4oo 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
June 13 
it 9.26 feet. If the higher point is 4.65 feet lower, and 
the lower one is 9.26 feet lower than the surfaces of 
the water in the leveling instrument, then the lower 
one must be their difference, or 4.61 feet lower than 
the higher one. 
That is all there is of leveling. Everything else 
consists of a repetition of the same process, and in 
keeping the figures right. One can go on and take 
rod readings from as many points as can be reached 
without taking up the leveling instrument, and the 
difference in the rod readings of any two points, will 
be their difference in height. frank hodgman. 
Michigan. 
NOTES FROM WESTERN NEW YORK. 
Something New About Canker-worms. —Canker- 
worms have been pretty bad in western New York for 
about four years, every year getting worse, and par¬ 
ticularly -where the owners of orchards have not given 
much attention to fighting them. I had one orchard 
that was not within a half mile of any other, except 
on a side on which there is a large stream dividing it 
from two which are about 50 rods away, and in which 
the worms have been very bad for two years. We 
have never had any in this orchard until this year, 
and now there are a few all over the orchard. But 
we have been spraying, and shall, next year, band 
the trees early, use plenty of tar, and have no fear of 
injury from them. 
But I started to tell how they came to be so exten¬ 
sively distributed through this orchard, where I am 
sure that there have never been any before. At the 
proper season, I noticed a good many males about the 
trees and in the air just at night. I set about watch¬ 
ing, and by and by, I caught a stout, heavy-winged 
male that was carrying a small female attached. It 
has long been known that the males will copulate 
with the females as soon as the latter emerge from 
the ground, and go scrambling up the trees with them 
attached ; but I am now sure that the strong males 
will carry the smaller females on the wing several 
rods. Of course, this is only done occasionally, but 
enough to carry them from one orchard to another, 
and from one part of the orchard to other parts. 
Though it is only the very smallest females that are 
carried in this way, they will lay eggs enough to 
spread the curse. 
After I had seen this being done, and told one of my 
neighbors, he watched and said that he saw the same 
thing being done on his farm. Has any entomologist 
seen anything like it ? 
Stick to Crimson Clover. —I have now been ex¬ 
perimenting with Crimson clover for three years, and 
change my mind each year. I was, at first, deeply 
in love with it, then became disgusted, and now think 
it worth a further trial. Of a few things I am satis¬ 
fied : It must be sowed early, not later than August 
10, and better a month before that, so that it may get 
a good start before winter. The seed must be covered 
—harrowed, brushed or rolled in ; the sparrows are 
very fond of it, and unless it be covered, they will 
succeed in picking up about four-fifths of it. 
There are some things about it that I can’t under¬ 
stand : In one field sowed last August, after early 
potatoes, it made a good growth, went into the winter 
in fine condition, and when the snow went away this 
spring, was looking all right and very even ; but for 
some reason, one land would be entirely killed by the 
subsequent freezing and thawing, and another of the 
same kind of soil would not be injured in the least. 
I am saving some seed of the hardiest in hopes to get 
a hardier strain. But I am so much in favor of it that 
I shall sow it extensively, even though every stalk 
kill each winter. It cost only about 60 cents per 
acre for seed, and very little for the sowing, and I am 
sure that mine, where killed, was worth several times 
that amount, for I pulled uproots from 10 to 15 inches 
long, as large as my thumb, and then it had a 
large top to plow under. It can’t be possible but, in 
time, we shall get a variety of it that will be found 
hardy. Mine, where it killed, did not heave out with 
the frost, but just seemed to die, root and branch. 
That it will smother under the snow, I don’t believe, 
for in one orchard, mine had six feet of solid snow 
upon it, that did not go away until the middle of 
April, and there it is as nice “ as a pink.” Hurry up, 
experimenter, and give us a Crimson clover as hardy 
as the Red. 
Why Sheep Lose Their Wool. —Dr. Kilborne, in 
his answer to O. L. R., page 368, does not get the 
scope of the inquiry, neither does he give the true 
cause of loss of wool in sheep. “ Fleece-growing ” or 
cotting, as it is sometimes called, is a loosening of the 
fleece, although not an entire shedding of it, and often 
a new fleece will be found growing under the outer 
one. By taking hold of the two, they may be pulled 
entirely apart. This and shedding the wool, are due 
to the same cause, and neither by any of the causes 
named, although they contribute to the one and only 
true cause. 
