830 
THE 
AU6 42 
half scalded—giving off a stench exceedingly 
offensive—a smell like that coming from a 
foul mud-puddle stirred up and exposed to 
the air in hot weather. There was no mis¬ 
taking the peculiar odor, and I at once sug¬ 
gested that some of his patrons were allowing 
tbeir cows to slake their thirst from, or had 
been allowing them to wallow through stag¬ 
nant. pools. He afterward traced the milk to 
its source, and found the trouble came from 
one patron, who after turning his cows to 
the afterfeed, had allowed them t« cross a 
narrow slough, where particles of mud ad¬ 
hered to the udders and hair, and becoming 
dry, the dirt entered the milk during milking, 
and had introduced a class of fungi which, by 
their multiplication, spoiled the whole vat of 
milk. The patron had meant no harm, and 
■was not aware that milk could he tainted in 
this way, but on correcting the fault the 
troubV ceased. 
My advice in this case was to draw the 
whey immediately and expose the curds a 
long time to the atmosphere, stirring them 
from timo to time, so that all the particles 
could come to the air, awaiting the devel¬ 
opment of the proper degree of acidity. This 
plan was adopted, and the cheese, when ready 
for market, though not of perfect flavor, was 
so good as not to be noticed unfavorably or 
objected to, by the buyer. 
This is the remedy for treating curds simi¬ 
larly affected in hot weather; but in cool 
weather some means should be taken to keep 
up a proper degree of heat, or not allow the 
curds to get too cold during their manipula¬ 
tion. 
-- 
Is it “The Truth About Milking. 
I was quite amused while reading the article 
on page 466,entitled The Truth About Milking. 
The writer pictures the poor farmer’s wife out 
in the wet grass milking the cow! I had sup¬ 
posed such ways of milking were relics of 
barbarism. The idea of a woman milking a 
cow at all is in our section a bygone notion 
almost entirely, Is it possible that there is a" 
locality in our goodly land so behind the times 
as to allow a woman to tramp off into the wet 
fields to mQg cows: to be often caught in 
showers; and to be bothered by the cow 
reaching out for the green grass ami stepping 
along occasionally, the milker sitting on her 
heels and hitching along as the cow moves? I 
would not be content with “Farmer's” way of 
doing thiogseither To think of tying cows with 
ropes in an open shed! This must be a very 
inconvenient way of doing business. I would 
have a good stable, and each cow should know 
her place and there should be her home through 
the night. I would have stanchions instead of 
ropes or chains. Then the milker could have a 
quiet time milking the cows. In warm 
weather the windows and doors may he left 
open; in cold weather they may be kept shut, 
Tlven the milker can be independent of the 
elements; the cows are all quiet and cannot 
hook each other, and the milker will be free 
from many of the petty annoyances that are 
unavoidable when the cows are loose. Try 
stabling the cows one season, and you will 
never change back to the old way. c. s. p. 
ficl'D Crops. 
TWO NEW WHEATS. 
HUGH L. WVSOR. 
The Black-bearded Centennial, 
Thk Rural, in its issue of July S, remarks 
that the Black-bearded Centennial possesses 
some remarkable characteristics, among 
which are its strong and wiry straw, its thick¬ 
set spikelets and its large kernels. To all of 
this I subscribe, and I will add that it does 
not seem inclined to rust It has. however, 
failed to mature with me this season, having 
come to an untimely end about the first of 
July. I mean by this that, instead of getting 
ripe, it turned that pale, dead alive color 
which wheat frequently assumes in this cli¬ 
mate during a very wet season. (We have 
had rain nearly every day from tbo middle of 
May to this writing, July 20 ) If a quick 
growing, early-maturing wheat is an absolute 
necessity in the climate of our Atlantic and 
Middle Western Winter wheat growing 
States, as I think will be admitted on all 
hands, thou theB'ack bearded Centennial will 
not answer the conditions, and it can never 
become popular, unless it materially improves 
in these two important particulars. Here it 
exhibits ouly two kernels to the breast, and 
all of them are much shrunken. As compared 
in size with those of the Fultzo-Clawson, they 
are rather larger when received, but as grown 
here they are much smaller. I have no doubt 
that in a climate equally favorable for 
both, the "kernels of the Fultzo-Clawson would 
be one-third the larger. 
