1889 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
8o5 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
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CONSTRUCTION OF SILOS. 
H. T. K., Pruct, Ky.— At the convention 
of the Central Ensilage Association at 
Cleveland, Ohio, H. Talcott, Assistant 
Dairy Commissioner, stated that frost or 
freezing in a silo was not to be considered 
in building one, and that one thickness of 
matched boards was all the wall necessary. 
No solid masonry was needed he said, or 
double boarding with paper between, or 
anything but one thickness of planed 
matched boards. Is such a silo generally 
successful ? 
ANSWERED BY JOHN GOULD, OHIO. 
It is becoming apparent that Mr. Talcott 
is right so far as frost and freezing have 
any influence upon silage. A stone silo 
wall 20 inches thick, is not as good a pro¬ 
tection against frost or freezing as a single 
thickness of plank. Further, it is not 
probable that any man who builds a silo in 
Kentucky, will ever see any frozen silage. 
It is rarely that a pit of silage ever cools 
down much, if any, below 75 or 80 degrees, 
and thus it affords itself excellent pro¬ 
tection against frost. Stone walls against 
silage have a tendency to conduct frost 
• 
Fig. 292. 
through them and cause condensation of 
moisture against the inside, and the con¬ 
tents are more or less damaged. No such 
injury is ever seen with a wooden wall. 
While I still think that in some respects 
double lining, with tarred paper betweeu, 
is preferable for the general silo, I am so 
far convinced that the single boarding is 
sufficient, that next season I shall board 
one in this way in which to ensilo my oat 
crop. I am led to this opinion by the fact 
that gas-tar and gasoline make an abso¬ 
lutely moisture and air-proof paint, quickly 
and easily applied, and which promises to 
make wooden walls as permanent as con¬ 
crete, which has a habit of cracking, owing 
to frost and other causes. The single lin¬ 
ing needs more studding than double 
boarding, and I would set the studding as 
close as 16 inches from center to center. I 
would put on the matched boards hori¬ 
zontally, grooves up, and as each layer was 
put on, I would All the grooves with the 
gas-tar and gasoline, using au old tea or 
coffee-pot for the purpose, and then crowd 
the tongue of the next course of lumber in¬ 
to it. When all is complete, paint the 
whole interior with two coats of this paint, 
made of gas-tar, two gallons anil gasoline, 
one, mixed thoroughly to make an emul¬ 
sion, which it will readily do after about 
three minutes’ agitation. It can be applied 
better than hot gas tar, “strikes in” 
better, and dries as soon or sooner, and 
then there is no trouble with boiling tar, 
ignition, etc. 
In my new silos I dispensed with all ma¬ 
sonry, and, so far as I can see, they are bet¬ 
ter than any one in which there is a joining 
of stone and timber can be. A trench 12 
inches wide and nine deep was dug the exact 
size of the silo, a two-inch tile was put in 
the bottom in a depression for it, and then 
12-inch-square sills, thoroughly painted 
with gas-tar, especially at the ends, and 
half lapped at._the ends were put into this 
trench, and thoroughly tamped at the 
sides so that they are as “ solid as a rock.” 
The studding was then nailed to these sills 
tar was applied up three feet, the three 
courses of bottom boards also received the 
same treatment. There is no floor in th* 
silo, save the natural earth, which was 
drawn from the center of the pits to the 
walls, and thoroughly beaten down so as to 
make a gradual rise from the center to the 
walls, the earth coming up about eight 
inches above the sills. In building a single¬ 
thickness silo, the corners become quite 
important, and the boards should be put on 
as depicted at the Figure 292 running up 
four or more inches at each corner. When 
complete, take an inch-and-a-half square 
strip, take off one corner, and nail it into 
the corners of the silo, and paint it thickly 
with the tar, and you have an air-tight 
joint. Such a silo can be built in a bam for 
about 40 to 50 cents per ton capacity. In 
building a single-thickness silo, I would 
use a fair quality of matched flooring and 
see that all loose knots are cut out. 
