478 ! 
n 
JULY 20 
It is quite hard and about the size of a grain 
of wheat and appears to be movable. It drops 
down in the milk duct and nearly closes the 
opening, often doing so altogether, so that 
milking is a tedious business. With a little 
manipulation it can be gradually forced up 
the teat into the udder. How can it be re¬ 
moved ? 
Ans.— Relax the teat in a warm solution of 
belladonna, and then insert a steel loop or a 
small instrument with an eye large enough to 
slip oyer the tumor and twist it off. Failing 
in this, an incision may be made through the 
side of the teat, the tumor twisted off and the 
wound carefully sewed up. In this case the 
milk should ne drawn through a milking tube 
until the wound is healed. 
THE SILO FOR GRASS. 
S. S. M., Rossmore, Ont., Can. —All I have 
read about ensilage relates to corn silage; isn’t 
the silo a good place for preserving hay, or 
rather grass, both clover and Timothy? We 
are having very wet weather here and if it 
continue there will be little chance of curing 
bay in the ordinary way. 
Ans. —In England grass and clover are used 
almost exclusively as silo crops. Corn does 
not do so well in England. Tins accounts tor 
the difference frequently shown in analyses of 
English and American silage. Many West¬ 
ern dairymen are using clover in the silo. 
Prof. Henry, of Wisconsin, has sent us sam¬ 
ples of clover silage that were excellent in 
quality. We have never seen silage made 
from Timothy, but we see no reason why it 
should not be good. 
PREMATURE SHEDDING OF MULE’S HAIR IN 
SPRING. 
M. R. B.. Meade Center, Kan —The hair 
of a mule comes off every spring so that he 
looks as if he were shaved. In other respects 
he is all right. What is the trouble? 
Ans. —Probably the general condition of 
the mule’s system in the spring is such that he 
sheds his winter coat prematurely before the 
spring coat is ready to appear. If there is no 
eruption or itching of the skin no treatment 
is necessary. Possibly a good purging earlier 
in the spring (with five to eight drams of aloes) 
followed by alkalies (the carbonate of potash 
or soda in half-ounce doses daily) might bring 
the shedding and growth together as it should 
occur. A restricted diet with little or no 
corn or other heating agents would also favor 
a return to the natural method. 
WHEN TO PRUNE. 
P. S. W., Salem, Sotith Dakota. —At what 
time in the year should fruit, willow 
and shade trees be trimmed? How high 
should fruit trees be pruned? 
Ans. —The wounds caused by pruning will 
heal up as well if the trees are pruned in mid¬ 
summer as at any other time. As a rule, we 
should prefer late tall pruning for your cli¬ 
mate. The R. N.-Y.’s preference is to prune 
fruit trees so that the trunks may be pro¬ 
tected in a measure from the heat of a mid¬ 
summer sun. That is, we do not approve of 
pruning high. 
Miscellaneous. 
G. L. P., West Farmington, Me. —The value 
of the rock, of which you inclose specimens, is 
just vhat it is worth for building purposes. 
It is iron pyrites, sometimes called “fools’ 
gold.” 
L. C. L. ./., New York City. —How can I 
get rid of grasshoppers on trees in a garden ? 
They eat holes m all the plants, but do not 
touch a mash of bran, sugar and arsenic. 
Ans. —We should try spraying the plants 
with hellebore—one heaping table-spoonful to 
two gallons of water. Make a paste of the 
powder by adding hot water. Then stir it in 
the cold water. 
Subscriber (address mislaid ).—Is an ane¬ 
roid barometer good on the farm as a weather 
indicator ? 
Ans —An aneroid barometer is said to be 
about as good as any. No barometer, how¬ 
ever, will forecast the weather with accuracy; 
such articles are only valuable in connection 
with observations of the wind, sky and tem¬ 
perature. It does not pay to spend much 
time in watching a barometer or thermometer. 
A great many people spend so much time 
watching for a storm as not to be prepared 
for it when it does come. 
W. E. R., Dover, N. H. —My 20-year-old 
mare weighs 050 pounds, and is an excellent 
roadster. She is m splendid shape and con¬ 
dition and apparently good for years. Would 
it be advisable to try to raise a colt from her? 
Ans. —Twenty years is not an extreme age 
for a mare to breed. The noted Goldsmith 
Maid was older than that when she had her 
first colt, and it is more tbangprobable that 
your mare will be prolific. A horse that has 
been well cared fer is quite likely to live 30 
years in useful condition, and is therefore not 
older at 20 in proportion than a person of 40 
years. 
