Just described, the lower end of the abdo¬ 
men being in this case also inserted in the 
water. 
“After stirring the contents of the bucket 
with the hand, the water should be poured 
off and fresh supplied several times in succes¬ 
sion, until no trace of the milt can he seen, 
always taking care to keep the ova sub¬ 
merged. The spawn may then be moved to 
the hatching ground, or boxes. In the re¬ 
moval of the ova for a short distance, it is 
unimportant in what manner they are con¬ 
veyed, so long as they are not much shaken. 
In transporting ova a great distance, it should 
be done in winter or spring, placed in tanks 
lined with sponge and swamp moss, with an 
aerating pump placed in it for frequently 
moving the water, changing it and exposing 
it to the air.” 
ing but one bundle in twelve, these several 
particulars are given as pertinent, viz :—It 
is scientific in its principles; is suited tooats 
and all kinds of wheat; is convenient in 
size; is easily built; sheds water; stands 
strong; cures out well; saves scramble and 
expense in bad weather; and without stack¬ 
ing brings the entire crop, straw and wheat, 
sound to the market. Of the “wool box” 
we say multum in parvo ; so of this universal 
specific of the wheat field. 
It is said inventions are not perfected at 
once. In that, this improvement, is no ex¬ 
ception. It lias passed through several edi¬ 
tions. Commenced in that midnight storm 
of July 28th, 1869, while the wheat around 
was being wet for the third time in the week, 
it was perfected July ?lh, 1870. There is, 
therefore, a propriety in calling tiiis the 
“memorial” shock,and 1 did think of pre¬ 
senting it to the committees, as an inventor’s 
contribution. [Having begun to prepare 
this article May 19th, my fifty-eighth birth¬ 
day, I concluded to cheer and “surprise” 
farmers, by a presentation of this new device, 
as a birthday gift, so recognizing a difference 
between a gift and a “ present," as received.] 
Waking on the morning of that, terrific 
storm, when wind, rain, thunder and light¬ 
ning seemed to conspire to make the scene 
sublimely grand, 1 said “ What will the poor 
fanners do now?" The answer 1 am able to 
give my brethren of the farm, in like trials, 
partakes somewhat of the oracular with me, 
but much more largely of compassion to 
them and the world. It is known that these 
hard times had their beginning in the wheat 
fields of 1869, and their continuance from 
the same quarter in 1870. "With the experi¬ 
ence of 1855, the farmers of this generation 
should have been on their guard. Old prac¬ 
tices, Our lathers adopted, when they must 
ripen and dryout , that, they might thresh 
easily with the flail, are, thoughtlessly, too 
much in use. And too often, like “ nailing 
the sails to the masts,” we mourn the com¬ 
merce of the wheat fields in ruin. The bust, 
authorities put the gain from ten to fifteen 
per cent, in cutting wheat while the berry 
may yet he mashed between the thumb and 
finger. With that usage, this air chamber 
great composite family. We. believe that it 
is also called Rosinweed in some localities. 
In early spring the leaves show but little in¬ 
clination to turn their edges North and 
South, hut when mature this peculiarity is 
quite strongly developed. The why or 
wherefore of this polarity of the leaves is a 
subject for discussion and investigation. 
then we have a loss of $7,000,000. Could a 
more timely invention have saved this loss 
to the State, what a noble endowment might 
have been afforded our favorite, Olivet Col¬ 
lege! During the same period the United 
Stales have probably produced over 515,000,- 
000 bushels of wheat, worth, sound, us many 
dollars, Twenty per cent, on that amount, 
him of a Euralist 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
From the Diary of a Gout Ionian near New 
York C'ilv- 
June 19. — Thu editors of the Rural 
New-Yorker request me to give my opin¬ 
ion in regard to the different Hand Lawn- 
Mowers. Having concluded that a first rate 
lawn was a difficult thing to make and keep 
in order without a lawn mower of some 
kind, I visited a dealer in these implements 
and asked for one of the very best in market, 
lie recommended the 
l.au linen pr. 
I bought one and had it sent home, and 
upon trial I found that it cut grass very 
well; hut one-man-power was scarcely suffi¬ 
cient to run the machine for any considerable 
time. This machine lias, in Addition to the 
large or driving wheel, a small one in front, 
which answers as a guide in raising and 
lowering the culling bar; and it is this 
small roller that offers so much resistance. 
