576 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
except size. In this it is surpassed by many others. Wal¬ 
ton, Shuster’s Gem, Lovett’s Early, General Putnam, and 
a few others will get another season’s trial to ascertain 
their true value here ; but a dozen others will go under as 
of no value to me. For the sake of the originators I hope 
they possess more merit with them; otherwise they are 
very far in the rear, and should get posted in the pro¬ 
gress already made to see what they have to overcome 
ere they can expect to reach the head of the procession. 
If originators and introducers of new fruits were to 
submit them to a competent board of examiners to deter¬ 
mine their merits and adaptability to different sections 
there would be less dissatisfaction among purchasers and 
it might save the introducers the mortification of hearing 
unfavorable reports of their favorites and perhaps save 
them from loss in attempting to introduce them. A new 
strawberry to prove an acquisition over a wide area, in 
preference to those we now have, means more, very much 
more than it did 25 or 80 years ago, and the person who is 
not familiar with the progress made in that time is a very 
poor judge of the requirements needed in a new candidate 
for public favor if he expects it to stand any way near the 
head of the column. Our experiment stations and con¬ 
scientious amateurs throughout the country who have 
an innate love for horticulture above its money value are 
working in this direction and the results of their labor 
should be well considered by those who are preparing to 
inflict new varieties on a generous and confiding public. 
Making haste slowly but surely, following Col. Crockett’s 
advice “be sure you are right then go ahead” is very 
apropos to all concerned in this matter. E. williams. 
Essex Co., N. J. 
NOTES ON RECENT RURALS. 
E. P. POWELL. 
I will tell you how to settle that bird question. Count 
all decent birds as members of the family and plant with 
that understanding. The robins show good taste in select¬ 
ing food; so do catbirds and orioles; but they pay in 
music, better music than can be bought for 50 cents a 
ticket in the towns, though it costs nothing in the 
country. Life would be dull without the birds. Two 
years ago I had a few berries planted. The birds took so 
many that I found no profit. Then I planted more, and 
now I do not in the least feel all that are taken by the 
singers. My orchestra is a fine one, and I am not ashamed 
to listen to it, because it is paid for. I count the robins 
with my lamily, and to the indigo birds and catbirds, I say 
come on Bob, help yourself, and carry some home to the 
babies. The wood thrushes and hermit thrushes are now 
coming in to be with us. Let them come. The solution 
of the problem is, plant more. Now the cherries are taken 
badly; and that is simply because there are so few cherry 
trees about here. There is no fruit more wholesome and 
delicious. I have great trees of Governor Wood, Black 
Tartarian, Morello, Montmorencies, Windsors, and every 
one is covered with mosquito netting. Even then the 
profit is reduced only one-fifth. Go on planting cherries 
everywhere. In two years we can have enough in New 
York State to feed all the people and all the birds too. To 
kill a robin is little short of murder. The effect on my 
children of bird love pays for all they eat. [The R. N.-Y. 
begs to thank Mr. Powell for such sentiments.— Eds.] The 
only bird I detest is that dirty, scolding, quarrelsome, de¬ 
generate English sparrow. I expect if my children are 
gentle to the birds, they will be gentle with me and with 
humankind. 
About making the most of a little home, I wish to add 
that one should have a small greenhouse—a cheap one be¬ 
hind his barn or house, where he can raise his own lettuce, 
cabbage and tomato plants, and flowers from seeds. I 
have one that cost me $30; and it has paid me this year in 
cabbage plants. I grow a few tomatoes and melons where 
the celery plants were, for late bearing. When the frost 
comes I shut the windows, and there they are safe until 
December. 
The discussion of Paris-green and London-purple on 
fruit trees leads me to say that I use one pound to 200 gal¬ 
lons of water, and have never seen a trace of damage on 
apples, pears and adjacent foliage. My fruit this year 
shows scarcely a sign of the codling moth’s work, although 
I made but one arsenical application. For all that, I am 
certain there is a too free use of arsenic going on. I find 
any approach to it poisons me. I cannot touch It or handle 
Paris green paints. I know a painter who can eat a pinch 
of Paris-green; and another who cannot mix arsenical 
paints. The greatest caution should be used. By all 
means mix in water instead of plaster. I was once nearly 
killed by the volatization of arsenic in paint over a 
register. Don’t be too free with the stuff. It takes a long 
time to get rid of the dynamic effect of such poison. 
