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rops. 
NEW JERSEY FIELD CROPS. 
A Somerset Go., N. J., correspondent 
tells how his neighbors “ raise twenty to thir¬ 
ty bushels of wheat, fifty to seventy-five of 
corn, and fifty to sixty of oats to (lie acre, at 
less than one dollar per acre, money out." 
He says :—“ First they plow the oat stubble, 
say twelve or fifteen acres of an eighty or 
ninety acre farm, on which they put all their 
bj«-n-yard manure, and about twenty-five 
bushels of lime; lime costing $4 per acre. 
Then they sow it with wheat; in the spring 
they sow clover and timothy on the same, 
and if a good season they will gather from 
twenty-five to thirty bushels of wheat from 
the acre. The next season they will mow it 
about the 25th of June, and take off a good 
crop of clover hay; September, the same 
season, take off a good crop of clover seed, 
which makes three crops in two years; the 
next season they lake off a good crop of 
timothy hay—say two tons to the acre; 
or plant it with corn, and the next year 
take off a crop of oats, making five crops in 
four years, at an expense of less than a 
dollar per acre. Now, you farmers who put 
from twelve to fifteen dollars' worth of 
phosphates, guano, poudreltc, Ac., on an 
aero, what, do you think of the above? If 
this is beaten in any section East of the Mis¬ 
sissippi river, let ns know where, and wo 
will call and see ybu.” 
Our correspondent has failed to show us 
that these crops are raised at, an expense of 
less than one dollar per acre, money out. 
We take il labor, hoard, teams, home-made 
manure, interest, on the land investment, are 
worth something even in New Jersey; and 
all this is involved in the production of the 
crops; hence it is “money out;” for if a 
man was compelled to hire, his work done, 
had no barn-yard manure, no provisions, 
and must pay the rental of land, &c., all 
these items would lie considered money out 
by him. bet. correspondents who give fig¬ 
ures concerning crops, give details days’ 
work expended, amount and value of 
manure put on the laud, ainfall items which 
enter into the cost of production ; then valu¬ 
able comparisons can be made. Eut. our 
correspondent’s statements give no real in¬ 
formation as to actual cost, of production, 
and are only published to give us an oppor¬ 
tunity to say what they seem to suggest 
ought to be said. 
■-- 
SHORTNESS OF THE HAY C1R0F: 
How to Provide a Remedy. 
The drouth this season seems to he the 
most hurtful we have had for years, coming 
early, and interfering with the early growth. 
Grass lias suffered in particular; the hay 
crop will fall short at least a third of t he av¬ 
erage. This in the dairy region of Central 
New York, ami as we know from personal 
inspection, particularly in the southern pm 
lion; but it is more or less general from 
what accounts we have. VVlinl makes it 
worse, the crop of old hay is short, the high 
price it commanded inducing farmers to dis¬ 
pose of it. Hence there is much complaint 
and dread of' the future. But this is not. nec¬ 
essary ; much can yet be done to avert the 
evil, and sufficient feed, of a good quality 
can he secured to winter well our present 
stock. 
Ill the first place, what hay there is, is of 
a superior quality, as was the case last year, 
the drouth and the lightness of the crop ef¬ 
fecting this. A ton of our hay, well secured, 
that is, early and in good condition, will be 
equal to nearly or quite a ton and a-half of 
ordinary hay. There are those who may 
yet, even late as it is, secure a crop of com 
fodder. This has been done in years hereto¬ 
fore on old, failing or light meadows which— 
the crop, what, there was, removed early— 
were plowed and well harrowed, and with 
the aid of manure plentifully applied, a fair, 
timely yield was realized. But, it wants ma¬ 
nure to drier it. Turnips arc also vet in 
time to be sown. The most, however, and 
for which this article is mainly written, is 
the straw crop. We have here a twofold 
benefit to be realized—the securing of fodder 
and the increased benefit, which early har¬ 
vesting brings to t he grain. 
