♦ ' 
SEPT<8 
THE RURAL WEW-YORKER. 
figured up 212 gallons daily per acre, or, ex¬ 
pressing theso facts in another form, the un¬ 
disturbed soil lost per acre, from July 26th to 
August 10th, 4,243 gallons, the cultivated soil 
1,060 gallons. 
“In calculating our results to the acre by 
multiplying the evaporation which has taken 
place from a square foot of surface by 48,560, 
the unavoidable errors are correspondingly 
multiplied, and while duplicate series can 
never be expected to give precisely the same 
numerical results, yet the one fact becomes 
unquestionable, that through cultivation we 
are enabled to conserve to the soil a large 
amount of water during a drouth. Indeed, 
observation through extended periods of 
drouth, also plainly shows the superiority of 
fields that have been well cultivated over 
those where cultivation has been neglected.” 
There is no doubt of this at all. But it is not 
so plain to us from the above experiments, 
which we do not understand in tbeir details, 
that stirring the soil “ actsas a mulch.” How 
much is the surface soil broken up ? If the 
surface soil is powdered “ as fino as ashes,” 
how then i Is it the same in sandy as in 
clayey soils ? Was the surface soil of the 
cubes on a level with the surrounding soil ? If 
so the water would run off of the uncultivated 
box, &c., &c. Nodmbt Dr. S. will later give 
U3 a fuller account. These bulletins are merely 
a record of progress. 
Pricks ok Commercial Fertilizer?.— 
From Prof. Johnson's Bulletin No. 71 we 
make the following important selections. All 
farmers who have occasion to purchase con¬ 
centrated fertilizers should read them under¬ 
stand^ ely: 
The Norfolk Fertilizer, made by Styron 
Whitehurst & Co., of Norfolk, Va., is a mix¬ 
ture of ground oyster shells and slaked lime 
with some 15 per cent, of “ kainite ” or similar 
low grade “potash-salts” or the equivalent. 
Its fertilizing and commercial values are 
about those of leached ashes. The farmer 
can scarcely afford to pay more than 17 to $8 
per ton for it, according to Prof, Johnson’s 
analysis, while the price quoted to the station 
was $30 per ton. 
Here we have a very bad case exoosed: 
811. “Saltpeter.” Sold by Martin Hunger- 
ford, Gaylordsville, Ct. Sampled and sent 
June 19, by G. N. Woodruff, Sherman. No 
printed analysis or statement of composition 
was attached to the barrels or accompanied 
the goods, which were sold under verbal 
guarantee that they contained 95 per cent, 
saltpeter. 
812. “ Saltpeter.” Sold by M. L. Hunger- 
ford, Gaylord’s Bridge, Ct. Sampled and 
sent June 20tb, by A. G. Barnes, New Mil¬ 
ford. No guarantee upon the barrel. Stated 
to be pure saltpeter, such as is used in the 
manufacture of powder. 
813 “Saltpeter.” Sampled end sent June 
19th, by H. T. Haviland, Sherman, Ct. 
The results of the analyses of 811, 812 and 
813 were reported to Messrs. Woodruff, Barnes 
and Haviland June 30th. In a few days efter 
came to hand— 
819. “ Saltpeter.” Sold by H. L. Hunger- 
ford. Sampled and sent July 3d, by Geo. G. 
Hungerford, Gaylordsville, Ct. “ Nsme and 
address of manufacturer not known.” 
ANALYSES. 
811 
812 
813 
819 
Sodium nitrate (soda- 
saitrw-ter) . 
37 89 
83.57 
43 23 
41 22 
Potassium nltra'e (pot- 
ash-salti eler) - 
nore 
none 
none 
*o 
CD 
to 
Sodium chloride (com¬ 
mon BSltl . 
62 80 
65 05 
55.51 
29 33 
Moisture and undeter¬ 
mined matters. 
1 88 
1 26 
.63 
100 69 
100 00 
100 00 
100 00 
Nitrogen In saltpeter . 
6.24 
5 53 
7.12 
10.76 
Chloride, In common 
salt. 
38.11 
39.47 
37.70 
17.83 
Potash.. 
none 
none 
roue 
13.38 
Commercial value cf 
r Drogen per Ton... 
$32 45 
28.75 
37.02 
55.95 
Commereif] value of 
potash per ton .. .. 
