446 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
July  !t 
Even  California  Has  Faults  ! 
H.  S.  W.,  Amador  City,  Cai,. — I  have 
become  convinced  that  the  advantages 
of  California  as  a  horticultural  State 
over  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  States  are 
more  than  balanced  by  her  unfavorable 
position  and  by  some  features  of  her 
climate.  As  a  working  horticulturist,  I 
have  had  personal  experience  of  mild 
climates,  such  as  the  center  and  Mediter¬ 
ranean  coasts  of  France,  Italy,  the  Eng¬ 
lish  Channel  Islands  and  coasts,  yet  I  end 
by  becoming  convinced  that  had  our  Cen¬ 
tral  and  Southern  States  been  in  a  posi¬ 
tion  to  give  the  same  attention  to  wines 
and  fruits  which  California  had  to  do— or 
die,  they  would  have  eclipsed  California 
as  far  as  France  has  eclipsed  other  coun¬ 
tries  in  wines,  fruits  and  perfume  flowers. 
In  the  days  when  her  hair  stood  on  end 
at  her  own  wonders,  California  did  not 
notice  her  disadvantages.  I  have  been 
long  convinced  that  older  States  will  pro¬ 
duce,  for  their  own  use,  the  products 
which  California  seeks  to  send  to  them, 
liy  selection  from  the  results  accomp¬ 
lished  by  older  workers,  grafting  on 
favorable  stocks,  developing  improved 
seedlings  from  native  and  hybrid  seeds, 
and  especially  from  choice  foreign  seeds, 
acclimated  by  being  born  on  the  soil  they 
must  occupy,  it  will  be  proved  that  the 
older  States  need  no  wholesale  supple¬ 
menting  of  their  products  from  any  dis¬ 
tant  State. 
But  early  in  the  year  products  are 
desirable  which,  owing  to  the  winters 
and  springs  of  the  Northern  States,  can 
be  supplied  only  from  hot-houses  under 
much  difficulty,  which  cramps  reliable 
supplies  and  also  enhances  prices.  I  know 
what  forcing  houses  are  doing  in  the 
Northern  States  ;  and  also  what  is  being 
done  in  the  Southern  States  to  meet  this 
lack.  It  cannot  be  satisfactorily  supplied 
from  California.  The  Gulf  States  offer 
favorable  climates  both  for  hot-houses 
and  for  any  protected  out-door  culture 
with  trifling  expense,  and  are  within 
two  or  three  days’  travel  from  all  the 
large  Eastern  cities.  Taking  the  article 
of  table  grapes  as  an  example,  every 
wealthy  table  in  London  and  Paris  is 
supplied  as  much  as  is  desired  at  moder¬ 
ate  prices  by  freshly  cut  fruit  every  day 
in  the  year — say  at  from  50  cents  to  $1.50 
(retail)  according  to  the  season  (and 
most  of  it  at  from  35  to  75  cents).  The 
same  may  be  said  of  other  liot-house 
fruit — such  as  peaches,  nectarines,  figs, 
melons,  etc  ,  which  refined  taste  demands 
shall  be  freshly  plucked. 
Treatment  of  Asparagus. 
F.,  Port  .Jarvis,  N.  Y.— A  writer  in 
The  R.  N.-Y.  says  he  leaves  the  growth 
of  his  asparagus  bed  on  the  bed  as  a 
mulch,  removing  it  in  the  spring,  when 
he  gives  it  a  dressing  of  stable  manure. 
He  also  gives  his  method  of  destroying 
the  young  plants  which  come  up  pro¬ 
fusely  from  the  seeds  dropped  from  the 
plants.  I  do  not  think  this  the  best  plan. 
I  cut  off  all  the  tops  in  the  fall,  before 
the  seed  balls  drop,  and  burn  them  with 
the  other  garden  rubbish.  Instead  of 
relying  on  them  for  a  mulch,  I  put  on  a 
heavy  dressing  of  stable  manure  in  the 
fall,  and  leave  it  on  the  surface  until 
spring,  when  it  is  lightly  forked  in. 
