thinnings out of the fruit. I used no water 
and did not thin out. I was beaten a trifle on 
the single berry, but I had much the largest 
crop of fruit. It was a very pleasant excite¬ 
ment while it lasted. I have used this kind 
of mulch more or less ever since, and alluded 
to it because a year or so since a clay disk 
with a hole in the middle was patented for 
the same purpose, and is really not so good 
because of its bevel form, besides that it is 
much dearer. My 12-inch Lincoln and nine- 
inch Sharpless were raised with shingles, an 
objection to which is that some kinds warp 
badly. This kind of mulch is well adapted for 
the garden. I hope this explanation will 
prove acceptable to Mr. Parnell. 
and one the other. The universal and severe 
drought we had this Summer was very hard 
on all kinds of vegetables, but the asparagus 
seemed to grow right along. I shall give it a 
fair test along with the common, giving as 
nearly as possible the same treatment, as I 
regard this as the only true way of deciding 
how much better new varieties are than the 
old ones. So far as one year’s growth of 
stalks and roots is concerned, the seed obtained 
from the Rural proved decidedly the best. 
Another year will fully determine which is 
most desirable. N. J. Shepherd. 
good deal of ignorance in regard to these cat¬ 
tle. The Polled Angus is undoubtedly an ex¬ 
cellent race for beeves and in places will com¬ 
pete favorably with the Short-horns and 
Herefords. Doubtless they may be more con 
veniently handled than the horned beasts, but 
it is an exaggeration to say more can be safe¬ 
ly crowded in a car of the polled cattle than 
of the horned ones. There is a limit to the 
crowding of beasts in a car and some room 
for breathing is required. Practically the 
room gained about the heads of the poor 
beasts by their horns is all the breathing room 
they have, and if a lot of polled beeves become 
crowded in the cars some would oe suffocated 
for want of air. 
the utility of ornamentation, what tree is 
more ornamental than the chestnut ? The 
butternut, shell-bark and walnut have also a 
place as ornamental figures, and why either 
or any of them should be excluded from lawn 
and road-side planting is, in a way, incompre¬ 
hensible. The oak, which is of slower growth 
than either, is not overlooked, and ought not 
to be, as it is, all in all, the handsomest 
of trees. Mulberry trees are very fine, while 
the fruit is greatly liked by many people. 
Certain sorts of apple trees are extremely pic¬ 
turesque, and when in full bloom, and again 
when in fruit, are lovely to see. Why exclude 
the mulberry and apple for the sake of the 
maple ? And why not plant the road-sides 
with trees that bear the double blessing of 
fruit and shade ? School children might be 
led to plant trees along the highways and be¬ 
come so identified with road-side orchards of 
fruit or nuts as never to lose interest in that 
sort of public philanthropy, while in after 
years it would be a source of pride and pleas¬ 
ure to them to mark the results of their early 
efforts as tree planters. 
Mary Wager-Fisher. 
The common opinion that polled cattle are 
entirely inoffensive is a great mistake. I have 
seen a man very quickly lifted over a fence 
by a polled cow and these beasts will push and 
strike with their heads in the manner of 
other cattle, quite as savagely. The propor¬ 
tion of cross or savage cattle will be found 
quite as great amoug the polls as among the 
horned. Let us have the truth anyhow, and 
give the polled cattle their due; but at the 
same time don’t let us deceive ourselves. In 
the dairy these cattle will never be popular, 
and simply because they are not so profitable 
as the Jerseys, the Ayrshires, the Dutch, the 
Short-homs or good average natives, that is, 
considering the market value of these last. 
In regard to the Caroline Raspberry, I have 
tried it so thoroughly that I do not hesitate to 
recommend it as one of the best of raspberries. 
When the berry begins to color it is a pale 
yellow, which turns to a pretty salmon color 
when ripe. Among berries of its color it is 
equalled by none except the Brinckle, and it 
is but little inferior to that old standard when 
ripe. It is thoroughly hardy, a very strong 
grower and immensely productive. Its abili 
ty to bear long carriage has yet to lie proved, 
but for a near market its value is already es¬ 
tablished. The amateur, at least, should ac¬ 
cept the Caroline as a boon. 
MINER’S SEEDLING GRAPES. 
