428 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
JULY 6 
TABLE OF OONTEHTS, 
Practical Departments: 
Parisian CorresponOr'nec—Threbcr (Illustrated).. 421 
Drainage— Prof. K. C. Carpenter (Illustrated).421 
Study on the Farm—M. Oakey. 422 
Poetry on the Farm. Etc.—W. H. 1. 422 
Barley on Clover Sod- YV. J. Fowler............... 422 
Russian Apples In America—T. H. Hoskins, M. D, 422 
Fruit Trees for Ornament—Samuel B. Parsons... 423 
The Conitene Of California- Win. 0. L. Drew-424 
Harden Talks and Walks -Henoclaf. 424 
Strawberries—H. Uendrlcks.. . 424 
Jottings at Kirby Homestead—Col. F. l>. Curtis... 425 
Connect!out, Agricultural Experiment Station — 
8 W. Johnson.. 425 
Ann mil Fair List.-.42a 
A nswers to correspondents: 
Cranberry Culture. 
Chufas,..,. 
Ollllflowers... 
The Harlequin Potato . 
Drying Cows of their Milk ... 
Aphides on drupes. 
Miscellaneous...-. 
426 
42*! 
426 
42(1 
420 
426 
420 
Veterinary: 
Inquiries answered by D. E. Salmon, D. V. M. 
gpiain of Horse's Hip.420 
Parturition Fever.420 
Paralysis in Swine. 420 
lied Water. 4% 
Fistula in Horses.. . 42i 
Composition and Decomposition—8. llnfus Mason 427 
Getting ltid of the Cut-Worm, Etc.-B. Pickmau 
Mann.427 
Every inhere : 
Harris Co., Texas..... 
Cedar Mills, Minn... 
Warren Co , N. O. 
Rural Farm. 
Pou eh town, Pa. 
De Ruyter, N. Y... . 
Domestic Economy: 
427 
427 
427 
4!7 
427 
427 
The Kitchen Club among the Roses-Annie L. 
Jack. 
Rutter Making. 
Milk Palm. 
Domestic Recipes... 
(Queries Answered. 
Markets..... 
432 
432 
432 
432 
432 
433 
Editorial page: 
Individualit y and Selection. 
Crop Prospects. 
Brevities. .. 
Literary : 
Poetry.,....,. 
Cora... 
Recent Literature. 
A Parisian Beauty's Revenge. 
The Man in Scarlet—F. U. 
A Rolling Stone Gathers no Moss—J. L 
Women Help In Montana.... 
Good News lor Housekeepers. 
l’roity Hanging Baskets-Julia M. Yf... 
Kisses. 
Heading for the Young : 
Goats-of-Arins. 
Kidnapping a Sloth. 
A Japanese Newspaper. 
The Puzzler. 
428 
428 
428 
420, 432, 434 
.429 
.430 
.431 
.431 
. 431 
.431 
. 431 
.431 
.431 
434 
434 
434 
431 
Eabboth. Heading: 
" Rock of Ages”.. 434 
Personals.... 435 
Newsof the Week—Herman. 432 
Wit and Humor.434! 
Advertise nunts.....427. 433, 435, 436 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
PUBLISHED EVERT SATURDAY. 
RURAL PUBLISHING CO., 
78 Duane Street, New York City. 
SATURDAY JULY 6, 1878. 
Many of our old subscribers have written to 
ub requesting that we would sell them the 
Cricket Clock. Others have oomplaiued that 
tho offer (now withdrawn) was of advantage 
only to new subscribers. In order to satisfy all 
so far as we are able to do so, we have now the 
consent of the manufacturers of the clock to offer 
it to our subscribers—and to them only —until 
the 20th inst. at $1.75 each, delivered to the ex¬ 
press oflioe. 
INDIVIDUALITY AND SELECTION. 
