THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
JAN. 20 
Jfarm (fcronomjj. 
i this is desirable, no doubt, and the man who is 
lucky enough to have a farm given him by his I 
father, with perhaps money in the bank, can 
soon have all the blessings I have enumerated. 
PRODUCTIVE SOIL. 
The Hon. T. S. Stanfield has a farm of 
about 200 acres lying on the head waters of the 
Kankakee liiver, near South Bend, in St. Joseph 
County, Iud. It is called bottom land, yet its 
altitude is fully 100 feet above the waters of 
Lake Michigan, about 25 miles distant. The soil 
is composed of blackish peat or muck, mixed 
with a little sand, to the depth of from four to 
six foet, and is quite productive. 
A few years ago this farm was rather too wet. 
But the Judge had about miles of open 
ditchcH dug upon it, eight foot wide at the top, 
one at the bottom, and from four to six feet 
deep; besides this, he has had laid 800 rods of 
hoard underdrain made as follows: — Take a 
board twelve inches wide, saw it lengthwise in 
two, so that one piece will bo 6}£ and 
the other inches wide ; nail the two strips 
together in the form of a triangle, laying the 
right angle up. No bottom is necessary, but in 
lieu thereof, nail across the bottom narrow strips 
of board eight or ten inches in length every four 
or five feet, to keep the sides in their proper 
places; thou tlig the trench from 2>& to four 
feet deep, according to the wants, and lay it 
down, sinking the strips across the bottom into 
the soil, so as to make the inside of the bottom 
level; then till tho trench and it is done. 
The open ditches cost 75o. jaw rod, on the 
average, making $360 for the 1% miles, and the 
undordrain for boards, nails, digging, filling and 
making complete 45c. per rod, or $360 for tho 
800 rods—total for t he whole drainage, $720, or 
$3.00 per acre. The first plowing cost $2 per 
acre, so that the expense of getting it ready for 
the seod was $5. GO per acre, and it yielded as fol¬ 
lows :—In 1875 good, sound corn, 68 bushels to 
the acre. Oats were a heavy yield—not measur¬ 
ed; different kinds of vegetables yielded abun¬ 
dantly. This year (1876) he raised 50 bushels of 
sound corn per acre. The rains prevented proper 
attention in tho foro part of the season, or he 
thinks he would have had from 70 to 75 bushels 
per acre. With a favorable season next year, 
ho calculates on 75 bushels of corn to the acre. 
The Judge also planted this year (1870) a field 
of early Vermont potatoes, which yielded 230 
bushels per acre of most excellent potatoes and, 
be thinks, had it not boon for tho Colorado bee¬ 
tle, he would have had fully 300 bushels to the 
acre. 
While many farmers lost their entire crop by 
this destructive post, his potato vines and leaves 
grew so fast on this rioh soil as. in a measure, to 
keep ahead of the beetle. Onions, turnips. cab¬ 
bages and beets yielded largo crops. Fruit treos, 
Black Walnut, and grape vinos, were planted out 
and are doing well. 
On the adjoining farms (same quality of soil 
but uot underdrained) the yield of wheat, corn, 
oats, buckwheat, hops, grapes, and different 
kinds of vegetables, has been abundant the past 
season. Thes e farms living near tho dty. and 
the owners taking much pleasure in cultivating 
the soil, could not consequently be purchased 
short of from $50 to $100 per acre, if at all. Yet 
a few miles farther down the Kankakee liiver, 
lauds of tho same quality and equally product¬ 
ive, can bo bought for from $10 to $ 15 per acre. 
These, in a few yours, will make the most val¬ 
uable farms in the country and, although as yet 
uncultivated, yield annually line crops of hay 
and pasture. Isaac Ekmay. 
South Bend, Jan., 1S77, 
QUESTIONABLE ADVICE. 
"Will fortune ever come with both hands full. 
And write her fair words still in proudest letters? 
She either give* n stomach and no food— 
Such are the poor iu health; of else a feast. 
And takes siway the stomach—such lire the rich, 
That have ubundanco and enjoy it not." 
—Shedtepeare. 
We havo plenty of advice, freely given, for 
those about to engage in the delightful pursuit 
of farming. We are Bhown the necessity of un- 
derdraining, of using plenty of manure, of hav- j 
ing good hnildiugs, fences, Ac. We are also 
required to keep pure-blooded stock and faucy 
poultry. We also need all kinds of tools (in¬ 
cluding a steamiug apparatus) and all these 
should be of the best quality. 
