which are. Are there compensating advan¬ 
tages? Well, that depends. 
ORCHARD GRASS AND RED TOP. 
In these days of the surprising extension of 
dairying and stock feeding a host of the 
readers of the Rural will be glad to have a 
good word of any new or old variety of 
grass which is likely to prove a valuable ac¬ 
cession to pastures. Compared with Blue 
Grass, Timothy and Red Top, Orchard Grass 
is a new one, bo far as general cultiva¬ 
tion is concerned, there being in the West a 
thousand acres of the two former to one of 
the latter. Though probably a grass of 
Northern origin and habits, Red Top ap¬ 
pears to be more generally grown south of 
Lat. 89 deg. or 38 deg. than either Blue 
Grass or Timothy, for on going south one 
sees in Tennessee and Mississippi extensive 
fields of Red Top long after Timothy and 
Blue Grass have disappeared. But this is 
partly due, no d ,ubt, to the broad stretches 
of low, swaoiDy land in these States, where 
neither cotton nor corn will mak? crops and 
where it is too wet for Blue Grass and Tim¬ 
othy. 
It would be interesting to know whether 
those extensive fields of Red Top seen in the 
upper South, were the p’oduct of seed brought 
in Northern hay extensively consumed in the 
South, or whether it was purchased and 
sown after the manner of ordinary crops; 
for the fact would go far to settle the ques¬ 
tion whether the soil and climate of the upper 
cotton belt are well suited to Timothy and 
Blue Grass or are not (as many claim', be¬ 
cause if the Red Top seed has been dissemin¬ 
ated from Northern hay and has taken pos¬ 
session of certain lands suited to it, if there 
were other certain lands as well adapted to 
Timothy and Blue Grass, these soils and 
lands would have been swarded with these 
grasses a long time since. No doubt the 
cultivation of Red Top might be successful aa 
far north as either Timothy or Blue Grass, 
but south several degrees of latitude further, 
^specially where a permanently moist, and 
at the same time sandy soil can be depended 
upon. 
As to Orchard Grass, while it is not hardy 
as to frost ns far north as either Blue Grass, 
Timothy or Red Top, it succeeds a great deal 
farther south than the two former, and while 
it is impatient of a cold, moist soil, it will 
stand more heat and drouth and flourish on 
a drier soil than any other of the Northern 
grasses. Besides, it will grow in the shade 
better than any other of the valuable grasses, 
starts earlier in Spring, and being cut the 
first or the second time, renews its herbage 
almost as promptly as Alfalfa. Toe great 
objection to Orchard Grass is it grows in 
bunches and never makes as complete a sward 
as the other three grasses named. While Blue 
Grass and Timothy for the middle latitudes 
and the so-called corn and cattle States (with 
the addition of white and red clover) appear 
at first sight to furnish all the herbage neces¬ 
sary both for Summer aud Winter pasturage, 
respect must be paid to that order of nature 
which calls for rotation and Orchard Grass 
and others may be sown with advantage on 
the best Blue Grass and Timothy pastures, 
Nearly every bale of hay going south to be 
consumed, contains more or less Red Top seed 
and there is therefore little need to urge its 
further dissemination, but as to Orchard 
Grass, whether in the upper cotton belt or the 
Winter wheat region, the general dissemin¬ 
ation of it among the permanent grasses of 
the country would be worth, to put a money 
value upon it, a dollar to every acre. It is 
singular that Orchard Grass, which, says Mr. 
Gould, “is always to be found in the rich, old 
pastures of England; where an acre can be 
depended on to fatten one bullock and four 
sheep,” has been so slow in making its appear¬ 
ance in the grass land of the West. 
In conclusion, let it be understood, that by 
Blue Grass l J oa pratense is mount, by Tim 
othy Phleurn pratense, by Orcnard Grass, 
Dactylis glomerata and by Red Top, other¬ 
wise called Herd’s Grass, Agrostia vulgaris. 
B. v. J. 
comes to have experienced what a grand re¬ 
source in many ways the rye crop m ay be¬ 
come, it will be respected, if not cultivated ns 
much as ary other of the small grains. 
