THE RURAL WEW-YORKER. 
SEPT 28 
^Uisx'fllmTfjcms. 
A QUESTION rrp AGRICULTURAL 
SCIENCE. 
IN tbe n«tnrfll Hefrtr-v of TIpw York. Prof. 
Emmnn® folia ii® that th® laud* in th® vicinitv 
of th® Onon'lotrq »»1t nr# deficient in 
phopobotos while the hipblendfi to tbe South 
abound in pbnonbeteo. Ho eara thic ip the 
fpnsAn ’’■hr th®re l<>r>ds piwpp the I’m® ri<i |r i 1 
are better for onrn than tbe lord below. Wo 
B r ® ® 1 e o fold bv tbe fp rr® Ugh puibority that 
wh»r®r#r fiooDs abound w® irnr exo®®t to 
find tbe pbnertbn'os ele®. This |« rrmriBtent 
f or w® know that them hlphland* prn*h of the 
OnordapT aalf croup contain th® Meroellng 
and Hamilton abates, and these abound infos* 
sits. 
A«sn , nfner fh®e® ptofomopf* to b® fnet-s—and 
thov orofrom anthoritv that it would he pro. 
BU r "P f ton to q-joctiop — f roocop (h-ie; Wo 
pnw kn«w m-Rorethio needed element nhou”ds 
and «rboro It, ia wantinp; it, ia then ploin that 
the phocph®t»e will p-odnop rrtor® *®ereflt over 
tho pa 1 ’' propp than on thee® Riahlenda C»n 
thorp h® onv rriataV® In tho inforepoo thot thev 
F honld ho epplled «*-h®r® thov ®r® deflp’ept end 
not, where they P hound J T>r foot i« ihntnn this 
] apd where eralrpip chowath®v are deficient, 
thophocrhnfpoereof co little value that hilt lit¬ 
tle ia need, while ®n th® moreaonthern lend the 
phoaphatoa are extepRiv®l V and profitably 
used. H“r® ia themienoe on the op® hand and 
on th® other th® fact. Tt w®nld bo pew to 
most people in tH« seoMon that thi« more 
southern laud i« th® heat, com land: mv own 
ohcerva' ion tea®h®a oxaotlv th® opposite. It 
Jp a lopy time sin®® the=e observation 1 * were 
mad®, but it wordd poem that whore phos 
phates are ahiipdent, they would be 
so still. It certainly soeprip that we must 
learn hv repeated and c«refnl1v conducted 
evpo r imenta how to m»ke the soil fer¬ 
tile and the heat means to Veep it ro. The 
t : m° may ho near when chemistry will give us 
valuable apri«+anoe in onr efforts to learn the 
important facts connected with thin subject, 
but. thus far ft has shed only a glimmering 
light. Th® sc.ienMsts of both hemispheres are 
now pursuing tb®ir investigations with a z°al 
unknown before and we have tpsfoo to be¬ 
lieve that we shall soon have new light on the 
suhjeet. A. M. Williams. 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
Iowa Wants No Aid. 
Editor Rural NY.—Will yon kindly 
grant, me snare in your excellent journal to 
say that Iowa n®ad* no more contributions in 
Bid of tbo6® who suffered by the tornado. 
Whi'e we ere gratified to three who so gener¬ 
ously contributed to the needs of the nnfortn- 
nate. onr pelf-reepert compels ns to return all 
benefactions to the kind donors. 
Therp has been hnt one tornado in ‘he State 
and that was confined to a small district. 
