i^ov. 3 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
ass 
are plentiful in spring and fall, but there is 
rather a dearth in mid-summer. 
Land is very cheap in Texas, but I don’t know 
of any State in our Union where title-deeds aro 
more uncertain than they aro here. There is a 
deal of State lands yet to be occupied, and of 
which 1G0 acres aro given to the head of a family, 
or 80 acres to a single man, providing they locate 
it. As these lauds are usually in Buch out-of- 
the-way places, it might bo most convenient 
for immigrants to buy, and this they can do very 
reasonably, say from *3 to $20 an acre. Towards 
the frontier , many line tracts of land aro for sale 
for loss than $1 an acre, and a man with the 
ready cash, cau buy a fine farm in the cotton and 
corn or sugar country for @5 to $0 an acre, in¬ 
cluding fences and buildings. The wheat lands 
are dearer ; really, around Dallas, land is aston¬ 
ishingly high-priced. 
Lumber, at the mills, costs $9 to $12 per 1000 
ft., but the cost of railroad freight and hauling 
is often a great deal more thau the first price. 
Farm hands got from $10 to $14 a mouth with 
board, or they work for u part of the crops. 
“ Renters," or married folks with a family, aro 
provided with houses, and according to the bar¬ 
gain made, with a team and provisions, giving as 
payment an agroed-upou part of their crop. 
Young men oftou make out pretty well, bat the 
ordinary “renter” is generally a very poor 
family. I would advise immigrants uot to settle 
on poor lands at any price. Farms may be 
bought Oil very easy terms, say a fourth part in 
cash, and the remainder in yearly installments. 
Five and six per cent, may bo the common prieo 
of money la New York, but here wo want ton por 
cent., and at oottOn-pickiug timo, three per cent, 
a month, is nothing uunsual. Buying goods “ on 
time," is a fearful cancer in a man's pocket, as 
he often pays a fourth or a third rnoro for them 
than he would did ho pay cash. 
Tho population mostly consists of immigrants 
from the other Southern States, and who are 
most thickly settled in eastern and southern 
Texas. Germans occupy the fat of the land, as 
Washington (Jo., and the beautiful country 
around Now Braunfels and Fredericksburgh, be¬ 
sides tho best lands in the south and southwest; 
Northern aud Western men are found in the 
wheat country ; a few Mexicans southwest of 
Seguin, aud a goodly proportion of negroes in 
the older settled cotton counties, but in Ger¬ 
man settlements, towards the frontier, or in tho 
northwestern or wheat couuties, the percentage 
of colored people is small. Some Indians traverse 
tho western frontier. There aro settlements of 
nearly all European nationalities, besides a gen¬ 
eral scattering of all racos all over the Elate. 
Brenham, Texas. 
--♦♦♦ 
FARM NOTES, 
BY S. RUFUS MASON. 
SCRAPING ACQUAINTANCE. 1 
It is very important that we should know our i 
soil. The top of it which lies in plain sight, soon 1 
becomes quite familiar. We have our sandy 1 
spots, our clay patches, our black, loamy strips, 
gravelly, watery, stony and weedy places. But 
what underlies these surfaces, very few we may 
almost say none of us -have the slightest knowl¬ 
edge of. Our acquaintance with the strength, tho 
stamina of our fields is literally but skin deep. 
Curiosity, tho most valuable blemish upon the 
mind of man, is too often balked by inactivity or 
laziness. 
It will open every man’s eyes as well as his 
mind to go out himself, spade in hand, aud dig a 
hole three to four feet deep, two feet or more in 
circumference in every such spot on his placo, 
and after paring tho wall on one side down quito 
smooth, measure the thickness of the different 
strata, note their character, composition, perme¬ 
ability to air, moisture, and tender roots, tbeir 
possible fertility, aud thus learn what sort of 
manipulation is needed to improve them in the 
direction of increase of cropB. 
