§04 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
f ontological, 
VERY EARLY PEACHES. 
There seems to bo no limit to the number of 
new varieties of very early poaches. Fifteen 
years ago, “ Troth’s Early Red ” was the earliest 
peach known to American peach orchards, but 
following immediate'y upon the close of the re¬ 
bellion, as the country was settling down to sow¬ 
ing and reaping again, the planters of peach 
orchards were introduced to the merits of the 
wonderful “ Hale's Early "—two weeks earlier 
than any other peach known to cultivators. As 
the old adage runs, “ Every dog has his day, 
etc.’’, so the Ilale’s Early had its day. 
The gain in season secured by the Hale’s, in 
comparison with the Troth’s Early, created no 
little enthusiasm among peach growers; but 
when the startling intelligence skips across the 
Atlantic that a peach three weeks earlier than 
Hale's Early—one a better shipper, and wholly 
free from that rotting on the trees, that made 
the Hale’s unpopular with many—is an unmis¬ 
takable reality; then, and not till then, do 
American peach growers catch the “very early 
peach" distemper in its worst form. Early 
Beatrice sliared the thoughts, conversation, aud, 
I have no doubt, the dreams of thousands of 
speculators; and while large gains from the sale 
of trees stand out as a fact, the “ day ” of Beatrice 
was not a long one; for American enterprise, 
stung with remorse at being canght napping by 
tl is “ English precocity" staggers the Beatrice, 
and drives iuto oblivion the Early Louise and 
Rivers’ with the Alexander ; and before growers 
have time to decide fairly between Beatrice and 
Alexander, news of the Amsden's Juno—still 
earlier aud better (?) is spread everywhere. 
Nor does it stop here; for to-day noarly every 
county in the United States boasts of one or 
more new kinds of peaches earlier than Hale’s 
Early. 
It occurs to me, that if any one thing pertain¬ 
ing in any way to fruit growing, is thoroughly 
and completely overdone, it is this “ Early-peach 
business.” Take away from “ the growers " of 
the country at largo all kinds known to ripen in 
advance of Troth's Early, and where, I ask, 
would there be any loss outside of what has 
already been expended for trees at high prices, 
tillage, etc ? True' we now and then hear of 
isolated instances where handsome profits have 
been realized from Hale’s, but these instances 
are only the exceptions to the rule; and while 
wo had first-class testimonials iu large Bupply, 
establishing the uuequaled merits of the Beat¬ 
rice as a shipper, the facts to-day are greatly at 
variance with testimonials of commission mer¬ 
chants. Five years back, Alrxander, Amsden 
and Honeywell, were each claimed to be earlier 
aui larger than Beatrice; hut the facts here are 
at variance with the claims, as it would even 
puzzle the venerable Downing to tell one 
from the other, if indiscriminately thrown to¬ 
gether in a basket; but then, in conclusion, it 
iH a relief to know that “Peaches three weeks 
earlier tiian Hale’s Early ” (as a business), have 
about all had their “day." J. W. Kerr. 
Caro.lne Co., Md. 
THE TEUTH ABOUT IT. 
[Under this heading, a number of articles 
have been prepared by able writers. These will 
appear from time to time. Their object is not 
at all to deal with “humbugs”—but with the 
many unconscious errors that creep into the 
methods of daily couutry routine life.— Eds.] 
FRAUD. 
It is claimed to be a matter of history that 
the nations which engage in war, as a conse¬ 
quence demoralize their people, rendering life 
and property less sacred aud secure among 
themselves. It is claimed, too, that with the 
increase of population in a given area, there is 
also an increase of dissolute and vagabond 
habits, poverty, and hunger and the whole cat¬ 
alogue of crimes. 