But I refer to and recommend a trial of the rye 
crop at this time, (and I confine my recommen¬ 
dation to those in the Valley of the Missisv 
ippi) because I think the safe outcome of the 
Winter wheat crop for 1883 to be very much 
in doubt; and this on account of the great 
mass of dry and green vegetable matter 
which will be plowed under in preparing the 
land. This state of the soil necessarily affords 
very unsatisfactory seed bed and sub-soil 
for wheat and in event of an unfavorable Win¬ 
ter, the crop will be badly damaged. But rye 
is less particular on many points than wheat, 
and, besides, the seeding may be deferred a 
month later than wheat, and when the late 
Fall season is a dry one, the seeding*, for lati¬ 
tude 40°, may be after the middle of Novem¬ 
ber. The Winter of 1881-82 having been warm 
and wet, that of 1882 83 is likely to be cold 
and dry, and while rye will do nearly as well 
as wheat under the conditions which obtained 
last Winter, should dry and cold weather pre¬ 
vail thecoming Winter, wheat would he almost 
certainly seriously injured, while rye would 
come triumphantly through. 
But more as a grand resource for Fall and 
Spring pasturage, rye for these and more 
Western sections is to be recommended than 
for grain. But when grown for Fall pasturage 
it must be sown in August or early iu Sep¬ 
tember, in order to get a strong growth of 
herbage, late pasturing where not too close, 
causing the plants to stool to the extent that 
the yield will be considerably increased if not 
doubled. When rye is sown late, ordinarily 
it will make but a small growth before Win¬ 
ter sets in, and stock should not be turned on 
until there is a good show of herbage in the 
Spring. But the pasturing of rye should 
never be omitted, since a good yield of grain 
depends more on promoting stooling by judi¬ 
cious pasturage where there is rauk or even 
strong growth, than any other thing which 
can be done for the crop on a fertile or mod¬ 
erately fertile soil. 
The sheep and cattle men of the Western 
plains are sowing rye for Winter and Spring 
pasturage to an extent which must be seen to 
be believed, and they report yields of grain 
after the herbage has been eaten, so as to 
scarcely leave a vestige of it iu sight, which 
require a good deal of faith to accept as the 
truth. 
Its hardy character, its apparent indiffer¬ 
ence to the soil on which it is sown compared 
with wheat, its kindly disposition in submit¬ 
ting to all manner of slovenly and careless 
treatment aud making generous returns there¬ 
after for the small amount of labor expended 
upon it, are qualities in rye, which have incited 
neglect on the part of those who grow it and 
are probably responsible in a measure for the 
doubtful reputation which it Lears in Ameri¬ 
can agriculture. But no crop, not even w heat 
or Indian corn, will more generously respond 
to rich soils and intensive farming than rye, 
and where the crop is utilized at the best it 
may be in herbage, grain and straw, its culti¬ 
vation will be found as profitable aud its yield 
as certain as Indian corn. 
rio. 3Ba. 
Martin's Amber Wiieat. —We have re¬ 
ceived from Mr. J. A. Everett of Watsontown, 
Pa., a box of a new wheat 
which he calls Martin’s 
Amber, with ibe request that 
we would sow it in our ex¬ 
periment plots. This is a 
handsome wheat. The kernels 
are large, as shown in the 
illustration, and of a clear amber color. One 
head sent measures flve-and one-half inches 
with three aud sometimes four kernels in a 
breast of which there are 10 to a side. He 
offers it for sale in small quantities, and we 
should think it well worthy of trial. 
£ l)£ pjcmllri) J)iu*il. 
IMPROVED POULTRY KEEPING. 
the looks, but if correct, it will not keep here 
beyond September. [Downing says its season 
is from November to February. Eos ] 
Doming, a good grower, productive of good- 
sized fruit. This is one of the apples that 
ought to have a place in the orchard. It is as 
easy to grow the best as the poorest, smallest 
and least productive kinds. There is an 
abundance of good apples; the trouble is for a 
novice to find them out. 
Chenango Strawberry, a splendid 
grower; it sets fruit, but all rot before ripen¬ 
ing; sure to disappoint here. 
Titusville, N. J. Ira J. Blackwell. 
-> « ♦- 
Notes on Apples. 
Williams's Favorite and Sops of Wine 
Apples are much alike in flavor; but the Wil¬ 
liams’s Favorite in size and texture is ahead, 
while as a nursery tree the Sops of Wine is 
much more vigorous. 
The Switzer, a new Russian apple, grows 
wonderfully fast in the nursery, rivaling, if 
it does not excel, in vigor the widely spread 
Haas. The Switzer fruit os to quality is, by 
excellent judges very highly commended. 
Cook’s Greening is a profitable, long keep¬ 
ing apple originating in Central Ohio. The 
fruit in size and quality may be described as 
a Willow Twig bound in green, Cook’s Green¬ 
ing tree in the nursery starts off about as How 
as the Willow Twig but stouter and more 
spreading, with larger leaves. F. K. P. 
THE APHIS AND THE APPLE CROP. 