Commercial value of 
com’n salt per ton.. 
$6 70 
7.00 
6.00 
18.73 
3.25 
$39.15 
85 75 
43.02 
77.93 
Cost p°r ton (GJt cents 
per lb.).$131.00 $130.(0 n’t st’ed $139.00 
These samples show that the material sent 
from Sherman and New Milford, as “pure 
saltpeter, such as is used in the manufacture 
of powder.” was a variable mixture of soda- 
saltpeter (Chili saltpeter) with common salt, 
the latter predominating, and contained no 
potash at all, while such saltpeter as is used 
in making gunpowder, contains 46.6 per cent, 
of potash. Pure potash saltpeter by the Sta¬ 
tion valuation for 1882 has an estimated value 
of $136.00 per ton. These “saltpeters" are 
worth commercially but $43, $39 and $35.75 
respectively, and not only are destitute of 
potash, an essential ingredient of that salt¬ 
peter which it - is claimed they were repre¬ 
sented to be, but they contain 55 to 65 per 
cent, of common salt, which is not, in genera], 
a benefit to land or crops, even when applied 
cautiously and in small quantity, and is often 
an injury, especially on tobacco, the burning 
quality of which it is believed to impair very 
seriously. 
The fourth sample contains a considerable 
proportion of potash-saltpeter and has about 
double the money-worth of the others, yet 
nearly 30 per cent, of it is common salt, ami 
its cost exceeds its value by more than fifty 
dollo vs per ton. [ I’he italics are ours. ] 
SUPERPHOSPHATES AND SPECIAL MANURES. 
767. Mapes’ Tobacco Manure (for use with 
stems). From stock of P. M. Augur & Sons 
Middlefield. Sampled and sent by J. M. 
Hubbard, Middletown. 
787. Mapes’ Tobacco Manure (foi use with 
stems). 
73S. Mapes’ Tobacco Manure. Con. Brand. 
The last two samples were from the Mapes’ 
Formula and Peruvian Guano Co’s branch store 
at Hartford, and were taken and sent by C. 
H. Pease, South Windsor. 
780. Baker’s Complete Tobacco Manure. 
782. Baker’s Complete Corn Manure. 
The last two samples were manufactured by 
H. J. Baker & Bro., 215 Pearl st., N. Y., and 
taken from the stock of Olds & Whipple, 
Har’ford, by Olin Wheeler, Buckland. 
789. Mapes’ Corn Manure. From Mapes F. 
& P. G Co’s branch store, Hartford. Sampled 
by C. H. Pease, South Windsor. 
815. Mapes’ Corn Manure. 
S14. Mapes’Potato Manure. 
816. Mapes’ Orange Tree Manure, 
The last three samples are from the stock 
of P. M. Augur & Sons, Middlefield. Sampled 
and sent by P. M. Augur, 
805. Baker’s A. A. Ammoniated Superphos¬ 
phate. From stock of Wilcox & Judd, Bris¬ 
tol. Sampled by the Station Agent. 
803. Preston & Sons’ Ammoniated Bone 
Superphosphate. Made by Preston & Sons, 
Greenpoinb, N. Y From stock of E. M. 
Pierce & Co. Plainville. Sampled by the 
Station Agent. 
808. Americus Ammoniated Bone Super¬ 
phosphate. Made by Williams, Clark & Co., 
109 Pearl st., New York. Sampled by Station 
Agent from stock of O. F. Strunz, Bristol. 
Peas —The Bulletin continues: The peas 
were planted on April 4th, 5th, and May 6tb, 
at the same depth, and mostly under uniform 
conditions. The period required for germina 
tion varied with the temperature of the soil, 
or, in other words, with the earliness of plant¬ 
ing; those planted on April 4th and 5th re¬ 
quiring for vegetation from 23 to 35 days, 
while others planted upon May 6th required 
from 12 to 14 days. The time betwee.i plant¬ 
ing and bloom varied from 40 to 57 days for 
the later plantings and from 63 to 64 from the 
earlier plantings. The earlier plantings were 
at edible maturity in from 77 to 80 days, all 
being of early varieties. The latter plantings 
arrived at edible maturity 54 to 84 days, all 
being of early varieties. The period of ripen 
iog for the seeds has varied from 74 to 109 
days from planting. In point of earliness, 
Laxton’s Earliest of All was first of 31 varie¬ 
ties tested. It was planted May 6th, vege- 
gated May 20th, blossomed June 15th, and 
was at edible maturity June 29th. 
