1889 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
773 
ic jerkings of the stomach. On opening the 
carcasses I coulcl find nothing strange ex¬ 
cept that some parts of the entrails were 
bloody. Their feed was pumpkins and corn, 
boiled, with ground oats and rye put in a 
trough dry and fed with the boiled feed. 
All acted in the same way in pressing the 
nose against the ground. 
Ans. —The trouble was probably due to 
indigestion or over-feeding. Medicinal 
treatment of pigs of the above age is usu¬ 
ally very unsatisfactory, and in fact should 
rarely be necessary where the pigs are prop¬ 
erly fed—not over-fed soon after weaning 
—and kept in suitable quarters. See notes 
on the care and feeding of young pigs in 
recent numbers of the Rural. 
SMALL FRUITS, ETC. 
S. F. S., York, Pa. —I wish to plant for 
our local market, small fruits and vegeta¬ 
bles, which I will retail myself. What 
varieties of strawberries, raspberries, 
blackberries should I procure ? What will 
the plants cost per 1,000? Where can they 
be bought ? What are two-year-old aspara¬ 
gus roots worth per 1,000 and where can 
they be bought ? Where can I buy the 
Rural New-Yorker No. 2 Potato ? How 
much per bushel ? 
Ans.—S trawberries : Sharpless, Bubach, 
Charles Downing (if it succeeds in your 
locality), Pearl, Parker Earle. Raspber¬ 
ries : Cuthbert, Marlboro, Hilbom (black). 
Blackberries: Kittatinny, Minnewaski. 
The strawberries will cost about $2.50 per 
1,000: the raspberries about $8.00; black¬ 
berries about $8.00 The Minnewaski will 
cost more. Two-year-old asparagus roots 
will cost about $7.00 per thousand. All 
seedsmen sell them. The R. N.-Y. No. 2 
will be offered by all seedsmen. You should 
be careful to secure the true No. 2, as other 
kinds have been offered for it. 
STIFLE LAMENESS. 
S. N. L., Chatham, N. Y. —My horse was 
stifled about three months ago. Although 
he is able to go about with careful usage 
yet he is very lame when I attempt to trot 
him. He refuses to back as it seems to 
hurt him. What can I do for him? I would 
prefer not to blister him. 
Ans. —The most satisfactory result could 
probably be attained by either blistering or 
firing; but the application of a strong lini¬ 
ment or tincture of iodine two or three 
times a week, with a long period of rest, 
say, at least three or four months, might 
effect a cure. If possible keep the horse on 
a warm dirt floor (preferably in a box-stall 
where the animal can have more exercise, 
otherwise he should be walked out daily,) 
where there will be little difficulty in get¬ 
ting down and up without danger of slip¬ 
ping. A light, laxative diet should be 
given while the horse is idle. 
A STEAM GENERATOR FOR HEATING WATER. 
TP. B. II., Boise City, Idaho. —In fixing 
up a laundry and bath rooms, I desire, if it 
is practicable and economical, to put in a 
steam generator such as the “ Purinton” 
for heating wat<r in wash and bathtubs 
and boiling clothes in stationary tubs. 
Will the steam passing through short pipes 
into a tub containing water and clothes, 
boil the clothes thoroughly ? Is the use of 
a steamer more economical of fuel and labor 
than heating water and boiling the clothes 
on a stove ? 
Ans. —The R. N.-Y. has not seen this 
generator used for the purpose named, but 
it is informed by creditable correspondents 
that such use is convenient and economical. 
We have no doubt about the economy of us¬ 
ing such a generator in the laundry and 
bath-room. 
Miscellaneous. 
J. L., Sand Point, Idaho. —Wm. Mac- 
Naughton’s Sons of this city buy furs of 
all sorts. They can doubtless tell you 
where you can sell buck horns. 
W. M. P., Eldorado Springs, Mo .—Does 
the World Manufacturing Company, 122 
Nassau Street, New York, still have the 
New American Roller Organs for sale, and 
are they reliable ? 
Ans.—Y es; yes. 
E. TP. A., Buckingham County, Va.—A 
neighbor proposes to work my five-year-old 
Concord vineyard on shares. He is to do 
all the cultivating with horse and hoe as 
well as all the pruning and manuring. 
What should be his share ? 
Ans. —Nothing is said about picking, 
trimming and packing and marketing the 
fruit. If the neighbor does all these, an 
equal division of the profits would be about 
equitable. 