Ii is about two inches in diameter, extend¬ 
ing the entire width of the machine, and 
every little Hillock, lull of grass, or other 
inequality in the surface of the lawn are 
just so many obstacles in the way, and it 
requires more force to run the machine over 
them than one would suppose until he had 
tried the experiment. The Landscape was 
voted out as unsatisfactory, and 1 next ob¬ 
tained an 
Arclilinr<l<-nu, (Hill's Patent.) 
This ran so much lighter than the Land¬ 
scape that my men pronounced it a success, 
ami I began to think it very nearly perfect. 
There are two shoes ill front, which answer 
us guides for regulating the bight of the cut¬ 
ting-bar. These guides slide along over the 
grass without any perceptible friction. This 
is an excellent machine, runs easily and 
steadily even over an uneven surface, and 
upon a well established sod one could scarce¬ 
ly desire a heller ; but upon ft newly seeded 
lawn, where the sod is not firm, the shoes or 
guides are very likely tocut into the soil and 
tear up the young grass. If the guides strike 
any slight elevation of soil, they cut. through 
it instead of passing over. This is the only 
fault that 1 have discovered in the Archi¬ 
medean. 
V id or. 
Having discovered that there was a differ¬ 
ence in lawn mowers, T pursued my investi¬ 
gation still further, and sent for a Victor, 
which is certainly an improvement upon the 
other two, inasmuch as two small iron 
Wheels are placed in front and serve as 
guides, therefore doing away with the fric¬ 
tion caused by the roller in the Landscape 
and the shoe in the Archimedean. The 
Victor is rather a heavy machine, but it runs 
easily and does its work well. There is also 
a little thumb-screw attachment by which 
the revolving knives may be thrown out of 
gear, and the machine used for a garden 
roller. The manufacturers of the Victor 
make a great mistake in not giving the ma¬ 
chine a little more tasty dress of paint. Nol 
that it would add anything to their practical 
value, but a showy dress, even in a crowd, 
attracts attention. I was so well satisfied 
with the Victor that 1 did not think nl invest¬ 
ing in any more machines; butJVIr. Chas. 
Downing informed a friend of mine that a 
Newburg manufacturing company was turn¬ 
ing out a most excellent mower, and one 
that gave universal satisfaction. The recom¬ 
mend of sucli a man as Mr. Downing was 
enough to excite my curiosity, and I im¬ 
mediately ordered an 
Kxcclnior. 
Upon the arrival of this machine it be¬ 
came a general favorite; even the ladies say 
it is only a pleasant pastime to go out after 
tea and to mow the lawn with the Excel¬ 
sior. It runs so easily that a child ten years 
old can use it without excessive fatigue. It 
is a most elegant machine in form and finish, 
and does its work perfectly. The Excel¬ 
sior has become “ The pet of the lawn” 
among the ladies, children and workmen of 
my household; even “ Croquet” is falling 
behind as an afternoon amusement. < 
A pliiit, or Green Fly. , 
JunepO .—Heavy showers again this even¬ 
ing, and the dry spell of weather seemed to 
lie fairly broken. The Green Fly (Aphis) is 
appearing in countless numbers upon vege¬ 
tation ; even large cherry trees are being 
checked by these minute but innumerable 
pests. On small plants they are readily de¬ 
stroyed with tobacco water; but on trees 
they are safely out of reach. 
Coiiipmtn Plant—Hili>li in in Laciuiu t inn, 
June 21.—I have watched with considera- 1 
ble interest for several years past a large t 
plant of Silphium laciniatum growing in one s 
of the borders of my garden. This singular ( 
plant turns the edges of its large, rough and 
deeply plnnatified leaves almost due North a 
and South. Jt is a native of the Western 1 
prairies, and this peculiarity in the polarity a 
of its leaves was noticed by travelers years f 
ago, and the name, compass or polar plant, s 
bestowed upon this singular member of the t 
atimilist 
DOMESTICATING PARTRIDGES, 
Some months since the question was ask¬ 
ed, “ Can the partridge be domesticated?” 
also, for any information respecting it. 1 
here give a case which, if I was young 
again, 1 would (ry. 1 am too old—born 
April 17, 1792. 
