THE BUBAL MEW-70BKEB. 
f, substitute beets for one of the daily 
feedings, and we are satisfied that they 
will fatten as fust with the change as they 
did before on grain entirely. The feeding 
of beets will not only give them a change 
which will tetri to stimulate their appetite, 
but also recuperate their stomachs. 
Boars, while in use, should not be confined 
in a close pen, hut they should be allowed rhe 
range of a yard, or, what is better, a field. 
They need strong food a ml at the same time a 
variety. A careful observation of the above 
suggestions will insure vigorous progeny. A 
great rnauy times pigs are born puny, which 
s the result of the management of the sire 
contrary to the above. 
It is strange that so many farmers have so 
little thought for the comfort of their pigs. 
They try to offset cold weather and the de¬ 
pleting effects of exposure with corn. Their 
pigs, half frozen, snap up the corn without 
masticating it, and then creep into a heap, 
vainly trying to keep warm. Their food is 
burned up maintaining life, t. e. in keeping 
up heat enough to sustain life, whereas the 
pens should be warm enough to shut out the 
cold, and the food should make growth. Docs 
it npt occur to such farmers that hemlock 
boards are cheaper than corn, and that a few 
days’ work on the pig house would keep the 
granary fuller, and the pork barrel, too ? 
Farmers are traveling backwards, follow¬ 
ing the lead of the butchers, and selecting the 
more lean varieties of hogs. The Rod Berk- 
shires are coining in demand extensively on ac¬ 
count of their combination of lean with the 
fat meat. The butchers do not like the thick¬ 
sided, over-fat breeds. There is too much 
waste in cutting up and for making into sau¬ 
sage. 
OUR ANIMAL PORTRAITS. 
Short-horn Bull Prince Alfred (28,593). 
The portrait, Fig. 4, has been re-engraved 
from a likeness in the Agricultural Gazette 
(England) which was produced from a very 
striking photograph. The animal it repre¬ 
sents is the property of Mr. Robinson, of Edge- 
hill, who bought him as a yearling in 18(58, 
Since then the bull has been used on his own¬ 
er’s herd and also by neighboring farmers at 
a fee of five guineas (about $23). The Gazette 
tells us that he has several times won the first 
prize of the North Lonsdale Agricultural 
Society, aud last September he won the 
first prize for aged bulls at the North Lons¬ 
dale show and also the 100-guinea challenge 
cup for the best Short-horn on the ground. 
He will be 14 years old on March 25,1882, and 
he is still in service, most of his later calves 
being heifers. He is what may be called a 
creamy white, aud a few years ago was con¬ 
sidered one of the best bulls in Eugtand. The 
protuberance on his near fore-leg was caused 
by an injury in the stall. 
NOTES BY A STOCKMAN. 
It is a saying among lawyers, that the great¬ 
est trouble they have is in preventing their 
witnesses from proving too much ; and their 
greatest success is in lettiug adverse witnesses 
talk on. Mr. G. F. Tabor has a poor witness 
for himself, in himself ; when he writes in his 
communication (page 857) on the merits of 
muley cows. That popular remark is more 
often applied to hr indie cows than to mu ley ^ 
and nine farmers out of ten think a brindled 
cow is almost sure to be u. good one. Perhaps 
there will soon be a boom in old “brindles.” 
I am an old band and ean take very placidly 
any sort of remarks about my ignorance and 
prejudice, from any one. It is a very Cheap 
argument ; but it is as pool' and ineffective as 
it Is cheap unless backed up by facts. There is 
nothing in Mr. Tuber’s statement that might 
not be equally well applied to native cows, 
except that in regard to families of polled cat¬ 
tle being fully equal to the far-famed Jerseys 
in the production of butter, both as regards 
quantity and quality. That is too broad an 
assertion, Mr, Taber, and 1 feel sure that you 
would like to recall that as an after consider¬ 
ation. If this were so, why don’t we hear 
something more of it than the bare assertions 
of breeders of these cattle. 
Mr. Redfield, whose herd of imported 
stock is from the strain of Mr. Ferguson of 
Coupar-Angus, some of whose cattle have been 
well illustrated in the Rural. New-Yorker 
and which 1 believe to be without exception 
the finest herd of these cattle in Scotland, also 
falls into Mr. Taber’s erx-or and over-proves 
his case. The closing paragraph of bis article 
and indeed the whole tone of it, in referenc 
to breeding off the horns, indicates that he 
does not go so far as Mr. Taber, and that the 
absence of horns is the most desirable charac¬ 
teristic of these cattle. I fully agree with 
him, and go much further when I say that the 
Polled Angus are a first-class beef breed. But 
there 1 stop. History has as yet no case on 
record of a first-rate beef breed being at the 
same time a first-rate dairy breed. The two 
are quite incompatible. And yet some ex¬ 
ceptional Short-horns, Herefords, Long-horns 
and Polled cows have been remarkable for 
their yields of milk and butter. 
