626 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
SEPT. 21 
CRACKED HEELS IN HORSES, ETC. 
J. F. D. G., Gouverneur, N. Y. —1. What 
is a remedy for crackedheels 011 horses? 2. 
What is good for a horse that rubs and 
bites himself? 
Ans.— 1. If there is an offensive discharge 
with a strong odor—thrush—cut away all 
dead or diseased horn and then apply dry 
calomel, pressing it well into the crack, un¬ 
til the discharge ceases. Then keep the 
hoof coated once daily with the best, pine 
tar until well grown out. If, however, 
there is a discharge like the pus or matter 
from an ordinary wound, wash out once 
daily with a solution of five parts of carbolic 
acid in 100 parts of water and ap¬ 
ply a coating of tar after each dressing. 
For a simple crack in the hoof without dis¬ 
charge, apply a mild blister around the top 
of the hoof, especially above the crack, and 
keep the hoof coated with the tar as di¬ 
rected above. 2. A good dose of physic— 
six to eight drams of Barbadoes aloes, ac¬ 
cording to the size and condition of the ani¬ 
mal, with an ounce of ginger, to be given 
in a ball or as a drench, and foil o'Wed 
by a bran mash diet until freely 
purged. After being purged, a course of 
powders somewhat like the following can 
be given with advantage: one pound each 
of bicarbonate of soda, Glauber salts, and 
powdered gentian well mixed together. 
Dose—two table-spoonfuls twice daily on 
the feed. 
STERILITY IN A BULL. 
A. J. T., Homewood, Fa.— My three-year- 
old Jersey bull is not a sure calf-getter. 
Scarcely any of the 30 cows he has covered 
this season are with calf, though lie has 
covered some four or five times. He is in 
fair order, being neither poor nor fat. He 
has been most of the time on grass pasture 
with the cows, though for a part of the time 
he has been staked out. Can anything be 
done for him? 
Ans. —The bull is probably temporarily 
sterile because weakened by too much ser¬ 
vice. Judging from your history of the 
case, he has served the equivalent of 100 to 
150 cows one service each, which is two or 
three times as many as a bull can usually 
profitably serve in a year. Keep the bull 
away from the cows, but give him plenty 
of exercise, preferably in a small field or 
yard by himself, or with cattle that will 
not come in heat. In addition to his corn 
fodder feed him some bran or oats twice 
daily. Allow him to serve one or not to 
exceed two cows per week, and allow only 
one good service to each cow. If he was a 
successful getter of calves last year, he will 
probably become fertile again after a little 
rest and attention, if his powers are not 
overtaxed, as has evidently been the case 
thus far during the season. 
PUFFS ON YOUNG COLTS. 
F. 13. B ., Ottawa, Mich .—Within a few 
days after the birth of my one-month-old 
colt soft bunches appeared on the outside 
of each front knee .just below the joint. 
They were about as large as a hen’s egg, 
and not tender, nor did they cause any 
lameness. A few days afterwards above 
these appeared swellings which were not 
quite so soft and which were tender too, if 
rubbed. The colt is strong and active. The, 
stall floor was wet and slippery when the 
colt was born, and it had some difficulty in 
getting on its feet, wrenching its joints per¬ 
haps in doing so. 2. Splints also appear 
quite prominently low down on the legs, 
but do not cause lameness. What should 
be the treatment ? 
Ans.—B eyond bathing the swelling with 
cold water or with a mild stimulant, like 
arnica or camphorated spirits, we would 
not, without a personal examination, ad 
vise treatment at present, or as long as the 
colt is not lame. If the swellings do not 
show a tendency to disappear after a few 
weeks, try the application of the compound 
tincture of iodine, applying it once daily 
until the skin is slightly blistered. Later 
more active treatment may be demanded if 
the colt does not outgrow the trouble. 
THE WEIGHT OF HAY IN A STACK. 
H. S., Hot Springs, South Dakota .—How 
can I ascertain theamount of hay in a stack 
40 feet long, 20 feet wide and nine feet high 
from the ground to the beginning of the 
slanting top and 14 from the apex of the 
sloping top to the ground ? 
