DEC S 
846 
THE B5JBAL HEW-YCBKEB. 
ance the eight pounds of bran and 70 pounds 
of silage recommended in the ration. With 
that amount of clover hay it is altogether 
probable that more than 10 pounds of brewers 
grains could be fed to advantage. Dry cows 
or “springers” should do very well on silage 
and from three to six pounds of bran daily 
according to their condition. The bran will 
serve to keep the digestive apparatus in good 
order, and the calves will be likely to come 
strong and vigorous, and give the mothers 
little trouble in parturition and retention of 
after-birth. 
PHOSPHATE MEAL: S. C. FLOATS. 
F. P. Muskegon , Mich .—In a late Rural 
an article by Dr. Hoskins on “stock-feeding 
with fruit-growing,” tells how to improve the 
rich manure of grained stock by mixing with 
it ground bone or S. C. rock floats. I have 
lately read about phosphate meal as a source 
of phosphoric acid. How does it compare 
with floats and ground bone? Which would 
be the cheaper for the above purpose? How 
much do S. C. rock floats cost and where can 
they be bought. 
ANSWERED BY DR. T. H. HOSKINS. 
S. C. floats cost about $12 a ton I believe, 
but probably more exact quotations can be 
got by the Rural. Phosphate meal I have 
bad no experience with, but from what is 
said of it, it should be quite as good as the 
floats for the purpose referred to. 
Miscellaneous. 
T. A., Rio , Ills.—Has lime been tried for 
potatoes and with what results? 
A ns. —Yes, thousands of times. It hastens 
the decomposition of inert food producing 
marked effects on some soils and no effects 
whatever on others. 
N. G. F., Mances, Col— Who, in New 
York, deal in surgical instruments? 
Ans. —There are 36 such dealers. Among 
them are C. W. Lane & Co., 153 Broadway; 
J. Dyrssen, 88 Chambers St,; Shepherd & 
Dudley, 150 William St., and Wall* Kohner, 
60 Barclay St. 
S. II., (no address).—What was the 
Rural’s experience with the growth of tne 
Monarch rhubarb the first year? Mine made 
the smallest growth any kind of rhubarb 
ever made with me. 
Ans. —The first year’s growth, as we re¬ 
member, was i ather feeble. 
C. W. W., Irwin , Pa.—What are the best 
kinds of wheat, com and fruit? 
Ans.— We must ask our inquirer to specify 
what kind of corn, whether dent or flint, early 
or late? Also what kinds of fruit? As to 
wheat, Fultz, Martin’s Amber, Diehl-Medi¬ 
terranean and Clawson, all do well in most 
parts of Pa. We would advise a trial of 
Golden Cross. 
E. C. A., Aberdeen , Dalc.r- Can asparagus 
roots be divided and transplanted, like 
rhubarb, after they are several years old, 
and how are the beds kept full if some of the 
original plants fail to grow? 
Ans.— Yes, old plants may be divided 
though not so readily or with such success as 
in the case of rhubarb. We prefer to buy 
new plants to fill vacant spaces. Or seed may 
be sown in a few drills and the second year 
the plants may be taken from them. In most 
districts where asparagus is grown, many 
wild plants may be found in pastures and 
hedges. 
W. W. De. G., Kamms , Ohio.—l. Which 
would be advisable—to buy commercial fer¬ 
tilizers, or to haul barnyard manure seven 
miles over a plank road, after paying 25 cents 
per one-horse load for it? 2. I have a pile ot 
old manure; would it be better to haul it out 
and spread it or plow it under this fall, or do 
so next spring? 
Ans.— 1. This would make the manure cost 
at least $2.00 per ton, unless the services of 
the man and horses are not otherwise needed. 
In the latter case, we should by all means fa¬ 
vor the purchase of the manure. In the other 
case, our advice would still be to purchase 
the manure, though in less quantity. The 
comparison between manure and fertilizer 
can not discriminately be made by any one so 
well as the owner of the land. It would be 
far better to try the experiment of using both 
kinds on separate plots. 2. We should prefer 
to plow old manure under in the spring and 
also to plow in the spring rather than in the 
fall as a general rule. 
DISCUSSION. 
THE NEXT COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 
W. L. H., Brooklyn. N. T.—An editorial 
in a recent RuRALj.stfo^Y recommended 
Mr. J. S. Woodward, of Niagara County, N. 
