SOS 
THE RURAL JfEW-YORKER. 
®|x djumsi. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Planting Raspberries irom Cuttings in Summer. 
Subscriber, Clinton, Mich., asks, 1. whether 
Black Raspberries can be propagated from cut¬ 
tings during snmmor; if 80, what canes should be 
U8e d_the old or new; in what months should 
they be set out, and how ? 2. He also inquires 
how he can best protect ohoice seedling Verbenas 
during winter. 
Ans. (1).—Yes; at any time. Either the 
green or mature stems of this year's growth may 
be used. The old cane is worthless and should 
be cut away as soon as the bearing soaaon is 
over. The canes which grow this year bear 
next and then die. If the caues are not cut 
back they will bend over from their weight until 
the tip rests upon the ground. This will root and 
the stem may then be cut off six inohes above, 
and the plaut be dug up and set out where de¬ 
sired. For outtings, it is better to use the roots 
divided into pieces three inches long than to 
make outtings of the stems and propagate in the 
usual manner. 
The root cuttings may be placed in a box— 
first a layer of cuttings, then of soil, and so on— 
and placed in the cellar or buried in some high, 
well-drained ground. In the spring, plant in 
drills a few inches apart and two or three inches 
deep. (2). Only by removing them to the house 
or a dry frost-proof cellar. 
How to Get Foul Air out of a Well, and Why 
it Gets There. 
Edward Johnson, Chester Co., Term., asks 
what is the best way of getting f onl air out of a 
■well, and the cause of its accumulating there. 
A Ng ,_The foul air in wells is mostly carbonic 
acid, a gas diffused through the air in propor¬ 
tions of about 4 volumes in every 10,000. It is 
about half as heavy again as the air, and its great 
weight tends to keep it in low places—where 
it is generated by the combustion and decay of 
organic bodies—and also to accumlate it in pits 
or unused wells. Unmixod with air it cannot be 
breathed, but is rejected with violent spasms of 
the glottiB. Flame is instantly extinguished by 
it when mixed with air in proportion of one to 
four. Before descending into an unused well or 
pit of any kind, it is prudent to first lower into 
it a lighted oandle, so as to make Bure that it 
does not contain this fatal element. Wells in 
the barnyard that are nsed in winter for wa¬ 
tering stook but seldom used in summer, are 
especially liable to have foul air in them at this 
season. In August, when the wells are low, it 
is always a good time to clean them out, but 
before descending into them, the above precau¬ 
tion should always be taken. If the light flick¬ 
ers badly or is extinguished, measures should 
be taken to remove the oarbouic acid before ven¬ 
turing into it. If there is water in the well, all 
that is needed to get rid of the foul air is to 
pump out the water and dash it in again. The 
water will absorb an equal volume of carbonic 
acid, and the agitation will allow a sufficient 
quantity of pare air to mix with that in the 
well to permit of oombustioa, so that if a bun¬ 
dle of lighted straw be lowered into it the heat 
will cause the foul air to ascend. If bunches of 
lighted straw be thrown into the well, although 
at first the blaze will ba instantly extinguished 
as soon as it strikes the oarbonic acid, yet the 
heat is more or less retained aud setting the air 
in motion, the foul gas wiH|soon be dissipated. 
Indeed the pest may he driven out by any mode 
of ventilation, such as violently agitating the 
air in the well, exploding therein some gun¬ 
powder, or by lowering a vessel containing 
lighted charcoal nearly to the bottom. Burning 
coals have the property of absorbing many times 
their bulk of this gas, and when cooled they may 
be raised up, reignited and lowered down again. 
he Best Gross for Mutton Sheep. 
W. L. Mount, Chenango Co., N. Y., asks what 
cross will prodnoe the most profitable kind of 
sheep and lambs for the batcher. 
