1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
value of the several parts, and also make up the loss 
on others. If one wishes to get the price after the 
meat is smoked and pickled, simply add the cost of 
labor to the parts thus smoked, etc. w. A. s. 
How to Start Early Melons. 
IF. II. II., Mo. Valley, la. —How can I start melons in a hot¬ 
bed ? What is the least amount of space to be occupied ? I wish 
to plant about April 1; would oiled cloth do instead of glass if I 
have good straw mats ? How much dried blood can I use in a hill? 
Ans. —For starting melons in hotbeds, pieces of 
good, firm sod should be cut four inches square and 
two inches thick; these should be handled carefully 
so as not to break them. First place a layer of about 
an inch of soil over the manure in the hotbed, then 
place in the sods, grass side down, in even rows, until 
the whole frame is filled. Place four or five seeds on 
each sod, and press them in to hold them in place. 
Sift fine earth over the sods to about half an inch 
deep. When the melons come up, give them plenty 
of light and air, but do not let them get chilled. Oiled 
cloth is not so good as glass. The melons need light 
all the time, or they will get weak and “leggy.” I 
think about April 1 is rather early to start the plants, 
as they should not be set out until danger of frost is 
over. Two ounces of dried blood may be used to a 
hill, but should not be applied until after the plants 
are set out; then mix it well with the soil. I find 
that a mixture of two parts superphosphate, two parts 
nitrate of soda, and one part sulphate of potash, scat¬ 
tered around the hills and well raked in with a steel 
rake, gives the most satisfactory results. I use a large 
handful of the mixture to each hill, besides manuring 
the ground with stable manure. s. M. Harris. 
How to Sow Peas and Oats. 
T. F. A'., Carmel, If. Y .—How should peas and oats be sown 
together to get a good crop ? When they are ready to cut, can 
they be stacked together like hay for winter feeding ? About how 
many bushels of peas to the acre are sown, and should they be 
harrowed in together ? 
Ans. —Peas should be “ganged” or plowed in about 
two inches deep. The oats may then be sowed on the 
surface and harrowed or drilled. This will give a far 
better crop than to plant the peas shallow as is the 
usual practice. Sow about 1% bushel of oats and a 
bushel of peas per acre. Use some stiff-strawed 
variety of oats, and the Canada field pea. Cut with 
the mower and cure as for hay. Since the pea vines 
will be full of water, they will need to be cured more 
than ordinary hay. Peas and oats make a most ex¬ 
cellent soiling crop. For winter feeding, one can 
get twice as much food per acre for animals by rais¬ 
ing corn instead of oats and peas. True, the cost of 
raising will be slightly more per acre with the former 
than with the latter, but it should be kept constantly 
in mind that corn is the greatest of all grass and 
forage plants. I. P. R. 
Will Potash Benefit Grass ? 
D. P. A., Bullville, N. Y .—If potash in the form of muriate, be 
sown on sod this spring, will it benefit the grass? If sown this 
spring on rye or wheat, will it benefit the grain and help the 
grass seed sown on it ? If so, in what quantity should it be 
apjilied ? 
Ans. —The chances are that, on most sandy or light 
soils, potash, will benefit the grass ; but it is not a 
good practice to use potash alone, unless you know 
by experiment that it is specially needed. Suppose a 
man blew out the gas in a hotel room, and went to 
bed ! If they found him weak and helpless an hour 
later, they would not give him food, but would bring 
him into the fresh air at once. If you found a man 
wandering on the desert, almost insane from thirst, 
you would not give him air and food, but water. A 
man drifting on a raft in the middle of Lake Michigan, 
would not need water, but food. There must be some 
special need for potash, nitrogen or phosphoric acid, 
before we can hope to obtain a good crop by using 
any one of these substances alone. We recommend 
bone and muriate of potash together for grass or grain, 
as this combination will supply all three elements. 
The Snowy Tree Cricket on Raspberries. 
A. II. M., Louisville, 0.—1 send a portion of a raspberry stem 
that contains an insect; I would like to know its name. Is its 
work destructive to the raspberry stalk ? The portion above the 
sting dies off. 
ANSWERED BY M. Y. SLINGERLAND. 
Scarcely a week passes here at the insectary, that 
we do not receive raspberry canes, grape vines, or 
the twigs of various fruit trees which bear the long, 
ragged-edged wound shown at a in Fig. 57. The atten¬ 
tion of the fruit grower is usually first called to this 
peculiar injury by the death of the part infested. If 
the rough surface of the wound be cut away with a 
knife, the injury will be found to consist of a longi¬ 
tudinal series of punctures placed close together. By 
splitting the cane, the nature of the injury may be 
seen even better. Such a section is represented at b. 