It was the green aphis that was injuring 
my apple trees, and it was to this that my 
communication in a late Rural referred. 
From the remarks of Prof. G. II. French and 
T. H. Hoskius in the Rural of August 19th 
and Sept. 2d respectively, I am inclined to 
hope that this aphis may not be troublesome 
in the future. This pest has unquestionably 
done great damage in this vicinity. Its 
depredations were apparently confined to the 
leaves, causing them to curl, turn yellow, and 
fall off. The numbers of the pest were as- 
toundingly great. 
Many persons think that heavy rains when 
the trees were in blossmn destroyed the pollen, 
and that this explains the cause of the light 
apple crop. Perhaps this ts partially the 
cause, especially in some localities, but iu my 
own orchard I hold the aphides responsible. 
They seemed to have a decided preference for 
some varieties. 
The Hubbardston Nonsuch, Red Astrachan, 
and a few other kinds were little attacked 
and have a full crop of fruit. Others, as the 
Spy, Pound Sweet, Greening, etc., were 
moderately injured, and are consequently 
bearing lightly. Still others, as the Swaar, 
Talman Sweet, Spitzenburg, etc., were nearly 
denuded of leaves, aud, of course, bear no 
fruit. 
Several Talman Sweet trees have been 
grafted with Hubbardston Nonsuch; the 
aphides were plentiful upon the branches of 
the former, while the latter escaped. One 
could select the branches of each kind at the 
distance of half a mile. [With a telescope?— 
Eds.] 
My orchard is about 20 years old, so that to 
immerse the limbs is impossible. At present 
I feel disposed to wait the turn of events be¬ 
fore doing anything. The pests may not 
appear again iu sufficient numbers to do much 
harm. 
Perhaps iu consequence of the aphis we 
may get a fair crop of fruit next year. As it 
is, my Primates sold for only nine dollars less 
than they brought two years ago, while the 
yield was only two-fifths as great, the cost of 
marketing being much less also. The grower 
frequently finds a light crop with high prices 
more profitable than a heavy yield and a 
glutted market, but it is rather “ rough ” on 
the consumer. Nelson Ritter. 
Onondaga Co., N. Y. 
PEA AND BEAN WEEVILS. 
There are a few unpleasant things in con¬ 
nection with green peas and beans that it may 
be well for the farmer and market gardener 
to stop long enough to contemplate. 
It is unpleasant when buggy peas or beans 
have been planted to see them come up go 
scattering that not more than half a crop can 
be realized. It is unpleasant to think, when 
uatiog these vegetables, that about every 
third one may contain one or more little 
■worms inside, cooked, to be sure, iso that they 
cannot squirm, in the eater’s mouth, but, 
nevertheless, they are there. It is not espe¬ 
cially exhilarating to the market gardener 
■when he takes green peas to market and the 
merchant opens a few of the pods and finds 
the peas speckled, indicating the presence of 
those worms, to be told that his peas will not 
bripg more than half the market price. 
Mentioning these things does not make them 
any less pleasant; but my object is not one 
of pleasure, but to bring together a few facts 
t hat may enable the farmer to overcome this 
evil. 
The Pea Weevil (Bruchus pisi) “is about one- 
eigbtb of an inch long, of a rusty black color, 
with spots and partial bands of gray; the tip 
of the abdomen white, with two very distinct 
black spots; a very indistinct whitish band a 
little in front of the middle of each wing case, 
and a very distinct oblique white band on 
each, behind the middle.” 
As soon as the peas are in blossom these 
pea-bugs, or weevils, may be seen depositing 
their eggs. The female enters the flower of 
the pea, usually after it has been open a little 
time, and deposits her little elongated yellow 
eggs ou the young pod. Writers say this is 
done at night or during cloudy weather, but 
I think I have seen them at work in fair 
weather. The eggs soon hatch and the young 
larva 1 eat through the pod and into the young 
peas, seldom, if ever, more than one to a pea. 
They feed upon the albuminous portion of 
the peas, avoiding the germ for 9ome reason 
not fully known. When ready to pupate 
they gnaw a passage to the outside, leaving 
only the thin skin of the seed for the perfect 
beetle to break away when it wishes to 
emerge. As a general thing these do not 
leave the peas till the following Spring. 
The Bean Weevil (Bruchus obsoletus or B. 
fata?) is smaller than the pea weevil, being 
only about one-tenth of an inch long. It is 
dark brown, covered with a light pubescence, 
which gives it a brownish-gray color. I have 
not myself observed the oviposition of this 
species, but I presume it must be similar to 
that of the pea weevil. The worm or larva 
resembles the pea worm, but instead of there 
being one to each bean there are several, each 
living in its separate channel and making its 
own place of exit. They usually leave the 
germ untouched, but where there are many 
iu a bean they reuder it unable to produce a 
plant for want ol food. 
