AUG. 6 
548 
-YOBSCER. 
Higginsvillb, Oneida Co., July 23.—I have 
just measured a few heads of the Washington 
Oats you sent me last Spring. I found many 
14 incheB long and one 15 inches. The Branch¬ 
ing Sorghum begins to grow. One stalk meas¬ 
ured was 22 inches high- I have 24 hills of 
White Elephant Potatoes, but I do not expect 
much of a yield on account of the bugs. They 
injared them badly early in the season. The 
asparagus is growing finely. It is very dry 
here at present. Potatoes will be a short crop 
if we don’t have rain soon. Corn is very back¬ 
ward. Oats bid fair for a fine crop. h. e. d. 
Oak Burn. Columbia Co., July 31.—My 
Washington Oats are splendid; the straw is 
stiff and heavy, stands four feet eight inches 
in hight, and the panicles are remarkably well 
filled with grain. They may be identical with 
the Canada or Barley Oats which were rated at 
40 pounds to the bushel. k. m. l. 
Ohio. 
Richfield Center Lucas Co., July 22.—The 
Baauly of Hebron Potato you sent me, I think 
is the best early potato I ever saw. The White 
Elephant is doing well—many thanks. I think 
the Rural is one of the best of papers, o. t. 
Pennsylvania. 
New Lebanon, Mercer Co., July 23. —The 
weather has been very favorable for harvest¬ 
ing—not very wana and but little rain yet. 
The wheat harvested has been a pretty fair 
crop and the hay and oats are as good as. if 
not better than, last year. Corn seems to be a 
failure all over, a great many having had 
to replant on account of the wire-worm. 
Many have sown their corn-fields to buck¬ 
wheat. If there is not more rain than we have 
been having, the potato crop will be small 
tubers and few in the hill. Apples are plenti¬ 
ful this year again. The strawberry and rasp¬ 
berry crops were good, selling from 8@10c. 
per quart. Butter 14 ;. per pound; eggs, 12Jc. 
per dozen; potatoes 75c. per bushel. J. B. c. 
Vermont, 
Troy, Orleans Co., July 23.—The past two 
weeks have been cold and wet so that hay will 
not be an average crop, though it will be a 
fair one. Corn is 6tnall and the frost in June 
ruined 60 much of it that the crop will be 
6inall, as a good deal was plowed up and the 
ground sown with barley which will be a 
larger yield than we have ever had here. 
Wheat does not look as well as it did at this 
time last year, but the acreage under it is 
larger. On the whole, I think the outlook for 
farmers in Northern Vermont is fair. I see 
reports of thunder, hail and wind storms do¬ 
ing great destruction to crops, buildings, stock 
and human lives out West, whereas Vermont 
has suffered little from these agencies, and 1, 
for one, don’t want to " go West.” i>. A. b. 
VVaslitngion Territory, 
Oakville, ChebalisCo., July 40.—The Ru¬ 
ral seeds came all right about June 20. I was 
well pleased. The pinks came up very well, 
and the potato sets are coming up already. It 
was rather late for oats, so I left them for next 
year. We had a rniid Winter aud an early 
Spring. Rainy weather in April hindered 
sowing somewhat and soma grain is rather 
late, but the season is favorable and grain 
looks well. Hay will be a little lighter crop 
than usual as the cool weather and showers 
seem not so good for grass aa for grain. 
Wheat is our main dependence ; it is worth 70 
@S0c. at the mills 23 miles distant. Sheep 
are very profitable to those who have prairie 
land. Wool is 23@27e. Cattle and hogs pay 
well this year. At the mouth of the river and 
around Gray’s H arbor cattle raising and dairy- 
iug are the chief industries. Haying will 
commence as soon as it clears up again, d. n. 
Yakima City, Yakima Co., July 12.—The 
amount of laud under cultivation in this coun¬ 
ty is very small; it has beeu used almost en¬ 
tirely for grazing purposes and the only farm¬ 
ing to any amount is across the Columbia Riv¬ 
er in Walla Walla County. w. d. i. 
