1891 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
5i5 
FARMERS’ CLUB DISCUSSION. 
( Continued.) 
Terry speaks of, but enough more came out 
afterwards to afford a sufficient supply, 
and so it has been in previous years. I 
have several varieties; but for farmers 
who generally cannot spare much time to 
attend to grapes, I would recommend the 
Clinton. I know it is ridiculed by some 
grape growers and is not very salable in 
market; but it is hardy, will stand neglect, 
is a vigorous grower, a sure and heavy 
bearer, and when thoroughly ripened a 
tolerably good table grape. For wine mak¬ 
ing (which I do not believe in) it beats 
them all. 
A MODEL RAILWAY. 
The Burlington Route, C., B. & Q. R. R. 
operates 7,000 miles of road, with termini in 
Chicago, St. Louis, St. Paul, Omaha, Kan¬ 
sas City and Denver. For speed, safety, 
comfort, equipment, track, and efficient 
service it has no equal. The Burlington 
gains new patrons, but loses none.— Adv. 
PITHS AND REMINDERS. 
Prof. Parsons tells us in Popular 
Science that in 1856 there were five, in 1866 
there were 30, in 1873 there were 63, while 
to day there are 110 agricultural experi¬ 
ment stations in France and Germany. 
There are now 53 experiment stations in 
the United States, not counting several 
branch stations. 
A movement, coitinuis Prof. Parsons, 
which in 15 years nas increased the number 
of regularly organized experiment stations 
in our own c juntry from one to fifty ; whose 
influence has extended to Canada, South 
America, Australia and Japan, causing the 
establishment of similar stations in those 
countiies; which this year will expend 
approximately {1,000,000 in the United 
States alone, exclusive of the work of the 
Department of Agriculture ; which during 
the year will send bulb tins direct to nearly 
400,000 farmers; and whose workings have 
been kept, in tbe main, free from politics, 
must have had a worthy object, efficient 
workers, and given practical and useful 
results. That such is the case none famil¬ 
iar with the investigations of at least the 
older stations can deny. 
The greatest obstacle whicn the stations 
have met has been a demand by the farmers 
for immediate results, and a pr judrce 
against the laboratory and its work; but 
this gradually disappears as the farmer be¬ 
comes more and more familiar with science. 
On this account the older stations are 
undoubtedly doing better work to day than 
those of more recent origin, which are still 
struggling against this sentiment. 
If it be remembered that the^e newly 
formed stations have been organized scarce¬ 
ly three years and have not been in work¬ 
ing order for that length of time; that 
they are going through the same trials as 
the older stations have had ; that they have 
to break down the prejudices of many 
farmers, as the older stations have largely 
done; and that they were popularly ex¬ 
pected to show in a few months results 
equal to those which even the German ex¬ 
periment stations have conquered only 
after years of strict application with the 
aid of the best scientists of that scien¬ 
tific nation—it cannot be wondered at that 
these new-born stations have in several in¬ 
stances fallen short of what was expected 
of them. 
Prof. Parsons concludes that the farm¬ 
ers will ccbperate more and more with our 
experiment stations ; will find more and 
more beauty in their surroundings and 
with increased facilities and increased 
knowledge will take the place which be¬ 
longs to them in our government and in 
our nation..... 
Another year’s trial by Prof. Roberts, 
of Cornell, to find out how much cow and 
horse manures lose by exposure, or by the 
usual way of treating such manures, con¬ 
firms the results of the first year’s trial. It 
seems safe to conclude that under the ordi¬ 
nary conditions of piling and exposure, the 
loss of fertilizing material during the 
course of the summer is not likely to be 
much below 50 per ceLt of the original 
value of the manuie. 
IN the following summary is given the 
results of all the trials Prof. Roberts made 
on the wastes of manure, by leaching and 
fermentation : 
18^5*. Horse manure In loose pile. 
“ •• “ 
1X90. C 'w manure in loose pile.. 
1839. Mixed manure thoroughly 
compacted. 2.88 
Value per 
Loss 
Loss 
ton at be¬ 
per 
per 
ginning. 
ion. 
cent. 