Mr. Taber doubts if I ever owned polled 
cattle. Why should he doubt that ? It is a 
more gratuitous supposition and an insinua¬ 
tion that I am writing about something of 
which I am entirely ignorant. It may please 
Mr. Talier to know that one of the best cows 
1 ever owned was a Polled Angus of the Wat¬ 
son, of Keillor strain, more than 20 years ago. 
But it may not please him to know that I got 
her “dirt cheap” because she was so vicious ; 
aud again it may pleaso him to learn that in a 
short time I made her a most docile animal, 
simply by kind and rational treatment. Since 
then 1 have had polled cows that I would have 
exchanged for us many good goats, so far as 
milking is concerned, so that I cannot say my 
experience is not a little mixed on this point. 
But enough. The case has been well pre¬ 
sented to your readers by Mr. Taber and Mr. 
Red field, who are entitled to every possible 
regard us upright, honorable men who would 
not purposely mislead anyone, although they 
are breeders of t hese cattle, and, of course, 
are easily influenced in favor of their favorite 
cattle. I am a breeder of cattle, but I have 
carefully refrained in these notes from at¬ 
tempting to get up a boom for my sort and 
yet 1 honestly think them the best kind, or I 
would not keep them. 
I notice that the prices of these cattle are 
rapidly advancing in Scotland, and that at a 
recent sale there enormous prices were real¬ 
ized for them. Certainly no one can have 
an objection to that, so long as American 
farmers are not induced by exaggerated state¬ 
ments to help fill the pockets of the foreign 
breeders and empty their own without ade 
quate benefit. These cattle now bring more 
money than Short-horns. 
I don’t think I can lie justly accused of en¬ 
deavoring to depreciate polled cattle In 
former notes I have given them the highest 
credit for being what they are, an excellent 
beef breed. And here I would record the fact 
that at the recent Birmingham (England) fat 
stock show, the first prize oxunder four years 
old was a Scotch polled weighing 202(5 lbs. and 
showing an average growth of 1.80 lb. per 
day during 1124 days. 1 will cheerfully ad¬ 
mit that a man who wishes to go into the 
oleomargarine dairy could uotdo better than 
keep this class of dairy cattle. 
ftlisccllimeous. 
RURAL BRIEFLETS. 
The Rural has often directed attention to 
the ease with which many of our handsomest 
shrubs may be raised from seeds. Seeds of 
many kinds may still be found adhering to 
the bushes, aud these, if collected now and 
planted in pots or boxes, will soon germinate 
in any room the temperature of which ranges 
above 40 degrees. Among the seeds still to be 
found are spirants (Nine-bark, for example), 
Mock-orange,lilacs, w@igela,doutzia, barberry, 
euonyuius, Winterberry (Ilex verticillata), 
Sweet-scented Shrub, Rose of Sharon, and 
others. These will all germinate in about a 
month, and should lie planted singly in thumb- 
pots as soon as the second leaves appear. 
Then in the Spring they may be thumped out 
and planted in the open ground. The lilac is 
certainly one of our finest anl hardiest 
shrubs, and we have long thought it possi¬ 
ble to improve it very materially through 
persistent seedbng cultivation, though our 
own efforts in this direction have been unsuc¬ 
cessful. Seedlings of Mock orange do not 
usually vary much, aud the same may be said 
of the barberry, euonyiuus, Sweet-scented 
Shrub and Winterberry. Weigel as, however, 
vary decidedly. Several years ago wo raised 
a lot from the White Weigela. Among the 
seedlings not one bore white flowers, while 
the leaves of several were variegated. 