In a recent number of the Rural a corre¬ 
spondent inquired touching the grapes of the 
late T. B. Miner, of Linden, N. J. I have 
fruited several of them the past season when 
so few grapes ripened here, and the following 
named varieties all ripened their fruit perfect¬ 
ly: Antoinette, Adeline, Augusta, Belinda, 
Carlotta, Victoria, Lexington and Linden 
(the two last black grapes). The distinction 
between the white grapes is not great. They 
are all sweet, delicious. Their time of ripen¬ 
ing varies and they vary in size and shape of 
bunch. My vines are not old enough yet to 
venture a special description. They all hold 
to the bunch for a long time tenaciously. 
Taking the Miner grapes together, 1 consider 
them the best collection of hardy, early, out¬ 
door grapes in the market, and I have nearly 
all the leading varieties known. 
This note is long and may seem to savor of 
unnecessary praise; but it is due to the widow 
of Mr. Miner, whose husband, with consummate 
care and patience has added so many valu¬ 
able grapes to those in our market, and Mrs. 
Miner is entitled to the benefit, if any ensue. I 
first saw her advertisement in the Rural. 
She sends out the best grown vines, differing 
in this respect from many dealers, so I 
wish to say a good word for her. 
Mattapan, Mass. j. c. 
NOTES BY A STOCKMAN, 
I fear it is a mistake to recommend keep¬ 
ing the crocus out of the ground till Spring 
(p. 748). No amount of cold will kill it, and 
it will lie found very difficult to keep the 
bulbs sound during the Winter. I never 
could do it, Besides, the crocus should be 
cheering us with its modest but pretty flowers 
long before the ground is lit to dig in the 
Spring. Planted at the foot of a wall, I have 
had them push their flowers through two 
inches of snow. Last Spring they were cov¬ 
ered with four or five inches of snow when in 
bloom, and came out unharmed. I should 
recommend planting them in the Fall about 
three inches deep, aud let them remain undis¬ 
turbed for two or three yea is. I have not 
disturbed mine for the past four years. I do 
not replant them till they have worked their 
way almost to the surface. The improved 
named kinds are to be preferred. The oxalis 
should be potted now. O. Bowiei has been 
in flower for several weeks. 
Booms are something like boomerangs— 
they hit back every time. When a boom is 
coming sensible people should keep out of the 
way of it, or they may get hurt. 
The Governor of Illinois has put himself in 
a false position by issuing a proclamation 
which is dated Nov. 1, forbidding under se¬ 
vere penalties the importation of cattle into 
Illinois from certain counties in Connecticut, 
New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Dela¬ 
ware and Maryland, after the 10th day of 
November, unless accompanied by a certifi¬ 
cate of health properly signed by a duly au¬ 
thorized veterinary inspector. 
The Short-horn breeders’ convention recent¬ 
ly held at Jacksonville, Ill., took some practi¬ 
cal steps to secure control of the Herd Books 
by the National Short-horn Association. A 
capital of $50,000 is to be subscribed chiefly 
for the purpose of securing these books and of 
consolidating them into one under ihe immed¬ 
iate control of the breeders. This has been 
done in England and will be done here no 
doubt. It is naturally to be expected the 
breeders should wish to have the expense of 
recording their animals reduced as much as 
possible and object to be taxed by a private 
individual for his own profit any longer than 
they can avoid it. The breeders now have 
the power in their own hands and they wiB 
undoubtedly soon own their own Herd Book 
by one method or another. 
The Governor of Illinois, or rather the Leg¬ 
islature of that State, has undertaken, by its 
act of May 1881 by which this proclamation 
of the Governor was authorized, to regulate 
commerce between the States; and this is a 
function belonging solely to the National 
Government. Several Western States some 
years ago tried to prevent Texan cattle from 
being brought into their territory by passing 
prohibitory laws, but these were overruled by 
the U. S. Supreme Court as in conflict, with 
the Constitution of the United States. 
Of all the grasses none responded so quickly 
to the beautiful rain as the Blue Grass (Poa 
pratensis). The farmers, however, too gener¬ 
ally made a mistake in allowing their cattle 
to run in pasture lots to eat off and trample 
down the young growth before it was an 
inch high. This is what I call an unwise 
economy. After such a long drought pasture 
lots should have had a chance to recover from 
its effects. Late-sown rye has grown wonder¬ 
fully. The recuperative powers of nature are 
remarkable, and beyond ordinary comprehen¬ 
sion. 