Ans.—A s a rule, pure-bred sheep are quite too 
dear to raise for mutton. The fine-wools are 
small; the long-wools furnish too much fat in 
proportion to lean, to be profitable to the con¬ 
sumer. The South Downs supply fiue-grained 
lean meat, but they have the drawback of being 
a trifle small. A cross between South Down 
rams and Merino ewes produces a favorite 
class of lambs for the Eastern markets. They 
are hardy, mature early, and strongly display 
the excellent South Down points. If these 
grades or South Down ewes are crossed with 
a Cots wold or Leicester ram, the progeny 
will be large, the growth rapid, while the flesh 
will have a choice flavor. To supply early lambs 
for the bntoher, this is probably as good a cross 
as can be made, as there is always a demand for 
suoh lambs in New York and other Eastern 
cities, at profitable prioes. 
When to S mt op Swine to Fatten, etc. 
Charles Edward'., Clinton , Co., Pa., asks how 
Boon Bhould hogs be shut up to fatten and at 
what rate should they lay on flesh, if well fed. 
Ans,— If pens are furnished with shelter and 
water, August is not too early to shut up swine 
for fattening, as a pound of pork is made 
much more economically in warm weather than 
in cold. Little food is then required to keep up 
the animal heat, aud many green kinds of food 
are available that are out of season in the fall. 
Hogs enjoy fresh clover, fed every day, with 
their cooked food or provender. Sweet corn in 
the gveeu state is also highly relished, promotes 
thrift, and makes flesh economically. If a pig, 
put up to fatten aud well fed, does not make a 
pound of flesh or more each day, it is not mak¬ 
ing a profitable use of its food. A pig of a good 
breed, nine months old, which has been fattened 
three months, should weigh 300 pounds, and 
many of them -weigh considerably more. 
Grafting Fceonios. 
Henry Brink, Cedar Go., Iowa, asks wbat is 
the right time for grafting Troonies, and whether 
they can he grafted in a cellar daring winter in 
the same manner as apple grafts. 
Ans.—W e think not. The present iB the best 
time. Tie the graft with hast and cover with 
grafting-wax, and place in a bed of tan or some¬ 
thing of that kind. The tubers will make roots 
in the fall and may then he taken up and potted 
and placed in a cold-frame through the winter. 
Planting White Pine Seeds. 
Mrs. W. FI. Carpenter, Warren Co., Ohio, 
asks when the seeds of White Pine should be 
gathered, how kept through the winter, and the 
best way of planting them to insure success in 
raising young trees. 
Ans. —The oones of Pinus Btrobus ripen in the 
fall of the second year. They may then be 
gathered and placed in dry sand through the 
winter. Plant the seeds the latter part of April 
in light soil, cover them lighly—an eight of an 
inch iB sufficient. Keep the ground from drying 
out by occasional watering through a fine rose, 
and give shade either by shaded lights or ever¬ 
green boughs. They will generally germinate 
the same season. 
I To Destroy Ant-Swarms. 
J. 0. Donnell, Lewis Co., N. 17, asks how to 
destroy ant-hills, as the little pests have multi¬ 
plied tenfold in his orchard within a few years. 
Ans.—W e have no personal experience with 
modes of exterminating ante, but the little pests 
are so industrious in appropriating every edible 
substance within their reach that we presume the 
well-nigh universal insecticide, Parie-green, if 
mixed with some substance attractive to them, 
and placed in their vicinity, would exterminate 
them. Of oourse, it should bo so placed as to 
be safe from appropriation by children or ani¬ 
mals. Very probably orude petroleum or kero¬ 
sene, either pure or diluted with water, if thui- 
oughly and repeatedly applied, by pouring into 
the entrances of their nests, would produce the 
desired result. Carbolic acid and corrosive sub¬ 
limate, especially the latter, affecl an ant colony 
as poisonous agents. Solutions of tobacco, 
lime, and walnut leaves, with urine, are also said 
to be effective in destroying them, although 
these latter are decidedly inferior to carbolic 
acid and corrosive sublimate. 
