TERMS, $3.00 PER YEAR.] 
PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT/ 
[SINGLE NO. TEN CENTS. 
ESTABLISHED IN 1850. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AS ORIGINAL WEEKLY 
AGRICULTURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
With an Able Corps of Assistants and Contributors. 
HENRY S. RANDALL, X.L, D., 
Editor of the Department of Sheep Husbandry. 
HON. T. C. DETERS, 
Late Pres’t N. Y. State Ag. Soe’y, Southern Cor. Editor. 
GLEZEN F. WILCOX, Associate Editor. 
The Rural Nkw-Youkku Is designed to be unsur¬ 
passed in Value, Purity, nnd Variety of Contents. Its 
Conductor earnestly labors to render the Rural u Reli¬ 
able Guido on all the Important Practical, Scientific and 
other Subjects connected with the business of those 
whose Interests tt zealously advocates. Alt a Family 
Jol’RNAl It Is eminently Instructive and Entertaining — 
being so conducted that It can he safely taken to the 
Homes of people of lntellltjcnre, taste and discrimination. 
It embrace^ more Agricultural, llortlenltnrnl, Scientific, 
Educational, Literary and News Matter, Interspersed 
with appropriate engravings, than any other Journal,— 
rendering it by far the most complete Agricultural, 
Literary and Family Newspaper In America. 
ty For Terms and other particulars see last page. 
AMLTOBAL 
MAKING AND SAVING MANURE. 
Tub term manure means, to the majority of 
farmers, the enriching substances which collect 
in their yards und stables during the season of 
foddering. It is the solid excrements of their 
animals, mixed with the substances which form 
their feed and bedding. But little care is taken 
to save it, improve its quality or add to its bulk. 
This is one of the worst faults of our American 
system of fanning; the best fanners are refonn- 
ing—all must, at last, or give place to those 
who are more progressive. 
As in the older settled States the virgin rich¬ 
ness of the soil is exhausted, the protltablc and 
permanent yield of crops depends on the extent 
to which we apply fertilizers, it has become a 
matter of the most vital importance to success 
in fanning to increase the amount and richness 
of manures. How shall this be done? First, 
by making all you can; second, by saving it. 
To make It, the first great requisite Is to feed 
stock. Sell as little of the direct produce of the 
Land as is consistent with profit, and in this con¬ 
sideration of profit the manure lost by direct 
sale of grain should be taken into account. Hay, 
straw, cornstalks, and the coarse grains, should 
bo turned into animal products. These make 
manure. Many times the farmer is so situated 
that he can profitably purchase food and thereby 
increase his manure pile, although this course 
obviously adds nothing to the aggregate fertility 
of the whole country, tor what is thus added to 
one farm is abstracted from another. But the 
wise farmer has the gain, and the foolish one 
bears the loss. 
When made the farmer must be careful to save 
the manure. Much is wasted by exposure to the 
elements, by lire-lunging, and by the liquid por¬ 
tions flowing off. Perhaps no better method of 
saving manure In the foddering season can be 
devised than to compost it properly. The heap 
should be made in a basin whence the soakuge 
cannot escape. Plenty of muck, or rotted soda 
should be at hand, and it would be better if 
coarse fodder, as cornstalks and straw, were cut 
fine. What can be gathered daily place on the 
compost heap. Plenty of muck or rotted sods, 
will, if mixed in, prevent fire-fanging. In this 
way form the compost in the severe cold weath¬ 
er; in the spring add all other materials which 
may be gathered—the litter from the yards, from 
the hog pens, the hen house, contents of the 
sinks and privies, and more muck or sods. It 
will astonish the beginner to see the amount of 
manure thus collected. Plaster and ashes are 
good ingredients to add. Shovel the pile over 
once or twice and apply it to the land only when 
• fine and well rotted. 
^ Wo believe top-dressing the only true way to 
apply such manure. It will make rank corn and 
S dark-colored blades of wheat. The ears of corn 
' will bend to the earth at harvest time and the 
] meadows will be full with grass. By top-dress- 
? mg the farmer gets the quickest returns from 
J the investment of capital. In the crop to 
\ which the fertilizer is applied he sees Immediate 
effect, and this gives encouragement to continue. 
TURKEYS-CHICKEN HATCHING. 