Whether all this be true or not, we can hardly 
fail to see that ever since the commencement of 
our late war, peculations, robberies and mur¬ 
ders have been more frequent than over before 
in our nation’s history. Even after making 
due allowance for the increased facilities for 
transmitting news, by which the people are 
more generally informed of passing events, we 
oannot resist the conviction that we as a nation 
are going downward in immorality and orime, 
and that most conspicuous on the list of in¬ 
creased evils is fraud. Aside from the frauds 
which we as individuals see in our own neigh¬ 
borhoods, such as cheating in selling property, 
adulteration in food aud medicine, new and 
worthless utensils, enticing lut worthless 
patent rights, over-puffed fruits and vegeta¬ 
bles, newly named hut old and long discarded 
varieties, scrub stock under the fascinating 
names of genuine improvements j our news¬ 
papers are filled with accounts of gigantic frauds 
in high life. Doubtless many of these accounts 
are gotten up for political effect, but too many 
of them have come to light and been verified 
for us to disbelieve that there are continually 
going on, frauds in banks and insurance com¬ 
panies, incendiarism of over-insured property 
as well as for plunder, defaulting treasur¬ 
ers, frauds in elections and on duties, smug¬ 
gling frauds and whiskey frauds, and frauds 
either in the election of the National President, 
or in the gigantic efforts being made to make 
it appear so. 
Among the minor frauds none is more exten¬ 
sive and more prejudicial to the health and well¬ 
being of the community—than quack medicines 
and quack remedies—These are doubly evil be¬ 
cause hidden under the semblance of good, and 
doubly baneful from appealing directly to the 
credulity of the credulous public, and especially 
to those already afllioted with disease. Not that 
all are bad in themselves, hut that all are ex¬ 
tortionate in price, and that their patrons dis¬ 
cover their good or bad qualities at the peril of 
health and life. 
The remedies for frauds are detection and 
exposure in their early stages. The press is the 
greatest engine of exposure, and if the people 
will patronize and sustain this mighty engine, 
they may, they can, and they will .reap a rich 
reward in this one item of being thus shielded 
against frand. When we read of the many 
cases of “confidence games” wo know for a 
dead certainty that the victims “ didu't take the 
papers.” Vieillard. 
-♦ ♦ ♦- 
CIDER VINEGAR, AND SUGAR FROM SU¬ 
GAR BEETS. 
Sooar Beets are a crop very easily raised, and 
in good soil the produce is abundant. All cattle 
are fond of the leaves which add much to the 
milk of cows, without giving it that bad taste 
which is unavoidable when they are fed with 
turnips or cabbages, and which is chiefly owing 
to the greater rapidity with which the latter 
undergo the putrefactive fermentation. 
The seed is sown in drills 20 to 24 inches apart., 
and thinned out to the distance of 8 to 12 inches 
from plant to plant in the rows. Fr nn four to 
six pounds of seed are reqnired per acre, and 
they should be steeped for 48 hours bof< re plant¬ 
ing ; the best depth for doing this, is from tbroe- 
fonrths of an inch to an inoh ; the culture is similar 
to that of carrots or parsnips, aud the cost for seed, 
labor and fertilizers will amount to about $40 
per acre. The yield, according to the quality of 
the land, the fertilizer used and the cultivation 
bestowed, will he from 400 to 800 bushels per’ 
acre, and the last has been greatly exceeded. 
Analyses show that 1,000 lbs. of sugar beets con¬ 
tain 184 lbs. dry substances, 1.00 nitrogen, 7 10 
ashes, 3 914 potash, 0.379 lime, 0 536 magnesia, 
0.780 pbos. acid. In manufacturing these ele¬ 
ments are distributed as follows: 
Tops tind Bot¬ 
toms. . 
= £' 1 
rfj £ ** 
S I Y 
ihsi z 
u 1 
Q * A 
Ashes. 
• 
jg, 
*0 
a 
w 
li 
a 
3 
.2? 
‘to 
© 
Q 
2 
1 
ii 
i © 
18 0 24 1 15 
o:t:«i 
0.108 
0.152 
0.144 
Fiber. 
40 0.14 
1.71 
0..V5 
0.280 
0.100 
6 105 
lie fuse. 
24 10.re 
1.20 
0.280 
8.640 
0.250 
0.0-0 
Mulii sues. 
25j0.::2 
2.17 
1.741 
0.141 
0.000 
0.015 
Sugar. 