The punctures extend through the woody part of the 
cane or twig into the pithy portion, and here there is 
in each an oblong, yellow, cylindrical egg. One of 
these eggs is 'represented-enlarged at c. 
The insect which thus seriously injured A. H. M.’s 
raspberry canes in preparing a safe receptacle for its 
eggs, is a delicate, greenish-white cricket. On account 
of its color, and its habit of living among the foliage 
of trees and shrubs, it has received the popular name 
of Snowy Tree cricket. In the male insect, shown at 
e, the wing-covers are broad and transparent, so that 
the folded wings can be seen through them. The 
oblique thickenings or ribs which cross these wing- 
covers, form a part of the musical apparatus of this 
insect. The female differs somewhat in appearance, 
as her wing-covers are closely wrapped about the 
body, making the insect much narrower than her 
musical mate ; the females are net musicians. The 
chirp of this cricket is a very familiar sound in 
many parts of the country during the latter part of 
summer and early autumn. It is a monotonous repe¬ 
tition of a cry, which, with a little effort on the part 
of the listener, may be made to sound like Katy-did, 
Kady-did. This cry is begun early in the evening, 
and is continued unremittingly till late in the night, all 
of the males in one region chirping in unison. This 
cricket’s chirp is very different from that of the 
much larger insect known as the true Katy-did, being 
less rasping and much more monotonous. In those 
sections of the country where the true Katy-did does 
not occur, the chirp of the Snowy Tree cricket is usu¬ 
ally the most prominent of all sounds made in the 
night by insects. 
Except for the injury caused by the female in laying 
her eggs, this cricket is not regarded as an injurious 
msect. Its diet is said to consist in part of plant lice 
and other small insects. It is also said to feed later 
in the season on l'ipe fruits, but not injuriously. The 
eggs are laid late in the summer or in the autumn, 
but they do not hatch until the early part of the fol¬ 
lowing summer. It is thus a simple matter to cut out 
the infested canes or branches in the spring after the 
THE SNOWY TREE CRICKET AND ITS WORK. Flu. 57. 
other canes or twigs have put forth their leaves, but 
before the eggs have hatched, and by burning these 
prunings, to check the increase of the insects. 
Various Foods for Stock. 
IF. A. C., Lakeside, N. S .—What are the comparative values of 
liuseed and cotton-seed meals ? Which is the cheaper at same 
price ? How much linseed could be safely fed to grown animals 
for fattening? How do corn brau, and wheat bran compare as 
to feeding value ? 
Ans. —Here is a table showing how these foods 
compare—from the chemist’s standpoint: 
Muscle- 
Fat- 
Pure 
makers. 
formers. 
fat. 
Cotton-seed meal. 
. 35% 
22 % 
11*4 
Linseed meal (old process). 
. 26 
26 ‘A 
7 
Corn bran. 
6 
55 
3!4 
Wheat bran. 
. 11% 
45 
2!4 
These figures show the averages of many different 
samples. Of course, different lots bought at random 
in the market, will vary more or less. From a mere 
statement of analysis, it appears that cotton-seed 
meal is more valuable than any of the other feeds. 
This is only one side of it, however. Cotton-seed 
meal is a constipating food, and is dangerous when 
fed in large quantities to animals that are not used to 
it. We would never feed it without pasture, roots, 
ensilage or other succulent foods. Linseed meal has 
a somewhat laxative effect on the system, and makes 
an excellent addition to dry stalks or other roughage. 
Beginning with a pound a day, you may safely in¬ 
crease to a daily ration of four pounds of linseed. We 
prefer wheat to corn bran. 
What to Feed With Brewers’ Grains. 
IF. F. R., Stamford, Conn .—What grain should be fed with 
brewers’ grains to increase the quality and also the quantity of 
the milk, the cows having all the good hay they will eat. The 
brewers’ grains are jutted (or eusiloed) and have kept perfectly. 
Some of my customers ccmplain that the milk is not creamy 
enough, and that there is not enough body to it. How much of 
the grain should be fed, each cow getting a large scoojiful of the 
brewers’ grains twice a day ? I have large quantities of potatoes, 
and on account of the low price, wish to feed them to my cows. 
How many may be fed to eacli cow per day along with the bi-ew- 
ers’ grains, and what grain should be fed with them to keej> up a 
high quality of milk ? 
Ans. —I have personally had but little experience 
in feeding brewers’ grains, but from their known 
effects upon the milk, I would recommend the fol¬ 
lowing as a grain ration likely to be followed by 
157 
good results : Equal parts by weight of wheat bran, 
cotton-seed meal and corn meal, four to six pounds 
per cow per day in connection with the brewers’ 
grains. If the hay is largely Timothy, reduce the 
proportion of corn meal one-half. I would not recom¬ 
mend the use of potatoes in any considerable quantity 
in connection with brewers’ grains, as they have a 
similar effect upon the character of the milk. 
n. H. WING. 
