FES. 3 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Itfoirai) % llrplilir. 
FROM NORTH CAROLINA. 
One may well think of the Rural New-Yobker 
such weather as this! The snow and the storm 
have kept us aloof from neighbors in town and 
village, almost as much as if we were separated 
by miles in the country. And then we may call 
this protracted snow storm a “New-Yorker.” 
We have never bad such a time in this State 
before. The night of December 23 snow began 
to fall. It continued till it had reached a depth 
of about 12 inches on an average in this State. 
The weather has continued very cold since. In¬ 
stead of a thaw, we bad another snow on last 
Monday, adding two or three inches. There has 
been but little melting yet. To-day it is raining 
and sleeting. Nearly all business is arrested. 
The poor, who live by the day. can get nothing 
to do—cannot do what they are desired to do, 
and henoe they are in unusnal necessity and suf¬ 
fering. The cattle are not sheltered as they 
ought to be in a great part of the State and, of 
course, they are in a bad plight. Fortunately, 
there was a good product of hay and rough for¬ 
age during the past season. The autumn was 
very favorable to the funner, and a great deal of 
plowing was done. 
The farmers are growing wiser about clover 
and grass. I havo a lot of clover and orchard 
grass seeded in the spring of 1875. Tim first year 
I mowed it once, which killed the weeds. Last 
year I mowed it three times—the last being, per¬ 
haps, as good, if not hotter, in the average than 
either of the others. I used but little plaster, 
by itself. I applied ashes, both fresh and leach¬ 
ed. After the second cutting I gave a dressing 
of agricultural lime, from Riclunoud. It is a 
compound of carbonate of lime, sulphate of lime, 
potash and salt. The effect seemed to be very 
fine, indeed. 1 ha ve some seed of rye grass. 
Will it be well to sow that on the same lot ? Can 
you tell us anything about the rye grass ? I am 
surprised to find that cattle like dry, molded clo¬ 
ver better than they like clean, bright orchard 
grass. 
A good deal of cotton is raised here and many 
use the seed for their milch cows. Thoy increase 
the milk and are very strengthening. Thoy are 
6aid to be death to hogs, if eaten in large quan¬ 
tity. 
North Carolina is moving forward in regard to 
enlightened farming. The subject of an Agri¬ 
cultural Department in the State is agitated. 
There is also a movement to connect an Experi¬ 
mental Station with the Agricultural Department 
at the University at this placo. The State Geol¬ 
ogist said a few days ago that, owing to North 
Carolina being less protected, a quantity of pre¬ 
tended fertilizer Had been palmed off upon our 
fanners after other States had detected and re¬ 
fused it. It is proposed to look carefully after 
this interest. Altogether, I see a bettor day ap¬ 
proaching for the grand, all-supporting vocation 
of the fanner in the Old North State. 
Chapel Hill, N. C. 
must go slow. We have some outside range for 
stock, but not to such extent that we can keep 
flocks of 1,000 or more, as is the case in the Far 
West. But there should bo sheep, more or less, 
on every farm in North Carolina j and if such 
were the fact, thousands upon thousands of dol¬ 
lars would be added to the wealth of the State, 
both in the yearly income and the improvement 
of the soil. When this country is cut up into 
small farms, and produces its own bread, meat, 
and clothing, then (and not till then, I fear) it 
will be a prosperous country. How can wo ex¬ 
pect to make much profit from our land and 
labor hero in tho South, with our grauary in 
Minnesota, our smoke-house In Indiana, our dairy 
1 and orchard In Now York, and our workshop, 
spinning-wheels, and loomB in Massachusetts! 
The Beenes of Experimental Grounds given in 
late issues of tho Rubai, indicate very successful 
trec'planting on the part of tho Editors, and it 
is to bo hoped that suoh efforts may have tho 
effect to induce farmers to give more attention 
to the matter of beautifying their homes. There 
is nothing that adds more to the attractions 
of a homestead, compared to tho expense, than 
a fine grove of trees. Many fanners excuse 
their negligence on tho ground of expense. Now, 
thero is no part of the United States east of tho 
Mississippi Rivor, excepting some parts of Illi¬ 
nois, whero there is not a natural growth of de¬ 
ciduous or evergreen trees, fully as dcsirablo as 
any to be found in the nurseries, to be had for 
the digging. Trees from tho forest are nioro 
difficult to transplant; but observe tho instruc¬ 
tions of Nature for the first year aud you will 
have little trouble. When once tho troos are 
well established, they add much more to the 
value of tho farm, if offered for 6ale, than they 
have cost. As a tost of the value placed upon 
Buch treos by their owners, ask them at what 
price they will sell their lawn trees, to be re- 
Inove <h M. B. Prince. 