85 : - 
0.57 
0.872 
O.oiO 
0.072 
After harvesting the roots are first topped, 
then washed and pulped in a grater, and pressed 
to extract the juice. 
SO lbs. pressure to the Rq. in. oxt’s. GO p cent, of juice. 
80 “ “ “ “ " M “ 
400 " “ " “ " 75 " 
750 “ •* “ “ “ 80 ** " 
Twenty-four pounds of pulp for every 100 
square inches of press surface is the best pro¬ 
portion to use. The cider press and grater, 
marie by the Boomer A Boschcrt Prosa Co., of 
Syracuse, N. Y., is worked by power, and has a 
capacity with the labor of two men of grating 
and pressing 725 bushels of beets per day, of HI 
hours, and yields 3,625 gallons of juice. 
The press aud grater cost $510, and require 
less than six-horse power to run them, and the 
press is the best and cheapest there is for this 
use. The ordinary cider press will answer, hut 
it costs more to run it, and not as much juice is 
obtained on account of its not being able to pro¬ 
duce us mnch pressure as the other. 
One bushel of sugar beets, mixed with nine 
bushels of apples, makes a cider richer aud of 
snporior flavor to that made from apples alone. 
Sugar beet jnice can be converted into vinegar 
in the same manner cider now is; it makes a 
stronger vinegar than cider does, of an equally 
good but different flavor, and, if treated the same 
way as maple sap or sorghum juioe, it will yield 
a good article of brown sugar, and all of this 
not used by the producer in the brown stale, 
would be readily purchased to be refined, by the 
refineries already established. 
To refine sugar requires costly machinery, 
such as vacuum pans, centrifugal machines, filt¬ 
ers of bone coal, etc., and also skilled labor ; but 
the manufacture of sugar from beet juice, re¬ 
quires only the evaporating pan and t he addition 
of some lime to the juice, to neutralize the acid. 
The best pan is that made by the Blymer 
Mfg. Co., Cincinnati, Ohio. 4x15 feet, of copper, 
costs $210, has a capacity to evaporate 4,000 gal¬ 
lons per day, of 24 hours, and requires three 
cords of wood, or its equivalent in coal. They 
also have larger and smaller pans, both iron and 
copper; the former being lower in price. I have 
no interest in presses or panB, and mention them 
that each, for hlmHelf, can make an estimate of 
the cost of the machinery reqnired, and what it 
will cost to convert his sugar beets into cider, 
vinegar, or sugar. The estimated quantity of the 
sugar supply of the commercial world in 1875 
was 2,140.000 tons of cane sugar and 1,317,625 
tons of beet root sugar, of which latter France 
produced 462,250 tons as against 4,465 tons in 
1828. 
The consumption of sugar in the United States 
iB about 700.000 tons, and is constantly increas¬ 
ing. We now produce of cane sngar 100,000 
tons, and of beet root sugar 1,000 tons; and 
there is no reason why this canuot be increased 
to the quantity we require, if the farmers will 
raise the beets. 
In France there is a heavy tax on the beet 
ro< t sugar they produce, and cane sugar is ad¬ 
mitted free, yet, notwithstanding these disad¬ 
vantages, they successfully compete with it; 
here the reverse is the case—a heavy duty on 
sugar imported and no taxes levied on its manu¬ 
facture ; certainly under these conditions we 
should produce all the sngar we oonsume. 
After the juice iB expressed from the rasped 
beet, the dry pulp remaining is an admirable 
food for cattle, sheep and swine. The average 
amount of pulp is 20 per cent, of the original 
weight of the beet, and three tons of it for feed¬ 
ing purposes, are equal to one ton of hay, aud 
should be fed in connection with straw and oil¬ 
cake or cotton-seed meal. 
As the pulp is fed back to stock, the land is 
constantly growing richer, all the mineral sub¬ 
stances taken from it being restored in the 
manure; this enables the farmer to raise larger 
crops of various produce, aud consequently keep 
more stock which enables him to make more 
butter aud cheese. 