Thorburn’s First and Best, Early Alpha, 
Daniel O’Rourke and Philadelphia Extra 
Early were ready for table June 30th, and 
one day later came American Wonder, Pre¬ 
mium Gem, McLean's Little Gem, Kentish 
Invicta and William the First. 
The most dwarfed variety was American 
Wonder, the foliage of which grew only from 
8 to 10 inches high. The most prolific variety 
was Hair’s Dwarf Green Marrow: the product 
of ten plants taken in order in the row showed 
an average of 33 pods to the plant. Next in 
pointof prolificacy came British Queen, which 
yielded an average of 29 pods oc 10 consec¬ 
utive plants, and next was Extra Early Tom 
Thumb, which bore an average of 24 pods. 
The varieties bearing longest pods are Lax- 
ton’s Marvel and Culverwell’s Telegraph. The 
best pods of these measure 4 inches in length 
and contain 9 or 10 peas. The latest variety 
was the Tall Gray Sugar, which, planted 
May 6, vegetated in 12 days, bloomed in 55 
days, was edible at 75 days, and still, August 
12, has a few pods which would answer for 
the table. Per contra: Laxton’s Earliest of 
All, planted May 6, vegetated in 14 days, 
bloomed in 40 days, was at edible maturity in 
54 days, and gave ripe pods in 74 days from 
planting. Our trial tests included four varie¬ 
ties of the Sugar or “edible pod” peas. The 
pods picked when quite young, and cooked in 
the same manner as string beans, made a pal¬ 
atable dish. The flavor is neither like that of 
the ordinary pea nor beau, and is, perhaps, 
slightly inferior to both, but as forming a 
variety they are quite acceptable.” 
Cabbage. —“ The earliest varieties of cab¬ 
bage out of a list of 29 sorts were Early Ox- 
heart and Nonpareil. These were planted in 
the cold-frame April 8th, vegetated April 
18th, were transplanted May 26th, and sam¬ 
ples were in eating condition on July 26th. 
About two days later came Vilmnrin’s Early 
Flat Dutch, and Newark Early Flat Dutch. 
Early Ulm Savoy, Early Jersey Wakefield 
and Early Winnigstadt, were fit for the table 
August 1st. The finest heads thus far are 
from Vilmorin’6 Early Flat Dutch.” 
Tomatoes. —“The Mayflower Tomato is a 
very promising new variety. Planted in the 
hotbed April 7tb, vegetated April 12th, 
transplanted into garden May 29th, it blos¬ 
somed on June 16 and furnished ripe fruit 
August 8tb, two days before the Early Acme. 
These fruits measure three inches in diameter, 
which is somewhat larger than the Early 
Acme, and they are nearly or quite as smooth 
as this variety. The plants are very product¬ 
ive.” 
The Rural has the Mayflower among the 
kinds of tomatoes it is testing, and our readers 
will in due time have the opportunity of com¬ 
paring the two reports. 
Book-farmers.— Listen to Major Alvord in 
the Christian Union. He puts it well: “The 
farmer must apply to himself, and to the son 
or sons to succeed him, a standard similar to 
that by which be measures the qualifications 
of his doctor and his minister. It is unfortu¬ 
nate that farmers are so slow in doing this. 
No one ever heard of a pbysieiau fresh from 
his schools and books being sneered at as a 
“book-doctor.” On the contrary, all doctors 
without a complement of book learning, 
scientific training, are shunned, and denomi¬ 
nated “quacks.” Yet very recently it was 
common for farmers of the olden style to look 
with pity, if not suspicion, upon those who 
studied agriculture as a science and undertook 
its practice with a progressive spirit, and to 
call such ‘ book-farmers.” Happily such 
errors are passing away: book-farmers, well- 
educated farmers, are makiug themselves felt, 
winning res[ ect and finding an appreciation 
of their enterprise. Let us hope the time is 
not dis’ant when book-farmers, in the best 
sense, shall be in the majority. Then, per¬ 
haps, “quacks” will be found in farming. 
