1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
261 
A Calf-Feeding Stanchion. 
•/. C. M.. Waynesboro , Pa. —Will you illustrate a plan for slop¬ 
ping small calves, to keep them separated and away from the 
feeder, so that each calf can get only to its own bucket ? 
Ans.— For slopping small calves, stanchions may be 
constructed in the field similar to those shown in Fig. 
111. The sill may be of one piece of 6 x 6, or it may be 
of two pieces of 2 x 6 with the upright pieces fastened 
between similar to the way shown at the top. If a 
(5 x 6 be used, mortices will have to be made in which 
to put the lower end of the vertical pieces. Piece No. 
1 is securely fastened at both ends. No. 2 is secured 
at the bottom by means of a peg, and the top is free 
to swing back making an opening through which the 
calf can put his head to the pail. It can then be 
brought into position and secured by means of a peg 
at the top, or by means of a drop which shall fit into the 
shoulder shown at the top. When the calves are small, 
the opening between Nos. 1 and 2 should be four 
inches ; as the calves grow and it becomes necessary 
to enlarge the space at the bottom, bore another hole 
through the sill at the base of No. 2, so that it can be 
set back five inches from No. 1. The fastenings at the 
top may also be arranged so that the space between 
uprights may be enlarged to accommodate the growth 
of the animal. Upright pieces Nos. 3 and 6 should be 
nailed to the front of the horizontal pieces so that 
they will not interfere with the free swing of Nos. 2 
and 5. u. A . c . 
dogs or Apples in an Orchard. 
A. S.. Monroe County, N. Y.—l have au orchard of 3>4 acres in 
which I wish to keep hogs. I plowed it last Fall. What would I 
better put on it, and how many hogs will it keep ? 
Ans.— What you will do with your orchard will de¬ 
pend largely on whether you wish to grow hogs or 
apples. If fruit is to be the first consideration, put 
the harrow at work in the orchard as soon as possible. 
Keep the land well harrowed until the middle of June. 
It should receive such thorough culture that no grass or 
weeds will be found growing. The reason 
the orchard needs this treatment is be¬ 
cause, when the leaves are coining out 
on the trees and the new growth of 
wood is taking place, the trees need all 
the moisture that can be secured for 
them. By the middle of June, the new 
growth is largely made, and some crop 
like Crimson clover may be put in the 
orchard. This should be used as a cover 
crop, and be allowed to remain on the 
ground during the Fall and Winter. 
Plow it under early in the Spring, and 
give the land clean culture again. If 
this method be practiced, there will not 
be much chance for hogs in the orchard. 
If it is desired to make the conditions 
favorable for hogs, sow the land at once 
to oats and peas. Sow three pecks of 
Canada field peas and five pecks of 
oats per acre. If it is desired to get the 
most possible out of the land in the 
way of pasture, the field should be divided into 
three parts, and oats and peas sown in succession of 
about two weeks. In this way, the hogs can be turned 
from one field to the other, and there will be a succes¬ 
sion of feed. The amount of land mentioned should 
furnish pasture for your 10 to 12 hogs. r,. A. c. 
The Staves for Silo. 
E. C.Philadelphia, Pa.— Mr. L. A. Clinton says that he will 
be glad to make plain any points iu his article on page 152. Will 
he give the bevel of the staves, that is, the inside width ? The 
outside width being six inches, as he suggests, what will be the 
inside width ? 
Ans.— For a silo 13 feet in diameter, the outside of 
the staves being six inches wide, the inside of the 
staves should be one-seventh of an inch narrower. It 
is not necessary to pay any attention to beveling the 
staves, and indeed I question whether it is not better 
not to bevel. If the staves are set up without beveling, 
the point of contact will be the inside edge, and a per¬ 
fectly tight joint will be secured at that point. With 
the tub silo, it seems that the simpler we can make it 
the better. While some have had the staves tongued 
and grooved, and others have had them beveled, just 
as good results are secured where the staves are simply 
set up with no treatment whatever, but are used as 
the saw leaves them. 1 , A> c;> 
A Fertilizer Mixture for Missouri. 
IT. //. //., Prairie City , Mo.— What kind and how much fertilizer 
would you recommend on our western black prairie loam for 
wheat ? I have tried 150 pounds of ground bone per acre without 
any apparent benefit at this writing, also oue ton of wood ashes 
per acre, and wheat from these is showing up well. Would a 
smaller quantity do? I think that our soil needs potash, and 
shall try muriate next Fall. Our soil has plenty of humus, 
but our wheat freezes out badly, and seems to start very slowly 
in the Spring. My rotation is wheat, clover, corn, oats, corn, 
flax, wheat again, clover. 
