OCT. 20 
THE BUBAL NEW-YORKER. 
SSI 
kept up from the organization of the College. Tho 
officers all believe in it, and often spend much 
time talking about it. No far, tho labor baa nearly 
all pertained to farming. No Greek or Latin 
has ever found a place in tho course of study. 
1 hero aro enough other colleges now occupying 
this part of the field. We soon hope to have 
some teaching in veterinary and military drill 
the latter not to interfere with Agriculture in 
any way. We also look forward to tho day when a 
partof the labor Of each, or of nearly all students 
shall be mechanical. This work will be under 
tho guidance of an experienced and competent 
instructor. Every farmer needs this knowldgo. 
l or a time, tho College made slow progress. 
It bad to work its way over an untrodden path. 
It has seemed to some to bo rather conservative. 
The officers, from the highest to the lowest, are 
in hearty sympathy with tho farmers. Tim best 
and wisest farmers aro finding it so, and all over 
tho State aro beginning to acknowledge it. An in¬ 
quiry into tho subject, by an unprejudiced per¬ 
son, always ends in conviction, in favor of the 
College. Some arc lukewarm, or possibly op 
posed to tho College on account of insufficient 
information, hut most of thorn begin to sav 
“ Onr College." 
The last catalogue gives a list of those who 
have graduated at tho College. It includes only 
121. It is still sometimes brought up, as an ob¬ 
jection to tho institution, oven by members of 
the Legislature, that boro aro 124 graduates, 
and k t us see what each bus cost tint State, when 
wo divide lip the total of all money so far in- 
vesttd. Tho figures look large. Tlm»o men do 
not take into account tho largo number who 
have not graduated, of whom many receive in¬ 
struction from one to three years. 
Who would think of estimating tho profits of 
a newspaper by tho subscriptions received dur¬ 
ing tlie first few months of its existence ? Who 
Mould expect a railroad to pay good returns on 
all tho capital for the first fow years ? In all 
correct estimates of business, wo should take 
into account the prospects and influence for tlio 
future. 
As our President says: “Tho growth Inis 
doubtless been slow. Professors of agriculture 
agricultural chemistry and horticulture had to 
bo made, or rather in the face of ad verso criti. 
cbm, with every failure through inexperience 
open to the world, to malm themselves. Text 1 
hooks were not. Tho schools were filled with 
teachers who, coming from other institutions, 1 
turned their pupils’ ambition to tho balls they I 
bad left. The course, devoid of classics, crowded 1 
with science, compelling to manual labor was I 1 
repulsive to many. ’ Tho pioneer days of (he £ 
College aro pant. It lias become a fixed fact, ( 
and is making a good record. A bright future 1 
seems to await the Michigan Agricultural Coi- * 
lego. Tho farmers of our State within a few J 
years, more especially, have been imputing and | ' 
studying and discussing with earnestness all ' 
mailers pertaining to their interests. It is re- 1 
acting favorably on their College. c 
lie College farm is located in a portion of the ^ 
State, unfavorable for some fruits. Peaches 1J 
arc not raised on account of cold winters. Put 11 
little can be done with pears. The fields du- " 
voted to farm crops aro divided into lots or '* 
about 25 acres each. Theso are free from " 
stumps and nearly freed from stones. Home c 
tile has been laid i„ most of them, but still « 
more i« needed. Tho land is gently rolling, not c 
to he called rich or very strong. There sro many, “ 
many townships in the State, containing better 
laud for general farm purposes, still tho crops 
are usually good, especially or corn, oats and 
grass. 11,ere aro kept about <50 head of cattle - 
belonging to the Short- Horns, Avrcshires, 
Levons Galloways, Jerseys, and one Hereford. 
