ter through it. Nitrogen compounds alone 
can escape into the air, and such escape would 
be favored by the lime if much of it remains 
in the caustic condition. The potash of the 
ashes will work in the same way, but there is 
too little of it in the ashes of spent tan to do 
much harm—less than three per cent, and 
likely to be less than one per cent. Whether 
the treatment of the offal as described by our 
inquiring friend would result in loss of ammo¬ 
nia depends upon the unknown quantity of am¬ 
monia formed and upon the unknown quantity 
of caustic lime left over—probably not much of 
either. On the whole, it is not likely that the 
piles of the offal will loose much nitrogen; 
nor will they gain much in value unless some 
fermentation sets in by which the nitrogen 
compounds will be liberated from their insol¬ 
uble condition. 
NAVICULAR DISEASE IN A HORSE. 
W. A. P , Rockport. Ohio. —My horse is 
lame in one of his fore feet every winter and 
spring, but grows better in summer. When 
at the worst, ho stands with the leg extended 
and the foot resting on the toe. The lame 
foot is slightly smaller than the other fore 
foot, but not badly contracted. What should 
be the treatment for this case of navicular 
disease? 
Ank. —Remove the shoes, shorten the toe 
and pare the sole to relieve the pressure. Then 
for four to six weeks keep the animal stand¬ 
ing in a puddle of soft clay, of sufficient depth 
to cover the hoof, during the day, and keep a 
poultice on the foot at night. Also apply a mild 
cantharides blister to the foot and sides of the 
pastern, to be repeated as soon as the effects 
of the first have passed off. When the soak¬ 
ing and poulticing of the foot are discontin¬ 
ued, the born will be very soft and porous, 
and to prevent excessive drying, the hoof 
should be covered daily with some hoof oint¬ 
ment. For this purpose one of equal parts of 
tar and vaseline is excellent. Two or three 
months’ rest will be desirable, during which 
time it may bo necessary to blister several 
times. A perfect recovery can rarely be 
effected, but such cases can usually be greatly 
benefited by a thorough course of treatment 
and a long period of rest. 
GARGET. 
A. H. S., Springfield, L. /.—What is the 
matter with my cow? Shortly after dropping 
a calf one of her bind teats seemed to be sore 
and the calf would not suck it. It was very 
hard to get milk from it except by inserting a 
quill, when the milk w-ouid run freely, but not 
one quarter the quantity she usually gave 
from it. About a month later the other hind 
teat became affected in the same way and 
they are both in that condition now. The 
milk from them is not good and has a stringy 
substance in it. The cow seems to be In per¬ 
fect health and eats well. The teats do not 
appear to be sore.butasort of scab forms over 
the ends of them every day. 
Ass.—The trouble is mamitis or garget. 
When first noticed the cow should have been 
given one pound of Epsom salts and 25 drops 
of tincture of aconite twice daily. The udder 
should have been rubbed frequently with a 
solution of a tincture of belladonna, 
or a poultice of bran or spent bops Bhould 
have been applied to it. Usiug the quill proba¬ 
bly aggravated the trouble. A milking tube 
would have been much better. II. is possible 
that the above treatment may now remedy the 
trouble, but the chances are that it has gone 
too long. With care at the next calving tho 
trouble will be removed. 
BUHACH FOB ROSE-BUGS. 
a. B. D., Canal Dover, O— In the Rural 
of March 19, Buhach and pyrethrum powder 
are spoken of as specifics for the rose-bug. 
Myriads of these pests destroy grapes, rasp¬ 
berries, peaches and apples here every year. 
Our druggist knows nothing of the above 
“specifics.” Where can they be procured? 
Ans. —Three years ago, as we remember, we 
added about two tablespooufuls of Buhach to 
to a pail of water (or about two gallons). This 
was sprayed upon spirseas, a dwarf apple, etc., 
which were alive with Rose-bugs. The liquid 
was pumped through au “aquupult" pump, 
hose and cyclone nozzle. In a few minutes 
every Rose-bug had fallen to the ground ex¬ 
cept those which at once flew away. We 
thereupon announced that we had found an 
insecticide for this hitherto (to us) invincible 
pest. We have used it since with the same re¬ 
sults. Buhach, like Dalmatian Insect Pow¬ 
der, Lyon’s powder, etc., is made from the 
flowers of the Pyrethrum ciuerarmfol ium in 
California, and is supposed to lie purer than 
the imported article. It is offered for salo by 
nearly all druggists and many grocers and by 
the agents, tho Buhach Producing Co., 49 
Cedar Street, N. Y. 
WOOL WASTE AS A FERTILIZER, ETC. 
