I would like to supplement Mr. Bensell’s 
excellent advice on p. 755 in regard to cutting 
for pear blight. He says, “ Cutting far be¬ 
low the outward appearance of disease is ne¬ 
cessary,” and it certainly is: and to this I 
would simply add, keep cutting till you come 
to thoroughly sound and healthy wood, if you 
have to cut the tree down: for after the sap 
has once become vitiated nothing will save 
the tree; and it therefore becomes necessary 
to cut on the first appearance of the disease, 
and before it has had time to spread. 
Horticola. 
-- 
A SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT. 
S Q. LENT. 
For some time the Michigan Horticultural 
Society in its quarterly meetings and in its 
printed “transactions” has given a good deal of 
attention to the embellishment, of country 
school grounds. This agitation of the subject 
has evidently met with very general approba¬ 
tion, for the press has quoted quite largely 
from these papers and discussions. The 
Society, however, was not contented simply to 
talk over the subject and discuss what ought 
to be, or what might have been; but sought at 
once through the agency of a committee to 
interest the State department of education 
and if possible institute a co-operative move¬ 
ment, by which the educators and the horti¬ 
culturists should unite in active measures that 
would result in the immediate accomplish¬ 
ment of practical results. This proved a 
failure. As now constituted, our department 
of education goes very little beyond mere 
statistical work, and is unwilling to take hold 
of any work not directly contemplated in the 
law and provided for by appropriations. 
In February last at a meeting of the 
Society the failure was discussed, and a second 
attempt essayed in a different direction. A 
committee was chosen to interview seedsmen, 
and ascertain if a donation of flower seeds 
could not be secured for school purposes. T). 
M. Ferry <& Co, of Detroit, responded favor¬ 
ably and an arrangement was made by 
which the first five schools in any county 
making formal application signed by the 
school director and teacher, should have re 
turned to them a selection of flower seeds 
provided an agreement should be properly 
executed by which the State Horticultural 
Society should secure a report of success with 
suggestions, made to the secretary in the fol¬ 
lowing October and November. 
Prof. TV. W. Tracy, whose name I see oc¬ 
casionally connected with valuable articles in 
the Rural, took a lively interest in this ex¬ 
periment, and prepared with the greatest care 
detailed directions to be inclosed with each 
school collection of seeds; while D. M. Ferry 
& Co., did more than they agreed by furnish¬ 
ing in each collection 35 varieties of seeds, 
selected especially with regard to the use in¬ 
tended for them. 
About eighty schools applied and received 
sjeds and nearly all have reported progress. 
Michigan suffered terribly from drought the 
past S miner, especially in June; in many 
parts of the State no rain fell for four weeks 
during the last of May and iu June. Each n - 
port mentions this difficulty and in some cases 
the trial proved nearly a failure because of 
th is obstacle in the outset. In all cases the work 
was done very largely by the pupils, and 
many reports say the flower seeds cleared the 
school ground, fenced, plowed, graded it; and 
in every instance the arrival of the seeds led 
to a clearing up of the yard and plauting of 
trees, shrubs and perennial plants at the time 
of sowing the flower seeds. A number of 
teachers report the use of the flowers in con¬ 
nection with oral botany lessons; others speak 
warmly of the good accomplished by the 
flowers in the school as an embellishment to 
the room, and a means of educating a taste 
for beautiful things. 
One teacher says the experiment at the 
school yard bore fruit throughout the whole 
district, as each pupil who had a bed or por¬ 
tion of a border to care for at school ern 
ployed the experience there gamed in securing 
further results in the home yard. Another 
school reports the use of the flowers grown, 
as kindly tokens sent to the sick, and of bou¬ 
quets in abundance culled for public enter¬ 
tainments. 
A large number speak of the attempt as 
less successful than they might wish, but that 
seeds have been saved for auother year when 
by means of the experience already gained and 
perhaps a more propitious season, the work 
will certainly he more satisfactory. In one 
case reported, the teacher found no fence 
about the yard, and could not get the school 
board to eject one. Hut the seeds came and 
they must be protected if sown. The dilemma 
was placed befoie the pupils and solved by 
them, for all took hold, and from a saw-mill 
about a mile away secured “ edgings” enough 
to make the fence, which, although not very 
ornamental in itself, was made so before the 
THI 
closing of the season by the aid of {iretty 
climbers furnished in the collection of seeds. 
