field or pasture where the land is fairly good, 
and rotted barnyard manure, in the propor¬ 
tion of three parts of loam and one of manure, 
thrown into a heap together for six or more 
months to rot, makes a capital compost for 
almost all greenhouse plants. 
2. We are not aware that any law ex¬ 
ists that makes any difference in the cost of 
incorporating agricultural or other associa¬ 
tions. The cost is a trifle anyhow. 
SUGAR OF LEAD POISONING IN A COW. 
S. H ., East I'oledo, Ohio .—My three-year- 
old Jersey cow was hooked by another cow 
about three months ago, between the udder 
and the thigh. A day or two afterwards she 
became all “raw” on the inside of her hind 
leg, from the knee up and around the udder. I 
applied sugar of lead and brandy, which healed 
the place nicely, but while it was getting 
better she kept licking it. Not knowing the 
poisonous effects of sugar of lead at the time, 
I paid no attention to her licking, and she has 
got lead-poisoned. She began slavering, and 
got so poor I thought she would die. Three 
days ago a veterinary surgeon gave me some 
medicine, a dose of which had to be given in 
the evening and another in the morning, to be 
followed by a pound of Glauber salts. She 
picked in the meadow the two following days, 
and then laid down and hasn’t risen since! 
She is in calf. What should be done for her? 
Ans.— Give the cow a course of powdered 
nux vomica. Begin by giving two-dram doses 
three times daily for three days; then increase 
the dose to three drams for three days, and, 
finally, to four drams. If necessary, continue 
the nux until the animal is on her feet, or 
until twitching of the muscles occurs, espec¬ 
ially noticeable when the animal Is excited in 
anyway. 1 his twitching of the muscles in¬ 
dicates that the dose of nux should be reduced 
to one-third or one-half the quantity, or 
stopped altogether, as the case may demand. 
In addition to the dose, give two drams of 
iodide of potash, night and morning, for the 
first week. Keep the bowels open, giving 
pound doses of Epsom salts, with an ounce of 
ginger, if necessary. 
PLANTING WALNUT AND LOCUST SEEDS. 
C. G. H., Ihlkton, Va .—I wish to plant a 
tract of sandy laud to black walnuts. How 
and where should I plant them? How should 
locust seeds be planted? 
Ans.— Keep the walnut seeds fresh and 
plump, yet not sodden with too much wet. 
This is easy to do on sandy ground. Bury 
them quite shallow and cover slightly with 
the sand. Frost will start the shells to open¬ 
ing, and early in the spring plant a few wher¬ 
ever a tree is wanted, and after they have 
grown a year, take away all but the best. Or 
they may be set at once this autumn in place, 
if no nut-loving animals are likely to disturb 
them. Locust seed can be kept dry till plant¬ 
ing-time in spring. Honey locust seeds can 
then be planted like so many peas and beans; 
but the very valuable farm locust, so valuable 
for posts, etc., (Bobinia pseudacacia) will not 
vegetate at once unless first scalded with boil¬ 
ing water to dissolve and swell the varnish 
that encases the seed. Those so swollen can 
be planted at once. Pour boiling water over 
the remainder and plant when so swelled. 
They may be raised in a nursery bed and the 
most vigorous and erect transplanted to places 
after one year’s growth, or, better, dropped in 
place at once and the inferior shoots removed. 
There is a great difference in the habit of 
growth, etc., of the seedlings, some making 
slow and crooked growth of little use. The 
seed is the better if taken from a tree (or 
“strain” of a tree) that is naturally of clean¬ 
er, straighter growth than is common. 
GOOD PEARS FOR MASSACHUSETTS. 
| blight. Kieffer is hardy, but of poor quality, 
still it sells well in many markets for canning. 
COMPARATIVE FEEDING VALUE OF CORN 
FODDER AND HAY. 
L., V a .—How much per ton should corn- 
fodder be worth so as to bear a fair com¬ 
parison in feeding value with good baled hay 
at §15 per ton? 
Ans. —Corn fodder grown for feeding and 
cut in its best stage, contains the following 
nutritious elements, in its perfectly dry con¬ 
dition; 
Protein or flesh-formers, 6.50 percent. 
Fat, i.30 ” 
Carbohydrates (starch, 
sugar, gum, etc.), 58.71 ” 
Hay varies exceedingly in composition, an 
ordinarily good quality of baled hay con¬ 
sisting of Timothy, Red-top and other 
common grasses, usually contains the follow¬ 
ing elements of nutrition: 
Protein, 8.5 
Fat, 2.0 
Carbohydrates, 47.8 
As the digestibility of these fodders is about 
equal, it is easily seen that the hay is a little 
more valuable than the fodder; if the hay is 
worth §15 per ton the fodder should be worth 
$12 or $13. 