II. II. P., Shrewsbury , Mass. —1. What is the 
value of wool waste for a fertilizer, and how 
is it best reduced for that purpose? 2. Would 
bone meal be a good fertilizer for onions on 
a clay loam? 
Ans.— 1. Wool waste is rich in nitrogen, 
sometimes containing ns much as 13 per cent. 
It decomposes so slowly that its actual fertil¬ 
izing value is rated as less than that of other 
substances containing a smaller supply of 
nitrogen of a more available character. The 
practice of plowing the waste in, in the fall is 
followed by some with fair results. The sub¬ 
stance decomposes slowly in the soil, and ils 
effects are noticed for some years. Various 
ways are proposed for rendering the nitrogen 
of wool waste more readily available. The 
most economical is that of composting it in 
horse or cow manure. If it can first be used 
to absorb the urine in the stable, the decom¬ 
position will bo helped. 2, The bone meal is 
weak as a fertilizer for the ouion crop in nitro¬ 
gen and contains no potash. A manure pre¬ 
pared especially for the onion would contain 
twice as much nitrogen and also a large per 
cent, of potash. 
FERTILIZER FOR FRUIT TREES. 
,/. K, It., Georgetown's. C. —In my vegeta¬ 
ble garden I have young pear, peach, apple 
and plum trees, also grape vines. For a fer¬ 
tilizer I use rotted manure and Stockbridge 
vegetable fertilizer, also some nitrate of soda. 
The trees get the benefit of the nitrate of soda; 
would muriate of potash be better for them and 
for the vegetables than nitrate of soda; or 
should I use the Stockbridge fertilizer around 
the trees instead of either of the others. 
Ans. —Stockbridge vegetable fertilizers are 
“complete” fertilizers; i. e.. they contain pot¬ 
ash, phosphate and nitrogen in some form. If 
we used them, therefore, we should not use ni¬ 
trate of soSa. Iu the place of Stockbridge 
fertilizers you might use potash in any form, 
uuleached wood ashes, muriate or sulphate of 
potash, and ground hone. If it is thought 
well to supplement the farm manure, use 
bone flour and kainit or wood ashes, muriate 
or sulphate of potash; or, instead of these, 
any of the complete fertilizers put up by man- 
facturers for vegetables or fruits. 
CONVERTING CADAVERS INTO A FERTILIZER. 
C. O., Belief onto Center, Pa. —What is the 
best way to make manure out of the dead 
body of any animal t 
Ans. —The compost heap is the best place 
on the farm for such matter. Small animals, 
like rats, cats or fowls, can be thrown whole 
into the manure pile or into a compost of 
manure, muck or p^at. With larger animals, 
like horses or cattle, it will pay to cut or chop 
the carcasses up into smaller pieces, or even 
to separate the flesh from the bones, before 
putting it into the manure. The bones will 
not be greatly “reduced” by this process. It 
will be cheaper to burn them as recommended 
by Dr. Hoskins, on page 175. Farmers are 
sometimes advised to bury such animals at 
the roots of trees or vines. This is poor ad¬ 
vice. The action of such powerful fertilizers all 
in one place will harm or cripple the plant or 
vine. Put at a little distance from the plant, 
the carcass will attract the roots and nourish 
them. 
SCRATCHES IN A HORSE. 
J. A. G., Marion , Vo.—My horse has had 
the scratches for a year or longer. All the 
remedies I have tried have failed; whatislike- 
ly to effect a cure? 
Ans. —Wash the limbs night and morning 
with warm Castile soap-suds, dry, and apply 
a light dressing of benzoated oxide of zinc 
ointment after each washing. When nearly 
healed, apply daily an ointment of equal parts 
of spermaceti aud almond oil until the skin 
becomes clean aud soft. Give a laxative diet, 
avoidiug all heating ageuts, as corn, buck¬ 
wheat, etc. The stable should be kept clean 
and the animal driven as little as possible iu 
the wet or mud. If so used, wash and dry as 
soon as placed in the stable. Even after re¬ 
covery you will have to bo very careful or the 
difficulty may return. 
TEOSINTE. 
M. IF., Mount Pleasant, Utah.— Is Teosinte 
—Reana luxurians—likely to prove hardy 
here aud one half as productive as some cata¬ 
logues proclaim it to be? 
Ans.— The Rural carefully tried this plant 
about eight years ago when it was first talked 
of. The seed starts readily and the growth is 
very luxuriant as soon us the weather be¬ 
comes very warm. The leaves are broader 
than those of com und they grow closer to¬ 
gether. The leaves und .stalks are relished by 
hoises, cattle, etc,, and there is but one objec¬ 
tion to its cultivation in this climate, viz., 
that the season is too short for it. It will not 
bloom at the Rural Grounds aud corn will 
give more fodder to a given urea. 
