as safe, always providing that the owner of 
the flock will give as much care to his sheep 
as he would to his bonds. For at three months 
old a half-bred Shropshire will easily weigh 
50 pounds, and at two years it will yield to 
the btttcher a carcass of 100 to 120 pounds, and 
to the owner a yearly fleece of seven pounds of 
easily marketable wool. Its close fleece enables 
it to resist storms and rain and snow, and its 
thrifty habits and good feeding qualities make 
it easily kept and cheaply fed. And what 
more can a sheep do for its owner than this ? 
ittisccllaiuous. 
The English Live Stock Journal says the 
most unfortunate thing about wool, in respect 
to the farmer, is that, it will keep. It thinks 
a time’s price the best in the long run, and 
that there’s a great deal of truth in the old 
country-side saying, “A man seldom regrets 
selling.” Two years’ wool crops are thought 
to be held now in England; but that matters 
comparatively little with markets, for as 
America rules the wheat markets of the 
world, so does Australia rule its wool mar¬ 
kets.Owing to the lateness of harvest 
weather many English farmers have made 
“Australian oat hay” of their oat crop—a 
splendid feed for horses, who relish it exceed¬ 
ingly, as all the nut riment is retained in the 
straw.Sewer fanning, on which the 
late Mr. Meehi used to wax eloquent is again 
attracting considerable attention in England, 
nearly half of which could be amply fertilized 
by the sewage of London alone, if properly 
distributed. The great danger. Dr. Gabb 
says, is over-sewage of the land to which it is 
possible to conduct the sewage under present 
arrangements. Precipitation is the system 
advocated as being the only effective one. 
Planting Haiidy Catalpas.— C. speciosa. 
—Speaking of the hardy catalpa, C. speciosa, 
that accomplished young horticulturist, Wil¬ 
liam Falconer, says in the Cultivator (Albany) 
that they should be planted very thickly and 
thinned out in after years as they begin to 
crowd one another. They may grow one to 
four feet high the first year after being set out, 
but here do not let your ambition curb your 
common sense. Instead of letting them re¬ 
main as they have grown, cut them down to 
within an inch or two of the ground. This 
you cau do easily (as the young wood is soft 
and pithy) with a scythe as you would a field 
of thistles. Next year they will shoot up 
young rods doubly strong and long. Again, 
in succeeding years, fail not to cut back un¬ 
scrupulously such plants as show a weakly 
growth. The reason is this: If you let them 
grow from the beginning unchecked, the sec¬ 
ond season, instead of throwing out a strong, 
straight shoot, they will branch out, and thus 
destroy their value as clean, straight-stemmed 
timber trees. And hero, too, thick planting 
becomes reasonable. If planted thinly, a 
branchy disposition will bo natural: if thickly, 
they are compelled to grow up straight. As 
they advance in years and growth, chop out 
the scraggy plants and those that overcrowd 
their bettor neighbors, and with a keen-edged 
knife remove all wayward branches. 
Ramie Fiber Machine .— 1 The New Orleans 
Democrat announces the successfid operation 
of a new machine for extracting ramie fiber. 
Says the Sun: The ramie plant can be raised 
in almost unlimited quantities in the Southern 
States, but heretofore the difficulty of extract¬ 
ing the filler has been a serious impediment to 
its extensive culture, and if, as has boon an¬ 
nounced, machinery can be successfully em¬ 
ployed for this purpose, ramie cultivation may 
become even more profitable than cotton cul¬ 
ture. We con only hope that the above an¬ 
nouncement will be fully substantiated. 
Dn. Leady of Philadelphia believes that the 
Mosuic prohibition of pork was due to the 
danger of trichinosis in a country where fuel 
was scanty, aud therefore the food seldom 
well cooked. He also thinks that millions may 
have died of trichinosis in centuries l>efore the 
true source of the danger was discovered, and 
that many of the deaths which occurred in the 
army during our civil war were due to the 
frequent use of raw and badly cooked pork, 
although ascribed to typhoid, rheumatic, or 
malarial fevers. 
The father of the cereals is Pop Cora.—Van¬ 
ity Fair relic.“Bull Rim" Russell, 
who has been traveling through the country 
with the Duke of Sutherland’s party, was 
asked the other day what impression ho had 
formed of America, and replied very frankly: 
“ Where you can’t raise wheat you raise 
gold, and where you can’t raise gold you raise 
lead, and where you can’t raise lead you 
raise silver. It’s something everywhere 
—a country of wonderful resources.” . . . 
. . . The universal heart of a man blesses 
dowel's. He lias wreathed them around the 
cradle, the marriage altar, and the tomb. . . 
. . . Even if a man has two lawns, he gener¬ 
ally wants a lawn mower.—Detroit Chaff. 
