ground, and in every case observed by me 
ou the 8. E. part of the tree ; it then works 
around the body of the tree and upwards, 
and eventually girdles the tree. The bark is 
black or brown ; is devoid of sap—dead. 
The bark and wood for about a foot up from 
the ground, appear dead and dried up. 
When examined no trace of borer or worm 
discovered — seems to act like the blight 
on the stems or larger branches of pear trees. 
These trees have, been planted now from 
14 to 18 years—have been kept under cultiva¬ 
tion until the trees were ten years eld, then 
seeded down to grass ; have been, since in 
grass, every fall manured on the surface. 
The trees attacked are from six inches to one 
foot in diameter. Will you, or some of your 
numerous correspondents, please inform me 
through your paper as to the cause and 
remedy.— Perscrutatto. 
We cannot give you a better name for the 
disease than to call it “frozen-sap blight.” 
Cause, sudden freezing and thawing in win¬ 
ter. Do not know of any remedy except 
winding the stem of the trees or shading 
them in winter. We have seen many hun¬ 
dreds of trees in the Western States injured 
similarly, and a few occasionally in the 
Eastern. Theories, as to cause and remedies 
are abundant; but little is really known in 
regard to the disease beyond what we have 
stated above. 
plows are made too heavy, and no doubt 
this defect will be corrected. The cost of a 
sulky plow is the most serious objection 
against them ; but I have no doubt that a 
good one will be put on the market at $30 to 
*35, against ?60 to *70, as at present. In 
the first place, they will be cheapened by 
using less material ; and in the second place, 
by the manufacture in greater numbers. 
TO PROPAGATE HARDY EVERGREENS 
ANOTHER INCUBATOR 
Many of our evergreens, trees and shrubs, 
may be cheaply propagated from cuttings. 
The Arbor Vi ties, Jumpers, Yews, etc., are 
all or can be propagated from cuttings. 
The gardener or nurseryman understands 
t his ; bnt the common countryman can do 
it. As how ? Just prepare a box of clean 
saud, eight inches deep ; size to meet your 
The Rural New-Yorker frequently re¬ 
ceives inquiries about incubators. We have 
published, hitherto, engravings and descrip¬ 
tions of nearly (if uot all) every incubator 
invented in this country and England. The 
People’s Poultry Book (published at this 
office), contains illustrations and descriptions 
of several. The latest one which has come 
to our notice Is of English invention, and is 
herewith illustrated. We do not know that 
it is patented in this country. It is invented 
by Mr. Henry Boyle, of Bloomsbury 
Square, London, Eng. Figure 1 shows a side 
view of a 12-egg machine, and Fig. 2 shows 
the details of the interior, which may be 
understood by the following references :— 
A, front of box ; B, steel lever; C. connect¬ 
ing pipe ; D, India rubber pipe ; E, glass U, 
tube ; F, bowl for mercury ; G, elastic joint; 
H, balance weight ; I, pivot gas top ; K, 
stop tap (gas); L, compensating springs ; M, 
supply pipe; N, guard; O, connecting 
thread ; P, connection with gas supply ; Q, 
India rubber connection with flame ; R, gas 
lamp; S, tap for letting water out of the 
jacket. 
The successful hatching of eggs depends 
upon a twofold process first, a uniform, 
proper temperature, and second, cooling at 
certain intervals. The cardinal point in the 
practice is the action of the regulator, tho 
c’eta'ls of which are shown (Fig. 2). Thus, 
when the water in the boiler gets too hot, 
the mercury, expanding, rises in the bowl 
F. its weight raises H, turning, by pivot I, 
the gas off, but the moment the tempera¬ 
ture begins to fall, the cdbtrary effect is pro¬ 
duced, bowl F returning to its normal posi¬ 
tion. When properly adjusted, the bowl re¬ 
mains between the compensating springs, 
L, which prevent violent fiction in effecting 
this adjustment. When oil is used instead 
of gas a tray is required, with a lamp 
so arranged as t,o bo moved by the action of 
the bowl, F, either under the boiler to heat 
the water, or under a spare chimney to 
waste the heat, so that the exact amount of 
flame and heat is adjusted to the require¬ 
ments of the machine. Tho whole combina¬ 
tion of me cl an leal means for pxeservlug tho 
tsmperaturo of tho boiler at tho desired 
standard seems plausible Tho inventor is 
working his machine successfully, pro¬ 
ducing. we are informed, a large percentage 
of healthy chickens. 