This  is  a  better  mulch  than  the  tops 
make  and  I  get  rid  of  all  the  seedlings. 
Vegretarians  and  Hay  Tea. 
T.  W.,  Water  bury  Center,  Vt. — In 
Rural  l*  Brevities”  I  find  the  following 
question  asked  :  “  Has  any  vegetarian 
ever  tried  drinking  tea  from  Timothy  or 
clover  hay  ?  Better  try  it.”  If  I  mis¬ 
take  not,  the  question  implies  that  vege¬ 
tarians  are  in  the  habit  of  drinking  ordi¬ 
nary  tea.  Now,  I  have  been  a  strict  vege¬ 
tarian  for  a  little  over  30  years,  and  the 
result  has  been  astonishing.  I  never 
drink  tea  of  any  kind  on  any  occasion.  A 
true  vegetarian  never  drinks  tea.  Our 
rule  is  to  drink  nothing  at  meals.  The 
more  strictly  we  confine  ourselves  to  a 
natural  diet — fruits  and  grains,  see  Gen¬ 
esis,  first  chapter — the  less  we  need 
drink.  I  need  drink,  or  I  am  thirsty, 
only  in  warm  weather.  I  am  a  laborer 
and  a  farmer.  During  winter  I  have 
no  thirst.  When  thirsty  I  drink  noth¬ 
ing  but  water.  During  the  past  win¬ 
ter,  I  felt  no  thirst  for  210  consecu¬ 
tive  days.  I  never  drink  milk,  neither 
do  I  eat  sloppy  food  I  get  all  needed 
moisture  in  fruits.  I  never  eat  anything 
between  meals. 
Propagating'  California  Grapes. 
F.  T.  H.,  Bishop,  California. — As  to 
those  vineyard  questions  on  page  250  of 
The  R,  N.-Y.  here  is  the  way  we  would 
answer  them  for  California.  1.  We  prop¬ 
agate  by  cuttings,  which  can  be  bought 
at  $1  to  $1.25  per  1,000,  or  one  can  go  on 
a  vineyard  and  cut  his  own  cuttings  if  he 
undertakes  to  clean  up  the  brush  after 
him.  2.  The  vines  are  pruned  from  Feb¬ 
ruary  1  to  the  end  of  March,  and  the  cut¬ 
tings  are  taken  directly  afterwards.  3. 
The  length  of  the  cuttings  will  depend 
on  the  variety  and  distances  of  the  buds 
apart.  Those  from  the  Muscat  Musca- 
telle,  English  Alexandria,  etc.,  are  from 
10  inches  to  14  inches,  those  from  the 
Malaga  and  long- jointed  vines  from  12  to 
18  inches.  When  the  cuttings  are  cut 
they  are  tied  in  bundles  of  100  and  a  trench 
3%  to  4  feet  deep,  is  dug  in  a  moist  cool 
place,  and  the  cuttings  are  put  in  and 
covered  as  deep  as  possible.  About  the 
middle  of  March  we  begin  to  set  them  to 
root.  For  planting  I  like  sandy  land,  as 
they  grow  better  and  have  more  roots 
there  than  in  heavier  soils.  When  the 
land  has  been  well  plowed  and  allow  ed 
to  settle,  plow  three  furrows  with  a  12- 
inch  plow  at  about  one-fourth  the  width 
of  the  field,  and  deepen  the  last  furrow 
with  an  Oliver  B.  V.  vineyard  plow.  Do 
the  same  at  the  same  distance  from  the 
other  side.  While  the  team  is  plowing  in 
the  lecond  land  three  men  will  be  able 
to- plant  the  first.  When  that  is  planted 
the  team  comes  to  cover  the  vines,  which 
are  two  inches  apart  and  with  one  bud 
above  the  surface,  plowing  three  furrows 
around  the  land  and  deepening  as  before, 
while  the  men  plant  the  other  land  and 
so  on.  AVlien  the  vines  are  planted  out 
for  a  vineyard  the  holes  are  dug  and  the 
vines  put  in  immediately  at  a  distance  of 
8  or  10  feet  each  way.  4.  Here  they  do 
not  use  trellises  for  vineyards.  Most  of 
the  raisin  grapes  are  cultivated  to  a 
height  of  two  feet  from  the  ground  and 
the  wine  grapes  to  four  feet  in  height. 
