45S 
-ocks observing in them a native sensitiveness 
to thorns, is now past finding out. But we 
see by the behavior of cattle when encounter¬ 
ing a barbed wire that the old repugnance to 
prickles is as strong as ever. After the drought 
of last Summer a plot of ground in a river 
bottom, which carried better grass than any 
around, was partially unfenced on account of 
some building operations. The gap of 100 feet 
long was partially closed by a single barbed 
wire, stretched tolerably tight. It was on a 
street along which a score of cows go and 
come to commons on the outskirts of the vil¬ 
lage. None of these hungry creatures, many 
of them accomplished fence breakersand gate- 
openers, forced this almost invisible barrier, 
save one very small cow, which could get under 
it without pressing against the wire. The 
worst of all—the dread of all the lot-holders 
around, and destroyer of several gardens— 
broke oil pickets in another place, and so got 
in. On hieing driven by boys, assisted by a 
large dog, to the corner where the wire was 
stretched, she made two pressures against it, 
but the sharp points jagging her withers were 
more frightful than the three drivers behind 
her. She turned on them, charged through on 
the gallop, and they were fain to open the 
gate and give her honorable exit, badly as she 
was hated. w. G. w. 
-»•« " ♦- 
THE TEUTH ABOUT IT—Ho. 2. 
IThk object of articles under this heading is not so 
much to deal with “humbugs” as with the many un¬ 
conscious errors that creep into the methods of daily 
country routine life.—E ds.1 
RUNNING INTO DEBT. 
W. I. C BAMBERLAIN. 
One of the worst mistakes farmers make is 
that of running into debt. I know that it is 
necessary oftentimes in order to get started 
at all. The young farmer sometimes has to 
buy his farm on time; and if he is a good 
manager his debt may even be a stimulus and 
an iucentive to him, and it is a rare joy to 
him to take up one note after another as it be¬ 
comes due. But what I refer to is contract¬ 
ing little debts here and there in the neigh- 
b rring town. Farmers are more tempted to 
run into debt than the men of most other call¬ 
ings, for several reasons. One is the very 
fact that men are willing and even anxious to 
trust them or to lend them money. Their real 
estate gives them credit. The mechanic or 
laborer who gets his pay once a week or 
month, knows he must square up as often at 
the grocery store or he cannot get trusted; 
but the land-owner can get trusted for a year 
or two or more. Then, too, the farmer’s op¬ 
erations are slow and his returns distant. The 
wheat he sows this Fall must winter and sum¬ 
mer before he can reap its golden harvest, and 
the orchard he plants this year will not yield 
its fruitage and its ca*h returns for a dozen ur 
a score of years, while even the land it stands 
on is perhaps not yet clear of debt. 
And so debt, and distant returns, and slow¬ 
ness become a secoud nature to him, and he 
says, “ Now, then, IM run in debt at the vil¬ 
lage shop or store, where I do not have to pay 
interest, that I may the more easily meet the 
interest 1 must pay on my farm debt or mort¬ 
gage.” But he does have to pay interest. 
The truth about it is, he pays interest In four 
ways on an annual account at this “ store — 
First, in prices; for if he trades to pay a year 
hence, the merchant must charge more to get 
the use of his money. Second, in helping to 
pay o:her people’s debts; for at the “ credit” 
store the men who do pay their debts must 
help to pay for the goods bought by those who 
do not pay, and there are always some such. 
Third, he pays Interest by often buying 
what he would do without if he traded for 
cash always. And, fourth, he pays interest 
by paying for his own goods twice over oft- 
ener than he knows ol—not that the mer¬ 
chants are dishonest, but if we let them keep 
all the accounts, then, if ever any doubts occur, 
they will uot glue us the benefit of the doubt. 