A skull is a natural receptacle for brains, 
but there are men who make you feel that 
Nature made the hole aud then forgot to fill it 
up.—N. Y. Herald.The following 
remarks from Popular Science Monthly, are 
particularly commended to farmers who read 
much by candle light: A book of 500pages, 40 
linos to the page and 50 letters to the line, 
contains 1,000,000 letters, all of which the eye 
has to take in, identify, and combine each with 
its neighbor. Yet many a reader will go 
through such a book in a day. The task is 
one he would shrink from if be should measure 
it beforehand. The best position and light, 
clear type, plain inks, with the best paper of 
yellowish tints, and abundant space between 
the lines, afford the best safeguards against 
harm. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Californio. 
Norwalk, Los Angeles Co., Sept. 8.—The 
resources of this county are many. Wheat, 
bailey and coni are grown, the two first ex¬ 
tensively. Fruit of all kinds does well, in¬ 
cluding many tropica) varieties. I planted 
the White Elephant Potato, which weighed 
t wo ounces, and have just dug 38 pounds of 
fine tubers, 25 of them weighing 20 pounds. 
Washington Oats came too late for this cli¬ 
mate. Crops of all lands fair to good; fruit , 
very good. h. p, s. 
Connecticut. 
Stratford, Fairfield Co., Sept. 12.—I send 
you some specimens of the pinks raised from 
tho’RuRAL seeds, and the}* are considered very 
fine by parties that have seen them. My 
Sorghum is nine feet high. Will the Rural 
Dent Corn ripen with me, or is the season long 
enough for it here ? X.—[We are greatly obliged 
to our friend for the bouquet, which, for out- 
of-door pinks is the prettiest and most varied 
of-any we have ever seen. There are several 
flowers so beautifully marked that the seeds 
should be carefully saved. We are a little 
surprised that the Rural Branching Sorghum 
should grow to such a bight iu Connecticut. 
We hope that some of the plants have been 
cut back and that we shall be favored with a 
report as to the second growth. We cannot 
say positively, but we think that the Rural 
Dent would ripen with you unless the season 
should prove unfavorable.— Eds.] 
Illinois. 
Kankakee, Kankakee Co., Sept. 1(i.—A 
drought beginning early in July and extend¬ 
ing through August cut our crops short. 
Spring wheat very little sown in this county; 
Winter wheat, about. 15bushels per acre; rye, 
15 to 25 ; oats, 35 to 50. Grass a fair crop; but 
corn and potatoes light—late potatoes a fail¬ 
ure. I experimented with six varieties this 
season: the White Elephant I cut to ten eyes, 
planted in five hills and hud five pounds of 
good steed tubers. The Beauty of Hebron, 
Snowflake and Burbank’s Seedling yielded 
well for the season—about the same in quality 
and quantity. Patent Office No. 2, is also a 
very good potato and yielded about the same 
as the three other named varieties: it lias a 
deeper eye than either of the others. I also 
planted the White Peachblow, but it being a 
late potato, the drought with the bugs com¬ 
pletely ruined it. The Washington Oats I 
planted on garden soil that was too rich; they 
lodged before heading out and wore a failure. 
Cora is selling here for 55 cents per bushel; 
oats, 35c.; wheat, $1.90; rye, $1; hay, Tim¬ 
othy, $10; prairie. $6; potatoes, $1.20. j. m. 
Michigan. 
Hillsdale, Hillsdale Co., Sept. 14.—The 
White Elephant Potato weighed four ounces. 
It was cut into 16 pieces and one eye dropped 
in a place 18 inches apart iu the row—Sept. 1, 
we dug 30 pounds of clean, good looking pota¬ 
toes—mostly above average size. The seed 
was planted on rather heavy, loamy garden 
soil without fertilizer except plaster with 
Paris-green once. The ground was hoed four 
times. The tope grew* stroug and thrifty and 
seemed little disturbed by the bugs. Only 
about one-third of the Sorghum seed grew, It 
is just ready to tassel and about nine feet high. 
The average of stalks to the plant is eight or 
ten. The Washington Oats grew rank straw 
but were so smutty as to be scarcely worth 
harvesting. The wheat crop in this locality 
was not much better than one-third of the aver¬ 
age. Corn is good, but it is being hurt by the 
dry weather. It is probably over half cut up. 
Potatoes light. Oats middling. Hay, ditto. 
Clover seed promises very well; reports are 
current of eight bushels per acre of the large 
kind. Stock of all kinds is high—sheep, §3.00 
to §3,50; calves, $S to 810—large shipments of 
both going West, c. L. b. 
Pontiac, Oakland Co., September 16.—The 
W. E. was cut into nine pieces with an 
eye in each, and planted in a loamy soil. Seven 
pieces grew and yielded 19)$j pounds. The W. 
Oats w ere drilled on clay ; no tending except 
with the cultivator ; yield 9bj' pounds. R. B. 
