APRIL 2 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
225 
Nebraska, Austin, 8herman Co., March 13. 
— Our Winter of 1880-81 commenced on Sep¬ 
tember 13, ’80. In 1879 the first frost visited 
us on October 19. The first snow fell on Octo¬ 
ber 16, in '81, but this melted away. The enow 
from the first day of December is still on the 
field What was melted by some sunny days in 
February last, came back hy a heavy snow¬ 
storm on March 3. In 1880 every one was 
busy sowing: wheat in the middle of March. 
Mine was sowed od the 24th. The ground this 
year is still frozen for many feet, and very 
few had their ground plowed in the Fall. 
There is, owing to the early Winter, a good 
deal of corn unhusked in the field. Our wells 
did not dry up, however. Some days I had to 
melt snow, because the well was filled up by a 
snowdrift; but my cattle did well. I lost only 
two calves, one owing to premature birth. I 
have plenty of hay. Last year I tried a few fruit 
trees, obtained from a Now York nursery, and 
among twenty only three proved themselves 
not frost-proof with us. (Austin is 2 000 feet 
above the sea). I planted also 2,000 Osage 
Orange seedlings, but as far as I can judge 
from the few above the snow, they died. 
I add that the snow in the field Is from 2J 
to 2} feet high, and that perhaps the little 
specimens are saved by its depth. Our roads 
are so bad that two neighbors who had to go 
tor coal, on different times, could not fetch 
more than 1200 pounds with four horses. Our 
mail ought to come three times a week; a 
good many times it could not come once in 
two weeks, jr. b. n. 
N. C-, Tryon City, Polk Co., March 23.— 
It has been unusually cold here during the 
past Winter, and we have had two snow 
storms. Each time the snow fell to a depth of 
about four inches, and covered the ground for 
a week. No injary has been done to fruit 
trees or buds, however, and the prospect is now 
good for an excellent crop. a. b. 
Ohio, Calcutta, Columbia Co., March 15.— 
The wheat came out from under the snow 
seemingly in fine condition. Weather fine, 
indicative of Spring. J. a. 
strawberry in competition with all the new 
sorts. “I do not," he writes us, and we are 
not sure we should print any part of his let¬ 
ter, “ eat any other myself—except the earlier 
sorts, such as Boston Pine and Jenny Lind and. 
for a late one, La Constante. These are all of 
25 sorts I ever think of having on my table.” 
land Is rich, thick sowing favors early ripen¬ 
ing. It Is quite an object to get string beans 
as early as possible, and it is well worth run¬ 
ning a little ri6k of having the first sowing cut 
off or uninjured by a frosty night. 
There is no healthier, more nutritious or 
more delicious and productive vegetable. It 
should be raised by every occupier of laud. 
All that is required to have it in great abun¬ 
dance daring the season, is good land, good 
seed and a little care in planting, training and 
cultivating. On his own farm he plants Lima 
beans in rows five feet apart, and the hills 
three feet apart in the rows. The land can 
hardly be too heavily manured. Plant the 
BUBAL SPECIAL BEFOBT8, 
Conn., Columbia, Tolland Co., March 18.— 
There ha6 been considerable activity in the 
fruit market for a little time past, though at 
moderate prices. Apples have brought 35c. 
per bushel for medium quality. Potatoes bring 
65c. for smooth Early Rose. Onions are not 
active. Farmers have been doing an unusual 
amount of business in getting off lumber at 
fair prices. It is probable that farmers will 
grow patches of sorghum the coming season 
Mb. Hovrt has been accused for 80 years 
past of thinking his own things the best. “I 
enppose/’he writes in another part “ you know 
that when I introduced the Concord Grape 
all the Boston cultivators said it was ‘ only fit 
for jellies.’". 
Oleomargarine in England,— The Presi¬ 
dent of the English Board of Trade stated in 
Parliament some time ago, that oleomargarine 
had been declared by experts to be a whole¬ 
some article of food; wherefore its importa¬ 
tion could not be stopped. The Mark Lane 
Express says ; “ We see not a particle of dif¬ 
ference between meat, wheat, cheese, butter, 
poultry, eggs, or butterine; all are additions 
to our food supplies. If any one of them is 
unwholesome or injuiious to health, the law Is 
able to step in and destroy it. If they are sold 
for what they are not, the law is again well 
able to protect the purchaser who has been 
defrauded.” This Is certainly taking a very 
liberal view of the sunject, and it shows that 
onr English cousins are inclined to give us a 
chance to supply them with food in all its 
usual forms. 
beast.—fig. 186. 
sufficient for the production of all the sirup re¬ 
quired in the family. There are frequent 
changes in real estate and some good farms 
for sale. The severe Winter will probably 
leave the roads in bad condition. The ensi¬ 
lage fever has not yet attacked this place. 
