462 
July  16 
Preparing-  Bordeaux  Mixture. 
M.  M.,  Medway,  Mass. — I  have  dis¬ 
covered  a  way  to  dissolve  the  coarse 
crystals  of  sulphate  of  copper  in  cold 
water  very  easily  and  in  a  short  time. 
Tie  the  crystals  in  apiece  of  coarse,  loose 
cloth,  or  put  them  in  a  basket  and  hang 
them  partly  immersed  in  the  water  in 
which  they  are  to  be  dissolved.  The 
water  acting  on  the  crystals  makes  a 
solution,  which  being  heavier  than  water 
sinks  to  the  bottom  and  allows  more 
water  to  act  continually.  For  the  best 
results  the  water  should  not  be  stirred 
while  the  solution  is  being  made.  I  dis¬ 
solved  30  pounds  of  the  crystals  in  12 
gallons  of  water  in  this  way,  in  about 
three  hours,  with  no  work  or  trouble. 
I  also  have  a  way  of  straining  the  lime 
for  making  Bordeaux  mixture,  which  I 
find  much  less  troublesome  than  the 
usual  method.  I  slake  the  lime  in  a  bar¬ 
rel  and  take  an  empty  nail  keg  with  the 
bottom  out,  and  the  lower  end  covered 
with  a  piece  of  coarse  cloth  (I  use  an  old 
shorts  sack).  Then  I  sink  the  keg  in  the 
slaked  lime  with  a  shaking  motion.  The 
coarse  particles  being  on  the  under  side 
of  the  strainer,  will  sink  away  when  the 
keg  is  shaken,  and  allow  the  finer  por¬ 
tion  to  strain  up  into  the  keg,  from 
which  the  lime  may  be  dipped  easily. 
Ensilage  for  Horses. 
W.  F.  Massky. — Prof.  Cook  is  right  in 
regard  to  feeding  ensilage  to  horses.  I 
have  tried  it  with  the  best  results.  When 
it  has  injured  or  killed  horses,  it  has  been 
the  feeder’s  fault.  I  fed  a  hard-worked 
team  with  ensilage,  and  found  a  great 
improvement.  I  gave  them  15  pounds  a 
day,  always  after  the  day’s  work  was 
over,  and  gave  them  7V£  pounds  of  good 
hay  morning  and  noon,  together  with 
grain.  But  my  ensilage  was  of  the  best. 
I  would  not  feed  clover  or  pea-vine  ensi¬ 
lage,  because  of  its  liability  to  produce 
uraemic  poisoning  if  fed  injudiciously. 
Male  or  Female  Asparagus. 
A.  Donald,  Chkmung  County,  N.  Y. — 
So  far  as  I  can  see  as  yet,  there  are  no 
differences  as  to  the  strength  of  growth 
between  the  two  sexes.  Some  hills  send 
up  more  stalks  than  others ;  but  they 
are  not  so  large  and  will  not  give  as  many 
potmds  per  acre  as  those  less  in  number 
but  larger.  1  am  experimenting.  I  have 
marked  50  of  the  strongest  and  best 
producing  hills.  By  fall  these  will  bear 
seed,  or  not.  I  am  trying  a  new  plan  by 
transplanting  new  seedlings  in  rows 
three  or  four  inches  apart,  so  that  they 
can  develop  perfect  crowns.  I  believe 
this  will  improve  the  yield,  as  each  plant 
will  be  full  and  not  all  on  one  side,  as 
many  are  where  grown  in  seed  beds  as 
usually  planted. 
Hen  or  Heater  for  Chickens. 
H.  M.  C.,  Chicago,  III. — In  The  Rural 
New-Yorker  for  June  18  there  wras  some 
discussion  concerning  incubators  and 
brooders,  that  interested  me  very  much, 
because  for  several  years  I  have  been 
trying  to  find  the  incubator  that  “  any 
child  can  use”  and  that  hatches  “  90  per 
cent  every  time.”  When  I  began,  my 
expectations  were  high,  but  they  have 
gradually  fallen,  until  now  they  are  at  a 
point  where  I  rest  content.  I  have  used 
six  different  makes  of  incubators,  and  the 
one  I  have  in  use  now  is  no  better,  or, 
more  properly,  no  worse  than  the  others. 
