AUG. 6 
548 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
and unfortunate.”—Detroit Free Press. 
According to a truthful India newspaper, a 
hungry lion Invaded a young ladies' seminary 
on commencement day, and, bouncing in 
among them, carried off the prettiest and 
plumpest, with her composition in her pocket 
—a school-girl essay on kindness to animals. 
—Detroit Free Press. 
—-♦ ♦ ♦- 
BUBAL BBIEFLETS. 
Spite of all the little difficulties and vexa¬ 
tions connected with our Seeq and Plant Dis¬ 
tributions, the many pleasant letters we re¬ 
ceive regarding them give us much pleasure 
in many ways. Here is one which differs 
from all others : 
Dear Bubal. JU6t a line to let you know 
The seeds yon kindly sent some months ago 
Were planted acordlng to direction. 
And are now worthy of inspection. 
Nearly sill have well repaid no.v labors. 
And quite roused the wouder of my neighbors. 
The Branching Sorghum measures six feet high, 
And still the plants are rising toward the sky. 
Washington Oats have grown to such a size 
I fondly hope to carry otr iho pri ze 
At the Hudson fair, unless the wind plays tricks, 
As it already has with wires and sth Ick. 
The Elephant " tater claims attention, 
And therefore bore I briefly mention. 
From the tuber 1 cut nine fleshy eyes, 
Aud one has grown to such a menu trous size, 
I’ve had to pull up plants to give it air, 
Audit takes up now fully one yard square; 
The rest are smaller but tti'l quite healthy, 
In spite of the bugs which crawl so stealthy. 
As for the Piooteea aud Pinks, 
A failure here is sure, methiuka; 
However, they were planted rather late, 
So I shall try to “ labor and to wait.” 
I’ll give them water, light, heat, shade and air, 
Aud hope they’ll by-aud by repay my oare. 
I really could not And a place to -pare 
In which to sow asparagus—so, there ! 
I’ll keep the seeds another year or so, 
And hope that won’t injure thety when they grow. 
I’ll send further letters if you ask it, 
If not, just pitch this in your waste basket. 
P.S.— 
yesterday I cut one big sorghum plant, 
And left it from the ground but one foot scant; 
’T was almost worth your while a mile to walk, 
To Bee the cows snap up both leaves and Btalk. 
Hudson, N. Y., July 20.1881, Tom. 
We are sad to learn that our correspondent, 
Henry Smith of Henderson, N. 0. fell from a 
scaffolding on which he was at work and dis¬ 
located his neck. He was a prominent man 
among the fruit cultnrusts of that section, be¬ 
ing largely interested in the cultivation of all 
kinds of fruit.•*. 
Even though the Henrietta (Belle de Fcnte- 
nay) is killed back every year, it is still a good 
raspberry for the amateur, as it bears a fair 
crop on the young canes and the berries are 
large and of fine quality. Our Caroline Rasp¬ 
berry is still (July 21) bearing fruit. 
Hebe is one of those positive and often er¬ 
roneous notes which appear from time to time 
in the Ag. columns of the N. Y. Sun : 
Perennial clovers.— “ The agricultural 
editor of the Weekly Times informs a corres¬ 
pondent ‘that there is no perennial clover 
except the white. The common red is a bien¬ 
nial plant, flowering and seeding the second 
year, when the roots dies.’ All this will be 
news to many farmere, and to evey botanist 
in the world. It is certainly true that both 
red and white clover do burn up and die out 
very quickly cn some light, poor soils, but 
they are. nevertheless, perennial plants, and in 
good soils live for many years.” 
There are several statements in the above 
note that should not go uncontradicted. It 
is Dews " to every botanist in the world” that 
the Common Red Clover is a biennial—is it ? 
