6S2 
THE RURAL. NEW-YORKER. 
OCT.18 
able to publish all that we have thus far ascer¬ 
tained, bo that other and wiser experimenters 
may give the 6ubjeot the consideration it may 
be thought to deserve. 
The diagram represents an earthen pot within 
a wooden pail, both of which are cut in two, 
perpendicularly a, a, are the sides of the pail, 
which are nearly perpendicular; —b, b, the space 
between the pail and the pot ;—c is a thumb-pot 
which covers the drain-hole, while the drain- 
hole of the thumb-pot is covered by a small 
piece of crock, as shown. 
Three, sometimes four, of these contrivances 
were used in the experiments. It answers the 
present purpose, however, to speak of but three. 
A sufficient quantity of loam (we mean a soil 
composed of about half clay and half sand,) 
was sifted through a line sieve, and tbeu thor¬ 
oughly dried in the oven. Pot No. i, was filled 
with this loam, and packed as hard as it woll 
could be packed with the hand, up to one-and- 
a-half inch of the top of the pot. This space 
was filled with the same earth, as loosely as pos¬ 
sible; that is, it was simply sifted in, and the 
surface smoothed off to a level with the rim of 
the pot. 
Pot No. 2 was filled and the loam pressed down 
as hard as possible with the hand, up to the top 
and smoothed off as in No. 1. 
Pot No. 3 was filled in aH loosely as possible 
from the bottom to the top, a very slight pres¬ 
sure being made, as a certain degree of compact¬ 
ness was fouud necessary to prevent the loam 
from separating or falling, when saturated with 
water. The pots therefore are filled as follows: 
No. 1. Loam hard-packed up to within \% 
inch of surface; the loam then sifted in, and 
made level with the rim ot the pot. 
No. 2. Loam pressed down as hard as possi¬ 
ble, and leveled as in No. 1. 
No. 3. Loam merely sifted in the pot and 
leveled as in Nos. 1 and 2. 
We may now consider that pot No. 1 represents 
a compact loam-soil, with the surface stirred, 
scarified or pulverized; pot No. 2, a compact 
loam-soil, without any surface pulverization; 
and pot No. 3, a loose, well-pulverized loam- 
soil. Now according to the teachings of the 
agricultural press, and, indeed, of all agricul¬ 
tural writers, so far as we are aware, No. 3, or the 
loose well-worked soil, Bhould longest preserve 
the moisture. No. 1, on account of the surface 
pulverization, should retain moisture longer 
than No. 2, and No. 2 should, of the three, part 
with its moisture first. 
As our experiments, with variations de¬ 
pending upon the heat of the sun, the moisture 
and movement of the atmosphere, have all 
pointed to the same conclusion, we will at this 
time detail only our last experiment. It is as 
follows: September 29, 10.30 o’clock a. m., the 
buckets were so far filled with water as that 
it should overllow the sides of the buckets upon 
the introduction of the pots of loam. This in¬ 
sured the same quantity of water in each bucket. 
At 12 o’clock noon, the waler in No. 3 (loose 
loam) wet the surface. Time 1 hour 30 minutes. 
At 12.45 the water in No. 2 (compact) had just 
begun to wet the surface. Time 2 hours 15 
minutes. At 2 30 the surface of No. 1 was as 
wet as either of the others. Time (it may have 
been less), 4 hours. 
We have now to observe in which buckets the 
water soonest disappeared- -that is we are to ob¬ 
serve the relative power of capillary attraction 
and the rapidity of surface evaporation in each 
of the three pots of loam. Oct. 5—6 o’clock a. 
m. Bucket No. 3, (loose) was dry. Time 6 days, 
7 hours, 30 minutes. Oct. 8—1 o’clock, bucket 
No. 1, (compact, surface pulverized) was dry. 
Time, 9 davB, 2 hours, 30 minutes. Oct. 9—7 
o’clock p. it. bucket No. 2 (compact) was dry. 
Time, 10 days, 8 hours, 30 minutes. 
To state it in another way —the same amount 
of water carried to the surface by capillary at¬ 
traction, was evaporated from the surface of a 
loose (mellow) soil in 6 days, 7 Lours aud 30 
minutes; from the surface of a compact soil 
which had been pulverized an inch and a half in 
depth, in 9 days, 2 hourB aud 30 minutes; from 
the surface of a compact Boil in 10 days, 8 hours 
and 30 minutes. 
