ESTABLISHED IN 1830, 
flcient capacity of bore, and place It In a suitable 
position; if beside a brook or pond, so much 
the better, and cut or saw out openings some 
two feet apart, the whole length of the log. 
These should be high enough to prevent the 
eggs from rolling out of the entrances. The 
pieces sawed out can be used as doors, by the 
use of leather hinges. In the day time they can 
be tnrncd back upon the log and at night drop¬ 
ped down to secure the ducks from the depreda¬ 
tions of nlght-walklng enemies with poultry 
proclivities. The fowls, once confined In this 
primitive dwelling, will resort to it thereafter 
for the purpose of laying and also of repose. The 
eggs can be removed dally, If so desired, during 
the laying season. To make all safe and cosey 
the ends of the log should be boarded up or fur* 
uished with a drop-door like the openings in the 
side. In certain places this will prove a cheap 
and safe duck house, and answer all the pur¬ 
poses of a more costly edifice. 
Noxious Plants. 
Forewarned is to be forearmed; so we 
present onr readers with accurate engravings of 
some of the vilest of farmer’s enemies. In the 
Eastern and Middle States many will recognize 
these plants at a glance, hut in some of the hap¬ 
py farming regions of the West the “ native in¬ 
habitants,” as yet, know not of them. Fortu¬ 
nate, Indeed, would be the lot of farmers, if, in 
the future, their only knowledge of noxious 
weeds should be derived from pictures and 
descriptions; and watchful should be the own¬ 
ers of the soil to recognize and extirpate the 
first specimens of these pests that obtain ti lodg¬ 
ment on their land. 
which more closely resembles the May-Weed, 
and is not less pestiferous than the Daisy. It is 
not yet very plentiful. The flower is between 
that of the May-Weed and Daisy iu size. The 
leaves are of duller green, smaller, uud more 
coarsely cut than those of the May-Weed. The 
Stems are gray from a kind of hairy down, while 
those of the May-Weed are clean. It 1 b an ex¬ 
tremely troublesomo weed, and was introduced 
into this country from England. 
Couch, or Quack Gra«B, is of some use. It 
makes good pasture and tolerable hay. The 
chief objection to it is its tenacious hold on the 
soil. Its creeping, jointed roots form a dense 
net-work under the sod, and when the land 1 b 
tilled they do not perish, but throw up a fresh 
shoot from every Joint. Hence it Is very troub¬ 
lesome among grain crops, and by its superior 
vitality it will crowd out other grosses when the 
land is long seeded. It ts very dilllcult to ernd- 
eate this grass alter it has become extensively 
spread In a field. Small patches may be smoth¬ 
ered by covering deeply with 6traw, or coarse 
manure; or by strewing sufficient salt to destroy 
all vegetation for one season. By preventing 
the other weeds mentioned in this article from 
seeding, they .will Boon disappear, as they are 
not propagated from the roots. There is one 
method by which, wc,',believe, any weed, grass, 
or plant, may bo completely killed in one year, 
and that way is to cultivate the soil so thorough¬ 
ly and frequently, that, at no time of the year, a 
growing sprout or leaf may shoot above ground. 
toot, is the lulcrwin on which the foot turns'! 
Shortening the toe of the fore foot causes the 
horse to pick it up quicker, and by leaving the 
toe long on the hind foot be does not take that 
up so quick as he would if it were made short | 
Thus the fore foot has time to got out of the way 
before the hind foot is brought to its place.” 
Plaster. 
A SunscRuiEK from Chenango Co., N. Y., 
inquires of ns if plaster or gypsum sown on 
gross lands is beneficial, and how much should 
be sown to the acre, and also the best time to- 
sow It. 
Really, we wonder If “Subscriber” nBks these 
questions Innocently! Has he never read, or 
talked with his neighbors about the effects of 
plaster ? Has he never used it, or observed his 
neighbors using it? We can inform “Subscri¬ 
ber” that plaster is more generally used in this 
county than any other fertilizer, except common 
barn yard manure; that it is considered of great 
beuefit to grass, especially clover; that the best 
time to sow it, in our judgment, is iu the spring, 
after the blade of grass shoots a little; that one 
bushel per acre 1 b sufficient if Bown each year. 