Remedies.— From what has been given of 
the habits of these insects it is obvious that 
nothing can be done to prevent the eggs from 
being deposited if the perfect insects are kept 
over the AYinter and allowed to escape. The 
only remedy seems to be in being sure that no 
buggy peas or beans are planted, and for that 
matter to see as well that none are kept over 
Winter. A careful assorting of the seed be¬ 
fore the bugs have left them aud destroying 
the infected ones will prevent their appear¬ 
ance in the new erop. But if one. man does 
this aud his neighbors are careless or indif¬ 
ferent, he will have less bugs, but will uot be 
free from them. To secure perfect immunity 
the matter should be talked up in the neigh¬ 
borhood, so as to have the co-operation of the 
whole community. By this means there is no 
reason why peas and beans cannot be raised 
free from bugs, and consequently free from 
all the annoyance attendant upon the presence 
of these pests in these vegetables. Will it not 
pay ? G. H. French. 
Carbondale, 111. 
<&xptfim*nt of ihc gtarxt 
$cw - Horlicr. 
THE EFFECT OF SHADE ON POTATOES, 
The next potato experiment we have to 
report is one which was intended to show the 
effect of shade upon the productiveness of 
potatoes. No doubt different varieties would 
be differently influenced. The pieces (two 
eyes each) were dropped exactly one foot apart 
iu both cases, the drills three feet apart. 
Baker’s potato fertilizer was used in the drills 
(the pieces first covered lightly with soil) at 
the rate of 600 poundsto the acre. Soil, clay- 
loam, somewhat stony. Variety, White Ele¬ 
phant—culture flat. The first was shaded 
after 12 M., receiving only the morning sun. 
Result. —399.30 bushels per acre. Large 
and small potatoes 85,668 to the acre. Beat 
average five potatoes, two pounds 21 ounces. 
The next lot was shaded until two o’clock, 
P. M., receiving the suu afterwards. 
Result.—520.30 bushels per acre. Large 
and small, 119,064. Best average five potatoes 
three pounds. The afternoon sun in this ex¬ 
periment gives more potatoes of a smaller 
size than the morning sun. 
Of all our potatoes McCormicks are the 
latest. The vines are still (8ept. 1?) quite green. 
The greatest length of vine is given by an 
“English Seedling” from Mr. John Payne. 
Some of the vines measure fully six feet in 
length. 
“The Scotch” potatoes (Champion and 
others) are all very 1 ite and the yield is com¬ 
paratively light, judging from the appearance 
of the drills. We have not yet dug them. 
Tubers which are not hilled up grow out of 
the ground and “green” more than those 
- ♦♦ ♦ 
THE FALL RYE CROP. 
B F. JOHNSON. 
It is difficult to understand why the Fall 
rye crop which is so nearly a sure one and 
offers the advantage of affording late Fall, 
Winter and early Spring pasturage and there¬ 
after a moderate, and sometimes a large crop 
of grain, should be so much neglected. Be¬ 
sides, in some manufacturing sections rye 
straw commands a better price than the straw 
of any other of the cereals. It may be that 
compared with wheat, oats aud barley, rye 
yields so much less and is more heavy and 
less pleasant to handle, is what tells against 
the cultivation of it, and it may be there is a 
strong disinclination to grow a crop which is 
notoriously that most common to tue poorest 
soil and is therefore associated with poverty 
and poor farming. At any rate, when one 
“Make haste, John! Send the dog after 
those hens; they are eating the tomatoes,” 
wa9 whatMrB. Perkins was saying as I walked 
into neighbor P.’s sitting room one rainy af¬ 
ternoon. After the usual salutation she con¬ 
tinued : “Mr. Perkins has beeu telling me that 
your hens have the free range of the premises; 
now, please, give us a little insight into your 
way of managing them. Don’t they eat your 
melons, tomatoes, etc. ? Ours do seem ‘pos¬ 
sessed’ to destroy everything.” 
“Well, in the first place, Col. Curtis’s notes 
in a late Rural on “Education in the Pig 
Sty” are equally applicable to the hen roost. 
Yes; only a few days since we found Borne 
ripe tomatoes partly eaten; by keeping strict 
watch we caught the culprit in the act. That 
night she went into a coop, and from there to 
the dinner pot. Had we neglected the matter 
a few days, many more would have learned 