It is a mistake to suppose that because a 
variety of wheat grown in a climate like that 
of Colorado or Montana, frequently exhibits 
five or six grains to the breast, it will do the 
same elsewhere, nor is that fact any evidence 
that the variety is of a finer or more 
blooded type than another grown under 
much less favorable conditions. 
Last Fall or Winter, the Rural mentioned 
a wheat sent to it by a gentleman in Montana, 
of which many ears contained spikelets which 
carried five or six 1 terries, I have seen fully 
as many in ears of Fultz grown in California, 
and these ears were, moreover, twice as long 
as they grow here. The truth is, it is simply 
a matter of climate almost entirely. The 
wheat plant can attain absolute perfection 
only in a climate which is cool and dry, and 
in which ample time for coming slowly to 
maturity is allowed. Here the plant must 
either mature rapidly or else not at all. In 
view of th«se facts, I venture to make the 
prediction that if the Rural were to offer 
prizes for the be3t ears or crops of wheat for 
the next hundred years to come, they would 
invariably be taken in the States and Terri¬ 
tories of California, Oregon, Washington, 
Colorado and Montana. (See the Rural’s 
last award for the besc five ears,) On the 
other hand, the great corn-growing States 
can console themselves in the reflection that 
California and the others named can never 
secure any of the Rural’s premiums for big 
corn crops. I may remark here that the 
finest, largest, and plumpest berries of wheat 
I have ever seen were grown in England, 
where the crop from sowing to reapiug con¬ 
sumes fully a year. Yet it does not appear 
from the reports that English wheats ever 
weigh much more than 59 pounds to the 
bushel. 
THK DALLAS WHEAT. 
In a former article I had occasion to refer 
to this, the so-called “Rust-proof” Wheat 
of the South. I then stated that about one- 
half of it had been winter killed. I did not 
state, however, that it had been purposely sown 
in a very unfavorable location, it is known 
to all farmers that some places on nearly 
every farm can be selected where wheat never 
rusts, no matter what the season may be, and 
others where it never fails to mil tew. As I 
desired to test the rust resisting power of the 
Dallas, I sowed it in a sink-hole from which 
the drainage was very had, and a large 
portion of which was shaded by a walnut 
tree. What remained of the wheat after 
winter killing stood the April freeze remark 
ably well, and continued healthy, retaining 
all its blades till within a week of harvest. I 
was about to congratulate myself that here I 
had what I had been looking for so long, when 
it was virulently attacked with the black rust 
on both stems and leaves. It was cut green, 
and I concluded to cast it aside as worthless. 
My surprise may be imagined when a week 
afterward, the wheat having thoroughly 
dried, I happened to examine it, and ound it 
to compare favorably with the best wheat we 
ever raised here. I send the Rural a Bample, 
and it can say what the kernels might become 
under good treatment. They would lay those 
of the Black-bearded Centennial in the shade. 
The chief peculiarity of the Dallas and one 
which it has no doubt derived from having 
been originated and grown in a hot climate, is 
that the kernels shrink very litlle in drying. 
This is in what its rust-resisting power mainly 
consists, and a valuable quality this is, too. 
It is a magnificent wheat, and if it shall be 
able to endure our Northern Winters, it will 
become the most popular wheat we have had 
for years. 
- 
HOPS. 
Situated in the southern part of Oneida 
County, in the towns of Smgerfleld and Mar 
shall, is the village of Waterville. This sec¬ 
tion has been righfly called the "Kent of 
America” in hop growing. In these two 
towns about 12,000 balas of hops, each bale 
weighing 180 pounds, were raised the past 
year. The soil in this section is well adapted 
to the growth of hops. Any of our soil that 
will produce good corn will produce good 
hops; but this does uot hold true in all parts 
of the State, Only twenty miles south good 
grain crops are raised, but the soil there does 
not produce nearly as flue a quality of hops 
nor as heavy a yield as the soil here. The 
same is true regarding land a few miles north 
of us. The reason of this I am unable to state. 
We raise two varieties of hops, viz , English 
Cluster and Humphrey Heedliug. The Eng¬ 
lish Cluster variety is the one more commonly 
raised, and has been grown many years. The 
Humphrey Seedling has been cultivated only 
a short time. It is a variety which matures 
about a week earlier than the other. It is 
noted for its thrifty and healthy vine, and is 
not liable to fail iu its growth. But it is more 
liable to failure on uccouut of vermin aud 
mold. 
We consider 1,000 pounds of hops to the 
acre a good yield. Still it is not uncommon 
for yards to produce 1,200 and 1,500 pounds to 
the acre—some even more. From my 95 acres 
I harvested nearly 95,000 pounds the past 
year, for which I realized $31,108. 