Sorghum has not done well owing to the dry 
weather. No rain in four months to amount 
to anything. 1 aui well pleased with the seeds, 
etc., and would not take five do Dam for the 
seed I have had from the W. E. and W. Oats. 
Am quite interested iu the strife for excell¬ 
ence witli plants and seeds, and think the 
Rural the best farm paper I ever read. c. 
Minnesota. 
St. Paul, Ramsey Co., Sept. 13.—The cul¬ 
ture of flax for seed alone is getting to be an 
important interest- in this State. The acreage 
for 1881 is 00,494, against 40,004 in 1880, and 
12,006 in 1870. The number of bushels raised 
in 1880 was 307,100, against 00,378 in 1870. 
The returns of production for 1881 have not 
yet come in. This Chamber (Chamber of Com¬ 
merce) is endeavoring to put the farmers in the 
way of utilizing the filler now wasted, f. a. f. 
New York. 
Auburn, Cayuga Co.. Sept. 12.—On 
May 1,1 received by mail a battered and 
ragged package, which, on opening, I found 
to consist of a broken paper box, a handbill 
with great letters, “White Elephant,” and 
in the midst of all one little potato about as 
large as a Bantam hen’s egg. I put it on my 
P. O. scale and found it brought down just 
three half ounces; the postage on potato, box, 
handbill and all was two cents, or pay for two 
ounces. Surely, thinks I, Barnum has not got 
the only “Baby Elephant” in this country. 
On examination 1 discovered three well- 
marked, distinct eyes, and one little depression 
or blind eye. I cut the j iotato into four pieces 
with an eye on each. They were about ns 
large as a good-sized acorn each. I spaded up 
at good depth a space in my garden, and mix¬ 
ing thoroughly with the earth about a tabic- 
spoonful of soluble Pacific Guano for each 
piece, I planted them in a square of about 12 
inches, one piece in each corner. The three good 
eyes soon caine up and grew 8 or 10 inches 
in liight before the blind eye appeared, but 
they all grew and flourished with a great 
wealth of haulm. Now as to result—I dug 
them a few days ago and I have 12 fine, full- 
sized tubers, smooth, white and fair. On my 
P. 0. scale they weigh as follows: One weighs 
11 ounces; one 10 ounces; two, nine ounces 
each: two, eight ounces each, and so on, the 
the whole crop from three half ounces is plump 
weight of 80 ounces, or five pounds. This is 
pretty good—don't you think so 3 n. n. w. 
Carthage, Jefferson Co., Bept. 19.—The 
counties of Jefferson and Lewis are the scene 
of tenable devastation by fire. A circuit of 20 
miles is desolated; crops, houses, barns, im¬ 
plements anil nearly everything have fallen 
before the flames. The earnings of a long life¬ 
time are swept away in an instant from many 
who were lately rejoicing in them. Apples are 
roasted upon the trees, potat oes are baked in 
the ground, cattle are panting for breath, and 
everytliing seems to lie going up in smoke. 
The corduroy roads are. burning and bridges 
are smouldering iu ruins; skeletons of wagons 
may be seen along the roads, the flames com¬ 
ing so rapidly as not tu give time even for the 
removal of wagons and carriages. Almost 
the whole population has been out fighting 
fire, but their efforts availed but little. There 
has been no rain in tins region for over two 
months, and still the parched skies withhold 
their blessings. As yet no correct estimate of 
the losses can be given, but it is thought that 
the damage to forests and woodlands alone 
will be over 8200,000, and much soil will be 
rendered absolutely worthless by reason of 
burning down to the rock beneath. Add to 
this the damage done to buildings, wops, 
stock, etc., and the amount will be enormous. 
The insurance on property is very slight. 
Some lives have been lost. We are in sore 
distress and much aid will be needed by the 
suffering people. H. R. T. 
Glens Falls, Warren Co., Sept. 10.—The 
apple crop is a complete failure, There is a 
medium amount of fruit, but it is riddled 
through and through by a little semi-transpa¬ 
rent worm scarcely visible to the naked eye; 
also many kinds are affected with small, dry 
rot specks. They a re mostly near the outer 
portion of the apple, though some penetrate to 
the core. Roars are better, but more affected 
with the rot than usual, and are rat her taste¬ 
less. Plums are plenty, but ripen unevenly 
and are insipid. Grapes made a fair show, but 
as they begin to ripen we find that, they have 
not their usual sprightly taste. e. w. k. 
Oakfield, Genesee Co., Sept. 15.—To-day I 
mail to the Rural office one head of the Wash¬ 
ington Oats which, I think, will beat anything 
of the kind ever seen there. It is one of five 
that grew from one seed on land that has been 
cultivated over 40 years without any manure 
except what a clover sod has made. They 
grew about live feet high and there were from 
four to eleven stalks from one seed. I counted 
the oats from one seed, they numbered 922. 
