435 
BOA!, f!£W-¥0B!CEB. 
Pa., ShepherdBtown, Cumberland Co., Feb. 4. 
—The intense cold of December 30, 31, and 
January 1 killed all our peach buds, except on 
high localities. This is a hilly section. At an 
altitude of 350 feet above creek level one-half 
of the peach buds are good. In the Cumber¬ 
land Valley all are killed and no doubt many 
trees. The minimum temperature here was 
16 deg.; at creek level 26 deg. On Jan, 30, 
1873, the minimum temperature here was 21 
deg.; at creek level 33J deg. Cherry buds are 
good. e. h. c. 
R. I., Jamestown.—I wiBh to thank you for 
the rare seeds you have sent in years past, and 
to express through the columns of your paper 
ray appreciation of its merits as a horticultural 
paper, as which I think it takes the precedence of 
all our rural and agricultural journals. Among 
the seeds distributed two years airo by the Ru¬ 
ral New-Yorker were those of double Hibis 
ens Syriacus, of which I raised quite a number 
of plants, three of which bloomed late last 
Fall, all being doable and of different colors. 
I also raised four Dutchman’s Pipe vines, some 
Of which are over three feet high. I prize 
them much, as they are so different in foliage 
and llowui from any other of our hardy climb¬ 
ing plants. The Beauty of Hebron potato has 
so increased that I now have all the seed I 
want for the next yeai’s planting. I find 
them early and prolific. You will readily see 
that I gained more from the seed distributed 
that year than the paper cost me. It has 
been the advice of the Rural to seud for the 
floral catalogues advertised in its columns and 
select from those that advertised what was 
wanted at the most reasonable rates. Three 
years ago I ordered plants and seeds from 
no less than 13 different establishments by mail. 
In conclusion I will soy if any one wants a nice 
vine for piuzzi, don’t fail to order a Buist's 
Hardy Passion vine. There was one included 
iu my collections last year which grew 20 feet, 
and besides being the handsomest vine 1 know 
it was in bloom for two months. I have ordered 
one tbi6 year, fearing the severe Winter has 
killtd mine, which I prize ten times its cost. 
Again thanking you for your choice seeds and 
valuable paper, 1 remain, J. J- w. 
Tenn., Thompson Station, Williamson Co., 
Feb. 8.—I have but recently become a sub¬ 
scriber to the Rural, hence, my commenda¬ 
tion may be of little worth; yet 1 wish to add 
my testimony to that of thousands who have 
long known your paper, that It is, in my iudg- 
rneut, one of, if not the best and most ably 
edited agricultural journals published. Peirait 
me to thank you lor the VVfaite Elephant Po¬ 
tato recently sent. I shall try its virtues when 
the season permits. I hope you will aceom 
pany the Rural Branching Sorghum Seed with 
instructions as to its cultivation, and how to 
harvest it for fodder. (We shall. Eds.) I want 
it as a Winter feed for young cattle and 
mules if they will eat it- We have had a very 
severely cold and protracted Winter for this 
latitude. Tennessee has rarely seen so much 
hard freezing, so much ice and snow and cold 
rains. Yeti think the wheat generally, has 
not been seriously killed out. I do not hear 
any complaint of fruit-buds being killed. 
I hope the Rural will be kind enough to give 
us Southern farmers—occasionally—the benefit 
of its advice and experience ; iu other words, 
that it will not be an agricultural paper pub¬ 
lished exclusively for the benefit, and in the 
interest of, the Northern and Western farmers. 
We need all the light we can get in the South, 
upon eveiy improved method in farming ; and 
as our section is sadly behind in agiicultural 
literature, uiaoy of us look to our more highly 
favored Ueighbois and gladly receive any sug¬ 
gestions which prove valuable. w. n. c. 
Tenn.. Chattanooga, February 8.—I see in 
the Rural of January 29—C. C. of Damas¬ 
cus, Pa., asks about the Chester County Mam¬ 
moth Corn. I think if he will write to Steven 
Darlington, Painter’s Bridge, P. O., Chester 
Co., Pa., he will find out all about it, for if I 
mistake not, he is the gentleman who, from 
careful selection of seed for many years, pro¬ 
duced the varieiy. I sentto the old geuilemau 
for seed five years ago when we first came to 
Tennessee, and our corn crop produced a great 
excitement in our county. We named it the 
Darlington Corn. The country folks in Lewis 
County call it Hale Corn. c. w. n. 
