FES. IS 
MS 
not to publish it. It was a miserable photo¬ 
graph in the first place and the cut looks like 
a monstrosity rather than a fine animal as 
he was.’’., . . 
We have received the following which ex¬ 
plains itself:— 
Dear Sir :—The first number of the jouinal 
of the A. A. A., is now in preparation and will 
be furnished free of expense to all who join 
the association. It will be in book form of 
three to four hundred pages, aud will contain 
articles by the ablest writers in America and 
Europe on agriculture and kindred topics, 
together with the proceedings of the associa¬ 
tion. the constitution aud by-laws and other 
interesting matter. The association 1ms been 
regularly incorporated, and is in excellent 
working shape, free of debt, with its Life 
Membership Fund intact. Soliciting your very 
best and prompt efforts, fours very truly, 
J. H. Rkall, Secretary. 
P. 8. Annual dues for this year $2.00, cov¬ 
ering all expense. 
The following interesting letter from Mr. 
Robert Douglas, of Waukegan, 111., in reply to 
our questions, has been overlooked for a con¬ 
siderable time. It is. however, as timely now 
as then to most of our readers 
Eds. Rural: —I know of no tree that can be 
so easily made to grow as the Catalpa. It iB not 
however, so easy to grow it lrom the .seed, or, 
rather, to get the 6eed started, as it is very 
liable to bake in the ground if thle is not very 
mellow and loose, and loose ground dries 
quickly, in which case the seed fails to germin¬ 
ate. Iu my oplulou, no other tree is better de¬ 
serving of distribution anywhere south of 43 
degrees. It is valuable and must become pop¬ 
ular. Dr. George Engelmanu wrote me that 
he has tborouirblv examined the tree, and is 
ready to publish it as a distinct species, and 
proposes that it retain the name of Speciosa, 
as named by Dr. Jno. A. Waider 3($ years ago. 
Dr. Warder had only claimed it as a variety at 
the time he named it. Some of our Eastern 
friends who have not had an opportunity to 
examine both kinds seem to doubt there being 
any difference in the two sorts, either iu hard¬ 
iness or otherwise; Dr. Engelmann sets that 
matter at rest by describing two distinct spe¬ 
cies, and as there could be no higher authority, 
skeptics will now feel disposed to examine 
into it more closely. The difference in hardi¬ 
ness is patent to anyone who wili look into 
the matter, and the difference in appearance is 
altogether in favor of the Speciosa. Dr. War¬ 
der and I examined the Bignouioides iu Boston, 
New York and all along to Washington and 
found that the further south it grew the belter 
it looked ; built was nowhere fit io be compared 
with Speciosa as au ornamental tree, aud the 
flowers of Speciosa are much finer than those 
of Bignouioides. 
Mules.— The Agricultural Editor of the 
New York World has this (aud we fully Indorse 
it) to say about mules: The chief objections 
urged against mules are two in number, and 
these have proved sufficiently strong to keep 
the animals from becoming universally popu¬ 
lar. Their appearance is unprepossessing, and 
they are unpleasant to handle, owiug to nim¬ 
ble and vicious movements of their bind legs. 
Concerning their kicking propensities the pre¬ 
judice is gradually disappearing before an in¬ 
telligent understanding of their disposition 
and management. Planters and trainers of 
large experience contend that the kicking pro¬ 
pensity is due mainly to ill treatment, and that 
mules bred from parents of good temper—if 
kindly handled and broken when young—are 
but little, if any, inclined to this vicious habit. 
The average life of a mule is about SO years, 
and many perform good service at a more ad¬ 
vanced age. Mules mature earlier than do 
horses and iu addition to their powers of en¬ 
durance are as sure-footed a6 goats. They are 
excellent pullers, and when judiciously handled 
are admirably adapted for teaming and fann¬ 
ing. The peculiar Iormatiou of Iheir hoofs ex¬ 
empts them from many of the diseases of the 
feet to which horses are subject. Their 6kin 
is less sensitive to the bites of fleas and other 
insects, and they can endure great extremes of 
heat and cold. 
