DEO. 24 
MOOSE’S RURAL WEW-YORIE 
«§rarg of a pluralist. 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
r 80 M THE DIARY OF A OENTIEMAN HEAR NEW YORK CITY. 
Price of Wood.— Dec. 2. —Mrs. Rural- 
I9T has lately returned from a visit to our 
old homo in a Western State, which we left 
nearly twenty years ago. Of oourse she 
has much to tell me in regard to the vari¬ 
ous changes that naturally occur in the cir¬ 
cumstances and surroundings of our old 
friends aud neighbors; but none have im¬ 
pressed me more than the prioe of wood 
used for fuel. Twenty years does not seem 
to be a very long period in the history of a 
city or State, still it is long enough to 
show people their errors. Tho city to 
which I refer is located West of Lake Mich¬ 
igan, and twenty years ago the best of fire¬ 
wood, four feet loug. dry and sound, deliv¬ 
ered at one’s door, could be purchased for 
two dollars per cord. This was at that 
time considered a very high price aud 
a little abovo the market vato»; arid I ouce 
purchased ten cords of body hickory, de¬ 
livered, oordod up and measured in rny 
own yard, for one dollar per cord. Tho 
mau paid thirty-five cents per cord for 
cutting it, therefore received only six¬ 
ty-five cents per cord for the wood aud 
hauling it to market. The same kind of 
wood is now selling in that city for twelve 
dollars per cord, aud is scarce at that. Now 
this Is just double the price that I pay for 
hickory wood down here near New York 
city, where many persons suppose the for¬ 
ests were exhausted years ago. At the 
very time 1 purchased fire-wood at a dollar 
per cord in that Western city, there were 
men so visionary, and myself among the 
number, who advised fanners owning prai¬ 
rie farms to plant timber instead of trying 
to keep all under tho plow and raise so 
much wheat aud corn, which would scarce¬ 
ly command a price sufficient to pay for 
hauling to market. If 1 wore a young man, 
with an Inclination to become a farmer, I 
would go to a prairie country and raise Ash, 
Chestnut, Hickory, Larch aud Maple trees, 
instead of oats, wheat and corn. At least 
1 would not try to produce any more of the 
ordinary farm products thau just enough 
to keep myself aud family while the trees 
were growlug. The land near my old 
Western home is not worth to-day, with all 
of Its improvements, more than one-half 
what the original timber would have 
brought if left upon it until this time. It 
is true that the owners have received some¬ 
thing from it during the time in the shape 
of crops produced; but I doubt if the prof¬ 
its are much above tho cost of clearing and 
the increase In taxes. But it is useless to 
preach economy to an improvident people, 
for where one learns a useful lesson from 
the errors of others, a thousand will close 
their eyes and fall into the ditoh with their 
heedless and short-Bighted comrades. 
Provoking Correspondents.— Dec. 3. 
—I do not blame newspaper editors if they 
do say some shai’p things to their corre¬ 
spondents ; and I am surprised at tho 
equanimity of temper which most of them 
display amid all tho little petty or great 
anuoyanooi} which constantly surround 
them. Of oourse, I am only supposing 
that those who write to newspaper editors 
are not particularly different from other 
people, and the omission of the name of 
the writers of important letters, or of the 
post-offloe, county or State, are daily occur¬ 
rences lu every office where hundreds aud 
thousands of letters are received. My own 
troubles of this kind are enough to spoil 
my temper, aud I have no inclination or 
desire to increase them by becoming an 
editor or publisher of a paper, great or 
small. But my troubles are even greater 
than pocketing a man’s money who care¬ 
lessly omits to sign his name or properly 
date a letter; for I am in receipt of several 
splendid collections of insects, aud have no 
means of knowing from whence they come, 
or to whom I am indebted for these favors. 
Now, as 1 am very careful to have every 
insect in my cabinet ticketed with the lo¬ 
cality where It was caught, as well as Its 
name, these uncertain contributions are 
very provoking, even If ever so valuable. 
Besides this, the sender may think I am 
very remiss in those little civilities which 
should pass between correspondents; but 
under the circumstances, I have no other 
alternative than to scold in this public 
manner. 
