drib Crops. 
MONTANA EYE. 
In the lira ax. Few-Yorker, December 
10th, under the heading of “ Egyptian 
Wheat,” you have some remarks on that 
cereal. Yon then make some inquiries re¬ 
specting Montana rye, asking, “ When is 
this wonderful Montana, or Wild Goose 
Wheat to be peddled out at so many 
dimes a grain? There was a considerable 
quantity of this seed distributed last spring 
from the Department of Agriculture, and 
we should be pleased to learn of its success 
or failure before somebody starts it with an¬ 
other name. It has about half a dozen 
already, but it will stand another, if the 
right man gets hold of it." 
Messrs. Editors, yon are right in saying 
this grain lias been distributed under “ahalf 
dozen names." I have been quite familiar 
with iL under all its several names, and for 
the information of the farming public, will 
report, fully my knowledge of this cereal, and 
the results of my experiments with it. If it 
lias not succeeded with other farmers better 
than it has with me, it must prove a dear 
seed grain at ten dollars per pound, (he price 
at which it was advertised in the Practical 
Farmer last April. 
A dozen or fifteen years ago, I hero was 
largely distributed from the Patent Office a 
variety of grain, the packages of which were 
labeled “Polish Wheat, sometimes called 
Giant Rye; sow in autumn." I received a 
package, and sowed it. early in September, 
at. the same time I sowed winter wheal. 
The seed came up well, and looked quite 
promising when the snow came; but every 
plant, except one, was winter killed. The 
wheat, by the side of it, suffered very lit tle 
from the winter-kill. The plant that sur¬ 
vived produced several heads, with wonder¬ 
ful, long bnrby-Iookiug awns or beards, 
but there were very few grains. As 1 never 
heard or read anythiug respecting the result 
of the seed distributed from the Patent Of¬ 
fice, I came to the conclusion that it proved 
a failure, or, at least, it. was not a variety of 
“ winter grain " that could be profitably cul¬ 
tivated in this country. 
in August, 1861, 1 received from O. C. 
Wheeler, Corresponding Secretary of Cal¬ 
ifornia State Agricultural Society, through 
the agency of the Patent Office, a small 
package of grain, labeled “Bingham Rye." 
Accompanying the rye was a printed circu¬ 
lar, from which I make a few extracts. Ml'. 
Wheeler stales that “ Messrs. J. A. Bing¬ 
ham &, Bro. have forwarded to the rooms of 
the Society a sample of rye of such unusual 
size and beauty of berry, and such unique 
development of heads, as to surprise and 
delight every man who has examined it. Its 
history, as far as has been ascertained, is that 
it was found growing wild on the top of a 
high, dry hill, in a cold, bleak portion of 
Carson Valley, Nevada Territory. A few 
grains were gathered: and from them the 
Bros. Bingiiam have made the following 
tesl: They planted in November lust about 
one pint on the lop of a hill of yellow and 
apparently unproductive soil. The object 
was to test its capacity of enduring drouth; 
cold, and destitution ofvegetable mold. * * * 
The experiment of Messrs. Bingham fur¬ 
nished them with about one hundred pounds 
of grain of a character beyond all compari¬ 
son with any rye wo have before seen or 
read of, and that, too, under so very unfa¬ 
vorable circumstances as to generate the 
belief that it. will succeed anywhere. We 
have divided the parcel sent us, and for¬ 
warded samples to all the State and colonial 
agricultural societies on the Continent, and 
shall place a sample on exhibition at the 
World’s Fair in London next spring.” 
If one pint of seed will yield one hundred 
pounds at that rate, one bushel of seed would 
give over one hundred and six bushels—a 
yield that, ought to prove quite satisfactory 
to any but a very avaricious farmer. As I 
have heard nothing further respecting this 
Bingham rye since Mr. Wheeler distributed 
it so extensively, both in Europe and in this 
country, I suspect it proved a failure, or un¬ 
worthy of cull ivm ion. If it had yielded 
as well elsewhere as it is represented to have 
done in California, our agricultural papers 
would have been as full of notices of it as 
they were of the Early Rose potato some 
three years ago. 