Texas, Dayton, Liberiy Co., Feb. 7.—The 
cold wave that visited us during the holidays, 
made sad work among my tender shrubs and 
roses. The few orange trees I have, though 
well protected by pine saplings, look sick'y, 
and will lose all their leaves. The bark, how¬ 
ever, is not split, and I thiuk they will recover. 
The gardun looks black. My Mareebal Niels 
sulfered most. That worthy, the “oldest in¬ 
habitant,’’ says it was the coldest spell ever 
experienced iu Texas. Ice formed on the 
prairie, in pools, solid enough to bear up a 
horse and remained so lor four days. Irish 
potato planting is now going on. a. a. 
Va., St. Stephen’s Church, Kiug and Queen 
Co., Feb. 1.—I was startled at seeing in the 
Rural lately a statement of a North Carolina 
correspondent that the peach buds in that sec¬ 
tion were killed, and I proceeded at once to 
examine them here. I find that most of them 
seem to be dead; a few look as if alive. 1 have 
never known peaches to be killed in the bud but 
once here before, and that was in January, '56. 
1 think the cold has been more severe this sea¬ 
son than that, though the very severe weather 
continued longer then. Farmers here often do a 
good deal of plowing in the Winter; but the 
ground has been frozen now for more than two 
months. I have had to discontinue getting 
fence rails because the pine timber is frozen. 
1. K. G. 
VA., Stafford Co., Feb. 5.—We are having 
the coldest weather iu Virginia I ever experi¬ 
enced. The thermometer is frequently at zero. 
Snow has been an the land for last six weeks 
and there has been a continual freeze. I. p. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Fertillzerii, 
F. W. S , Baden , Fa., asks, 1, what would 
be the best way to treat a field of wheat which 
has been sown to wheat the second time with¬ 
out any manure except a clover sod being 
plowed under tbe first time; 3, would super¬ 
phosphate of bone be good to broadcast on it 
iu the Spring; 3 would plaster do as well as 
bone ? His soil is partly clay and partly gravel, 
is high and dry and naturally rich ; raised 
a good crop of wheat on it last year; 4, of 
what value is salt on such land ; also, of what 
value is lime in Spring, and how would all the 
ingredients do mixed, and what should be the 
proportion. Please tell me tbe price of bone 
and plaster in New York, and if the Buffalo is 
best; 5, would it do to sow any or all the above 
ingredients with a grain drill, by removing the 
tubes, or would sowing broadcast by hand be 
better ? 
Ans. —1. We should risk the crop without 
any manure. 2. We do not think the question 
can be settled definitely. Probably it would 
help the crop if sown early. Perhaps the field 
does not need bone. 3. This can be ascertained 
only by experiment. Plaster has no apprecia¬ 
ble tffect in some cases. 4. We cannot say. 
Sow a bushel on a quarter of an aero as an 
experiment. Lime mayhaveanexcellenteffect. 
We should not mix them together. Send for 
the circulars of Bowker & Co.. Mipes Fertiliz¬ 
ing Co., New York, and to Mr. Crocker, of 
Buffalo. We d > not know which is the best. 
The establishments mentioned sell fertilizers 
which may be relied upon as being what they 
purport to be. 5. Itcouid be sown more even¬ 
ly by hand. 
Poultry Disease, etc.* 
W. II. C., Thompson's (Station, Tenn., asks, 
1, for a remedy for what is there known as 
“Leg Disease” among poultry. When just 
attacked a weakness appears in the legs, 
which vapidly grows worse ; the hen loses her 
appetite, wastes away and dies; 3, whether 
coal tar is useful for preserving the lower ends 
of fence posts; 3, are all subscribers to the 
Rural required to forward postage stamps 
for our Seed Distribution. 
Ans.— Several diseases affect the legs of fowls, 
but which of them is indicated by the above 
scanty description is hard to tell. There is a 
disease known generally as “Leg Weak¬ 
ness,” which generally occurs iu highly fed 
fowls and fast-growing chickens. As a remedy, 
give the uffected birds animal food once a day, 
and iu warm weather dip the legs once a day 
for a week in warm water. Also give them 
once a day three or four grains of atmuouk- 
citrate of iron, (to be had at the drag-store), 
dissolved in water and mixed in their feed. 
