JAN. 22 
THE 
the soil of New Jersey as well adapted to these 
fruits as that of New York ; 6, what is the best 
way of storing apples and pears. 
Ans —1. Spring. 2. It is a senseless plan. 
The drain is no drain at all. One might as 
well set a barrel in the soil and call that a 
drain. 3 Most of pears—Bartlett. Belle Lu¬ 
crative, Beurre Bose, Beurre d’Aujou, Benrre 
Giffard. Clapp’s Favorite, Doyenne d’E'e, 
Duchesse d'Angouleme, Howell, Josephine de 
Malines, Lawrence, Seckel. Sheldon, Urban- 
irte, Winter Nelis. Apples— Baldwin, Early 
Harvest, Fall Pippin, Famease. Golden Russet, 
Gravenslein. Iiubbardstou Nonesuch. Jtff:;ris, 
Large Yellow Bough. Mother, Northern Spy, 
Peck’s Pleasant, Red Astracban, R I. Green¬ 
ing. Roxbury Rasset. Taiwan's Sweet. Twenty 
Ounce Apple 4. Tney will do best in soil that 
will grow 75 bushels of shelled corn to the 
acre. We do not understand the difference, 
perhaps, between " high around” and “ele¬ 
vated soil.” Certainly a well-drained soil is 
needed for successful pear or apple culture. 5. 
Yes Of course, the varieties would need to be 
changed. 6. The best way to store apples, so 
far as we know, is to place them in a dark 
place where the temperature may be main¬ 
tained as nearly as possible at 32 deg., never 
going below. 
Jersey Cattle and Cotswold Sheep. 
J S , Tioin Oaks , Ky., asks, 1. what is the scale 
of points ot Jersey cattle and, 2. also a distinc¬ 
tive description of Cotawold sheep. 
Ans —1, Scale of points, as adopted by the 
Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural 
Society, as giveQ in the Herd Register of the 
J. 0. 0., Vol. L, 4871. 
BULLS. 
ARTICLE. POINTS, 
1. Hoad, line and tapering. l 
y. V'ureUwtcl broad. t 
3. Check, small. 1 
4. TurOat, ci^dn.. . i 
5. Muzzle, flue and encircled by a liirlit color. 1 
«. Nostril*, tl gl! nud opob ... 1 
7. Horns, smooth, crumpled, not too thick at the 
baao. aud tapering, tipped with black... 1 
*. Ears, small aud thai. 1 
!>. Kars, of a deep orauge color within. 1 
10. Ky&i, 111 1 ! anil lively... 1 
11. Keck, arched, powerful but Dot too coarse aud 
heavy ... . 
13 Cheat. broad aud deep.I 
IS. Parrel hooped, broad aud deep. 1 
1-1, Well-ribbed home, having but little apace between 
the last rib and the hip.1 
5. Back, straight from the withers to the top of the 
hip. .:.. i 
18. Buck, atrabillt from the top of the hip to the uet- 
tlua'-ou ui the tail; aud the tail at right angles 
with the hack. 1 
17. Tail, iiuo . 1 
is. Tail, bunging down to tho hocks... 1 
19. Hi i .in mow and movable, bat not too loose. l 
20. Hide,covered with flue, sort hair.i 
21. Hide, of goo .i color.1 
22 Fom-ltarv short aud straight .1 
2d. Fore-anna, largo and powerful, MTrlHm.', and full 
ubovctne leueo, and linn below It... I 
24- Hlnd-iiuarteiw, from the hock to the point of the 
rump, long and well dlled up. i 
25 HiuU ie»fs. short and straight (below the hocks), 
aud bouei rather tine. 1 
28. niud-leo*. squarely placed, and not too near to- 
gether when viewed trom behind. 1 
37. Hind-legs, not to cross In walking-. l 
23. Hoofs, small. 1 
29. Growth. l 
30. Gena al appearance . 1 
81. Condition. 1 
Perfection.31 
COWS AND HEIFERS. 
ARTICLE. POINTS. 
