192 
THE CULTIVATOR 
to do with its permanence. Downing, in his work on 
Country Houses,gives the following 1r ‘ Slack half a bush¬ 
el of lime in a barrel, by pouring over it hot water enough 
to cover it four or five inches deep, stirring till slacked 
—then fill the barrel two-thirds full of water, and add 
one bushel of water-lime. Dissolve in water and add 
three pounds of sulphate of zinc. The whole should be 
of the thickness of paint, ready for use with the brush. 
This wash is improved by the addition of a peck of white 
sand stirred in just before using. The color is a pale 
stone color, nearly white. To make it fawn color, add 
one pound yellow ochre, two pounds raw umber, and two 
pounds Indian red. To make it drab, add one pound 
each of Indian red, umber, and lampblack.” This wash 
the author says he has tested thoroughly, and that it sets 
and adheres very firmly. 
Sowing Timothy-—Bone Manure. 
Edgar Burroughs, of Loudon Bridge, Va., makes 
the following inquiries,—1. The best time to soav timothy 
seed. 2. The quantity per acre, and 3. How many 
pounds of sulphuric acid will be required to 100 lbs. of 
bones to reduce them to powder, and what degree of di¬ 
lution is necessary. 
1. If the timothy is sown and lightly covered by mid¬ 
autumn, the young plants will get a good foot hold by 
winter. The oat crop is too thick in growth—wheat is 
better; but at the north, some farmers have been very 
successful by sowing grass seed as a separate crop very- 
early in spring. If there is danger of*its drying up by 
the hot sun, a mixture of clover might prevent this re¬ 
sult. 
2. Many sow only four quarts per acre, and consider 
this abundant—we prefer a peck, as giving a closer and 
heavier crop. 
3. Fifty pounds of sulphuric acid will usually reduce 
100 pounds of bones—perhaps 40 lbs. would do, if of the 
strongest quality. It should be diluted with about three 
times its bulk of water, added gradually. The best way 
is to apply it in separate portions in two or three suc¬ 
cessive days. 
Analysis of Oil Cake and Wheat Bran. 
Could you not favor the readers of the Cultivator with 
the analysis of the different kinds of oil cake, viz: that 
made from the large seed or Calcutta seed, and that made 
from the small seed or seeds of Linum usitatissimum. 
Also the analysis of wheat bran. By giving the above 
information I have no doubt you will oblige many of your 
readers, particularly inexperienced ones like myself. The 
cake meal of the small seed is much more mucilaginous 
and palatable than that of the large or Calcutta seed, but 
whether it is more nutritious I cannot determine. Yours 
respectfully. F. B. Poley. Montgomery Co., Pa. 
We do not know of any analysis of oil cake. The only 
analysis of bran now at hand, gives the following result, 
which is not very minute:— 
parts. 
Soluble salts. 44.15 
Earthy phosphates,. 46 50 
Silica,. 50 
Metallic oxides,. 25 
Prof. Norton says, “ It is a singular fact, than in all 
the seeds of wheat, and of other grains, the principal 
May. 
part of the oil lies near, or in the skin, as also does a 
large portion of the gluten. The bran owes to this much 
of its nutritive and fattening qualities. Thus, in refining 
our flour to the utmost possible extent, we diminish 
somewhat its value for food. The phosphates of the ash 
also lie to a great degree in the skin.” 
Destructive Orchard Caterpillar. 
N. H. Noyes, of Otisco, N. Y., inquires for a remedy 
for the destructive caterpillar which stripped orchards 
of their leaves last summer, so generally, in large portions 
of Onondaga and Cayuga counties. As this differs from 
the common orchard caterpillar in having no nests, it can¬ 
not be easily destroyed in a wholesale manner, and we 
do not know of any practicable and effectual remedy. 
We do not possess any other material information in re¬ 
lation to it than was given in the Cultivator for August 
last. More than 20 years ago it stripped the forests in 
some parts of Cayuga county, but soon after disappeared, 
except in small numbers, until its formidable re-appear¬ 
ance last year. 
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Information Wanted. 
We shall be glad to receive replies to the following in¬ 
quiries, from some of our readers:— 
Clover Machine. —Please let me know in your next, 
what machine you recommend as being the best for thresh¬ 
ing clover. B. D. Montreal, March 24. 
Feeding Oil Cake. — I would inquire through the 
pages of the Cultivator, what proportion of oil cake meal 
Mr. Johnston mixed with corn meal in feeding fattening 
cattle. J. W. G-. Ball’s Pond, Conn. 
Feeding Poultry.—I should like to make an inquiry 
respecting the best management and feeding domestic 
fowls, where tliey are kept expressly for their eggs. Is 
it best to give them all the grain and other stuff they will 
eat? Will high feeding make them too much inclined to 
fatten, rather than lay? I would like to see an article 
on this point, in your paper. Salmon Cook. North 
Springfield, Ft., Feb. 26,1852. 
Use of Lime. —I have a quantity of air slacked lime, 
which I wish to apply, at the rate of about 10 bushels to 
the acre, to corn and potatoes, manured in the hill, on 
rather light-yellow loam soil. How shall I apply it, to 
insure the best result to crops this season? The lime has 
been burned some two years. H. H. Harris. Moriah , 
Essex co., N. Y. 
-►©-»- 
Will you please inform me through the columns of the 
Cultivator, how many cows a fair sized yearling bull with 
good keep, will serve without injury to himself or pro¬ 
duce. Subscriber. Swanton, Ft., March 15. 
We have had no experience on this subject, that would 
enable us to answer thisinquiry understandingly. Youatt, 
however, who is usually regarded as very high authority 
in such matters, says that a bull should never be used at 
that age—that “ it is absurd and dangerous to begin 
when a yearling—he will come in season at two years old 
—he will be better at three.” This is all the informa¬ 
tion he gives on this subject. 
Temperance is the best physic. 