Ridgeway, N. c., Jan. 15,1877. 
trough and pour in the solution. Take sacks of 
wheat and divide thorn into other sacks, to mako 
them convenient to handle. Immerse them in 
the trough for three or four minutes; then lift 
them on a platform where they will drain into 
the trough. Add bluestone and water from 
time to time, so as to use 4 to P. pounds of blue- 
stone for each ton of wheat. 
The cracking of wheat by threshing machines 
can and should be avoided. If the cylinder and 
concave teeth are adjusted so as to pass at. a 
proper distance, aud the grate-bars made smooth 
and free from sharp angles, and tho speed kept 
down so that tho grain is not hurled, as if shot 
from a gun, against tho grate-bars, tho grain 
would come out in perfect condition for seed. 
Unfortunately, Btoam supplies tho power, and 
job-work the temptation, to make one-twelfth of 
the crop unfit for that purpose." 
®Ijc Itaturaliist, 
THE ROOK. 
#fl& Crop. 
SMUT IN WHEAT. 
[An apology is due to the correspondent for 
suppressing a considerable portion of his letter 
upon political subjects; but as it was of a char¬ 
acter which would naturally provoke a political 
controversy, we felt it our duty to tho subscrib¬ 
ers of a strictly non-partisan journal to omit its 
publication. The rest of the letter is so inter¬ 
esting that we are happy to give it a place in our 
columns and should be happy to hear again from 
the same source.—E d. 
NORTH CAROLINA N0TE8. 
Once more we have mild weather. Snow has 
all disappeared, followed by heavy rain. Roads 
very muddy and fields soft. Wheat much im¬ 
proved by its three weeks’ covering of snow. 
Some pieces that showed not a spear before 
Christmas already show green that can be seen 
twenty rods away. 
There is one thing in common use here that 
we (my wife and I) enjoy hugely, and that is the 
old open fireplaces, now-a-dava seldom seen at 
the North, where they would prove an expens¬ 
ive luxury, even if it were possible to make our¬ 
selves comfortable; but here, where wood and 
labor are cheap, and climate mild, all can afford 
it. In this fold plantation - house, in times 
long gone by the residence of old Gov. Turner, 
who gave it the name of Bloomsburg, there are 
eight fireplaces, with their tall chimneys, con¬ 
taining bnok enough to build—I came very near 
saying a comfortable cottage, but will say a 
smoke-house. 
I received, a few days since, a long and inter¬ 
esting letter from Mr. John Sheldon, of Colo¬ 
rado. He says that he is practicing the plan of 
crossing Merino ramB on Mexican ewes, with tho 
beat of success. The Mexican sheep, he thinks, 
are about the same as our common sheep here. 
He wonders that Southern capitalists do not turn 
their attention to sheep husbandry. Now, as to 
that, there are wealthy men in the Southern 
States, but our farmers, as a class, are poor, and 
A coRREsroNDENT of the California Agricul¬ 
turist claims that tho cause or origin of smut in 
wheat iB cracked grains, which have just vitality 
enough to germinate and grow, but not enough 
to mature the grain. Very few scientists or 
scientific farmers, we think, agree with him on 
this point; for it will require very little observa¬ 
tion and but a few experiments to show that the 
theory has no facta for its support. Ho also 
says: 
“Wheat throshed on the ground by the 
tramping of horses, and sown without the appli¬ 
cation of any preparation to it, does not produce 
smut. Wheat that falls to the ground in the 
field and makes a voluuteor crop does not pro¬ 
duce smut. Such wheat, like any other, may 
blast—that is, a black substance is found in the 
place of the gram, which blows away before 
harvest; but the real smut remains in its ‘ sack ’ 
till after threshing. Probably the cause of 
blasting is high winds during the time the grow¬ 
ing grain is in blossom.” 
The author of the above paragraph could never 
have read anything of wheat culture before the 
introduction of “ threshing ” machines, else ho 
must have known that smut in wheat did not 
make its appearance with the implements in 
question. 
The ancient Romans trampled out their com 
with muzzled oxen, and still their agricultural 
writers inform us that wheat was soaked in tho 
urine of animals to prevent smut; just as thou¬ 
sands of farmers of the the present day soak it 
in brine, and for the same purpose. The sait in 
the urine, or tho salt dissolved in pure water, 
acts not only as a stimulant and fertilizer, but at 
the same time destroys the spores of the smut 
plant with which it comes in contact. 
Lime and bluestone (sulphate of copperas) arc 
of a later introduction, and at present more gen¬ 
erally used for preventing smut than salt. 