I . Hoad, small, flue and tapering-... I 
3 Check, :-m il.l 
8 . Throat, c onn. l 
4. Muzzle, flue and encircled by a light color. 1 
6 . Nostrils, high and open..1 
6. Horns, imouth, crumpled, not too thick at the 
harp and tapes lug. 1 
7, Kars, small and thin. 1 
8 Ears, of a deep orange color within. 1 
9. > ye, full and placid. 1 
10 . Neo’i, straurht. tiuu, and placed lightly on the 
shoulders.. 1 
II. Chest broad and deep. 1 
12. Barrel-hooped, broad and deep. 1 
13. Wei -rib . ed hi one, having-but little space between 
the last rib and th-'hip. 1 
14. Biu-tf, straight I rom the withers to the top of the 
tlmr-on oi the tail ; aud the tail at right uugles 
with the back. I 
18. Tail, liue. 1 
17. Tall. huugiug down to the hocks. 1 
is Hi lo, thitiaud movable, but not too loose. 1 
19. Hide, covered with line, sort liau-. 1 
20. Hide, of good coior. l 
21. Fore levs, short, simight and line. ... 1 
23. Fore-arm, swalllug and lull above the knees . I 
23. Hindquarters tr,,m the hock to the point of the 
rump long and well lilled tip. I 
24. H hd-legs, short and straight (.below the hock), 
ami bones rather flue_«.. l 
25. Hind-legs, squarely placed, tut too close together 
When viewed from behind.. t 
28. Htucl-leg», no: to cross in walking.1 
27 Hoofs small.. .. 1 
28. Ud tor full in form i.well in line with the 
be.ly... 1 
29. Udder well up behind. l 
80. Tents lurgo and squarely placed. Behind wide 
apart . ... . 1 
31. Milk-veins, very prominent. I 
33, Growth.... I 
83. iioueral apiiearunce. 1 
34. Condition. 1 
Perfection... ,34 
In the scale of points adopted by the N. Y, 
State Agricultural Society the above scale has 
been copied almost verbatim, but 10 instead 
of one is the mark of perfection on each point, 
and lower numbers are used as each is thought 
to approach more or less to perfection, whi e 
the Jersey Society gives no mark unless suffi¬ 
cient perfection is reached on each point. The 
N Y Soeiety also adds 10 for pedigree on the 
sire’s eide and 10 for pedigree on the dam’s, 
making the aggregate of perfection on bulls 
330 and on cows 3*30, instead of 81 and 84, as in 
the Jyrsey scale. 
2. The description of a well-bred Cotswold is 
as follows : The face and legs are white, but 
sometimes dashes of brown or gray derived 
from the original stock, may be found on both 
face aud fore-legs. The head is strong and 
mas.-lve, with sometimes a Roman nose, with¬ 
out horns, and having a thick forelock of wool 
upon the forehead. The neck and fore-quar¬ 
ters are not so square and heavy, nor the 
brisket so prominent as in the beBt Leicesters, 
but the hind-quarters are square, full ard 
broad, and the ihigh solid and heavy. The 
back is straight and broad, and ih* ribs well 
sprung, giving a round bodv ; the flanks are 
deep; the legs are clean, of moderate length, 
but the bone is not so fine as in the Leicester. 
The general style and appearance are good and 
attractive, and indicative of a vigorous, active, 
and hardy animal and a prime mutton sheep. 
They are active and well fitted for gathering a 
living upon a pasture in which a Leicester 
would baidly thrive. The lambs are active 
and hardy, and tie ewes are good mothers. 
The fleece is closer upon the back than that ofc 
the Leicester, and only in aged rams exposes 
the skin along the middle. The wool som.- 
times reaches a length of nine inches, and 
although coarse, is soft and mellow. In some 
of these sheep, the fleece is beautifully waved. 
Leveling uneven Sloughs, etc. 
O. W. O L, Davenport. Ia . asks, 1, the best 
way to level uneven sloughs; 2, what will be 
the result of applying salt to barley as a preven¬ 
tive of rust. 
Ans. —1, the best method depends very much 
upon the character of the ground. If the 
sloughs are ever dry, they should then be 
plowed and scraped with a horse shovel and 
leveled. .If always wet. they must be drained 
in some way. Drainage is the best treatment 
for these wet spots: for once drained they be¬ 
come rich ground and somi pay for the work 
and expense laid out upon them. 2, Salt can 
only exert an effect in the way indicated, by 
strengthening the straw and enabling it to re¬ 
sist the disease which produces the rust. Til's 
is doubtless caused by a weakness in the cel¬ 
lular tissue of the straw, which permits the 
sap to exude and furnish an opportunity for 
the rust spores to germinate. Silt has the ef¬ 
fect of invigorating the straw, and may thus 
enable it to avoid this trouble. Whatever 
strengthens the even vigor of the plant ac's 
favorably in preventing disease. On rich soil 
an uneven vigor may be produced and disease 
be encouraged; lime, salt aud potash, all alka¬ 
line substances, supply the needed elements 
to counteract this tendency to over-luxuriance 
that is unbalanced, aud consequently a source 
of weakness. 
