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OPEN To M OTHERS^ ^ m WE ARE ASSERTING IN THE CO f SCORIA,” AND exclusive use OF THE WORD j mark. “""SSS? piTCHER^ Prato, Massachusetts, DR. SAMUEL P| TCHER^ c - > ^ ^ the originator Of PTTCh-. oti euery h ± /wo hrrne and does now x-zy //*//; >-~sa- 11:fa 'simile signature of ™ er ' orfoiiwl ''PITCHER’S CASTOR!A, which has been f d l the homes of the Mothers of America for oust thirty r -s LOOK CAREFULLY at the wrapper and see that it is . hind nou have always bought 011 e thus the signature of wrap- 1 No one has authority from me to use my name ex- The Centaur Company of whieh Ckas. H. Fletcher is \sident. Z^y*^**— {arch 8,1897. .. Do Not Be Deceived. , not endanger the life of your child by accepting .heap substitute which some druggist may offer you ■cause he makes a few more pennies on it), the in dents of which even he does not know. The Kind Yon Have Always Bought” BEARS THE FAC-SIMILE SIGNATURE OF Insist on Having The Kind That Never Failed You. THE CENTAUR COMPANY* YY MURRAY STREET. NEW YORK CITY. [plies to INQUIRIES rmation Furnished by the Igricuitural Department. QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED irietio!* of Cow Peas For Uay—Meet ir Cultivation—The Propagation of bh Trees—Cause of IMseaso In Ctiick- -FertIfizers For Potatoes and Cab 'S Etc. estion.—Please give me some idea advantages of silage over other I for stock. Is it suited to horses Buies ? I have never had any expe- iiu making or using it, but if what- of it is true, I would like to try [another year. Please give me lairections as to the best way of ;it up, and the best crops to plant Do you thinx it pays for the sand expense ? )ni.—Silage is eaten by all farm but is peculiarly fitted for Tows. It pays, because it enables ?nt up a green summer crop and ft iu condition for feeding all wiu- ni it produces nearly equal resuits [ei green. Animals fed on silage jly relish it, bnt it will produce as | milk and butter, or even more, pie same kind cf fodder in the dry [because the stock will have bec- Jetites than if fed entirely on the )od, and are consequently more One acre iu corn will produce cli nutritious food as several acres Thus it is cheaper than hay las besides the following advaut- fit is a practically certain crop, pay is uncertain. As the proper fo harvest any green- crop for eu- is at maturity, before the leaves irowu, just whoa the water cou- lof the plant begin to dimin- [it follows that there is very loss of quantity m preserving it as while the best part of our dried is often destroyed by unfavorable ler before we can get it under Ai_y of the following crops used: Corn, red clover, rye, oats, sorghum, the millets, soja beans few pea9, indeed almost any green fay be utilized, but all things con. corn pays the best. It should bted very thick and cut when the [6 wed formed. The whole plant ‘cut up into short lengths anu in the silo, tramping down Mid firmly. Unless this precau- observed, that is, should the pud bits of stalk be nueveuly dis- p°. the silage will become mouidy “fit tor use. If there should be r moisture when packing the jmass will become dry and mouldy, pould be remedied by pouring [ 0Ver the mass during the process ciu k Of course the silo must be Itely water aad air tight, and the | contents, after b- lug cured, bear some what the same relation to our dry hay s and fodders, as canned fruit does to dried fruit. The daily ration is about l cubic foor' of silage. An experienced dairyman says he gives his cows all .they will ear, from 30 to 50 pounds to each cow, and has never experienced any bad results from it. A small. deeD silo is to be pre ferred. Small because a greater depth of silage can be removed each day, which is an advantage in both warm and cold weather. Iu warm weather there is less loss from spoiling, and in cold weather less injury from freezing. The silo should be deep, because the greater depth gives more weight, and it is less liable to mould. At least 3 inches should be removed for the daily feeding in order to keep the mass iu good con dition. On the whole we think the fol lowing directions cover the ground for building a well constructed sii6, and they are the only kind that pay. A carelessly built silo is au extravagance; a well made one is au economy. 1. The inside walls should be smooth and as near v vertical as possible, there should be no uneven edges to prevent the uniform settling of the contents. We have already mentioned that the silo should be narrow and deep, rather than wide and shaliow. 2. As the moisture from the silage is acid and tends to decay the wood, the inside of the silo should be well pro tected by a coat of coal tar, applied hot. The inside of the silo should be two lay ers of boards, the first horizontal and placed against the studs. Over this place a iaye: of the tarred paper, which can be bought ready prepared, and last, a layer of smooth dressed boards placed vertically on close edges. 