Some of these are lino specimens though none 
of thorn have cost much money. There are Hi 
about 100 sheep, Merino, .Southdown, Cotewold, P, 
Lincoln and two Highland, and four varieties of “ 
u°fr S \. K m MX ’ BelltMhire . Inland-Chiua and 
Suffolk. I lie number of varieties, of course, is re 
oo great for profit, but they are very useful as Tl 
i lustrations for lectures, study and exptri- w l 
ments. Tile barns, shop, sheds and piggery th 
aio respectable, but nothing extra. They have ac 
Uen added to from timo to lime, as necessity m 
demanded, and limited means allowed. Tho of 
tools aro only enough for tho work. Quite a pli 
variety of worthies* implements have been pro ed 
nented from time to time, perhaps, in some m< 
v.,es, because the owner did not know what else rei 
„ ' " Wlth 1,1 tb'H class may be included 
a clumsy iron cultivator which the “boys" arc bo 
i pposed to bavo raised or. the peak of a shed. a., 
ho rofessor thinks it is a„ well off there as 1st 
1,, ®\ Several valuable implements of alt 
.nous kmds have been wholly or partially an 
£, ven to the College. Tbo orchards and vine- ms 
a,l<1 small-fruit garden contain quite a I f 
®° . JUim ' cr of varieties, set. more for trial and j pk 
• I -runout than for profit. ^ . 
PIM i7 800,1 “foMIr -™u -ill 1 - be 
subjects k b °° kB ° n HgI ' icuUural and kindred vai 
Sometimes the question is asked, “ does tho I ^ 
io farm pay its way ? ” Tho work is to some extent 
h done by students, aud there aro too many breeds 
y of domest ic animals for profit alone, if wo look 
n at money returns. Tho farm fields including the 
•• various kinds of stock have given a net profit, 
g lately of 800 to 1500 or 2000 dollars a year. The 
o grounds of about 00 acres aro well laid out 
and most of tho drives and paths have been 
U graveled. Native groups of trees were left, hero 
a and there about tho lawn, many others have 
s been sot in suitable places, especially numerous 
r kinds of shrubs and evergreens, 
t 'Tho green-hoiiHO consists of four rooms heut- 
. ed by warm water. Tho rooms contain 1800 
. varieties and species of plants. Horo, too, tho 
• varieties are kept with a view to study rather 
, than profit. A small forestry and nursery lias 
J been started to raise trees as samples for timber 
t ttn(l ornament*. Liberal additions of tender 
• an<J hardy plants havo severs I timed been made 
- from tbo Bussey Institute of Harvard University 
- through tho kindness of Profersor Nargent. The 
> chemical laboratory Is a model of its kind for 
convenience. There Is u good collection of ani¬ 
mals in the museum, a good herbarium, a model 
apiary. A now botanical laboratory and museum 
room are much needed. 
The students aro through with all their 
classes, except rhetoricals, onco or twice a week, 
by twelve o’clock at noon. Their leading out¬ 
door gamo is base ball, at which some of them 
aro quite export, frequently coming olf victori¬ 
ous with clubs in tho surrounding counties. 
They sometimes engsgo in foot-ball. They 
lo op up a good brass band which frequently 
plays on the green and on special occasions. 
Military drill is quite well maintained by a 
voluntary company. One of tho classes em¬ 
ployed a machine mid moved a largo boulder of 
conglomerate and mounted it in front of one of 
tho most beautiful groves of evergreens. For 
(ho past fow years tho students havo had class- 
days ill which they havo Introduced various 
oomic views of farm life and recalled past, 
events of peril and pleasure of tho previous four 
years. No college paper is sustained by the 
students. There are two, three, or more socrot 
societies aud some open societies, a Christian 
I men, all of which seem to bo doing a good 
work if we judge by tho character of most of 
tln‘h members. None of tho students dresses 
expensively, but very few havo what money 
they need to use without teaching or working 
for it. They live economically, and generally 
possess good habits. They aro growing into 
stout, healthy, sensible men who are not ashamed 
to engago in any kind of work which is honor¬ 
able. Most or them will bo what tho world 
calls successful; some of them will doubtless 
fail as they do on leaving any other college, but ! 