Communications received fob the week ending 
Saturdat, August, iotu : 
E. W. S. — P. D.-A. C. B. - E. R. B.—J. J. M.— 
J. G. R.— S. E. H.—Leonora—W. F.— W. E. McE.- 
E. W. S.—H. S —W. K. B. — R. C. B. — J. W. 8.— 
D. E. 8.— W. J. F.-J. E. McC.-W. H. W.—P. G.- 
D. H. w„ thanks — L. A R.-R. H. L.-H. W. B.— 
“Young Farmerlne L. H. K. R.—W. F.—T. W.— 
W. D. W.—I. P R.—W. B. D.-G. M. — M. B. C.- 
D. J. B.-E. W. H.—E. W. S.-J. L. N.—Dr. Good- 
enough. 
dibcrghilierr. 
NOTES FROM ILLINOIS. 
THE FARM. 
As I have before stated, we have been rained 
out here for four consecutive years, and while 
we bad entirely too much rain in May and June, 
we are now Buffering for the want of it. Many 
vegetables are dying in the gardens. 
I secured remarkably early field corn this 
spring,—a very new and valuable sort, and 
when six week old it was “ midsides " to a large 
horse, but the dry weather is holding it back so 
that it will not make its reputed time this year, 
but will still come out ahead of any other early 
field corn that yields remunerative crops. Next 
fall I hope to be able to send you sufficient to 
teBt it on the “Rural Farm.” It is yellow, of 
good size, and is not a flint corn. 
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
1 have been passing the season rather pleas¬ 
antly watching the growing and maturing of 
new vegetables,—new to me, and this locality, 
anyhow. The new Queen Onion is indeed all 
that is claimed for it,—only it is not likely to 
keep as long with us as it is said to keep,—for 
the reason that the quality is such that we eat 
them all “ up.” Little Gem pea still proves to 
be the earliest with us. I am testing all the 
early sorts of tomatoeB, aud may be able this 
fall to determine which is earliest for our sec¬ 
tion. Giant Stutgart radish is the finest radish 
we have yet raised; as its name indicates, it is 
large. It was sent out this spring (for testing) 
by Foote of Terre Haute, the originator of 
“ 100 days Tomatohe also sent me a new let¬ 
tuce, the “ Green-fringed,” which has no equal 
unless it is the Hanson. 
I am tasting, for quality and earliness, about 
25 Borts of sweet corn, and while I have the 
opportunity, I am making all the crosses I can, 
hoping to originate an early sort as sweet as the 
later sorts. I believe I am the pioneer in the 
growing of roots for stock in this part of tbe 
State. Those who think a cow can eat nothing 
but an ear of com, laugh at me considerably, 
but I can Btand it if they oau. 
Douglas Co., Ill. Dr. A. C. Williams. 
[The Green-fringed Lettuce referred to is ex¬ 
cellent.— Eds ] 
-- 
NOTES FROM KENTUCKY. 
Carroll Co., Ky., July 25, 1878. 
Poor Wheat Crop.— We have greatly over¬ 
rated the present wheat crop, as proven by the 
thresher’s tally. One field of 23 acres that was 
“ splendid” and would “go30 bushels per acre” 
before harvest, only threshed out 13X bushels 
per acre. Fifty-one acres on another farm that 
last year averaged 81, only made 18 this. An¬ 
other of 60 acres went 30 last and 17 1-10 bush¬ 
els per aero this year. And the Barne may be 
said of the thousand acres of wheat here in 
Hunter’s Bottom and of the entire State where 
the rust was at all bad. 
The Weather. —We are having the warmest 
and driest.seascn for many years. Tbe ther¬ 
mometer ranges from 90° to 100° in the shade 
every day, with a strong wind from the south or 
southwest that is literally parching our late po¬ 
tatoes and pastures, aud is rolling the corn- 
blades into mammoth cigars. I am told that 
six horses died of sunstroke while working in 
a threshing machine last Thursday, just across 
the river. (We have steam power on this side.) 
We have not had even a shower of rain since 
the 22nd. of last month. 