This (Top is also light. Winter wheat 
seems to he an exception; and so with a 
few of t he earlier sown spring grains. These 
occupy the ground, shade it, and thus keep 
up the moisture. The grain crop, then, is 
our main dependence,—and it can he made 
to answer our purpose nobly, harvesting, as 
usual,laic, when the straw is ripe and hard; 
this it. is known will not do. Tt will help 
where the straw is cut. and steamed or scald¬ 
ed and fed with grain ; but the moment yon 
feed grain you are on the non-paying ground. 
4 here must, lie .cheaper fodder than grain. 
What we are to do, then, is the usual recom¬ 
mendation and practice of our best fanners 
—secure the crop early, when yet green (in 
the straw), the berry just out of the con¬ 
dition which permits absorption, which is 
the milk state, as it is called. There should 
be little or none of this. But just at this 
point, between the milk and the dough. Or 
the change from the milk to the dough, cut 
your grain. The dough of the berry, instead 
of being absorlied, is ripened, increased at 
first and rounded from the stalk, and then 
matured in the ripe ami plumper kernel. 
The stalk lias now done its work with 
the berry; its own work, of hardening it¬ 
self, perfecting its wood, has not yet been 
accomplished ; it is asserted the juices cense 
their elaboration, part with their water, and 
thus form soluhie, nutritive matter. A neigh¬ 
bor, Benjamin BandRr, harvested a crop 
of wheal, when just, in blossom; the wheat 
obtained from the West, carrying the chinr.li- 
bug with il, which appeared in such num¬ 
bers that it threatened to destroy the whole 
crop. Tliis crop was harvested the same as 
hay, was readily cured, and appeared green 
as hay. It was fed in the spring to milch 
cows ; and Mr. B. said it was superior to any¬ 
thing he ever fed except young clover hay. 
It. made, lie said, what timothy would not 
do, yellow butter, and also very sweet, with 
good flavor. 
Mr. B.’s is not the only example; there 
are many others who testify to the utility of 
early cut straw, cut for the grain—not so 
rich probably as was that of Mr. B., but re¬ 
taining, in its tenderness, the substance of 
the stalk, which would otherwise have be¬ 
come woody. 
Wc are afraid of the harvesting of green 
grain. As with grass, early cut, wc fear its 
curing. But on the swath it. will soon dry 
with little bleaching, so as to be fit to be 
put up in stouts, made airy, when the curing 
and the elaboration of the berry will be per¬ 
fected. Then, taken up, it will throw out a 
fragrance mid exhibit a green tint,, that will 
show at once, and unmistakably, what kind 
of fodder it is, worth little less than than the 
best of hay, excepting always the early cut, 
thoroughly cured clover. 
The straw crop, thus secured, will do won¬ 
ders. In connection with the excellent 
quality of the hay, it will he sufficient in the 
main to not only puss our stock through the 
winter, but grow it, the young portion, and 
produce good yields of milk. But we must 
get out of our old rut and do these things. 
V. G. 
-♦♦♦- 
DO POTATOES MIX ? 
They do. In 1867 a friend presented me 
with a few Early Goodrich. From these, in 
1868,1 raised three barrels of that variety. 
I planted them the next year, and harvested 
one hundred and ten bushels. In the same 
field I had a few rows of Nutmegs and 
Chilis. In digging the Goodrich 1 found 
one the seed end of which was red. The 
hill iii which this was produced was partly 
on a rock, where the ground was very dry 
and poor. The tubers as well as the vines 
were small. The half red one was about 
the size of a lien’s egg, and was the largest 
in the bill. Attached to the same vine were 
others which in no respect differed from the 
Goodrich. The exceptional potato was cure-, 
fully wrapped in paper and kept by itself 
until the spring of 1870, when 1 planted it a 
considerable distance from all others. From 
this potato I raised both white and rod pota¬ 
toes, as well us some which were red with 
orange colored blotches. In shape they 
were all well defined Early Goodrich. Their 
quality has not boon tested. 1 have planted 
all of them, and if the editor of the Rural 
New-Yorker still insists that potatoes will 
not, mix, I will send him a few red Early 
Goodrich for his dinner ns soon as they arc 
large enough. I know this statement is true, 
because 1 cannot disbelieve evidence fur¬ 
nished by my own eyes.— James E. Quin¬ 
lan, MonliceUo , Sullivan Co., N. Y. 
