Wheat on the best fields yields ten bushels 
per acre; on poor fields from three to four 
bushels, and that of very poor quality. A 
larger area of flax was sown than in previous 
years. Its appearance is very poor, as it is 
mixed with weeds and grass, resembling a 
marsh more than a cultivated field. We have 
hundreds of acres of unplowed land lying 
worse than waste, being a complete nursery of 
weed seeds, heavy raius preventing farmers 
from summer-fallowing. And yet I wish to 
state right here that wo are not discouraged, 
believing this wet season is just wliat the coun¬ 
try needed. Our wells wero very low and 
and many of them dry last Summer, and a 
fresh supply of water was needed at the foun¬ 
tain-head. The potato crop was never better 
with me. I dug over a half bushel of good- 
sized ones from 13 eyes planted of the White 
Elephant. The Washington Oats stood the 
season splendidly—I never saw better oats. 
The flower seeds, which still keep in bloom, 
gave a fine display, too. In fact, all the seeds 
received from the Rural grew finely. The 
Cuthbert Raspberry proves equal to our cli¬ 
mate and bore excellently this season. My 
White Elephant Potatoes measn red seven and 
a-half inches in length many of them. h. f. s. 
Missouri. 
Pleasant Mount, Miller Co., Sept. 34.— 
We have had two or three good rains in the 
last ten days, which though doing crops no 
good, have helped to start past ures and enabled 
farmers to plow for wheat. There will not 
bo as large an acreage sown this Fall as last. 
A great number of farmers are afraid of 
chinch bugs another year. Stock hogs, cattle 
and sheep are selling at very low prices, while 
fat stock bring good figures. The failure of 
corn and the high prices of all lands of 
feed are the causes. Such a general failure of 
all kinds of crops has not been seen for many 
a year. N. jr. s. 
New York, 
Galway, Saratoga Co., Sept.. 22.—The 
Rural pinks are lovely, but I lost some of 
them before I learned that they could not 
bear strong sunlight. The asparagus seeds 
came up well; I have 63 plants. The oats were 
sown in a drill and grew from five to six feet 
in bight. We saved three pounds and nine 
ounces of fine oats. The White Elephant I 
got was small; weight about two ounces, I 
should think. It had 12 eyes. I raised 32>£ 
pounds of fine tubers from it, the largest 
weighing 17 ounces. The Rural Branchfhg 
Sorghum came up well. I sowed it at three 
different times, but the earliest sowing did far 
the best here. Cattle aud hogs are veiy fond 
of it, and we think it cannot fail to prove a 
valuable forage plant. The second growth is 
over two feet high. I should like to test a few 
plants of Pyrethrum, or Persian Insect Pow¬ 
der, if you think it would grow as far north 
as we are. [We have no seeds on hand.— 
Eds.] I wish you every success in your noble 
efforts. o. m. a 
Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence Co. , Sept. 23.— 
We had a very severe thunder storm here last 
night and this morning, accompanied by a 
heavy rainfall. This rain makes it safe to sow 
Winter wheat. Stock had also commenced to 
suffer for want of water. f. k. m. 
Sterling Station, Cayuga Co., Sept. 32.— 
While nearly every species of vegetation on 
our premises is turning brown and desolate- 
looking from the fearful drought, our little 
patch of Rural Branching Sorghum gives the 
eye something cheerful to look upon. In spite 
of the lack of moisture, which has destroyed 
eveiy vestige of green color near it, it still 
keeps up a sturdy and vigorous growth. Com 
about here is scarcely half a crop; potatoes 
the sauie. Apples, prematurely ripe, arc 
dropping from the trees, a slight wind bring¬ 
ing them down in showers. Peaches and 
peal's are an abundant crop, Farmers mostly 
are waiting for rain before sowing their 
wheat; some have sown, and the seed either 
lies dormant or has rotted. I have heard of 
but one successful seeding. Upon our own 
farm a 6Ummer-fulluw of 12 acres was sown 
the last of August. It has made a splendid 
growth; so far the drought does not seem to 
have affected it in the least. The land has 
been thoroughly tilled at various times 
throughout the Summer. Our forest fires are 
still raging fearfully, and if rain does not soon 
come the best timber land in this vicinity will 
lie in ashes. Miles of fences have been burnt 
and a few farm buildings. In some places the 
buildings have been saved only by constant 
vigilance. Ordinary farm work remains un¬ 
done while whole neighborhoods work night 
and day fighting tiro. Wheat is worth $1.45; 
potatoes, 7.5c., and advancing; onions, 75c., 
and a large crop; eggs, 18(®20e.; butter, 30c., 
and very scarce; Fall apples, $1.25 per bbl.; 
windfalls, do., 2oe. per bush.; pears, 75c@$l; 
peaches, $1.50 per bush. e. ic. b. 
