PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT.” 
beetle is as considerate everywhere as in West¬ 
ern New York, will probably be not very high. 
Our opinion is that there may be yet some 
trouble from the beetle with late planted pota¬ 
toes. The heavy rains of the past few weeks 
have brought potatoes forward rapidly, and 
have checked the increase of the potato larva;. 
Early Hose and other early potatoes will escape, 
because they will be ready to dig before another 
brood of potato larva- bas time to do any dam¬ 
age. Hut look out for the later varieties, es¬ 
pecially If the remainder of July and August 
should bo hot and dry. ft is unite probable 
that some of the potato beetle's cggshavo been 
destroyed by rain, while the hatching of others 
has been delayed until tlielr enemies have in¬ 
creased. Walking among the potato vines we 
found many larvte which were punctured and 
dead, and on sonic bills only one or two larva* 
would be found. As the hectic US'S from ten 
to fifty or more eggs in a bunch, it is evident 
that some enemy ha* destroyed all of these ex¬ 
cepting one or two which accidentally escaped. 
In the same field we found many of the active 
and beautiful little lady bugs, to which we as¬ 
cribed the destruction of the farmers’ enemies. 
The farmers are generally feeling well, des¬ 
pite the failure of the wheat crop. Hmdnosa In 
Rochester is dull at j resent, but will revive 
after harvest, as it is hoped will he the case in 
all parts of the country. 
for revenue lor taxation shall originate in the 
House of Representatives. The Senate tacked 
on the postage clause as an amendment to the 
Civil Appropriation bill, and It afterward 
passed the House and became a law by the 
President’s signature. We have no doubt that 
the point against the increased rates Is well 
taken. The law not only violates the letter of 
the Constitution, but doubly violatos its spirit, 
for it was to prevent just such tricks as this 
that the Constitution required measures for 
revenue to originate with the immediate repre¬ 
sentatives of the people. The Senators are 
elected for six years and have no very direct 
responsibility to their constituents. Tt would 
have gone hard to find a Congressman who dare 
go before the people after having introduced a 
bill doubling the rates on a large and important 
class of matter. Hence the express companies, 
who engineered the bill, found It easier to se¬ 
cure a pliant, tool in the Senate to introduce it. 
We shall be very glad to see that their smart¬ 
ness has defeated Itself and the job set aside 
by the courts as void. AH the people and es¬ 
pecially nurserymen and seedsmen, would re- 
jolceatsuch a decision. The suit comes before 
U. S. Judge Blatcuford of this city, who has 
an excel lout reputation as a clearheaded and in¬ 
corruptible official, and will be decided early 
in August. 
ui 
tne means of suosistence, and unless speedy 
help is furnished great suffering must ensue 
The stock is still alive but must starve soon 
and on the llesh and milk which poor people 
derive from their herds depends their liveli¬ 
hood. A similar eruption about ninety years 
ago resulted in the starvation of several thou¬ 
sand persona. New, with better and quicker 
means of communication, it is hoped that re¬ 
lief will come so that starvation will notr&mit 
It Is said that the people of Greenland are se¬ 
riously thinking of abandoning their inhospi. 
table clirne for some sunnier land ; and if j ce . 
land is subject to such calamities, even at re¬ 
mote intervals, the people of that Island might 
do well to consider the same subject. The 
world iB not by any means so thickly peopled 
aa to require the maintenance of human out¬ 
posts in extreme northern regions like Green¬ 
land and Iceland. 
A NATIONAL If.LUST RATED 
ITouncler and Conducting itiditor, 
WM. J. FOWLER, ANDREW S. FULLER 
Assooiate Kditora. 
HENRY S. RANDALL LL, D., Cortland Village, N. Y, 
Elutok or run Dipautuext or Saner H»k<um>uy. 
X. A. WILLARD, A. M., Little Falls, N. Y., 
Editok or mi DiriKinny or Dairy Hubbawory. 
«. A. V. It A ItNETT, Publisher, 
TERMS FOR 1875, IN ADVANCE, 
t INCLUDING POSTAGE, WHICH PUBLISHERS PREPAY. 
Single Copy, $2.65 per Year. To ClubsFive Cop¬ 
ies. ii nd one copy free to Agent or getter up Of Club, 
for$l.’>.tO; Seven Copies,and nnu free. lor $11.20; Ten 
Copies.ninl one free,*21 AO—only $2.15 per copy. The 
above rates include vwtuqt (which we shall be obliged 
to prepay after Jan. 1, 1875, under the now law,) to 
any part of the United States, and the American 
postage on all copies mailed to Canada. On papers 
mailed to Europe, by steamer, the postage will be 85 
cents extra—or $3.50xn all. Drafts, Post-Office Money 
Orders and Registered Letters tuay be mailed at our 
risk. SiF" Liberal Premiums to all Club Agents who 
do not take free copies. Specimen Numbers Hliow- 
Uills, Ac., seul free. 