DISCUSSION. 
THE MOON AS A WEATHER INDICATOR. 
J. T. B., Huston ville, Ky. — The 
weather during the last quarter of the moon 
is a forecast of that which will prevail during 
the next three weeks—at all seasons. My 
observation leads me to place almost implicit 
reliance on this rule, and I am convinced that 
it is applicable to neighborhoods if not to 
farms. Temperature, sunshine, clouds, 
winds, rains, snows, etc., are relatively pro¬ 
portionate throughout the four phases of the 
moon, beginning with the last quarter. The 
variation is of degree rather than of kind One 
summer four seasonable weekly showers fell 
on neighboring farms north of me, and not 
once did enough fall to “lay the dust” on 
mine. Another year the same thing happened 
south of me. Each time the first rain to pass 
me was in the last quarter of the moon. My 
conclusion from limited notes is that the 
weather of the last quarter is nearly always 
the most pronounced. My notes have not 
been regular or systematic, but they have 
been sufficient to arouse a lively interest in 
the weather during the last quarter of the 
moon. With us the drought of '87 began and 
closed in the last quarter of the moon. Of the 
multitude of weather signs current, and the 
scores of weather prophets the white caps and 
fool-killers have skipped. 1 take no stock unless 
their predictions are corroborated by the con¬ 
dition of the weather during the last quarter; 
for the “ failure of all signs in dry weather” 
hinges thereon. Nineteen years ago my wife 
and I set up house-keeping, and before our gar¬ 
den began to give us anything for the table we 
discovered that fertilizers and showers of rain 
on alternate days were necessary to a successful 
competition with more fortunate and experi¬ 
enced neighbors, and I began the study of 
weather signs, watching and hoping for the 
ram while casting about for the fertilizers for 
the next crop. One afternoon indications of 
a long-looked-for and much-needed rain were 
excellent, but evening came and still no rain 
fell, though a heavy bank in the west sustain¬ 
ed hope. I observed to a friend: “ We’ll have 
rain to-night.” “No,” said be, “since my at¬ 
tention was directed to it I have never seen a 
spell of dry weather broken by a rain at 
night, however flattering the indications.” I 
have never seen an exception to this rule. 
Subsequently I was sitting on the front veran¬ 
da at a neighbor’s when a drought was on, 
and he observed: “We'll have rain within 24 
hours.” “ Why?” I asked; “ Why,” he answer¬ 
ed, “ lightning in a clear north sky is a sure 
sign.” I have never known that sign to fail; 
but I have not watched it closely. When the 
cloud is visible in the north the indication is 
uncertain. In an interview with Prof. Tice 
in the 70’s, I was surprised to find so many of 
our weather signs new to him, and I have 
concluded that Josh Billings’s Almanac was 
about the best all-round weather maker that 
I ever consulted. It is astounding to find 
such abiding confidence in the weather indi¬ 
cations of patent medicine almanacs as well 
as in their claims for their stuff; for, “ exper¬ 
ience is the school in which even fools are 
presumed to learn something.” Whilst I 
write, the rain is so heavy north as to obscure 
the groves a mile away, and ’tis scarcely drip¬ 
ping from the eaves' here. This is a repetition 
of last week’s experience during the last 
quarter of the moon. 
BUILDING UP A DAIRY HERD. 
G. W. H., Rochester. Mass. —Some 
months ago I gave the butter record of 12 
grade Jerseys—3,777 pounds for 12 months. 
I am asked to state more about the herd. 
For the last 25 years thoroughbred Jersey 
bulls have been used. About 14 years ago a 
grade heifer was found to make butter of 
Guernsey yellowness, and she could make two 
pounds per day. She also held her milk well 
as she could be milked nearly all the time. 
She mbs taken as the mother of the herd, and 
bred (o Jersey bulls. Ten of her descendants 
are now in milk, and are extra good butter- 
makers. Several of them will make fully 365 
pounds in a year. One made 17 ounces from 
six quarts of milk in a day, when due to come 
in in 30 days—another was put into the barn, 
and fed upon dry hay in order to dry her off 
when nearly ready to calve. She is now giv¬ 
ing a little over eight quarts of milk per day 
—enough for more than a pound of butter— 
and nas been in milk over two years, and is 
due to calve in September. Another is just 
out of milk, but not dry. She is due to calve 
in nine days. One two-year-old now in 
milk bids fair to equal any of them, 
he is a granddaughter of the old cow 
her sire and mother being half brother 
and sister. I have five younger ones which 
look promising. I have a bull over a year old, 
son of the old cow, sired by a pure-bred Jer¬ 
sey of noted strain, which X have used as far 
as I think prudent on account of his near re¬ 
lationship. The blood in the veins of this 
herd must be nearly all Jersey, and I shall now 
use a Guernsey bull—a calf from the cele¬ 
brated Millwood herd of Framingham, Mass. 
