APRIL 23 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
273 
a multitude of inquiries as to where it could 
be obtained, and at length all these questions 
are answered by an advertisement in this is¬ 
sue. The device has already been so fully 
described and fittingly praised in our columns 
that it only remains for ns to say that the 
sliDg is entitled to the careful inspection of 
all who may be in need of such a conven¬ 
ience. E. G. B. 
which fortunately is so much dreaded and is so 
carefully guarded against tnat it is now much 
rarer than it was formerly. But it requires 
constant watching and preventive measures to 
avoid this pest. Then there is the sheep tick 
which prevails everywhere, a ferocious and 
persistent blood-sucker which worries and tor¬ 
ments the poor auimale until they lose both 
flesh and wool. Next comes the hot grub 
which enters the nostrils and lives in the nasal 
passages and makes life a burden to both the 
sheep aud the shepherd. Lice, fly maggots 
and more insect pests might be mentioned. 
should now be on the lookout for the bee-moth 
and other enemies to the bee. Every worm 
or miller killed now will save much trouble 
later on in the season. Early bloom is neces¬ 
sary if stimulative feeding is not practiced, 
hence it ib well to cultivate the Silver. Red and 
Soft .Naples whose early blossoms afford ex¬ 
cellent honey resources for the bees to draw 
upon in early Spring. Willows and poplarB 
are also early-blooming trees, and among 
plants and flowers blood-root, liver-leaf, creBS, 
etc., may be mentioned. Bees are industrious 
workers and every little honey-yielding flower 
will be visited maDytimis by them in iheir 
eager flight, in the days of early Spring. 
Northwest. I give them up with regret from 
the fact that where the climate will admit of 
their healthy growth they are among the most 
plpasing anu graceful of evergreens. 
Dodge Co., Wis. C. Perry. 
The Swaar Apple. 
We find that the apples which are most pop¬ 
ular to-day in the New York markets are the 
Northern Spy, Spitzenberg, 8wa ar and Bald¬ 
win. Of ttaeBe the Spitzenberg, now as 
always, is generally preferred and 
brings the highest price. Next couies > 
tbe Swaar, of which our engraving rep- / 
resentB the average size as they are now / 
sold fiom street Btands. When we / 
consider the immense quantities of / 
this apple that are offered in the mar- I 
kets, both East and West, at this 6e&- I 
son. we naturally ask where they come I 
from? Where does this excellent I 
apple thrive so well ? The question I 
is not easily answered. According to \ 
our information, it Beems to thrive \ 
here and there in isolated localities \ 
more than most other apples of fine \ 
qualify which are raised in large \ 
enough quantities to constitute during \ 
their season leading market vari¬ 
eties. 11 thrives moderately well in Cal¬ 
ifornia, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, 
Illinois. Indiana, Oregon, Michigan, 
New York and Pennsylvania. This 
is as far as our information extends. 
The color of the Swaar is a rich golden- 
ypllow when ripe. The flesh is yellowish, ten 
der, compact, fine-grained and the flavor is aro¬ 
matic, perceptibly subacid, rich and agreea¬ 
ble. It ripens thiough the Winter, keeping 
well until late Spring. 
Wattled Picket Fence.— Iu answer to an 
inquiry about this tence iu the Rural of 
March 19 h, a correspondent writes ns from 
Paysr.n, Illinois, that the same sort of fence 
has been used there for many years, and is 
rapidly gaining favor. The best pickets are 
split from good white oak. and these are better 
than sewed ones. All who wi9h make the 
fence without any fear of infringing a patent. 
Very few plant hedges thereabouts now, as 
they require too much eummet-pruning. and 
barb-wire fence has had its day in that section. 
A FEW TREES AND SHRUBS FOR KAN 
SAS. 
