r 
@70 
THE BUML HEW-YOBKER. 
DEC @4 
(Continued from page 869.) 
close totbo ground while out of leaf, paint the 
stump over or coat it with thick gas tar thin¬ 
ned by warmth, and then train up a new 
stem and give it such core as will prevent its 
being debarked in the least or deprived of 
any of its leaves or t heir shade so long as 
they are green. A graft can be set on of any 
favorite sort that does satisfactorily well in 
t he region or locality where the tree grows. 
5. Ben. Davis, Buckingham, Cooper, Lady’s 
Sweet, Major, Rawlo's Genet, Ked Astrachau. 
6. Iu order to learn how fruits, flowers, etc., 
are crossed on each other it is necessary first 
to see and know the male and female parts 
common to all flowers. No teacher ought to 
receive a certificate without being able to 
answer simple questions frr.m the grand book 
of Nature as well as questions from the type 
of the text-books. We think our inquirer need 
not go far to learn to recognize stamens with 
their anthers and their pollen; and pistils 
with their stigmas and their ovaries. The 
springtime of blossoms v ill then afford more 
immediate interest to him than all the illus¬ 
trated papers of the world can supply. Re¬ 
move the anthers, before they are mature, with 
the point of a penknife. The stigma (female 
part) remains. Then apply pollen from the 
variety with which it is desired to cross. The 
pollen will be found in all perfect, mature an* 
thers. Cover with tissue paper to protect 
against other pollen. 7, Have the land deep 
and mellow. Prepare hills, say, ten feet, apart 
each way. Use a liberal quantity of well- 
rotted horse manure and incorporate it with 
the soil of the bill. Plant us many seeds iu a 
hill as you choose, and when they sprout pull 
up all but two, or at most three of the strong¬ 
est. Keep them entirely free of weeds. It 
is well to cut off the ends of the vines as soon 
as the melons begin to sot. Plant the seeds 
not until settled warm weather. 
FERTILIZERS AND GREEN MANURING. 
* l lnexj)erimerKankalece, III. —I am in 
the small-fruit business. Slough hay is so 
cheap here and straw so dear—owing to the 
consumption of the latter by a paper mill— 
that the former is freely used for bedding 
purposes, consequently the manure is of little 
value to me—on a sandy loam soil with a 
gravel subsoil—at 50 cents and SO cents more 
for hauling. It is too heating. I wish to con¬ 
fine myself to raising strawberries principally 
and do not wish to alternate with other crops 
more than necessary, for gardening is already 
overdone here. My land has had but little 
stable manure for several years, but still it 
raises very nice berries—but I wish to raise a 
gilt edged article for home market and for 
fancy trade in Chicago. Part of my land is 
infested with white grubs, and 1 thought of 
raising and plow iug under two or three crops 
of turnips for green manure; would anything 
else answer better? Would the use of com¬ 
mercial manures in connection with the above 
be advisable? How large should 1 nllow the 
turnips to grow before turning them under? 
Would it not be a good plan whenever 1 plow 
under an old bed al ter fruiting, to sow to f ur. 
nips and turn them under before hard freezing? 
Ans. —Manure is of quite as much import¬ 
ance in small fruit growing as in the culture 
of wheat or corn. When it consists largely 
of marsh grass it is more valuable than that 
made from straw, as the marsh grass contains 
about three times as much nit rogen as straw 
does. There is no other manure so valuable 
for strawberries as thut of cows. It is cool 
and moist, two qualities favorable for this 
crop. Horse manure is too dry and heating. 
In the absence of manure, a very good substi¬ 
tute may bo found by plowing under the old 
beds and sowing them with rape which is bet¬ 
ter than turnips, and applying Peruvian gu¬ 
ano or the complete manure which contains 
all the elements of stable manure. A good 
growth of rape plowed under would give the 
coolness and moisture to the soil, which are 
most desirable for strawberries. With this 
treatment we do not doubt that strawberries 
could be grown consecutively with this inter¬ 
calated crop plowed in. Wo would apply the 
fertilizer upon the prepared soil by harrow¬ 
ing in 300 to 600 pounds per aero immediately 
before planting. 