The “New Potato Enemy.” — J, Q m g of 
Ouarga, III., writes:—In the Rural of 17th 
Inst. I not ice an article with the above caption 
and with your kind permission will say * word 
In reference thereto. Without a doubt the 
aforesaid enemy is the Ash-colored Cantha- 
rldeti (Lytla Otncrca of FabiuCus), and there 
have been, and still are, some of them on my 
potato vines, but not in sufficient numbers to 
do any material damage. I have observed them 
here in previous seasons, but in no case so 
numerous as during the present summer. My 
wife first discovered them early in the season 
making sad havoc among her sweet pea vines 
but by diligent capturing and decapitating soon 
caused them to disappear. Next they showed 
themselves on the early potatoes, and still later 
on the dwarf beans, where they were busily en¬ 
gaged iu devouring the blossoms, and of course 
injuring the prospect for a crop of “snaps.” 
Floral Insanity Laudable. Whoever lias 
heard Henry Ward Beecher preach or lec¬ 
ture, or road a tithe of bis writings, knows that 
he is a great lover of flowers, his passion for and 
knowledge of thorn being such that they are 
very frequently Introduced in his descriptions 
and illustrations. In a late number of the Lon¬ 
don Garden wo find some remarks touching 
floral insanity which arc expressed In Mr. B.’8 
enthusiastic and characteristic style, aa fol¬ 
lows “ Boses arc easy of culture, easy of prop¬ 
agation, requiring almost as little cate as Dan¬ 
delions or Daisies. The wonder is that every 
man is not an enthusiast and in the month of 
June a gentle fanatic. Ftoral insanity Is one of 
the most charming inflictions to which man is 
heir i One wishes never to be cured, nor should 
uny one wish to cure him. The garden js infec¬ 
tious. Flowers are ‘catching,’or the love of 
them is. Men begin with one or two. In a few 
years they ar* struck through with floral zeal. 
Not bees are more sedulous in their researches 
Into flowers than many a man is, and one find ,, 
after the strife and boat and toll of ills ambi¬ 
tious life, tiiat there is more pure satisfaction 
in his garden than in all the other pursuits that 
promise so much of pleasureuud yield so little. 
* * * A man is not always to bo trusted be¬ 
cause he loves fine horses or because lie follows 
the stream or hunts in the fields. But if a man 
that loves flowers uud loves them enough to 
labor for them is not to be trusted, whom in 
this wicked worhlahaii we go for trust ? A man 
that carries a garden In his heart lias got back 
again a part of the Eden from which our great 
forefather was expelled." 
RURAL NOTES AND QUERIES 
ADVERTISING RATES I 
Inside, nth and lath pages(Agate space).Me. per Hue, 
•• 18th page... 70 “ 
Outside or last page.1.00 “ 
Fifty percent, extra for unusual <11 spin v. 
Special Notices, leuxled, by count.1.25 “ 
Rust newt ** i.fiO “ 
Rending ‘ 2.00 “ 
Discount on 4 insertions. 10 per et.; 8 tns., 16 per ct.; 
13 Ins., 20 per et.; 26 las., 25 per ct.; 02 ins., 33J* per ct. 
S3T Ne advertisement Inserted for less than *8. 
first settled. In 18(81, aud secured his title direct 
from the Indians, and since then it has been 
handed down from father to son. The present 
resilience of Mr. John G. Gabbard cm 'Sunny 
Side, has never changed owners but once, and 
1 have no doubt but that we could find through 
this valley several other farms that, have never 
changed owners more than once or twice." 
The above is a most suggestive paragraph, 
and if it does not recall the memory of the 
“old homestead " and the boyhcod and girl¬ 
hood of many readers, we shall be much mis¬ 
taken. We think, perhaps because we hope, 
that the tendency to keep farms in one family 
for successive generations is increasing. It la a 
good -sign if this be the fact. A determination 
to never sell the old farm is the beat possible 
Incentive to thorough cultlvaiiou and good 
farming. It Is also a result of these. Land 
whereon father, grandfather and son have put 
much hard work becomes sacred by that fact 
and is not to be put aside lightly, as one might 
where only a few years’ ownership -ii*d been 
enjoyed. Besidx-s, in the present condition of 
PUBLICATION OFFICES! 
No, 78 Duane Street, New York City, and No. 67 
East Main St., (Darrow's Bookstore, Osburn 
House Block,) Rochester, N. Y. 
