i89i 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
735 
and miserably poor and thin.’ There was one hen which 
refused to sit, and compelled her mate to do all the work ; 
but at the next nesting the cock gave her a sound drub¬ 
bing and brought her to terms. Of another couple, the 
hen suffered an accident and had to be killed. Her mate 
mourned her long and refused to accept any other spouse; 
and when the period of mourning was over, and he took 
another mate, he allowed her to tyrannize over him and 
keep him in abject fear. The hen ostrich lays every other 
day ; and If, for each egg laid, one is taken from the nest, 
she will continue laying till she has produced 20 or 30. If 
no eggs are taken away, she leaves off laying as soon as 
she has from 15 to 20. Every morning and evening the 
nest, or shallow indentation in the ground, is left uncov¬ 
ered for a quarter of an hour, to allow the eggs to cool. 
The sight of nests thus apparently deserted has probably 
given rise to the erroneous idea that the ostrich leaves her 
eggs to hatch In the sun. But, ‘stupid though she is, she 
has more sense than to believe in the possibility of the sun 
hatching her eggs ; she is, indeed, quite aware of the fact 
that if allowed to blaze down on them with untempered 
heat, even during the short time she is off the nest, it 
would be injurious to them ; and, therefore, on a hot 
morning, she does not leave them without first placing on 
the top of each a good pinch of sand.’ The charge made 
against the ostrich’s intelligence that, hiding its head in 
the sand, it imagines itself to be invisible, is declared to be 
false ; but it does other things as foolish, and is well de¬ 
scribed in Job’s words, ‘Because God hath deprived her 
of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understand¬ 
ing.’ Ostriches are long lived creatures, and, however old 
they may become, they never show any signs of decrepi¬ 
tude, nor do their feathers deteriorate. Their career is 
usually ended by some accident; ‘ anjd in about 99 cases 
out of a hundred the disaster is, in one way or another, 
the result of the bird’s stupidity. There surely does not 
exist a creature—past early infancy—more utterly incap¬ 
able of taking care of itself than an ostrich ; yet he is full 
of conceit, and resents the Idea of being looked after by 
his human friends; and when, in spite of their precautions 
for his safety, he has succeeded in coming to grief, he 
quietly opposes every attempt to cure his injuries, and at 
once makes up his mind to die.’ The worst and most fre¬ 
quent accidents by which they suffer are broken legs ; and 
their legs are exceedingly brittle. This necessitates the 
crippled bird being killed, for it admits of no remedy.” 
MEETING OF THE AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SO¬ 
CIETY. 
R. N.-Y. Short-Hand Report. 
The 23d biennial session of the American Pomological 
Society opened in the city of Washington, D. C., Tuesday 
morning, September 22. The meeting was the more 
notable and important because it was the first time in the 
history of the society that a meeting had been held in the 
capital of the nation, and, second, because it was in re¬ 
sponse to an Invitation of the Secretary of Agriculture 
and held under the auspices of the Department. The 
meetings were held in the large lecture room of the Na¬ 
tional Museum, known as the Catlin Indian Room, which 
was nicely adapted for the purpose. Secretary Rusk 
placed the society In charge of Edwin Willits, his assist¬ 
ant, who in conjunction with H. E. Van Deman, the 
United States Pomologist, labored most efficiently for the 
comfort and welfare of everybody. 
At 10:30 A. M. President Berckmans opened the meeting. 
After prayer came the government’s welcome through As¬ 
sistant Secretary Willits. After tendering a hearty greet 
ing to the society, he said : “ You now represent interests 
that far outrun the most vivid imagination of the most 
sanguine men who in 1848 organized your society. Then 
California was practically unknown, and Florida was 
chiefly mentioned for her everglades and hostile Seminoles. 
The orange, lemon, fig, pineapple and olive were imported 
luxuries. The tomato, though tempting to the eye, was 
distasteful to the palate; the strawberry was found by the 
boys and girls in the meadows. A complete revolution 
has been wrought, and in this you gentlemen and those 
whom you succeed and represent have been important fac¬ 
tors. The Department has published to the world the best 
results of your labors, and recognized the energy you have 
displayed and the intelligence you have thrown into your 
work. The Department has also some pride in the part It 
has taken in this revolution. To enumerate its good deeds 
in this presence would be unbecoming; but the mention is 
for the purpose of justifying the claim it makes for fellow 
ship with you. Your coming is an Inspiration to us, and 
may your leaving be followed by a higher appreciation of 
what each in his respective sphere is accomplishing and a 
most hearty cooperation in the great work in which we 
are jointly interested.” 
