JULY 43 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
444 
and strength. In the big kitchen-garden are 
herbs of all kinds; not only sage, fennel, pen¬ 
nyroyal, carraway, and the rest, but stately, 
Palma Christi, nodding poppies, and tall gold- 
hearted lilies that yield a healing salve. In the 
front yard are Monthly Roses of tree-like propor¬ 
tions, Althmas, Privet and Virgins’-bower." In 
the long winter nights you hear the spinning- 
wheel buzzing till eleven o’clook, and the knit¬ 
ting needles clicking in tireless fingers. Before 
bed-time you aro treated to mellow apples, wal¬ 
nuts and hickory-nuts, dry and sweet. 
In the glowing firelight you look around the 
room and see long strings of red pepper, 
bunches of hyssop and tansy and numerous 
small bags of seed hanging on the walls, There 
are the piles of light-wood knots in tho corner, 
the great fire-place filled with burning logs, and 
you sit up late, enjoying tho stories your host 
tells of his grandfather’s dayH, when the women 
picked the seed out of tho cotton with their 
fingers, and the happy owner of a bale of cotton 
hauled it a hundred miles to market, or trundled 
his hogshead of tobacco that far for a buyer— 
the gcod old days, when 20 lbs. of sugar and 
coffee constituted a year's supply, being only 
used on Sunday. 
Virginia Durant Covington. 
— « ♦♦ - 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Dallas Co., Ala., June 28, 1878, 
We had a very wet spell some time back, but 
about a week ago it cleared up and the weather 
is now fine for getting the cotton cleaned out. 
The prospect never was better for a good crop. 
We have had fine seasons so far. Corn and cot¬ 
ton look well, and we have had a fine oat crop; 
some say it was the best ever raised in this 
county. I grow no cotton; the great drawback 
here is that they plant too much cotton and not 
near enough of corn. If the people would raise 
corn and meat to “ do ” them, this would be a fine 
country. They plant more cotton, however, than 
they can attend to, and have to buy their moat 
and corn. They say they cannot raise hogs here, 
but it is a mistake: they can raise anything here 
that can be raised in the West. There is not 
so much stealing as there was a few years ago. 
Jas. Mullen. 
Quebec, July 1st, 1878. 
We have four Pelargoniums from a package of 
seed seut by the Rural this spring, and all our 
seeds did very well. I think Pelargoniums the 
most satisfactory of plants, and have quite a 
fancy for them this season; and the children 
feel the same way. If they have money to 
spend, they do not say, “ I will buy candy," but 
always : “ I shall buy a plant /” even little Three- 
year-old, getting ten cents the other day, handed 
it to me to buy a plant for her garden. 
A. L. J. 
Sherman, Cliuatauqua Co., N. Y„ July 4. 
Weather warm, and with frequent showers. 
Everything growing finely. Grass looking well 
and with prospects of a good hay crop. Fine 
warm weather for corn. Potatoes, 60 cents per 
bushel; butter, 14@ 16 cents; cheese, 8}£@11 
cents per pound; eggs, 0 cents per doz. Haying 
will be commenced immediately. Quail are 
agaiu heard in this section. Travel to the well- 
known summer resort, Chautauqua Lake, has 
commenced. M. L. Dorman. 
PARISIAN CORRESPONDENCE. 
Paris, June 2lat, 1878. 
The French Exhibition is under the special 
auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture whose 
chief, M. Teisserenc me Bort, has been men¬ 
tioned, in a former letter, as taking a prominent 
part in the opening ceremonies. It is but natu¬ 
ral therefore that the agricultural interests of tho 
country should be largely represented, and, as a 
matter of fact, uo department of French indus¬ 
try occupies so much space or receives more at¬ 
tention thau that which relates to agriculture 
and allied pursuits. 