None of our readers needs to be told 
that there are no two animals, even of 
the same breed, exactly alike—the fact is 
so apparent that it fails to excite either 
the interest or study which its importance 
would seem to warrant, for if we are not 
mistaken, these individual differences may 
and should, be made the basis for a great 
and rapid improvement of our live stock. 
It is not to external characters alone that 
we refer, but rather to internal functions, 
the activity of which decide the profit 
which an animal is to bring to its owner. 
With the same food, the same ration, the 
same surroundings, one of several ani¬ 
mals will digest a large per cent., another 
will make more live weight from a given 
amount digested, and still another will 
furnish a greater proportion of dressed 
carcass. Of a given number of cows 
under the same conditions, one will be 
conspicuous for her large yield of milk, 
another for the quantity of butter which 
she produces, and still another for the 
amount of casein. Consequently, among 
a given lot of animals we find some that 
are very profitable, others that scarcely 
pay for their keeping, and still others 
that are a source of certain and continual 
loss. 
If a merchant finds that he is paying 
more for a certain line of goods at one 
house than they can be bought for at an¬ 
other, he would be considered an incom¬ 
petent business man if he continued to 
buy at the former establishment; it is a 
part of his business to get his goods at 
the lowest rnarkot price, and inattention 
in this respect often makes the difference 
between success and failure. And is it 
any less the business of a farmer to see 
that he gets his butter and cheese, 
his wool, beef, mutton and pork from 
such animals as furnish it at the lowest 
cost ? It is self-evident that the greatest 
profit from animals can only be made by 
those who know at what price each one 
furnishes its products, who are particu¬ 
lar to keep only the most profitable indi¬ 
viduals, and who understand and practice 
the most certain methods of obtaining 
such animals. 
It is not necessary to keep an intricate 
system of accounts to discover tho profits 
yielded by individual animals, nor does it 
involve serious labor. Iu almost every 
farmer’s family there is some young per¬ 
son who would be interested in keeping a 
record of such experiments, and to whom 
the experience thus obtained would be 
of immense value in after years. If the 
relative profit of the cows in a butter 
dairy is to be determined, the food of eaoli 
should be carefully weighed and measured, 
and their milk, for a certain number of 
days, churned separately. It is then an 
easy matter to oompute the butter yielded 
per day, the cost of food per day, and the 
cost of the butter per pound. Of course, 
the time since calving should be taken in¬ 
to aooouut, and the mistake should not be 
made of limiting all the animals to a de¬ 
termined quantity of food, for butter is 
not manufactured from air, and it is those 
animals which have the capacity to eat, 
digest and transform the yrctUcvt quantity 
of food, which are the most profitable. 
Our breeding stock, above all, should 
be selected according to such principles. 
If breeding mutton-sheep or hogs, lambs 
and pigs should be regularly weighed 
once a month, and their weights recorded; 
if it is a ram or boar that is to be selected, 
we should, when they are from one-half 
to two-thirds grown, in addition to the 
above weighing, select three or four of 
the most promising, weigh their food, and 
determine the actual gain for a given 
quantity of food. We may rest assured 
that by following this plan we will soon 
have a uniform Hock or herd, and one 
that is capable of making the most of the 
conditions to which we subject them ; and 
no one can doubt that the profit from ani¬ 
mals bred in this manner would be far iu 
advance of what it would have been had 
no such care been practiced. 
This is practical selection, No farmer 
can afford to neglect it; and its general 
adoption would make an incalculable ad¬ 
dition to the value of our animals, and to 
the profits of our agriculture—an addition 
that would make all the difference be¬ 
tween an unremunerative business on the 
one hand, and a highly profitable one ou 
the other. 
-- 
CROP PROSPECTS. 
“ What will the harvest be?” is at all 
times au interesting question to the far¬ 
mer ; but especially so at this season 
when the attention paid to the gathering 
of the crops in each section, naturally 
begets a desire to know their condition 
elsewhere. Agricultural statistics col¬ 
lected from every part of the country give 
ample data for an approximate estimate 
of the yield of the various crops during 
the present year. 
