4888 
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 aseparate piece of paper. 
FERTILIZERS FOR CORN AND BEANS. 
A. H. H., Rayville, Md.—l want to plant 
10 acres of thin land in corn this spring, and 
14 acres in beans. What would be a good fer¬ 
tilizer to produce a good crop in a favorable 
season? Should it be applied broadcast in the 
hill? Would acorn and bean planter, which 
puts the fertilizer in the drills, give as good re¬ 
sults as broadcasting and harrowing in? My 
land is very hilly, and liable to wash. I can 
get dissolved S. C. bone for about £13 per ton, 
and kainit for about $10 in Baltimore: would 
a mixture of the two make a good fertilizer 
for corn and beans? 
Ans. —Use about 600 pounds per acre of any 
good complete fertilizer, broadcast on the 
furrows and harrowed in thoroughly with an 
Acme or Disk harrow. If this is done, the fer¬ 
tilizer will not be carried away by any wash¬ 
ing short of one that would take the soil too. 
It is poor economy on a thin soil to manure 
corn or beans in the hill. If you put on 
enough, you are apt to hurt the seed; if too 
little, you get a poor crop. Dissolved S. C. 
rock (it is not bone ) if properly made, is as 
good a phosphatic fertilizer as any. Kainit 
has too much salt in it to be free from danger, 
especially if drilled in with the seed. Better 
muriate of potash. Beaus require some nitro¬ 
gen in the fertilizer, on thin soil, about the 
same as corn. An excess is injurious. The 
ordinary proportions of the standard fertiliz¬ 
ers are about right, and if a home mixture is 
used, those proportions would be best. Beans 
require potash in some form, and so does corn. 
Ground bone, with potash, makes agoodseed- 
ing-down fertilizer. The next spring, sow 100 
pounds of nitrate of soda per acre on the 
young grass in April. 
SCAB IN POTATOES. 
S. A. L., Meredith Village, N. //.—Having 
a fine ridge of gravelly loam that had been in 
grass for several years and wishing to enrich 
the land, I spread on about 10 cords of stable 
manure to the acre, plowing it under in the 
spring when it was thoroughly harrowed, and 
planted with potatoes. The tops grew finely 
and looked well throughout the season. As 
soon as the potatoes were large enough to use, 
I commenced digging them for family use and 
soon noticed that rusty spots were appearing 
on them, and before the tops were ripe the po¬ 
tatoes were nearly covered with rusty scab, so 
much so as to cause a loss of more than half 
the crop; and as I have often heard such fault 
attributed to wire-worms, I watched closely 
for them every day without finding worms of 
any kind either in the soil or potatoes. The 
seed was covered three inches deep, and half 
a pint of ashes strewed on top of each hill at 
the time of planting. Many of my neighbors 
have been similarly troubled for years. Can 
any one explain cause and cure for such evil? 
Ans. —We have often heard that unleached 
ashes are conducive to scab or the fungus that 
causes scab. The fact that no wire-worms 
were to be seen when the crop was dug is not 
proof that the wire-worm did not cause the 
scab. Had the growing tubers been exam¬ 
ined earlier worms might have been found. It 
was the R. N.-Y. that first suggested the wire- 
worm as the cause of scab, and we believe it 
so to be in our soil. But it would appear that 
the same effect is produced by a fungus in 
many places. We would suggest to our friend 
that he sprinkle powdered sulphur over the 
seed pieces. That is the Rural’s remedy. At 
any rate it has served to prevent scab for three 
successive seasons. 
squash bug. 
J. M. R., Conway, Kan.—What will destroy 
the black bugs that infest squash-vines after 
they are half grown, and also eat the young 
squashes. We never saw this kind of a bug 
until coming to Kansas. 
Ans.— The black bugs are probably the com¬ 
mon squash bug—Anasa tristis of the books. 
The species is widely distributed, and by no 
means confined to Kansas. They cannot 
properly be said to “eat” the vines, or squashes, 
as their food—the juice of the plant is taken 
by means of a hollow sucking organ, or 
beak, which will be found rising from the 
front part of the head, on the under side. The 
large size of the bug makes its detection and 
destruction by ordinary means an easy mat¬ 
ter. The parent bugs may be lured by pieces 
of woodjplacedlon the’ground about the plants 
and, when found under these traps, may be 
killed by crushing. The large, amber-colored 
eggs are laid in clusters, on the under side of 
the leaves of the vine, and should always be 
destroyed when found. The gregarious habit 
of the newly-hatched eggs renders easy the de¬ 
struction of the entire brood at once. In 
Professor Lintner’s First New York Report 
(page 29), it is stated that they are driven 
away from the vines by sprinkling about and 
on the plant gypsum, with which has been 
mixed kerosene oil in the proportion of one 
tablespoonful of the oil to two quarts of the 
plaster. We have found the use of the ordi¬ 
nary kerosene emulsion to be effectual in de¬ 
stroying the bugs, though somewhat tedious 
in the application. 
an admirable insecticide. 
