1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
881 
ries and the American and Japan plums do very well 
all over the fruit-growing 1 sections of Colorado, but I 
would advise planting them by themselves. 
2. The Dyehouse cherry is about as hardy as any 
kind, unless it be some of the Russians, and they have 
proved to be of little value so far as tried, being too 
shy to bear, and generally of poor quality. The 
peach is not suited to eastern Colorado, unless the 
climate there has changed wonderfully within the 
last few years. h. e. v. d. 
Pruning in Warm Dats in Midwinter.—I s it of much injury to 
trim trees in the late Fall or midwinter on warm days ? i. u. b. 
Homer, N. Y. 
The manner in which the pruning is done is of more 
consequence than the season. The size, position, and 
nature of the wounds influence the healing to a greater 
extent than the time of the year in which they are 
made. It would be advisable to paint the wounds 
with white lead as soon as made, and to avoid cutting 
any wood that is frozen. For a full discussion of 
these points, I would refer I. H. B. to The Pruning 
Book by Prof. Bailey, from which the following is 
taken: “The conclusions, and my general opinion, in 
respect to season of pruning, so far as the healing of 
wounds is concerned, is this: The ideal time is in 
Spring, before growth begins (late February, March 
and early April in New York); but more depends on 
the position of the wound in the tree and the length 
of stub than on the time of year.” f. c. 
Grafting Kiefpers; Vegetable House. —1. I have some thrifty 
Kieffer pear trees four years old. I wish to add to my varieties 
a few more, such as Bose, President Drouard, etc. Will it do to 
top-bud next Summer on Kieffer, or would it be better to top- 
graft in the Spring, or use dormant buds in the Spring ? 2. In 
preparing a place to keep vegetables from freezing, would a 
double-walled house with walls lined with paper so as to be air¬ 
tight be sufficient ? Would one foot of air space be enough in 
this climate, and would the confined air be as good as, or better 
than, to fill the space with sawdust ? w. J. J. 
Crozet, Va. 
1. Perhaps the best way to top-work the Kieffer 
pear trees into other kinds would be to graft them 
next Spring, then, in the Summer, when sprouting the 
grafts, care should be used to leave one or two thrifty 
sprouts on each one upon which the grafts failed. 
These sprouts should be budded in the ordinary 
season. By this plan, the entire tops of the trees 
may be worked into the desired varieties within the 
first year. 2. For keeping fruit and vegetables, a 
house with double walls made tight by lining them 
with building paper as suggested, is very good. One 
foot of space between them is quite sufficient, and 
less would do very well. Simple air space is better 
than a filling of sawdust. h. e. v. d. 
Chestnuts in Central Illinois. —I am thinking of planting a 
grove of chestnut trees next Spring. Would it be better to plant 
small trees of the American sweet variety, and then graft them 
the following Spring to the large varieties, such as Paragon, 
Ridgely, Parry’s Giant, etc. ? What size trees can I plant 1 I can 
buy small trees three to four feet at $10, or four to five-foot trees 
at $15 per 100. How far apart should they be planted ? What kind 
of soil is best adapted to the growth of the chestnut—clay or 
black loam ? A. d. a. 
Sweetwater, Ill. 
In central Illinois, the chestnut has been grown 
with fair success in some cases. The land that suits 
it best is of a sandy or shaly character, and not the 
rich black loams. Light instead of heavy land is that 
in which it naturally grows. Upland clay that is well 
drained is fairly good. The common American chest¬ 
nut seedlings make quite good stocks upon which to 
graft the European and Japan types, but the best 
union has taken place where the Paragon and others 
of like character have been grafted on their own seed¬ 
lings. Trees three to four feet high are large enough 
to plant. The larger they are, the greater the risk 
in transplanting. They should stand at least one 
year in their new location in order to become well 
established, before being grafted. Thirty feet is close 
enough for permanent trees, but half that distance 
will do for such early bearers as Paragon and most of 
the improved kinds, for a good many years, h. e. v. d. 
Artificial Legs for Farm Stock. 
Several Subscribers.—We see pictures of a cow fitted with a 
wooden leg. Is it true that animals are often fitted with these ? 
Ans.— The practice of veterinary surgery, unlike 
human practice, involves at once the question as to 
whether treatment would be liable to pay financially. 
An animal that suffers a broken leg is condemned at 
once; it is apparent that the expense of treatment 
would be equal to or greater than the money value of 
the animal. Exceptions to this rule would be animals 
that are prized as pets. 
Where treatment of a fracture is attempted, the 
first consideration will be to try to save the leg by 
setting and retaining in position by splints and band¬ 
ages until healed, if the fracture were of such a nature 
as to render a favorable recovery probable. In other 
cases, amputation would be necessary. Amputation 
can be and is successfully practiced on both cattle 
and horses, but the operation is rarely performed ex¬ 
cept in the case of females that are especially valuable 
for breeding purposes. Valuable mares with foal 
that have suffered a broken leg have had the leg am¬ 
putated, and the mare thus saved gave birth to and 
raised her foal. In other than breeding animals, the 
expense of the operation and after treatment would 
usually be greater than the value of the animal. 