This bull has an extra butter record back 
of him, consequently I look for a still further 
improvement. I am confident that a careful 
start, intelligent breeding, a vigorous selection 
of the fittest, liberal feeding, and kind treat¬ 
ment would in 10 years double the butter prod¬ 
uct per cow of the country. In the account 
which I gave, the herd averaged about 314 
pounds of butter for the year. At that time 
only nine, including the old mother of the 
family, were included, else the showing would 
have been even better. Five more have been 
added to the herd this year and the record 
has improved although they T are only heifers. 
H. C. E., Sandwich, Mass.— Here is wbat 
I believe to be very effectual in driving the 
flea-beetles off, if it does nothing else. It is 
the plaster and kerosene mixture recommend¬ 
ed for squash vines, viz.: To every quart of 
the plaster add a great spoonful of kerosene. 
I have added, however, a one-third more. If 
this is sprinkled on potato vines it will drive 
the beetles off. The finer the plaster the bet¬ 
ter. A very great quantity is not required. 
LODGED WHEAT. 
W. L. D., Clyde, N. Y.—From the fre¬ 
quency of extraordinarily heavy rains and 
much wind, wheat has been subjected to an 
unusual test of its strength of stem. If grown 
— constructed—out of a soil where there was 
an abundance of nitrogen, the structure of 
the stems is faulty or weak, and the wheat 
lodges badly. Now, a heavy piece of wheat is 
usually considered a pleasing thing for the 
farmer, even if lodged; but it is often a waste¬ 
ful growth, including wastage of fertility. 
The straw is weak and soft, seeming to lack 
in phosphate of lime, and the growth being 
protuse and quick the cellular tissue is per¬ 
haps put together with too little silex. The 
grain also shrinks so much that its selling 
price is lowered and indeed it is of poor qual¬ 
ity. Wheat which has been down several 
days from the force of heavy storms at the 
blooming time or just after, is injured even 
though it may rise again; while that 
which does not recover yields shrunken grain 
equal to that “pungled” by the weevil, if it 
yields much of anything. Inquiry is always 
made by millers about the lodging of wheat, 
and this year in many sections, local millers 
have declared the prospect is poor for good 
wheat, and a No. 1 price will not be paid. To 
be sure there is a loss in over-enriching the 
soil for some crops—for wheat for instance. 
One of the features in this matter is spot 
fertilizing, from which arise little lodged 
patches presenting a dotted appearance in a 
field of grain. This comes from the careless 
application of barn-yard manure, generally 
due to drawing and placing it in (he field in 
small piles some length of time before plow¬ 
ing: thus some spots receive too much of the 
nitrogenous stuff and others not enough. It 
is quite certain that there would have been 
less loss by spreading it immediately and, 
where possible, surface application is the best 
way ot doing so with thorough harrowing; for 
in this way spot fertilizing of high-grade fer¬ 
tilizers in over doses, occasions the same re¬ 
sults—over-balanced growth, poor grain or no 
grain. An over-dose of phosphoric acid or pot¬ 
ash would not in this respect work the damage 
that ammonia would. It seems very proper¬ 
ly that in almost all formulas for superphos¬ 
phates, the immediately available mineral 
constituents exceed the nitrogenous in sup¬ 
ply. This is safe. In an extravagant use of 
fertilizers for goon results, there is much dan¬ 
ger of over-reaching. One should distribute 
the fertilizer so as to bring every square rod 
up to an even standard. Let us try to get a 
big wheat crop, yet not the biggest. Keep on 
the lesser side where the growth stands up. 
more “weather-wise” folks 
F. S. W., Des Moines, Iowa.— I have no 
s’gns for telling the coming weather. I never 
pay any attention to such things. I have the 
assurance from inspiration that so long as 
time lasts, we are to have seed-time and har¬ 
vest, winter and summer and also wet and 
dry weather. Now, it has always been my 
plan to try to have work for all these 
various conditions of the weather. If I 
prepare a piece of land to-day to be planted to 
certain kinds of seed to-morrow, and it 
rams to-night and makes the land too wet to 
plant, I do something else until the weather 
and ground are right for planting. While I 
am on this subject, let me say that I never 
plant a nything in the moon, as I always plant 
in the earth. At this', busy season to be suc¬ 
cessful in farming, we must know how to 
economize every moment. When it is too wet 
to use the horse cultivator, there are places 
where the band hoe can be used, or plants can 
be set out, or the weedy fence corners and 
walks can be cleaned up. Pig-pens, barns 
and tools can be looked after and repair¬ 
ed and cleaned up. When the cold 
weather comes, there is still plenty to do, 
wood to chop and haul, manure to be hauled 
out and other things can be done so that we 
can be kept busy in all kinds of weather. 
