1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
115 
I cannot have it stopped, although I have tried heavy shoes on 
him, and light shoes, also; he throws the heavy ones off, and 
whenever he overreaches, he knocks the light front shoes off. 
Could you describe a set of shoes that would stop this over-reach¬ 
ing or, perhaps, some good boot that is made for the purpose? 
Also a remedy that is good for toughening and healing the 
hoofs ? 
This case is too complicated to be satisfactorily 
treated by correspondence. If possible, the horse 
should be taken to a competent veterinary surgeon, 
who can personally treat the cracked hoof and direct 
the shoeing. A mild blister applied to the coronet, 
and repeated at intervals of a month or longer, fol¬ 
lowed by occasional applications of hot tar, will in¬ 
crease the growth and toughness of the hoof. 
Food and Care for Winter Lambs. 
A. It. Ii., Drewry's Bluff , Va .—What is a good plan for sheep 
pens for feeding sheep on a large scale with or without feed 
stored in the same buildings? We are feeding 1,100 sheep 25 
bushels of corn daily, one feed of cow-pea and Soja-bean hay, 
with the grain partially matured, aud one feed of mixed-grass 
hay. Can we improve on this feed ? Would bran or linseed meal 
pay for using in connection with this ration? What is the best 
feed for sheep that have lambs in January, and for the lambs 
that they may be ready for the early New York market ? 
ANSWERED BY J. S. WOODWARD. 
I take it for granted that the sheep being fed are 
full-grown, being fed simply for fattening. This 
being so, I would advise putting them in pens not 
more than 10 feet wide, with a rack for feeding con¬ 
stituting one side, and the sheep may be put, not 
more than 25 in each pen, and the pens just long 
enough so as to afford feeding room for the sheep at 
the racks. Of course the length will depend upon 
the kind of sheep, and if the room is not less than 
eight feet high, and well ventilated, it would afford 
plenty of air space and good air for them. The pens 
must be kept dry and well littered so as not to get 
filthy, and a bountiful supply of clean, fresh water 
must be provided, and the troughs must be cleaned 
out at least once a day. No animal wants water 
oftener than, or is half so particular to have it per¬ 
fectly clean as, a fattening sheep. 
I have had no experience in feeding cow peas or 
Soja beans, but from what I read of them, I take it 
that they are both rather constipating, which cer¬ 
tainly the corn is, and I would add the equivalent of 
five bushels of corn in wheat bran in place of five 
bushels of the corn, using 20 bushels corn, and wheat 
bran of the value of the other five bushels. At the 
present price of bran, the manure would pay for it, 
and besides, it would lighten up the corn. But if A. 
R. B. had built a silo and put enough of the corn with 
the stalks into it, so that he could now be feeding 
about four pounds of this to every 100 pounds live 
weight of sheep, he would see a wonderful difference 
in the gain, and there would be no danger of sheep 
getting the stretches, which there is now if he feeds 
much over 90 days. I would not think of trying to 
make the most money in feeding sheep without 
ensilage, any more than cattle, and if A. R. B. will 
try the ensilage over winter, I am sure that he will 
never go back to the old way of dry feed. 
“ What is the best feed for sheep that have lambs 
in January, and for the lambs ?” This is a different 
question entirely, and one that opens up the question 
of winter lamb raising. We are not now feeding for 
fat, but to give the greatest vigor and have the ewes 
produce the largest lambs, most milk, and put the 
lambs quickest into market and in prime order. First, 
then, we must feed for health and to have the ewe 
bring forth a strong lamb, and when the lamb is 
born, she must have plenty of milk for it. All these 
require the ewe to have a succulent, laxative food 
with plenty of bone material. We used to hear that 
they must not be grained until the lamb was born, 
but that fallacy was long since exploded. It is now 
our custom to begin graining ewes as soon as they 
are put into winter quarters, but we give no corn 
until after lambing. The best of all grain for preg¬ 
nant ewes is wheat bran, and they will not eat enough 
to do them any harm if given all they will eat. They 
should, also, have plenty of succulent food, as this 
will keep the bowels loose, and provide for an abund¬ 
ant flow of milk. Ensilage is excellent, so are almost 
any kind of roots ; but if we could have our choice, 
we would prefer both ensilage and roots, and if ewes 
are kept warmly housed, we should not be afraid of 
their eating too much. Of course, clover hay is the 
ideal forage for breeding ewes or those raising winter 
lambs, but cow peas and Soja beans must be good, as 
both are very nitrogenous. 
After the lambs are born, the ewes may have a little 
corn mixed with the grain ration, but not too much 
unless it be intended to fatten them. The lambs may 
be fed a mixture of linseed meal, bran and cracked 
corn, and as they get older, the proportion of corn 
may be increased. Ours will always eat new-process 
linseed meal the first of anything, and then we mix 
bran with it about half and half, and soon put in a 
little corn broken each kernel into two or four pieces. 