In September, 1861,1 forwarded samples 
of this grain, from Poland and from Cali¬ 
fornia, to the Messrs. Tucker of the Coun¬ 
try Gentleman, Albany, with some remarks 
respecting the two samples. In a note added 
to my letter, they say: “ We are much ob¬ 
liged to Mr. Bartlett for the samples of 
grain inclosed. They are nvquestionably 
identical.'' 
I sowed the BrNonAM rye I received in t he 
spring on good and well-prepared land. The 
result was anything but satisfactory—rust, 
midge, &e., troubled it the same as they did 
other wheat. Perhaps the land was not poor 
enough for this rye that was found wild on 
“ the top of a high, dry hill, in a bleak por¬ 
tion of Carson Valley, Nevada.” 
The next I heard of Polish wheat, if came 
out under the name of “ Wild Goose wheat.” 
Early in February, I860,1 received a letter 
from the publishers of the Republican States¬ 
man, Concord, N. H., which indorsed one 
just received from a Mr. Chekney, Wash¬ 
ington, D. C.; also a sample of the above- 
named wheat. Mr. Cheeney writes“ I 
send herewith a sample of wheat grown 
in Washington Territory by Pnrixr Ritz, 
Esq. It is called in that country the Wild 
Goose wheal from this fact. The seed from 
which it sprung was taken (only three ker¬ 
nels) from the crop of a wild goose which 
was shot in Linn county, Oregon, some ten 
years ago. It is said to be very fine for 
flouring, and yields immensely. Ritz says 
lie gets seventy-five bushels per acre, and 
that some acres have been grown tbatyield- 
ed one hundred bushels each.” 
So much for Mr. Chkeney’s letter. I 
wrote a letter for the Statesman which was 
published in that paper of I9tli of February. 
The letter contained some statements in refer¬ 
ence to the idendity of the Polish wheat, ihe 
Bingham rye,and the" Wild Goose wheat.” 
In the Statesman of April 19th, 1869, is pub¬ 
lished a letter from Mr. Ritz. I herewith 
furnish a copy. The letter is headed “ Wild 
Goose Wheat,:” 
pound. I believed that wheat was the same as 
■ the Polish Spring- Wheat, from samples in De- 
“Editor Statesman:— In reply to Mr. Hart- 
lktt's letter about the “Wild (loose Wheat," 
published by you February 19th, I would any 
Hint i did not Intend to say that it would make 
nine Hour. Wlml. I intended to say. mid what I 
know of the grain is tills: -That the first we over 
knew of tin* grain was about twelve ' oars ago. 
when three grains were Liken from the crop of 
a wild goose shot in Linn Co-* Oregon, nmi from 
thm have been mined more f him one hundred 
thousand bushels in Washington, Oregon, and 
Idaho, I have known ye veiny-five bushels 
raised to Ihe acre in Walla-Wnllii; and Mr. 
Whitson, ut. Boise Cily. the gentleman who 
furnlMiod mo the sample I brought East, assured 
me that he raised, last summer, one thousand 
bushels from ton tie res. I saw the stubble and 
Hie grain after it was threshed. + » * Wlmt 
I would say about this grain Is, that It makes a 
nice, rich meat, somewhat like rye, very nutri¬ 
tions and sweet: and in Idaho they are raising 
largo uuiintitles of it to make whisky of. Hill ¬ 
ing iihvl It at Boise Clt.v Ited.summer. It proved 
exo'idiom for that, purpose. Wo always smv In 
Mm spring, though in mil* mild elimatc on the 
Paeillo 11 succeeds jf sown in the fall. 
“My friends in Pennsylvania think it may 
prove valuable for feed instead of oiit.s or bar- 
lev. and will sow some In the spring to lest, ft. 
When I came to Wnshmgttni I took a sample to 
the Agricultural Department, to class it. Alter 
looking carefully ‘villi Ool. (’apron over rive 
hundred different lots or grain from all parts of 
the world, wo found one small rial labelled, 
4 Wheat, Ouniine, Greece, 4 the only thing Hint 
looked nr. till like it. Col. CaI'RON and Prof. 
Gi.ovr.it assured iuo that they had never sent 
out a grain of such wheat. 
"(Slguod) Philip Ritz.” 