$2 45 
$1.03 
42 
2.si) 
1.74 
62 
.. 2.29 
.69 
so 
y 
.. 2.33 
.22 
9 
The full account of these interesting ex¬ 
periments will be found in Bulletin 27 of 
the Cornell Experiment Station. 
The Rev. Thomas Dixon, Jr., character¬ 
izes the race track as “hell born” and 
“devil-headed,” luring to destruction 10 
men where the Louisiana Lottery ever 
ruined one : “ It smells from beer to wine, 
from champagne to gin and rum. It smells 
of tobacco and profanity. It smells of tbe 
faro, kennel and brothel, whose inmates 
are its daily votariesand slaves. The stench 
permeates the life of the city, poisoning the 
air of stables, shops, streets, tomes. Its 
victims number thousands piled on thou¬ 
sands.”. 
The Christian Intelligencer defines it as 
“ that school of profanity and of vice in all 
its forms,” engende ring iniquity and suf¬ 
fering beyond power of words to express... 
Another witness, especially competent, 
as the New York Tribune states, is Inspe c 
tor Byrnes, of the New York police. Let 
all whom it concerns—which includes 
everybody interested in public welfare— 
hear and heed this testimony: “Pace 
tracks are tbe resorts of so many degraded 
people, and so ccmpletely under control 
of gamblers and thieves, that no respec a- 
ble, sensible man would think of having 
his wife or daughter on one of the grand 
stands to look at a race. We are sending 
men to prison right along on account of 
the race-gambliDg craze. Homes are teiug 
destroyed and lives of young men blighied 
every day in this city for the same reason.”.. 
Ought not the “agricultural” fair man¬ 
aged, asks the New York Tribune, now 
planning for the autumn, to be influenced 
by conclusive evidence like the foregoing, 
and eliminate from the coming exhibitions 
that which tends directly to such deplor¬ 
able results ?. 
Prof. Tracy, before the Michigan Horti 
cultural Society, mentions some character¬ 
istics of the ordinary vegetables grown in 
every garden, that are often lost sight of or 
not considered at all. Speaking of beets, 
he says that the color should hold good 
while cooking—should be “fas'-,” and, 
again, the tops should be small and compact. 
The portion just below the base of the 
leaves is harder, rank-flavored and deficient 
in sugar. The French and German sugar 
makers always cut off this portion, because 
it impairs the quality of the sugar. 
With celery too much weight has been 
given to whiteness ; the flavorless and soft 
White Plume has ruled the market. It cer¬ 
tainly is true that excessively-bleachi d and 
white celery is always of inferior quality. 
Often it it actually worthless, being pithy 
and soft. Good quality is indicated by fine 
grain and solidity. Such celery is rarely 
seen in the market, because of the demand 
for the whiter and (to the novice) more at¬ 
tractive kinds. 
Since the general introduction of the 
wax podded sort of beans, continues Prof. 
Tracy, people have come to judge of this 
vegetable almost entirely by its appear¬ 
ance, the longest, whitest, handsomest pods 
being considered the best; but a better ob¬ 
servation will show one that the whitest 
pods in the basket are by no means the 
whitest when cooked. If we cook the clear- 
white pods of the Ivy Pod and the yellow 
ones of the Golden Wax, we shall find the 
latter much lighter and brighter colored ; 
and if we go further and taste them, there 
wiil be no doubt as to which is of the better 
quality. The value of a snap bean rests in 
its fleshy pod, and in judging of the merits 
of different lots, we should not only look 
at the external shape and color, but at the 
flesh. Tnis should completely fill the pod 
so that there is little depression between 
the seeds, and on cutting the pod at these 
points, there should be no cavity seen. The 
flesh, too, should be firm and solid. In some 
sorts it is very juicy, and even watery when 
the pod is young, but speedily becomes 
spongy or pithy. Last, but by no means 
least, the pod should be, as the Europeans 
say, “ free from parchment”—that is, the 
inner lining of the pod should be thin and 
without fiber, a point which is often over¬ 
looked, the observer being satisfied if there 
is no “ string ” at the back. 