Postal Rulings.—The Postmaster-General has 
Issued an order modifying the postal regula¬ 
tions, so as to allow transient papers to be sent 
from newspaper offices, to be forwarded at the 
same rates (prepaid) as regular subscriptions. 
Heretofore the ruling has been that unless the 
paper was taken regularly three months it had 
to be paid for at transient rates. Tills decision 
is sensible, but it seems strange that questions 
of this kind should be settled by rulings of the 
Department instead of by the provisions of 
general laws. An old document, too little con¬ 
sulted iiow-a-days, provides that the legislative 
powers of the United State* shall be vested in 
a Congress and a S .mate, representing the peo¬ 
ple. The practice for some years has been for 
Department officials to make laws, under the 
name of “l tilings/’ and absurd enough many 
of these postal regulations have been. 
MOOBE-S 
"i U. ,_-B- 
SATURDAY, JULY 34, 1875. 
A TRIP TO WESTERN NEW YORK 
An excursion last week to Rochester, via the 
N. Y. and Eric Raliwuy, was- most enjoyable. 
Tho commodious nud well-appointed cars of 
thi# line are a luxury to travelers, while to 
lovers of fine scenery aud rural life this road is 
unsurpassed. The valleys of the Susquehanna, 
Chemung and Genesee, through which the Erie 
runs to Rochester, exhibit more and better 
farming land than many would expect to find, 
and, so far as we could judge by views from 
car windows, tho crops, excepting wheat, were 
looking extremely well. Recent rains have 
brought forward oats and barley finely, and as 
they are fully beaded out, a gooxi crop depends 
only on good weather through harvesting. A 
week's fine weather has been takeu advantage 
of to secure the grass crop—generally In good 
condition. 
Around Rochester. 
Farmers near Rochester are much hurried 
with their work. A favorable, dry May aided 
in getting a large breadth of land iu spring 
crops, and the result is that when a wet time I 
comes they are set behind. Generally, also, 
most farmers try to do with too little hired 
help, and the result is overwork and a behind¬ 
hand condition of farm work, which is not only 
annoying but expensive and Unprofitable. La¬ 
bor-saving machines do much for farmers—in 
fact they could hardly do without them, but 
most rely too much on tho Baying by machinery 
and keep their work in no more forward state 
than they used to when everything was done by 
hand labor. 
Crops, Etc. 
Here as elsewhere June rains have brought 
all spring crops rapidly forward. We saw many 
pieces of barley that would yield forty to fifty 
bushels per acre, and oats proportionally as 
good. Many pieces of winter-killed wheal have 
been plowed or cultivated over aud Bown with 
oats or barley. Where the ground was lightly 
plowed the yield is more promising than 
where it was merely cultivated on the surface. 
With so good a season as the present, tblnly- 
bowd barley or oats seem to stand fully as well 
as with thicker seeding, especially where the 
grain was got iu early. Later seedings need 
Sanctum Personal*—Last week we had the 
pleasure of greeting Mr. William Weld, who 
some ten years ago established, and is still 
editor and proprietor of, The Farmer’s Advo¬ 
cate, at London, Ontario, or Canada West, us it, 
«iis called aforetime. Brother Weld is a most 
genial man, and withal practical and straight¬ 
forward. 11<t lias exhibited much pluok and 
porsevurenoo in Ids journalistic career, uud 
thereby achieved success where many would 
have failed. Starting with a small, eight-page 
sheet, he has more than doubled it in size, and 
MOW issues a well edited uud printed journal, 
finely illustrated, with a sutqdement and cover. 
Success to the Farmer's A dvooate and itsfound- 
er, ami may both long wave throughout the 
Dominion ! 
Mr. Albert T, Emery, Secretary of the 
Prairie Farmer Co., Chicago, showed us the 
light of ids pleasant countenance a few days 
ago. We were right glad to uieet a junior 
brother of our long-time friend, H. D. E., who 
is now President of the aforesaid company, 
and to learn of the prosperity of the journal¬ 
istic Institution of which they are the principal 
managers. 
Corin*il l iilvcrtdty.-Thla Institution has little 
occasion to advertise just now, the recent 
double victory of its plucky and muscular stu¬ 
dent.* at the Saratoga Regatta having rendered 
both celebrated. But we desire to call the at¬ 
tention of all our readers interested In practical 
ami scientific education to the announcement 
of the Course of Study iu the Agricultural De¬ 
partment of Cornell, given under the heading 
of Educational iu our advertising department. 
The University offers great advantages to stu¬ 
dents of limited means, as will bo seen by refer¬ 
ence to advertisement. 