The writer, however, of the article already re¬ 
ferred to throws out a few good hints to farmers 
in the following: 
11 1 have known farmers to sprinkle wheat with 
a solution of sulphate of copper and immediately 
apply lime. This method will not prevent smut, 
because the sulphuric acid unites with the lime 
immediately, forming sulphate of lime (plaster 
of Paris), leaving the copper in a metallic state, 
and the last chemical arrangement renders the 
whole inert. Lime may be used in the following 
manner: Pour the wheat into a trough, sprinkle, 
and stir till well wet; add lime, and stir well. 
If properly done, the lime adheres to tho grain 
like plastering. Lime applied in this way not 
only prevents smut, but also stimulates the 
young plants. The dust from lime in sowing i 3 
very offensive to the eyes, nose, and mouth, for 
which reason most farmers use bluestone. my 
method of using which is as follows: Dissolve 
3 pounds of bluestone in a wooden bucket, using 
hot water. Put 50 to 60 gallons of water in a 
, Living in communities unlike other inhabit- 
3 ants of the aerial bights, occupying the same 
■ rookery or nesting place year after year, pre- 
- eminently thrifty and laborious, never dost!- 
i tote or bedraggled, like tho rest of Ids fratoru- 
r ity, with a prodigious hump of nalivo reverence 
> for time-honored customs, and a self-sacrificing 
■ devotion to the public welfare as exemplified in 
1 his own class, tho British Rook is a truly typical 
) representative of his countrymen. Never chang- 
> ing an iota from tho daily and yoarly routine 
' of his ancestors, sedulously checking the cu- 
i doavors of any newly-wedded pairs who, wishing 
- to enjoy their conjugal felicity alone, construct 
their habitation in Borne solitary ancient elm, 
from becoming cosmopolitan, by demolishing 
every nest erected outside the rookery as 
rapidly and as often as constructed, this 
black-coated, clerical-looking bird is superlative¬ 
ly conservative. Notwithstanding that tho fore¬ 
going qualifications must arguo greatly in his fa¬ 
vor in the oyes or every right-minded denizen of 
British soil, there are still some fow agricultur¬ 
ists in the sea-girt isle who regard him as their 
inveterate enemy, though, happily, tho slowly- 
advancing wave of Father Time is quietly oblit¬ 
erating them. Tho objection this olass of 
| persons bring against him is that ho is incorrigi¬ 
bly thievish, and instead of working for his daily 
bread, reaps tho benefit of their own labors by 
proying upon tho grain they have deposited in 
tho Boil. 
Now let us, for one moment, observe the habits 
of his rookship, and see how much of truth there 
is in this accusation. With the ilrBt glimpse of 
dawn ho betakes himself to his labors, intent on 
his morning meal, and thitlior let us follow him. 
Proseutly wo come to a newly-plowed wheat field, 
in which tho grain has just boon drilled, and 
thero—each one plying his effective beak to still 
tho cravings of his voracious appetite—tho som¬ 
ber crowd stalk majestically around. This, says 
the nou-observant farmer, is proof positive of 
his thievish propensities. But wait one mo¬ 
ment—and leveling my gnu at the nearest one, 
I bring him down. With a wonderful, clamor¬ 
ous caw, the flock rises and circles around our 
heads, uttering the most plaintive cries to their 
stricken comrade. Closer and closer they conic, 
as though intent on rescuing him from ©nr 
I clutches ; but finding that to [their call no an- 
i swer comes, and that, all unmindful of thou- 
endearments, ho lies stark and motionless on ! 
Ibe ground, they finally rise out of gunshot, and 
still uttering their mournful clamor, fly home¬ 
ward. 
Now, my skeptical friend, let us tako a jack- 
knifo and dissect the stomach of our prize. Ah! 
what do we find ? Not wheat, not grain of any 
kind, but a cropful of undigested worms and 
grubs, which prey upon tho tender sprouts of j 
the pregnant seed To further convince your- [ 
self of the injustice of your suspicions, just ob¬ 
serve when the next occasion—where a team is 
plowing in one portion of a field and a man sow¬ 
ing in another—offers, and sec whose operations 
my sable friend will patronize. Not the sower- j 
He follows conscientiously tho laboring plowman, 
oagerly scanning each furrow as it is turned, and 
woe betide the unlucky earthworm ou which his 
piercing eye alights. 
But.it is not grain alone the rook is charged 
with pilfering; potatoes and apples are likewise 
laid to his door, and these, it must l>e confessed, 
with a much greater degree of truth, for it can¬ 
not bo denied that at their proper season a pota¬ 
to or an apple has special charms for his apprecia¬ 
tive! palate ; still it may be borne in mind that 
his theft of both occurs in the fall, when the 
dryness of the soil renders his chances of procur¬ 
ing an underground subsistence altogether chi¬ 
merical. Let his enemies make as much as they 
will of tho foregoing fact: no one who carefully 
observes his habits can deny that, when laid iu 
the scale against the myriads of pests of which 
he rids the husbandman, its veniality and insig- i 
nificance are most apparent, and every agricul- i 
turist who giveB his unbiased attention to the 
subject, must come to tho conclusion that he is a 
greater friend than enemy, and that the circum¬ 
stances which have combined to make him a set¬ 
tled institution of his country are a blessing and 
not a curse. w u 
• --- 
A TAME PELICAN. 