Y., for the office of Commissioner of Agricul¬ 
ture under President Harrison. The article 
pleased me on two accounts : first, because in 
my opinion, the agricultural papers of the 
country, as the chief mouth-pieces of the 
farmers, should be outspoken in their choice 
of a suitable head for the Department of Ag¬ 
riculture, and, second, because in my belief, 
the selection made by the Rural was an ad¬ 
mirable one. That a thoroughly capable man 
should represent the eight million farmers of 
the country in the Government, nobody will 
deny. As regards all other heads of Depart¬ 
ments, every interest likely to be affected by 
the action of any of them, is prompt to sug¬ 
gest some suitable candidate or to support or 
oppose those already mentioned for a vacancy. 
The qualifications of each candidate are 
thoroughly canvassed, and although occasion¬ 
ally a man almost unknown to the public, is 
sprung upon the people, these surprises are 
comparatively rare, and seldom turn out satis¬ 
factorily in the long run. All the other De¬ 
partments are more or less intimately con¬ 
nected with “practical politics,” and usually 
their chiefs having been for years engaged 
in this connection, have long been before the 
public to whom their characters and qualifi¬ 
cations are pretty well knowD. On the other 
hand, the Department of Agriculture from its 
foundation to the present time has had 
comparatively little to do with politics, 
and the less it has meddled with political 
matters the greater has been its effi¬ 
ciency and the stronger the satisfaction 
it has given to those whom it represents. Its 
head should, therefore, not be what is usually 
known as a “politician,” though he may be 
deeply interested in politics as far as it con¬ 
cerns the general welfare of the country and 
especially of course, of its greatest industry, 
agriculture. As a rule, the men most suita¬ 
ble for the office are not widely known 
tbroughcut the country, however well known 
and highly esteemed in their own State or 
section. In view of the great importance 
that a capable man should be appointed, and 
of the fact that, as a rule, the most capable 
are not widely knowD, isn’t it the duty of the 
agricultural press to call special attention to 
any man very well qualified for the position? 
Hitherto the farm papers have had very little 
to say beforehand about the appointment of 
competent persons to this office. It has seem¬ 
ed to me as if the editors either knew none or 
were afraid to recommend any one, lest he 
should turn out unfit, or lest their recommenda¬ 
tion might act as a hindrance to criticism of 
his conduct should he be appointed. What¬ 
ever the cause, it is certain that down to the 
present time, the agricultural press of the 
country has had little or nothing to say in 
the way of recommendation of suitable men 
for the office of Commissioner of Agriculture, 
though, from first to last, every Commissioner 
that has been appointed has been the object 
of sharp adverse criticism from that source. 
It was therefore with no little satisfaction I 
noticed the Rural’s praiseworthy departure 
from such a pusillanimous practice. 
As to the fitness of Mr. Woodward for the 
position, all who know him have but one opin¬ 
ion. He is now about 56 years old, of fine 
personal appearance, good address, and pos¬ 
sessed of a large and ready flow of language. 
He is a thoroughly practical as well as scien¬ 
tific farmer who has made farming pay. His 
place of 300 acres is one of the model farms of 
the Empire State, and returns a large bal¬ 
ance on the right side of the ledger every 
year. He is a man of broad views, wide 
experience and fine education. He is the 
embodiment of energy in whatever he under¬ 
takes. A total abstainer from all kinds of 
intoxicating beverages, as well as from tobac¬ 
co, his mind is always clear. While earn¬ 
est in his faith in the Republican party, 
there is nothing of the ordinary politician 
about him. His interest in the agricultural 
welfare of the nation is sincere, and active- 
nay, aggressive. He is well acquainted with 
the different parts of the country and their 
agricultural practices and needs. Thoroughly 
independent in character, with abundant 
private means, he is the last man to truckle to 
politicians or to allow himself to be swayed 
from the plain line of duty by any party con¬ 
siderations. With him at the head of the 
Department of Agriculture, its possibilities 
would be developed as they have never hith¬ 
erto been, and no suspicion of scandal or 
crookedness would sully its reputation or mar 
its usefulness. 
■VENTILATION AGAIN. 
P. H. Jacobs, Hammonton, N. J.—I was 
much pleased with Mr. Hales’s article on ven¬ 
tilation; but he labors under the impression 
that when a poultry house has no ventilator 
it is not ventilated at all. I find that leaving 
the doors and windows open during the day, 
and tightly closing the house at night, is sutfl- 
pjept if} mind that { refer to the wim 
ter season. No ventilator has ever yet been I 
designed that will prevent draughts of air I 
from blowing on the birds if the wind is in 
certain directions. Something also depends I 
upon the force of the wind, the relative hu- I 
midity, and its hight. My experience with I 
farmers differs from that of Mr. Hales. He I 
says—“ I go into many farmers'houses and 
try to convince the owners of the importance 
of ventilating; in some instances it is the first 
they ever heard of such a thing.” It is an 
excellent recommendation for the farmers in 
his section that they have such warm houses, 
for I find that farmers elsewhere fail to stop 
the cracks. If they know nothing of ventila¬ 
tion the fowls do, as one can stand inside and 
look through the cracks of the walls. Mr. 