Of the latter, the department of forestry re¬ 
ceives special attention, and in a handsome 
wooden building devoted to it on the Trooadero 
Bide of the Seine, is a fine display of materials 
and completed utensils made of wood together 
with a collection of the various tools and appli¬ 
ances used in manufacturing the article. More 
important still is the exhibit of plans, photo¬ 
graphs and models illustrative of the planting 
and culture of forests, the management of moun¬ 
tain streams, and the reclamation of dunes and 
sand wastes along the sea-shore. A great part 
of the fuel used in France consists of oharooal 
or timber in some form, and both on this ac¬ 
count, the general importance of timber for 
manufacturing purposes, and the destruction as 
well as destitution caused in past times by sud¬ 
den floods aud prolonged droughts due to the 
wasteful denudation or timber lands on moun¬ 
tain aud plain, great attention is now bestowed 
on forestry by the Government. Before a tree 
growing even on a steep mountain side, can be 
cut down iu Franoe, a permit must bo obtained 
from an oflioial of the department of forestry 
and arrangements in most cases be made to set a 
younger tree in its place. Nor is it considered 
enough that trees shall grow where trees have 
grown before, but constant efforts are being 
made to win from the mountain, the sea and the 
desert waste, new space for the cultivation of 
timber trees. 
In this connection, there is a very complete 
sketch of the drainage effected, several years 
ago, in the Landes of Gascony. This flat tract 
of country towarde the Spanish frontier, was an 
arid waste with two feet of sandy soil, beneath 
which was an impermeable subsoil. Winter rains 
converted it into a sea of mud; summer beats 
transformed it into a desert fertile only in fevers. 
Iu this land 1375 miles of small canals were con¬ 
structed, pine trees were liberally planted, and 
now 460,000 acres of communal lands bear a 
forest worth, at a low estimate, .$16,000,000, 
while the value of trees on nearly 850,000 acres 
belonging to private individuals, amouuts to 
about $27,000,000. All this work has been done, 
too, at the expense of 162 communes, or par¬ 
ishes, without any cost to the Government. 
Moreover, the land already Bold after drainage 
has netted the proprietors upwards of $1,600,- 
000, half of which has been expended in erect¬ 
ing sohools, churohes and other public buildings, 
while the other half has been laid aside as a 
reserve fund. 
Another set of interesting models consists of 
a pair, showing the aspect of a valley before and 
after government had taken measures for con¬ 
trolling the water and replanting the denuded 
moimtaiu sides. One of these models shows the 
barren, stony gorge, half-choked with boulders 
and rubbish, the bare base-rock from which 
fierce torrents have swept the soil, with here and 
there a ragged tree, clinging solitary to tho wind¬ 
swept slopes—a scene of ruin and desolation. 
In tho second is seen the same valley, with im¬ 
mense dams of masonry constructed at in¬ 
tervals across it, and between these smaller 
dams, or steps, made of facines, bedded in 
stones and banked at both ends with clay. The 
rock-ribbed hillsides are covered with soil, kept 
from slipping by rows of stakes, buudles of fa- 
cines, aud low hedges, while on every available 
yard waves a vigorous young tree. The brook is 
no longer a capricious torrent, half-dry in sum¬ 
mer, and in winter a furious flood, sweeping 
away the soil and covering the lowlands with 
gravel and debris, but is now a steady stream, 
pouring a sparkling tide over its many cascades, 
and bearing health and fertility to the plains be¬ 
low, There are also a number of other models, 
all representing, not imaginary theories of how 
■vuch feats might be accomplished, but actual 
vorks already successfully completed; and be¬ 
side these, are hundreds of photographs showing 
all the Jdetails of the works, the camps of the 
workmen, the young plantations set ont in ter¬ 
race above terrace up the mountain side, the 
disposal of the facines for retaining the soil 
until the growth of the trees should hold it per¬ 
manently, the culverts, and the present genial 
aspect of the woodland, ornamenting aud enrich¬ 
ing tho mountain side. 