In sending plants, seeds, or anything else 
by mail, upon which the post-office laws 
do not permit any writing except the di¬ 
rections, always put some private mark in 
the form of a letter or number, aud then 
inform tho person to whom it is sent that 
such a package has been forwarded, giving 
a description of the same. It is always 
necessary to bo particular iu such matters, 
because the recipient may have a number 
of packages, the oontents of each very sim¬ 
ilar, aud all arrive by tho same mail; Con¬ 
sequently, he nuiBt have some sure guide 
to the Identity of each. The only way is 
for every person to attend striotly to the 
business they have in hand, whether it is 
writing a letter or managing a locomotive, 
and never presume upon anybodj r ’a guess¬ 
ing powers. 
Sporting of Bonvardias. — Dec. 4.— 
Bouvurdias are among the most valuable 
and pretty of our Winter blooming plants, 
as thoir small, delicate-formod flowers seem 
nevor to be out of place in any style of 
basket, wreath or bouquet. Scarlet varie¬ 
ties and species were formerly the most 
common; but within tho past few years 
several new white varieties have been in¬ 
troduced, tho two most valuable sorts hav¬ 
ing originated in this country and are 
known as Bouvardlu Davisonii and IS. 
Vreelctndil. Neither of these were raised 
from seed, but are what are called “ sports’’ 
Of the B. Hogarth , a well-known Bcariet 
variety or species. Sports among plants 
are not rare, and many of our choico varie¬ 
ties originated iu this manner; aud whilo 
a majority of them retain thoir distinctive 
characters without any considerable valua¬ 
tion, others will occasionally show a ten- 
tenoy to return to the original type. About 
a year ago I obtained a dozen plants of the 
B. DdVlsonll aud thoir flowers last Winter 
were clear, silvery white; but, from Borne 
unknown oause, the flowers this Winter are 
of a delicate pink color. This change may 
be owing to a difference iu soil, or the old 
scarlet blood of the original stock may be 
asserting its power In again coming to the 
light. If I did not know positively that 
my plants are genuine, there might be room 
for doubts; but, under the circumstance, 1 
have ouly to conclude that “ sports” have 
a tendency to produce other sports. I can 
Imagine how soma enthusiastic lover of 
flowerM would scold tho florist who was so 
unfortunate as to sell white Beuvardias 
that proved to be piuk ones under certain 
conditions, aud white under others. 
Early Winter Blooming Plants.— Dec. 
5 .—The following are some of the best 
early Winter blooming plants now showing 
their flowers in my greenhouse, Camellias 
in varieties; Bo uvavdias, several species 
and varieties; flowers varying from a dark, 
brilliant soarlet to pure white. Double 
white Chinese primrose, always a favorite 
and blooming until Spring. StCOuis, with 
their minute white flowers, are unsurpassed 
for fill !uk »P and Riving bouquets a grace¬ 
ful appearance. EupatOI'llims, with white 
or pale blue flowers, very handsome aud 
excellent for bouquets. Geraniums of many 
colors, but those with pale pink or white 
flowers uiOBt desirable for Winter bloom¬ 
ing. Cuphca platycentra, which is mainly 
used for a bedding plant, but It Is a per¬ 
petual bloomer aud its llttlexcarlet (lowers 
make a better show in the house than in 
garden. It is'a pretty little plant requiring 
no special care in culture. Roses of various 
sorts, that were either kept in pots dur¬ 
ing Summer or potted early iu Autumn are 
now iu bloom. The Bourbons and Teas are 
the favorites, and those with pale yellow or 
white flowers are most highly appreciated 
during the holidays. Of oourse there are 
many other desirable plants which bloom 
at this time, but the above appear to give 
very general satisfaction and may be, with 
one or two exceptions, recommended on 
account of cheapness as well as beauty. 
, (gconomw. 
The llalf-Mlle Track.—In answer to 
“ A Subscriber’s" inquiry for directions for 
making a half-mile traok, 1 give the follow¬ 
ing:—Lay off two straight sides GOO feet 
each (parallel) aud 4&£}£ feet apart, con¬ 
nected at each end with a perfect semi¬ 
circle (radius 226)< feet); place your fence 
exactly on the line so formed, (wtaioh is the 
inside of your traok) and your track will 
measure exactly half a mile, three feet 
from the fence. If not convenient to get 
an engineer to run the curves, it can be 
done by placing a stake midway between 
the parallel straight sides at each end; 
fasten a wire to this and measure upon it 
226J£ feet, whiob, from the center stakes, 
will exactly reach the ouds of the parallel 
lines; theu describe your semi-circle, be¬ 
ginning at the end of one of the straight 
sides and putting down a stake every twelve 
f ee t.—J. B. Lee, Harlem Springs, 0. 
