and cultivated, will give better results than the richer 
valleys ; especially in more northern locations a few 
hundred feet back on the hills might make the differ¬ 
ence of a crop. 
As the peach will not bear neglect, but should be 
kept growing to insure healthy trees, neither will 
the Japan plum endure neglect like the apple, but 
should be kept cultivated and well fed. With trees as 
cheap as the peach, coming into bearing as quickly, 
growing to perfection upon our lighter lands, with 
the improvements that will come in varieties, will 
plums be raised so cheaply as to affect the sale of 
other fi’uits in their season ? I see no reason why 
they may not undersell both the peach and pear in 
our Eastern markets, at our present prices. To the 
man with the right location, the Japans will present 
new opportunities in fruit raising. With the hun¬ 
dreds of thousands of dollars paid our experiment 
stations by our government, ought we not to expect 
some facts in regard to the probable success of a new 
fruit like this *? By working together on the question 
of locations and varieties, it seems to me that they 
might be a great help to the fruit growers. 
Worcester County, Mass. h. o. mead. 
look at his chickens. A handsomer lot of pullets I 
never saw. They were large, plump and long bod ; ed. 
There is a lot of meat on those frames But two cock¬ 
erels were left, but they were as good as the pullets. 
The whole flock looked wonderfully thrifty. The 
union of the two pure breeds seemed to have resulted 
in great vigor, and that is a big point in raising mar¬ 
ket poultry. 
For layers, the purebred Leghorn is a great favorite 
of mine. I breed the Leghorns and keep them pure, 
but the great body of farmers cannot get an egg from 
a Leghorn for four months or so during the cold 
months, and that, too, when they have fairly warm 
poultry houses. The Leghorn is small in size, some¬ 
what scantily feathered, has a thin, large comb, and 
is in other ways unfitted to do its best unless given 
very warm quarters. In Maine, we cannot make 
poultry houses so warm that water will not freeze in 
them, or that are warm enough for Leghorns on cold, 
cloudy days in winter, unless the poultry quarters be 
partly underground. 
Under such conditions, why not take advantage 
of the Leghorns’ prolificacy in egg production, by cross¬ 
ing the White variety with the W. P. Rock, and thus 
get some size, substance, stamina and warm feather¬ 
ing. Winter in a State like Maine, New Hampshire 
The three pictures shown on pages 101 and 103, were or Vermont, is very different from winter in the 
taken within a mile of one another on the same day, latitude of New York City. But such a cross as I 
on one of the most important public roads in one of have suggested, will give fowls fitted to endure 
the first counties in the State of Minnesota. Over moderate cold without suffering, and ready to do their 
this road, nearly one-third of the farmers of the coun- part toward making a full egg basket. In cross-breed- 
ty travel to reach the county seat, and hundreds of ing, we must cross thoroughbreds on both sides, else 
thousands of bushels of grain are hauled annually we will have mongrels, with the varying degrees of 
over this same piece of road—so called. Fig. 33 shows good, bad and indifferent, characteristic of the latter, 
the result of no side ditches to carry off surplus We must crossbreed for a purpose and mate under¬ 
water. This little hill has a grade of 
about one foot in ten, and the water 
from rain or melting snow, 
the middle of the road for a distance 
of 30 rods before reaching the top of j 
the hill. Some passing neighbors kindly < 
drove into the ditch to show its depth, f 7x7 . ^ 
as I was aiming my camera at this |nr V ; 
particular bit of landscape. IJ J « 
Now take a good look at Fig. 33. Did . V •' 
you ever see anything like it? One jwpBr—JL j 
gentleman, when he saw the photo- 
graph from which this was taken, said : 
“ What is this intended to represent, a 
diseased lung?” This shows a por¬ 
tion of the above-mentioned road near 
the top of the hill, where the water 
from 60 rods of road and from 30 or 40 
acres of land on a sidehill above the 
road, had no way of escaping to a lower 
level except to follow the middle of the 
road. 
