Willi the rest, hut the whole dozen plants did 
not produce over a bushel of tomatoes. 
The other varieties are too well known to 
need particular mention; the Perfected, we 
•hink. being about the best, though Cook’s 
Favorite is the greater bearer of the two. 
With us, last year, the Fejee was not equal 
to its usual excellence; the taste was very 
insipid, devoid of ilavor, and af times a little 
hitler. The fruit was the larged of any we 
had. Another year’s experience nut}/ change 
out* ideas about the Orange lie Id Dwarf, but 
now we regard it as the best tomato in culti¬ 
vation, at least so far as we have ever tried. 
We understand some other new varieties .are 
about to bet introduced the coming season, 
hut we do not believe that, taking yield, 
flavor, curliness, lateness and all, anything 
will he produced Unit will go much ahead of 
Hie Orangeiield Dwarf. — n. 
that, the tight wire trellis, like the short stub 
pruning, will have ere long to stand back a 
little. 1 have the light wire side and side 
with the loose swaying one, and I prefer the 
latter because I am satisfied my grapes do 
best thereon. Audi. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN, 
Tiie farmer cannot spend a few evenings 
to better advantage than in laying out his 
garden now. Take a slate, and, after meas¬ 
uring or pacing out your garden, draw it out 
on your slate and then sub-divide it. Ar¬ 
range your planting so that the dryest part 
of your ground shall he lirst. planted and 
first tilled; and in putting in your Lima 
beans and corn it is very easy to place them 
where they will not shade other low-grow¬ 
ing vegetables. If you have a tight fence, 
or nearly so, on the north side, arrange a bed 
there for your tomatoes; a warm, sunny 
location will bring them forward full a week 
earlier. 
If in a locality where they will grow prop¬ 
erly, lay out a plot in the lightest soil (if 
sandy, or a little inclined to gravel so much 
the better) for sweet potatoes; a hundred 
hills will supply your family for :l month or 
two. Put your cabbage and cauliflowers 
where the soil is newest; or, if all has been 
under cultivation for some time, make a 
minute on that patch on your slate to spade 
it a little deeper than usual, so as to get up a 
little new earth with the old. 
Whatever you plant in rows let the rows 
run down hill, regardless of their position to 
the sun; otherwise every heavy rain will 
form a puddle on the upper side of t he row, 
and make the ground heavy and sodden. 
Leave a border of say two feet wide on either 
side of the main pat h, for flowers, (unless you 
have a separate garden devoted entirely to 
thorn,) your wife and daughters will thank you 
for it. Don’t, begrudge them the time to care 
fiir them. Their happy faces and glad hearts 
should more than pay you; besides a light 
heart will accomplish twice as much work as 
one. that is denied these cheap, beautiful, and 
health-giving pleasures, and kept, in Ihc 
same old dull routine month in and month 
out. 
If not already set, out 
I ropngnttng Grape Vines.—What is the best 
mode of raising grape vines from cuttings? It 
leas become a common practice to propagate 
lrom one or two eyes, will they make as good 
vi nos as cuttings with five or six eyes? .1. DEN¬ 
MAN. 
There? is a diversity of opinion as to t he relative 
value of vines propagated from eyes anil cul- 
tiiifrs. The best vinoyurdists, however, propa¬ 
gate for themselves from eyes. Answers in 
detail to these questions will be found in these 
columns, as we llnd space for articles on hand. 
Meantime wo shall be glad to receive experience 
bearing upon these inquiries. 
Olird Cotton (.'loth In the Vineyard.— r have a 
row ol' grapo vines Allen Hybrid, Uobecca, 
Adiroodae, Rogers’ 1, etc., and I am having 
strips and posts set, so that in spring I can 
si retell an oiled cot ton cloth along the sides, and 
also over the top of the row, leaving a space of 
ten inches or so at bottom; and again of about 
four inches each side of the top. Shall I gain 
anything, think you, or will f lose in enfeebled 
light to grow healthy foliage, without which, of 
course, J can expect no good grapes?— Frank 
Amon. 