A geological knowledge of a man's farm, is as 
necessary to the farmer, as a physiological 
knowledge of the human system is to the phys¬ 
ician, and is much more easily acquired. A day's 
work, and intelligent notes copied into a mem¬ 
orandum book for future reference, stating 
locality, appearance and character of top ear- 
face, noting its faults during all soasons with the 
underground character, will enable farmers to 
become masters of the situation. 
FANCY POULTRY, 
Mr. T. B. Miner's exposure of the “ Tricks 
of the chicken trade,” is the first honest article 
on that subject I ever saw. The claptrap and 
humbug used in this line of business aro on a 
par at least with those in any other plan to in- 
suare the farmer. 
All the “ palatial residences," “ elegant appli¬ 
ances,” “ modern improvements,” etc, etc., as 
well as the ‘‘patent feed," for poultry are only 
evidences that civilized poultry demands as much 
expensive paraphernalia aud improved doctor’s 
stuff to support life as any other sort of biped 
under the hot-house mode of life now bo gener¬ 
al. The moment a poor, miserable, cramped-up 
ben can break out of such treatment, she shows 
her good sense by seeking the stable or some 
other suitable place wherein to make hor uost. 
All that is wautod on a farm iB a moderatoly 
large-sized breed, produced by crossing Brahrua 
hens with a lloudau rooster, giving them com¬ 
fortable quarters at all seasons, plenty of clean 
water, fine gravol, lime rubbish, ashes, a full 
feed of some kind of grain ovory morning at 
sum-iso aud a free run the rest of the day. 1 
have such a breed (none for sale) and treat them 
rationally. T never have any disease amongst 
them, whilo my neighbors, for miles in every 
direction, aro losing theirs by cholera, etc. Wo 
havo plenty of poultry aud eggs fur use at all 
times. Naturo is as powerful in tho heu-houao, 
as in the starry heavens, and alwayB retaliates 
when she iB thwarted. When our poultry breed¬ 
ers will cornu dowu off tlioir high horses, they 
will begin to do business ; tile little drib dune 
under tho present mode is a more lloa-bito to 
what is in store for an heuOBt, common-sense 
class of poultry merchants. 
A RAINY DAY. 
How many farmers appreciate a rainy day ? 
It is a Sunday to tho farmer upon which ho may 
work without fear of cithor inward or outward 
monitor. What bettor time to overhaul and re¬ 
pair tools, harness, gates, houso aud stable 
fixings ? If all days woro clear, fine, work days, 
tho strain of out-door work would be too much 
entirely for overy thiug elBe on tho place. A 
weatbor-wiso farmer iB ono who not only can 
foretell the changes, but take advantage of them, 
and whon wo come to tho real morality of life, 
what is successful living, but a constant watch 
for A chance to tako advantagoof circumstances? 
It is only when this degouoratos into a faculty 
of considering our follow-mon as circumstances, 
that crirno begins, aud prisons are needed. 
“ Always lay by something fur a rainy day "— 
means, lot there always bo some employment tor 
such gloomy periods, which shall transform them 
mto sunny iudour days, when the little odd jobs 
accumulate, when a pressure is felt for repairs, 
then is tho time to pray for rain. All other dry 
spells maybe easily counteracted by working the 
soil tho more frequently. Have a hospital for 
invalided tools, and only ask for rain when it 
becomes too much crowded. 
PATENT ‘'OFFICE FIRES.” 
The patentee of this device for making a de¬ 
mand for labor in every form, ought to be re¬ 
warded with a leather medal. But what shall be 
the guerdon granted by an admiring nation, to 
the officers who allow such things to happen? 
Why is there uot an experienced man appointed 
In every public building In (he country, whose 
sole duty it sluill bo to hunt out daily, all possible 
chances of lire? The prevention of but one 
such fire as that at Washington, in a whole cen¬ 
tury, would pay tho salaries of a score of “ Fire 
Inspectors,' for that, period of time. If tho 
heads of departments show no wholesome fear 
of fire a dread which every man, woman, and 
child Blioutd possess—can we expect subordinates 
to bo more considerate ? 
