1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
i77 
° x .yg'ea form the oxide of potassium, or “ potash” as 
it is commonly called. It is on the same principle as 
saying “ water H 2 0.” What we call water, is really 
a chemical mixture of two parts of hydrogen and one 
of oxygen. The law in many States compels fer¬ 
tilizer makers to mark their sacks in this way so that 
there can be no doubt about what they call “ potash.” 
The chemist, when he comes to analyze the fertilizer, 
looks for “ potash” in its chemical form of “ K-O,” so 
that this chemical sign is a proper thing when once 
understood. The words, “ equal sulphate of potash,” 
mean that if the “ potash” were combined with 
sulphur to form the sulphate, there would be nearly 
twice as much by weight of the new substance though 
not an ounce more of the actual potash. This line 
has no meaning, and should be left out unless the 
potash is in the form of sulphate—which does not 
follow. 3. In No. 2, we are told that the potash is 
actually derived from muriate, which in No. 1 we are 
not told, but are left to concludo that the dealer 
would like to have us think that it came from the 
sulphate. 4. The sulphate will usually give potatoes 
of a little higher quality. So far as yield is concerned, 
the muriate is probably as good. 5. We would prefer 
No. 2 chiefly for the reason that there is a fairer 
statement about it and, from the face of the analysis, 
a better chance of obtaining good quality. 6. Crushed 
dry bones are to be preferred to either baked bones 
or shells. 
Saltpeter, Bone Black and Bone Clippings. 
J. F. L., Wilkes Barre, Pa. —I am able to purchase some bone- 
black and saltpeter, mixed, half and half (in barrels) at 75 cents 
per barrel. Are they of any fertilizing value ? If so, how should 
they be used ? Would they not be good to mix with pig manure ? 
I can also purchase about two tons of bone clippings at $15 per 
ton, made by scraping and chipping the bone on knives and 
forks in a cutlery factory. Are they of any use for fertilizing ? 
Ans. —The crude bone black is not of much value, 
but the saltpeter will give considerable nitrogen and 
potash. If it can be crushed fine enough to spread, 
we would keep it under cover till spring, then crush 
and broadcast after plowing, on land intended for 
vegetables. The value of the bone clippings will 
depend upon their fineness. We could tell better 
by seeing a fair sample. 
A ‘‘Balanced Ration” Without Clover. 
G. It., Way land, Mass. —Can I feed cows a profitable balanced 
ration without buying any grain, by feeding cob-meal, corn 
fodder, beets, carrots, pumpkins, squashes and hay (meadow or 
English, or both) ? If so, what proportion and quantity of each 
is needed ? I believe that a man selling milk for three cents a 
quart, must raise most of his feed, in order to have a living profit. 
Why is it that no one ever speaks of rye as a cattle or poultry 
feed ? I fed It last winter to 25 hens, and they averaged one-half 
an egg a day each from January 1 to June I, not allowing for the 
sitters. I have never heard any one say a good word for it ; why 
is it? If it is necessary to buy grain for cows in addition to the 
above feeds, what would be the most profitable kinds to use? 
Ans. —It will be very hard to compound what is 
called a satisfactory “ balanced ration” from these 
foods. There is a great lack of muscle-makers with 
corn-and-cob meal as the only grain. We would not 
attempt to make a scientific ration from these mater¬ 
ials. At the same time, with the present prices for 
milk and grain, it may be cheaper, at present, to feed 
what you have, and not spend cash for extra food. 
Much of your produce may not be salable, and you 
will have to feed it anyway. If a dairyman starts out 
to grow his food at home, there is one thing he muse 
make up his mind to, and that is to provide a supply 
of clover hay. If you had a supply of good clover 
on hand, we could soon figure out a ration from home 
materials. Clover is the cheapest source of muscle- 
makers, and the clover-seed bag is the best grain bin 
on the farm. If we were to buy any grain to go with 
your foods, we would get both cotton-seed and linseed 
meals, and feed one pound each with, say, four or five 
pounds of the corn-and-cob meal with roots, squashes 
and hay to suit. We think most rye growers use the 
grain to feed to horses, rather than poultry or cattle. 
