189 ? 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
73 
WHAT I SEE AND HEAR. 
I saw some almost pure wliite asparagus tied up 
in bunches about the size of a very small teacup, and 
about four inches long. It was the product of a hot¬ 
house. It was said to be worth about 50 cents a 
bunch wholesale, and in very light demand. Some of 
the asparagus from the hothouses is green, and this 
is preferred by many. 
X X t 
I saw a lot of veterans of the poultry-yard hanging 
in a commission house. That is, I suppose that they 
were veterans. Some were minus their legs, some 
were minus their heads, some were minus both, 
while some were also minus their internal arrange¬ 
ments. Such are not wanted here; send them to 
Boston. We want our poultry minus only the blood 
and feathers. 
X X X 
One dealer tells me that there is almost a scarcity 
of choice hothouse lambs. There are plenty of poor, 
light ones, but good ones should weigh now not less 
than 40 pounds dressed, and even 50 pounds is not a 
bad weight. Some have been received recently weigh¬ 
ing not -more than 20 pounds, and such are of very 
little value. The tendency is to hurry them into 
market in the expectation that prices will drop later. 
But it is a poor policy to send in these light worth¬ 
less ones ; better feed and fatten them awhile longer. 
And don’t forget to take extra care in dressing and 
wrapping for shipment. 
X t X 
* ‘How is the mushroom market, and how are prices?” 
I asked one of the largest receivers. “ Never better, 
and prices never before were so good—for the buyer. 
They are selling for from 10 to 25 cents per pound, 
and it takes something very extra to exceed the lat¬ 
ter price.” Yet we continue to read in some of the 
so-called friends of the farmer, that small fortunes 
are to be made in growing mushrooms ; that women 
and children, old men and invalids can make a good 
income from a small bed in one corner of the cellar 
or in a warm stable. This sort of literature has 
been going the rounds for years, and it is now bear¬ 
ing fruit. The truth is that the business has been 
overdone ; the demand for this sort of stuff is limited, 
and the large number of unskilled growers that have 
undertaken to grow mushrooms have filled the mar¬ 
ket with an inferior grade, and thus helped to knock 
down the price. There was money in the crop for 
skillful growers at former prices, but there is no 
money for anybody at present prices, and must be 
considerable losses for many. 
X X X 
This is the season for capons, and the receipts of 
choice ones are not large, though the supply is 
large, such as they are. The prices are, just now, 
somewhat higher than those of fowls or chicks 
Capons should be dry-picked. Most of those seen in 
market have the wing feathers left on, a ruffle of 
feathers about the necks, and often the tail feathers. 
Like other dressed poultry, for this market, they 
should be undrawn and have heads and feet left on. 
The weights required are heavier than those of 
fowls ; eight pounds is a pretty fair average weight, 
though many want them to weigh 10 pounds, and 
even more. Many of those received do not weigh 
more than six pounds, and some still less ; this is 
altogether too light. Most of these poor ones come 
from the West. It is evident that they are the prod¬ 
uct of inexperience, probably raised by beginners 
who have been drawn into this business by the mis¬ 
leading statements of professional poultry writers, 
or the circulars of the dealers in caponizing instru¬ 
ments. One curious feature of the market was a 
scarcity of, and a demand for, capons just after the 
holidays. Shippers know that this is always a dull 
time, and so ship little then. This year, so little was 
shipped, that the demand for capons exceeded the 
supply. This condition was followed by the opposite, 
though, at no time, has there been an oversupply of 
choice stock. f. h. v. 
AILING ANIMALS. 
ANSWERS BY DR. F. L. KILBORNE. 
Will “ Free-Martins " Breed? 
F. S., Oseola County , Mich .—I have two heifers eight months old, 
both from triplets our cow dropped last May. The other was a 
bull and we made veal of him. Will they breed wheu they get to 
mature years ? 
A heifer calf that is twin with a bull is known as a 
free-martin, and as a general rule, is unproductive. 
The rule does not always hold good, as instances are 
recorded in which free-martins have bred. The 
generative organs in the free-martin are, usually, im¬ 
perfectly or only partially developed. Whether in 
the case of triplets, two of which are heifers, one or 
both will prove to be free-martins, I could not say ; 
I know of no recorded observation on triplets. Inas¬ 
much as the heifers are already past eight months of 
age, it will require but a few months practically to 
answer the question. If the heifers come in heat, 
they should breed ; but if they fail to come in heat 
by the 12th to the 15th month, they are, probably, 
sterile. 