Probably- the Rural New-Yorker had 
more to do with the popularization of the 
Great-panieled Hydrangea (H. pauiculata 
grandillora) than any other journal, and we 
sometimes regret that this is so. The first 
season that we raised this shrub we were 
struck with its immense flower heads, many 
of them over a foot in length. We were 
pleased with its gaudiness, and, influenced no 
doubt by the praises and exclamations of 
those who looked upon it for the first time, 
mistook its coars showiness for beauty. But 
the next season we admired it less and the 
next less, until now we do not recognize that 
it has any claims to be ranked among our 
finest lmrdy shrubs, as it is by many of our 
first. horticulturists. We grant that it is ex¬ 
ceedingly hardy—that it bears its sterile, 
coarse, odorless, unflower-like panicles when 
few other plants are iu bloom. That is all 
that can be said of it. Its leaves are of a 
dull green, and during dry seasons trey droop 
as would those of a branch after it lm l been 
severed from the stem. The flowers are never 
pure white, nor rose color, nor any other of 
the delicate shades which writers have em¬ 
ployed in describing it. As they Unfold they 
are of a greenish-white, which changes to a 
duff rose, as if in withering, and finally all 
color is lost, while the papery tissue persists 
until hard frosts. This shrub while in bloom 
powerfully attracts the eye by its boldness, 
but one loses all interest in it when the 
acquaintance has become familiar—it can 
never engage the affections... 
Seedling peaches are fruit trees with 
which every farmer who lives where they 
thrive should concern himself. Of all fruit 
trees the peach is most easily raised from 
seed and bears earliest. It may also lie said 
that of all fruit trees the seedling peach more 
nearly reproduces the characteristics of the 
parent. Two years ago last Fall one of the 
Rural hands wms instructed to plant about a 
pint of pits in a certain manner. Instead of 
following his instructions a hole about two 
feet wide Was dug and the pits thrown there¬ 
in and the earth covered with straw man¬ 
ure. About 25 germinated, grew the first 
year to the bight of a foot or more, and these 
were transplanted last Spring. All would 
have lived but for the drought, which killed 
several. We mention this circumstance to 
show with how little trouble peach trees may 
be raised, and for the benefit of those who 
had rather go without fruit of their own 
raising than to bother over systematic 
methods. Seedling peaches often bear fruit 
the third Summer... 
Have any of our readers a way of account¬ 
ing for the fact that blackberry bushes, as a 
rule, removed from the woods to the garden 
bear very little if any fruit ? We are aware 
that the Snyder, Kittathirty, Lawton and 
others were found in the woods or hedges 
growing wild. These are the exceptions. 
Years ugo, while gathering blackberries iu 
the woods, wc found along the north side of a. 
wood some of the largest and sweetest ber¬ 
ries we had ever eaten. Four or five plants 
were marked and removed in the Fall to the 
Rural Grounds, where they were cultivated 
for four years. Not one of the plants ever 
bore a berry to our knowledge. 
Mr. Darius Rice, of Adrian, Lenawee 
Co., Mich., informs the Rural that he 
has a small quantity of the Rural Branching 
Sorghum seed, which he will send (as long n.s 
it lasts) to our subscribers who send a stamp 
for postage. The trouble is that in reply to a 
notice of this kind many more are likely to 
apply than can be served. We are a little 
surprised that it should have seeded in Michi¬ 
gan. 
To read over the descriptions of potatoes 
in seedsmen’s catalogues one must suppose 
there are as many marked differences iu the 
flavor us well as in the texture of potatoes as 
in apples. Is it possible that experts can de¬ 
termine one seedling of the Early Rose from 
another when cooked, the sumo as pomolo- 
giats can determine the name of an upplo 
from eating it i We have never yet seen a 
potato of the Early Rose class that would not 
cook “mealy” if properly cooked. Some, it 
is true, are more mealy than others. Some 
fall to pieces, while others are flaky upon the 
surface and firm within. All, however, are 
tasteless or flavorless or so nearly so that if 
Snowflakes, Early Rose, Beauty of Hebron, 
etc,, were placed upon the table in separate 
dishes, it would seem to bo impossible to dis¬ 
tinguish one from the other. Iu describing 
potatoes, therefore, which have sprung from 
the Early Rose we have only to base our esti¬ 
mate of quality upon their texture. We 
hope that potato originators will give the 
tasteless sorts a long rest while they strive to 
produce new varieties of the Poachblow or 
“ strong ” class, which may prove as disease- 
resisting and productive..... 
“ A reliable friend,” says Mr. Chas. A. 
Green, “ has tested the Western Triumph 
Blackberry and found it superior in size, hardi¬ 
ness and quality. Who can tell us more 
about it?” We have had from two to five 
plants of this blackberry for eight years, and 
have never yet gathered a pint of berries 
from them, and these were inferior in size 
and quality. Last Wiuter our plants (two 
only then) were—with all other kinds except 
the Snyder—greatly injured. The Snyder 
was not harmed. We give this bit of informa¬ 
tion in reply to Mr. Green, well knowing that 
the Western Triumph bears the reputation of 
being very vigorous, hardy and productive. 
