1896 
785 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
it is the finest and best, ears profusely, and is ready 
to go into the silos by September 15. We are learn¬ 
ing that an acre of good ensilage will winter two 
cows, while by our old plan, it required two acres of 
corn to supply a cow with a winter’s picnic, and 
impoverished her owner buying feed besides. Now 
we, with our ensilage, never feed to exceed five 
pounds of bran-shorts a day per cow. 
Some Fruit Queries. 
O. S. K., Reddick, III.— 1. How should apple, pear and quince 
seeds be treated to make s\ire of their growing ? Should they be 
planted in the fall or spring? 2. How can I rid the lawn of 
dandelions ? 3. Has the Leader blackberry been tried on the 
Rural Grounds ? 4. How can I prevent smut on oats ? 
Ans. —1. Perhaps the best way to treat such seeds is 
to stratify them. As soon as the seeds mature, place 
them in thin layers in boxes alternating with sand. 
The box may then be buried in well-drained soil, about 
a foot deep, cover it, and then fill the hole with soil. 
All this is merely for the purpose of preventing the 
seeds from becoming dry. 2. Without plowing the 
lawn, there is but one way. It is to cut or pull them 
out. When the soil is wet after a soaking rain, they 
may be pulled out easily enough if one be careful to 
gather all the leaves in his hand. 3. No. 4. The 
R. N.-Y. has published what is known as the Jensen 
method of treating seed oats to prevent smut. In 
brief, two kettles are provided. In one, the water is 
kept at a temperature between 135 and 139 degrees, in 
the other from 120 to 130 degrees. The oats in sacks 
are placed in the latter for 10 minutes, then 10 min¬ 
utes in the former. The sacks are stirred around 
constantly, that all parts may be thoroughly wet. 
Then they are taken out and thoroughly dried at once. 
Kainit for “ Salting ” Stock. 
./. A. N., Lenne, Va. —Will kainit or potash salts, used as an 
absorbent iu barnyards, injure cattle eating it? Would it answer 
to salt cattle ? I am a large cattle feeder, and think of scattering 
it over the hay and fodder in small quantities. Would there likely 
be any injury to stock ? Could it be used in troughs to salt 
cattle ? 
Ans. —In my opinion, it would not do to use kainit 
or potash salts as a salt for cattle. Kainit, particu¬ 
larly, would be likely to be injurious, as it contains a 
high percentage of magnesium sulphate, which is a 
severe cathartic, and it is quite likely that the potas¬ 
sium sulphate would act in the same manner. The 
chlorides of both potash and magnesia would, also, 
be likely to cause inflammation of the internal organs. 
Kainit, however, may be used as an absorbent in the 
yards, either in the manure gutter or scattered over 
the manure, without danger, as cattle would not be 
likely to eat it when distributed in this manner. 
E. B. VOORHEES. 
How to Use Fish. 
JJ. G. P., Olympia, Wash.— What is the best way to compost two 
or three tons of whole salmon for a vegetable garden ? Last 
year, I composted with earth alone, but the fish were not well 
rotted and were unhealthful to have around. Will you give some 
cheap way that will thoroughly decompose and deodorize them ? 
They cost nothing but the hauling a few rods, and I am not able 
to buy other chemicals to make a balanced fertilizer, so I have to 
get what I can out of the fish alone. 
Ans. —Fish contain no potash, and that substance 
must be added in the form of wood ashes or potash 
salts in order to make a balanced fertilizer. In our 
own case, we would make a compost heap in the 
usual way—first a layer of rich soil, then a layer of 
fish—then more soil and so on. Over each layer of 
fish we would put a thick sprinkling of kainit, and at 
least once during the winter, work the whole pile 
over. We do not know whether the potash salts are 
to be obtained on the Pacific coast. You might use 
wood ashes, but this would not be so satisfactory. If 
the fish were mixed with horse manure, and land 
plaster sprinkled over them as the pile is made up, 
and the pile kept moist, they would be reasonably 
well rotted; or if some manure be put into the pile of 
earth and fish, the decay will be more rapid. 
Do Chemicals Injure the Soil ? 
C. 8., Frankton, Ind.—l. An impression is current here that 
commercial fertilizers leave the ground worse than it was before 
they were used. If so, what brand does it ? 2. What kinds will 
be best for general truck gardening and small fruits? Where 
can they be had ? 
Ans. —A superphosphate, made of phosphate rock 
and containing too much sulphuric acid might have 
a bad effect in some soils. If enough were used, it 
might make such soils acid, so as to hinder the growth 
of such crops as clover. The chances of danger from 
this are not great, and hardly worth considering. 
