THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
March 21 
196 
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AILING ANIMALS. 
ANSWERS BY DB. F. L. KILBORNE. 
A Case of Hollow Horn. 
D. A. 0.. Hendon, N. Y .—I have two cows that are not doing 
well; they appear to have what we call “hollow horn” or worm- 
in-the-tail. The bone in the tail, about three inches from the end, 
appears to be broken or eaten away. One year ago. I cut the 
cows’ tails lengthwise at the broken part, and rubbed in pepper 
and salt; about a month after, the end of one tail dropped off, and 
the cows got no better. What is the trouble and the remedy? I 
feed potatoes, ground corn and oats, and corn stalks. 
As has been repeatedly stated in The R. N.-Y., there 
are no such diseases as “ hollow horn,” “ worm-in-the- 
tail ” or “ wolf-in-the-tail.” These names are relics 
of the age of ignorance and superstition, and are 
still occasionally used by ignorant quacks to desig¬ 
nate any disease in cattle, the nature of which they do 
not understand. Their use signifies nothing more 
than that the animal is sick. It is no wonder that 
your cows “got no better,” and that the tails sloughed 
off as the result of the treatment. If you have a fever 
or an attack of indigestion, would you slit one of your 
fingers and bind it up in pepper and sail or other 
irritant to cure it? Your treatment simply added to 
the discomfort and misery of the animals. In order 
to have completed their misery, you should have bored 
the horns (which will always be found hollow towards 
the head, unless filled by disease), filled the cavities 
with the pepper and salt, or something worse if you 
could find it; then poured turpentine over the head 
between the horns, given them an artificial cud pre¬ 
pared from various unknown substances, and, finally, 
tied them out in the shade where they could keep cool, 
and ruminate. 
Your description of the symptoms is too brief to 
enable me to give a definite opinion as to the disease. 
From the fact of the cows being sick for more than a 
year, I suspect that they have tuberculosis or con¬ 
sumption. If so, there is no cure. If the cows have 
a dry, hacking cough, or labored breathing, the diag¬ 
nosis of tuberculosis would be confirmed. I would 
advise you to have the cows examined at once by a 
veterinarian, and if not tuberculous, treated, llut if 
found tuberculous, report them to Dr. F. O. Donahue, 
chairman of the Tuberculosis Commission of the State 
Hoard of Health, Syracuse, N. Y. 
Better Kill This Horse. 
A. S., Water Mill, Long Island .—If a horse be foundered so as 
to lose its front hoofs, and new hoofs start, will the new growth 
harden enough to be of any value to the horse ? 
A horse so badly foundered, or neglected, as to 
lose its hoofs, will, probably, never recover so as to 
be of any value for active service. Unless the animal 
were a mare, valuable for breeding, I would advise 
killing at once. 
Warts and Hole in a Cow's Teat. 
E. A. /S'., Tioga, Pa .—I have a Jersey heifer in her first year’s 
milk; she has warts on all four teats, and an opening on the 
back side and one from which the milk spurts, and is annoying 
when milking. What can be done to remedy both difficulties ? I 
think that my cows are paying their way these hard times; I 
have two that are six years old, fresh in the fall, and two heifers 
resh in summer. From the four during Janury, 1896, I sold 12 
quarts of milk a day, besides all used in the family, and from 
the surplus made 57 pounds of butter. I feed cut corn stalks, 
wheat bran and buckwheat middlings with some hay. 
If the warts are flat, I would not advise treating 
them Such only as are long or have a narrowed 
neck, may be twisted or cut off, and the surface 
cauterized with a stick of nitrate of silver. To close 
the hole in the side of the teat, scrape or cut the 
skin immediately around the hole so as to cause a 
raw sore, one-half to three-fourths inch across, which, 
in healing, will close the opening. It would be better 
to treat the cow when dry ; but if in milk, use a milk¬ 
ing tube to draw off the milk from that teat, so as 
not to loosen the scab while the sore is healing. 
Swelling on a Mare ; Sore on Colt. 
H. A. M., Pennell, N. Y. —1. My 10-year-old mare had worms ; I 
injected linseed oil in the rectum and gave salts, four weeks ago. 
She is very thin and weak, and has a bunch on her belly as large 
as a plate, and three inches thick. What is the cause of the 
bunch and the loss of flesh ? She eats well. The bunch is not 
sore. 2. My mare colt has a running sore on her jaw. The skin 
seems to be fast to the bone. There is no swelling, just a small 
hole from which matter oozes out. I do not know of any cause. 
She is losing flesh. 3. What was the variety of corn from which 
The R. N.-Y. had the large yield a few years ago ? 
I. The swelling is of an anasarcous nature, due to a 
debilitated condition of the system, but especially of 
the blood. Give the mare two or three tablespoonfuls 
of the following powders on the feed night and morn- 
ing : sulphate of soda, one pound ; nitrate of potash, 
one-fourth pound; chlorate of potash, one-half pound; 
mix. Feed a moderate grain ration, to be made up 
mainly of oats and wheat bran. A handful of oil 
meal or ground flaxseed would also be excellent. Place 
salt in a sirle box where the mare can lick it at will. 
