1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
421 
of his field from my fire-dried stock last season, cor¬ 
roborates my experience and adds that it kept two 
weeks ahead the whole time. clement freeman. 
□ Illinois. 
To Kill Out Wild Onions. 
B. }V. B., Brazil, Ind.—l have a meadow badly infested with 
wild onions; how can I get rid of them ? I have tried burning 
brush over them and digging them out, but they only increase 
the faster. Would a heavy application of lime, crude oil or salt 
kill them ? 
Ans —Wild onions are among the most serious pests, 
and once they get a foothold in a field, it is almost im¬ 
possible to get rid of them. The land on which the 
onions grow should not be used as a meadow or past¬ 
ure, for if the cows eat the onions, it will cause the 
milk to taste. It is very doubtful whether applica¬ 
tions of salt or lime will do any good. The best way 
to deal with the land is to raise some crop which can 
be given clean culture. Corn should do well and is 
the best crop that can be substituted for the meadow. 
Give the corn most thorough tillage, and the onions 
may be kept in check. Usually, the presence of wild 
onions indicates that the soil is in need of drainage. 
Should this be the case, a system of drainage, either 
complete or partial, should be put in. The wet spots, 
at least, should be drained. If Crimson clover does 
well in your section, it should be sown in the corn at 
the last cultivation, and be allowed to cover the 
ground during the fall and winter, and be plowed 
under in the spring. If Crimson clover does not grow 
there, use rye instead. If the land be treated m this 
way, from two to three good crops of corn should be 
raised in succession. Clean tillage must be given for 
a few years and the onions given no opportunity to 
breathe. L. A. c. 
Why Do We Use Lime ? 
N. A. M., Fawn O-rove, Pa.—I would like to know what difference 
there would be in the analysis of soil that had not been limed 
for a number of years, before liming, and after it had been limed. 
In other words, will a dressing of lime show any difference in the 
analysis of the soil ? If not, what do we put it on for ? 
Ans —This is a good question—oae that often arises. 
An even cubic foot of average soil was weighed and 
analyzed at Cornell University. It was found that 
the soil in one acre just one foot deep weighed 2082% 
tons. Suppose we put a ton of lime evenly over the 
surface of an acre and work it thoroughly into the 
soil. It forms such a small part of the whole weight 
that chemical analysis could hardly detect the differ¬ 
ence. It would be like dropping a teaspoonful of 
cream into a gallon of milk and then expecting the 
Babcock test to register the difference. If, however, 
the chemist found the amount of acid in the soil 
before liming and then afterward he would certainly 
find a difference. We do not add lime to soil in order 
to increase the amount that is available for plant 
food, but in order to sweeten the soil and correct the 
acid condition. A man may have a sick headache 
caused by a “sour stomach.” He takes a dose of 
soda and feels better—not because the soda acted as 
food, but because it helped put the stomach into con¬ 
dition so that it could digest real food. It is much 
the same way with the soil. When it becomes sour 
and acid the little bacteria which act on the roots of 
plants cannot do their work properly, and no matter 
how much manure or fertilizer you may put on the 
ground, those plants will not thrive until you do 
something to “ sweeten ” or change that acid. You 
would not give corned beef hash or baked beans to a 
man with a sick headache ! A pill or a dose of soda 
would make things right by neutralizing the acids of 
the “ sour stomach.” We use lime, therefore, not to 
add to the soil but to improve its condition. The 
lime will break up heavy clays and make them less 
compact, while it will often bind coarse, open soils 
closer and make them hold water better. All of these 
things are discussed in The Fertility of the Land, by 
Prof. I. P. Roberts—a book that every thinking 
farmer ought to read. 
Cold Storage Rooms in the Barn. 
G. S. S., Middleburgh, Pa. —I am very much interested in grow¬ 
ing apples. Is ice used in the house described on page 323 ? I 
have a big barn, and do not need all the room. Could I construct 
a room in the basement at one end, and should I use ice or not ? 
I have a shed used for wagons at one end, 18x45 and 10 feet 
high. The barn is a bank barn, and apples keep very well, but 
in winter, they would freeze. How to keep apples into the late 
spring or summer is the question for the grower. 
ANSWERED BY F. A. WAUGH. 
G. S. S. could easily make an apple storage room in 
the barn space which he mentions. If the barn is a 
good tight one, all that is necessary is to do off the 
space by sheathing up with heavy, well-matched 
seven-eighths-inch lumber. The doors and windows 
should be made very tight, yet hung so as to move 
easily in order that ventilation may be secured at 
frequent intervals. It will be well worth while, 
also, to paint the inside of the room heavily. If this 
be not done, the boards will absorb the water given 
off by the sweating of the apples, and will swell and 
shrink so as to leave disagreeably large cracks after 
a little while. If this room be kept clean and venti¬ 
lation attended to, it would, probably, be quite as 
efficient as any apple-storage room. Mr. Kinney does 
not use any ice or artificial refrigeration in the house 
described on page 323. I know of a number of other 
houses in the country which are operated on exactly 
the same plan, notably those of the Olden Fruit Com¬ 
pany, in the Ozark region of Missouri. 