Pennsylvania. 
Union City, Erie Co., Sept. 20.— Wheat is 
yielding about 10 bushels per acre—a middling 
fair yield. Oats a full crop. Coni nearly a 
failure—won’t average more than five bushels 
on account of drought. Hay was never better. 
Potatoes are not more than one-third of a crop. 
My W. Elephant did remarkably well. It was 
cut into eight pieces each of which was planted 
separately a foot apart. They received good 
care and have yielded just an even half bushel 
of tubers as hamlsome as any I ever saw. I 
wouldn’t take $5 for thorn. The W. Oats grew 
well till they headed out; then the rust struck 
them and they broke down. The pinks are 
very handsome. j, d, 
Virginia. 
Mount Jackson, Shenandoah Co., Sept. 20. 
—The extreme drought has burnt up nearly 
everything in this country. I am happy to 
say that the White Elephant Potato did well 
—much better than any other variety I plant¬ 
ed, The potato I received from the Rural 
weighed three and a-quarter ounces, and I dug 
one peck of nice tubers. Yet I feel a delicacy 
in reporting this yield when I see the report of 
the California man who got 130 pounds. L. t. 
Williamsburg, James City Co., Sept. 22.— 
The drought beginning here about August 1 
and continuing to September 8, has seriously 
shortened the crops. Com will not be more 
than half a crop and potatoes will bo still 
worse. The peanut crop will not be more than 
half. The Rural Branching Sorghum I con¬ 
sider valuable for a greeu fodder crop. I 
planted it about May 5; it gave five to eight 
stalks from a seed. I cut it about four weeks 
since, six inches above the ground, when it was 
seven feet high. It then branched out again 
four arid five stalks from each of the old ones, 
and is now about three feet high. I left some 
stalks for seed; they are now 11 feet high, the 
seed eight inches out at the top—perhaps too 
late to ripen. I could have planted safely a 
month earlier, which I think would have ripen¬ 
ed the seed. From the White Elephant Potato I 
got 19 hills, giving 18 pounds. I planted another 
potato alongside of them, which, with the 
same treatment, yielded twice as much. w. p. 
West. Virginia. 
Yew Cumberland, Hancock Co., Sept. 27. 
—I planted the White Elephant Potato about 
the first of May. It weighed four ounces and 
had 17 eyes. I cut it into 17 parte and planted 
one to a hill in a moderately rich soil without 
any manure of auy kind. I gave it the same 
cultivation that i gave Early Rose and Bur¬ 
banks Seedling. The weather was very wot 
in the fore part of the season and very dry in 
the latter part. I dug them September (5, 
and there were 120 White Elephants, weighing 
25 pounds, the largest one weighing 17 ounces. 
The Burbank’s Seedling did not produce one- 
half what the White Elephant, did, though 
they were planted side by side. The Wash¬ 
ington Oats I consider a failure. But few 
seeds of the sorghum germinated; I have about 
20 stalks; the dry weather has injured it very- 
much ; still I think it will prove a valuable 
fodder plant. L. s. B. 
Washington Territory. 
Spangle, Spokane Co., Sept. 20.—We re¬ 
ceived all of our seeds except the potato. 
