698 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
SEPT. 26 
The Note Book. 
Mighty Far Apart.— I am sorry that 
Mr. E. P Powell believes tbat“tfce best 
possible educational training” is to be 
sought for in the institutions he speaks of 
as turning out the founders of rings and 
trusts (f). His idea of the best possible 
thing in that line is about as far from mine 
as the east is from the west. 
T. H. HOSKINS. 
The Bird Quhstion.—I find that my re¬ 
spect for the agricultural press has in¬ 
creased considerably since the silly twad¬ 
dle about the birds is beiDg brought to a 
close. C. G. 
Ridgeville, Ill. 
The Barn Cellar Ricbivfs Credit — 
Too much cannot be written about absorb¬ 
ents to soak up the urine in our bam cel¬ 
lars. With six cows and one horse in the 
barn snd four hogs on the manure, I have 
to draw, three or four days in the week, 
say, two to six loads at a time to soak up 
the urine. As much of my land is heavy, 
I use much sand—coarse sard with loam— 
and some sawdust, and it is almost impos¬ 
sible to keep the cellar so that the bogs can 
get from one end to the other. There are 
eave troughs on my barns, so they do not 
drip down, and it hardly seems that there 
could be so much “juice;” but on all of 
my heavy land that had not been seeded too 
long I cut three crops of grass. I give the 
credit to the barn cellar and what I take 
out of it. 
Potatoes from Cuttings.— I have just 
found out something. About four weeks 
ago, I cut some blossoms of the Rural 
No. 2 Potato, which were a pretty pur¬ 
ple in color, for a lady who had seen them 
in my garden and admired their beauty, 
not knowing what they were. To keep the 
cuttings fresh I put them in the soil in the 
garden, where they have remained and 
rooted. To day 1 pulled up some of them 
and fotmd small potatoes at the roots as 
large as hickory nuts, and the blossoms 
had formed seed balls in almost every In¬ 
stance. No other growth has been per¬ 
ceptible. Is this an effort of Nature to se¬ 
cure survival under disadvantageous cir- 
cumst ances ? There is time to get a second 
crop of tubers in this way, by planting cut¬ 
tings, if we wish to do so. The cuttings 
were simply the tops of the stems with the 
flowers and a few leaves. Have you ever 
had such an experience as this ? H. s. 
Macon County, N. C. 
[We have often raised Jate potatoes from 
cuttings, but the crop has always been very 
light. We have never noticed that plants 
from cuttings produced seed-balls.— Eds.] 
A Good Pear Season.— This has been 
said to be a pear year. The truth of the 
saying is proved in one instance, as I have a 
Yirgalieu Pear tree that for 40 years has 
produced only blasted fruit—almost every 
pear being cracked to the core. This year 
not one has been cracked ; splendid speci¬ 
mens only have been produced of the best 
pear that was ever grown. J. O. B. 
Rhinebeck, N. Y. 
A Talk on Bush Cutting.— In cutting 
bushes to exterminate them we must have 
plenty of stick-to it-ness and a determina¬ 
tion to “ fight it out on that line if it takes 
all summer.” Twenty-two years ago, when 
my father purchased his farm, it was a 
perfect wilderness of bushes—blackberry, 
raspberry and alders were growing in wild 
profusion in the unbroken and untamed 
pasture (?) land. It was a heavy, rich soil, 
the natural home of bushes and weeds of 
all descriptions, and there were stones in¬ 
excess, piled in the fences in continuous 
rows, forming a home from which bushes 
were not easily driven. Cattle were turned 
on the pasture land, and by their means the 
bushes were stripped of their foliage each 
season and entirely eradicated in a few 
years. But the great rows of bushes in the 
old stone walls have been foes with which 
I have had many encounters. They have 
been cut every year until they have become 
but a gentle reminder of what they were 
“ 20 years ago.” The time for cutting has 
been after harvest in the latter part of 
August. Many of those cut at that season 
will not grow again, whereas if cut earlier 
they will immediately send out sprouts for 
a new life. Any plant or tree stripped of 
its foliage from year to year must finally 
SUCCUmb. HARRY S. WRIGHl’. 
Onondaga Co , N. Y. 
Why shouldn’t every fourth-class post 
office in the country have the authority to 
issue postal notes ? It would certainly be 
a blessing to thousands of country people 
in sending off small orders for all sorts of 
things and for many other reasons, c. C. w. 