Care. —The New York World, in an article 
upon this fish which is now exciting so much 
interest, say6: “ Carp spawn in May aud dune, 
and, under some circumstances, throughout 
the entire 8ummer. They are veiy prolific and 
the eggs of the female adhere tcuaciouely to 
whatever they touch ; for this reason it is im¬ 
portant that a new pond be provided, with 
floating weeds for such attachment. The eggs 
hatch out in a few days aud the young grow 
veiy rapidly. A Nevada exchange, in illustia 
tion of the prolificness of carp, cites the expe¬ 
rience of Mr. Mushier, of Stockton, who from 
17 young carp gained in one year 5,000 carp 
from five to seveu iuehea long. His pond was 
70 feet iu diameter and six feet long. The 
bdttom and sides of the pond were cemented 
to render it water-tight. The water was sup¬ 
plied from a well 70 feet deep; it was pumped 
into the pond ly means of a windmill. The 
cost of this pond was $100. Fanners who feel 
interested iu growing carp can, of course, raise 
all that would be required for family use in a 
much smaller pond than the oue described." 
THE BUBAL HEW-V0BKEB. 
Said Mr. Beal in an address before one of 
the meetings of the Farmers’ Institute of Mich¬ 
igan:— "If our grandmothers of fifty years 
ago were here tc-day and I were to tell them 
that we were making great improvements 
over their methods of making butter, they 
might justly refer me to the tons of sueine or 
lard-butter manufactured in Chicago, and the 
seven million pouuds of oleomargarine Eent 
abroad from New York City within the past 
year and palmed off od the unsuspecting pub¬ 
lic as pure batter. Tiny might say to me that 
if our butter was so poor that it could not be 
distinguished from lard or tallow, they did not 
think we had improved much on the quality. 
But I could answer them that it was not that 
our butler was so poor, but that Yankee ing •- 
nuiiy had so perfectly imitated the genuine 
article by the manufacture of spurious butter. 
Butter is not the only commodity that is coun¬ 
terfeited. 
The closing remarks of the above meeting 
were made by Thos. F. Moore. The speaker 
aimed to point the way to a higher elevation 
in the social and intellectual scale oi the large 
class engaged iu the noble industty of farming. 
Education was the great lever, lie suggested 
three practical ways for the better intellectual 
and material advancement of the farming com¬ 
munity: First, better district schools, by giv¬ 
ing women a voice iu their management; 2d, 
by the establishment of graded schools iu every 
town ; 3d, by the admission of fanners’ daugh¬ 
ters into the State Agricultural College. These 
were privileges farmers might enjoy, aud it 
was their duty to secure, them. Among other 
duties was the eradication of the liquor traffic, 
to be brought about by giviDg the ballot to 
woman ; aud the regulation of railroad trans¬ 
portation rates, io be achieved by sending 
farmers to Congress. 
Hot beds. —Instructions for hot-beds have 
been giveu in these columns so many times 
that we had intended to omit them the present 
season. Mr. I. F. Tilimghast, however, gives 
the following instructions in bis little work, 
‘•Seed-Time and Harvest." which are notable 
for their simplicity and accuracy:— 
Manure beds are most commonly used, horse 
manure being preferable to any other readily 
available substance. Fresh manure recently 
removed from the stable is best, but if it is 
made in too small quantities it should be fre¬ 
quently spread through the Winter in order to 
keep it from heating and spoiling before 
Spring. If a good proportion of fine straw or 
forest leaves are used in the bedding it Improves 
the manure greatly for hoi-'oed purposes. Wbeu 
ready to begin operations the manure should 
be forked over, shake.ii out finely, aud thrown 
into a high conical heap to heat; if anyways 
dry it should bo watered until well dampened 
throughout the lieui>. Leave it standing in 
this heap about a week aud it will surely heat 
aud begin smoking like a small volcano. 