The Prevention of Hog Cholera. 
•J. T. T., Edgewood, Pa. —1. Hog cholera is prevalent in this 
neighborhood. What is the best way to keep it out of my pen ? 
2. Will it do to feed hogs raw potatoes ? 
1. Isolation and cleanliness are the two important 
factors in the prevention of hog cholera. Being a 
contagious disease due to a specific germ or virus, 
the presence of which is necessary to the introduction 
or spread of the disease, an outbreak may be pre¬ 
vented if we can prevent the introduction of the 
germ. Pigs that are kept in pens are more readily 
and certainly protected from the cholera, than those 
allowed to run in a yard or on pasture. The pens 
should be made comfortable and kept clean and dry. 
Filth and moisture favor the multiplication and 
spread of the virus if accidentally introduced. The 
litter or bedding should be all removed, at least, once 
a week, and freshlitter added. Too many pigs should 
not be crowded into one pen. The diet should con¬ 
sist largely of soft, easily digestible food, to keep 
the system healthy and the bowels moving freely. 
Constipation favors the disease and is, therefore, to 
be avoided. Boiled potatoes, ground flax seed or oil 
meal are excellent to keep the bowels open. In the 
absence of these, raw linseed oil may be fed in the 
slop ; or occasional doses of Epsom salts if necessary 
(one ounce of oil or salts to each 75 to 100 pounds of 
pig). Every precaution possible should be taken to 
prevent the virus being introduced from an infected 
herd or premises. The virus can be readily carried 
on the feet or clothing of persons passing from a 
diseased to a healthy herd. No person should, there¬ 
fore, be allowed to visit a healthy herd the same day 
on which he visits infected premises, unless pre¬ 
cautions be taken by disinfection or otherwise, to 
make sure that he carry no virus. How often farmers 
will visit a neighbor’s diseased herd, and then go im¬ 
mediately home and examine their own herds to see 
whether they are all right. The disease is very often 
spread in this way. You should also guard against 
other animals, implements or materials of any kind 
passing from a diseased to a healthy herd. Care 
should be taken in the drinking water, especially in 
the case of streams, that the water is not contaminated 
by disease along the stream above you. The virus is 
not carried any distance on the air except it be on 
solid particles by the wind. For treatment of the 
cholera, see page 41 of The B,. N.-Y. for January 10. 
2. Raw potatoes may be safely fed in moderate quan¬ 
tity ; they are preferably boiled, mashed, and mixed 
with the grain ration. 
A Horse Eats His Manger. 
F. S. JB,, Toms River, N. J. —Wbat can I do with a 10-year-old 
trotter which, in the last month, has literally torn down his stable, 
eating through four 2x4 timbers, and two one-inch boards? He 
never did this before, and otherwise is apparently in excellent 
health. I feed eight quarts, equal parts, ground oats and cracked 
corn, and three feeds of good, clean hay. He keeps poor and will 
not fatten. Light driving is all his work. 
The destructive propensities of your horse are, 
probably, due to habit contracted in idleness, 
although it may be due to indigestion. Try smear¬ 
ing the woodwork within reach with an application 
of pine tar and aloes (tar four ounces, aloes one 
ounce). This is very bitter and distasteful to the 
horse, and will often break off the habit. Covering 
the manger with tin or sheet iron is, also, effectual 
in some cases. If other means fail, remove the 
manger entirely and board up the front and sides of 
the stall so that there will be no exposed woodwork 
upon which the horse can bite. Then tie to a ring or 
staple driven well up where there will be no danger 
of the horse getting his foot over the tie. Feed from 
the floor and continue until satisfied that the habit is 
forgotten. A box-stall in which the sides are close 
boarded as high as the horse can reach, will be even 
better, the feeding to be from the floor as in the pre¬ 
pared stall. To improve his general condition, give 
two large tablespoonfuls of the following powder in 
his feed night and morning : Sulphate of soda, one 
pound ; powdered gentian, eight ounces ; nitrate of 
potash and powdered nux vomica, of each four 
ounces ; pulverize and mix. One-fourth to one-half 
pint of linseed or oil meal in the feed twice daily will 
also prove beneficial. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Thk New York Daily Journal has changed its subscription price 
from $3 to $0 a year, and we can no longer club it with The R. 