It is said that In France, and other Conti¬ 
nental states, a practice prevails in the business 
of chicken hatching which we believe has not 
yet been imitated hero to any great extent, if j 
at all. The process is to transfer the work of. 
incubation to turkeys which are trained to or 
broke into the business. They are, at first, eon- , 
fined in boxes, with wire screens over them, in 
a dark room, till they become accustomed to 
the seclusion, when the screen is removed and 
freedom of locomotion accorded. When thus 
drilled, hens’ eggs are placed in the box-uests 
and the process of Incubation commences. As 
fast os the chicks come out they are removed 
and fresh eggs supplied, and thus the batching 
process is kept up for months without inter¬ 
mission. A traveler mentions a case where a 
turkey had been sotting and hatching for more 
tUau six months. Remarking that the process 
seemed a cruel one, the owner replied that it 
was not so; that the turkeys came to like the 
business in time, and to prove it turned a turkey 
out and removed the eggs to one side of the 
nest. In a short time the turkey returned, cull¬ 
ing plaintively for the eggs she had left, and on 
finding them seemed highly pleased with the 
discovery. Working them back into the nest, 
the business of Incubation was resumed with 
evident marks of satisfaction. 
SLAUGHTERING ANIMALS. 
Tub old-fasioned method of killing beeves by 
knocking them on the head is objected to by 
butchers for the reason that it renders the body 
of the animal rigid and prevents an easy and 
quick flow of the blood, which is essential to 
the production of good beef. The more modern 
and approved mode of killing consists in driving 
a narrow knife blade, by a quick motion, In be¬ 
tween the head and first vertebra, piercing the 
spinfil marrow, destroying the sense and paral¬ 
yzing all the muscles of the body, leaving them 
soft and flexible. ThO animal ia then slung up 
by the hind legs and quickly bled, as the llow 
will then be rapid, perfectly exhausting the res¬ 
ervoirs of the fluid contained in the body. 
Animals should uever be slaughtered when in 
an excited or feverish state, whether eaused by 
excessive, bodily exertion or tbephrensy of tear. 
Under such circumstances the bleeding will be 
imperfect and fitful, leaving the meat bloody and 
subject to speedy tainting and decay. Almost 
any one can slaughter an animal, but it requires 
judgment aud some practice to butcher one 
properly, leaving the meat clean, tender aud fit 
to eat. 
CULTURE OF PEPPERMINT FOR OIL. 
NUMBER ONE. 
[Towards the close of the last volume of the 
Rural we received Bevcral inquiries regarding 
the culture of peppermint for oil. In response 
to some ol these then published, Mr. J. B. 
Tibbits, Newark, Wayne Co., N. sent us 
the following very practical com m imitation. As 
the matter would not spoil by keeping, we have 
delayed the publication of it a little while in 
order to procure proper illustrations of the 
subject:] 
Any soil that is adapted to the cultivation of 
corn is also adapted to the cultivation of pep¬ 
permint, The land should, of course, be free 
from stone, or any other obstructions that would 
be iu the way ol mowing. In some cases bottom 
land might be preferred, as it is less exposed 
to the severe winds ot winter, but taking the 
seasons one with another there is but little 
if any choice. 1 would advise planting alter 
some hoed crop that has been well tended the 
previous season, yet stubble ground will answer 
it it is free Iroru grass. As peppermint is planted i 
with reference to three crops, great care should 
be taken to have the land clean, and the first 
crop well tended. 
The planting should be done as early in the J 
spring as practicable. At any rate it should be I 
finished, if possible, before the first of May. 
Flow the ground well and harrow it * down 
smoothly. Take a small shovel-plow and make 
the farrows not more than eighteen inches apart, 
as the closer the furrows are together the sooner 
the crop will cover the ground. 
It Is better not to farrow the ground much [ 
faster than it is planted, so as to cover the roots 
with fresh earth. The roots are dug or pulled 
with a common potato hook. Full them up and j 
shake the dirt from them with a fork, and if not 
- 7 
THE PEPPERMINT PLANT. 
wanted for immediate use throw them into small 
heaps und put a slight covering ot earth on 
them to prevent the sun and wind from drying 
them out. 
When your ground is ready for planting, dis¬ 
tribute the roots in small heaps at. convenient 
distances along the edge of the furrowed ground. 