They did not do very well this season. It is 
too cold here for the sorghum. The oats near¬ 
ly all went to smut. m. b. l. 
Waitsburg, Walla WallaCo.. Sept. 17.— 
We have not had a very warm Summer. 
August has been particularly cool; one could 
readily have mistaken the mouth for Septem¬ 
ber. We have had an occasional shower, 
which kept the temperature even. Harvest¬ 
ing nearly over. Our Spring wheat only 
yielded 23 bushels to the acre. Fall-sown 
would have gone 28 or 30 bushels ou the same 
ground. 1 have just sold 4,000 bushels for 60 
cents per bushel, delivered at our new 
depot one mile from here. Our soil is just au 
average one. Near the foot-hills of the Blue 
Mountains the yield goes from 35 to 00 bush¬ 
els, for the soil is more moist; but ours is 
good enough. We can raise all cereals and 
our vegetables are equal to those grown any¬ 
where. We have about 50 plants of the best 
sort of tobacco, which are now becoming 
mottled and nearly ripe. Our potatoes are 
ripe, but undug, so 1 cannot give the yield, 
but it is good, for we often get more than a 
peek from one hill. We have several varie¬ 
ties, such as the Snowflake, Beauty of Hebron, 
Peerless, Goodrich, Improved Peachblow and 
others. I never hear of any complaints of 
potato rot or bugs or auy other posts. Apples 
and plums are plentiful and bring one cent 
per pound; peaches in abundance and worth 
five cents per pound. M. a. r. 
Clje (Querist 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must be accompanied b> the name 
and address of the writer to insure atteut. n i 
“wolf teeth” tn horses, etc. 
S'. H., Lowell, Mich., asks, 1, what are “woif 
teeth” in horses, and what harm do they do; 
2, he has a three-year-old horse to which a 
child lately gave too much corn, so that he 
became badly “foundered,” but has since re¬ 
covered, and our friend says he learnt of the 
mischief within an hour after the corn had 
been eaten; but he did not know what to do, 
and he inquires what treatment should have 
been adopted—should he have given the ani¬ 
mal water to drink, and if not, why not. 
Ans. —“Wolf teeth ” in horses are two small 
supernumerary teeth which make their appear¬ 
ance on each side immediately in front of the 
first molar or double teeth on the upper jaw. 
The germs of these, teeth will lie found in the 
jaw uf the developed foul, and they are fully 
formed iu the yearling, ready to work their 
way through the gums, after which, as a gen¬ 
eral rule, they soon fall out. Sometimes, 
however, they remain till an advanced per¬ 
iod of life, during which time they undergo 
a change in form, and become more closely 
like the incisor teeth in man. Among horse¬ 
men and especially among farmers there 
is a very strong impression t! at these 
teeth are injurious to the eyes, frequently 
causing blindness unless they are removed in 
time. Veterinarians, however, say that such 
a result is contrary to veterinary experience, 
aud that if the belief were correct all horses 
would go blind, as all horses have these super¬ 
numerary teeth at some period of their lives, 
generally from the first to the fifth year. So 
strong and widespread is the belief in the blind¬ 
ing effect of these teeth that whenever a horse 
has an attack of specific opthalmia, these teeth 
are pretty certain to be looked for, and if found, 
they are supposed to be the cause of the dis¬ 
ease and are at once knocked out by means of 
punch and hammer, or in some other equally 
cruel way. This process bruises the gums, 
causing considerable local inflammation in the 
parts, which, acting as a counter-irritant, at¬ 
tracts the inflammation from the eye. just as 
a blister might have done if applied at 
some othor place, and straightway the belief 
grows stronger that the “ wolf teeth ” were 
the cause of the eye trouble. If une will in¬ 
sist on removing these tooth, he should get a 
common pair of dentist’s forceps and pull them 
out. 3. The colt should not have water till it 
bad dunged freely, as it would have the effect of 
swelling the com in the stomach, aud hindering 
digestion. Walking him gently a short distance 
every half hour or hour during the day. might 
be beneficial. After his intestines were 
pretty well cleared by dunging, he might have 
a small feed of grass or hay, with a quart 
or two of brau according to his size and age, 
to which a gill of oil meal should be added, if 
any were on hand. If not, the same quantity 
of jelly made of boiled flaxseed should have 
been given. This feed, with tepid water to 
drink two or three times per day, might have 
been continued till the corn was digested and 
discharged, anil then, the colt could be safely 
turned out to liis usual feed. 1 a such a ease if 
physic is necessary to purge the colt, one of the 
safest and most effectual remedies is aloes. Try 
to get the pure Barba does, but as this drug is so 
often badly adulterated it is almost impossible 
to get it pure at ordinary druggists'. If 
pure, two or three drachms would be enough 
for a dose; if not pure, it would require more. 