Of course, our “model farmer” must sub¬ 
scribe for all the leading agricultural papers, he 
must attend tho fairs and cattle shows, and bo a 
faithful member of tho “ Farmers’ Club.” It is 
also expect ed that he will attend church and help 
to support the same, dress himself and family in 
such at manner that they can sit iu the front 
pew, subscribe liberally for all charitable pur¬ 
poses and, in 6hort, make himself generally use¬ 
ful. Hr: should own a good library, and his 
daughter must have a piano. The education of 
his children must not be overlooked. Politics 
should receive a share of his time and attention, 
in order that he may be able to hold an office 
acceptably when called upon to do so. Now all 
But how about the great majority who com¬ 
mence life with no capital except what lies in 
their own brains, who have no tools except their 
8tout arms ? Years of hard work and patient 
endurance must elapse before they can realize 
their *' high ideal.’ In the meantime, let thoBe 
I who are more fortunate be merciful towards 
them as they struggle through life, even if their 
buildings need paint and their fences look shab¬ 
by. Give them time, and they may make all the 
necessary improvements. 
Home years ago I bought the place where I 
now live, having but little to commence with, and 
was obliged to support my family and pay for 
the place from the products of the laud. Those 
who have been placed in like circumstances, 
know what this means. I have been often amused 
and sometimes provoked at the advice given me 
from time to time. Says one man, “ If I was in 
your place, I would buy a new buggy.” My an¬ 
swer was, “You are the third person who has 
made that same suggestion, anti the three of you 
combined cannot raise money enough to buy this 
old one." He walked away. Another says, 
“ You ought to drive a more stylish horse.” I 
replied, “That may bo so; but I am only re¬ 
minded of tho fact by persons who have no horse 
at all, ’ and ho loft. Still another Bays, “If 1 
were in your place, 1 would paint my bouse." 
" Very likely, provided yon owned oue to paint," 
and he disappeared. 
Many persons havo said, “ If I owned your 
place, 1 would do thus and bo.” My reply inva¬ 
riably is, “ Pay me my price for it and then you 
can make all the improvements you dcBiro ; but 
until then, jikase lot me do the best I can, ac¬ 
cording to all tho circumstances." 
It is a curious fact, that most of the sugges¬ 
tions and fauit-finding come from those whoso 
rcoord is none of the best. When, owing to bad 
management or misfortune, one loses his prop¬ 
erty, the very first man to say, “ I thought that 
would be the result," is the one who probably 
never made an effort at any kind of business in 
his life." This class of persons aro to he found 
about bar-rooms aud groceries, at the store or 
post-office, in the mill Or slide shop, discussing 
the financial question, criticising the President 
and Cabinet, finding fault with the Governor 
and tho State administration, overhauling their 
neighbors and prating about bard times. 
I notice that there is a great deal of “first- 
cl&as" talent “ running to waste” in this way. 
These men are “ hiding their light under a bush¬ 
el,” in direct defiance of the commands of the 
Scriptures. A successful man usually has a land 
Word of encouragement for one who is trying to 
succeed; but one of these “ sitters" has no 
mercy for the man who fails to accomplish all 
he undertakes. When honor falls, or “-virtue 
makes a slip, his dreams aro sweet." 
Syracuse, N. Y. Nelson Ritter. 
DEEP AND FREQUENT CULTURE. 
In looking over tho year's business, a few' 
thoughts strike us forcibly, and prominent among 
them is tho conviction that now, while labor is 
low', it would pay ns all—every farmer and fruit 
grower iu the laud—to add at least one-third to 
tho cultivation of the land. 
A year since, we bought a farm only a short 
distance from tho city and moved into it, in order 
to more completely superintend our rapidly in¬ 
creasing nursery production. The usual custom 
lias boon, in commou with other nurserymen, to 
cultivate and weed our nursery and oilier glow¬ 
ing crops often enough to keep the weeds down: 
but we have heretofore observed that when our 
heavy soils were worked as soon after summer 
showers as the land got iu condition, tho soil 
was easily put in flue order aud remained so for 
a long time, uot seeming to mind the drought of 
summer. Acting on this, wo this season added 
two young lads—nearly men, whom wc could 
teach just how to run the plow—to our cultivat¬ 
ing force, and gave them horses that were not 
ueeded elsewhere, with instructions to go 
over and replow, as time permitted, all our 
nursery and hood crops. The young lads soon 
became our best plowmen, as they understood 
they would bo retained if they became expert, 
and not otherwise. tVo paid them $1 per week 
each. With this force wo wero enabled to go 
over everything once a week for three months. 
After August 10, we only stirred occasionally, say 
once a month. 
We purchased a set of light, easy-running sub- 
Boil plows of Allen A Co., Now York, and used 
these with heavy horses about every other week, 
alternately with a chilled-iron, one-horse plow in 
all the nursery, but using cultivators among sum¬ 
mer crops instead of the one-horse plow, alter¬ 
nating the eubaoll among everything, loosening 
up the soil between the rows at least ten inches 
deep, and the result has been an extraordinary 
growth of every thing, even on some fields not 
vet reclaimed from the condition in which many 
farms are found—hard, sterile and undrained. 
