232 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
APRIL 12 
two pounds of phosphoric acid, worth 14 
cents, and Impound of potash, worth seven 
cents, deducted from 85 cents leave 63 cents 
as the cost of 2% pounds of nitrogen, or 25 
cents per pound. In cotton-seed meal if 
we deduct from $1.20 the value of its phos¬ 
phoric acid—21 cents—and of its potash, 11 
cents, 88 cents are left for the nitrogen: 
the latter therefore costs 12% cents per 
pound. In the complete manure if the phos¬ 
phoric acid and potash are valued at the 
same rates, the former is worth 61 cents, the 
latter 36 cents, leaving $1.23 as the cost of 5% 
pounds of nitrogen, or 17% cents per pound. 
It is seen, then, that asjconcerns nitrogen, the 
most costly fertilizing ingredient, cotton¬ 
seed meal of good quality, is the cheapest 
source by far and if its phosphoric acid and 
potash are supplemented, the former by dis¬ 
solved bone black or the like, the latter by 
kainit or muriate of potash, it is evidently 
the cheapest of the fertilizers, the first cost 
only considered. Whether the cotton-seed 
meal alone or thus supplemented, is the bet¬ 
ter is another question. Mr. Mapes in his 
Complete Manure, which I have instanced 
because it costs $44, furnishes nitrogen in 
three different states, viz., the nitric, the 
ammonic and the organic, with the idea 
that this variety will be more certain to do 
the business than one single form, but the 
nitrogen of cotton-seed meal in the moist, 
warm soil gradually ceases to be organic 
and becomes ammonic and nitric and ap¬ 
pears to do all that nitrogen can do. So too 
there is little doubt that the phosphoric 
acid and potash of cotton-seed are readily 
and fully available. Would not the Ru- 
RAL’s correspondent do himself and its 
readers a service by comparing together on 
adjoining plots of land the effects of the $44 
high-grade fertilizer he has in mind on the 
one hand, and on the other of the same cash 
value of cotton-seed meal, dissolved bone 
black and muriate of potash ? 
MEANING OF TERMS IN ANALYSES OF FOOD. 
H. S. B., Ocoee, Fla. —1. What is meant 
by the terms "protein,” “fat,” “nitrogen- 
free extract,” “ash,” albuminoids, etc,, 
used in the determination of the value of 
feed-stuffs for horses and mules? 2. What 
is a model analysis of hay with which one 
can compare analyses of the grasses? 
Ans.— 1. On the basis of our present form 
of chemical analysis, animal foods are di¬ 
vided into albuminoids, carbohydrates or 
nitrogen-free extracts, fiber, ash and fat. 
The albuminoids are represented in animal 
food by such substances as curd of milk, 
white of an egg, or lean meat. When they 
are spoken of, it is understood that the 
part of the food is meant which goes to 
build up the muscles and various working 
tissues and membranes, because when an¬ 
alyzed, it is found that these substances in 
the food have the same composition as the 
muscles or lean meat in the animal frame. 
There are several classes of these albumi¬ 
noids, but they are all grouped under the 
title of protein. The carbohydrates, or 
nitrogen-free extracts, are of a very differ¬ 
ent nature—as different as butter or tallow 
is from lean meat. In making up the ani¬ 
mal frame the protein makes up the solid 
portions while the carbohydrates supply 
the fuel. Id a steam engine the bolts, 
rivets, valves, etc., represent the protein, 
while the fuel, which supplies the beat, 
represents the carbohydrates. The ash is 
the portion of the fuel left after burning. 
The fiber is the indigestible portion of the 
food. There need not be any confusion if r 
when reading such analyses, we remember 
that protein always means the substance 
that must be eaten to produce lean meat 
or muscle,and to produce milk or wool, while 
carbohydrates must be supplied to make 
fat and supply the needed animal heat. 
The fat frequently mentioned in these an¬ 
alyses exists in the food in the same form 
as it is found in the animal. It is there¬ 
fore estimated as twice as valuable as the 
carbohydrates. 2. You had better send to 
the Department of Agriculture and secure 
a copy of Dr. Vasey’s book on grasses, 
which gives accurate chemical analyses of 
many varieties. 
DISEASE IN PIGS. 
A. C., Fillmore, N. Y .—In May, 1888, I 
purchased a pair of Poland China pigs not 
of kin. The sow farrowed in May, 1889. She 
farrowed the second time on the 14th of 
last December, dropping a small litter of 
five strong and apparently healthy pigs. 