Hales says—“Ventilation should be done with 
judgment.”. Just so, and that is the problem to 
to be [solved. I know that where we have 
used nearly all kinds of ventilators (even those 
similar to the one he describes), the birds 
would be subjected to draught,and the temper¬ 
ature would fall to a lower point than if the 
houses were closed. Even in dwelling-houses 
the stoves do not ventilate a room, as the 
damper must be closed sometimes, and all 
stoves cause more or less gas to escape that 
does not go up the chimney. The closing of a 
poultry house at night in winter, when the 
weather is cold, is simply to keep the birds 
comfortable. As I said, I never heard of a 
hen being injured by being kept warm at 
night, but I can point to hundreds of cases 
where the ventilators caused roup, and then 
an attempt was made to cure it by “ more 
ventilation”. We do not open a ventilator 
here in cold weather, (and but few are attached 
to houses), yet we keep as many as 3,000 
chicks until they weigh two pounds each in a 
building paper-lined, and 10x150 feet. Form¬ 
erly, when the “fresh air” theory was tried, 
and ventilators were used, the mortality was 
great; but now the main object is to know, 
not how to ventilate, but how to keep out the 
cold, for despite all we can do the cold, fresh 
air will steal in. 
DEFENCE OF CARP. 
J. T. H., New Lisbon, Ohio.—I have no¬ 
ticed in the Rural of late, several deroga¬ 
tory paragraphs concerning carp. The 
American Food Carp, improperly called Ger¬ 
man Carp, was brought from Germany in 
1877, and has been successfully raised in 
American waters long enough to entitle it to 
the name of “American Food Carp.” The 
tens of thousands of carp in this country are 
just as good as the original stock; nay, much 
better, by reason of selection. But to call 
them German carp is a misnomer, and an in¬ 
justice that has in it no advantage for the fish 
culturist. Carp are very much better than 
suckers and that class of fish, as they have 
fewer bones and their flesh is sweeter. A 
three-pound carp properly dressed and cooked, 
is as fine eating as I would wish for in the 
way of fish. Many persons are prejudiced 
against carp on the ground that they have a 
flavor of mud! They have read such a 
charge somewhere and think it is true; when, 
in fact, they have never eaten any carp at all. 
I have known person^ thus prejudiced, who, 
after eating carp, have said they were as good 
fish as they would wish to eat. There are 
better fish than carp, such as bass and trout, 
that have a finer grain and firmer texture of 
flesh, but the average farmer seldom gets 
them; therefore he has to be content with 
what he can have. And a goodly number of 
farmers can have carp at a moderate outlay 
of money besides their own labor in con¬ 
structing ponds. 
Reasons why it will pay farmers to raise 
carp: 1, Because carp will adapt itself to 
any kind of water; 2, because no other fish 
has been found to equal it in growth, where 
every thing is favorable; 3, because it is very 
prolific; 4, because it supplies the farmer’s 
table with fresh fish at a less cost per pound 
than poultry, pork, or beef; 5, because he can 
have fresh fish six months out of the 12 if he 
wishes; 6, because carp are less trouble to 
take care of through the winter than any 
other kind of live stock; 7, because carp cul¬ 
ture combines pleasure with profit at a mod¬ 
erate cost of money and labor; 8, because 
carp are a better fish than most kinds that the 
farmer can buy in the market; 9, because of 
their great vitality; 10, because they bite 
well at a baited hook and are game fish be¬ 
sides. 
HIGH PRAISE FOR JAPANESE BUCKWHEAT. 