The result seemed so promising that in July, as 
soon as a field of 25 acres of clover (seeded the 
year before) was cut and housed, we put our 
teams in aud turned it over nicely and com¬ 
menced to work it, cultivating and harrowing 
once a week, and although full of thistles and 
quack, wo have succeeded in killing everything 
that started, leaving as fine a surface as can be 
imagined. In November we crossed it, finding 
tho old sward completely rotted, the roots of 
thistles and quack dead, so far as can be seen. 
In the spring we shall sow it to barley, and have 
no doubt wo shall reap near 60 bushels per acre. 
Now, it strikes us that, instead of trying to 
economize and do without hiring, every farmer 
should hire one man more; for certainly, if 
fanning ever paid or ever will do so, it mil now. 
Labor is as low aH before tho war, while the aver¬ 
age of crops commands a better price than then. 
For ourselves, we know that to let our horses 
stand in tho stable or lie in the pasture for want 
of HOinu one to keep them going, is a loss, for 
they can as well work every day as the farmer, 
and their work will always pay. If farmers would 
hire by the year now, while men can be had for 
$100 per year and board, and set them to work 
hauling muck and manure, getting home a. good 
stock of wood, moving fences and stone walls, 
picking up loose stones when weather would al¬ 
low, drawing now and (lien a load of wood or ice 
for some one in town, aud a thousand other 
things that wo would suggest if time would allow, 
it would always pay. Wo know good farmers 
who say they cannot afford to biro a man by the 
.month, who have this year paid men as much for 
a few days’ work now and then, as would have 
hired a man a whole year, and they did not have 
him there half of the time, even in summer. It 
looks to us as if the farmers lack faith in their 
busmens, and dare not take the risk, even of hir¬ 
ing one man by Ibe season, for fear (hey would 
not get their money’s worth. But the soil does 
not prove false to good usage; neither can we 
make money by treating it in a niggardly manner. 
Rochester, N, Y. J. U. ,1. 
-- 
HOPS AND BEER DRINKERS IN EUROPE. 
In a recent work on “ Hops, their Cultivation 
and Commerce,” published in London, wo find 
some staiisties in relation to the number of acres 
devoted to hops, which may be of interest to hop 
cultmists in America. Iu the throe countries 
known as Bavaria, Baden and Wurtemburgh, 
there- aro 70,000 acres devoted to bops and about 
the same number in England, In Austria I 
there aro about 18,000 acres, in Holland and Bel¬ 
gium 10,474 acres, and in France 0,223 acres; 
according to these figures, there is a total Con¬ 
tinental acreage of over 100,000 acres, about one- 
third of which have been planted during the past 
dozen years. Tiro consumption of beer has in¬ 
creased iu proportion to the planting of hops. 
Tho tables in the work referred to show that 
the poople’of Bavaria consume, on an average} 
219 liters (a liter equals F ; ( pints) per annum. 
The inhabitants of Wurtemburgh como next, 
u^ing 151 liters per bead per annum : then the 
Belgians swallow 145 liters per head. English¬ 
men <lo not guzzle so much beer, the average 
being only 118 liters, but. quite likely malic up 
the deficiency in something stronger. But the 
above showing does not tell the whole of 
the story ; for statistics show that iu some of tho 
countries named the people to-day drink more 
than double the quantity that they did ten years 
ago. In Wurtemburgh the average was 71) liters 
in 1852, but increased to 154 in 1873. In Baden 
the increase in consumption of beer is much 
greater than iu Wurtemburgh, or 106 per cent, 
in ton years. Whether our hop growers can cal¬ 
culate on a proportionate increase in beer drink¬ 
ing in this country, is rather doubtful; still.it 
is difficult to say to what extremes a nation may 
go, even in filling their stomachs with a particu¬ 
lar kind of liquid. 
ABOUT AN OLD BARN-YARD. 
A year ago last summer I moved an old barn 
and shed. After cleaning out the manure in the 
fall, tho ground occupied by the buildings and 
yard (about one half acre iu all) was thoroughly 
plowed. Last spring' it was plowed and cultivated 
agaiu, after which it was planted to various crops 
with the following result: 
45 bush, onions .- old at an average of 72c. bush. 512.10 
6 do. potatoes.fiOc:. 2.fh 
12 do. cur* roi n, 2ao... 8 00 
4o Hubbard squash. We. each. 4.00 
60cnblw«e8, -v. each.. 2.0.) 
20 cauliflowers. 10c, euch. 2.00 
00 bush, mangels, carrots aud swedes, used and 
estimated, worth 15e. V bush. 9.00 
Total. foi.90 
A few squashes, onions, cabbages and cauliflow¬ 
ers were used in the family and not counted in 
the sale. 