Are insects decreasing f Some one notes the absence of 
vine bugs and potato bugs. All insects migrate—some 
east and some west. Fifty years ago the locust borer was 
at work in New York State. When I went to Michigan, 
In 1861, this pest was just leaving for further west. It has 
made one more passage across the continent. The potato 
bug will eventually go east and become rare here, for a 
season. The tent caterpillar moves also eastward, spend¬ 
ing three years in a place. The emigration is in all cases 
expedited, and perhaps regulated by the appearance of 
parasites and foes of different sorts. The prime need now 
in our common schools is the study of entomology as well 
as botany, so that our young folks can tell friends from 
foes. 
Are trees deteriorated by grafting ? One of The Rural 
correspondents thinks they are. I wish you would note 
that in a seedling nursery Nature kills out, very young, 
those trees that cannot endure extremes of climate. Much 
of the stock used to graft on, that we receive, has not had 
this eliminating process at work in it; and so we get 
feeble or tender stock under the names of some of our 
hardy sorts of apples, peara, etc. If you wish to see what 
I mean, plant a small nursery and examine the various de¬ 
fects in root, in bark, in bud and otherwise. A seedling 
orchard is the best seedling nursery. The best seedling 
apple I ever raised is subject to a very scabby fungoid 
disease. Happily I can keep it in fair condition with the 
kerosene emulsion soap-suds. The effect of stock on trees 
and fruit is not any longer questionable. All our best 
pomologists agree. 
A NEGLECTED CROP-THE CHERRY. 
I have bad an extra crop of cherries. It is rather odd 
that this fruit is not grown more largely. The custom is 
to set a tree or two around the house and then expect 
fruit in abundance. The obstacles to cherry culture here 
are, first, a fungous growth that takes the leaves off the 
tree about the first of July, and eventually kills it. This 
can be prevented by spraying with the proper solution. 
Next come the birds. For these the remedy is to plant 
several trees of the early varieties. The number of these 
visitors is limited, and they will have something to eat, 
and as the wild fruits are destroyed they will consume 
more of our cultivated sorts. Are they useful or not ? If 
useful, we can spare for them a few cherries and some 
corn. If of no use, then we should destroy them. Is It not 
better that they should take some of our cherries than 
that they should prey unchecked upon that and all our 
other crops ? The blackbird pulls up the young corn ; but 
without its presence what would we do with the worms f 
Next is the rot of the Blgarreau class. I have sprayed a 
part of a tree to see if spraying is a remedy. So far the 
rot has not been destructive. We have damp, cool 
weather. A rise of 10 degrees in the temperature will start 
the plague. The early varieties are seldom injured. The 
black knot is injurious on the Dukes and Morellos. An 
effective remedy and preventive Is to cut off and burn all 
affected limbs. 
The trees grow well without much cultivation. They 
bear profusely while young. The fruit is useful in many 
ways. Early Richmond is an early and good low grower. 
Louis Phillippe Is so much like the Richmond and Olivet 
that one is as good as the other. Montmorency is .a tart, 
low grower, very much like the old Pie Cherry. The old 
Pie or late Kentish knots so badly that it is almost out of 
cultivation. Reine Hortense of the Duke class is very 
fine. Downer’s Late Red of the Heart class is very hardy. 
It does not bear large fruit, but is reliable. Downton of 
the Duke class is a rather shy bearer, but Is extra good. 
Yellow Spanish (Blgarreau) is a strong grower and very 
good. Napoleon is very similar to the Spanish ; but the 
tree grows with a rounder head. The Black Tartarian 
tree has been unhealthy; but spraying will put this fine 
variety in its old place as one of the best. Ohio Beauty 
(Heart) is very fine, and birds like the fruit. Elton has 
qualities like those of the Beauty. Carnation, of the Duke 
class, no farmer can afford to be without. English 
Morello is an early bearer of large fruit. Young trees of 
this kind will bear at three years. Unless the fruit is very 
ripe it is astringent. 