N.-Y. at the old price. The clubbing price now is $6. The club¬ 
bing price for the Daily Press is $3.50. 
A Putnam County, O., farmer sent to the Carter Wire Fence 
Machine Co., Mount Sterling, O., for a machine. With this he 
made a fence which cost him, in addition to his own labor, only 
about 20 cents per rod, yet which is proof against any kind of 
stock. Write them for their catalogue. It is free. 
We are receiving a great many letters asking us about the re¬ 
sponsibility of news clipping companies and other concerns 
which are now advertising in many papers for lists of names, 
etc. You will notice that all tliesd concerns want postage stamps 
or remittances of some kind for outfits, etc. This is their profit, 
and what is their profit is your loss. Save your money. 
The Ohio Cultivator Co., of Bellevue, O., are specialists in the 
construction of cultivators,.steel-lever harrows, steel-filled rollers, 
and cotton planters. They make a leader of the now famous 
Ohio sulky cultivator. This is one of the strong and reliable 
houses engaged in the manufacture of farm implements, and 
their catalogue will be the source of useful information, even to 
those who may not, just now, need any goods in their line. The 
catalogue will be sent on application. 
Few men are able to sow all kinds of seed just right. They 
will get on a little too much or too little, and it is difficult to get 
it on evenly all over the field, anyway. Inexperienced sowers 
rarely make a success of it the first time. We have, in fact, seen 
great loss result from uneven sowing of grain. This trouble is 
avoided in drilling, and also, by some hand machines that are 
now prepared for the purpose. The Cahoon’s seed sower, made 
by Goodsell Co., Antrim, N. H., seems to fill the requirements of 
a hand sower. The manufacturers will send full description and 
details on application. 
ACME 
Illustrated 
pamphlet 
mailed 
free. 
AGKJiTS 
wante: 
PULVERIZING HARROW, CLOD CRUSHER AND LEVELER. 
Beans! Beans! Beans! 
Adapted to all soils, all work. Crushes, cuts, 
lifts, pulverizes, turns, levels tlie soil in one oper¬ 
ation. Made entirely of cast steel and wrought iron 
—practically indestructible. 
Cheapest riding harrow on earth. $8.00 and up. 
SENT (IN TRTfiT, T° be returned at my expense DUANE H. NASH, Sole M’f’r, 
OEiiU IlUflL if not satisfactory. Millington, New Jersey, and 
N. B.—I deliver free on board at distributing pointB. 30 So. Canal St., Chicago. 
PLEASE MENTION THIS PAPER. 
The First and Only 
PRACTICAL 
BEAN PICKER 
For Farm and Ware¬ 
house Use. 
Machines sen t on approva 
Send for Circular. 
BACON M’F’G CO., 
II Lawrence St., 
Pontiac, Mich. 
Think 
one 
Mote 
what a difference it would make if you did'two davs’ work Ir 
or if your man was to do two men’s work. That’s just wha 
will result if you use the “PLANET JR.” Seed Drills 
Six styles in all; three built on a new principle. Thej 
all open the furrow, sow, cover, roll down andmark the 
next row, all in one operation. There’s a score mon 
“Planet .Tr.” Farm and Garden Tools and a Book 
that describes them all. It’s free—write for It. 
'S. L. ALLEN <fc CO., 1107 Market St., Philadelphia 
Harrow 
Has no castings to break. Has no wood 
to rot. Harrows deep or shallow. An 
unequalled weed destroyer. Smooths 
the top and breaks the crust. Strongest 
and simplest ever known. Pays for it 
self the first season. Will last a life¬ 
time. Write for proof of these claims. 
RODERICK LEAN IVTF’G CO., 
«A Park Street, MANSFIELD, OHIO. 
THE SCIENTIFIC 
BEAN PICKER. 
Guaranteed to give 
satisfaction. Adapted 
to farmers' use. A 
machine and operator 
will pick more than 
four persons by hand. 
Send for circulars and 
prices. 
MILLER BROS., 
Rochester, Mich. 
