52 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
January 23 
cooping that has become foul. Chicks never have 
gapes if cooped on dry, sunny ground, that is well 
drained in some proper way, and kept sweet by deep 
spading often done, or the coops moved often to 
fresh, sweet ground. If room is limited, lime may be 
beneficially used by spading it into the fouled earth. 
Land plaster is of no more benefit than sand ; it is 
simply so much sweet material added to the soil. 
H. S. BURDICK. 
Opinion of James Rankin. 
I should think that the free use of lime in a poultry 
house would have a bad effect, and tend to promote 
rather than cure disease of any kind, as it would lib¬ 
erate the ammonia contained in the droppings. Ashes 
have the same effect. Never use alkalies in connec¬ 
tion with excrement of any kind. By all means, use 
plaster ; it is a good disinfectant as well as an absorb¬ 
ent of foul gases. We have often used lime in cases 
of gapes, with good results, by putting chicks and 
lime into a barrel and stirring them up together. 
A SUCCESSION OF SWEET CORN. 
WANTED ! 500 EARS PER DAY ! 
How far apart .and how large plantings of sweet corn should I 
make, in order to be sure of 500 ears per day ? A. k. 
Troy, N. Y. 
For a Connecticut Sweet-Corn Trade. 
“ IIow far apart ? ” is indefinite as to whether time 
of plantings or distance apart of hills and rows. If 
the former, we should not depend on successive plant¬ 
ings as oftentimes the same variety, planted 5, 10 or 
15 days apart, on very early ground, will often mature 
at practically the same time. Nothing will kill a corn 
trade quite so quickly as old, tough corn. We think 
it just right when the nail will easily break through 
the skin of the kernel and it is full of milk. Of the 
short varieties like Cory, we have the rows 2% to 3 
feet apart, and the hills 2% feet in the row. Of the 
tall varieties, we have rows three feet apart and 2 % 
to 3 feet in the hill. Planting too thickly will give 
too many small and imperfect ears. The reason why 
we prefer different varieties, is that people like a 
change, and will eat more corn if given different 
varieties. The later varieties are, usually, of better 
quality. For 500 ears per day, we should plant about 
as follows : Two quarts of First of All, six quarts of 
Early Essex, eight quarts of Crosby’s Early, six quarts 
of Shaker’s Early, four quarts of Potter’s Excelsior, 
eight quarts of Stowell’s Evergreen and eight quarts 
of Country Gentleman. For the earliest, get dry 
land with an eastern or southern slope. Get good 
seed, buy it in the ear if possible. If planted too 
early, it is quite liable to rot, and replanting is neces¬ 
sary, or what is worse, a thin setting of plants. We 
use stable manure largely, but a little fertilizer goes 
into every hill to give it a quick start. One of the 
largest sweet-corn seed growers in this country once 
told me, “We catalogue all varieties of sweet corn, but 
sell more Stowell’s Evergreen than all the others put 
together.” h. g. Manchester. 
For a Massachusetts Summer Resort. 
I would plant Cory and Crosby as early as the sea¬ 
son will permit, and then once in 10 days or two 
weeks, I would plant Crosby for a succession. For 
my trade, Crosby gives good satisfaction, and I now 
plant no other kind except Cory for very early. To 
get any stated quantity daily, through the season, is 
not easy, because the weather has so much to do with 
hastening or retarding the crop. The season of 1894, 
I commenced picking—July 16, two dozen ; 17, seven 
dozen ; 18, 13 dozen, and so on to September 19, when 
the last was picked, picking some days from 50 to 
70 dozen. The whole crop for the year was 12,798 
ears, or an average for the season of about 195 ears 
per day. The season of 1895, I commenced picking 
July 19, and finished September 25, the crop amount¬ 
ing to 16,179 ears, or an average of about 237 ears per 
day. In 1896,1 commenced picking July 15, and ended 
August 21, selling in all 9,057 ears, or a daily average 
of about 245 ears. These figures all apply to the 
quantity sold. I cannot tell very accurately about 
the amount of land used for sweet corn, but prob¬ 
ably, from 1 to \ x /i acre each year. I plant Crosby 
and Cory corn in rows 3% feet apart, the hills of 
Crosby three feet and Cory two feet apart in the 
rows, thinning to four plants to the hill. If the land 
is good, I would suggest three-fourths acre each of 
Cory and Crosby, planted May 1, and thereafter three- 
fourths acre Crosby once in about 12 days, to insure 
500 ears per day. About kinds. I have tried a good 
many—many of them good—but for market and for 
profit, it is best for me to use only the two kinds 
named. On rich land, Potter’s Excelsior is excellent, 
and Concord does pretty well ; the ears of both are 
larger than Crosby. I have a good deal of hotel trade, 
and the size of the Crosby just suits. Last year, the 
retail trade at a watering place were much pleased 
with it. The larger kinds of corn, especially if the 
land is rich, should be farther apart than Crosby or 
Cory. b. t. w. 
