FEB. 25 
& 
shire can pick up a fair livelihood where either 
of the others would starve. She also lays on 
rapidly and economically an excellent quality 
of flesh when turned off for the butcher. 
AVhen the Ayrshire is better known, we feel 
confident that she will be far more popular 
than she is now among the general public. 
The Suffolk Polled breed of cattle are also 
good milk and beef producers, though not so 
well known in this country as the other breeds 
mentioned. Without knowing the kind of 
feed and care that awaits cattle moving into 
a new district, it is impossible to tell which 
would thrive best there; it may, however, be 
accepted as a rule that if the feed and care in 
their new quarters are worse than those in 
their old homes, cattle of no breed will thrive 
well enough to afford satisfaction. In the 
dairy districts of the older States successful 
farmers and dairymen, as a rule, do not find it 
to their interests to keep cows for beef and 
milk; for the qualities that conduce best to 
the highest excellence in the dairy cow and 
the butcher’s beast experience shows cannot 
be united in the same animal. Probably a 
cross of a Holstein, Ayrshire or Sbort-horn 
bull on deep milking “native” cows would 
produce the best cows for butter and beef in 
Nebraska; for it can hardly be expected that 
cows at the extreme West will receive the 
same careful feeding and attention those at 
the East get, and the offspring of the above 
cross would be hardy and likely to be good 
milkers and beef producers. 
GRAPE-HOT AND BLACK-ROT. 
S. B. P., Muskegon, Mich., says that al¬ 
though he has heard and read a great deal 
about the grape rot and black-rot on grapes, 
he has never seen a case of either malady, and 
as suspicious appearances have been noticed 
the past season on three or four of his 35 vari¬ 
eties, he asks for a description of these two 
diseases—the color of the diseased fruit, the 
time of appearance of the symptoms, and any 
other means of identifying the ailments. 
ANSWER BY D. S. MARVIN. 
These are sporadic diseases, caused by un¬ 
favorable conditions. Healthy vines resist 
them; vines weakened by any cause are liable 
to be attacked. Dr. Engel maun has made a 
partial study of them, and says there are two 
species of fungi that prey unon our vines, and 
he regards them both as different from those 
that affect the European species, Oidium 
TuckerL One—Botry tis riticula—he describes 
as similar to Oidium Tuckeri. It makes its 
appearance upon the leaves in June; after¬ 
wards on the young berries when nearly the 
size of peas; and he thinks it does not attack 
full-grown berries. He regards the attack up¬ 
on the leaves as most fatal; the berries fall off 
or turn a yellowish-browu and at last dry up. 
This corresponds very closely with the disease 
as I have observed it here. The black-rot. 
Dr. Englemann says, is brought on by a very 
different fuugus, and he regards it as uude- 
scribed. It makes its appearance only upon 
full-grown grapes. Its first start is a discol¬ 
ored spot on the side of the berry, w ith a dark 
spot in the center, which soon becomes light- 
brown, and remains so while the surrounding 
parts get darker, the berry gradually shrivel 
mg and becoming black. I have not seen this 
disease here, but this is a close description of 
it as 1 have observed it in Ohio. The subject 
is quite important, but obscure, and needs the 
attention of our agricultural stations. Sul¬ 
phur is, in my experience, but a poor anti¬ 
dote, and my experience is that tile-draining 
is the best preventive. Our foreign hybrid 
grapes are first attacked. 
PEACHES, GRAPES AND PLUMS FOR MASSA¬ 
CHUSETTS. 
J. H. C., Bradford, Mass., wishing to plant 
a couple of hundred peach trees, asks, 1, which 
are the best half dozen varieties, with Craw¬ 
ford’s Early as a first earl}'- sort; 2, the names 
of as many of the best sorts of grapes and 
plums; 3, would it be prudent to put black¬ 
berries and raspb rries in the row with fruit 
trees, and cultivate between the rows. 
