3i8 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
May  14 
Moralizing-  on  Milk. 
H.  M.  F.,  South  Bloomfield,  N.  Y. — At 
a  dairy  meeting  held  in  this  section  last 
winter,  the  milk  tests  revealed  some 
leaks  in  the  present  modes  of  raising 
cream  that  we  did  not  dream  of,  the 
creamery  skim-milk  showing  0.4  per 
cent  of  butter  fat,  while  creamery  butter¬ 
milk  showed  1.57  per  cent.  Othersamples 
from  the  creamery  gave  4.0  per  cent,  4.1 
per  cent,  3.0  per  cent,  3.3  per  cent.  Mr. 
Hartshorn’s  sample  gave  6.0  per  cent — a 
wide  margin  between  the  highest  and 
lowest — the  average  of  17  tests  showing 
4  1  per  cent.  The  eight  tests  at  Horse- 
heads  showed  the  highest,  8.4  per  cent ; 
the  lowest,  a  heifer,  3.8  per  cent ;  the 
average,  5.5.  Why  will  farmers  cry  hard 
times  and  spend  time  and  money  in 
political  agitation  when  the  failure  of  too 
many  may  be  traced  to  methods  well 
calculated  to  produce  the  conditions  com¬ 
plained  of ;  when  dairymen  will,  year 
after  year,  keep  and  care  for  cows  that 
do  not  pay  their  cost  ?  Farming  is  a 
business,  and  to  succeed  brain  is  needed 
quite  as  much  as  brawn.  One  cannot  be 
hired,  the  other  can. 
Fogs  and  Frosts. 
W.  M.  H.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. — Do  fogs 
in  February  indicate  frosts  in  May  on 
corresponding  dates  ?  I  have  heard  that 
this  is  the  case,  and  last  year  the  asser¬ 
tion  was  verified.  This  year  we  had  fogs 
from  February  19  to  23,  inclusive,  in  this 
locality.  Would  it  not  be  well  to  take 
precautions  against  frost?  This  has  been 
successfully  done  for  years  by  certain 
fruit  growers  in  our  own  country  and  in 
Europe,  by  creating  a  dense  smoke  as  a 
canopy  over  orchard  or  vineyard.  This 
may  be  done  in  various  ways  ;  the  cheap¬ 
est,  and  perhaps  the  most  effective,  is  to 
procure  a  barrel  of  coal  tar  at  the  gas 
works,  costing  about  $1.  Fill  several 
cans  (old  corned-beef  cans  holding  a  gal¬ 
lon  answer  a  good  purpose),  suspend  one 
in  an  area  of  about  two  acres,  with  a 
small  puncture  at  the  bottom,  allowing 
the  contents  to  drip  on  a  fiat  stone  or 
tin,  and  burn  from  midnight  till  sunrise. 
Professor  Massey  Answers. 
W.  F.  Massey,  North  Carolina. — The 
Rural’s  remarks  on  my  notes  about  Soja 
Beans  are  neither  fair  nor  just.  It  was 
distinctly  said  that  the  Soja  Bean  was 
a  worthless  legume  and  the  stations 
■were  blamed  for  approving  it.  If  the 
condemnation  had  been  limited  to  New 
Jersey  no  fault  could  have  been  found. 
Now  in  regard  to  my  praise  of  Crimson 
Clover;  I  have  never  recommended  it  as  a 
plant  for  the  North,  but  have  always 
advised  its  use  south  of  Mason  and 
Dixon’s  Line.  The  great  success  of  this 
clover  in  Delaware  inclines  me  to  think 
that  Director  Meade  of  the  Delaware 
Station  has  perhaps  found  the  reason  of 
the  lack  of  success  of  some  parties  North, 
in  the  fact  that  they  may  have  got  what 
he  calls  the  Egyptian  Clover  instead.  We 
have  tried  the  Crimson  Clover  and  the 
Soja  Beans  for  years,  and  praise  them 
only  when  thoroughly  convinced  of  their 
value.  We  have  three  varieties  of  the 
Soja,  with  red,  yellow  and  green  seeds — 
which  has  The  Rural  tried  ? 