When  I  fill  it,  I  confidently  expect  to  get 
40  chicks  for  each  100  eggs,  and  any  more 
than  this  I  look  upon  as  a  piece  of  pure 
good  luck.  I  rarely  fail  to  get  the  40 
per  cent,  and  often  I  get  more.  It  is  no 
more  trouble  to  care  for  one  incubator 
than  for  one  hen,  and,  as  m}^  incubator 
holds  as  many  eggs  as  20  hens  can  cover, 
I  consider  that  the  eggs  lost  and  the  work 
saved  by  using  an  incubator  even  up  the 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
losses,  not  to  speak  of  the  immense  saving 
in  temper.  What  I  want  some  one  to  tell 
me  is  why  part  of  the  eggs  in  an  incu¬ 
bator  hatch  and  others  fail  when  neces¬ 
sarily  all  are  exposed  to  similar  condi¬ 
tions. 
As  to  sitting  hens,  I  am  done  with 
them.  I  cannot  afford  to  keep  the  sitting 
breeds,  and  the  Brown  Leghorns  are  not 
to  be  relied  upon  at  all.  I  never  owned 
more  than  one  that  was  a  good  sitter,  and 
I  suspected  the  purity  of  her  pedigree. 
Once  the  chicks  are  hatched,  there  is  no 
trouble  about  raising  them  in  a  brooder. 
There  is  a  wide  difference  in  brooders, 
however.  Some  are  good,  some  bad  and 
some  are  simply  nuisances. 
A  Plow  in  the  Potatoes. 
Alva  Agee,  Gallia  County,  Ohio. — 
The  Rural  asks  why  farmers  will  con¬ 
tinue  to  use  the  one-horse  plow  in  the 
potato  field.  While  I  quit  the  practice 
several  years  ago,  I  have  never  felt  quite 
satisfied,  and  always  wish  I  had  time  to 
plow  the  potatoes  at  least  once  in  the  old 
way.  It  is  a  question  of  soils.  Quite 
clayey  loams  will  pack  too  hard  for  pota¬ 
toes  if  there  be  much  rain.  One  wants 
to  give  the  ground  a  most  thorough  stir¬ 
ring  when  the  tops  are  fairly  above  the 
surface,  thus  undoing  the  mischief  heavy 
rains  have  wrought  after  the  planting. 
If  a  long,  narrow  shovel  is  used  on  a  one- 
horse  plow,  it  can  be  thrust  well  under 
the  hill,  and  good  work  be  done  ;  when  a 
two-horse  cultivator  is  used  as  close 
plowing  could  not  be  done  without  lift¬ 
ing  the  hill  out  When  one  runs  a  culti¬ 
vator  deep  and  close  to  the  row  before 
the  plants  are  up,  and  then  again  before 
they  are,  say,  three  inches  high,  fairly 
good  work  may  be  done,  but  in  clays  it 
is  not  equal  to  a  one-horse  plow,  if  the 
man  knows  how  to  use  it.  In  sandy 
loams  the  cultivator  is  about  perfect.  We 
who  plant  clayey  loams  in  potatoes  can¬ 
not  get  a  maximum  yield,  but  the  crop 
pays  better  than  any  other.  If  the 
ground  under  the  hill  can  be  kept  loose 
until  the  plant  is  three  inches  high,  we 
may  get  a  rather  big  'yield.  The  one- 
horse  plow  does  a  little  better  work,  but 
it  is  so  slow,  and  so  difficult  to  get  men 
to  hold  the  plow  just  right,  that  the 
cultivator  is  used  instead.  After  the 
plants  are  a  few  inches  high,  a  one-horse 
Planet  Jr.  with  “  scrapers”  does  better 
work  than  most  two-horse  cultivators — 
there  are  less  tramping,  quicker  turning 
and  faster  work. 
Fire  the  Fakir  Fairs. 
F.,  Sussex  County,  N.  J. — In  a  recent 
number  of  The  Rural  (page  411)  is  an 
article  from  C.  C.  Thacher,  of  Chemung 
County,  N.  Y.,  on  the  subject  of  fair 
management.  With  much  that  Mr. 