Keep them from wet grass. 2, An application 
of coal tar unquestionably preserves fence 
posts. 3. All are required to 6end stamps ex¬ 
cept those who subscribe through any of the 
journals with which the Rural clubs. 
Tanning Horse-Hides. 
T. n. W-, Oberltn, Ohio, asks if the Rural 
can give directions for tauning a horse hide 
with the hair left on. 
Ans. —The best way is to send the bide to a 
tannery and have it done in a proper manner. 
If this cannot be done, the next be6t way is to 
tan the hide iu the manner iu which buffalo 
robes are dressed. The hide should be 6teeped 
in water and the flesh side thoroughly well 
scraped. It is then covered with a mixture of 
eq«nl parts of salt and alum, doubled with the 
lle&h side ia and left for a week. It is then 
stretched out over a log or bench and scraped 
and again dressed with the salt and alum. 
This is repeated until the hide is thoroughly 
saturated. It is then stretched out on a frame 
and well rubbed with chalk aud a piece of 
board held by one edge by which the skin 
is made soft and pliable, A good deal of 
rubbiug and working will be required to make 
the skin soft. It may finally be dressed down 
with pumice stone. When $20 worth of time, 
labor and material have been used, you will 
have a veiy poor substitute for a buffalo skin 
worth $5. 
JL. W., Oneida Co , N. Y., would like to 
know the comparative value of hard and soft " 
wood asheB; also, the value of soot in chim¬ 
neys where wood is uBed. 
Ans. —Hard wood makeB more ashes than 
soft wood, but there is not much difference in 
the ash itself. For instance, the following 
woods contain the stated quantities of ash, and 
the ash contains the Btated quantities of potash: 
Ash. Potash in ash. 
Birch. 
per cent. 
per cent. 
11.s 
Beech. 
16.1 
Oak. 
10.0 
Willow. 
. 1.15 
14.0 
Elm . 
.2 20 
21.9 
Maple. 
80.5 
White Pine. 
15.3 
Larch. 
15.3 
Pine gives less than half as much ash as beech, 
but the ash is nearly as rich in potash. The 
hard-wood ashes are about twice as rich 
in phosphoric acid as the soft-wood ash. The 
soot from wood fires is nearly all fine ashes. 
That from green wood contains some ammo- 
niaeal products precipitated with the con¬ 
densed moisture from the wood; that from 
dry wood differs very little from the ash itself. 
Herd Kooks. 
Young Farmer, Camden, Del., I have a thoi- 
ough-bred Alderney cow obtained from a herd 
formerly registered. She now has her first calf 
from a registered buil. and I wish to have 
them registered. Which is the very best herd 
book to enter in and how shall I proceed. 
Ans. —There are two Jersey Herd Books, one 
is the herd book of the Jersey Cattle Club of 
which Geo. E. Waring, of Newport, R. I , is 
the Secretary and ihe other is the Jersey Herd 
Record. The latter is but little heard of and 
we do not at present remember its whereabouts 
or the officers’ names. Your best plan is tc fiud 
from the owners of the herds to which your 
cow and the bull belonged, where and how they 
were recorded and to write to the Secretary of 
the particular herd book for blanks of regis¬ 
try. It is probable that the J. C. C. H. B is 
the one you will want, and by writing to Mr. 
Waring you can get the desired information. 
This Herd Book only receives entries of cattle 
that are descended from animals already en¬ 
tered. 
Miscellaneous. 
A. 3., Eagle Harbor, N. Y., asks if it would be 
advisable to build an ice-house with milk-room 
attached; and if so, how shall it be built. 
Wonld it do to have the drain from the ice pass 
through the milk-room ; and if so, how should 
the bottom of the ice-house be built. Would 
thedampuess be detrimental to health, in doing 
the necessary work in taking care of the milk 
in warm weather ? 