The following pleasant story is told by a cor¬ 
respondent of tho Troy Budget, and whether 
strictly true or otherwise, it shows how thought¬ 
less men mny be in taking the life of innocent 
creatures: 
Fi. O. Moseley of Nassau, New Providence, was 
for a number of years the owner of a tamo peli¬ 
can. The beautiful creature was in the habit of 
following Mr. Moseley wherever ho went, and 
was his most affectionate alter egu. Tho pelican 
was a lino specimen of a peculiar bird, and about 
as tall as a man. Tho pelican lived ou just three 
fish a day, and these were obtained regularly in 
the morning, the pelican going to the fish market 
aud picking them out of tho tuba of just tho size 
and kind to suit his taste and digestion. Fish hi 
Nassau are sold from large tubB, filled with 
water, in which thoy Bwim about until taken out 
for tho purchaser, who selects his fish while that 
creature is alive and swimming. Mr. Moseley 
had instructed all tho fishmongers to allow his 
pelican to put his long neck and bill into any of 
tho tubs, and pick out such fish as his pelican- 
ship might desire, ho paying for the iisli after¬ 
wards. All tho fishermen knew that pelican, 
and loved him as though ho was “ a man and a 
brother.” 
In fact the pelican was one of tho privileged 
characters of the town, known and admired by 
all, and no one over molested him or mado him 
afraid. In fact lie was tho sacred bird of Nassau. 
Usually tho patient pelican would wait until his 
“ 1)0 «h” was ready of mornings to sally out, aud 
then it was a sight to seo the two walking sido 
by sido with social, wise and dignified mien to 
tho market, where tho master would wait until 
the pelican had breakfasted as tho pelican had 
previously waited until the master had finished 
tho morning meal. Tho pelican would carefully 
draw from tlio fishmonger’s tub a fish about tho 
size of a porgy, and if this weut down tail end 
first iu his pouch tho pelican would dolicatoly 
gulp It up and toss the fish up in the air until it 
oamo down head first, and then the fish would 
slowly descend through tho gullet until it finally 
disappeared from sight in tho maw. 
Mr. Mosoly was late to breakfast on one un¬ 
fortunate morning, but tho pelican patiently 
waited at tho door for Ids master, first standing 
on ono leg and then on the other, until patience 
in tho tired bird coased longer to be a virtue. 
Then tho pelican, longing for his deferred break¬ 
fast, sadly mado his way alone to his accustomed 
fish-tub in the market. There wus a now man, 
a raw English negro, tending the fish-tub that 
morning, aud he was in blissful ignorance of tho 
practices and habits of that bird, and know 
naught of his privileged character. The pelican 
as usual, walked up to the tub, thrust his long 
neck into it, and coolly tossed up a fish until it 
beaded downwards, and then very coolly put it 
away in his pouch. Tho tub-tender was aston¬ 
ished, and stood back in horror. Presently tho 
pelican again drow another fish from the tub, 
and also swallowed that iu tho same way. Now 
tho tub-tender was not only astonished, but 
horrified and ho looked ou aghast at the gradual 
lessening of his store of fish. Bo he picked up a 
club, and just as tho pelican was throwing up 
the third fish high in the air to catch it on tho 
fly as it oamo down, he struck the pelican on tho 
head, aud thus murdered him ou the spot. 
2jorscntait. 
COUNTRY HORSES GOING BAREFOOT. 
A correspondent of Our Dumb Animals says 
that country horses should go barefoot in winter. 
He says: “They should go barefoot during the 
season of sleighing. I have tried it now many 
yearH, and am sure it is a good thing, as it allows 
the expansion of the hoof, and does not make 
tho foot so cold as when shod with iron, thereby 
interfering with the proper circulation of the 
blood. Then, too, in turning out into deep 
drifts, there is no telling that the sharp calks 
may cut one or more of tho horse’s legs. In 
cities, where it ia more icy, it may be necessary 
to sharpen shoes; but in tho tho country it ia 
far better to keep tho feet bare. Let farmers 
and others try it, and I know they aud the horses 
will thank mo for the suggestion. I am driving 
my three horBes without shoes, and shall do just 
as long as tho snow lasts. Winter before last I 
drove them seven weeks, and I believe each 
horse was worth a great deal more at the end of 
the time than he would hav< been calked. If 
they have been properly shod, the frog will bo 
so large they will not slip, even where it is 