The list is long, but I must add Rockport (Blgarreau.) 
One should plant several trees, for the birds are hungry, 
and so will the owner be when the birds take all that one 
or two trees can bear. Last, but not least, plant free 
stock, and give the worm-eaten Mahaleb stock a wide 
berth. This Is the most useless stock ever used. The 
Hearts and Bigarreaus make fine shade trees and will 
grow In grass wherever the soil is not too rich, and they 
will thrive even in rich soil if one takes the trouble to cut 
the outer bark so that the trees can expand. The bark 
should be cut from the ground up along the larger limbs, 
say, every two years. One should cut slanting with 
breaks, or the tree will crack open. This outside bark 
does not get tender fast enough on rich soil. 
Mercer Co., N. J._l. j. Blackwell. 
Live Stock Matters. 
The lungs of a scrub are always powerful. 
The bigger, coarser and stronger the cow’s mouth and 
teeth, the finer her butter extracting power. 
A dry, hot nose and a tight, hard skin are about the 
worst things a dairy cow can carry around with her. 
Three years of the milk tester will do more to pick out 
the best butter cows than a dozen years of feeding tests. 
Big heart and lungs in the dairy cow are more import¬ 
ant than a big udder. A great mistake is made in sup¬ 
posing that a cow with a fair sized udder cannot give a 
big mess of milk. 
In the Iowa Station feeding for milk tests it was found 
that the ability and willingness to eat whatever is given 
her is a characteristic of the Holstein cow. The Holstein 
has a well deserved reputation for being a “good feeder.” 
The corn plant will thrive luxuriously on coarse manure 
and refuse. The Holstein cow will make a better return 
for coarse forage than any other dairy animal—except per¬ 
haps the Ayrshire. 
Cheshire or Chester ?—Mr. E. W. Davis writes this 
note: “ I noticed a few weeks ago an illustration in The 
R. N.-Y., entitled ‘A Good Prospect for Pork.’ It was 
stated that the sow was a high-grade Cheshire, bred to 
a thoroughbred Chester White. Now is it not right 
the other way ? Was not the sow a grade Chester White 
and the boar used a Cheshire ? The looks of the pigs 
would indicate it, while I can see no mark or indication 
whatever that there is any Cheshire blood in the sow. The 
sow looks as if she had Chester White blood. On general 
principles I would expect Mr. Hoyt to use a Cheshire for 
the male instead of the female in effecting a cross, for I 
think it is a general rule among breeders to use a flue male 
with a coarse sow to get the best results in the production 
AUG. 8 
of pork, if the sow is Dart Cheshire the proportion of 
Cheshire blood must be small.” 
Mr. Divis is mainly right in his belief. The sow has a 
large proportion of Chester White blood, while the boar, 
though not perhaps a thoroughbred, is formed much like 
a typical Cheshire. 
Tea for Horses —All books on India, China and Rus¬ 
sia mention the enormous consumption of tea by the in¬ 
habitants. Tea is the national beverage, and is so cheap 
that its use saves millions of dollars which in other coun¬ 
tries are spent for beer, wines or whisky. Giving it to 
horses is a new idea, however. The London Live Stock 
Journal finds this note in a new book, entitled. Horse 
Breeding in India : “ Some horses are very fond of warm 
tea, with plenty of sugar and milk. This is an excellent 
restorative, not only after a race, but after a hard day’s 
hunting. It is always to be had, and many horses will 
drink it eagerly, when first offered. It need not be very 
strong ; but there should be enough ; a gallon will often 
be taken. The warmth and the stimulus afforded by the 
tea, are most grateful to the exhausted and empty stom¬ 
ach.” Why not in that country where tea is almost as 
cheap as water ? Millions of human beings will testify to 
the soothing and restful effect of a cup of tea. Why 
should it not be good for a horse ? When people are in¬ 
jured by tea drinking, it is generally the fault of the tea- 
maker rather than of the tea-drinker. 
