ited  quantities,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  carbon 
which  composea  most  of  the  wowl  cotnea  to  tlie 
tree  through  tlic  leaves.  Not  Hu  with  the  akIi, 
the  mineral  «ul)«taiico  which  rcmainH  after  bnni- 
ing  can  only  come  through  the  noil,  and,  as  the 
tree  becomes  larger,  tlio  soil  gradually  loses  in 
this  element  until  it  bocomes  nearly  liarren.  Pos¬ 
sibly  the  injiu7  of  ticcs  to  ftoU,  aside  from  their 
shade  and  abstraction  of  moisture,  may  be  rem¬ 
edied  by  supplvdng  these  mineral  elements  - 
I)ottish.  lime,  sulphuric  and  ]>hu&x>horio  acid. 
to  COUP  into  very  general  use,  not  jjcrhaps  super- 
sediiig  others,  but  as  HiHJcJally  adapUid  to  certain 
soils  and  localities.  The  old  objection  to  swivel 
plows  that  they  nm  on  edge  too  much  and  were 
duflciilt  to  hold,  is  enth’ely  removed  by  the  new 
movable  cutter,  and  with  this  improvement  tbo 
swivel  plow  becomes,  at  least,  equal  to  any  other 
for  ordinary  level  plowing,  and  superior  for  side 
hill  culture,  lilessrs.  Evebett  &  Small  have  all 
the  patterns  for  this  plow,  and  can  at  anytime 
promptly  furnish  extra  parts  ^or  repairs,  should 
their  cost  of  feeding  may  tlius  be  saved.  If  you 
have  large  numbers  to  provide  for,  the  expense 
for  food  is  greatly  lessened,  in  the  long  ran,  by 
this  process,  and  yom  birds  will  be  quite  the 
better  for  this  treatment,  instead  of  limiting 
them  to  dry  grain  and  "  cold  victuals  ’■  continu¬ 
ally.  Fresh  vegetables  are  valuable  for  their 
nutritive  material,  and  for  the  assistance  they 
afford  in  digestion.— HbrR 
WHY? 
If  a  person  asks  about  fruit  planting  and 
what  varieties  to  jdant,  wo  almost  invariably  see 
recommended  the  Wilson  Albany  Strawberry, 
the  Concord  Grape,  the  Bartlett  I’ou’,  Ac.  Now’, 
why  is  it  ?  In  tliis  section  the  Concord  Grape 
is  almost  always  Ix’low’  par  in  quality  and  is 
often  worthless  ;  on  the  other  hniid,  the  Dela¬ 
ware  is  always  of  go(xl  quality,  above  most 
others,  aud  its  jneld  is  gi-eatcr  than  that  of  any 
other  grape  known  here,  except  tbe  Clinton.  I 
know  some  claim  that  the  Delaware  la  not  suc¬ 
cessful  oil  as  wide  a  lis’ality  as  the  Concord,  but 
from  all  1  have  read  <»r  can  gather  from  private 
correspondence,  I  llnd,  as  a  rule,  that  where  the 
DtOaware  fails  it  is  through  laclf  of  jiroiier  soil, 
the  land  is  too  light  or  poor,  and  the  grower  is 
too  heedless  (»r  ignorant  to  eiu'ich  it  jiroperly  I 
have  the  jiast  fall  seen  Delawares  growing  and 
bearing  in  a  light,  sandy  soil  ou  a  gr.avel  sub¬ 
soil  ;  but  tbe  uwuer  bad  put  ijU.'iity  of  niUok  in 
the  lulls  and  made  the  ground  rich. 
Yon  need  uot  think  that  the  seasons  are  so 
short  hero  that  wo  cannot  grow  any  other  grapes, 
for  one  grower  has  the  Isahelhi,  and  he  gathers 
full  crops  about  four  years  in  five,  and  of  the 
Delaware  ho  has  failed  t<i  get  a  full  erop  only 
once  in  twenty  years. 
Wo  have  now  only  the  Clinton  and  Delaware, 
but  propose  to  set  in  the  spi-ing  the  following ; 
800  Delaware,  .'>0  Concord,  .W  Eunielau.  50  Sa¬ 
lem,  30Liudley,  .'lO  Wilder,  30  Agawam,  30  .Tanos- 
vllle,  30  W'orden,  30  Barry.  30  Diana,  10  Ci’oton. 
10  Walter,  10  Crcveling,  lO  ItfaHsasoit. 
If  you  can  give  us  any  hints  on  the  distance  , 
apart  of  planting,  Ac.,  you  will  oblige  us.  AVe  j 
thought  of  sotting  the  rows  six  feet  apart,  .and 
the  jilants— strong  gi’owcrs,  eight  feet  apart;  | 
weak,  six  feet  apart.  ! 
