i89o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
25i 
The Farmers Club. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and address 
of the writer to insure attention. Before asking; a question, please 
see if it Is not answered in our advertising columns. Ask only 
a few qu 4 y-tiona at one time. Put questions on a separate piece 
of paper. 
Genesis of Worms, Slugs and Snails. 
A. T>., Horseheads, N. Y. —How do angle or fish worms 
breed in the ground ? Are they transformed into flies or 
beetles ? How can slugs and snails be got rid of ? Last 
season they destroyed a good deal of my celery by getting 
in among the stalks and eating the bark from the inside 
of the heads so as to render them unfit for market. 
ANSWERED BY PROF. A. J. COOK. 
Angle or fish worms, slugs and snails are not like insects 
in their development. In case of insects like beetles, 
moths and flies, the mature insect lays the eggs. These 
hatch and the larvae are entirely different from the 
parents. These larvm eat voraciously, attain their growth 
and then change into pupa) or chrysalids. Now they are 
quiet, eat nothing and soon come forth again as mature 
insects, the females among which are ready to lay eggs. 
The larv® are worm-like and are called grubs, caterpillars, 
maggots, etc. The pupa looks more like the mature in¬ 
sect, though its appendages—legs, wings, etc.—are bound 
down by a membrane. The mature insect usually has 
wings and long legs. The fact that insects are so different 
in the different stages, leads us to say that they go through 
transformations. 
Now snails, slugs and worms—by worms I mean forms 
like angle worms, and leeches, not larvm, which are often 
incorrectly called worms—go through no transformations. 
The mature snail, slug—a slug is much like a snail except 
that it has uo shell—or worm lays its eggs. These soon 
hatch into other snails, slugs and worms, which look like 
the parent. As the chicken is at once recognized as a baby 
fowl, so these are at once identified as immature snails, 
slugs or worms. Slugs, snails and angle-worms are all 
hermaphrodites ; that is, each individual, like many plants, 
is both male and female at the same time. Yet snails, 
slugs and angle worms must mate, as the male and female 
organs of the same snail do not develop at the same time. 
We find the same true in the case of many flowers, where 
the stamens and pistils do not ripen at the same time and 
hence the necessity of cross-fertilization. As I have never 
known slugs or snails to do any considerable harm or 
damage in this country, I have had no experience in fight¬ 
ing them. In my reading I have not noted any complaint; 
yet slugs are considered a serious pest in England and also 
in Continental Europe, and it is not strange that they 
should acquire similar habits here. It is also easy to 
understand why they attack and destroy celery. This crop 
is grown on damp soil, just the place in which snails and 
slugs delight. Each year I have occasion to secure slugs 
and snails for my class. I rarely have any difficulty in 
finding them. I go to the forests and turn over some log, 
and from the damp earth I quickly supply my need. It is 
quite likely that the damD climate of England explains 
the annoyance from slugs there. It is also not unlikely 
that the excessively wet season of 1889 in New Jersey and 
the East explains the raid last year. If this supposition 
be correct, then quite likely Mr. D. will have no trouble 
with these Dests this season. I think it very probable that 
the nuisances will be far less annoying the coming summer. 
In England frequent and loud complaints have been 
made of slugs and their attacks on various garden vege¬ 
tables. Curtis, in his Farm Insects, speaks of trapping 
slugs by the use of cabbage leaves, or slices of turnips, and 
destroying them. He says wood ashes, or charcoal dust, 
soot and lime, or even salt—four Or fiv* - bushels—are all 
remedies of more or less value. While I should not feel 
warranted in doubting such high authority without trying 
these several remedies, I am still led to wonder if these 
remedies are valuable. I have rarely used these substances 
on insects with any satisfaction. It is to be remembered, 
however, that slugs are slimy or covered with a mucous 
secretion ; hence it is possible that lime or ashes actually 
thrown on them might seriously annoy or even destroy 
them. I should expect the kerosene emulsion would be 
sure death to them if thrown on them. In Bulletin No.58 
I have described this and our other valuable insecticides, 
and I have told when and where each is to be used. This 
will be sent to any one upon application to Secretary H. 