\lton Nutmeg Melon. — Ml*. Horsley, who 
asks where he can obtain seed of this melon, 
would not have asked tho question had he read 
our advertising columns as carefully as ho 
should. On page sixteen, current volume, is an 
advertisement giving the desired information. 
Itciiii the advertisements! 
ineiwrb 
Analyst* of Grape .Iniee. Tn looking over the 
tiles of the Rural for IMS, I cannot lind any 
account, of the analysis of gmpe Juice made last 
fall at, Cleveland. Flense supply tho delleieney 
if you can. —James 12. Sandwich, rmrtUtiul, Ala. 
Who will furnish us with these analyses for 
publication? 
GRAPE TRELLISES, 
L send you herewith a rough sketch repre¬ 
senting the construction of a grape, vine trel¬ 
lis, and especially showing di lie rent methods 
of setting the. end or straining posts, and of 
straining the wires. Tho end of the trellis 
marked 1 shows the cheapest, and perhaps 
the strongest, way of setting the straining 
post, Tt may he an ordinary fence post, set 
nearly its entire length in the ground and in 
the slanting position shown. The trellis 
wires are attached to it, close to the ground, 
<uid aie lilted to the proper height by the 
first post, which should also he placed slant¬ 
ing so that the tension of t he wires may come 
square upon it. The wires then pass through 
staples driven in slakes until they como'to 
the post in the center marked 3. Holes are 
bored in this and hard wood pins inserted at 
right angles with the wires. The ends of the 
pins are squared so that a wrench may he put 
in them. The wires pass through holes in 
the pins, and are drawn from both ways at 
once by turning the pins. When hi i Aide ally 
tight, or loose, as the ease may require, the 
pins are held from turning by driving them 
further into the post The end of the trellis 
at o shows another way of sotting a post 
and bracing it so that it is impossible in sag. 
to ride, gaily swinging a bunch of violets at 
the young goslings as shu admiringly watches 
them take their lirst, sail upon the water. 
With outstretched neck and widely spread 
wings, Hie gander leads the van to an on¬ 
slaught, A cry, a scream! and you hasten 
to rescue the darling child. It is thus that 
Hie nature and position of the gander in the 
flock is clearly identified. 
When the goose has laid her dozen eggs, 
and prepares to set, the gander builds her 
nest, picks, himself, the softest downy feathers 
from her neck, warmly lining the nest; and 
as tile goose patiently lingers long weeks the 
gander hovers near, alFeotlonately throwing 
about a strong protecting care. No intruders 
are permitted to approach. 
’I’lie first year at raising geese is apt to be 
a failure. In this, as in any other business, 
one has to learn. Eggs must not he very old 
to hatch well. The goose lias more heat, 
builds her nest more warmly, and is thus 
more sure of hutching her own eggs than a 
hen is. 
A young gosling is as handsome as a dove. 
Do you admire your flock? Here are a 
THE HOUDANS. 
These fowls arc destined to become the 
favorite breed of the United States, and 
probably of the civilized world. The name 
is derived from the place where they origi¬ 
nated in France. As a distinct breed, they 
combine more good qualities than any other 
variety we have ever known. In France 
they stand jint in every qualification, except 
liir table — there they are only outranked by 
the (Jreve-Cceur. 
'I'o show in what, estimation the Roudans 
are held, we can do no better than to quote, 
from an article that appeared in The Field, 
a London journal;—“The Hondans may 
certainly he regarded as the Dorkings of 
France. Large, heavy, short-legged, live- 
toed fowls, with small, light liana,* remark¬ 
able absence of ofliil, and irregularly speckled 
or mottled plumage. Their merits ns table 
fowl are of the highest excellence. No pure 
bred chickens mature with greater, or per¬ 
haps with as great, a degree of rapidity; 
they feather early, arc extremely hardy, and 
arc consequently easily reared. The old 
birds are robust, and the eggs, which are 
, devote a spot some¬ 
where to strawberries and raspberries. 