Let me illustrate this by an incident. In 
some parts of the South the credit system is 
more in vogue than at the North. The one 
great crop is cotton, and general supplier are 
bought at the “store” and paid for when the 
cotton is sold. Dry goods, and general gro¬ 
ceries, and hardware, aud harnesses, and sad¬ 
dles, and “ what not” are all bought here on 
credit. At a “ store ” of this kind, one busy 
afternoon, a saddle had been sold, and neither 
clerks nor book keeper could tell which of 
several customers bought it. Aud so the mer¬ 
chant said, “ How many men have run bills 
here this afternoon ?” “ Twenty,” said the 
book keeper, “Well, then,” said the mer¬ 
chant, “charge the saddle to each of the 
twenty, and at the end of the year put it in 
all their accounts, and when any of them says 
he didn’t buy any saddle, why, strike it off 
and say it must have been a mistake; and so 
the man that bought it wjII pay for it.” So, 
after the cotton crop was sold and the bills had 
been settled, the merchant said to the book¬ 
keeper one day, “ By the way, do you re¬ 
member about that saddle V' “ Of course, I 
do,” said he. “Well, which of the twenty re¬ 
ally bought the thing, any way J” “ Well,” 
said the book-keeper, laughing, “the Lord 
only knows; I’m sure I don't. But one thing 
I do know: there's nineteen of them that have 
paid for it1" Probably the one who did not 
pay was the one who bought the saddle. 
But, as you see, this sort of thing could not 
have happened under the “pay as you go” 
plan; and that it often does occur under the 
credit system I know from my own obser¬ 
vation. Tne worst thing the young farmer 
can possibly do is to run in debt loosely here 
and there—to the grocer, the merchant, the 
saddler, the blacksmith, and half the rest of 
the men in the village—till he never knows 
where he does stand financially. The .only 
safe way for the young farmer who is in 
debt is to fund his debt, or get all in defi¬ 
nite, tangible shape, and in black and white 
before him, and then “tackle it” os a “sum 
in simple subtraction," and say to himself, 
“ Now I’ll pay the interest and at least a 
certain definite part of the principal each 
year, and will 'trade 1 only with cash and 
buy only what 1 can with the balance.” It 
will not do for him to flatter himself with 
the loose belief that his farm income is in¬ 
creasing and that he is surely gaining on his 
debts. So are his outgoes, his cares and his 
family increasing, while his strength and en¬ 
ergy are diminishing. If he cannot wipe 
out his debt iu his youth and strength, what 
shall he do when sickness and old age come 
on t 
The truth about it is that the one great 
curse in farming is—DEBT1 
OUR FRUIT LISTS CON CL UDED. 
(Continued from page 150 of last week’s Rural 
New-Yorker.) 
FRUIT LIST FOR NEW ENGLAND. 
T. H. HOSKINS, M. D. 
Asa fruit-producing country, New England 
must be divided in o three regions, distinguish¬ 
ed severally by their distance from the sea 
and their elevation above the sea. Iu making 
this division we must regard Lake Champlain 
as an arm of the sea, which it undoubtedly 
was at, geologically speaking, no very distant 
day. A perfect whale's skeleton, dug out of 
the Champlain clay a few years since, is pre¬ 
served in the statehouse at Moutptlier, and the 
surface of the lake, even now, is less than 100 
feet above the sea level. 
As, with the exception of the Champlain 
Valley, the land of New England rises gradu¬ 
ally from the sea to the highlands that form 
the international boundary between the 
United States and the Dominion of Canada, it 
follows that the northern parts are colder not 
only in proporti in to their northing and their 
d stance from the ocean, with its peculiar cli¬ 
mate, but also in proportion to their elevation. 
Northern New Engl md is therefore colder and 
more unfavorable to the growth of tree fruits 
tnan would be due to its latitude alone. On 
the other hand, the long days and intense sun¬ 
shine of the north give to fruits w r hich can en¬ 
dure the Winters a more brilliant color and a 
higher flavor than are secured in the vicinity 
of the more foggy and cooler coast region. 