INJURED LEG OF A HORSE. 
J. U. J. (No address ).—My five-year-old 
horse was kicked on the inside of one of his 
hind legs, four inches above the hock joint, 
two weeks ago. A cut about an inch in length 
is nearly healed. The leg is swollen above 
and below the cut. It is hottest and most 
swollen at the joint. I have applied hot 
wormwood and vinegar when not using him, 
and cold water when working him. I use hot 
and cold water alternately, and also give a 
good deal of hand rubbing. The horse isn’t 
| lame nor is the leg stiff. 
Ans.—I n using hot or cold applications to 
an injury of this kind, you should choose 
one or the other and use it continuously, and 
not be changing from one to the other. If 
there is no stiffness or lameness, the swelling 
will probably soon entirely disappear without 
further treatment. If not, apply a mild, 
stimulating liniment once or twice a week, 
but do not blister. One ounce each of aqua 
ammonia, olive oil, Castile soap and camphor 
in a pint of spirits, will be excellent for this pur 
pose. I inally, if a small lump or thickening 
of the skin should remain after two or three 
months, apply tincture of iodine once a week. 
TUMOR ON THE SHOULDER OF A HORSE. 
W. S. Me W., Brooklyn , N. Y.— My mare has 
a lump, the size of a man’s fist, on her shoul¬ 
der above the point of the bone. It seems to 
be an enlargement of the cord or muscle that 
extends from the point of the shoulder bone, 
up along the side of the neck, caused probably 
by bruising against the edge of the bunk. It 
doesn’t cause lameness, but it is sore to the 
touch and swells worse and becomes sorer as 
she draws in the collar, making her unfit for 
service. How should she be treated? 
Ans.— The tumor probably contains pus- 
matter—and should be freely opened with the 
knife, making a vertical incision into the 
lower portion. Wash out daily with a two or 
three-per-cent, solution of carbolic acid. If 
this does not prove sufficient, add one dram 
sulphate of zinc to a pint of the carbolic wash, 
and use for a few days. Unless you are fa¬ 
miliar with the use of the knife it would be 
well to employ a veterinarian or a surgeon to 
open the abscess for you. No pressure by the 
harness should be allowed on this point for 
several weeks after recovery, to avoid a re¬ 
currence of the tumor. 
and'easeine which are dissolved in it. In the 
act of milking, the stream of milk projected 
with force into the pail carries air with it and 
this air necessarily rises to the surface of the 
milk. But as it rises it forms bubbles, most of 
them small and some larger, and these are 
strong enough, because of the adhesiveness of 
the fluid, to remain unbroken for some time, 
and as they gather at the top they form froth. 
The froth upon soap-suds and other viscous 
fluids is formed in the same manner and con¬ 
sists of a great number of bubbles. 
Miscellaneous. 
FEED FOR A BULL CALF. 
JF. C. A., Shrewsbury, Mass. —What" 
variety of fall and winter pears would be 
likely to do well here? 
Ans. —It would be advisable to select such 
varieties as do well and are profitable in our 
correspondent’s own locality. Indeed this is \ 
the best rule for selecting all kinds of fruit— 
in all sections of the country. Among profit¬ 
able sorts may be mentioned Seckel which 
are now selling for six to eight dollars per 
barrel at the orchard, while other varieties 
are bringing from three to four. The tree is 
hardy and is seldom or never afflicted by 
blight. The Bartlett tree is also hardy; but 
the fruit conies too early to bring the best 
price. If it could be held back two months it 
could probably sell better than the Seckel. D’ 
Anjou is hardy and productive. Ducli- 
esse is one of the hardiest varieties and 
very productive. Fruit large, but not 
of the best quality. It sells well be¬ 
cause it comes at a time when the mar, 
ket is bare. White Doyennd is free from 
blight, but the fruit often cracks and scabs 
badly; with plenty of air and good culture it 
is one of the best varieties. Lawrence is 
Lardy, prolific and reasonably free from 
W. C. H., Shrewsbury, Mass.— I am feed¬ 
ing ground oats and middlings to a Holstein 
bull calf. Would shorts or bran bo better 
than middlings? I am feeding the grain dry. 