It will probably bo found necessary to re¬ 
arrange your garden. more than once —but, 
when once right, to suit, your mind; you 
have no idea what a help it is to Spring 
work. No hurry, no bother, no consulta¬ 
tions; refer to your chart; put a stake at 
each corner of the plot and go ahead, and 
work is done, while you would have been 
studying where, you wanted to begin. Tty 
i he past season I tried nine varieties of 
tomatoes. The “ Tilden,” “ Lester’s Per¬ 
fected,” “Fejee,” “Cook’s Favorite,” “Keyes’ 
Early,” “Large Round Smoot he,” “Sim’s 
Early Cluster,” “Cedar Rill,” and “Orange- 
field Dwarf.” All were set out, about the 
same time, (within t wo days of each other,) 
and all had the same manuring and cultiva¬ 
tion. The Keyes’ Early and Sim’s Early 
Cluster had a little the advantage in being 
under the south side of a fence. Tilden’s, 
Lester’s Perfected, Fejee, Cook’s Favorite 
and large Round Smoothe, were planted in 
double rows, side by side, (it not being in¬ 
tended to save seed therefrom,) twelve plants 
ot each kind. All the others were placed 
far enough apart to prevent, any impurities 
of the seeds. 
Idle first ripe tomatoes were from the 
Sims Early Cluster—only a few, and then 
i lilcken Fiiolcru.— a correspondent of the De¬ 
partment. of Agriculture, writing from lowu, 
says: •• My chickens have been dying with chol¬ 
era for f he last two years,—even turkey.* have 
died of tho same disease. When I notice the 
I owls begin to droop and look sleepy, I give them 
three irr tour lublcspooiisful of strong alum 
water, and repeat tho same the next day. i also 
mix their feed with strong alum water, feeding 
twice a day for two or three days—afterwards 
once a week Since commencing this practice I 
have not lost any.” 
Fto . 1. — Grape Vine Trellis, 
long, having a pin of the same material two 
inches in length, and an inch and a. quarter in 
diameter, projecting from its center, In Hie 
end of the pin a slot is made with a saw 
hall an inch deep. The trellis wire is put 
in this slot, wound round the pin by turning 
the bar, which is then fastened lengthwise 
the wire by slipping rings over the ends. I 
suppose one arm on the bar would answer, 
but I prefer two. You will see, dear Rural! 
that this device doesn’t cost much; it 
answers the purpose completely, and it can 
he slipped on or taken oil' anywhere without, 
misplacing a wire. 
l EGETETMiEtt says“ The Roudan fowl 
has a very bulky appearance, its plumage 
invariably black and white spangled ; a crest 
of the same color; comb triple, the outside 
opening like two leaves of a book, and the 
center having the appearance of an ill-shaped 
long strawberry. With the cock the comb 
fs very largo. Tho legs are strong and of a 
lead color, with five claws, the two hind ones 
one above the other. Strongly developed 
whiskers and beards,both in cocks and liens. 
This is one of the finest, races of fowls, hut 
its qualities surpass even its beauty ; besides 
the smallness ol their bones, the fineness of 
their flesh, they are of an extraordinary pre¬ 
cocity and fecundity; they lay large and 
white eggs, and the chickens are fit for the 
table at four months old. The. weight of 
adults is from seven to eight pounds, in 
which the bones figure for one-eighth. The 
chickens, when lour months old, weigh, 
without the intestines, about lour and a half 
pounds.” 
