202 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Indications of Water. Horizontal Wells. 
W. L. G., Herkimer Co., H. Y., wishes to 
know 1. the Rural's opinion of the use of hazel- 
rods for detecting veins of water. 2. Whether 
wells made in aide-lulls are likely to prove suc¬ 
cessful. 
Ans. —All over this country and many other 
lands also, there i« a largo number of country 
folks who regard the power of delecting veins of 
water by means of hazel rods as a peculiar gift 
with which some persons aro endowed; and the 
implicit faith those have in individuals so gifted, 
their frequent errors and the best arguments of 
others are powerless to overthrow. Yet there is 
no doubt but that this faith and the pretensions 
that give birth to it are equally nonsensical. 
There are, however, sovoral indications of w ater 
which any ono acquainted with the land can 
easily notice. These hazel rod experts, besides 
having, as a rule, a good deal of personal ex¬ 
perience in searching for water and determining 
the spots near which it is likely to bo bit upon, 
are generally covertly inquisitive before deciding 
npou the place where the rods aro to turn down 
over the water veiu. Wherever water is accus¬ 
tomed to stand iu winter or late in spring, where 
grasH remains green in dry weather or late in 
fall, water is seldom very far off; 2. In hilly 
land with a clayey subsoil water is very often ob¬ 
tained by digging into the hillside wherever 
there are indications of a supply, I ndeed this 
is often found to be the most convenient way of 
furnishing a constant supply of living water iu 
pastures, and not rarely for household purposes. 
A spring once obtained iu this way, is as good 
and permanent as a natural one, and many ex¬ 
perts say that by digging horizontally in a suit¬ 
able location a veiu of water is more likely to be 
met with tliau by digging downwards the same 
distance. We have seen several very excellent 
springs of this kind. When water has been 
struck, the trenoh leading to it should be walled 
up at the head, three or four feet, like a well, 
and the drain leading to the outlet laid with tile 
or covered securely with common stoue. 
Tho Use of Soot as a Fertilizer. 
L. S. Clover, Fauquier Co., Fa., inquires 
about the worth of soot as a manure, the plants 
most likely to bo benefited by its application, 
and the best method of applying it. 
Ass.—Doth scieuco and experience prove that 
soot is a valuable fertilizer. As a top-dressing 
to grass its effect is excellent. On peas, aspara¬ 
gus, strawberries, raspberries, and indeed on 
nearly all growing crops tiro application of soot 
produces marked results. When sown broadcast 
some of the ammonia iu it escapes into the at¬ 
mosphere and Is wasted. It should, therefore, 
be mixed with water, say at the rate of twelve 
quarts of soot to a hogshead of water, and used 
as a liquid manure. A mixture in the above 
proportion makes a very powerful fertilizer. It 
would be well for farmers generally to besrin 
mind that manures, when reduced to a liquid 
state before their application, yield much more 
readily their nutritive properties as plant-food, 
and are therefore most economical and efficient 
in their effocts. It would often pay well, es¬ 
pecially hi gardon cultivation, to reduce fertili¬ 
zers to a liquid condition before their applica¬ 
tion. 
The Christ Plant. 
IF. r. G. —What is your opinion of the follow¬ 
ing extract from tho letter of a correspondent to 
a N. Y. paper. Is it not a fraud ? A friend 
told mo about “ The Christ Plant” and on my 
declaration of disbelief, brought this slip to con¬ 
vince me. If there is such a thing, why wouldn’t 
it bloom on any other as well as Christmas eve ? 
Answer iu question column and oblige. 
Sr. Paul, Minn., January, 18, 1878. 
Messrs. Stuket &. Smith : 
Hear Sirs .-—Being a constant reader of your 
paper for over four years, and seeing in No. 11 
of the New York Weekly, your description of 
what you call a “ Christ Plant,” owned by Mr. 