So it nmy be in Illinois, where it originated, 
and perhaps elsewhere—but it is not bore. 
The berry, however, at its best, is very soft, 
and can never, therefore, become popular for 
market.. • - 
Silver Chaff Wheat. —This has been 
raised in various parts of the country and its 
yield per acre and flouring qualities re¬ 
ported upon. We call to mind several re¬ 
ports whiih rate Silver Chaff Hour as of the 
best quality, while the yield has been rated at 
from 25@35 bushels to the acre. For three 
or four years past we have grown it at the 
Rural Farm, though, previous to the past sea¬ 
son, upon plots so small that we have not had 
enough to send to mill. We are now, how¬ 
ever, using Silver Chaff flour from this year’s 
crop raised upon about four acres. We are 
sorry to report that the quality of the flour 
is no better than that of the much-disparaged 
Clawson, while the yield is rather less. 
We have received from Mr. Hales, of 
Glastonbury, Conn., one specimen of the 
Champion Quince, which measures just 12j^ 
inches in circumference, weighing just one 
pound ..... 
Mr. Robert L. Smith, of Linn Co., Oregon, 
writes us as foil ws: “I was most agreeably 
surprised to receive a fine silver watch as a 
third prize for the third best five beads of 
wheat sent to you. The watch is much better 
than anything that 1 anticipated, and I feel 
like thanking you over and over again for the 
chance you give us to compote for such fine 
prizes; and I think that you are engaged in a 
grand and noble work in the improvement of 
seed and in the free distribution of the same 
to your subscribers, and I hope that you will 
receive some compensation for the immense 
trouble that you are put to.”. 
Marshall P. Wilder on Fruits.— Still 
quoting from the Transactions of. Die Massa¬ 
chusetts Horticultural Society, M. P. Wilder 
was of the opinion that Southern competition 
in fruits was not injurious, but beneficial. We 
get strawberries from the South a month or 
six weeks before they uro ripe here, and 
though the Wilson and Nunanarenot much 
esteemed, they are acceptable in the absence 
of better. They do not command as high a 
price as those grown here. The speaker 
thought it a great advantage that we could 
have these early fruits, and they create an 
appetite for our own wheu they are ripe. The 
prolonging the season is very desirable, not 
only with respect to the strawberry, but 
other fruits. The new strain of peaches 
lately introduced has lengthened the season 
of that fruit, and it is desirable by scientific 
means to raise varieties of that aud other 
fruit which will prolong the season still 
further. Peaches am sold for a cent each 
here which would cost sixpence each in Eng¬ 
land. The case is the same with blackberries 
as with strawberries; we can get them from 
the South a month earlier than we Can raise 
them hem. We can compete with the South 
iu this fruit also if we plant them, but no one 
here has planted them by the 50 acres, as is 
done at the South. The Snyder Blackberry is 
very hardy—the speaker hud never heard of 
its needing protection—and it. is an enormous 
bearer. The WaChUSett Thornless is very 
nearly hardy. All can be made to stand the 
Winter better by nipping the canes when 
three or four feet high, and, if the laterals 
grow too strong, nipping again. The Dor¬ 
chester aud Lawton never fail with the 
speaker; they grow by a fence without culti¬ 
vation. Wo cannot change the order of 
nalure; we c»uuut get a grape ripe hem by 
the first of August, but we cun have them 
from the South at u very moderate price. 
Mr. Caleb Bates (Massachusetts Horticul¬ 
tural Society), remarked that if all the fruit 
buds on a peach tree are ki'lod, the tree has 
nothing to do but. to grow, and care should be 
taken not to feed it too highly. But if the 
buds are not destroyed and the fruit sets, by 
the last of May it will bo of the size of peas, 
and then the trees should bo liberally man¬ 
ured with concentrated fertilizers, such as 
gunno or hen droppings, and it is astonishing 
to see by the dark green color of the leaves 
how quickly the trees respond to such treat¬ 
ment. If no fertilizer is applied the tree will 
ripen the fruit, but make no wood or fruit 
buds for the next year. Mi-. Bates empha¬ 
sizes this point as the most important thing 
ho could say—force when in fruit, and with¬ 
hold fertilizers when not in fruit. 
The only successful way of combatting 
the ravages of the curculio on plums is by 