Consult a druggist as to tiffs, and the best 
way to administer it. One of the best and 
most simple things for foot founder if in the 
Summer, is to turn a horse out to a smooth 
grass pasture free from stones and let him re¬ 
main there till well; if in Winter keep him 
in a dry, sandy yard or on a dry earth stable 
floor. 
treatment of a fractious horse. 
& B ., Curdi nylon, O,, wishes to know the 
best method of breaking a horse of kicking. 
He has a beautiful dappled grey, seven years 
old, that has been worked from a colt, aud al¬ 
ways scorned gentle and kind until within a 
few weeks; it is now unwilling to be harnessed 
or even patted. Can assign no cause for it; 
would like to know if there is a humane treat¬ 
ment for such a habit. 
Ans. —Some person or some animal, un¬ 
known to the owner of the horse, has un¬ 
doubtedly been plaguing or injuring him in 
such a way us to make him afraid to let any 
one touch him lest he should be again hurt. Or 
the animal has met with some accident which 
has given him great pain, and he fears to be 
touched by any one lest this be increased. The 
only way to overcome this is to treat the 
horse with perfect gentleness, speak low and 
kindly, and, above all, never strike or threat¬ 
en him. If when approached he is fed with a 
lump of sugar from a dish, or anything he 
particularly likes, he may permit the giver to 
gently pat aud rub his head, then his neck, 
l and finally his body; but in doing the latter, 
be careful bo keep iu such a position by his 
i side Fiat if he kicks he cannot hit you. If not 
vicious to other horses, it might be well to 
turn him out to pasture with them and the 
association would cure him of the trick. If 
j this nnot be done, then let him rim with 
I young cattle that have not horns long and 
sharp enough to gore him. Or, if perfectly 
sound and well, hard, steady work with mod¬ 
erate feed might cure him, especially if he 
previously had been fed high and kept idle, 
for these sometimes make a horse vicious, or so 
playful and high-spirited that it amounts to 
the same thing. 
PACKING FOR AN ICE-nOUSE. 
H. F. B ., Clinton, Mo., last year packed his 
ice-house with flax straw because he could not 
got sawdust, and in May the ice began to melt 
at the bottom and he lost a great deal of it on 
account of the flax-straw packing, he thinks. 
He now asks whether ice will keep well if 
packed with sawdust all round it, the ice to be 
on boards two feet from the ground with a 
layer of sawdust to pl-otoct it from the air. 
Ans. —The trouble in this case was not so 
much the packing as the probable access of 
air to the bottom of the mass of ice. One can¬ 
not keep ice and get cold air and drippings 
from it. It might as well be expected to keep 
money in a bank when a little is drawn out 
every day. The drippings and cold air are 
merely drafts upon the stock of ice. Flax 
straw would make a good packing if it were 
cut up into chaff. The bottom of an ice-house 
cannot be made tight if there is a space under 
it. Air would pass through the seams of the 
floor with the greatest facility. The best 
bottom is the earth dug out about four feet, 
but it should be such as would lot the moisture 
from the ice pass off easily. Perfect drainage 
for water, and yet an air-tight, bottom are re¬ 
quired to keep ice. A foot of packing should be 
put under the ice. The arrangement of the 
walls mentioned would be judicious. Sawdust 
is the best packing, but there are several oth¬ 
ers nearly as good, as tanbark, charcoal-dust 
and chaff. 