Now,  too,  in  regard  to  that  shot  about 
lime,  which  is  lugged  in  at  the  end.  I 
have  never  in  my  life  said  or  written  that 
lime  is  not  plant  food,  but  that  the 
amount  used  as  plant  food  direct,  is  the 
smallest  part  of  its  use  in  plant  culture. 
I  have  never  denied  the  fact  that  a  small 
portion  of  lime  seems  to  be  essential  as 
plant  food,  but  have  insisted  that  a  large 
part  of  the  lime  found  in  the  ashes  of 
plants  was  not  used  by  the  plant  as  food 
at  all,  and  any  one  accustomed  to  the 
microscopic  study  of  plant  tissues  and 
contents  will  bear  me  out  in  this.  No 
theory  of  mere  plant  food  can  account  for 
the  benefit  to  land  and  crop  by  the  use 
of  lime  in  large  quantities.  I  am  an  advo 
cate  for  the  regular  and  plentiful  appli¬ 
cation  of  lime  at  intervals  upon  any  day 
soils,  not  because  I  consider  it  a  manure, 
for  nearly  all  our  soils  have  already  a  sur¬ 
plus  for  all  the  needs  of  the  plant  as  food? 
but  for  its  value  as  a  re-agent,  solvent 
and  its  mechanical  effects.  So  when  The 
Rural  quotes  me,  let  it  please  quote 
fairly. 
R.  N.-Y. — Our  praise  or  condemnation 
of  plants  tried  is  for  our  own  locality. 
This  has  been  stated  and  re-stated  many 
times.  We  do  not  remember  as  to  the 
color  of  the  Soja  Beans  tried  many  years 
ago  on  the  Lontr  Island  farm  of  The  R. 
N.-Y. — not  in  New  Jersey.  We  are  in 
hopes  that  Prof.  Massey  and  all  who 
praise  it  are  right  and  that  The  R.  N  -Y. 
is  wrong.  We  are  “  surprised’’  all  the 
same  that  a  plant  that  proved  compara¬ 
tively  worthless  with  us  should  be  found 
valuable  elsewhere,  under  apparently  the 
same  conditions. 
The  Mexican  Primrose. — I  notice  that 
The  Rural  exposes  the  Mexican  Prim¬ 
rose  humbug  in  the  issue  of  April  16,  and 
it  says  that  it  is  the  first  paper  to  pub¬ 
lish  its  true  name.  About  six  weeks  ago 
I  mailed  it  a  copy  of  the  Detroit  Weekly 
Free  Press  (Michigan  edition)  for  Jan¬ 
uary  14,  1892,  in  which  I  called  particular 
attention  to  this  plant  and  gave  the  bo¬ 
tanical  name — CEnothera  rosea — as  given 
on  page  five  of  the  catalogue  of  the  firm 
offering  it.  Is  The  Rural  sure  that  the 
botanical  name  it  gives  is  the  correct 
one  ?  I  am  not  particularly  familiar  with 
this  tribe  of  plants  ;  but  had  always  sup¬ 
posed  that  CEnothera  speciosa  was  white. 
Perhaps  the  variety  Mexicana  is  rose- 
colored.  Whether  it  belongs  to  one 
species  or  another,  however,  is  of  little 
moment.  The  fact  that  there  is  one,  and 
the  leading  one  also,  agricultural  paper 
with  back-bone  enough  to  prefer  the 
truth  to  temporary  gain  gives  promise  of 
a  time  coming  when  all  the  agricultural 
press  will  join  in  condemnation  of  such 
methods  as  The  Rural  has  exposed  in 
this  instance,  and  will  refuse  to  be  in  any 
manner  a  party  to  such  frauds. 
Detroit,  Mich.  w.  brotherton. 
In  The  R.  N.-Y.  of  March  19,  p.  188,  it  was 
stated  that  the  so-called  Mexican  Prim¬ 
rose  is  (Enothera  rosea,  not  CE.  speciosa. 