We are not convinced. We have no 
doubt our correspondent, states facts ; we do 
not question them. And wc know that po¬ 
tatoes and all other kinds of vegetable growth 
produce exceptionally what arc called 
“ sports; ” but that potatoes mix by planting 
cuttings near each other, if the seed balls 
are not planted, we do not believe; nor have 
we ever seen any evidence that they do. 
And while wc do not, question our friend’s 
statements, we must attribute the freak to 
some other cause than crossing by cuttings. 
-- 
FIELD NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Tufniusr under BncUwlieat. 
K. S. Mowry. —The best time to turn un¬ 
der buckwheat for fertilizing purposes is 
when it just begins to blossom and before it 
goes out of bloom. It is profitable to use it 
for the purposes named. 
Do Turnip* Poison l.aml? 
Last year we turned over a piece of grass 
ground and sowed Russia turnips, using 
phosphate. The crop of turnips was small, 
on account of the dry weather. This year 
we turned the same ground, gave it a good 
coat of stubble manure and a top-dressing 
of fish scraps, and planted it with sweet 
corn. Part, of the lot had sowed corn on 
last year. Where the turnips were, the 
corn scarcely grows at all, and you can see 
across the lot to where the turnips were 
planted. I have heard one of my neighbors 
say that he could not raise onions on ground 
that had grown cabbage the year before; 
others say put as much manure on for tur¬ 
nips as you have a mind to, and they will 
eat il all up. Mv opinion is that, they poison 
the ground. Borne one who has had experi¬ 
ence please give it to the readers of the Ru¬ 
ral New-Yorker.—A. Subscriber. 
Hunking Coni. 
Will Mr. O. Burras of North Fairfield, 
Ohio, please explain to the Rural readers 
how he can husk and crib 1,220 bushels of 
corn for three dollars, as that is all he allows 
in his statement on page 314, last volume 
Rural New-Yorker? — 8. 0 ., Starkey, N. Y. 
Cut Worm* nmt Corn. 
S. B. Valentine writes us that he has 
often seen it stated that if ground is plowed 
in the fid), cut worms will not trouble it. 
His land was plowed last fall and again this 
past spring and he never was so bothered 
with cut worms. 
To keep Bun* out of I’cn*. 
An Iowa City, Iowa, correspondent asks 
how to keep bugs out of peas so that, they 
will grow well for seed. The only way 
which we have known to succeed in this 
country is to sow peas designed for seed from 
the $5lh of June to the middle of July. 
Thus they usually escape being buggy, the 
insect which affects them having done its 
work for the season before they reach the 
sfage of maturity when they are injured. 
Sccclintr Prairie Bod with Tutnc (<iiikhi,k. 
1 have several hundred acres of unbroken 
prairie sod which I wish to get in blue grass 
and clover without breaking. When shall 
1 sow in this locality? How much seed per 
acre? General management of the land, 
Ac — E. B,, Carthage, Mo. 
There are many men in Illinois and Iowa 
who have had experience and can answer 
the foregoing questions. Will they not, re¬ 
spond ? 
n ivpmrmn. 
INQUIRIES ANSWERED. 
HWuw nnd Board Hives. 
Jay Kj.ing, Richmond Co., Ohio, inquires 
why I transfer bees from straw hives to 
hoard ones in the spring? I recommended 
changing to hoard hives for summer for sim¬ 
ple, and not, very important reasons. One is 
that the straw hives will decay faster in 
summer than in winter. Also, the bees will 
give the inside a coating of propolis during 
July and August, that would render it less 
efficient for winter. (See pp. 301 2 Bee¬ 
keeping Explained.) I am now using a 
large hive with space inside for surplus 
boxes, which is filled with hay, straw or 
bags of chuff for winter, which answers com¬ 
pletely all of these requirements. On page 
207, hist volume, a “ Reader” inquires con¬ 
cerning the 
CnilflC amt Cure of Foul Broad. 
