THE RURAL NIW^ORKER. 
R.*N.-Y, as the’*King ■Clustcr3of r T)urand,*’the 
originator. Judging by the claims made for 
this new berry, it is little short of perfection 
in every way. The catalogue will be mailed to 
all applicants without charge. 
Cotton--Worm and Boll-Worm.— Fourth 
Report of the U. 8. Entomological Commis¬ 
sion.—This voluminous and finely illustrated 
report is entirely devoted to the history' and 
habits of the above-mentioned insect enemies 
of the cotton plant. The various remedies 
known to seieuce are well described aud illus¬ 
trated. 
Journal of Fish Culture.— The first 
numlier of the above publication is at hand. 
It is to lie published each month. Office at 
Philadelphia: price, $1.50 per year. The 
paner is issued under the auspices of the 
American Carp Cultural Association and 
edited by Milton P. Pierce, who is to-day the 
best posted man in (he country on matters 
pertaiuing to carp culture. The new publica¬ 
tion has a most admirable opportunity to fill a 
somewhat neglected field. Thousands of farm¬ 
ers are interested in the culture of carp, and 
reliable information as to the best conditions 
for propagation and the quality of the fish, is 
apparently hard to obtain. The new journal 
ought to do much good. 
Depatment of Agriculture.— Report for 
1885 from Commissioner N. J. Colman, Wash¬ 
ington, D. C.—This volume contains the re¬ 
ports of the Commissioner, Botanist, Chemist, 
Entomologist, Statistician and other officials 
connected with the Department of Agricul¬ 
ture. To the agricultural student, the facts, 
figures and experiments recorded are of great 
importance. The volumes are inteuded for 
general distribution, and farmers should avail 
themselves of the opportunity offered of secur¬ 
ing a copy of the report by applying for it to 
the Congressmen for their respective Districts 
or the Senators for their States. 
IV inter Care of Houses and Cattle. 
By T. B. Terry, published by A. I. Root, 
Medina, Ohio. Price 40 cents—This is one of 
the brightest and most readable additions to 
farm literature that we have ever read. It 
ought to be read by every farmer in this coun¬ 
try. The subject is one of the most timely of 
all farm topics. It Is always seasonable. 
Wlieu we are not actually engaged in handling 
cattle, we are busy preparing for the work. 
Both the raising ami the feeding of stock-food 
are subjects of vital importance in modern 
agriculture. It is hard to say which is mast 
important. Mr, Terry is a successful farmer. 
His success gives him confidence and enthu¬ 
siasm, which crop out in the pages of this little 
book. We feel that these ideas are from the 
head of a man who "knows what he is talking 
about,” He knows that stock must lie kept 
comfortable in Winter. How true it is that 
thousands of farmers try to batten up cracks 
in the stables with grain and hay. We have 
decided opinions regarding the man who can 
sit near a comfortable fire without any thought 
of his cattle, that, are shivering in a broken 
and windy barn. Mr. Terry discusses the use 
of stanchions for confining cattle. He con¬ 
cludes that cattle are satisfied with this method 
of fastening when they are well fed aud card¬ 
ed, kept, well bedded on a tight floor, aud made 
warm and comfortable. Where they are 
placed on a slippery floor with great cracks 
in it, and where the wind comes in on them, 
the stanchion is a barburous affair. It simply 
holds the poor brutes in the cold, where 
they cannot move about and warm 
themselves. The objection frequently urged 
that cattle cannot lick themselves when con¬ 
fined in a standi ion he would obviate by a 
thorough carding. For dairy cows he would 
have stanchions with a slightly sloping floor, 
and a gutter two feet wide nud eight iuches 
deep, that will hold manure for several days, 
so that in stormy weather the stock need not 
be turned out every day while the stable is 
being cleaned. There is far more satisfaction 
in carding a nice lot of thrifty cattle than 
there is in running the card over poor Mock. 
