THE RURAL HEW-YORKEK. APRIL S® 
<Tl)f Centrist, 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Queries about StocU. 
P. E. K.. Ifntforis Switch, Md., has a mare 
wit li a swelling ou the inside of one of her hind 
legs, extending partly to the hock joint. The 
cords extending upwards on the inside of the 
leg seem feverish and swollen. For three 
weeks 6lie had not been working, and about 10 
days before lie wrote the- swclliug appeared 
without any premonitory lameness. She had 
the “scratches'’ duriug llie winter, and is not 
entirely rid of them yet, and is heavy with foal, 
and he asks a cause and remedy for the ailment. 
2. He has a horse that is an inveterate kicker 
in harness but quiet, in other ways, and he in¬ 
quires whether there is any cure for a kicker. 
3. fie asks whether rye bran feed will injure 
ewes that have yeaned. 
Ans. —1. The injury is a sprain of the per- 
foraus tendon and is usually called thorough- 
pin; it was possibly caused by running or 
jumping while in the field. A sprain is best 
treated in its early stages by cooling applica¬ 
tions to remove the inflammation; these may 
consist simply of cold water, of a solution of 
common salt in water, or of more complicated 
aud costly mixtures, such a6 tincture of cam¬ 
phor and tincture of arnica, of each two ounces, 
tincture of iodine one ounce, to which one 
drachm of iodide of potassium has been added; 
alcohol, three ounces. This may be mixed 
with an equal quantity of water when used. 
It is sometimes necessary to give a purgative 
(Burbadoes aloes,four drachitis) and follow with 
nitrate of potttssa in half-ounce doses, three 
times a day, for a few days, totally subdue 
the inflammation. Tlieh blister repeatedly till 
all lameness is removed with cantharidce oint- 
mcnt(one part cantharidee to five of lard). The 
so-called blood sprain is a distension of the 
joint, the swelling appearing ou its forward - 
and inner surface. 2. Kicking in harness is a 
difficult habit to overcome; it, requires good 
horsemanship and considerable practice, aud 
even then such a horse is seldom safe after¬ 
wards. 3. Rye bran is no more injurious than 
other articles of food of the same class (bran); 
if fed in considerable quantities it will be bet¬ 
ter to mix it with coru-mcai. 
Hestorin;; “Strong” Butter. 
Subscriber, Fiattsburg, AT. Y., has 10 tubs of 
“strong’’ butter, and he asks whether it can 
be worked over and made fit for use. 
Ans. —“ (strong” or rancid butter cannot be 
fully restored to its original sweet, aromatic 
condition ; but the rancid taste may be removed 
and the butter be so improved that it will pass 
for a second-class article. There are several 
ways of effecting this object. First, is that 
known as the Bobbitt's method. According to 
this the butter is first thrown into a tub con¬ 
structed for the purpose, and from a reservoir 
placed above, warm water at a temperature 
of a 100 c Fah. is allowed to fall in a shower 
upou the mass until it assumes a melted form. 
Then it is stirred to separate the buttermilk 
aud other impurities, when a stream of cold 
water is showered over the mass until it takes 
a firm consistency. The butter is then laid ou 
a butter table and fine salt worked into it by 
means of a corrugated roller. Second: rancid 
butter may be improved by Churning it in fresh 
buttermilk, aud if the butter is only slightly 
affected, it may in this way, with proper 
manipulations, be made palatable. After the 
churning, however, it must be again treated 
in the usual manner, to expel buttermilk, etc. 
Third ; butter which has become quite rancid, 
can be restored to good flavor by softening it 
with warm water—say about the temperature 
of 100“ Fall.—and then Stirling it thoroughly 
in a quantity of sour milk. Tin*, acid condition 
of the milk is supposed to act chemically in 
taking up or removing the rancid flavor, in the 
same way that it serves to remove the flavor 
which is often imparted to the milk of cows 
fed upon turnips, and, at the same time, the 
milk imparts its aroma, thus tending to restore 
the flavor that belongs to freshly-made butter. 