(tumst, 
The feathers must be plucked from the right, 
or upper side, near the hip joint, on a 
line with and between the joint of the 
shoulder. The space uncovered should be 
about one and a-half inch in diameter on an or¬ 
dinary-sized bird. Draw the skin of the part 
backward so that when the operation is finished 
the skin slides back to its natural position and 
covers the wound in the flesh,aud does not, when 
neatly done, require sewing. Make an incision 
with a fine, sharp penknife (or proper instru¬ 
ment is best), between the last rib and hip, com¬ 
mencing about an inch from the back-bone; 
extend it obliquely downward, from an inch to 
an inch and a half, just cutting deep enough to 
separate the flesh; take great care not to wound 
the intestines. The wound must be kept open 
with an instrument with a spring, called a re¬ 
tractor, or with something answering the same 
purpose, stretching it wide enough to afford 
room for the work. Then, carefully cut the 
membrane covering the intestines which if not 
sufficiently drawn up, may be pushed towards 
the breast-bone lightly by a spoon-shaped in¬ 
strument, or the handle of a teaspoon. The 
organs to be removed are readily recognized— 
a small reddish-yellow cylinder attached to the 
spine on each side, covered with a flue mem¬ 
brane or skin which must first be removed with 
forceps and a fine hook to draw it away. With 
the left hand introduce the bowl of a spoon (an 
instrument is made for the purpose) under the 
lower or left testicle, which is generally a little 
nearer to the rump than the right one. Then 
take the instrument called a cannula, which is 
a hollow tube with ahorse hair passed through 
it forming at the end a loop which can be 
tightened by pulling on the two ends of the 
hair at the other end of the tube. Pass this 
loop around the testicle with the help of some¬ 
thing to place it in position (the cannula has a 
hook for this purpose) so as to bring the loop 
to act upon the parts which connect the organ 
to the back.Then by drawing the ends of the hair 
loop back-ward and forward, and at the same 
time pushing the lower end of the tube or can¬ 
nula towards the rump of the fowl, the cord 
or fastening of the organ is severed. A simi¬ 
lar process is then to be reptated with the 
uppermost or right testicle, after which any 
remains of the organs together with the blood 
around the wound or at the bottom must be 
removed with the spoon. The reason for 
operating on the left or lower organ first is 
to prevent the blood from covering the lower 
one if left last. When the operation is per¬ 
formed, which if skillfully done occupies but 
a few minutes, the retractor is taken out. the 
skin drawn over the wound, which if it was 
drawn on one side before cutting (as men- 
tion*d above), will connect at a place not 
exactly opposite the wound in the flash, there¬ 
by covering the flesh wound. If skillfully 
done it requires no sewing. The old French 
system was to operate on each side of the fowl, 
but the system here described is considered an 
improvement on the antiquated Gallic method. 
The necessary tools can be had of H. H. Stod- 
dart, Hartford, Conn. 
•« Littlng.” 
W. H. TV, Beaver Grossing, Neb., asks for a 
description of '• listing ’’—the new method of 
tending corn described in a late “Everywhere” 
report from Kansas. 
ANSWER BY PROF. E. M. SHELTON, OF THE 
ANSWERS TO C0RRE8P0NDENT3. 
Cnpontzing Roosters. 
H, O. G-. JR., Liberty, Va., asks how to 
caponize young roosters. 
Ans —The best birds for capons are the large 
breeds, Asiatics oi Dorkings. They should be 
two to three months old; old birds seldom sur¬ 
vive caponizing. Before the operation they 
should be deprived of food fur from twenty- 
four to forty-eight hours, so aB not to have 
their bowels distended. There are instru¬ 
ments made for the operation, which can be 
purchased in moBt cities. Capons Bhould be 
kept till the age of 15 to 18 months, which will 
bring them to full size, which should be double 
the size they would have attalued had they uot 
been eapooized. The bird to be operated on, 
must be fastened down on his Bldu to a board 
or bench through an augur hole; the wings 
should be drawn together over his back and 
well secured; the legs drawn backward, the 
upper one drawn out furthest and secured, 
PROF. E. M. SHELTON, 
KANSAS AO. COL. 