Several schools reported the designs of the 
flower beds; others detailed their efforts at 
irrigation; still others reported with justifi¬ 
able pride, how the satire of the school 
patrons was turned to warm commendation 
by the argument of success. 
It is impossible iu this short sketch to give 
more than a suggestion of results accom¬ 
plished by this venture of the State Horticul¬ 
tural Society. I have not had my sympath¬ 
ies more effectually appealed to in a long 
time than in the reading of the reports of 
these schools which have been made to Secre¬ 
tary Garfield. I am quite aroused to the 
notion that a grand work could lie done by a 
State department of education, if once en¬ 
tered into with the proper spirit and know¬ 
ledge. I am certain that better results would 
be accomplished by work of this kind than in 
poring over tables of tardiness, accounts of 
attendance, or bulletins of behavior. 
I have gleaned a few points from the re¬ 
ported results of this venture, that may be of 
use to others. 
1. There is no question but pupils, large and 
small, will unite in the oruau entation of 
school premises if teachers will only make the 
attempt and awaken enthusiasm in regard to it. 
2. The time thus spent is of real value in 
the education of pupils upon matters that 
will have more influence upon theij - future 
than the study of algebra, grammar and many 
other things that are given prominence iu the 
district school. 
3. To succeed in the euterpi'ise of adding 
beauty to school grounds, it is of the highest 
importance that the matter be brought home 
to the teachers in such a way as to command 
their interest. This can bo done by giving the 
subject a leading place in teachers' institutes; 
and by examininy and grading the applicants 
for certificates upon the care and adorn¬ 
ment of school-houses and grounds. As the 
terms of school are most generally arranged, 
a long vacation occurs in the Summer 
months, when flowers need special attention. 
This fact present a dilliculty which has two 
solutions: As increased importance can he 
given to ornamental trees and especially 
shrubbery, using such annuals as require the 
least attention and give the least returns in 
July and August. 
If annuals are employed largely and re¬ 
quire care during vacation, arrange by com¬ 
mittees of pupils to cure foi' them during the 
recess iu such a w .y as to stimulate their 
pride in the undertaking, rew arding them, per¬ 
haps pecuniarily by a subscription fund, or 
by allowing a certain amount ol' freedom iu 
gathering ttow'ers from the borders. 
4. Work of this character successfully car- 
ried on at the school premises, is an educa¬ 
tional force which acts indirectly but effec¬ 
tively upon the whole neighliorhood, creating 
an atmosphere of good taste of inestimable 
value in the home life of the residents. 
Grand Rapids, Michigan. 
EASTERN MARKETS FOR WESTERN 
HORSES. No. 3. 
L. S. HARDIN 
In the two preceding papers I have out¬ 
lined the system of horse breeding at the 
East that has led to an almost entire aban¬ 
donment of breeding for style and strength. 
At the same time I have show n that the mar¬ 
ket for this kind of noble and useful ani¬ 
mal is the only truly profitable commercial 
market for horses at the East. While the 
Easteni farmer has been wasting his oppor¬ 
tunities, the farmer at the West has, with a 
keener eye to the useful and profitable in 
horse flesh, been putting his farm in order to 
supply this growing demand. It is only 
necessary to stand on the curb-stone of one of 
the business streets of New York City and 
mark with a critical eye the heavy draft 
horses as they pass to learn what lines of 
breeding have been used in nearly every in¬ 
stance to form the grand physiques of these 
noble beasts. The short neck, rounded body, 
heavy legs and shaggy fetlocks, with long, 
flowing runne, tell the tale of Norman origin 
beyond a doubt, though the infusion of home¬ 
made blood may l ie so great that the prevail¬ 
ing colors of the pure-breds may have entirely 
passed away. 
Many years ago the horse bi'eeders of seve¬ 
ral Western States, and of Illinois particu¬ 
larly, determined to try the French Norman 
horse, and in keeping with this idea many 
lai ge importations of this blood were made, 
and these have been quite systematically kept 
up dovm to the present time. The effect of 
these importations has been a very genei-al 
dissemination of Norman or Percheron blood 
throughout the Western States, that in a 
diluted form has accomplished a vast deal of 
good which might never have been done had 
tho blood remained in a pure state, as there 
has been considerable prejudice against the 
pony shape and reputed soft feet of the pure 
Pereherons. 