Ans.— Bran, middlings and shorts are terms 
that are more or less loosely used. Middlings 
and shorts are usually used to describe a finer 
product, containing more of the fine flour, 
though they are often nothing more than re¬ 
ground bran. For the calf, middlings would 
be rather better than bran to feed in connec¬ 
tion with oats, as they contain rather more 
of heat-producing elements and oats are rich 
in flesh-formers. We should much prefer to 
feed the oats whole and the middlings 
sprinkled over roots or silage. We consider 
some green food as a highly important con¬ 
stituent of the ration of young breeding ani¬ 
mals during the first winter. It secures a de¬ 
velopment of the digestive organs that it is 
very hard to get in any other way. 
THE FROTH ON MILK. 
Subscriber. (No address.) What is the 
“froth” on milk? Where does it come from, 
and what causes it? 
Ans.—M ilk is a viscid, that is, au adhesive 
and glutinous liquid, made so by the albumen 
Several Subscribers .—Is the implement de¬ 
scribed by Henry Ives on page 667 or any 
modification of it manufactured for sale? 
Ans. —The nearest approach to it that we 
know of is the Universal Weeder, made by 
the Universal Weeder Co., No. Weare, N. H. 
H. S. B., Black Creek, Ont. Can.—What 
firm last spring advertised potato balls for 
sale as seed, offering $100 to the person who 
should raise the best sort of potato from the 
seed bought of them ? 
Ans.—W e must submit this question to our 
readers. 
T. L. La F., Dundee, N. Y. and G. C. R., 
Rexford , b la .—Whore can I procure Paragon 
Chestnut trees? Will they be hardy in this 
latitude? 
Ans.— The Paragon is offered by H. M. 
Engle & Son, of Marietta, Pa. We cannot 
say whether this variety will be hardy or 
not in Dundee. 
C. L. M., Nunda, N. Y .—Does the Rural 
consider the Victoria grape more profitable 
for mat ket than the Niagara? Where can 
true Victorias be found? 
Ans.—T he question can not be answered in 
a general way. At the Rural Grounds the 
Victoria would be very much the more pro¬ 
fitable. At Montclair, only a few miles dis¬ 
tant, the Niagara is far more profitable than 
the Victoria. Where both thrive equally 
well the Niagara is the more profitable. The 
Victoria is sold by J. T. Lovett, Little Silver 
N. J. 
J. K. Stroudsburg , Pa. —1. I have a vine of 
Ulster Prolific grape, which bore a few clus¬ 
ters this season. In quality it is very satis¬ 
factory, but it ripens so little wood that I fear 
it will prove unsatisfactory on that account. 
The first frost occurred on October 10. What 
was the trouble with the grape? 
2 The Berckmans grape has fruited the first 
time with me. The quality is very good, vine 
and foliage are satisfactory, but it ripens a 
little too late with us, being later than Con¬ 
cord. Am I wrong in this conclusion? 
Ans.— We can only say that the Ulster is 
prolific with us, or rather it has been during 
its two seasons of fruiting. The wood is very 
short-jointed, it is true, but perhaps a given 
vine will bear all the bunches it should be per¬ 
mitted to bear. 
Berckmans ripens at the Rural Grounds 
with the Concord. 
DISCUSSION. 
PERTAINING TO THAT MELON. 
F. G., Morrisonville, III.—In the edi¬ 
torial on page 650 I find a jeremiad from 
some cantankerous cynic who ought to be put 
down in brine until the cucumberness soaks 
out of him. His wail is so positively petulant 
and malicious that I am disposed to believe 
that he had justjbreakfasted on gall and green 
persimmons flavored with wormwood. 
Who is this poor, down-trodden serf that is 
obliged to grub, dig, sweat, economize, save 
etc., etc., in order to pay the interest and 
taxes that others impose on him? If such a 
miserable clodhopper lives in these United 
States I’ll bet a cat he signs his name with an 
X and can’t ;read the alphabet. This is a 
government of the people, by the people and 
for the people, and the writer of that was¬ 
pish letter is a part and parcel thereof; but I 
don’t believe he knows it. 
I know a human who says that this country 
is going to the dogs. That’s a fib! He asserts 
that political parties are simply combinations 
of thieves. That’s a fabrication! He declares 
that office-holders tax farmers to death and 
gobble the proceeds. That’s base gammon! 
In his mind these are all actual facts, and so 
disgusted has he become with the “hollow 
mockery” that he has drawn his head into his 
shell, like a mud-turtle, shut the shell and 
firmly refused to take any part in public af¬ 
fairs or cast a ballot against his imaginary 
enemies. Because others won’t look at things 
through his green goggles he thinks they are 
blind to the situation—miserable gulls or 
contemptible hypocrites. Is the writer of 
that letter another such chap? 
