1891 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
119 
r 
The exhibits of Leghorns were large, and 
showed the increasing popularity of the 
various colored varieties among those who 
are breeding for eggs. The much praised 
Plymouth Rocks were not largely repre¬ 
sented, and are, in my estimation, too 
heavy for mothers. Then they eat too much 
for profit in egg production, and are of 
poor quality for table use. 
Pekin Ducks are about the best, and sev¬ 
eral kinds of turkeys won the hearts of the 
few farmers’ wives who strayed into the 
show. I say strayed, because, while the 
farmer will foist turkey raising on to his 
wife, he rarely brings her to the show. Is 
not this poor policy ? She does the work 
and needs the stimulation that viewing 
good stock brings. 
It has been decided by most of the breed¬ 
ers that the hen can not be depended upon 
to hatch chickens just when wanted, and 
this fact added to the interest in the incu¬ 
bators and brooders. The Universal hatch¬ 
ers and brooders shown by the Elmira In¬ 
cubator Company gave good satisfaction, 
being self-regulating, with no electricity, 
springs, or clock-work. Equalized heat has 
always been difficult to get; in these ma¬ 
chines this is supplied from a boiler on the 
outside. The moisture is regulated by 
tubes. Both heat and moisture are sup¬ 
plied from above, which is Nature’s plan. 
Chickens hatched in an incubator and kept 
in a brooder are free from lice and never 
have the gapes. When wheat is $1 per 
bushel and corn 60 cents, a three-months-old 
chick costs less than 10 cents. The brooder 
has top heat, plenty of fresh air and per¬ 
fect ventilation without draught. It cos s 
about 1)4 cent a day, and the chickens 
will grow faster. 
Among the howling mass of dogs of every 
description, John Langworthy’s “ Collie ” 
was my favorite. Dogs of this breed are 
very intelligent and,will not allow any fight¬ 
ing among the cattle or fowls. I had one, 
that, when asked, in an ordinary tone, to 
go and catch a rooster, would go to the 
yard and get one. In his life-time he never 
caught a hen. C. E. C 
FROM A “ PET-RIDDEN ” HOUSE. 
“ The fun we get out of life is worth a 
good deal of money, if we would only put 
a proper valuation on it,” says a recent ed¬ 
itorial in The Rural, to which one regular 
reader of that orthodox sheet says, Amen 1 
Why, the fun we get out of our farm pets 
would make us millionaires if the “ proper 
valuation ” were given it. Our five cats 
alone would be worth several thousands 
with their mirth-provoking antics, their in¬ 
genious devices for securing attention, and 
their superb satisfaction when pleased. 
Youth’s Companion, now in its 64th year, 
recently added a new department called 
“Suggestions,” and in its first list says: 
“ Observe the way a kitten laps milk from 
a saucer.” If so high an authority as that 
thinks it worth while to study a cat’s mode 
of eating, surely I can tell how our “ Toby” 
gets drink from a half filled pail—not the 
milk pail; he is too well trained to use that. 
He seems afraid to trust his precious head 
down in the pail, but very carefully dips a 
paw in the water, and licks it off, repeating 
the operation scores of times till satisfied. 
He always says, “Thank you!” in unmis¬ 
takable language when any one opens a 
door for him, and though a “ mighty hunt¬ 
er ” never eats any game till some mem¬ 
ber of the family has commended his skill. 
He proved himself possessed of generosity, 
too, last summer, by “hunting” for two 
felines besides himself; one was the “ Little 
Mother ” which evidently considered it too 
great a risk to leave her sole remaining child 
alone at all, lest it should share the fate of 
the rest of her family, and the other was a 
“ barn cat ” that had been hurt accident¬ 
ally by one of the cows. The injury was 
quite accidental as the cows and cats are 
far too good friends to hurt each other 
intentionally. The cats are on good terms 
with the great dog, ’* Match,” too, except 
the Little Mother, which never seems to 
get over the impression that he is in some 
way responsible for the diminution of her 
family. Match never hurts our own cats, 
but woe to the unlucky stranger that sets 
foot on our place. He knows the strangers 
on sight, even when so nearly like our own 
that human eyes fail at first to detect the 
difference. Match offers to shake hands 
with favored visitors, but objects to 
strange people till he sees them kindly re¬ 
ceived by the family. He was once whip 
ped—the only time in his life—for eating 
eggs, and keeps so good a memory of that 
occurrence that when a venturesome hen, 
tiling of the hen-house nests, made her nest 
in his kennel, he picked up the egg she laid 
each day so carefully as not to even crack 
the shell, and brought it to the kitchen 
door; and one day, failing to make himself 
heard at the door, he went where the men 
were at work, and gave the egg to the man 
who had whipped him. Wasn’t that 
bright ? 