SHRINKAGE IN MILK. 
IF. E. R., Dover, N. H.—I have a Guern¬ 
sey cow four years old. She went dry 
about a month and calved about three 
months ago. Two weeks after calving she 
was giving 16 quarts per day. She began 
to shrink in her milk, and I began feeding 
her five quarts per day of meal and bran in 
equal parts. She kept on shrinking and 
lately has given only six quarts per day. 
Her bag seems to be growing fleshy. Be¬ 
sides the grain, she has a good feed in the 
barn mornings and nights and runs in the 
pasture when the weather is pleasant. She 
gives her milk down slowly, but the milk 
is good, and a little more than seven quarts 
will make a pound of nice butter. Last 
year she was troubled in the same way. I 
was feeding cotton-seed meal then. I 
wrote to the R. N.-Y. for advice, and the 
question was answered by Henry Stewart 
and he said the trouble was caused by the 
cotton-seed meal. I stopped feeding cotton¬ 
seed and gave more corn-meal as he advised. 
I thought she milked a little better, but did 
not give any more milk. He said she was 
too valuable for beef. What does the R.- 
N.-Y. think now ? Can anything be done 
for her or had I better fatten her for beef ? 
ANSWERED BY HENRY STEWART. 
The effect of cotton-seed meal upon such 
high-milking cows as Guernseys and Jer¬ 
seys, when fed even in small quantities, is 
to act upon the milk glands so as to stimu¬ 
late their action in the production of milk 
and butter. It is frequently the case when 
highly stimulating food is given that the 
action is diverted from the production of 
milk, and injurious congestion, due to the 
increased circulation of blood, is produced. 
This causes tumefaction or hardness of the 
milk glands and the ndder becomes hard or 
fleshy, and the glands no longer perform 
their office of milk-secretion. This seems 
to have occurred in this case and it is doubt¬ 
ful if any recovery will be made. If the cow 
continues to give a pound of butter a day 
she is certainly worth keeping, and it would 
be a pity to kill her for beef. When the 
cow has another calf she may probably be 
restored by judicious treatment. This 
should consist of a careful gradual drying 
up of the cow before calving ; light feeding, 
without any grain at all for two months 
previous; a dose of one pound of Epsom 
salts a few days before the calf is expected ; 
and very light feeding for a few days after 
it. Gentle rubbing and kneading of the 
udder are useful to cause absorption of the 
injurious matter, and restoration of the 
glands to healthful action, which under the 
circumstances isnotby any means improba¬ 
ble. Hence there is good reason to avoid 
sacrificing a good cow. It will be wise, 
however, even now, to feed very moderately 
of grain, and to adhere to corn-meal only 
with bran given in the form of mash, and 
to keep the cow in a laxative condition. 
PUMPING WATER FROM A DISTANCE. 
IF. H. IF., Cranford. N. J.—l want to 
bring water from a surface spring to my 
barn. It’s about 500 feet away, and six feet 
lower then my barn cellar. My plan is to 
dig a cistern in my feed room under my 
barn, say, nine feet deep, and use a three- 
fourths-i i ch iron pipe for a syphon, placing 
one end i the spring and the other in the 
cistern. Is the plan practicable ? 
Ans.— The plan will not work, for the 
reason that the small fall will not give suf¬ 
ficient power to carry the water through 
500 feet of pipe, and as you must have a 
pump to draw the water from the cistern 
you may as well attach it to the pipe at 
once and draw the water from the spring. 
The pipe should be laid sufficiently deep to 
escape the frost and have a check-valve at 
the end in the spring, and a good pump 
should be used. There will then be no 
trouble if the pump' is worked properly, 
that is, with slow strokes and not sharp 
jerks, because in drawing the water the in¬ 
ertia of the long column of water is to be 
overcome. An air-chamber in the pipe be¬ 
low the pump as seen at Figure 293, would 
UK 
Fig. 293. 
equalize the flow of the water and make 
the delivery of it more easy. 
