1858. 
THE CULTIVATOR 
157 
Notes, Inquiries, See. 
Plaster and Ashes.— M. F ., Carlisle, N. Y., writes 
that he “has the authority of a good practical chem¬ 
ist ” for stating that these never should be mixed— 
their union being said to form a substance “ almost as 
insoluble as cast-iron.” He adds :— 
“ I am aware that this is contrary to the practice of most 
farmers in this section of the country, but I can find none 
who have tried the mixture, that can give any satisfactory 
assurance that they have been benefited by it. Two years 
ago; I mixed six hundred pounds of plaster with about 
fifteen bushels of leached ashes and an equal quantity of 
lien manure, for a top dressing for corn after first hoing. 
I could observe no benefit from the application.” 
We do not think the non-effect of the mixture can be 
accounted for on the above hypothesis. The sulphate of 
lime acting on the carbonate of potash of the ashes, 
might possibly produce a carbonate of lime, and a sul¬ 
phate of potash, but in these forms they would be 
equally soluble. We should be glad to know if other 
correspondents have found that either plaster or ashes 
loses its beneficial effect when the two are compounded ? 
New-York State Ag. Society. —The Germantown 
Telegraph, in publishing the list of officers recently 
elected by this Society, remarks : 
“It is with great pleasure that we see the name of Ex- 
Chancellor McCoun of Long Island, at its head, the pre¬ 
sent year, as President; for we we believe that a better, a 
more disinterested, and a more devoted friend of Agricul¬ 
ture, is not to be found within the limits of the State. 
Then, too, there is the old, long tried, and oft-proved Col. 
Johnson, the Corresponding Secretary, who has not only 
never come short of his duty, but has always gone far be¬ 
yond it, and to whose untiring exertions we verily believe 
the Society owes its prolonged existence and usefulness. 
And there is Mr. Tucker, also, the unflinching friend of 
the farmer, and one of the very pillars of the Society, 
whose best labors have been freely bestowed upon this 
honorably and ably conducted and most beneficial institu¬ 
tion.” 
The editor has fallen into the same mistake as many 
other papers. It is the Junior Mr. Tucker who was 
chosen Treasurer of the State Ag. Society. His “labors” 
in its behalf are those of the future, rather than of 
the past, but the Senior trusts they will prove, when 
opportunity may offer, as faithful and efficient, as they 
certainly will be heartily and cheerfully bestowed. 
Planting King Philip Corn. —In answer to the in¬ 
quiry of “ G. D.,” I would advise him to plant his 
King Philip corn in drills, say 3£ feet apart, and the 
stalks about 7 or 8 inches apart in the drills—or it may 
be planted in hills of 3 stalks each, about 3 feet one 
way and 2 feet the other. The stalk is very small, 
and may therefore stand nearer together than the 
stalks of larger corn. If planted thin, the failure re¬ 
sults from there not being enough stalks to give a pro- -. 
ductive crop. That is all. It will not succeed well on 
poor soil. Senex. 
Inquiry. —Can you or some of the subscribers to your 
valuable paper, inform me through the Cultivator, how 
to cure a valuable mare of mine. The first appear¬ 
ance of the disease or sprain, is a stiffness and diffi¬ 
culty of raising the hind legs. There is considerable 
swelling across the small of the back, and also farther 
back over the hips. The urine is very much colored. 
One leg swells considerably; the other does not swell 
at all. The stiffness is confined entirely to her hind 
legs. She has been so three times. The first time was 
two years ago this spring; then again a year ago, and 
again this spring, each time in the month of March. 
Does the time of year have any thing to do with it 7 
The first time being from home with her, I drove her l 
home, a distance of seven miles, without any apparent 
injury. This was on Friday; on the next Monday I 
drove her, she being to all appearance as well as ever. 
She has not been as bad either time since as at first. 
Hard work, heavy drawing, and fast driving, do not 
seem to hurt her. A Subscriber. 
Milk Wasting from the Teats of Cows. —Your 
correspondent, P. M’C , inquires for a remedy. Let 
him get from the druggist a small quantity of Collo¬ 
dion, or “ liquid cuticle,” and when the cow has been 
milked, apply it to the end of the teats. It instantly 
will form a thin tough skin, which will close the orifice 
and prevent the omission of the milk. At milking 
time the false skin can be broken through, and the cow 
milked, and the Collodion again applied. In a week 
or ten days there will be no necessity for further ap¬ 
plication, as the defect will be cured. D. L. Adair. 
§3F° Messrs. Fowler & Wells, publishers, of New- 
York, whose series of “ Hand-Hooks for Home Improve¬ 
ment ” we have favorably noticed heretofore, announce 
a forthcoming series to be entitled “ The House,” on 
Rural Architecture generally ; “ The Garden ,” a 
pocket manual of practical horticulture; “ The Farm,” 
including general Agriculture ; and “ Domestic Ani¬ 
mals,” embracing Bees, Dogs, Rabbits, &c., as well as 
larger farm stock. Price 30 cts. each or SI for the four. 
We have no doubt they will be practically prepared, 
and worth more than their cost to the purchaser. 
-<*- «>-«- 
Butter Malting. 
Mrs. Julia Parkhurst of Jackson, Clinton Co., 
beaten by Mrs. Mary Ann Woolley of Oswegatchie, 
St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., who made from two cows, 
commencing April 2, 1857, and ending Jan. 9, 1858, 
four hundred and ninety-seven pounds of butter—366 
lbs. of which were sold for twenty-five cents per pound ; 
the balance, with what milk was needed, was used in 
a family of six adult persons. 
Our secret of making good butter, and a good deal 
of it, is, first, good cows—second, good winter care and 
keeping; and third, thorough milking and proper man¬ 
agement of milk and cream when we get it. 
During the summer my cows have poor pasturing as 
I live within half a mile of the village of Ogdensburgh, 
where pasturing is poor and scarce, but I feed my cows 
no extra feed during summer. Joel M. Woolley. 
Ogdensburgh, N. Y. 
-© <» c>-- 
Hints on Carrot Culture. 
All who raise carrots are aware that much depends 
upon early hoeing and thinning. The carrot, at first, 
is so small as to be hardly discernible, and many wait 
too long before they commence to hoe, allowing the 
weeds to get the advantage ; and no amount of hoeing 
can insure a good crop after it has once been overrun 
and choked with weeds. The plan I adopt to enable 
me to distinguish the rows as soon as any other garden 
vegetable, is to mix and sow with the carrot seed, a 
small quantity of radish seed, as that starts quick., 
has a broad leaf, and can easily be told from any weed. 
This enables me hoe as soon as the carrot is above 
ground, or a week or two sooner than without. They 
can be pulled out at the first hoeing, or allowed to re¬ 
main till they acquire some size, and you have a crop 
of radishes without much injury to the carrot, if they 
are not suffered to remain too long. D. E. L. Ball- 
ston Center. 