In  The  It.  N.-Y.  of  April  16,  to  which  our 
correspondent  alludes,  the  botanical 
name  is  given  as  CEnothera  speciosa  var. 
Mexicana.  We  are  inclined  to  think  that 
Rosea  is  properly  a  variety  of  Speciosa, 
but  we  have  no  positive  data,  as  yet,  to 
prove  whether  it  is  or  not.  We  quote  as 
follows  from  the  Detroit  Free  Press  of 
January  14 : 
“  A  full- page  colored  plate  and  a  page 
of  printed  matter  are  devoted  to  the 
Mexican  Primrose.  The  illustration  is 
good,  for  it  represents  fairly  well  the 
plant,  and  the  description  is  so  worded 
that,  while  it  is  not  declared  to  be  a  new 
plant,  the  impression  one  who  is  not 
familiar  with  such  things  would  have 
after  reading  it,  would  be  that  it  is  a 
great  novelty  offered  by  the  firm.  In 
another  part  of  the  catalogue  the  bo¬ 
tanical  name  is  given  as  CEnothera  rosea, 
a  plant  discovered  over  100  years  ago, 
seed  of  which  has  been  offered  by  lead¬ 
ing  European  seedsmen  for  an  indefinite 
time  and  which  can  be  bought  at  the 
wholesale  price  of  §3  or  $4  per  pound,  a 
pound  having  at  least  200,000  seeds.  I 
cannot  find  that  the  seed  is  offered  by 
this  seedsman,  but  fine  plants  are  offered 
at  40  cents  each.” 
It  is  true  that  the  catalogue  descrip¬ 
tion  is  so  worded  as  to  give  the  impression 
that  it  is  a  new  plant  without  directly 
saying  so.  But  it  has  been  widely 
advertised  by  the  same  firm,  as  “  the 
grandest  of  all  new  plants.” . 
Prof.  Wm.  Saunders,  Director  of  the 
Experiment  Farms  of  Canada,  sends  us  a 
head  of  a  cross  between  two-rowed  and 
six-rowed  barley.  The  head  sent  is  one 
of  72  heads  grown  on  one  plant.  It  con¬ 
tains  78  kernels.  It  is  the  heaviest  yield¬ 
ing  barley  Prof.  Saunders  has  ever  seen. 
The  variety  still  sports  considerably . 
Prof.  Saunders  also  sends  us  a  sam¬ 
ple  of  spring  wheat,  the  plants  of  which 
were  Ladoga  (female)  and  Red  Fife, 
which  he  has  named  Abundance.  Start¬ 
ing  with  a  single  kernel  in  the  spring  of 
1889,  he  has  as  the  result  of  the  third 
harvesting  362,658  kernels.  It  is  promis¬ 
ing  for  the  abundance  of  the  crop  and 
also  on  account  of  its  being  a  pure  hard 
wheat,  an  unusual  thing  in  his  climate. 
The  sample  sent  weighs  63%  pounds  per 
bushel . 
“  I  think  The  Rural  has  been  doing 
the  public  good  service  for  many  years  in 
advising  its  readers  to  invest  lightly  in 
untried  novelties  at  high  prices,  and  by 
giving  them  its  disinterested  experience 
with  many  different  trees  and  plants, 
and  I  hope  it  may  continue  in  the  good 
work,  for  such  a  paper  should  be  con¬ 
sidered  a  public  benefactor.” 
The  above  note,  from  H.  G.  Heberling. 
Short  Creek,  Ohio,  is  a  sample  of  many 
letters  which  we  are  receiving.  They 
encourage  us  to  go  on  with  the  good 
work . 