Thacher  writes  1  am  in  perfect  accord, 
especially  with  the  inferences  to  be 
drawn  from  the  following  extract  from 
lrs  article: 
The  country  is  full  of  fakirs.  Under  all 
sorts  of  pretexts  they  try  to  get  on  to 
fair  grounds,  and  especially  country 
fair  grounds.  Miniature  horse  races, 
with  cigars  thrown  in,  jewelry  boards, 
cane  boards,  etc.,  are  their  most  frequent 
means  of  swindling.  They  are  more  dan¬ 
gerous  than  the  pool  seller  in  that  they 
are  the  meanest  sort  of  gamblers,  while 
professing  to  be  honorable. 
If  I  mistake  not,  Mr.  Thacher  is  one 
of  the  managers  of  the  Inter-State  Fair, 
held  at  Elmira,  an  association  which  last 
year  succeeded  in  getting  an  appropria¬ 
tion  for  helping  it  along.  I  did  not  at¬ 
tend  the  fair  last  year,  but  I  did  the  pre¬ 
vious  year  and  candor  compels  me  to  say 
that  it  was  a  conspicuous  illustration  of 
what  a  fair  should  not  be.  The  gambling 
which  Mr.  Thacher  so  earnestly  decries 
was  carried  on  in  the  most  open  manner 
and  intoxicants  were  freely  sold.  Racing 
was  a  very  prominent  feature  and  the 
“attractions  ”  were  numerous,  if  not  de¬ 
sirable.  Fakirs  swarmed  all  over  the 
grounds.  As  I  said  above,  I  did  not  go  to 
this  fair  last  season,  and  the  abuses  seen 
the  previous  year  may  have  been  elim¬ 
inated.  If  not,  I  suggest  that  Mr.  Thacher 
has  a  big  contract  on  hand — that  of  re¬ 
forming  his  own  fair.  The  one  1  saw 
certainly  did  not  “  educate  in  the  right 
direction.” 
6  The  Newtown  Pippin  Apple. 
Prof.  W.  F.  Massey. — As  grown  in 
the  mountains  of  Virginia  as  the  Albe¬ 
marle  Pippin  this  is  the  finest  type  of  this 
fine  variety.  The  product  of  the  Vir¬ 
ginia  mountains  is  all  bought  up  on  the 
trees  by  the  agents  of  the  Liverpool 
shippers,  who  come  at  the  proper  season 
with  their  men  and  barrels  and  pack 
only  the  best,  leaving  the  cullings  for  the 
farmer  to  dispose  of  as  he  can.  These 
men  pay  from  $2.50  to  $4,50  per  barrel  on 
the  trees,  according  to  the  crop.  With 
the  facilities  for  shipment,  this  business 
could  be  largely  increased,  for  I  am  told 
that  apples  are  now  sent  from  Charlottes¬ 
ville,  Va.,  via.  Newport  News  to  Liver¬ 
pool  for  $1  per  barrel.  And  yet  Pippin 
land  in  the  Virginia  mountains  goes  beg¬ 
ging  at  $10  or  less  an  acre ;  while  the 
profits  on  a  Pippin  orchard  will  leave  a 
Florida  orange  grove  in  the  shade.  The 
mountain  coves  of  western  North  Caro¬ 
lina  will  grow  this  apple  to  perfection,  as 
they  do  all  other  apples. 
By  the  Short  Way. 
A  writer  in  our  esteemed  contempor¬ 
ary,  The  American  Florist,  says  that  few 
tender  plants  are  harmed  by  water  at  150 
degrees  and  that  hardy  plants  will  stand 
a  higher  temperature.  The  R.  N.-Y. 
made  careful  trials  on  grape  vine  foliage 
and  found  that  if  held  in  the  water  a  few 
moments,  even  140  degrees  killed  it . 
