437 
JULY 2 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
gauges the depth, and throws the plow in or 
out of the ground: that further off ad j usts the 
furrow wheel and'* wings ” the share. The 
plow Is constantly under control of the plow¬ 
man, runs level at any depth, and being locked 
in the ground cannot he thrown out. The 
weight of it and of the earth upon it is carried 
by the wheels, and it can be used in all condi¬ 
tions of the soil and on ground foul with 
weeds and trash. The plow is very easily 
handled and of unusually light draft, and is 
warranted to be constructed of good material 
aod in a thoroughly workmanlike manner. 
We have had excellent reports of it from sev¬ 
eral who used it last year, and all speak of it 
in praiseworthy terms. 
Ulmllatifons. 
Ice for Summer. —Mr. Henry Stewart re¬ 
minds the readers of the New York Times 
that if they would have ice next Summer, they 
must prepare for it now or in the Fall. Where 
a farmer has a stream bordered by a muck 
swamp, he is well provided. He may dig out the 
muck during the leisure days of Summer and 
Fall and make a pond which will supply the ice. 
A large pond is not required. A cubic foot of 
ice weighs 55 pounds ; 50 enhie feet in round 
numbers make a ton. If six inches thick, a ton 
of ice may be taken from a surface of eight by 
10 feet, or 80 square feet. A pond 80 feet wide 
and 100 feet long would furnish 100 tons, 
which would supply eight persons with 200 
pounds a day each for four mouths. This 
would be sufficient for the use of eight dairies 
of 100 cows each, or for the cooling of eight 
times 2,000 pounds of milk daily for the season 
of four months. 
To avoid sunstroke, 6ays Dr. Mann, in 
excessively hot weather, exercise should be 
very moderate; the clothing should be thin 
and loose, and an abuudance of cold water 
should be drank. Workmen should under¬ 
stand that as soon as they cease to perspire, 
while working or marching in the hot sun, 
they are iu danger of sunstroke, and they 
should immediately driuk water freely and 
copiously to afford matter for cutaneous trans¬ 
piration, end also keep the skin and clothing 
wet with water. Impending sunstroke may 
often be warded off by these simple measures. 
Straw hats should lie worn, ventilated at the 
top, and the crown of the hat filled with green 
leaves or wet sponge. It is better to wear thin 
flannel shirts, in order not to check perspira¬ 
tion. 
R. N. Handy 6ays in Green’s Fruit Grower, 
that an apple tree should under no circum¬ 
stances be trimmed when frozen. Cut two 
limbs from the same tree, of equal size, one in 
February, when the tree is frozen, and the 
other the following June, and the one cut in 
June will heal more and better during the 
season than the one cut in February. The 
best time to trim apples is from June to 
August. 
Mr. Green hesitates before advising any 
man to borrow money, but if he must choose 
between borrowing to pay for the labor to do 
work when pressing, and leaving the work 
undone until the proper season has passed, he 
says borrow !—And so say we. 
Thk Vermont Watchman says:—“After 
fifteen years of patient labor in testing varie¬ 
ties of fruit suitable to the colder parts of New 
England, these tree peddlers come into our 
own immediate neighborhood and sell worth¬ 
less varieties at a dollar a tree when we have 
to burn up hundreds, and some years thou¬ 
sands, of far better trees that we offer iu vain 
at twenty-five cents apiece.” 
The Weai.thy Afflb as a Keeper —Dr. 
Hoskios v>l Vermont, says that on May 20th 
he ate the last specimen of the Wealthy from 
his cellar, and found It still juicy and of good 
flavor, though the skin was slightly shriveled. 
These apples were kept ou a sheif near a win¬ 
dow, which iB by no means so good a way us 
to pack in barrels or boxes in a dark place. 