The trouble could be remedied by using lime. On 
light loam or sandy soils, the continued use of fer¬ 
tilizers alone for a number of years might be in¬ 
jurious, but if a sod or some green crop were used in 
regular rotation, there would be no trouble. This 
“impression” that chemical fertilizers injure the 
soil is quite prevalent with some farmers, but there 
is little or no warrant for it. The R. N.-Y. knows 
of farms where chemicals and sod have been used 
for 20 years, and the soil grows more productive all 
the time. 2. The special truck or vegetable fertilizers 
made by most of the dealers, are useful. As a rule, 
the western dealers use too little potash in their 
goods. We would demand at least six per cent of 
potash. If you wish to mix your own goods, you 
might use 300 pounds muriate of potash, 800 pounds 
fine ground bone, 200 pounds nitrate of soda, and 400 
pounds dried blood. You might mix the potash, bone 
and blood, and use the nitrate alone in early spring— 
not too near the plants. 
A Pump to Help the Pipe. 
0. G., Heceta, Or eg.—I am about to bring water to my house 
through a pipe 1,000 feet long. The source of the water is 30 feet 
above the house. I was thinking of putting in a three-quarter- 
inch pipe, expecting, when the water was on, that it could be 
used in case of fire, and throw a stream over the house; but a 
friend tells me that the distance is so great that the pressure in 
so small a pipe would be used \ip in friction, and that the water 
would merely run out of the pipe without any force. If this is 
correct, what is the smallest size pipe I could use and get a good 
stream of water.? The cost of pipe over one inch in size increases 
very rapidly; it is, therefore, an object in having the pipe as 
small as will answer the purpose. 
Ans. —Y our friend is very nearly correct when he tells 
you that the stream you would get through a three- 
quarter-inch pipe would not have force enough to be 
of any special use in case of fire. With a pipe of that 
dimension, you would be able simply to get a mere 
drizzle. The fall of 30 feet is, probably, from the 
spring to the foundation of the house, and to carry it 
to the top of your building, it would have to rise 
higher than its source. Should you use a pipe one 
inch in diameter, about one half of the head would 
be used up in friction, and the water could be carried 
up from 12 to 15 feet. This could be caught in a tank, 
and then used as a source of supply for the lower 
part of the house, and pipes laid from it to the barn 
or garden. 
Every farmhouse should have its supply of water 
under pressure, and it can be obtained simply and 
easily. Fig. 257 shows how the pipes should be laid 
and the connections made. No house can afford to 
be without its bathroom and water connection, and 
we usually think of these things as being city lux¬ 
uries. A tank must be built in the upper story of the 
house, or in the attic. The water may be conveyed 
into this directly from the roof by a pipe, as shown. 
But this plan is not to be recommended, as a large 
quantity of dirt and debris will be carried into the 
tank. By means of a force pump, the water can 
be carried from the ordinary ground cistern to the 
top of the house, and the tank kept full. Five min¬ 
utes’ work a day by a man of ordinary strength and 
energy will keep the tank full, and an abundant sup¬ 
ply of water is always ready for use in kitchen or 
bathroom. Fig. 257 shows how connections may be 
made with the range so that hot and cold water are 
always at command. l. a. Clinton. 
Corn Meal or Cotton Seed for Manure. 
A. J. P., Branford, Conn .—How would corn meal take the place 
of cotton-seed meal as a fertilizer ? One costs $16 and the other 
$24 per ton. 
Ans.—T he best answer to this question will be 
given by comparing the two kinds of meal. Here we 
show the amounts of plant food in a ton of each : 
POUNDS TO TUB TON. 
Nitrogen. Phos. acid. Potash. 
Corn meal. 38 14 7 
Cotton-seed meal. 132 48 35 
These are average samples, and will make a fair com¬ 
parison. You will see that, of actual plant food, the 
cotton-seed meal contains nearly four times as much 
nitrogen and phosphoric acid, and five times as much 
potash as the corn meal, yet it costs less than twice 
as much. Figuring them out as you would for fer¬ 
tilizers, the corn meal contains about two per cent 
of nitrogen, less than one per cent of phosphoric acid, 
and about one-third of one per cent of potash, while 
the ton of cotton-seed meal has nearly seven per cent 
of nitrogen and far more of the other substances. If 
these substances were mixed with dirt and called fer¬ 
tilizers, you would not believe any one who told you 
that they were of equal value. Look at it in another 
way. For $16, you can buy 2,000 pounds of corn meal 
or 1,333 pounds of cotton-seed meal. See what they 
contain: 
Nitrogen. Phoa. acid. Potash. 
Ton of corn meal. 38 14 7 
1,333 pounds of c.-s. meal.. 86 32 24 
In other words, one dollar spent for corn meal buys 
two pounds eight ounces of nitrogen, 14 ounces of 
phosphoric acid, and seven ounces of potash. The 
dollar spent for cotton-seed meal buys five pounds 
six ounces of nitrogen, two pounds of phosphoric acid 
and 1% pound of potash. If you were buying flour, 
butter and coffee, you would quickly decide as to 
which storekeeper would have your money. The corn 
meal contains a large amount of animal food that is 
of no value as manure. Bran, cotton-seed meal or 
linseed meal might, in some cases, be profitably used 
as a fertilizer, but corn meal, never. 