Pleasant and fitting rsponse was made for the society by 
C. L. Watrous, of Des Moines, Iowa. Then after graceful 
thanks expressed by Mr. Watrous for the hearty welcome, 
the regular business was taken up. 
The first afternoon’s session began with the President’s 
address. Politics in pomology was earnestly denounced 
by him. He alluded to instances where the influence of 
the society had been sought for this purpose, and said, 
“ As you value your rights and the dignity of your grand 
society, as you revere your honored and lamented founder, 
do not lend yourselves to any political schemes of design¬ 
ing men.” The deaths of Patrick Barry, of Rochester, 
Charles Gibb, of Quebec, P. M. Augur, of Connecticut and 
Dr. Geo. Tnurber, were tenderly and most appropriately 
referred to with eulogistic remarks befitting their respect¬ 
ive eminence in pomology, high personal character and 
the importance of their life work. The committee on 
nominations then reported the following officers who were 
elected by the convention, viz: Prosper J. Berckmans, of 
Georgia, President; C. L. Watrous, of Iowa, First Vice- 
President; George C. Brackett, of Kansas, Secretary; 
Benjamin G. Smith, Massachusetts, Treasurer, with a 
vice-president for each State. 
The report of the venerable treasurer was a healthful 
document, showing a goodly amount in hand, with the 
legacy of Ex-president Wilder earning an annual income. 
Twenty-one new life members have been added to the list 
since the last biennial meeting. H. h. 
(To be continued.) 
FRUIT AND^VINE THOUGHTS. 
B. P. POWELL. 
Has any one yet grown the Crandall Currant profitably 
as a market fruit? I understand that it is, or sometimes 
may be, a good thing to have for a bush in a shrubbery; or 
possibly for a dish of fruit at home. I can find far better 
sports of the native ribes growing as flowering shrubs— 
Single Ostrich Chick. Fig. 262. 
better for flowers, fruit and form. The main objection 
that I have to the Crandall is that it reminds me of Bar- 
num’s fellow that used to tie himself into knots. It creeps 
and twists and wriggles, and is neither bush, tree nor 
creeper. The fruit is of every imaginable size, ripens all 
along for two weeks on the same stem, and as for quality 
it is not delicious—sort o’ undefined. Better talk about 
something else till we get a better “evolution.” 
I am growing the papaw here and it is hardy. Too much 
attention cannot be called to this strangely neglected 
fruit. It undoubtedly has In it the germ of great things. 
Why cannot Ohio’s ambition be turned to improving the 
papaw for us? It grows freely in her river bottoms. I 
used to find it also in Michigan. 
I like The Rural’s indorsement of Taylor as a black¬ 
berry. But with me it does not outbear the Agawam. 
Which does The Rural consider the best berry all in all, 
Group of Ostrich Chicks. Fig. 263. T 
J 
for quality and quantity? [For quality the Agawam ; for 
quantity the Taylor; for both the Kittatinny.— Eds.] 
Is the Eaton Grape as rampant as the August Giant ? I 
have recommended the latter as the best of all for running 
over trees and barns. It is one of those unbounded growers 
that every man needs, if hardy and healthy. Concord is 
good, but generally needs to be laid down to make sure of 
wintering well. If the Eaton is a few degrees hardier, it 
is the right thing. So far I select August Giant. You 
don’t know, Mr. Farmer, how far towards covering your 
deficits and curing your mental gout a grape vine over 
your outhouses would go. Success depends on your skill 
in having no waste room. Ten bushels of grapes might 
be picked from every barn in America on a 40 acre farm. 
Every stony, grassy or rocky corner might bear grapes. 
Try August Giant, Eaton, Worden and, if grown in with 
the others, try Brighton and Pocklington. 
“ Large remunerative advertisements stand in the way,” 
says The Rural in reference to the failure of agricultural 
papers to expose frauds on farmers. It Is very bold and 
honest. We are “scamped” to death by means of the very 
papers we support to help us. Now, after no end of getting 
fooled by frauds and, worse yet, the ignorance of nursery¬ 
men, I have a list of the men from whom I can procure 
what I want, and by whom I know that I am sure of being 
honestly treated. But even these men occasionally send out 
plants wrongly labeled. They have themselves been fooled. 
What I most fear is a nurseryman who goes into the busi¬ 
ness only to make money, and who has no sympathy with 
trees and pla its. Such a man never can have a nice dis¬ 
crimination. He booms a humbug, honestly. The right- 
down universal liars we can fight shy of, if we have hon¬ 
est hearts. No honest buyer can believe the buncombe in 
some of the catalogues. 
THE PRACTICAL USE OF SWAMP MUCK. 