Intermediate between these two, but with no 
very closely defined boundary, there is a 
broad region running up the river valleys as 
far at least as the tide, and extending the en¬ 
tire length of the Champlain Valley, which 
constitutes the true New Euglaud fruit belt. 
While this region cannot be perfectly included 
by any rectilinear boundary, its northern 
limit may be approximately outlined as begin¬ 
ning at the city of Bangor on the Penobscot 
Kiver, and running thence ina direction some¬ 
what south of west until it strikes the New 
Hampshire line near the south end of Lake 
Winnepesaukee. Thence it will cross New 
Hampshire so as to leave all but the three 
northern counties to the south of it, and reach¬ 
ing the Connecticut will make a long, narrow 
loop up the valley of that river to the mouth 
of White River in Vermont. Returning down 
the river, and bending westward as it des¬ 
cends, it crosses the Green Mountains some- 
wheie about the north line of Windham 
County, Vt., and bends again northward, 
draw ing gradually nearer to Lake Champlain 
until it touches it at the Canada border. All 
south of this line, with slight local exceptions, 
is a good fruit regioD, though the vicinity of 
the sea shore is not so favorable to grapes aud 
apples as a little inland, on account of the less 
amount of sunshine. This is especially true of 
the Maine coast. But the Btrip along the 
Bhore is more favorable to pears and quinces, 
and the peach prefers to be as near to the sea 
as it can and escape the fogs. The same may 
be said also of grapes, and the finer cherries. 
Many of the best plums succeed well in all 
this section. But its chief commercial fruit 
crop is the apple, though near the coast and 
in the Champlain Valley close to the lake, 
pears are largely aud profitably grown. 
North of the line indicated begins the “cold 
belt,” growing colder with increasing elevation 
aud distance from the sea. Iu this region, 
with slight exceptions, there are no commer¬ 
cial orchards, aud most of it is as yet supplied 
with its tree fruits from the southern section. 
But, with the discover y and popularization of 
new aud hardy sorts of lruit trees, orchard¬ 
ings being gradually extended northward, so 
that probably there is no portion of the New 
England States that will not eventually grow 
at least a sufficient home supply of apples, and 
perhaps of pears, plums, cherries and 
grapes. 
Iu the following lists I take for my guiding 
authority the fruitlistof the American Borno¬ 
logical Society as regards the coast and miil- 
laud sections, and for the “cold belt” I depend 
upon my own knowledge and experience, ac 
cumulated d iring the past 10 years in efforts 
to grow fruit upon a commercial scale in the 
very coldest part of New England, Northeast¬ 
ern Vermont. 
APrLKS. 
The great commercial apples of lower New 
England are the Baldwin, the Rhode Island 
Greening, and the Roxbury Russet. These 
ate all grown with lessening success as we ad¬ 
vance northward, and even south of the line 
I have marked out above, they begin to be re¬ 
placed by other sorts, especially by the Nod- 
head (Jewett’s Fine .Red), the Red Canada 
(Old Nonsuch, or Steele’s Red Winter of the 
West), the Northern Spy, the Golden Russet, 
aud, in favorable spots, the Yellow Bellefiower 
and the Westfield Seek-uo Further. There 
are also many excellent local varieties, which, 
however must depend, when offered for sale, 
mainly upon the local market. The standard 
Winter sweet, all over New England, is the 
Toluian, though there are many other sorts, 
as good or better, that are grown for home 
use aud local markets. 
Of Summer aud Fall apples the number is 
very great. Red Astrachan, Williams's 
Favorite and Porter are the three most com¬ 
mon in markets in the cities. Gravensteiu and 
Garden Royal are choicer sorts, leas common 
but highly esteemed. Wiutbrop Green ng, 
Fairbanks aud Sops of Wine (known there as 
Belle’s Early) are favorite early apples in 
Maine. The Early Harvest was once common 
but is uot so now. The Large Yellow Bough 
is the favorite early sweet apple all over lower 
New England. The Ilubbardston Nonsuch 
and Peck’s Pleasant are very popular Winter 
apples in Southern New England, and have a 
considerable sale. The Mother apple occupies 
a like position iu Maine und New Hampshire. 