It's nearly & week since the close of the great 
International Cattle Show, held iu connection 
with the Exhibition on the Esplauade of the 
Iuvalides, a large open space skirting the Ave¬ 
nue which runs past the splendid retreat of the 
disabled veterans of France. Here some forty 
lofty and spacious sheds accommodated the cat¬ 
tle ; while sheep, pigs, and ponltry were penned 
in at each end, under rows of umbrageous trees. 
The number of French exhibitors was 856, while 
there were in the foreign classes, 145 from Great 
Britain; 39 from Belgium: 12 from Holland; 12 
from Italy; 9 from Switzerland; 2 from Den¬ 
mark, and 1 from Portugal. Some of these had 
each on show a large number of animals iu sev¬ 
eral classes. It is a common opinion among 
Americana that for the highest type of cattle for 
meat or milk, recourse must be bad to British 
breeds exclusively, but au inspection of the 
splendid animals here exhibited, might well ac¬ 
count for the fact that thiH opinion is by no 
means common among those who are nearer 
neighbors to Great Britain and have ampler op¬ 
portunities of comparing her Htoek with those 
which are esteemed most highly elsewhere. 
Among the French cattle, the Normans were the 
most numerous aud various in form and color, 
but all robust, quiet and excellent milk and beef- 
producers ; the Charolaise, however, were by far 
the most beautiful, with white silky coats, fine 
heads, laige gentle eyes, cylindrical bodies, fa¬ 
mous for their fattening qualities, but indiffer¬ 
ent milkers. There were also some fine speci¬ 
mens of the Gascon, Garonuaise, Bazadaise, Pon- 
thenaise, Pyrenees, aud Breton breeds, each of 
which is a popular strain in one or another part 
of sunny France. French Short-horns, lineal 
and indirect descendants of English Durhams, 
were likewise largely represented, and bore 
away a goodly share of prizes. Twelve fine 
Merinos from the RainbouiUet flock, were exhib¬ 
ited by the Government, but did not, of course, 
compete for prizes. This flock serves as a uur- 
Bery for French and foreign breeders, the race 
having been kept pure from its first importation 
from Spain towards the end of the last century. 
Within the last flfteou years considerable modifi¬ 
cation, however, haB been made by selection in 
the Jleece, form and capacity for fattening of 
the animals, on account of the lower price for 
wool and the higher price for mutton. There 
were about 250 Merinos also exhibited by private 
parties, chiefly from the south of Franoe. 
Among the crosses which the French have made 
with the Merino, that with the Dishley or New 
Leicester, seems to be the most successful, eight 
out of sixteen prizes for cross-breeds having 
fallen to the lot of this class. 
Of British Short-horns, there were 25 entries ; 
of Herefords, only two; one of which, a fine 
bull from the Queen's herds, took a first prize. 
There were no entries of Channel Island cattle ; 
only twt of Ayrshires; five of polled cattle, in¬ 
cluding Norfolk and Highlaud; three of Kerry, 
and the same number of Longhorns. A very 
liberal quota of prizes aud honorable mentions 
fell to the lot of the exhibitors of these animals, 
the Short-horns, of course, bearing oil the ma¬ 
jority of them. Of English sheep, the best ex¬ 
hibit was Lord Walsingham’s South Downs, 
which won the prize for the best exhibit in the 
foreign department, besides tbree first prizes for 
particular sheep. The Oxford and Hampshire 
Downs also were well represented, the former 
bearing off three prizes and the latter one. The 
Leicesters aud Lincolns won two prizes each, 
while with the Cotswolds Mr. Swanwick of Ci¬ 
rencester, bore away all the prizes, two breeders 
only having ventured to compete with him. 
The Dutch made a very fine display of large— 
somo monstrously large—cattle as elegant in 
shape as such mountains of flesh could well be, 
while the cows have a reputation for milk second 
to none in tho show. The Danish cattle also 
were very flue, one exhibitor, a Danish count, 
bearing off several prizes. Little Switzerland 
had fifty head of cattle on exhibition, splendid 
animals every one of them, mostly from the 
Cantons of Schwytz and Simmenthal. 
