868 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 16 
Farmers’ Club. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the 
name and address of the writer to insure atten¬ 
tion. Before asking a question, please see 
whether it is not answered in our advertising 
columns. Ask only a few questions at one time. 
Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
WHAT CHANCE FOR FARM 
VETERINARIANS? 
Can They Find Country Practice ? 
Do you think that there would be veteri¬ 
nary practice enough in your neighborhood 
to justify a young farmer in studying the 
science with a view to practicing it? We 
often have letters from young men who 
evidently have some fondness for veteri¬ 
nary work. They wish to know whether 
it would probably pay them to spend their 
Winters at the agricultural college, in mas¬ 
tering the principles of veterinary science, 
so as to be able to practice in connection 
with their farm operations. Could such a 
young man obtain satisfactory practice in 
your neighborhood? Do your farmers care 
enough about their live stock to furnish 
such a farmer with employment? Do you 
think that if such a doctor were at hand, 
farmers would give more attention to the 
diseases of their animals? 
Various Opinions. —Veterinarians are 
yet too few in rural sections. The 
larger towns have enough, but their dis¬ 
tance from the average farmer necessi¬ 
tates charges that are often felt to be 
prohibitory, and as you intimate, too 
little attention is given to the health and 
sanitary condition of live stock. The 
practice of veterinary work as supple¬ 
mentary to farming ought to be a good 
thing for all parties, e. h. Bancroft. 
Delaware. 
We have a first-class veterinary, a 
graduate of the Toronto College, who 
has quite a large practice. We also have 
one of the old-fashioned ones, who is 
barely making a living. As a general 
rule, farmers here do not send for a 
veterinarian until the animals are about 
to die. My experience is that the vet¬ 
erinarians could do about twice the 
work they have. w. m. bhnninger. 
Pennsylvania. 
One veterinary in a community will 
cover a large territory. I believe that 
there could be one or two to each county 
in our State, who could be employed 
with profit to themselves and the people. 
There are occasions when their services 
are absolutely necessary. This Fall we 
had our dairy cows foundered on apples; 
three of them were very sick. We called 
in a veterinary at once, and he brought 
them out all right. Our farmers always 
call a veterinary as soon as possible. 
We have two in this neighborhood. One 
of them makes the business a specialty, 
and is doing well, and quite generally 
employed. d. c. lewis. 
New Jersey. 
A Good Chance. —I think that any 
progressive locality, encompassing a 
radius of at least five to eight 
miles, will support a good veterin¬ 
ary. A few years ago a neigh¬ 
bor’s son, a farmer, went to Lan¬ 
sing, Mich., and spent four years in 
securing an education, working most of 
his way through. The last two years 
were devoted to veterinary science, with 
the expectation of practicing in that 
profession. One year in a Chicago insti¬ 
tution gave him a diploma, enabling 
him to practice anywhere. He came 
home and located in our town and began 
work. There had been a local practi¬ 
tioner engaged in that work for several 
years, who really knew but little of the 
technical points about veterinary prac¬ 
tice. This young man soon worked into 
quite a nice little practice, and held to it 
for several years, but finally finding a 
good opening in Wheeling, W. Va., 12 
miles away, located there, though still 
doing most of the work here yet. 
I am satisfied that veterinary science 
requires greater skill in diagnosing the 
ailments of dumb animals than those of 
jiuman creatures, hence the necessity of 
greater qualification. A clever young 
veterinary, one whom people like, would 
certainly make a success here. The 
ability of those who expect to live off the 
employ of others must necessarily be of 
a kind that not only knows how to do 
the work, but at the same time get the 
confidence and good will of those who 
employ them. But few men make doc¬ 
tors of any kind. They may have won¬ 
derful gifts in knowledge, but they repel 
—rather than attract—consequently, 
soon lose prestige. The live stock here 
is valuable, and I believe that farmers 
would be willing to pay a fair compensa¬ 
tion for competent service; not such 
rates as are charged in cities, because 
farmers cannot afford to pay the price 
of an animal to have a cure effected. 
Yes, I would encourage an industrious, 
well-mannered young man to take up 
veterinary science, and believe that he 
could hope to succeed in almost any 
good thickly-settled locality. 
Ohio. GEO. E. SCOTT. 
In this locality I don’t think the plan 
possible. In this town there are, or have 
been until very recently, three veterinar¬ 
ians. One of them has a good practice, 
but travels over an area 30 miles in ex¬ 
tent. The other two get no business; 
one works in a drug store, the other has 
been employed in a livery stable—the 
two latter are men of fair ability, I 
judge In their profession, but there is 
not enough business for all. A farmer 
would better stick to his business, as his 
neighbors will not wish to pay him for 
the work he might do. It is all right if 
one is managing a large herd to be able 
to meet the cases which might demand 
veterinary attention. Very few farmers 
have need of veterinarians; most of 
their practice this way is with horses 
and dogs. We have called one a good 
many times, but in only a few instances 
have been satisfied with their cow treat¬ 
ment. H. G. MANCHESTER. 