ANS.—Hay dealers allow 512 cubic feet to 
the ton. This is considered accurate enough, 
although much depends upon the sort of 
hay in the stack and also the care with 
which it is made. Your stack contains 
9,200 cubic feet. Dividing this by 512, we 
have a small fraction less than 18 tons; to 
be exact,,17.96 tons. The number of cubic 
feet in the stack can be found by multiply¬ 
ing 40 by 20 by nine feet. This gives the 
cubic area up to the slant. Then we have 
a mass 40 feet long, 20 feet wide and five 
feet high in the center, equal to a uniform 
thickness of 2% feet. The first multiplica¬ 
tion gives 7,200 and the second 2,000 or a to¬ 
tal of 9,200 cubic feet. 
COWS DRYING OFF. 
C. B. C., Putnam, Conn .—Two of my cows 
have suddenly become “dry.” They eat 
well and are apparently in good health in 
all respects. They are on the same pasture 
in which they have been all summer, and 
no change has been made in their feed. 
What is the cause, and a remedy? 
Ans. —If there is no apparent cause for 
the “drying off,” which could be accounted 
for by a dairyman, such as short grass, 
scarcity of good water, several months al¬ 
ready in milk, injury or disease, we cannot 
suggest why they should have done so. 
Unless the cows have a previous good rec¬ 
ord, it would indicate that they were prob¬ 
ably short milkers, and better subjects for 
the butcher than for the dairyman. 
Miscellaneous. 
J. H., Mechanicsville, N. Y.— Who makes 
ice plows? 
Ans. —The Higganum Manufacturing 
Company, New York. 
P. W. J., Pontiac, Mich .—What is the best 
apparatus for cooking feed for hogs ? 
Ans. —This inquiry is fully answered in 
this week’s “symposium” on Cooking Feed. 
J. Iv. Purington of Des Moines, Iowa sells 
an excellent steamer. 
J. J. T., Buffalo , N. Y.—I am going to 
plant 15 acres of winter wheat this month, 
and would like to try nitrate of soda or 
sulphate of ammonia. Can I use it with 
wood ashes, and bone dust, and shall I put 
on 200 pounds to the acre now or wait until 
spring before putt ing on the nitrate? I want 
to sow Timothy with the wheat. 
ANS. —Use the nitrate of soda not until 
spring. The bone and ashes may be spread 
now. In the spring we should use equal 
quantities of nitrate of soda and sulphate 
of ammonia, rather than all of either. 
J. H. L., Natrona, Pa .—My three-year- 
old pacing stallion had the distemper when 
a foal, and he has never got over the effects. 
Now when he drinks, some of the water 
comes down his nostrils, and when eating 
sometimes he coughs and appears -to be 
choked; then some of his well-chewed food 
will come through his nostrils. Then he is 
all right for a while, eating and drinking 
without any trouble. What should be 
done? 
Ans. —Rub the whole region of the throat 
once daily with the following liniment un¬ 
til the skin is quite well blistered: Equal 
parts sweet oil and strong aqua ammonia 
well shaken together. Repeat the blister¬ 
ing whenever the difficulty occurs. 
Discussion. 
TAP-ROOTS VS. TRANSPLANTING. 
P. H. R., Downikville, California.— 
In the Rural of May 4 there is a discus¬ 
sion of a proposition to start an orchard by 
planting the seeds where the orchard 
trees ought to stand and grafting on the 
sprouts. I was much interested in the dis¬ 
cussion, though I do not feel satisfied that 
what to me seems so large a subject was 
treated so lightly. I had proposed to adopt 
the same plan as S. B. H. I yet believe it 
by far the best way. I have about 30 acres 
of hillside facing the south, protected from 
frosts, and good enough to produce a fine 
body of oak timber. It is very dry. Some¬ 
times rain does not fall on it for three or 
four months, yet I hope by pursuing the 
above plan to get trees in two or three 
years’ time that, will have roots long 
and strong enough to supply them¬ 
selves with moisture without any aid ex¬ 
cept mulching. Can it be done? Well, not 
with nursery trees. Dr. Hoskins, speaking 
from an experience of forty years in orchard 
and nursery work, and backed by the expe¬ 
rience of hundreds of others, says that trees 
suffer no permanent injury in transplant¬ 
ing. Forty years’ active work and close 
observation ought to entitle one to be lis¬ 
tened to deferentially, especially when such 
an one has much ability both natural and 
acquired. But able men sometimes get 
into grooves from which it is difficult to 
find exit; incorrect data and statements are 
accepted as true, and false conclusions are. 