The fact is, at present, quack farmers are too 
plenty and book-farmers too few.” 
Education in Business Life is spoken of 
by Mr. Lawson Valentine, in the same paper: 
the great thing to do for the boy entering 
business life, he says, is to throw him into 
something; be should not be particular what, 
so that it gave him a chance to begin, and 
make him understand that he is to make his 
way from that point. If the place is not good 
enough, if the pay is uot big enough, if there 
is anything about it that he wants better, let 
him do what he can do there, let him make a 
record there, and qualify himself for some¬ 
thing better. If be waits till he gets some¬ 
thing to fit him, and lives long enough, he 
will live longer than two Methuselahs. Mr. 
Valentine would not greatly care whether he 
began in a village store or in a city store. 
Potato Tests —Mr. Hans Buschbauer of 
Wisconsin makes the following report of 
potato tests to the Husbandman. It would 
have been better had he stated how far the 
hills aud rows were apart. The object he had 
in view was to ascertain the amouut of plaut- 
ing-material requisite to reach satisfactory 
results. For this end, he planted in his garden 
ten rows of potatoes, each row coui-isting of 
ten hills. The potatoes (Early Obios) were 
planted April 26th. The harvesting took 
place August 18th. The product oE each row 
was accurately weighed. Here is the result: 
1st Row—One eye In each hill. 
Product—10 pounds of weU developed potatoes. 
2d Row—Two eyes in each hill. 
Product—55 pounds of lutiers, rather mixed as to 
size. 
3d Row—Three eyes In each hill. 
Product—56 pou .ds of mixed size, many small ones. 
4th Row-Seed end of medium potato. 
Products—63 pounds, very few small tubers, mostly 
large. 
5tli Row—Butt end of medium potato. 
Product—51 pounds; few large t ubers, mostly small* 
6th Row—One small potato. 
Product—60 pounds; mixed as to size, many small 
ones. 
7th Row—One potato of medium size. 
Product—73 pounds., tubers very Ane and large, few 
smull ones. 
8th Row—One large potato. 
Product—102 pounds of uuiformly large size. 
Ou the correctness of the above statement 
he says you can rely. It would seem from 
the above experiment that the more eyes in 
the piece, the smal’er the potatoes of the yield 
Why iben when half a-dnzen or more eyes are 
planted, as in the case of the “large potato,’ 
should the yield give the greatest, number of 
potatoes of "unifoimly large size*” 
According to trustworthy reports in the 
London Ag. Gazette the average tramp re¬ 
ceives as the wages of his profession from 2s. 
to 2s. 6tZ. a day, with broken victuals quite 
sufficient for his maintenance. The vagrant 
in many districts earns more by an idle and 
vicious life than the honest laborer by useful 
industry. There is evidence both as to the 
idleness and the vice. Sir Charles Trevelyan 
writes from Northumberland:—“In this pas¬ 
toral district of Northumberland vagrancy 
has become an intolerable grievance, so that 
when the men are out on the farm the women 
often lock themselves up, or keep loaded guns 
at hand, as a protection against the intrusions 
of tramps.” 
For several years after a writer in the 
Practical Farmer began raising wheat he 
could not get the yield higher than 23 bushels 
per acre, although the land was rich enough 
to raise large crops of grass, corn and pota¬ 
toes. The wheat was top dressed with rotten 
manure, but still the yield was no greater. 
Then the two-horse sulky cultivators came 
around. He bought one an 1 used it freely in 
connection with the harrow and roller, and 
the next year, without any manure, his wheat 
yield jumped up 10 bushels per acre. 
FINALLY. 
The Herald says that homoupathic physi¬ 
cians are called “Phoit-horns” in Indiana_ 
The New York Times says, and truthfully 
too we believe, that Jay Gould has become 
rich by the use of methods not essentially dis¬ 
similar to those which land bumbler adven¬ 
turers in the penitentiary. 
“Mu. Gould’s ambitions are as colossal as 
his possessions. To satb-fy them he will pay 
any price needed to purchase whatever or 
whomever can be bought on the bench, in the 
Legislature, in the press or in the party con¬ 
vention.”. 
THE GLORIES OF SWEET CORN. 