G. Reynolds, Agricultural College, Mich. 
Mortality Among Sheep. 
“ Kerby ,” Cheshire County, N. H. —A four-year-old ewe 
lambed on February 7 and did well until March 1, when 
she 'ost appetite and her eyes looked opaque and appeared 
almost blind at times. Both she and the lamb drooped 
and lost flesh rapidly. Two years ago she exhibited similar 
symptoms. Thinking she might have worms. I gave her 
doses of one dram of sulphate of iron and half an ounce of 
salt on alternate days. She straightway began to gain, 
and nlthough she lost her lamb, from being one of the 
thinnest and most forlorn-looking sheep I ever saw she 
became as plump and handsome as any in the flock. I gave 
the same treatment as soon as the symptoms appeared this 
year, without any effect. She died on March 12, and the 
lamb followed a few days later. An examination failed to 
find any traces of worms or anything else abnormal. I 
have lost several other ewes from some disease having 
similar symptoms in the last three years, and it is the 
pure bred aud best that always die. My ewes have been 
rather closely confined since the lambs came in January, 
but the fold is light, dry aud well ventilated. They have 
had fine Timothy and clover hay and oat-hay—all of the best 
quality—and pure water, salt, sulphur, etc. For grain, 
since Christmas they have had oats, bran, oil-meal and 
corn meal—since lambing, onequarteach daily of the above 
mixed. What is the trouble ? 
Ans.—T he trouble seems to be due to confinement and 
exclusive feeding on dry feed, causing overloading of the 
paunch and indigestion. The liberal grain ration may be 
the cause in part, or the sheep are rather overfed. Try 
reducing the feed, especially the grain, for the breeding 
ewes, and, if possible, give them more exercise. When 
first attacked give as a drench in two-thirds of a pint of 
water, two ounces each of Epsom salts and common salt 
with a table-spoonful of ginger. Follow with a more 
laxative diet—roots or scalded bran or oats. Give one 
tea-spoonfu* of the following powders in the feed night 
and morning: Powdered gentian and ginger each four 
ounces; sulphate of soda, eight ounces; sulphate of iron, 
one ounce: mix. 
Soil and Fertilizers for Strawberries. 
H. E. 13., Woodstock, Va. —I have a plot of strawberries, 
now one year old, to which I applied a top-dressing of fine 
barnyard manure last fall. What cultivation should be 
given this spring and what kind of commercial fertilizer 
should I use ? How should it be applied ? The soil is light 
and sandy. I have a piece of flint ground with a clay sub¬ 
soil, which was under potatoes, and to which I applied about 
eight or 10 tons of coarse barnyard manure. What will 
be the best way to prepare it for strawberries this spring ? 
Will it pay to subsoil it ? Are. hen manure and ashes good 
for strawberries, and if so, how should they be 
applied ? 
ANS.—If all needed cultivation was given ap to the time 
the manure was applied no further cultivation will be 
needed till the fruit is gathered unless the ground between 
the rows is foul; if so, running a cultivator through is 
justifiable; but in the rows all weeds should be removed by 
hand. The manure if applied sufficiently thick, will act as 
a mulch to keep the berries clean. If cultivated, the raw 
surface should be mulched for the same purpose. A good 
dressing of Peruvian guano or some of the special brands 
of commercial fertilizers with a large per cent, of potash, 
phosphoric acid and nitrogen in soluble forms, would be 
beneficial if applied early, before growth has commenced; 
otherwise they should be applied when the foliage is per¬ 
fectly dry, and be swept off the leaves as far as possible to 
prevent injury ; a good application of wood ashes would be 
preferable to anything else. The manure should be worked 
into the soil by the best means at command. Subsoiling 
will benefit any stiff, hard soil and will generally pay as 
well as any farm work. Hen manure is a most valuable 
fertilizer for almost any crop. Ashes are particularly good 
for strawberries, but they should be used separately. The 
quantity of either per acre will depend on circumstances— 
you will not be likely to overdo the matter. Fifty Dushels 
would give one quart to about 27 square feet. This esti¬ 
mate will serve as a guide and possibly prevent an overdose 
if such a contingency is likely to happen. 