No Baldwin apples from Massachusetts within 
his knowledge had kept better the past Winter 
than the Wealthy. FrobabJy the latter, if 
grown alongside of the Baldwin, would not 
prove so good a keeper ; but grown In north¬ 
ern Vermont. even after so lute and warm a 
Fall as the last, there is no difficulty in keeping 
the Wealthy until April. For use after that 
date he prefers Scott’s Winter, which was still 
firm and fresh, and at its very best in flavor as 
a dessert apple. Magog Red Streak is inter¬ 
mediate in keeping between the two. These 
three are our beet Winter apples, the trees of 
which are perfectly hardy in the coldest parts 
of Vermont. 
Farrow Milkers. —The Editor of the Rnral 
Home, who has been visiting among the farm¬ 
ers near Rochester. N.Y„ says that Messrs Olm- 
stead & Son, have ore practice that would 
hardly be approved by all dairymen. They 
buy new-milch cows and continue to miik them 
right along, without calving, for three or four 
years, until they are palpably shrinking in 
milk, when they beef them and buy fresh ones. 
The Editor inquired whether they bad kept 
accurate records of the annual product of butter 
of cows two, three, and four years from calv¬ 
ing, as compared with those calving every 
year, and was answered that they had not. He 
thinks a cow might produce as much for two 
years, with one calf as with two, and possibly 
more, bnt be questions whether she would the 
third or fourth year, it is an important ques¬ 
tion for dairymen, and one warranting the 
most thorough investigation. 
Eradicating Thistles without losing a 
Crop. — Mr. J. 8. Wood ward iu the N. Y. Tri- 
buno 6ays that he has found the following way 
successful in entirely ridding three farms of 
thistles without losing the nse of the land, but 
getting a crop every season : Have the land 
rich if possible, at least get it well seeded to 
clover, and by plastering get an early growth, 
so as to mow it for hay just as the thistles be¬ 
gin to show bloom. After mowing apply a lit¬ 
tle plaster so as to quickly start the clover, and 
when about one foot high, say from July 20 to 
August 5, carefully plow the land with some 
plow that will turn all the soil; roll down and 
harrow thoroughly so as to cover every thistle, 
loaf and branch; a few thistles will show them¬ 
selves after this, but when they do begin to 
come up again, hoe thoroughly with a cultiva¬ 
tor having broad sharp teeth that will cut off 
all the thistles under the ground ; in two days 
go over, and with a sharp hand-hoe cut off 
any stray oueB that may have escaped the cul¬ 
tivator ; you will find them growing fewer and 
paler each time, bnt follow this up as often as 
they appear until freezing up, not letting a 
single this tie get a full leaf, and, yon will nev¬ 
er see a thistle again on that plat until it comes 
from the seed, and yon will have a field in the 
very finest condition for any Spring crop. 
and water brine will render wood uninflamma¬ 
ble, and he proved it by experiment. He said 
this paint, or whitewash, is durable, very 
cheap, impervious to water, of agreeable color, 
and, as it will prevent wood from taking fire, 
urged its use, particularly on roofs, outbuild¬ 
ings, barus. etc. This comes to us through the 
N. Y. Herald. 
0. J. Reynolds remarked to the Elmira Club, 
as the Husbandman reports, that some time 
ago he saw in Ohio a new kind of milk vessel. 
Dairymen there use glazed earthen-ware in¬ 
stead of tin pans, and they say the change is 
an improvement. The dishes are made of fire¬ 
clay, burned .hard and finished to a smooth 
surface, which iB glazid, so there is no impur¬ 
ity in it to impart odor or taste to the milk. 
W. A. Ward said very likely glazed earthen¬ 
ware may oe better than tin. One advantage 
readily seen is In the thicker substance, less 
susceptible to changes through atmospheric 
influences. Then the glazing may be cleaned 
more readily than tin with seams and joints. 
Mr. Reynolds bought some of the earthen pans 
for trial and they gave satisfaction. They are 
easily cleaned and eaey to handle. Each holds 
about six quarts. Around the top there is a 
rim projecting about half an inch—a flange 
which serves to catch on the churn or auy other 
vessel into which the milk is to be emptied. 