Fruits.— Blackberries are dryiDg nicely on the 
vines, but our winter apples are already badly 
sunburnt. Our Fruit-growers' Association has 
induced the old and reliable firm of Evans & Co., 
of Baltimore, to establish a canning factory here 
and when thousands of bushels of blackberries, 
peaches, plums, tomatoes, sweet corn etc., can 
be bought for an average of one dollar per 
bushel at their factory, I oannot see why they 
should not make it pay handsomely. This is un¬ 
doubtedly one of the best fruit regions in the 
oountry, aud it is strange that it is only within 
the last four years that capitalists are willing to 
invest here in this industry. The best of fruit 
land can be had for 830 per acre; and yet not 
over three thousand acres are in fruit in this 
and the adjoining county of Trimble. I do not 
include apples in this estimate, although they 
grow to perfection, here; yet we have no mar¬ 
ket for them at paying prices. 
S. E. Hampton. 
-»♦+- 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Chautauqua Co., N. Y., July 25, 1S7S. 
Farmers in this section are just now finishing 
their haying and making preparation to com¬ 
mence harvesting. The hay crop we think to 
be fully an average one; on Borne farms it is 
even larger than last season. Butter has sold 
for so low a price during the past few months 
that it is not to he wondered at that dairymen 
feel discouraged. When you can buy the finest 
table butter for a shilling a pound, it is getting 
down to rock bottom. No farmer can afford to 
manufacture butter for such figures aud pay 
$14 to $17 per month for farm hands. Those 
who went into cheeso making early in the spring 
aro likely to have tbe most money this fall. 
Firkin butter Bold here this week at 15 cents— 
about two cents per pound more than last week. 
Many are holding on to their summer butter 
hoping to realize better prices. 
Everything iB now growing finely. We have 
had some very warm weather during the past 
few weeks, whioh just makes corn jump. Green 
peas are plentiful, and 6ome new potatoes will 
soon be in market. Potato hugs can he got 
along with. 
Lake Chautauqua, one of the healthiest and 
pleasantest summer resorts, is now being visited 
daily by hundreds of people from different parts 
of the country. Hotels on the lake are fast 
being filled by those who desire to spend the 
heated term at “ Chautauqua." The National 
Sunday-Bchool Assembly commonoes at Fair 
Point, Chautauqua Lako, August 3d, and closes 
August 22d. The Rev. J. 11. Vincent, Rev. 
JosEim Cook and other eminent divines will bo 
present. Pres. R. B. Hayes, of Washington, is 
expected. The National Baptist Meetings are 
now in session at Point Chautauqua, Chautau¬ 
qua Lake, aDd are very largely attended, Chau¬ 
tauqua Lake iB becomiug more and more popu¬ 
lar each year. M. L- Dorman. 
NKMAnA Co., Nebraska, July 20, 1878. 
I write from that region you folks in “York 
State ” call the “ Far West ”—Fremont’s “ Great 
Americau Desert.” 
Our State oftioial authorities have just com¬ 
pleted a statistical report, showing the popula¬ 
tion of Nebraska for March, 1878, and the valu¬ 
ation, number of animals, and acreage and yield 
of the cultivated lands in the State for the year 
1877. I came to the Territory of Nebraska 
twenty-two years ago last April. At that time 
there was not an acre of land under cultivation 
for purely agricultural purposes in what is 
now the State—only a few “ Squatters’ truck 
patches." Having been an eye-witness to the 
progress we have made, it is reasonable that I 
feel no little pride in what we have done and in 
letting our friends “ Down East" know it. 
These official reports show that we now have, 
under cultivation, 2,358,555 acres. The pro¬ 
ducts were : Spring wheat, 8,712,761 bushels ; 
fall wheat, 55,376 bushels; corn, 32,817,143 
bushels; ryo, 8,080,090 bushels; barley, 2,401,420 
bushels; oats, 5,440,872 busholsj buckwheat, 
27,533 bushels; sorghum, 98,973 gallons; flax¬ 
seed, 69,018 bushels; broom corn, 685 tons; 
tobacco, 22,729 pounds ; potatoes, 778,330 bush¬ 
els ; turnips, 51,933 bushels; apples, 90,670 
bushels; peaches, 17,376 bushels; grapes, 252,250 
pounds; hedge fences, 5,212 miles. Of live 
stock we have -. Horses, 130, 295 ; mules, 12,432; 
cattle, 433,015; sheep, 99,266; hogs, 497,050. 