STACKING GRAIN. 
In districts whero barns are not much used, 
all grain is stacked out of doors upon the bare 
ground. If the earth is wet or damp, or heavy 
rains occur, much of the bottom of the stack be¬ 
comes musty and spoiled. It is very oasy to lay 
dowu a course of old straw, or hay, a couple of 
feet deep aH a rebutter. 
EXTRACTS FROM THE AGRICULTURAL 
AND HORTICULTURAL PRESS. 
THE LEAVES OF AUTUMN. 
Few of our readers who have not been out 
of the United States know how much our au¬ 
tumn scenery is appreciated by Europeans. 
The leaves of most of their trees die oil' black 
or brownish, nothing wo believe except tho 
larch putting on anything like an approach to 
the gorgeous colors of our woods and forest trees. 
Pictures of American Hcenery aro among the 
most popular iu European collections ; and yet. 
much as they aro prized by their ow ners, there 
is generally a lingering doubt that the reality 
is equal to the representation. Many have 
been known to come to this country that they 
may see and enjoy these great natural beauties 
which many of ub see and look on without any 
emotion at alL— G&'manloion Telegraph. 
WHAT TO CO WITH POTATOES. 
To bury potatoes in the field, select a place a 
little elevated, and dig down as low as you 
can drain the excavation. It maybe two feet, 
one foot, or but a few inches, according to the 
drain that will command it. Suppose that you 
have 200 or 800 bushels to bury, the bed should 
be made about eight feet wide aud as long as 
necessary, with the potatoes four or five feet 
deep in the center. When all aro in position, 
where the straw meets, as an air-hole must 
be loft open bore till about the time when the 
ground may bo expected to freeze, when a 
thick covering of oarth all over must be applied. 
In cold climates, as in the Northern States, this ( 
covering should bo from fifteen to eighteen ' v 
inches thick ; aud if the straw is well applied, “ 
the potatoes will stand any weather that may 
bo expected. This system is better than to put 
them into deep pits as was the custom fifty years 
ago.— T- B. Miner, in the World. 
ROOTS FOR STOCK FEED. 
Roots have become a necessity with progros- 2 
sive farmers, as a winter stock food, aud their ^ 
great value in this connection should commend rj 
them to those who havo not essayed their oul- v 
tivation. Even the owners of work and driving 
horses in tho largo cities, where no opportunity t 
is had to raise them, annually buy hundreds N 
of bushels of carrots, mangel-wurzols, turnips, a 
A c., to be fed in connection with grain food to 1 
their hoi-Res, and they am well assured of the a 
profitableness of using them; for the animals ■] 
aro always sleek, fat, and glossy iu appoaranco, j. 
and uevor become hide-bound or sickly-— Prac- Q 
Heal Farmer. f 
CLOVER. 
a 
Clever is called, and properly so, “ tho sheet- Q 
anchor of American husbandry.” Too much ^ 
cannot bo said iu its praise. It is capable of t 
doing more to bring impoverished lands to a ^ 
high state of cultivation with less expense than | 
any ono other agency. Aud just iu proportion H 
as the farmer cultivates this plant, will ho bo ^ 
relieved from the necessity of pnrehasing com¬ 
mercial fertilizers to ciu-ioh his land. While 
there is no system of cultivation which will on- , 
able the farmer to keep the fertility of bis laud , 
without resorting to such agencies, yet the use 
of clover will go very far towards accomplishing 
it. Clover will do for you what miracles did 
for Moses. Yea, it will do more. It will oan- , 
eel notes, pay mortgages, extinguish obligation* , 
and bring abundance whero there is want.— , 
William Fullerton, in (he World. I 
TEXAS FEVER IN CATTLE. , 
In the ease of Texas fever, something can bo , 
done by tho owner of an in footed pasture. Such , 
pasture should at once bo cleared of all cattle, 
aud by way of precaution against, tho possible 
devclopenumt of the disease, all cattle that havo 
been on such fields should each receive one- 
half ounce hyposulphato of soda ; aud ono dram 
carbolic acid, to bo repeated twice daily for a 
week. These agouti) may he easily given dis¬ 
solved in drinking water, or mixed with food. 