Cranberries on Cplanda, 
E. E. 71., Windham Co., Conn., wishes to 
know if cranberries can be grown profitably on 
upland and without water; if they can be 
grown on upland, what variety is best, and is 
there anythiug difficult about raising them in 
thal way. 
Ans —About the year 1840. when cranberry 
cultivation first begau to attract public atten¬ 
tion, and a few years later, several parties in 
Massachusetts and New York experimented 
with them Ou uplands, using the same sorts 
as were cultivated on flooded meadows. At 
first they thought they were successful, but 
after a tew years of trial, they were given up, 
so far as we have been able to learn. This was 
not because crauberries could not be grown on 
upland, but because the vine and fruit there 
were subject to so many more casualties than 
when flooded, and the yield of fruit was so 
much less, they could not be grown at a profit. 
It might be an object tor any one particularly 
fond of this fruit, who resided where he 
could not obtain it at a moderate price, to 
cultivate a small patch of it in his garden. 
For the best method of planting the vines and 
their cultivation, see the Rural of D c., 4, 
page 799 wilh this slight difference—after 
the plants commence growing, treat thtm ex¬ 
actly as you would corn or any other hoed crop. 
lieu Manure. 
L. Y. A., Nokesoille, Va., asks, 1, how much 
hen droopings should be drilled in with wheat 
to produce the same fertilizing effect as 800 lbs. 
of ground bone ; 2, what can be mixed w ith the 
dioppings to increase their bulk without less¬ 
ening their fertilizing value; 3, what should 
he add to 50 or 60 bushels of entile droppings, 
60 as to make enough manure to go over 15 
acres of corn. 
Ans. —1. Three hundred pounds of bone con¬ 
tain about 70 pounds of phosphoric acid, and 
it would require about 2 500 pounds of hen 
mauure in the partly dried state in which it is 
generally used, to supply 70 pounds of phos¬ 
phoric acid. 2, Noth ng can be added to the 
droppings to eurich them, as they are already 
the richest manure made on farms: 2 500 
pounds would contain about 80 pounds of ni¬ 
trogen which would be equal Lo that contained 
in the same amount of bone ; so that while the 
half-dry hen manure is not eo rich in phos¬ 
phoric acid, it is about equal in nitrogen lo 
bone. 3, The 50 to (50 buchels of cattle drop¬ 
pings would be about sufficient to give a small 
shovelful to each hill of com ou one acre. 
Rather than go to the trouble ot mixing any¬ 
thing with this, it would be better to use it as 
far as it will go aud theu procure some corn 
fertilizer for use in the hill or broadcast. Read 
over our Corn Number carefully again, 
A Hlcrile Cow, 
if. B. P., Brookston, N. O., has a three-year- 
old grade Jersey heifer that dropped her first 
i calf when two years old, and then gave promise 
of becoming a superior cow. Last Spring, 
however, she aborted—on account of an acci¬ 
dent—a month before the calf was due. She 
has been milked this Summer and is yet giving 
three quarts a day ; but though she has been 
“served " twice she is tiot with calf, and as 
our friend Las never before owned an aborting 
cow, he asks the best treaunent for this one. 
Ans, —It is quite probable the cow is all 
right: unless the accident which caused the 
trouble did some permanent injury, there is 
no reason why the cow should not breed again. 
It would ^ well to keep milking her and have 
her served regularly uDtil she becomes io calf 
or is found to fail altogether, in the latter 
case 6he may continue to milk along, and 
should be well fed to increase the quautity of 
milk. It is not unusual for cows, especially 
in a dry season, to require repeated services 
before getting with calf. 
Miscellaneous. 
J. J. P., Nashville. Term., asks, 1, from whom 
did we buy the fertilizers used at the Experi¬ 
ment Farm on our late large corn crop: 2 from 
whom i an he buy seeds of the Rural Branch¬ 
ing Sorghum aud the Golden Ovoid Mangel. 
Ans —l, From the Mapes Fertilizing Co., 
158 Front St. N Y. 2, The Rural Branching 
Sorghum is not for sale anywhere. The Rural 
has all the seed known to have been produced 
from last year’s crop, all of which, 60 far as 
we can learn, was grown upon six acres. No¬ 
tice is given to subscribers who succeed in 
raising seed from the seed which we shall send 
out, that a ready market in N. Y City ts wait¬ 
ing for them. Tne Mangel is offered in sev¬ 
eral of the catalogues which will be noticed in 
this journal in a few weeks. 