FLESHINGS AND BONE-STEAMING. 
J. M. IK., St, Mary's, Pa,—1.What percent, 
of ammonia do pure fleshings from a tannery 
contain, if not dry, and with how much 
kaiuit or sawdust should they be composted to 
preserve all the ammonia ? 3. What percent, 
of the ammonia is lost in steaming green 
bones for -18 hours in an open vessel ? 
Anh.— 1. As fleshings consist mostly of fat, 
and vary considerably in character, it is diffi¬ 
cult to say how much ammonia may be devel¬ 
oped from them, if they are made up mostly 
of parings of the hide, scraps of flesh, aud but 
little fat, the proportion of nitrogen would 
amount to probably enough to muko 10 per 
cent, of the dry weight of ammonia. But wet 
fleshings not only contain 75 per cent, of 
water naturally, but some more in the moist¬ 
ure held in them after the steeping of the 
hides iu the vats, hence it is not probable that 
more than per cent, of nitrogen could bo 
gained from them. There is no necessity for 
anything to be mixed with them to preserve 
the ammonia. Ammonia is not formed iu 
them until decomposition occurs, and as flesh¬ 
ings are usually plowed in the laud while fresh 
or made into compost, no ammonia will, or 
should, escape. If it should, gypsum is the 
best absorbent to take up the ammonia. Saw¬ 
dust is quite useless, atld any potash or other 
alkali is worse than useless. No ammonia 
exists in fresh bones; the dry gelatine of the 
bones contains about 15 per cent, of nitrogen, 
equal to nearly 18 per cent, of ammonia. 
Steaming for 48 hours will deprive the boues 
of nearly all their gelatine, and consequently 
of their nitrogen. 
INDIGESTION IN A HORSE; VETERINARY PRE¬ 
SCRIPTIONS IN ENGLISH. 
K. O. A., Aberdeen, Dak .—When my 12- 
ycar-old horse has had a rest for a few days, 
he bloats badly and sometimes has severe 
colic pains. He is fed on oats and Timothy 
hay, the latter not mouldy; but there is some 
very fine metallic dust in it. I got him about 
six weeks ago. He was run down very much 
in flesh then, but has picked up well since. 
He heaves badly sometimes. His howels 
work freely but be can’t get rid of the "gas,’* 
How should ho bo treated? 2. Is there any 
way to compel a veterinarian to write the 
prescriptions for which I pay him, in com¬ 
mon English. He gives me them in unintelli¬ 
gible jargon; and sends me with them to a 
druggist who pays him a percentage on all of 
these prescriptions. 
ANSWERED BY DR. F. L. KILBORNE. 
I. The hoi , se is probably suffering from 
chronic indigestion, the cause of which I am 
unable to determine from your description 
with no previous history of the case. Give 
one quart of raw' linseed oil to open the bowels 
freely, and repeat the dose in 24 hours if no 
improvement is produced. Thou try the fol¬ 
lowing powders: No. 1 to be given night and 
morning for the first week, and No. 2 the same 
for the second week. Continue to alteruate 
the two powders for several weeks If neces¬ 
sary. Report the result in one or two months. 
No. 1 powdered gentian and Glauber salts, each 
one-half ounce, niter and pulverized aloes each 
two drains. No. 3. one half ounce each pow_ 
dered gentian and ginger, aud two drams of 
sulphate of iron. Whenever there occurs 
much tympany or bloating, give two drams of 
carbonate of ammonia in a pint of cold gruel 
every two or three hours, with frequent injec¬ 
tions of warm water until relieved If neces¬ 
sary to feed the dusty buy, slightly dampen it 
before feeding. Good corn fodder substituted 
iu part would lie excellent. The grain ration 
should consist iu part of wheat bran, or mid. 