Ans.—Y our plan will not work. Many per¬ 
sons have tried it and all have failed. It wastes 
the ice and does not cool the milk. Your best 
plan ia to set your milk in deep pails, in a cis¬ 
tern, a trough, cr pool covered from the air, 
and use the ice iu the usual manner to cool the 
milk directly. A watei-light br.x is easily made 
of plank for this purpose. It would require 
many time® more ice to cool the air of a milk- 
room than to cool the milk itself. Fifty pounds 
of ice will cool 200 pounds of milk to 45 deg. in 
a close non-conducting box or refrigerator. 
The box should be lined with tin. 
E. E. W-, Cherokee Co., lotoa, wishes to 
know what kinds of Evergreen trees would be 
best for her to plant for ornament. 
Ans. —Cherokee County is well up to the 
Northwest corner of the State, and only the 
hardiest Evergreens will endure the severe 
winter winds. Even White Fine and Norway 
Spruce are sometimes browned in winter dur¬ 
ing the first two or three years after being 
planted out. We would recommend Norway 
aud White Spruce, Austrian, Scotch, Rod aud 
White Pines, Red Cedar, American Arbor vitaa 
and Balsam Fir, as he.ing the hardiest, in fact, 
about the only tiaidy Evergreens that can be 
named. The Colorado Evergreens are the 
best adspttd to that climate, and the most 
ornamentul, but there are few, if any, large 
enough to plant out. 
J. II,, Flank Road, N. Y., asks, what is the 
matter with his hens. Dried matter collects iu 
their eyes, which blinds them and their mouths 
aud throats are filled with tool matter. 
Ans —The disease is probably the roup. One 
remedy for this disease is to dip a 6ma)l 
feather into nitric acid, then thrust it into the 
nostril of the 6ick fowl, giving it a twist while 
.in. This should be repeated two or three 
times a day. Another remedy is to confine the 
bird in a warm, dry room, and give it a tablt- 
spoonful of castor oil every morning for a 
week. Feed soft food. When the bird is at¬ 
tacked with this disease it should be at once 
separated from the others. 
J. V. B., Cochranton, asks, 1, whether the 
Gold Brothers, nurserymen, Rochester, N. Y . 
are reliable. ‘A Au apple-tree agent traveling 
thereabouts says the Russian Apple is propa¬ 
gated this year as follows:—The Russion cion 
is grafted on a wild crab; then dug up; then 
planted deeper when the cion takes root; then 
the crab root is cutoff, and the plants are worth 
a dollar apiece, and he asks our opinion on the 
whole matter. 
Ans. —1. We have always heard of the firm 
alluded to as honorable. 3, Russian apples have 
been propagated many years. ‘We cannot I 
see that the method as stated is anything else 
than senseless. 
F. S., South Jefferson, N. Y., asks for the 
dimensions of a movable frame bee-hive. 
Ans..—T he size of a hive should depend upon 
the kind of honey to be obtained. If no comb- 
honey is desired the hive may. contain 4,000 
cubic inches, but if box-boney is wanted it 
should not contain over 2.000 cubic inches. If 
the hive is to be a two story one, each stoiy 
should be. 18x12 and 12 inches deep, inside 
measure. If small frames or boxes are to be 
used above, the hive should be two feet in 
length. 
E. W. K., Glen's Falls, N. Y., asks, 1, wheth¬ 
er lightning was ever known to strike a build¬ 
ing guarded by a well constructed lightniug- 
rod; 2, what proportion of fruit gardeners 
make the business a success; 3, where can 
pure glucose be obtained ; 4, where can Gray’s 
Botany be bought. 
Ans. —1, We do no not know. The question 
arises what is a properly constructed lightning- 
rod. 3, We do not understand the question. 
3, Any wholesale grocer can furnish it, either 
directin’through a local retail grocer. 4, At 
any book store. 
O. A. S-, Macon City, Mo., had three chest¬ 
nut trees, two of which have perished, and he 
asks whether the third can bear fruit by itself; 
that is, without being fertilized from another 
tree. 
Ans. —Both kinds of flowers (male and fe¬ 
male) are borne upon the same tree in the 
chestnut, so that other chestnut trees near it 
are not essential. What we call the flowers 
are the pollen bearing male flowers—slender, 
feathery catkins. The female flowers are small 
and inconspicuous. 