The  Sultana  and  white  wine  grapes  are 
cultivated  high,  are  tied  to  2x2  inch 
cedar  stakes  about  eight  feet  out  of  the 
ground  so  that  the  land  can  be  plowed 
and  cross-plowed  until  the  grapes  are 
matured.  Here  there  is  no  snow  at  any 
time  and  no  rain  during  May,  June,  July, 
August,  September  and  October,  and  the 
vines  have  to  be  irrigated  every  month. 
The  Devil  in  Bulls  and  Elsewhere. 
A.  L.  Crosby,  Baltimore  County,  Md. 
— In  The  Rural  of  May  28,  P.  H.  M. 
says:  “  I  wish  A.  L.  Crosby  would  tell 
us  how  he  can  get  as  much  profit  from 
butter  making  without  feeding  roots  or 
ensilage  as  he  can  from  feeding  them.” 
The  answer  is  easy  :  There  are  as  many 
pounds  of  butter  in  dry  corn  fodder  as  in 
green  ;  putting  the  green  fodder  in  the 
silo  does  not  increase  its  feeding  value 
for  butter  making.  As  for  roots,  they 
are  mostly  w-ater  ;  they  make  a  good, 
healthful  addition  to  the  cows*  winter  ra¬ 
tion  ;  but  it  is  a  question  whether  they 
will  pay  a  profit  over  the  cost.  Labor 
omnia  vincit ;  but  it  costs  too  much  to  pay 
labor  to  conquer  the  weeds  in  the  mangel 
field,  to  thin  the  mangels  properly,  to  top 
them,  etc. 
The  Rural  has  been  teaching  the  doc¬ 
trine  that  we  should  sell  water,  and  The 
Rural  is  exactly  right,  but  when  we  kiln 
mangels  or  silo  green  corn  fodder,  we  are 
buying  water,  and  I  don't  believe  it  will 
pay.  Let’s  see  what  the  stations  have  to 
say  :  The  Ohio  Station  found  that  man¬ 
gels  made  more  milk  than  ensilage  did. 
The  Wisconsin  Station  found  that  by 
feeding  20  cows  for  56  days  with  all  the 
ensilage  they  would  eat,  they  gave 
19,813.4  pounds  of  milk.  Then  the  same 
cows  were  fed  for  56  days  on  all  the  dry 
corn  fodder  they  would  eat,  and  they 
produced  19,801.2  pounds  of  milk,  a  differ¬ 
ence  of  12.2  pounds  in  favor  of  ensilage. 
Divide  12.2  by  56,  and  we  will  have  the 
diurnal  increase  of  milk  wherewith  to 
pay  labor  to  conquer  the  dead  weight 
(expensive  water)  of  green  corn  fodder  as 
it  goes,  first,  silowards,  then  to  the  man¬ 
gers.  (It  was  hardly  a  fair  test  to  feed 
cows  on  dry  fodder  after  they  had  got 
used  to  succulent  feed.) 
The  mangels  are  found  to  “  lay  over  ” 
the  ensilage,  and  ensilage  is  found  to 
“  lay  over  ”  dry  fodder  at  the  rate  of  12.2 
pounds  of  milk  from  20  cows  in  56  days  ! 
That's  “according  to  Hoyle”  as  laid 
down  by  the  stations.  I’m  not  in  it. 