Protective Plant Association.— The 
reckless way in which plants are rent out 
from some nurseries is the cause of im¬ 
mense trouble. I am growing from two 
nurseries two sorts of Agawam Blackber¬ 
ries aDd two sorts of Taylor. In one case 
I get Taylor for Agawam and in the other, 
Thompsons. But I am often left in doubt 
and make mistaken reports as to qual ty 
or hardiness. Last winter a new patch of 
Erie was killed—probably, however, it was 
Klttatinny, or even Lawton. I shall find 
out after two years of waiting and vexa¬ 
tion. Then will follow two years more, 
during which I shall clear the ground, and 
after that I can get in the right sort—if I 
am alive. In no field of work is so much 
downright uprightness required as in 
growing plants and trees for sale. We 
really ought to prosecute fraud in this 
line more often than we do. I should like 
to be one of a protective association bound 
to make the rogues suffer. E. p. powell. 
Oneida County, N. Y. 
FARM NOTES FROM THE PINE 
WOODS. 
I have a new assistant in growing cab¬ 
bages ; the yellow jackets have made it un¬ 
necessary for me to apply anything to kill 
worms, though the butterflies were very 
numerous. Are these wasps generally 
recognized as among the enemies of the 
pierist [We have never before heard so. 
Yellow jackets have ruined 25 per c<mt of 
the grapes at the Rural Grounds —Eds ] 
What about the Silver Beet as a plant for 
green forage or ensilage ? As it grows in 
my garden it would yield 20 to 25 tons per 
acre and could be cut twice in a season. 
Just how much of this large yield is water, 
and what is the value of the remainder I 
would like to know. Cattle eat it readily, 
however. There might be some practical 
difficulty in cutting and saving it. 
[We have obtained two large crops from 
our small patch of these beets. Thegrowth 
was but little affected by the dry weather. 
The cows ate the tops eagerly. Sugar beet 
tops contain about 90 per cent of water. 
Clover in blossom contains about 80 per 
cent, green corn fodder about 85, sorghum 
and rye somewhat less. The beet tops con¬ 
tain more water than milk. Analysis 
would indicate that these beet tops are 
equal in feeding value to green oats, corn 
fodder or cabbage; our cows prefer them 
to any of these foods. We believe they would 
pay as a soiling crop if the seed were not so 
expensive, but we do not believe it would 
pay anyone to cut and cure them for hay. 
—Eds.] 
In such a cold, backward year as this It 
is hard to tell what a tomato might do 
with a fair chance. The rot is our greatest 
trouble generally. The Long Keeper rots 
somewhat, but not very badly. The fruit 
is of medium size, very regular and hand¬ 
some. Altogether it is a flDe variety. 
Matchless rots badly; the fruit is larger 
than the Long Keeper; but not so regular. 
I am pleased with the Dwarf Champion as 
a variety for home use ; the fruit is small, 
but solid, and nearly free from rot. It Is 
also early—an important point here—and 
the plants are hardier than most others, 
and being of dwarf habit as much can be 
grown per acre. 
The 10th of August marks a sharp line 
b< tween a season of unprecedented drought 
and one of superabundant moisture; we 
have rain nearly every day now. Oats and 
wheat are still standing in the field. Wheat 
growing is a staple Industry here, and 
farmers are preparing to put in an 
unusually large acreage; but the heavy 
rains have checked operations just now. 
The season altogether has been about the 
worst we have ever known; there has been 
frost every month in 1891 so far, and there 
was no rain to speak of through May, June 
and July ; still we have some crops. Wheat 
and hay are short; oats an average crop ; 
potatoes uneven and below an average, 
though a greater acreage than usual was 
planted. Corn backward—will need a late 
fall to mature. 
Summer fallowing for wheat is much 
practiced here. Many of the most success¬ 
ful farmers think that it pays. It is cer¬ 
tain that it furnishes a moist seed bed, hard 
to obtain in any other way in our usually 
dry seasons. james mctavish. 
Sanilac County, Mich. 
The Convenience of Solid Trains. 
The Erie is the only railway running 
solid trains over its own tracks between 
New York and Chicago. No change of cars 
for any class of passengers. Rates lower 
than via any other first-class line.— Adv. 
I We can prove this to you if 
you will write to us for our 
new PIANO CAPALOGUL. 
The Jlncst in existence 
IT WILL COST YOU NOTHING. 
We send it free to any address. 
It fully explains our plan of 
EASY PAYMENTS. 
We Can Save You ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS. 
3 /01.1 l WASHINGTON, 
■ ■ V and Reliable. / New Jersey. 
]'i;i!i'-s P'.'l <fi-i -: I i 1 I . I . < 
test trial no matter irhrre you livr. 
A SOLID STEEL FENCE. 
,ar 
MADE OF EXPANDED METAL. 
F»r RESIDENCES, CHURCHES, CEMETERIES, FARMS GARDENS, Gates, Arbors, Window Guards, Trellises^ 
Write for Illustrated Catalogue. No. IO. CENTRAL EXPANDED METAL CO. 