Altogether these pans have proved satisfactory 
so far as his observation extends, and bethinks 
they are worthy of farther trial. 
Babubd Wire Fence. —There is nothing 
more surprising, says B. F. J. in the Albany 
Cultivator, than the extent to which barbed 
wire is coming into use for fencing, unless it 
be the way iu which the theoretical objections 
to it are overthrown by nse and experience. 
The best form of barbed wire is now found to 
be two strands of No. 12 steel wire, galvanized 
and twisted, with barbs four or five inches 
apart, weighing from Iff to 17 ounces to the 
rod, and costing 10 cents per pound in large 
lots. lO'J cents for moderate quantities, and 11 
cents for a few pounds. A complete fence is 
now considered to be one of five wires, divided 
to suit the builder, fastened to white cedar 
posts standing four feet out of the ground and 
one rod apart, and can be’ made by the mile at 
less than 75 cents per rod. 
Prof. Budd, speaking of the Ostheim Cherry, 
iu the Iowa Homestead, says te has had several 
letters from Europe, saying it had proven one 
of the hardiest and most profitable varieties 
grown on the steppes. Not knowing that it 
was to be found in this country, he had aireudy 
ordered trees from the nursery of Dr. Regel at 
8t. Petersburg, Russia, when he incidentally 
learned that E Meyer, of Bt. Peter, Minnesota, 
had brought this variety with him from his 
home in north Germany, and had fruited it 
for a number of years in the most trying por¬ 
tion of Minnesota, where he had become dis¬ 
couraged In growing the apple. Prof. Budd 
received, this Spriug, a few small trees of the 
Oitheim from Mr. Meyer, the blossom bud6 
upon which were in perfect condition after en¬ 
during the past severe Winter in their north¬ 
ern positiou. The hardiness of the tree and 
of the fruit buds seem beyond questiou. The 
next point of consideration is the size and 
quality of the fruit. Charles Downing says: 
“ Fruit large; ronudiah-ohlate ; skin red, dark 
at maturity ; stalk long; flesh, liver-colored; 
tender, j uiey, almost sweet sub-acid; very 
good. Season, middle of July.” 
A New Clematis. —The London Agricul¬ 
tural Gazette says that Mr. Charles Noble, of 
Bagshot, a famous raleer of new clematises, 
bad eclipsed all previous efforts in this direc¬ 
tion, by lately exhibiting the largest and most 
perfect flower of Us size that had yet been seen. 
It was un elght-petaled flower, nine inches in 
diameter, and mauve in color, shaded with 
lilac. It is u great beauty, and has been named 
in honor of Mr. Gladstone. 
Chinese fka-cakb, probably made from a 
species of Dolichos bean Soiahispida—which 
is cultivated iu China and Japau, is shown by 
analysis to possess about the same nutritive 
value as decorticated cotton-cake. It Is very 
rich in nitrogenous matters, says the Mark 
Lane Express, the percentage of nitrogen being 
6 28 ; there are also nearly 30 per cent of car¬ 
bohydrates, or heat-givers, and about 7 per 
cent, of ready-formed oil. This bean is being 
tested at the Rural Farm this season. 
Hawks and owls prey upon rats, mice and 
other small animals, thereby keeping them in 
check: while the crow prefers grubs, cut¬ 
worms and carrion to uny other kind of food, 
and while they may occasionally rob a bird's 
nest or pull up a little corn, they do a thousand 
acts of kindness to the farmer for every one 
that is injurious. So says the San, and there 
is a good deal of truth in it. 
Wash for Outbuildings.— Professor Ked- 
zie, of the Agricultural College of Michigan, 
an expert chemist, recently said that a paint or 
wash made of skim-milk, thoroughly skimmed, 
The Bee-Keepers’ Magazine says: “When 
puttiug bees into new hives, be sure there is 
no corner or crevice where a moth can hide 
and a bee cannot follow. We have seen mov¬ 
able comb-hives with the frames touching the 
side, so that worms may batch in many places 
undisturbed by the bees. Such hiyes are per¬ 
fect nurseries for the moth.” 