The editor of the agricultural columns of the 
Sun will probably concede that Dr. George 
Thurber is a botanist and one of our first au¬ 
thorities on grasses, among which Red Clover 
may be reckoned 6ince practically it is a grass, 
though botanically a pulse. He says that 
O the plant is generally considered to be a 
biennial.” Dr. Darlington says : “Root bien¬ 
nial. or perennial ?” Dr. Gray calls it a short¬ 
lived “ perennial,” hence, according to him, our 
firBt botanical authority, it does not “live for 
many years.” We do not say that Red Clover 
is a biennial, strictly speaking—agreeing with 
Dr. Gray that it is a short-lived perennial. In 
congenial, rich 60 il, no doubt this clover will 
reaeed itself from year to year and thus pre¬ 
serve the field in clover "for mary years.” 
But there is no evidence that this may be said 
of tbe individual plant. 
Several years ago this same Ag. Ed. took 
the Rural to task for staling that the Japan 
Persimmon was tender in the climate of New 
York. He has since admitted that it is tender, 
himeelf, though without allusion to his pre¬ 
vious blundering assault. Those who in their 
arrogance are ever on the look-out to pick 
musses with others, 6hou)d at least be manly 
enough to confess their ignorance when it has 
been plainly pointed out.... 
“I send yon tc-day (July 18)” says Mr. P. 
R. G. A. of Connecticut, " a branch of the Nac- 
rni Raspberry, by many said to I e identical 
with Franconia. Itis from six-year-old bushes. 
I have just picked from a quarter of an acre 
70 quarts, of whUb those I send are fair sam¬ 
ples. The Naomi has never been winter-killed 
with me." 
It has been at the Rural Grounds. The fact 
is that in this climate and south most foreign 
kinds of raspberries lose their leaves in late 
Summer and do not in consequence fully 
ripen their canes. “ Hardy ” and “ tender” as 
applied to many plants, but to raspberries es¬ 
pecially, have little to do with cold. Those 
which are generally injured by the Winters in 
this latitude may prove quite hardy further 
north—even in Canada. Heat and drought 
are often more trying to raspberries than 
severe cold... 
Considerable has been said of late about 
the Manchester Strawberry which originated 
on the grounds of Mr. Jesse Battey of Man¬ 
chester, New Jersiy. Plants were first sent to 
ns by the Messrs. Hales of Glastonbury, Conn, 
to be tested at the Rural Grouuds. There they 
behaved splendidly, no other of many varieties 
set out at the same Lime having borne more 
fruit, which, was firm and of a good quality. 
From favorable reports which came to us from 
a number of leading small-fruit growers who 
had visited Mr. Battey and seen this straw¬ 
berry growing upon his sandy soil, we were 
disposed to place it in our Distribution of 
1881-2. Later, however it appeared that 
the Manchester was not controlled by Mr. 
Battey as he had sent plants to several 
growers who, believing it to be of considerable 
promise, had propagated it as fast as possible. 
The Rural New-York.br concludes therefore 
that the Manchester needs no assistance and 
that it is better to leave it in the hands of those 
who have it for sale. 
Our opinion of this strawberry is that it is 
larger and more prolific than the Wilson; of a 
brighter color; fully as firm and of a better 
quality. On the other hand, there is this to be 
said against it, viz,, that the flowers are pistil¬ 
late and consequently to prove productive 
need other plants bearing perfect flowers close 
at hand... 
In an able dissertation on the Influence of 
Agriculture upon Character published in the 
Massachusetts Ploughman, the author, G. II, 
F , of Maldew, after showing how uniformly 
nations of all times aud continents have pros¬ 
pered in proportion to their culture of the 
“joyous cornfields,” laments the increasing 
tendency to forsake the rural comfort and re¬ 
spectability of our fathers, for the excitement 
and strifes of the city; an insatiable desire for 
wealth taking the place of the ‘earth-hunger,' 
as Emerson terms it, of our forefathers. 
Tacitus said of the early Anglo-Saxons that 
they shunned the city and sought their abodes 
in green glades ly the sparkling springs. The 
article concludes with the following poetic 
paraphrase by Whittier of the idea expressed 
by the words “growing two blades of grass 
where but one had grown before.” 
Giro fools their s-oUl, and knaves t.lielr power, 
Let fortune’s bubbles rise and fall; 
\V ho sowb a fields; or trains a flower, 
Or plants a tree la more than all. 
For he who blea°(is. most is blest; 
And God aud man shall own his work. 
