THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
80S 
may bo sown and do well any time before the 
ground freezes up for winter, yet the plant til¬ 
lers better and yields more if the seed is sown 
earlier. Previous to September 20 is the better 
time here in New England. The seed should be 
well and evenly covered. 
The quantity of seed per acre required for 
sowing, depends largely on the state of culture 
of the soil—the better the culture, eto., the less 
seed is required—the average quantity being 
one bushel per acre. On soil in fair heart, tilth 
and culture, that amount will give bettor satis¬ 
faction than any larger quautity. 
If too much fall growth is likely to be made, 
milch cows, calves or light stock may bo turned 
on and partially feed it olF, and no injury will be 
done to the grain, while a gain is made in the 
stock and their products. 
SELECTING SEED. 
The seed should be pure, clean and of the very 
best quality of “ White Rye.” Unless perfectly 
clean and even, it should be screened through 
a sieve whioh will allow Bmall and imperfect 
seeds to pass, or else be thrown, against the 
wind, across the barn floor, to allow the poorer 
seed to fall short while only that whioh reaches 
farthest should bo used for seeding. In grow¬ 
ing seed, it will pay to save the earliest, ripest 
and most perfect ears, tie all these in bundles, 
and keep them by themselves, and then only 
“top thrash,” the bundles by hand flail ;|then 
screen as above. Itye which is one year old is 
preferable for seed to that grown tbo same year 
the seed is used. The rye crop, like any other 
farm product, is not entirely free from accidents, 
yet it is as little or even less liable to mishaps 
than any other grain. Rust sometimes affects 
the Btraw, causing shrinkage of grain; some¬ 
times, yet seldom, is there blight in the ear; 
generally thero is little of either, nor has it any 
insect enemies like those that are so injurious 
to the wheat crop. 
PRODUCT PER ACRE. 
Ihe yield per acre varies with the soil, culture, 
etc., from eight or ten bushels on sandy fields 
with no fertilizers or oulture, to forty and up¬ 
wards, on better soil fertilized and well culti¬ 
vated. But the grain is not the only product j 
the straw usually commands as high a price in 
the market as the best bay of the farm. Large 
demands are made for it by paper manufactur¬ 
ers, harness and horse-collar makers; livery sta¬ 
ble men pay more for it, and prefer it above all 
other kinds of straw, as it woars much better. 
I'rom three-fourths of a ton to two tons of 
straw are produced from an acre. Taking the 
above as a starting point, any one can calculate 
the cost of production as also the gross pro¬ 
ducts and profits from rye culture 
ALFALFA—ON THE EAST OF THE ROCKY 
MOUNTAINS. 
exceedingly difficult by the tangled nature of 
the mass, as was plowing the fall before, on ac¬ 
count of the tough roots. Some thirty-five dayB 
after cutting wheat, I went into that field with a 
mower and cut a good orop of grass. Of course, 
I had to cut the wheat-stubble with that crop. 
About forty days afterwards, I out another ex¬ 
cellent crop of Alfalfa bay. I consider that field 
an having done very fairly this year, in thus 
yielding a crop of wheat and two crops of hay. 
The throe-acre piece I cut first during the 
first week in May; again, the first week in 
June; a third time, the third week io July; and 
a fourth time, the first week in September. The 
weather was so cool at date of cutting the first 
and fourth crops, that extra time was required 
for curing the hay. For soiling, it could have 
been cut nearly a month sooner, and the cutting 
repeated every two weeks tip to date. 
When the Alfalfa had been down about ten 
months, I took advantage of the ground being 
soft and loose, owing to the frost coming out, 
and pulled up a root over two feet long. TbiB 
fall, wishing to send a root to tho St. Louis Fair, 
I sank a shaft around one to the depth of thirty- 
two inches, into very hard subsoil, and could 
not then pull the root up, and, a shower just 
then occurring, I cut the root off at that point. 