There are now two methods for forming the 
bed, some digging a pit and sinking the manure 
in it, aud others simply building the manure 
up into a square bed and setting the frame on 
it. The first-named method requires more 
labor, the second more manure ; so we will let 
labor vs. manure decide which shall be adopted. 
After leveling the manure there should be 
three or four narrow boards laid across it, on 
which to rest the hot bed frame, so that after 
the manure heats all will be settled together 
evenly, otherwise the weight of the frame and 
sash will force it down into the manure, and 
the center of the bed will appear to raise and 
perhaps displace the plants. Of course, a spot 
for the bed should be selected which is shel¬ 
tered as much as possible on the north and west 
by some building or kigh board fence. The 
sash should slope gently towards the south 
or east, both in order to carry off the rain water 
readily and to catch the sun’s rays and gain 
light and warmth. 
The most common Bashes are 3x6 feet. The 
frame should therefore be made six feet wide 
and as long as necessary to accommodate the 
number of sashes to be used. A vital point 
always to be observed in making a hot-bed is 
to spread the manure down while hot; it then 
continues to heat; but if spread down cold it 
will heat very slowly and unevenly, or perhaps 
not at all. Early in Spring, when considerable 
cold weather may yet be expected it will be 
necessary to u e about a common wagon box 
full of maunre to each sash, but later in the 
season, when forming beds iu which to trans¬ 
plant seedliBgs, one-half that quantity will 
suffice. The 6oil to be used should be prepared 
in advance. It must be light, loose and rich. 
Good sods placed in a heap with alternate lay¬ 
ers of cow manure and allowed to i-land and 
decay for about one year, make a fine compost 
for starting a hot-bed. 
Soil should be placed on the manure to the 
depth of from four to six inches, and the 
glusses adjusted properly. After the soil be¬ 
comes warm, sow the seed in rows about four 
inches apart ami scatter them quite thickly iu 
the rows. Never sow broadcast, as the labor 
of keeping free from weeds is much greater. 
When the seedlings are about three inches 
high, they should be transplanted into rows, 
say 3xG inches, and as soon as these need more 
room or are in danger of running up spindling, 
transplant again. 
In transplanting tomato plants, the stem 
should be Bet down well into the soil, and will 
take root wherever covered. The object sought 
is plenty of fibrous roots on a short, stocky 
stem. 
The temperature of the beds must be closely 
watched, though it may vaiy considerably. 
The mercury may ruu from 50 ° to 80 9 , though 
the mean, 65 0 , should be as closely kept as 
possible. This for tomatoes, peppers, etc. 
Cabbage aud cauliflower plants require much 
less heat and should never be placed in the 
same bed with tomatoes. In fact, very little 
or no bottom heat is required to produce good 
early cabbage plants. Fit a frame as for a hot¬ 
bed except to omit the manure for the bottom 
heat; cover it with sash and bow the seed in 
Februaiy, or early in March, and better plants 
will usually result than if bottom heat is used. 
We find Ihe following in tbe Mark Lane Ex¬ 
press (London):—“Another eaually incredible 
record is that of the cow Eurotas.the property 
of Mr. A. B. Darling, a New York hotel keeper, 
which is stated to have given a yield of 778 
pouuds of butter in a little over 11 months; 
and almost a similar marvelous result is claim¬ 
ed for another cow, which is said to have pro¬ 
duced 705 pounds of butter in a year. The 
milk of tbe cow Eurotas is 6aid to have been 
so rich as to have yielded an average weight of 
one pound of hotter from nice and a half 
pounds of milk, whilst it takes from 23 to 25 
pouuds of good average milk to produce one 
pound of butter. One motive for the promul¬ 
gation of these astounding records appears to 
be the enhancement of the value of calves from 
these marvelous cows. As the Rural New- 
Yorker remarks :—• Before we should pay 
$1 500 for a calf, it would be at least safe to 
know that tbe record is genuine, and free, not 
oi ly from fraud, but also from too enthusiastic 
figuring,’ We do not think the reputation of 
American dairy farmers for truth and honesty 
can fail to be injured by what is at present oc¬ 
curring in that department of American indus¬ 
try. Whilst oleomargarine and boach butter 
of American production are poured into our 
market, cheese, as we read in last week’s 
paper, is being concocted of sour skim milk 
and animal fat, and gross falsehoods are circu¬ 
lated as to the produce of iudividual daity 
cows." Again it remarks, with forcible truth : 
“Those stock owners who undertake the 
trouble of accurately registering the yield of 
individual cows in milk or butter, under vary¬ 
ing circumstances, as to feeding, etc., and who 
give to the public tbe result of their labors, 
which may often prove oi practical value, are 
entitled to our thanks ; but those who, from 
the vulgar de-ire of telling the biggest tale, or 
a wish to increase on false grounds the demand 
for their cattle, give to the public exaggerated, 
false, or misleading statements, with a delib¬ 
erate intention to deceive, are only worthy of 
contempt.” The Rural thinks that “right 
here” a strong word might also beeaid against 
the “ high-spiced ’’ portraits which appear in 
illustrated stock journals from time to lime. 
