that can bo easily removed. Boil your sugar 
until it -will barely grain — not enough to 
cake ; do not stir it at all while cooling, 
thus causing it to be coarse-grained. When 
nearly cool, and not before, (as hot sugar will 
shrink any cask, causing it to leak,) turn into 
the cask already prepared. Let it stand 
about six weeks, then pull out plugs and let 
it drain, first setting the cask into something 
that will catch the molasses. If your sugar 
has been properly made, it will, by this pro¬ 
cess, be nearly as white as “B coffee, ” and is 
always handy to use. The drainings will 
make good vinegar. Nelson Ritter. 
SOWING PLASTER ON WHEAT 
The Rubai, New-Yorker has from time to 
time commended the practice of sowing 
plaster on wheat and other small grain ; but 
objections have been made to this practice 
by some farmers and, if we remember aright 
by some of our agricultural contemporaries. 
The Elmira Fanners’ Club has beeu discus- 
I S. P. Chapman.—I have, but there is still 
the fact after plaster in the spring I always 
have these troubles. I think the stimulus 
given to growth in the fall is good, and it so 
happens that it, is not sure to be followed by 
rust at the harvest. 
John Bridgman.—You admit that pluster 
promotes growth when sown in the fall, and 
it has the same effect when sown in the 
spring. It seems strange that the one should 
be beneficial and the other hurtful. My 
opinion is that some lands are strong enough 
to bring good wheat without the stimulus 
afforded by the plaster, and on such lands 
rust may be caused by its application, be¬ 
cause the increase of straw tends to hold 
moisture. There is not any drying out of 
dews and rains that should occur, hence rust. 
Other soils not strong enough to give good 
growth may be aided by the use of plaster 
and without increased Lability to rust. 
W. A. Armstrong.—1 am sorry to see 
gentlemen meeting Mr. Chapman’s direct 
statements with the averment that they 
cannot see why the effects which he points 
out would follow. They prove nothing. 
They present no fact, nor do they controvert 
his acts. There arc very many things in the 
growth of plants which none of us fully 
understand. We cannot see why the seed 
should grow at all. Mr. Chapman finds by 
repeated trials that plaster sown on wheat 
in the spring is injurious in its effects, and 
that applied in the fall it is beneficial. 
Others have noted similar results. Now 
those who have not, must do something 
more than state their lack of observation 
before they weaken the plain story as told. 
Mr. Banfleld.—On the west side of Seneca 
Lake I saw once a large field of corn, and 
along one side a strip about three rods wide, 
winch was so different in the appearance' of 
the crop that I wanted to inquire the reason. 
On the greater part of the field the corn had 
a stout, rank growth, but on that strip it 
was not more than half the size. I thought 
it had been planted in a hard old road and 
asked the owner if that were not the fact. 
ECONOMICAL NOTES 
Corn Forage vs. Timothy. — Mr. Hooker 
told the Western N. Y. Farmers’ Club, re¬ 
cently, that the idea that horses cannot 
work without timothy is exploded. Had 
found sowed corn a substitute. His wav is 
to sow corn in drills, three bushels to the 
acre, three feet apart; cultivate well until 
about knee high, after which it will shade 
the ground and smother the weeds. To-day 
his corn fodder is better for horses than 
timothy hay, and it does not cost more than 
one-quarter as much. Can carry more stock 
through on an acre of corn fodder than any¬ 
thing else wc can raise. He would cut it 
when in condition ; we generally cut up 
corn ; let it wilt, bind into small bundles, 
put into small shocks, and after a few weeks 
put in large shocks, capping with straw, and 
let it stand out until wanted for feeding. 
Will not keep in a mow. 
Gas - House Lime — (A. S.). — Gas -house 
lime should not be applied to the soil fresh 
as it comes from the gas works, unless it be 
done in the fall before seeding the next 
spring. After being composted with earth 
or coarse manure, it assumes much the 
character of plaster or gypsum, because the 
sulphur it contains unites with the oxygen 
of the air and becomes sulphuric acid, which 
unites with the lime and makes sulphate of 
lime. It also contains a small quantity of 
ammonia. After it has been exposed as a 
compost for two or three months, it may bo 
applied to any soil which is benefited by 
plaster, with profit and at any time. We 
do not know that it has any tendency to 
destroy wire worms. 
soil is stirred it will increase 
in fertility if no crop is 
taken off. 