" Fenugreek ’ ’ and Its Use for Horses. 
A. M., Bridgewater, N. //.—Fenugreek is often given as an 
ingredient of horse medicine, and has been used as a part of the 
famous cattle and horse foods which were sold at fabulous prices 
per ton, as compared with their real food value. Last spring, I 
saw the seed listed among medicinal herbs, sent for some and 
planted it ; it grew readily and the plants ripened seed. Now 
that I find that I cau grow it, I wish to know how to use it. What 
part of the plant is used for medicine ? How much of it may be 
safely fed ? If it is of any special value, I think that every animal 
owner should know how easily it may be grown, and also how 
to use it. 
Ans. —Fenugreek is the common name for Trigo- 
nella foenum-graacum, of the leguminous, or pod-bear¬ 
ing order of plants. It is allied somewhat to the 
clover and lupin family. The name Fenugreek, is a 
corruption of two Latin words in the botanical name, 
meaning Greek hay. The whole plant was largely 
cultivated by the ancients as a fodder for cattle and 
horses, and it is still grown to some extent in parts of 
southern Europe, and in Egypt and India. It is con¬ 
sidered a coarse and inferior feed ; not to be used 
when better forage is to be had. The seeds, however, 
which contain a pungent, bitter oil, are largely used 
$s an ingredient of “ condition powders,” and high' 
priced-horse foods, as A. M. remarks. They, undoubt¬ 
edly, have tonic and stimulating properties, and the 
moderate use is quite certain to give temporary fire 
and vigor to horses and cattle. Besides the tonic 
effect on the appetite and digestion, there seems to 
be an exciting effect of the generative organs. The 
value of the continued use of fenugreek is doubtful, 
and it may properly be considered as an occasional 
tonic, or flavoring for the feed ; much as we use 
parsley or other herbs as relishes and flavoring in 
cooking. It is not actively harmful, even in quantity, 
and may be given according to judgment. The usual 
dose of the ground seeds does not exceed one-half 
ounce, mixed with ground feed. w. van fleet. 
Gasoline Engine for Pumping. 
A. It. Y., Meriden, Conn. —I am situated near a large pond from 
whieh I wish to irrigate my berries by pumping, as no fall can be 
obtained. They are all located within less than 1,000 feet of, and 
not over 30 feet above, the water level. 1. Would a gasoline 
engine be best adapted for this purpose, and what horse-power 
would be necessary to pump a 2‘4-inch stream? 2. Wli at style 
and make of pumps would give most satisfactory results ? 
Ans. —A. R. Y. will find the gasoline engine, either 
belted or direct-connected to a centrifugal pump, a 
very efficient one for the purpose mentioned. The 
size of the engine cannot be determined by the size 
of the discharge pipe, but a five-horse-power engine 
should raise about 300 gallons per minute and would, 
probably, be sufficient for the purpose required. Such 
an engine should be operated, if of fairly good con¬ 
struction, by about one gallon of gasoline per hour. 
There are numerous makers of both engines and 
pumps in this country. k. c. carpenter. 
Starting a Dairy Farm in North Carolina. 
S., Hot Springs, N. G. —I have 150 acres of land, aud grow corn, 
clover, Timothy or anything suitable for this climate. I am going 
into the milk business, aud wish to know which are the best cows 
for milk. Where can I buy the cheapest, or get best bargains ? 
Are there not some herds of Holstein-Friesians in Tennessee and 
Kentucky ? Would Holsteins shipped here from the North, live ? 
What are the best rations for milk ? What quantity should I feed 
twice daily ? Would ensilage pay better than dry feed ? What 
is the best way to build a barn to hold 30 cows ? Should the floor 
be concrete or boards ? 