Separate the roots by pulling them apart until 
you get what you can conveniently carry with 
one arm. Then commence planting by drop¬ 
ping three or four rools In the furrow and cov¬ 
ering them by drawing the earth over them with 
your feet. This constitutes the whole of plant¬ 
ing peppermint. The roots should form a con¬ 
tinuous line in the furrow, or in other words, 
there should be no spaces between each handful 
of roots dropped. Like everything else, the 
more pains taken in planting, the bettor the 
crop will be. The roots should alt be covered , 
and if alive when planted they will be sure to 
grow unless planted too deep, which is not 
likely to be the ease. From one to two inches 
is deep enough to cover them. It will take, as 
a general thing, about eight square rod3 ot roots 
to plant an acre, and the roots should always be 
duy from the last year's planting. 
As soon as the plants are up so that you can 
follow the rows, the ground should be hoed 
between the rows, taking care not to hoe around 
the plants, as you would be likely to cut off 
those not already above the surface. About the 
first of July the plants begin to throw out “run¬ 
ners,” and by this time the hoeing should bo 
finished. The ground should be kept entirely 
free from weeds and grass, not so much with 
reference to the present, Os tiie future crop. 
The second and third years the crop needs no 
cultivation, the only labor required being that of 
catting aud distilling. Sometimes a small drag 
With tine teetli is passed between the rows to 
facilitate the hoeing, but tills is apt to cover up 
the grass which should be pulled out, besides 
leaving the rows on a slight ridge, rendering 
them more exposed to the severity of winter. 
The crop should be cut when it is in full 
bloom. The mowing of “new mint” (which is 
the first year’s crop) should be done with a 
scythe. The second und third year it can be 
mowed with a machine, although this is objected 
to by some (fogies) oil the ground that every 
leaf stepped on by the horses is destroyed. This 
in theory may tic true, but the practical point 
when taken in comparison with the saving ol 
labor, is too minute to be perceived, lu mowing 
“new mint” we generally commence on one 
side and “carry the swaths/’ In other words, 
mow across and walk back in the swath, clip¬ 
ping off what the scythe may have slipped over. 
Never mow peppermint when it is wet, or when 
there is an appearance of much rain, as that 
causes the leaves to fall off, thereby materially 
injuring the value of the crop. After mowing, 
let it lie In the swath until it is wilted or cured 
about as much us you would clover hay. Then 
with a haud-rake, draw 11 vo swaths into a win- 
row and put it into small coeles as you would 
clover. Care should he taken not to put It, up 
too green, as the least degree of fermentation 
injures it; neither must it get too dry, as the 
leaves will crumble and aeonsequent loss be the 
result. A little experience will regulate this 
matter. 
[Above we give a representation of tlio pep¬ 
permint plant in blossom, and in our next will 
illustrate the apparatus used in distilling the 
oil of peppermint.] 
RURAL FARMERS’ CLUB. 
Jlops — Polina vs. Horizontal Trninina. 
A correspondent writing from Lewis Co., 
this State, requests our opinion on the relative 
advantages of training hops to long poles and to 
horizontal strings or trellises, known as the 
Collins patent. Aside from the patent fee the 
horizontal method is undoubtedly cheaper, and 
affords also greater facilities for harvesting the 
crop. But the main question is, which grows 
uniformly the largest crop and gives the best 
quality ? The consideration of maintaining the 
vines iu a healthy state is also an Important one. 
If we were going to invest largely in stocking a 
hop yard, wo should not be satisfied without 
visiting the hop growing regions where both 
systems are in operation, tuid there guther infor¬ 
mation and form conclusions. Wo think it Is 
sale to assume the pole system to be tho best 
one. It has tho merit of ago, and has been suc¬ 
cessful. If there is a hotter one, the burden of 
proof certainly rests with the comparatively un¬ 
tried method. It is said to be difficult to make 
the hops run horizontally, and it is also asserted 
that tho pole system gives them more air and 
sunshine. We doubt not that many of our 
readers arc ready to assert tho superiority of the 
.horizontal system,—many, probably, to deny it. 
Our duty, as journalists, is to advise the use ol' 
caution aud thorough investigation before a 
costly innovation be adopted on a time-honored 
and tolerably satisfactory system. 
Wrought Iron vs. Thimble Axle. ' 
Tuerk has been some discussion in our col¬ 
umns respecting tho relative lightness ot drall 
oi the wrought iron and the thimble (east iron) 
wagon axles. W. S. Durden, N. Y., writes us on 
this subject thus:—“My opinion, founded on 
experience, and observation is, that on a smooth, 
level road with a ton or more load, the wrought 
iron will draw decidedly the easiest, but they arc 
not adapted to a hilly or rough road.” So wo 
think. In pracliee the thimble axle is the best; 
but it can bo mathematically demonstrated that 
the smaller tho axle ot a wagon wheel, other 
things being equal, the easier the wheel runB. 