Who toils to leave, as his bequest. 
An added beauty to the earth. 
Wb are receiving thus soon quite a number 
of imports as to the Rural Branching Sorghum. 
Most of them, we are very glad to see, are fa¬ 
vorable. Here is one from Mr. Mark W. 
Johnson, of Atlanta, Ga. 
“About half a dozen seeds of your R. B. 
Sorghum germinated, and so far the plants 
are growing and branching finely notwith¬ 
standing severe drought and great heat. 
Hbrb is another from Mr. H. H. Clark of 
Illinois: “I see in the last Rural that the 
seed of the Rural Branching Sorghnm you 
sent out has not germinated well. The pack¬ 
age sent to me has done extra well—nearly 
every seed grew, making from 10 to 25 stalks 
per seed.” 
He also adds: “I cut the Washington Oats 
to-day (Juy 14.) They stood four and a-half 
feet high; heads 10 to 10 inches loDg; grain 
plump and heavy, They rusted a little.". 
Dr. Hexamer, after a visit to Mr. Battey of 
Manchester, New Jersey, called at the Rural 
office aud was requested to give hia estimate 
of Mr. Battoy’s “Manchester” Strawberry. 
He replied as follows: "It bears the most uni¬ 
formly largeberrks of any kind I am acquaint¬ 
ed with. They are of regular shape, of good 
qnaliiy and sufficiently firm for market. The 
plai t is entirely hardy ; stands the heat and 
di ought well. It is of a more desirable color 
than the Wilson.” 
It now remains to be seea how the Manches¬ 
ter will act in other soils ar.d climates. But 
the presumption is that as it thrives in the 
sandy, poor soil of Mr. Bittey’s farm. It 
will thrive almost any where...,... 
BOOKS, CATALOGUES, ETC. 
Tenth Annual Report of the Secretary of 
the State Horticultural Society of Michigan— 
filb pages. We are always glad to receive thiB 
volume which this year, from the cursory 
glance thus far given, seems more interesting 
than usual. Michigau is blessed with many 
wide-awake, enthusiastic horticulturists who 
are doing fine service to the State. Chas. W. 
Garfield, of Grand Rapids, is the efficient Sec¬ 
retary. His Portfolio comprises 100 pages of 
matter selected with good judgment and evi¬ 
dent care from the current horticultural liter¬ 
ature of theconntiy. We ehall refer to this 
book on future occasions. 
Memoranda of thb Origin, Plan, and 
Results of the Field and other Experiments 
conducted on the Farm and in the Laboratory 
of John Bennet Lawes, LL D . F. R. S., at 
Rothamatcd. Herts ; Also a Statement of the 
Present and Previous Cropping, etc.., of the 
Arable Land not under Experiment. This pub¬ 
lication comprises 28 pages 7x13 inches in 
size. It is to be regretted that a copy of this 
and all other of Dr. Lawts’s publication conld 
not be placed in the hands of every intelligent 
farmer. 
Peter Henderson & Co., 35 Cortland St., 
N. Y , Circular of Pot-grown Strawberries for 
1881. Specially of Durand’s new late Straw¬ 
berry Jersey Queen, the sale of which Mr. 
Henderson controls. Mr. Henderson also 
issues two handsome colored plates—one 
of Jersey Qaeen, the other of Glossy Cone, 
Shavpless, Jucunda, Bid well, Downing, Pres. 
Lincoln, Gipsy and Monarch of the West. 
G. H. & J. n. Hale, Elm Fruit Farm and 
Nursery, South Gladetonbary, Conn., Circular 
(sent free to onr subscribers) of pot-grown and 
Layer Strawberry Plants for Summer and Fall. 
Among the novelties we find the Manchester, 
the sale of which is for the most part the 
present season controlled by the above firm 
and Mr. Lovett. 
E. P. Roe, Cornwall-on-Hudson, N. Y. Cat¬ 
alogue of Small Fruits and Grape Vines for 
the Summer and Fall of 1881. The Bidwell 
Strawberry a specialty. This catalogue of 25 
pages will be sent without charge to those of 
our subscribers who apply to Mr. Roe by 
postal or otherwise. 