“  Was  it  not  a  slip  of  the  pen  that  made 
him  say  that  corn  stands  preeminent  as  a 
‘hell-filler?’  Did  he  not  mean  silo- 
filler?”  No,  my  pen  was  all  right  that 
time  ;  corn  does  stand  preeminent  as  a 
silo-filler  when  we  are  merely  consider¬ 
ing  the  crops  suitable  for  ensilage  ;  but 
take  the  corn  crop  in  all  its  uses,  and,  if 
we  regard  souls  as  counting  for  more  than 
cattle,  hogs  and  other  stock  ;  if  we  count 
women’s  hearts  as  being  worth  more  than 
the  human-food  value  of  corn  ;  and  con¬ 
sider  the  children  in  training  for  a  life 
of  crime,  all  because  of  corn  whisky,  I 
think  it  will  be  admitted  than  corn  does 
stand  preeminent  as  a  hell-filler 
“  Will  he  kindly  explain  the  connection 
between  the  devil  and  a  dished  face  in  a 
Jersey  bull?”  There  is  none.  I  did  not 
say  there  was  any  connection  between 
the  two.  What  I  did  say  was  that  I  would 
choose  a  bull  4  wide  between  the  eyes, 
with  a  dished  face,  soft  hair  and  hide  and 
the  more  devil  in  him  the  better,  for  1 
wouldn’t  keep  a  bull  outside  of  my  safety 
bull  pen.’  I  would  regard  a  devilish  bull 
as  a  devilish  poor  piece  of  furniture  even 
for  a  bull  pen.  “  If  evil  communications 
corrupt  good  morals,  wre  had  better  breed 
( Continued  on  next  page. ) 
For  Harness,  Buggy  Tops,  Saddles,  Fly  Nett 
Traveling  Bags.  Military  Equipments,  Etc. 
Gives  a  beautifui  finish  which  will  not  peel  or 
crack  off,  smut  or  crock  by  handling.  Not  a  varnish 
Used  by  the  U.  S.  Army  and  is  the  standard 
among  manufacturers  and  owners  of  fine  harness 
in  every  quarter  of  the  globe. 
SOLD  BY  ALL  HARNESS  MAKERS, 
MEND  YOUR  OWN  HARNESS 
WITH 
THOMSON’ 
SLOTTED 
CLINCH  RIVETS. 
No  tools  required.  Only  a  hammer  needed 
to  drive  and  clinch  them  easily  and  quickly; 
leaving  the  clinch  absolutely  smooth.  Re¬ 
quiring  no  hole  to  ho  made  in  the  leather  nor 
burr  for  the  Rivets.  They  are  STRONG.  TOUGH 
and  DURABLE.  Millions  now  in  use.  All 
lengths,  uniform  or  assorted,  put  up  in  boxes. 
.  Ask  your  ilcnlvr  for  them,  or  send  40c. 
in  stamps  for  a  box  of  100;  assorted  sizes. 
MANUFACTURED  BY 
JUDSON  L.  THOMSON  MFC.  CO.. 
Waltham,  iTIuna. 
- RAPID - 
HARNESS  -  MENDERS. 
Just  Drive  ’Em  In  and.  CLINCH  ’Em. 
The  Quickest,  Strongest  and  Cheapest  way  to  mend 
your  harness  or  any  strap. 
Every  one  who  owns  a  HORSE  NEEDS  a  bux. 
Only  Cost  25c  for  Ono  Gross, 
for  Sale  by  Grocery  and  Hardware  Stores  or  send  to 
BUFFALO  SPECIALTY  MFG.  CO., 
PATENTEES  AND  MANUFACTURERS.  BUFFALO,  N.  Y. 
OUR  HAY  CARRIERS 
are  the  best  suited  for  all  kinds  of  buildings.  Use 
any  Fork  or  Slings.  Sell  direct. 
FOWLER  &  FARRINGTON. 
Taughannock  Falls,  N.  Y. 