J. F. B-, (address not given ) asks, 1, why the 
people in the District of Columbia do not ballot 
for President; 3, who in Pennsylvania is agent 
for the carp-fish aud what sort of a vessel is 
suitable to send to get them in; 3, is the Na¬ 
tional Wire Company of Chicago reliable. 
Ans —1, the government of D. C. is territo¬ 
rial, and has the same rights and privileges 
that any territory has; 3, We cannot give 
the agent’s name ; S, It is. 
R. M., Oak Burn, N. Y, says that some 
weeks ago he sent us a paper, and now he asks 
whether it is a humbug or not. 
Ans. —We know nothing of the publication. 
Papers or parcels of any kind addressed to ns, 
unless the senders’ addresses are given or let¬ 
ters of explanation accompany the packages, 
are often overlooked. 
D. B. M., Woodlaum, Neb., asks whether 
three feet eight inches is too close to plant corn 
in drills, 
Ans. —Whether three feet eight inches will 
be too close depends entirely upon the distance 
apart in the drills. We should not leave 
them closer than 18 inches. 
H. B. S., Rockvorl, Ohio, says some insect 
eats into the buds of the Japan Lily and Lilium 
Auratum, and wishes to know what it is 
and what to do with it. 
Ans. —We cannot answer positively without 
seeing specimens of ihe Insect. 
J. C. McC., Tidioute, Fa., asks where the 
Rochester and Tornado Thrashing Machines 
are manufactured. 
Ans —The old Glen & Hall machine is made 
somewhere in Canada; but we know nothing 
of the Tornado. 
Name and address lost. —How can I so place 
three horses abreast as to have the right-hand 
horse walk in the furrow and Btill have each 
horse pull one-third, or the draft equal? 
Please give diagrams. See answer on page 131. 
I. F„ Aemille, Ohio, asks the Post Office 
address of the American Naturalist. 
Ans,— 237 Dock street, Philadelphia, Pa. 
J. I. Vun&ickle, Westtown, N. Y., would like 
to learn where he can get Toulouse geese. 
-- 
Communications hkckived for the week end¬ 
ing 8ATUKDAT, FEB 19. 
S. R. M.—T. n. W.—J. R. G.—W. H. C , Wililain- 
son Co., Tenn. Thank you for your communica¬ 
tion. We were not aware any had been neglected. 
It occasionally happens we receive a greater num¬ 
ber of eommuntcat tons than we can print.—C. E. 
D. W.—B. 8.—H. W- R.—E. K. G.-J. B.—A. W., 
Oneida Co, N. Y„ would be pleased to near tiom 
you again.—A. S., Eagle Ilarbor, thank3 —R. M. 
L.—E. P. P.—A. B. A.-S. W. J.-O. A. 8.—L. A. 
R — M. G. II —J. E. C.—S. S. S.-S. B P.-O. N C. 
— E. B. D., thanks.— D. B. R., thanks.— W. 11. o.— 
H. R. W.-B. r. R„—W.—W. I. U.-R. G.- H. S — 
N. R.—S. B. P.—E. C., Texas; we shall endeavor 
to ascertain.—W. O. B.—O. \V. F. The paper al¬ 
luded to not received. Please send a whole ear 
with an account of the variety and yield.—W. B.— 
D. A. B.—G. II. C.—J no. P. C., Dubuque, Iowa. 
We can offer no further suggestions as to our coin 
culture. No, the firm alluded to has not our 
Blount’s Corn.—A. F. M.—E. H. -E. A.—R. H. C.— 
S. R. M.—IS. R —A. R.-N. F.-G. C. C.-J, E. S.— 
F. G.—W. F..Jr.-E. A. G.—"Bessie Victor.”—!. 
& A. C.—B. C. M.—A. L. J.-F. D. C.—W. C. B.-b. 
P.-G. E. N.-J. G.-D. B. P.—D. 8. M.-M. N. R.- 
J. H.—W. P. P —A. J. U —E. K. G.—A. R —J. G. B. 
P. E. J.—M. F.-J. H. H.—A. 8.—G. 8. S.-B. P.— 
C. C. G.—R. B.—E. F.-C. T.—J G.—D. L.—J. S. P. 
F, M. Youngblood, we do not find your address on 
letter; please send It. Seeds not yet (tetb) re¬ 
ceived.—R. D.—G. G.—Geo. H., thanks.—E, P. R. 