Application op Liquid Manure to Roses.— 
Mr. George S. Wales tells of an experiment he 
made last season which proved highly satisfac¬ 
tory. About June 1st he planted out 12 small 
sized plants of different varieties, about a foot 
apart each way, in rich, heavy soil. Alter 
eveiy heavy rain he took from the barnyard 
the teachings oi the manure pile; with a 
pointed stick he punched four or five holes in 
the ground a few inches from each plant, and 
poured in the water ; the next day, or as 60 on 
as the ground was dry enough, he stirred the 
surface with a hoe, and kept it loose by fre¬ 
quent hoeings until again watered during the 
6eason. He applied the liquid manure prob¬ 
ably eight or ten times during the season. The 
result was wonderful. They began in five or 
six weeks to bleotn, and until October 1st, 
when they were taken up, there was hardly a 
day but that beautiful budB might have been 
picked. _ 
How Little Food a Plant Requires — 
There hangs before me as I write, says Prof. 8. 
W. Johuson in the N. Y. Tribune, a wheat plaut 
raised from akernel of the “Michigan Southern” 
variety, which was planted January 1, 1877, in 
a bottle of solution containing to one gallon of 
pure water the following BUbstancesand quan¬ 
tities : 45 9 grains of muriate of potash; 9 5 
grains of sulphate of magnesia; 18 6 grains of 
phosphate of 6oda; 88 9 grains of nitrate of 
lime, and a few drops of a solution of muriate 
of iron. The plant was harvested July 2, 1877. 
It tillered well, aud had some dozen eai-bear¬ 
ing stalks, and ripened 62 fairly formed and 
plump kernels. It is fouud that such solutions 
mutt be very dilute in order to obtain a vigorous 
ar.d abuudaut growth. In this instance the 
gallon of solution contained 58,885 grains of 
water and 163 grains of the above-named salts, 
or 1,009 of water to somewhat lees than 3 of 
salts. Experience in this kind of culture has 
demonstrated that If the proportion of salts be 
but slightly increased, the result is a dimin¬ 
ished growth. In most cases two or even one 
pan of the suitable salts to 1,000 of water give 
the best results. With our usual grain crops 
four or five parts to the thousand would great¬ 
ly hinder, and ten parts would be nearly fatal 
to growth- _ 
At the late meeting of the Pennsylvania 
Fruit-Growers’ Association an experiment was 
stated showing that Paris-green, in eolation, 
syringed over a bearing apple tree, entirely 
destroyed the codling moth. It was shown 
that when the fruit was ripe all traces of the 
pcison had passed away, and consequently no 
danger could ensue from its use. However, as 
there is a likelihood of this application proving 
dangerous, the suggestion was made to substi¬ 
tute other ingredients in its place, as, tor in¬ 
stance, pyrethrum powder, which, although 
Jatal to insects, is innocuous to the human 
family. 