What farmers are hard pushed and over¬ 
burdened? Those who thoroughly understand 
their calling and exercise good, sound busi¬ 
ness sense in its management? What mer¬ 
chants or professionals are clothed in purple 
and fine linen and fare sumptuously every day? 
Those who go it hap-hazard and trust to luck? 
Let me pop it in another way. Does the 
American farmer who exercises good, practi¬ 
cal sense in the management of his farm, 
crops and stock, in selling aud buying, work¬ 
ing and resting, have a harder time, or make 
less in proportion to the amount of capital in¬ 
vested than the average merchant or mechan¬ 
ic? If he does whose fault is it? If he pays a 
tax-bill out of proportion to his possessions, 
whose fault is that? If he is robbed by 
office holders, trusts, etc., what’s the matter 
with his great American prerogative—his 
ballot? 
If the farmer would bear in mind that he is 
a part of the government, that all officials, in¬ 
cluding law-makers and tax-gatherers, are 
simply his servants, and are answerable to 
him for their official acts, he probably would 
place a higher estimate upon his sovereign 
self. If the farmers of this country allow 
themselves to be imposed upon by tradesmen, 
oppressed by obnoxious laws, or fail to get 
their just proportion of the melon, it is their 
own fault! 
The farmer knows, or ought to know, that 
the common carrier is interested equally with 
the middleman in keeping him aud the manu¬ 
facturer as far apart as possible in order that 
they may rob both. They would like to trans¬ 
port the corn of Kansas and the wheat of Da¬ 
kota to Europe and return laden with goods 
which the people of those sections are obliged 
to have. There’s money in it! Are farmers 
helping them to bring about this desired state 
of affairs? Or, are farmers working to get 
the manufacturer and consumer nearer to and 
in direct communication with themselves? 
I hat average mechanic and workingman 
live better or dress better than the average 
farmer cannot be proven. That they indulge 
in more luxuries and amusements may easily 
be accounted for when we consider the oppor¬ 
tunities aud temptations constantly presented 
to them. That they derive any real pleasure 
or benefit from these so-called luxuries and 
amusements is a question, but that they have 
to pay for them is a fact. A week among the 
mountains, or even in the common country, 
in midsummer, would be accounted a grand 
treat by thousands of mechanics aDd their 
families, but it is a luxury comparatively 
few ever have the opportunity to indulge in 
because of their peculiar hand-to-mouth mode 
of living. A week in a great city is a great 
treat to thousands of farmers, aud it is a 
pleasure fifty out of every hundred can in¬ 
dulge in at some time of the year, if they 
would, aud never miss the cost. 
As for the poor, much abused tree tramp, I 
have met him. I am acquainted with him, 
and have besought him to exhibit his purple 
and fine linen, but in vain. He had it not. 
He averages two suits of clothes; one where¬ 
with to create au impression that he is flush 
and doing an immense business, and the other 
to protect his person while the first is being 
dusted up and washed. He works hard, 
walks far, talks fast ana long, is dogged and 
bulldozed, and threatened with divers sorts 
of extermination; but with an anxious wife, 
a flour bill, a grocery bill and a scowling land¬ 
lord awaiting his return, he bravely smiles 
and labors on. He talks premium pig, fast 
“ hoss ” and grand cow with their respective 
champions, chipping in a tree note here and a 
fruit item there, in the desperate hope of 
booking a good order and returning home 
with his exchequer replenished, a merry 
greeting for his wife, a supercilious smirk for 
I his creditors aud the general air of a capital¬ 
ist. There is a counterfeit of him who is a 
a bad egg, and who considers honesty a poor 
policy. His ear-marks are plain. Nip him in 
the bud. 
The writer of that letter says the times 
need reforming. Let him bestir himself and 
push the reform. But before he begins, allow 
me to suggest that he cast the beam out of 
his own eye. 
STOCK-WATERING DEVICES. 
Prof. G. E. Morrow, Champaign Univer. 
sity, III —It must have been 3J years ago 
when,as a boy, I was greatly interested in a pic¬ 
ture and description of a device by which farm 
stock were to pump water for themselves, on 
the plan described by Mr. Terry on page 715. 
More complicated devices have been offered 
the public by which the weight of the animal 
caused the platform to descend, the motion 
being communicated to a pump handle. The 
objections to the other are obvious. The 
former plan has been tried to some extent. I 
have never been able to see why it is not good 
for shallow wells and when there are but few 
animals to be watered, or when they can be 
led to the platform. When there are many 