On  strawberries,  t  he  largest  crop  of  Wilson’s  I  , 
know  of  is  Uiat  of  .1.  M.  Hmitu  oI  Green  Bay, 
three  miles  from  here.  From  one-quarter  of  an 
acre  he  gathered  111  husliels  and  19  quarts,  or  ! 
at  the  rato  of  140  bushels  and  12  (puirts  per  aero. 
His  soil  is  sandy.  Now,  Mi’.  .1.  Knox  raised  fine  I 
varieties,  siicli  as  Jucunda,  'J’riomphe  de  Gand  ; 
and  l''illmore,  at  the  rate  of  from  300  to  .500 
hn.sliels  per  acre.  His  soil  was  a  clay.  Now, 
why  should  we.  on  a  lieavy  anil,  bother  with  that  ! 
poor,  sour  exense  for  a  berry  when  wo  can  grow  i 
such  fine  ones  with  just  as  good  iirospoct  of  suc- 
eesH  ?  ' 
In  r.'ispberrios  wc  usually  depend  on  the  Phila¬ 
delphia,  as  it  is  only  about  once  in  tbreo  years 
that  wo  can  soil  at  a  paying  price,  owing  to  tho 
wild  ones  with  winch  the  market  is  lloodcd,  and 
the  bhiclcei’i’y  Hoason,  which  follows.  Blackber- 
rios  (wild)  often  sell  for  two  cents  )ior  quart  on 
tlie  strect-s  during  tho  lught  of  tlio  season. 
However,  for  homo  use,  a  few  of  Brinclde's 
Orange  and  Fastoltf  ni.ay  be  grown,  and  by  bend¬ 
ing  dtivra  and  pegging  fast,  so  that  they  will  bo 
covered  with  snow,  they  will  bear  well  and  thrive. 
If  1  was  to  nd^  iso  any  one  what  to  plant  in  this 
section,  it  would  be Delaware  Grape,  Jucunda, 
Triompbe  do  Gand,  Kicanor,  \N'ilson,  Charles 
Downing.  Kentucky  and  Green  Prob'Co,  fitraw- 
herries,  Rod  Dutch  Cuirant,  Houghton  Gooso- 
borry,  Duladelphia  Raspbeny,  Flemish  Bearily 
Peai’,  Louibard  Plum,  Kentish  Cherry  and  Te- 
tofsky.  Duchess  of  Oldciibei’g,  Haas,  Fameuse, 
Ifiumb's  Cider,  Alexandtir,  St.  LauTenco,  Pc- 
waulvcc  aud  Northern  Spy  Apple. 
A.  M.  Van  Auken. 
Fort  Howard,  Wis.,  Dee.  28,  1875. 
Thebe  is  no  reason  c-xccjiting  habit  for  recom¬ 
mending  for  universal  use  inferior  varieties  of 
fruil.s,  and  cxix'riments  such  os  our  correspond¬ 
ent  is  making  should  bo  inaugurated  in  ovoi’y 
loeality  to  decide  whnt  good  vai’ietios  arc  best 
adapted  to  it.  His  list  for  Wisconsin  i.s  a  valua¬ 
ble  contribution  to  our  jXrtuological  Isiiowledgoof 
that  Htato  and  for  Wisconsin,  on  his  recom¬ 
mendation,  we  heartily  indorse  tho  advice  to 
“plant  Delawares,”  instead  of  tho  thousand 
times  repeated  advice  to  every  locality  to  "  plant 
Concord.”  We  have  no  ill  will  toward  the  latter 
variety,  but  the  xxneeasing  recommendation  of  it 
overywhoi'o  is  becoming  mouotonouB.  Let  us 
try  something  else  for  a  while  for  a  change.  As 
for  strawberi’ies,  something  is  to  be  said  for  the 
much-abused  Wilson.  Its  “  .som’noss”  esixcially 
adapts  it  to  canning,  and  when  well  ripened  Wil¬ 
son  has  a  good  flavor  and  is  not  too  sour  for 
many  fastidious  ixalatos. 
GRANGE  NEWS  AND  NOTES, 
A.ivucnxr'AiN:  iiav  'rKmxKK., 
The  subject  is  well  worth  a  trial.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  tho  vigor  and  healthfuhicss  of  the 
tree  itself  requires  one  or  more,  or  perhaps  all. 
of  these  elements. 