Ans. —1, Crawford’s Early is not a first 
early kind. It is ranked as medium by the 
Am. Pomological Society. To make a suc¬ 
cession of six varieties for Massachusetts we 
must begin with Early York or Hale’s Early 
as the earliest; Royal George or Yellow Rare¬ 
ripe as a succeeding early' sort; Coolidge’s 
Favorite, Crawford’s Early, and Oldmixon 
Free, for medium; and Crawford’s Late, for 
late. None of the new very early sorts are 
starred for Massachusetts, nor are any very 
late sorts, the season not being long enough 
to ripen them in that State. There are one or 
two new peaches, natives of Massachusetts, 
that are claimed to be valuable. The only 
one of these noticed by Downing is the Foster, 
a rather late sort (ripe from the middle to the 
last of September) originating with J. T. Fos¬ 
ter, Medford, Mass. The tree is said to be 
hardy, vigorous and productive, and the fruit 
a good market variety. The fruit is large, 
deep orange red in color, and a freestone. 
2 . In grapes, the Concord and Delaware are 
the only sorts double-starred for Massachu¬ 
setts. Lindley, Massasoit, Warden and Hart¬ 
ford Prolific are single-starred, and we would 
advise the trial of Moore’s Early, Brighton 
and Salem. Of plums, no variety is double- 
starred for Mass. Duane’s Purple, Peach, and 
Prince’s Yellow Gage for early, and Brad¬ 
shaw', Jefferson and Washington for medium 
are starred, but no late sort. 3. Yes. 
PEACH FERTILIZATION. 
“ TaeienneFlorida, asks, 1, is the peach 
proterogynous or proterandrous; 2, how soon 
after the opening of the petals is the stigma of 
the peach fertilized, and for how long a period 
thereafter; 3, in the case of the peach, is there 
any known law- determining results in hybrid¬ 
izing different varieties to obtain the qualities 
of earliness, shape or flavor in different de¬ 
grees; if so, please Btate it. 
ANSWER BY PROF. W. J. BEAL. 
I. I do not know. Many plants of the Rose 
family, to which the peach belongs, have stig¬ 
mas fertilized, or ready to be fertilized, a little 
before the stamens of the same flower ap]Ksar. 
I have no notes on the peach. 2. I can only 
guess at a reply to this, by- knowing how it is 
in apple, cherry, spiraea and some other 
flowers nearly related to the peach. Much 
depends on the weather. If cool, probably 
they will remain fresh three days unless fer¬ 
tilized. When pollen is applied in any way 
and takes effect, the stigmas very soon wilt. 
Stigmas of flowers related to the peach are usu¬ 
ally ready to receive pollen as soon as the petals 
expand. If a cross is desired, and flowers of 
two trees are not out at the same time, pollen 
of one may be kept some weeks and retain its 
value or vitality. 3. Feaehes are as liable to 
produce peaches like themselves as like any 
otker certain kind, and usually much more so. 
I know of no known law for determining be¬ 
forehand what the results of a certain cross 
will be. Try and see is the best way. Very 
often a seed will produce a tree bearing fruit 
in some respects like each parent; in others, 
like one parent; in others, quite unlike either 
parent. 
DIFFERENT SORTS OF LLUE. 
J, H. C. Bradford Mass., asks if there is 
any difference between water lime and ce¬ 
ment ; what is the difference between 
stone lime and common lime, what is black 
lime. 
Ans.—W ater lime, hydraulic lime and cement 
are words signifying the.same thing, which is 
an impure lime containing a certain quantity 
of clay and which has the property, when 
burned, of setting bard under water. It is 
thus called water-lime. Hydraulic means re¬ 
lating to water, and the term cement is used 
to signify the strongly adhesive character 
of this lime when worked into a mortar with 
sand and vised in dry work ; it is also fre¬ 
quently called hydraulic cement. Common 
lime is stone lime that is burned front lime¬ 
stone ; shell lime is made from oyster shells 
and is pure lime; while stone lime often con¬ 
tains magnesia. Black lime is gas lime ; it is 
so called because it is dark in color, and in 
contradistinction to common lime, which is 
called white lime by persons used to hand¬ 
ling gas lime. 
