The butter mar¬ 
ket ruled steady to-day' under limited offer¬ 
ings. All sales were made at 32 cents. The 
extremely cold weather has reduced the make 
here about 25 per cent. Cheese steady and 
quiet, with but little doing. Full creams are 
firmly held at, 12 to 13 cents, and skims at five 
to nine cents, according to quality. H. m. 
IVnmvlTanU. 
Fisherville. —Prices of farm products; 
wheat, 77 to 8oc; rye, 52c.; corn, 55c.; butter ^ 