( aiding pays on cattle as well ns it pays on 
horses. Anything that adds to the comfort of 
an animal adds to its value. Regularity in 
feeding is absolutely necessary to insure suc¬ 
cess. When the farmer is in the habit of 
throwing down a forkful of hay every time 
he goes hi the stable, the cattle will become 
uneasy and jump up every time a person en¬ 
ters the bam. If they know just wlieu their 
feed is coming they will be satisfied to wait 
till the proper time comes. Contentment is 
everything. Mr. Terry seems to think that 
the ordinary "chores” around the burn require 
more skill to do properly and well than almost 
any other branch of farm labor, and yet the 
work is always shirked, and the idea is gen¬ 
eral that any cheap boy, working for his 
board, is able to attend to the labor. Speak¬ 
ing of Sunday work, Mr. Terry says if you 
cannot get to church and give your stock 
their usual care and feed, you had bettor stay 
fit home, If you hire some one to do the work 
and keep him at home, you do no better. We 
are advised to "speak to a cow as we would to 
a lady,” Kicking cows are trained to evil 
doings by abuse or harsh words. A member 
of the church in Ohio boasted that when his 
cow kicked he took a trace out of the harness 
and pounded her till she begged. Wlieu cows 
come home from pasture on the run, with a 
dog at their heels, and when at milkiug time 
one can hear the sound of a milking stool fall¬ 
ing on their hips and ribs, Mr. Terry does not 
wonder that "dairying does not pay.” We 
would gladly print half the book if space 
would permit us to do so. We can heartily 
recommend it to our readers as the work of a 
thoroughly practical, humaue and gentle¬ 
manly farmer. 
feeding experiments. 
Prof. Shelton, of the Kansas Agricultural 
College, conducted a series of interesting ex¬ 
periments last Winter. The results are con¬ 
tained iu the advance sheets of his yearly ro- 
P° rt —just issued. The main object has been to 
present facts without much attention to under¬ 
lying theories or to the opinions that might 
reasonably bavp been formed. Prof. Shelton 
rightly states that these facts will prove useful 
just so far as Jthey receive intelligent applica¬ 
tion. The unthinking adoption of experi¬ 
mental facts is as had as the thoughtless rejec¬ 
tion of the same. The professional experiment¬ 
ers should suggest aud work out the ground¬ 
work that farmers may fill up with facts and 
observations from farm practice. This idea 
appears to us sound. Farmers do not. care for 
opinions, but they desire simple facts which 
they may test to their own satisfaction. 
Two years ago Prof. Shelton sought to de¬ 
termine, by feeding trials, the relative feed¬ 
ing values of corn meal and corn-and-cob 
meal. This question is of great importance 
in Kansas, iu view of the vast com crops of 
the State, and the narrowing margin of pro¬ 
fit in feeding. Two years ago it was found 
that cob-meal gave the best results, takhig 
cost into consideration. Last year there 
was a slight difference in favor of the clear 
corn meal. Two circumstances helped to 
bring about this result. The Wiuter was par¬ 
ticularly long and severe, and the steers fed 
were in far better condition than those fed 
during the previous test. Two years ago the 
cattle were a lot of thin, half-grown natives, 
while last year high-grade Short-horns were 
fed. In the first lot the gain was largelv in 
growth of bone and the coarser parts, for 
which it would appear that the cob-meal was 
"'ell suited. The use of cob-meal in feeding a 
large herd of cattle, not. as an experiment, but 
for practical results, has satisfied Prof. Shel¬ 
ton that it is a valuable food. It is more 
completely digested than the clear corn; it is 
eaten with as great relish, aud cases of diar- 
rhoBa were practically unknown; cattle were 
seldom "off their fed” when fed upon the eob- 
menl. In order to obtain the best results, the 
cobs and grain must be ground into a powder. 
Too many feeders break the cobs into coarse 
pieces and then condemn the feed because it 
gives poor results. The great objection to 
the cob-meal lies in the fact that it is almost 
impossible to obtain a mill to grind it pnqier- 
ly. Of five different mills tried at the Kansas 
College, not one has given complete satisfac¬ 
tion. The power that could shell, fan and 
grind 200 pounds of clear grain in 90 minutes, 
could grind only 77 pounds of cob and grain 
in the same time, and the mill was so greatly 
heated that a stop was necessary. If a mill 
can be produced that, can economically reduce 
the whole ear to a meal there seems no doubt 
but that the use of cob-meal will be greatly 
increased. 
In feeding cooked corn and raw corn to pigs 
the advantage was decidedly with the latter. 
The corn was cooked by steam in a ban-el, to 
which a pipe was run from the boiler. It was 
so thoroughly acted upon by the heat that each 
grain could be easily crushed between the 
thumb and finger. During the coldest weather 
the cooked corn froze in the troughs, often lav 
fore the pigs could eat it. This objection has 
always been noted in eases where cooked feed 
has been given in cold and exposed peas or 
houses. It required 7.5 pounds of the cooked 
corn to make a pound of increased weight., 
while 6 8 pounds of raw corn produced a pound 
of iucrease. Every detail of the experiment 
goes to confirm the opiuiou that, uothing was 
gained by cooking the food; that the trouble 
and excuse were given for nothing. The 
result might have been different with younger 
animals, where the gain would have been 
chiefly iu growth, but there is little evidence 
to prove this belief. Experience during this 
experiment shows that'eorn, while an easily 
accessible fattening food for mature animals, 
is. for young growing pigs, literally a starva¬ 
tion diet. 