The Colorado Inter-Ocean says it is a ques¬ 
tion whether Colorado will ever again be ser¬ 
iously inconvenienced by the grasshoppers. 
Irrigation and the black spider are doing the 
work of destruction so effectively that the 
“ hopper ” of the future will have to seek some 
more sequestered vale if she wishes to deposit 
her eggs in peace. 
Love is said to re semble the butter on bread 
Without butter the bread is dry and hard to 
swallow. So it is with love and life. 
8ome one tells us that if yon said no yesterday 
and have repented, yon can say yes-ter-day 
and heal the wound.A box of 
Isabella grapes was sent to the Elmira Club, 
(as stated in the Husbandman) May 20th with 
the following note: 
Tansville, N. Y., May 19, 1881. 
I send, the Club, by express, a specimen of 
Isabella grapes, kept until now by simply 
placing them in puckiug boxes with alternate 
layers of paper. We have grapes preserved in 
this way to use during the Winter as freely as 
apples. 
The above seems to us a very valuable item. 
.“Talk of the safety of a hornless 
bull! A bull whose entire head had been bred 
off would be still dangerous if his disposition 
prompted him to rush npon his owner with 
hostile intent, says Mr. Gilbert in the N. Y. 
Tribune.. Be brief, says a writer in 
the Boston Transcript in his rules to corres¬ 
pondents. Why ? Because people don’t read 
long stories. The number of readers which 
any two articles have ib inversely proportional 
to the square of their respective length. That 
is: a halt-coinmn article is read by tour times 
as many people as one of double tnat length. . 
........ L’Estrange says: So long as we 
stand boggling at Imaginary evils let us never 
blame a horse for starling at a shadow.” . . . 
. ... A man must reap as he sows. In a 
broken natural law there is, as Shakespeare 
suggests, *• no more mercy than there is milk 
in a male tiger.”.Some of us, &ay< 
the N. Y. Times, will live long enough to find 
out that onr fathers knew something, too. One 
of the vices of the age is the habit of thiuking 
that nothing is worth knowing that is more 
than two or three years old- And an old idea, 
or method, or thing is considered worthless 
unless some one patents it as a new device; 
theu It takes wonderfully Bnt this is all 
wrong.No one can live between 
brick wails and teach those in God's open 
country how to grow fruit, say* Green's Fruit 
Recorder—or to farm successfully either, wo 
might add, ..... “A man with a small 
head is like a pin without any—very apt to 
get into things beyond his depth.” 
“ Willie, yon can’t eat another dish of straw 
befrieB.” “Yes, I can, ma; one more dish 
will just fill your Bill.”.Mr. Chas. A. 
Green says that a Connecticut farmer, who set 
out an elaborate scarecrow in his strawberry 
patch, was disgusted to find that a pair of 
robins had built their nest and were raising 
their young under its hat.“ Four 
things to cultivate: sympathy, cheerfulness, 
contentment and strawberries. .‘ What 
do colorril people do at their funerals?” 
“They go blackberrying,". “Kiss'mg 
your sweetheart,” says a trifling young man, 
“ is like eating strawberries from your neigh¬ 
bor’s garden after dark—it takes a long time 
to get enough.. Is a mushroom city 
builded with toads' tools ? 
RURAL SPECIAL REP0RT8. 
ArknnmiM. 
Potkau, Scott Co.—As a whole the outlook 
for crops is not as good as last year—too much 
rain. The acreage of corn is about the same 
as that of cotton—larger. No wheat, rye or 
barley. The acreage of oats is about the same 
as last year, and it bids fair for a good crop. 
The fruit crop is light aod mauy trees are dy¬ 
ing from the Winter’s severity. ,t. c. b, 
Rocky Comfort, Little River Co,—Wheat 
acreage very smalland outlook not very good— 
say 10 to 15 bushels per acre. Oats a large acre¬ 
age and fine y ield—20 to 35 bushels per acre. Bar¬ 
ley and rye none here to amount to unything. 