The present cider mills and cheese factories 
could add to their present machinery the pans 
or presses as reqnired, and by co-operation on 
this, as in other products, we can produce profit¬ 
ably all the sugar we require. This will bring 
the business of sugar-making within the reach of 
small farmers, aud is of vast importance. The 
notion prevails that to make sngar profitably it 
must bo made extensively. This is certainly 
erroneous, and the sooner this illusion is dispel¬ 
led the sooner we Bhall begin to realize the pro¬ 
ductive resources of our lands, and employ our 
now idle laborers on a very remunerative crop 
now grown to a very limited extent. 
Andrew H. Ward. 
Plymouth Co., Mass. 
-♦♦♦- 
WHAT OTHERS SAY. 
Wheat Cultivation.— The editor of The Prac¬ 
tical Farmer visited the farm of Mr. Groff, in Lan¬ 
caster Co., Pa., who has been experimenting on 
the cultivation of wheat, and last year his experi¬ 
ments were so satisfactory (resulting in double 
the yield heretofore,) that this year ho has put 
in thirty acres of wheat, and lias it in the high¬ 
est state of cultivation, having worked it through 
three times this spring ; he does not work it in 
the fall. In cultivating the wheat, Mr. Groff 
uses a wheat drill six feet between the wheels, 
and with four sowiug tubes instead of eight. 
Each tube is so arranged with a spreader at the 
bottom of it as to put the seed in regular rows 
four inches wide, with nearly eleven iuchos of 
space between the rows. The distance between 
the outside lube and the wheel is the same as 
between the tubes. This leaves the space be¬ 
tween the rows wide apart for the horse to walk 
between them without treading down the wheat. 
In using the drill for cultivation, the drilling 
tubes are removed and the three-clawed culti¬ 
vating hoes are attached—being the same dis¬ 
tance apart as the drilling tubes. The claws of 
the cultivating attachment are in triangular 
groups, the center one In advance of the two 
outer ones, which prevents clogging, leaving the 
ground even and clean. Protectors are also 
fastened on to prevent the wheat from being 
oovered up by the dirt as it is thrown up by the 
claws, and they do the work perfectly. The cul¬ 
tivator leaves the ground fresh, loose and mel¬ 
low, instead of heateu compactly by the spring 
rains. The whole thirty acres presented a de- 
lightful and pleasing appearance. The wheat 
looked vigorous, uniform iu hight, firmly set, 
rich in color, having that peculiar shade of green 
which indicates a healthy state of the plant. 
It was compared with adjoining fields on other 
farms having equally as good soil, equally en¬ 
riched with fertilizers, aud as well put iu, but 
put iu with the common drill. There was a 
difference of almost one-half in favor of the 
cultivated wheat. 
Htdrophoria Cored. —Two Russian doctors 
lately treated the case of a girl 12 years cf age, 
who had been bitten iu the baud by a mad dog. 
The wound was cauterized immediately with 
uilrate of silver. In eight days the cicatrization 
was complete. Seventeen days after the bite, 
the first symptoms of hydrophobia appoared. 
The doctors prescribed inhalation of three cubic 
feet of oxygen. The effect was immediate, and 
1 1 " '«•' " '' 
in two hours aud a half the patient was quite 
calm. Two days after fresh symptoms of the 
malady occurred (difficulty of swallowing and 
breathing, convulsions, etc.) A fresh inhala¬ 
tion of oxygen for 45 minutes again counter¬ 
acted these. There remained only a slight diffi¬ 
culty of breathing, and this was overcome by 
means of monobromide of camphor, tbo use of 
which was continued for three weeks. The girl 
recovered perfect health with the exception of 
having aphonia—a morbid consequence of diph¬ 
theria. 