Moderate daily exercise, according to the strength of 
the mare, should be given. 2. I would advise you to 
take the colt to a competent veterinary surgeon for a 
persoual examination. There may be dead bone to 
be removed. If there is no veterinarian at hand, try 
thoroughly cauterizing the sore with a stick of nitrate 
of silver. Then sponge out daily with a solution of 
two drams chloride of zinc to each pint of water. 3. 
The Chester County Mammoth corn was planted. 
Is This Cow pox ? 
tV. L. F., Elizabeth, Col .—What is the matter with my cow ? 
There are small ulcers at the top of the teats. Sometimes there 
are two or three around one teat. They come and go periodically, 
and change from one teat to another. Her milk seems just as 
good as it ever was. She is in good condition otherwise, as far as 
I can tell. 
The ulcers are due either to simple eruption on the 
skin, or, possibly, to cowpox. Give the cow one pound 
of Epsom salts, and two ounces of ginger, dissolved in 
three pints of warm water. Repeat the dose in three 
days if not purged. Anoint the ulcers daily with 
benzoated oxide of zinc ointment. 
The ‘‘Black Teeth” in Hogs. 
C. R. W., Miller Corners, N. Y.— On page 110 of The R. N.-Y., in 
answer to A. P. C., Dr. F. L. Ifilborne does not give reasons for 
the pigs becoming laine, but simply recommends warm quarters, 
warmed swill, etc. I have seen pigs with this same trouble, even 
with such quartersand feed ; tliecause to which it was attributed, 
was black tooth. I do not know for certain that the black teeth 
in hogs will cause lameness, but in many cases, even in summer, 
with pigs in pasture, I have known them to become lame, and 
after breaking out the black teeth, which will be found on either 
side of the jaw-, they immediately recovered. 
I am surprised that a reader of The R. N.-Y. should 
attribute lameness in pigs to the presence or absence 
of black teeth, or in fact, any other kind of teeth. 
One might just as reasonably look for black hairs on 
the tail as the cause of the lameness. I shall not dis¬ 
pute the fact that lame pigs may have recovered, 
after the removal of the black teeth ; but I will say 
that in such cases, the recovery was in no way due to 
or hastened by their removal. These same “black 
teeth” have been removed for every possible ill 
with which the poor pig has been afflicted ; and you 
will find advocates for each, who will claim that all 
of these ills were, in turn, cured by the removal of 
the offending black teeth. Pigs very commonly suffer 
from lameness, which may be due to a variety of 
causes, such as injuries or sprains ; constitutional 
weakness, from being bred too much for weight and 
too little for strength of bone and muscle ; kidney 
worms, rheumatism, hog cholera, swine plague, as 
well as other diseases. So that it is very difficult to 
give a definite opinion as to the cause, from a brief 
description. If any one try the experiment of re¬ 
moving the black teeth for the cause of lameness, I 
trust that he will try it as an experiment should be 
tried, namely, remove the teeth from only one side of 
the jaws, and see whether any benefit results to the 
lameness of that side. Or if he prefer to remove 
them from both sides, then from only one-half of the 
lame pigs, treating the pigs in all other respects the 
same. 
The Pork is All Right. 
R.B., Bourbon, Mo .—I killed a hog that had been fed for two 
months, and was very fat. It had had a bad spell 15 days before 
I butchered it, but had recovered its usual appetite, and was 
seemingly well. But when I opened it, the lungs were spotted. 
Did it have the swine plague, and is it safe to use the meat ? 
The hog evidently did not have the swine plague. 
I am of the opinion that the spots on the lungs were 
due to blood running into the lungs when the hog 
was bled. Probably the trachea or windpipe was 
cut in sticking the hog. When blood gets into the 
lungs, as occasionally happens in killing, they will 
have a spotted appearance, being dotted with deep red 
spots slightly firmer than the rest of the lung tissue. 
The pork is perfectly "safe to use if thoroughly cooked. 
A TALK ABOUT APPLES. 
ANSWERS BY H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
Proper Distance Between Trees. 
F. F. FFairview, N. Y. —1. Last year, we set 20 acres with 
Wealthy, Maun, Stark and Walbridge apples, 45 feet apart each 
way. We think that this wastes part of the land ; would it be 
advisable to double the number of trees in the rows running north 
and south? This would make the trees 45 feet apart east and 
west and 22y s feet apart north and south, and would place them 
so that they would protect each other from extremes of heat and 
cold. 2. If it is advisable to fill out as above, what kinds would 
be best for the New York market ? 3. What preparation can be 
put on young trees to prevent attacks of the borer? 4. Are 
winter pears generally profitable? What kinds are best to 
plant? 5. Is a mixture of night-soil and wood ashes too strong 
for young plum trees ? 6. What kinds of chestnuts are best to 
plant for market ? How about the Ridgely ? 
1. Forty-five feet apart each way for apple trees in 
New York, is too far, until the trees get to full size. 