dlings mid linseed meal. Give little or nocorn 
lor several months. Reduce the feed when 
idle, or, what is preferable, give regular dally 
exercise. 2, In his regular practice, you 
cannot compel the veterinarian to write his 
prescriptions in English for you, unless lie 
chooses to at your request. Neither can he 
compel you to patronize any certain drug 
store. You can have his prescriptions filled 
equally well by any other druggist. Your 
only remedy is either not to employ this vet¬ 
erinarian if you are not satisfied with his 
methods, or to putromzo your own druggist 
who will very likely give you the English 
equivalent of the prescription. 
SWEENY OF HIP JOINT IN A MARE. 
Subscriber , Ohio ,—A valuable four-year- 
old trotting mare while being trained, about 
three months ago, received some injury in the 
left hind leg. A veterinarian who examined 
it thought it was in thefoot, but thut uppeured 
perfectly sound. I thought at first that the 
scut of the disease was In the stifle and then in 
the hip. She couldn’t lean on that leg for a 
couple of days. The muscles have atrophied, 
causing a perceptible shrinkage or sweeny. 
How can I restore the parts to their normal 
condition in a short time? 
Ans.—P robably the most rapid method of 
replacing the atrophied muscle is to send a 
current of electricity daily, for lifleen min¬ 
utes, through the muscle. In the absence of 
mi electric buttery, apply mild blisters, as 
the next best method, uud repeat as often as 
the skill becomes healed, until the desired ef¬ 
fect is produced. Moderate daily exercise 
will also bo very boneflolal, and hasten the re¬ 
covery. It will probably require considera¬ 
ble time to replace the wasted muscle entirely. 
Such cases cauuot usually be restored "in a 
short time.” 
SORGHUM FUR SIRUP. 
J. O. S., Pendleton, S. C.—l. What is the 
best kind of sorghum seed for sirup? When 
should the cane bo cut. 2. Why does sorghum 
blacken the teeth when eaten? 
I* Ans.— 1, The most popular variety of sor¬ 
ghum is the Early Amber cane. It is cut when 
the seed is ripe and thus the seed pays all the 
expenses of growing the crop, yielding about 
25 bushels per acre of grain equal to corn in 
feeding value 2. We do not know what is 
meant by "sorghum,” whether it is the sirup 
or the cane itself that is mount. The cane it¬ 
self has no olTect upon the teeth; the sirup 
may have uuder certain conditions as when if 
is boiled iu a rusty iron kettle or evaporator, 
when the sugar will precipitate the iron salts 
(both ferrous and ferric) produced by the ac¬ 
tion of acids iu the juice upon the iron. These 
iron salts cause the sirup to have a very dark 
color and it will blacken the teeth when used in 
excessive quantities. 
TREATMENT OF PEAR AND STRAWBERRY 
SEED. 
S. C., Davenport, W. T .—How should pear 
and strawberry seed be treated to insure 
their growth? 
Ans.—C ollect the seeds from ripe, fine speci¬ 
mens of pears and place them in a box of 
sand that is slightly moist. This box limy be 
kept in a dry, cool cellar until spring. Then 
plant them about three inches deep in rich, 
friable soil Or they may be planted two 
inches deep and covered with old, fine manure 
to act as u mulch and keep the soil from 
baking. They may also be planted in the 
fall and the drills covered with manure 
until spring, when the coarser part of the 
mulch may be raked off, Simply wash the 
pulp of the strawberry from the seeds and 
plant them iu a well prepared plot out-of- 
doors, or in boxes or pots in the house, or in 
cold-frames. Let the soil ho fine ami, us the 
seeds are small, merely cover thorn. A glass 
may well bo placed over the seeds until they 
begin to sprout. They gormiuuto very readi¬ 
ly. February is a good lime to start straw¬ 
berry seeds iu the house. The seedlings may 
then be planted out where they are to remain, 
iu early June. 
Miscellaneous. 