The cattle should also he cleared of ticks by 
rubbing them over with kerosene, or by using 
a liniment of one part oil of tar aud fifteen parts 
whale oil.— Prof. Law, in Tribune . 
WATER IMPURITIES. 
The impurities that make water injurious to 
health are organic matters, such as arc abun¬ 
dantly supplied by barnyards, drains and oerne- 
torios, where the decay of animal aud vegetable 
substance is going on. Some families who 
live on farms, and who fancy thoy aro drink¬ 
ing tho best of wator, are, in fact constantly 
imbibing poison that will appear, perhaps, iu the 
dreadod form of diphtheria or typhoid fever.— 
1 Scientific American. 
CLAWSON WUEAT. 
A very intelligent correspondent from Or- 
ango country lately expressed to us in conver- 
1 nation the conclusion he had reached after some 
experience with Clawson wheat, which was to 
the effect that it will not bear grinding while 
as new as other varieties may be safely ground 
—flour from old Clawson wheat having made 
the best of bread, while that from now had 
failed to do so. Country Gentlemen. 
t [Tho above has been our own experience 
- Edh. It. N. Y.] 
'• LUJUID EXCREMENT. 
How strangely we overlook the value of the 
0 liquid excrement of our animals! A cow, under 
° ordinary feeding, furnishes in a year twenty 
1 thousand pounds of solid excrement, and about 
^ eight thousand pounds of liquid. The compar¬ 
ative money value of the two is but slightly iu 
0 favor of tho solid. This statement has beou 
‘ V verified as truth over and over again. The urine 
0 of herbivorous animals holds nearly all the 
secretions of the body which are capable of pro- 
JH duciug the rich nitrogenous compounds so oa- 
i y sentiali as forcing or leaf-forming agents iu the 
growth of plants. The solid holds the phos¬ 
phoric acid, the lime, and magnesia, which go 
to seeds principally; but the liquid, holding 
^ nitrogen, potash ami soda, is needed in forming 
>u tho stalks and loaves. 
THE HAVEN COLONY. 
Wm. H. Maxbon, Sec. of the Haven Colony, a 
corporation that buys lands in Texas and proposes 
to settlo them with progressive Northern farmers, 
who aro weary of delving on exhausted lands, 
has sent us a report of tho Committee sent to 
Texas to select a suitable tract. We quote from 
tho report: 
The tract of land is the Jose do La Baume 
six league survey, situated partly in Guadalupe 
County aud partly iu Gonzales County, and is 
known us the Oapoto Erskiue tract. There are 
24,020 acres of this tract, with a frontage on 
the Guadalupe river of nine and one-half miles. 
There are about 0,000 acres of creek aud Guada- 
valley land, 12,900 acres of good uplands, aud 
6,000 of thin and hilly lands unsuitable for cul¬ 
ture, but covered with grass aud limber and 
very suitable fur a cattle, hog, and sheep range. 
All of tho valley land and a greater portion of 
tho upland is or very superior quality, generally 
a black sandy loam. Tho tract is well watored. 
There aro several creeks running through tho 
tract and numerous springs on it. At tho base 
of tho noted Capote hills there is a series of fine 
free-stone springs that break cut and unite with 
a branch of considerable size. 'There is little 
or no diminution in the quantity of the water 
that issues from these spriugs at any season of 
tho year, and with a little work they could bo 
turned into the race and used to irrigate a 
large amount of laud for vegetable gardening 
so that crops could bo grown every month in tho 
year. 
There is an abundance of fine timber. Black- 
walnut, burr oak, pecan, cottonwood, elm, 
sycamore, box older, post oak, live oak, sand oak, 
black-jack, mesquit and other timbers in the 
genus of Western Texas. 