We have cultivated forest trees, 30,346,571; 
fruit trees—Apple, Pear, Cherry, Plum and 
Peach—1,758,127; grape vines, 83,721. 
Our first census was taken in 1855. The popu¬ 
lation then was 4,494; in 1860 it was 28,841; in 
1870,122,993; in 1870, 257,717; March, 1878, it 
was 313,748. 
The acreage and farm products for 1878 will 
average an increase, over 1877, of at leaBt 25 
per cent., and, in many instances, of 50 per 
cent. The crops were never so fine—fine in 
every part of the State. The greater proportion 
of this development has been made within the 
past fifteen years. We have about 1,600 miles 
running railroads in this State, and some are be¬ 
ing built this season. 
How does this do for the “ Great American 
Desert;” all accomplished within two decades, 
and nothing to begin with! 
Robt. W. Furnas. 
Spalding Co., Ga., July 25th, 1S78. 
We have had quite a heated term for two 
weeks past, the thermometer registering 98° one 
day last week. Very dry and dusty, and rain is 
badly needed on garden vegetables and corn 
crops. Cotton looks well, up to date, and while 
a rain would not in j ure it any, still the crop is 
not suffering. Farmers complain that their corn 
is cut off at least one-third. The drought com¬ 
ing on jnst as the grain was in the milky state 
causes it to dry up and harden prematurely 
without filling out to the ends of tho ears. 
Peaches have rotted and fallen off the trees 
worse than I ever saw before; in fact, the mid¬ 
dle crop is almost a loss. This we are unable to 
account for unless the very dry weather in May, 
followed by a season of copious rains in Juno, 
set the sap in motion again, and the new growth, 
so vigorously Btarted, caused the fruit to fall off 
and rot. On examination, however, we find that 
nearly all the rotted fruit, whether on tbe tree 
or off, has a small white worm in it. Did the 
worm cause the fruit to rot ? Or did the rot 
cause the worm to grow? Would be glad to 
hear from some of our Rural friends on the 
subject. We have at last organized a Horti¬ 
cultural Society in Griffin,—W. W. Woodruff at 
its head, and one of our most enterprising fruit 
growers. One thing wo can brag on, aud that 
is our watermelons. Middle Georgia can certain¬ 
ly he relied on for watermelons from June 15th 
to September 15th, duriug whioh time the 
“average darkey” is always happy; for he can 
get a watermelon, largo euough to feed his 
whole family, for five cents, and tho warm sun 
renders but littlo clothing neoessary. 
J. G. Rhea. 
Floyd Co., Iowa, July 20th, 1875 
We are having tho hottest weather over known 
here. Last Friday aud Saturday were excessive¬ 
ly hot dayB, the mercury marked 103° in the 
shade. During the past week it has ranged 
from 90® to 100°. On the Friday named, at- a 
circus in Osage, Mitchel Co., two performers 
and three horses died from tho heat. The 
wheat orop will fall far short of that of last 
year, owing to tho excessive rains and intense 
heat while filling. Blight and ruBt have done 
their work, and the grain is prematurely ready 
for the sickle. Most of the harvesting here is 
done with self-binders which UBe wire or cord. 
They work satisfactorily and do cleaner work 
than the old method of hand-binding on harvest¬ 
ers. Cost $300 and $325. 
Much of the heavy wheat aud oats is so badly 
lodged that only a small part of the crop cau be 
secured. Our crop of bay is immense, timothy 
yielding 3 to 4 tons per acre. Corn standa six 
feet high aud its growth Is so rapid that one 
can almost see it. The small fruits were very 
abundant this reason and the applo orop will be 
the largest over had in this country. Of course, 
we have no very old orchards yet, tint almost 
every farmer has one just coming into bearing, 
while a few of the oldest settlers will have 
hundreds of barrels of choice fruit. Wild 
plums, generally so plentiful hero, are a total 
failure. The treeB blossomed profusely, but the 
late frost killed them. Potato bugs put in an 
appearance in small numbers, but suddenly left 
for parts unknown, and tbe crop cannot fair 