M. IF,, St, Mary's, Pa. —What is the price 
of bones iu the following cities: New York, 
Philadelphia, Detroit or Chicago, aud Buf¬ 
falo? 
Ans.— The price of bones depends very 
largely upon the size of the lot, their condi¬ 
tion and transportation charges. The prices 
in the cities named are about the same. A fair 
average price for dry boues would be about 
|14 per ton. 
J. H,, West. P. O., W. Va. —1. How can 
the Resurrection plant be propagated? 3. 
Will it benefit deutzlas t.o cut them back in 
order to make them bloom more freely? 
Ans— 1. By .division. But almost all of the 
plants iu cultivation have been introduced di¬ 
rectly from their native habitats. 2. Thin out 
the old and scraggy wood iu the fall, and 
shorten hack the young wood after they have 
done blooming in June. 
W. T. It., Saratoga Springs, N. Y. —Is 
Xautlioceras sorbifoliu worth planting? 
Where can it be obtained, and at what price? 
Ans —Yes, it is a line shrub, curly to flower 
aud very hardy. John Haul, of Washington, 
D. C., sent us onr plants. Ellwanger & Barry, 
of Rochester, N. Y., charge from * I to $1.50 
per plant. 
J. N N., Ontario, Can. —The great draw¬ 
back to grape-growing iu a lurge part of On¬ 
tario is the late spring and early fall frosts. 
Can any reader of the Rural suggest a cheap 
way to protect our mature grapes, such as 
Concord, Niagara, etc., either with glass, cot¬ 
ton sheets or uuy other? 
IF. O F., Oreensburg, Ind —You can learn 
all about A. N. Colo’s system of irrigation by 
reudiug his book, “ The New Agrieul 
turc,” or by applying to the Secretary of the 
Elmira Farmers’ Club, Elmira, N. Y. 
L. C. It., New Orleans, La. —You can get 
the Nixon nozzle from J. M. Tborburn & Co., 
New York. 
»♦» 
DISCUSSION. 
UNWHOLESOMENESS OF SALTPETER. 
W. C. G.—In the Rural of December 10, 
Dr. Henry Stewart objects to the use of salt¬ 
peter in food, as having a directly injurious 
effect upon the kidneys, in this 1 quite agree 
with him when it is used in any appreciable 
quantity. Many other things too are harm¬ 
ful which are in common use in culinary art; 
for instance, cinnamon, cloves, aud flavoring 
extracts. I have known at least two individ¬ 
uals to lose their health from eating cloves iu 
excessive quantities, producing derangement 
of the heart functions, and consequent dropsy, 
reducing them to quite a dangerous state of 
invalidism, and so poisoning their blood that 
it took years to recover even comfortable 
health, after quitting the use of the unwhole¬ 
some articles when their pernicious effects 
were made plain to them. But yet, who shall 
say that a moderate use of either of the three 
mentioned articles, os condiments, is injurious 
to health? Certain it is that one is likely to 
get more of them in a year in one’s food than 
of saltpeter in butter, even if the saltpeter is 
used in every churning. Let ns figure a little: 
The quantity used must never exceed an 
ounce, or at most an ounce aud a half 
to the ouo hundred pounds. But admit¬ 
ting that two ounces were used, this 
would give ono ounce (sixteen grains) to every 
50 pounds of butter. There are 800 ounces in 
50 pounds—1,600 half ounces. Now allowing 
one half-ounce to bo eaten by each person at a 
meal, this gives but 1-100 of a gram for each 
individual—an infinitesimal dose, surely. If 
Dr. S. never uses saltpeter in curing hams or 
beef, will lie kindly give the readers of the 
Rural bis formula? If the sense of smell is 
so much more acute than that of taste, per¬ 
haps it would be well to follow the advice 
given in regard to holding one’s nose, but as 
for mo I should prefer to cat my bread with¬ 
out butter. 