I have already taken much space, and 
must stop, though I’ve said nothing yet 
about “those knowing creatures,” the hens, 
nor the pet sheep, or “bossies,” nor the 
horses, most intelligent of “ play actors ” 
among our dumb friends. But if the edi¬ 
tors of The Rural continue to print arti¬ 
cles on “Our Farm Pets,” these may get 
“ honorable mention.” judy jones. 
[R. N.-Y.—Of course we want to hear 
about those wise animals. Let us make a 
special place for the pets. Tell us about 
your smart folks who “ can do anything 
but talk.” 
PENINSULA HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETY. 
(RURAL SPECIAL REPORT ) 
At the fourth annual meeting of the Pe¬ 
ninsula Horticultural Society held January 
20 to 22, at Easton, Maryland, a large num¬ 
ber of representative fruit growers were in 
attendance. The President, J. J. Black, of 
New Castle, Delaware, in his annual ad¬ 
dress, reviewed the causes of the failure of 
the fruit crop of last year, and considered 
that at the present time the outlook was 
very favorable for an immense yield of fine 
fruit the coming season. 
Professor B. T. Galloway, in his discus 
slon of the Fungous Diseases of Plants, 
said that pear scab and leaf blight were 
among the worst enemies that fruit grow¬ 
ers had to contend with. Spraying the 
trees three times with either the Bordeaux 
Mixture or the ammoniacal solution pro¬ 
tects pear trees from that disease. He con¬ 
siders it useless to apply the remedy for the 
scab after the pears are larger than peas. 
For the leaf blight the application of the 
remedy should begin when the leaves are 
about two-thirds grown, and there should 
be about 15 days’ interval between the 
treatments. The expense per tree for the 
Bordeaux Mixture would be 16 cents for 
standards and 10 cents for dwarfs, and for 
the ammoniacal solution, 12 cents for 
standards and 7 to 8 cents for dwarfs. Very 
little difference could be noticed in the re¬ 
sults of the two remedies. The failure of 
the oat crop the past season throughout 
Canada, the Eastern, Middle, Southern 
and some of the Western States was due to 
a disease caused by bacteria. It has been 
the most unfavorable year ever known for 
oats. The disease appeared when the 
plants were from four to six inches high 
and gave them the appearance of having 
been burnt. Seed from localities where 
the disease existed was found to contain 
the germs, and he would not advise its 
use. 
There was considerable discussion in re¬ 
gard to Scarlet Clover—Trifolium incar- 
natum. The plan of sowing it In the peach 
orchards in July and August and plowing 
it under during the latter part of April or 
first of May was highly recommended by 
those who had practiced that method. 
Several had cut the clover when in full 
bloom and used it for ensilage with very 
satisfactory results. 
It was the consensus of opinion that there 
would be a large crop of fruit this season. 
Mr. J. S. Harris estimates that there are 
not less than 10,000,000 bearing peach trees 
upon the Peninsula, and that they would 
yield at least a basket and a half per tree, 
or 15,00,),000 baskets. He also said that the 
growers could expect good prices, as the 
market was clear of canned and dried 
fruit. 
The committee on registration of new 
fruits reported in favor of authorizing 
some one person to register their history 
and description, and to publish and cir¬ 
culate the same among the members. If 
appeared to be the opinion of nearly every 
one present that this should be a national 
affair, under the supervision of the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture, rather than of a 
local society that was not incorporated. 
Samples of pecans grown in Mississippi, 
of large size and said to be of excellent 
quality, were shown by Prof. T. L. Brunk, 
Horticulturist of the Maryland Station. 
They are hardy as far north as Iowa and 
will grow wherever the hickory is found. 
The trees should be planted 60 feet apart 
and will bear when 10 years old. 
Dr. Erwin F. Smith gave a report of the 
number of peach trees having the yellows 
that he had found in a large number of or¬ 
chards during each year since 1882. This 
was tabulated upon the blackboard and 
proved very conclusively that the disease 
was on the increase in the Peninsula. The 
increase was especially marked during last 
season. The location, soil or moisture does 
not appear to affect the spread of the yel¬ 
lows. That the disease is contagious was 
shown by budding about 200 healthy trees 
with apparently healthy twigs from diseased 
trees; 35 per cent of the trees budded weie 
diseased one year from the time of budding, 
while another lot of trees budded with 
healthy stock showed only one diseased. 
A resolution was adopted requesting the 
legislature to pass a law providing for the 
removal and burning of all yellows-infected 
trees in the Peninsula, Dr. Smith reported 
that he had found the peach and also the 
plum trees in Georgia showing a disease 
similar to the yellows, if not the same. It 
is known in that locality by the name of 
“ rosette.” 