Iloltzscheidor, of Philadelphia, I thought I 
would let you know wo have had a Christ plant 
in orn - family for the past ton years. We have 
always heard it called, aud I think correctly, a 
“ Jericho Rose." 
The one you described in your paper is pre¬ 
cisely the same in every respect, but one, and 
that is that it does not remain open so long. 
Wheu ours is put in a tumbler of water, on 
Christmas Eve, about nine o’clock, it begins to 
open aud show sigus of lifo by eleven o’clock, 
aud by twelve it is in full bloom. It stays so 
about ten uiiuuteB.wbou it begins to close again, 
and iu two hours it is tho same dry flower as be¬ 
fore, with uothing to show that it over was opeu. 
The peculiarity of it is that it only blooms at 
that timo. If it does not, it is said it is au omen 
that some one will die out of tho family during 
the year. I never was a believer in omens bo-, 
fore, but when the rose did not open as usual a 
year ago last Christmas, and my uucle’s wife 
died a short timo after, I concluded that there 
was some truth iu it, and that indeed truth was 
stranger than fiction. 
Its origin, extends back to tho time when 
Christ was ou this earth; aud many of its kind 
grow on the wayside when our Saviour passed 
through. II. G. Friend. 
A ns. —This is an old, old story—a very little of 
(ruth and a good deal of error. The IIobo of 
Jericho, called by botanists Anastatica hieroc- 
bnntina, is a Httlo plant live or six inches hkb, 
with branches spreading out from a central root. 
As soon as it blooms, (bo leaves fall and tbe 
branches shrivel, curling up towards the center 
and forming a loose ball, They are readily up¬ 
rooted by the w ind, growing as they do in sand 
and tossed hither and thither. Held by a hol¬ 
low or by whatever they happen to strike, there 
they remain until rain. Then tho dry, dead 
stems unfold; the seed vessels open and the 
seeds drop out, where in due lime they germinate. 
The sterns will close and open as often as they 
aro dried and moistened. Rut tho operation is 
pntely mechanical. Tbe monks of old invested 
this plant with wonderful powers and hence the 
people regarded it with superstitions veneration. 
Rut the fact is, it will unfold just as well, if 
moistened at one as another time, and bloomed. 
once for all before it loft its native sands. 
Wire-Worms. 
Sylvester Parsons, Broome Co., N. T. —Last 
spring I broke three acres of sod ground and plant¬ 
ed it to corn tiro 18lh of May. Tbe wire-worm 
commenced to oat tho kernel before, or as soon 
as it sprouted; some never came up. I plant¬ 
ed again with the same result. The crop proved 
an entire failure. The ground being very rich I 
used no manure. I wish to sow it to spring 
wheat this spring. Will tho wiro-wonns remain 
in the ground ? Will they injure tho wheat? If 
so, what shall we uso to prevent them ? or had 
we better put some other crop in the ground ? 
Please oblige by answering through Rural. 
Ans,—Wo presume the “wire-worms” referred 
to are the young of " Click-beetles" (Elateridie), 
although some other insects are so called, lu this 
ease the wire-worm wiil remain in the ground 
for two or three years longer, if it can get any 
roots to cat. If wheat or com is planted, it will 
be eaten. IT the ground goes back to grass the 
worms will keep along On that. Either the 
ground must bo kept broken and planted with 
uothing or with strong-rooted crops for two or 
threo years, or olso, if it will pay, sliced pota¬ 
toes or turnips mu«l bo scattered botwoeu the 
hills of corn or other crop, and visited ea/jy 
every morning to catch tho worms which wiil 
gather under tho slices. We suppose wheat 
conld not be planted economically under such 
conditions. It is not unnmial for newly broken 
ground to bo full of wire-worms, and some 
worms live in tho ground five years before they 
aro fully grown aud able to fly away as beetles. 
As some persons have reoommended sowing 
salt, ashes, lime aud the like, we might as well 
say that most good authorities adviso tnat it 
should not be done. We should like to have Mr. 