L. T. S., Topeka, Kans. —Iu the Rural of 
December 10, page 825, we are told of a new 
breed of coach horses—the Yorkshire Bay— 
which we are informed is substantially the 
same as the Cleveland Bay. There seems to 
be a mania not only among horticulturists 
and pomologists; but also among stockmen, for 
multiplying varieties where there is no sub¬ 
stantial difference. W hen it was conceded that 
the Holstein aud Friesian Dutch cattle and 
also the Aberdeen and Angus (or Forfar) 
Scotch polls were substantially identical many 
of us hailed the amalgamation of the names as 
a sign of better things iu the future; but we 
have still the PercheTon and Norman breeds 
which are really the same; and now come the 
Cleveland Bay aud Yorkshlro Bay 1 Of course, 
coinmOU sense and popular intelligence will 
force the breeders and importers of tliese 
horses before long to unite upon a common 
uaino to avoid confusion, misconception uud 
imposition, but why start the trouble? Was 
it for the sake of imposing on a patient pub¬ 
lic more of such clumsy, mouth-filling, com¬ 
pound names us Holstein-Friesian, Aberdeen 
Angus and Duroe-Jersey? 
II. L., Ridgewood, N. J.—On page 851 of 
the Rural, B. F. Johnson asks some inter¬ 
esting questions as to the effects of "a fresh 
meat ration given daily to a milch cow.” It 
would bo interesting, if nothing else, to have 
answers made to his inquiries; but whoever 
makes them will, I hui»e, also tell us what 
practical good can he obtained by feeding 
such a ration, aud also what is likely to be 
the effect of changing a cow from a grum- 
nivorous animal to a carnivorous beast. Of 
course, wo all know that when a milch cow 
eats any tainted food, the milk and its pro¬ 
ducts are proportionally injured. The fresh 
meat ration therefore must be sound uud 
wholesome—wouldn’t it therefore be a trllle 
too expensive ? Thou again carnivorous beasts 
are, as a rule, fiercer and less tractable than 
graninivorous animals. Whut effect would 
a daily fresh, souud meat ration have on the 
temper of a cow ? 
iHiscfllancous. 
CATALOGUES, ETC., RECEIVED. 
Backstrom Cream Separator.— We have 
received a descriptive catalogue from the 
Backstrom Centrifugal Separator Co., 19 
West 23d street, New York. At the pres¬ 
ent time no dairy subject is attract¬ 
ing more attention than that of t he separation 
of cream from milk by the centrifugal pro¬ 
cess. As creameries multiply aud dairy edu¬ 
cation gains, uow and improved appliances 
are more carefully tested, and humtieds who 
a few years ago sneered at the idea of "separat¬ 
ing” cream by machinoy are now patronizing 
the machines they once thought useless. 
Attention is directed to this catalogue because 
it contains a description of the Backstrom 
Separator, so minute and clear that all who 
study it can easily understand the principle 
upon which it works. The “Backstrom” is 
simple in mechanism mid can bo adapted to 
any kind of power. Those who send for this 
catalogue and study it will be aide to discuss 
this “centrifugal process” iutclligeutly. 
University of California.— Bulletin No. 
76 from this institution deals with the seed 
distribution which is maintained by the col¬ 
lege. As it seoms probable that our public 
sued distribution will iu the future be con¬ 
ducted by tin.’ various experiment stations^^M 
the plan followed iu California will bo 
studying. 
A tJood Reputation. llrowii’H Bronchial 
Troches liavo born heron- the nubile many years, ami 
everywhere acknowledged to ir t the bunt hiuiudy loi 
all throat i roubles. ..... ... . 
Mrs. S. H. Elliott, KldKOfleM, Uonu., says: 1 have 
never been without them for the lust thirty years. 
Wouhl us soon think oj Itvfny w tl.out breath. 
They quickly relieves Coughs, Sore Threat, ami 
Bronchial A (TeelUrns. Price J!> cents. For sale every¬ 
where, and only In boxes.- Ad v 