Poland China Pork Packers.— My advice to those 
who would make the cheapest pork is to have none but 
full-blooded animals to start with, preferably Poland 
Chinas. The sows should farrow from March 1 to April 1. 
The pigs should be turned on clover and fed mill feed slop, 
and finished with corn, and by the first of November they 
will be hogs weighing from 250 to 300 pounds each at a 
small cost. Nine-tenths of the hogs in the country are 
Poland Chinas, because animals of this breed can be sold 
when from six months to one year old at a profit, and the 
farmer does not lose on the feed he gives them. I prefer 
full-bloods. Let them run on clover and give them mill 
feed—not sour but sweet—mixed at each feeding. They 
will make more Dork in proportion to the cost than any 
other breed. They should be finished off with corn, which 
gives weight and solid flesh. I once fed a large lot of 
cooked potatoes, and was surprised at the weight of the 
hogs; but they were finished off on corn. I do not believe 
in feeding corn in hot weather, as it is heating, and I 
think it the cause of so many deaths among hogs in the 
fall. I usually give my pigs all the garden refuse I raise, 
including a great many beets and turnips which they seem 
to relish and thrive on. I do not think there is anything 
that grows that will turn off so much feed as beets for the 
cost of growing. I fed them all last winter to cows and 
pigs with good results. A. s. A. 
Pittsfield, Ill. 
FERTILITY OF SHEEP. 
1. Is not the ewe’s influence greater than that of the 
ram in determining the number at a birth ? 2. Would it 
not be advisable to save for breeding purposes the lambs 
from ewes that habitually drop twins ? 
In answer to the first question, I would say that as yet 
my observation Is in harmony with the opinion that the 
ewe has the most Influence in the ma ter. I know of a ewe 
eight years old that has had six twins and one triplet and 
they have been sired by six different rams none of which 
was a twin to my knowledge. One of the third twins she 
gave birth to was a ewe and she had twins twice by as 
many different rams. I have no doubt that a ram may 
have some influence, just as a bull may more or less 
strongly inherit and transmit the milking qualities of his 
dam. It is often noticeable in the usage of a bull descended 
from a good milking family that the progeny will surpass 
the dam in milking qualities, and this we must perforce 
credit to the sire. It may be that the greater prepotency 
of the ewe In this direction is accounted for largely by the 
fact that the merit of fertility is developed in her, while in 
the ram it is dormant. In practice, with the end in view 
of rearing as many twins as possible, I would rather mate 
a ewe that was a twin with a single ram than a ram that 
was a twin with a single ewe. The greatest certainty, 
however, will follow when both parents are of twin origin. 
It is only a good ewe that can rear twin lambs in good con¬ 
dition, and for that reason some consider that a twin is 
just one too many. 
To originate and transmit this feature of fertility, the 
two potent factors in my view are feeding and breeding. 
Testimony and observation justify me in advancing the 
opinion that high or nutritious feeding has a marked in¬ 
fluence on the number at a birth. It is a matter of com¬ 
mon comment among shepherds of ripe experience that 
when the ewes are in good condition, when mated and kept 
so, the proportion of twins is always greater. So many 
are the instances in corroboration through all divisions of 
animal life, that this relation of food to fertility is con¬ 
sidered one of the most fixed and nicely adjusted laws of 
nature. Darwin writes that sheep, when on the mountain, 
never produce more than one lamb at a birth, while when 
brought down to the lowland pastures they bear twins. 
Perhaps the most convincing instance I have ever haard 
of or have seen recorded was that which occurred in the 
experience of an English breeder, who was fattening some 
ewes. A neighbor’s ram broke in and served 13 of them. 
These ewes produced 31 lambs, all born alive (though 
some afterwards died) as follows : One single, eight twins, 
three triplets and odo case of five at a birth. In writing 
on the Dorset sheep, Youatt accounts for their fertility in 
some measure, as he says, by the flush of grass at the time 
of coupling. The extent of this Influence I cannot meas¬ 
ure, but that it exists is certain. 
On selection in breeding we must rely for the transmis¬ 
sion and intensification of this good quality. To breed 
twins with the greatest certainty we must mate the ram 