In the early part of June last, I had a 
turkey that brought out ten young ones; 
lost one; soon after, she took charge of a 
young partridge and raised it; it was very 
shy for a long time. When the children 
would go to feed them, it hid. But it soon 
got to obey its foster mother, who seemed to 
he more watchful of it than of her own 
breed. When they went to rest on the tree 
it would gel under her whig. When brought 
to the house to feed it was very shy, and 
when the chickens commenced fighting it 
would fiy into weeds; but its foster mother 
would soon bring it back again. By No¬ 
vember it ale at the fed of the feeder with 
the turkey, would dust itself in the ash pile 
with the turkeys, and sit on the fence by the 
door with them as perfectly domesticated 
as the turkeys. It was quite a favorite 
among all the turkeys. In December it was 
accidentally killed and much regretted. 
Washington Co.,Pa. J. It. G. 
Fig. 1. — Making thr First Half of Olivet 
• Cap. 
Fly Poinon PlnuiH. 
June 22.—Among the many beautiful wild 
plants in bloom at tins lime, 1 do not know 
of one more showy than the very pretty 7 o- 
Jieldiu glutiuma. Its long spikes of greenish 
white flowers make a splendid show, and 
will compare favorably with many a rare ex- 
ode. There arc several nearly related plants, 
(known vulgarly ns fly poisons), such as 
/Manias Initiate, Vhammliriuin lute am and 
Xerophyllu/tn asphoitdoid.es, that are seldom 
if ever cultivated in our gardens, and yet 
they would add greatly to any collection of 
hardy herbaceous perennials. If some one 
or more of our florists would take up this 
class of plants and make them a specialty, 
they would he doing our people a lavor by 
creating a taste for the many rare and beau¬ 
tiful plants Of our woods and fields. Some 
one must lead, and the man who does will 
probably create for himself a lucrative 
j business. 
About Woods, 
June 23.—The late heavy rains have 
started the weeds into a vigorous growth. 
1 wonder if anybody really believes the 
theory advanced by “ Ten Acres Enough,” 
a few years since, that weeds could be en¬ 
tirely exterminated from rich soil. 1 doti’t; 
Ibr I never saw a plot of soil that was rich 
enough to hear any cultivated plant that 
would not produce weeds perpetually, no 
matter how often they were destroyed. A 
certain species may be for a lime suppressed, 
but weeds in general are a perpetual nui¬ 
sance, created expressly to make mankind 
work, and to prevent gardeners making 
large profits. 
Preparing Ground lor Riita-biiima. 
June 24.—Prepared a plot of ground for 
rula-bagas. It has been plowed twice be¬ 
fore this season, but there is little danger of 
having it too finely pulverized. I shall have 
the ground harrowed early next week, and 
then give it a top dressing of hone-dust, or 
other concentrated fertilizer, and then sow 
the seed. Some of our farmers think the 
last of June a little too early in this latitude 
for ruta-bagas; but 1 bad much rather be 
two weeks ahead of time than as much too 
late. 
Fio. it. — Thk Contrast. 
saved, would have been $io3,o0G,0C!0, with 
which to “clothe the nuked,” “feed the 
hungry,” and send messages of mercy around 
the world. 
" Freely ye have received, freely give.” 
Olivet, Mich., 1871. R. S. Haskell. 
DISTEMPER IN DOGS. 
I notice an inquiry in regard to distem¬ 
per in dogs, and several remedies given. 
“ An ounce of preventive, Ac.,” you know 
the adage, my brothers, and I have kept 
hounds for thirty years. In our present 
pack, numbering twenty-two, not one has 
ever bad distemper. Wo simply vaccinate 
our dogs, just as you do the human subject. 
The spot we select is the under side of the 
ear, ns far up as is convenient, to operate, 
because out of reach of his longue, and hut 
little exposed to any effort to scratch it ; 
and, if very young, a spot likely to escape 
the tongue of the mother until the virus nitty 
take effect, "When the virus produces an 
effect scarcely perceptible, 1 have had them 
to have the distemper, but so mildly you 
could scarcely convince one not familiar 
with dogs that the disease existed. A severe 
attack of distemper rarely leaves a dog 
without some blemish, some impaired organ, 
twitching muscle, diminished speed, or weak 
constitution. No dog should have it—par¬ 
ticularly the pointer and greyhound. 
James II. Young. 
GOLD ROBIN, 
On page 381, last volume Rural New- 
Yorker, 1 find;—“Tell me what to feed 
“ gold robins,” when just large enough to 
fly. 1 answer, what the parent bird feeds 
them with—flies and small insects. D, Me. 
should know, however, that the words 
“golden robin” are not found In the hooks 
on ornithology. It is so called by the Penn¬ 
sylvania Germans, “ Gold Ampsel,” which, 
literally translated, would he “gold robin.” 