Ellwangbr & Barry, Mount Hope Nur¬ 
series, Rochester, N. Y. Catalogue (No. 3) 
and Descriptive price li6t of Strawberries and 
other small fruits. The lists arc divided into 
American, Foreign and New Varieties. No 
charge, we believe, iB made for this catalogue. 
J. T. Lovett, Little Silver, Monmouth Co., 
New Jersey. Pamphlet of Pot-grown and 
Layer Strawberry Plants for the Summer and 
Autumn of 1881. The Manchester a speciality. 
Sent free to applicants. 
®kr3)lu|£rt. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
ItllllOta. 
Walnut, Bureau Co., July 25.—Spring was 
three weeks late. Winter wheat was nearly 
all wintei-killed, and Spring wheat Is poor, be¬ 
ing Injured by chinch bugs. Corn is late 
and poor, but growing rapidly now. Rye is 
good; oats are fair, the grains being plump, 
but the straw short. Barley is good but col¬ 
ored. Potatoes poor. Very few apples; no 
cherries; plenty of small fuits. w. c. 
Iowa, 
Carroll Co., July 21. — My Washington 
Oats are, In common with all other oats in 
this section, badly affected with rust. They 
are also troubled with a dieease which I have 
not noticed in any other variety—it resembles 
smut in corn. In 110 heads 25 were ruined 
by this disease But as this has been a very 
Lying season I am not surprised. I shall try 
them again next year. Can you suggest any 
precautions that may be used against the 
spreading of the smut in next crop P g. s. 
[Only that of steeping the seed, as rec¬ 
ommended for whi at, in strong brine or 
a solution of sulphate of copper—a pound of 
sulphate to two gallons of water. - Eds ] 
Michigan. 
Byron Center, Kent Co., July 20.— Wheat 
in general is a thm stand, but the heads are 
large and well filled ; will yield from seven to 
eighteen bushels au acre. The Washington 
Oats I sowed in the last week in April. They 
made three rows sixty feet long iu my garden 
and to-day tiny stand four and one-half feet to 
five feet nine Inches high. Tbe panicles are 
nine to fifteen inches long. I hope to make a 
good report on the White Elephant Potato 
this Fall. The pink seeds came up well. Sev¬ 
eral plants are in bloom aud are beautiful. I 
am more than ever pleased with the Rural. 
Although farming on a small scale the inform¬ 
ation and advice which it gives are j ust what 
I need. wm. k. b. 
Nebraska. 
Fullerton, July 18.—Crops excellent. Corn 
simply immense. Fifteen hills of the White 
Elephant were doing tip-top. The Rural 
BraDchir g Si rghum is all you recommended it 
to be. 1 am euckeriug a few stalks to make 
seed if possible. The Washington Oats are 
about half 6mut; other oats are not injured at 
all. The flower seeds did not do well; the soil 
was too new ; those growiug are beginning to 
bloom and are beauties. J. h. 
New Jersey. 
Hammouton, Atlantic Co., July 20.— No 
grain worth mentioning Is raised in this town. 
Fruits of all kinds are our speciality. A month 
ago our fruits were running the gauntlet of 
the rose bug. The blackberry canes had been 
killed above the enow line, and it looked as 
though the rose bug meant to finish what was 
left and it did nearly in some fields, and also 
destroyed tons of grapes. The pests do not 
take the apple blossom, as I read in the Rural. 
but the apple itself, &b the fruit Is well formed 
before they arrive. But in spite- of them, the 
apple crop was never more abundant than now. 
Pears ditto. Strawberries were a heavy crop; 
but the price was low. Black and red rasp¬ 
berries are good crops aud bring good prices. 
Wehave about fiOO acres of this crop in bear¬ 
ing this year, probably 100 acres of it being 
under one-year-old vines. About 200 acres 
also were set the past Spring. Our shipment 
of blackberries on Monday July 19, was 1,100 
crates—about 1,200 bushels. We began pick¬ 
ing on July Sth. With seasonable rains, the 
picking lasts about four weeks. For pickers 
we depend mostly on Italians who come down 
from Philadelphia by the hundred during the 
berry and cranbeny eeason. As to potato 
bugs, with Park-green or Loudon-purple we 
are masters of the situation, but who, pray 
tell us, who will give us a successful method 
of flghliDg rose bugs! Hand-picking has been 
tried, but it is too expensive. f. h. b. 