If the Agricultural Department; of the 
Patent Office kept samples of every kind of 
grain it. received from homo and abroad, 
Col. Capkon, T think,can find samples la- 
holed “Poland wheat or Giant rye;’ and 
also “Brigham rye from California;” and 
they will be found identical with the “ Wild 
Goose wheat" brought from Washington 
Territory by Mr. Ritz, for they are all one 
and the same grain. ^ is also the “Montana 
wheat" and ihe “Montana rye.” I have 
had samples of all the above, “ and know 
whereof I affirm." 
The next I heard respecting this wonder¬ 
ful grain was early in March last, when I 
received a letter from A. S. Fuller, asso¬ 
ciate editor of Rural New-Yorker, from 
which letter 1 make extract: 
“New York. Feb. 26th, 1870. 
14 L. Bartlett —Dear Sir; I send you a head 
of Montana Rye, you may have seen noticed in 
the Now York FiinnCTS'dull Reports. It isabout 
being Introduced at $5 per pound, although 
there is none to In; hml at present. If you would 
like to give it trial, L will endeavor to obtain you 
u few more grains. Sow In the spring, ns It is a 
spring rye. (Sigucd) A, S. Fuller." 
The head of the rye was about eight 
inches long; contained sixty grains. These 
were carefully sown on good and well-pre¬ 
pared ground in drills ten inches distant; 
seeds six inches apart, most of which came 
up. The drills were kept free from weeds. 
The plants tillered freely, and obtained a 
growth of about five feet; but from some 
inexplicable cause there was not so much as 
a dozen perfect grains harvested from the 
whole lot. 
Early last spring I received two pounds 
of grain from the Department of Agricul¬ 
ture, labeled “Montana wheat," sown on 
five rods of good soil, the land top-dressed 
with poudrette and superphosphate; seed 
sown 5lh. of May, harvested in August—yield 
eight quarts. 
The next notice I had of this grain was 
an advertisement which appeared in the 
April number of Paschal Morris’ Practi¬ 
cal Farmer, L. Hoopes & Company advertis¬ 
ing for sale at $L0 per pound, stating its 
average yield filly bushels per acre, and 
weight 68 lbs. per bushel. There was a cut 
representing the size of the head and grains 
of the wonderful mammoth Montana rye 
grown on the ranch of Messrs. Hoopes. Some 
weeks ago I wrote to Col. Capron, stating 
it was nothing more nor less than “ Polisli 
wheat,” notwithstanding the great variety 
of names it had been christened with. In a 
le.uer dated 10th Inst., received from Col, 
Capron, he writes as follows: 
44 Ju reference to the Montana, or Polish 
Wheat, I beg to say that quite a furore was 
raised in theoountry through advertisements in 
regard to the wonderful productions of the 
Montana Wheat, fixing the price at $5 to $10 per 
partrnent; and, in order to satisfy the very 
numerous requests made to the Department for 
samples, I ordered about half a bushel from 
Montana and ten bushels from Poland. Both 
proved to be identical, us I supposed. I dis¬ 
tributed both lots, and your note is the first I 
lutve heard about it. * * * 
44 I am, very respectfully, &c., 
44 Horace Capron, Commissioner. 
It is not within my province to call in 
question the truthfulness of Messrs. Wheel¬ 
er, Bingham,Ritz, and IIoopes’ statements 
in reference to t he extraordinary yield of 
Ibis grain. On the other hand, it would be 
folly on my part to denounce the thing a 
humbug or swindle because it lias not suc¬ 
ceeded any better on my farm. There is a 
material difference in the soil, climate, and 
seasons on the Pacific coast, and of those in 
northern New England. Probably, there 
were several hundred packages of this grain 
1 sent out from the Department, of Agricul¬ 
ture last spring, doubtless going to most of 
the States in the Union; and if the recipients 
of the grain perform their duty we shall 
soon know the results—whether good, bad, 
or indifferent—in the various sections of the 
country. For upon every package of seed 
sent out from the Department the following 
notice is posted, viz.: “The object of this 
distribution is to disseminate new seeds and 
extend those that have proved of sectional 
value. It Is, therefore, indispensible that the 
Commissioner be advised of the results of 
experiments. Please report." 
Levi Bartlett. 
