SEPT.47 
a 
@37 
Selecting Seed Wheat. —We are gratified 
to see that other journals are beginning to 
place before their readers the importance of 
selecting wheats which bear three instead of 
two grains to a spikelet. We have long been 
of the opinion that there is room here for a 
great increase in the yields of wheats, and it 
seems a matter to which little if any consider¬ 
ation had previously been given. We find the 
following in the N. Y. Times, the agricultural 
editor of which carefully examined our many 
varieties during the past season : “ There is 
wheat and wheat. Two fields alike in every 
respect may vary greatly in yield by reason 
of the kind of wheat grown. Oue may be 
very short, in the head and the other twice as 
long ; in one the spike lets may be very loosely 
placed on the rachis or stem, and tlio other 
may have them more crowded. In some kinds 
of wheat the spikelet has three grains, fre¬ 
quently the central floret is empty, and in¬ 
stead of three grains there are but two in each 
spikelet. This makes a difference of one-t hird 
in the yield of the crop in favor of the com¬ 
pletely filled spikelet. But let us go further. 
We find in one head, which is short or loosely 
put together, but six or seven spikelets on 
each side, and in another as many as twelve 
or even more. This makes another great dif¬ 
ference in favor of the better variety of wheat. 
We then count up the grains, and in the one 
head we find 24 or 28 grains and in the other 
72, or even as many as 90 in extra-large 
and well-filled spikes. If one, then, yielils 
15 bushels of grain per acre, the other would 
yield 4-5. And this cause of difference is ex¬ 
tremely common, and any farmer can know 
how it. is himself by merely examining the 
wheat in different fields, or the different heads 
jn the same field. We take time and space 
only to observe here the importance of making 
this characteristic of the wheat plant the prin¬ 
cipal basis in selecting seed rather than the size 
of the grain, although this is also an element 
not to be ignored. Let the seed be selected in 
the field from the longest, most compact, and 
best-filled heads, and let this method be pur¬ 
sued each year. It will lead to a great im¬ 
provement in varieties of wheat.” 
Ohio Butter Inspection. —Robert Orr, 
Superintendent of the newly-created office of 
butter and cheese inspectors in Ohio, in a cir¬ 
cular to his subordinates, says: “When butter 
is properly churned, both as to time and 
temperature, it becomes finn with very little 
working and is tenacious; but its most desira¬ 
ble state is waxy, when it is easilj r molded in¬ 
to any shape, and may be drawn out to con¬ 
siderable length without breaking. It is then 
styled gilt-edged. It is only in this state that 
butter possesses that rich nutty flavor and 
smell, and shows up the rich golden yellow col¬ 
or, which impart so high a degree of pleasure 
in eating it, and which jncrca.se its value 
manifold. It is not always necessary, when 
it smells fresh and sweet, to taste butter in 
judging it. The smooth, unctous feel, in nib¬ 
bing a little between the finger and thumb, ex¬ 
presses at once its rich quality; the nutty 
smell and riph aroma indicate a similar taste, 
and the bright, golden, glisteuing, cream-col¬ 
ored surface shows its high state of cleanliness. 
It may be necessary at times to use the trier, 
or even use it until you become an expert in 
testing by taste, smell and nibbing.” The 
bill which created these inspectors is part of 
the movement against adulterants. It provides 
for the inspection of butter and cheese, “and 
all the substances having the semblance of 
butter and cheese,” and of dairies and other 
places where milk is sold or butter and cheese 
manufactured; this is to be done by inspectors 
appointed by the State Board of Health. 
Mb. D. S. Curtiss says: The object of the 
farmer should be to increase the product, im¬ 
prove the quality, and decrease the cost per 
bushel. 
If a farmer has ten acres of land it is so 
much invested capital, and if by judicious cul¬ 
ture he obtains from it three hundred bushels of 
wheat each year, instead of only one hundred 
and fifty bushels, it is so much increased in¬ 
come for the capital invested. 
Farmers would, in the long run, bo the 
gainers if they would each year gather with 
the grain cradle and thrash by hand with flail 
on a clean barn floor, sufficient wheat for seed, 
selecting the best growth in their fields, and 
letting it stand until perfectly ripe, taking 
that which seems to bo earliest, in ripening. 
When ready to plant, soak the seed six to ten 
horn's iu brine, and roll in plaster to dry it 
for the drill. 
Luck. —The gifts that, luck is supposed to 
shower, sensibly remarks the Herald, are al¬ 
ways to be found in possession of people who 
have strong ai ms, clear heads or busy lingers, 
and lie who can combine all of these desira¬ 
ble qualities is among the luckiest of men. 