3. The floor may be of stiff clay tramped hard, and to make it smooth, close aud rat proof a layer of cement is highly recommended. For ven filiation there should be auger holes bored be tween the studs aud openings should he left at the top of the wall. These should be covered with screen wire to keep out rats and mice. 4. The studs should be very strong to resist the great pressure to which they are subjected, the foundation should extend below the first line aud ■hould be 18 inches thick, the sills should be well tarred aud should restou a good foundation, bedded iu cement or mortar. The roof should be close aud should have a dormer window through which to fill the silo. 5. The silo should be so constructed and situated as that no water will fall or drain into it at any time. These are the main points, but we would advise that if you are not acquainted with the principles or practical workings of a silo, you eXamiue one which is prop erly constructed before attempting to build for your own use.—State Agricul tural Department. Cause or L’isease In Chickens. Question.—For several years I have raised comparatively few chickeus, though I once prided myself on my suc cess in this line. I am careful as to food aud water, and my coops are kept- clean, but from the several hundred chickens annually hatched out very few come to* maturity, most of them dying in the first few weeks. My neigh bors are disposed to think that some disease germ has trained afootho d here, and that it is useless for me to attempt to raise poultry. Do you think sucii caii be the case, and if so. is there any remedy wnicu I can «se to eradicate it? Answ.^Hs.—Without a full knowledge Of vour surroundings and methods it is difficult to answer your quesciou ex cept on general principles. It is true that disease germs may lurk iu poultry houses from year to year aud that thou sands of chickens are carried off an nually by these unsuspected agents. In such cases the best plan is to tear down the fowlhouse aud build iu an entirely different location, as far removed from the first as possible—men give the house a thorough whitewashing wim lime, inside aud out, in which a con siderable quantity of crude carbolic acid has been mixed—say a teacup of me acid to each gallon of lime wash. Put in new roosrs aud nesrs, and arrange them so that they can be taken out and c.eaned every few weeks. In cleaning them a good plan is to carry them a safe distance from the house, brush them over with kerosene aud then apply a lighted march. The fire will run over without injuring them, aud will destroy any lice or mites which may be in hiding. From au expe rience of several years we have conic to the conclusion that these destructive pests carry off a greater number of chickens than actual disease. By hav ing movable nests aud roosts which can be taken out in a few morne its it is much easier to give the house a thor ough cleaning and one cannot be too careful to go into every crack and cor ner. A few of these vermin safely lodged in au unnoticed crack will lay the foundation for millions of others iu a very short time. We have fouud kerosene a splendid agent for checking them, and a common watering pot for sprinkling into the otherwise inaccessi ble crevices answers every purpose. The droppings should not be allowed to accumulate and become a harbor for these myriads of insects, which, being almost invisible to the naked eye, will accumulate alarmingly before their presence is even suspected. The -drop pings should be removed each day and the houses kept scrupulously clean, not only to prevent vermin, but as a sani tary measure. Where the droppings are allowed to accumulate from week to week, they give off unwholesome gases and odors, which, being inhaled, causes mauy of the diseases from which our chickens suffer. If a layer of pias ter or dry earth is spread on the floor of the coop all the fertilizing properties of the manure are absorbed aud fixed, aud if care is taken to remove aud store it under shelter, we have a fertilizer ap proaching in composition to guano, though not so rich. Such manure com posted with eight or ten times its bulk of rich earth, will make a fertilizer of great value for either field or garden crops. Another prolific cause of the fatality among young chickens is the wide spread custom of feeding them on raw cornmeal dough. It should always be cooked. Where milk is plentiful we have fouud it a good plan to scald the milk and stir into it sufficient meal tu make a soft dough, letting it stand on the fire long euough for the meal to be come cooked, but not scorched. If wheat bran is convenient it adds very much to the nutriment of the mixture, aud this makes a splendid warm feed for the cool spring mornings, when the little chicks often become chilled. Besides this they should be given any table scraps, mea fruit or vegetable trim mings, and if sweet milk and clabber can be spared for them they are of in calculable worth in giving them