WHAT EIGHTEEN ACRES PRODUCED. 
■ I 
Under the head of “ Practical Experi¬ 
ence” 1 read with much interest A. R. K's 
article showing that farming, if well done, 
will pay. I will now give you my experi¬ 
ence for the present season on a farm of 72 
acres, 18of which wore cultivated. My corn 
fields consisted of acres, 8 of which were 
plowed for tho first time, it being used 
for a pasture over 40 years. Many old logs 
had been permitted to remain on it until 
April last, when, with boys and team, we 
pulled out tho stumps and made a clean 
thing of it. It was rather a flat piece of 
ground and wild grass had got, possession of 
a good part of it. Not having a team suffi¬ 
cient to break tho turf (it being very heavy) 
I let it out for one-third of the crop. Plow¬ 
ing was finished about the23d,aml planting 
finished the 25th of May. 
From tho time it was planted a hoe was 
not taken into the 8-acre field, and the cul¬ 
tivator passed through each way once only, 
about the middle of June. Now for the re¬ 
sult:—680 stooka were set up which pro¬ 
duced a bushel apiece, making 680 bushels. 
I put in, aud worked myself, acres on 
old cultivated ground which was heavily 
top-dressed with manure, well cultivated 
and hoed twice, tho product was about tho 
same as the 8-acre field; thus you will see 
that old pasture land without manure is 
equal to old worked land with manure. The 
product of the fi acre field may be thus 
summed up. 
t»0 bushels ears of com, at 40c:.1272 00 
2*0 stooka corn fodder at 10c. 68 00 
8 loads pumpkins, at *2. 10 00 
Total.$366 00 
The 8 acres brought me.$118 06 
Kauli acre .. . u 83 
Labor expended, at. 86 qo 
Leaving a clear profit of 8152 to the men 
who did the work; so you see that farming 
can be made profitable if l ightly conducted. 
Potatoes raised, 100 bushels, on about 
half an acre of ground, which wiib also turf, 
same as corn ground, only more elevated 
and dry; no manure, twioe cultivated and 
hoefl; varieties, Peach Blow and Early 
Rose. Product, 860 or 8120 per acre. Labor 
expended 812; nett profit on half acre, 840, 
or 880 per acre. Oats, f> aores; yield, 160 
bushels, or 32 bushels per acre; product, 
804. oy 812.80 per acre; cost of seed and 
labor, 824, leaving 844 for use of lauds. The 
yield of oats is but ordinary, as it had been 
cropped three years and was seeded with 
grass seeds with the oats. 
My system of farming is to plow as deep 
as my team will permit, thorough harrow¬ 
ing and clean cultivation. I also raised 
1% acres corn fodder, sowed in drills 2JWf 
feet apart, dropped in a furrow and covered 
with harrow drawn lengthwise of the fur¬ 
row. Product about 4?^ tons, with fully a 
peck of nubbins to each shock. I estimate 
the worth of the crop at 850, as hay is worth 
here now 820 per ton; cost of putting in 
crop not over 18. I consider this the best crop 
that the farmer can raise for his own use. 
Summing Up. 
Eighteen acres piowod, the products of 
which were 8530. Coat of labor aud seed, 
8129, leaving a net income of 8101, or about 
22.50 per acre. Wool raised, 858.26, beside a 
large quantity of garden stuff, butter, eggs, 
poultry, etc., all of which find a ready and 
high market here, as wo are in the midst of 
tho coal mines and iron works. I have ex¬ 
pended but little of my time on the place 
myself; two little boys have done most of 
tho work, except harvesting. 
Let mo say a word of encouragement to 
young men who have not farms and have 
nothing to buy with. I am a mechanic as 
well as farmer, and have earned, up to Nov. 
15th and since April, 8407.24 with a paint¬ 
brush. Go and learn a trade first, and that 
will get you a farm. II. W. Murray. 
Trumbull Co., O. 
mode of filling an ice house, alluded to by 
tho Utica Herald, which says that the ice 
house of L. R. Lyon of Lyon's Falls, N. Y., 
has not been empty for twenty years, nor 
has a pound of ice ever been put into it. 
Tho building is constructed after the ordi¬ 
nary method, and when it Is designed to 
fill it, a rose jet is placed upon the water 
pipe, and as the water comes through it is 
chilled and drops into the house, where it 
forms a solid mass. 
ECONOMICAL NOTES. 