Connecticut. 
Some Obstacles. —I should think it 
would pay a young farmer who expected 
to raise live stock to acquire some 
knowledge of veterinary practice, for it 
would be very useful in his own busi¬ 
ness, and if he had a decided taste that 
way he might work up a local practice, 
but I doubt whether what he would get 
Winters at any agricultural college 
would fit him for much beyond home 
practice. The country is full of vet¬ 
erinarians, with now and then a good 
one. I have had a good deal of experi¬ 
ence with veterinarians while I was the 
chairman of our State cattle commission, 
and I found that, to be a good veter¬ 
inarian, an man needed to be smart, 
with quick perceptions, sound judgment, 
and lots of common sense. Unless a 
veterinarian has taken a full course of 
study and been graduated at a regular 
veterinary college, he is handicapped. 
The New York State Board of Health 
will not accept the tuberculin test on 
cows, unless the operator is a regular 
graduate of a veterinary college, and he 
would frequently run against such ob¬ 
stacles. c. M. WINSLOW. 
Vermont. 
Raising Apple Trees from Seed. 
J. W. E., New York .—I have a farm of 
about 30 acres, which I would like to set 
to apple and pear trees. I have some Bald¬ 
wins, and wish to know whether it is 
practicable for me to plant the trees from 
the seed. If so, would it be well to take 
the seeds from my Winter supply of ap¬ 
ples as I eat them, and sow them? Would 
it be well to sow them in small pots? 
Would they spoil if left till Spring? What 
would be good Winter apples in the lati¬ 
tude of ...any? 
It would be very unwise to attempt to 
grow apple trees from seed to plant in 
orchard form. The day of seedling apple 
orchards has been passed more than 25 
years ago. There is no certainty as to 
the character of the fruit the seedlings 
will bear, and the probability is that it 
will be poor, with a very few exceptions. 
Grafted or budded trees are the only 
kinds to depend upon. Apple seeds for 
planting to grow seedlings upon which 
to set grafts or buds of good kind 3 
should never be allowed to become very 
dry, except for a very short time. They 
should be planted while still fresh, or 
mixed with earth or sand and kept damp 
until Spring, when they should be planted 
in nursery rows. Sutton would be a 
very good apple to plant in the latitude 
of Albany, New York. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
Raising Trout in Massachusetts. 
J. IJ. J., Worcester Co., Mass.— I have about 
a mile of brook which, if suitable, I wish 
to stock with trout. The brook comes from 
a large pond, which is supplied with water 
from several springs right in the pond, 
and flows through my pasture. Except in 
very warm weather the pond is not warm 
enough to bathe in. The pond bounds my 
pasture. Would it be a good plan to stock 
the brook with trout, and put a wire net¬ 
ting at each end as far as it belongs to 
me? Have I a right to do this? There 
are plenty of trees and bushes along the 
brook; should I cut .em down or let them 
grow? How would it be to go into part¬ 
nership with another person, the other 
person to furnish money to stock it with? 
How should the returns be divided? How 
much should it cost to stock my brook 
with trout, or any other kind of fish? 
I think that J. H. J. has a very good 
opportunity to raise trout economically, 
and with small expense in starting. I 
should advise him to communicate with 
the Fish Commission of Massachusetts, 
and learn the required precautions to 
take under the State law, with which I 
am not familiar. If there are, at pres¬ 
ent, no trout in the brook, it will prob¬ 
ably be an easy matter to get authority 
to post the brook, then he can put in 
screens at either end of his boundaries, 
taking care to make ample allowance 
for high water by widening the over¬ 
flow, so as to allow a larger volume of 
water to spill without rising above his 
screens. It is safer to put in a second 
screen a few feet inside the line, as some 
of the fish are liable to jump over the 
first one, especially in going up stream. 