This crop of which we are speaking is a very 
uncertain one for several reasons. Yards 
may be injured by an open Winter. The 
worm may work at the roots and thus injure 
the vine. Or, when we get a good vine and the 
prospects of a large crop are good, the vermin 
may attack the hop. Unfavorable weather is 
also a ch'ef cause of a poor crop. Notwith¬ 
standing all this, the expense of raising a crop 
of hops is enornmus. In the first place, we 
get no returns from a yard until the second 
year. Then, too. we have the expense of 
poling a yard, which is abont $200 per acre. 
An additional expanse of building a hop- 
house, including store rooms, kilns and 
fixtures, is also necessary. Besides this, the 
expense of harvesting and baling is about 
eight cents per pound. The great amount of 
labor necessary during the Spring and Sum¬ 
mer months is no small item in the hop- 
grower’s account. After the crop is baled and 
ready for market, even our best growers find 
it difficult to sell at the best market prices of 
the season. There is probably no market so 
fluctuating as the hop market, and those best 
posted often find that they have made a mis¬ 
take in the sale of their hop crops. In differ¬ 
ent years, prices range from eight cents to 
50 cents per pound. As an example of this 
fluctuation, I will state that hops which sold 
last Fall at, 20 cents are to-day worth from 40 
to 45 cents. This advance is owing to the 
fact that a light crop is expected in America, 
and there i- also the failure in the English 
crop. I admit that at the high figures men¬ 
tioned above there is a handsome profit. 
Oneida Co., N. Y. J. J. Bennett. 
EARLY CULTIVATION THE BEST. 
This season being one with more than the 
average amount of raiufall, it has become 
evident that it is extremely necessary to com¬ 
mence cultivating corn as early as possible 
after planting. I can see fields here where 
cultivating was delayed longer than it should 
have been so that the weeds and Crah Grass 
got a good start. The weather favored their 
growth and the consequence is that although 
such fields have been cultivated repeatedly 
they are still foul with weeds and grass, and 
the com lacks the dark-green, healthy color 
of other fields that were cultivated earlier and 
better. 
One cause of the delay in cultivating was 
the time consumed in replanting, which in 
manv cases had to be done just when corn 
should have been cultivated well. Wet 
weather then set in and corn did not grow as 
rapidly as it should, but the weeds never 
seemed to stop, so that when the ground was 
sufficiently dry to work, the weeds were 
higher than the corn, and the small cultivators 
used failed to destroy the weeds as thoroughly 
as they should have been and as they would 
have heeu had the cultivation been earlier, 
before the weeds ohtained so rank a growth 
Mv own experience leads me to couclude 
that, when corn is allowed to get so foul, 
turning plows are best, as they destroy the 
weeds more effectually than cultivators—after 
such a rank growth of grass and weeds is 
allowed. To cultivate corn with a cultivator, 
the work should be begun as soon as possible 
after the corn has come up, and to obtain the 
best results the cultivation should be kept up 
so that the weeds cannot get even a fair start 
and if by any reason the work is delayed, 
especially in a wet season when the growth of 
weeds is so very rapid, then a turning plow 
should be used so as to cover up and destroy 
as many of the weeds as possible. Where 
weeds are allowed to have such growth they 
seriously injure the com crop. This is shown 
very early by the differences in the appear 
ance of the stalks not only in color but iu size 
and growth, which of course will influence 
the yield. Successful corn raising implies 
good,sound seed, thorough preparation of the 
soil, and clean cultivation, especially during 
the early part of the growth, and this can be 
successfully practiced only by being prepared 
to commence early, N. J. Shepperd. 
Miller Co., Mo. 
- - 
Originator and Introducer of the 
Early Rose Potato 
In the Rural of July 8, which, by some 
chance was not opened before this, Mr. J. 
J. H. Gregory says, “thepotatoes Early Bose 
and Burbank I named and introduced." 
This has evidently slipped iu by some typo 
graphical mistake, as it is hardly possible 
that Mr. Gregory should claim to have named 
and introduced the Etrly Rose. Not to let" 
such an erroneous statement go on record in 
the pages of the Rural, it may be excusable 
to repeat, what every potato grower of these 
excitiug days already knows, that the Early 
Rose was raised by Mr. Albert Bresee of Ver¬ 
mont and was named and introduced by Mr. 