Ans.— The results with wood ashes indicate that 
the soil needs potash or lime, or both. The chances 
are that potash is the needed element. Half a ton of 
average unleached wood ashes will supply 50 pounds 
of potash—the same as 100 pounds of muriate. Prob¬ 
ably a mixture of 250 pounds of ground bone to 100 
pounds of muriate of potash will be as cheap and ser¬ 
viceable as any you can buy. We would use it on the 
wheat in your case, and apply 350 to 400 pounds per 
acre. 
Home Dairy vs. Cheese Factory. 
E. I). ft.. Crooked Creek, Pa .—A cheese factory has been built, 
and we are asked to bring our milk beginning May 1, to be made 
into cheese, for which the factory will charge $1.10 per 100 pounds 
of cheese. This includes boxes and carting to the station for 
shipment. They contract with the cheesemaker that every poor 
cheese will be charged to him. This cheese is then to be sent as 
soon as fit to some firm which is expected to take the whole 
product at one-fourth to one-half cent less than New York market 
prices for cheese at the time. Is this al! O. K. ? With ordinary 
cows that have given an average of 200 pounds of butter for the 
past two years with no grain, and whose butter sold at 1(5 to 18 
cents, how much increase of profit may reasonably be expected ? 
ANSWERED BY JOHN GOULD. 
The answer to the inquiry hinges largely upon the 
price of cheese the coming Summer, and the demand 
for it. Cheese is not looking up as well at this season of 
the year, as it should, and the outlook is a quandary 
for the most farsighted cheese dealers. The general 
plan of comparison between butter and cheese is like 
this : It requires 25 pounds of such milk as is indicated 
for one of butter, and the same milk is rated to make 
2% pounds of full stock cheese. Just now, a pound 
of butter is worth 19 to 20 cents, and 2% pounds of 
the best cheese are being billed f. o. b. here, for 17% 
cents which, of course, includes the boxing. New 
cheese here is not over five cents, and was billed the 
most of last Summer at 6 to 6%, so it is to be seen at a 
glance that, if present prices of cheese are to be con¬ 
tinued, the way is to make 18 and 20-cent butter for 
a while at least. Probably E. 1). R. can sell his 200 
pounds of butter at from 836 to 840, and have the skim- 
milk and buttermilk left on the farm to feed ; while, 
if he has his milk made into cheese, all it will amount 
to is the cheese itself, as there is no residue to a cheese 
DEVILED IUJTTER 
PASTEURIZING" 
See Page 2(5(5. 
DECAYED ODOR. 
factory that the patron ever realizes to amount to any¬ 
thing. The milk will make a possible 500 pounds of 
cheese, and if $5.50 is to be deducted for making, and 
82.50 more for “ less market price ", 88, in all, from a 
possible 835 to 838 worth of cheese, it would leave only 
828 to 830 at best. At the butter prices given, 200 
pounds of butter are worth at least 83(5, and the skim 
and buttermilk from 5,000 pounds of milk required to 
make the 200 pounds of butter, are worth $8 to feed 
to growing calves and pigs (and their growth is a 
profit) as against paying out 85.50 per cow for having 
the cheese made. I make no charge against the cheese- 
makers, as it is doubtful whether they can make very 
much, if any, profit in making and supplying all 
necessary requirements in cheesemaking, including 
the curing, and warrant against bad cheese. I sub¬ 
mitted this to the criticism of the largest cheesemaker 
in Ohio, and his judgment was to “ make butter until 
the cheese trade is far better than now." The in¬ 
dications are that the cheese market is to be deluged 
this season with 11 a sell-at-any-price cheese’’, and 
prices for the first half of the season will range very 
low. It will be a sort of exhibition of the “survival 
of the strongest ", therefore an inopportune time for 
the new adventurers to venture into the great cheese 
markets, where the great commission men will feel 
inclined to protect their “old customers", as would 
seem reasonable that they should. 
Raising Large Onions from Seed. 
II. B. E.. Mifflinville, Pa .—How early should seed be sown here 
in Pennsylvania, latitude 41 degrees, to prod nee large ouions in 
one season ? 
Ans.— Seed should be sown in the open as soon as 
the ground is in condition for working, or in frames 
in March ; still earlier in a hotbed, in the vicinity of 
Philadelphia. The young plants are ready for trans¬ 
planting in six weeks or a little over. Both tops and 
roots are shortened a little when transplanted. If 
sown in frames, the seedling onions should be hard¬ 
ened by free ventilation before they are put out. 
How to Buy Good Fertilizer. 
J. G. M., Poolville, iV. Y —The article, The “Inside” of a Bag 
of Fertilizer, page 197, is truly a very instructive oue; I can see 
but one thing lacking in it, and that is, Where can we buy the 
fertilizer for what it is worth ? To-day I was shown a sample of 
a fertilizer which was offered me for $23 per ton, and which con¬ 
tained one per cent of ammonia, and other ingredients to match. 