They should have “creeps” or pens where they can 
go apart from the ewes, to eat as often as and when 
they like. They should also have roots of some kind. 
Mangels are good, so they can eat as often and much 
as they please. After the first lot have been shipped, 
it will crowd the next lot rapidly forward if they are 
taught to follow the shepherd and suck the ewes from 
which the lambs have been taken, whenever he 
catches them. This can be easily done, and by simply 
taking hold of the top-knot of the ewe and pinching 
it so that she will think of nothing else, a lamb will 
rush for each side and quickly take all the milk. 
When they do this, they will grow very rapidly. But 
the raising of winter lambs is a scientific operation, 
and can’t be taught in so short an article. 
Clover and Permanent Pasture in Maryland. 
F. B. It., Cumberland, Md. —1. I wish to sow some land that I 
had plowed last fall, to clover in early spring'. Would you advise 
sowing the clover seed alone, or with oats, or some each way ? 
My object is to get a heavy growth to plow under. Part of the 
land is light slate land and some heavy with clay subsoil. 2. 
Would you advise sowing seed in spring for permanent pasture ? 
If so, what are the best varieties aud the quantity required per 
acre ? 
Ans.— 1. As it is clover you are after, sow clover 
seed by itself. The so-called nurse or shade crops 
are not only of no use, but a positive injury, especially 
in a dry season. On our soils—which run from light 
sandy loams to stiff clay loams, with clay subsoil 
under all—I have found that comparatively late spring 
seeding of clover has given the best stands. I begin 
early to cultivate the land, and keep it up until, say, 
May 15, in order to have a fine, moist seed bed, and 
also, to allow weed seeds to germinate and be killed. 
Some weeds do grow after seeding, but I discourage 
them by mowing several times during the season, 
always raising the cutting bar high enough not to 
injure the clover. F. B. R. undoubtedly intends to use 
Red clover, and for a fertilizer here, it is thought to 
take two seasons’ growth to obtain the best results 
from Red clover. Now, if he wishes to grow a fer¬ 
tilizer crop to make a growth fit to turn down this 
PORTABLE FENCE OF WOVEN WIRE. Fig. 58. 
season for a wheat crop this fall, I think that he 
would better use Black cow peas, seeded with a wheat 
drill with every other tooth taken up, so that the 
drills will be 16 inches apart. Use one bushel of seed 
per acre, after fitting the soil as for clover seed, and 
after settled warm weather has come. Turn under 
when the seed pods are all well started, but no seed 
matured. Good land will give a heavy cow-pea crop 
without any fertilizers. It the land is poor, use a 
mixture of 200 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock or 
basic slag and 50 pounds of muriate of potash or its 
equivalent per acre, drilled in with the seed. If he 
wish to grow a crop to enrich the soil for a crop in 
1898, still use Black cow peas ; turn under in early 
August, roll the ground and fit it for Crimson clover, 
seeding by September 1 . Again use the above dress¬ 
ing of phosphoric acid and potash if he wish the best 
results. If the Crimson clover stands well and makes 
a good fall growth, the soil is richer, deeper, and full 
of humus. Turn the clover under early enough to 
insure that it does not rob the soil of moisture. Cul¬ 
tivate for a good seed bed, then plant, and expect, 
with proper treatment of the growing crop, large 
returns. In Delaware, such a course of treatment 
will raise the yield of corn from 10 bushels per acre to 
00 bushels or over per acre in the time I have named. 
2. Yes, seed in the spring, make a fine seed bed 
by treating the soil as for Red clover seeding as 
described. Give also the same mowing treatment 
during the first season. Leave the cuttings where 
they fall unless they are so heavy as to smother the 
tender plants. I would recommend the use of a com¬ 
plete fertilizer as a top-dressing worked in as the 
seed is covered. Here I have had good success with 
one bushel of Orchard grass, two quarts of Timothy, 
two quarts of Red clover, two quarts of Crimson 
clover, one pint of White clover, per acre. If the soil 
suited, I would use, say, one-half bushel of Orchard 
grass, one-quarter bushel of Red-top, one-quarter 
bushel of Blue grass, four quarts of Timothy, two 
quarts of Red clover, two quarts of Crimson clover, 
one pint of White clover. The Crimson clover will 
grow and furnish fertility to the soil the first year. 
The other clovers will continue to feed the soil and 
ought to be removed as they die out. As a rule, any 
good grass which does well in a section of the country 
ought to be added to a mixture for permanent pasture. 
Delaware. s. h. derby. 
Sulphate of Iron for Spraying. 
\V. II. L., \Vinternet, Iowa. —Would not a weak solution of sul¬ 
phate of iron be beneficial as a spraying liquid ? 