’Mong vegyt’bles do tu’zlp hez a pow’ful lot ob 
Iren's; 
Do happiness of himd'eds on the common 'tatah 
'pends; 
De carrot er a han'some root, but, slio’ oz yo' er 
bawn, 
Dar's nufflu at dls time ob yeah ter ekll sugah cawn 
ChoruB-0 sweet cawn! O sugah cawn! 
Wat mo' kin yo’ d*'sl«h! 
Jls' bile hit wld de sliucks on, 
Er roast hit by de fluh! 
De beet er r* dan’ full ob Juice—de pa'snlp makes 
good stew; 
De reddltsh relishes wld bread-ter mat tali sass doz 
too: 
De green eoweumbah ’ll cut yo’ off, In ehll’hood er in 
prime— 
But sugah cawn 'll make yo’ fat. HI! golly! hit’s 
serbllme! 
De cabbage an’de summah squash, de strin?-bean 
an’ ne pea, 
All An’ de table, col' er hot, ’twlxt brekfus’tlme an 
tea; 
But cl’ar de bo'd ob all slch truck-de cawn er w’at 
I take; 
Hit knocks de'tleeinent out ob eben pud’u, pie cr 
cake! 
—[Albany Argus. 
(l'vcnjuil)rvc. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Illinois. 
Champaign, Champaign Co., August 81 — 
We are having here rain, rain, rain, and not 
a hot day or an exceptionally warm night for 
the whole Summer. Com, although there have 
been 124dajs since it was seeded, has only 
reached the roasting ear stage, and requires 
from t«o to three wetksof dry weather and 
no hard frost to mature In. B. F. j. 
Mt. Palatine, Putnam Co.—Corn about a 
month behind time; if frost holds off for 39 or 
40 days, some fields will turn out well; other 
fields no amount of warm weather can help. 
Oats are turning out from one-half to three- 
fifths of a full crop. c. G. 
Indiana. 
Terre Haute, Vigo Co., Aug. 38.—The 
Fair Number is a fair number! The pros¬ 
pective Seed Distribution promises to be very 
valuable—valuable to your subscribers and 
indirectly to the publishers of the best agri¬ 
cultural paper I know of. Do not set this 
down to a disposition to flutter or because of 
an axe to grind. Nothing of the sort; when 
see a good thing I like to say ho. You hav t 
in the list a new melon. This is a famous 
place for melons and I take much interest in 
them, introducing the best to be had as fast 
as I learn of them. Y< ur description of the 
melon coincides with the Icing Melon, a va¬ 
riety introduced by Landreth and sold now by 
I myself for several years—tout is, if by w hite 
J skin you mean a very pale green. This is the 
best melon I have ever seen, aud thousands 
ANALYSK8 AND VALUATIONS. 
767 787 7S8 780 782 789 815 8H 816 815 802 808 
Nitrogen as nlDates. 2.60 2 4S 152 119 1.66 1.00 1 44 1,46 2.22 . 
Nitrogen as ammouia salts. 2 35 2.46 1.68 3.32 1.96 2.36 1.71 1.30 _ 1.16 . 
Organic nltrogvn. . 0.91 0.66 0.4 2 0 85 0.83 0.17 0.H7 1.18 1.18 1.51 2.36 2.50 
S tlu’de phosphoric acM. 3 40 4 78 5.4 4 2 48 5 34 7.S8 4.91 8.25 2.85 8.3) 7.0G 9.79 
Revorte.1 p o-phorlr acll. 4 12 2.77 2.S3 .H .31 3.78 4 s? 4.61 4.60 1.’8 1.74 71 
InsolU lepho pborlcacid. 2 3) 2 )4 1.64 .02 .2) 1.25 2.15 2 IS 2 53 . 52 3.53 .77 
Potash. 4 36 4.37 9.03 8.56 7.95 7.17 6.91 6.10 3 77 8.04 .... 2.42 
ChlOjine. 1 24 . 28 1.7 1 9.98 5.61 6.29 7.45 4.88 1,14 3.03 .... 1.45 
C^stporton.$.54 00 54.00 54.00 fO 00 50.00 51.00 50.M) 51 00 42.00 42. G) 4O 00 40.00 
Estimated value per ton..$.56.30 55.92 52.(5 41,60 46.1 S 51.86 54.82 45.94 4u 93 41.23 86.44 41.10 