In practice these “ other things ” are of far more 
importance than the mere friction at the point 
of bearing of the axle; lienee the superiority of 
the thimble axle. Here is the demonstration: 
“ Let 0 be the center ^_ 
of a wheel, ot which C ' n. 
D is the radius, and C A / \ 
that of the axle passing [ f o'\ \ 
through the wheel, and ‘’'•gi Vv 
which being fixed to \ A ) 
the load does not re- \ v D s' 
volve with the wheel. ——^ —— - 
“If a force C B be applied to the center ot 
the wheel, tending to advance it in the direction 
B, the point D being in contact with the ground, 
the wheel is compelled to turn or roll, and tho 
force (J B in turning the wheel acts with a lever¬ 
age equal to (J D, but the friction between the 
axle and the wheel is at the point A, and In [ire- 
venting the turning of the wheel it acts ouly at 
the extremity of the lever (J A; consequently if 
(J D be ten times as great as (J A, the force C B 
need only bo equal to one--tenth of the amount 
of the friction, and, as a general rule, tho radius 
of the axlo and the friction remaining the same, 
the force necessary to overcome the resistance 
arising from this friction will be inversely as the 
radius or the diameter of the wheel, or, in other 
words, the draft will, in tills case, diminish 
exactly in proportion as the diameter of tho 
wheel is increased.” 
Cheap Shelter for iStork. 
J. F. ii ., Oakland, With, furnishes our Club tho 
following hints about cheap shelter: — “ It is a 
deplorable fact that many farmers show a repre¬ 
hensible carelCBBUOSB in regard to the comfort of 
their domestic animals. Judging from their ac¬ 
tions one might reasonably infer that they sup¬ 
posed tho blood of sheep and cattle to bo of the 
same temperature us that which gives life to tho 
fish, and although the mercury lingers lovingly 
near the zero mark, mid the Litter northwest 
wind hlows fiercely over the fields, still they try 
to convince themselves that their milch cows are 
perfectly satisfied with tho protection of a rail 
fence, and Lite striking curvature of their backs 
merely indicates an appreciation of the beauty 
of the curved line, ‘But,’ says one, ‘myincome 
will not admit of my building expensive sheds 
and stables; I’m not able.’ Neither your 
stock nor their unworthy ‘counsel’ ask you to 
do impossibilities, but you have an ax and a 
straw-stack — straw is an admirable nonconduc¬ 
tor of heat — insert one end of a pole into tho 
south side of the stack, rest the other in a crotch, 
lean rails against tho pole, cover them with straw, 
and rny word for it as you enter your comforta¬ 
ble kitchen that evening, not ouly will your 
heart be happier, but yonr milk-pail will be 
heavier than usual, and you will retire with a 
pleasing consciousness of having ‘ done what 
you could 1 to enhance the comfort of your 
Btock.” _ 
Permanent Pasture. 
“ Will it pay, on a large farm, to reserve a 
part lor permanent pasture, if the land is all 
tillable?” Thus queries a correspondent. If 
the main purpose is to raise grain and stock for 
market, and all parts of the farm are nearly 
equal in capacity for this purpose, it would ho 
tho preferable course to adopt a rotation and 
apply it to all portions of the farm alike. If a 
field has been well tilted and manured, for in¬ 
stance, the first three crops of grass taken from 
it when seeded, will be much larger than the 
next three. It is then in good condition to re¬ 
plow aud cultivate again. If the production of 
butter and cheese is the main object in view, it 
Is doubtless best to let the grass lands remain 
unplowcd as long as consistent with their pros¬ 
perity. Old pastures and meadows, we think, 
produce the best quality of dairy products. 
Good, permanent pasture on lands not strictly 
adapted to grass, is more desirable, perhaps, 
tliau attainable. 
Hnve the Urass Seed. 
Late cut timothy hay furnishes an abundance 
of seed for the farmer’s use, if ho can manage to 
gave it. By giving some attention to cleaning 
the mangers a quantity may be gathered. A lit¬ 
tle labor bestowed In shaking the hay on a clean 
barn floor, or thrashing it somewhat with tho 
flail, will be paid iu the seed gathered. It is a 
timely subject, and attention to it will save pay¬ 
ing a nice little bill for the necessary grass seed 
next spring. 
\WHOLE NO. 888. 
YOL XYIII. NO. U 
ROCHESTER, N. Y-FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, JAN. 28,1887. 