D. S. Heffron of Utica, who soon afterwards 
sold his stock to Messrs B. K. Bliss & Sons, 
who first offered it for sale to the public in 
1868. It w r as not till the following year 
that other seed-houses advertised it. 
F. M. Hexamer. 
Wild Potato of New Mexico. 
In the Rural of July 8, page 454, under 
“What Others Say,” is an extract from the 
New York Sun giving an account of the in¬ 
digenous potato of New Mexico. The writer 
evidently makes a blunder in regard to the 
tuber in confounding it with the potato of or¬ 
dinary cultivation. The potato that grows 
wild in New Mexico is Solanum Fendleri, a 
wild native never under cultivation, and not 
Solanum tuberosum, the Irish potato, which 
originally came from South America, ac¬ 
cording to the hest authorities, and which, at 
any rate, has never been found growing wild 
in New Mexico or any other part of North 
America. I have had S. Fendleri under trial 
here for years with the intention of hybri¬ 
dizing it and Tuberosum, but I have failed, I 
think for the reason that pollen is not de- 
ve’oped upon Fendleri, and the cross the 
other way would be undesirable if it could be 
made, which I doubt. D. S. Marvin. 
Potato Shoots. 
I was much interested in the experiments 
with potatoes by Dr. Sturtevant (uoticed in a 
late Rural), especially as I had been con¬ 
vinced by accident, only the day before, that, 
as his work proves, the p tato shoot extends 
much further into the potato than has been 
generally supposed. I noticed, when taking 
some badly-sprouted Early Rose Potatoes 
from the kettle where they had been boiled 
for the hogs, that on breaking them open the 
form of the shoot could be distinctly seen ex¬ 
tending to the center of the tuber and on 
taking hold of the sprout with the thumb and 
finger it could readily be extracted from the 
potato, and at the lower end minute, rudi¬ 
mentary ro >ts could be seen. Does this not 
show us that great care must be exercised in 
cutting potatoes for seed in order to avoid 
severe root pruning, which could only be in¬ 
jurious to the embryo plant ? 
Eist Hardwick, Vt. w. h. b. 
^ariictt Ultra 1. 
NOTES AND COMMENTS. 
The Umbrella Magnolia (M. tripetala) is 
one of the most vigorous of the magnolias so 
far as growth is concerned. M >reover, it is 
perfectly hardy in this latitude, both largo 
and small plants uever receiving the least, in¬ 
jury. It attains a hight of from 25 to 30 feet, 
with large leaves aud large white flowers from 
four to six inches in diameter, when fully ex¬ 
panded. The flowers po'-sess a peculiar odor 
which is rather disagreeable to some persons; 
they are freely pr iduced in succession during 
the entire month of June, and occasionally at 
intervals during other months. 
The Lance-leaved Rpirsea (S. laneeolata or 
Reevesiana, as it. is called by some,l is one of 
the oldestas well as the best kuown of all the 
spirroas. The plant is perfectly hardy and is 
of vigorous growth. It also is of a slightly 
drooping habit, which renders it remarkably 
attractive when iu bloom. It has narrow 
leaves and large, round clusters of snow- 
white flowers which are produced in such pro¬ 
fusion as almost to cover the entire plant. It 
attains a hight of five or six feet, and when 
in full bloom is truly magnificent, the long, 
slender branches bending to the ground be¬ 
neath the weight of the numerous large clus¬ 
ters of snow-white flowers. 
Spirjea lanckolata flore PLENois a very 
valuable variety, differing from the others iu 
that its flowers are perfectly double and of a 
pure, white color. It retains its foliage until 
very late iu the season. It is unfortunately 
rather tender, and is often injured severely 
during severe seasons in exposed situations. 
This is one of the most useful of the spiroeas, 
as the flowers remain in perfection for a con¬ 
siderable length of time, and on this account 
it is very desirable for cut flowers. It is also 
well adapted for forcing, for which purpose 
I find it very useful. 
Mr. Meehan says that drawings in Euro¬ 
pean catalogues exhibit 14 peas in a pod. Did 
anyoue see in this country that many in a 
pod either in an old or a new variety? 
never did; my crop of peas this season was tne 
finest I ever saw or raised. Laxb.n’s Long 
Pod was remarkably fine, and produced an 
immense crop; the pods were large and well 
filled, but there were only from eight to ten 
peas in a pod. They were given ordinary cul¬ 
tivation only. Had they been given a little 