In Vermont the Swaar, Fameuse and King of 
Tompkins County are considerably grown, 
aud the latter is also known, more or less, in 
the other States. 
North of the line indicated the Winter 
apples that succeed be»t are Fameuse, Blue 
Pearmain, Bethel, Wealthy, Ben Davis, Ma¬ 
gog Red Streak and Scott’s Winter. Fall 
apples:—8t Lawrence, Duchess of Oldcnburgh, 
Peach of Montreal. Summer apples:—Tetof- 
sky, Yellow Transparent, Sops of Wine, Sum¬ 
mer Harvey. 
PEARS. 
Pears are probably grown nowhere with 
more success than in lower New England, in¬ 
cluding the Champlain Valley. The most 
popular of all our market pears, the Bartlett, 
is grown but little north of Massachusetts. It 
is replaced in Central New England by Flem¬ 
ish Beauty, Louise Bouue de Jersey, Seckel 
and Clapp’s Favorite. Maine has two fine 
native pears, the Fulton and the Goodale. 
Vermont has also a native sort of fine qualities, 
the Grand Lie. Among later pears, the 
Beurred’Anjou,and Duchesse d’Angoulemeare 
generally grown, oven quite far north, and es¬ 
teemed. The Vicar of W inkfield is also much 
grown, but not greatly esteemed. The Wi nter 
Nelis is popular, the Easter Beurre less so. 
Other pears considerably grown are Beurre 
Bose, Beurre Giffard, Buffurn, Deurboru’s 
Seedling, Doyenne d’Eie, Howell, Lawrence 
and Merriam. Dana’s Hovey is uot widely 
grown, but is consid red to be of the very 
highest quality. In the extreme north no 
pear is yet found to be eutirely hardy, but 
the best success is had with Flemish Beauty, 
Onondaga, Clapp’s Favorite, and St. Ghia- 
lain. 
PEACHES. 
Not many peaches are grown for market in 
New England, though they succeed well in 
many parte of Connecticut, in Rhode Island 
and Eastern Massachusetts, and in Southeast¬ 
ern New Hampshire and Southwestern Maine. 
Native seedlings are generally found to do 
best in the more precarious places, but among 
named sorts Crawford’s Early and Late. 
Coolidge’s Favorite, Early York, Foster, Old- 
MABCH 44 
mixon Free, Royal George and Yellow 
Rareripe are popular in different localities, 
PLUMS. 
The plum is successfully grown for market 
in all the New England States rot too far 
above the sea level. Bangor, Maine, and 
Grand IsJe County, Vt., are the most northern 
localities in which the plum is grown as a 
commercial crop, aud it succeeds excellently 
all along Lake Champlain, and on clay soils 
almost every wherein lower Maine and New 
Hampshire, Bavay’s Green Gage (Reme 
Claude deBavay), Coe’s Golden Drop. Duane’s 
Purple, Green Gage, Imperial Gage, Jefferson, 
Lombard, McLaughlin, Prince’s Yellow Gage, 
Smith’s Orleans aud Washington are popular. 
The Lombard iu Vermont and the McLaughlin 
and Mover’s Arctic in Maine, prove the hard¬ 
iest in the northern section. 
CHERRIES. 
This fruit grows all over New England. 
The Arch Duke, Black Eagle, Black Heart, 
Black Tartariau, Downer’s Late, Early Rich¬ 
mond, Early Purple Guigue, May Duke and 
Reiue Hortense are the varieties most prized. 
Eaily Richmond und May Duke have proved 
hardy in the north. 
QUINCES. 
The Apple or Orange Quince is the only 
sort geneialiy grown, and the successful cul¬ 
ture of this fruit is chiefly confined to Con¬ 
necticut, Rhode Island, and Eastern Massa¬ 
chusetts. 
