AUS. <3 
I RURAL HEW-YORKER 
there are better grapes than the Concord. 
Tee, and it hae taken them a good while to 
learn it; but better late than never. It is en¬ 
couraging, however, to know this. Years ago 
I predicted that we should yet have a native 
grape that, in its make-up and goodness, 
would compare favoi ably with the Black Ham¬ 
burgh, and Mr. Ricketts and his worthy co¬ 
laborers have put us well on the way to it. 
Nothing less than Ibis will content me, and I 
do not think I stand entirely alone. 
Ladies and other amateurs who have plants 
of the Scarlet Pelargonium too large for 
their room may put down cuttiugs early in 
August and have nice young winter-blooming 
plants by the time it is necessary to take them 
in. The cuttings Bhould Dot be made from | 
wood that is old and hard. Pot them off as 
soon as the roots appear, or even as soon as 
they are well callused. With a little care and 
encouragement they will often prove more 
satisfactory than large plants. 
The sooner now that new Btrawberry beds 
are made the belter. The readers of the Rural 
should not forget what has been said about 
frauds, and buy their pot-grown strawberry 
plants of well-knowu and reliable parties, of 
whom, thank goodness! we still have several 
left. Among new kinds the Bid well will be a 
safe one to buy, but of novelties the Jersey 
Queen and possibly the Manchester will take the 
lead, aud filL np two different seasons. There 
are now many good kindB on the lists to choose 
from, as the reader will see by referring to 
the Small Fruit Number. Horticola. 
Leveling Strawberries In the Baskets. 
A dealer who buys berries of me, and also 
reads the Rural, said lately, “ Why don’t you 
tell your brother berry growers how to level 
the berries in the baekets ; it adds 50 cents a 
crate to their value,” I have not the opportu- 
nitv of a dealer to learn how other growers 
“ fix” their berries, and have supposed they 
understood the business a6 well at least as I 
do. Bnt this dealer Bays it is not so. My 
pickers fill the baskets as full as they will 
stay on, heaped. When they are brought in 
an experienced hand—a woman hired for the 
purpose—throws out upon a table before her 
half a pint from the top of each basket and 
replaces them with the hulls down, so as to 
make a flat, level top, about three-eighths of 
an inch higher than the edge of the basket. 
This is what the buyer alluded to says in¬ 
creases the value to him 50 cents per crate. It 
does not cost 10 cents, and has always been 
done here because it prevents the mashing 
which is euro to attend the practice of leaving 
the berries in a conical form, c.r highest in 
the middle. t. h. h. 
Orleans Co., Vt. 
-♦♦♦- 
Gooseberries. 
As these are just now ripe in abundance, I 
would remark that I prefer the Downing to 
any other variety for table use on account of 
its tender flesh and its very good, sweet flavor. 
The fruit is of fair size and of a greenish- 
white color. The plant is with me of moder¬ 
ate growth and very productive. Houghton’s 
8 eedliDg is of vigorous growth, but has rather 
slendor branches and is remarkably product¬ 
ive, the fruit being of moderat e size and of a 
pale red color. With mo the berry remains 
longer in perfection than that of the Downing. 
I suppose I shall have to abandon the cultiva¬ 
tion of the English varieties. They are so 
sal j set to mildew that it Is impossible to ob¬ 
tain any fruit from them. If any of the read¬ 
ers of the Rural have had any experience 
with them or can suggest any remedy for the 
mildew, I shall be pleased to hear from them. 
Have they been tried at the Rural Farm, and, 
if so, with what Buceess ? [Tes, mildew de¬ 
stroys them— Eds.] Cuas, E. Parnell. 
Queens Co., L. I. 
(Kntomolojjital, 
(ESTRUS B0VI8. 
From what appears on page 485 of the Ru¬ 
ral under the siimature of Mr. Sereno Edwards 
Todd, it seems that either Mr. Todd or myself 
had better study the tram formation of the Ox 
Bot-Fly. All I wish to do in this article is to 
correct a few of the writer’6 statements, and 
cite a few of the authorities or the writings of 
those who will doubtless be taken as authority. 