Experience has shown that animals so operated 
upon soon accustom themselves to getting around 
very readily on three legs. The supplying of an arti¬ 
ficial leg to either a cow or mare, may have been done 
as an experiment or as a curiosity, but it is not gen¬ 
erally practiced. The artificial leg could add little or 
nothing to the value or usefulness of the animal. 
With the smaller animals, amputation is more com¬ 
monly practiced than with the cow or horse, and they 
soon get around almost as readily on the three legs as 
on the four. Sheep are sometimes operated upon to 
save them for food, which would rarely be practicable 
with cattle, owing to the greater expense. 
F. I). KILBORNE. 
A Tapeworm in a Cat. 
F. H. F., Andover, Mass. —I inclose something vomited by my 
cat. Is it a thing confined to cats, and is there a remedy ? I 
would not want it inside the other farm stock. 
ANSWERED BY M. Y. SLINGERLAND. 
The “something” vomited by this cat proved to be 
a worm-like creature several inches in length, which, 
upon careful examination, was diagnosed as the tape¬ 
worm, Taenia crassicollis, which commonly infests 
cats. This kind of tapeworm also infests the intes¬ 
tines of other animals of the cat tribe or Felidae, and 
it is possible that, if other farm animals should eat 
this cat tapeworm, it might thrive in the intestines of 
the animal eating it; but this is hardly probable. 
The tapeworms commonly found in the intestines of 
dogs, cows, hogs and other farm animals, are of differ¬ 
ent kinds or species from each other, and from the one 
in the cat. 
How do tapeworms get into cats ? Most tapeworms 
begin life in the body, often in the liver, of some 
other animal than the one in which found. All tape¬ 
worms are very prolific, and some of the eggs from 
one which infests the cat must find their way into 
the food canal of a mouse. Here the young tapeworm 
hatching from the egg swallowed by some mouse finds 
suitable conditions for its growth. It finally finds its 
way into the liver of a mouse. When a cat eats such 
a mouse, the young tapeworms in the mouse’s liver 
find favorable conditions for their development to 
maturity in the intestines of the cat. Hence, it follows 
that F. H, F.’s cat is, doubtless, a good mouser; but 
it unfortunately got hold of a mouse whose liver was 
infested by these young tapeworms. 
Fortunately, the whole of the tapeworm sent us 
was thrown up by the cat. By this, I mean that, 
if the tapeworm’s head and a few segments of its body 
had remained behind attached to the walls of the in¬ 
testine, it would have continued to grow or develop 
new segments to take the place of the ones voided. 
As the head of the worm sent us was in evidence, and 
if one knew that this was the only specimen infesting 
the cat, it would be unnecessary to give the pussy 
medical advice. I cannot easily determine this fact, 
however, so I am advised by a veterinarian to recom¬ 
mend that F. H. F. give the cat in its food five grams 
of areca nut morning and night for two or three days. 
This should loosen and drive out any tapeworms 
remaining. 1 doubt whether any harm could come to 
farm animals, except possibly mice, from eating the 
worms voided by the cat. One specimen of a common 
pinworm also accompanied the tapeworm. Doubtless, 
the treatment recommended above will also remove 
these creatures. 
The R. N.-Y.'s Method of Corn Culture. 
J. B. L., Flizabeth, Pa. —1. I would like you to explain what you 
call your “triplicate method ” of corn growing. 2. What do you 
consider the best distances apart to plant corn to secure the 
largest yield per acre on good strong soil ? 3. What has been 
your experience with fertilizers for corn ? 4. Do you consider the 
Golden Beauty corn a safe variety to plant in the latitude of 
Pittsburgh, Pa. ? 
Ans.—1. It was 21 years ago that we set ourselves 
the task of raising an exceptionally large yield of 
field corn by a new method which we afterwards 
called The R. N.-Y. triplicate method. The trial was 
made upon eight acres of sandy loam, which had been 
in grass several years previously. The varieties were 
Chester County Mammoth and Blount’s Prolific, the 
former on seven acres and the latter on one. 
The Chester County was drilled in, dropping the 
kernels about afoot apart, and the drills about 3 % 
feet apart. High-grade complete fertilizer was broad¬ 
casted at the rate of 500 pounds to the acre, and the 
cultivation was shallow and frequent. The Blount’s 
Prolific was treated in the same way except that the 
drills were, as we now recall, four feet two inches 
apart. 
The yield of the Chester County Mammoth was, in 
round numbers, 135 bushels of shelled corn to the acre. 
The Blount’s Prolific yielded 130 bushels to the acre 
according to the sworn statement of six well-known 
individuals. We have since pursued the triplicate 
method in our cultivation of both field and sweet corn. 