Afterwards the butter must be worked, salted, 
etc., like fresh butter. Want of space prevents 
us from mentioning other methods. 
Knising nn Osage Orange Hedge, etc. 
M. U. S., Stryker, Williams Co., Ohio, asks, 
1, what pearl millet is used for: 2, how to 
jtlaut and tend an osage orange hedge. 
Ans. —Pearl millet is a forage plant, as we 
thought every reader of the Hr km. knew. 
The grain is excellent food for chickens as 
well as for all kiud6 of stock. 2. The strip 
of land where the hedge is to be planted 
should be plowed in the fall and again in the 
spring. Plants can be procured from a nurs¬ 
eryman at less expense than they can lie 
raised by the ordinary farmer, as they only 
cost from about $1.50 to $5 a thousand, ac¬ 
cording to size. When the laud i< ready, stretch 
a line to get the row straight, and set the 
plants with a hoe about 10 inches apart. Dig 
g hole for the first plant, which place in it at 
fin angle of about 45 degrees, and. with the 
hoe cover the roots with soil, taken from 
the hole of the next plant, and so coutinue 
till (he line is finished. It is very essen¬ 
tial that the hedge should be close at. the 
bottom, and it is with this end in view that 
the plants are set at an angle. Keep the 
ground cultivated aud mellow on both sides 
of the hedge. All weeds springing up in the 
row should be removed, and if cattle are run¬ 
ning at large, the hedge should be protected 
with a fence. Next spring replace all missing 
plants with extra-strong ones; keep cultivat¬ 
ing and allow them to grow undisturbed for 
throe years. In the spring of the fourth year 
cut off the hedge a few inches above the grouud 
and that summer it will make a growth which 
ordiuary cattle will not have courage to break 
through. After tins it must be kept in check 
with the shears, aiming to make it broad at 
the base and as tight as possible. 
Precaution* Against Sunstroke. 
11. E. jl/.j West Mansfield. Ohio, asks what 
is the best way to prevent sunstroke while- 
working in the fields. 
Ans,— Wear a broad-brimmed bat tvith am¬ 
ple ventilation, and on hot days carry in its 
crown a wet handkerchief, a fresh cabbage 
leaf, or something else of that &ort, to keep 
the bead cool. The use of liquor, over-exer¬ 
tion and mental excitement are all prornotive 
of sunstroke and should be avoided in tin: heat 
of the day. Whatever tends to keep the body, 
am.l especially the head, cool, should be adopted 
and all that promotes beat, should be shuuucd. 
Mosi cases of sunstroke occur in the afternoon, 
partly because that is the hotest part of the 
day, and partly because the subject has been 
generally laboring for many hours and his 
vital powers are more or less exhausted; ac¬ 
cordingly more care should be exercised then 
than at other times during the day. The at¬ 
tack is not always suddeu; sometimes there 
are premonitary sympions, such as pain and 
a feeling of fulness in the head and oppres¬ 
sion at the pit of the stomach, sometimes ac¬ 
companied with nausea and vomiting aud a 
feeling of weakness in the lower extremities, 
vertigo and dimness of vision. In all such 
cases the subject should at once discontinue 
lqbor, seek the shade aud have the head aud 
neck bathed with the coldest water obtaina¬ 
ble, 
How Strawberries uml Raspberries “ mix.’ 
N. B., Brandon, 17., asks, 1, if different va¬ 
rieties of Strawberries or of Raspberries trained 
to trellises, be set three feet apart, whether the 
blossoms will so fertilize each other as to change 
the general appearance and t aste of the berries; 
2. if so, bmv tar apart should they be placed 
to prevent “mixing. 1 ' He wishes to find out 
which varieties are best adapted to his soil and 
climate. 
Ans. —There would be no perceptible change 
either in appearance or taste. Crosses would 
occur without doubt, but the seed alone would 
be notably changed, and this would manifest 
itself only in the fruit borne by plants raised 
from such seed. Of Strawberries we would 
mention Hovey’s, Wilson’s, Triomphc de Gaud, 
Agriculturist. Wc would recommend you to 
try also Sliarpless’e Seedling aud Cumberland 
Triumph. Of Raspberries, Davison's Thorn¬ 
less, Cuthkert, Gregg, Mammoth Cluster. 