tbo college should not take the blame of this. " 
All over the country, on the farms, in tho ' 
villages, in every town aro young men going to 
rqin—shiftless worse than worthless, who 
never saw tho inside of a college. The college ' 
class discipline lielpa those who try to improve. * 
It will make all more proficient, but will not , 
necessarily make experts of any. The man 1 
must make himself whatever ini becomes or ' 
wherever ho may bo stationed in lifo. Tho 
drones And laggards, the sharpest, the noblest, 
will all soon find their proper level in the " 
college, as in the wido world of business. In 
this respect no set of people in society aro more 
exacting than college students. f; 
engraving representing tho different varieties of 
Low Peas, and described them to us. Sinco then 
I havo not seen anything about them, but, por- 
liapH somebody’s memory may bo jogged by those 
remarks, so that wo may hoar from them in tho 
future. ,, „, 
„ o. v, mc. 
Beaver Co., Pa. 
—-•♦♦♦- 
THE COW-PEA. 
Among the crops that should receive more at¬ 
tention from Nouthern farmers is tho Southern 
< 'ow pea. It thrives on all soils and succeeds 
under greater neglect and Icns cultivation than 
any crop grown in tlm South. There is a largo 
number of varieties, and though some others 
aro considered better for table use, the Black is 
the most popular Tor a field crop, having the 
property of keeping sound and good on tho 
ground, all winter. They may bo sown broad¬ 
cast and plowed in, or in drills two and a-half 
foot apart, admitting of cultivation, after wheat 
ii nd oats, to ho plowed in again, when in bloom, 
for green manuring, or allowed to ripen tt crop 
which is usually gathered bv hand-picking. 
And, again, they make most excellent, food for 
horses and cows, if cut just, as tbo first pods are 
formed, and fed green or cured. Tho roots will 
then immediately aond tip another growth that 
onn bo turned under for tbo benefit of the next 
crop. Probably, however, tbo most profitable 
uso to which they can bo turned is to ho fed 
down to hogs, causing thorn to lay on flesh 
rapidly, though this will not bo so firm ami solid 
as corn-fed pork; but a week or two on corn 
before slaughtering, remedies that, defect. Gow- 
poas are also valuable as a catch crop among 
corn, often producing a lino return when 
dropped in at the time the corn is laid by. In 
fact, they are a very important item on every 
Southern farm and should be planted wherever 
there is vacant laud, oven as late as August 1st 
and utilized in some manner. If It is not do- 
sirablo to make use of them in any of tho above 1 
ways, they are always in good demand in market 
at fair prices. Cohn Planter. 1 
making. It first makes tbo Iiolo wherein to put 
tbo plant; it then takes lip tho plant with all tho 
dirt attached to t ho roots, and places it, in tlio 
beds without, any water, to keep it from wilting. 
1 he plant, grows on without having any knowl¬ 
edge of its removal. To the short stake I tie 
tho vine first; and after the cluster of flowers 
nppoars in tlio first fork, I tie the two atoms pro¬ 
jecting from it to the two tall stakes. [ now 
trim off every stem above tho leaf to Urn first 
bloom, and top tbo plant above tlio second and 
third clusters. Every irregular and ill-formed 
Tomato is trimmed olf, and thus tlio substance 
goos into the best. 
For seed, I leave but one Tomato to tho dus¬ 
ter on tho vine. In thus treating the Tomato I 
have, year after year, taken over fifteen pounds 
of nice, smooth Trophys from each vine, and am 
sure as milch more could bo done by giving tho 
vino another season after tlm first crop. 
White Cliff Agricultural Station. 
--. 
NOTES FROM TEXAS. 
11Y O. MARTI, 
Ijorticultural, 
TOMATOES. 
BY A. E. BLUNT. 
#fl& Crops, 
COW PEAS. 
Some years ago, during a residence in tlio 
South, I became acquainted with tho “ Cow 
1'oa,” or as it is generally called there tho 
“ Black-eyed Pea.” 
