164 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
to obtain, from a neighboring county, the Italian spring wheat. At a dis¬ 
tance of, say fifty rods, south of my field, he sowed about three acres, at 
or nearly the same time that I sowed my first piece, and like mine, after 
corn, and in fine condition. His was a far less growth, and some time be¬ 
fore harvest it was (as farmers say) struck with a rust, which so far shrunk 
the kernel that he did not harvest all his field. 
The proprietor of the next adjoining farm to the one last mentioned, 
still south, obtained from me seed for one acre, (which was all I could 
spare,) he also procured from the last mentioned farmer Italian seed for 
two acres more. He sowed the two kinds the same day, side and side, 
in good season and fine order, and like his neighbor’s and mine, after corn. 
The grow of the Siberian was perceptibly the most luxuriant; the straw 
bright and lustrous, the berry full, whilst the Italian was very rusty, with 
some smut, and the kernels badly shrunk. The proprietor judges that the 
Siberian will give him at least double the number of bushels per acre, and 
of double value per bushel. 
The proprietor of the farm adjoining me on the east, sowed of the same 
Italian seed, about six acres, like all the preceding pieces, after corn, in 
fine season and good order, land somewhat exhausted by tillage; it was on 
the road side. I saw it several times during the summer, the growth mid¬ 
dling, but as the harvest approached it lacked lustre, and the berry was 
not full. I should judge eighteen bushels per acre is all that can be ex¬ 
pected from the field. 
I furnished a Quaker fiiend in my vicinity with a bushel of seed. He 
then informed me that he had procured a bushel of very highly recom¬ 
mended Italian seed from an adjoining town, together with another bu¬ 
shel from a still different source, the name of which he could not recol¬ 
lect, in order to test their comparative merits. Last week he called up¬ 
on me to let me know (as far as he could before threshing) the results. 
He said he sowed the three kinds the same day, on the same soil with the 
same tillage. The growth of straw not materially different the forepart of 
the summer, although evidently in favor of the Siberian as the harvest ap¬ 
proached. The Siberian came in with a bright and lustrous straw, with 
full heads and plump kernel, but a few days later than the other kinds. 
The Italian almost ruined with smut. The other kind the straw very 
rusty, kernel badiy shrunk, with some smut. He says he thinks he shall 
thresh nearly or quite forty bushels from the one bushel of Siberian seed. 
One comparison more, and “ although last perhaps not least.” In the 
same field with my Siberian, I summer fallowed seven acres, and sowed 
the previous fall with winter wheat. It suffered severely by the winter, 
but after a long time there began to show some surviving plants, which 
spread and grew luxuriantly, and finally gave a return, as we judge, (not 
having threshed only as we have wanted for use,) twenty bushels per acre. 
This part of the field was .protected from the storm, which prostrated the 
other, by a wood on the westerly side. About ten days before harvest it 
was overtaken by a rust, remarkably dark, but came too late to affect the 
berry. It was surprising to see, side and side, (for they were not even 
separated by a fence) the straw of the one kind as white as silver, and the 
other as brown as that of buckwheat. Another fact which claimed my at¬ 
tention, was that of a strange bug, of the size and shape of a bed-bug, 
having wings encased, but showed no disposition to use them. They 
were astonishingly numerous, covering literally the straw near the heads 
of wheat, and thick upon the heads themselves, but not a bug on the Si¬ 
berian to be seen. Whether those are the harbingers of the grain worm 
or not I do not know, but whatever be his errand he has no message for 
the Siberian. THOMAS GOODSELL. 
Remarks.— The above communication from oui friend. Dr. Goodsell, 
goes to assert a very important fact, viz. that the straw of the Siberian 
spring wheat escapes the rust, where the Italian and other varieties are 
subject to it. This fact, if confirmed by future experiments, is of invalu¬ 
able importance to the farmer. We have had but one opportunity of com¬ 
paring samples of the Siberian and Italian wheat, of the crop of the last 
season, and in this case, w'e confess, the superiority seemed rather in fa¬ 
vor of the former. Whether this arose from the effect of rust on the Ita¬ 
lian, and from the Siberian being exempt from this malady, or from diffe¬ 
rence in soil, we are not prepared to say. We should like to satisfy our¬ 
selves as to the relative merits of the two kinds of wheat; and if Dr. G. 
will send us a bushel of Siberian seed, we will make the experiment fair¬ 
ly, and publish the honest result. (0- Siberian and Italian wheat may be 
had at W. Thor burn’s Seed-store.— Cond. Cult. _ 
VALUE OF APPLES. 