I could have dene this in my first article, but I 
have always looked upon a popular newspaper 
article as no place for such dry details, un¬ 
less it be for the purpose of correcting a wrong 
impression. From the citations 1 shall make 
the reader will doubtless see that I did not de¬ 
rive my information from cyclopedias, as the 
writer referred to seemed to infer. 
In regard to the place where the eggs are 
deposited, whether glued to the hair or depos¬ 
ited beneath the skin, there is a difference of 
opinion, some good authorities being found 
on both sides, hence we will pass that point, as 
only an actual observation can decide it. 
The statement that there is no orifice in the 
Bkin through which air may enter to sustain 
the life of the tender grub, I can not admit as 
a fact. Spending, as I did, the early part of my 
life on a dairy farm in Central New York, I 
may be presumed to have had Borne chance to 
observe the habits of this insect. I have always 
found an opening, during the Winter, at the 
summit of each bump on the backs of cattle, 
and n%ver found any difficulty at the season in 
removing the grub with pressure by the 
thumbs. On this point E. B. Retd, in the re¬ 
port of the Ontario Entomological Society for 
the year 1873, page 38, sayB “ It is, therefore, 
veiy essential to the grub that the hole of the 
tumor should remain constantly opeD, for by 
this operation a communication with the air 
necessary for respiration is preserved.” Dr. 
Harrie, in his Insects Injurious to Vegetation, 
page 534, says on the same point, " The mag¬ 
gots of the CEstrus Bovis, or Ox Bot-fly, live in 
large, open boils, sometimes called wormils or 
wurmals, that is, worm-hojes, on the backs of 
cattle.” 
The statement that the larue “pass to the 
chrysalid state while in the adipose tissue of 
tne ox or cow ’’ I can not accept as a fact. I 
do not know of an instance where any species 
of this family of parasitic flies pupates in the 
body of its host. On this point Dr. Harris, in 
the book above referred to, page 633, says, 
** The lame or young of bot-flies live in var¬ 
ious parts of the bodies of animals. * * When 
they are fully grown they drop to the ground 
and burrow in it a short distance. After this, 
the skin of the maggot becomes a hard brown¬ 
ish shell, within which the insect turns to a 
pupa, and finally to a fly.” Raaumer says, as 
quoted by Mr. E. B. Rted in the Oatario report 
above referred to, “ At last it comes out back¬ 
wards and falls to the ground, when it gets un¬ 
der a stone or buries itself in the turf, remain¬ 
ing quiet, and preparing for its last transfor¬ 
mation.” Dr, A. S. Packard, Jr, one of the 
U. S, Ent. Commission, says in his Guide to 
the Study of Insects, page 405, “ The larv® 
are found duriDg the month of May and in the 
Summer in the tumors on the backs of cattle, 
and when fully grown, which is generally in 
Jnly, work their way out and fall to the 
ground.” Further on, in relation to the length 
of the pupal period, he says, “They exiBt in 
the puparium twenty-six to thirty days, and 
the fly appears from Jane to September.” But 
perhaps here is enough. 
In regard to remedies, Mr. Todd’s suggestion 
of the rubbing pole or carding is a good one, 
though with ordinary cattle the pole might 
fail to reach many. As I have intimated be¬ 
fore, the process of squeezing them out and 
killing, will be as effectual as any means of 
killing them. G. H. French. 
Carbondale, Ill. 
benefactor indeed who could have rescued 
from decay thishalf million bushels of luscious 
peaches. 
How to preserve the surplus is the question 
which has agitated the minds of farmer and 
fruit grower in time past. The solution of so 
important a problem, involving individual and, 
I may say, national, pecuniary interest, has 
been reached by fruit evaporation. In no one 
department of farm economy has there been as 
much interest manifested in the last few years 
as in the recent application of better methods 
and appliances for this special purpose. Erro¬ 
neous principles and practices have, in a great 
measure, given way to more advanced methods, 
based on well-known facts in chemistry, com 
prehending the component elements of fruits, 
their growth, cell stiucture, development and 
preservation. The great progress made in this 
department of domestic economy is commen¬ 
surate only with its importance in deciding the 
question, how to secure a universal and regu¬ 
lar supply of frnit for all seasons and sections, 
combining all the healthful and nutrition- 
properties of fresh, ripe fruit, which, when 
properly treated, is easily restored to the near¬ 
est possible former condition of freehness. 