WHAT nas long been needed is an early, 
prolific, wrinkled pea. The American 
Wonder is both early and wrinkled, but it 
is not prolific and cannot be made to pay as 
a market variety. The Gem is more pro¬ 
ductive but not so early. During the pres¬ 
ent season The R. N.-Y. has tried Nott’s 
Excelsior, sent to us by J. J. H. Gregory 
for trial. The vines grow 18 inches tall; 
a^e thrifty and bushy and far more produc¬ 
tive than the Gem, while it matures within 
a day or two of the first early smooth peas 
of the Daniel O’Rourke type. The pods are 
of fair size, larger than those of the Pre¬ 
mium Gem, averaging six seeds to a pod... 
Early Prize, also from Mr. Gregory, 
matures about three days after Nott’s Ex¬ 
celsior. The vines grow about 18 inches 
tall and are as prolific as Nott’s, but infer 
ior in quality. It is a cross between Tom 
Thumb and the Advancer. The vines are 
thrifty, pods small to medium, varying 
greatly as to size and number, and size of 
seeds to the pod. Some have seven or eight, 
others are not well filled. There is no plac i 
for this pea when Nott’s Excelsior is avail¬ 
able. 
John M. Sai zek’s Early Piize was found 
to be about as early as Alaska, tbe vines 
not quite so tall and about as prolific. 
Prof. C. S. Plumb has been appointed 
Director of the University Experiment 
Station of Illico's He is a promising young 
man. 
The Euti.mologist of the Ohio Experi 
ment Stalior, Clarence M. Weed, highly 
recommends Leggett’s Paris-green gun for 
applying all sorts of powder insect'cldes. 
He says: “This is tbe only really satis¬ 
factory appliance I have ever found for 
tbe application of insecticides or fungi¬ 
cides in a powdered form. 
Much is being written just no v, says 
Henry Stewart, in praise of Crimson Clover, 
(Trifolium incarnatum), an annual plant, 
which, sown in July, ripens its seed within 
a year. In May it is in perfect bloom and 
presents a brilliant view when evenly 
grown, the surface of the field being cov¬ 
ered with the bright, varying red, from 
flesh color to deep crimson, upon a rich 
green ground of foliage. But beauty alone 
is not perfectly satisfactory to the farmer, 
and there is danger of misleading by ex¬ 
cessive praise of this kind of clover. 
Its two valuable uses are for early feed 
for sheep or cows and for turning under for 
corn. It affords a large quantity of succu¬ 
lent but watery food, having less sub¬ 
stance than either the common red or the 
pea-vine clovers ; it is not a good hay plant, 
coming as it does when tbe weather is not 
adapted for curing the fodder, and when 
the most important work is pressing, while 
for turning under for manure it lacks the 
substance and the large root growth of the 
tap-rooted, longer lived varieties. 
For soiling it is indispensable, and it 
offers the dairyman an excellent fodder for 
the earliest feeding in the spring, when it 
fills the vacant place before the common 
red clover is ready for feeding. It is the 
best feed for ewes rearing young lambs, 
and is equally valuable for pasturing 
swine. After it has been eaten down, the 
land may be put in a crop of late planted 
early corn, or tbe clover may be left to seed 
and be followed with a short summer fallow 
and wheat. 
After repeated trials of Crimson Clover 
on a small scale, Prof. W. J. Beal, who is 
probably the best authority as to grasses, 
says that it is of no value for Michigan. 
Prof. Gully is of the same opinion in refer¬ 
ence to Mississippi. 
DIRECT. 
-W. F. Massey, of the North Carolina 
Station in the Weekly Press : “The annual 
Crimson Clover is making a great change 
here, it being such a convenient crop to 
sow among standing cotton for winter pas 
turage and green man ure in spring. Grow¬ 
ing well on land where Red Clover will not 
grow at all, it will prove a great aid in the 
renovation of worn lands. In all the red 
clay uplands of the South, with good, deep 
plowing and liberal treatment, all the ag¬ 
ricultural grasses used at the North will 
succeed as well as there. At this station 
we have a lawn on a hill-top, fully exposed 
to the sun, on which is as dense a turf of 
Blue Grass and Perennial Rye Grass as 
can be seen anywhere, and yet only a few 
years ago this land was considered too poor 
to grow anything. Nearby is as fine a 
piece of clover and Timothy as is usually 
seen, showing that all that Red Clover 
needs is fair treatment.” 
-Weekly Press: “Cultivate what land 
you can make better, and not poorer.” 
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