The Committee on Agriculture, Wm. IIeuald, 
John Bkhke and 8. 1\ Suafbr, say that there 
aro about eleven hundred acres of the Gaudalupo 
valley in Cultivation on tho tract and eucloscd 
with a good Teuco. There are several tenant 
housos on the tract which, with some repairs, 
oan he used by colonists. Deposits of brick 
day, arc found, as well as some fire-proof, also 
stoneware clay of excellent quality, which is 
now being successfully operated. There is an 
abundance of good building stone aud fine de¬ 
posits of sand tor plastering- Altogether tho 
report is very flattering aud doubtless many 
will avail themselves of the offer of tho Colony. 
The most praetlble route to the Colony is by tho 
following roads: , 
El m ltailroud to Halamanea, the Atlantic and 
Groat Western to Cincinnati, the Ohio and 
Mississippi to 8t. Louis, tho 8t. Louis, Iron 
Mountain and Southern to Texarkana, the Tex¬ 
as and Pacific to Longview, the International 
and Great Northern to Houston, and the G. II. 
aud 8. A. it, It. to Haven City and San Antonio. 
can drain tho excavation. It maybe two feet, benefit of birds. 
one foot, or but a few inches, according to the \ coerehtospent of the Rural Home, speak- 
tL.t will commit it. Op. H ^ 
have 200 or 800 bushels to bin y, the bed s o wheat field, my attention was called to the fact 
be made about eight feet wide aud as long as tdat Homo 0 f the wheat had been picked from 
necessary, with the potatoes four or five feet the heads in certain parts of tho field. As my 
deep in the center. When all aro in position, neighbor seemed to think thattbo mischief 
, , , , , . ■, „ was done by yellow birds, I ptocured a gun anil 
take loug ryo straw aud set it against the two kilk)d one (J f the supposed offenders. Although 
sides of the heap thick enough to shed rain, interrupted while taking his breakfast, we found 
Then throw earth ugffinst the sides of the pile i n bis stomach only three grains of wheat, and 
six or eight inches thick, but none at the top, by actual count 350 weevils. 
®Jft loultrj) garb. 
SEASONABLE HINTS. 
Ah cold weather approaches some seasonable 
care is required of the poultry-keeper. Ou a 
farm, iu mild weather, many young birds roost 
in all kinds of nooks and corners as well as 
on trees and fences, auil before the woatlier 
gets down to tho freezing point, their winter- 
quarters should be got ready, by thoroughly 
cleansing, fumigating and white-washing, tho 
buildings if thoy have been occupied before. 
Broken windows should bo repaired, nosts to 
accommodute laying hens prepared as well as 
a dust bath in which they can cleanse them¬ 
selves. When this Is done, gather in tho 
stragglers, especially from off trees, as in thoir 
leafless condition they do uot afford the shelter 
they did during summer. Just at tho time 
when the leaves fall many old birds are molting, 
and require more warmth than before. These 
should bo looked after in time ; for if left too 
long exposed to cold nights, they may contract 
diseases that will hang to them all winter. I 1 ar 
from being objectionable, however, roosting 
in trees is very beneficial iu summer and early 
autumn, and should be encouraged. 
It is a job that requires some patience, to 
got the birds in, the first few nights. It is 
bettor to do it before dark by driving them to 
then- proper home. If lifted off the roosts 
after dark, they do not see their way to go in, 
aud the same thiug has to be done several times, 
before they can be induced to go of their own 
accord ; but if driven in, they soon find their 
way and after a few times will go iu readily, 
especially when they sec you coming after them. 
Cull out all smaU, stunted, runtish birds that 
do not thrive, assume late-hatched chicks "ill 
prove, or they may bring disease into the 
houso. Any other fowls too that have any ap¬ 
pearance of disorder should either bo kept away 
by themselves or killed. If eggs are tho con¬ 
sideration, do not turn in a lot of cockerels 
with tho henB and pullets; thoy bother them 
too much by their restlessness. 
Henry Hales. 