The way the work is done with houses of this sort 
is about as follows : The apples are packed into bar¬ 
rels and hauled immediately to the house for storage. 
During the early fall, the doors are kept open even¬ 
ings and nights in order to reduce the temperature. 
During the daytime, windows and doors are tightly 
closed in order to prevent warm air entering from the 
outside. By keeping up this process steadily for some 
weeks, the temperature of the room is gradually re¬ 
duced to the desired point During this time, the 
apples also gradually give up a large amount of heat, 
which is taken out by the ventilation. After the tem¬ 
perature is reduced to about 33 degrees, it may be 
held at that point by practicing the same method 
already deseribed. When one sees by reference to 
the thermometer that the temperature is going up 
toward 40, the ventilators may be opened and the 
temperature reduced during the night. Or, if the 
temperature get too low, some sunlight may be let in 
at the middle of the day, and the thermometer will 
show a rapid rise. 
Some apple growers in this section devised tem¬ 
porary storage houses last year by methods somewhat 
similar to that proposed by G S. S. One man con¬ 
verted his packing shed into a storage room by sheath¬ 
ing it inside. Another grower cleaned up and sheathed 
an old stone woodshed and made it answer. These 
makeshifts do not keep apples, however, as well as 
a better made room. Some cellars will keep apples 
well if rightly managed. The man who secured really 
highest prices in this country for his 1896 crop, held 
them in a large, well-ventilated cellar which he has 
It will not do, however, to keep apples in a cellar with 
potatoes, cabbages, vinegar, smoked hams, dressed 
poultry and other family supplies. Some of the 
goods are bound to suffer, and probably the apples 
will deteriorate with the rest. The specially built 
storage house is the best, although it is very easy 
to remodel any well-constructed building into a fruit 
house if occasion demand. In such a room, with 
proper attention, well-grown apples may be kept in 
good condition late into the season, and the business, 
one time with another, will be found to pay well for 
the investment. 
Vermont Experiment Station. 
Food and Quality of Milk. 
8. 8. G., Waujiaca, Wis .—Can the quality of milk be improved 
by the feed ? It is stated by a farmer near us that butter fat in 
the milk will be the same in a given amount of milk from the 
same cow, no matter of what the feed consists. 
Ans. —As a result of a good many experiments with 
changing food and analyzing the milk produced from 
it, scientific men seem to agree that the quality of the 
milk is not changed by the food to any great extent. 
Each cow seems to have the ability to secrete milk of 
a fixed quality, varying somewhat as to her condition 
and health. A change in food may change the char¬ 
acter of the butter fats somewhat, but not their pro¬ 
portion in the milk. Some foods may produce a 
thicker cream or have an effect upon the “churn- 
ability” of the cream, and this sometimes leads farm¬ 
ers to think that the milk is richer. 
Charcoal for a Refrigerator; Cob Meal for Horses. 
A. G. D., Somerset, Pa .—Which is best to pack a refrigerator 
with, charcoal dust or sawdust ? Of corn ground with the cob 
for horse feed, mixed with oats and bran, what should be the 
proportions, for young and old horses ? 
Ans —Tne makers of refrigerators pack the lining 
between the walls of mineral wool or asbestos fiber, 
on account of the very excellent non conducting 
property of these substances. This is due to the in¬ 
numerable minute air spaces between the fibers, and 
it is this separation of the materiaL into these spaces, 
each of which offers obstruction to the passage of 
heat through the mass, which renders the material 
so effective. As well as this, these substances are 
practically indestructible, not decomposing in the 
least in many years, thus providing an antiseptic 
medium as well as a non-conducting one. Of the two 
substances suggested by A. D., the finely powdered 
charcoal is better on this account, for it is one of the 
most useful antiseptics known, absorbing and neutral¬ 
izing noxious gases to a large extent. It is needful 
in closing in the lining of a refrigerator totally to 
exclude air and, of course, with it dampness Either 
of these would spoil the useful effect of the non con¬ 
ductor used. If the sawdust is kiln-dried and then 
perfectly sealed in the lining, it will be quite as good 
as the charcoal, but otherwise the latter is preferable. 
Corn, oats and bran will make an unexcelled grain 
food for horses young or old. To get the proper 
proportion to make a balanced ration, take oats and 
braa in about equal quantities and one-third as much 
corn as of both tne others. If corn ears are ever used, 
ground, as horse feed, they should be broken in a 
cob cracker first, and then ground as finely as possible 
in a very sharp burrstone or chilled steel mill. If at 
all coarse, they are likely to produce scouring by their 
mechanical effect on the bowels. H. s. 
Wood-Shewing Cows ; Old of the Moon. 
F. J. E., Orleans, JV'. Tc .—1. I have a young cow that is a wood- 
eater. Also one that chews bone. What is the preventive ? 2. 