The man or woman who is always unlucky is 
the one who always is blundering, either 
stupidly or lazily. The best “ luck" that can 
fall upon any impecunious young man is a de¬ 
termination to go to work, even if his only 
chance is to handle a shovel on a railroad 
track, and the young woman who is sighing 
for a rich husband will strike luck when she 
makes up her mind to use exercise and fresh 
air as cosmetics, try a new eookiug recipe 
every day and read something sensible in 
some of her spare moments. Luck, as usually 
worshipped, is the god of the lazy and but 
little, if any, more respectable than Mercury, 
the god of thieves. 
The Pall Mall Gazette says : “Now, as to 
the fact that America is outstripping England 
in wealth, who will be at pains to deny it ? It 
is so, and it must be so. Not the maddest 
commercial policy on her part or the wisest on 
Dili's could in the long run outbalance the im¬ 
mense preponderance of natural resources on 
the side of America.” 
Salt on Wheat. —As we learn from the 
Indiana Farmer, Mr. James McMurray, of 
Mend ticks Co. Indiana, made careful experi¬ 
ments to ascertain the effect of salt on his 
wheat land, sowing 500 pounds per acre on 
the poorest part of the field and leaving the 
rest nud better portion without this or any 
other dressing. The result, was that the 
wheat on the salt-sown land was slightly 
plumper than that on the rest of the field, mak¬ 
ing a difference of about two bushels to the 
acre in weight in favor of the salted portion. 
The salt-dressed crop matured five days sooner 
than the other and no weeds were found in 
the stubble. _ 
Roses and Culture. —Thus, concludes the 
Gardeners’ Chronicle, of London, the trade in 
roses is sure to prove a growing one, and to 
keep pace with the growth of wealth, intelli¬ 
gence and culture. In regard to the latter 
the rose is likely to exert a powerful influence, 
for if it be true—and it is—that men become 
assimilated to the objects of their pursuits 
and affections, surely close companionship 
with the rose will form a center of sweetness, 
a source of light, to many, and a refined and 
ennobling pleasure to all. 
it may be, is available for plant use unless it wheat sold for S3@S5c. ; corn, 31@33c.; oats, 
is finalv nulverized ” 20@22c.; and rye 60@63c. This year wheat is 
.... vii v, v, $ 1.20® $1.25 ; corn, 52@55c.; oats, 33@35c,; and 
AYOUN'Gbnrte, tang .Mho, her tab * ^ xhnr ' e > llmost no (ruit orop , 
band turned out, replied that he turned out ■' , , , ,, ,, , . , 
, ,, ’ 1 . ,, , . and as for vegetables, there scarcely is shamo 
very late m the morning, and turned in very , ,, . ° , . ,. 
' ■> . ' ‘ h J in the price of potatoes. Very good cattle are 
late at mg \ .... .... wor t b f ro m fi to and hogs only half a 
The editor who saw a lady making for the . , .. , , 
7 , , . .. „ V,. ,, cent less. While there are to-day some signs 
only empty seat .in the car, found himself ... , , 
- ' , , , l . _. of ram, and we may and probably shall have 
crowded out to make room for more interest- ’ J , . . . , 
,a a fall of three or four inches m course of 
ing mattei... this month or the first half of September, 
The Burlington Hawkeye makes the follow- th(j Fa]1 is pretty suro to be a dry and long 
ing important prediction: one, and a very severely cold and snowy 
If the corn husks are very thick, the Winter Winter pre tty sure to follow. b. f. j. 
will be colder than the Summer. Qkchard, Williamson Co.-The 
I the corn husks are very thin, the Summer w&g n 0atg ^ sown March LSth in 
will be warmer than the W inter | he so , (1 all germinated and without 
K the corn husks are neither too tluek nor 6xtm cu i tiva tion yielded nine-and-a- 
too thin, the W inter will be cold and the Sum- - , , . . _, ... .. 
” , half pounds of clean oats; and with the 
merv ill be warm..... exception of the smut heads they were the 
W hen we arc sick we are willing to be very „ ' . . ,. 
. ,, . , finest oats ever raised in this community. The 
religious, but when we are well we prefer to Bmnching Sorghum was sown April 
doas we please.... 12; the seed germinated well and the stalks 
You can’t get peace of mind out of evil do- made a id growtb wbm once started. They 
ing, or, as the old proverb runs, you can’t take to a h | ght of upwards of seven feet, 
a cow from a man who doseu’t own one .... aM b damaged somewhat by a drought. 
To talk about virtue when you are not vir- ^ ug best tQ cut thjs to the ground 
tuous yourself is like giving a man a check wheu or ^ f ^ Mgh _ the Boctmd glwth 
when you have no money m the bank. seems more rapid than the first, Eds.] 