a vig orous and early growth. A flock of well kept poultry can be made the source of a steady iuc <me, and should only enough be raised fo home use the investment pays better than anything else which requires the same outlay of time and money. — State Agricultural Depart ment. Treatment of Peach Orchard, Whore Last Year’s Crop Failed* Question. —I gave my peach orchard a moderate fertilizing last year, bnt the crop was almost a complete failure. I have almost determined to leave it alone, that is without anything further than keeping down the weeds, until I get some return from the fertilizer put on last year. Do you think this wouid be a good plan? Answer. —The care of a peach erchard requires the exercise of a good deal of common sense, as well as the judgment gained from experience aud observa tion, and in answering a question like the foregoing much depends on the 000- ditiou of the land on which the tree* stand, as well as on the age aud conui tion of the trees themselves. If the trees are thrifty and the soil in good condition perhaps you may another year reap some return from your invest ment of fertilizer, but the general mis- • take in fertilizing an orchard is to make the allowance too small rather than too large. And sometimes we may make mistake in the kind t;f fertilizer used For instance, old frees, which have been in bearing a number of years, do not need the elements in the same propor tions as a young orchard just coming into bearim The latter will require a larger per cent of nitrogen, while au oid orchard which has been well cared far Will require iittle else chan a liberal ap plication of potash, with perhaps a small per cent of phosphoric acid. Your orchard should have been well plowed in the fail, turning under all vegetable matter, and it pays better to fertil ize at the same time aud with a generous hand. Tne heavier prun ing aiso shonld have been done in the fall. While careful pruning is ab solutely necessary to heaitnful and profitable development of the trees, it is extremely hazardous to do any severe cutting after Jan. 1. It is too near the time for the sap to start, aud although too much wood is the general mistake among our orchardists, it is too late now to remedy an error of this kind. Severe cutting at this season is not ouiy fatal to the crop, bat often to the trees also. On the whole we would say, if your orchard is on thin land aud is rough and overrun with weeds ana briars and bushes, we would certainly clean it off and plow it, if possible giv ing it a dressing of potash, and if the orchard is young a smali application or nitrogen. Later on a crop of peas will do much iu the way of humus aud ni trogen to encourage a healthy growth, even if the pea crop is harvested, and thus you will not consider that your land is entirely idle, though the peach crop should fail.—State Agricultural Department. Are I'eaches Repruil uce<i From the Seed T Question.—I have had little experi ence in the propagation of peach trees, but I can remember when my graud- mother always saved and planted every unusually fine peach which she came across during the summer. Her or chard was mostly from seedlings aud I don’t think I ever saw a fiuer one. But I am told now that seedlings cannot be depended upon to reproduce themselves. Is this true and is there auy assigned reason for it? Answer. —Formerly iu nearly every part of this state there were good varie ties, which were kept up from the seed, but from neglect aud other causes they have deteriorated, aud today if we wish to propagate a particular variety we must depend on budding aud graf ting to produce certainly what we wish.- The seeds from all cultivated or chards have a strong tendency to revert to the origiual wild type, which was very inferior as to size aud quality, being little more tiian a large seed cov ered with a thin layer of flesh. Besides, the blossoms from oue tree may be fer tilized from those of another and per haps different variety and there are al ways these uncertainties attending the propagation of a peach from the seed We have tried the experiment aud suc ceeded iu producing a thrifty young or chard of seedlings from extra fi le peaches, whose first crop of fruit proved them, without a single exception, to be utterly worthless.—State Agricultural Department. DiQereut Varieties of Coir Pea* For I>if- lerent Purposed. Question.—Please tell me what you consider the best variety of cow peas for hay, also for turning under, and for the other uses to which this crop is put. Of the 50 o<id varieties raised, I suppose a good mauv posses the same character istics. What I wish to know is the principal varieties aud their uses. Answer.