W. H. T. 
Cal., Marshall, Marin Co., March 10.—I 
am on a dairy rancho here where 200 cows are 
kept. This is the best time of the year for the 
business. Feed is good and abundant. We 
have not had cold weather enough to freeze a 
potato out-of-doors, and no frost at all except 
on a few nights. Batter brings from 3t5@37^ 
cents in San Frauclsco, 55 miles away ; eggs, 
20 eents—which is very low here—pork, on 
foot, 6 cents. We are making 140 pounds of 
butter a day, milking 148 cows. We have lots 
of fiowers all the year round. w. h. p. 
III., Kankakee, Kankakee Co.. March 15 — 
We have had a long, cold Winter here. It 
froze up on the 15th of November and has 
not thawed out Bince that date. We have 
had 86 snows, with a total snow-fall of 64 in¬ 
ches. And up to the last week in Febiuary we 
had no wind; the snow lay j ust where it fell, 
making the sleighing splendid, of which we 
have had 12 weeks—something very nnnsnal 
for this country. During 38 days the ther¬ 
mometer indicated zero and below. The fruit 
is mostly killed. Winter wheat and rye are 
doing well so far. Wheat is worth SI: corn, 
35c; oats, 30c; potatoes, 51 per bushel; hay, 
timothy, $10 per ton; prairie $6, and other 
things in proportion. J. m. 
Iowa, Lima, Fayette Co., March 17.—We 
have had some very cold weather this Winter. 
The thermometer was down to 30 deg. and 38 
deg. below zero, and the snow about two feet 
deep. Crops of nearly all kinds were good 
the past season except wheat and potatoes. 
Corn is worth 22c. to 25 c; wheat, from 60 to 
90cts.; pork, $4 40 to 4 50; cream, 20ctB an 
inch; butter, 18 to 20ets ; eggs, 22cts; potatoes. 
For Beets the soil should be made rich 
and mellow. Rapid growth makes the beets 
tender. Drill im the seed pretty thick, drop¬ 
ping a seed every inch, and thin out the plants 
to three w four inches apart. The young 
plants that are drawn out can be used for 
greens. Keep the ground well cultivated or 
hoed, and suffer not a weed to grow. The far¬ 
mer, at any rate, should have a full supply of 
betta, early and late. If he has more than he 
can ase ou lhe table, the cow or the pig will 
'be grateful for them. 
The First and Second Needs of a Sol¬ 
dier. —It is said, according to London Field, 
that when the Duke of Wellington returned 
from his hard-fought Peninsular campaign 
some of the War Office cfficiala asked him 
what part of the soldier’s outfit was most im¬ 
portant in order to secure his efficiency ? The 
Duke's reply was, “ A pair of good boots." Be¬ 
ing further questioned as to the part of the out¬ 
fit next in importance, the reply was, “Another 
pair of good boots.” There Is more force and 
wisdom in the Duke's reply than appears at first 
elghl; certain it is, those who have two pairs 
of good boots can always have one pair in re¬ 
serve, getting dry and comfortable for a change 
when necessary. A man dry and comfortably 
shod is equal to more work in inclement 
weather, and less liable to be injuriously affect¬ 
ed by exposure to cold and wet, than one suf¬ 
fering from cold, damp, or wet feet- 
S. C., Greenville C. EL, Greenville Co., March 
13.—Small frnit culture Is going to be, in the 
not far distant future, one of the chief agricul¬ 
tural pursuits in this Pie.lmont Belt of South 
Carolina. A neighbor of mine made 550 gallons 
of wine last year from five acres of land, and 
it was from young vines. The same gentleman 
Intends to put twice or thrice that number of 
acres in vineyards this year. Raising Bmall 
fruits here can be done much more cheaply 
than in other parts of this State, on account cf 
the adoption by our county of the “no 
feofe” law, rendering it compulsory upon 
every person to keep his stock in a strongly 
inclosed piece of ground, and from trespassing 
upon the cultivated ground of his neighbor. It 
has been of immense pecuniary advantage to 
farmers hy lessening the expense of fencing to 
at least one-fourth of its former cost, and owing 
to a gradual rise in the value of real estate 
also. One could have driven last Summer 
through Greenville County for four or five miles 
and nut have seen one £ ere fenced in. Your 
correspondent, “ Clinton,” who wrote npon the 
destruction of our viigin forests, and the pre¬ 
ventives of it, would surt- 
ly have advocated the 
adoption bv the farmers 
I°£ lbe " no * enc8 ” ^ 
l he had seen it in opera- 
' : ? tion here. a. h. d. 
Gloucester Co., March 15. 