The method of corn culture known as “ list¬ 
ing ” consists primarily and simply in striking 
furrows wherever the rows of corn are to be, 
and in these furrows planting the seed. The 
work is done by a "listing plow,” which is 
simply a plow having a double mold-board, 
which throws the earth equally to the right and 
left. This plan is used without other prepar¬ 
atory tillage. The “ liBter ” is worked by three 
horses, and, as will be seen, after the field is 
finished its surface is made up of a succession 
of ridges and furrows, but presenting an expos¬ 
ure of fresh earth in all its parts. In the fur 
rows’made by the “ lister ’’ the corn is drilled 
by any one of the numerous corn drills, 
which put In the seed at intervals of eight to 
sixteen inches. Iu Borne cases the lister is 
provided with a drill attachment, which drills 
in the corn as fast as the furrow Is opened. 
The advantages of this method of corn culture, 
so far aslaborlscouc rned, w’ll be appreciated 
when it is remembered that a man and team 
will thus put in eight to ten acres of corn per 
day- After the corn is planted the harrow is 
kept at work over the field until the corn iB 
eight to ten inches high, when the cultivator 
finishes the work. The harrow acts very efii- 
ciently upon the ridges between the rows of 
corn, leveling the ground and working the fine 
earth about the corn. Upon loamy bottom 
lands in Kansai and other parts of the West 
this method of corn culture has been very suc¬ 
cessfully practiced for a number of years, aud 
the use of the lister is being rapidly extended. 
The advantages claimed for this method are : 
1, that the crop may be made at one-fourth 
lose cost thau by the old method ; 2, that the 
yield per acie is considerably Increased, aud, 
3 , that listed corn endures dry weather better 
than that planted by the old method. 
The Influence of the First Male Parent. 
J. H., Fullerton, Neb., says, if as is claimed, 
when a heifer is got in calf by a good pure¬ 
bred bull, the influence of the first male parent 
extends to the future progeny of the female, 
then it follows that the next calf by tbo same 
parents would be perceptibly improved, and 
he asks how many calves must the same 
parents have before the progeny become pure¬ 
bred. 
Ans —The influence of the first male parent 
upon the future offsprings of a female haB 
been noted only where those offsprings have 
been begotten by other males. The influence 
is most intense in the first impregnation, and 
is very much slighter in subsequent impregna¬ 
tions by other males. If the female is covered 
by the same male in different impregnations, 
how can the dominant influence of a first im¬ 
pregnation be detected ? This peculiar influ¬ 
ence is not confined to cattle, for it has also 
been noticed in other members of the brute 
creation as well as in human beings. This 
is not a matter of opinion; but a matter of 
fact, of which numerous well authenticated 
instances are on record. Of course, it is not 
maintained that the influence la always ap¬ 
parent, but there are too many striking ex¬ 
amples of it to permit its existence to be 
doubted. How often does it not happen that 
a mare bred to a jack, afterwards produces 
colts with mulish characteristics when bred to 
stallionB! All the standard works on breeding 
are full of instances of this influence in cattl-, 
horses, sheep, Bwine, dogs and humans, a 2 d 
numerous cases in point are mentioned from 
time to time in the agricultural press. 
Keeping Grapes, etc. 
J. B., Arkansas City, Kansas, asks, 1, l.ow 
to beep grapes fresh for Winter use, to make 
uufermented wine ; 2, how to kill crick' is in 
a well. 
Ans.— 1. Those who want to keep grapes for 
a long time should grow for that purpose only 
the tough-skinned varieties. Concord, Mu-tba 
Wilder, Goethe and Elvira have a very - 2 --vu 
and cannot usually be kept much 1 il- er than 
Oct. 1; but Lindley, Ives, Catawba and partic¬ 
ularly North Carolina can be kept for months, 
as they have a tough skin. Rogers’s No. 2, 
Norton’s Virginia, and Cyuthiana, Mr. Hus- 
mann says, can easily be kept all Winter, 
though they will shrivel somewhat while re¬ 
maining spicy and good. Grapes that are to 
be kept should be fully ripe and gathered only 
in dTy weather; the bunches should be cut 
carefally, and all unripe, sbrivelal or decayed 
berries should be carefully cut out. They 
should be kept in uneven temperature ot 40°. 
They will keep the better if stored in pure dry 
sand, or if fine paper is put between the lay¬ 
ers ; and the room should be properly ventila¬ 
ted. 2. Cement the sides if of stone or brick 
We should need to know more of the construe 
tion of 1 he well. 