Pronged* or the Wheal Crop.—It seems now 
to be conceded that the English wheat crop 
will be less than an average. The Mark Lane 
Express, good authority on such matters,de¬ 
clares that, there will lie a considerable de¬ 
an d as a consequence prices in the 
There 
fleieney, 
English wheat markets are advancing, 
have been heavy rains throughout England, and 
aloug the Fromoand Severn rivers considerable 
of the country near those streams is flooded. 
It is not alone the destruction of crops by floods 
which causes alarm. In England the wheat 
crop needs the driest and warmest weather to 
perfect the grain. In cold anxl wet seasons, 
even without floods, the harvest is apt to be 
shortened. In sucli seasons, also, the English 
wheat is so damp that it cannot be ground un¬ 
less mixed with drier grain from the United 
States. It is the remarkable dryness of Cuii- 
fornia wheats that has made them so popular, 
as many years ago the same cause made the far- 
famed Geuesee wheat the highest priced in the 
world. English millers mix one part of Ameri¬ 
can with throe to five or more of English 
wheat, and all will grind readily. This year 
heavy rains coming as harvest is commencing, 
will make the grain very damp and “soggy." 
According to the estimates of the Department 
of Agriculture, the American wheat crop will 
not be more than eighty percent, of a full yield. 
Taking account of possible accidents yet, the 
crop will probably not be more than seventy- 
five psr cent. In other words, we shall not have 
more than enough wheat for home use till next 
harvest. If tho result proves that the English 
demand is greater than last year, an advance in 
price at least sufficient to drive a part of our 
people to the use of corn meal in place of 
wbeaten Hour, is very probable. 
RURAL BREVITIES, 
The hay crop in Southern New Hampshire is 
unusually light. 
The California wheat crop is several millions 
of bushels smaller than last year. 
A brown grub about an inch long is destroy¬ 
ing potato vines, at Poughkeepsie. 
A weed destroyed before it ripens its seeds 
may save the labxir of destroying a hundred 
next year. 
The New England Poultry Club will hold it3 
annual exhibition in Worcester, Mass., January 
4th-7tb,1876. 
Quite a large force of Colorado beetles have 
ajipeared in the potato fields along the Dela¬ 
ware aud Lackawanna rivers. 
In some portions of Massachusetts, grass¬ 
hoppers have duue considerable damage to 
grass in pastures and meadow’s. 
The Peruvian Guano advertised by Hobson, 
Murtado & Co., in this paper, at a greatly re¬ 
duced price, is worthy the attention of those 
wishing a good fertilizer. 
A Montgomery, Ala., planter grew 000 water 
melons at a cost of ten dollars and baa sold 8tX) 
of them for $300. The melon crop in the South 
is very large, and good melons are now sold at 
ten cents each. 
The rains In California have done much 
xiamage to dried grass on which stock depend 
for pasture. The wet dissolved the gum and 
sugar which had dried with the grass, aud this 
rendered it less nutritious. 
Will t lie Grasshopper* Come Bust f —The 
editor of the New York Sun callH attention to 
the fact that the grasshopper gains strength iu 
its progress East, disappointing the very confi¬ 
dent predictions of those who said it could 
never thrive except on the arid plains at the 
base of the Rocky Mountains. He asks whether 
our cultivated grains, giving food more abund¬ 
antly and presumably of better quality, are not 
responsible for this increased vigor. The point 
Is of interest and ol national concern. It is 
worthy of note iu this connection that the po¬ 
tato beetle only started Eastward as it found 
the cultivated potato to teed upon. It had 
been noticed feeding on some wild potato vines 
thirty or forty years ago ; but strangely enough 
they never multiplied excessively nor did they 
iun out entirely. Probably their insect enemies 
becamo numerous enough in that locality to 
maintain the balance which nature always pro¬ 
vides. The better and more abundant food 
furnished by the potato patches of settlers in¬ 
creased the numbers of the potato beetle and 
disturbed the balance. 
Tin* Increase of Postage Unconstitutional.— 
A suit has been brought to test the constitu¬ 
tionality ol the increased rates of postage on 
books, newspapers, plants, eeeds and other 
third class matter. The point made is that the 
increase of rates originated in the Senate, 
whereas tho Constitution provides that all bills 
BUSINESS NOTICES 
Threatened Famine in Iceland.—A recent 
volcanic eruption in Iceland has covered thou¬ 
sands of acres with ashes and other dcJiris, de¬ 
stroying tbe vegetation on which the people 
pasture their herds of sheep and cattle. It is 
lx the past eight years scores of soapB have come 
into the market uud, being -woiTliless, have died u 
natural death, Dobbins’ Electric Soap, (made by 
Cragin & Co., Philadelphia.) old and reliable, leads 
the van, Try it. 