Too Mucu Butter —Mrs. Mary Wager-Fisher 
tells the Weekly Tribune that most American 
families feel that they are deserted hy Provi¬ 
dence—on the verge of starvation—if they can¬ 
not have butter on the tablo at every meal, and 
complain of their lack of it as a deprivation hard 
to be endured. There would be just as much 
sense in fooling so because they do not have pre¬ 
served pine-apples three times a day. The very 
best families in France only serve butler at one 
meal. Butter with a meat, fish or fowl dinner, 
would be to them ridiculous, as it really is. Bat 
the American—even tho poorest one—mast have 
butter on beefsteak and eggs. Mrs. Fisher 
contends that tho manufacture of butter is one 
of the hardest and most time-consuming tasks 
that a farmerino has to perform. Moreover, 
with all the work it involves, bntter adds less to 
the health and sustenance of the fnmily than 
would the eating of the cream that goes into the 
making of it. Whore one physician advises the 
eating of butter, a thousand recommend the 
consumption of oroam. 
The Treatment of Chronic Alcoholism.— 
Dr. d’Ancona, of Italy, concludes that 
1. Phosphorus is a very useful remedy in the 
treatment of chronic alcoholism. 
2. The medicine is perfectly tolerated in doses 
which no one has dared to give heretofore—ten 
centigrammes (nearly 1 grains) a day for many 
weeks. 
3. Tho remedy gives to drinkers a feeling of 
comfort aud strength, and furnishes the force 
necessary to carry on their organic functions, 
which they have been accustomed to get from 
alcoholic liquors. 
4. The medicine Beenis also to have the prop¬ 
erties of a prophylactic and an antidote, for it 
causes very beneficial changes in the system, 
even when the use of liquor has not been entire¬ 
ly stopped. 
He uses phosphorus in the form of Phosphide 
of Zinc. 
Abortion in Cows. —The London Farmer 
says: “It is well known that the great propor¬ 
tion of abortions occur in the first and second 
pregnancies, and this for the following reasons : 
—Just as a cow is weakened by milking during 
the last three months of gestation, and thereby 
predisposed to eject the contents of the uterus, 
so a heifer, unless very generously fed, will also 
be weakened, for the reason that nature requires 
additional nutriment for her as yet incompletely 
developed body. If this can be avoidud by liber¬ 
al feeding, the danger recurs at the second preg¬ 
nancy ; for the auimal is still not fully developed. 
To avoid this in its turn, the writer allows his 
young cows to be milked only for four months, 
when they are pregnant for the second time, and 
then dries them up. With this precaution he 
has been almost free from this mishap among 
his young stock.” 
Asparagus Flanting in Summer —The Ger¬ 
mantown Telegraph says: “Select iu the old 
beds new plants, which have sprouted since 
spring from last year's seeds, and plant in beds 
of deep, rich soil, of course, removing all tho 
tops, and setting the roots three inches below 
the surface. Ba very careful to prevent the 
roots from dryiug while transplanting. Sot two 
feet six inches oach way, aud when the place or 
hole is made for tho roots, fill with water, aud 
let it alone for a couple of hours for the water 
to soak away, and then plant. On taking up the 
young plants they should be put in a pan of 
water, and taken from the pan one by ono as 
they are set in the holes thus prepared, pressing 
them in firmly, iu order that they may take in¬ 
stant hold of the soil and go on growing, as they 
will, with scarcely auy delay. Asparagus roots 
thus set will yield sprouts for cutting, one year 
from the ensuing spriug." 
Goats. —It appears that notwithstanding the 
disfavor with which some regard goats, there 
has been of late a remarkable increase in the 
number kept in Ireland. According to the offi¬ 
cial returns, remarks the Farmers' Gazette 
(Dnblin), it appears that in 1851 there were 
235,313 goatB enumerated. By the year 1865 the 
numbor had dwindled down to 171,207 ; but tho 
annual returns show that in every year since 
that date, the numbers have steadily increased, 
and last year no less than 266,755 goats were re¬ 
turned by the enumerators, being an Increase of 
95,540 head in twelve years; aud, allowing one 
goat to ft family, this hIiows that in each year 
since 1865 about 7,962 families have added to 
their Btock a goat which they did not previously 
pOSBOBS. 
Waste in Agriculture. —Mr. Henry Stewart 
Bays, in his admirable address before the N. Y. 
Farmers’ Club : “ What are we to do then to en¬ 
large our production Let us look at the onorm- 