If  you  name  The  H.  N.-Y.  to  our  advertisers  you 
may  be  pretty  sure  of  prompt  replies  and  right  treat¬ 
ment. 
shipped  anywhere 
I  to  anyone,  in  any 
_ _ _  _ _ I  quantityat  whole¬ 
sale  prices.  Send  stamp  for  samples  or  write  for  prices, 
CASH  BIIYKKS’  UNION.  162  W.  Tan  Burra  St.  B  84  Chicago. 
Out  of  Sorts 
Is  a  feeling  peculiar  to  persons  of  dyspeptic  ten¬ 
dency,  or  It  may  be  caused  by  change  of  climate, 
season  or  life.  The  stomach  is  out  of  order,  the 
head  aches  or  does  not  feel  right,  appetite  is  ca¬ 
pricious,  the  nerves  seem  overworked,  the  mind 
is  confused  and  irritable.  This  condition  finds  an 
excellent  corrective  in  Hood’s  Sarsaparilla,  which, 
by  its  regulating  and  toning  powers,  soon  restores 
harmony  to  the  system,  and  gives  that  strength 
of  mind,  nerves,  and  body,  which  makes  one  feel 
perfectly  well.  N.  B.  Be  sure  to  get 
Hood’s  Sarsaparilla 
Sold  by  all  druggists.  Jpl ;  six  for$5.  Prepared  only 
by  C.  I.  HOOD  &  CO.,  Apothecaries,  Lowell,  Mass. 
IOO  Doses  One  Dollar 
\VCEanvOT7v 
*  Ac  miiMi  * 
AX  V 
As  much 
For  INTERNAL  as  EXTERNAL  use. 
Originated  by  an  Oid  Family  Physician  in  1 81 0 
Could  a  Remedy 
^outreal^ 
Have  Survived  for  Eighty  Years  ? 
Dropped  on  Sugar,  Childrtn  Dove  It. 
Every  Traveler  should  have  a  bottle  of  itiu  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  vour  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 
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,  85  cts.,  6  bottles,  $2. 
Express  paid.  I.  S.  JOHNSON  &  CO.,  Boston,  Mass. 
ENGINES, 
SAW 
MILLS, 
Threshing  Machines, 
Best  Machinery"  at  Lowest  Prices 
A.  B.  FARQUHAR  CO.,  York,  Pa. 
PAINTroofs 
DIXON’S  SILICA  GRAPHITE  PAINT 
Water  will  run  from  It  pure  and  clean.  It  covers  double 
the  surface  of  any  other  paint,  aDd  will  last  four  or  five 
times  Longer.  Equally  useful  for  anyironwork.  Send  for 
circulars.  Jos.  Dixon  Crucible  Co.,  Jersey  City.N,  J. 
AGENTS  WANTED  ON  SALARY 
f4**™B*  1  or  COM  MISSION,  to  handle  the  Nen 
Patent  Chemical  Ink  Kraslng  Pencil.  Agpnts  making 
$J>0pur  week.  Monroe  K ruber  Ilf  ’g  Co.  x  175,  L&Crobue,  Wi h. 
FOR  SALE. 
A  splendid  farm,  1G0  acres,  In  fine  condition,  Wor¬ 
cester  County,  Mass.  Strong  land,  cleared  of  stone; 
cuts  100  tons  hay:  barn  1)0x44,  two  stories  with 
cellar.  Large,  old-fashioned  house,  wainscotted 
walls,  modern  bathroom,  wide  piazza,  ample  shade, 
1,200  feet  above  sea-level.  Beautiful  scenery  and 
drives.  Adapted  as  a  stock,  dairy  or  market  garden 
farm.  Price  reasonable.  Address,  Box  5081,  Boston 
Mass. 
IMPROVFD  FARMS  Vr.S^»; 
moderate  prices.  Inquire  of  SAM  UEL  VERPLANCK. 
Fisbkill-on-Hudson,  N.  Y. 