C. P., Parnassus, Pa. —My riding horse 
has had the scratches badly. Just now 
there is no sore or inflammation. I keep 
the animal clean and use sweet oil when de¬ 
sirable. If I neglect to do this even for a 
day, a hard horny substance forms, some¬ 
thing like the frog of the foot. 1. Is the 
trouble grease-heel ? 2. What can we do 
to cure it ? 
Ans.— 1. Yes. 2. Try the course of treat¬ 
ment advised in the F. C., of November 9th 
1889, for Scratches or Grease-Heel. 
C. F. B., West Groton, N. Y. —Will it 
pay me to buy Canadian unleached wood 
ashes to be sown on a meadow that was 
mown last season, and which I wish to mow 
again next year ? How much should be 
used per acre ? 
Ans.—T he various conditions are so little 
known to us that we cannot give a trust¬ 
worthy answer. At any rate, we should 
sow, besides the ashes, some form of nitro¬ 
gen. Ashes, in so far as potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid are concerned, are a first-rate 
fertilizer. 
TP. It. S., Mapleton, Mich. —1. Is it safe 
to pasture hogs in an orchard after spraying 
the trees with Paris-green for the coddling 
moth ? 2. Will a wet, swampy piece of 
ground make a good hog pasture ? The 
water in it is pure spring water and the 
ground could be drained. 3. What is the 
average cost of keeping a hog up to the age 
of six months ? What would be its average 
weight then ? 
Ans.— 1. We should wait a day or two be¬ 
fore turning the hogs into the orchard, al¬ 
though reliable experiments seem to show 
that there is little or no danger even on the 
day of the spraying. 2. We believe that a 
portion of a hog pasture should be high and 
dry. Hogs will do better if they are pro¬ 
vided with a dry spot in which to make 
their bed. 3. We shall have to refer this 
question to some of our readers. 
Discussion. 
THE COST OF LIVING ON THE FARM. 
II. D., Greenwich, Conn.-— I could not 
keep any record of family expenses so as to 
give the average cost of each individual, as 
the family varies in number according to 
the number of help kept and of friends who 
visit us. Usually we are 11 in family. 
Prices rule here about the same as in New 
York City markets; if anything, they are a 
trifle higher here. Our beautiful town is 
on the highest coast-land between Maine 
and Florida and is the summer home of 
many New York families who help to con¬ 
sume most of the local produce, and so 
keep up our market prices. Now butter 
brings 30 and 35 cents; eggs, 86; milk, 7; 
and cream, 35 and 40. These are produced 
on our farm, but I pay for flour $6 direct 
from the Produce Exchange, and in town 
$7, and we use one barrel in three weeks. 
Sugar costs nine cents and we use two 
barrels a year; coffee 30 cents per pound 
and we use two pounds per week; tea, 60 
cents, one pound lasts us three weeks; the 
value of our chocolate, etc., I cannot esti¬ 
mate as we use less of these. Molasses is 
70 cents; kerosene by the barrel is fit cents 
per gallon, by retail 15; we use two gallons 
per week. I only use one coal stove in our 
sleeping apartments; that consumes two 
tons during the winter. The present price 
of coal is $6. Wood I burn in four stoves, 
but that I cut ou the farm; price $6 per 
cord. I agree with O. H. of Greeley, Col., 
that it costs more to clothe a man than it 
does to clothe his wife. I know it costs 
more than twice as much for my clothing, 
shoes and slippers as for my wife’s. 
A. R., Marilla, N. Y.—I have never 
kept any account of expenses since 1875. 
My income being very small, I became dis¬ 
couraged and only kept an account of the 
butter and eggs and other farm produce 
sold. Then at the end of the year, I would 
take an inventory of the stock, tools, etc., 
also of the amounts paid on debts and so 
find out what my profits had been after 
paying the farm and living expenses for 
each year. I have been more interested in 
the profits than in the expenditures. From 
April 1, 1S75 to September 7, 1875 my total 
living expense for two except for wood, was 
$110.54. I had just commenced house-keep¬ 
ing, buteut my own lire wood on the farm. 
I set down only the items and dates with 
the cost. From January 1, 1S77 to October 
19, 1S77, our family of two used 156 pounds 
of sugar : cost $16.94. I wish T. B. Terry 
would tell us t hrough the columns of the 
R. N.-Y., what his profits usually are after 
paying his farm and living expenses ; also 
what percentage they would be on the 
amount of capital invested in the business 
of his 50-acre farm. A merchant could tell 
the rate his capital was paying him. Why 
should a farmer be unable, to do so ? My 
farm has paid as well as any branch of 
business in this vicinity, in proportion to 
the amount of capital and brains invested 
in it. ‘‘Farmin’ pays.” 