—The farmers are very 
backward in their work 
-•'-jjA this year because of the 
ftjfgX l ^ ^ i late, cold Spring. The 
greater part of the buds 
tw fjpafcNI ||p|3 of the fruit trees are 
m kl, l ed b Y severity of 
‘ o-{ tins Winter. All Winter 
mr oats are entirely dead 
f% and everybody has lost 
nearly all of his root 
( crops, vegetables, etc., ty 
: the severe free zing. Pei- 
sons engaged in the 
||| ill jljp oyster business have also 
mlMj 1)8611 heavy losers, as the 
frozen livers have made 
the oysters too poor to 
sell, which is quite a con¬ 
sideration in this viciaiiy 
where many people have 
to depend on that busi¬ 
ness lor a living. But 
we are hoping to have good weather this 
year, so as to enable us to make up for onr 
losses by putting in and making a large crop 
of com, truck, etc. h. p. s. 
Va., New Market, Shenandoah Co.., March 15, 
—Farmers are plowing for com and Spring 
crops; garden making is begun in earnest. 
We have had a very long and severe Winter 
here—the coldest known for many years. 
The thermometer has been as low 35 deg. below 
zero and the snow two feet deep. We have 
had but> few mild days during the whole Win 
The Early Bassano is a standard early beet. 
If the seed is of a good strain and the plants 
are grown rapidly, the beets will be tender, 
sweet and of excellent flavor. It is doubtful 
if there is any better early variety. Sow the 
seed for an early crop as soon as the soil can 
be made warm and mellow. Do not cover 
more than an inch deep. For Autumn and Win¬ 
ter nse, sow about the time field corn is 
planted. _ 
Mangels.—M r. Harris prefers to grow the 
Yellow Globe Maugel, rather than the Mam¬ 
moth Long Red. But much depends on the 
soil. On very deep, rich soil, perhaps a larger 
crop caa be grown of the Mammoth Long Red 
than of the Yellow Globe. But the latter 
are better for shallow soils. They are more 
easily harvested, and are believed to give a 
richer color to the butter. The milch cows, as 
well as the ewes and lambs and suckling sows, 
will be very grateful for either variety. 
Any one who can raise good beets in the 
garden, can raise good mangels in the field. 
ion as follows: “Last Spring I applied Paris- 
green, mixed with water, to my corn when it 
was about three to five inches high, to stay the 
ravages of the Army-worm. 1 desire to know 
whether you have analyzed any corn thus 
treated, or can inform me if It will now be 
safe to feed the corn-Btalks and husks ? If not, 
will the Station analyze a sample for me ?" 
Mr. Spencer was re 
quested to forward to the 
8tation a dozen to fifteen 
stalks taken fromdiffei- 
ent parts of the field. 
The samples came in J* j 
good older, well tied up 
in papers and secured Y ,• 
with sacking. The stalks Jifw:- j 
were run through a straw 
cutter, and all the dost, 
together with a good poi- -v*1IhS1P 
tlon of the well-mixed 
cuttings, was examined 
ty Dr. Jenkins for arse- 
nic. No trace of this X\' 
poison could be found 
by the processes which 
serve to detect 1-50,000th - 
of a grain of white x 
arsenic. It thus appears 
that Paris-green applied 
to the young plants had 
been completely removed 
by the rain. It has been 
well established by Dr. 
McMurtrie that vegetu. 
tion takes up into its 
interior no arsenic from 
the soil with which Park- 
green has mingled in the 
quantities that are used for destroying insects, 
a result iully confirmed by this examination. 
A GROUP OF VEGETABLES.—AFTER' DANIELS BROS'. (ENGLAND) GUIDE.—FIG. 187 
40cts. Spriag wheat has been a failure for 
the last three years, some of the farmers have 
tried to raise Winter wheat, but it gets winter- 
killed. It averaged about five to ten bushels 
per acre. p. b. j. 
Iowa, Greene, Butler Co., March 16.—We 
have had a very cold and severe Winter hith¬ 
erto, with a greater depth of snow than Iowa’s 
oldest inhabitant has ever seen in this State. 
A. U. G. 
Mo., Troy, Lincoln Co., March 17.—Wheat 
looks very promising. r. s. w. 
The only difference la that we make the rows 
two and a half feet apart, and nse the horse- 
hoe frequently between the rows. Thin out 
the plants to eight to fifteen inches apart. Keep 
clean, and this is all there is to be done. If 
there are any vacancies, fill out the flpaces with 
Drumhead Cabbage. Sow the seed of the lat¬ 
ter about a week or ten days later than the 
mangels. The cabbage will continue to grow 
and head after the mangels are removed. For 
a double crop of this kind, the land cannot be 
made too rich or be too well prepared, 
Joseph Harris, of Moreton Farm, Is ex¬ 
cellent authority as to vegetables as well as to 
farm matters In general. He has the follow¬ 
ing to say regarding beans, etc.:— 
Rush Beans, —For early string beans, there 
is no better variety thau the Early Valentine. 
Select warm, mellow, sandy soil. Sow the Seed 
in drills fifteen Inches apart, and drop the 
beans about an inch apartjin the row. If the 