The demand for evaporated fruits of all kinds 
has more than kept pace with the production, 
and prices have steadily advanced as the sup¬ 
ply has opened up new markets, gaining in 
general favor and entering into consumption 
as a wholesome article of food instead of a 
mere luxury. 
McGrawville, N. Y. 
--- 
AN ENGLISH. GRAIN CRUSHER. 
Careful experiments with the omnibus horses 
of London show tha* there is an average gain of 
one-fourth, or twenty-five per cent., in crash¬ 
ing grain for feed. .Much more attention is 
pai 1 to saving grain in this way in England, 
France and Germany than in this country 
Doubtless the main causes of this greater 
lack of thrift among us, especially in the 
thinly inhabited regions of the West, is the 
comparatively low price of grain and high 
cost of labor. If crushing grain however, 
makes a gain of one quarter in its nutritive 
value as stock feed, it should be much more 
widely practiced than it is at present, espe¬ 
cially in the more thickly settled States whose 
denser population, closer proximity to market 
and greater diversity of agricultural Industries 
r ander grain higher-priced than in the F rontier 
Jarra topics. 
THE EVAPORATION OF FRUIT.-No. 1. 
J. G. BINGHAM. 
Ha Neeesalty, 
Among the great industries of our country 
the cultivation of fruit ha6 reached a magni¬ 
tude that is indeed surprising. The Yankee 
nation are enthusiasts la this branch of In¬ 
dustry ; they grasp after new varieties and 
eagerly test their qualities, that they may, if 
possible, improve upon the present supply. 
Fruit culture Is unquestionably profitable. 
It is a fact that in good fruit sections of the 
Uuited States many orchards of from six to 
ten acres pay larger f roflts to the farmer than 
the DO acres put into wheat or other farm pro¬ 
ducts. That my readers may properly appre. 
date the importance of the fruit interest of the 
country it must be borne in mind that in the so- 
called fruit belts of the United States there are 
more than four and one-half million acres of ] 
land under cultivation In orchards. Carefully 
prepared statistics report the estimated value 
of our green fruits at $138,000,000, nearly half 
the value of our average wheat crop. 
At our Centennial Exposition the Bhow of 
fruits exceeded 00,000 dishes and over 400,000 
specimens. Michigan values he-apple crop at 
$3,000,000. Illinois has 330.000 acres in or¬ 
chards. California sends East millions of bas¬ 
kets of grapes aud pears, and will shortly sup¬ 
ply the whole Union with raisins. The Gulf 
States rival Southern Europe in semi-tropical 
fruits. Delaware and Maryland prodnee from 
seven to fifteen million baskets of peaches per 
annum. New York City has received in one 
day 10,000 bushels of strawberries. 
The fruit crop of 1880 was enormous ; mil¬ 
lions of bushels, more particularly of apples, 
were allowed to go to waste for want of a mar¬ 
ket. There is an authentic statement in the New 
York Tribune of August 33, 1871, that a single 
fruit grower of Delaware lost by rot 10,000 
bushels of peaches, while the total loss during 
that season In that little State exceeded 50 
times that amount. He would have been a 
exDort3 had been steadily increasing from 303 - 
587 040 pounds in 1871, with the exception of 
a slight falling off of about9.000,000 pounds in 
’73. It Is doubtful whether the country does 
not lose more than it gains by this large trade 
—whether we would not be all the richer by 
keeping this vast amount of oii-cake at home 
to feed to our own flocks and herds, thus in¬ 
creasing the quantity and quality of our but¬ 
ter, cheese, beef, mutton and provisions for 
domestic consumption and exportation, be¬ 
sides adding to the amount of our ma¬ 
nure piles and greatly improving their 
fertilizing properties. The United Kingdom 
- 
States. From time to time we have presented 
to our readers engravings of the best grain 
crushers and feed grinders made in this coun¬ 
try, and now we call their attention to an Eng¬ 
lish grain crusher, shown at Fig. 393, which 
attracted considerable attention at the Paris 
Exposition of 1878. It is known as the Rich¬ 
mond & Chandler machine, and is made of 
various sizes and used for crushing beans, 
pea?, oats, barley, corn, flaxseed, or malt. In 
it the “set" of the rollers is regulated by 
means of two thumb-screws in front of the 
machine, so that the grain may be crushed to 
the required degree of fineness. The feed of 
the grain to the rollers is determined by a small 
regulating wheel. There is also a machine 
known as a Libber which la designed for 
cracking oats, beans, and corn for horse feed. 