O. H. A., A'ew Haven, Conn., asks “whether 
Iris Ksempferi should be transplanted in the 
Spring or Full; 2 does it belong to the bul¬ 
bous iriB tribe; 3 what is the distinctive pe¬ 
culiarity of the snjfntticosa section of the Pe¬ 
rennial Puloxes ? 
An3 —1, The Iris may just as well he trans¬ 
planted in the 8pring. There is no plant of 
the Iris, Amaryllis, or Lily family, whose cul¬ 
tivation we can more heartily recommend. 2, 
Creeping tuberous roots, not bulbs- 3. As dis¬ 
tinguished from deeassala, the stems are more 
dwarf and slender—the leaves more glossy. 
.4. A. P. f St. Mail's, Canada, says that a 
man has been traveling thereabouts selling 
Yellow Hackberry Corn at $3 per bushel, and 
professing that it would ripen in from 90 to 
110 days, and our friend inquires whether it is 
a good sort and if it will ripen in the time 
staled. 
Ans. —We know nothing about it The value 
of any new variety of corn in a given place 
can be ascertained only by trial. We should 
not pay such a price for seed corn unless we 
had full confidence in the person offering it. 
C W. G. L., Davenport , la., asks how to 
can green peas for Winter use. 
Ans,—’ The peas should be put in the cans 
with sufficient water to cover them odIv The 
covers are then soldered leavi"g a pin-hole 
for the steam to escape. The cans are then 
boiled for two hours and. as ihey are removed 
one by one, a drop of 6older is put ou the pin¬ 
hole to close it The cans are then put in a 
boiler and boiled for one hour longer. Then 
they may be stored away. 
E. H. P., has some fine Brahma hens, but 
they are not good layers, and he asks what 
breed are the best layers and the most profit¬ 
able in all respects. 
An 3 —No matter what the breed, excellent 
care is necessary to make them lay. The Leg¬ 
horns are probably the best layers—the Black 
Hamburghs also rank high in this respect. 
F r all purposes, we have never found any 
breed more satisfactory than Plymouth Rocks. 
C. if., Albion. N. F . Address the Pope Man¬ 
ufacturing Co.. 595 Washington 8t. Boston. 
M iss., for circulars respecting the Columbia 
Bicycle, which will fie promptly forwarded. 
We have ourselves examined these bicycles. 
They are of first class workmanship aud are 
all that they are represented to be. 
Subscriber, Park Ridge, aV. J , asks whether 
salt mixed with food for pigs, is, or is not in¬ 
jurious. 
An 3—This query is answered under “ Swine¬ 
herd.” 
-- 
Communications received for the week end¬ 
ing Saturday, Jan. 15. 
W. II E.—F. H. 8.—G. E. N.—R. J. D.-E J. 
R—G. A.G., Jr.—Q W.—H. W. R. We have Hardly 
lime to draw and engrave It; would line speci¬ 
mens later.—G. W. F —It. H. C.—F. D. C.—J. G. 
B It may be that we shall reserve this for “ Small- 
fruit Special.”—T. T. L.-G. S. O.—R C. McW. 
The Rckal Is always pleased to receive interesting 
facts in r.he experience ot Its subscribers.—\v. G. 
W.—E. F. D.-C. E, C.-D. M. U.-J. W. L.—G. 
E. N.—W. B.—W. JI.—B. F. J.—F. H. S.-E. W. 
B.-C, C.—T. K. n.-O. W. D.-G, M. D.—J. P.— 
J. P. R.—W. G—R. S. P.—A. B. A.—Kate M. F., 
Ray Clark, or Emily Maple would be glad to hear 
from you We do not care much for poetry.—u, 
T. 8.—A. B O.—Albert Turner reserved for smalt 
fruit number.—A. L. J.. la Rims eotlnus hardy 
with you?—B. F. J.-P B. M.-T. n. H.—0. W. p. 
—W. M.—C C —F. U. S.—C. G. O.—8. B.—C. >1. T. 
R J.—N. W. K.—M. W. F.—W. V. A —L. A. T. 
0. M.—J. J. B.—A. A.—T. J. W.—L. D. N.—W. M. 
Jnhstrial Copies, 
COMMISSIONER LE DUC’S ACTION WITH 
REGARD TO PLEURO-7NEDMONIA. 
A Charge Refuted. 