What is your idea of planting potatoes in the old of the moon in 
June? I have tried it several times, and had good success and 
few bugs, and expect to do the same this year. 
Ans. —1. Cows that chew wood and bones or eat ma¬ 
nure or other filth are, usually, constipated and in 
need of phosphates. Feed bran, oil meal or oat meal. 
Many dairymen give a handful of fine bone meal per 
day to each cow, with excellent results. Food rich in 
phosphates or bone-forming food will, usually, re¬ 
move this bad habit. 2. We do not believe that the 
moon has any perceptible influence upon vegetation. 
We would plant potatoes when the conditions of soil 
and moisture were right, without regard to the state 
of the moon. 
Rye Fodder for Hay. 
R. P. B., Addison, N. Y .—Will it pay to make hay of rye? If 
so, when and how ? 
Ans. —Rye hay is harder and harsher than that 
made from any of the other grains. Cattle will leave it 
for almost any other coarse fodder. If used at all for 
hay, it should be cut before the heads form. If you 
can chop such hay and mix it witn ensilage, it will be 
eaten pretty well. For feeding alone, it is not very 
satisfactory. It should be cut and cured about like 
Timothy. 
Colt with Swelling on Knee. 
Wellington, B. G., Ganada .—I have a young mare which has 
singing noise in ner ears; wnat is tne cause ? A two-year-old 
colt nas a swelling on the knee; it was soft and fluctuating. I 
blistered it, and it is now a hard lump. It does not cause lame¬ 
ness, but swells if she strikes it. 
Ans.—A personal examination would be necessary 
in either case before a satisfactory answer could be 
given. I can only advise catling a competent veteri¬ 
nary surgeon to examine and treat the cases. F. L. K. 
Warty Growth on Cow's Foot. 
E. N. U., Bradford, Pa.— One of my cows has a warty growth 
just at the base of tne heel on her hind foot where the hoof 
divides; it is in a place that is liable to be hurt, and makes her 
lame, especially when she first starta out in tne morning. It is 
increasing in size slowly. It is nearly a year since it was first 
noticed. I have put on crude oil, also vaseline, but with no per¬ 
ceptible improvement. 
Ans —The growth can, probably, best be removed 
with the knife. Inasmuch as it lies so closely to im¬ 
portant structures that are liable to be injured, it 
would be safest to employ a regular veterinary sur¬ 
geon to do it for you. f. l. k. 
Unthrifty Pigs. 
D. L. G., Ingham Gounty, Mich .—What ails our pigs? They are 
three and four mouths old, and up to two weeks ago, were doing 
nicely; at that time, we turned them into the orchard, which had 
been sown early to oats and rye on purpose for them. In the 
lower part of the lot there is water, as it is near the river, so that 
they always have drink and a place to wallow. Their feed is 
cooked beans and potatoes with corn and oat meal mixed with it, 
and they have done well on it up to now. Now they are scabby, 
the skin cracks open, and some of them act as though they could 
hardly walk. Tney act as though their backs were weak, and 
stagger as they go as though there was a heavy weight on their 
back. What shall we do for them ? 
Ans. —Give each pig once daily in the feed 10 drops 
Donovan’s solution (one teaspoonful to six pigs), 
which can be obtained of any druggist. Replace the 
beans and corn by wheat bran and middlings, f. l. k. 
Rye for Horses ; Thoroughpin, Galls and Scratches. 
O. G. B., Fair land, N. Y .—1. Has rye any effect on the kidneys 
of horses when fed 12 quarts per day ? 2. Is there any practical 
remedy for a thoroughpin, of two years’ standing, on a horse? 
3. Give a remedy for galls, scratches, mud fever. 
Ans —The rye, if free from must or mold, will 
have no injurious effect upon the kidneys of the 
horse. But instead of feeding exclusively on the 
rye, I should prefer to grind the rye and add one- 
third or one-half wheat bran or ground oats. Rye, 
like wheat, is too heavy to be safely fed alone. 2. 
The thoroughpin can be removed by blistering and 
rest; but it will be very liable to return if the horse 
be again put to hard work. If there is no lameness 
and the swelling not very prominent, I would not 
advise treatment. 3 If the skin is unbroken or the 
sore small, bathe with a solution of tannin in alcohol 
—tannin one ounce, alcohol one pint. For large sores, 
if dry, apply benzoated ox.de of zinc ointment, or if 
moist, dust with the finely powdered oxide of zinc. 
Cut out the collar or pad so as to remove the pressure 
until healed. See page 252 of The R N.-Y for April 
10, for scratches in horses. The same general care 
and treatment as there advised for scratches will 
apply equally well to mud fever. In addition, if there 
is much swelling and tenderness of the heels, bathe 
with a solution of four drams of acetate of lead in 
one quart of soft water. Or if the skin is extensively 
broken apply a lotion of sulphate of zinc six drams, 
with three drams each of caroolic acid and glycerine 
in one quart of water. f. l. k. 