How to Uml in Slimmer. 
/,. IS., Washington Ou., Mich., asks if bud¬ 
ding caun«* be done in the spring as well as 
in the summer. 
Ans. —The trouble is to get buds. Cions may 
he cut off now and placed in a cold room or 
ice-housc, and if kept uniformly moist so as 
to prevent them from shriveling, buds From 
the cions may be used later. 
Miscellaneous. 
iS'. W. 11., Meluchen, Middlesex Go., M. 
says: “My sow dropped 10 live, plump pigs 
and then died within an hour. For a week be¬ 
fore she littered she seemed weak in the limbs. 
She discharged a mass of coagulated matter 
resembling beef lights immediately before the 
after-birth. Though not very llcehy, she was in 
good condition. What ailed her?” 
Ans.— Probably uterine hemorrhage previous 
to pigging caused the weakness, and so re¬ 
duced the sow that she had not sufficient 
strength Lo rally from the exhaustion of labor. 
The hemorrhage might have been caused by a 
fright, a strain, jam, or other injury. 
B. F. M*U., Carroll Co., Md., lias a compost 
of equal pa ms of well rotted hog manure and 
hen-Uousc droppings, well mixed together, and 
asks whether the same quantity ol slaked 
wood-ashes would be a benefit or not. 
Ans. —If the wood-ashes are mingled with 
the mixture before it is ready to be applied to 
the crop, they will liberate the rich ammonia 
of the lien manure, and most of it will escape. 
But if the ashes arc added just before the mix¬ 
ture is used, it will be a decided advantage, as 
the soil will then retain the liberated ammonia 
until it is taken up by the crop. 
W. C. B., Ml, Airy, Ohio, asks what are malt 
sprouts. 
Ans. —The refuse grains that remain after 
the wort aud the subsequent water arc drawn 
off from the mash in brewing. The are called 
“sprouts” because iu “ couching,” the second 
stage of brewing, the fibrils of the radicle 
sprout from the tips of the kernel, and, 24 
hours later, the plumule appears at the same 
point and turns back under the husk, towards 
the end of the seed, where it would issue as a 
greeu leaf, if further germination were not ar¬ 
rested. 
W. It. A,, Williamantic, Conn., asks whether 
pearl millet will grow again if cut when about 
two feet high. 
Ans. —Yes. but much depends upon the 
date of cutting and whether it is planted closely 
or otherwise. The season for this plant is 
very short in the above climate. Tt does not 
grow until settled warm weather and is 
checked by our first frosts. 
IF. B. McC., Corpus Christi, Texas, asks 
where be can fiud a market for dried rose 
leaves. 
Ans. — There is a brisk demand for such 
goods in this city, but the price can be fixed 
only on inspection of sample. Apply to Hall 
A Ruckel, 218 Greenwich street, N. Y. 
C. L. M., Fort Meade, Florida, asks where 
he can procure willow cuttiugs for basket¬ 
making. 
Ans. —Of Parsons A Sons Company, Flush¬ 
ing N. Y. 
COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED FOR THE WEEK ENDING 
Saturday, April 216t. 
W. J. B.—A. L. J.—F. C. B.—M. B. I.—S. W. J.— 
M. IV., Thanks—N. EL—I. P. It.—E. P. R.—11. S.— 
Bitter Sweet—E. S. L.—J. P.—May Maple—P. P. 
II.—E. K. L.—J. L. U.—J. K., Thanks—C. C. V.— 
I. V. T. H.—S. C. A. T.—M. O.—W. L. 11., no—S. lb 
R.-J. P.—J. A. S.—F. F. K.-H. J. S.—R. N„ come 
again—O. S. B., thanks—J. B.—Mrs. s, A. M.— 
M. E. T.—T. B.—,J. V.—S. II. Ib—W. L. lb—D.O’L. 
NOTES FROM NORTH CAROLINA. 