I do not believe seed will mature in this cli¬ 
mate; this is the only objection against it 
■X :n\ here. I have several hills with Li to 15 stalks 
* in a hill and in none is there less than five. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Tomatoes.—A clover writer has declared 
that in the eating of tomatoes lies 
the hope of the human race for 
deliverance from liver complaints. This 
should be good news alike to unfortunate 
sufferers from the ills to which the liver is 
heir and also to growers of the tomato. We 
(London Journal) may be pardoned for think¬ 
ing that this assurance is a little exaggerated, 
and that, further, it is not probable that tie- 
cause of the discovery medical men will have 
to shut up shop. If but one tithe of the vir¬ 
tues found or said to be found in various 
fruits or compounds were genuine, death 
should long since have become unknown to us, 
and the human race should be enjoying the 
felicity of living in perfect health and beauty 
forever. 
Opinions upon practical agriculture should 
never be formed from books and papers alone. 
They are excellent for suggesting ideas, and 
for comparing notes with our own practice. 
Wc may be able to indorse the opinions at 
sight, hut, generally speaking, new practices 
should be Verified upon our own lands before 
we either adopt or indorse them.—[Credit 
lost.— Eds.] ...... “Is it at all to 
be wondered at,” asks the Telegraph, “that 
the exhibits of farm products at our Agri¬ 
cultural Fail's should show a falling off 
year after year, as is clearly perceptible, 
when the premiums upon them bear no pro¬ 
portion to those given for horses, trials of 
speed, foot-races, bicycle races, and other 
things that have next to nothing to do with 
farming and are of a nature to draw public 
attention from the real purposes for which 
these exhibitions are ostensibly established ( 
A majority of farmers cannot afford, or are at 
least unwilling to spend, money and Labor in 
preparing for these fairs their choicest pro¬ 
ducts, and samples of their leading crops, with 
no chance, from the meager premiums offer¬ 
ed, to repay them even in a very moderate 
degree.” . . . Mrs. Henry 
Ward Beecher, a good authority on 
domestic economy, says that ten pounds 
of the toughest kind of meat, may be 
made very tender by soaking seven hours in 
three quarts of water acidulated with a little 
more than half a pint of vinegar. Then 
wash, wipe dry, and cook as desired.—N. Y. 
Tribune. .... Our friend, the Detroit Free 
Press, wonders why colored ladies do not 
wear bits of white court plaster on their faces 
and become perfectly bewitching. 
An old gentleman nt a horticultural meeting 
in New York rose and left during the reading 
of an essay on the causes of pear blight. He 
said the essayist admitted that he had nothing 
new to offer and he had heard the old fifty 
times before. Professional essayists do great - 
ly detract from the life of such societies. . . . 
. . “No part of the earth, no matter how rich 
Arkansas. 
Poteau, Scott Co., Sept, 1.—We are having 
the longest and severest drought since ’73. 
Crops in some parts of the State will he nearly 
a total failure. Here, on tho “Nation” line, 
they are the bast—about half the average. 
Prices are about as follows:—Wheat, none in 
the market; oats, 50c.; corn, 50c.; bacon, 10c.; 
flour, @8.50 per cwt.; butter, 10c.; eggs, 10c. 
per dozen. H. 0. B. 
Greenwood, Sebastian Co.—Wheat did well 
this seasou on tho bottoms; a light crop on the 
uplands. The yield on the former was from 20 
to 30 bushels to the acre, aud on the latter 
from 5 to 10 bushels per acre. The varieties 
chiefly sown are Blue Stem and Mediterranean. 
Oats were an entire failure. The common red 
and black oats are usually raised. Corn is 
nearly an average crop. Blount's Prolific, 
takes the lead and yields from 50 to 80 bushels 
per acre without manure, aud with com¬ 
mon cultivation. The outlook for orchard 
and small fruits is unfavorable. The Spring 
was too cold aud backward for any reasonable 
chance for any kind of fruit. Such a failure 
in fruit was never before known in all Western 
Arkansas, The Summer has been very dry and 
hot, water very scarce, causing a diminution of 
stock, especially hogs. Cotton will not be 
one-half a crop. New bales are selling from 
13c. to 22c. Splendid time for digging wells 
and gathering corn and peanuts. R. R. 
Michigan. 
Big Rapids, Mecosta Co., Aug. 31.—Wheat 
has turned out better than was expected; av¬ 
erage yield about 11 bushels per acre, aud 
oars about 35 bushels per acre. Potatoes 
will be about half a crop; corn ditto. This 
shortage is owing to the hot, dry weather 
through the latter part of July and first half 
of August. Fruit, as a general thing, is scarce, 
though I shall have a good crop of apples. All 
the seeds I received from the Free Distribu¬ 
tion have done well. My wife is highly pleased 
with the carnutions ami pinks. The asparagus 
is doing finely. The R. B. Sorghum goes be¬ 
yond all expectations; it is 10 feet high and 
there are from six to eight branches from a 
single seed. The W. Oats rusted, but made a 
big growth. What I am more pleased with 
chan all else is the W. E. Potato. The tuber 
received weighed about two ounces. It was 
cut into 14 pieces and planted, May 2, an eye 
in a MU. It had the same culture as my other 
potatoes. I dug them on August lfi; the yield 
was <5S large tubers and five small ones: weight 
of the whole 3SK pounds. The Cuthbert Rasp¬ 
berry fruited this season: I consider it a splen¬ 
did variety. J. w. C. 