This bird, however, is the Icterus Baltimore 
of Daui> —Gold robin or Hnngnest, <>r more 
commonly “ Baltimore Oriole.” This beau¬ 
tiful bird, with its golden-yellow plumage, is 
common in our orchards, and a bird that 
should be encouraged ; it renders signal ser¬ 
vice by ridding the fruit trees of hosts of 
worms and noxious insects and their larva;. 
Il also suspends its pouch-like nest from the 
forks of some outspreading branch of suf¬ 
ficient capacity to conceal the body of the 
bird while sitting. 
In Louisiana, where the climate is warm, 
this bird uses the long fibers of the Spanish 
moss, which it attaches at both ends to the 
forks in a branch, forming a number of loops 
about seven inches in length. When a suf¬ 
ficient number of these loops are made, it 
commences weaving in an opposite direc¬ 
tion, with the same material, until it has 
produced a strong but open anil airy pouch 
or bag, rounded at the bottom, and larger 
than at the top, where an aperature is left 
just large enough to admit of the easy pas¬ 
sage of the birds in and out. This requires 
no lining in the Southern Slates, but in New 
York and Pennsylvania, where the atmos¬ 
phere is cooler, and cold rains frequent, the 
nest is made from warmer materials, such 
as cotton yarns, hemp, tow, hair, wool, 
pieces of twine, or strings of any kind. I 
found a nest in the fork of a branch broken 
oft' by a heavy gale of wind, about ten years 
ago, which, on examination, 1 found had 
about two yards of fine edging lace worked 
in, evidently stolen from a wash line, as the 
lace was in good condition otherwise. The 
nests are well secured, and will swing and 
cradle the mother and young brood during 
the winds of a violent storm, and, unless the 
branch breaks, will enable them to weather 
the storm safely. 
There are two other species of Hanging- 
bird or American Orioles in the United 
States—Bullock’s Oriole (the Icterus Bul- 
Fxo. - Double Cap olivet Wheat Shook 
Complete. 
shock will he valued lor its curing-out quali¬ 
ties. If you husk an ear of corn, just glazed, 
and hang it in the sun, it will shrink. So, 
if you pick heads of wheat when in the 
“dough,” and dry them in your pocket or 
in the sun, the berry will shrink. The in¬ 
ference, then, is against the open shock, us 
it kills too quick. 
The photograph marked “ The Contrast,” 
(see Fig. 3), shows the afflictive muddle a far¬ 
mer sometimes gets in by trusting to th eopen 
shock. It represents an aeluul transaction in 
the adjoining field of Messrs. Green and 
Ely. The men were setting out the bundles, 
tumbler fashion, after the Storm. Said they, 
“ We have been over this ground two or three 
times before.” Mr. Green (Hon. A. L.)says, 
“Our Deihl is one-tenth grown; Haskell 
wheat is all light.” 
TROUT SPAWN. 
Can you give me any information as to 
the correct manner of obtaining trout spawn ? 
I do not know how to go to work to do it.— 
P. P. Pettit. 
Scott, in his “ Fishing in American 
Waters,” says:—“Whenever practicable, it 
is desirable to take the trout from the spawn¬ 
ing beds by means of nets, so as to insure 
the maturity of the ova. It can best he done 
in the night. So soon as caught the lisli 
should be placed in ft large tub, or other 
vessel, partially filled with water, till a milt¬ 
er and spawner are taken. In ejecting the 
ova, the female should first he held over a 
bucket or large tin can half full of water, 
the lower end of the abdomen being Inserted 
in the water, in order to prevent exposure of 
the ova to the air. A gentle pressure of the 
hand from the thorax down each side of the 
arm 
tammy 
HOW TO SHOOK WHEAT. 
STRIPPING a trout, 
During the last two years Michigan has 
produced about 35,000,000 bushels of wheat, 
which, sheltered, would have been worth 
$35,000,000. If on this amount our loss has 
been twenty per cent, in labor, damage to 
the crops, to the market, and to business, 
abdomen will discharge the ova, if mature, 
without the least injury to the fish. The 
water in the bucket should then be reduced 
to three or four quarts previously to ejecting 
the milt of the male. In expelling milt the 
course pursued is precisely the same as that 