• Iowa ip a large and rich State and amply ahle 
to provide for the unfortunate. Our crops 
are good and opr peorle are prosperous. We 
are sorry that the newspaper* of the country 
have s'* exaggerated ntir misfortune. This 
region is no more llnhle to tornadoes than 
other rart« of fhe country. This por'ion of 
th® SSst® has never had anything of the kind 
and thero h n ve only been two tornadoes in the 
State within 40 re*»r» [While th® records of 
the Signal Service thow That, cur friend is 
nearly right in spying that Iowa is no more 
Hahle to tornadoes than other States, he 
apoenrs to be mistaken In the statement that 
there have been only two trrpadors in the 
State |n 4fi rears. According to the Signal 
Service OfTl’*® S t atist|cF < epitomized in RURAL 
Of Jiilv 22 page 488. th®r® wera SI tornadoes 
in the State hetween 1854 and 1881; hut then 
in the same period there bed beep RJ» f n 
Qoorgla. apd 154 in Plinolc; while N®w Yo»k 
had 85 batwoon 1«S1 and 1881 and Kansas 63, 
between 18511 and 188|, Eds •] have a 
good State, a good soi’. a good climate, good 
water and a good society. We are now re¬ 
ceiving a y®rv large immigration from the 
East., and those returning from t.hpdrv regions 
of the T°rriforie«. but thece comers are of the 
better class of thos® peeking homes and we 
welcome them We havehere.noar railroads, 
schools and chnrches at from six to ten dollars 
per acre, on easy terms of payment ns good 
lands as there are in the world. Many new 
towns and cities are pprineirg uo on every 
hand. Travis C. Leggett. 
■-t-M- 
The test of Ripeness In Watermelons. 
Watermelon's are very late and small. So 
far as I know the first shipment of melons 
from this place was on August 3d. They are 
wnlwilel hsrs at two an l four cents each 
the latter price being for melons weighing 13 
pounds and upwards. These are contract 
prices, and hoi 1 for about three “ cuttings. ” 
AftJr tis sh'p nt its it>>. than fis “pitokei 
v* generally free for all who want melons to 
eat. And just, here let m® state that tbe 
pressing of melons to ascertain their rireness 
i« a bad practice. If th© melon is rip® the 
flesh is bruised and soon spoils, and if ihe 
melon is green, it never recovers from the in- 
jnrv. but remains tasteless and tough at the 
point of pressure. The tendril at. the stem 
mav be Hvine or dead but it does not indicate 
the rineneR« or greenness of the m®lon.bPcanse 
I h»ve ®een It. in a wet season perfectly alive 
while the melon was overripe: and in a dry 
season just the reverse. “Thumping” mu‘t 
b® relied upon a« the simplest mpt.hod for am¬ 
ateurs, who can soon learn the sound of a ripe 
melon, by t.h”mpine on both ripe «nd green 
on°R A ripe watermelon has a pecidisrlv inde- 
scribohle appearance that is read Mv known by 
tb® practiced eye. snd an experienced person 
will rarely, if ever, fail to select all the ripe 
melons by eight alone. The advantage of this 
is obvious. G. H. S. 
Tlorchester Co.. Md. 
[The interesting crop report accompanying 
the a hove is rendered out of date by the inter¬ 
vening Fair No. Eds.] 
was badlv damaged bv tbe worms. It was 
not thought that, the wheat. was materially in¬ 
jured by grazing, and yet the whole lamb 
ciop was raised on wheat. 
Chestnuts for Profit —On several oc¬ 
casions the Germantown Telegraph has sug- 
suggested the growing of chpstnuts upon 
soils where but litt.leelse will grow, as a means 
of profit, both in tbe fruit and wood. Tbe 
chestnut Is rapid in growth, and will in from 
eight to ten x ears begin to bear a crop of nuts 
from the seed. This seed, however, should he 
planted as soon ns the fruit is ripe and, be¬ 
fore it becomes dry. A good selection of the 
American chestnut is the best. Our ruts are 
much superior in quality to tbe Spanish, 
French or Italian, though not nearly so large. 
There is a'wavs a market demand for the 
nnt.s greater than the supply, or any supply 
likely to be furnished. Tbe question is ore of 
real interest in every section where scrub¬ 
land is abundant end timber scarce; or as a 
meaus of profit with reference only to the 
fruit. 
Molea—Bermuda Grans. 