Here  is  another  from  our  esteemed 
contemporary  The  Ohio  Farmer  which  we 
especially  prize  : 
“The  editor  of  The  R.  N.-Y.  has  stead¬ 
ily  refused  to  be  ‘  politic  ’  or  ‘  worldly 
wise.’  His  detestation  of  fraud  and  sham 
is  intense  and  ever  active.  In  particular 
his  tests  of  so-called  novelties  in  seeds, 
plants,  etc.,  have  shown  him  the  facts 
and  led  him  to  denounce  again  and  again 
in  unsparing  terms  florists,  seedsmen  and 
nurserymen  who  sell  old  plants  or  seeds 
under  new  names,  as  valuable  novelties, 
deluding  and  plundering  innocent  pur¬ 
chasers  by  alluring  engravings  and  de¬ 
scriptions  of  impossible  plants  and  fruits. 
This  course,  deliberately  pursued,  has 
brought  many  costly  libel  suits,  but  has 
been  a  great  help  to  honest  seedsmen, 
nurserymen,  agents  and  purchasers.  It 
has  required  pluck  and  has  cost  money”. 
( Continued  on  next  page.) 
#UisreUattfou;s 
Ik  you  name  The  It.  N.-Y.  to  our  advertisers  you 
may  be  pretty  sure  of  prompt  replies  and  right 
treatment. 
You  Need  It  Now. 
To  Impart  strength  and  to  give  a  feeling  of  health 
and  vigor  throughout  the  system,  there  Is  nothing 
equal  to  Hood’s  Sarsaparilla.  It  seems  peculiarly 
adapted  to  overcome  that  tired  feeling  caused  by 
change  of  season,  climate  or  life,  and  while  it  tones 
and  sustains  the  system,  it  purities  and  renovates 
the  blood.  We  earnestly  urge  the  large  army  of 
clerks,  bookkeepers,  school-teachers,  housewives, 
operatives,  and  all  others  who  have  been  closely 
confined  during  the  winter  and  who  need  a  good 
spring  medicine,  to  try 
Hood’s  Sarsaparilla 
now.  It  will  do  you  good. 
HOOD'S  PILLS  cure  liver  ills,  constipation,  bilious¬ 
ness,  jaundice,  sich  headache,  indigestion. 
\^Y_ 
\\CEANV077y 
ANY 
As  much 
For  INTEBNAL  as  EXTERNAL  use. 
£7? 
Originated  by  an  Old  Family  Physician  in  1 81 0 
Could  a  Remedy 
^OUTREAV-^ 
Have  Survived  for  Eighty  Years  ? 
Dropped  oil  Sugar,  Children  Love  It. 
Every  Traveler  should  have  a  bottle  of  it  in  his  satchel 
THINK  OF  IT. 
In  use  over  40  YEARS  in  one  family. 
Dr  I.  S.  Johnson  &  Co.— It  is  sixty  years  since  I  first 
learned  of  your  Johnson’s  Anodyne  Liniment;  for 
more  than  forty  years  I  have  used  it  In  my  family'. 
O.  H.  INGALLS,  Dea.  2d  Baptist  Church,  Bangor,  Me. 
Every  Mother  Anodyne  Liniment  in 
the  house  for  Croup,  Colds,  Sore  Throat,  Catarrh, 
Tonsilitis,  Colic,  Nervous  Headache,  Cuts,  Bruises, 
Cramps,  Pains,  Soreness  in  Body  or  Limbs.  Delays 
may  cost  a  life.  Relieves  Summer  Complaints  like 
magic.  Sold  everywhere.  Price.  35  cts.,  6  bottles,  $2. 
Express  paid.  I.  S.  JOHNSON  &  CO.,  Boston,  Hass. 
GENUINE  PHILADELPHIA 
lawn  Mower. 
HAND  SIZES  10  TO  20  INCHES. 
BOTH  OPEN  AND  SOLID  CYLINDERS. 
PONY  AND  HORSE  30  AND  3G  INCHES. 
LAWN  SWEEPERS  and  GRASS  EDGERS. 
GRAHAM,  EMLEN  &  PASSMORE, *  - 
631  Market  St.,  Philadelphia,  Penn. 
SHIPMAN  AUTOMATIC 
STEAM  ENGINE  • 
COSTS  little  to  buy. 
less  to  run.  and 
nothing  to  keep. 