Quoting  William  Falconer’s  notes  in 
the  above  journal,  Mr.  Jackson  Dawson 
of  the  Arnold  Arboretum,  finds  Simon’s 
Plum  (Prunus  Simonii)  one  of  the  mean¬ 
est  things  that  has  ever  been  put  into  ex¬ 
istence.  It  is  good  neither  for  one  thing 
nor  the  other.  The  R.  N.-Y.  found  that 
the  plums  are  not  generally  injured  by 
the  curculio.  That  seems  to  be  one  thing 
in  favor  of  the  tree,  unless  the  fruit  itself 
is  deemed  worthless,  in  which  case  it 
matters  little  whether  the  fruit  is  dis¬ 
tasteful  to  the  small  Turk  or  not . 
Mr.  Dawson  has  a  Vinca  minor  with 
double  flowers.  When  in  bloom  the 
flowers  are  as  like  double  blue  violets  as 
two  peas  in  one  pod  ;  indeed  if  picked 
and  bunched  with  violet  leaves  around 
them,  you’d  have  to  look  twice  before 
you  could  tell  they  weren't  violets.  Now 
florists  don't  take  this  hint  and  adulterate 
your  violets:  leave  such  rascally  tricks  1o 
the  grocer  and  milkman,  is  Mr.  Falcon¬ 
er’s  caution . 
i  Continued.) 
lUitfceHanmisi  ^dmtisino. 
If  you  name  The  It.  N.-Y.  to  our  advertisers  you 
may  be  pretty  sure  of  prompt  replies  and  right  treat¬ 
ment. 
Sick  Headache 
Is  so  read?’,y  cured  by  Hood’s  Sarsaparilla  that  L 
seems  almost  foolish  in  any  one  to  allow  the 
trouble  to  continue.  By  its  toning  and  invigora¬ 
ting  effect  upon  the  digestive  organs,  Hood’s  Sar¬ 
saparilla  readily  gives  relief  when  headache 
arises  from  indigestion;  and  in  neuralgic  condi¬ 
tions,  by  building  up  tlie  debilitated  system, 
Hood’s  Sarsaparilla  removes  the  cause  and  hence 
overcomes  the  difficulty. 
“  My  wife  suffered  from  sick  headache  and  neu¬ 
ralgia.  After  taking  Hood’s  Sarsaparilla  she  was 
much  relieved.”  W.  R.  Babb,  Wilmington,  Ohio. 
Hood’s  Sarsaparilla 
Sold  by  all  druggists.  £1;  six  for  £5.  Prepared  only 
by  C.  I.  HOOD  &  CO.,  Apothecaries,  Lowell,  Mass. 
IOO  Doses  One  Dollar 
For  Internal  nnd  External  Use. 
tops  Pain,  Cramps,  Inflammation  in  body  or  limb, 
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its.  post-paid.  I.  S.  JOHNSON  &  CO.,  Boston,  Mass. 
POT  CROWN 
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embraces  Treatise  on 
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class  outfit  at  low  figures,  address 
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ACHROMATIC  TELESCOPE. 
Few  things  are  more  interesting  or 
useful  in  both  leisure  and  busy  moments 
in  the  country  than  a  good  telescope,  or 
harder  to  find.  We 
believe  that  we  have 
in  this  a  thoroughly 
good  telescope  that 
we  can  offer  to  our 
subscribers  in  confi¬ 
dence  that  it  will  give 
satisfaction.  W  hen 
extended  it  is  over  10 
inches,  and,  when 
closed,  6%  inches  in 
length.  On  a  clear 
day  you  can  distinctly 
see  time  on  a  tower 
three  miles  away. 
The  moons  of  Jupiter 
can  be  seen  with  it. 
The  telescope  tubes 
are  made  from  heavy 
polished  brass ;  the 
body  is  covered  with 
morocco,  making  a 
thoroughly  substan¬ 
tial  instrument.  It  is 
achromatic  ;  that  is, 
does  not  blur  the 
vision  by  a  confusion 
of  colors.  Retail 
price,  $4.50.  Price  to 
our  subscribers,  sent 
prepaid,  $3.  Or,  for  $3.50  we  will  send 
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Given  as  premium  to  any  old  subscriber 
who  will  send  us  three  new  subscriptions 
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and  the  adjustment  to  the  eye  made  only 
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moving  it  out  and  in  as  necessary. 
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