Sheep of any breed, and especially fine wool sheep, 
when in perfect health and properly fed, never shed 
their wool as other animals do their hair. I have 
seen sheep with four or five years’ wool, and unlike 
hair, wool continues to grow as long as left upon the 
sheep, providing all the conditions are right. As 
should be known, wool is a “by-product” of the 
sheep, the same as milk is of the cow, and it grows 
only after the bodily wants are first supplied. If the 
sheep are improperly fed, are partially starved, or 
from any cause, become diseased so that they do not 
eat sufficient food, the wool growth is diminished, or 
may be entirely suspended. Whenever this happens, 
the fiber is weakened, or in extreme cases, becomes 
so brittle as to allow the fleece to come off in spots, 
or all over. If, after a period of suspended growth, 
the conditions be so changed that the sheep once 
more thrive, a new growth begins, and in some cases, 
the old fleece is held to the new one only by a few 
fibers, and the fleece is said to be cotted or fleece- 
grown, and sometimes felted wool. I have never 
seen a healthy sheep, when so well fed as to thrive, 
lose wool in any part of its body. I am sure that 
prevention is the best remedy, and that prevention is 
easy and practicable by keeping the sheep on a gen¬ 
erous diet of a properly balanced food, and not allow 
them to get wet or take cold, so as to become diseased. 
As for mangels causing a loss of wool, I will take 
the chances of giving my sheep just all they will eat 
seven days in the week, the winter through. But I 
would want them to be kept warm, and have other 
foods to correct the effect of so much succulent food. 
J. S. WOODWARD. 
BALING HAY DIRECT FROM MEADOWS. 
THE QUESTION. 
Have any of The R. N.-Y. readers had experience in baling hay 
right from the meadow ? My room is limited. Can I allow my 
new hay to cure well, and then bale it and store it in the barn ? 
I have both Timothy and clover, separate. j. m. h. 
Ridge Farm, Ill. 
THE ANSWERS. 
My experience leads me to be wary, in pressing bay 
direct from the meadow. I certainly would expect it 
to spoil. Unless hay has passed through the sweat¬ 
ing process, I would not consider it safe to bale. We 
sometimes bale hay two or three weeks after it has 
been placed in the mow, and then it must be placed 
on the market for immediate use. d. c. lewis. 
New Jersey. 
I have never known of an instance of hay being 
baled directly from the meadow. I do not believe 
that it can be done without the hay heating or spoil¬ 
ing in the bale. Hay needs to go through a sweating 
or curing process in the mow or stack, of from four 
to six weeks, at the least, according to the weather, 
before it is safe to bale it. My judgment would be 
that a good, well-built stack is the safest and most 
profitable place to store this hay until it is fit to bale. 
New York. chas. chapman. 
1 would say no. All early-cut hay has to go through 
a sweat before it is safe to bale. I once baled green 
clover and green corn stalks ; in a few weeks, they 
became rotten. Once I mixed hay a year old with 
early-cut, well-dried new hay, baled it, and in a short 
time, it began to heat, and when I opened it, it was 
discolored and musty. Dead-ripe Timothy, well- 
dried, might possibly, be baled ; but hay as usually 
cut and cured, would be spoiled by being baled from 
the field. chas. o. newton. 
This is done along the Hudson River, where the hay 
is put aboard barges and sent to New York City for 
immediate use. The hay is put up in large bales 
weighing 150 to 200 pounds, but loosely pressed, and 
even then, oftentimes, this hay gets hot and loses in 
value very materially. My advice to J. M. H. is to 
have his hay well cured before pressing, as it would 
be disastrous to press it from the field and put it in 
store ; only immediate use could prevent it from heat¬ 
ing and being a total loss. I made an experiment in 
this direction a number of years ago. The hay taken 
from the meadow, was in good condition to go into 
the barn. I had several bales of it pressed, allowed 
it to remain in the store for 30 days, and then dumped 
it in the river, as it was absolutely worthless. 
Editor Hay Trade Journal. willis bullock. 
I knew two men in this locality, who baled hay 
right from the meadow, and stored it about as J. M. 
H. wishes to do. One of them baled a large quantity 
of mixed Timothy and clover right from the meadow, 
some of it so green that the sap ran out of the press. 
This green hay was stored in a large granary, which 
was closed as nearly air-tight as possible, and strange 
as it may appear, it kept well, and stock ate every 
particle of it. A lot of the better-cured hay was stored 
in an open shed, with a good roof extending well 
down, and most of it kept first-rate. A small quantity 
that was quite damp when baled, did not keep so well 
in this shed, opening out quite dusty, yet stock ate it 
greedily. The othexynan baled-ajlot.of well-cured 
and dry Timothy hay right from the meadow, stored 
it in a dry shed, and it kept in fine condition until fed 
out the following summer. From all the facts I can 
learn about this matter, it seems to be perfectly safe 
to bale and store in a dry place, any hay that is fairly 
well cured, and dry when baled. The only question 
for J. M. II. to settle is whether the cost of baling for 
three or four years, will not equal or exceed the cost 
of a good hay shed that will last 15 or 20 years. 