COTTON-SEED ASHES AS A FERTILIZER, ETC. 
J. It., Lawrence, Texas, says many of the 
cotton gin owners thereabouts use cotton-seed 
for fuel, and the ashes can be obtained for the 
handling, and he asks what is their value as a 
fertilizer; and how- to dissolve bones with 
ashes. 
Ans.—The ash of the cotton-seed hulls is one 
of the richest known. Prof. Goessman’s analy¬ 
sis shows that it contains 23.72 per cent, of 
potash and 7.88 per cent, of phosphoric acid. 
The ash of the w-hole seed contains fron 27)^ 
to 36 per cent, of potash, and 35 )4 to 37 per 
cent, of phosphoric acid. Being so rich in pot¬ 
ash it would make a very good solvent for 
bones. It would act more strongly- if about 
one-third of the bulk of fresh quicklime were 
mixed with the ashes, as this would make the 
potash caustic and increase its effect on the 
bones very much. Pack the bones aDd ashes 
with the lime mixed with them in layers, a foot 
of bone and six inches of ashes and lime; then 
moisten them with water, but not so much as 
to make the water run from them. 
GRAPE TRELLIS. 
T. A. P., South Bend, Ind., intending to 
build a grape trellis, asks, 1, what sort of wire 
should he use; 2, should he use linseed oil and 
charcoal, mixed, to paint the burr oak posts 
he is going to use as supports for the trellis. 
Ans. —1. No. 12 galvanized wire will be 
strong enough for your purpose, supported at 
proper intervals by posts. Charcoal wire is to 
be preferred. 2. Some form of coal oil, such 
as the Miner’s Co.’s finishing oil, would be very 
much better than linseed oil because of its 
great penetrating qualities, which linseed oil 
possesses only in a limited degree; besides, the 
coal oil is cheaper. We do not think pulver¬ 
ized charcoal would be of much use in the way 
you propose. Repeat the oiling several times 
as the wood gets dry. The ends insert¬ 
ed in the ground may be painted with coal 
tar or charred. Your posts will last many 
years treated in this way. 
AILING SHEEP. 
W. Z. C., Savannah, Oa., asks for a remedy 
for a disease from which his shei p are dying 
rapidly. They are taken with the scours and 
running at the nose, and, all at once, they 
become very weak and die within 24 hours of 
the time they- are in apparent good health. 
Ans. —The description given is not sufficient 
to found any satisfactory opinion of the cause 
of the disease upon. This may arise from 
various causes, as parasitic worms in the in¬ 
testines, or from disorder of the lungs, or in¬ 
flammatory intestinal fever, and what would 
be good treatment in one case might be danger¬ 
ous in another. You should have a sheep 
opened and carefully examined; first the lungs; 
then the liver and gall; then the intestines, 
cutting these organs open and thoroughly in¬ 
vestigating them. Then if you will give 
further information we shall be letter able to 
advise you. 
Miscellaneous. 
C. B. E., Newark, Ohio, asks, 1, where are 
the principal British ship-yards; 2, how is it 
that ships can be built in Great Britain cheap¬ 
er than in America; 8, when did England 
adopt the Free Trade policy; and who were 
its priucipal advocates. 
Ans.— 1. The principal ship-yard in Great 
Britain is in Scotland, on the Clyde River. It 
is at this yard that most of the great iron steam¬ 
ships are built. There Rre several extensive 
ship-building yards in England, for instance 
at Bristol, London, Birkenhead near Liver¬ 
pool, New Castle; but nine-tenths of the iron 
steamships are bui't on the Clyde. 2. These 
ships are built cheaper in England and Scot¬ 
land than here because of the greater facilities 
for the work arising from a long-established 
business, cheaper iron and coal, and cheaper 
labor, the latter, of course, cheapening all the 
materials used. 8, England adopted Free 
Trade practically in 1818, when the Com Laws 
were repealed. Richard Cobden, John Bright, 
Sir James Graham and some other members 
of the Free Trade League were the principal 
advocates; Sir Robert Reel, the Premier of 
England at that time, introduced and carried 
the legislation. It was a few years after 1848 
before Free Trade became completely estab¬ 
lished. [Other questions will be answered 
later on.] 