It is like a large coffee mill, with renewable 
iron plates, and a capacity for cracking into 
various degrees of fineness. 
OIL-CAKE BREAKER. 
The Treasury statistics show that in 1880 
there were exported from this country 45S 023,- 
335 pounds of oil-cake, valued at $6,350 837, 
against 840,095,305 pounds, valued at $4,304 - 
010, in 1870. For the previous ten years the 
fig. 393. 
and France are the chief gainers by Oar 
improvidence in this respect, although Ger¬ 
many also has lately begun to be a consider¬ 
able importer of oar cotton-seed and fl ix-aeed 
oil-cake. Beyond the Atlanlie, European 
economy is rigidly practiced in the nee of this 
article of feed, both in proportioning the 
proper amount to each class of animals, and 
in preparing it in the best way for obtaining 
all the advantages possible from it. For this 
purpose, the oil-cake breaker is an important 
device. One of the best forms in use in Great 
Britain is shown in engraving, Fig. 393. The 
cake is slipped edge-wise into the hopper, aud 
is there gripped by a pair of spiked roller 0 , 
which reduce it to pieces suitable for sheep or 
beeves. Six different sizes of cake-meal are 
made by this machine, which is furnished with 
cleaning combs, to prevent the adhesion or 
clogging of damp cake. Boxes receive the 
broken cake and dust separately. 
BREWER8’ GRAIN. 
The hint thrown out by Prof. Storer in re¬ 
gard to the drying of brewers’ grains in a late 
Rural, is well worthy of consideration. But, 
after having used them for several years, 1 
wish to point out to persons interested some 
circumstances which would affect the pre- 
cess of drying and some which relate to 
methods of preserving them. First, in re¬ 
gard to the prejudice against this excellent, 
nutritious, wholesome and cheap food for 
dairy cows. Boards ol Health, who move in 
mysterious ways their duties to perform, and 
who think it right to prohibit the removal 
and temporary storage of manure, not only 
in the city of New York but in varal villages, 
and yet thus compel its retention in large sta¬ 
bles in crowded and b weltering streets, have 
put their foot—so to speak—down upon brew¬ 
ers’ grains and have peremptorily forbidden 
the selling of milk in the city of New Yoik 
from dairies in which they are used. Far¬ 
ther, the renowned Farmers’ Club of tie 
American Institute has put Its foot, (a club 
foot?) also down upon brewers’grains and 
declares them to be an unwholesome and (to 
use a recent remark of the late Senator Conk- 
ling) “an abhorrent and forbidden” fodder. 
Now I venture to say that not one of these 
persons who have thus put their foot dowr, 
knows the difference between brewers’ grains 
I and distillery waste, and actually confound 
the one with the other and with all the abom¬ 
inations, " abhorrent and forbidden,” of the 
vile swill dairies. Those who know brewers’ 
grains know them to be unobjectionable in 
every respect, a healthful and valuable food. 
And if there is ar y way in which thu vast 
quantity of this waste product can be brought 
to distant dairies for use. it would be a great 
and useful economy. I have long been con¬ 
sidering this question and believe the system 
of diving and pressing into cakes, the most 
feasible of all suggested methods. The Ger¬ 
man method of baking, mentioned by Prof] 
Storer, would be excellent if not too labori¬ 
ous aud costly i but the pressure of the partly 
dried grain?, between steam-heated plates, in¬ 
to solid cakes, would seem to be by no moans 
too costly a process. If the cost would not 
be larger than the gain in the cost of freight 
upon the weight of the expelled moisture, the 
value of the product would not be really in¬ 
creased. Bat by whatever process the grains 
are prepared, it mast be such as will prevent 
the loss of the soluble matter in the contained 
water to be got rid of. This moisture contains 