WHITE CAPS IN BUTTER. 
C. IF. S., Partshville, N. Y.— What are 
“ white caps ” in butter and butter-milk ? 
How can their appearance be prevented 
when the milk is set in open shallow pans 
where a fire is needed to secure the proper 
temperature ? 
Ans. —“White caps ” are particles of cas- 
eine or albumen, or perhaps both, that are 
solidified in the sour cream by the warmth. 
This is a common cause of complaint at 
this season when milk is set in shallow 
pans, and the cream is warmed to prepare 
it for the churn by setting the cream in the 
churn. The usual methods of warming 
cream for the churn by setting the cream jar 
in hot water or near a stove for a few hours, 
will invariably cause the caseine or albu¬ 
men to become solid at the edge of the jar 
as the warmth is not readily distributed 
through the mass of cream and a tempera¬ 
ture of 80 degrees is sufficient to harden the 
flakes. The only remedy is to skim the 
milk before it is sour and to keep the 
cream constantly at a temperature of 62 to 
65 degrees and so avoid the necessity for 
warming it in the usual way. We suspect 
this to be the cause of the trouble, not be¬ 
ing informed as to the method practiced in 
this case. In cases where the writer has 
purposely experimented to produce these 
white flakes or specks in the butter, 
the method above mentioned was used, and 
it was always effective. But it was 
found quite easy to work the butter so as 
to incorporate the'flakes with it when they 
were not too hard, and this was done with¬ 
out any detriment that could be detected 
to the butter, when the latter was used 
immediately ; but butter made in this way 
will not keep. As a remedy for the pre¬ 
cipitation of the flakes, the mixture of a 
table-spoonful of a solution of carbonate of 
soda with an eight-quart pan of milk was 
found effective in preventing the excessive 
acidity which was the cause of the trouble, 
even when the cream was warmed by set¬ 
ting the jar in water of a temperature of 
100 degrees ; the cream being gently stirred 
at intervals of 15 minutes, with special 
care to clear it from the sides of the jar. 
HEAVES. 
IF. T. H., Worcester. Mass. —My horse 
is troubled somewhat with the heaves, 
especially after he has been driven. What 
would be the best diet for him and would 
it do any harm to give him carrots and how 
many at a time ? How much corn and hay 
should hp have ? 
Ans. —The subject of heaves was exhaus¬ 
tively treated on page 767 of the R. N.-F. 
for 1S86, and questions in relation thereto 
were also answered on page 397 of the pres¬ 
ent volume. Feed nothing dusty. Bright, 
clean hay will do ; but if in the least dusty 
it must be sprinkled with water. Cut 
straw or hay, wet with water and mixed 
with ground feed is excellent. Carrots are 
one of the best of feeds. A peck is about 
the right quantity for an ordinary horse, 
twice a day, beginning perhaps with less. 
Do not allow the animal to gorge himself 
with hay, but give him what he will eat up 
readily without leaving any. Water fre¬ 
quently, feed regularly, exercise daily, pro¬ 
tect from cold winds and storms, and you 
have done as much as any medicines can 
do to keep the disease from manifesting it¬ 
self. Heaves are incurable, but proper 
treatment will keep them from beiug trou¬ 
blesome. 
“ POINTS ” OF THE HOUDANS. 
J. P. V., Scney, Iowa —What are points 
and color of Boudan fowls. 
ANS. —The American Standard of Excel¬ 
lence says that Houdans must have black 
and white feathers intermixed, the more 
evenly the better. Red or brassy feathers 
disqualify in the show-room. Many breeds 
do not show their best markings until after 
moulting. Most pure-bred birds will throw 
some chicks which are off color, so we 
should hesitate to say yours were not pure¬ 
bred. They should have five toes. The 
scale of points is for symmetry, 10; size 
and weight, 10; condition eight; head four; 
crest and beard, 18; comb, seven ; ear-lobes 
and wattles, five; neck, five; back, six; 
breast and body, seven; wings, six; tail, 
seven; legs and toes, seven : total, 100. 