For a Western New York Market. 
The green corn season with us lasts about 90 days, 
and in order to have “ roasting ears ” from beginning 
to end, and always as good as can be had, we must 
plant, at least, three types of sweet corn—the very 
early, the medium, and the late. We must calculate 
on getting our supply for, at least, 20 days from the 
earliest sorts, of which Cory may be called one of the 
best, if not the very best and most reliable. To give 
us a supply for the next 30 days, we plant a medium 
sort, and I think that the old Moore’s Early (Concord) 
is yet a good and reliable sort, although our seeds¬ 
men offer quite a number of varieties, such as Stabler’s 
Early, X X Sugar, and others. For home use, I pre¬ 
fer the “ Black ” Mexican which, when approaching 
maturity, turns a dark blue or purple color, and for 
that reason, has never become popular. Ears gathered 
in prime condition for use, however, are snowy white, 
and of delicious sweetness and tenderness, surpassing 
all other varieties as far as I know, in these respects. 
After these medium sorts, we usually rely wholly on 
Stowell’s Evergreen for the main sweet corn season 
lasting, say, 50 days. 
Thus we will need 500 ears a day of Cory for 20 
days, or 10,000 ears in all. We plant this in rows three 
feet apart, and calculate to have one plant to four 
or six inches of row. If the land is in good order, 
we can expect to get 10,000 good ears from about one- 
half acre of land. I would plant one-quarter acre 
just as soon as the weather seems favorable in early 
spring, and another quarter acre 10 days or two 
weeks later, as these first early varieties mature 
quickly, and would soon be too old for use. Possibly 
it might be still better to plant only one-eighth acre 
at a time, at intervals of five or six days. 
Of the medium early sorts, we want 500 ears a day 
for a period of 30 days, or 15,000 ears in all. We can 
have the rows for them also three feet apart, although 
we usually make them 3% feet apart. The plants 
may stand eight inches apart in the rows, and on 
good soil, should give us about 15,000 ears per acre. 
To go sure, we might plant a slightly larger area, 
but do the planting also in smaller plots, say one- 
quarter acre every week. Finally, we come to the 
late kind. Of this, we will need 500 ears a day for 50 
days, or 25,000 ears in all. We plant Stowell’s Ever¬ 
green, or any other large, late sort, in 3% or 4-foot 
rows, and aim to have the plants a foot apart in the 
rows. Two to two and a half acres of good corn land 
should furnish us the required number of ears. If we 
have more than are needed for immediate sale, we 
can make good use of the surplus, by saving it for 
seed, or if we think this is too much trouble, for feed¬ 
ing. The proceeds from the four acres of sweet corn— 
provided we have a regular sale of 500 ears a day, 
would be about as follows : 
833 dozen Cory, at 10 cents per dozen. $83 30 
1,250 dozen Moore’s Early Concord, at 8 cents. 100 00 
2,080 dozen Stowell’s Evergreen, at 8 cents. 166 40 
Total..... $249 70 
without counting the value of the stalks which, in 
my own case, is considerable, amounting to more 
than $50. A few years ago, I grew a lot of Mammoth 
sugar corn. This gave me ears of very large size and 
excellent quality, but they were very late, and in my 
own locality, I would risk this variety only on very 
early and warm soil. It might be used to furnish the 
latest supply, say in October. t. greiner. 
The Farmers’ Club. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and address of 
the writer to insure attention. 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.) 
AILING ANIMALS. 
ANSWERS BY DR. F. L . KILBO RNE. 
Pen-Sore Pigs. 
A. T. 6., Otsego County, N. Y .—I have for the last five years 
kept from 50 to 120 pigs. For the past two years, I have been 
greatly troubled by my pigs getting stiff. At first, they appear 
to be shortened in their gait, then get down so that they cannot 
get out of their nest. One pen of seven, have been fed boiled 
sugar beets and wheat middlings, one-half bushel of beets to 
about 30 pounds of middlings a day, with whole corn occasion¬ 
ally. Others have had corn meal and middlings, some have been 
fed on whey, corn and middlings; others on corn meal alone. I 
have tried different breeds—Chester Whites, Cheshires, Victorias, 
Berkshires and Poland-Chinas, but they are all subject to getting 
stiff. Can you give me a preventive or cure ? 
Confinement in small pens and want of exercise is, 
in my opinion, the principal cause of the trouble. 
The diet may, also, have something to do with the 
weakness. Breeding, also, has something to do with 
the susceptibility of the pigs to this weakness. 
Nearly all the improved breeds of swine are bred for 
early maturity and great flesh-producing qualities at 
the expense of the skeleton. They are more delicate 
and require greater care in feeding and management 
to prevent their breaking down under forced feeding 
in confinement. I would suggest that you give the 
pigs more exercise. Arrange to have a yard adjacent 
to the pen in which the pigs can run and root, at 
least during warm, pleasant weather. Then add 
wheat bran or ground oats to their ration during the 
growing period. 