Of the 120 million acres under the 
plow in the United States, 30 million 
acres were sown to wheat this year, an 
increase over the area sown to wheat last 
year, of fifteen per cent, for winter and 
eighteen per cent, for spring wheat. 
Of the entire yield from this area, about 
four-fifths are produced by twelve states, 
namely, Minnesota, Iowa, California, 
Missouri, Kansas, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illi¬ 
nois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, 
and Tennessee. A medium crop from 30 
million acres would be 360 million bush¬ 
els ; but the present will be more than a 
medium crop. At thirteen bushels per 
acre the yield would be 390 million 
bushels, and probably it will not fall 
short of this amount. But placing it at 
the low figure of 350 milliou bushels, 45 
millions will be needed for seed, and 235 
millions for borne consumption, leaving a 
surplus of at least 70 millions for expor¬ 
tation. 
Of corn, the great cereal crop of the 
country, there are under cultivation 
nearly 50 million acres, or about four- 
tenths of all the arable land iu the nation. 
Of this area Illinois alone has nine million 
acres and Wisconsin five millions. It is 
too soon yet to predict the yield of the 
present crop, but out West much of that 
planted early, rotted in the ground, or if 
up before the advent of storms and frost, 
a great deal of it has suffered severely, 
particularly on heavy soils, on which 
much of it is stunted and yellow. On the 
better drained lands, however, and on 
those well cultivated, the growth is vigor¬ 
ous and the outlook highly promising. In 
the South, also, a larger area than usual 
has boon sown to corn, and there an early 
and very favorable stand has been ob¬ 
tained. While the average relation of the 
yield to the exportation of wheat is about 
twenty per cent., only from three to five 
per cent, of tho corn produced here is ex¬ 
ported, and the price of the Latter, there¬ 
fore, depends much more directly than 
that of the former on the ratio between 
domestic demand and supply. 
The impetus given to cattle feeding, by 
the exportation of meat and live stock, 
will do far more towards keeping up the 
price of corn than any increase in the ex¬ 
portation of maize or corn-meal, although 
this too has been slowly augmenting. 
This increase, however, is scarcely de¬ 
sirable, as it can never amount to any 
considerable part of the crop, and there 
is greater profit, and much greater farm 
economy in the shipment of meat, lard, 
choese, butter, wool, and other concen¬ 
trated products of maize, than in the ex¬ 
portation of the grain itself. Since 1860, 
the area under corn has increased twenty 
million acres, and this year the prospect 
is for a fair rather than for an unusually 
good crop. 
The area under oats is greater than 
that under wheat, and stands next in ex¬ 
tent to that under com, while the annual 
value of the crop amounts to 100 million 
dollars. Its cultivation is constantly in¬ 
creasing, and about ten per cent, more 
laud has been planted to it this year than 
last, mostly in the West and South, 
Farmers, iu many places, have been cau¬ 
tious about cultivating this cereal on ac¬ 
count of its liability to rust, but of late 
years, by obtaining the principal growth 
in winter, harvesting it early, and es¬ 
pecially by carefully selecting acclimated, 
hardy, rust-proof varieties, this liability 
has been to a great extent avoided. The 
orop this year has, on the whole, been 
free from serious injury from rust or in¬ 
sects, and will be above the average. 
Of barley, California produces nearly 
one-third of the crop ; New York comes 
next, and in this State as well as iu Illi¬ 
nois and Iowa, the prospects for a large 
yield are not favorable, while in Min¬ 
nesota, Kansas and California the yield 
will be above the average. 
The prospects for an average crop of 
rye are fair—but little importance is at¬ 
tached to this product. 
The great yield of tobacco last year 
depressed prices so much that a small¬ 
er area has been this year planted to 
it, especially iu the Ohio valley. The 
weather has not been generally favorable 
to transplanting the “weed,” as heavy 
rains have interfered with the work. 