Tom s River, Ocean Co,, July 21.—A field of 
corn, planted very early, was doing very 
well .until it began to ear, about three 
weeks ago, when it was struck almost all dead 
by the hot, dry blast which has come on, and 
it will not yield one-tenth as many ears as if 
cooler weather, with an occasional shower, 
had kept on. The cool, wet weather of J one 
gave the stalks such a rapid growth that they 
immediately wilted when the drought began. 
The later-planted is doing well and will give 
an abundance of ears. Last year it was quite 
dry in May and June, and yet the corn grew 
finely and by the 15lh of July supplied our 
table bountifully. A neighbor has a consider¬ 
able field alongside of mine, which waB sowed 
broadcast the last week of May for soiling his 
Jersey herd of cows. It had a fine growth till 
the hot weather set In, and this has killed sev¬ 
eral acres of it on tbe most sandy part of the 
soil, making it look- almost as bad as if afire 
had passed over It. In the yellow, gravelly 
soils around me the corn keeps on growing 
nicely and it is Buffering very little from the 
hot drought. a. b. a. 
New York. 
Avoca, Steuben Co.. July 23.—We are hav¬ 
ing here one of the best seasons for the growth 
of agricultural products that we have had for 
several years—Just rain enough to make every¬ 
thing shoot. Wheat is not quite up to an aver¬ 
age owing to a dry Fall giving a small stand 
and to tho large amount of snow that in some 
places “ smothered” it, and to the presence of 
rust In some localities; still, a good fair yield 
will be secured. Oats are very heavy and 
lodging badly, which, of course, will interfere 
with their filling, but to what extent yet re¬ 
mains to be seen. Barley is good and will be 
more than an average crop; it is raised her6 
to a considerable extent, but Is not a speciality. 
Rye Is a fine crop and Is being secured in fine 
order. Hay is heavy—excepting on old mead¬ 
ows -it is selling for $8 for 2,200 pounds, de¬ 
livered. Considerable wool is grown and sold 
this year at from 35 to 38 cents. Corn 1 b mostly 
late and small, but there is a good stand where 
it has not been badly eaten by worms. Apples 
are not a large crop this year, owing to the 
enormous one last year; many apples are fall¬ 
ing prematurely, but the prospects are good 
for enough tor home consumption. Dairying 
is a speciality here, as the many cheese facto¬ 
ries and large farm butter dairies scattered 
over the country will show. The abundant 
rains give plenty of feed, which is readily con¬ 
verted into these two new necessities of life. 
Cheese now is worth 104 cents and butter 20c. 
Buckwheat is scarcely far enough advanced to 
report upon, although appearances are favor¬ 
able. The crops of small fruits are abundant, 
excepting perhaps cherries. Scribe. 
Cato, Cayuga Co., July 20.—The Ru¬ 
ral Branching Sorghum seed sent me must 
have been better than the average, for out of 
115 hills I have 110 that are three feet high. I 
planted three kernels to the hill or flat place, 
using one table-spoonful of phosphate to the 
hill, and have thinned to one stalk, each of 
which has from 10 to 15 spears or Buckere. 
The Washington Oats are in drills manured 
with phosphate, and covering a space of 6x25 
feet. They are nearly five feet high with 
heads one foot long. The White Elephant Po¬ 
tato I cut into 25 pieces with one eye to each 
piece, and I planted one piece in a hill. I have 
now 24 hills that are very large, I brushed the 
dirt from one side of a hill to-day, and saw 
three large tubers—larger than the one sent 
me. They have been planted only two months. 
1 am highly pleased with tho Rural and shall 
preserve a piece of my best land for the next 
Heed Distribution aud get more to subscribe 
for the paper. [Thanks.— Eds J J. k. R. 