FERTILIZER FOR ONIONS. 
A. H., Picton, Canada. —What would be 
the best commercial fertilizer for onions, and 
in what form should it be applied—soil, a 
sandy loam? 
Ans.—A fertilizer containing six per cent. 
of ammonia, 10 per cent, of phosphoric acid 
and six per cent, of potash would be as nearly 
the right proportion a-s we can suggest for 
any soil which needs all three. Manufactu¬ 
rers put up fertilizers with the above propor¬ 
tions aud percentages of plant food. It. would 
be best, in our opinion, to sow' this broadcast 
at the rate of from 800 to 1,400 pounds per 
acre, according to the fertility of the soil, and 
harrow in lightly. 
WIND-SUCKING. 
F. E. IF., Hilton Head, S. C.— My 21-year- 
old horse has had the habit of wind-sucking 
since he was six months old and I have never 
found a remedy; can anything bo done for 
him? 1 have raised a large number of colts 
which have run with him, but uoue of them 
has ever contracted the habit. 
Ans. —The habit Of wind-sucking is not so 
liable to be contracted by contact as crib- 
biting. There is no effective treutineut. The 
best method of preventing or checking the 
habit is by the “neck-strap”—a strap made for 
tho purpose and buckled tightly around the 
upper part of the neck. The use of the strap 
is liable to produce roaring, so that it is al¬ 
most a choice between two evils. 
Miscellaneous. 
R. R., Loutre Island, Mo.—Last year 1 
bought a flue mare for breeding purposes. 
After repeated trials this spring, she failed to 
come in season for the stallion; is it possible 
that she w'ill never have a colt? Is there any 
way to make her take the stallion either by 
stimulants or force? 
Ans. —About one mare in every four or five 
will not breed even under favorable con¬ 
ditions. Iu the present case wo cun only 
advise the best of care and a liberal nutritious 
diet with daily moderate work or exercise. 
Working a mare until she is quite tired will 
sometimes cause her to stand for the stallion 
when she would not do so otherwise. Occa¬ 
sionally mares are successfully forced to 
stand to be covered by the male. Of course 
such service must be during the period of 
heat to be fruitful. The use of stimulants to 
bring an animal in heat, has very properly 
been mostly discarded. 
IF. -4. F., Homewood, Pa. —1. Ten days 
ago I noticed a lump,the size of a pullet’s egg, 
on the breast of my three-year old colt. It 
has been growing larger ever since and isnow 
the size of a mau’s two fists. It seems full of 
matter aud was caused, I believe, by striking 
the breast against the manger; what should I 
do? 2. Half Cotswold and Merino ewes bred 
to a South-Down ram dropped lambs more 
than one-third of which were black; would 
the same thing be likely to happen again? 
Ans.— 1. Employ a veterinary surgeon to 
open or remove the lump. Without knowing 
the exact nature aud seat of the lump, we 
cannot safely adviso you to do so. 2. The 
number of black lambs is unusual, aud would 
not be likely to lie repeated. 
B. II. I\, Elkfand, Pa. —1. How can wild 
parsnips and turnips bo exterminated? 2. 
Will barley and oats “mix” if planted close to¬ 
gether, or what effect will their proximity 
have upon either grain? 3. I have 100 barrels of 
ben manure; in what proportion should it bo 
mixed with earth so that i* will not be too 
strong? 
Ans. —1. These are great pests iu the coun¬ 
try about the Rural Farm on Long Island. 
We cannot tell how best to exterminate them. 
We are careful to pull up every plant that is 
in bloom so that it can bo seen. 2. No. They 
will not mix; nor will either produce any ef¬ 
fect on the other. 2. If the hen manure be 
w'ell mixed with three times its bulk of earth, 
it may be used with safety. 
J. R., Loaning ton, Va. —My five-year-old 
mare has a swelling on the fetloek joint, 
caused by a kick or sprain last February. 
She has not. been lame for two months; how 
can I reduce the swelling, which is neither 
hnrd nor very soft? 
Ans.—P aint it with tincture of iodine every 
four days for several weeks. If this is not ef¬ 
fectual, apply a mild cantharides blister, fol¬ 
lowing tho directions frequently giveu in tho 
Rural, by cutting off the hair where tho 
blister is to be applied, and so tying the mare 
that she cannot reach the sore with her 
mouth. 
./. K. II., Georgetown, S. C.— One of my 
Bartlett pear trees has put forth shoots only at 
the ends of the branches, and the growth seems 
stationary. The buds along the branches are 
not swelling, although tho tree is apparently 
healthy. All the other trees planted at the 
same time are well leafed aud branching fine¬ 
ly. What is the matter with the exception? 