ANSWERED BY PROF. F. E. EMERY. 
S. would probably do well to buy the best common 
stock he can find around him to start on, and go 
slowly into fine purebreds, unless he has means enough 
to purchase anything he may fancy. I would ad¬ 
vise buying these by test. See the plan worked out 
by tae North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Sta¬ 
tion at Raleigh, Bulletin No. 113. As he seems to 
have an inclination toward the Holstein-Friesian 
breed, he would, probably, do well to buy a few cows, 
and head his herd with a bull of that breed. He should 
provide for weighing the milk and making a record 
of the yield of every cow regularly, at every milking, 
in order to know which ones are profitable ; and also 
to test for the per cent of fat, and specific gravity, 
occasionally, that he may know the quality of milk 
he is furnishing his customers. With the knowledge 
which will accumulate from his records, he will know 
which, if any, of bis grade heifers to raise, to add to 
the herd, and which cows to dispose of, in order to 
keep his product up to a standard for both quantity 
and quality. 
There is a chance to get the highest yields from the 
breed favored by S., but I have noticed that milk 
producers who use that breed, often have a sprinkling 
of cows of other breeds more noted for high quality 
with rather small quantity, in their herds, and this 
tends to give more nearly an average or standard 
quality in milk, because high yield is not compatible 
with very high quality in the same cow. There may 
be herds of IIolstein-Friesians in the States men¬ 
tioned, but I would look for stock of the desired kind 
wherever it is known to be for sale at prices and of 
the quality to suit my ideas. No trouble need be ex¬ 
perienced with cattle from the Northern States if cared 
for when brought South. If they receive scrub care, 
and be allowed to become covered with ticks, and to 
run in swamps, there may be considerable mortality ; 
but with good care, they thrive as well in North 
Carolina as anywhere else. 
In feeding a herd, I believe that no one who has 
fairly tried ensilage, would consent to give it up, and 
that S. can feed his herd better and cheaper by put¬ 
ting up a good silo early, and harvesting enough of 
his corn, at the proper stage, to fill it. He should try 
to provide clover hay enough of good quality to sup¬ 
ply a midday feed with ensilage twice daily. It may 
be better to feed the smaller amount thrice, as two 
feeds of ensilage and one of hay, than to give enough 
ensilage at one feed and hay at another to last the 
herd a whole day. Frequent feeding in moderate 
amounts, may induce the animals to eat more and 
waste less of the food, thus increasing the chance to 
realize more from the food and from the herd than 
would be possible if fed more at a time and at longer 
intervals. With ensilage, or ensilage and hay, enough 
wheat bran, cotton-seed meal, linseed meal, or cow 
peas boiled or fed as meal, should be fed to make a 
balanced ration, Every cow should receive a§ nearly 
as possible what she will eat up clean. As S. is in 
North Carolina, he is referred to Bulletin 100 of the 
experiment station in that State, for composition and 
methods of compounding rations, and the standards 
for guide to proper feeding. 
In regard to the barn for 30 cows : If in one build¬ 
ing, it will need to be large enough for 45 or 50 ani¬ 
mals to include calves and heifers, or these provided 
for outside. Lumber is cheap with S.,yeta cheap 
plan will, doubtless, suit him best. If he has a good 
location, with a moderate swell of land which can be 
easily graded, I would advise that he build a circular 
silo in the center of the location for the barn, and then 
build the barn around it. If the silo were 20 feet in 
diameter, and 20 feet high, it would just about hold 
food for the 30 cows which could be stabled in the 
circular shed round it outside of a five-foot walk, and 
234-foot manger, with four feet on opposite sides to 
enter the central walk from the stables. Ten feet 
higher would furnish room to store ensilage for teams 
and young cattle, too. A five-foot wide platform for 
cows, with one foot drop and a four or five-foot walk, 
would require 18 feet, which would give a circular 
barn 47 feet in diameter. Back of this, a square 
building 25 or 30 feet wide and as long as desired 
could furnish calf and lying-in stalls ; or, at a suit¬ 
able distance away from the barn for drive and yard 
room, on the side from which the prevailing wind 
comes, a shed in a segment of a circle, may be built, 
long enough for calves, young stock and work teams, 
and for tools and vehicles. 