H. T., Westfield, N. Y.—On page 748 a 
subscriber proposes that those that have 
grown Japanese buckwheat should give the 
results. The last week in June I received one 
bushel of seed from Peter Henderson, and 
sowed it broadcast on an acre and a half of 
very poor soil; in fact, it was thought too poor 
for anything else. I used as a fertiliser 150 
pounds of dissolved bone and potash and 50 
pounds of land plaster per acre. Owing to the 
grains of the Japanese buckwheat being sq 
much larger than the grains of the ordinary 
kind, it at first looked as though I had not 
sown it thick enough to get a full crop; but in 
a few weeks it grew so rapidly as to complete¬ 
ly cover the ground, and I harvested just 60 
bushels, by weight, of extra-large, plump 
grain, or 40 bushels per acre. With other 
kinds I have never succeeded in raising above 
an average of 20 bushels per acre. On the op¬ 
posite side of the same field I sowed four and 
a half acres of Silver Hull buckwheat, using 
three pecks of seed per acre. Two hundred 
pounds of superphosphate per acre were sown 
and harrowed in at the same time, and I har¬ 
vested 87 bushels, or a trifle over 19 bushels 
per acre. Tne treatment of the whole field 
was the same, with the exception of the kind 
of fertilizer used, the cost of which was about 
the same in both cases. My experience with 
the straw is the same as that of J. W. New¬ 
ton, (page 644). Cattle and cows eat it and 
seem to like it;* but I would like to know 
•whether there is any real nutriment in buck¬ 
wheat straw of any kind, or whether it would 
not be the better way to use it for bedding 
and turn it into manure in that way? 
SALT AS AN ANTIDOTE FOR SCAB IN 
POTATOES. 
D. B. H., Delevan, Wis.—W. G. S., of 
Harmony, N. J., gives his experience with 
scabby potatoes. In the West, potato growers 
are “tarred with the same brush. ” So far my 
crop has escaped, and whether it is due to my 
mode of treatment, or to my luck I am unable 
to determine; but it is a fact that while my 
potatoes are comparatively free from scab, 
my neighbors’ crops are badly injured. My 
treatment is, to dissolve a tablespoonful of 
salt in two pallons of water, and immediately 
after planting, to spray the hills with the 
brine. The same experiment with the salt 
strewn upon the hill, while seeming to be of 
service, was not as satisfactory as when salt 
was applied in the form of brine. I also 
found that the same amount could be applied 
at the time of sprinkling Paris-green. Simply 
add the salt to the poison solution. Still for 
a sure crop of clean potatoes I prefer the first 
method. Heavily manured land is likely to 
produce scabby potatoes. In any soil that I 
have tried, if green manure in any way 
comes in contact with the young tubers they 
will be likely to turn out scabby. In a trial I 
planted 20 hills in which green manure was 
used in the hill. The first 10 hills were 
sprayed with brine, and the remaining 10 
were left unsalted. When harvested those 
treated with the salt were nearly free from 
scab, while the others were utterly worthless. 
I wish W. G. S. would treat a small plot 
with salt, and report his success in the 
Rural. My opinion is that he will be 
pleased with the result. 
AN ORCHARD FROM APPLE SEED. 
H. M. E., Marietta, Pa.—T he plan of S. 
B. H. described in the Rural of Dec. 1, to 
start an orchard from seed by planting an 
apple where the tree is to grow, and grafting the 
best sprout, should prove a success; but that 
such trees will be better or longer-lived than 
when transplanted at the proper age and size is 
doubtful. Trees transplanted young with 
proper management need receive no serious 
check. One experiment as proposed by our 
friend would not be proof positive of the su¬ 
periority of the plan, since the sprout to be 
grafted would be the survival of the strongest, 
against which one of equal quality should be 
tested to make the experiment at all reliable. 
In our opinion the superiority of seedling over 
grafted or budded trees is yet a mooted ques¬ 
tion. 
BUCKWHEAT AGAIN. 
J. H. L., Coxsackie, N. Y.,—I am very 
glad to see the discussions on buckwheat, 
and E. S. A’s belief that he can raise 
70 bushels per acre. I hope that he will try, 
and not forget to let us all know just 
how much he does raise per acre, even if it 
should not be one half of what he expects. 
From 12 pounds of Japanese buckwheat I 
harvested 13 bushels, and it is very nice. I 
will sow 5X acres next year, and try to raise 
more per acre than E. S. A. Will some one 
tell us if Japanese buckwheat will make as 
good flour as the common buckwheat? 
C. C. W., Grand Bay, Ala.—T he Rural 
asks on page 750, “Can anybody tell us of a 
better winter green food for hens than cab¬ 
bage ?” That depends upon the location. 
Wherever cabbages will grow in the field all 
winter I think kale is the better green food 
because, first, it can be sown where it is to 
grow, in dnll6 like turnips, and so labor is 
saved; second, a far larger quantity of greens 
can be grown on the same area; third, it will 
stand a freeze that would kill cabbage; fourth, 
one cun commence using it as soon as it gets 
large enough to cut. and it will gppw again at 
once, or one can let the poultry gather it for 
themselves by setting out several plots aud 