drawn, and thus is wasted much conscien¬ 
tious labor, anti progress is retarded. It is 
well known that many things considered 
indispensable in the medical practice of 50 
years ago, are now utterly condemned; and 
in many other callings long-cherished ideas 
retain their vitality because of our diffidence 
in attacking long established usages. Now, 
I have been carefully watching the growth 
and development of several species of young 
trees growing from seed, and have observed 
that the first thing a seed does is to start 
its strongest and longest root straight 
downward, and that the si/.e and length 
of this are only limited by the space 
given it in which to expand. God, or Na¬ 
ture, makes no mistake in directing the 
inherent forces of matter, and would not 
make the tap-root the longest and strongest 
—a veritable Underground tree—if it had 
not been, in the economy of tree growth, a 
necessity, I believe that God knows some¬ 
thing of tree planting, and when I see these 
facts so definitely and constantly pointed 
out, it will take the evidence from hard- 
proved comparative experiments to shake 
my faith in a root system that stands in its 
original position and entirety. I know that 
a deep-rooted tree stands more firmly than 
one whose tap-root has been shortened; and 
I believe that it is far better prepared to 
stand drought or extreme cold. The tap¬ 
root once cut, will send out lateral branches, 
but never again go far downward; it is a 
cripple for life. 
“ The immense number of very aged and 
yet vigorous apple trees in existence which 
have certainly been transplanted,” is offer¬ 
ed in evidence to prove that repeated in¬ 
juries to the roots cause “ no permanent 
detriment.” That such trees exist only 
serves to show that they will survive gross 
abuse—that they will live in spite of serious 
injury. That trees may suffer a suspen¬ 
sion of vital action without loss of anything 
but time may be debatable; but will any 
one maintain that their vigor is not im¬ 
paired or their chances for longlife lessened 
by removal of their vital organs? One can 
easily understand that, from the nature of 
its surroundings, a forest tree can only live 
a relatively short life; but an apple tree 
need never die. As long as manurial values 
equal to the loss sustained by the soil in 
maturing the fruit are supplied to it, so 
long will it fulfill its mission and continue 
to expand. Nature never tires. “Pay as 
you go” when dealing with her, and you 
are making a limitless credit account in a 
safe bank. 
It is patent that I am ignorant of many 
things which seem to be so trite to the 
Rural correspondents as not to be worthy 
of mention. The “many practical diffi¬ 
culties ” to be encountered in pursuing 
such a practice as proposed, do not seem 
tangible nor are they visible to me; neither 
do I know how one could get a hardy tree 
on which to graft if not from the seed of an 
iron-clad. 1 do not even know what is to 
be gained by having a long trunk. In fact, 
I believe that the waste of time in growing 
a long body is so unnecessary that I shall 
allow mine to branch as soon as they show 
a disposition to do so. I believe the pro¬ 
posed plan will insure a gain of two years 
in the early securing of fin it from the 
average tree; and that the standard of its 
vitality will be far above that of one whose 
growth is checked and the proper direction 
of whose development is destroyed. If my 
conclusions are as sound as my facts are 
suggestive, there is no danger of giving un¬ 
due prominence to the discussion of this 
subject; nor of too great a crop of thinkers, 
investigators and experimenters in a field 
that offers so much opportunity and re¬ 
ward. 
FUNGOUS DISEASES OF FRUIT TREES. 
Prof. J. L. Bunn, Ames, Iowa.—I 
have read with much interest the article by 
I)r. Halsted in a late Rural on the fun¬ 
gus of the pear, and the thought occurs 
that some general notes from a climatic 
standpoint on the fungous troubles of our 
orchard and small fruits may have some in¬ 
terest. As a probable result of the unusu¬ 
al extremes of the past few years in heat 
and moisture of air, rainfall, etc, in the 
prairie States, we have had an evident in¬ 
crease in tendency to rusts, smuts, mildews, 
and blights in the orchard and garden. 
Beyond reasonable doubt this increase of 
the fungi has had as much to do with our 
orchard losses of trees as the test winters 
which have been talked and written about. 
A few years ago the Early Richmond and 
English Morello Cherries, the Lombard 
Plum, the Ben Davis Apple, and the Flem¬ 
ish Beauty Pear, were considered hardy in 
central Iowa, but recently when the time 
came it was difficult to find a healthy leaf 
on them in August, their days became few 
and full of trouble. At t his time the visit¬ 
or can usually tell ly the condition of the 
foliage the relative hardiness of the species 
and varieties on the college grounds. In 
the apple orchard the nearly hardy sorts, 
with more or less admixture of the west 
European types, are rarely perfect in leaf, 
and the fruit is more subject to scab than 
in the early days. On the other hand, the 
Duchess, -Tetofsky, Whitney’s No. 20, 
Wealthy, and dozens of other varieties of 
the east European race or their seedlings, 
have clean, perfect foliage and not a show 
of scab or crack of fruit. To-day we have 
gathered for the State Fair exhibit 90 varie- 
ites of Russian apples which do not show a 
trace of scab, while not a single variety of 
the west European race or their seedlings is 
free from this trouble. 