On old sod its beneficial effect Is not always 
seen, and if applied to wheat in the spring it is 
thought to make the crop more backward in 
ripening. M ixed with ashes It is used profitably 
on corn, potatoes and beans. It will start the 
second growth of clover, intended for seed, very 
vigorously. 
Portable Fence —One More Plan. 
Mu. 0. B. Host, Tioga Co., Pa., describes 
his method of making portable fence, which he 
says gives satisfaction. It is a crooked or worm 
pattern, which form is a serious objection in any 
portable fence. Ho Bays:—“ I make the sections 
of four hoards, each five inches wide, one inch 
thick, and sixteen feet long. The two end posts 
are made from Norway pine scantling, two 
inches by three and a half, sawn in two corner- 
ways. The length of post is five feet. The 
middle part is four inches square. The end 
posts are nailed on in such manner that when 
the fence is Bet up the beveled edges just fit each 
other on the joining panels. The fence is only, 
four feet three inches in height, which leaves 
nine inches of post above the top board. This 
projection is rounded so as to receive a cap that 
locks the corners together. A email stake two 
feet long driven into the ground on each inside 
corner strengthens the fence against high winder.- 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN OEIGINAL WEEKLY 
BUBAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
With a Dorp* of Able A**l*tnnt» and Contributor*. 
HENRY 8. RANDALL, LL, D., 
Bditor of the Department of Bheep Husbandry, 
HON. T. C. PETERS, 
late Pres’t N. T. State As. Soc‘y, Southern Cor. Editor, 
Fob Terns and other particulars see last page. 
VARIOUS TOPICS DISCUSSED 
Raise Broom Corn. 
There is scarcely an article in market which 
holds its price so well as broom corn. Brooms 
which, four or five years ago, could he purchased 
for from tweujy to twenty-five cents, retail now 
for double this amount It would 6eem to fol¬ 
low from this that by appropriating a portion of 
one’s farm to broom corn, a highly remunerative 
result would be the consequence. Bottom, or 
low land, with a deep soil, Is best suited to this 
crop. Most farms have sections of land of this 
character, and It Is safe to assume that where a 
good crop of Indian com can be raised, the 
broom will prove equally successful. In plant¬ 
ing great care should be taken in respect to the 
seed, since a Bccond planting — the first proving 
a failure— would endanger the proper maturing 
of the crop. The ground should be rendered 
mellow and be well pulverized by harrowing be¬ 
fore planting. The seed to be used should be 
tested, in advance, by soaking a portion so that 
its germinating power may be fully relied upon. 
The customary rule for planting is to mark out 
the rows about three feet apart—the hills In the 
rows about half that distance, dropping from 
eight to ten seeds in each bill. It should be care¬ 
fully tended with the hoc during the season of 
growth, weeds being as detrimental to the broom 
as to the Indian corn. From the 20th to the 
25th of May is about the right time to plant in 
this latitude. 
MAY-WEED. 
Tho May-Weed of which an entire plant, 
reduced in size is Bhown, is a domestic weed, and 
flourishes around dwellings and barns, and along 
the most frequented lanes and paths. It is not 
extremely troublesome, and we illustrate it 
chiefly for the sake of comparison with the 
White-Weed, or Ox-Eye Daisy, which it resem¬ 
bles close enough to deceive many Inexperienced 
observers into the belief that the white-blossom¬ 
ing plant, gradually creeping Into their fields is 
nothing but what they may be already familiar 
with. 
Salt Eating an Unnecessary Habit. 
J. IV. 0. Schoolcraft, Michigan, expresses 
his opinion as follows on the habit of feeding 
Balt to stock:—“I notice in the last Rural that 
D. J. thinks that cattle, near 6alt water, do not 
need salt on account of that article being depos¬ 
ited on the grass by dews and rain. I have 
always supposed that salt, and all other mineral 
substances, were not capable of being evapo¬ 
rated, bat if I am in error I would like to be 
righted. 