Eight good eight-months shoats were turned 
into a pasture of an acre and a half. About 
one-fourth of the pasture was covered with 
Alfalfa. The remainder was Orchard Grass 
with a slisrht admixture of Alfalfa and Red 
Clover. The pigs were almost “fat” when 
turned in. Thev lost in 25 days 125 pounds. 
The grass would keep them alive, but it would 
not "hold” flesh made from corn. When fed 
two pounds of ear corn daily apiece the pigs 
gained. This exneriment shows that Orchard 
Or ass is not profitable to use as a hog pasture. 
That point has long been admitted by hog 
raisers. The pigs ate the Alfalfa and clover 
to the ground, but the Orchard Grass was 
always luxuriant and abundant. The Alfalfa 
was so closelv grazed that it was entirely des¬ 
troyed. only a few plants showing life the fol¬ 
lowing season. Where an ample range is per¬ 
mitted. however, there will be no danger from 
this trouble. 
Warming the water for dairy cows gave 
most satisfactory results. Common well 
water raised to a tenqierature of 80° was used 
at first. After a few days It was raised to 90 s ' 
aud even to 100°. The cows at first were re 
luctnnt to drink the hot water. It was found 
necessary to delay watering until the cattle 
were very thirst}'. After two or three trials 
the cou-s hecame greedy for the warm drink, 
and would rush eagerly to it. A total in¬ 
crease of over eight per cent, in the milk pro¬ 
duct was noticed as the result of drinking 
warm water. One bushel of coals burned in 
an economical boiler was found to be ample 
tuel for heating the daily drinking water for 
25 cows. Prof. Shelton suggests a most ex 
eellent use for that ever abundant- farm pro¬ 
duct-woody fiber. It is found in spoiled 
fodder, stalks, cobs, etc. It is of small impor¬ 
tance as food, but when in a suitable condition 
to burn, may be used in heating the drinking 
water. It is cheaper to warm an animal in 
this way, than to try and warm it by feeding 
the more expensive animal foods. 
“ Is There Danger of Breeding Animals 
too Early?” asks the National Live Stock 
Journal. In our desire for the progeny of 
\ aluable auimals, are not their reproductive 
organs too often over-taxed, injuring the par¬ 
ents and weakening the offspring? It is often 
contended that the natural desire for repro¬ 
duction is sufficient evidence of the fitness of 
an animal to perform that office. Of course. 
thismust.be the rule in the state of nature; 
but Nature is prodigal in her processes. How 
many seeds does she scatter for one that bears 
a mature tree or plant! But our animals are 
not in a state of n«ture, and this fact is too 
often lost sight of in drawing inferences from 
the condition of wild animals as to what should 
tie the treatment, of fame ones. Our domestic 
animals are subjected to a sort of pot-house 
growth and development, and judged by the 
natural standard, everything about them is 
immature. They come unnaturally early to 
maturity because man finds his profit in their 
precocity. Man, not Nature, is largely a law 
to onr domestic animals, and there is no doubt 
there is danger that in his desire for gain he 
runs a risk of breeding animals too young, and 
thereby gradually weakening the constitution 
aud reducing the size 
Oleomargarine not Wholesome.— We 
learn by a telegram from Albany, N. Y., last 
Thursday, that the forthcoming report of 
Dairy Commissioner Brown goes far towards 
establishing, mi the authority of Dr. R. W. 
Clark, Chemist of the Department, a consti¬ 
tutional right of the Legislature to enact a 
law' prohibiting the manufacture of oleomar¬ 
garine and spurious butter. Tho Commissioner 
says that the oleomargarine manufacturers 
made the law a nullity bv persuading the 
courts to decide that the Legislature exceeded 
its authority when it forbade the manufacture 
of imitation butter, holding that its manufac¬ 
ture had not I toon proved prejudicial to health. 
Now victory, he savs. is within the grasp of 
dairymen, as the Chemist of the Department 
has pronounced oleomargarine “unwholesome 
ami dangerous to health.’ In this report Mr 
Brown will say: "First, that oleomargarine 
is indigestible; second, thatjit is insoluble when 
made from auimal fate: third, that it is liable 
to carry the germs of disease into the human 
s\ stem. and, fourth, that in the eagerness of 
manufacturers to produce their spurious com¬ 
pounds cheaply, ingredients enter into its 
manufacture which are detrimental to the 
last degree to the consumers’ health,” 
Nothing Comes from Mummy Wheat— 
We do not hear very much iu these days of 
mummy wheat aud barley, but many people 
firmly believe that the seeds of both plants 
found with Egyptian mummies, and supposed 
to be 3.000 or 4.000 years old. will sprout up if 
put in the ground. A few years ago what was 
claimed to he such wheat was commonly sold 
as a curiosity, and we believe that many pur¬ 
chasers succeeded in raising a small crop from 
it. Prof. Bentley, who has recently commenc¬ 
ed a series of lectures on the physiology of 
plants, asserts most emphatically that no 
grains which with certainty have been iden¬ 
tifier! as contemporaneous with the deposit of 
the mummified corpse have ever come to life. 