II. J. IV ., Millerion, N. Y., asks, 1, the cause 
of and a remedy for crib biting; 2, when 
chickens have cholera, do they make a wheez 
ing sound in breathing; 3, what breed of hogs 
is best for general purposes; 4, what butter 
color is best. 
Ans. —1. Clibbing is a nervous habit, just as 
when persons bite their finger nails. It can 
be cured w ith the greatest ease. Put the feed 
trough on the floor and have nothing in the 
stall, that a horse can lay hold of w ith his 
teeth, more than 18 inches front the floor. A 
horse cannot crib with his head down low. 2. 
When chickens have a whet zing noise in their 
breuthing the trouble is roup, diphtheria or 
catarrh; cholera affects the liver and bowels 
only. The cure of throat diseases in poultry 
is to use a solution of one drachm of chlorate 
of potash in a pint of water and wash the 
bird’s throat w ith this, pouring a tem-poonful 
also down the throat. 3. Perhaps the Berk 
shire may be said to be the best general-pur¬ 
pose pig. It is the best family bacon and 
ham pig, no doubt. 4. The basis of all the 
butter colors is the same, viz., annatto; one 
make is as good as another as soon as one is 
used to it. 
J. B. II., Grass Lake, Mich., asks, 1, what 
sort of grass is best for hay and pasture on 
mucky ground; 2, will the big kind of clover, 
sown on a marshy bottom, make a good pas¬ 
ture; 3, bow to treat a cow that seems in 
dined to have inversion of the womb three 
months before calving. 
Ans. —1. Timothy, six pounds, and Red 
Top, 12 pounds per acre, will be most suitable 
for a muck or moist soil. 2. The large or 
Mammoth Clover is not suitable for a pasture 
nor for hay excepting in special casas. It is 
an excellent soiling crop. 3. The cow troubled 
with inversion of the uterus should be kept in 
a stall having the hind part four inches higher 
than the fore part. A broad bandage of cot¬ 
ton bagging should be passed around the part, 
having holes cut in it for the cow to pass her 
excrements, and be fastened firmly to a strong 
strap around the fore part of the body. The 
parts should also be bathed with a w f eak mix¬ 
ture of water and tincture of opium and a 
dose of half an ounce of bromide of potassium 
be given daily until the danger is past. 
D. L. B., no address, asks 1. what is the 
legal remedy when a neighbor refuses to 
make or repair his part of a line fence ; 2, 
what is a legal line fence. 
Ans,— 1, No man is obliged to make a fence 
unless he likes to do so. If he prefers to run 
the risk of trespass upen his land or the risk 
of becoming liable for trespass upon another 
person’s land for want of the fence, he has 
the privilege of eboosiug that alternative. 
But you cannot force a person to build a 
fence or repair one. The remedy is to sue 
him for damage incurred through the tres¬ 
pass of auy cattle that may come upon your 
land from his for want of the fence. 2, A 
lawful fence is one that it sufficient to keep 
out any quiet cattle ; one is not obliged to 
fence against unruly or breachy apimals. 
W. S B., Salina, Kansas, asks l.whether 
the Wilson Strawberry bears pistillate 
flowers; he has some known by that name 
that have never borne fruit; how should he 
treat them ;2, what low grow ing flowers 
would be likely to thrive there—would ran- 
sies do well ? 
Ans. —1. The Wilson bears perfect flowers. 
If your plants do not bear berries they are not 
Wilsons and you may plant the Wilson beside 
them, Our fruit supplement will give you in¬ 
formation as to varieties. 2, Pansies will not 
thrive in a dry, hot soil. Petunias are excel¬ 
lent. Try Zinnias, Portulacas, Snapdragons, 
Larkspurs, Lantanas, Marvel of Peru, Pop¬ 
pies, Feverfew^ and Salvias. 
