MOORE’S RURAL S^EW-YORKER. 
JULY 17 
“ PROCRI8S AND IMPROVEMENT." 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
A NATIONAL ILLUSTRATED 
BUBAL, MTEBABI m IQ lit BBWSPAPBB. 
D. D. T. MOORE, 
Founder and ConduothiK KUitor. 
WM, J. FOWLER, ANDREW S. FULLER 
-A-«»ooiate HBditor». 
HENRY S. RANDALL LL, D., Cortland Village, N. Y., 
Editob or tub Dirnnin or Sm«r Hwihakokv. 
X. A. WILLARD, A. M., Little Falls, N. Y., 
Editob or tub Dkpabtvbbt or D, LEY Hcbuhdst. 
G. A. C. BARNETT, Publisher. 
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SATURDAY, JULY 17, 1875. 
TEE EXCURSION TO CALIFORNIA. 
WAY NOTES BY A RURAL EDITOR. 
New York to Chicago, 
Palmer House, I 
Chicago, July 3,1875. f 
The “Pennsylvania Central’’ hrought our 
three palace car loads of Editors and News¬ 
paper correspondents from New York to Pitts¬ 
burgh on very rapid speed, the rale of travel <>n 
some portions of the line being a mile per min¬ 
ute. The road passes through some of the fine 
farming la.ids oT Pennsylvania, and tbo route 
over the mountains Is a succession of pictur¬ 
esque and charming scenery, which Is a con¬ 
stant source of delight to the traveler. The 
road is very thoroughly built and does great 
credit to the “ Keystone State.” 
The Crops on Route. 
I was surprised to see crops of all kinds so 
backward and looking so poorly throughout 
the whole distance from New York to Pitts¬ 
burgh. Corn for the most part Is very short und 
apparently Just through the first hoeing, though 
the recent rains have given It a healthy color. 
Throughout Chester County, as well ns other 
parts of Pennsylvania, drouth has been severe, 
and it la only within a short time that rain has 
fallen sufficient to start vegetation Into vigor¬ 
ous growth. Wheat along the line of the road 
has been badly’winter-killed iu places, and the 
yield will bo extremely light. The hay crop, I 
should judge, will not make more than half the 
average yield, and in Chester County i under¬ 
stand the price has advanced in some Instances 
to #35 and upward per ton. 1 have never seen 
crops more backward and looking poorly at 
this season through the portion of the State 
passed over. From Pittsburgh to this city we 
came by the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago 
K. it., and although corn and other crops have 
an improved appearance, still they axo late and 
backward for the season. Some good fields of 
wheat were passed in Ohio, but on the whole 
the crop along our route must be much less 
than an average. 
A Trip to Elgin. 
To-day our party made an excursion from 
tilts city to Elgin, It being complimentary on 
the part of the Northwestern Hoad. The dis¬ 
tance Is about forty-five miles, through a very 
rich section of tbo State. Corn all along the 
route is very small, and in some fields not much 
beyond the first hoeing. Fanners say that the 
season is fully two weeks later than common, 
but that with the usual weather from this time 
out a good crop will he harvested. In the vicin¬ 
ity of Elgin are some of the finest dairy lands 
of the Slate, and grass Is looking wull. 
1 regret that our party had no time to look 
through the condensing factory and other fac¬ 
tories for the manufacture of dairy products In 
this section, hut they were occupied in an ex¬ 
amination of the famous Elgin Watch Factory 
turd the operation of the various machines by 
which a first-class American time-piece is now 
manufactured. 
In Chloago, and then Off. 
Our whole party, numbering some seventy- 
souls, are now stopping at the Palmer House, 
which is one of the grandest, structures in this 
city. The House is fitted up with great ele¬ 
gance, and the traveler who cannot find all the 
comforts of a home here, need not expect to 
find them better supplied In any hotel in the 
land. 
On Monday, July 5th, at 7:30 A. M., we leave. 
Via Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R. R., for 
Ottumwa, Iowa, where we remain over night. 
X. A. W. 
-♦♦♦ ■ 
RETURNS OF THE CENSUS. 
The New York Slate Census of 1875 will prob¬ 
ably he completed ere this reaches Rural read¬ 
ers. The law- required Its completion by the 
1st of July, but in a few eases the time baa been 
extended till the 15th. We may expect for the 
next few weeks to rend complaining paragraphs 
In most of our exchanges as to the result of the 
Census, especlallyas showing the population of 
cities and large villages. Very few will come 
up to the estl mates that have been made, and 
few will show the proportionate Increase from 
<870 to ’75 that they had on the previous live 
years. The rural population will show little If 
any increase; but this will not disappoint ex¬ 
pectation because none laid been raised. We 
think It 1 r fair to assume that the unnatural 
and unhealthy tendency of population to cities 
has received a check not an entire reversal, 
hut enough to indicate the growing relative 
Importance of the Agricultural portion of the 
community and its work. We think a careful 
examination of cities and rural population will 
show that the inordinate tendency of men and 
women to cities culminated about 1873 or 1873. 