Fruit  liearing  trees  espi'eially  are  subjeetod  to 
an  umiHiuilly  heavy  strain,  hke  in  degree  to  that 
which  the  domesticated  animal  sustains  in  eom- 
jifirison  with  what  it  does  in  tJie  wild  stato.  The 
\vil<]  hou  of  India’s  jiuigles  lays  only'  a  few  eggs, 
wlusre  tlio  doincsticatod  hen  lays  hnnth’eds. 
Wild  cattle  suckle  their  young  only  a  few  weeks ; 
hut  tho  domesticated  cow  is  required  to  iiroducc 
a  much  larger  supply  of  millt  and  foiitimio  it, 
often  ten,  twelve  or  more  nvuilhs  at  a  time. 
'I'rces  in  woods  bear  very  little  frail.  In  the 
fierce  sU’ugglo  fer  existonee  among  dense  masses 
of  vordiu’o,  luituro  gives  evia’y  efi  <  u  t  h»  produc¬ 
ing  vigor  and  luxuriance  of  trunk  and  foliage. 
A  cullivaU’d.  fully-grown  apple  tree  will  often 
yield  ton  bamls  of  ap]jles  per  year,  and  this 
means  exhaustion — not  of  carbon  or  sap.  but  of 
mineral  elements.  Tho  stone  fruits,  such  as 
])each.  plum  and  chen-y,  arc  rich  in  ])otash,  aud 
when  many  Bucecssivo  crops  are  ])roduocd  no 
wonder  the  ti’ccs  begin  to  fail. 
TliousandB  of  old  clieny  trees  are  dying  in 
many  localities  through  no  natural  disease,  hut 
from  shot;!’  starvation  for  pivtash,  lime  or  jtlios- 
phoric  acid.  Is  it  not  po.ss!iblo  tljat  the  early 
rotting  of  po.'ichos,  aud  possibly  of  other  fruits 
before  lliey  reach  ^xrfcction,  may  be  due  to  the 
same  cause  ?  Wo  have  heard  of  a  mau  wlio  has 
grown  Hale’s  early  jieaeh  suoeessf nlly,  aud  not 
Ixcn  troubled  by  early  rot;  but  he  used  wood 
ashes  freoiy  around  his  peach  ti'eos.  In  some 
localities  Halo's  Early  rots  badly,  and  hi  others 
no  complaint  is  found.  May  tho  difference  in 
results  nut  ho  owing  to  vaiiation  in  the  mineral 
elements  of  soils  ?  The.se  are  intoresting  ques¬ 
tions,  aud  wo  hope  experiments  will  be  made  to 
give  them  a  satisfactoi’y  answer.  It  is  (inite  safe 
to  apply  mineral  fei-tilizors  of  almost  any  kind  to 
old  orchards,  with  a  strong  prospect  of  improv¬ 
ing  their  productiveness.  Tliis  mneli  of  practi¬ 
cal  value  is  pretty  well  settled.  As  for  the  theo¬ 
ries  to  explain  the  facts  we  can  well  afford  to 
wait  for  them. 
THE  AMERICAN  HAY  TEDDER, 
It  is  often  imixjrtant,  especially  in  such  a 
“catcliing”  season  as  last  summer,  that  hay 
should  bo  got  into  barn  as  soon  as  jxisRible  after 
cutting.  Tho  mowing  machine,  cutting  dmvu 
eight,  ten  or  tw<ivo  acres  |x-r  day,  may  only  Ix- 
oome  BO  muclt  greater  loss  unless  equal  facihties 
arc  provided  for  seasnuiug  it,  'Die  Hay  Tedder 
andKulkj'  Rake  ai-o  companion  pieces  in  the  hay 
harvest  with  the  Mower  and  Horse  Hay  Fork. 
With  these  tho  Povwolal Mir  of  an  old-fashioned 
haring  is  r<‘duced  to  its  minimum  and  the  season 
becomes  in  reulity.  as  t<xj  enthusiastie  poets  liave 
lung  dosiwibed  it,  oiiij  of  siwrt  and  gayety 
Behoving  tlmt  inauy  of  our  rejulcrs  would  wish  to 
procure  a  Hay  3’edder,  wo  have  included  it  in  our 
Premium  List  and  will  fm-uish  one  costing  fiSO 
for  eighty  eubsciibers  at  club  rates  or  sixty  at 
$2.(15  each.  Tho  n)a<'hino  is  strongly  and  simply 
made,  andean  bo  driven  by  a  small  boy  witliont 
difficulty. 