F. F. F. will find it to his profit to fill up his orchard 
by planting as many more trees in the rows running 
north and south, as he suggests. When they grow so 
as to interfere, he can cut out part, and, if early-bear¬ 
ing kinds are used as fillers, they will pay for the care 
of the whole orchard and more too. before they need 
to be removed. 2. If F. F. F. will fill up about half 
his orchard (especially where Wealthy is), with York 
Imperial, I think that he will, in time, cut out the 
other kinds and leave a much more lasting and profit¬ 
able orchard than any of the kinds he mentions will 
make. York Imperial brings a fancy price on the. 
New Y'ork market, and elsewhere, because it is one of 
the best apples now before the public. Wealthy 
bears younger, and is a very good variety in New 
York State as a filler ; but it is not a late keeper. 
Jonathan will also pay as a filler, or, for that matter, 
in any capacity, either for home or market use, as it 
is one of the most handsome red apples in existence, 
and is as good as it looks. No other apple brings so 
high a price on the St. Louis market. It should be 
grown as extensively in the eastern, as it is now in 
the western States ; and I know from very recent 
investigations that it does well in New York. 
Wagener makes a good filler, as ii bears very early 
and heavily. 3. Recently, a substance has been in¬ 
vented and called “ dendrolene,” which has been 
proved to be quite effective as a preventive of the lay¬ 
ing of the eggs of various kinds of tree borers. It 
resembles a substance long known and used in Ger¬ 
many for this same purpose called “ Raufenleim,” but 
is much cheaper. The Rowker Fertilizer Company, 
Boston, Mass., sell it. 4. Winter pears are profitable, 
especially, if held in cold storage until the bulk of 
the crop is gone from the markets. Lawrence is, 
perhaps, the best variety for New York, although 
Anjou pays well when it is highly cultivated. Keiffer 
is a “ business” pear ; if it is not rich in quality—it 
brings the shekels, and is worth all it brings. 5. 
Night soil and wood ashes are good for plum trees, 
or for any other trees, and there is more danger of 
getting too little in the soil than too much. A bushel 
to each tree, well scattered and worked into the soil 
tributary to each tree, will not do harm. 
Some Apples For Maryland. 
8., Govanstown, Md. —1. Which is the best Red winter apple for 
high, hilly liirht isinglass land in Harford Comity, Md.? 2. For 
such a location, what are the comparative merits of the following 
winter apples : York Imperial, Delaware, Late Winter, Berry 
Red, Mammoth Black Twig (Arkansas Paragon) ? How do these 
four compare in productiveness, size of fruit, keeping qualities, 
etc. ? Is the Mammoth Black Twig (Arkansas Paragon) the same 
as is referred to as Paragon ? 
1. York Imperial. 2. York Imperial, all things con¬ 
sidered, is the best of those named. Paragon (Mam¬ 
moth Black Twig), is next. There is much discussion 
at present regarding the right name of this apple, 
some claiming that it should be called “ Arkansaw,” 
and I am now inclined to this opinion ; although as I 
am investigating the subject and expecting to be 
ready to publish something decisive on the subject 
in The R. N.-Y. before long, it is useless to say more 
now than that the variety under discussion is com¬ 
monly called Paragon. Berry is a synonym of the 
Nickajack, which is about worthless in Maryland. 
Delaware Red Winter is a synonym of Lawver, which 
is also of little value, not only in Maryland, but, 
everywhere. 
The Lankford and Other Apples. 
S.Quakertown, N. </.—I have a young Lankford apple tree in 
my orchard. It has not borne many apples yet, but they are good 
keepers, and seem to be first-class in every way. They are almost 
covered with red. I had thought of grafting from this tree. Do 
you know anything about the variety? I want it for a market 
apple for shipping, and don’t wish to graft from it if not good 
for that. I saw a note in The R. N.-Y. last week that did not 
sound as though it were good for much. What about the Stark 
and York Imperial apples for market ? 
S. J. doubtless has Lankford, and, while it is much 
better than some other varieties that are planted in 
New Jersey, there are kinds which are better in sev¬ 
eral respects. York Imperial is fully as productive, 
more attractive in color, of about the same size— 
medium to large—of better quality, and a later 
keeper. Plant it or graft from it instead of Lankford. 
Stark is good in most respects, but of too dull color 
for market in comparison with York Imperial, Para¬ 
gon (Mammoth Black Twig of Arkansas) Stayman and 
Nero. 
Treatment for a Maine Apple Orchard. 
F. C. C., Bath, Me .—I am negotiating for the purchase of a farm 
where the orchard is in grass, and, probably, never lias been fer¬ 
tilized. On account of the high winds, I am doubtful about keep¬ 
ing it plowed, as the trees would be more liable to blow down. I 
wish to get the best results from it, and would appreciate any 
advice given me. 
Ans.— The orchard should be plowed shallow in 
order to destroy the grass ; if the roots, from any 
cause, have been induced to keep near the surface, 
then the grass may be entirely destroyed, and a good, 
soft, mellow earth bed from three to four inches deep 
secured by the use of a Cutaway harrow. Going over 
it three or four times in the spring when the ground 
is soft, and continuing the work every 10 days during 
the summer, is likely to ^produce] veryj beneficial 
