MOORE'S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
APRIL 13 
frb 
252 
cJjqm Okonomt). 
NOTES ON MANURES. 
Dried Fish in Corn Culture. — H. N. 
Clapp, a Connecticut farmer, says his ex¬ 
perience with dried fish sowed broadcast 
and plowed in deep has been very satisfac¬ 
tory in raising corn. 
Home-Made Manures.— Jons A. Morton, 
Hadley, Conn., believes that fertilizers made 
at home—barn-yard manure—is the most 
profitable, and asserts that if fanners would 
spend the time and money they give to pro¬ 
cure commercial fertilizers in increasing the 
home product, it would be more profitable 
to them. 
Green Manuring .—A correspondent of the 
Practical Farmer says:—According to Spron- 
glo, a crop of t wenty-five bushels per acre, 
with its straw, removes from the soil eighty- 
eight pounds of material which could only 
be obtained at the expense of the soil, and 
3,412 pounds of matter obt ained from other 
sources. When we consider that if the crop 
is properly turned under that the most of 
this is retained in the soil, the cause of the 
good effects of green manuring are apparent. 
Taking an average crop of clover hay uf one 
ton per acre, we may credit it with the re¬ 
moval ot one hundred and fifty pounds of 
soil food. For our climate there is probably 
no more available crop for this purpose than 
common clover, though corn sown broad¬ 
cast is nearly us available. 
Saving Liquid Manure— A correspondent 
of the Maine Farmer bores holes, at intervals 
of two feel, behind his cattle in stable, and 
under these holes places au inclined trough 
mude of two narrow boards, which conducts 
the liquid manure to the solid manure pile. 
Alter the removal of the solid manure, he 
places muck under the end of the trough, 
and it becomes so thoroughly saturated as 
to make a good fertilizer. 
-♦♦♦- 
BUYING FERTILITY. 
There are many ways of obtaining plant 
food for growing good crops, but almost 
always they result In disappointing expecta¬ 
tions. Lime brings into action whatever 
law escaped the. roots of former plants, and 
then the land is spent similar to a man who 
has worked till he is nearly exhausted and 
then is given some strong, exciting drink, 
which stirs him up to finish the day, re¬ 
freshed to such au extent as to appear as 
fresh and strong as in the morning. Buying 
manure, unless near to populous places, 
where it is very cheap, seldom pays, conse¬ 
quently to keep a farm which is away from 
cities or large towns in tip-top condition, the 
only paying way of doing it is to feed cattle 
and sheep with food that will give very rich 
manure lor the land; and those who have 
judgment to make aniiuuls pay for eating 
extra food, over and above what the farm 
will produce, no as to force heavy crops of 
all kinds, are good and successful farmers. 
A widow in England who won the first prize 
given by the Royal Agricultural Association 
gave §1,200 worth of oil cake to her sheep. 
A Working Farmer. 
THE PAINT FOR FARMERS. 
In my younger days I was a painter man, 
and used tons of white lead in painting 
houses, &c.; but the plaguey stuff would 
crumble and wash off. When I took posses¬ 
sion of my new home at The Evergreens, 
last, summer, the cottage had stood near 
tweiv.years, having had only a light coat of 
lead when it was new, and the siding was all 
agape. After examining the whole list of 
house paints I decided to use the new Rub¬ 
ber Paint, made at Cleveland, and with two 
coats of that, my cottage shone like a glass 
bottle, and has a coating almost as tough as 
horn. 1 painted an old farm wagon with 
the same, and it is tougher than any paint 
I ever used. To all farmer folks or town 
folks who want a cheap ami durable paint I 
commend the Rubb r Paint, which is adver¬ 
tised in the Rural New-Yorker. 
Hudson, O., April, 1874. S. D. Harris. 
--—• 
ECONOMICAL NOTES. 
Rotting Bogs.—What is the most profita¬ 
ble way of disposing of two or three hun¬ 
dred loads of bogs? They are now piled up 
in large heaps on the swamp where they 
grew. Fire will soon level them, 1 have a 
notion that if they could be rotted it would 
E ay for manure, but how to rot them 1 don 1 1 
now. I believe if laid on the wall they 
would last as long as white oak rails. They 
fe- 
are brake bogs—look like “niggers’ ” heads; 
are almost as light as cork.— a. m. 