GRAPES. 
As grape-vines are susceptible of Winter 
protection, they may be, and are, grown every¬ 
where in New England. The only considera¬ 
tion of importance, aside from quality, is carli- 
ness, and all the early sorts ripen w ell in favor, 
able locations even to the Canada line, and 
beyond. But there are few extensive vine¬ 
yards north of Massachusetts. Where these 
exist the Concord, Hartford Prolific and Dela¬ 
ware are the leading sorts. 
SPECIAL LIST OF FRUITS FOR NE¬ 
BRASKA. 
S. RUFUS MASON. 
Apples. — Summer —Red June, Red Astra¬ 
chan, Sweet Bough, Coopers Early White, 
Duchess of Oldeuburg. Autumn —Fameuse, 
Rambo, Peck’s Pleasant, Bailey Sweet, Jon¬ 
athan, Rawle’s Genet, Willow Twig, White 
Winter Pearmain, Yellow Bellefiower. Win¬ 
ter —Roman Stem, Clyde Beauty, Perry Rus¬ 
set, Esopus Spitzenburg, Northern Spy, Red 
Detroit, Talman’s Sweet, Ben Davis, Wiuesap, 
Dominie. 
Craus.—T ranscendent, Hyslop, Hewes’s. 
Pears. — Summer —Rostiezer, 13 loodgood, Doy¬ 
enne d’Ete, Beurre Giffard. Autumn — Buff- 
urn, Howell, Stckel, Duchesse o’Angouleme, 
Beurre Diel, Louise Bonne de Jersey, White 
Doyenne, Sheldon, Doyenne Boussook. Win¬ 
ter —Beurre d’Anjou, Lawrence, Vicar of 
Winkfleld. 
Cherries.— Early Richmond, Belle Mag- 
niflque, Reine Hortense, English Morello. 
May Duke. 
Plums —Jefferson, Miner, Lombard, Green 
Gage, German Prune, Imperial Gage. 
Peaches. — Hale’s Early, Crawford’s Late, 
Early York, Stump the World, Troth’s Early, 
Governor Wood, Crawford's Early, Ward’s 
Late. Morris's White, O.dmixon, Early Bea¬ 
trice, Amsdan, Alexander, Newington, 
Jacques’s Rareripe, Heath. 
Grapes. —Concord, Hartford, Delaware, 
Iona, Ives, Martha, Creveling, Eumelan, 
Salem, Goethe. 
Strawucrries.—A ny and all of them. 
Blackberries. —Snyder, Gregg. 
Gooseberries.— Houghton. 
Currants. —All of the varieties. 
In fact, Nebraska (in some parts of it) will 
grow anything which is moderately hardy and 
can stand 35 degrees below zero to 129 degrees 
above. 
Dodge Co., Neb. 
-♦-*-*- 
CALIFORNIA FRUIT-G OWING. 
J. B. ARMSTRONG. 
The conditions of fruit-growing on the Pa¬ 
cific Coast are so unlike those to the east of 
the Rocky Mountains that I hardly know any 
lesson we have learned in fruit growing, that 
could be profitably taught readers of the Ru¬ 
ral In the older States. One I lately leaded 
in my own orchard is deemed so good that its 
teachings are followed hereabout. Perhaps 
it may be of use to recite it. 
My two year old almond trees, planted seven 
years ago, forty in number, grew raoidly. 
In four years the trunks were about four 
inches iu diameter, and there were large and 
bushy tops. But they bore few nuts, aud 
these the birds destroyed. Many were grub¬ 
bed up; the others I concluded to graft to 
apricots, nectarines, and prunes. This was 
done iu February, 1818. The grafts of all 
sorts grew prodigiously, pu-hed forward by 
the vital forces of the w ell-set almond stocks. 
The first year all made a growth of ten feet or 
more, with lateral branches from one to lour 