Restoring the Gnawed Bark on Trees.— 
In answer to an irquiry on this eu' ject in the 
Rural of March 36, a correspondent writes to 
ns from Cooperstowu. N. Y , that an excellent 
way to make the bark grow on trees from 
which it has been peeled or gnawed off is to 
bind the denuded place with clay, or with mnd 
if clay is not at hand. Thus treated ho has 
found that the bark will grow again without a 
scar 
ADELINE B. STORY 
An Eastern man no sooner becomes the 
possessor of a piece of land in the compara¬ 
tively treeless region of the West than he 
is seized with a sort of mania for tree planting. 
The information vouchsafed by the older set¬ 
tlers, that his land must first be put uuder the 
plow lor two or three years, acts as a damper 
to his ardor—still he plauts. The trees dwin¬ 
dle and die, and he plants again. In Northern 
Kansas his chief reliance hitherto, both as an 
adornment and a wind-break, has been the 
Cottonwood, Soft Maple, Box Elder and Black 
Walnut. The Cottonwood is a coarse, large- 
growing tree of no particular beauty. Ite 
roots are far-reaching and troublesome, and 
on this account it should not be planted near 
orchards or on the lawn where more delicate 
trees may be set out. Its rapid growth, ita 
ability to grow straight up iu Bpite of all the 
winds that blow, and the ease with which it 
is propagated are its principal recommenda¬ 
tions. They must be considered weighty 
ou«3, as in driving about the country one finds 
more treeB of this kind than of all others put 
together. If the home grounds are large—as 
they need be here to allow of trees sufficient to 
serve as protection against the wind—a variety 
of large-growing trees, such as the elm, oak, 
ash, Honey Locust, catalpa. willow, mulberry, 
Black Walnut, Norway Spruce, Scotch JE*ino 
and the different varieties of maples may be 
planted, not in rows, as is the common prac¬ 
tice, but brokenly, thus produeiug au effect 
much more pleasing to the eye. Within these, 
and immediately surrounding the house, smal¬ 
ler trees aud shrubs may be distributed, thus 
preventing too dense a tshude thereby endan¬ 
gering the health of the inmates. Some of 
the good people here so act on the principle— 
“One cannot get too much of a good thing” 
that they set out trees to the total exclusion of 
the sunshine. 
Kansas is no particular friend to evergreens. 
The Norway Spruce, American Arbor-vitaa and 
several varieties of pine have been found to 
do well hero. The Red Cedar is indigenous and 
is on that account more often met with, but 
the dull brown-green of its leaves in Winter, 
when brightness is most desirable, renders it 
less attractive than the others. 
Of the smaller trees aud shrub3 known to 
succeed well may bo mentioned Box Elder, 
(Ash-leaved Maple) Dogwood, Osage Orange, 
lilac, flowering almond, hibiscus, snowball, 
sumach and wild gooseberry. The sumach, 
growing in clumps here aud there among the 
trees, is indeed, a thing of beauty. It adds a 
brilliant, though by no means tiresome, effect 
to the whole. This is especially the case in 
Autumn when the leaves take on a gorgeous 
coloring of red, while all the others—even 
the maple which iu the East so glows with col¬ 
or—drop their leaves without so much as an 
effort at brighteuing up. But what of the wild 
goosebeny of Kansas? Did any one ever 
sing its praises as a thing ornamental ? Whether 
or not, it is indeed a beautiful bush, symme¬ 
trical in shape, glossy of leaf and dense of 
foliage. The light-green color of the leaves, 
affording a pleasing contrast with others of 
darker hue, makes it very desirable for the 
lawn. 
In this list of trees and shrubs 1 have 
thought best to mention only such as have 
been successfully grown here, the larger 
portions of them being indigenous to emr State. 
I have been actuated also by a desire to rec¬ 
ommend only such as are within the reach of all. 
A Pertinent Question — I have been 
watching for some one to advertise, in the 
Rural, Suffolk or Small Yorkshire pigs for 
breeding; but have failed to see any such 
advertised. If any of your readers have them, 
why don't they advertise ? e. m’c. 