We Lave never succeeded in rotting such 
bogs, though we have never tried using 
fresh slaked lime upon them and covering 
them with muck. If anything will decom¬ 
pose them beside fire, it is fresh lime; but 
they should be well covered w r itli muck 
after the lime is applied. 
Testimony Against PlotHng in Green 
Crops.— Milo J. Smith says clover and buck¬ 
wheat, if plowed in while in blossom, be¬ 
comes sour and is a t.amuge to the land. 
D. H. Clark has plowed under rye beside 
land where it was not. plowed in and found 
no advantage. But then there are plenty of 
other people who know that the plowing in 
of green crops does benefit laud! 
Ashes for Tobacco.—A Connecticut fann¬ 
er who has used ashes as a tobacco fertilizer 
obtained a good growth, and color in his 
plants, and proposes using them again. He 
is satisfied the tobacco plant needs alkali 
and potash. 
Ravages of Cut Worm in Corn, it is said, 
may be prevented by putting a tablespoon¬ 
ful of salt on the hill after it is planted and 
before the corn is up. 
To Prevent Posts Rotting, it is asserted 
that a good coating of boiled linseed oil and 
charcoal is efficient. 
^ijboriatltitral. 
LOCUST SEED. 
Inclosed find Yellow Locust beans. I 
want to know the difference in them. I 
gathered them from several trees, two of 
which bore the blue seed, and they are the 
only trees 1 can find with that, kind of seed. 
1 can see no difference in the trees, in the 
bul k, wood, (one of the two was split by a 
storm,) or pods, or, in fact, in any respect. 
1 want to plant some, and would like to 
know all about them. I am pretty certain 
the brown seed arc what. 1 want, hut fee] 
doubtful of the others; have heard ol White 
Locust as poor stuff and don’t want to plant 
it. If you can give me the desired informa¬ 
tion you will greatly oblige a Buckeye reader 
of your good old paper. Louis Bell, Co¬ 
lumbiana Co., 0. 
The difference in the locust seed is simply 
this:—The large, black, plump seed are fully 
mature, while the brown ones are imma¬ 
ture, and of course the first are the bi t. 
There is frequently almost us much differ¬ 
ence in the ripening of tree s.cd as there is 
in tipples, there being early and late varieties 
even among locust trees grown from seed, 
as we pi- mine those from which you have 
githered seed were. By taking into consid¬ 
eration this well-known fad, you can readily 
account for the difference of size and color 
of seeds from different trees. 
-- 
CHINESE PLANTS. 
Inclosed find three specimens, given by a 
Chinamen to one of mv school-mutes. The 
Chinese raise these, with many otlnr (to me) 
curiosities in their gardens here. The China¬ 
men are our best gardeners, and they raise 
hundreds of plan fruits, vegetables, &o., 
new and strange to us Americans. If you 
will please tel Us the names an 
these in the Rural New-Yorker. 1 will 
send yon a lot of specimens this fab. after 
the gardens arc gu tin*red, for a similar favor. 
—Juliet Johnson, Millville, Cal . 
The longest seed, resembling the skull of 
an ox with horns attached, i- the Trap a 
bicornis , a plant cultivated by : Chinese 
in marshes, and the nuts (seeds' c«d for food. 
The nut. with a rather sp. shell is Eu- 
phoriu Ditch, produced by • plant related 
to the common horse-chestnut. Vo do not 
know what use the Chine'e : ake ■ ere 
seeds or nuts. The other ced or nu« was 
too imperfect for us to make it ot/ . Send 
perfect, fresh specimens when they can be 
obtained. 
--— 
PEACHES IN KANSAS. 
J. S. Emmet of Fort Scott, Kansas, writes 
us that wc are in error in supposing that 
peaches are not a success in Kansas. Of 
course we arc ghrJ to learn that, t bis favo: ite 
fruit is at home in the gren Prairie State, 
Mr, Emmet in his note to t. • says:— “ I have 
lived here for twelve years, and during that 
time I have known of but two failures in the 
peach crop, and they are considered the 
most prolific fruit we have, unless it is 
grapes. This year bids fair for too large a 
crop of peaches, as they bear so full that the 
fruit is small, and the market become glut¬ 
ted. Year before last I left peaches to rot 
on the ground, for the reason I could not 
get enough for them to pay l'or gathering. 
They were selling on the streets as low as 
fifteen cents per bushel. 