KILLING SMUT. 
E. L. H., Holly, Mich. —Is there any way 
to kill smut in oats before sowing them ? 
Ans.—F rom experiments made at the 
New York Experiment Station it was de¬ 
cided that smut was prevented by soaking 
the oats in a solution of four ounces of sul¬ 
phate of copper in one gallon of water or 
half an ounce of caustic potash in six gills 
of water. Soak in the first about 30 hours 
and in the second 20 hours. 
Miscellaneous. 
Subscriber , Edgecomb County, N. C — 
Who has Angora goats? What are they 
worth? 
Ans.— Miller & Sibley, Franklin, Veran- 
go County, Pa., have some excellent ani¬ 
mals. Write to them for prices. 
F. M., Naples, N.Y.—I would like to 
subscribe for a good paper, published in the 
Hudson River Valley, say in Ulster Coun¬ 
ty, which tells a good deal of fruit, and 
the condition of the vineyards, as well as 
of the ripening and shipping of grapes in 
the Hudson River Valley. 
ANS.—We do not know of any such 
paper. The Orange County Farmer, Port 
Jervis, N. Y. comes nearest to it. 
IF. T. L. Ten B., Rhinebeck, N. V.—Is 
there any agricultural college in which a 
person can go through an agricultural 
course getting work enough at the college 
to pay for board and tuition. 
ANS.—We do not know of any institution 
where one can get work enough to pay for 
his board while taking the college course, 
but at the Michigan College at least half 
the board can be paid in this way while 
tuition is free. 
J. L., Chicago, Til. —I saw an item in an 
agricultural paper, which said that the 
best way to grow turnips is to sow the seed 
in the corn just as * he field is plowed for 
the last time, or i i the corn is “laid by.” 
Has the R. N.-Y. ried the plan ? 
Ans.— The R. N.-Y. has frequently heard 
of this method of sowing turnips, but has 
not tried it. A neighbor sowed turnip seed 
among the potatoes at the last cultivation 
and made a good crop. The squashes 
should do as well as the pumpkins. 
K. N., Hurlock, Md.—Mj farm is a 
sandy loam considerably run down, and 
very deficient in humus. Would it be ad¬ 
visable for me to use sawdust for bedding 
and in my compost heap, with the expec¬ 
tation that it will add humus, and per¬ 
haps a little fertility. 
Ans. —Yes, we should use all the sawdust 
that we could reasonably obtain. Use all 
you can in the stable behind the cattle and 
mix it well in with the manure. It will 
not give the quick returns that would be 
felt from the use of straw or green manure, 
but it will help your light soil. 
Discussion. 
THE COST OF FARM LIFE. 
J. Van L., LaCrosse, Wis.—F or the 
past four years—from 1SS5 to 1S88 inclusive 
—I have kept an account of our -amily ex¬ 
penses. 
The yearly cost 
of meats, groc¬ 
eries, kero- 
%-i 
° m 
u 
o 
V* 
Yearly eos 
of wearin 
apparel In 
• 
U 
03 
_a d 
seue, provis¬ 
03 
eluding 
O'? 
ions and 
boots and 
wood. 
o 8 
shoes. 
18S5, *198.02. 
7. $28.29 
$145.. 
6. 
24.20 
1SS6. 162.22. 
6. 
27.08. 
175.S8. 
6. 
29.31. 
1887. 260.57. 
7. 
87.22. 
164 07. 
6. 
27 M. 
1888. 269.10. 
7. 
38.44. 
172.27. 
7. 
28.71. 
During those four years we expended fo* 
furniture, papers, schools and music $98.64. 
The above table does not include fruits, 
vegetables, butter, milk, cream, fowls and 
eggs ell of which were raised on the farm. 
If all these had to be bought, the expenses 
of living would naturally be considerably 
increased. Timber for fire-wood grows on 