Sing Slug, N. Y. 
JONATHAN.—FROM LIFE 
Then foot root, both the common and the malig¬ 
nant kind, will recur to the shepherd’s memory. 
There are many remedies that destroy these 
pests, but some of them are as dangerous to 
the sheep as to their insect enemies. Mercurial 
ointment, arsenical preparations, and even 
tobacco may be classed among these danger¬ 
ous remedies. If one can "kill two birds with 
one stone " in this respect he saves time, money 
and labor. A remedy that will kill the scab 
insect and cure that disease ; that will destroy 
ticks, lice, fleas, maggots ; and that will cure 
foot rot, cuts made in shearing wounds, ring¬ 
worm and all furgoid growths; that is an 
effective purifier and deodorizer for the stable 
and the pens as well as drains and cess-pools, 
cannot fail to recommend itself not only to the 
shepherd but to the owner of any one of 
the domestic animals, or even to the house¬ 
keeper. as something that will "kill many 
birds with one stone.” From an examination 
and test of a sheep dip, known as Little's 
Chemical Fluid. I am very well satisfied that 
this preparation will do all that is claimed for 
it. As the season for shearing sheep is ap¬ 
proaching, it will commend itself to the shep¬ 
herds as a tick destroyer and as a preventive 
of scab and foot diseases, to be used at this 
season when such an application is most easily 
and usefully made. For the dairyman it will 
be useful to free the cows and calves of lice 
which now increase with amazing rapidity, 
and to rid the animals of ringworms and warts. 
Further, as it destroys animal lice most effec¬ 
tively, I don’t see whv it should not be equally 
good (or lad) for plant lice and I am waiting 
The Summer Rose Apple, figured cm page 
31 of the Rural, deserves to have more of its 
good qualifies noted than are referred to on 
page 20. For, betides the beauty which gives 
it its name, and the flavor which pleases 
every one, it; has the great merit, in a tree for 
the house-yard or town garden, of bearing 
not only regularly, but even from nursery 
size; and of growing so moderately as to take 
but little room. Being an early Summer sort, 
equally good for dessert or kitchen, it is pe¬ 
culiarly convenient as a back-door tree from 
which fruit can be taken fresh every day, at a 
season when it is scarce in market, because 
the ear y sorts ripening in the heat of Summer, 
so soon lose their quality and go into decay. 
It is more reliable, more useful, and handsomer 
than the Primate. w, 
The Proceedings of the Western N. Y. 
H. S. just received, interesting as they always 
are, seem more suggestive and instructive than 
usual. President Barry’s address is full of good 
hints. We make a few extraci-s. Speaking of 
artificial manures he quotes from Mr Harris, 
who says:—“I have much faith inartificial 
manures. They will do great things for Amer¬ 
ican agriculture, directly or indirectiy. Their 
general use will lead to a higher system of 
farming, to better cultivation, more root and 
fodder crops, Improved stock, higher feeding 
and richer manure.” Mr. Berry had learned 
by experience that to test the value of a fertil¬ 
izer it must be used on a poor soil where a fair 
crop, or even a small crop, could not be pro¬ 
duced without manure. He had used various 
kinds of fertilizers on his lawn, in his garden, 
on trees, etc., but the ground in every case be¬ 
ing already rich, he failed to observe the ef¬ 
fects of the fertilizers. This is the case with 
many farm experiments which we hear of as 
coming to nothing. 
Speakiog of poor orchard management, Mr. 
