THE RURAL fSEW-YORKER 
289 
RURAL BRIEFLETS 
us that peach buds have been damaged by 
frost owing to the cold, backward Spring. Ac¬ 
cording to Dr. McAboy, who lives at the foot 
of Tryon, this has not occurred before in many 
years... 
Mr. Braman also writes us that he uses wild 
grape roots upon which to graft the cultivated 
varieties. .. 
We have received quite a number of letters 
criticising our reruaiks in opposition to barb¬ 
wire fences. One of these comments is as 
follows: “I think you will find yourself 
mistaken in regard to barb-wire fencing. As 
far as my experience goes, stock will let it 
alone and you cauuot drive them on to it. If 
my farm were fenced with it, the snow would 
now be all gone, as there would be no drifts. 
As it is, the drifts are from one to three feet 
high.". 
We do not profess to speak from experience, 
and merely wish to arrive at the truth for the 
benefit of our readers. ......... 
Among the many pretty annual vines seeds 
of which may be sown now, the Balloon Vine, 
Cypress Viue, Loasa, Sweet Reas, Nasturtiums 
(Troptolum), Canary Bird Flower and Morn¬ 
ing Glories may be mentioned. The Adlumia 
cirrbosa is excellent for rockeries or hot situa¬ 
tions the first year, low-growing and fern-like 
as it is It is a biennial and does uot grow to 
vine or bloom until the second year. This is 
the Mountain Fringe of the rocky hills from 
Canada to North Carolina. 
a beautiful sample, but they have a hard 
shuck and I want no more of them.” 
The pointed comment of President McCann, 
says the Husbandman, was : “ This is the hon¬ 
est expression of opinion by a man who 
knows." 
[We have seen half-a-dozen diffsreut kinds 
of oats called Australian , merely because they 
came from Australia. We have known them 
to weigh as high as 52 pounds to the bushel, 
and as low as 34 —Eds.] 
Mr. G. W. Hoffman, said: “A deep cellar 
with double walls and air-space between is a 
safe receptacle for milk. I know of such a 
cellar made for keeping fruit, and it has cool, 
dry air so that matches kept iu the cellar may 
at any time be picked up and ignited by fric¬ 
tion no greater than is required when they are 
kept in any other room ot the house." 
of them more in a broad sense—while Gen. 
Le Due is earnestly supported by good men in 
every agricultural community throughout the 
land. With what effect time will reveal. Let 
us hope that the disheartening influence of 
change may be averted by a timely declaration 
by thePresident, that merit shalL.be recognized, 
and the good servant approved. 
We have received a copy of Henderson’s 
Handbook of Plants—a handsome volume of 
over 400 pages about ten by seven inches in 
size. The object of the work is to supply a 
dictionary of those genera and species of 
plants to which amateurs, or indeed profes¬ 
sional, gardeners and florists or even farmers, 
have frequent occasion to tarn as a book of 
reference. We have many such works—most 
of them, however, published iu foreign coun¬ 
tries and therefore not to he accepted as trust¬ 
worthy guides in this couutiy as regards meth¬ 
ods of propagation and culture. In order to 
give the reader a more concise Idea of Mr. 
Henderson’s book, let ns suppose he desires 
information respecting the Osage Orange. Not 
knowing or remembering the botanical name, 
he turns to Oiage Orange (the arrangement is 
alphabetical], page 153 lie is directed to 
Madura, page 125 Here we find the fol¬ 
lowing : 
“ Macilura—O sage Orange. Named after 
William Maclure, a North American geologist. 
Nat. Ord. Moracue. A genus of handsome, 
low-growing trees, generally attaining the 
bight of 30 feet. There are but three species 
included In the genus, two of which are com¬ 
mon in the West Indies, and not hardy here, 
excepting in the extreme Southern States. 
M. aurantiaca, the Osage Orange, is a native 
ol the Southwestern States arid forms a spread¬ 
ing tree from 30 to 00 feet high, bat easily kept 
dwarl l y cutting back, and extensively used 
asaheege plant in the Western States, for 
which purpose its rapid growth, together with 
its etrong spines, renders it suitable. The 
wood is bright yellow and very elastic. It is 
called Bow-wood from its being used by the 
Indians for making bows. Young plants are 
grown from seed, which, if sown in good soil, 
will make very strong plants for the hedge¬ 
rows in two years. Many prefer setting them 
one year from seed. This species is hardy in 
the vicinity of New York and is used for hedges 
and on the lawn.” 