Inflammation of the Skin in Pigs. 
IV. 0. E., Whitby, Ont. —My two pigs were taken sick at the 
same time. One was not very bad. The other was so bad that I 
thought it was going to die, until the veterinarian encouraged 
me by telling me he had seen other pigs the same way and that, 
after lying around for a week or more, they got better. Practi¬ 
cally nothing was done. The worse pig took no food for over a 
week ; sleeping nearly all the time ; not easily aroused; and 
when aroused moving slowly and weakly. The most noticeable 
symptom was a number of purple spots that appeared scattered 
over the surface of the skin when it had been sick a few 
days. These spots, after a time, became black. On the sicker 
pig, some of the spots were larger than a man’s hand. On the 
other one, they were few in number, and not much over an inch 
in diameter. Both pigs got well, and that without being much 
the worse except that the skin of the sicker one where it was 
black is peeling off in large patches. The surface uncovered by 
this peeling is, in places, quite raw and sore. That is where the 
patches were large. In other places it is left smooth and glossy. 
The veterinarian is inclined to the belief that the disease is 
scarlet fever. I am accustomed to deal with patients that will 
answer questions, put out their tongues when they are told ; let 
me examine their throats, etc. Can some one that knows tell me 
the right name to call it ? 
Inflammation of the skin, either diffuse or in spots 
or patches similar to the condition described, occurs 
in hog cholera and swine plague. Whether in these 
cases the inflammation was due to cholera or to a 
form of scarlatina, it would be impossible to say with¬ 
out a more complete history and description or, pos¬ 
sibly, by an autopsy. 
Cow Fails to Get with Calf; Tainted Milk. 
O. .S'., Kilmanagh, Mich. —My cow, eight years old, calved in 
August. About 10 days after calving, she was in heat and was 
served. After three weeks, she was in heat and was served 
again, but was still in heat for eight days. Her milk tastes bit. 
ter; the cream looks more like madder than cream. If the cream 
is put in the churn, it rises and foams, and we can churn day 
after day and get no butter. The cow is in good condition, feeds 
and drinks well. Is there a remedy ? 
I cannot tell from the description whether the 
trouble is due to disease of the cow or to some fault 
in the food or drinking water. Examine the source 
of the food and water supply to make sure that the 
water is pure and the food wholesome. If there is 
any doubt as to the wholesomeness of either, make a 
complete change for two or three weeks. If then the 
trouble continue, it is, probably, due to disease of the 
animal, in which case I can only advise having her 
examined by a veterinarian, if possible, as a personal 
examination would be necessary to locate and prop¬ 
erly treat the disease. 
Treatment for Curb On Horses. 
Several Readers. —How may a curb on a colt be cured ? 
A curb is a swelling or bulging backwards in the 
median line on the posterior part of the hock, just 
behind the lower part of the joint. In the normal 
hock, there should be a slight depression or a straight 
line from the point of the hock downward to the 
fetlock. The curb is due, usually, to a sprain or 
other injury of the tendon which passes down the 
back of the hock. In some cases, it is only the sheath 
of the tendon that is injured, while rarely it may be 
a sprain of the deep ligament of the hock. In the 
early stages, when there is heat and tenderness, 
bathe frequen tly with hot water. Keep the animal 
quiet, and if there is marked lameness, apply a high- 
heeled shoe without toe calks. As soon as the heat 
and tenderness have subsided, usually requiring a 
week or 10 days, blister with biniodide of mercury 
ointment. Repeat if necessary as soon as the effect 
of the first blister has passed off. One or two blister- 
ings will usually remove the swelling. If it does not, 
resort should be had to the firing-iron, in which case 
it would be advisable to employ a competent veterin¬ 
ary surgeon. A curb may or may not cause lameness. 
In the early stages, more or less lameness is usually 
present. “ Cur by hocks” are not uncommon among 
coarse-limbed horses, due to congenital conformation 
and not to injury. In such cases, both hocks are 
usually alike, and while not a disease, are to be re¬ 
garded with suspicion as less able to endure hard 
labor and more liable to give way under a severe 
strain. 
How to Grow a New Hoof; Occult Spavin. 
O.B., Loomis, Mich. —1. What is the best thing to grown, hoof 
on a horse ? 2. What is the best thing to soften a hoof? 3. My 
six-year-old horse appears to stiffen in his hind legs when he 
stands a while. I thought, when I noticed it first, that he had 
stepped on a nail, but it lasts only a step or two. It doesn’t ook 
like a spavin coming on. He is all right every other way, and 
feels well. What is it, and what is best to do ? 
1. About 12 months’ time is the only thing that will 
grow a new hoof. The growth can be favored by 
repeated mild blisters to the coronet. During the 
summer months, the hoof will make the most rapid 
growth if the horse be turned to pasture, preferably 
on a low or rather soft, moist soil. During the win¬ 
ter, a ground floor or box stall is the most favorable 
place. 2. Pine tar and vaseline, equal parts, mixed, 