Eversion of the Womb In Cows. 
H. St, Woodlaum, Pa. —My cow dropped a calf, and all 
seemed well, but two hours later I found her lying down 
with a large organ which I suppose was the womb pro¬ 
truding from her and turned inside out. She died an hour 
later. On examination the organ was found to be full of 
blood. What caused the trouble and what could have 
been done for her? 
ANSWERED BY DR. F. L. KILBORNE. 
Eversion of the womb quite frequently follows a diffi¬ 
cult parturition or too much force used in the removal of 
the afterbirth. General weakness from any cause ; a too 
laxative diet; close, unhealthy stables; or standing in a 
stall in which there is too great a sloping of the floor back¬ 
ward, which throws the weight of the abdominal organs 
against the womb crowding it into the pelvis, all predis¬ 
pose to the eversion. The proper treatment is to carefully 
wash the organ with tepid water, to wtich a lit ole carbolic 
acid has been added, return it with gentle pressure and re¬ 
tain it in position with two or three stitches through the 
vulva (the stitches to be removed in two or three days, or 
as soon as the womb will remain in position) or with a 
twisted rope truss or other open bandage, to allow the 
escape of the urine, applied across the vulva and held in 
position by two ropes carried forward between the thighs 
aud two others along the back, and all tied to a collar 
around the neck. Place the animal on a floor which 
slopes well forward. In this case the eversion of the womb 
was apparently complicated by flooding or hemorrhage 
which was the immediate cause of death. The cow would 
not have died so quickly from simple eversion. Compli¬ 
cated, rapidly fatal cases of this kind could be satisfac¬ 
torily treated only by a competent veterinarian at hand. 
Hand-Feeding a Young Colt. 
S. V., Hartford, Conn.—How should I feed a youug foal 
whose dam gives hardly any milk ? 
ANSWERED BY DR. F. L. KILBORNE. 
As a substitute for the milk of the mare, nothing is 
better for the young foal than the milk of the cow. Fresh 
cow’s milk should be given, and during the first week or 
two it is well to add a little sugar, because the milk of the 
mare is sweeter than that of the cow. But after the colt 
becomes quite accustomed to the cow’s milk the sugar 
may be gradually left out. One-half to one pint, accord¬ 
ing to the size of the colt, given at least five or six times 
daily, is about the quantity needed for the first few days. 
As the colt grows older the quantity should bs increased, 
aud the number of feeds daily may be diminished to four 
at five or six weeks of age. When the colt is six to eight 
weeks old skimmed sweet milk may be given instead of 
the fresh milk. Cow’s milk being richer in fats than the 
milk of the mare, some breeders give skimmed milk al¬ 
most from the outset; but the fresh milk is undoubtedly 
preferable during the first few weeks. As soon as the colt 
is old enough to eat, a small grain ration should be added. 
A mixture of equal parts of wheat bran and oats with one- 
sixth to one eighth part of oil-meal added, makes an ex¬ 
cellent ration for this purpose. Begin by feeding a hand¬ 
ful three or four times daily and gradually increase to one 
pint three times daily. 
Fertilizer for Grass. 
S. W. 0., Ridgewood, N. J.—What is the best fertili¬ 
zer to use on an acre of sandy loam on which I wish to get 
a quick growth of grass for use as a tennis ground, also 
the best mixture of grass seed for that purpose ? How does 
castor pomace, sold by H. J. Baker & Co., Newark, N. J., 
compare with cotton-seed meal as a top-dressing ? Will 
it show immediate results ? 
Ans. —The R. N.-Y. for quick results would use a fertili¬ 
zer made of nitrate of soda, dissolved burnt bone and sul¬ 
phate of potash. Such a fertilizer should give 4.50 per 
cent, of nitrogen, 10 per cent, of phosphoric acid and six per 
cent, of potash. Not less than at the rate of 1,000 pounds 
per acre should be sown and it would be advisable to 
mix it thoroughly with an equal weight of soil so as 
to insure a more even distribution. Castor pomace 
contains about five per cent, of nitrogen, two per cent, of 
phosphoric acid and one per cent, of potash. This would 
make it worth, say, $18 per ton. Cotton seed meal contains 
about seven per cent, of phosphoric acid, two per cent, of 
potash and two per cent, of nitrogen, or about $25 per ton. 