The use or them as an article of food, was a 
revelation to me, and a very agreeable one. 
They cooked easily, were mild flavored, ami 
when boiled with beef, made a soup far better 
than any variety of dried peas or beans of my 
acquaintance, and I had tried several kinds in 
my timo. On my return North, I brought some 
of t he largest sized varieties I could obtain, and 
planted thorn totcBfc whether they could bo rain- 
ed as far north as this place. My first experi¬ 
ments were very satisfactory, and they have been 
repeated several times wince. 
1 plant them in drills, and find they must not 
bo planted thickly; ns they grow ho very rank, 
and tall down, and when a rainy season sets in 
Iste, there is great dangor of mildew and rot, 
although the pods stand well above tho foliage 
and are f ight or ton Inches long and well tilled 
making them very prolific. 
Sown broadcast in spring, and in August 
plowed under as a fertilizer, they would return 
a vast crop of herbage to tho soil, aud might 
bo more profitable with us than buckwheat, and 
various qther crops of less growth that aro gen¬ 
erally plowod under. 
A year or more since tho Rural gave us an 
Success in raising tomatoes, to make thorn 
profitable or to produce tbo smoothest and larg¬ 
est specimens, depends, 1st, on selection of weed; 
2d, on a knowledge of the demands of tlio plant, 
its habits ami wants ; and 3d, on tho soil, plant- 
lood and cultivation, necessary to perfect tho 
fruit. My method of selecting seed may not lie 
novel, but it is the best aud safest way to insure 
genuine and reliable plants. 
I select tho largest, smoothest and heaviest 
that ripen earliest from tlio vino, when ready to 
drop off ; lay them on smooth boards in the sun 
until fermentation sets in, then wash them clean 
from the pulp. Tho seeds that sink may bo con¬ 
sidered perfected, and can lie relied on lor pro¬ 
ducing fruit Like the Specimens saved. I always 
trim tho end vines down to hut one tomato in 
each cluster of flowers, cutting off every sucker 
stein and the top. la this way, tlio whole sub- 
stauec is thrown into about throe tomatoes cm 
eaeli vino. Two years ago, by this method I 
raised on six vines twelve specimens that weighed 
eighteen pounds, tlio largest ono reaching as 
high as thirty-nix ounces. 
Second, on a knowledge of the demands of tho 
plant, its habits and wants. The plant requires, 
at its early stages, rich pabulum, concentrated 
in well pulverized and moist soil, it flourishes 
best, in all seasons, by treating it. to flat culture. 
It insists on having the hottest sun—even those 
rays reflected from tho whitest house-wall. Its 
peculiar habit in olimbi g is to reach out for 
some rest, on which to bend its joints. It will 
run forty feet, if properly trained. 
Third, on tho soil, plant-food and cultivation. 
I lie best soil adapted to tliis plant is a rich, 
friablo one, put in a high state of cultivation ; a 
red-clay subsoil -spaded eighteen inches deep, 
thoroughly mixed with a compost made up of 
elements that every garden and kitchen can fur¬ 
nish. with droppings of the cow-stalls as a base 
—is beet in this climate for tho Tomato. After 
being thoroughly pulverized aud smoothed, it 
should not be stirred at all. Eveu the crust 
formed when tho ground is prepared, should not 
bo broken. If suffering at any timo for water, 
let It bo watered under ground. 
in propagating and cultivating, I use tbo hot¬ 
bed and cold-frame. I sow my hot-bed in Jan¬ 
uary, and when tbo plants throw out their third 
set of leaves, I transplant into tlio cold-frarno, 
putting six inches apart each way. Ho booh as 
tbo frosts disappear, they are put out four feet 
apart each way, and staked with throe stakes to 
eaoli vino, ono short and two six foot long. I 
take up my plauts with an apparatus of my own 
o This is tlio timo for tlio Texas gardeners to 
II strike, not after the railroad employes’ fashion, 
,t, however. On tho 15th just. we enjoyed Hie first 
t good rain al ter a protracted drought, and an ex- 
o tremo 'y hut season. Cabbages, boots, onions, 
:1 carrots in fact, all the hardy vegetables, and 
Ii 811011 1110 tender ones that do not require a 
I long sikason to mature, are sowed and planted 
, out now. Potatoes planted in the rail, some- 
- times »licenced finely, though, this is more of a 
? hit than a sure thing, depending much on tlio 
, congeniality of tho season. 