Thus corn, wheat, oats and aJI field crops 
are treated as well as the leading vegetables, 
flowers, shrubs and trees of the garden or 
lawn. About 150 pages of the work are devo¬ 
ted to definitions of botanical and technical 
words, presented in large print. This hand¬ 
book of plants iB, in brief, a j udielous selec¬ 
tion from such books as Paxton’s Botanical 
Dictionary, Gray’s Manual, Chapman’s South¬ 
ern Flora, Lindley's Treasury of Botany. Mil¬ 
ler’s Gardeners’ Dictionary and others, of much 
that is alapted to the needs of this country— 
re-wiitten and presented in a com pact and con¬ 
venient form. We are glad to recommend 
this book as one which may well find a place 
In the library of all who are interested in plant 
life, let them be botanists, florists, gardeners 
or farmers. 
Mr. Henderson is himself the publisher, and 
he has wisely made the price so reasonable 
that it ehonid not stand in the way of the ex¬ 
tensive sale It well merits. The book is an¬ 
nounced in our advertising columns. 
Those of our readers who have hardy vines 
to plant Bhould not forget the beautiful cle¬ 
matis. There is no other vine that bears such 
beautiful flowers. They are borne also in 
great profusion and the colors range from 
lilac to deep purple—almost black—through 
all shades of blue, white aud rose. .... 
Nothing can be more striking in the floral 
way than arbors covered with clematis vines 
which bloom at the same time, bearing flowers 
the colors of which contrast the 
moBt effectively with each other. f 
Arbors,however, are not necessary. 
They may bo cultivated in flower 
beds the same a& what are kuown 
as bedding plants, aud left to trail 
and intertwine upon the ground. 
It is easy by clipping to confine 
them within the border. . . . t-x. 
Among the best of the early 
bloomers bearing their flow- _ 
ers npon their old wood are_ 
Fair Rosamond, rosy-white with a /' “ r v 
reddish bar; Sophie, lilac; Stella, *- - 
light violet with a plmu-colored 
bar. Among Sommer bloomers 
To talk of any wheat being “ virtually rust¬ 
proof " Is nonsense, say3 the Mark Lane Ex¬ 
press (Loudon), ltust, like the potato-disease, 
will attack any variety of its hOBt plant, though 
some varieties are less hospitable than others. 
For instance, a wheat with extra hard chaff- 
scale aud straw offers greater resistance to 
rust than a soft-strawed wheat. 
Oats are considered a hard crop on the land 
bv most farmers, remarks Henry Stewart. 
This, however, will not bear the light of scien¬ 
tific examination, or even of careful observa¬ 
tions. For, if we come to look into the com¬ 
position of the inorganic elements of this 
grain, its ash, in fact, which is all thatittakeB 
from the soil, we find that It is not half so ex¬ 
haustive as wheat, and where a crop of 25 
bushels of wheat may be grown, at least 80 of 
oats may be taken with no more draft on the 
soil. Let ua compare the following figures : 
Composition of Ash of Wheat. Oats 
Potash .. 31.1 15.9 
Phosphoric acid.48.2 20 7 
Soda. 3.5 3*8 
aiinrneeia.12.2 7 3 
Mine. 3.1 3 8 
Silica.2.4 48 4 
And we then see that 100 pounds of oats 
take from the soil half as much potash and 
less than half as much phosphoric acid as 100 
pounds of wheat, and the great bulk of its 
draft on the soil consists of Bilica, of which 
there is a great abundance. This peculiar 
composition makes oats a crop adapted for 
light soils upon which wheat would not suc¬ 
ceed. 
It may be said to be the greatest waste of 
the farm that costly implements rarely receive 
the care they should.It should al¬ 
ways be borne in mind that the profit of farm 
machinery rests chiefly in the proper care and 
use of it. Hence it is that improved farm im¬ 
plements are not profitable investments to 
some, while to others they pay for themselves 
over and over again. ...... Is the race of 
American Statesmen extinct ? — II isbandman. 
BOOKS, CATALOGUES, ETC 
We have received from the worthy Secretary, 
Robert Manning, Salem, Mass., the Proceed¬ 
ings of the American Pomolotrical Society at 
its Rochester session iu the Fall ot 1879 It 
would be difficult to do justice to this valuable 
work in a brief notice of this character. We 
use it aB a book of potnological reference during 
the entire year and it is to ns next to invalu¬ 
able. The address of its venerable president, 
Marshall P. Wilder, is full of eloquence, enthu¬ 
siasm and Jove; the essays and correspondence 
are admirable in their way. The following is 
from Mr. Wilder in answer to a note from us. 