I am aware of the fact that our Signal Ser¬ 
vice is enabled by working on scientific prin¬ 
ciples, by numerous observations over a wide 
area and constant practice, to tell what the 
weather will be to-morrow, but to do so is a 
task too heavy for me. If we farmers could 
have daily access to the Signal Service 
bulletins, they might be of great help to us in 
planning cur work ahead; but these bulletins 
are posted up in the city in the Post-office, and 
at this busy season there are many farmers 
who do not get to the city more than once in 
a week. Until we can have better access to 
this only source of reliable weather indication, 
we had better adapt ourselves to the weather, 
instead of trying to adapt the weather to our 
wants; paying attention to old signs and 
moon changes—which do not amount to any¬ 
thing. “Christian Science,” “faith cures,” 
and weather signs, or anything else which is 
not based on scientific reasoning I have no 
use for. 
“all sorts.” 
S. H. C., Harkness, N. Y.—The contest 
plot of potatoes that my wife planted or 
helped to plant, as she cut the seed pieces and 
dropped them, isleoking fine. I never saw so 
many stalks, or larger, liealthier-looking ones. 
I am afraid the tops are too large. The flea- 
beetles have not hurt them much. They seem 
to come too early to do much damage. The 
contest plot was planted May 6, and my field 
of about five acres on the 10th and 11th. When 
planting them, if the pieces lay any time, say 
20 minutes, before they were covered with 
earth, they would be covered with the beetles. 
I was afraid the latter would injure the seed, 
but now I do not think they did any damage, 
as the vines are covering the ground and are 
covered with blossoms. Why is it that I 
never have any seed-balls ? One of my neigh¬ 
bors who planted early, told me that when he 
cultivated his they were covered with beetles. 
He had a rather long whiffletree that brushed 
the vines or tops some, and he could see the 
little fellows flying off. They seemed to go 
down on the ground and the cultivator cover¬ 
ed them. He has seen only very few since. 
He thinks that killed them. I have seen very 
little of their work in my fields and we have 
not had as many of the Colorado beetles as 
usual. Perhaps the weather has had some¬ 
thing to do with their work as well as with 
mine. I cut potatoes for planting May 8, and 
the mercury stood 94 degrees in the shade. 
Last Monday there was a promise of a few 
days’ good weather and I cut five acres of 
newly seeded grass, mostly clover and a very 
good crop. I raked a part, and on Tuesday 
I finished raking, and drew in one load and 
found it too green. Tuesday night it rained 
hard, wet it through and yesterday I spent 
all day trying to dry it. I got it partly dry 
and some of it in bunches, the rest in wind¬ 
rows that had been turned. This morning 
when I woke up it was raining and it is rain¬ 
ing now. 
earth-closet deposits as manure. 
W G. W., Tyrone, Pa.—E S. Gilbert tells 
us that the accumulation from an earth-closet 
sprtad on a piece of meadow produced scarce¬ 
ly any perceptible improvement on the grass 
growth. The same want ot early effect has 
resulted here, buttbe ground basyielded very 
well ever since where an application was 
made several years ago. Dr. Caldwell says 
that the earth from the closet has very little 
■nanurial value, even when it has been used 
for the closet two oi three times over. It is 
strange that analysis should give no better 
account of what is almost the sole reliance of 
the best gardeners in the world—the Chinese 
and Japanese. We all know what a close and 
careful keeper earth is of all mauurial matter 
committed to its keeping. Apparently it gives 
from its stores year by year only so much of 
phosphoric acid and potash as the plants in 
the ground can use during their growth, and 
this seems to be measured and limited by the 
amount of nitrogen which the plants get. 
This, too, is measured out to them, and with 
even greater strictness, for the nitrogen must 
pass through a preparatory ferment which 
can take place only in a rare combination of 
weather influences on comparatively a few 
days of each year, and to a limited extent. 
If the earth could freely give up its means for - 
vegetable growth it would be soon exhausted. 
Famine and death would soon follow an inor¬ 
dinate least, and the earth would become the 