In the cherry orchard every variety from 
the most trying portions of France, West 
Germany, and the coast provinces of Rut, 
sia, is at this time destitute of leaves at the 
points of growth, and some of them are as 
bare as in winter on young and old wood. 
Yet the varieties obtained from points east 
of the Carpathians to the Volga show clean 
and perfect foliage to points of growth, ex¬ 
cept that now and then the terminal points 
show traces of a surface mildew like that 
on the lilac. In the plum orchard we have 
no variety left of the West European race 
or their seedlings. But our best native 
plums, such as De Soto, Wolff, Wyant, 
Hawkeye, Magnoketa, Forest Rose and 
Pottawatamie, show perfect foliage and 
fruit as do the thick-leaved sorts from cen¬ 
tral Russia. Simon’s Plum and the Shense 
Apricot, coming from the dry and changea¬ 
ble climate of northwest China, have also 
perfect foliage and fruit. 
In the way of pears we have nothing now 
left of the old standard sorts or of the Chin 
ese pears and their crosses, which do well 
in New Jersey. But the Snow Pears of 
Northwestern China are perfect in foliage, 
tree and fruit, and I have hardly seen a 
trace of fungus on the thick leaves of the 
interior Russian varieties. On the other 
hand, the varieties from the coast provinces 
of Russia are now destitute of foliage. The 
peaches from Northwest China are here 
nearly hardy in tree and perfect in foliage; 
but nearly every specimen of fruit is 
scabbed on one side. On the other hand, 
the varieties from Bokhara in Asia are 
perfect in foliage and I have not seen un¬ 
heard of a trace of scab on the fruit. 
I give these general notes to show that in 
our trying climate the structure of the leaf 
and the epidermis of the hark and fruit has 
much to do with the tendency to rust, scab, 
etc., and that we cannot hope to do much 
in a general way in the successful use of 
fungicides. In the strawberry, rasp¬ 
berry, blackberry, currant, gooseberry and 
grape I notice the same tendency to leaf 
troubles in some varieties and comparative 
. exemption in others. 
COMPARATIVE PRICES OF BEEF CATTLE. 
Judge T. C. Jones, Delaware, Ohio.— 
In a recent communication to the Ohio 
Farmer after speaking of the decline in 
price of Short-horn cattle, I said, referring 
to the general business of cattle-growing 
It is to be observed that the present severe 
depression in the market values of beef cat¬ 
tle and dairy products is not without a par¬ 
allel in former years. During the depres¬ 
sion in our agricultural products, beginning 
about the year 1840, the dressed carcasses of 
hogs sold as low as $2.50 to $3 per 100 
pounds, while beef wasstill lower. In Inti r 
years, say about 1859 or 1860, my recollec¬ 
tion is that beef cattle anil dairy cows wete 
quite as cheap as they are at this time. 
The present depression, however, has one 
peculiar feature. It affects more seriously 
superior fat cattle of heavy weights than 
the inferior or lighter grades. 
How do we account for this ? It is true 
that since the discovery and universal use 
of petroleum and gas for illumination, the 
price of tallow has declined to a figure so 
low that its production is no longer profit¬ 
able, and the taste of our people has changed 
so that butchers say that they find it diffi¬ 
cult to sell well-fattened beef or mutton. 
This is an unaccountable condition of 
things, but it explains, I think, the reason 
why the present depression in prices as 
quoted in our leading markets (Chicago, 
Buffalo, etc.,) affects much more seriously 
the best cattle, the ripe and well matured 
stock, than the young and lean sort. 
If this singular characteristic in the taste 
of our beef consumers is to continue, I re¬ 
gard it as the most discouraging feature of 
the present outlook. Heretofore the great 
argument in favor of good stock with lib¬ 
eral grazing and feeding has been that such 
cattle, however hard the markets for the 
light, lean and inferior sort, would always 
fetch prices that were fairly remunerative. 
But there is reason to believe that consum- 