Parsons send us ten of the wire-worms that 
trouble him. 
That Turnip Crop. 
J. IF. S-, Attica, 0 .—I would say, in answer 
to this correspondent of the Rural, in issue of 
March 9th, that the turnip crop, described in 
my communication published in Rural of Jan. 
12th, was rather au informal affair. The seed 
sown was what I call odds and ends; that is. I 
gathered up the leavings of all kinds from 
broken packages of turnips and ruta-bagas, 
after former years’ sowing ; mixed them all to¬ 
gether and sowed tho mixture, amounting to 
about one and one-half or two pounds. The 
varieties were Strap-Leaved Iled-Top, White 
Norfolk turnips, and porhaps some others. The 
seed was sow n about tho first of June. But 1 
thiulc the successful crop iu this case was due 
more to tho fresh, new soil than to the variety 
of seed sown. j. b. 
Freedom, Wla. 
Hedges. 
J. N. Williams, Crawford Co., Pa., intends 
to construct 300 rods of road and line fence in 
hedge, laud sandy loam, some black muck, very 
well drained, planted to potatoes last season, 
sod plowed previous fall. Ho asks as to the best 
Iciud, tbe manner of setting out, and whether it 
will pay. 
An«.—W o have already stated that except a 
first desideratum bo to turn stock, American Ar¬ 
bor-Vi tuc and Red-Cedar aro the best evergreen 
hedges in our opinion. For Crawford Co., Pa., 
wo should choose the Osage Orange for a decid¬ 
uous hedgo to turn animals. To raise from 
seed, souk tho seed in warm water for a day and 
retain in moist sand until sprouted, or they may 
bu kept in sand during tho whiter—thou sow iu 
well prepared soil iu drills made with a small 
plow,.and cover two inches. Hoo aud keep clear 
of weedd. Under favorable circumstances of 
growth they may be transplanted tho next spring, 
having been cut well back in the fall. For set¬ 
ting these plants in hedge-rows, break up the 
ground a foot or moro deep and eight or ten feet 
wide. The soil should bo made as uniform as 
possible in quality and thoroughly harrowed aud 
prepared. Draw a line through tho center and 
plant eight inches apart. The plants (one year) 
can be bought for £5.00 per thousand—Beeds $9 
per bushel. 
Miscellaneous. 
T. B. G., Cornwall, N. Y. —Will the Rural 
please give tho names of books, with their au¬ 
thors and publishers, that will instruct and 
benefit tho rural resident—treating of country 
lifo, its beauties, etc., showing the advantages 
and enjoyments of country town life—also how 
country places can be improved ? 
Ans.— The Art of Beautifying Suburban Home 
Grounds, by F. J. Scott, published by Appleton 
A Co.; Downing’s Landscape Gardening. An 
enumeration of tho hooks you indicate would fill 
half a columu. We advise you to send for cata¬ 
logues of Lee & Shepard, Lockwood, Brooks & 
Co. and Estes & Lauriat, Boston; G. P. Put¬ 
nam’s SonB and tho American News Co., Now 
York. 
K. IT., Hoopestown, 111, wishes to learu (1) Tbe 
average yield per acre, in pounds, of tho follow¬ 
ing essential oils: Wormwood, pennyroyal, win- 
tergreen, peppermint, mustard, tunzy and thyme, 
with suitable soil aud cultivation to produce at 
least an average crop. (2) Probable cost of a 
still for collecting tbe oil. (3) Whether tbe 
servioes of a chemist would bo necessary. (4) 
The name of a reliable work on tho subject. 
(5) Would such a business pay ? 
Ans. —(1) Some of our readers may kindly give 
the average yields per acre. (2) £50. (3) No, a 
mau of ordinary education and some intelligence 
could manage tbe matter with some little prac¬ 
tice. (I) Write to Vau Nostrand, publisher, N. 