A. P. A., Meadville, Pa.—I n looking 
over my books I find the following footings 
for the years: 1883. 1888. 
For clothing. $42.08 $49.25 
Boots and shoes. 13.85 15.75 
Groceries. 47.28 39.48 
The family consists of three adults. I do 
not have to hire much help though I get a 
hand for two or three days at a time during 
a rush. Several nieces and nephews, 
however, that live in the city, make us a 
visit regularly every summer, and of course 
all help at the table. Though keeping a 
strict account of receipts and expenditures, 
I have not reduced my system of book-keep¬ 
ing to so fine a point as to open a separate 
account for each article; but under the 
head of “ groceries ” I include tea, coffee, 
sugar, spices, etc., in fact, everything in 
the way of groceries. Meat, vegetables and 
flour we produce ourselves and so no entry 
of the value of these is made in my grocery 
account. Occasionally a piece of fresh 
meat helps to swell the sum total of the 
bill, but not often, as plenty of eggs and 
chickens answer the purpose instead and 
are always at hand. 
W. D. P., Camp Springs, Md.— My fami¬ 
ly consists of myself, wife and two chil¬ 
dren, and my mother ahd a niece live with 
me, and there is one hired man, making 
seven in all. The following items are only 
for myself, wife and two children : 
Grocery bill, for 1888.$200 00 
Clothing, “ 30 00 
Shoes, “ 18 50 
Medicines, “ 4 50 
Doctor’s bills, “ ‘ . 3 00 
Total.$256 00 
I do not count what I raise on the farm, 
such as vegetables, fruits, meat, milk, but¬ 
ter, lard, poultry and eggs, of which we use 
all we wish either fresh or canned as far as 
fruit is concerned. We live as well as the 
majority of our neighbors. I raise fruits 
and vegetables for market and we have 
abundance of them for our own table. 
Some of my neighbors’ families do not have 
strawberries, and several sorts of vegeta¬ 
bles they have only when they buy them 
and that is seldom. I get my wood from 
the farm. I have accounts for several 
years, and find they average nearly the 
same except in the year in which I was 
married; then my own bill for clothing 
was larger than that for all the family in 
any year before or since. 
T. B. Terry, Hudson, Ohio.—I keep a 
cash account, and buy almost everything 
we use and pay cash for it, so it is simply a 
matter of time and figures to get very 
closely at what it costs us to live. My fam¬ 
ily averages six persons, besides company 
—wife and I, two daughters and a son, all 
grown up, and hired help equal to one man 
for the year. In the line of groceries and 
provisions we consume in a year about six 
barrels of white flour, Graham and buck¬ 
wheat, two bushels of marrow beans, 24 
pounds of coffee. 12 of tea, 50 of rice, 470 of 
granulated sugar, a barrel of sweet pota¬ 
toes, 52 bushels of Irish potatoes, 28 gallons 
of maple sirup, six of molasses, 20 pounds of 
dried peaches, 24 of raisins, seven of 
Royal baking powder, besides the numer¬ 
ous little things that it would take up too 
much space to mention in detail. It takes 
about 50 gallons of the best oil to keeD our 
home well lighted. In oil and fuel we never 
attempt to economize. We used during 
the last 12 months 85 large-sized cakes of 
Ivory soap to keep us clean. I suspect our 
folks do not economize any in soap, as we 
used not to need so much. Our entire meat 
bill for the past year, including beef, chick¬ 
ens, pork, lard, oysters, fish, etc., foots up 
to $73. It is all purchased, as we do not 
keep even a pig or a chicken. To make 
those six barrels'of flour go down pleasant ly 
required $55 worth of the choicest creamery 
butter, costing from 18 cents in mid-sum¬ 
mer to 26 cents paid the other day for our 
winter supply. It is many years since I 
have allowed my wife to fuss making but¬ 
ter from two or three cows—a constant 
daily drudgery almost the year around. I 
can make the money on the farm with far 
less expenditure of the vital force of the 
firm—wife and I are partners. 