“The American Pomological Society was 
the first national society in the world, and 
has been followed by similar societies in Eu¬ 
rope. It embraces the United States, Canada, 
and Nova Scotia, has held its meetings in the 
various greatcities of our country from the At¬ 
lantic to the Mississippi. The 18th annual 
meeting is to be at Boston, the home of its old 
President, on Sept. 14. '81, when it Is expected 
there will be, aeon all its meetings here (thisis 
the fourth), a grand gathering of the poraolo- 
giBts of America. The voln mes of the society con¬ 
tain a vast amount of information in the Reports, 
etc., etcand a catalogue of pages with lists 
of the fruits adapted to 50 States, Territories 
and districts, and columns of each prepared by 
the able Gen’l. Chairman of the FrnitCommit- 
tee, P. Barry, a work of great care and experi¬ 
ence- The present issue is a noble illustration 
of American enterprise, aud was prepared by its 
Secretary, Mr. Manning, than whom no man 
is better qualified practically, scientifically and 
critically." 
“Brief Essays on Nbw Fruits, Orna¬ 
mental Treks and Plants," is the title of a 
little book we have received from Mr. Wm. C. 
Barry, of the Mount Hope Nurseries, of Roch¬ 
ester, N. Y. It comprises 00 pages, aud Is 
filled with his own careful observations npon 
the subjects treated. Most of the essays were 
originally published in the Albany Cultivator, 
others in Moore’s Rural Life (not published 
now), Rochester Democrat, Gar¬ 
deners’ Chronicle of England, etc. 
jL We are very glad to see this 
young gentleman, by education 
and by nature, proves himself so 
well fitted to maintain the well- 
earned reputation of this good 
old house. The pamphlet will bo 
mailed prepaid for 25 cents. 
“ Weeping Trees,” " Herbaceous 
—- Pfeonies," “Native Fruits,” 
, *■— “Notes on Peaches,'’ “Notes on 
^ Desirable Fruits," “Some ot the 
--‘ Best Hardy Roses, with brief 
Hints as to Culture," “Vines and 
Creepers," “ New Fruits in 1879," 
v 
Mr. Mills, of New Jersey, uses covers of 
two-inch-thick spruce plank, tODgued and 
grooved for his silos as covers for the ensilage. 
These in length are two inches shorter than 
the width of the silo and they are made iu sec¬ 
tions bat four feet wide. As the ensilage is 
used, tbe covers are removed one by one, each 
exposing a surface four feet wide. Mr. Mills, 
according to Harper’s Weekly, weights down 
these covers by distributing on the top of the 
planks fifty tons of grain or ground feed in 
bags, which he afterwards uses to mix with his 
ensilage at the time of feeding. He suggests 
in ease grain is not handy, that barrels be fill¬ 
ed with gravel or sand and nsed for the same 
purpose. 
An invaluable class of Summer-flowering 
plants, says Mr. W. C. Barry, are the delphin¬ 
iums, or larkspurs, which exhibit a wonderful 
variety of behutiful colors and shades from 
pale blue to black. In the mixed border they 
are superb. Tall and conspicuous when in 
flower, they never fail to arrest the attention 
of even the most nnobserving. Their culture 
is easy, and, like other perennials, they can be 
increased by division In the Fall. The follow¬ 
ing are choice tall varieties :—Ivanhoe : bright 
blue, double, superb; Louie Agassiz: blue, 
with purple center, double, very striking; Mrs. 
Goodell: dark blue, with purp.e center ; CobI- 
estinuui: very light blue, beautiful, double. 
A thougutful article in the Husbandman 
of Elmira reviews somewhat the services of 
previous Commissioners of Agriculture and the 
general inellideticy of the Department up to 
the time when G.-n. Le Due was appointed, 
four years ago. The article concludes as fol¬ 
lows: 
“Now with a new President there comes a 
cry for change of Commissioner. There are 
politicians to reward, and the places are cov¬ 
eted. Let it be noted that farmers are not 
asking that Gen. L j Due be removed. On the 
contraiy. they have spoken by thousands aud 
tens of thousands in behalf of the present In¬ 
cumbent. They want him retained. The 
National Grange, a representative body, com¬ 
prising members from every agricultural State 
of the Union, has made a formal request In 
writing, to which is appended the signature of 
every member of that body, for the retention of 
the present worthy and efficient chief of the 
Swindling in Oleomargarine.— Every time 
a jobber sells a tub of oleomargarine as butter 
to a retailer or the retailer sells a pound of it 
to a customer as butter, he is defrauding his 
customer of thedifference between the price of 
the genuine aud the bogus butter, says the N. 