Y. City. (5) This would depend on so many cir¬ 
cumstances that it would l*e imprudent for us to 
venture a prophesy. 
Hattie E. Mo O., West Jersey, III., wishes to 
learn whether, as a subscriber, she is uow enti¬ 
tled to share iu tho Rural distribution of flower 
seeds. 
Anh.— The free seed distribution for 1877 was 
limited to those who applied before Jan. 1st, 
1878. Tho next distribution will be announoed 
in the fall of this year. 
Isaiah Gale, Preslon, wishes to learn of a glass 
factory that makes pressed glass works—such as 
tumblers, etc. 
Ans. —Whitehall, Tatum & Co., New York. 
<7. D. Slcklln, Saratoga Co., N. Y., inquires 
where he can buy a hand machine for clipping 
horses ; also the rotary hand machine for shear¬ 
ing sheep. 
Ans.—A merican Shearer Co., Nusliua, N. II. 
J. D. G., Meadoille, Fa .— 1 am taking all 
the stumps from twenty aereB of land, from 
which the timber was cut ouc year ago—soil, 
sandy and clay loam. (1). 1 wish to crop it with 
oorn, potatoes, oats, buckwheat, and barloy. 
Some farmers tell me, tho three last, crops will 
lodge and caiiBe mo loss, as the ground ib too 
rich. (2). Can I raise beets, mangels and tur¬ 
nips successfully on soil so new ? 
Ans.— (1). Wo should try those crops on the 
cleared land. 
(2). Yes. 
Communications received for the week ending 
Saturday, March, 23d. 
A. 11. H.—T. W. C.—J. W. L.-E. N.-J. J.-L. S.— 
M. B. B, P. M.—It. N. B. — N. S.-J. E. McC.— 
L. A. H. — M. E. S.— W. F.— A. W. M. —“ Ross"— 
J. L. N.-ll. B. H.—M. D.—L. M. L.—M.—A. O. B., 
one “ Exchange” only a season—T. Ii. M. —II. H.— 
W. 11. W. — 11.0. — Dr. G. — J. M. — J.M.G. - 
F. L). O, 
NOTES FROM TEXAS. 
Harris Co., Tex., March 8. 
Spring-time is in full force here. Poaches 
and Plnms are shedding their blossoms; grape 
vines aro pushing. Taking the average tem¬ 
perature of tho past winter, it has been a rather 
cool one with prevailing rain-spells, though de¬ 
prived of its usual extremes. 
Vegetable gardens are in full trim. FirBt- 
planted potatoes are from six to eight inches 
high ; uo beetles as yet. Corn, beaus, cucum¬ 
bers, melons etc., are up and growiug uicely. 
Hardy vegetables exist iu every stage of growth, 
from the plant in tho seed-leaf to the one of full 
maturity. Tho woods aro ornamented with 
flowering shrubs and trees, such as the Flower¬ 
ing Dogwood (CoriniH florida), the Wild Peach 
or Cherry-Laurel (Pruuus Caroliniana), tho 
Virginian Fringe tree (Chiouanthus Virginlcft), 
the liedbud or Judas tree (Cercis Canadensis), 
the Yellow Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) 
and others. 
Oranges, too, begin to show their flower-buds. 
There prevails at present a fever here for those 
much coveted trees. Many of those that Btand 
in sheltered localities, have been, and are still, 
loaded with fruit. During the last six or seven 
years we did uot have any frost severo enough to 
kill the trees to tbe ground. Now, it takes an 
Orange tree, when once frozen down to tho 
roots, just about as long until its growth ma¬ 
tures sufficiently to bear fruit again, as it would 
one that had been started from seed at tho 
same time. Only one hard, olden-time frost 
will suffice to kill both—the trees and the 
mania for them—for at least half-a-dozen long 
years to come. 