Hardware Men keep it. Give name of this paper. 116 Water St., Pittsburgh, I*»- 
IT’S 
UTAWAY 
IMPROVED 
POSITIVE IN ITS ACTION and 
PERFECT IN ITS SEEDING. 
Will sow all kinds of GRASS SEED & GRAINS 
SEJTD FOR SPECIAL CIRCULAR. 
Sole Manufacturers, HIGGANUM, CONN. 
NEW YORK OFFICE, 183 Water Street, NEW YORK. 
CUTAWAY HARROW CO. 
FREE Subscriptions 
/, 2, j, 4 or 5 Years. 
Our Watch offers have been so exceedingly popular that we believe the following 
combinations with subscriptions will meet with quick favor. These watches, as before, 
we believe, are as good as can be produced, and at 25 to 50 per cent below the prices 
usually charged by retail jewelers. 
Our object in making these offers is to give our subscribers good watches at low 
prices, to advertise The Rural New-Yorker, and to get new subscribers. 
The subscriptions are given for the number of years mentioned in parentheses, thus 
(three years), which Indicates that for the price named you get the watch described aud also 
a free subscription for the period named. Your own subscription can be continued for the 
time mentioned, or, if preferred, new subscriptions will be taken to correspond. That is, 
on a three years’ offer, your own subscription may be continued for one year, and we will 
also send the paper for a year (or from receipt of order to end of 1892) to two new names 
which you may send us, to whom you will have sold the subscriptions. 
At the same time you are getting both watch and subscriptions at 
considerably less than the retail price of the watch alone. .JgJ] 
MEN’S SIZES. 
No. 1. - A genuine New York Standard move¬ 
ment: 7 jewels, saTety pinion, com¬ 
pensation balance, stem wind and set; 
in a solid nickel silver case, open face; 
a really excellent watch and far su¬ 
perior to any other cheap watch 
we have seen (two years).$ 8.50 
No. 2.—Same movement as No. 1, in gold-tilled 
case, 15-year guarantee, open face 
(three years). IS 00 
No 8.—Same as No. 2, hunting case (see cut 
above) (three years). 17 00 
No 4.—Same movement as No. 1, in a solid gold 
14k. hunting case, weighing 40 dwt. 
(live years). 87.50 
RURAL SPECIAL BARGAINS. 
No. 5.—A genuineWaltham movement; 7 Jewels. 
compensation balance, safety pinion, 
stem wind aud set; In a solid nicael- 
silver case, open face (two years). 9.50 
No. 6.—Same movement as No. 5, tn gold filled 
case, guaranteed to wear 15 years, 
open faca (three years. 16.50 
No. 7.—Same movement as No. 5, In hunting case 
same as No. 6 (three years.18.50 
No. 8.—Same movement as No. 5, In solid 14k. 
gold hunting case, weighing 40 dwt. 
iflve years). 42 00 
No 9.—A genuine Waltham full jewel move¬ 
ment. compensation balance, safety 
pinion, stem wind and set, patent reg¬ 
ulator, Breguet hair spring, hardened 
aud tempered In form, In open face, 
nickel silver case two years). 13.00 
No. 10.-Same movement as No. 9, In gold filled 
case, guaranteed for 15 years, open 
face (two years). 18.25 
No 11—Same as No. 10, hunting case (two years) 21.25 
No. 12.—Same movement as No. 9, in solid 14k 
gold hunting case weighing 40 dwt. 
A. very handsome watch (five years).. 45.00 
LADIES’ SIZE. 
No. 18.—A genuine Waltham ladies’ watch with 
jewels, compensation balance and 
safety pinion, stem wind and set; In a 
solid coin silver case (tour j ears).14 50 
No. 14.—Same move¬ 
ment as No. 13, in 
a 15 year guaran¬ 
teed g o 1 d- fl 11 e d 
hunting case (four 
years).$19.25 
No. 15.—A beautiful 
11 jewel move¬ 
ment, full nickel, 
In a handsomely 
engraved hunting 
case made of 14t. 
U. S. Assay solid 
gold, usual retail 
price from $50 to 
$75. One of the 
prettiest watches 
for a lady that we 
have ever seen. 
The illustration 
shows the case in 
e x ac t size and 
style (five years) 
Ladles’Watch. No. 1 5 .$i9.uo 
The watches we sent to our subscribers on our previous offers have surprised us 
greatly. 1, As to the high-grade demanded in most cases; cheap watches were not 
wanted. 2, On account of the great number called for. Only one or two complaints have 
reached us, and many have expressed great satisfaction with the watches received. 
We send the watches prepaid by registered mail to any part of the United States. 
Watches sent to Canada are subject, of course, to Custom House restrictions. 
THE RURAL PUBLISHING CO., Times Building, New York. 