NOTES AND QUERIES 
New Method of Slaughtering Animals.— 
I remember tho kind of instrument men 
tinned in tho Rural under 
the preceding heading. It 
was used everywhere in En¬ 
glish villages, and as long ago 
as 1825. About ten years ago, 
in one of the agricultural ff j 
papers in this country, it was I K 
stated plows were invented 
in England to plow two fur¬ 
rows at once. In 1820 to 1830, | 
as a child, I can recollect going | 
into the field and begging a | 0 
ride of tho “carter,” and on 
my father’s and my grand¬ 
father’s farms I have ridden 
often for an hour or two at a 
time. I expect my father and 
EFFECT OF LIGHTNING ON TREES 
A Swiss savant named Colladon has 
made some interesting observations in 
regard to the effect produced on different 
kinds of trees by lightning. In the neigh¬ 
borhood of Geneva Lake, where these ob¬ 
servations were made, the poplar tree suf¬ 
fers least from lightning, seeming to con¬ 
duct it away rapidly. Oaks, when Btruck, 
lose tho tops. Elms nro aa little injured 
as poplars. Colladon has found thut young 
pear trees recover from tho effects of light- 
lug, but old ones die, which seems to be a 
proof that young trees, are better conduct¬ 
ors. The practical conclusion that he draws 
from this is that poplar trees may servo for 
lightning rods when planted near houses, 
provided care bo taken to connect the low¬ 
er purt of the trunk with a well or moist 
ground by means of a strong metal plate 
buried in the earth. Without this precau¬ 
tion the electric current may leave tho tree 
and take another direction. This happened 
in one case, where it took an oblique course 
through a house in order to reach a neigh¬ 
boring puddle. If the ground water is not 
very deep, this is not necessary, as on river 
banks and in valleys. 
-rac e s"k/z / 7ic sz L/ot-t 
II 
' X il , it 
Steam Threshers in In- I 
competent Hands. — Steam J 
for farm use is sure to grow in 1 
favor; but no ignoramus 
must bo permitted to control 
Farmers’ Union (Minnesota) gives a state¬ 
ment which enforces tho fact, to wit: 
A steam thresher owned by Peter Bork of 
Franklin, Wright Co., exploded recently on 
tho farm of a Mrs. Devine, where it was at 
work, killing four persons, three of whom 
were temporarily there to see it. The visit¬ 
ors were Dr. Grant of Watertown, a daugh¬ 
ter of Mrs. Devine, and Mr?. Margaret Ber¬ 
wick. The other victim was a son of the 
proprietor of the machine. All the bodies 
were horribly mutilated. Too much steam 
in the boiler was the supposed cause. 
Car for Unloading Hay and Grain. —See¬ 
ing an inquiry in the Rural New-Yorker of 
Oct. 17, as to where cars are manufactured 
for unloading liay and grain on a single % rod, 
I take the liberty to answer. They are manu- 
— Interior View of Incubator. 
wants ; then make cuttings of four inches 
long of the past season’s growth. Clip 
all the lower leaves back to the buds from 
which they sprang, leaving two leaves upon 
the upper end. Plant these cuttings care¬ 
fully in the sand, so that the sand surrounds 
th a—(bo careful not to leave air spaces)— 
and so ouly the two upper buds or leaves are 
above the line. Wot all down once nicely, 
sprinkle some dry sand over the surface to 
stop water drips and air holes ; then place 
the box in any damp, cool yet dry cellar or 
pit. Rarely any more care will be required 
until tho time comes for planting in spring, 
when most of the cuttings will be found 
callused ; and when they are transplanted 
to the open ground, which should be well 
prepared, they should not bo exposed to air 
a half minute, but one by ono taken from 
the box and inserted and bedded by the 
GANG AND SULKY PLOWS 
ARBORICULTUKAL NOTES, 
In answer to an inquiry, Mr. Dunlap com¬ 
municates to the Chicago Tribune the fol¬ 
lowing:—It is doubtful if a jury of farmers 
would agree as to the very best plow, when 
so many very superior makes of plows are 
on the market. 1 have plows from nearly 
all the large manufacturers, aud I fiud one 
better in some respects than another, but 
when all their virtues are summed up to 
say which is really the best is too complex a 
question, 
1 have yet to see any value in the gang 
plow, and yet they appear to gain in popu¬ 
larity. As a general rule, two horses are 
enough for one man to manage ; and for 
these, a 14-iuch plow is sufficient. There are 
a few farmers and farm hands who can 
manage four horses and a gang of two , 
plows, aud such men ought to have the 
gang plows; but ? the average farmer, farm 
hand or boy, should be excused from 
using them. But the single sulky plow 4 
is an implement that ought to come into ’ 
general use. I have had a Skinner sul¬ 
ky in use for nearly ten years, and 
could noi well do without it, or a similar 
one. The past full 1 used a Hapgood sulky 
for plowing out potatoes, and it proved the 
best thing for that purpose that 1 have seen. 
There was no dodging of the hills. A neigh¬ 
bor, who had a twenty-five dollar potato- 
digger, also gave it a trial, aud pronounced it 
better than the digger, aa it did better work. 
For all but the most, able-bodied men, the 
suiky plow is of inestimable value. I know 
a soldier who lost a leg aud an arm, who 
does all of his plowing with a sulky’ plow, 
drives his planter, aud does his cultivating 
with a sulky cultivator. Without these he 
Fig. 1.—Side View of Incubator. 
hand. The bed or line of plants should then 
be immediately shaded by some light mulch 
and watered over the mulch. f. r. e. 
factured by Dr. Charles Clarke, Uuadilla 
Forks, Otsego Co., N. Y., I have hail one in 
my bam for the past two years, operating to 
my entire satisfaction unloading large loads 
of hay in from 5 to 8 minutes over the big 
beam.— Le Roy Maxson. 
DISEASE OF APPLE TREES 
Some apple trees in my orchard, and also 
in neighboring orchards, are dying from 
some disease unknown to us. This dis¬ 
ease first commences in a spot at or near tL« 