Only In exceptional cases have cities made 
much growth since the pauld and hard times of 
September, 1373. and then not because they of¬ 
fered exceptional facilities for business and 
money making. Previous to that time thou¬ 
sands of well-to-do rural I sts were moving to 
Cities as a phnwant mode of spending their 
money and the remainder of their Jives. The 
panic ruined thousands of wealthy men, closed 
the shops where other thousands earned t heir 
dally bread, uml compelled them to either go 
into the country—“(lo West," or starve. Those 
w ho were not ruined wore affected by it, and It 
lias made every man feel poorer ever elnotp 
Although the Census will show a decided 
gain in population of most cities since 1870, 
most of this gain, however, will be found to 
bave been made previous to 1873. While tho 
rural population may show no increase and 
possibly a decrease since 1870, we are confident 
that, it has grow n greatly in actual as well as 
relative importance within the past two years, 
and is destined to show still greater advance in 
the near future. Heretofore the rural popula¬ 
tion has been Increased by financial disasters 
in cities driving men from other business to 
farm life and work, lint the improvements in 
farming, in machinery and In farm methods, 
and more than all In the social aspects of farm 
life as affected by Granges and kindred socie¬ 
ties, are attracting men to Agricultural pur¬ 
suits. Henceforth the farmers of the United 
States will be yearly reinforced by hundreds 
and thousands of wealthy and enterprising 
men. who will bring their money and energy to 
show what is possible in making rural life alike 
profitable and attractive. 
-•»•»♦ 
RURAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 
A Virginia Paradise. A friend writing us 
from Ml. Lake, Giles Co., Va., says: This de¬ 
lightful ly-plaasaut summering plane Is named 
from the only true lake iu all the Southern Al¬ 
leghany Mountains. It la a beautiful sheet of 
pure spring water, covering about fifty acres, 
and Is on the top of a mountain full 4,000 feet 
above tide water, the seen wry around partaking 
both of the grand and the beautiful. It Is prob¬ 
ably the finest summer climate in America, and 
In Winter is never rigorously cold for any length 
of time. The mountains arouud afford excel¬ 
lent pasture, and here might be raised the finest 
Merino sheep our country has aver seen, while 
the valleys are very rich, producing large crops 
of grass and grain. We f.re only about fourteen 
miles ftoui the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio 
Railroad at New River .Station, but our stage 
comes from Chnstiausbui g, about twenty-three 
miles. Those who think a summer in the South 
is all one bJoze of beat should visit this region. 
The resources of tins country are very great 
and not at ail developed. Some of the valley 
farmers have good cattle, but there Is still 
room for improvement. Near the hotel here is 
a natural cranberry bog of from forty to fifty- 
acres in extent, even now covered with the 
wild vines. It is owned by Gen. H. Haupt of 
Richmond, Ya., who Is very anxious to get 
some person who understands cranberry grow¬ 
ing to cultivate It on shares, he putting in the 
land and lumber for houses. Some young man 
with a little money and a knowledge of this 
branch of agriculture could here make a very 
good thing for himself. Freights to New- York 
are very low, but a large market might be had 
at the various watering places, of which there 
are four or five near by, annually filled with 
summer boarders. The hotel hero is well kept 
by a former Pennsylvanian, and 1 am sure that 
any one visiting It. w-ill b« made comfortable, 
and have his eyes feasted with some of the 
finest scenery on this continent. All these 
lands, it must be remembered, are natural blue 
grass lands, and tree-growth as well as grass 
show the richness of the soil.” 
(thonging a Deonrt. to n Sen.—A novel prop¬ 
osition Is now broached in some parts of Eu¬ 
rope, to dig a canaJ tiuough the coast lands on 
the north of Africa and let the waters of the 
Mediterranean pour into t he Desert of Sahara, 
transforming it Into a vast salt lake or inland 
sea. The plan Is said to be entirely ieaslblc, aa 
the desert, la considerably lower than the Med¬ 
iterranean. There Is little doubt also that the 
change would be a beneficial one to Africa, 
moderating tbe Intense neats of Its great cen¬ 
tral portions and making wav for the advance 
of c-’villzatlnii. The difficulty In the way is the 
doubt what the effect would be on civilized 
Europe. The hot. winds iTom Africa, not much 
cooled by the Mediterranean, moderate the 
temperature far northward, drive the snow line 
higher on the Alps and make the sunny and 
mild climates of Italy- and Southern France; 
but with nu inland sea in Africa to moderate 
the temperature there, much of Northern Eu¬ 
rope might in a few years he uniuhaldtable 
from cold. It is believed by some tiiat the 
Desert of Sahara was. formerly a great sea, and 
w hile it was so Europe wa« covered with snow 
and Ice, of which abundant evidence is still 
said to be found. Man changes Nature im¬ 
mensely of late years, but It is quite well to 
take all possible results into account before 
going too far in this direction. 