I have thoroughly accomplished my object, and 
obtained a forage plant that will not only stand 
drought, but wbicb, on our bottoms, pays no at¬ 
tention whatever to an abundance of rain or the 
want of it. All this, however, would be of little 
use were the product—as some Bay Prickly 
Comfrey is—unpalatable to stock after one gets 
it. On tho contrary. Alfalfa is greedily sought 
and eaten by stock of all kinds, the hogs even 
fighting away cattle to eat the dry bay made 
of it. The man who feeds tbe dozen mules 
which haul heavy loads over the rough roads of 
this region every day in the year, says that 
when the first Alfalfa is fed in the early summer 
or late spring, the mules do not seem to care for 
their grain. 
I feel confident, from my experience with it, 
that this grasB, by reason of its rapid growth, its 
independence of droughts, its many crops of 
large yield, its abundance of saccharine matter, 
and its adaptability to soiling, grazing aud cut¬ 
ting for hay, is the most important recent ad¬ 
dition to our forage plantB. I say recent, be¬ 
cause it id only within a few years that its value, 
or even name, has been generally known to the 
farmers of this country. 
In Germauy it is used as a Roiling crop for 
swine, being mown and run throngh a cutting- 
box, sprinkled with meal, bran, etc., aud fed to 
hogs, whioh fatten rapidly upon it. It run at 
certainly prove tho best soiling plant for dairies. 
Sowing it in the spring, so that it will not have 
third leaf till danger of heavy frosts is over, it 
will, I doubt not, llourish in any of our Northern 
n. w. BUSS. 
Some four years ago, I determined to look up 
and introduce here some kind of grass that 
would stand drought. For the five previous 
years this region had experienced au almost 
total loss of, or great annual damage to, all 
forage crops, by reason of drought. I therefore 
“read up" on grass everything I could find in 
my library, and by correspondence “posted” 
myself as well as I could. I came to the con¬ 
clusion that, all things considered, the French 
Lncern, introduced into California from Ohili, 
and knowu as Ohili Clover, or better, by its 
single Spanish name of “ Alfalfa,” held out the 
best promise of being the grass I desired. I 
therefore ordered 100 lba. of seed from a dealer 
in California. It cost then (1874) 19 cents per 
pound in gold. The premium, exchange and 
freight made it cost here about 30 cents per 
pound in currency. The St. Louis Beed stores 
were, at that time, Rending out Hmali qnantities 
of the seed by mail—prepaid -at about 75 cents 
per pound. 
I sowed the seed in April, 1875—sowing eight 
pounds per aero on eight acres, and about 
twolve pounds per acre on three acres—I should 
have s >wn at least twenty pounds per acre. 
Baling tho summer following, the eight-acre 
held was flooded by the creek, aud Smart-weed 
grew very thick and high, and I had to mow it 
and haul it off. I foarod the Alfalfa, whieh iB 
quite delicate during tho first year, was dead, as 
the slim tops shaded by tho Smart-weed, were 
black aud dead, hut a close examination showed 
fresh, green leaves of Alfalfa close to the 
ground, so I was satished all hope of it was not 
yet lost. 
I out no crop, save Smart-weed, that season. 
The next year, 1870, I out two good crops of 
Alfalfa hay, and a third crop was ready for cut¬ 
ting late iu the season, when severe freezing 
took place. The third season, 1877, I out two 
crops on the eight-aore piece and three crops on 
the three acres. I then turned umlor the eight- 
acre piece and sowed winter wheat, hoping 
thereby to thicken up the grass and to test, by 
actual experiment, whether it would grow again 
from the rootm A friend in California wrote 
that I would see which I had the most of, wheat 
or Alfalfa, when I came to harvest the wheat; 
aud I did the crops of both were about equal; 
the Alfalfa and wheat each being about six feet 
Wgh. Cutting and thrashing were rendered 
States. I have heard of a field of it in some 
part of New York State, said to have been sown 
fifty years ago. Its roots will subsoil any kind 
of ground aud open it up, aerate and drain it. 