There is no question as to the fact that with a 
given rain-fall, more rain will pass down through 
the loose than through the compact soil because 
there is less opposition to gravity. But accord¬ 
ing to our experiments, more of it will return by 
capillary attraction and more of it, consequently 
will bo evaporated from the surface unless the 
sub-soil is Baud or gravel in which case the 
amount returning would largely depend upon 
the depth of the Btratum of Band or gravel aud 
the amonut of rain-fall. There-is no doubt 
either that hard, clayey soils are better con¬ 
ductors of heat than Bandy loams for the reason 
that the latter Imprison more air about their 
particles. While, therefore, the heavy soil 
would become heated sooner and c ml sooner— 
the loose soil would require a longer time to 
heat and a longer time to cool. Again we do 
not take into consideration at all the amount of 
moisture a loose Boil may take from the air 
more than the compact soil. These are different 
questions and do not invalidate the point we 
deaire to make, viz., that stirring, pulverizing, 
scarifying, working, breaking up the surface 
soil instead of retarding the evaporation of 
moisture in the soil beneath, greatly facilitate 
it. If onr reasoning or experiments are defec¬ 
tive and onr conclusion invalid, it will he easy 
for those who have studied Btich questions more 
than we have, to make their defects apparent. 
Even in that case, we shall take the credit, by a 
scries of experiments iu which some little 
patience was required, of having endeavored to 
throw new light upon “ the most healthful, most 
useful and most noble employment of man.” 
River Edge, Bergen Co., N. J. 
--♦♦♦-* 
JOTTINGS AT KIRBY HOMESTEAD. 
COL. F. I). C CUTIS. 
The Bubal, in a recent article, says butter, 
to he first-class, must be made aud kept at a 
temperature oT 60 . Not one cellar in a hundred 
is as cool as this, hut, on the contrary, the vast 
majority of theta will show a temperature as high 
as 68 to 70°. This is too warm for cream to rise 
good or for butter to keep well. The worst diffi¬ 
culty is in the rnakiug at such a high tempera¬ 
ture,—as the cream is liable to get rancid while 
in the pans waitiug for it to rise thick enough 
to skim, and while standing before being 
churned. If the butter is not made raucid 
by the putrid condition of the cf cain, it can he 
kept sweet by submerging it in brine, which 
will lower tho temperature several degrees. 
Most collars can he made from ten to fifteen de¬ 
grees cooler than tho air outside by shutting 
them up tight, and allowing no hot air to get in. 
Our cellar is made fifteen degrees cooler by 
being kept closed day and night, and the ther¬ 
momotor stands at 64° to 66°, rising to 66' in tho 
middle of the day, when it will mark upwards of 
80° in tho Bhade out of doors. First-class but¬ 
ter can be made at a temperature of 66°, pro¬ 
vided the milk is set In shallow vessels (we strain 
the pans half full), and then skimmed just as 
soon as the cream rises, and the cream churned 
before putrefaction begins. In warm weather 
cream should not stand more than two days; 
that is, it should he churned the aecond day af¬ 
ter skimming. At a temperature of 60°, the 
cream will keep better, and bo will the butter, 
and this temperature is most desirable, but how 
are the majority of farmers to get it ? The 
patent coolers with ice will produce it, or a lower 
degree if required, hut the great majority can¬ 
not afford them, bo that they must get as near 
to 60° as passible by shutting out the heat and 
by being prompt aud vigilant in the oare of the 
milk and cream, remembering that a putrescent 
taint in the cream will poison—yes, that is the 
wor d_t,he whole hatch of butter, and in a Bhort 
time it will become rancid, and muBt be sold at 
a reduoed rate. 
We do not feed the cows any pumpkins, pre¬ 
ferring to give them to the hogs. They are a 
fine feed to give the fattening pigs a start, and 
excellent to put the store hogs in condition for 
winter. Boiled and mixed with meal they are 
nutritious and fattening, aud help to keep up 
the appetite aud the stomach iu a healthy con¬ 
dition. We draw the pumpkins aud throw them 
in heaps alongside the field where the pigs run, 
and twice a day crack them into pieces and scat¬ 
ter them around on the sward. We select a new 
place for every load, and this makes it cleaner 
for the pigs and prevents the grass from being 
trodden out on the feeding spots. When cows 
are fed pumpkins it makes them uneasy,and they 
will btop feeding in the middle of the afternoon, 
aud he waitiug and looking for them, and thus 
lose as much as they gain. The quieter cows 
are kept iu the field tho hotter; hence, it is a 
goad idea to give them extra messes iu tho morn¬ 
ing and then they will feed in tho pasture until 
night. 
We castrated four large pigs during the hot¬ 
test weather, and they did well. They were not 
troubled with flies or worms, and the wounds 
healed in a very Bhort time. We applied gas 
coal tar, and this iB the reason why tho pigs, al¬ 
though operated upon at a time of the year for¬ 
bidden by the “ signs ” and the experience of 
“ old times," did just as well as if the work had 
been done in cool weather. Dr. Stuart had a 
horse badly cut in the knee, making a deep and 
ragged wound. He bound it with gas coal tar, 
and left home, being gone a fortnight. When 
he returned the Bore was healed, and thiB was 
all the treatment it received. We state these 
facts to couvioce farmers what a simple and 
effective remedy they can use for similar cases. 