Neither the castor pomace nor the cotton seed meal is as 
soluble as the nitrate of soda. Both are slower in their 
action than the nitrogen of blood. 
The Canfield Apple. 
M. W. T., W. Leyden, N. Y. —1. In the Rural of March 
16,1889, page 181, under “ What Others Say,” Dr. Ward says 
that he deems the Canfield the very best long-keeping 
sweet apple. Is it hardy? Of whom can it be bought ? 2. 
What kind of an apple is the Carlough Sweet Apple spoken 
of on the same page ? Will it thrive where we have to de¬ 
pend on the Russian fruits ? 
Ans. —1. The Canfield Apple is an old,very hardy variety 
in New Jersey, and we see no reason to doubt its hardiness in 
Northern New York. It is doubtful if trees can be obtain¬ 
ed. The safest way would be to get some cions and graft 
them in trees already growing ; almost any Essex County, 
N. J., farmer could furnish cions. 2. We do not know the 
Carlough Sweet Apple. 
“ Sand” or “ Niter” In Maple Sugar? 
V. W. H., Rodman, N. Y. —How can the “sand” or 
lime be taken out of maple sugar ? 
Ans. —The “sand,” or “niter,” as it is called, which is 
found in maple sugar is chemically a malate ot lime, 
formed by the chemical union of the malic acid of the tree 
with the lime of the soil water taken up by the roots of 
the trees. Concentration by boiling throws this down, as 
a gritty precipitate. The best way to get rid of it is to 
boil down to a thin sirup, which is run into a settling tub. 
When the malate settles out, the sirup is strained through 
flannel, and boiled down into merchantable sirup or sugar. 
Suear orchards on limestone soils give more of this im¬ 
purity than others; but it is present in all. 
Some Raspberries. 
J. E. R., Muskegon, Mich. —What is the best black cap 
raspberry? The Gregg “kills back” hereabouts. Is the 
Hilbom for size and hardiness more profitable than the 
Nemaha ? What is the most profitable early red variety ? 
Ans. —Weiegard the Hilborn as one of the best black¬ 
caps. The Gregg is not a hardy variety and is of low 
quality. But little more can be said of the Nemaha. The 
Hansell is very early—probably the earliest red—but it is 
not a thrifty grower in many places. Berries medium in 
size, firm and of fair flavor. The Marlboro is early and of 
good quality. This, too, needs good soil and care. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
E. J. M., Shelbyville, III .—The potatoes sent out by 
the R. N.-Y. iu 1888 were Rural New Yorker No. 2. 
M. W. T., W. Leyden, N. Y .—When wool costs eight 
cents for carding and sells for 50 cents per pound after¬ 
ward, what should it be worth unwashed ? 
Ans. —Deducting the cost of the carding, the value of the 
washed wool is left at 42 cents. As unwashed brings one- 
third less than washed it would be worth 28 cents per 
pound. 
L. M. \V., Covesville, Fa.—When should peanuts be 
planted ? Is there any way of preventing moles and rats 
from eating them ? 
Ans.—J ust so soon as the frost is out of the ground and 
danger of frosts no longer exists. We do not think that 
moles ever touch the nuts. They do injury simply by run¬ 
ning under the plants. Poison of some kind is the only 
remedy against the rats. 
Several Subscribers .—We have been told that the stone 
crushers recommended for use by townships will not work 
well on the smooth, round stones found on our farms. It 
is said that such stones will sometimes fly out with 
tremendous force. How is it ? 
ANS.—These crushers seem to be designed for work on 
rough stones or pieces of rock. The makers of such 
crushers claim that they will haudle all sorts of stones, 
but engineers tell us that the jaws of the crusher will 
sometimes slip on the smooth sides of a stone, in which 
event it will fly. We would like to hear from those who 
have used these crushers. 