I have yet to learn the original cause of 
this pest, of the beekeeper. Many theories 
have been advanced, plausible in some de¬ 
gree, hut none cover the whole ground. I 
can, however, give some practical informa¬ 
tion concerning its treatment. There is no 
question hut the disease is spread by the 
transfer of honey from diseased to healthy 
colonies. When a stock is affected, drive 
out all the bees into an empty box or hive. 
If it is desired to put them into clean, 
healthy combs, let. them remain in the empty 
hive at least thirty-six hours, so that 11 1 ey 
will consume all the honey they take with 
them. They will fill themselves with honey 
at the first alarm when driven out, and if 
put immediately into combs might store 
some of it, and thus perpetuate the disease. 
Thu honey in the. diseased hive should be 
strained out and the combs converted into 
beeswax for market, having a care that, the 
bees have no access to ft drop of the honey 
at any time until it has been mml thoroughly 
scalded smrl skimmed, when it may be fed 
to them willi impunity. There would be no 
objection to using this honey in the comb 
for the table, if suitable. 
The old hive and frames may be used 
again, if properly cleaned bv scalding and 
scraping, or exposure to the elements during 
winter. None of the combs, though appar¬ 
ently clean, can be used iigain, without dan- 
ger of spreading Ihe disease. By treating 
thoroughly in this manner every affected 
colony, and using vigilance to prevent rob¬ 
bing, one can soon eradicate foul brood from 
his apiary. Careless neighbors, however, 
make a ceaseless Watch necessary, for the 
plunder of a weak and diseased stock will 
make much mischief, just, as the work seems 
to he done. 
Since the introduction of the Italian bee, 
foul brood has diminished greatly in all sec¬ 
tions where I have been acquainted with it, 
and I have ceased to regard it as so formi¬ 
dable an evil as heretofore. The same indi¬ 
vidual asks 
How Swarming enn be Prevented. 
There are several causes, which if put in 
operation, will tend to prevent swarming; 
but to reduce it to a practical science re¬ 
quires considerable tact and attention. One 
point is to have large hives and plenty of 
room, another, to keep none but young 
queens. This lessens t.lie tendency to 
swarm. Movable comb hive* arc indispensable. 
We have several apiaries at a distance 
from home, and do not find it necessary to 
watch them daily in the swarming season, as 
was the tedious old-time custom. As above- 
mentioned, we supply each colony with 
plenty of room and a young queen. During 
the season when swarms arc most, likely to 
issue, a man examines each hive as often as 
every eight or nine days, and if any queen 
cells are in process of construction, cuts 
them off They cannot mature any more 
queens within the next interval before ex¬ 
amination, and if any cells are then found, 
they are cut out in the same way, and so on 
till they cease. 
The wing of the queen is clipped close, so 
that if any cells should be overlooked, and a 
swarm should issue, she could not fly, and 
being unable to accompany the bees, they 
would return to the hive. 
There is danger of the queen being lost by 
dropping to the ground in front of the hive 
and not finding her way back. This can be 
avoided by using what is called a “queen 
yard,” being simply it plank in front of the 
hive eighteen or twenty inches square and 
four inches high, with a strip of tin two 
inches wide set in all around the top, pro¬ 
jecting Inwards, parallel with the bottom of 
the box. The bottom should he tight, with 
a strip of wire cloth, three or four inches 
wide, across the side next, the hive, to make 
it cooler. Make an opening in that side cor¬ 
responding to the entrance of the hive at the 
bottom, and a passage through which the 
bees must pass into Ihe queen yard before 
taking flight. The queen cannot fly, and 
cannot, crawl over the projecting tin, and 
will readily return to the hive. I know of 
no possible means of preventing swarms with 
the box hive, ns the queen cells are often in¬ 
accessible. 
The answer to D. II. Towle’s first in¬ 
quiry, on the same page, is comprised in the 
foregoing. Look over the combs of the hi vc 
without a queen, and cut olf all cells but. 
one; or the better way is, to have plenty of 
laying queens at, hand, supply them with 
one at. once, and cut off all queen cells. 