Farmers are still sowing wheat, and double 
the area will be put in this year as compared to 
many years before. The soil by rest seems to 
have replenished itself in the constituents re¬ 
quisite for producing wheat, and good crops are 
uow had by those who have sown it on soils of 
different kinds, without heavy extra manuriug. 
For twenty-five years past this has not been 
the case. 
-—-♦♦♦- 
NOTES FROM MAPLEWOOD FARM. 
HECTOB BEETBAM. 
THE BEST KIND Of FRUIT-PACKIN0. 
It is about time apples were gathered, and 
much care should he exercised in doing this. 
Well graded, carefully picked fruit will always 
find a ready market at remunerative prices. The 
Bale of a fine crop is often materially injured by 
a lack of care iu assorting. If apples arc graded 
in two or three classes, they will sell for better 
prices and much more readily than when all but 
the cider apples are packed together. But, to 
say nothing about the pecuniary advantage, the 
satisfaction of having fruit that is first-class to 
offer in the market is ample compensation for 
the time and labor employed in gradiDg it. 
Another thought—each variety should be kept 
separate. If a person buys a barrel of apples 
labeled Belle Fleur, he is not wholly satisfied if 
upon opening the barrel he finds, on top, a half- 
bushel of the variety ho BuppoBed he was bnj ing, 
and the balance a varied asBOrtment of Russets, 
Greenings and a dozen other varieties, all in¬ 
ferior fruits, and among the rest windfalls, 
that should have been fed to the hogs long 
before. I am ashamed to say it, yet there are 
farmers of my acquaintance who pack apples in 
just this manner. They do not realize the injus¬ 
tice done in this way to purchasers, nor the 
damage done to themselves. To label a pack¬ 
age of fruit with the name of some standard 
variety, and then to place within it a nondescript 
collection of fruit, iuferior iu every way, is cer¬ 
tainly a fraud, aud no insignificant one either; 
and yet men do this who would stand aghast 
or indignant at the insinuation that they were 
dishonest. A producer who deals fairly with the 
consumer, who gives him the equivalent of his 
money, will soon become known as an honest 
dealer and will experience no difficulty in dis¬ 
posing of his surplus products at first-rate prices. 
BENEFITS OF SEE0INQ WITH CLOVER. 
It pays to seed with clover after every crop of 
winter grain. The ground from which the 
wheat was cut this season has afforded an 
abundance of pasture for two months, aud this 
when no Boed was applied save that in the ma¬ 
nure with which the field was covered last fall. 
Were oleap seed sowu, the pasturage would more 
than pay the extra expense of heeding, not to 
mention the benefit the soil would derive from 
the penetrating and fertilizing qualities of the 
roots. Clover roots ruu deeply, and serve to 
conduct the ammonia from the air to the soil, 
thus enriching it to no inconsiderable extent. It 
is pleasing to see how generally clover is coming 
into favor among agriculturists. They see in it 
a sure aud economical method of fertilizing their 
impoverished laud, which has been cropped 
without mercy and thou given a death-blow by 
seeding it with Timothy. Last year, with clover 
Beed selling at ten or twelve dollars per bushel, 
farmers of limited mcaua considered it too ex¬ 
pensive ; uow, when it can he bought for four or 
five dollars a bushel, they arc more willing to 
recognize its merits. Still, I contend that at the 
higher prices it can be bowu profitably, even on 
ground where a crop is to be raised the succeed¬ 
ing season. 
THE BEST SOIL FOR BUCKWHFAT. 
While catting buckwheat I noticed that tho 
grain was much better ou a narrow atrip plowed 
early last spring, than on Boil of tho Bfttno quality 
which remained unplowcd until just before 
seeding time. Three different plots were Bown, 
one consisting of stubble after oats; another, a 
piece of now laud from which tho bushes had 
but recently boon cut; aud the third, an old 
meadow aod. From tho results obtained, I am 
led to believe that sod ground is most congenial 
to the satisfactory growth of buckwheat, and 
that the Hoouer in Bpring the sod is turned, the 
bettor for the crop. Even a Becond plowing 
would, in my mind, prove advisable. Many 
farmers abuse this crop more than any other. 
They only pretend to cultivate it, hut a little 
extra exertion on their parts would give them 
larger returns thau could be obtained from most 
grains, everything considered. 
PRESERVING POTATOES. 
Many of my neighbors are leaving their pota¬ 
toes in tho ground, claiming that they will rot 
just as badly if dng and housed as though left, 
and that by leaving them uudug until late, they 
avoid handling the decayed tubers. Now, I think, 
that when potatoes are rotting badly, as they 
are thiB season, they should be removed from 
the ground as soon as ripe and stored in some 
cool, dry place until cold weather. I have tried 
both plans, and am satisfied that the tubers are 
much more liable to decay when left in the 
ground in contaot with those diseased. Assort 
carefully when they are gathered, and again 
before storing in a cellar, and hut few decayed 
tubers will have to be carried out next spring. 