I think no farmer should be without a field of 
Alfalfa. 
Washington Co., Mo. 
--. 
TOBACCO. 
No crop which a farmer can put npon his land 
Is more exhausting than tobacco. It takes all 
the virtue of the best soils to supply its pecu¬ 
liar nature and the large proportion of mineral 
elements and nitrogenous matter in its stalk and 
leaves. The following table will show the in¬ 
organic elements iu 1000 lbs of the stem and 
leaf • 
liiosplioric Aeld 
Sulphuric Acid.. 
Lime. 
Magnesia. 
l'uiash. 
Silica. 
8.60 
y.su 
8S.au 
25.1X1 
73.70 
23.00 
ToU1 228.40 tt>S. 
making nearly twenty-three percent. To sup¬ 
ply this is absolutely necessary for those who 
wish to raise good tobacco, and there is no pro¬ 
fit in any but good. Other orops will not 
follow in rotation, as they will follow almost 
any other crop; for wheat would also require a 
large supply of phosphoric acid, lime, potash 
and silica. Indian corn also requires these in¬ 
gredients in large Bnpply, and so do rye, barley, 
buckwheat and oats as well as potatoes and all 
root crops. Hence, to raise tobacco, the orop 
may as well be taken from the same ground 
each year, and the grower must see that this 
amount of manure is annually returned in some 
form; he must return, besides nitrogen in ni¬ 
trates or ammonia, at least 10 lbs of phosphoric 
acid, 100 lbs. of lime, 25 lba of smagnosia, 75 
lbs. of Bilica for oach 1000 lbfl. of tobacco he 
wishes to raise. Ground cannot well he too rich 
for thiB orop, but the manure must be of the 
character to return tho same ingredients whioh 
the crop has taken away, and 1000 lbs per acre 
is a good yield. 
The tobacco orop is, nevertheless, a profitable 
crop to raise, where the climate will allow it to 
be planted early enough, so as to obtain its full 
growth before frost sets in. The seed is sown 
very thiokly in protected beds in March and 
transplanted as early as practicable iu April and 
May, In towb two or three feet apart so as to al¬ 
low of cultivating by horse plow one way. The 
gTound must be fertile, and cultivation muBt be 
thorough to obtain good results. The plant 
grows from three to six feet high, and the flow¬ 
er-stem is topped off at half its natural bight to 
throw all the strength of the plant into from 
eight to twelve of its lower leaves which are tho 
most valuable. Any broken stems or injured 
leaves are removed, as are all lateral shoots, 
and the closest attention mast be given to the 
destruction of insects, the tobacco worm espe¬ 
cially. In August or September the stalk is cut 
close to the ground and cured—sometimes by 
hanging upon poles, sometimes by first throw¬ 
ing into heipB to sweat. Tho leaves are then 
stripped and dried for packing. 
The curing is an important operation and 
much depends upon this being successfully done. 
Accordingly artificial heat is necessary when the 
weather is cold and wet. As fancy runs to light 
or dark wrappers, the effort of the grower is to 
supply that particular kind. A few years since 
light wrappers were tho rage, now public taste 
has turned to dark, and beside tho natural dark 
leaf many processes of coloring have been in¬ 
troduced. The wrapper leaves are the most 
valuable part of the crops, but with the intro¬ 
duction of fine-cut tobacco and scrap cigars, ev¬ 
erything is used iu their manufacture. 
When the crop is cured, it is packed iu hogs¬ 
heads, bales and boxes for shipment. Tho hogs¬ 
heads range from 600 pounds, in Maryland, up 
to 1,500 pounds in Ohio. Three things are in¬ 
dispensable in growing tobacco: a rich soil, reg¬ 
ularly supplied with ample manure; thorough 
cultivation, and great care in properly curing it. 