The awards of prizes at the poultry show was 
attended with the caviling, discontent, and hints 
at unfairness and prejudice apparently insepara¬ 
ble from the bestowal of awards in such com¬ 
petitions. Here the French made not only far 
away the largest but, it is generally couoeded, 
also the best display. In no country is there 
made from ponltry a tithe of the - money which 
the thrifty and abstemious Gallic peasantry 
economize from this source. Doubtless more 
eggs and chickens, even iu proportion to your 
greater population, are eaten in the United 
States, but more eggs and pnllets are exported 
from France, and bring into the country every 
year a very large amount of capital. Chicken 
for breakfast or dinner is by no means an un¬ 
common dish on the poor man’s week-a-day 
table across the Atlantic, but here among the 
peasantry who own thousands of them, such a 
repast v.ould be considered an extravagance j usti- 
fiable only by the occurrence of a wedding or 
some other memorable fete. The French classes 
were very large. Of Creve-cinurs there were 
eighty-five cocks and eighty-two lots of hens; 
of lloudans 80 cocks and 70 lots of hens; of 
La Fleche 50 entries in each class; of the breeds 
of La Mans and La Brease a smaller quantity; 
aud an innumerable swarm of mongrels and 
provincial types. For table poultry tho French 
breed boues extraordinarily small, and they are 
strong in the belief that crosses with Asiatics 
spoil table-fowls. Coohins, Brahmas, Dorkings, 
Hamburgs, Spanish, Game, Russian, Malays, 
Polish, aud Paduans, all had hosts of admirers, 
especially the latter, which certainly are truly 
magnificent fowls. Most of the foreign poultry 
was English, but despite the fact that the ex¬ 
hibitors have been accustomed to win prizes 
easily at home, but few fell to their share here ; 
and of the small number of prize-winners one of 
the most successful was Mr. Belden, of Biugley, 
whose home was well described by the graphic 
peu of a Rural correspondent about a year 
ago. Threbeh. 
-♦-*- ♦- 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NURSERYMEN’S 
CONVENTION. 
The proceedings of the Nurserymen’s Conven- 
tiouheld iu Rochester, June 19-21, to which we 
have already referred several times, were of an 
unusually interesting character. Mr. Meehan 
thinks that the falling off of the interest iu the 
adornment of the grounds of country homes, is 
in a measure due to the fact that people of 
wealth devote more time to summer travel and 
to visiting places of summer resort than in years 
gone by, and, in consequence, less time is left 
for horticultural improvement. Of course, the 
nursery business suffers accordingly. 
During the war and for several years after, 
the grand rush for oountry places accessible to 
New York aud other large cities, is fresh in the 
memory of all. Hundreds of villages sprang up 
along the linos of rail-roadH aud bits of land 
were sola for fabulous prices. All of these new 
homes were planted with shrubs and trees and 
the nursery business was flourishing. The tide 
is uow the other way. Many of thoBe new homos 
are not now worth the sums for which a good 
share ware mortgaged. All out-door embellish¬ 
ments aro at an eud. Never before iu the history 
of this oountry was ornamental planting carried 
on to such au extent as during the period just 
referred to. Perhaps we might say the Bame of 
fruit planting, The ijepresaiou of busiuoss now 
experienced is felt most where it was most over¬ 
done. After a season of rest, and it has already 
experienced quite a loug one, we trust that the 
interest in the adornment of all country homes, 
which we are confident is ever on the increase In 
our new country, will again manifest itself as 
vigorously as ever aud that those nurserymen 
who in the past have served their patrons most 
faithfully, will be those to reap a full measure 
of benefit. 
®{|£ fiiwptfr. 
GRAFTING GRAPE VINES. 
That the thing can be done I know, for I 
have done it myself and employed others to do 
it, and I doubt not that it can. be done success- 
for it is so stated on good authority, but of 
the latter I have no ocular proof except in the 
following cases. 