•‘Pink eye” is the popular name for an 
epizootic disease among horses which has 
been quite prevalent in Ohio and Western 
Pennsylvania. It is really a species of influ¬ 
enza in which all the symptoms which char¬ 
acterize this disease in the human subject are 
present. Languor, disinclination for exertion, 
head-acbe, weeping from the eyes, redness of 
the conjunctiva, puffy eyelids, discharge from 
the nostrils and swelling of the legs, with 
much general fever, comprise the symptoms. 
There is no trouble with the lungs nor any 
cough, as in the aggravated or pulmonary in¬ 
fluenza. 
One of the counties scheduled is the place of 
my residence, and I know my county is free 
from pleuro pneumonia, and the inspectors 
have found their occupation gone. With a 
large acquaintance among stock owners I have 
not heard of a case for three years past, and 
the traffic in stock is perfectly free from in¬ 
terference within the State. Not long ago 
the English Government did the same sort of 
a thing and the Wastern men did not rest un¬ 
til the U. S. Government interfered and ex¬ 
erted all its influence for their relief. They 
were quite ready to declare then that there 
was no pleuro-pneumonia in the United States 
Arbor-vitae hedges in the neighborhood of 
Philadelphia are in some localities being to¬ 
tally destroyed by the “ basket worm,” which 
infests them in countless numbers. 
“ What will the harvest be ” from the pre- 
When the long-prayed-for rain came it 
was a warm one, and thus in the first 
week in November the 
edible mushroom(Agar- 
icus campestris) sprang 
up in old pasture lots 
and by the wayside in 
such quantities as I 
have never seen before. 
It was hardly possible, _ 
in some lots, to take a 
step without treading / 
on them. The great, fat, / 
white buttons set some / 
people almost crazy / 
with delight. Large / 
quantities were boxed j 
for market /- ^ 
Horticola. / 
This disease lasts from three to ten days 
and with good nursing 
I and rest disappears 
\Jl without any secondary 
iW complications. It for- 
/ turiately spreads slow- 
ly and does not make a 
\\ i general onslaught upon 
\ ly the horses of a locality 
W at a sudden swoop. One 
s * is taken, then anoth- 
\ er and another; and 
meanwhile the first is 
recovering. The horses 
vJi in Cincinnati have suf- 
fj fered in this way very 
\f generally but without 
{ yj any particular incon- 
\ (TV venience. A liberal dose 
\ U i / /sf/i) “Ite and warm gru- 
\ Wiv and warm blank- 
I if eting with rest will 
j y soon bring a sick animal 
/ // through his trouble. 
French Argenteuil and 
Giant Dutch Aspar¬ 
agus. 
I planted the Rural 
seeds of these two va¬ 
rieties very carefully 
last Spring and gave 
them as good a start 
os possible. Alongside 
of them I planted com¬ 
mon seed gathered from 
one of my neighbor’s 
plots the Fall before. A 
few days ago I was 
making a new bed to 
transplant them all. 
The roots of those re¬ 
ceived from the Rural 
were especially fine. 
WINTER STOCK 
FEEDING 
PROF. E. W. STEWART. 
In my first article, in 
the Rural of October 
15, I made suggestions 
applicable to the con¬ 
tingency forced upon 
fanners by the drought 
and some of the ways 
of getting through the 
Quack, Couch or QuiTcn Grass grown through Potatoes.—F rom Life. 
I gave them a plot that had been manured in 
the Spring with fresh stable manure; then in 
August a heavy dressing of well rotted 
bagasse was applied; then just before trans¬ 
planting another heavy dressing of stable 
manure was put on and well spaded in, and 
the plants set in drills two feet apart one way 
vailing mania for planting simply shade and 
ornamental trees on small estates of from one 
to three acres ! Where are to be the nutting 
grounds for the boys and girls of the future 
who are so unfortunate as to live in those 
thickly-settled portions of the country where 
the habits of suburban life abound i Granting 
in an epidemic form and now the Governor of 
Illinois declares there is a good deal of it. 
There is a glaring inconsistency about this 
business. 
The coming boom in cattle is going to be 
in favor of the polled breeds. There is a 
Fall with cattle in una¬ 
bated growth. We have now to consider some 
of the plans that may be adopted for winter¬ 
feeding. And first let us consider 
ECONOMY IN FEEDING. 
In the cold season our animals must be kept 
warm. That can be done, first, by putting 
them into a stable the temperature of which 