Christian County, Ill. fred grundy. 
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AILING ANIMALS. 
ANSWERS BY DR. F. L. KILBORNE. 
A Lame Mare. 
A. S., Wilcox, Neb. —My mare has a hard lump or bunch grow¬ 
ing on her left knee ; what is it, and what can I do for it ? She is 
very lame. 
Blister with the red iodide of mercury ointment. 
If this fail to reduce the swelling, firing with the hot 
iron will, probably, be necessary. The bunch is, 
evidently, a bony growth, due to some injury. 
Cow Dislocates Her Stifle. 
I. J., North Hillsdale, N. Y. —My cow threw her stifle about four 
weeks ago. I have applied a liniment composed of white oak 
bark, wild indigo, and copperas. She does not seem to improve. 
If there is a displacement so that the cow is unable 
to use the leg, it will be necessary to employ a veter¬ 
inary surgeon to reduce the displacement. Other¬ 
wise, apply a strong blister over the stifle joint— 
equal parts strong aqua ammonia, oil of turpentine 
and sweet oil, well shaken together. 
Mare Always in Heat, 
V. B., Langenburg, Canada. —My young mare is constantly in 
heat, and Ido not wish to breed her. Is there anything I can 
give her that will prevent this, and will no t hurt her for breeding 
another year ? 
Unless there is some removable cause, which can be 
determined only from a personal examination, I know 
of nothing you can do or give that will prevent the 
mare coming in heat. Regular work, and a light, 
non-stimulating diet, will lessen the tendency. Re¬ 
moval of the ovaries would be a sure preventive, 
but this would prevent her ever breeding. If she 
were bred now, and became with foal, it is quite 
possible that the trouble would not reappear after 
foaling. It is very doubtful whether she will get 
with foal. 
Blood and Bog Spavin on a Horse. 
S. 11.,.Jeff, Mo—Is there aDy cure for blood spavin on a horse ? 
How can the soreness be kept out of it ? 
Blood spavin is a dilatation of the large vein which 
crosses the inner front of the hock, and does not cause 
lameness. It> is simply an eye-sore, and treatment is 
usually undesirable. Bog spavin is the puffy, fluctu¬ 
ating swelling seen in the inner half of the front of 
the hock, and is due to some injury to the hock joint, 
causing an undue secretion of synovia. Bog spavin 
is frequently attended with lameness. Your horse, 
evidently, has a bog spavin, instead of a blood spavin. 
Apply a fly blister to the front and sides of the whole 
hock joint. The hock should be severely blistered, 
and the blister repeated in about three weeks if 
necessary. During treatment, a run at pasture would 
be desirable. 
Sick Hens and Hogs ; Veterinary Laws. 
J. J. M. G., Americus, Ga.—l. Hogs in this locality .are troubled 
with an unknown disease. One got down about five weeks ago, 
from weakness in the hind legs. She was suckling pigs at the 
time—first farrow. She had no use whatever of her hind legs, or 
from the hock joint down. She lost her appetite to some extent, 
but not entirely. I gave her Epsom salts and rubbed pine tar 
over her kidneys, but she improved but little. To-day, her 
appetite is better, and she is looking in fairly good condition, but 
her fore legs are swelling in the knees ; she barely can get up on 
her hind legs, but has little use of them. I gave her some calomel 
yesterday and to-day. Her bowels are costive and she doesn’t 
urinate naturally. Her hind legs are warm and seem to be about 
natural. 2. Will hens take cholera any sooner by drinking all the 
water they wish in a hot summer day ? Our hens drink so much 
that they make themselves sick. Would it be better to keep water 
from them ? They have the run of the place, but don’t get too 
inu-h green stuff, and we don’t feed them much grain. They are 
healthy and lay well, but seem to drink too freely when it is hot 
weather. 3. Would it be any infringement on the law, for a farmer 
to treat stock for disease, for others, and make a charge ? 
1. I am unable to form an opinion, from your 
description, as to the nature of this sow’s ailment. 2. 
Hens will not take the cholera by drinking pure 
water unless exposed to the fowl cholera contagion. 
Hens in a healthy condition, will rarely drink to ex¬ 
cess. When they do, it is an indication that they are 
feverish. 3. It depends upon the laws of the State in 