ANSWERED BY M. V. SLINGERLAND. 
In regard to the use of iron sulphate or copperas 
for spraying, I quote from Mr. E G. Lodeman, an 
authority on the subject. “Copperas is a green, 
crystalline substance, and when finely broken up, it 
bears a certain resemblance to granulated copper sul¬ 
phate or blue vitriol; and as it is much cheaper than 
the latter, it has been used as a means of adulterat¬ 
ing the copper salt. Iron sulphate dissolves readily 
in water. The ferrocyanide of potassium may be 
used as a means of detecting the presence of this 
compound. This test gives a reddish-brown precipi¬ 
tate with a concentrated solution of copper sulphate, 
but with a dilute solution, it merely gives the same 
color to the liquid, without the formation of a pre¬ 
cipitate. With the sulphate of iron, the test forms a 
deep blue precipitate, very easily distinguished. If 
there is any question as to the purity of copper sul¬ 
phate, this test may be easily used and the adultera¬ 
tion detected, provided the sulphate of iron has been 
used as an adulterant. Iron sulphate is of no prac¬ 
tical value as an insecticide, and its use as a fungicide 
is very limited. Iron is not nearly so efficient in this 
respect as copper is, so the latter is almost invariably 
preferred, except when the plants to be treated are 
dormant. The iron salt may then be used as follows : 
Iron sulphate, four to eight pounds ; water, one gal¬ 
lon. All parts should be thoroughly treated with 
this solution; but the value of the operation has, in 
most cases, still to be determined. 
“ Against anthracnose of the grape, the following 
application has shown itself to be of great value, and 
it is regularly used by European vineyardists : Hot 
water, 100 parts ; iron sulphate, as much as die water 
will dissolve ; sulphuric acid, one part. Great care 
should be exercised in using this preparation, as it 
is exceedingly caustic and will injure machinery, 
clothes, and nearly everything with which it comes 
in contact. It is generally applied with a swab made 
by tying rags about the end of a stick. Dormant 
vines are uninjured by the treatment.” 
Thus the results thus far obtained with iron sul¬ 
phate, would scarcely seem to justify further experi¬ 
ments with it; for it is hardly possible that it can 
ever rival in effectiveness the copper sulphate. 
Some Facts About the Codling Moth. 
II. yV., Clinton, III. —The Codling moth is a very bad pest here. 
1. If the apples are sprayed in May, does the poison stay in the 
blossom end of the apple all summer to kill the later broods ? 2. 
Suppose that I spray my orchard, but my near neighbor does 
not, will that make my apples more wormy ? 3. Does the Codling 
moth breed in the Red haw, wild crab, or other wild fruits ? I 
watched the moths closely the past season, and found plenty of 
hatching worms and moths from July on, till the winter apples 
were gathered. There were no distinct broods, as they overlapped 
each other. 
Ans.—1. Yes, I think that some of the poison would 
remain in the calyx cup or blossom end of the apple 
all summer, if the trees were thoroughly and liber¬ 
ally sprayed with Paris-green in May. But our 
observations during the summer and fall of 1896 
indicate that more of the caterpillars of the later 
broods enter the apples from the sides, especially 
where a leaf touches the fruit, than at the blossom 
end. I doubt whether any of the caterpillars of the 
second and later broods can be reached with a Paris- 
green spray unless some of the poison, applied just 
after the petals fall for the first brood, remains in 
the calyx cup all summer. A careful chemical analysis 
of many calyx cups cut from ripe apples that were 
thoroughly sprayed only in May would give us some 
definite data on this question. 2 . No. If you do not 
spray at all, however, some of the moths might 
migrate from the neighbor’s orchard into yours. 
Doubtless the moths do fly from one orchard to 
another to some extent, but we have no definite data 
on this point. Of course, a neighboring orchard 
infested by any kind of injurious insect or fungus 
disease and which is never sprayed, is always a 
menace to other orchards nearby. But this fact 
should not convince a man that there is no use for 
him to spray his orchard. There is a great deal of 
testimony to show that remarkable results may come 
from spraying where only a fence separates the 
sprayed and the neglected orchard. Spray whether 
your neighbor does or not. If you do it thoroughly 
and intelligently, your results will be such an object 
lesson, that only the most shiftless of your neighbors 
can help “doing likewise.” 3. Yes, the Codling moth 
breeds very freely in the haws and wild crab apples ; 
I do not know that it breeds in any other wild fruits. 
The fact that the insect breeds in these wild fruits is 
one of the main reasons why it is not exterminated 
in an orchard that is sprayed thoroughly year after 
year. It is true that the caterpillars of all sizes may 
be found in the apples from June on all through the 
summer and even up to the time the fruit is gathered. 
And the broods thus do overlap. Doubtless only two- 