—The selection of the va riety for planting should be determined by the use for which the crop is de signed. If a heavy yield of hay is the principal object, the more vigorous aud late maturing upright varieties, such ad clay, unknown and wiiipporwiil. should be used. Of these the unknown is cer tainly one <>f the best, but if to be cut for hay should not be planted too early, as it finally becomes so trailing as ta.be difficult to cut with a machine, and ic produces less seed when it has too long a season for growth. If the crop is to be pastured, or is to be left to decay through the winter on the surface of the ground, trailing va rieties should be used; the unknown, black and red ripper being among the best. For this purpose they should be planted as early as possible. For stock peas, black, clay, speckled crowder and unknown have given us the heaviest yields; but it peas are wanted for table use the large and small lady, sugar and buckeye will be among the best. i And consider that iu addressing Mrs. Pinkham you are confiding your private ills to a woman—a woman whose ex perience in treating woman's diseases is greater than that of any living phy sician, male or female. You can talk freely to a woman when it is revolting to relate your private troubles to a man; besides, a man does not understand, simply because he is a man. MRS. PINKHAM’S STANDING INVITATION. - Women suffering from any form of female weakness are invited to promptly communicate with Mrs. Pinkham, at Lynn, Mass. All letters are re ceived, opened, read, and answered by women only. A woman can freely talk of her private illness to a woman. Thus has been established the eternal confidence between Mrs. Pinkham and the women of America which has never been broken. Out of the vast volume of experience which she has to draw from, it is more than possible that she has gained the very knowledge that will help your case. She asks nothing in return except your good will, and her advice has relieved thousands. Surely any woman, rich or poor, is very foolish if she does not take advantage of this generous offer of assistance. Oue of tne common methods of grow ing peaviues is to plant them between the rows of corn at the time of giving tire last cultivation. In this way a crop is secured which costs absolutely noth ing except for the seed aud sowing, and which may be relied npou foi a consid erable amount of seed aud grazing, and at the same time will make a cheap aud effective fertilizer for the succeeding crop. In some cases the peas aud corn have been planted at the same time, in alternate hills, but we have rarely found the practice economical. If running va rieties are used they tie cornstalks to gether so as to materially reduce the yield of the grain, while if dwarf varie ties are used they are so shaded by the corn as to make but- little growth. When planted between the rows in June or July they begin their rapid growth after the corn begius to ripen, and the com crop is gathered before the vines are large enough to be trouble some. When a crop of peas is grown in this way it cannot well he cut- for hay, but will usually make a good yield of seed, and will afford a large amount of most excellent grazing for either catt-lo or hogs. For such late grazing £h© black and the red ripper are among tho best varieties, as the peas will lie on the ground a long time without injury.-^ State Agricultural Department. Heet Jiujar. Question.—I notice a good deal in- the daily papers about the feasibility of our farmers beiug successful iu the cul tivation of beets for sugar. What is' your opinion 011 this subject, ami would you advise a man who has suitable laud to go into the business of cultivating beets for market ? Answer.—As suitable land is only one of the many requisites for success ful beet culture, we would not advise the venture, if that is the only advan tage possessed by the owner. First anil foremost is a suitable aud accessible market, then a knowledge of hew to prepare for, plaut, cultivate and sell the crop, is absolutely indispeu.sible. Granted these essentials we should be able to produce our own supply of suirar, but, as with every other new eutei prise, it is a mistake to. rush in and undertake to carry it through before we are thor oughly prepared for the ■work. The signs of the times point to this as a new American industry, and. as the Louisiana Planter pertinently says, we could reach au immense development of the sugar industry before we shonld be compelled by the magnitude of our home produc tion to accept the price of the world at large. At auy rate the American people seem determined to try the experiment of the beet sugar industry. The closeness of the margins in manufacturing in almost every district leads to the concentration of much atteution in this one industry, which seems to promise a profit to those who engage iu it, or at ieasc to promise a profit after the first losses due to bad management shall have been made. The industry is oue suited to our soils aud climate, is legitimate in every re spect, and we trust that it will be so en couraged that in time we will be able to fully supply our home market.—State Agricultural Department DESK SPACE FOR RENT in nice office; reasonable terms. Apply at this office..