Spawners in the Fall are very deter¬ 
mined about getting up stream in search 
of suitable spawning beds. I should not 
advise cutting the alders and bushes 
along the stream. The bushes preserve a 
shelter, and tend to keep the water at a 
lower temperature than if they were 
removed. If J. H. J. can be protected 
under the law of Massachusetts by sim¬ 
ply screening the brook and posting it, 
his expenses of stocking will be light, 
and he would better bear the expense 
alone and have all the results. If, on 
the other hand, he is obliged to sink 
pits or little ponds in his meadow, and 
convey the water from the brook in 
pipes or open ditches, it may cost a con¬ 
siderable sum of money, and he may 
find it necessary to take some one into 
business with him, who is willing to 
furnish the necessary capital. In that 
case I think that it would be fair to put 
his time and use of his brook against 
the other man’s capital, thus sharing 
equally in profits or losses. I should not 
advise the expenditure of over $200 in 
the venture, and perhaps $100 might 
cover the cost of starting in a small 
way. I should go into the trout busi¬ 
ness in the same way that I should go 
into the poultry business, moderately at 
first, and enlarge as I learned the secrets 
which must be learned by experience. 
Vermont. c. w. scarff. 
Keeping Nuts.—I have found the best 
way to keep nuts through the Winter for 
planting is to level off a place In the 
garden the length and width of a board, 
and then spread the nuts, one layer thick, 
on the ground and lay a board on top of 
them. Then hoe up the soil around and 
on the edges of the board to keep out the 
vermin. This is nearest to the way Nature 
winters them, and they can be got at as 
early in the Spring as needed, and no sort¬ 
ing out of the ground or dirt or losing any 
nuts. W. R. GARDNER. 
Charles O. Jones, Dallas County, Ala., 
sends for identification some seeds of a 
handsome aquatic plant bearing large red 
flowers. They prove to be from the Hal¬ 
berd-leaved rose mallow. Hibiscus mllita- 
ris, a near relative of the Hisbiscus Mos- 
cheutos of our eastern tidal rivers. Most 
of our native species of Hibiscus are im¬ 
proved in vigor and freedom of bloom by 
removal from the marshes in which they 
are usually found to rich mellow upland. 
The Crimson-eye Hibiscus offered by most 
seedsmen is a very handsome herbaceous 
plant, said to be a hybrid between H. 
Moscheutos and H. Californica. The latter 
is common on the Pacific coast, and bears 
large white flowers. 
N O crop can 
grow with* 
out Potash. 
Every blade of 
Grass, every grain 
of Corn, all Fruits 
and V egetables 
must have it. If 
enough is supplied 
you can count on a full crop— 
if too little, the growth will be 
“ scrubby.” 
Send for our books telling all about composition of 
fertilizers best adapted for all crops. They cost you 
nothing. 
GERMAN KALI WORKS, 93 Nassau St., New York. 
jadoo Fibre and Jadoo Liquid 
Will give yon Early Crops and Large Crop* 
of Vegetablei or Frnit. Send for Catalogues 
and be oonvlnoed of the merlta of these 
new Fertilizers. 
THE AMERICAN JADOO CO., 
816 Falrmount Avenue. Philadelphia, Pa. 
I PC—- 
'As5 seEOI 
' Sow* nil Clovers, Alfalfa, Timothy, Red Top, nil (irm» I 
i Seed., Kl»x, Ar. Special hopper for wheat ami oats. Sows it) 
l to 40 acres per day In wet, dry or windy weal her, l’uts on 
| just exact amount of seed desired—don't waste any. Welyhs 
f only 40 lbs. last indefinitely. Price list and catalogue free. 
O. K. THOMPSON A SONS, Ypslliinll, Mich. 
How to Drain Land Profitably 
On every farm there is probably some land 
that could be made more productive by under- 
drainage. Properly drain&l land can always 
be worked earlier, and more profitably. The 
best and most 
economical way 
to drain is ex¬ 
plained in the 
book, “ Benefits of Drainage and How to Drain,” 
which is sent free by 
JOHN H. JACKSON, Third Ave., Albany, N. Y. 
Ilf nan each box of berries in Wax Paper. 
If 11 ft I Samples 10c. T C. Kevitt, Aihenia, N.J 
For the land’s sake—use Bowker’s 
Fertilizer.— Adv. 
TREES 
at Wholesale prices. Apple, Plum and 
Pears, $6 per 100; Peach, 3c. Cat. Free 
Reliance Nursery, Box 10, Geneva, N. Y 
your t Chestnut Trees 
A few grafts put in your seedling chestnut tree will make It pay big I name price and kinds In catalogue 
Free. Full line nursery stock. AitTHLK J. COLLINS, Moorestowu, Burlington Co., N.J. 
Choicest Fruit and Ornamental Trees. 
44 Greenhouses 
Correspondence 
Shrubs, Plants, Bulbs, Seeds. 40 Acres Hardy Roses, 
of Palms, Everblooming Roses, Ficus, Ferns, Etc. 
solicited. Catalogue Free. 
THE STORRS & HARRISON CO. v Painesville, O. 