Miscellaneous. 
E. t.. Providence, R. /., asks the addresses 
of son e persons who are successful iu raising 
earlyl orbs for market, as he would like to 
visit such establishmeuts to learn the business 
Ans. -It would hardly be right to give away 
the Lames of parties engaged in a special busi¬ 
ness in which skill and particular experience, 
often gained at great cost, are th« elements of 
success, without their consent. Usually such 
persons are quite reticent when interviewed 
by a possible competitor, and object to " giv¬ 
ing themselves away” after building up a busi¬ 
ness for some years with much care, and espe¬ 
cially as this business is desirable only because 
special care aud knowledge are necessary for 
6ucee&s, and few there be that find these. The 
localities where raising early lambs for mar¬ 
ket is chiefly carried on, near New York, are 
Orange County, UUtcr County and Westches¬ 
ter County, N. Y.. Sussex, Warren and Morris 
Counties, N. J. There are no " establish¬ 
ments,’ so to speak, of this kind; the sheep 
are kept in small docks of 10, 20 or 50, and as 
adjuncts to ordinary farming, or upon farms 
where there is sufficient pasture laud that is 
unsuita le for cultivation. Around Middle- 
town, *. Y., and Newton, N. J., some flocks 
kept o: inis purpose could be found. 
N. 0. •/-, U eslhampton, N. Y., wishes to 
have his ows covered by a well-bred bull, but 
his neigh or’s scrub bull is constantly getting 
into the lot with them, however carefully he 
guards against hiB doing so, and he asks, 1, 
whether the n -ighbor is justified in keeping so 
unruly a brn a. 2. Wishiug to make a line 
fence i t bai r ed wire, he asks whether his 
neighbors cat. collect damages if their cattle 
or horses gei hurt by coming in contact with 
it. 
Ans. —You can sue a neighbor for trespass 
for permutii ghis bull to come on to your laud, 
providing your own fence is a legal one. You 
can recover any reasonable damages for the 
mischief he may do arnoug your cows. 2. You 
are liable l or any damage that may happen to 
olhera’cV.t le Irow your barbed wire fence. 
The legal 11 . uxim applicable to both of these 
cases is," 'ne mast so use his own property 
as not to *- Jure another’s.” 
“ Co met,” West Hoa.n, Conn., wishes to seed 
down to grass, the cc ir ing Fall, a field the soil 
ofwh'chis alight saLdy loam. Timothy aud 
Rad Top are the prevailing grasses therea¬ 
bouts, but they do not thrive on that field, as 
they ,;Oon run out, being succeeded by daisies, 
aud oar friend asks, 1, what mixture of seed 
would make a thick sward and be likely to ex¬ 
clude weeds ; 2, what good grass can be grown 
with Orchard Grass that will ripen at the same 
time. 
Ans. —1. We would mention Rhode Island 
Bant Grass (Agrostis cauina)—two bushels to 
acre or less; Sweet Vernal Grass (Authoxan- 
thuia odoratum)—20 por.nds to acre; Meadow 
Fescue (Festuca pratensis)—25 pounds to acre. 
2. W e know of nothing better than Kentucky 
Blue Grass (Poa pratensis)—two bushels per 
acre or less. 
8. <?., Church Hill, M'l, wishing to start a 
small fruit garden, asks what kinds of straw- 
bf 1 ries, raspberries, blackberries, currants, 
g osebefriea and grapes would we recommend 
f ;r family use. 
Ans —Our advice in such cases must be 
t-.fcen with many an allowance. Strawberries : 
ciLarpless, Bidwell, Cumberland Triumph, 
Charles Djwniug Raspberries: Cuthbert, 
Turner, Gregg, Carolina. Blackberries: Klt- 
tntinuy, Snyder. Currants: White Grape, 
Cherry, Old R;d Dutch and Fay's Prolific. 
Gooseberries: Downing, Houghton’s Seedling, 
Grapes: Concord, Lidy, Brighton, Lidy 
Washington, Duchess, Prentiss, Poeklington. 