T FRFQUENTT.V see th® question 8‘ked In the 
RURAL how to keen moles out of gardens and 
tmek patches. The onlv wav I ever could 
keep them ont was to catch them, and I have 
tried all the remedies T have seen recommended, 
such as castor beans, etc, etc. Mv wav of 
catching them Is to tramp tbe ground pretty 
bard where they have rooted it up at tbe place 
where they enter t.h® garden. I find out., by 
watching frequ®ntly, what time they work 
in the day and always taking n hoe with me, 
I go as noiselessly as I can, as they are very 
quick to hear tbe least noise and will turn 
back. To catch them one must dig behind 
them very quickly and pull out earth and 
mole together. I have kept them out of my 
garden during the last 25 veers in this way. 
I caught five this Spring. The ground 
should alwavs be tramped hard some 
four or five feat from where they enter the 
garden or patch. 
I have seen a good deal of controversy as 
to Bermuda Grass seeding. I send you a 
small bunch that grows and matures on my 
place every year. The Southern World of 
Atlanta, Ga., says it doesn’t mature here but 
I think it is mistaken. B. T. 
[Examined under a glass there seem to be 
some true seeds among them. Eds.] 
CATALOGUES, ETC., 
Circular of Scientific Department of Rut. 
ger’s College, New Brunswick, N. J., Merrill 
E. Gates, President. 
Tenth Annual Report of the Wiscon¬ 
sin Dairymen’s Association, held at She¬ 
boygan. Wis , Jan. 11-13,1883. Report of tbe 
proceedings, annual address of the President 
ai.d interesting essays relating to the dairy 
interests. Compiled bv D. W. Curtis, Secre¬ 
tary, Fort Atkinson, Jefferson Co. 
The Guernsey Herd Book, published under 
the auspices of the Royal Guernsey Agricul¬ 
tural Society, Vol. 1, compiled and arranged 
bv Theophile De Mouilpied, Hon, Secretary, 
Guernsey. The publication of this work 
doubtless indicates an intention on the part of 
tbe cattle owners of ihe Island of Guernsey 
to compete with their neighbors of Jersey for 
the high prices obtained for Channel Island 
cattle. 
•-M-*- 
Is the “ Lister” an Advantage i —The 
last quarterly report from Kansas is noted 
bv the N. Y. World as questioning whether 
the lister is really an improvement No bet¬ 
ter corn can be raised by its use than is 
rai-ed where the ground is well plowed 
aud planted with a horse planter with 
check-row attachment. In very wet Springs 
there are many objections to the use of 
the lister. Cora planted with the lifter 
last Spring is not as good as that planted 
with a planter. The heavy rains have 
done much damage to listed corn, tome 
fields washed out entirely. If a little saving 
of labor is effected by tbe use of the lister 
for three or four years, damage may be done 
the fifth year by heavy rains to more than 
overbalance the gain. 
The Kansas City Live-Stock Indicator says 
that a Texas farmer by turning his sheep in 
his wheat in the Autumn, and allowing them 
to graze during the Winter and Spring 
when tbe soil was in condition the piece of 
wheat grazed will make 35 bushels to tbe 
acre, and it would have made more, but it 
Prof. Ward says, in the Industrialist, that 
a Coolev can and an old cider barf el set under 
the shade of a tree bv the side of the well do 
not make an expensive outfit; but with these 
choice butter can be made during hot weather, 
as the wri'er personally knows. Every 
one who has a spring or well with the 
temperature of tho water from 50 deg. to 
55 deg. can make good butter during tbe 
hottest ^eatber, by deep setting in water. . . 
. . There can never be any advance in the 
butter business of Kansas until the practice 
of deep setting of tbe milk in cool water dur¬ 
ing hot weather is adopted. 
Experiments in Corn Planting —Dr. 