• * rV' jH 
Now look at Fig. 31. This photo¬ 
graph was taken 30 minutes after the 
one shown at Fig. 33, and shows the 
exact appearance ox another hill simi¬ 
larly situated, but with one important 
difference. The road overseer of this 
district had, just before the ground 
froze up the fall previous, dug a deep ditch along 1 
upper side of the road, and put a coat of gravel on 
the surface. This hill is now the best piece of road 
in the whole valley ; whereas, the year before, and 
for many years, it had been the worst spot. 1 was 
once “ stalled ” with half a box of sand and four good 
horses, in this identical spot. At that time, it looked 
like the spot shown at Fig. 33, whereas, when Fig. 31 
was taken it was dusty. j. M. DREW. 
Minnesota. 
R. N.-Y.—These pictures will give you an idea of 
what some of you may expect when the frost goes 
out of the ground ! It’s there—waiting for you—a 
11 power-trap ” in which tons of energy will be wasted 
before the mud dries out. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and address of 
the writer to insure attention. Before asking a question please 
see whether it is not answered in our advertising columns. Ask 
only a few questions at one time. Put questions on a separate 
piece of paper .1 > 
Wool Waste or Manure ? 
J. G. S., Norristown , Pa. —What is the value of wool waste for 
manure, broadcasted over the field just as it comes from the mill ? 
Would it be better to buy horse manure at $1.50 per ton or wool 
waste at $1.40 per ton? Which is the better for truck and the land? 
Ans. —Average wool waste contains, to the ton, 
about 100 pounds of nitrogen, 35 of potash and six of 
phosphoric acid. Yet it is not a good manure for 
truck and vegetables, for the nitrogen is in such forms 
that the plant cannot reach it. Vegetables need plant 
food at once available. The wool waste used as you 
propose, will benefit the soil mechanically, and will 
become slowly available ; but for immediate results 
the manure is better. 
How to Keep Half-Cured Clover. 
O. I). T., Town Hill , Pa .—I wish to put clover hay in the mow 
when but slightly cured, say, after two hours’ exposure to the 
sun. I find that it heats very much if stored in this condition. 
Would it improve its value in any way to sprinkle it with land 
plaster as it is put in the mow ? Would it hold the heat in check 
as it does in the manure pile ? 
Ans. —Land plaster would be objectionable, as it 
would make the hay very dusty, though it would not 
be likely to injure the animals if not used in large 
quantities. Plaster in the stable really does two 
things—absorbs moisture, and fixes the 
ammonia. The fact of absorbing the 
_____ moisture tends to prevent rapid fer- 
• mentation 
runs in 
but the greatest use of 
plaster in the stable is to catch the 
escaping ammonia. It will be seen 
that the conditions in the hay mow are 
somewhat different, and the objects 
sought are certainly quite different. 
Salt would, without doubt, be better 
than plaster. A peck to a ton of hay 
could be used with safety, as in throw¬ 
ing the hay down and handling it, the 
salt would shake out anti the animals 
would not be likely to get too much. 
Four quarts of salt per ton would cer¬ 
tainly be entirely safe. The effect of 
the salt is to arrest, to some extent, 
heating, thereby giving the hay time 
to part with its moisture without get¬ 
ting so hot as to cause molding. It is 
doubtful if this method of storing 
clover hay should be adopted. Nearly 
twice as much weight has to be hauled 
and handled as when the hay is prop¬ 
erly cured. Would it not be far wiser 
and more satisfactory to purchase some 
hay caps that could be used in case of 
rain or heavy dews ? They should not 
be kept on continuously, as they seriously retard the 
curing of the hay. A good plan is tabunch, as judg¬ 
ment dictates, and open the bunches after the dew 
has gone in the morning, and when the ground has 
warmed up and the sun is bright. It requires but 
little work to open them, making of each five or six 
forkfuls, and it is not a serious job to rebunch them 
at night. By this method, two days’ sun and curing 
would be secured. 