During the whole period of gestation she 
had the freedom of the yard and pasture, 
and was fed whey, milk slops and bran in 
small quantities, but no corn. When the 1 
pigs were about two weeks old I noticed 
one acted dumpishly, breathed hurriedly 
and in a day or two it died, and in less than 
a week I lost two more in a similar man¬ 
ner. A post-mortem examination dis¬ 
closed no unusual appearance. About this 
time the sow commenced losing her hair 
and now she is a droll-looking sight, being 
almost destitute of hair and bristles. She 
eats well and seems to leel well. Up to 
this time her feed has been the same, with 
the addition of a little barley meal. I fed 
her some charcoal, sulphur, burnt corn, 
etc., after she commenced shedding her 
coat. The two remaining pigs are now 
fine, large shoats. What ails my sow and 
what caused the death of the pigs? 
ANSWERED BY DR. F. L. KILBORNE. 
The symptoms and lesions are not suffi¬ 
ciently definite or characteristic to enable 
me to give a positive opinion. The disease 
may have been due to swine plague, (not 
hog cholera) the germ of which is common 
in the nasal passages of even healthy pigs, 
but may under favorable conditions ac¬ 
quire sufficient virulence to cause sickness 
or death, with symptoms similar to those 
described. Or, the young pigs may have 
died from “ thumps,” an affection of the 
heart brought on by indigestion or intesti¬ 
nal parasites; and the shedding of the hair 
on the sow may have been due to some 
chronic inflammation of the skin, either 
local or constitutional. 
A HEIFER THAT DOES NOT BREED. 
H. N. J., Merrimack, Wis.—A Jersey 
heifer dropped a dead calf last October 
three weeks before her time. The after¬ 
birth was removed. Since then she has 
carried her tail on one side. She has been 
“served” four times and still she is not 
with calf. She is in good health and gives 
a good yield of milk. Her feed has been 
clover hay and oat straw along with about 
four quarts of mangels, and the same quan¬ 
tity of wheat bran, oats and corn, equal 
parts per day. What should be done with 
her? 
ANSWERED BY DR. F. L. KILBORNE. 
The heifer was probably injured by the 
birth of the calf or during the removal of 
the afterbirth. Carefully examine the 
whole length of the vagina, with the well 
soaped hand, to make sure that there is no 
obstruction. None being found, next ex¬ 
amine the condition of the neck of the 
womb (a rounded projection in the far end 
of the vagina) to ascertain if it has not be¬ 
come indurated—hardened and toughened 
—or perhaps entirely closed. In either 
case, or if there is any obstruction, employ 
a competent veterinary surgeon to perform 
the necessary operation. In the absence of 
any obstruction of the passages to the 
womb, wait until the heifer next comes in 
heat. Then with the soaped hand (white 
Castile soap preferred) introduce a finger in¬ 
to the neck of the womb and carefully 
dilate it until two or three fingers can 
enter the neck. Then remove the hand and 
allow the bull to serve at once. 
PEAS FOR HOGS. 
A. Q. 12., Peru, Ohio.— What kind 
of peas are best for fattening hogs ? 
When should they be sown in Northern 
Ohio ? When should the hogs be turned 
in ? What would be the probable yield 
per acre? How many hogs averaging 
100 pounds will an acre sustain ? How 
much seed should be sown per acre, and 
what would be the probable cost of it ? 
Ans.—W hen peas are grown for fattening 
swine the crop should be ripe before they 
are turned in. The probable yield of peas 
on good land will be 25 bushels per acre; if 
a portion of the land in peas is fenced off 
and fed down as soon as the pods are well 
formed and before all the blossoms are 
withered, this will half fatten the pigs, so 
that five bushels for each will be sufficient 
to finish them if they weigh nearly 200 
pounds each. Thus one acre will finish 
five pigs, and an acre of the green peas will 
prepare 10 for fattening, as the whole of 
the plants (stalks and fruit) will be eaten. 
The best variety is the Canada Gray, which 
has smaller vines than the Marrowfat. 
When sown alone two bushels of peas per 
acre are usually sown. It is best to cover 
the seed with a common cultivator as an 
ordinary harrow does not cover them well, 
and good covering is necessary to get a 
good stand. The seed costs in New York 
about $1.25 per bushel. Scotch seed, which 
is very good, costs a little more. This is in 
the open market; selected seeds cost some¬ 
what more in the seed stores. 
BARLEY FOR A SOW WITH YOUNG PIGS. 