Stuitevant’s Bulletin No. 6. is before us. Tbe 
plat which was intended to test the value of 
the butt and tip kernels as used for seed has 
done, he says, well and promises a good crop, 
but at date there are no appearances of the 
butt and tip seed being either better or 
worse than the seed from the central portion 
of the ear. Tbe plats devoted to varieties 
show at date striking differences, so much so 
as to suggest the strong probability that 
what variety we grow, even of kinds that 
are adapted to this climate and locality, must 
make a great difference in the crop raised. 
.In one case where one plat 
of corn received fertilizer at the rate of 1600 
pounds to the acre and the adjoining plat re¬ 
ceived no fertilizer whatsoever, the firet 
three rows of the unmanured plat adjoining 
the fertilized plat approach in appearance 
those of the manured plat, thus indicating 
that tbe corn roots have extended at least 
eleven feet in their successful search for food. 
This observation of Ihe station is fully in ac¬ 
cord with tbe Rukal’ 8 observations which 
have been pressed upon our readers again and 
again, though we did not know the roots ex¬ 
tended much further than from row to row, 
the rows being four feet apart. Again let us 
ask, whv manure corn in the hill or drill in¬ 
stead of broad coast? 
WORTH NOTING. 
Flockmastkks with good flecks are mak- 
irg good use of their opportunity says the 
Londonr Live Stock Journal, several Amer¬ 
ican buyers attending all the big sales and 
purchasing the best lots they can lay hands 
on. Short horns. Hereford*, Black and Red 
Polls, do not come amiss to them, and now 
they are turning their attention to sheep. 
Hampshire and Oxford Downs seem to Le 
favorites, although Shropshire*, South Downs 
and Lincolns are not neglected. 
Original descriptions of new fruits to 
guard against errors should always be made 
by some one who knows thoroughly all the 
ebaraete* Mice of the various fruits, says Mr. 
C. M. Huvey in the Mass. ELughman. For 
the want of t his knowledge be was induced 
to think the Manchester Straw berry was the 
same as tbe Hovey. But when tbe fruit was 
seen it bad no resemblance whatever to 
the Hovey; t»ut was precisely, ho says, 
like the Green Prolific, if indeed, there is any 
difference. The italics are ours. 
The same journal reminds its leaders that 
now is a favorable time to clean out old 
ditches and to dig wells- How often is the 
labor of digging a well lost by doing it wl en 
the spriugs are high, rendering it impossible to 
go deep enough to furnish a supply of water 
in a season of drouth....... 
A California corwpondent i f tbe Gar¬ 
dener^ Monthly Fpeaks highly of tbe Peen-To 
or Flat Peach of China. It is there noted for 
itsearliness and delicious flavor.. 
Major Frees knowB from his own exper¬ 
ience that sole will cause the cabbage-worm 
to disappear by sprinkling it upon the plants. 
He advises a pint of salt to five or six gallons 
of water... 
Let some of our friends try sowing oats 
with wheat on a small plotaud let us see how 
much it ia worth “ as a mulch”... 
Instead rf ermriairinar of ibe tborns 
amoue the ro«e®. we ehnnld be thankful there 
are ro c e« amone ihe I horns. 
Trk editor of the Gardeners’ Monthly rec¬ 
ommends ihe Flat-riemmed Pra and Ihe Sheep 
Fescue a a grasses best ndnpVd to grow under 
trees. To those who are not afraid of intro¬ 
ducing it to tbeir farm lands. C-eeping Wheat 
might be recommended for su'h places and, 
we think, for lawns in general... 
Tt will appear in dneHm°lb®t the Rural’s 
estimate of t.h® Caroline Raspheimv is not 
fsrastrav. “Tt i« hv far the best of the 
light-"olored bind®,” osvs Mr. Meehan,....... 
He also a®vs that, it is at least safe to Fay 
tb«t Fnv’s Current is a v®rv good variety.... 
$12,560! Wh*t a som with which to di 
good. Tbe P®nn. Agricultural Pociet.v ap¬ 
propriates this amonnt. in the interests of 
horse racing at its approaching fair. Shame ! 