Fon several days the weather has been quite 
cold and much anxiety has been felt about the 
fruit. In some parts of the State the frost lias 
been very destructive to the early vegetables, 
a* well as the fruits. In this section we have, 
still, very good evidence that the gardens and 
orchards will not disappoint us. The strong 
winds of the coldest nights, and the extreme 
dryness that prevailed, prevented the injuries 
which the thermometer indicated. It has now 
turned warmer, and our hopes are much en¬ 
couraged. I do not remember to have seen 
heretofore such striking proof of the statement 
that (lie frost is not likely to destroy the buds 
when the air is dry. There is also reason lo 
believe that the northeast wind is more destruc¬ 
tive than the northwest. Perhaps it is because 
the former is more freighted with moisture. 
Our people find themselves under the mis¬ 
fortune of a scarcity of corn. The price at this 
place is about 80 cents per bushel, and the 
poor have had to pay at the rate of $1 per 
bushel for meal. The causes are found in the 
shortness of the last crop and in the vast con¬ 
sumption of grain by liquor-distilleries. Differ¬ 
ent parts of our State are infested with reckless 
characters, known as l>luekade-iH.- tillers. Many 
if not all of them are men of desperate charac¬ 
ters, who seem to bo determined to carry on 
their illicit work at every hazard, no matter 
what the penalty. As loug as they can evade 
those who are faithful officers ol the govern¬ 
ment, they find money in the business; aud 
they, of course, do not cave how much their 
victims suffer, or to what extent all classes are 
made to lcel the effects of such wholesale de¬ 
struction of bread. It is certainly a crying 
evil. There is, apparently, an alarming in¬ 
crease in the intemperate use of intoxicating 
liquors by our people—perhaps I may say, es¬ 
pecially by the laboring classes. I saw, the 
other day, a young farmer reeling with drunk¬ 
enness, in bis little wagon, as he was carrying 
home a load of c ommercial lerfclJjzers. What 
hope is there that he will succeed ou his farm 
this year? Twice recently J have seen a lung- 
train of wagons, loaded with fertilizers, pass¬ 
ing through our village. It made me sail when 
I considered how poorly such farming as ours 
can afford so great ait expenditure for such a 
purpose. 
The months of February anil March have 
been very favorable lor early plowing. Re¬ 
peatedly the ground has been exceedingly dry. 
April is proving true, and it is now raining. 
This spring is much more backward than the 
last. My rye is not quite ready for the sickle, 
whereas, last year, I began to mow it on the 
Dili of March. 
Our farmer-legislature reduced the office of 
State Geologist to a sort of appendage to the 
Agricultural Department. The Commissioner 
of Agriculture was subjected to a severe inves¬ 
tigation ; and. though the Department was 
continued, it is emburrassed with the prospect 
of smaller receipts aud new expenses. The 
Fertilizer Control (station, etc., is continued at 
the University. Dr. Ledottx, the chemist, is 
winning an enviable reputation and challeng¬ 
ing the confidence aud gratitude of all our 
people. As I prophesied, the legislators were 
afraid to do their duty by providing for the 
protection of sheep against dogs. The Legis¬ 
lature’s friends (I mean the dogs) appear to be 
encouraged by the favor shown them by their 
high protectors, as I bear of murderous raids 
on the small flocks in this county. M. 
Chapel Hill, April 7,1379. 
NORTHWESTERN ILLINOIS. 
The first attempt at seeding here this spring 
was made on the 11th, 12th and 13tli of March, 
when some wheat was sown ; but the weather 
turning cold, and the ground freezing solid, 
nothing more, could be done until about April 
1st, when seeding was again resumed. Then 
three or for inches of snow fell on the 
2d. and work was again suspended until the 
7th and St h, when some more wheat was sown ; 
a copious rain on the nib and 10th iust. com¬ 
pletely saturated the ground and stopped work 
for a while; but now the soil is in good con¬ 
dition and seeding is progressing rapidly. 
Some have finished sowing wheat very little 
oats or barley have yet beeu sown, but if the 
weather continues favorable for a week, most 
of the seeding ot the small grain crops will have 
been finished. 