2. This depends entirely upon the variety used; the 
taller the variety, and the better the land, the greater 
the distance the kernels should be planted, and the 
wider apart the hills or the drills. We one year tried 
the experiment of planting half an acre and hilling 
up the soil about the plants ; a second half-acre was 
treated according to the triplicate method. The latter 
yielded fully one-third more than the former. The 
season was unusually dry; we are, however, fully 
convinced, after a long experience,. that, one season 
with another, whether for field or sweet corn, the 
triplicate method will give larger yields of grain than 
any other. Deep cultivation and hilling up destroy 
many roots which the corn plant needs for its best 
development. In very wet seasons, and in rich soil, 
deep cultivation may be advantageous in that root- 
pruning may serve to check leaf and stalk growth, 
and to increase the yield of grain. 
3. We have never made any extended careful ex¬ 
periments to show whether manure or fertilizers give 
the larger yields. 
4. The Golden Beauty yields well, and the plants 
grow only to a moderate height. It is, also, an early 
variety, and would be a safe variety to plant in your 
latitude. 
What Form of Potash ? 
J. A. S.. Petersburg, Va .—I once read that 75 pounds of muriate 
of potash contain as much potash as 300 pounds of kainit for 
manurial purposes. Is any benefit gained by applying 300 
pounds of kainit to sandy and loamy soils in place of 75 pounds 
of muriate of potash ? If so, wherein is the benefit ? If there is 
no special benefit, why bother with 300 pounds when 75 pounds 
will answer the same purpose 7 
Ans. —An average sample of muriate of potash con¬ 
tains 50 per cent of actual potash. Kainit averages 
about 12% per cent of potash, so that you are right in 
saying that 75 pounds of muriate of potash contain 
as much potash as 300 pounds of kainit. With few 
exceptions, there is every reason why the potash 
should be used in place of the kainit. The potash in 
muriate is slightly cheaper, you have less bulk to haul 
and handle, and the muriate, on the whole, makes a 
better mixture with other chemicals. The possible 
exceptions are in the case of manuring for asparagus 
or on some soils for grain or grass. Salt is often used 
on asparagus, chiefly to prevent weeds from growing. 
Kainit can be used for this purpose, as it contains 
large quantities of salt. Some soils are benefited by 
the application of salt, when grain or grass is grown, 
although the reason is not exactly understood. This 
case of muriate and kainit is a good illustration of 
the reason why a farmer should use a high-grade fer¬ 
tilizer. Every handful or bag contains more fertility 
than an equal weight of the lower-class goods, and 
there is no reason why we should perform two or 
three times as much work in handling and applying 
fertilizers for the sake of obtaining a bulky form. 
A Paint for Spraying Rough Surfaces. 
A. IF. M., Madison County, Y. V .—I am desirous of compound¬ 
ing a preparation to be used as a filler on dressed, and undressed, 
surfaces on buildings and fences, etc., previous to applying a 
coat of oil paint. I would like to use a pump and apply it in a 
spray. How can I make a compound that will be durable ? 
Ans. —No compound is likely to be as durable as yel¬ 
low ochre mixed with pure linseed oil. If the paint 
is made thin, applied soon after the woodwork is put 
up, and is well rubbed in, especially if it is put on in 
cool weather, nothing that I know of is equal to such 
a priming coat. Too often the paint, to use the slang 
phrase, is “slung on to” the building, whereas it 
should be thoroughly rubbed in, that the particles of 
ochre may be made to fill the pores of the wood, and 
that the oil may serve to bind it most effectually. Al¬ 
most any colored paint will cover yellow ochre, there¬ 
fore, it is well adapted to priming outside woodwork. 
I know of nothing better. There may be cheaper fill¬ 
ing paints, but too often cheap things are poor things. 
I. P. ROBERT8. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Winter Plowing.—I. H. B., Homer, N. Y.—No doubt many 
chrysalids of the Spring canker worm would be destroyed if the 
ground were plowed in late Fall or early Winter, as they lie 
mainly within the plow line. It would not be wise, however, to 
depend upon this as a means of ridding an orchard of the pest; 
as a secondary means, it would be valuable. 
Feeding the Hen.—After considerable experience with hens, 
we conclude that the average hen requires about four ounces of 
dry matter per day. With small hens, we have averaged one 
pound of food to five hens, a part of the food being a strong mash 
containing a fair proportion of meat. In estimating the amount 
of food fed to a flock of hens, it is never safe to go by the measure, 
since grains vary considerably in weight. We would always 
weigh a definite measure of grain, and base our conclusions on 
the weight entirely. 
For Stiffening the Straw of Wheat.—G. H., Clare, Mich.—On 
such soil as you describe, leached ashes would not prove very 
effective. Probably a dressing of 250 pounds per acre of refuse 
salt applied at the time of seeding the grain, would help to stiffen 
the straw. On some soils, especially in the interior of the country, 
salt proves beneficial in this way. It is not exactly known how 
it benefits the plant. It has been claimed by some that it in¬ 
creases the soluble silicates of the soil, and thus directly provides 
a material for stiffening the straw. Others say that the salt re¬ 
tards the nitrification, and thus prevents the straw from making 
a too rapid growth, a slower growth being stronger and stiffer. 
Probably salt will give best results on rich soils which are not 
lacking is nitrogen. 