In the course of an article contained in the 
Ohio Farmer of the 1st inst, under the caption 
of “ Is Gen. L* Due to be Removed ?” occurs 
tbe following language :— 
“Gen. LeDuc Is proposed for the Secretaryship 
of Agriculture In the Cabinet. That should de¬ 
mand wise foresight and a thorough, intellectual 
and business grasp of the entire situation, and 
wisdom to counsel wise legislation. He who fills 
that place should be a leader. Has Gen. LeDuc 
proved himself to be one ? Take the ca-e of pleuro¬ 
pneumonia. Tie gave no public proof ot knowl¬ 
edge of Its existence, magnitude and dangerous 
character till private, State aad national Interfer¬ 
ence had definitely marked and mapped Its terri¬ 
tory and hemmed It In. He showed no apprecia¬ 
tion of its Influence on our export trade In cattle 
till President Hayes sent a special Commissioner 
to England to Inquire what could be done.” 
The writer of the above is wrong in toto. 
To show the great injustice which hi has done 
the Commissioner of Agriculture ia the above 
charge we have but briefly to recall the action 
of Gen. LeDuc in the investigation of diseases 
of farm animals—an investigation which he 
instituted, as the published records show, al¬ 
most immediately ou his accession to office. 
No other Commissioner had done anything in 
Ibis direction, and to him alone is due the pres¬ 
ent interest m mifested in the su’ jic.t of the 
suppression of that terrible disea-e known as 
contagious plenro-pueumonia of cattle. And 
now to the record : — 
Investigation Commenced In ’77. 
As early as Angust. 1877, during the second 
month of his administration, he caused the 
following circular letter to be forwarded to 
each member ot the House of Representatives : 
Department op agriculture, \ 
Wahhinqton, D. c!.. Aug , 1877. j 
Sir : This Department ts making a tnorough In¬ 
vestigation into the causes or the many diseases 
now, and for some years past, prevailing, with 
such fatal effect, among the farm animals of this 
country. In order that this work may he facili¬ 
tated, and the Department put In possession of in¬ 
formation that will enable It to form a correct un¬ 
derstanding of the extant, nature aud character of 
these diseases, and of the remedies Indicated there¬ 
for, I would tUank you for the names .and post office 
addresses of some ot the more prominent stock and 
poultry dealers aud breeders ot your district, and 
alao the addresses ot respectable veterinary sur¬ 
geons who have had experience tn this direction. 
The names shoal 1 include those ot persons resid¬ 
ing In localities where diseases ot a general and 
local character prevail, either among horses, cat¬ 
tle, sheep, hogs or poultry. 
I remain yours, very respectfully, 
Wm. G. Le Due, Commissioner. 
Members of Congress seem to have promptly 
responded to the above request, for we find 
that during the same month the Commissioner 
forwarded the following circular letter to one 
or more correspondents in every county of the 
United States: 
Department of Agriculture,) 
■Washington. D. O., Aug. 1877. J 
Sra:—This Department, being destrou3 0 t mak¬ 
ing an Investigation Into the causes ot diseases 
now, and for some years past, prevailing among 
allclasse- ot farm animals, desires your assistance 
and co-operation in the proper consideration and 
determination ota subject of suehgrear, importance 
to the stock breeders and growers of this country. 
With the vt-zwof saving mildousof dollars annual¬ 
ly by the timely use of such remedies and prevent¬ 
ives os are now known or mav be discovered by this 
investigation, the Department desires, as speedily 
as possible, to be put in possession ot such facts as 
may have com- 1 under your observation in relation 
to diseases affecting horses, cattle, sheep, hogs 
and fowls, eltner in your own neighborhood or In 
adjacent Local tries. Have the kindness to give as 
complete a diagnosis of the disease as possible, 
stating the duration of the attatk. Its average fa¬ 
tality, what remedies. If any, are used, and with 
what success. In localities where diseases pre¬ 
vail among more than one class of animals, separ¬ 
ate statements should be mide under rhe name of 
the animals affected. Very respectfully, &c., 
Wm. G. Lb Due, Commissioner. 
Early Result*. 
This circular letter elicited a vast amount ot 
information, which was called for bv resolu¬ 
tion of the Senate on February 20, 187S and 
was forwarded to that body by President 
H iyes. accompanied by a short message, on 
the 27th day of the same month. This infor¬ 
mation was speedily published by order of the 
Senate, as Senate Executive Document No. 35, 
45th Congress, Second Session. Ia the letter 
transmitting this information to the Senate, 
Geu. DeDuc says: 
“For some years past the local press, and espe¬ 
cially the agricultural journals of rhe country, have 
been calling attention to the increase ot diseases 
among farm stock, and the consequent heavy losses 
annually sustained by our farmers and stock breed¬ 
ers and grower*. 1 regard© 1 the subject as one of 
such vast importance to the product; ro industries 
of our country as to demand the immediate atten¬ 
tion of this Depai tment.” 
(Continued on page 67.) 