MAKING TEA WITH COLD WATER. 
Did any one of the Robal’s many readers ever 
try making tea with cold water ? If you never 
have, just do bo the next warm day, when a cool 
refreshing beverage is desired. Place the tea in 
a pitcher m the morning, with just enough cold 
water to cover it. At dinner-time, fill the pitch¬ 
er with cold water from the well, and you will 
have the best cup of tea you ever drank—that is 
for warm weather. The finer qualities of tea 
are much more fully retained than when steeped 
upon the fire. And who wishes a cup of scald¬ 
ing tea on comiBg iu straight from the hot har¬ 
vest field and the scorching glare of our August 
sun ? 
BLANKETING HORSES. 
A pair of horse-blankets Bhould he found on 
the premises of every man who owns a horse. 
It is a barbarous practice to allow dumb animals 
to Btand uncovered in the streets, chilled to the 
marrow by the piercing winds of fall and winter. 
-- 
NOTES FROM RURAL FARM. 
Our wheat, both of the experimental plots 
aud the main field, is well up. The shower of 
Iasi night was much needed. The hot, moist 
weather which was believed to have Bhriveled 
the spring wheat, also harmed our winter wheat 
aud oats. The yield of Clawson, instead of 
rather more than 25 bushels to the acre, has 
fallen somewhat short of that amount. 
It is “a had sign” that apple and pear trees 
are thus late pushing buds. We see fresh shoots 
of from one inch to one foot in length, while 
some of the trees are blossoming freely. The 
pushing buds and young shoots will of course be 
killod by the winter, while the fruit buds which 
open now to no purpose, might have formed fruit 
next spring. 
Queens Co., L. I., Oct. 6. 
Jfirili ( trap, 
RYE—ITS CULTURE, ETC. 
W. H. WHITE. 
GROWTH Of CULTURE AND USE GF RYE. 
At the present day, and for many years past, 
rye has been morb generally grown in some por¬ 
tions of New England, than wheat. When 
wheat was a more sure crop, and when the in¬ 
habitants wore loss dense, there was less induce¬ 
ment than now to grow rye for its flour as a 
partial substitute for wheat; but in those days it 
gradually came into favor, in some localities, as 
a merchantable crop, to be transformed into 
“liquid fire,” or for Bomo other less objectiona¬ 
ble use. Time passed on; wheat began to de¬ 
cline in acroahle product; insect enemies and 
diseases increased, and as necessity or economy 
required, rye flour was introduced into domestic) 
use for the more genera! purpose of making 
common bread; also, for mixing with corn-meal 
for brown bread, etc., some using it for ginger¬ 
bread and the coarser sort of pastry. The com- 
m jn objection to its use in bread lies in its oolor 
being darker .than that of fine wheat flour. It 
certainly is no Ichs sweet thau much superfine 
wheat flour, and I have grown it so that wheu 
floored and made into bread, a loaf made of it 
and another made of wheat flour cculd not by 
the color be ilisUtigunhod one from the other. 
Here is an opportunity for the enterprising 
farmer to largely benefit his fellows, and also 
distinguish his own name, by improving and in¬ 
troducing a better quality of rye than is gener¬ 
ally found in culture. That the grain is sus¬ 
ceptible of improvement is a proved fact from 
the variations found in culture, Home varieties 
being much superior to others. Winter rye is 
our most hardy and healthy winter grain, and 
can be successfully grown in all the States and 
Territories of ow Union. With a little care aud 
attention in culture, etc., it is capable of being 
deoidedly improved iu quality and production. 
SUITABLE SOILS AND METHOD OF SOWING. 
Rye does not require Boil where clay abounds, 
or one best adapted to wheat, but one which is 
of a sandy or gravelly nature. Tho soil need 
not he excessively rich, yet should he in good 
heart from a mixture of mineral and decayed 
organic matter, produoing a medium growth of 
straw, instead of an excessive one. Dry, high 
and airy situations are adapted for growing tho 
best quality of rye. Sandy fields and “old 
plain” lauds usually produce a fine quality, 
although the yield per acre is small. Such fields 
should bo well and thoroughly plowed in Au¬ 
gust, lie Borne days, he then thoroughly har¬ 
rowed, to destroy weeds, etc., have a dressing of 
four to Hix oordB of well rotted compost, or its 
equivalent of good commercial fertilizer adapted 
to the purpose, spread evenly and worked into 
the surface with a cultivator or harrow. The 
seed should bo evenly sown, broadcast or with a 
drill, any time during September. Although it 