J. J. S., Strawbane, Canada.— Is it in¬ 
jurious to suckling pigs to feed their 
mother on “ chop ” barley ? I have heard 
that if barley is fed to the dam, the pigs 
will die before they are four or five weeks old. 
Ans. —There is no reason why barley 
should be injurious to the young pigs when 
it is fed to a sow. Barley is a better food 
than com and comes nearest to oats of all 
other grains. Possibly overfeeding with 
barley may do injury to the pigs, but so 
will excess of any other food. If the bar¬ 
ley is ground coarsely, or chopped, and 
steeped in water to make a rather thick 
slop, and a sow of 150 pounds gets six or 
eight pounds a day of it when rearing a 
litter of pigs; or if some skimmed milk is 
used five or six pounds a day of the barley 
meal is given with it, there will be no 
trouble with the pigs on account of the 
food. When pigs are weaned, not more 
than one quart of the barley slop should be 
given at a meal twice a day until their 
growth calls for more food. 
BROOM-CORN. 
J. W. C., Halifax, Pa. —What is the best 
soil for broom-corn ? What would be an 
average yield per acre ? What variety will 
produce the best brush, and at what stage 
of growth should it be cut ? Is any book 
giving full information on the subject pub¬ 
lished? Where can I get machinery for 
making brooms ? 
Ans. —A deep,'rich, moist, alluvial soil. It 
is very much like corn, and requires nearly 
the same treatment. We are unable to say 
what an average crop is, but perhaps some 
of our readers can give the desired informa¬ 
tion. The Evergreen is probably as good as 
any. The brush is broken over after it has 
passed the blossoming stage, that is, bent 
over just below the first joint, so that the 
weight of the seed may not bend it and 
cause it to grow crooked. It hangs straight 
down until ripened, when it is cut and cured 
under cover. A treatise on growing and 
curing broom-corn, also on manufacturing 
brooms may be obtained of the American 
News Company for 50 cents. 
FERTILIZING AN ORCHARD. 
Subscriber, Yarmouth, Mass.— What 
would be the cheapest and best means of 
fertilizing land of a light gravelly nature 
in which apple trees were planted two years 
ago and where stable manure and wood 
ashes cannot be obtained in large quanti¬ 
ties, the object being to induce a good 
growth of wood and to bring the land into 
a high state of fertility ? 
Ans. —Two methods are open for the 
treatment of this orchard. First, apply 600 
pounds per acre of a high-grade complete 
fertilizer and give clean culture till the 
first of July, then sow buckwheat and let 
it fall on the ground. Second, prepare the 
ground well and sow 200 pounds of kainit 
with 400 pounds of high-grade fertilizer per 
acre and seed to clover as early in the 
spring as possible. Protect the trees by 
wire netting and pasture with sheep after 
the clover has been mowed once, taking 
good care that the animals are always fed 
a liberal grain ration. When the clover 
gives out replow and reseed. 
A weak cow. 
J. L., Missoula, Mont.—A valuable cow 
with calf is so weak that sometimes she 
can’t get up unaided: the feed is wheat 
bran, chop and sometimes oats. She also 
gets oats and wild hay. 
ANSWERED BY DR. F. L. KILBORNE. 
If the cow is in good condition the weak¬ 
ness may be due to a kind of calf paralysis 
which occasionally occurs in pregnant cows, 
and will disappear after calving. But if 
the cow is weak because she is thin, a more 
liberal diet is probably what is wanted. 
In that case try three to four quarts twice 
daily of a mixture of ground oats and corn 
meal, or wheat bran, middlings and meal. 
We would not advise active medicinal 
treatment, except in special cases, until 
after calving. 
A “COMPLETE,”,FERTILIZER. 
Subscriber (address lost).— How much 
bone-meal, phosphoric acid and nitrogen 
must I add to a barrel, say three bushels, 
of hard-wood ashes to make a complete 
fertilizer ? 
Ans. —In the accepted sense of “complete” 
it would only be necessary to add a measura¬ 
ble quantity of nitrogen to make it so. Let 
us suppose the ashes, for easy figuring, to 
weigh 200 pounds and to contain five per 
cent, of potash and 1 % per cent, of phos¬ 
phoric acid. To make a well-balanced fer¬ 
tilizer we must add phosphoric acid and 
nitrogen. We must add about 75 pounds 
of bone flour and, say 30 pounds of nitrate 
of soda. This would give a high grade, 
well balanced “complete” fertilizer. It 
would, no doubt, be well to add nitrogen 
also (in place of all nitrate of soda), in the 
form of blood and sulphate of ammonia. 