As to feeding salt to cattle, I consider it a 
habit which could not probably be abandoned at 
once with impunity, but like most bad habits of 
man might be dispensed with gradually, so that 
in three or four generations the desire for it 
would cease. I am inclined to think that man 
and animals were intended to subsist on the 
productions of the earth, and not on the earth 
itself, and that these productions contain salt, 
lime, iron, and all other Inorganic and organic 
substances, just in the right proportions to best 
subserve the needs of their organism, and that 
subsisting directly on the earth was left to inani¬ 
mate productions, such as grass, grain, fruits, 
Ac., these belag more capable of deriving nour¬ 
ishment direetlj from mother earth than man 
and animals. Otherwise, perhaps, the order of 
creation would have been reversed, animal life 
would have been made first, and vegetable pro¬ 
ductions afterwards. Nature is consistent in all 
her works,” _ 
A Duck Houae. 
Ducks, in tho earlier portions of the 
Making Fence Across Creek Bottoms. 
In answer to an inquiry inserted a short 
time since lu the Rural, Mr. E. C. Cuossman 
of Cortland Co., N. Y., furnishes the following 
plan for making durable fence across creek bot¬ 
toms that are liable to heavy floods. He says: 
“ Set willow posts four or five Inches in diame¬ 
ter live or six feet apart wherever you wish to 
let much wutcr flow through. Instead of using 
boards, run wire from one post to another, hold¬ 
ing them up to tho posts by inserting staples. 
On the bottom land set out willow cuttings or 
stakes two or three inches in diameter, and ono 
foot apart. You will thus have living posts, and 
a fence cheap and durable.” We like this plan, 
and have no doubt but that it will be successful. 
We notice our correspondent doesn’t recom¬ 
mend White Willow, though we think one need 
not hesitate to set it in such damp places, con¬ 
sidering how largely It has totally failed on land 
approaching to dryness. 
1 OUCH, OR QUACK GRASS. 
Road Making — Questions Asked. 
The season iB near at hand when the work 
of repairing the highways will hi peformed. 
And it is an Important work. We invite Rural 
readers to give U» some practical ideas on the 
following topics, believing if they respond to 
the invitation we shall be able to furnish inform¬ 
ation that will be of value to the whole Rural. 
I fam ily — 1st. What Is the best method of 
making esmmon roads on the prairies ? 2d. 
VVbat is the best method of taking a road across 
,i swamp or boggy piece of ground? Sd. What 
is the best method of keeping in repair ordinary 
roads in the Middle and New England States? 
4th. What is the best method of using stone, 
or stone and gravel combined, in road-making. 
5th. What Ib the beat method of roud-making for 
bills—how to prevent them from washing, &c. ? 
Use for Damaged Earley. 
In a communication from Iowa, in the Prai¬ 
rie Farmer it is stated that so generally was the 
barley crop damaged last season in that region 
that large quantities have been sold for ten ets. 
per bushel. It is added, that though useless lor 
malting purposes, it is highly valuable as food 
for stock, when mixed with oats. It is readily 
eaten by horses, cows and sheep — for the latter 
it is deemed preferable to any other grain, if 
properly mixed with oats and wheat bran to 
make it less concentrated than lu the pure state, 
Having tried pure com for hisewes and also the 
barley mixture he found the latter decidedly the 
best, as was evidenced by the greater vigor of 
the lambs dropped by the ewes thus nurtured 
with the barley mixture. 
warm 
season, are rather cosmopolitan in their charac¬ 
ter and uot very particular as to the place where 
(J they drop their eggs when first commencing to 
'S lay. Still, they are not devoid of home in- 
% stincts, and, If a place is provided for them, they 
Ri deposit® their eggs in it instead of acting on 
the broadcast principle. Some furnish them 
wooden dwelling*, some brick or 6toue—each 
good in its way, but rather expensive eonse- 
V times. A cheap substitute, In the wooded por- 
0 tious of the country, may be found in a hollo w 
& log. The kind of wood is not material, except 
[V as lo durability. Take ft lioUow log, with a sof- 
Crbam for Butter.— The temperature *of 
cream necessary for a speedy conversion to but¬ 
ter is said to be from 5b to t>« degrees.. The last 
is thought to make the speediest conversion; 
the first to make the bostjjutter. 
v 