<-* 
ft 
IR>! 
l)m. 
RURAL SPFOIAL REPORTS. 
Maine. 
Manchester. Kennehoc Co.. August, 31.— 
A ppvere drouth, prevails here. Th® grass 
lands begin to look browm. Crons falt®r Po¬ 
tatoes wi’l vield light. Corn not vst much in¬ 
jured on Hie prevailing stony land. Grains 
have done well. Brooks and springs failing 
one after another and som® wells are dry, 
but the dron*h ha« not reached a stage so se¬ 
vere as in 1880. An insect is destroving the 
hackmatacks here and in most parts of ihe 
Sta*e. Tt appears to lie a species of sawflv, 
of which th® dull, light-greenish larva eats 
the greenish leaves, beginning at tbe top of 
tbe tree and working dnwpwBrd«, and in Au¬ 
gust constructing a tough, leathery cocoon in 
the grass roots. In some sections the pests 
have been working for three • uccesslve sea 
sons, and there the hackmatacks are b‘ ginning 
to die. c. G. a. 
New York. 
Fterling Station. Cayuga Co., August 35. 
—The drouth here is not so serious as it was 
last year, yet it has been severe enough to 
cause considerable loss. ®s corn, onions and 
potatoes have been much injured by th» dry 
wenther. and will yield hut‘inall crops. Small 
fruits of all sorts have been short, but the 
near trees are full; not a peach to be seen. 
We hear considerable complaint of apples fall¬ 
ing off. but our own orchard* give promi-te of 
a fair crop of excellent quality. Pastures are 
pretty well dried up. an 1 farmers who have 
not had foresight to provide fodder corn, soon 
notice a shrinkage in dairy profits, a. d. B 
Riverhead, Suff.-lk C*\, 8»pt. 6.—I And 
the Rural a very valuable papu\ I think 
tbe reports of crops from all parts of the 
States of great value to the farmers. Straw 
berrips, caulifl .wers at d potatoes are three of 
the prim ipsl crops roi-ed for market in this 
county. Potatoes are a poor crop. Cauli¬ 
flowers are looking well now, we commence 
to ship the last of Septeufler. Strawb®rr'ea 
only half a crop; hrougbt good prices. Slurp- 
less was very productive with some, and 
brought from 15?. to 30 s. per quart in Boston; 
B.dwell is doing well; very productive and 
hardy so far. Crescent Seedling »« our must 
popular variety, bringing from three to five 
cents more per quart in Boston than tbe Wil¬ 
son. Wilson’s A.bray is a failure, blighting 
very badly. E. c. m. 
Oregon. 
Marshfield, Cotk Co.. Oregon. Sept. 2 — 
This is ihe finest daily country 7 have ever 
seen—neithfr too hot i or too cold. Grass 
grows nearly all ihe year round; meadows 
have to be pastured until quite late to keep 
ih® grass from growing troh®avy. Clover 
does not give horses ihe “slobbers” heie, nor 
does it cause boven in cows. 
RURAL SEED REPORTS. 
Cherokee Nation. Indian Terrlto y. 
Fort Gibson, Sept. 2.— I planted my Heavy 
Dent ooru the 5Hi of April; when shelled, the 
grain weighed lbs.; the cobs, above 12 
1 >8. The hight ot the stalk averaged nine 
feet. o. B. 
Wisconsin. 
Plover, Portage Co , S-pt. I.—I gave my 
Rural seeds the very best of garden culture, 
and the wheat tillered splendidly, but never 
produced a grain The Rural Flint Corn has 
grown to a very wonderful size 1 feired we 
should not get au ear. the season has been so 
backward. At present am more hopeful; 
for fields of corn that three weeks ago were 
not expected to give one teuth of a crop, are 
now so forward chat by tbe l0;h or 15th of 
September they will be all ready to cut up and 
give a graul yield. Thousand! of hills have 
from three to seven good ears now, and they 
are tipping out finely, and soma are beginning 