The fact that larger horses are grown at the 
West than at the East may in a measure be 
attributed to the generally larger scale on 
which evei'ything pertaining to the farm is 
carried on at the West; also to the natural 
effect of a more bountiful soil where no stint 
of feed is known. Thei-e all animals grow to 
a greater size than they do upon the inhos¬ 
pitable hills and sand valleys of the North- 
eastern States. Then again, farmers with 
large cribs of grain feed far more generously 
than those with smaller cribs, even when the 
corn costs just as much labor and risk in the 
one instance as in the other. The man with 
an abundance on hand is never so economical 
iu its use as he whose stores are smaller, 
though the aggregate amounts may be equal. 
A farmer at the East seems to be frightened 
when he sees one of his colts taking on a mas¬ 
sive form, for he thinks the animal is going to 
eat. him out of house and home, and he conse¬ 
quent^ takes immediate steps to get rid of 
him, Then again, none of the Eastern farm¬ 
er’s tools are fitted to the lar ge horse. No 
collar will fit him. The shafts and wagon 
poles are too short. The stalls are all too 
narrow, and even the small bridges on and 
about tire farm are too weak for him. Every¬ 
thing is built oil a smaller scale, and the large 
horse is therefore an awkward animal to have 
about the farm. 
It is to be hoped that the Clydesdale will be 
more fully introduced and thoroughly trial at 
the West than it has been. The chief objec¬ 
tion to this breed is a want of style. The 
French Percheron has the advantage that if 
the size of the colt is not sufficient to make a 
first-class draft horse, the chances are that 
there will be sufficient style to make a good 
carriage or park horse. Tho Clydesdale, as a 
rule, is large, massive and wonderfully strong, 
but he is rarely useful for any other purpose 
beyond the dray or truck, which is not by far 
the most profitable use he might be put, to. 
This fault could, of course, be remedied, and 
often is by judicious selection in choosing a 
stallion to breed from, though I know not how 
the long legs could lie gotten rid of. 
It, however, is by no means certain that 
either the Perchei'on or Clydesdale breeds 
would in the end tie the most profitable, if a 
man should set himself regularly to work to 
create a regular line of breeding to produce 
large and stylish draft horses. There are 
many families of American bred horses, from 
which, if properly selected, crossed and 
coupled, by feeding and training a. new and 
distinct family might lie created possessing 
all the virtues and few of the vices of the 
present foreign breeds that are now solely 
depended upon for blood on the sire’s side. 
This fashion of running to Europe for blood, 
when just as good cau be found iu this coun¬ 
try, is foolish in the extreme outside of the 
fictitious value that the term “imported” 
creates. It is to be hoped that this fashion 
will soon run its course, anil breeders will 
turn their attention more earnestly to home¬ 
bred animals, Animal life is so plastic that 
the skilled hand can mold it at, will, and with 
judicious selection and manipulation a few- 
generations will fix the types desired and 
prove a permanent source of profit to the 
originator. 
In summing up the question of profit and 
loss in furnishing Western horses for an East¬ 
ern market, the question of transportation 
cuts an important figure. There is no point 
about the business that will require more skill 
iu manipulation to save the shipper from gross 
imposition. In the first place, suitable cars 
are hard to secure, and here the question of 
season is of much importance, as a lot of 
horses may be permanently injured if put iu 
an open car in rough and inclement weather, 
while a close car may do almost as much dam¬ 
age in hot, dry weather. In coming from 
Chicago to New York tho horses should be 
taken out, of the car at Buffalo or some other 
intermediate point, as it is impossible for 
some horses to respond to the demands of 
nature while on board cars. I have known 
many fine animals permanently injured by 
overlooking this precaution. 
The subject of freight is a serious one. Upon 
examination 1 find the prices range all the 
way from $30 to $100 per car-load from Chi¬ 
cago to New' York. This matter is entirely 
within the control of the railroad companies, 
and there is no w r ay to get uniform rates. 
Each shipper must use all the wits he possesses 
and not forget to call in the aid of any friend 
he may hava w'ho stands in high favor with 
the railroad authorities. 