The floor of the barn may be of earth raised a little 
above the surrounding soil and compacted. For the 
gutters behind the cows, a cemented trough will be 
best. A square stick may form the edge of the gutter 
on the side of the cow platform. This will be held 
firmly in place by locust stakes driven firmly into the 
ground, and cut off level with the surface. The plat¬ 
form may be tamped clay sloping from one to two 
inches from manger to rear. A stanchion piece should 
be bedded and anchored at the proper place. It could 
be of a thickness to spring to the curve, yet be strong 
enough to receive two-inch stanchions, the tops of 
which will be held by a top piece about six feet high. 
The cows can be most easily held in place by tie- 
chains sliding on the stanchions. The mangers should 
be made of planed boards and put together tight. 
There will be storage room for hay over the cows, 
and a walk around the silo and over the horse and 
calf-slieds. The hay that can not be thus housed, 
should be housed in a separate shed, or stacked in 
large stacks and covered from the weather. 
What Money Crops for Maryland ? 
E. D. S., Hollywood, Md. —I bought this property of 175 acres 
last May, and found, practically, no fruit other than cherries and 
blackberries. Not a blade of cultivated grass. The tenant 
“owned” the property until January 1 of this year—a lazy oyster 
man. My share of the crops proved to be 70 bushels (by measure) 
of'28-pound black oats, and 95 bushels of ears of mixed corn. 
Last fall, tire consumed nearly everything I owned, including the 
entire crop of potatoes excepting some 40 bushels. I have left 
two horses, one of them a scrub, one cow, two heifers, two far¬ 
rowing sows, four shotes and a $1,000 mortgage. I must raise an 
immediate money crop. What would you advise? The soil 
varies from a stiff clay to a sandy loam. The location is between 
two streams, making a point into the Patuxent River. Baltimore 
is the nearest market ; there is no local market for anything I 
can raise at once. I am hampered for money, aud must make the 
farm resources pull me through. Tobacco is not a money crop. 
I have thought that, possibly, the swine may be made to help me 
out, and designed planting an old orchard to chufas and Jeru¬ 
salem artichokes, turning in the pigs alternately upon small 
plots. Early peas I suppose to be an excellent money crop, but 
as no help can be hired until May 1, when the oyster season 
closes, I fear that they are out of the question. 
Ans. —After a careful survey of the situation of 
E. D. S., as depicted, in his inquiry, it looks to me as 
though the chances for an immediate money crop, 
that will amount to much, are not by any means 
flattering. If the condition of the land is to be judged 
by the crops of last year, it must be badly run down. 
Then again, there is no fruit, and, of course, no hope 
of realizing any money from anything that could be 
planted—berries, etc.—in time to meet the exigencies 
of the situation. No labor can be hired until May 1 ? 
Why not import enough from some other section to 
grow and manage a crop of early peas if such crop is 
profitable ? For early peas or early tomatoes, grown 
and handled on modern business principles, there is a 
market that affords a fair profit; but early peas in 
St. Mary’s County, Md., should be in the ground now, 
in ground, too, that has been carefully prepared, to 
grow and make a crop of them. And it is far too late 
to begin preparations for early tomatoes. Sweet 
potatoes paid handsomely last year—better, perhaps, 
than they will again for some time to come, as every 
available acre will be likely to be planted this year. 
Still obstacles may intervene such as cannot be fore¬ 
seen, and prevent a glut of the market. Two or three 
acres of sweet potatoes would be a crop suited to the 
labor conditions of the section, and as some of the 
land is a sandy loam, doubtless would, with proper 
fertilization and tillage, grow fine potatoes. In short, 
the late (late at which operations can he 