HENb-LARGE  EATERS  VS.  SMALL, 
I  ME.sT  differ  with  your  correspondent  upon 
this  subject,  page  10.  Fowls  that  cat  most  are 
wt  tho  most  profitable  to  keep.  Some  breeds 
(Brahmas  in  jmrticular)  are  disposed  to  overeat 
to  such  an  extent  that  their  food  is  not  fully  di¬ 
gested,  cousoqnontly  there  must  bo  waste.  Their 
laay  habits  are  against  them. 
.Are  cattle,  sheep,  hogs  aud  horses  that  eat  the 
most  the  most  profitable  also.*’  Does  the  man 
that  swallows  tho  most  food  do  the  most  work  ? 
Or  is  jioultry  the  only  kind  of  stock  to  which  this 
rale  apiilios  ?  Again  yonr  coiTesixmdcnt  is  mis¬ 
taken  as  regards  IToiuhuis  and  Leghorns  not  lay¬ 
ing  in  tho  winter  months.  Either  will  lay  equally 
as  well  as  the  Brahmas,  ni’  at  least  they  do  with 
me.  The  amount  of  food  required  to  rai.se  one 
Brahma  hen  to  tw  o  years  old  will  raise  two  Leg¬ 
horns  to  the  same  age,  and  the  chances  are  you 
wiU  get  double  the  number  of  eggs,  tVhile  eggs 
sell  by  count  largo  egg.s  are  not  so  very  desirable 
for  mai’kot.  If  poultry  is  raised  for  the  meat, 
then  tho  Bi’ahmas  are  a  desirable  breed. 
Syracuse,  N.  Y.  Nelson  Ritter. 
THE  HOLBROOK  SWIVEL  PLOW, 
For  fanners  in  hilly  localities  tlie  swivel  or 
reversible  plow  is  almost  a  necessity.  It  has 
often  occurred  to  thousands  of  others  whose 
fields  were  level  and  easily  tilled,  tJiat  it  would 
be  a  great  convenience  to  have  a  plow  which 
would  rnalco  the  field  in  one  land  with  smooth 
surf  a  ee  and  not  a  ridge  or  de-ad  furrow.  V  arious 
difficulties  have  attended  the  making  of  such 
plows;  hut  wo  believe  they  have  all  been  re¬ 
moved,  aud  tho  swivel  jilow’  as  uowraade  docs  its 
work  well  aud  works  with  equal  ease  iu  turiiing 
the  furrow  right  or  left.  Messrs.  Ei’eeett  A 
SwAT.T,  10  South  Market  St.,  Boston,  Mass.,  are 
tho  successors  to  F.  F,  Holbrook  A  Co.,  iu  the 
inauul’.'icturc  of  the  well  known  Holbrook  Swivel 
Plow’,  which  has  received  the  hcai*ty  commenda¬ 
tion  of  practical  farmers  in  eveiy  section  of  tlie 
counb'y.  As  soon  as  the  success  of  tliis  plow  is 
understood  by  the  mass  of  farniera,  it  is  destined 
COOK  YOUR  POULTRY  FOOD 
In  jiart,  and  feed  it,  at  least,  once  a  day  this 
cold  weather  (in  the  moiTiing  is  the  better  time), 
while  it  is  hot.  Mix  with  this  soft  feed,  which 
should  be  composed  of  meal  and  vegetables,  a 
little  salt,  and  occasioually  a  small  quantity  of 
jiowdered  charcoal  aud  ixqqxr.  Tliis  rendei*s  it 
wanning,  eleausing,  and  palatable  to  the  birds. 
Tlie  value  of  iiotatoes,  turnips,  etc.,  thus 
cooked  with  bi’an  and  com  meal,  is  not  generally 
appreciated;  it  keeps  the  fowls  in  good  heart, 
and  is  altogether  economical  as  w’ell.  Tlio  scraps 
from  the  table  can  he  used  up  with  this  h-tRl, 
and  all  the  dry  hits  of  the  family  may  thus  he 
utilized.  If  yon  keep  but  a  few  fowls,  one-half 
POTASH  IN  FRUIT  GROWING, 
Failure  of  a  fruit  crop  may  result  from  a  va¬ 
riety  of  causes,  prominent  among  which  arc  at¬ 
tacks  of  insects ;  but  unhealthfiiincss  in  the  tree 
it.self  indicates  that  the  soil  has  lost  some  fertil¬ 
izing  Biibstauce  essential  to  the  growtli  of  the 
tree.  Most  manures  applied  to  orcliards  are 
mainly  carbonaoeons ;  but,  excepting  for  their 
influence  in  ameliorating  the  soil,  it  is  doubtful 
if  carbonaceous  mauuros  are  of  much  value. 
Carbon  is  supplied  by  tho  atmosphere  iu  unlim¬ 