Also, see that no queen cells are started in 
the part containing the queen. 
To Find the Queen. 
I know of no method of finding the queen, 
except by looking till you see her. She is 
generally to be found on one of the brood 
combs. Handle the combs gently, so as not 
to alarm the bees, and she will remain much 
more quiet. The Italian queens being gen¬ 
erally highly colored, can be distinguished 
much more easily than the natives, and are 
much less disposed to run about in fright 
over the combs. 1 cannot report much suc¬ 
cess in 
FertUiziui; Queens In Confinement. 
It. is said, however, by reliable apiarians, 
to ho done very satisfactorily. Italian queens 
fertilized by black drones will produce Ital¬ 
ian drones. 
To Remove Bees from n Frame 
of honey or brood, hold il perpendicularly to 
avoid breaking out, the combs, and give it a 
sharp, sudden motion downwards, with force 
enough to dislodge most of the bees. The 
few still adhering can lie brushed oft with 
the feather end of a stiff quill or a small 
wing. 
Sending Queen* by Itlnil. 
Several bee keepers advertise queens sent 
successfully by mail. I have sent them 
safely by mail two hundred miles or more, 
but have lost many more than were safely 
received, and do not send them thus to any 
extent. M. Quinby. 
St. Johnsville, N. Y., June, 1871. 
-- 
Where Bees *honl<l be Placed. 
Bees should not be placed so that when 
they crawl about, their hives and stands they 
will come in contact with each other; and 
hives should be so far separated, or he so 
dissimilar in appearance, that the queens 
will not make mistakesand enter the wrong 
hive. It is best, to place each on a separate 
stand four to six feet apart, or if room lias 
to be economized and the hives arc closed 
on all hut one side, four may he placed with 
then - backs together.—J. H. Sennet. 
-„ 
I nqui'ic.* lor A [durians, 11 Apiarian," Farmers- 
villo.N. Y„ Makes— 1 ** Can an)' one jfive in the 
Rural Nkw-Yohukr, Mr. Raven's (of Albany 
N. Y„) system of beo management, whereby 
such an enormous quantity of honey is produced 
from each colony ? Such results must be a de¬ 
sideratum to apiarians generally.”—'Wlmt sortol’ 
shrubs that are ornamental will tfford the most 
bee pastnrage about a home? Wo should like to 
know.—O. & P. — Where enn I purchase pure 
Italian queens? I want to Italianize my bees. 
-S. C. 
Ttfittific anir tsfful. 
USEFUL NOTES. 
BY JAMES A. WHITNEY. 
Why Cattle Need Snlt. 
A Correspondent wishes the reason why 
cattle need salt. It is because phosphate of 
soda must be furnished to the blood, whereas 
it is phosphate of potash that, exists ingrains 
and grasses grown on soils deficient., as most 
soils are, in saline or sodic compound. When 
salt is taken into the animal system it is 
partially decomposed. Borne of its chlorine 
unites with the potassium of the potash while 
the liberated sodium is oxydized to form 
soda, and this combines with the phosphoric 
acid from the potash phosphate to form phos¬ 
phate of soda. Soda also exists in milk. It 
i-> this which gives the fluid its slightly alka¬ 
line taste when first drawn. If this be ah 
sent, as when cattle arc not, supplied in soir 
way with salt, the milk is unwholesome. 
Cattle arc apt to prefer grass grown on lands 
toii-dressed with two or three hundred weight 
of salt to the acre, for the reason that the 
salt renders ihe grass sweeter, more tender 
and more succulent. The weight of grass 
grown on salted land is, however, likely to 
he diminished in proportion, as rankness of 
growth is prevented. 