The prospect for corn is not so good as last 
year; acreage about the same. Orchard fruits 
are very nearly a failure owiug to the late 
frost killing the young frnit. j. d. l. 
Walnut Ridob, Lawrence Co.— No small 
grain raised in this part of the State. Corn is 
looking well although some of it will be late, 
as planting is going on now in mid-June. Cot¬ 
ton is not very promising ; the weather has 
been too wet and cold although some patches 
are looking well—fully an average acreage. 
Very little small fruits. Plums are abundant; 
peaches a fair crop; apples a light one. t. w. 
California. 
Bishop’s Creek, Mona Co.—Grain acreage 
much more than ever before, and the outlook 
for wheat, barley and oats is more than nan ally 
flattering—wheat mostly Sonora. Oa.- corn is 
farther advanced by two or three weeks than 
at the same date last year, with one-third more 
acreage. The countiy is new, with bat few 
bearing orchards, but these are in fine condi¬ 
tion and give promise or a good yield. The 
grass grown here is Alfalfa, yielding three 
crops in many instances. Oar Winters are 
very favorable for stock raising, there not 
having been at any one time last Winter more 
than one inch of snow. Oar mining interests 
never looked more favorable, furnishing a 
market at home for all we cau produce, r. h. s. 
Denton, Dsnton Co.—Wheat, 75 per cent, of 
last year’s acreage; yield per acre from 25 to 
75 per cent.- L ; ttle Red May, Walker, Medi¬ 
terranean and Baughton. Fultz promised 
splendid] y, but proved late. Barley will yield 
only from seven to twenty bushels per acre ; 
while a few fields of wheat will yield from 30 
to 40 bushels. Rye will average about 15 
bushels per acre. Oats are splendid, but the 
acreage is small as we had only poor crops for 
the last few years. The acreage under corn 
is about 25 per cent less than last year, and 
the yield per acre will vary irom 70 to 20 per¬ 
cent. less. Where well cultivated it promises 
a good crop; but two-thirds of it have received 
no attention and this will yield ft poor crop. 
Small fruits, grapes excepted, are not success¬ 
fully grown here; and fruit trees, peaches and 
plums excepted, do poorly. Ten days ago 
plums retailed at the stores here for twenty 
cents per quart. Now they are worth ten. 
Apricots, nectarines and the most early varie¬ 
ties of peaches are now ripe and ripening, aud 
retail at 85 cents per dozen. Crop short. Cot¬ 
ton, onr main crop, Is overwhelmingly in the 
grass and lots of it irretrievably lost for lack 
of cultivation—cause, wet weather and scare* 
ity of labor. Acreage 25 per cent, more than 
heretofore ; but there will hardly be over 40 
per cent, of a good crop. Millet—two varieties 
of Germau and one of Hungarian—is our best 
and only hay crop—acreage 50 per cent, more 
than usual; prospects 75 per cent, of a good 
yield. Early, good; late, a failure. J . h. j. 
Mt. Eden, Alameda Co. — Chevalier and 
common barley looks very promising in this 
section. Sorno Chevalier will go as high as 40 
ceutals per acre. Wheat showed rust, conse¬ 
quently it is mostly cut for hay. There are 
probably only about 300 acres planted to corn 
in the whole county, the largest area having 
been sown to Chevalier and common barley. 
The fruit crop is medium, for cherries, apri¬ 
cots, and apples. An abundant crop of pears, 
plums, poaches and nectarines, though re¬ 
ports from other places show some damage by 
nightfrosts. Small fruit, currants, raspberries, 
and blackberries are loaded. j. o. m. 
Sanders Fresno Co -l can see 12 000 acres of 
wheat from my farm ; last year there were only 
10,000 acres of wheat on the same area; 400 
acres of barley—the same as last year. No 