Our egg bill for the year spoils $17. It 
would have gone higher, but we buy eggs 
in the spring and put them down in lime- 
water. We are using 10-eent eggs now 
when they cost about twice that price in 
market. We drink lemonade in summer, 
instead of hard cider, which puts $9 on to 
the cash account. In the way of fruit we 
consume, fresh and canned, more than 40 
bushels of strawberries, raspberries, black¬ 
berries, grapes, currants and peaches, be¬ 
sides 20 bushels of apples. Those who wish 
may live on the “ fat of the land;” but as 
for me and my family we thank God for 
the fruit. Estimating what we grow our¬ 
selves at what we could sell them for at 
wholesale, our fruit bill runs up to $137— 
doctor’s bills-0. 
We grow our own Lima beans, tomatoes, 
pie-plants and sweet corn. All other little 
vegetables we find it far better to buy of 
those nearby who make a business of 
growing them. The vegetables we do 
grow are right in our potato field, in rows 
with the potatoes I might say, in passing, 
that we aim to grow what is necessary in 
order to get the best. We can raise better 
strawberries, raspberries, Lima beans and 
sweet corn than we can often buy. We 
can buy as good eggs, butter, chickens, etc., 
as can be produced. We keep one cow to 
furnish us milk and cream. I think these 
would bring at the factory $40 a year. 
Now, of course, it is almost impossible to 
get at such figures as these to a cent, as 
some supplies are left over from year to 
year: but our grocery and provision bill 
for a year, including many little things not 
mentioned above, does not vary much from 
$4.83. Thus our eating and drinking costs, 
in cash, about $1.55 a person, a week. 
With a little cutting down on the luxuries 
this might be reduced to a dollar a week. 
We have lived on considerably less than 
that. 
To keep us warm I bought for this win¬ 
ter seven tons of anthracite coal, at a cost 
of $5.40 per ton. To do the cooking re¬ 
quires $25 worth of stove wood and oil for 
a year. The wood costs $1 per pile (of 1S- 
inch wood) eight feet long and four feet 
high. We use an oil-range for hot weather. 
About four cords of chunk wood are used 
up-stairs in very cold weather to help out 
the big base-burner below, that can ordi¬ 
narily warm the whole house. We do not 
live in the kitchen, but in the whole house 
which is warmed and lighted, as a rule. 
How it would shock my good mother, if 
she were living, to see us daily using the 
best rooms in the house. Total cost of fuel 
for the year $67, without count ing the haul¬ 
ing, which is a very small matter. 
What we wear is not so easy to get at 
correctly. After getting the figures from 
the girls (I give them $10 or $20 at once, and 
they buy their clothes, etc., so that the cash 
account does not show the cost), I have 
concluded that to dress us all a year, in¬ 
cluding over-head and under-foot, costs 
pretty close to $216. I threw out all cloaks 
and over-coats from the year’s account, and 
then added in $5 a year for each person for 
furnishing these garments. For example : 
I bought a new overcoat for $20 aud one 
daughter had a new cloak that cost $28. 
On the average these will last us about five 
years, which makes about $5 a person, a 
year. Then I have had two suits of under¬ 
clothing ; but they will last two years; so 
only half the cost is put in this year’s ac¬ 
count. So, although the clothing bill foots 
up more than we expected, it is pretty close 
to the truth—$43 per individual. It will 
not do to count incidentals, such as church 
expenses, cost of traveling, books, papers, 
lecture tickets, flowers,etc., at less than $125." 
For the use of our carriage, sleigh, harness, 
robes, etc., for pleasure riding, I charge 15 
per cent, per annum on their cost, or $50. 
As we keep no special driving horse I will 
say nothing about the use of horses. 
To get at our real family expenses $80 
should be taken from the above $483 for 
what the hired man ate, when the total 
will be found to be $861 for our family of 
five full-grown persons. But there is one 
other point that farmers are quite apt to 
overlook in their estimates of the profits of 
farming. Our farm has paid for and fur¬ 
nished us a nice home to live in. One 
wouldn’t forget it if he had to pay rent for 
such a house all furnished in town. Our 
home has cost, including all furnishings, 
close to $4,000. I certainly could not afford 
to keep this insured, painted, and in repair 
and taxes paid, and stand wear and tear on 
furnishings (including carpets and bed¬ 
ding), together with interest on the invest¬ 
ment, and rent to a careful family for 10 
per cent, on its cost. But I mil lend money 
to myself cheaply and call the whole use of 
the home 10 per cent, on its cost. Thus the 
actual cost of living on our little farm foots 
up $1,261. 
Can a 50-acre farm stand this drain ? Yes. 
and pay a fair interest on its value, thus 
leaving the owner the above sum for his 