The Peninsula Yellow Peach was highly 
spoken of by Mr. Chas. Wright, who says 
it originated at Salisbury, Md. It blooms 
late and ripens with Old Mixon, and the 
buds are very hardy. The Myers Seedling 
and the Yellow Transparent are two prom¬ 
ising new varieties of yellow fruit that will 
soon be put upon the market. Mr. Wright 
states that a clay loam soil will produce 
the largest peach trees, but a sandy soil 
gives the highest-colored fruit. 
The by-laws of the society were amended 
so that lady members are now received 
without charge. Col. E. L. Martin, of Sea 
ford, Del , was elected president, with Mr. 
J. S. Harris as vice president; the secretary, 
Mr. Wesley Webb, was reelected. The so¬ 
ciety will hold its next annual meeting at 
Dover, Del., beginning on the third Tues¬ 
day of January, 1892, continuing three 
days. [prof.] m. ii. beckwith. 
Delaware College Agricultural Experi¬ 
ment Station. 
ODDS AND ENDS. 
That Filthy Cow. 
F. W. H., Warren, Maine.— A writer in 
a late number of The R. N.-Y. complains 
about his cow getting so filthy. I have 
handled a few such cows. My cows stand 
with a partition between each two, sloping 
back about half the length of the cow 
at the floor. Between the two back 
posts, I place a strip of oak four inches 
wide and one thick. This is bolted at one 
end and the other comes down under a 
cleat where it is fastened with a button, 
when the cow is in her place. This strip is 
just high enough to clear the cow when 
she stands, and comes back of the highest 
part of her shoulders. I have tried it with 
two cows that preferred such bedding as 
this correspondent objects to, and I find 
there is a decided improvement in their 
condition. I like to keep the cows’ tails 
tied while they are in the barn, using a line 
fastened above and coming straight down, 
with slack enough to give thq full use of 
the tail while they stand, but not enough 
to allow them to use it as a dauber while 
lying down. To prevent the cow from 
scratching her head with the hind feet I 
should use plenty of sulphur inside and 
out. I should think she was troubled with 
humor or something else, and sulphur is 
good for it whatever it may be. 
A Melon-choly Freak. 
A. L. J., Spokane Falls, Washington. 
—A very curious freak occurred in my 
garden last year. A row of Phiuney's 
Early Water melons were growing beside 
a row of Volga melons. The vine of the Vol¬ 
ga crossed over to the Phlnuey in such a way 
that it passed directly over a melon on the 
Phinney vine. A melon on the Volga vine 
growing close to the Phinney melon was 
suspended in the air by the size of the 
latter. In a short time the Phinney melon 
grew entirely around the Volga vine. The 
latter, on the side leading to the Phinney 
melon, died ; while on the other side of the 
melon, it and the melon grew fairly well 
being supported by the Phinney melon. 
The New Air Ship May be Needed.— 
Reciprocity with Canada is the live ques¬ 
tion in Mexico. If it should have to be by 
air-ships, or around our coast, what a Pan- 
American figure we would present to the 
world in the approaching Columbian era.— 
Philadelpnia Record (Dem). 
In writing to advertisers please always 
mention The Rural New-Yorker. 
Dinlognos, Tftbloanx, Rpoakors, for 
S('hool,Clab& Parlor. Boat out. Cata¬ 
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rriHK FARM A AD VIAR Y A HI) A AD G A R D- 
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275 ACRE FARM. 
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Address “FARM,” care The Rural Nkw-Yokkkii. 
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CHICAGO. 
rEARLY IN FEBRUARY.,® 
The New Potato Culture.” 
By ELBERT g. CARMAN, Editor of 
THE RURAL NEW YORKER. This book 
will give the results of the author’s Investi¬ 
gations and experiments during the past 
fifteen years. Its object will be to show all 
. , ,, . , who raise potatoes, whether for home use 
solely or for market as w 11, that the yield may be increased threefold without a corresponding increase in the cost: to show that the littt— garden patch, of a fortieth 
of an acre perhaps, may just as well yield ten bushels as three bushels • to induce farmers and gardeners to experiment with fertilizers not only as to the kind that is 
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the depth to plant, the size of seed, the number of eyes, the distance apart. These wilt be among the subjects considered, not In a theoretical way at all. but as the 
outcome of fifteen years or experimentation earnestly made in the hope of advancing our knowledge of this mighty Industry. It Is respectfully submitted that these 
experiments so long carried on at 'he Rural Grounds, have, directly and Indirectly, thrown more light upon the various problems involved in successful potato culture. 
than any other experiments which have been carried on in America. 
Price, cloth, 75 cents; paper, 40 cents. 
THE RURAL FUBUISHIKU COMPANY, Times Building, KewVotb, 