Still, the prospects for a remunerative 
crop are fair, as the decreased crop will 
tend to increase prices. 
The area planted to cotton is about 
three per cent, greater than in 1877. The 
crop was put in early; came up well; 
was promptly brought to a stand; is, on 
the whole, cleanly cultivated, vigorous, 
and iu better condition than at this time 
last year. In North Carolina and Tennes¬ 
see, however, the weather has been too 
cold, too much rain has fallen, and the 
orop is,therefore, somewhat backward,but 
is rapidly improving. 
The late frostB iu May seriously in¬ 
jured the fruit crops iu many places, so 
that, on the whole, the prospect iu this 
direction is Bomewhat unfavorable; still 
late advices indicate that the damage done 
is less than at first anticipated. 
- »* » — 
Rural Grounds, June 30.—The ground is 
moist — the weather hot. Melons grow like 
weeds and corn’s in clover. 
Thus far we have to report that Pearl Millet 
promises to be a failure with us, but the prom¬ 
ise may be broken later in the season. 
The last roes of Summer, is the appropriate 
melody for the June shad as she penetrates into 
shallow places to perpetuate the species. 
And now by tho aid of the microphone tho 
pleasing hum ’ of the mosquito will sound like 
the roar of a buzz-saw, Tho advantage of it is 
to stop emigration to New Jersey. 
In setting out late cabbage plants, it is better- 
to twist ofT the outside leaves, leaving only the 
central cnos. They cause needless evaporation, 
and delay the plant’s growth. 
Mr. A. 11. Cuandeut, answers a friend who in¬ 
quires whether wheat will turn into oliess, in tho 
affirmative, and even gives tho timo when tho 
change takes place, viz.: when two Sundays, 
come together. 
Seeds of Rutabagas or Swedes may still bo 
sown. A pound of seed is enough for an acre. 
Sow in driliB two feet or more apart, according 
to the richness of the soil, and thin out to teu 
inches in the drill. 
We hope, after all that has been said upon tho 
subject, that farmers will take pains to select 
the best corn for seed. The suggestion to plant 
a plot by itself for seed, removing all weakly 
plants or cutting olT the tassels before the pol¬ 
len ripens, seems worthy of gonoral trial. 
Last week it was stated in the Notes from the 
Rural Grounds that the plums (save one) of 
two plum trees wore not attacked by tho Cur- 
culio upon which our inBect preparation had 
been used. We havo now to state that many of 
the plums have boon attacked. Wo merely stated 
what seemed a fact at that time, which has since 
proved otherwise. The Curculio is a little 
rogue ! But we still contend that the mixture, 
prepared and applied as directed, is excellent for 
the other insects. 
It is usual to plant throe or four times as 
many melon seeds in a hill as would be needed 
if all were to grow, so as to provide against the 
destruction of the cut-worm. As soon as they 
are out of Buch danger, it is better, as we have 
stated, to out off at the surface of the ground 
with a pair of scissors, tho plants not needed., 
than to pull them up as is the common practice. 
It does not disturb the roots of thoBC which re¬ 
main. On the contrary, tho decaying roots, 
afford, no doubt, au appreciable amount of food. 
Now is a good time to begin the propagation, 
of hardy shrubs by layering. Select the lowest 
branches, strip off all but tho terminal loaves 
and ascertain by bonding tho stem where it will 
bury in tho ground. Iu that place scoop out the 
soil as if to insert an earthen bowl—bend tho 
branch into it and while holding it down, cover 
it with enough earth to keep it in place. lie- 
move the other hand and HU in compactly. Na 
forks or anything of the kind will be needed. 
Next spring the layer will be found well-rooted 
and may be transplanted whore it is to remain. 