The N. Y. Tiibune, in answer to a question, 
says that 123 pounds of the corn-fodder must 
be given to supply the same nutriment as 100 
pounds of hay would contain. This may be 
considered as a fair approximate statement of 
the relative value of the two fodders, based on 
tbeir chemical composition ; as to statements 
of relative value based on experiment or ex¬ 
perience, they are exceedingly scarce, while 
there is an abundance of testimony to the effect 
that corn-fodder is very valuable for Winter 
feeding. 
Addles tor Missouri.—W e commend Prof. 
Husmann’s list of apples for Missouri—ten for 
Winter, five tor Fall and five for Summer:— 
Winter —Huntsman’s Favorite, Ben Davis, 
Lawyer, Wlnesap. Jonathan, White Pippin, 
Ruwle’s Janet, Willow Twig, Missouri Pippin, 
and Small Romanite. 
Autumn.— Grimes’s Golden, Maiden's Blush, 
Fulton, Fameuse, and Rambo. 
Summer. — Williams’s Favorite, Lowell, 
Red June, Red Astrachau, and Early Harvest. 
The editor of the Industrialist, published at 
the Agricultural College at Manhattan, Rilt y 
Couniy, Kansas, under date of January 1,1881, 
has the following to suy of the “ Grange Store” 
in Olathe :—“ While at Olathe last week we 
became much interested in the co-operative 
Grange store of that place. TbiB institution 
commenced business four years ago, with less 
capital than $1,000. It now does an enormous 
cash business, which it shows by the fact that 
during its existence it has divided net profits 
among its stockholders amounting to $38 000. 
The secret of this great success seems to be the 
strict adherence to the cash tystem, a very for¬ 
tunate selection of tbe manager, and the exist¬ 
ence of a wide-awake farming community 
about Olathe.” 
It is all very well to talk poetically about 
the slender thread of fate, but the ugly truth 
is that a man's fate generally depends upon the 
number of hours of honest work he puts into 
every day.. .. 
It is truly said that there is only one way 
not to get cheated in a horse trade, and that is 
not to buy the horse. 
Dr. Boynton calls eusilage “ Cow-krout. . 
The Toronto Globe mentions a daily where 
the churning power is supplied by a black bear 
of 100 pounds weight, which seems to really 
enjoy the treadmill and always when the butter 
comes gets a pan of milk as reward for his 
faithful tramp. It would be a good idea to re¬ 
ward other animals used for the same puipose 
in the same way. ... . . 
It was very hard on a celebrated physician 
to say that when he went hunting daring his 
holiday it was the only time in the year whim 
he didn’t kill auything —N. Y. Herald. . . 
Ersrinb uniformly answered all begging 
letters a6 follows:—“Sir, I feel much honored 
by your application to me, and I beg to sub¬ 
scribe (here the reader bad to turn over the 
page) myself your obedient servant.” . . . 
Mr. Pierson is proud of bis own great State 
of Michigan. “Though younger than her 
Bisters, she is now a giown aud beautiful girl. 
She is withal a thrifty, piudent girl; keeps 
money in her pocket and is always ready to 
pay her debts.. 
We see by the Michigan Farmer that Mr. 
Hiram Sibley owns the largest farm in the 
world, viz,, 40,000 acres situated in Ford Co., 
Illinois. Mr. Biblty is now past 70 years of 
age ihough still energetic and in flue health. . 
Prof. Husmann of the Rural World speaks 
of Green’s Golden us a new seedling grape of 
deep goideu, almost bronzy lint. He thinks 
it will prove a fine grape for family use It is 
a great bearer, very healthy; berry as largo as 
the Concord, sweet, juicy aud fine flavored. . 
Mr. Boardman ot the Home Farm (Maine) 
tells us a Mr. Burleigh is expected back lrom 
England the present month with a choice herd 
of the Aberdeen or Polled Angus cattle. 
CATALOGUES, ETC., RECEIVED. 
Proceedings of the lute: -State Agricultural 
Convention held at Spriugfield Nov. 30 to Dec. 
2. J. K. Hudson, Topeka, Kansas, Secretary. 