I told the agent that I wanted a fertilizer containing five per 
cent of nitrogen, eight or ten per cent of phosphoric acid, and 
from six to eight per cent of potash. He said that he could 
order me one for $-10 per ton, but it was so high priced that he 
did not sell much of it. If you can put us in a way to buy such a 
fertilizer at $28 per ton (what you quote it at), your name will 
be handed down to posterity as the greatest benefactor the 
farmer has ever had. 
Ans.— You will understand that the 828 in this case 
represents the average retail cost of the plant food in 
that fertilizer. The manufacturer must also pay the 
cost of mixing and bagging, agents’ commissions, 
freight, handling, etc. The Pennsylvania Station 
estimates these expenses as follows: Mixing, 81 perton; 
bagging 81 per ton ; freight, 82 per ton ; agent’s com¬ 
mission, 20 per cent of retail cash value. In this case, 
the commission would be 85.(50, and the total 89.(50, 
or 837.(50, at which price it should be sold to you at a 
fair margin. The best way for farmers to get good 
fertilizer at a fair price is to combine and make a 
large order. They can then buy some standard brand 
of goods, or make up a formula to suit their soils and 
crops, and make a bargain with some manufacturer 
to mix it for them. 
To Kill Sprouts on Hard-Wood Stumps. 
It. S. L., ii ashington, I). C. —Six years ago, I cut down several 
acres of hard-wood trees, leaving the stumps, which sprouted 
freely. These I have had cut this Spring. Is there a more eco¬ 
nomical way of killing the new sprouts than grubbing out the 
stumps? An acquaintance, several years ago, claimed to have 
succeeded in a small way by free applications of strong saltwater 
to the new leaves. 
Ans.— Winter-cut hard-wood stumps are likely to 
sprout the following season, while those cut in mid¬ 
summer do so rarely, or cease sprouting the second 
season. Allowing Winter-cut stumps to 
retain their sprouts throughout the Sum¬ 
mer, preserves the vitality of the roots, 
and if early the following Spring, these 
shoots are cut oft’, the roots are in condi¬ 
tion to throw up another supply of 
shoots, and so the life of the stump 
may continue for several seasons, ac¬ 
cording to the age of the stump—the 
older for a shorter, and the younger for 
a longer time. The advantageous time 
tocut away sprouts is during July and 
August, when the foliage is fully ma¬ 
tured. The effect is a sudden shock to 
vitality at a time when Nature is least 
prepared to recover from such damage. 
A few ephemeral sprouts may come after 
a midsummer cutting, but usually no 
persistent growth. The long lapse of 
time without foliage till the opening of 
the next season usually suffices to de¬ 
stroy the stump’s vitality. Exceptional 
cases may be met in stumps of willows, aspens, mul¬ 
berries, etc., which may require more continued cut¬ 
ting and grubbing to destroy them. I regard the 
above, together with grubbing and dynamite, as the 
most efficient and economical method of getting rid 
of stumps. The reported use of strong salt water ap¬ 
plied to the young leaves is likely not to be complete 
in its destruction of the leaves, from the difficulty in 
applying the solution thoroughly, and insuring its 
remaining long enough. A complete defoliation, how¬ 
ever, as a result of this treatment at almost any time 
during the growing season, is pretty sure to be fol¬ 
lowed by another crop of leaves, as the salt would not 
kill the shoot. The free application of dry salt or a 
strong solution to the earth beneath trees, is also suc¬ 
cessful in killing trees and shrubs, but is too expen¬ 
sive except for very small operations, b, k. febnow. 
Department of Agriculture. 
Thrashing Crimson Clover by Hand. 
L. II., Lutherville, Ark. —Can Crimson clover and Bokhara 
clover be thrashed easily by hand ? Does the seed come out 
easily ? 
Ans. —Crimson clover is often thrashed out by hand, 
but it does not readily separate from the chaff that 
incloses it. This is no serious objection to the farmer 
who wishes to use it on the farm, as it can easily be 
sown in this condition. At least a bushel of this is 
needed per acre. Spread out the dry clover on a 
smooth, hard place, and when it is very dry, use a 
fork to pound it, and then toss up the straw, striking 
it as it falls. 
How to Start Apple Seedlings. 
E. W. <?., Keene, N. II— I wish to start an apple orchard from 
seeds. Can you give me directions as to the care of the seeds 
after they are taken from the apples each week ? Would apple 
seeds be spoiled if the apples were frozen ? 
Ans.— It would not harm the seeds if the apples be¬ 
come frozen. Plant the seeds in the Fall, covering 
with about one inch of earth or very fine pulverized 
manure. Iloe and weed the seedlings in Spring and 
Summer the same as beets or onions. kdwin iioyt. 