Ans.—W e have had just such cases, and 
invariably find that tho roots are diseased. 
Neither fertilizers nor munure in such cases 
will do any good. Please examine tho roots 
and see if we are not right. 
*4. O. ( 7 ., Powell's Station, Tenn.— How far 
apart should stanchions for lull-grown cattle 
be placed® What width of floor from stan¬ 
chion to gutter? 
Ans. —Three and one-half feet apart. This 
is wider than usual, but it is none too wide for 
comfort. A space feet long will accommo¬ 
date a fair-sized cow. 
J. II. J., Troy, Pa .—Your horse had appar¬ 
ently a very bad case of irregular strangles or 
“distemper. ’ Treatment would probably 
have been useless, except, perhaps, at the very 
outset. 
T. If. R., Perry , N. Y .—The repairs for the 
Manney reaper and mower can be had at 
Rockford, Ills., from the J. P. Manney 
Mower Co. 
. 
The Marianna Plum.— T. V. Munson, of 
Texas, says iu tho Gardeners’ Monthly, that 
those who know this variety well will bear him 
out in the following statements. Its most 
remarkable characteristics are, that it grows 
almost as easily as a willow, from cuttings: 
it does not sprout from the roots, ns do other 
Chickasaw varieties; it continues to grow all 
tlio season through, aud can be budded iutoas 
late ns or later than the poach; it carries other 
plums, or the peach, excellently as a stock; it 
is borer-proof, and the leaves never “rust,” 
as do those of the Wild Goose. The fruit has 
never been damaged—though stung—Ivy the 
curculio, alongside of Wild Goose seriously 
injured. Tt originated in Southern Texas, 
aud does amazingly well all through the Gulf 
States, and in Iowa and Illinois it has endured 
30 degrees below zero with little it any appa¬ 
rent damage. 
Honest Dealing and Improvement in 
Butter Making.— With oleomargarine prac¬ 
tically out of competition, dairymen ought at 
once to raise the standard of butter. The 
N. Y. Herald makes this sage remark. So 
far, taking all the grades offered in this mar¬ 
ket, there has been but little change, save that 
some very poor stuff has been marketed. Per¬ 
haps it ought to be frankly stated that more 
low-grade butter than usual lias been sold in 
New York City this winter. Iu plain lan¬ 
guage, instead of going forward wu have been 
going backward. Manifestly this is a serious 
mistake. Why? Because it recalls the cou- 
dition of tho market when the makers of oleo 
first secured i\ foothold and when the compari¬ 
son between the genuine aud bogus was often 
in favor of the latter. Tho only way in which 
dairymen can keep control of butter and 
cheese sales for home and foreign consumption 
is by honest dealing and by improvement iu 
grades. 
TnE Heifer’s First Calf.— If the heifer 
herself is a spring calf, says a correspondent of 
the Philadelphia Press, it is not generally best 
to allow ber to breed so as to drop a calf much 
before she is two years old. But, if she was 
herself born iu the fall, she may be bred when 
nine or 10 mouths old, thus dropping a calf 
when 18 months old. There is u general idea 
that a heifer’s first calf is not worth raising. 
Possibly for making a beef breed it may not, 
but some of the best cows he has ever known 
were thus bred. Jersey cows are noted for 
their earliness iu comiug to breeding age. 
Iu the warm climate of their islaud home they 
breed at an early age, aud this helps to explain 
not only their small size, but their acknowl¬ 
edged excellence for the dairy. The vitality 
of the youug heifer is so soou diverted to milk 
production that it becomes the most important 
function of the animal economy. 
A Feeding Test, —In the feeding tests now 
being conducted at the Michigan Agricultural 
College by Prof. Johnson, a Holstein Steer was 
prepared for the test as follows: Taken from 
tho COW when four days old, fed four quarts 
of new milk night and morning, and three 
quarts of skimmed milk at noon until four 
weeks old During second month, two quarts 
of skimmed milk were fed with two quarts of 
new milk night and morning, and three quarts 
of skimmed milk with two tablespooufuls of 
oil meal at noon. Tho feed during the third 
mouth was four quarts of skimmed milk and 
two tablespoonfuls of oil meal three times a 
day. The feed duriug the fourth mouth was 
tivo quarts of skimmed milk with one-half 
pound of a mixture of five pounds of ground 
oats to one pound *f oil meal three times per 
day. During the fifth mouth the feed was six 
quarts of skimmed milk twice a day and four 
and a half pounds of corn meal and oat meal, 
equal purts, in three feeds. At five months 
the milk commenced to diminish until five and 
and one-half mouths old; had no milk after 
that time; was out ou grass night aud day, 