ARBORICULTURAL NOTES. 
To Prevent Rabbits from Gnawing Young I 
Fruit Trees .—Wash the trunk of the tree as 
high as the rabbits can reach with beef’s 
f -all, twice in a season where the winters are 
ong. I have used it for two years, and not 
a tree has been touched after the gall was 
on. I use a small paint brush to put it on 
with. Will the editor please state if there 
is anything in the gall that could injure the 
trees* ? Mine have made good growth.— a. s. 
No; such an application will not injure 
trees. At any rate we have seen it used a 
great many times without harmful results, 
proving effective as a preventive of the rav¬ 
ages of rabbits. 
Ratine. California Coffee Plant .—A corre¬ 
spondent of the Rural Press says:—Wherever 
the eh apparel and muuzanita are found in 
wild lands, you may be sure of trading a 
bush with red and black berries, which are 
commonly called wild cherries, having a 
smooth skin, u coffee odor and a bitter-sweet 
taste. These ripen in the month of August. 
The two leaves within are of regular coffee 
shape. You can take the berry when it is 
ripe, wash off the outside, dry tlic leaves, 
grind them, and make your coffee within an 
hour. I have done this frequently. 
Paper for Preventing Rabbits from Gird¬ 
ling Trees .—A correspondent of the Rural 
Sun did this by “using the half of a com¬ 
mon-sized newspaper us a wrapping for the 
lower portion of the body of each tree, 
tying it on securely all the length of the 
paper-—about eighteen inches or two feet. 
Neither rain, snow or sleet seemed to loosen 
or melt it away. We could not account for 
the effect, upon the rabbits, except by the 
supposition that the whiteness of the paper 
frightened them away.” 
Entomological. 
BUGS ON ROSES AND SQUASHES. 
If “Alto” will send us specimens of the 
bugs, beetles or worms that destroyed the 
rosebuds last summer, we will endeavor to 
tell something about them. We must know 
our pat*ent before prescribing a remedy. 
We will make the guess that insects were 
also at. work on your squashes, which caused 
them to rot when young or nut half grown. 
Very likely the common squash-bug (Conus 
tHbtis) was sucking their juices. Dusting 
the plants with fresh wood ashes will some 
times keep these pests away. Carbolic soap, 
or even strong tobacco soap, are good pre¬ 
ventives for most kind of insects on flowers 
and vegetables. Whenever insects appear, 
try something and do not let them have their 
own way; for occasionally a preventive will 
be discovered when least expected. 
—--- 
ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES. 
ROSE PETALS. 
I wish to say a few words in favor of roses 
with large petals. Grace and beauty of form 
in our floral queen must go with large petals. 
The stuftller-petalled roses are to the eye of 
the artist often too confused and abrupt in 
their curves to be nearly so graceful ns the 
larger ones. We must all admit that the 
most beautiful shape for a rose is the deeply- 
capped or half-globular form, as iu Madame 
Rothschild, Pierre Notting, Mareclial Niel, 
&c. With this shape it is evident that, much 
of the reverse or back petal is seen, and when 
iu red roses this is of a whitish tint or dull, 
leaden purple, which is too often the case, 
the beauty of the form is seen to disadvan¬ 
tage, as color attracts and fills the eye be¬ 
fore it takes note of shape: therefore it is 
most desirable that brilliant-colored roses 
should be thorough, or the same on both 
sides ; and it would be well in judging a new 
rose to bear this in mind, as well as the im¬ 
portance of large, well-curved petals. 
The most perfect, specimen of a large- 
petalled rose 1 ever saw was u Lcelia, nearly 
globular, measuring five and u half inches in 
diameter by nearly 4 inches deep. After this 
magnificent bloom had stood three days aud 
been twice exhibited, I measured some of 
its singularly largo, thick, shelly petals, 4 
inches in diameter, aud like lovely pink 
saucers. The curved, arched, or shell-shape 
of the petals adds greatly to the endurance 
of the flower, and exhibitors have often 
proved that the best roses to stand long 
journeys are those approaching the globular 
in form. — Henry Curtis, Devon Rosery, 
Torquay, in Cottage Gardener. 
-*-*-♦-- 
VICK’S SPECIAL FLORAL PREMIUMS. 