Y. Grocer.There is no system of 
business or any other kind of morals that we 
have ever heard of that admits that it is right 
for a man to put his baud In another man’s 
pocket and take money out of it, and yet when 
a merchant sellB oleomai garine for butter he 
does in effect precisely this thing. 
. . . There is only one retail store in the city 
that we know of where oleomargarine can be 
bought as oleomargarine. 
It i6 very useful and instructive for a farm 
floor of a cow-btable 
flowering ou the old wood and bearing dotfile 
flowers may be mentioned the Duehess of 
Edinburgh, pure white in color, and Fortune’s 
Clematis (C. Fortune!), creamy white, Bweet- 
Bcented and of a rosette form. 
Among the later bloomers which bear their 
flowers npon short, lateral Bummer shoots 
may be mentioned Clematis Hcnryi, bearing 
large (single) white flowers. We have meas¬ 
ured them over six inches in diameter; C. 
Lawsoniana, rosy purple, and C. Symeiana, 
lavender blue. Clematis velutina purpurea 
bears flowers—aud many of them—of the dark¬ 
est color of any with which we are familiar, 
being of a blackish mulberry. This aud Jaek- 
manni bloom from late July to October. Jack- 
munni is of an intense blue or violet and is not 
yet surpassed by any of the newer varieties. . 
A good deal has been said first and last of 
the Tnermal Belt of North Carolina in these 
columns. A subscriber, Mr. A. Brarnun, living 
upon the side of the Tryon Mountain, writes 
Department of Agriculture. Other societies, 
clubs aud associations founded on agriculture 
have repeated the request. Will their prayer 
be heeded? Will President Garfield remove 
the man who more than any othe; - on this con¬ 
tinent is approved by the farmers for greut 
service rendered? The question is full of in¬ 
terest, not free from anxiety Manifestly the 
country desires that Gen Le Due be permitted 
to carry to their fruition plans inaugurated 
iu behoof of an Industry shamefully neg¬ 
lected in the past by the government that de¬ 
rives from it its chief support. Farmers so 
desire. If their voice Is truth, as It must surely 
be since their representative bodies have dis¬ 
played great interest iu maintaining the effi¬ 
ciency of a service now for the first time in 
the history of the Department exerted with 
the specific object of promoting agriculture. 
The score or more of aspirants for the place 
redeemed by the present occupant from mer¬ 
ited disgrace, have each local support—none 
er to go abroad occasionally and see what 
other farmers are doing. When one stays too 
mnch at home he is apt to think that his own 
neighborhood is the center of the universe.— 
N. Y. Times. ..... A farmer writes to the 
Elmira Farmer’s Club to condemn White 
Australian Oats. He says: 
“White Australian Oat& for seed are adver¬ 
tised this Spring. Touch them carefully, is 
my advice. A small package was brought 
from the Centennial Exposition and carefully 
nurtured until, last year, 1 sowed four acres of 
ground from the product. They were given 
the best part of tbe field, but only yielded 35 
bushels to the acre, machine count, whereas 
the balance of the fourteen-acre lot sowed with 
the Yellow Golden Oat long in use. gave 61 
bushels. Allowing for the great weight of the 
new variety, the aggregate cost of the experi¬ 
ment I figure in round numbere at 80 bushels. 
The Australian oats made the better appear¬ 
ance while growing, and the cleaned grain is 
are among the essays presented. 
Another Book on Ensilage.— “ Please ex¬ 
amine this book,” says Mr. H R Stevens, the 
author, “ and give it a good notice in your pa¬ 
per. I shall advertise it thoroughly in every 
agricultural paper in the U. S. You will notice 
that it is elegantly bound in cloth and is sold 
at the extremely low price of 50 ceuts," 
The book opens with a cut of Blount’s Corn, 
which is throughout the book commended as 
the best variety for ensilage purposes. 
We have next a portrait of “Yours truly, H. 
R. Stevens." We have then a few remarks by 
the author and the rest is a scries of corre¬ 
spondence with those who have investigated 
the system theoretically or practically. Noth¬ 
ing of importance is said in the book, as w« can 
glean, that has not been said in tbe Rukal 
New-Yorker. We are afraid that Mr. Sevens 
will not find the above sueh a review of his 
handsome little book of 120 pages as to induce 
him to include the Rural in his advertising 