L. E. A., Smyrna, Del.— What does the 
Rural think of the following mixture to pre¬ 
vent grape-rot, and drive away insects such 
as rose-bugs, etc. ? For a barrel use one pound 
of sulphate of copper, 10 pounds of quick-lime, 
two pounds of whale-oil soap, and one gallon 
of kerosene oil. Fill the barrel with tar 
water, made by putting three quarts of tar in 
a barrel of water and letting it stand three 
days. The soap, kerosene and water should 
be churned by pumping the mixture into ves¬ 
sels with a force-pump till an emulsion is 
formed. Would a gallon of kerosene be the 
right proportion for a barrel? The mixture 
would be for spraying the trees once in two 
weeks, beginning at blossoming time. 
ANSWERED BY PROF. A. J. COOK. 
I think this selection an admirable mixture 
for the above purpose. Sulphate of copper 
has both insecticidal and fungicidal proper¬ 
ties. The lime has the same in a mild way. 
While whale oil soap is an excellent insecti¬ 
cide, kerosene is even better. The tar water 
will certainly add to the value of the mixture, 
as it repels, if it does not actually kill insects. 
I should double the quantity of the kerosene, 
making it two gallons to a barrel of 31 
gallons. , 
CALLA LILIES. 
E. C., Queens Co., N. Y.— How should calla 
lilies be kept during the summer in order that 
they may bloom during the winter or early 
spring? Why do the tops of the leaves turn 
yellow, and what is the remedy? 
Ans.— The florists who grow callas for mar¬ 
ket, and who are the ones who must have the 
flowers in order to make a living, grow them 
in pots all the year round. That is, they keep 
the callas in active growth till May or June, 
when they dry them off and let them remain 
dry and at rest till August, when they shake 
them out and repot into the same sized pots- 
usually six or eight inch—in which they had 
been grown before. After potting they give 
them water and leave them outside till active 
growth begins. They commence again to 
bloom in October, and keep on blooming till 
after Easter. Some growers, and especially 
those who aim at having large flowers, plant 
out the callas in summer and lift and pot them 
in August or September. This gives luxuri¬ 
ance of foliage and large flowers, but not 
nearly so many blossoms as is had by resting 
in summer. Without knowing the conditions 
under which your callas are grown, we can¬ 
not tell why the leaves turn yellow. But if 
the plants are weak or sickly, shake the soil 
away from their roots and plant them out 
over summer. 
CORNS ON A MARE. 
S. T. L., Bridgeport, Pa.— My 10-year-old 
mare limps with her off front foot. The 
smith says she has corns; how should she be 
treated? 
Ans. —Corns on a horse are due either to a 
bruise or to pressure, therefore the shoeing 
must be so altered that while it affords pro¬ 
tection to the corn, there shall be no bearing 
on the immediate vicinity to cause the animal 
pain from pressure. The seat of the corn 
must be pared down carefully until the red 
spot is reached, and this must be done fre¬ 
quently, and the shoes must be removed once 
a month. In a foot with low, weak heels a 
bar-shoe is useful—it takes a bearing on the 
foot and saves the heel; but on a good foot a 
broad-webbed shoe, chambered at the heels, 
with leathers to prevent stones and dirt from 
getting in and to lessen the concussion, ans¬ 
wers well. Unless the corn suppurates no 
other treatment is necessary. 
NUT TREES FOR NOVA SCOTIA. 
F. S. & T. F., Auburn, Nova Scotia. —What 
nut trees could be grown here successfully 
and profitably for market—latitude 45 Q north, 
longitude, 65 s west? How soon would they 
come into bearing? At what age should they 
be set and what would be the average yield? 
Ans. —It is not probable that any commer¬ 
cial nuts could be grown in your place profit¬ 
ably ; but the butternut surely, and possibly 
the chestnut, hickory and black walnut might 
succeed. The question is not so much one of 
latitude, as of the lowest winter temperature. 
Anything lower than 35° below zero, especial 
ly if frequent, is pretty sure to destroy the 
chestnut, hickory and black walnut, though 
seedlings from trees along the northern limit 
of each species are sometimes exceptionally 
hardy. 
CIDER VINEGAR. 
D. M., Glasgow, Mo. —What is the com¬ 
mercial standard for cider vinegar, and what 
is the simplest way of testing it? 