--- 
Doing Without Rain,.— It would be by no 
means improbable that some scientific and in¬ 
ventive mind should adapt means to do away 
with tho need for rain. Good farmers already 
do this now in part by mulching newly set 
trees, keeping the soil moist and light by deep 
and thorough pulverization. The air is always 
charged with moisture, as wo can see on the 
dryest, hottest day by the drops deposited on 
tho surface of an Ice pitcher. All that is need¬ 
ed Is that the air should freely circulate so 
deeply iu the soli lhat its r oisturo will be con¬ 
densed by the colder particles of earth. Or 
some substance having a strong affinity for 
water applied to the earth would answer the 
same purpose. A French chemist, M. Paraf, 
has found this in chloride of calcium, which lie 
has successfully applied in times of drouth to 
sand hills, road beds, grass and nil kinds of 
soils, lie claims to las able to irrigate laud 
more cheaply- than by means of canal*or pump¬ 
ing water. One application will condense aod 
retain moisture three days, while if applied by 
irrigation the water would evaporate In an 
hour. 
- ■ »♦»- 
The Wet Season of 1875_From all parts of 
the country come reports of heavy and fre¬ 
quent rains, which bid fair to make the present 
summer known as an unusually wet one. May 
w-u« generally oold and dry throughout the 
country, but since the loth of June there has 
been an excess of moisture for haying and for 
hood crops. In boiijc parts of Western New 
York clover cut two weeks ago is yet Iu the 
field and of course nearly ruined. The later 
grass will probably be a better crop from those 
rains, and oats and barley are growing almost 
too rampant and falling down from excess of 
weight or lack of mineral elements in the 
straw. Iu the West dry weather early in the 
season is necessary to keep the corn crop clean, 
and the continued rains must make tho fields 
very weedy. This wet weather is favorable to 
farmers who are troubled with tho potato bee¬ 
tle, as the larva: develop slowly iu wet or even 
cloudy weather, and many are destroyed out¬ 
right. Should rains continue, we may have a 
repetition of the bad harvest of 1855, when 
much of the wheat of the best wheat-growing 
regions was injured. 
■-m- 
The Wheal Prospect—The Russian wheat 
crop promises to ho a good one, and wJlu prob¬ 
ably nearly or quite a full crop in England, the 
prospect for high prices docs not seem flatter¬ 
ing. It is, however, yet too eariy to say that 
the English crop will be good, and it is certain 
that the French grain crop has been seriously 
injured by recent floods, if the same damage 
had been done by a war, prices all over the 
world would have advanced. Why destruction 
by natural agencies has nut had this effect we 
leave for others to explain, if they can. In our 
own country the official estimate of the De¬ 
partment, of Agriculture is that the wheat crop 
will be 80 per cent, of an average, leaving a de¬ 
ficiency of 30 per cent,, or upw ard of 50,000,000 
bushels. It is generally claimed by- com¬ 
mercial papers that this deficiency will be 
made good by the surplus of last year now 
held; but this is very doubtful. The long con¬ 
tinuance of low prices lias discouraged farmers, 
and we t hink more have sold their wheat than 
is generally supposed. Time will tell. 
American 8bad in the Rhine.—Our fish cul- 
turlsts are not content with stocking up the 
streams and lakes ol' their own country, but are 
becoming cosmopolitan in their philanthropic 
operations. Vide tbe fact that Mr. Monroe A. 
Green, brother of Mr. Bern Gkkkn, accompa¬ 
nied by Mr. II. W. Wklsbkk of Rochester, sail¬ 
ed for Europe on the 10th inst., for the purpose 
of placing in the waters of the Rhine and its 
tributaries 400,000 shad. They will act under 
the direction of Prof. 8. F. Baird. Only a few 
young shad wJll he taken, but an attempt, will 
be made to hatch thereat from spawn on board 
tho steamer by a process Invented by Mr. M. A. 
Green. From our knowledge of >lr. Guiien, 
we think he will succeed In the laudable en¬ 
deavor—at least his whole duty in the premises 
will be discharged in au intelligent manner, 
and we predict a favorable result. 
An Honest Official.—That old veteran, Gen. 