Mrs. C. W. Gednky of Kent, England, in 
a communication to the London Horticul¬ 
turist and Poultry Chronicle, says:—“ I have 
reared an average of nine chickens from 
every sitting of thirteen eggs during the past 
two seasons. Some breeders would call this 
good luck, but, iu my opinion it is what any 
person, by the commonest attention, might 
do with Roudans in the most limited space 
lor rearing chickens. The aptitude to make 
flesh is a strong argument, in favor of this 
breed for table purposes. Its flesh is ten¬ 
der, delicate and nutritious. My Roudans, 
hatched in Apri], were fit to kill a month’ 
before Dorking chickens of the same age- 
but, unlike other fowls, the hen birds are 
Uc»q> l*nuliry IIuuhcs ('li*nn.- Mrs. AliBUVHNOT 
says: “ At all times perfect cleanliness in poul¬ 
try yards and houses should greet the eye of the 
visitor, it is the grand requisite. At the risk 
of appearing didactic 1 must insist upon this 
sinr. qua, mm. In a poultry establishment (groat or 
Small.) I do not suy with some writers, ' If the 
floor til the fowl house can bo cleansed every 
morning so much the better, 1 but 1 say it must 
be done, and scrupulously so, too. If the floor 
is as hard us it ought to be, a birch broom Is tho 
best, implement ttiat, can be used for the pur¬ 
pose." 
GEESE —WHICH IS THE GANDER? 
With our first flock of geese some diffi¬ 
culty arose in determining which was llte 
goose and which the gander, as all were 
white alike. Inquiry was made among our 
neighbors, but to no purpose. Alter some 
observation, however, we noticed that the 
gander had the longest neck ,—that he was 
noisy, impertinent, and commanding, quack¬ 
ing loudly, and was more intrusive than the 
geese. It, is with great resolution that the 
gander protects his flock, easting about the 
scene a fatherly dignity. 
Geese are remarkably loquacious. One 
can never talk in their presence but they set, 
up a deafening and prolonged quack. Go 
out early of a line May morning. All is life 
and beauty. A little conversation aside from 
Fio. 2. W ire-Trellis Strainer. 
1 Hunk this heats the device for the same 
purpose, patented by a well-known Western 
New 't ork nurseryman, and extensively ad- 
\ertised, but as 1 am not inclined to enter 
the lists with “humbug,” and have better 
business than peddling “patent rights,” 1 
submit it flee to grape-growers. Chiel. 
Gnpr-s in ChirkeiiH — A 1‘rrwntive.— In the Ru¬ 
ral of January 9th I notice mi article from 
“ II.” on shapes In chickens. Now I do not pro¬ 
tend to know tlm cause ot' the disease, and r have 
not oven a theory of it; but if “ II.,” and nil my 
follow readers will mix their feed for young 
broods of chickens with a strong' suds made 
from common soft-soap 1 do not think they will 
be troubled wltti the complaint. I regard It ax a 
sure preventive, and I have known many cases 
of cure by its use, even when tho chicken wus al¬ 
most yone. s, c. Hall, Salamancet, A\ F. 
GRAPE-VINE TRELLIS. 
I have just been looking at the cut and 
description of Yeoman’s patent adjustable 
grape-vine trellis; and without desiring to 
question its economy of adjustment the state¬ 
ment that a “ tight trellis for vines was im¬ 
portant,” did bring to my mind a doubt. 
\Ve have been led J. know by our German 
vintners, and by old country writers, to be¬ 
lieve a tight or stiff t rcllis was requisite; but 
an experience of four years with a trellis that 
allows the vines to sway back and forth, yet 
keeps them lrom the ground, satisfies me 
An Kgg to lie Ili at.- Wm. ii. Hawkins, Jr., 
writes us that he lias a Bramah hen which lias 
laid an egg every day, except six, throughout 
tho season; and on New Year’s day presented 
him with one as large as a goose egg— weighing 
four and u hall' ounces. IIo wants to know who 
Baths. — Fowls In confinement need a 
Hi, i. e. a box of mixed ashes and earth to 
in. Au ordinary soap box wllJdo; Ailed 
nls full of dry earth and wood or coul 
Wood ashes is preferable when It can be 
d. There 1st no better preventive of lice 
is; and tt "Via enjoy it hugely. 