Color for Blitter, 
The use of carrot juice for coloring butter 
is familiar to most dairy keepers who are 
aware that some organic matter, besides the 
coloring substance, is contained in the juice, 
and which does no good to the butter. A 
European chemist, one Dr. Guesnevimj;, 
lias gone scientifically to work to obtain the 
coloring substance in a pure condition. lie 
first slices the carrots, then dries them, grinds 
them to powder and then digests the powder 
in hi-sulphide of carbon, a liquid obtained by 
distilling sulphur in a tight vessel on red-hot 
charcoal. After standing for a short time 
the bi-sulphide is evaporated and the color¬ 
ing matter remains in the form of minute 
crystals. The substance, which is called 
caratine, is perfectly tasldess,and has been 
used for coloring butter with great, satisfac¬ 
tion, being pronounced superior to annotto. 
(Him Lime. 
Thc value of gas lime as a fertilizer was 
discussed for the fortieth time by the Far¬ 
mer’s Club on the 6th nit. The chair de¬ 
clared it. “ dangerous,” and Mr. Ly.van 
recommended “ washing.” Both were 1 Liu. 
and both wore wrong. Gas lime used fresh 
will certainly do mischief; exposed to the 
air for a number of months it will he worth 
R.iy one-half as much as ordinary slaked 
lime, and on soils benefitted by gypsum con¬ 
siderably more. When fresh ihe gas lime is 
saturated with sulphurous acid combined 
with the lime to form a sulphite poisonous 
to vegetation. Exposed to the air the sul¬ 
phurous acid absorbs oxygen and becomes 
sulphuric acid which, in its cojnhinalion 
with the lime, form Lite sulphate or gypsum. 
The sulphite is readily soluble which the 
sulphate is not. Washing the gas lime 
would therefore remove the obnoxious sub 
stance, hut would he troublesome and ex¬ 
pensive and prey at the formation of ihe 
sulphate of lime by exposure 10 air. Dr. 
Weaver’s statement that lime is of no “use 
except in a caustic- state ” holds true only 
with reference to wet, sour soils. On light 
lands and on those containing little organic 
matter, thoroughly slaked lime is preferable, 
and on such, In some eases, a ealcarious 
marl is better than the lime itself. 
Snlt nnd Silica. 
Mr. Taylor, “Chairman of the Scientific 
Committee of the Potomac Fruit Growers’ 
Association," still denies that salt dissolves 
silica. In 1862 Mr. John Hooker, an Eng¬ 
lish agriculturist, sowed tour hundred pounds 
of salt at. different times on an acre of ground, 
and afterwards analyzed the ashes of the 
si raw, both from the salted and from unsalt- 
ed land of the same character. Theushof 
the si raw from the land manured Willi salt 
gave eighty-tliree per cent, of silica, while 
lhat from ilio straw, t he best that, could he 
loiind of it. of the misalted crop, yielded but. 
seventy-eight per cent , showing that the salt, 
had dissolved and earned into the plants an 
additional five percent, of silica. The chem¬ 
ical reactions by which saline solutions dis¬ 
solve silex are so well known to chemists 
that it is not necessary to repeat them here. 
The lectures of Sir Humphrey Davy, to 
which Mr. Taylor seems to have confined 
his attention, were published fifty-nine 
years ago. 
Extracting Saccharine Juices. 
A French inventor lias devised a new 
method of extracting the juice from sugar 
cane. It combines the use of rollers as m 
the common cane mill, and of water us in 
the “ diffusion” process used in beet sugai 
manufacture. The cane, is first passed y- 
tween crushing rolls, then through wa y 
which soaks or dissolves out the juice iy ‘ 
Ihe fiber, then through rolls again, men 
through water again to another pair ot lOJis, 
and so on until it is finally thrown on end¬ 
less belts, which carry it out of me via}. 
The mingled juice and water is evapoiftled 
in the Usual apparatus. It. is believed ma 
this method will yield several per cent u me 
of sugar ft’om a given quantity of caneJoan 
the simple cane-crushing null. It has on 
been proposed to nse cane for paper n * 
nig, and it. is quite likely that the crus e* 
and washed fiber resulting as waste n 
this mode of treatment, may form a use 
paper. The process is apparently ns npp • 
cable to sorghum as to Southern, or sug> 
cai?c stock, 