E. E. H., Scotia, N. Y., asks whether there 
is any means of killing the vile weed known as 
snapdragon.. 
Ans. —This is botanically Linaria vulgaris. 
Besides Snapdragou, it is known by the 
names of Butter-and-Eggs, Toad-ilax, Rau- 
stead Weed This vile thing, a native of 
Europe, is becoming naturalized in many 
parts of the country. It forms patches which 
enlarge with fearful rapidity by its creeping 
roots taking almost complete possession of the 
ground. We are much troubled with it at the 
Rural Farm in old sods. In fiel s it yieldsto 
cultivation. 
J. MrMetheun, Muss., asks where can he 
getfull information about Government Land. 
Ans. —The Public Land Office, Department 
of the Interior, Washington, D. C., is sup¬ 
posed to furnish information to inquirers con¬ 
cerning the public lands under control of the 
United States. There is a great deal of what 
is called “public land,” however, which has 
passed from the possession of the United 
States to that of various States. Information 
about this is to be obtained through the land 
offices at the capitals of the different States 
which have enough of such land to need a 
Land Office’ to manage it 
A. J. B., Belmont, Mass., asks whether the 
Saxon Importing Co., of this city, is a reliable 
concern: 2. where can Red Mediterranean 
Wheat lie purchased. 
Ans —It has the reputation of being so. 
Like many other pretty reliable concerns, it 
promises a great deal in its advertisements, 
and one will be safe in allowing a good deal 
for exaggeration in this line. 2. Of R. H. 
Allen & Co,, 1811 Water St., N. Y. City. We 
know of no seedsman near our inquirer, who 
offers it. Send for catalogues noticed in the 
Rural and examine them. 
C, A. P., Morristown, N. J.. asks for a good 
way to preserve fence-posts ; 2, would not tar 
be likely to injure the bark of fruit trees to 
which it had been applied as a protection 
against grubs, as lately recommended by a 
writer in the Rural; 3, front our own ex¬ 
perience w ith it, would we recommend to East¬ 
ern farmers the use of barbed wire fence. 
Ans. —Boil the ends to be sunk into the 
ground iu gas tar. 2 See what we have said 
on this subject in answ er to J R, D., in last is¬ 
sue. 3. From our own experience thus far, 
we are not prepared to recommend barbed 
wire fence to Eastern farmers. 
J. L. P., Worcester. Muss., asks, 1, do we 
kuow anything of Clark’s No. 1 Potato, 
w hich is very highly spoken of by a good au 
thority;2, what are the Lady Apples quoted 
in the New York market—are they really 
Lady Apples or Fameuse or Snow Apples; 3, 
what is the principal turnip crop of England 
—flat or rutabaga. 
Ans —1. We have heard the Clark No. I 
Potato w’ell spoken of; but we have never 
tried it. 2. Really Lady Apples—Pomme d’ 
ApL 8. Both kinds are extensively grown— 
the rutabaga probably more so than the flat. 
D. It., Coventry, Conn., asks, 1, wbat is the 
standard weight of a bushel of carrots; 2, what 
is the best use for air-slaked lime; 8, who 
makes peach baskets. 
Ans. —1. A bushel of carrots weighs 60 
pounds. 2. Air-slaked lime is probably best 
utilized by spreading it over the soil as a fer¬ 
tilizer ; it may be scattered over grass land ear¬ 
ly in the Spring, or upon ground plow’ed for 
com. It is not good for oats or potatoes. 8. 
N. D. Batterson, Buffalo, N. Y., makes peach 
baskets and crates. 
W. L. R., Bloomingdale, Ohio, asks: 1, will 
different varieties of potatoes “mix” if 
planted near each other; 2, what is our 
opinion of the White Elephant Potato. 
Ans.— 1. Potatoes can no more ‘:mix” than 