For the past 50 years, and more, the value of swamp 
muck as a manure has been a subject for discussion among 
farmers and by the agricultural press; and yet there now 
exists a considerable diversity of opinion as to its value, 
the general idea inclining rather to indifference regard¬ 
ing its use as a regular source of plant food, or soil im¬ 
provement. Hundreds of farms in the Northern States 
possess accessible stores of this material, lying neglected 
owing to lack of faith or knowledge in regard to its useful¬ 
ness. It Is not only the uninstructed farmer who neglects 
these handy mines of preserved vegetable remains. Rather, 
perhaps, it is the pretty well educated and capable man 
who is most likely to think it does not pay to draw out so 
much water and insoluble vegetable waste as a source of 
plant food. His observation tends to teach him that muck 
alone, when spread upon his land as a top dressing, or 
plowed in for a crop, yields scarcely perceptible results; 
while as an absorbent it is very difficult to dry, and is 
otherwise unsatisfactory in stable use. On good hardwood 
soils it has often no perceptible effect when applied alone, 
and it is by faith rather than sight that any positive value 
can be assigned to it when used in combination with stable 
manure or fertilizers. 
Undoubtedly there is a vast difference in the compo¬ 
sition of different beds of muck. That taken from large, 
wet swamps, unless they can be easily and completely 
drained, will often cost more to get and handle than it is 
worth; but there are hundreds of swales or hollows in 
which vegetable matter has accumulated to the depth of 
several febt, that can be ditched at small expense, and 
carts can be backed up to them and easily filled with com¬ 
paratively dry material. Such a deposit, composed in great 
part of leaves blown by the autumn winds into these de¬ 
pressions, and preserved by the rain or spring water which 
there accumulated, Is often of superior quality. It is 
especially valuable on sandy soils, and for these it does as 
much or more good when cartsd and spread directly upon 
them, without any attempt at drying or composting. 
There are several such deposits in my own neighborhood, 
the restorative value of which on the lighter soils is so con¬ 
spicuous as to be i.nmistakable. The best results appear 
where the muck is spread directly from the pit in prepir- 
ing the ground for seeding to grass, either with or without 
grains. I pass frequently by a place so prepared four 
years ago, where the grass is evidently better to-day than 
upon adjoining ground where stable manure was used at 
the same time, and under like circumstances. 
Perhaps it would bs well to note some of the reasons for 
such results, as given from the scientific point of view 
by an eminent agricultural chemist. Prof. S. W. John¬ 
son, of Connecticut, wrote, more than a quarter of a cen¬ 
tury ago, a small book upon Peat and its Uses. At that 
time, owing to the high price of fuel in lower New Eng¬ 
land, an attempt was on foot to make the peat deposits of 
that section available for this purpose. It did not result 
successfully; but in connection with that matter Prof. 
Johnson gave to his readers a resum6 of facts as then 
known, and since not much enlarged, in regard to the 
value of muck on the farm. He adverted especially to the 
well-known fact that in light soils stable manure wastes 
too quickly, owing to its too rapid oxidation, by which 
its volatile portions are set free faster than a crop can 
appropriate them. For this cause this costly plant 
food disappears during the early stages of growth, and 
consequently is lacking later, when it becomes necessary 
for the maturity of the crop. On those “ hungry soils” 
particularly, the rich but slowly decomposable swale muck 
above referred to is decidedly superior to stable manure. 
But not only is it better because it is a slower fertilizer, it 
is also better because of the tenacity with which it holds 
moisture. It holds both the food and the water needed by 
the crop through the whole season, parting with them 
only as wanted for its full perfection. Here is a case where 
jjjone of the usually objectionable characteristics of muck 
proves of great value to the farmer. The presence of the 
muck in such soils also tends to the preservation of a more 
uniform temperature, preventing the “ burning up ” of a 
crop during midsummer droughts. 
Analysis shows a very considerable amount of actually 
available plant food in these so called “ hardwood mucks,” 
which directly contributes to the growth of crops when 
the conditions are favorable for developing its capacity 
in that direction. This is probably best effected by mixing 
it with stable manure, as can easily be done by using a 
portion of drained and air-dried muck iu connection with 
other absorbents in the stables. Muck so used will tem¬ 
per the disposition of some sorts of manure to rapid fer¬ 
mentation. Farmers almost instinctively hit upon some 
scientific truths, as when they speak of muck as “cold.” 
They will therefore the more readily accede to this idea of 
tempering a hot manure, like that of horses or of sheep, 
with a cold one, like muck ; and they will as easily per¬ 
ceive its great use in the hot, dry, sandy soil where un¬ 
mixed stable manure fails to bring the crop safely through 
the season of growth. T. H. hoskins. 
Orleans Co., Yt. 