In the early days of the Iona and Isabella 
grapes, I obtained two of each by joining a club 
and paying ten dollars and express charges. 
The next season I bought some 50 to 100 for 
myself and others at a less price, and paid about 
five and a half dollars express charges on 
the package which might possibly weigh fifty 
pounds. 
In due time the first four bore fruit of tho ex¬ 
pected color, and the next season several of the 
thirty I had planted for myself, fruited, and 
among the Ionas was one which bore black fruit. 
So I could not but conclude that through my 
own carelessness one of the Isabellas had gut 
misplaced. Well, time went on, and the vinos 
grew apace, most especially this misplaced 
black one, aud as I saved cuttings from the 
most thrifty and propagated for my own use, I 
soon had quite a row of bearing Isabellas but 
they did not fully answer my expectations iu 
flavor. About the year 1874 a neighbor’s atten¬ 
tion was attracted by the superior vigor of this 
one misplaced Isabella vine, and, on examina¬ 
tion, pronounced it a Concord, which I was very 
ready to admit as a fact, when I came to ex¬ 
amine it. The next season, as I was showing a 
friend a row of fine Isabellas bearing their first 
crop, he thought they looked like Concords. 
Bure enough! their every feature showed it. 
As to the first four vines, one of the two Isa¬ 
bellas yearly bears a light cri p true to name, the 
other bears a fine crop of Clintons; and of the 
two Ionas, one bears Concords. Now I do not 
accuse the seller of these vines of fraud, or 
even of making mistakes: I think these first 
f ur vines bore for a time honest fruit, but as I 
have been iu the habit of training up a new 
stock from the root when the old one becomes 
weak, I conclude that is what happened in these 
cases. The Isabella has ever been with me a 
feeble affair and in this way do I account for the 
fact that every vine that I have propagated 
from what I supposed Isabella parents, has thus 
far borne Concord grapes. True, I have plant¬ 
ed cuttings from true Isabellas, but the sequel 
shows that they all failed. So I have little faith 
in my own ability to graft grape vines success¬ 
fully. S. B. Peck. 
it Ilf (uartnt. 
PEA NOTES. 
Te as differ so much in different soils and with 
different modes of culture, that a good idea of 
their relative earliness cannot be got from a 
single experience like that given in “ Notes from 
the Rural Grounds," p. 410. This day. June 29, 
we have had our first mess from Little Gom, 
planted April 10. Our earliest pea—the Magog 
Early, a cross by the writer of Carter's First 
Crop on Dan O’Rourke, aud the product again 
crossed with Little Gem—planted the same day, 
is now getting too hard, so that Little Gem 
forms a perfect sueoessiou. The American 
Wonder, also planted April 10, is not distinguish¬ 
able, as to maturity, from the Little Gem, 
wherein it disappoints me. In growth it is 
more dwarf, and in productiveness not superior; 
quality not yet tested; but I ask for nothing 
better than Little Gem. AU were planted five 
inches deep iu a moderately light loam; ex¬ 
posure, a slight southerly slope; the peas fol¬ 
low corn, being but lightly manured. The 
American Wonder very much resembles the 
Little Gem as 1 first had it, grown from im¬ 
ported seed. After six or eight generations in 
Northern Yermont, it has increased in growth of 
vine, average length of pod, aud productiveness, 
with no loss of quality. One-fourth of the pods 
carry eight poas, I have a lato pea that stands 
heat weU, does not mildew, is a great bearer of 
long, large pods, the peas of fine quality. Name 
and origin unknown to me, having received it 
from a neighbor who got it iu the same way. 
without history. T. H. Hoskins, M. D. 
Orleans Co., vt. 
The Telegraph Pea is among the most lauded 
by London horticultural journals. We received 
seeds of this variety from the Messrs. Thobbukn, 
though rather late to give them a fair trial. 