The hay should contain about 30 per cent of water 
when put in the mow. If put in much drier, the leaves 
are likely to fall, and it will not go through sweat in 
the mow which is so beneficial to hay, provided the 
heat is not sufficient to cause molding. This sweat¬ 
ing process softens the fiber and develops aroma. 
I. P. ROBERTS. 
Draft With Large and Small Wheels. 
D. M. //., Calverton, N. Y.— How much harder will a load of, say, 
one ton draw on a wagon with wheels three feet high, than on one 
with wheels four feet high, each with 1%-inch steel axles, all other 
things being equal ? Would not the direction of the line of draft 
lift on the lower wheels enough nearly to balance any advantage 
gained by the higher ones ? 
Ans. —There is no gain in power by enlarging the 
size of wagon wheels. The only advantage of the 
large wheel over a smaller one is that the excess of 
leverage will be a help in lifting the load on the wheel 
over inequalities on a road. On a perfect and an 
equally smooth surface, a small wheel will carry as 
much load as a large one with the same power. There 
is obviously some difference in favor of a small wheel, 
apparently due to the lifting of the load by the horse, 
as the line of draft is upward to some extent. But as 
far as the horse is concerned, there is obviously no 
gain to it, as the exertion of the lifting must neutralize 
some of the force exerted, and thus, in fact, the work 
done by tl\e animal is not lessened tb any appreciates 
, ; Cr 
RESULT OF A POOR DITCH ON A HILLSIDE. Fig. 33 
standingly to effect that purpose. The passion which 
some people seem to have for crossing any and every¬ 
thing that comes their way, is as near the height of 
folly as anything can well be. WEBB donnell. 
Maine. 
A Flower Annex. —He was the village carpenter, 
with a love for the beautiful, and flowers were his 
passion. The windows were full of them in winter, 
the door-yard in summer, and when he bought a house 
of his own, the outside cellar door was soon covered 
with glass to shelter his pets. The next year they 
outgrew their quarters, and before and after working 
hours, he extended the cellar door into a little green¬ 
house 50 feet long and about 10 feet wide, with a fur¬ 
nace in the cellar to heat it. Up to this time, it had 
been play, the cultivation of the best in man and 
plant for the pure love of it ; now the commercial 
feature entered. He made up little bouquets and 
sent them to the city by a neighbor who attended 
market ; the results were encouraging financially, and 
another house was built, then another, and his little 
garden was full. Still there were more flowers wanted, 
so he rented some land of a neighbor, and now he and 
his son have a nice business, which has, like Topsy, 
“ just growed.” Does it pay ? Yes, if a gross yearly 
income of S800 to SI,000 or more, with comparatively 
light cash outlays, would be called paying. At any 
rate, it is certainly very much better than mechanical 
work. He has resources to command all the comforts 
and many of the luxuries of life, is free from harass¬ 
ing care or undue anxiety. 
With beauty art, taste, culture, books to make 
His hour of leisure richer than a life 
Of four score to the barons of old time. 
Chester County, Pa, c, p. barnard, 
CROSSING THOROUGHBRED POULTRY. 
WHERE THE ADVANTAGE COMES IN. 
I have bred poultry for many years, and have always 
been strongly inclined toward the thoroughbreds; but 
I am not blind to the advantage that may sometimes 
accrue from crossing two pure breeds, the “ some¬ 
times ” depending upon certain conditions that I will 
name. A neighbor desired to raise some chickens 
last spring for poultry. He had Light Brahmas, but 
they are not in the best shape at five months of age, 
to go into the roasting pan—there is then too much 
bone for the meat. He wished a more compact fowl, 
but one that would be large in size. Once in a while 
one will find a Plymouth Rock that will be big and 
plump at that age, but the average of the breed 
is much smaller than this neighbor desired. The Wyan¬ 
dotte is a splendid table fowl, but smaller still. I let 
him hiave a pure P. Rock cockerel to mate with his 
Eight Brahma hens, I went down a few days ago to 