Illinois. 
Champaign, Champaign, Co., III., Aug. 25— 
A drought beginning early in July, and extend¬ 
ing later from the Rocky Mountains to the Alle- 
glianies, holds now its dread dominion over us. 
In North Illinois the drought makes things un¬ 
comfortable ; in the central part of the State 
it has reduced a smaU corn crop one half, and 
cut pastures short, so there will be six or 
seven months’ feeding, instead of four or five, 
while in the Southern counties everything has 
been almost literally burned up, the people 
having little or nothing to fall back upon but 
less than an average crop of oats or bay. In 
towns more than half the wells have given 
out, and in the country, in somo ill watered 
counties, half the farm force has to be ex¬ 
pended in digging new wells or clearing out 
old ones. Compared with this time last year, 
potatoes are $1 per bushel, against 35c. ; and 
apples 75e.@@l—against 20@35c. Last year 
The White Elephant Potato was cut into 
14 pieces with an eye to a piece; 12 of the 
pieces germinated: but the yield will not be 
large on account of the dry weather. The 
asparagus was planted April 12; the seed did 
not germinate well; but about half came up. 
The picotees and carnations I planted too early 
and therefore they did not do as well as they 
might if planted at the proper time. b. f. d. 
Iowa. 
Atlantic, Cass Co.—Weather hot and dry. 
Many days the mercury is 103 ° in the shade. 
No rain for over two months, only one little 
shower that barely laid the dust. Crops badly 
dried up. Much wheat not cut because it was 
so poor, and potatoes very scarce at @1.50 per 
bushel. H. R. R. 
Chariton, Lucas County.—So far as I have 
been able to ascertain from observation and 
inquiry, the present crop prospects are about 
as follows, with slight variations in the diffei'- 
ent parts of the county:—Spring wheat al¬ 
most an entire failure, with the exception of 
an occasional good field. The rye crop was 
good and is yieldiug well. Rye affords splen¬ 
did pasture for cattle in the Winter and 
Spring, and then will make a splendid crop 
besides. Tho oat crop was generally good, 
but does not yield as many bushels per acre 
as was expected. But little Fall wheat was 
sown, and that little proved comparatively 
a poor crop. The flax crop heretofore in fa¬ 
vorable seasons has done splendidly, but this 
season it only promises to bo fair to middling. 
Corn which in the past for many years has 
been the farmers main crop, will certainly be 
light, owing to the protracted dry weather, 
which still continues with little or no pros¬ 
pect of rain. It is Sfi days since a good heavy 
rain visited this immediate locality. Chi Au¬ 
gust 30 quite a respectable shower fell which 
was better than none. The water in sloughs, 
branches, and ponds has mostly evaporated, 
and in many instances these reservoirs are en¬ 
tirely dry, so that stock not unfrequently 
suffers in consequence. Timothy, millet, Hun¬ 
garian, etc., are good this year, so there will 
be no scarcity of hay, as was the case last 
year. The apple crop will be very light in 
this section, while grapes and other small 
fruits have been, are, or will be good. Lucas 
County is composed of 13 townships, making an 
area of 834 square miles. Each townsMp 
is well watered by one or more of the many 
streams by which the county is traversed; in 
fact, it is one of the best watered counties in 
Iowa, It is also well drained, being situated 
upon w>iat is called the great water-shed of 
the State. Coal is feund here in abundance, 
Lucas Station and Cleveland being the two 
largest banks. J. w. w. 
Kentucky. 
Carlisle, Nicholas Co.—The weather here 
is very diy. The ground has been too wet to 
plow only once since May. Stock water is 
very scarce. Wheat is of good quality; aver¬ 
age about the same as last year, mostly Fultz. 
Cora will uot make half a crop; there will not 
be over five bushels to the acre, I should 
think. Very few oats, and of rye still less. 
Hay cut short owing to dry weather. There 
are a good many apples, but they are of poor 
quality. Very few peaches and plums. Veg¬ 
etables are very scarce: potatoes uot over half 
a crop. This has been a bad year for the Rur¬ 
al seeds. I planted half a dozen hills of the W. 
E. Potato in rich, red soil; dug them July 29; 
they weighed 3’1 pounds. I gave a portion 
of R. B. Sorghum to a friend and planted the 
remainder in the same soil as the potatoes, and 
I have nine hills with nine stalks to the Mil. 
The flower seeds all did well. The carnations 
aud picotees all bloomed nicely. C. w. R. 