Oftentimes the crop in the same locality will 
vary one-half in value from negleoting these re¬ 
quirements. 8t jj B 
gjboriniltural, 
EVERY-DAY NOTES. 
SAMUEL PARSONS, 
THE C0NCAVE-LEAVE0 ASH-FRAXINUS CUNCAV>EF01IA. 
An old saying has dubbed the Ash, “ The fool 
of the forest," Why I cannot say. There are 
doubtless weak points appertaining to Ashes as 
well as to other trees, diseases that attack them 
aud peculiarities that mar their appearance. It 
must he acknowledged, however, that prejudice 
does exist in the case of the Ash, and possibly 
not always without j ustioe. But there are Ashes 
and Ashes. They have certainly diverse colors, 
forms and habits to a degree realized by few, 
and are frequently very ornamental aud desira¬ 
ble. The borer is accused of making occasional 
and deadly attacks on Ashes, but many kinds 
are generally healthy, vide tine specimens on 
lawns all over tbe country. 
Tho concave-leaved Ash is one of these very 
curious Ashes that add so much variety to col¬ 
lections of lawn trees. The general character 
of the leaf is a rich, deep green, with carious 
outlines, hut a young growth put forth from 
time to time, during summer and even autumn, 
constitutes its great peculiarity and charm. 
This young growth begins at the very tip to 
present a delicate white color flushed with pink, 
which changes farther down into white, then in¬ 
to white mottled or flecked with green, and 
finally comes tho natural green itself. At a dis¬ 
tance, these curious tufts of white foliage are 
very striking and picturesque, especially iu fall, 
when other foliage is dull and yellow. 
THE CUT-LEAVED SUMACHRHUS QLABRA LACINIATA. 
I have actually seen people select this Sum¬ 
ach in preference to the Hydrangea paniculata 
grandiflora. It showed great want of taste, I 
know, but then what can be said to convert such 
misguided persons ! There are no strict canons 
of taste relating to plants, by which these per¬ 
sons cau he convinced of their error, and conse¬ 
quently they will select what pleases them. 
Moreover, what can we say to unenlightened ex¬ 
pressions indicating contempt for the coarseness 
of tho great-flowered Hydrangea, and its un¬ 
sightly loaves ? Certainly no answer need be 
given seriously to the person who laments that 
ho sees relatively so many Hydrangeas every¬ 
where he goes, and wishes for a larger variety 
of old and new flowering shrubs. If a plant is 
good, why not use it everywhere singly and in 
masses, over and over again ? Can we tire of a 
good thing ? Does anyone regret the almost 
universal use of the Coleus and Centauria ? Un¬ 
fortunately we notice that the Rural is also a 
little hard on the Hydrangea panioulata grandi¬ 
flora. However, be that as it may, people who 
admire exceedingly this cut-leaved Sumach, 
credit it with beautiful greeu leaves, like very 
coarse lace, and with a delicate young growth iu 
June, unsurpassed in the way of lino dissections. 
In tho fall, when they meet it in tho somewhat 
obscure positions it often occupies, they are very 
apt to become enthusiastic over its rich colors, 
aud also over tho red seed-vessels erect on the 
stem in compact clusters. I know that the cut¬ 
leaved Sumach is difficult to propagate, and 
choice, but is it not a popular favorite ? and to 
undertake to condemn popular taste, even on 
the score of a lack of general knowledge aud 
ability to weigh the merits of various plants, is 
a responsibility I respectfully decline. 
JAPANESE MAPLES, IN AUTUMN. 