Warner, N. FT. 
§ 
4 .*) 
arsnmnt. 
KING WORM IN HORSES, 
I would like to have yon inform me, if 
possible, the cause and remedy for a disease 
my mare lias. T bought her in May last.. 
At. that time she had blotches on her like 
those caused by heating of the blood—more 
just at the root of the tail than elsewhere; 
under the tail, on the smooth pari, there 
were red blisters, which emitted thin blood. 
I broke her and used her through baying, 
the blood flowing more or less every tlay, 
she keeping in good condition and spirits. 
The first of August 1 put her out to grass 
for six week*. This did not seem to benefit 
her any. 1 then put her in the barn and fed 
her twice a day of sulphur until I fed her 
two pounds. The blotches have all left her 
skin, but the tail bleeds seemingly worse 
than cvdrwPi 4 wrAild l»e very thankful for 
any information on the subject.—J. H. Fair- 
child, MU ion, VI. 
We do not know what this disease can be, 
unless it is what is described by Peucivall 
as ringworm; and our correspondent’s de¬ 
scription and that of Percivall and Hay¬ 
cock are so nearly alike that we think they 
are talking of the same thing. 
The treat- 
thc parts 
ment. recommended is :—Wash 
with a strong infusion of bay berry baric, 
wipe dry, aud then smear the denuded spots 
with a mixture of four ounces of pyroligne¬ 
ous acid, one ounce of turpentine, the wash¬ 
ing and dressing to be repeated until healthy 
action is established. If the disease does 
not. readily disappear, give sulphur, cream 
of tartar and sassafras, equal parts, in a dose 
of six draclnns daily. If the disease still 
lingers, sponge the denuded parts with tiuc- 
turc of muriate of iron. 
—-- 
CONTRACTED EEET. 
A correspondent of the Rural New- 
Yorker, at Salina, N. Y., asks how to put 
the contracted feet of a horse in a healthy 
condition; also, whether knee weakness 
comes from such contractions, and a remedy 
therefor. If the contraction is associated 
with inflammatory action of the tissues or 
cartilages of the foot. Dr. Dadd recommends 
packing the feet in bandages saturated with 
a weak mixture of arnica—eight ounces of 
tincture of arnica to one gallon of water— 
the bandages being about five yards long 
and four inches broad. Before applying the 
bandages, have the shoes carefully removed, 
cleanse the feet with soft soap and water, 
and adapt to each a piece of flat sponge just 
the size of the soles. This answers the pur¬ 
pose of a soft cushion for Hie horse to stand 
on, and keeps the sole moist. The bandage 
applied, secure it. with tape, and keep if moist 
for several days, readjusting it as it becomes 
loose. Keep the patient on thin gruel, scald¬ 
ed mashes and boiled roots; give an occa¬ 
sional dose of sulphur and cream of tartar. 
If there is much pain apparent, give a few 
drenches of infusion of hops or poppy heads. 
High inflammatory symptoms are to be met 
with arnica ; a dose of twenty drops of this 
tincture, in clear water, every six hours. 
In all cases, the frog of the foot should be 
given a bearing on the ground, and the shoe 
should be removed in order to secure this. 
If the hoof is dry and brittle, poultice it re¬ 
peatedly with soft soap and rye meal applied 
cold. So soon as it. softens, dress iL night 
and morning with turpentine, linseed oil 
and powdered charcoal, equal parts. If the 
animal can run in a soft pasture, to grass, it 
is better. 
Contraction, if accompanied with inflam¬ 
mation, causes lameness. 
arm \ktommx). 
FEEDING APPLES. 
I was brought up on a farm, and have fol¬ 
lowed this profession through choice. I 
have always fed windfalls and poor apples 
to hogs, horses and cows. If farmers let 
their stock run where they please in the 
fall, ami the cows get into the orchard and 
overload themselves with apples, it will 
shrink their milk. So it will if they get into 
fresh clover, or to any rich food of which 
they arc fond. 
About, the time I commenced farming for 
myself, I heard old farmers sav that apples 
were poor feed for cows. Doubting their 
statements, I was bound to prove the truth, 
one way or another, as I bad a large orchard 
of good fruit. About the 1st of November, 
1856, 1 had fifteen cows that I kept in one 
stable, and nine in another. These were 
giving about the same quantity of milk in 
proportion to the number, on the same feed. 