J. Buf.i., Esq.—Sir,—Having made an experiment in feeding my fat¬ 
ting hogs thus far with apples the present fall, I am so well pleased with 
the result, that you are at liberty to make the communication through 
the Cultivator to your subscribers, as fo my manner of preparing them for 
feeding. I have a two barrel chaldron set for boiling, with a cover to 
prevent the escape of the steam, which I fill with apples, adding two pails 
of water, and after boiling a short time, the apples become settled, so that 
I add from two to three bushels of cut pumpkins. When all becomes soft 
I add one bushel of ground feed, (peas and oats mixed,) generally by put¬ 
ting it immediately, or soon after, into the chaldron and well mixing it to- I 
gether, by which means the ground feed becomes perfectly cooked. Af- 1 
ter remaining a few hours, I have it placed in half hogsheads, where it re- 
u.ains from thirty-six to forty-eight hours before it is fed; by that means 
it has a perfect chance to ferment, which I consider very essential. It is 
true I have not compared weights with other years, but as far as my eye 
is a judge, I never had hogs do better for the same length of time in any 
former year, when I have fed them boiled potatoes, adding the same 
quantity of ground feed; and am satisfied that even sour apples are worth 
as much as potatoes in fattening pork. 
Much has been said through your valuable paper as to the saving made 
in cutting straw and hay for fodder. I wish to inquire through the Culti- 
tor, whether straw is fed to neat stock, when cut, without any mixture, 
such as bran or other kinds of mill-feed; and whether there is a sufficien¬ 
cy of nutriment in itself, and a sufficient quantity will be eaten to keep 
stock in good condition without the addition of a mixture. 
A SUBSCRIBER. 
Brunswick, Rensselaer county, November 14?/;, 1737. 
DISEASES IN CATTLE. 
Dear Sir,— I have not lost, from sickness, but one horned creature 
for more than twenty years; yet I do not know whether I should attribute 
my success to good fortune, or to the manner of managing my cattle. I 
will give my practice, and if others should be benefitted, I shall be suf¬ 
ficiently compensated. The first requisite I consider to be plenty of good 
feed. The next thing to be attended to is the tail soak, which makes 
them liable to take cold, and produces the hollow horn and other diseases. 
The tail-soak may be known by the hair in the bush of the tail being roll¬ 
ed or twisted; when this is the case, the animal will not thrive or grow 
as well as when clear of it; it is frequently observable in calves. 
Cure ..—Cut off the end of the tail until you find the bone; it should be 
done when the weather is mild, and attend to it to prevent the too great 
a loss of blood. A quart or two of new chamber lye frequently given to 
each creature is a great preventive of disease. 
Cure for Hollow Horn .—The pill recommended by your Ohio corre¬ 
spondent is much used in this town with success; but I prefers tea-kettle 
full of water, boiling hot, poured from the spout upon the-horns of the 
animal, having the nose held aside to prevent injury. It operates upon 
the same principle as immersing a person’s feet in warm water, and fre¬ 
quently causes profuse perspiration, and the animal should be kc-pt from 
very chilly winds for a few hours, and give from one to two ounces of 
flour of mustard. 
Cure for the Fouls—either kind .—Cleanse the foot by washing or with 
a rope, and sprinkle upon the affected part half a tea-spoonful of blue-vi- 
triol. For the peth-fouls put blue vitriol into the affected part on a probe 
or knife. Blue vitriol will also cure the hoof-ail in horses, if applied as 
above and a tarred rag put on to keep out the dirt. 
Cure for Hoof-ail in homed cattle .—Cut off the point of the hoof until 
it bleeds. 
Cure for Scours in cattle or horses .—Boil white oak bark, white pine 
bark and beech bark, and give it to them in bran if they will eat it; if not, 
pour it down. The oak is an astringent, the pine is healing, and the 
beach cures the inflammation. 
Cure for Garget .—Give scoke (or garget root) a piece as large as your 
finger, grated and given to a cow in any thing she will eat; it is very effica¬ 
cious. It grows from three to six feet high, with a purple stalk, and strings 
I of berries growing from between the branches. It is said to be poison to a 
horse. It will cure those painful, unwelcome visitors, fellons on your 
finger, in any stage of them, if grated and put on cold and changed often. 
It is good for many other swellings. 
Cure for a Cork in the foot of an ox .—Put on British oil. 
It is thought to be sure death for a horse to be kicked in the stifle; but 
if you should have one in that situation put in plenty of fine salt and no¬ 
thing else. Try it. The creature that I lost was a steer, nearly one year 
old; he bloated and soon died for want of a remedy; will some person com¬ 
municate one? as it is quite common for cattle to bloat and die in this vi¬ 
cinity. Yours with respect, &c. 
„ PLINY L. EVANS. 
P. S. If any horned creature should have a film growing on the eye, 
caused by a hurt, put in fine salt, it is a sure cure, but rather harsh. 
Bolivar, Allegany county, JVew-York, September 2d, 1837. 
Tyre, September 28 th, 1837. 
Dear Sir,—We had considerable frost on the morning of the 21st inst. 
land again on the morning of the 2-Ith, which did considerable damage to 
late fields of corn. The seasons of late have become so precarious for 
raising that crop, that I would advise my agricultural friends not to attempt 
to raise any more than what they can get in in season, and cultivate in the 
best manner. Corn, in this section, should be planted as early as the tenth 
of May; the ground should be made mellow, and a shovel full of fine ma¬ 
nure applied to each hill before planting; this gives it an early start, and 
sends it forward, so that it is not liable to be cut oft" by the early autumnal 
frosts. I have heretofore been in the practice of spreading my coarse ma¬ 
nure over the ground, turning it under, and planting on the top; good 
corn can be raised in this way, and some labor saved; but there is one ob- 