Francis E. SriNNER, whose remarkable auto¬ 
graph on the National currency is pleasantly 
familiar to everybody, has retired to private 
life. His resignation of the office of United 
States Treasurer rnude it necessary to count all 
the money in the Treasury, a most laborous 
operation and one which it has taken nearly 
two months to accomplish. The amount is 
right to a cent, and t he good man agement of 
the office under Gen, Spinner is usaured. The 
country can 111 afford the loss of such an official; 
but Urn ex-Treasurer Is growing old, and 
naturally concludes that he has a right to rest 
tbe remainder of his days. Though so long in 
Public life, Gen. Spinner is comparatively a 
poor man. His property he estimates at #30,000, 
which ho rightly regards as a comfortable com¬ 
petence for one of bis simple habits. 
-m- 
A New Potato Enemy—Another pest which 
attacks the potato is thus spoken of, not de¬ 
scribed, in the Chicago Journal, It says a. new 
potato bug has made its appearance iu that part 
of Illinois, which is apparently more voracious 
and destructive than its predecessor—tlie Colo¬ 
rado beetle, ’I’lie new peat is long and thin in 
form, of a dove-color, und suddenly makes its 
appearance in the potato fields, In swarms. Iu 
"ill County and the southern part of Cook 
County the potato fields are literally alive with 
them. A gentleman at Blue Island, near Chi¬ 
cago, assures the Journal that they have ap¬ 
peared In swarms in that town, and are making 
sad havoc iu the potato patches. Paris green 
will destroy them. 
Grasses in Nebraska.— The Farmers’ Journal 
of Iowa says that no less than one hundred and 
fifty species of grasses have boon found in Ne¬ 
braska, and of these one-fourth the number, 
and these the most widely distributed, are in 
the front rank for pasture or hay. Many of 
them are rank and tropical in growth, showing 
rich soil and good climate. 
- - 
RURAL BREVITIES. 
The celebrated race-horse Lexington died on 
the 1st of July, in his 26th year. 
The cities of Kingston and Hamilton, Cana¬ 
da, arc making efforts to lie represent d a t the 
Philadelphia Exhibition. 
The Colorado potato beetle has appeared in 
Connecticut. There Is no doubt that it will 
overrun all Now England next year. 
English gardeners now gladly pay four shil¬ 
lings each lor toads. They find them the best, 
and cheapest destroyers ol insects which infest 
their p’onts. 
Seventy-five thousand tons of fertilizers 
were manufactured in Baltimore last year. 
Most of this w-as sent South to be used on the 
cotton crop. 
Fifty yearling colts were sold June 19 at Mid¬ 
dle Park, England, lor 11,505 guineas. The high¬ 
est price was 1,500 guineas, given for a bay filly 
by Vespasian. 
The Germantown Telegraph says that June 
is unquestionably the best month for trim¬ 
ming apple trees. Yes ; and if you didn’t have 
it done then, do it In September or October. 
The occupants of 0U0 shanties along the lines 
of New York railroads make a living by plant¬ 
ing coin and potatoes between the rails and 
the fences. His said that 900 acres are culti¬ 
vated lu this w ay. 
Common smart weed dried aud the powder 
dropped on cabbage plants destroy* or prevents 
the apoearuuce of me cabbage worm, also the 
black ilea. Tajtc care Dot to net beart’s-ease, a 
w eed much resembling smart weed iu its place. 
The Pacific Rural Press says that the manu¬ 
facture of raisins protnis *s lobe an extensive 
business in California. The line California 
grapes are specially adapted for curing or 
raisins, and in setnsous of glutted markets tills 
is a good way to utilize them. 
"The Fair grounds of the Agricultural aud 
Horticultural Society of Westchester County, 
near While Plains, N. Y.,have beeusold,under 
foreclosure, for #20,000 to N. Holmes Odell, 
Member of Congress from the district. The 
amount realized tails ar thort of liquidating 
the liabilities of the Society. 
TUB ** National Telegraph Company ” has just 
been incorporated in San Francisco lor the pur¬ 
pose of the construction, eouduet aud znaiu- 
tenauceof telegraph lines between all the prin¬ 
cipal cities and towns of tbe Uniied States and 
the Dominion of Canada. The capital is #25,- 
000,000. 
The farmers of Texas have harvested an ex¬ 
cellent crop of wheat. Texas is one of the few 
Southern States where wheat growing is exten¬ 
sively practiced. The Southern wheat crop is 
generally good, and if enough had been sown 
last fall it would have supplied the deficiency 
caused by the poor crop North and West. 
BUSINESS NOTICES. 
True economy is nut buying the lowest-priced 
article. The best is cheapest. So with Dobbins’ 
Electric Soap, (made by Cragin & Co., Philadelphia.! 
It is best and cheapest, and we ask our readers to 
test It for themselves, 