Ans. —We do not know of any accredited 
standard for what is sometimes called com 
mercial vinegar. As ordinarily met with, it 
is quite remote from pure cider vinegar. The 
New York Cider Vinegar Law requires cider 
vinegar to be of a strength equal to 4X per 
cent, of acetic acid, which is equivalent to 
what the vinegar makers denominate “30 
grains vinegar,” as indicated by the glass test 
ing tubes used for testing vinegar. The test¬ 
ing apparatus is quite simple and can be pro 
cured from dealers in cider-making supplies, 
- <♦«-- 
Miscellaneous. 
A. ./. M., Pope Valley, Cal. —1. Do twin 
colts live to become horses? 2. Have mules 
ever been known to breed? 3. At what age is 
it best to begin to breed fillies? 4. Does it 
make any difference in meat as to the time of 
the moon when it is butchered? 
Ans.—1. Yes. 2. Yes. There are a con¬ 
siderable number of instances where the he 
mule has generated and the she mule has pro¬ 
duced progeny, but there are no well authen¬ 
ticated cases of the offspring of either bear¬ 
ing progeny. Mules never breed, however, in 
cold climates. The cases where they do 
breed are chiefly in Spain, Italy, North Africa, 
Australia and the West Indies. 3. The best 
age at which to put a mare to a stallion is 
when she is three years old. Fillies that have 
been served when two years old seldom devel¬ 
op into first-class animals. When it is con¬ 
sidered advisable to breed from them at that 
early age, they should not be worked beyond 
enough to break them in, until their first 
foals are a couple of months old. 4. No. 
Butchers and packers kill at all seasons of the 
moon, and who ever heard of any difference 
in the meat? 
J. G. B., Ashtabula, Ohio. —Will you 
kindly say where I can purchase the “Long¬ 
fellow” corn? Is it a variety suitable for this 
section (extreme northeast corner State) and 
do you consider it a profitable kind to grow, 
and, further, oblige me by naming a good leafy 
variety for fodder—to be sown in drills? 
Ans.— The R. N.-Y. regards the Longfellow 
as among the most valuable varieties of yel¬ 
low flint. The ears are very long—often 13 
or 14 inches, the cob rather small, the kernels 
of medium size. The plants grow to a me¬ 
dium hight and mature the ears early. No 
doubt it will succeed in any part of Ohio. 
B. L. Braeg & Co., Springfield, Mass., can sup¬ 
ply it. For fodder we prefer the Rural Thor¬ 
oughbred Flint to any other by all odds. We 
do not believe there is any other variety that 
will give so large a proportion of leaves to 
stalks. It will mature its ears in Ohio and 
perhaps Southern Michigan, but not further 
north with any certainty. 
L. M. N.. Kalamazoo, Mich. —Are the Poll¬ 
ed Angus-Aberdeen cattle red or black? Who 
keeps them for sale? 
Ans.—T he Polled Angus-Aberdeen and the 
Polled Galloways are black. The Polled Nor¬ 
folk and Suffolk are red. The Angus and 
Galloway are “beef” breeds; the Norfolk and 
Suffolk a dairy breed. Angus-Aberdeens are 
for sale by John M. Galt, Sterling, Ill.; J. J. 
Rogers and Berry Lucas, Abingdon, Ill.; and 
T. C. Auld, Pinckney, Mich. Galloways are 
for sale by R. R. Caruss, St. John’s; L. B. 
Townsend, Ionia; G. H. Hart, Lapeer, all in 
Michigan, and by several others in various 
parts of the country. Red Polled Norfolk 
and Suffolk are offered, among others, by W. 
Steele, Merlin, Waukesha, Mich.; J. McLain 
Smith, Dayton, Ohio; and William Hanke, 
Iowa City, la. 
J.M.R., Conway, Kans. —Will someone 
acquainted with the different'kinds of grasses 
in Kansas tell us what kind of grass it is that 
starts so early here? We think we noticed it 
growing about March 1. It seems to grow 
where the^prairie sod has been broken by the 
plow or cut up by teams and wagons and then 
abandoned, like that alongside of hedges and 
roadways. We" find inhere this spring and 
would like to know its value as pasture? 
Ans. —So many Kansas wild grasses start 
early that without a better description than 
that given here, it is impossible to understand 
the particular sort to'which this note refers. 
We venture to say, however, from what we 
know of the’class of grasses to which the sort 
referred to doubtless belongs, that it is of very 
slight agricultural value. 
//. W., Mannville,N. Y.— 1. Is rye, one year 
old, as good for’seed as new^or’nearlyfnew 
rye? Will it take longer for it to sprout? 2. 