My cows ran on poor pasture through the 
day, and were stabled and fed nights. I 
drew my poor apples, which were mostly 
sour,—Greenings, Pippins, Swaars, <fec,—and 
not lit for market, to the barn, and com¬ 
menced feeding the nine, one-half bushel 
per cow, and nothing else beside what they 
got, in the pasture. The fifteen bad all the 
nice sowed corn fodder they wanted, and 
the same pasture. I fed about two hundred 
bushels of apples to the nine cows that fall, 
feeding dry hay with them after the pastures 
ceased to furnish food. Their milk increased 
immediately; and myself and others agreed 
that the nine gave one-third more milk, per 
cow, during the trial, than ihe fifteen. 
I have fed all my unmarketable apples 
since, excepting what few we wanted for 
vinegar, and mostly to milch cows, with per¬ 
fect. satisfaction. D J. Stancliet. 
East Evans, N. Y. 
— 1 -- 
TC DRAIN CHEAPLY. 
At a meeting of the St. Louis Farmers’ 
Club, Mr. Porter is reported assaying that 
the prominent reason why farmers did not 
drain more of their land was the expense 
necessary to accomplish it. But he thought 
there was a method of doing this work with¬ 
out very great cost. Instead of digging the' 
ditch altogether tvilh a spade lie would use 
the plow, taking a land fifteen or twenty 
feet wide, and leaving the dead furrow where 
the drain is to lie. By plowing several times 
the pend furrow may bo sunk nearly two 
feet, and from the bottom of this a trench, 
the width and depth of the spade may be 
thrown out, and a drain made of three fence 
boards (four incites wide will he sufficient) 
in shape of the letter V, may then ho put 
into this branch, and the plowing reversed 
till the ground is made level. This method 
has a double advantage:—1st, It is a cheap¬ 
er method than to dig the full depth by hand, 
and the wood is cheaper than tile; and, 2d, 
by turning up and loosening ihe subsoil thus 
deep on each side of ihe drain, the water 
would find its way into the drain more readi¬ 
ly than if only a narrow ditch had been dug 
from the surface down, leaving the sides un¬ 
moved and almost impervious to water. The 
exact cost of a drain made in t his way could 
not be stated as a general rule, for one man 
having Hie necessary team and help and 
spare time for the work, could do it much 
cheaper than his neighbor, who might be 
compelled to pay high wages for all the 
work. 
If farmers who have subsoil plows would 
utilize them in making drains for tile, even, 
they could greatly lessen the expense of this 
important feature of farming. 
-- 
DEODORIZING NIGHT SOIL. 
Mr. J. Shull spoke as follows before the 
Fanners’ Club at Little Falls, N. Y.,on this 
subject:—For the purpose of securing those 
wastes, l have adopted an easy and cheap 
process, by the use of tubs, in form and of 
the size of a common butter firkin, flaring at 
the top, and placed under the seat in the 
closet. These tubs have covers, to be placed 
over them when the contents arc to be re¬ 
moved, and handles on either side for carry¬ 
ing. Plaster is freely used while the wastes 
arc accumulating, to take up the ammonia 
and render it inoffensive. Dry earth or muck 
is said to have the same effect as plaster in 
deodorizing it. The contents, whenever 
emptied, are immediately covered with pias¬ 
ter, and well worked through with a line, till 
they are completely absorbed by the plaster, 
when it can be shoveled into barrels, ready 
for use. There is no more difficulty experi¬ 
enced in handling this preparation than in 
the handling of superphosphates. 
The preparation was used on corn and 
vines, and around cabbages, and well incor¬ 
porated with the soil, with decidedly satis¬ 
factory results. Tf was used iu plan ting corn 
in the same field by the side of the prepara¬ 
tion from the hen droppings, producing re¬ 
sults superior to that treated with the hen 
manure. One barrel of these wastes will ab¬ 
sorb about two barrels of plaster. The value 
of the plaster is about $1 a barrel—the pre¬ 
paration I consider worth $5 per barrel. I 
think the day is not far distant when those 
wastes will bo more generally utilized as ?, 
fertilizer in the advancement of agriculture. 