For suggestions as to ornamental shrubbery, 
trees, etc., our friend is referred to our Har¬ 
dy Shrub aud Tree Nainber.^ 
TV. F., Florence, Texas, asks where can he 
get Clawson and Shumaker wheats and 
whether they are srn noth or bearded. 
Ans. —Any seedsman can furnish Clawson, 
which is a smooth wheat- We do not know 
whether Shumaker ^sometimes spelled Shoe¬ 
maker) is at present offered or not; but so 
good a wheat is sure soon to find its way into 
.. teJsmen’s hands. 1 c, is a smooth sort. 
C. L. O., Alewior., Mir* i-. says, 1, "lam sow¬ 
ing perennial flower seed now. shall I trans¬ 
plant this Fall or next Spring? 2, n o.v can I 
propagate Hyirange* graodiflora aa 1 when ? 
Ans.— 4. Next Spring. Cover ligtu.v this 
Fall. 2 Make euttuigs of the nearly ripened 
wood. Place them iu boxes of sand and keep 
moist Branches which re&t upon the ground 
root freely if hold there. 
E. W. B. desires directions for treating the 
Japan Red-bud. 
Ans —At this season of the year it would be 
best to start them in pots so as to remove the 
young plants to the heuse for the Winter. 
Plant the seeds in w.: 1-drained pots and cover 
with pieces of glass ratil they germinate. 
H. T., Wessells, A Jersey. The white 
chaff must be Fultz, though the breasts are 
rather too far apart for that variety. The 
other is as near Clawson as any we know of. 
The kernel seeui3 too dark, but this may be 
owing to the fact that it is shrunken some¬ 
what. 
L, B. R-, Buok’and, Mass., sayj that while 
attending an exhibition of the N. Y, Horticul¬ 
tural Society he marked a strawberry called the 
Battey Seedling as good, and he asks whether 
it is the same as tha Manchester lately com¬ 
mended in the Rural. 
Ans.—Y ee. 
(?. C., [Gret as L . nding , Pa , wishing to 
Rend some heads of •-pring wheat for compe¬ 
tition for the Rurat premiums, asks for mote 
time, aa they will n > tbe ripe by August 4. 
Ans.— 3end them so soon as they are ripr, 
please. 
C. B. asks how -t > rid his garden and lawn 
of moles. 
Ans.—W e are 6 .rry we e nnot help our 
friend. Soft tar 1 an into thei. holes here and 
there is offensive to them. 
J. TV. S„ Ash 6 love, Mo, asks whether 
Navy Bush Brans re a, 
Ans.—N early if tot all bus'.i beans will oc¬ 
casionally ’ ‘ run ” if planted i a rich soil. 
M. J. M., Le R ysville, V. F., sends for 
name what he con ders th j worst weed in 
that section. 
Ans.— Hieracium scabrum—Hawk weed. 
F. D., Snyder, A 0 York. We are not posi¬ 
tive as to tbe nam of t! ; bearded kind of 
wheat with FuLz. Thank for specimens. 
COMMUNICATIONS KB SIVKn FOB THE WB BK »vti. 
INQ SATURDAY, JULY 30. 
H. S.-J. G. B.—1) N.- j. H.—Tom, thanks— 
^ ^ _G. r.—J. U. —G, C.—C. B.—U. L. W.— 
J. K. R-, thank 3 —<?. *■.—M. A. H —G. G.—A. C. A. 
—G. A.— B. 8.—T. H. if.— 44 N —J. H. G.—W. W.— 
R jj Q _p. l).—'\V. b\— G. 41. F., thanks— 
o U.-J. T. H.- LK.-A. B. J.-W.-H. N — 
K. -R. L- G.-H- U. -H. S.-T. 41. R.-V7. L.- 
IL M -K. S.—X. Y. I. W.. thanks—W. L. H.— 
C.—J. MoS.- il. ff.—T. W. M.—N. 8.— 
A. It. N. — 8. —A. B. •*.— 'j. E. V.—J. K.—1. H. — 
W B D — E 4J- B.—W. M. C.-F. L. H.-C. S.M.- 
I M -J. M. R— G. W. 44.— W. R. M.-W. A. H-- 
g c.—F. 1). P.—J..W. M.—E. S.-W.C. A.— 
•T. M Q—B. A. 8. -C\ A , S.—I. N.—L. A. 