Barry remarked that he had seen trees stand¬ 
ing in grass neither broken up nor manured 
for many years, making a feeble and stunted 
growth, and produeiug heavy crops of fruit, 
one-half or oue-fonrth of which may be mer¬ 
chantable, the balance hardly worth picking 
up. We fiud orchard after orchard in this 
condition. This will not pay. Trees may 
kept in a vigorous and healthy condition by 
proper tillage of the soil, abundance of fer¬ 
tilizers, and judicious pruning. These in¬ 
volve labor aDd expense, but you cannot 
grow fine fruit without both, and a good deal 
of them. A fruit tree shows neglect very 
quickly. In his pear orchard, to lessen the 
chances of blight, he slacked off in both cul¬ 
tivation and manure. The result was, in two 
years one-half his crop was culls. His trees, 
instead of making stout shoots 13 to 18 inches 
long, made scarcely any growth at all. He had 
observed similar results In the case of other 
fruit trees. In some 6oils, especially in those 
of a light and sandy nature, a moderate top¬ 
dressing every year is necessary; in others, 
every second year will be sufficient. There can 
be no rule laid down. The trees and fruit will 
tell what is wanted. 
Jonathan Apple —This succeeds very well 
over an extensive range of country and 
remarkably well in Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana. 
Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, New York, 
and New Hampshire. Our engraving, from 
one of medium size, Bhows the form sufficient¬ 
ly well. It is nearly covered with bright red 
stripes upon yellow. The flesh is white, juicy 
SWAAR.—AVERAGE SIZE AS SEEN ON N. Y. STANDS, APRIL 1.— FIG. 318 
with impatience to test its merits on these 
pests of my cherry and plum trees. 
A Shepherd and Dairyman. 
sub-acid, aromatic, and fairly rich. The tree 
is productive and the fruit generally fair. It 
keeps until Spring. 
The time has come, Mr. Barry thinks, when 
fine fruits only will pay ; the growing of poor 
fruits is already overdone ; the growing of fine 
fruits will never be overdone. He urged upon 
orchardlsts the uecessLy of thinning as well as 
of good culture. But when thinning is advised 
we are promptly told it will not pay ; the labor 
costs too much; it is not practicable on a large 
scale, etc. The fact seems to be overlooked 
that it is n j more labor to thin the fruits than 
it is to gather a crop of po >r, unmarketable 
fruits. Thinning at the proper time not only 
enables the tree to bring the remaining crop 
to perfection, but gives a quality of fruit that 
will find a ready sale and fair j, rice any season, 
and, besides, it saves the tree from exhaustion. 
As fruit trees grow old they have a tendency 
The Champion Hat and Grain Unloader. 
—In an article on Hay Barns in the Rural of 
February 5th, Prof. 1. P. Roberts, Farm Man¬ 
ager at Cornell University, referred enthusi¬ 
astically to the great ease and speed with 
which not only hsy, but also short oats, 
barley, corn-stalks and wheat, bound or un¬ 
bound, could be unloaded from the wagon 
and deposited on the mow by means of a hay 
sliDg he hud found very couvenieut and ef¬ 
ficient. Straightway a large number of in¬ 
quiries poured in upon him and us as to the 
manner of its construction, which he fully 
explained in an illustrated article in the Ru¬ 
ral for March 19. Since then we have had 
The Jupuu Kelluosporaa not Very Hardy. 
On looking over the exceedingly interesting 
Tree and Shrub Number of the Rural, I find 
the Japan Relinosporas quoted as very hardy. 
This doubtless is correct in the latitude of New 
York, but it will not bold good iu Wisconsin. 
1 have tested the following: R plumoea, R. 
plumosa uurea and tquarrosa plant*din tavoi- 
able situations in sou especially prepared for 
growing and testing the newer kinds of ever¬ 
greens, Nuw 1 find, alter a cartful test of a 
few years, that tin. y are tender und will not 
stand this climate At least the three above- 
named varieties will not prove a success in the 
A USEFUL VERMIN DESTROYER 
It was said by an ancient poet who knew 
what he was talking about, that “sheep are 
always an unhappy flock." This is very true, 
for there is no other domestic animal that is 
so much pestered with vermin, both Internally 
and externally, as a sheep. Let a 6beep owner 
closely examine his flock or call to mind the 
many troubles with which he has known his 
sheep to be afflicted. First, there is the scab 
/ 