Among the notable qualities of Japanese 
Maples, is tho beautiful fall coloring they pre¬ 
sent in certain varieties. An impression seems 
to exist that their rich colors, to do them credit, 
should be at their brightest throughout the 
summer. We see a highly wrought picture or 
unique specimen in earJy June, and consequent¬ 
ly establish an ideal that most Japanese Maples 
will hardly equal. Immediately the conclusion 
is formed that Japanese Maples are unsatisfac¬ 
tory. But let Bnch objectors pause aud consider 
whether they know of any other tree that retains 
its variegation in the highest perfection through¬ 
out the season. I Beriously doubt whether any 
variegated tree does better in this respect than 
the Japanese Maples, when the latter are well 
grown and in full vigor. But to sum up the 
perfections of Japanese Maples without includ¬ 
ing their fall beauties, would be a gresB in- 
j nstioe. Strange to say, the parent, Acer polj - 
morphum, excels all its varieties in the exqahite 
delicacy of its autumn colors. Several varieties 
such as roseum (a very scarce kind), roseutu- 
marginatum and dissectnm, all color charmingly 
in fall, but scarcely equal the parent. This fall 
characteristic of a choice small tree or shrub, 
will afford additional means of introducing bits 
of bright color near the house where ODly dwarf 
and choice plants are desired. No tree of the 
forest can present more delicate aud exquisite 
hues in antumn, than the little polymorplnm 
Maple. 
Flushing, L. I. 
Httsrrllanfous. 
THE TRUTH 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 ti e 
many unconscious errors that creep into |Le 
methods of daily country routine life.—Eos. J 
SUPERSTITIONS. 
Many people believe it to he a “ bad sign ” to 
kill a cat, aud so they get rid of all their surplus 
cats by leaving them along the roadside in 
lonely places, or at night they drop them near 
some dwelling. Little kittens are often left by 
their weak-minded and cruel owners to perir-u 
by starvation or to be tortured to death by 
wicked boys or strange dogs. Many is the time 
we have seen poor wailing, starving specimens 
of this outrageous practice, and we hate the 
foolish superstition and the heartless fools who 
are governed by it. It is an easy thing to cut a 
cat’s head off, (?) or to drown a lortf kittens in a 
pailful of water. It is net a pleasant thing io 
do, [but it is not to cowardly and mean and 
wicked as to drop them at a neighbor’s door, or 
to let them die by inches. 
We saw, the other day, while crossing a 
bridge, in the midst of the Mohawk river, a poor 
kitten trying to swim for the shore. We asked 
two boys in a boat near by to take it to the 
bank They would uot do it. Probably they 
had thrown it iu, iu obedience to the command 
of their parents, who took this way to get rid of 
a kitten which was uot to blame for being horn, 
and which was entitled to die without needless 
torture. What kind of Christianity, yea, human¬ 
ity, must exist in a household where such un¬ 
feeling acts could be directed or iu auy way 
countenanced ! Boys brought up in such an at¬ 
mosphere and under such influences will make 
mean men, and very likely ripen into criminals, 
aud finish up iu a prison. A superstition which 
begets any such cruelty had better be rooted 
out at once before its natural outgrowth shall 
have sown seeds of crimo and punishment for 
the children, and sorrow and misery for the pa¬ 
rents. F. D. Curtis. 
EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENTS’ 
LETTERS. 
ROSskj.le, N. J., Sept. 28. 
We have the finest double Balsams I ever saw, 
but I supposed the seed would be single next 
year, and therefore of no use. I have some 
Egyptian Sweet Corn, but cannot see that it is 
any sweeter or better than many other varieties. 
J. a. 
Newport, Vt., Oct. 2 , is;s. 
I know all about the glorious army of axe- 
griuders. There are no men I like better to 
snub. They are universally men lacking the 
beBt characteristics of manhood. They will try 
to use you, and if they find they cannot, they 
will try to harm you. a. 
Union City, Mich., July 86. 
Having read the Rural’s offer of Willow cut¬ 
tings to subscribers, I wish to get some. I wish 
also to return thanks for the seeds sent. I 
should have done so before, but I have waited to 
see them in blossom, that I oould tell of my 
success. The Pelargoniums, six in number, are 
now lovely with their crimson and scarlet. They 
are all single, bat the foliage is beautiful. The 