Is there a hand force pump powerful enough 
to spray large apple trees from the ground; if 
so, who sells it, and what is the price? 3. How 
much London-purple should be used with a 
gallon of water? What time should the trees 
be sprayed? 
Ans. —1. We much doubt if there is any 
material difference between seed rye or 
wheat fresh (of the current season’s crop) or 
one year old. 2. Yes, but it would be a tedi¬ 
ous, laborious operation. The Field Force 
Pump, Lockport, N. Y., the pump used on 
wagons, etc. 3. A pound of London-purple 
would suffice for about 20 gallons of water. 
H. R. Jr., Worcester, Mass.—I wish to try the 
Rural’s trench system of growing potatoes. 
My ground was prepared last fall by plowing 
in barn manure. Shall I plow again this 
spring and then dig the trenches without 
plowing again? 
Ans.— We would not plow or dig up the plot 
again, but merely make the trenches. Clay 
land might be benefited by a second plowing. 
Our readers should all know that there is a 
trench or shovel plow manufactured by many 
dealers that costs less than $10. This serves 
to form the trenches admirably. Success to 
you and to the method 1 
M. E. S., Huntington, L. /.—I desire to 
plant peach trees and currant bushes this 
spring, and as the latter are said to do best 
partially shaded, will it do to plant them be¬ 
tween the peach trees, having the rows not 
less than six feet distant from the trees? 
Ans. —We do not much approve of it. Cur¬ 
rant bushes do not yield well in less than two 
or three years after setting, and the peach 
trees will interfere with them. Currants will 
not do their best if grown on ground shared 
by the roots of trees. 
T. J. S., Eagle, Wis. —1. Which requires 
most power to pump water—a pump with a 
long stroke and small cylinder, or short stroke 
and large cylinder, the same quantity of water 
being raised in both cases? 2. How large 
should a pipe for a four-inch cylinder be? 
Ans.— 1. Except that there is proportionately 
a trifle more friction in the smaller cylinder, 
the same amount of power is required to do 
the same amount of work in both cases. 2. 
About 1J^ to 1 % inch. 
A. M. W., Geneseo, N. Y .—Please name the 
inclosed apple. It is a grafted apple upon an 
old tree in our orchard. We think it an ex¬ 
cellent apple and a good keeper. 
Ans.— Red Canada. It is also known in 
Michigan as Steele’s Red Winter. It is a fine 
fruit for table or market. Red with whitish 
dots. Medium size, roundish-conical. A fine 
keeper. It succeeds well in Ohio, New York, 
and New England. Fine-grained, rich, sub¬ 
acid, excellent. 
G. W. S. {no address).—What is a good 
cheap cement for embedding small stones for 
the bottom and sides of a pig-pen to prevent 
the escape of liquid manure? 
Ans.— We know of nothing better than the 
Rosendale cement, which costs about $1.25 per 
barrel. We should, for this purpose, use two 
parts of pure sand to one of cement. Then 
mix all the small stones as desired. 
D M. W., New Paris, Pa. —Yes, Wright’s 
Practical Poultry Keeper is an excellent work. 
Another good work is The People’s Practical 
Poultry Book, by G. W. M. Lewis. Either 
can be obtained of the American News Com¬ 
pany, N. Y. 
DISCUSSION. 
A. M. L., Fuller’s Station, Albany Co., N. 
Y.—In a Brevity of a late Rural we are told 
that there is a good deal of discussion in Ohio 
about licensing stallions. Now, my opinion 
exactly coincides with what is there said, not 
because I have two stallions which are worth 
$1,300, but because our section is overrun with 
unsound and worthless stallions. Their own¬ 
ers go around and offer to have mares served 
for anything they can get; and some one is 
always ready to patronize them, and the re¬ 
sult is worthless colts. Now it does not cost 
as much to raise good colts as it does to raise 
bad ones. I would suggest, therefore, that 
the license fee should be so high that they 
could not afford to run around the country 
and impose on the people with their miserable 
stock. I would make the fee, or license, $50 a 
year for one horse, and $25 each where a 
man keeps two or more. Then the country 
would be benefited, for nobody could patron¬ 
ize bad horses. If I had to pay $75 for my two 
horses, I would not charge any more than I 
do now, for then I would get better mares, as 
people would not try to raise colts from old, 
broken-down stock, which they do now. I 
think that there should be a law in this State 
to hold the colt until it is three years old for 
the service fee of the horse, and make it a 
misdemeanor to dispose of the colts without 
paying the fee. If they did so, they should be 
fined or imprisoned, or both, at the discretion 