Miscellaneous. 
J. A, II, Keameysville, W. Va., sends 
beetles for name, etc. 
Ans. —They belong to the Cetoniada?, or Ce- 
tom'an family of beetles, and are known scien¬ 
tifically as Osmoderma scaber, or the rough 
Osmoderma. French naturalists gave them 
this name, which means scented-skin, suggest¬ 
ed by their strong odor. Prof. Riley writes us: 
“Judging from the habits of the European 
Osmoderma cremita, aud from observations 
made in this country on O. eremic-ola, it is safe 
to say that the species of this genus are not in¬ 
jurious, the larvae living on rotton wood of 
deciduous trees and the beetles also feeding ou 
decaying wood. Some Estonians are, how¬ 
ever. known to be injurious, e. y., our common 
Allorhina nitida, the larva of which feeds on 
the roots of grasses, and Euphoria inda, which, 
as a perfect insect, injures peaches, apples, cot¬ 
ton bolls, com, etc.” 
H. H. H., Iowa, asks. 1, the name of the 
best work on gardening, especially vegetable 
gardening: 2. the best on poultry: 3, the best 
and quickest-growing shade trees to plant 
along the street in front of a residence, 
Ans. —1. Peter Henderson's Gardening for 
Profit is the best work we know of. 2. Lewis’s 
Practical Poultry Book. $1.50, and Wright's 
Practical Poultry Keeper, $2. are both good. 
Wright’s Illustrated Poultry Book, $17.50, is 
better still, however. These, as well as Hender¬ 
son’s work, can be had through the American 
News Co., New York. 3. The Silver-leaf 
Maple is a rapid grower. The Norway, Red 
and Sugar Maples are handsome, but of less 
rapid growth. The catalpa, if properly treat¬ 
ed while young, is both rapid-growing and or¬ 
namental. 
C. E. De G,, Egan, D. T ., having sub¬ 
scribed late last Spring, asks “whether he 
will have to subscribe again before his name 
is enrolled for the F. S. Distribution; 2, can 
the three kinds of wheat included iu it tie all 
sown in Spring, for Spring wheat is the only 
sort raised there: 8, where can he get a speci¬ 
men of the Black-bearded Centennial Wheat. 
Ans. —1. No. Any application made by 
any person whose name is on our subscription 
list is valid. 2. Yes, as well in the Spring 
as in the Fall, though they may not thrive as 
Spring wheats. 3. Some of the Chicago seeds¬ 
men should have it. 
W. M, } Camden . Ohio, asks whether the 
wheat for the Rural’s next Free Distribution 
will be sent out this Fall. 
Ans. —No. It would have been impossible 
for us to have got it ready for this season’s 
sowing. 
-- 
Communications received for the week 
ending Saturday, Oct. 1, 1S81. 
G. L.—E. K. B.—A. P.—H. B.—Win. 
Strong, thanks.—M. A. R., glad to hear from 
you again.—G. A. G., Jr.—H. H. H.—W. M. 
—G. G.-C. W. C.—J. C. T.—W. I. R.—H. F. 
S—G. N. K.—J. B.—N. J. S.—J. H. H.—P. 
B. M.—W. V. W.—C. W.-J. H. M.—N. P.— 
W. H. L,, thanks.—M. W.—N. P. S.—H. D. 
A.—G. C.—F. L. A.—J. N.-E. E. H.—C. A. 
A.—J. H.—W. B. S.—S. C.—F. T.—I. N. H. 
W. B.—C, A. H.— N, K.—A. S.—H. Y.—C. B. 
—P. J;—C. M. R.—D. Y.—C. P. C.—H. T.— 
J. H. D.-R. D. L.-M. D.—H. N. Y.—W. H. 
F.—P H.—F. U.—H. J.—W. L —D. G.-J. 
V.—F. C.—E. C. R.—C. T.—H. S. 