Mr. Allis of llolley, recom¬ 
mended plowing. He 
thought the best plan was 
to sow buckwheat and then 
keep fowls to run in the 
orchard and eat the buck¬ 
wheat and destroy the in¬ 
sects. He had noticed 
wherever he was that or¬ 
chards bore the best ap¬ 
ples where fowls were 
allowed to run at will in 
them. 
Mr, Langworthy wished 
to inquire If any one present 
had tried girdling in June. 
He had seen the best results 
from this method. Ho 
thought it was most bene¬ 
ficial in stimulating bearing. 
Mr. Root had seen good 
results from this practice. 
Mr. Smith of Syracuse, 
Wished to hear the man who 
had displayed such elegant 
fruit before the Association. 
Therefore Mr. Avery of 
Michigan, said that he came 
from a couuty which eight 
years ago was entirely occu¬ 
pied by maple growth. The 
land was quite new. , They 
were not obliged to resort 
to plowing. About the middle of July they 
sow buckwheat, and when apples are ripe, 
walk into the orchard and pick them, pay¬ 
ing no attention to the buckwheat, but just 
before winter plow it in, and if comes up 
next season. 
Mr. Barry said a large orchard must be 
treated exactly as a small one was. Every 
man knew that after a few years’ bearing an 
orchard required feeding, and some source of 
strength must be discovered. He recom¬ 
mended the growing of root crops to feed 
cattle and use the manure for orchards. 
Many nurserymen did this and found it 
profitable, in their own nursery they kept 
the ground constantly plowed, and gave an 
occasional top-dressing. But they found 
nothing so effective as stable manur e. Apple 
orchards would not need so frequent dres¬ 
sings of manure as pear. He strongly re¬ 
commended the use of salt, lime, ashes, 
manure, and various composts, &e., applied 
alternately. 
Dr. Sylvester of Lyons, planted his orchard 
twenty-eight years ago, and from less than 
ten acres had 1,000 barrels this year. He 
does not keep stirring t he surface because he 
believes it wastes the fertility 
He said : 
“No, the only difference is that I put plas¬ 
ter on that part of the field where the growth 
is large and on the other part I did not.” 
That difference continued to the harvest. 
S. P. Chapman,—Piaster does not do as 
much good any where on my farm as it did 
once. Two of my neighbors were told to 
apply plaster on their corn in alternate rows, 
on a M ill day, so that the effect should not 
spread beyond the rows on which it was 
cast, and another person would pick out the 
plastered rows after three weeks of growth. 
On trial it was found that the plastered rows 
could not be picked out. With me 1 find 
that in the last five or six year’s oats, barley 
and similar crops do not seem to be improved 
by an application of plaster. But it con- 
Branch of Crataegus Pyracantha auba. 
sing the subject and we copy from the 
Advertiser what was said : 
Mr. Banfleld.—I would like to know which 
is the best time to sow plaster on winter 
wheat ? 
President Hoffman,—I cannot answer 
which is the best time. My practice has 
been to sow about the middle of May. Per¬ 
haps that is not right. I have done the 
work at that time because it lias beeu con¬ 
venient. 
W. A. Armstrong,—Tf plaster is to be 
sown for the benefit of the grass seeding it is 
better to apply it earlier, say in March or 
April. But for the ■wheat 1 would not sow it 
at any time. It is injurious. It causes 
growth of straw at the expense of the grain. 
S. P. Chapman.—It will do to sow it with 
the seed in the fall and drag it in, but if 
solved in the spring it is hurtful, causing the 
straw to rust and the berry to shrink. 
J. F. Beecher.—1 have sowed it in the 
spring with good results on both wheat and 
rye. Much depends on the character of the 
soil. On a mixture of clay, loam andgravel, 
1 think the best results are bad, but there 
are situat ions on which no effect is sure from 
tile use of plaster. 
Mr. Banfleld.—I had a piece of wheat, 
several years ago, which looked very poor. 
In April I sowed plaster on it, and as the 
direct result 1 had a very good crop. At 
least I attributed the good yield to the use of 
plaster. But I have heard lately that the 
practice of sowing plaster on wheat, is not 
commended, so I have asked for the opinions 
of members. 
l*i esideut: Hoffman 
ihe Horseman 
NOTES FOR HORSEMEN 
To Prevent Hugging the Lines.— A corres¬ 
pondent gives a description in a recent num¬ 
ber of the Rural New-Yorker of a device 
to prevent a horse hugging the lines with his 
tail. 1 have au invention of my own which 
is much cheaper and simpler. 