After being thrashed and cleaned they filled 
a half bushel even full and neighed 20)-£ 
pounds. [We count upon the panicle 255 spik- 
elets. The oats are unusually large.—EDS.] 
From eleven White Elephant eyes I obtained 
61 good-sized potatoes. I think they will yield 
better than auy I have ever raised. There is 
but little of the R. B. Sorghum that is over 
three feet high; it appears to stand the drought 
well, but requires too much weeding to make 
it a profitable crop for fodder. j. f. 
Ohio. 
Chippewa Lake, Medina Co., Sept. 12.— 
I raised 20'-.; pounds of tubers from the White 
Elephant., and five pounds of W. Oats. The 
Rural is the best paper in world, j. e. k. 
New London, Huron Co., Sept. 12.—We 
have had quite a drought and pastures in some 
places are bare and dry. Our heavy rains 
the first of June prevented working corn 
when it should have been done; but, notwith¬ 
standing this aud the dry weather, there is 
much more good fair com than we thought 
possible for a while. Potatoes are the short¬ 
est crop of all. The IV hi to Elephant started 
out finely but the dry weather and intense 
heat caused them to wither and ripen prema¬ 
turely. 1 have dug all but one hill which is 
green and trying to come out ahead. It did 
not start with the other *»x hills which ac¬ 
counts for its yet being green. 1 had rather 
over a peck of medium-sized tubers. Hope to 
get a fair showing another year. This makes 
the third year my Beauty of Hebron has had 
“up hilt" work, but I know enough of it to be¬ 
lieve I may say it is among the best potatoes 
raised, The Washington Oats were badly eat¬ 
en back by my turkeys, so were late and rus¬ 
ted badly, but I have saved what there was 
and shall give them another tria 1. The En¬ 
nobled Oats are cast aside as nothing more or 
less than the old Norway, or at least a com¬ 
plete counterpart of them. The Sorghum wo 
did not try, as we have that which we value 
much higher—a large sugar-maple orchard. 
I raised the Golden Mangel last year from the 
seed sent and must say they would grow 
enormous crops here in our soil, but I have my 
doubts if they would pay where wo can raise 
such good crops of corn, oats and liay for our 
stock, yet I have raised seed this year and 
think of trying them another season. Iu con¬ 
clusion, i must say I think the readers of the 
progressive old Rural owe it a debt of heart¬ 
felt gratitude, but like all spoiled children, we 
clamor for more. Buckeye. 
Pennsylvania. 
Sheakleyvillic, Mercer Co., Sept. 17.—The 
Washington Oats—about one ounce—I drilled 
in rows about 14 inches apart and had ten of 
those rows 42 feet long, or one continuous row 
of 420 feet. I harvested 21 pounds or rather 
I saved that amount, as the birds began to cut 
them off as soon as they began to color, and 
when I cut from one to two quart-s were lying 
on the ground and how many the birds carried 
away I can’t tell. The soil was of medium 
quality; they grew about 4feet higli and the 
stalks were very heavy. The White Elephant 
Potato 1 cut into nine pieces, planted and cul¬ 
tivated them in the usual way and dug 75 av- 
eraged-sized tubers. It lias been very dry in 
this section and the potato crop and also 
com and buckwheat have been nearly a fail¬ 
ure. The asparagus is growing and doing 
well, considering the season. The Sorghum 
was a complete failure; it did not grow. The 
flower seeds my wile took charge of as she is a 
lover of flowers and they grew nicely and are 
beautiful. h. c. c. 
Spartansrurg, Crawford Co., Sept, 12.— 
From the White Elephant Potato I obtained 
30 nice potatoes and 15 small ones—a large 
yield. The Washington Oats were sown late. 
Something ate some of them; we had left 
three quarts. The straw was heavier than 
that of our Euglish oats. The Rural Branch¬ 
ing Sorghum is nice and green yet, while the 
corn is drying; it measures tix feet four 
inches; no sign of seed. The asparagus came 
up and is doing well. The pinks I sowed in a 
hot-bed and tended carefully. They are noth¬ 
ing uncommon, but they are pretty and in 
blossom yet. We have had terribly dry 
weather here. E. a. b. 
Vermont. 
Montpelier, Washington Co., Sept. 11.— 
The White Elephant Potato I planted May 5, 
and had 10 hills. I dug them Sept. 7 and had 
108 tubers, weighing 43*-.. pounds. Six of them 
weighed 6% pounds, a d would aver i)4 
inches iu length. The grow. 1 was manured 
with barnyard manure, and then 1 mixed a 
handful of plaster with the soil in each hill 
before planting, and after the vines were four 
or five inches tall I mixed another handful 
around the top of each hill. I hoed them 
twice, and kept the bugs off by hand-picking. 