- +++ - 
ECONOMICAL NOTES. 
t - 
Collars for Tile. 
George E. Warring writes the Ameri¬ 
can Agriculturist that ho has tried as sub¬ 
stitutes for collars for tile, tin, shavings, 
grass ropes, straw, *c., but lias discovered 
that dimply a piece of newspaper laid over 
the tile and held in place by a little loose 
earth at each side, is better than any cf 
them. 
Tli© Gcdden Hnrrow. 
A correspondent at, Williamsburg, Pa., 
asks for a description of this implement, as 
he desires to make one. We give an illus¬ 
tration of one herewith. It requires liilie 
explanation. The teeth being considerably 
back of the point of draft, its motion is even 
and steady, and easy for the team. The 
center or draught rod forms a set of hinges, 
adapting it to uneven ground, and it is easily 
cleared of obstructions by lifting any of the 
wings. Sometimes, in order to use .short 
traces and render the draft as light as possi¬ 
ble, a draught chain (each end attached to 
the sides of the two forward wings) is used, 
which causes the center to hug the ground 
closer. But ordinarily, unless the team is 
light and the work heavy,.this is not neces¬ 
sary. _ 
fins Lime nn n Fi'Nillzor. 
A writer in the Scottish Farmer says: 
“I believe that waste gas lime is equal in 
efficiency to fresh lime for most of the pur¬ 
poses aimed at ill its use in farm lands. I 
sold all the lime thus produced at the gas 
works in Forfarshire, for sixteen years, to 
several farmers, who uniformly expressed 
their satisfaction therewith. One very use¬ 
ful application of it was Us mixture with the 
large pile of weeds amt tangled roots of grass 
cleared off the fields annually. On being 
composted in this way, the lirno gradually 
killed all the vitality of the weeds, and re¬ 
turned them to the land in the way of 
manure. It also served the purpose of open¬ 
ing up stiff clay soils, being first spread over 
the surface, and then plowed down.” 
Value of Cotton Seed. 
nAYWOOD, in the Practical Planter, talks 
in this wise:—“Now you planters take my 
advice, call it that of a fool or not, but don’t 
trade off a cotton seed. Improperly * rotted' 
or in a fresh state they are worth their weiyht 
in corn. That we know. Or, what is better 
still, boil and feed them to your cows, and 
carefully save tlieir manure; put it in a pile 
under a shed, mix dirt with it to keep off the 
wind. Put this on your land, broadcast. 
Plow it in and you will find that it is me¬ 
chanically and chemically better than any¬ 
thing you will get from any company. Tims 
far the cows have not learned to 4 throw off’ 
and adulterate—their ‘fertilizer’ is a square 
thing." _ 
Plaster v«. l.imc. 
A correspondent writes:—“ Will some 
one please inform us whether it will pay to 
purchase plaster where limestone and coal 
are at hand; in other words, wlial difference 
is there in the effects of Ihe two?” Lime 
may be present in a soil, where limestone is 
abundant, in sufficient quantity to supply 
the needs of plants. But on lands that have 
been long cropped it maybe needed, even in 
a limestone country. On heavy Clay soils 
its action is to disintegrate and loosen; on 
sandy soils it supplies a lack; it sweetens 
some soils; it decomposes organic matter in 
soils. Plaster, applied as a top dressing to 
land, furnishes plants with sulphur, absorbs 
and retains for the use of plants the ammo¬ 
nia of the atmosphere, and is a useful appli¬ 
cation. on limestone soils, or on soils that 
have been dressed with lime. It exercises 
an entirely distinct agency from that of lime 
in promoting vegetable growth. 
Shell Eline. 
A correspondent at Buffalo, N. Y., asks 
what shell lime is. It is produced by burn¬ 
ing oyster, clam ami other sea shells, just as 
sfcone lime is burned It is regarded by some, 
better than the ilm€ produced from lime¬ 
stone, because of the absence of magnesia 
and the presence of phosphate of lime. Its 
relative value, however, on this account, 
must depend upon the soil arc* conditions in 
which it is applied. It is excellent fer¬ 
tilizer, especially for stiff and worn vnls. 