It consists of 
a cushion or a pad three or four imflies in 
length, according to the width of the tail of 
the horse, at the base, with a buckle sewed 
on at each end into which the back strap is 
buckled. This pad or crupper should be 
from two to three inches in diameter accord¬ 
ing to thestilTuess of the tail and perverseness 
of the horse to hold the li ue. A horse wear¬ 
ing this pad, or crupper, cannot hug the line 
and is not disfigured by any trappings or 
gearing as the crupper does not show. It 
makes the horse carry a graceful tail and to 
this extent is ornamental. It would be a 
good plan always to put my crupper on a 
colt when first driven to insure safety aud to 
educate the animal not to hug the reins. 
Any ordinary harness-maker or shoemaker 
can make one at a trifling cost.—J. D. C., 
Kirby Homestead, A'. Y. 
Clydesdale Horses —According to the 
Edinburgh Farmer, “the Glasgow Agricul¬ 
tural Society is the one to whom all agricul¬ 
tural societies desirous of procuring good 
sires [of this breed of horses] now go.” In 
other words it has become the recognized 
rendezvous of the best animals of this breed 
in Scotland. This society has just held its 
show which is reported to have been the 
best ever held. The awards are published in 
the English papers. 
Social Morals in Horse Breeding .—A 
horse breeder Bays In selecting breeders, 
great care should be taken relative to the 
social morals of both horse and mare. Like 
begets like, and in no case more so than 
hat of the horse. A bad and vicious temper 
in a horse may lie checked, but never eradi¬ 
cated and he will be unpleasant, dangerous, 
and his fretting and fuming, will unneces¬ 
sarily waste his strength. , 
DIGGING WELLS FOR DRAINING. 
Under this head, iu Rural New-Yorker 
of March 13, an “Economical Note” reminds 
me that, a neighbor has a piece of heavy land 
slightly declining iu every direction to a con¬ 
siderable depression, which in the springaud 
after very heavy rain, has been covered with 
water. Two or three years since, during a 
dry time, he sunk a well at the lowest de¬ 
pression and in a few feet came to a stratum 
of coarse gravel. As stone is very scarce in 
this region, he filled the well with a quantity 
of small stumps, roots, Ac., which had been 
grubbed out of Lis fields. The result of less 
than a day’s work is that he has an excellent 
piece of dry land that was previously so wet 
as to be nearly valueless. Take the country 
f li mi - 11 A 1_ 1 
Does not 
believe in using large quantities of stable 
manure in pear orchards, for it would cause 
blight. If his trees make three inches of 
wood yearly, he is satisfied. 
ARBORICTJLTURAL NOTES 
Sulphur in Trees .— (James Dickson)—W e 
have no faith, based upon theory or experi¬ 
ment, in the efficacy of the mode of using 
sulphur you refer to. It will be easy t.o test 
it and see for yourself; but we cannot 
recommend it as “a practical thing.” 
A pple Seedlings. — E. C. Cooper is informed 
that it is rarely the case that the seeds of an 
apple ■ f any particular variety will repro¬ 
duce that variety. Sometimes they approach 
near to it, but these are rare instances. 
To Protect Fruit from Birds, an English 
writer says, cross threads from twig to twig 
in vn ions directions, so that birds will strike 
against them when seeking the fruit. 
Eucalyptus in Xeic Orleans .—The Mayor 
of New Orleans is advertising for parties to 
plant this tree in the streets of that city; • It 
is there called the “ Fever ” tree, 
I confess to surprise 
that any objection is brought to tlie use of 
plaster on wheat. Aud I am unable to see 
why, if it is admissible in the fall, i may not 
be in the spring. If it helps at all I suppose 
it is in promoting growth, and if that is 
desired iu the-fall, is it not desired in the 
spring ? 
S. R. Chapman.—1 knew a wheat field 
worked by a tenant who was required to 
sow plaster in the fall, leaving strips without. 
There was a better, ranker growth where 
the plaster was applied, and I think a heavier 
yield of grain. Generally, on lands suited 
to plaster, a marked difference may be seen 
MAPLE SUGAR FOR FAMILY USE 
The sugar season is at hand, and those 
who use it in their families are of course in¬ 
terested in the best way to keep it for that 
purpose. Maple sugar, when caked, becomes 
hard in time and is somewhat difficult to 
manage. Warming it thoroughly partially 
overcomes this difficulty. One of the bes 