Nothing in the lino of lmrdy flowering bulbs 
seems to do so well here as Hyacinths. The 
display they make at this time in some gardens 
is simply gorgeous. Far from degenerating 
they seem to improve from year to year, yielding 
iu succession sometimes from two to four, or 
even more, racemos of flowers so thickly loaded 
with pips, that they need support to keep them 
lip. It is the long season most congenial to 
their growth which they enjoy, that seems to 
produce this favorable result. If ono has once 
a start of them, he can multiply his slock with 
bnt very httlo trouble or attention, 
The Coco-grass (Cyperus Hydra), this pest of 
tho Southern Slates, 1 h spreading hero through 
field and garden at afearful rate. If it keeps ou 
iu Buch a way it will assuredly at last take pos¬ 
session of every nook and corner. It comes on 
in snob an unassuming maunor, that it takes the 
greatest watchfulness on tho part of the cautious 
farmer and gardener to make on it a goo.l, 
thorough onslaught at tho first signs of its ap¬ 
pearance. G. Marti. 
- - 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Denmark, Tuscola Co., Mich., March 13, 1878. 
Our old-fashioned winter has given us the 
slip this your. We have had uo sleighing and 
no cold winter weather ; but plenty of rain aud 
mud. Frogs have been singing for over a week. 
Snakes and butterflies aro in profusion, and 
worst of ail. mosquitoes arc so abundant as to be 
troublesome. Buch a winter never, was seeu by 
us in Northern Michigan, and every one is won¬ 
dering whether it will do to begin spring work iu 
consideration of tho “Jog to tho South.” 
Wheat looks well so far, despite unfavorable 
weather. Money scarce, work moro so, business 
not very brisk. Plenty to eat, uot much sick¬ 
ness and splendid preaching. Alpha. 
Brooks, Waldo Co., Me. 
Snow entirely gone from open laud. Travel¬ 
ing very had. March has been u month of raro 
mildness. We have had a truly Southern win¬ 
ter; this has helped out the haymows. Stock 
doing quite well. Hens havo laid all winter on 
account, of mild weather. We aro looking for a 
good hay and fruit crop the ooiuing season. Hay 
is worth $ If) to $14, pressed for market. Pota¬ 
toes from 20 to 40 cents. Most of lumbering 
teams and crows have come out of tho woods 
owing to roads and streams breaking up. Much 
lumbering baH been done. More wheat aud corn 
will bo planted the coming season than for 
many years past. Maine is trying to raise her 
own bread. She can soon. j. w. l. 
Galveston, Texas, March 11,1S78. 
I don’t remember having ever seen an “every¬ 
where " in tho Rural from this eitv. Yet next 
to New' Orleans it is iu reality the chief city on 
the Gulf. We have now' a population of 30,000, 
and the place, like the country hack of it, is con¬ 
stantly receiving settlers from Europe and still 
more largely from all other parts of tho South, 
while our northern accessions makeup iu energy 
and melius for their smaller number. This being 
a business letter 1 must close, but will write at 
greater length next week. f. m. c. 
Racine, Wla. 
We havo had a very open winter aud plenty of 
mud. The roads are now drying up, and flax 
which is our principal product, is coming 
into market and bringing good prices— from 
£1,25 to $1,50 per bushel. Our people aro feel¬ 
ing good, and looking forward to hotter times. 
Wo havo every prospect of a good fruit crop ; 
last year it waB a failure. b. 
West Jbkskv, Sturk Co., Ill. 
We aro having very mild weather for this 
month—moro like May than March. Fruit buds 
arc swelling, and grass will soon do to pasture if 
this weather continues. There is no frost in tho 
ground, nor has thoro boon for the last mouth. 
_ II. E. McO. 
Whitney’s Point, N. Y., March 18,1878. 
The weather has been very warm and spring¬ 
like during this month. Mud very deep. Tho 
last week of February and tho first week of this 
mouth wore good “sap weather.” Maple sugar 
is worth about 10 cts, a pound here, aud eggs 10 
contB per dozen. m. b. d. 