That 100-Hen Ration. 
M. 0. R., Albion, Mich—In Tue R. N.-Y. of October 31, J. E. 
Stevenson gives the ration for 100 hens. 1. Are the meat scraps 
cooked ? What do they cost per pound ? 2. Of what do they gen¬ 
erally consist ? 3. When is skim-milk “ bought right”? 4. How 
does he get his cut green bone—buy it at the market, or cut it him 
self ? As to green bone machines, there are three in this city. 
None of us knows how to run them, or it is almost impossible to 
cut green bone by hand power. Two of the mills are not in use 
at all, and one is run by steam at the market, where cut bone may 
be had at 2*4 cents per pound. 5. Is green bone .at that price an 
economical ration every day ? 
Ans. —1. They are cooked, and cost from two to 
three cents per pound. 2. They are scraps gathered 
from the butchers, cooked and the grease pressed 
out. 3. Skim-milk may be used with profit when 
bought at one-half cent per quart. 4. I cut it my¬ 
self with a Mann bone cutter. 5. Yes, feed every day 
what they will eat with avidity. It is one of the best 
egg producers known, and is also good for growing 
Chicks. J. E. STEVENSON. 
How to Make Cider Vinegar. 
II. P. R., Portland, Me .—How can I make cider into vinegar ? 
I have only a few barrels. I wish to make the vinegar in the 
shortest time, also to have the very best vinegar possible. 
Ans. —Exposure to the warm air will hasten the 
making of cider into vinegar. Simply place the bar¬ 
rels in the cellar or where they will not freeze during 
the winter. In the spring, place them in the open 
air, or in an attic, with the bungs out, but with the 
holes covered with coarse cloth to exclude insects. 
If it be arranged so that the cider will trickle slowly 
from one barrel to another, the process will be 
hastened. It would be well to rack off the cider 
after it works, to free it from all sediment. 
Southern-Grown Poultry Food. 
C. 8. E., Fulton Co., Ga .—1. Will green cow-pea vines or pea- 
vine hay do as well for food for laying hens as clover hay ? I 
cannot, in this vicinity, procure clover. 2. Are whole dry peas 
good hen food, and pea meal a good food for young chicks ? If 
fed to young chicks, should the latter be baked, and if so, is it 
prepared for baking as corn meal is ? Should it be used alone or 
mixed with bran, corn meal or oatmeal ? 3. Is cotton-seed meal 
a good feed for laying hens or growing chicks ? If so, in what 
proportion should it be fed, and how ? I tried feeding it a little 
while last spring, mixing in soft food, using about one-fourth 
cotton-seed meal, but chickens of all ages did not seem to relish 
it, and finally refused to eat food so mixed unless very hungry. 
We had been told that, for hens in confinement, it would, in a 
measure, take the place of meat. Afterward we were told that 
cotton-seed meal would kill hogs, and might kill poultry. Being 
recent southern settlers, and desiring to raise poultry to the best 
possible advantage, and at least cost, we ask for actual experience 
—if possible—of some successful southern breeder. 4. How would 
it do to plant a part of the poultry runs to peas for green foraging 
instead of all rye ? 
Ans. —1. There is no reason why pea-vine hay 
should not do as well as food for laying hens as 
clover. The composition is very similar, the clover 
being a little richer, while the pea-vine hay is more 
digestible. I have not tried either. In the form of 
ensilage, the results would, doubtless, be better. 
2. Whole dry peas would make a very rich nitrogen¬ 
ous food for fowls, feeding just before going to roost, 
but it would be necessary to limit the quantity to 
reasonable amounts, because of the tendency to pro¬ 
duce “crop-bound”, the peas being inclined to swell 
unduly. If the same precaution be used, and the 
peas be cracked or ground into coarse meal, I think 
that it would be a good feed for chicks. I would not 
mix pea meal with wheat bran, but rather with corn 
meal, or skim-milk, because peas and bran are both 
highly nitrogenous foods. I think that I would feed 
both products raw, as the more natural condition. 
3. Cotton-seed meal is very well suited as part of a 
ration for adult fowls, but I would not advise feeding, 
even in small quantities, to young animals of any 
species. One-fourth cotton-seed meal and three- 
fourths corn meal should make a fairly good theor¬ 
etical ration. As to palatableness, it must be learned 
by experiment. Commence with a small quantity, 
and gradually increase up to one-fourth. The cotton 
seed meal, however, would not supply the craving for 
animal food, though it might supply the same elements. 
4. The peas would not take the place of rye because 
they will not grow except in warm weather, when 
the fowls can more cheaply supply themselves with 
green food. Moreover, the cow-pea would not survive 
the constant grazing. Alfalfa would answer a better 
purpose. Pearl millet might, also, be useful during 
spring and summer. I would also recommend the 
common Georgia “Collard”as an excellent food for 
fowls. TROF. R. J. REDDING. 
Georgia Experiment Station. 