In rases where the so-called mummy wheat 
has germinated it has been introduced into the 
coffin shortly before or at the time of discov¬ 
ery of the body. Prof Bentley does not name 
a limit to the time during which seeds retain 
their vitality; but he thinks it is not generally 
over a few years. 
The Bureau of Animal Industry.— The 
Department of Agriculture has obtained from 
Congress an appropriation of $100,000 for 
carrying out the provisions of the act of May 
29. 1884. establishing the Bureau of Animal 
Industry. The Commissioner is authorized 
to use any part of the sum he may deem nec¬ 
essary or expedient, in such a manner as he 
may think best, to prevent the spread of 
pleuro-pneumonia. and for this purpose to em¬ 
ploy as many persons as he may deem neces¬ 
sary. and to expend any part of the sum in 
the purchase and slaughter of diseased ani¬ 
mals wherever, in bis judgment, it is essential 
to prevent the spread of the disease from one 
State to another. The expenditure of last 
year’s appropriation was limited to matters 
authorized hv existing legislation (which con¬ 
fined the work mainly to investigation, of 
which there had been an ineffective excess), 
whereas the present appropriation may be ex¬ 
pended. in part, to carry out the conclusions 
from the past investigations, by slaughtering 
animals where the disease is liable to spread 
from one State to another. While a consider¬ 
able minority' of those interested in*stocfe 
raising believe that the dangers from conta¬ 
gious cattle diseases have been grossly exag¬ 
gerated by the Bureau of Animal Industry for 
selfish purposes, and that the appropriation of 
even half the above sum would be excessive, 
the majority of cattle owners think the labors 
of the Bureau praiseworthy and even the pres¬ 
ent appropriation altogether insufficient. 
Speaking for these, the Breeder’s Gazette says 
the present legislation is not enough. There 
is nothing said about the purchase and des¬ 
truction of animals which have been exposed, 
but are not yet diseased, whose destruction 
is necessary to prevent a recurrence of the 
disease; there are no provisions relating to 
condemnation; no additional authority to se¬ 
cure inspection or to enforce quarantine, and, 
finally, there is but a meager allowance with 
'which to carry on the work. 
Live Stock Exports.—T he Treasury De¬ 
partment report of the exports of live stock 
products for May, shows the export of 42,090 
cattle for the past five months, against 58,047 
head during the same period of 1885, with a 
total valuation this year of $4,049,819. against 
$5,800,082 bust season. Of beef products, there 
have been shipped during the first five months 
of the year $1,801,072 in value, against $1,962,- 
843 last season; fresh meats show a decline 
from $4,092,012 to $3.710,200; salted and cured 
meats show a falling off from 11,685,228 to 
$914,584. and tallow from $1,455,750 to $881,- 
240. Pork products also show a marked de¬ 
cline, throughout the entire list, of from $12,- 
934,888 to $10,256,520 in bacon; from $3,083,- 
303 to $2,201,929 in hams: of from $2,430,437 
to $2,292,577 in fresh and salted pork: of from 
$9,302,906 to $8,472,229 iu lard. The totals 
show an aggregate falling off in exports of 
beef, pork aud dairy products from $40,245,. 
765 to $32,305,791. Part of this falling off is 
of course, due to diminished values, but a large 
proportion is the result of a diminished move¬ 
ment. 
WHICH MAY REMIND YOU. 
The Elmira Formers’ Club, as reported in 
the Husbandman, prefers Silver-hull Buck¬ 
wheat. Several trials with this and the com¬ 
mon side by side, have turned largely in favor 
of the Silver-hull. Very thorough tillage is 
the best security for a full yield. Prepare 
the land as soon as possible. . 
An important point was made by the club 
that all preparation for grain should precede 
sowing by a few days at least, so as to give 
the soil a chance to settle. There is no doubt 
about it.... . 
Dr. Goessm ax asks this question: "What is 
the use to cut up Indian corn for fodder while 
in bloom and containing only 13 per cent, 
solids, when, by leaving it till care are form- 
el aud the kernels are begiuning to glaze, we 
can get 25 par cent, solids instead?”. 
The best time to cut timber is said to be in 
July aud August, says the Weekly Press. A 
correspondent of the Iowa State Register has 
been examining the wood cut by early settlers 