I make the following proposition :—I au¬ 
thorize every State and Territorial Society in 
America (and where there are two promi¬ 
nent societies in one State, both) and every 
Provincial Society in Canada, to offer for me 
the premiums below, on condition that they 
publish the offer in their regular Premium 
List. 
For the Host Collection of Cut Flowers, from 
seeds grown or imported by me. ..$20 
Second Host.. 13 
Third Best. 10 
Fourlli Best. 3 
Tide offer is made to amateurs only. The 
money will be forwarded promptly to the 
officers of the Society directly, or to the per¬ 
sona obtaining the premiums, as may be 
deemed best, as soon as the awards are made. 
The awards to be made by the regular J udges 
on Flowers, or by any committee appointed 
for the purpose. When only one collection 
is exhibited, the judges may award the first 
or ony other premium, according to merit. 
James Vick. 
- +++- --— 
Destroying the Green Fly .— William Os- 
baldiston writes to the Cottage Gardener : 
“ On going into my cucumber house one 
morning last week, I fouud some strawberry 
plants covered with green fly and red spider. 
I celled to mind what I had seen about the 
ammonia in guano being fatal to insect life, 
and determined to try the effects of some 
liquor made up of chamber wash, soapsuds, 
and dish-washings, knowing that the sa d 
liquor was highly charged with ammonia. 
About two gallons were put into an old iron 
bucket, and made so hot that I could barely 
handle the syringe, through, which the hot 
flue was given a good soaking. Thereby filling 
the house entirely with steam. The morning 
after there was not u hva insect in the whole 
Louse, and all the plncus, cucumbers as well, 
are looking much better for their bach. 
Wood Ants Ejecting Formic Acid.— 
Francis Brent says he has frequently 
noticed ants ejecting formic acid. If, after 
the nest has been disturbed, the hand be 
passed over the surface of the ant hill, the 
drops of fluid produce a sensation of cold 
upon the skin, and if a clean steel knife be 
waved rapidly several times close to the in¬ 
sects, the effect of the acid is as if the knife 
had been d ppedin strong ammonia, and the 
smell is su 'ieiently powerful to take away 
the breath for the moment. 
CurcuUos and Sweetened Cobs .—While 
reading the Rural New-Yorker, 1 saw an 
article wishing those who have used cobs 
soaked in sweetened water, on their plum 
trees, to prevent curcuUos, to report the re¬ 
sult. I tried it last year and received no 
benefit from them. They were put upon the 
trees while in bloom. Was this t he proper 
time ? The same trees had some good fruit 
year before lusl but none last year. — P. W. 
Hollingsworth, Cedar Co., louia. 
PRESERVING NATURAL FLOWERS. 
Would you, or some kind reader of the 
Rural New-Yorker, tell me how to dry or 
preserve flowers so as not t o mutilate them ? 
1 pa:-s my leisure -ime iu making wax flow¬ 
ers ; hut, it being limited. 1 often lose many 
p 2 Crty models for want of knowing how to 
preserve them.— Minnie E. E. Blair. 
We do not know of any method of pre¬ 
serving flowers in a fresh condition for any 
considerable length of time. If placed in a 
vase and trader a glass globe fitting closely 
upon a stand, the flowers, unless very deli- 
i cate kind-, may be preserved very nicely for 
1 sev: cal days. We have yet to learn of any 
| way of keeping natural flowers from decay. 
It is sail to be done, but we do not believe it. 
1 It is proper to add that it is asserted that 
- flowers have been brought hither from 
Havana, Cuba, with then* form and color 
preserved by inclosing them in a glass jar 
filled with alcohol. If taken from the alco¬ 
hol or the air admitted, they Ipse their char¬ 
acter. We cannot vouch for this. 
FLORICULTURAL NOTES. 
— 
Japan Primroses .—We cannot inform 
“Alto” whether the new Japan Primroses 
will prove hardy iu Michigan, but fear not. 
New* things must be tried before all their 
merits or demerits are fully ascertained. 
Some of the native Japanese plants arc quite 
hardy in all of the Northern States, while 
others are very tender and only succeed in 
greenhouses or iu the Southern States. 
Japan is a large country, with climate almost 
or quite as variable as that, of the United 
States. 
Drying Flayers. — Cassie Underwood 
asks for a recipe for drying flowers so that 
they will retain the most of their natural 
color and form. Can any of our readers 
furnish such a recipe ? 