Sly object in giving these figures is not to re¬ 
port an extraordinary crop or big profits, but to 
try aud show that it pays better to cultivate such 
ground?, as well as old hog-yards and unoccu¬ 
pied yards and ground about barns and outbuild¬ 
ings, than it does to let them grow up to foul 
weeds, as is often the case here at the West—I 
suppose Eastern farmers do better. But I will 
venture to say that a half acre of an old barn or 
hog-yard, or even the back yard of some Louses, 
if thoroughly cultivated, will yield more real 
profit to the owner than five acres in a remote 
part of the farm. John Rusticcs. 
Freedom, Wls. 
®Iit Eatunilist, 
O 
EDUCATED FLEAS. 
So much has been said and written about edu¬ 
cated or performing Fleas, that we were pleased 
to find an article on the subject by W. H. Dall, 
iu the January No. of the American Naturalist, 
from which we copy ihe following: 
In old-fashioned “ annuals " and especially in 
obsolete w orks on instinct and intelligence among 
the lower animals, acoounts of the so-called 
1 ‘ Educated Fleas ” will doubtless be remembered 
by my adult readers. The story of their marvel - 
ous performances had for my boyhood a peculiar 
interest not unmixed with incredulity. In later 
years I had begun balf-unconsciously to class 
them with the spurious marvels of ti.fi “ auto¬ 
matic chess player” and the generation of Atari 
by’the action of electricity on chemicals. So far 
as my mind was occupied with the subject at all, 
it had concluded on general principles that in¬ 
telligent action, of the kind described in the old 
works referred to, could be attributed to fleas 
with very little probability; and that, whatever 
the innate mental ability possessed by them, it 
was in the highest degree unlikely that it was 
susceptible of training. 
Some weeks ago, when passing through Broad¬ 
way, New York, not far from Union Square, au 
accidental glance caught the Bign over a door¬ 
way, “Exhibition of Educated Fleas.” Tast 
memories and present curiosity determined mo 
to make an inspection at once. Half an hour 
later I had seen all there was to sec, purchased 
a lively little pamphlet by—shall I say the in¬ 
ventor of the educated fleas? and decided that 
the small fee exacted was well expended. As it 
does not appear that tho modus operandi of ibis 
exhibition has ever been explained, an attempt 
iu that direction may not bo uninteresting to the 
readers of tho Naturalist. 
To make tho explanation intelligible it will be 
necessary to begin with tho conclusion, or in 
other words to first state the essential part of 
the explanation. 
First, the fleas aro not educated. 
8<*jond, all tho performances which inako up 
the exhibition may be traced directly to (ho 
desire and earnest efforts of the insects to 
escape. The means employed to give an appear¬ 
ance of intelligent action to these struggles aro 
sufficiently ingenious. 
Iu tho first place, each flea is attached to some 
object in such a manner that itcannot free itself, 
while the movements of its legs and feet are uot 
hindered or embarrassed. 
Tliis was explained by the proprietor. The 
surface of the insect is so polished that no 
cement will adhere to it when dry, and should a 
soft or waxy substance be used the insect dies 
very soon. (A probable cause of this might be 
the obstruction of the stigmata.) He stated 
that by tying a single silk fiber around the ilea 
and knotting it on tho dorsal side, a bristle, fine 
wire, or what not, may be cemented to the knot. 
I was not able to observe exactly where tLe liber 
encircled the insect. This part of the process is 
the most delicate and difficult to perform. 
The proprietor states that the female fleas ere 
Bolely employed by him, since tho males aro 
“ excessively mulish and altogether disinclined 
to work." The fact that they are much smaller 
and weaker than the other sex is probably an¬ 
other and more important reason, and they are 
said to die in a few days when closely confined. 
The first preparation for their task is skated to 
be as follows; the wild flea is put into a small 
pill-pox with a glass top aud bottom, revelling 
on an axis like a lottery wheel and forming a 
miniature treadmill. After a few days’ confine¬ 
ment herein, the flea, which in a state of nature 
is. as we know, excessively inclined to jump, be¬ 
comes broken of the habit. It is said that tho 
constant raps which it receives, when attempting 
to jump and thereby hitting the Bides of its 
prison, incline it to walk. If this be true, and 
it might readily bo tested by experiment, the 
flea's education is entirely comprised in it, aud, 
so far as it goes, it is a species of training. I am 
not yet convinced of the accuracy of the state¬ 
ment. A “wild” flea was shown, attached by 
one foot to a minute ba31 and chain, and cer¬ 
tainly jumped continually. If a “tame" or 
educated specimen had been similarly weighted, 
and had showed no desire to jump, it would have 
indicated the truth of the theory, provided its 
legs were found to be sound. This, however, 
was not done, and all the “tame” ones, having 
something on their backs, might thereby be af¬ 
fected differently from one confined only by one 
“foot.” 