Bad Water in a Well. 
T. M., Florence, N. ./.—My well is 43 feet deep; 28 feet were dug 
through a black mud which looks like marl. At the bottom of 
the well, is a hard crust which the water comes through rapidly; 
there were 16 feet of water in the well in two days. The water 
has a dark look, and bad odor. About three weeks ago, I put 11 
feet of gravel in the well; it made the water clearer, but it lias 
the same bad odor. 
Ans. —The water which comes into the well, with¬ 
out doubt passes through the undecomposed mud, and 
somewhere dissolved mineral matter may have become 
mixed with it in its onflow to the well. It would be 
impossible to put anything in the well which would 
make the water sweet. If much water were pumped out 
frequently, it would, probably, improve the quality 
of the water, but I have little hope that by any such 
method it could, in the near future, be made potable. 
Better dig a large, deep cistex-n, arch over the top, 
and cover it two or three feet deep with soil, leaving 
only a little neck 20 to 30 inches in diameter at the 
top for ingress and egress. Fill this cistern during 
the winter months when the roofs are clean, and the 
water cold, and turn the spouts off early in the spring. 
This water will keep cold during the entire summer, 
and it is safer to drink than hard water. This is the 
method which is so successfully practiced all through 
Mississippi, and it is surprising how cool and pure 
this body of water will keep thus sealed up. 
I. P. ROBERTS. 
Rooting Hogs on a Clay Soil. 
J. C. M„ Wynn, Ind.—l have a 12-acre field that I use exclusively 
for a hog pasture. About seven acres of this are rolling, set 
with Blue grass, while the remaining five acres can be cultivated. 
What is the most profitable root crojx I can raise on the five acres 
for stock hogs ? The soil is fairly good clay. How about arti¬ 
chokes ? Where can seed be purchased, and at what price ? 
Ans. —For the number of hogs the seven acres will 
pasture, «1. C. M. will not need five acres of roots of 
any kind. To grow mangels, the land needs to be 
very rich naturally, or else made so by the use of 
manures. This land in its present condition, would 
not yield a profitable crop of roots of any kind. Clay 
soil is the poorest kind in which to plant artichokes ; 
they will gi-ow in it, and probably, yield a good crop, 
but the hogs can never make a good job of harvesting 
them. Clay soil is not the kind for hogs to root in 
at all seasons of the year. Rooting while wet ruins 
it, and in the severe weather of winter, when the 
hogs most need the artichokes, they will be frozen 
into the soil. At other seasons, they soon tramp the 
land so solid that they cannot root. I write this 
from experience. They are easy to plant and to 
grow, and as easily cultivated as corn ; but the 
trouble comes when they are to be got rid of. The 
hogs cannot root them all out, and it requires more 
care than the first-class farmer wishes t,o give them, 
to get rid of them in one or, possibly, two years. 
Much better rotate the five-acre plot with corn, clover 
and rye. and let the hogs harvest them when possible. 
As the land grows better, try, in a small wav at the 
start, some of the roots grown for stock. Kaffir corn 
will stand much greater heat and drought than 
Indian corn, but in experimenting with it the 
Indiana farmer will do well to go slow 
JOHN M. JAMISON. 
Grasses for a Dairy Farm. 
A. T. M., Qlendola, N. J .—I am a dairy farmer, and would like 
to know the best grasses to sow for hay and pasture after hay¬ 
ing—some that will ripen with clover, or nearly so. I have been 
sowing Timothy, but it is a poor pasture grass, and hard on the 
land. My soil is loam, with some low, dark spots, and is fairly 
productive. 
Ans. —Many of the best grasses for hay do not form 
the best pastures. Orchard grass ripens with clover, 
and Tall Meadow Fescue is not far behind it. The 
former seeds can be easily procured ; those of the lat¬ 
ter are somewhat expensive, and cannot always be 
secured easily. Would it not be better to sow with 
clover the grasses named above, and practice on the 
best fields a short rotation ? By the tone of the let¬ 
ter, it is implied that much forage is desired Since 
you are in a fine corn country, why not use the large 
grass, corn, for forage instead of Timothy or clover. 
You can get three or four times as much feed for ani¬ 
mals from the corn as you can from the smaller grasses 
or the clover, and if one learn to raise corn properly, 
the problem of both grain and coarse foods is solved 
easily. The poorer lands, or those situated far from 
the buildings, would better be seeded to permanent 
pastures, using both Red and Alsike clover freely in 
seeding down, and Timothy, Orchard grass and Tall 
Meadow Fescue. Wherever land is low and damp, 
Alsike clover and Red-top will do admirably, i. ?, $ 