Ramie Inventions Wanted,— When 
there was a great cry about the culture of 
the Ramie us a fiber plant a few years since, 
we stated that the chief profit that would 
he likely to be derived from it here for 
some time would be from a sale of the cut¬ 
tings—that no machinery sultublo for the 
preparation of its fiber for market existed 
COOKING FOOD FOR STOCK. 
At the Farmers’ Club th.e other day Col. 
Curtis said:—I have received a letter from 
O. D. Whitcomb, Rodman, N. Y., asking a 
series of questions about cooking food for 
stock, and at a late visit to Beacon Farm I 
read them to William C’rozier: and be¬ 
lieving him to be at least one of the best far¬ 
mers in this country, I give the questions 
and his answers: 
How many cows do you feed ? 
Ans.—Ninety cows and other cattle. 
Do you feed horses cooked feed entirely ? 
Ans.—Yes. 
Do you feed horses any grain clear? If so, 
do you cook it ? 
Ans.—Feed no clear gTain; cook all in 
Winter. 
How much hay do you feed cows per day ? 
Ans.—I feed about three per cent, of the 
gross weight of the animal, of my mixed 
food; all of It steamed. 
How many times do you feed per day? 
Ans.—Twice. 
Do you feed any raw hay ? 
Ans.—Sometimes a little for a change. 
Do you Teed straw mixed with hay or 
corn fodder or clear! 
Ans.—Mixed. 
IIow much hay do you oonslder a ton of 
good oat-straw worth for feeding cows, 
both being cooked. 
Ans.—About one-third. 
Wheat and barley straw ? 
Ans. —Good for bedding, unless cut be¬ 
fore the grain is ripe: the grain must be 
lost to get value of the straw. 
Sowed corn? 
Ans.—Full as good as hay, if cut at proper 
time. 
Corn stalks ? 
Ans.—Not so good. 
Would you feed horses oooked food 
through Spring plowing and other hard 
work. 
Ana.—No. Feed hard feed, hay and oats. 
Will a steamer of 1,000 square inches of 
heating surface bo large enough to cook for 
fifteen cows? 
Ans.—A box eight feet long, four feet 
high, and four feet wide is about what I 
use. 1 do not know what ho means by 
heating surface. A box fifty inches loug 
and twenty wido would have a bottom sur¬ 
face of 1,000 square Inches; make this four 
or five feet high and it might do him. 
How long do you steum fodder, aud with 
how much pressure ? 
Ans.—Two pounds pressure, aud for 
three hours’ time. 
Do you feed mangel-wurtzel and other 
roots, and if so, cooked or raw ? 
Ans.—Yes: cut, mixed with the other 
food, and steamed. 
How large a box do you use ? 
Ans.—128 cubic feet. 
How often do you cook fodder? 
Ans.—Every day. 
Do you feed oold ? 
Ans.—No; blood warm, not hotter. 
What length do you cut fodder? 
Ans.—An Inch, or an Inch and a half. I 
would further advise him to manure well 
and plow deep, according to the old proverb. 
Col. Curtis adds:— I do not believe there 
is a bettor system of feeding than Mr. Oro- 
ziicr’s. Tho roots, hay, corn fodder are 
cut, then mixed together, then dampened 
aud kept warm on the top of the steam-box; 
then dumped into it mixed with bran and 
salt., aud steamed. He lias fifty horses and 
not one of them has had tho influenza. 1 
do not say that this feeding has prevented 
it, but I do say that this fact proves that 
animals fed on cooked food are not more 
liable to disease. I believe further that it 
is an economical plan, and that no farmer 
keeps his animals at a less cost than Mr. 
Orozter ; at the same time I never saw 
■ anywhere more active or more healthy- 
, looking stock. Mr. Colta.v had been study¬ 
ing the chemistry of oooked food, and had 
horo. Now wo notice Ramie cultioo.or, fH? *v Ju^f*Stl 
are cryiug for such machinery, and there is 
a chance for some inventor to do them, at 
least, service. 
How to Fill an Ice House. — In a re¬ 
cent volume of the Rural New-Yorker 
we gave illustration and description of the 
is of value in the straws of grains like 
wheat, rye, and barley, merely to soften 
their Unity nature; in corn-stalks aud roots 
lt^ chan^ea the starch into flfiap© or 
diastase, which is soluble and readily digest¬ 
ible lu the stomach Hence it renders such 
foods more nourishing aud warming. 1 
conceive a difference between tho method 
of steaming and that of cooking in water 