Fob Tomato-stakes wo use stems of young 
trees varying from one to two inches in diameter 
the larger cud wedge-shape so as to enter the 
ground more readily. These wo provide from 
the woods during the winter. Three, set tri¬ 
angularly and diverging upwards, suffice for 
each plant. Cheap, coarse cord is then tied 
about these stakes horizontally as the growth 
of the plauts renders it necessary. Some sup¬ 
port of this sort is indispensable in a well-kept 
garden, and wo have found the abov e as simple 
and effectual as any other. 
PnoBADLY the Green Prolific Cucumber is the 
best variety to plant now for winter pickles. 
Beans, if picked when one-third grown, make 
excellent pickles and may be preserved in brine, 
the some as cucumbers to be pickled in vinegar, 
at auy time daring tho winter. For this purpose 
the Golden Dwarf varieties are among the most 
tondor. Asparagus, the tender shoots of Bni6- 
seis-sprouta, Broccoli, young beets, and even, 
those of tho Chinese Tam, are all available for 
pickloB. Young tomatoes, an inch in diameter, 
and Strawberry Tomatoes, make fine pickles, and 
may be placed in jnrs the same as canned fruits. 
In the garden, old pea, or worn-out straw¬ 
berry beds may bo manured and prepared for 
celery, a vegetable .that farmers would do well 
to cultivate a hundred times more than they do. 
Trench-planting is not so muoh in favor as in 
years past, many preferring to ubo dwarf varie¬ 
ties, setting them on tho surface and earthing 
up later. In Washington Market, New York, 
the dwarf varieties are sold almost entirely. 
The leaves and outsido green stalks are cut off, 
leaving only the white, tender parts of each root. 
Retail purchasers prefer them thus prepared. 
They are more easily carried and are, after wash¬ 
ing, ready for tho table. 
AN OVERSIGHT. 
Otjr excellent contemporary, the Maine 
Farmer, speaks of “Au English Keeog- 
nitionof American Agriculture,” and re¬ 
fers to "what Mr. J. B. Lawes, the great 
experimental farmer of Rothamsted, En¬ 
gland, says of our wonderful change® in 
agriculture. But it gives the London 
Farmer credit for the long article from 
which the editor of the Maine Farmer 
takes his notes. The article in question 
was copied from the Rural New-Yorker 
and duly credited by the London Farmer. 
See Rural, April 6 . We are surprised, 
first, that our contemporary did not read 
the article iu this journal, and, second, 
that it did not observe the credit which 
the London Farmer gave to us. 
- - -- 
BREVITIES. 
The best vegetables for undrained lands— 
Leeks. 
“ The true investigation of Nature leads to 
God.” 
How would it answer to call the report of the 
Potter Committee “Tho Book of Revelations?” 
We would impress it upon our readers that if 
poultry-runs and houses ever require care, they 
require it during the hot season. Our largest 
poultry- house has a cement floor. As often as 
twice a week the droppings are hoed into aheap, 
thrown into barrels and covered with a little 
earth. These are removed when tilled. As 
often as every two weeks kerosene is poured 
through a flue nozzle along the porches and into 
all crevicos where vermin accumulate. A small 
quantity of sulphur is sometimes mixed with 
fine ooal-ash siftings for dusting baths. It is a. 
good deal of trouble to give poultry the steady 
attention which they need at this season. But 
if it pays to keep poultry at all, we are confident 
it pays to give them this unremitting care. 
It is folly longer to talk of the “ dreaded po¬ 
tato beetle.” Tho notes wo havo published 
from time to time, for the most part in jest, 
partly in earnest, that it was really the poor 
man’s friend and had done more than anything 
else for potato culture, are not without a smat¬ 
tering of truth. Tho potato beetle is au indolent 
and a stupid enemy, and by a united action ou 
tho part of those who raise potatoes, could be 
substantially wiped out in a single season. 
Speaking for ourselves, plant-lioe (Aphides) have 
postered us more than auy other insects, and 
more the present season Ilian over before. 
Every growing shoot of every Cherry tree is 
alive with them. The loaves become blackened, 
curled and dried up. It is so with Plums and 
Apples and many ornamental trees and shrubs. 