Requires  no  en¬ 
gineer.  Burns 
kerosene,  petro¬ 
ls  leum.  etc.  \\ 
WILL  DO  yourFARM  WORK 
cheaper  and  better  than  horse  or  hand 
power.  Saw  wood,  pump  water,  make 
cider,  hoist  hay.  thresh  grain,  churn 
butter,  etc. 
SEND  FOR  CATALOCUE. 
Shipman  Engine  Co., 
246  Summer  St.,  Boston. 
J.  I.  Case  T.  M.  Co., 
RACINE,  WISCONSIN. 
MANUFACTURERS  OF 
Ironsides  “Agitator” 
THRESHERS. 
(  D ingee)  Woodbury  SweepPowers, 
Tread  Powers  and  Saw  Frames, 
Swinging  Stackers, 
Sell -Feeders  and  Ban  a  Cutters, 
Saw  Mills, 
portable,  Traction  and  Skid 
ENCINES. 
Catalogue  Mailed  FREE. 
AniRF  Oil  All  PC  A  very  peculiar  place 
llAnC  Un  ft  HU  El  for  sale — On  the  west¬ 
ern  border  of  Westborough,  and  the  eastern  border 
of  Grafton,  Worcester  County.  Mass.,  Is  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  tracts  of  land  to  be  found  In  the 
State.  It  Is  an  elevated  table  Of  peat  ground,  with 
an  island  of  five  or  six  acres  near  the  center  of  solid 
upland,  upon  which  a  dwelling  house  and  barn  are 
located,  comprising  altogether  112  acres.  About  40 
years  ago,  the  owner  at  that  time  expended  a  large 
sum  lu  draining  the  land.  This  was  effected  by 
means  of  ditches  terminating  In  deep  cuts  through 
the  adjacent  high  ground  surrounding  the  tract  Into 
a  low  valley,  whereby  the  peat  meadows  have  been 
so  completely  drained,  that  teams  of  horses  or  oxen 
with  plows  and  carts,  can  traverse  and  cultivate  the 
surface,  a  thing  impossible  before  this  drainage  was 
accomplished.  For  want  of  cultivation  the  land  is 
now  largely  overgrown  with  a  growth  of  young  forest 
trees.  The  soil  abounds  with  that  peculiar  astrlugent 
quality  which  gratifies  the  natural  instinct  of  the 
strawberry  plant,  In  consequence  of  which  the  wild 
strawberry  here  flourishes  wherever  the  grass  and 
shrubbery  give  it  a  chance  to  ^grow.  Heavy  crops  of 
fine  hay  are  produced  by  an  admixture  or  top-dress¬ 
ing  of  common  earth  or  loam  with  the  muck  soil 
ol  the  place.  To  an  enterprising  horticulturist  or 
farmer,  with  a  taste  for  experimental  cultivation, 
this  place  presents  an  opportunity  not  often  found. 
It  is  also  specially  adapted  to  the  purpose  of  a  game 
and  trout  preserve.  In  consequence  of  the  decease 
of  the  late  owner  the  property  Is  now  offered  for  sale 
at  a  moderate  price  in  settlement’of  his  estate  by 
the  executor  In  trust.  Enquire  of  C.  P.  WHITE, 
a.  Deacon  Chamberlain’s,  Westborough,  near  the 
p;emises;  THOS.  WHITE,  135  Hicks  St.,  Brooklyn, 
or  30  Burling  Slip,  New  York. 
The  ROCKER  WASHER 
has  proved  the  most  satis¬ 
factory  of  any  Washer 
ever  placed  upon  the  mar¬ 
ket.  It  is  warranted  to 
wash  an  ordinary  family 
washing  of  IOO  pieces  in 
One  Hour,  as  clean  as 
can  be  washed  on  the 
washboard.  Write  for 
prices  and  full  description. 
ROCKER  WASHER  GO., 
Fort  Wayne,  Inti. 
Liberal  Inducements  to 
live  agents. 