The acreage of spring wheat will be some¬ 
what diminished here this season, as the crop 
has not proved profitable the past few years, 
having been damaged by chinch bugs, rust, etc. 
1 think, too, there will be somew hat less barley 
and oats sown than usual, as the season is now 
late aud the formers do not feel like risking 
much in lute-sow n spring crops. There w ill lie 
a corresponding increase in meadow s and past¬ 
ure lands, and about the usual acreage of corn, 
potatoes, etc. The success attending the sow¬ 
ing of salt on wheat land, iu the vicinity of 
Rochelle. Illinois, last season, has encouraged 
others in that locality to try the experiment 
this spring, as I ain informed that a number 
of the farmers there are sowing salt on their 
land—about one barrel of salt to one and 
a half acre. Il is claimed that the salt has a 
beneficial effect in stiffening the straw and 
preventing damages from chinch bugs aud 
rust. After harvest I shall let you know the 
result. Winter wheat and rye have a promis¬ 
ing appearance in ibis section. The large 
amount of snow the past winter, and the uni¬ 
formity of the weather (there being but few sud¬ 
den changes of alternate thawing ami freezing), 
favored the whiter grain very much. The 
acreage, however, of winter wheat in northern 
Illinois is not large. The number of acres in 
cultivation in 1878. of the different crops, iu 
Ogle County, according to the estimate of the 
State Board of Agriculture, was as follows: 
corn, 134,8(18; winter wheat, 4.2'.I9; spring 
wheat, 40,427; oats. 03,377; meadow. 44,718; 
pasture, 18,977; orchard, 960. Acreage of other 
field crops (in 1S77). 0.070; woodland, 10,129; 
improved lands, 415.839. Those last three 
items are from the Assessors’ returns lor 1877. 
The total number of acres in cultivation in 
1878, in the State, was as follows: corn, 8,672.- 
088; winter wheat, 2,082,843; spring wheat. 
291,912; outs. 1.560,120; meadow. 2.308,845; 
pasture, 3,983,459; orchard. 412,140. Acreage 
ol other field crops t iu 1877), 711.228; wood¬ 
land. 5.607,990; improved lauds, 25,838,072. 
The last three items are from the Assessors’ 
returns for 1877. 
These figures convey an idea of the extent 
of Illinois crops, but the immense live-stock 
and dairy interests should nut be overlooked, 
and should be seen to be appreciated. We 
still bear the chrouic complaint of hard times ; 
but how thankful all should be that the “ hard 
times” (?) are not caused through a famine, 
Baileyville, Ogle Co., Ills., April 12. w. b. d. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
New York, Croton, Del. Co., April 12.— The 
winter just passed has been an uncommonly 
severe one in this locality, and as a consequence 
of this, or from some other cause, there has 
been au unusual amount of sickness. We had 
about three months continuous sleighing, front 
about Christmas till the latter part of March, 
aud even yet there is a heavy body of enow on 
the hills about us. Very little maple sugar has 
been made as yet, and there is nothing to in¬ 
dicate a very rapid approach of “ ethereal 
mildness.” Farmers are badly discouraged at 
the butter prospect for the coming year. 
E. J. 
Michigan, Joyfleld, Benzie Co., April 11.— 
Winter wheat looks well; farmers are preparing 
for sowing spring wheat and outs. Wheat is 
worth 75c. to $1; oats, 35c. to 40c.; corn, 40c. 
to 45c.; pork, 0c. per pound; laud from $2 to 
$50 per acre. Quite a large number of new¬ 
comers arrived here last fall, but there is plen¬ 
ty of room for more, Q- D- 
Ohio, Bennington, Morrow Co., April 12.— 
Early sown wheat looks well; late sowu, how¬ 
ever. looks badly. Reach trees and raspberry 
canes are greatly injured by the cold winter. 
Many sheep look thin and sickly; other kinds 
of stock have wintered well. Apples are kill¬ 
ed. Wheat, 95c.; coru. 32c.; ou’s. 22c.; butter, 
12c.; eggs, 9c., aud yet wo are U.q --ill. J- L- 