, There in generally a blank in vegetable gar- 
r dens from July to October, every thing Hcuroh- 
r '"K and burning by the fiorco rays of tho sun. 
t A fow okra pods, cow peas and peppers excepted, 
. little may be seen in market stalls in tlio lino of 
, garden succulents. Evon I lie tropical butter- 
■ beau takes its rest during this heated term. Of 
this last, market-gardeners only plant the small 
, variety, or tho so-called Sword beau, the Lima 
not producing well, shedding its blossoms with¬ 
out setting. 
In examining my grape-vines to day, J am 
almost tempted to condemn all of the Labrusea 
varieties. The canes look denuded, green, 
spongy and covered with cancerous spots. The 
remaining few leaves are badly scorched, and 
half shriveled up. However, 1 shall give them an¬ 
other season’s grace, since I see tlm wild ouossuf- 
fer and show t he sumo sickly symptoms this year. 
Herbemonts, Delawares, Nortons and Burgun¬ 
dies retain their foliage in full vigor and have 
their oauos finely ripened. Northern Texas sent 
some very lino (Joucords to tho l’omulQgioal Ex¬ 
hibition held here, last August. 
i see some pear trees aro shedding their loaves. 
This is bad. The tine, congenial fall weather 
wo bavo here, will excite a new growth, which, 
not having time and condition to mature, will bo 
detrimental to next season's crop. Tbo nature 
of apple trees Is different; they will keep on 
growing he it dry, wet or cold, keep their foliage 
nearly through tho winter, go to rent when other 
trees begin to push again, and come on!, and bloom 
BO lute that the blossoms get singed by the sun. 
They do not bloom ou spurs as in a morn northern 
latitude, but produce their blossoms in great 
clusters on ttio extremities of tlio strougest 
brandies, like a quince. 
Flower gardens have not been looking inviting 
for some time past. Ever-blooming roses »ti ug- 
gied bard to come up to their reputation by at¬ 
tempting to show a few buds, which, however, 
were blighted by tbo fierce rays of the sun before 
opening. A few coarse annuals, such as Zinnias, 
Petunias, Globe Amaranths, etc., etc., would 
stand their ground pretty well together with 
some bedding plants which may bo classed here 
as pretty nearly hardy, like Plumbago, Lantanas, 
Lemon Verbenas, Ghinoso Hibiscus, Heliotropes 
and others. 
It will not bo long, however, until flower 
gardens will be in full glory again, and continue 
so until far into tho winter season. Self-sown 
spring annuals which havo sprung up abun¬ 
dantly, will cotno to perfection yet. All kinds 
of roses will onco more clothe themselves in their 
festive garb undamaged by their long-imposed 
rest. Hardy shrubs, such as Deutzias, Spineas, 
Forsytliias, VVcigolas, will prematurely develop 
some of their dormant flower buds, and dill keep 
plenty to do their share in blooming next spring. 
Capo Jessamines have a second crop of flowers 
now ; they will keep on showing an occasional 
bloom until really cold weather sets in. Al- 
tlneas (II. Syriacus), Oleanders and Crape Yhr- 
tles have been doing their host for months, 
nothing daunted by the severe drought. There 
is i.o more favorable season for vegetation in 
southern Texas than tho lung autumn. 
White Crape Myrtle, grafted into some 
branches of a red one, forms an object of at¬ 
traction. Tbo remaining branches of the stock 
plant have to be sharply pruned in, so as not to 
give them a preponderance over the grafts. They 
t 