It is not economy to mix ashes and nitro 
genous fertilizers together. 
WHOLESOMENESS OF GRANULATED SUGAR. 
M. W. T., W. Leyden, N. Y .—What 
brand of sugar is most healthful? The 
granulated looks bluish, and on being dis¬ 
solved, a sediment lies at the bottom that 
looks like Prussian blue. Besides, I have 
been told that an unwholesome acid is used 
in granulating it. 
Ans. —Dr. Edward Martin of the New 
York Board of Health, informs us that all 
brands of granulated sugar are alike. The 
bluish sediment alluded to is the result of 
a bleaching or whitening process. The 
sugar as it comes from the charcoal in the 
refining process, is light-yellow in color. It 
is whitened by adding a blue compound— 
perfectly harmless—as safe as the yellow 
coloring matter used in butter. Sometimes 
too much of this compound is added, which 
gives the bluish sediment alluded to. 
There is no danger in it. 
FEED FOR SILK-WORMS. 
S. D. B., Farmers' Mills, N. Y .—Are 
White Mulberries the best trees for silk¬ 
worms ? How many pounds of leaves will 
a three-year-old tree bear ? At what time 
in the spring should the trees be set out ? 
How many pounds of leaves will an ounce 
of silk-worms consume in a day ? 
Ans. —The leaves of White Mulberry trees 
give the best food for silk-worms. Trees 
which are three years old should give about 
seven pounds of leaves apiece. They 
should be set out as soon as the frost is 
thoroughly out of the ground. An ounce 
of silk-worms will consume during their 
life about 1,500 pounds of leaves. The con¬ 
sumption at the beginning is very small, 
but becomes quite large towards the end of 
their existence. 
TREATMENT OF RINGBONE. 
C. H. H., Brightwood, Ind .—What 
should be the treatment of ringbone on a 
horse ? 
Ans. —The growth of a ringbone may be 
sometimes stopped and the consequent 
lameness removed by repeated blisterings, 
or by firing. The latter should never be 
attempted except by a competent veterin¬ 
arian. To blister, apply a strong liniment 
daily for several days, rubbing it well in. 
After the blister is raised, wash thoroughly, 
but carefully daily, with warm water and 
Castile soap, until the scab is removed. 
Oil or grease afterward. If necessary, re¬ 
peat the blistering. A ringbone of long 
standing cannot be cured. The horse 
should have perfect rest during treatment. 
FERTILIZERS AND MANURES. 
V. A. T., Chili Center, N. Y .—Which 
would be the better application on sandy 
soil—15 loads of barn-yard manure or half 
a ton of potato fertilizer per acre ? 
Ans. —Let us value the barn-yard man¬ 
ure at $2.50 per ton. That is a fair average 
of the value of farm manure, though we 
do not know anything as to the propor¬ 
tions of cattle and horse manure in yours. 
That would make the manure cost $37.50. 
Now the half ton of potato fertilizer would 
cost, say, $22 delivered. We should look 
for a larger yield of potatoes from the fer¬ 
tilizer than from the barn manure. The 
barn manure would, no doubt, give better 
returns on subsequent crops. 
WHEN TO CUT ASPARAGUS. 
If. L. C., Winchendon, Mass .—When I 
cut my asparagus, the shoots for about two 
inches below the surface and one inch 
above, are so tough and hard that it is not 
eatable; is this the way with all aspara¬ 
gus? If not, what is the trouble with mine, 
which is grown on sandy loam? 
Ans.— The asparagus should be cut when 
the shoots are but an inch or two above the 
surface, and it should be cut as far below the 
surface as possible. If the shoots are left 
until several inches high before they are 
cut, the lower parts will be tough and un¬ 
fit for use. The larger and faster the 
growth the better the quality. 
WHEN TO CUT APPLE CIONS. 
A. E. M., Moore’s Station, Canada.— 
Would apple cions cut about April 1 do 
well, or should one wait until grafting 
time in the spring ? 
Ans.— In the R. N.-Y-’s experience it 
does not matter much. We have had per¬ 
fect success in grafting apples, using cions 
the buds of which were starting. This, 
however, is running a risk. It is generally 
supposed that a dormant cion is best. You 
may cut your cions and graft now. You 
may do this just before the buds quicken, 
or you may cut the cions and keep them in 
moist sand and graft in two or three weeks. 