In preparing horses for the market, care 
should be taken to see that they are freshly 
shod and well groomed, and it is quite the 
thing in this city at present to have the tai f 
nicely docked. These small points add mate¬ 
rially to the profits and expedition of the 
sales, and should by no means lie underrated 
by the seller. 
farm (Tonnes. 
A CATTLE-FEEDING EXPERIMENT. 
PROFESSOR G. E. MORROW. 
In the Siniug of 1880 eight young steers 
were purchased for the experimental farm of 
the Illinois Industrial University. Two were 
full-blood Ayrshire, two seven-eighths Devon, 
two one half Hereford—the dams being “com¬ 
mon” cow r s-one a full- blood and one about 
three-quarters Shorthorn. They were in or¬ 
dinary condition, the younger Kerofoid and 
the grade Short-horn being in best flesh. They 
were counted fair specimens of the different 
breeds, except the older Hereford, which 
was small for age, and not of especially good 
form. 
It was purposed to compare the different 
breeds under ordinary treatment, rather than 
to secure largest development. May 1, 1880, 
one of each breed—numbers 1, 2, 4 and ti of 
table—was placed in pasture with Other cattle, 
until October 1, when they were turned into 
a corn-stalk field, The other four were kept 
iu a small pasture, which proved quite poor 
during a part of the Summer, having also 
corn each day. They were placed with the 
others in October, and all were wintered in an 
open yard, with unthraslied oats, much in¬ 
jured from lodging and rains, thrashed Tim¬ 
othy straw, corn-stalks aud a very little corn 
at the last. From May 1 they were ail on 
pasture, Timothy, Blue-Grass and clover, with 
full feed of shelled corn, averaging about 200 
pounds per day for the eight head, until .Sep¬ 
tember 1 ; after this they were fed new corn 
in the ear, about one-half bushel each per day. 
From July until cool weather they were on 
pasture only at night, having shelter during 
the da . iu a rather dark shed. There was 
severe drought both Summers, especially in 
1881, the pastures becoming very sjjort. The 
Winter was a trying one on stock exposed to 
the storms aud mud. 
In August one Ayrshire steer met with an 
accident and hail to be killed. November 4 
the remaining seven were shipped to the 
Chicago fat-stock show, where they were 
slaughtered November 12. 
The accompanying table gives the ages, 
weights at different times, and results oi the 
slaughter test. The home weights are “full 
weights” ; those at slaughter are after being 
without food or water about eighteen hours. 
A committee of butchers examined the car¬ 
casses and their judgment is given in column 
“Quality Of Carcass.” 
I -kt-w •• cc«o —‘C 
| Number. 
J. S — £ - 
z ? r-3 ’ 5 
7 : h 1 
• • . qs«i • 
: i \ - 7T \ \ ' 
% 
P 
2-c 5300-. - 
0 S 2 2 5 %~~ 
Z2 3 
5 3 5 5 : ; : : 
a 
6 
a> 
a 
i : 
1 
zy>ogis’*3% 
P’w ^ o ss m 
^ r; ~ -t 
■5 —• _ c o 
E 
'•C • • • • O • tO 
- 
o 
p 
o 
p* 
1 -octa-itfsiLC. oi 
<L - 3 " Si 
w*i wi — ill jyr ~ fTi Zi 
Weight May 1,18S0. 
flilislll 
Weight November 1, 
1880. 
ssiiliiil 
Weight May 1,1881. 
Weight November -1, 
1S81. 
* _ _ LI' J' 3' - • 
Weight at slaughter. 
or. j- - j to “ 
3S83-I5S; 
Weight of dressed 
carcass. 
SSSSSSSj 
S5S&SSS: 
Per cent, of carcass 
to live weight. 
» - ■»— Off V* OS OS .O • I 
Fore-quarters. 
1 £ § a £ § : 1 Hind-quarters. 
Hide. 
ssjgssssa: 
K : 
Tallow. 
w-.-r.-i-.c-.-: i Quality oarcaaa. 
Tables are not interesting reading, but some 
suggestive facts can be learned from this one. 
It is noticeable that no one of the steers fed 
grain the first Summer made as much gain 
as his mate on better pasture, without grain. 
It is evident that “rough wintering” was not 
profitable with these cattle. No one made a 
good gain, and two lost slightly'. 1 he steers 
were weighed, as a rule, each 00 days dur¬ 
ing the whole time, and the record shows 
