©GT 7 
-5 
687 
THE RURAL 
Lately we have had heavy rains which are 
bad for harvesting late grain. L. de a. 
Ohio. 
T ROND ALE, Sept, 23.—Up to this week the 
weather was very dry, and it was with diffi¬ 
culty that some farmers got their plowing 
done, and although a good many went ahead 
and put in their wheat, dry as it was, others 
waited for rain. Some had the good fortune 
to get through just before it rained, w hile a 
good many did not. The ground is now pretty 
thoroughly soaked and there will be no more 
complaints of dry weather for at least some 
time to come. Great care is being taken in 
the preparation of the soil for the present 
wheat crop. Farmers have found out that it 
pay 3 to put a crop of wheat in well. It is 
just within the past two years that commer¬ 
cial fertilizers have been used to any extent 
and so manifest have been the benefits derived 
therefrom that there has been a vast amount 
of bone dust and phosphates used this Fall. 
Fields that were never known to yield over 10 
or 15 bushels per acre before, during the pa t 
season have given as high as 27, machine 
measurement. There could be no doubt but 
the increased yield was largely due to the 
application of fertilizers. The weather has 
been very favorable for the corn crop, and 
although it will be below the average it will 
be much better than last year. The dry 
weather had a tendency to check its growth 
while the frost keeping off is giving it ample 
time to mature. My experiment in drilling 
corn this year is a complete success; my crop 
will be one of the best I ever raised, m. n. r. 
West Virginia. 
Huttonsvili.e, Randolph Co., Sept. 18.— 
As we have bad too much wet, cold and 
cloudy weather, orn will not make more 
than 75 per cent of an average crop and is all 
very backward—say, at least two weeks. 
Wheat not more than one third of a crop. 
Oats rusted. Grass about an average. Cattle 
doing well. Sheep healthy and doing finely. 
Wages for laboring hands on farms $15. to 
$20. per month with board. The potato crop 
will be a full average one. This county is 
largely engaging in the lumbering business. 
We have a grand forest on the Middle Fork 
and Buchanan rivers. Here are to be found 
walnut trees that stretch 50 to 60 feet to the 
first limb with a diameter of three to five feet 
at the butt, as fine White Oaks as ever grew, 
and Yellow Poplars that grow from five to 
seven feet in diameter, which will give seven 
to 12 feet saw-logs. I have taken 86 and 88 feet 
off of some trees, and from one tree I got 8,CC® 
feet, plank measure. We have the Bass* 
wood or Linden trees, Sweet Birch or Amer¬ 
ican mahogany, wild cherry trees wonderful 
in size, some of which will make 4,000 to 5,000 
feet of lumber. We also have ash as well as 
hard and soft maple trees in great abun¬ 
dance. All of our land is full of stone coal 
and iron ore. All this county needs is rail 
roads. M. c. 
RURAL SEED REPORTS. 
Indiana. 
Pierckton, Kosciusko Co.,Sept. 8.— I had 108 
kernels of Rural Heavy Dent Corn, 04 of which 
came up. It is 10 to 12 feet high, many of the 
stains have three and four ears, and one has 
seven well-formed ears. Several stalks meas¬ 
ured six inches in circumference. I have ten 
different kinds of com on my place this sea¬ 
son, but the Rufal Dent gets away with them 
all. My other seeds are doing well. Success 
to the Rural.! m. r. 
Town. 
Macedonia, Pottawattamie Co., Sept. 21.— 
I planted 181 grains of the Rural Heavy Dent 
Corn on May 15; owing to wet and cold 
weather only 87 grew. It suckered consider¬ 
ably but I pulled most of the suckers off; some 
of the stalks are about IS feet high, and are 
very large, I think it will make corn, I 
think l shall have enough to plaut four or 
five acres another year. h. p. 
Roselle, Carroll Co., Sept. 10.—I sowed 
part of the Rural wheat; it grew fiuely until 
the middle of July and then vanished. The 
Lima beans did uot grow at all. The celery 
is splendid. Of the Gem Squash several vines 
are growing, and one of them is loaded with 
squash. Of the Hollyhock we have nine fine 
plants. Of the Rural Dent corn 1 planted 260 
kernels, of which two thirds grew', and if the 
frost holds off 10 days it will be a magnificent 
crop, and I think 1 am in for a prize. It 
seems to me to be the best white corn 1 ever 
saw. The, Rural I prize very highly, and 
shall be a contiuual subscriber. c. t. 
Kansas, 
Paola, Miami Co., Sept. 14.—The Rural 
Thoroughbred Flint Corn is now ready to 
gather. It has been very dry here for the 
last mouth and the corn has suffered some¬ 
what The Flint is about eight feet in hight 
and has ears measuring 14 inches. It had a 
good many suckers, .but the ears on them did 
not amount to much. i. v. s. 
Missouri. 
Savannah, Andrew Co., Sept., 11.—From 
my White Elephant potato sent a year ago 
I raised nearly half a bushel. These were 
planted this Spring but the blister bugs ate 
the tops down in Summer, but I expect to 
get several bushels of fine tubers. Will not 
dig until cold weather, as they then keep 
better. Have boiled and baked some; they 
are as good as the old “Peachblow” with 
several additional good qualities. My Heavy 
Dent is very promising. My father takes the 
Rural and we think it the best paper for 
the farmer, as it offers so many inducements 
to us and tries to encourage us in so many 
different ways. “ Long may it live.” E. J, b. 
West Vir«iiiia. 
Huttonsville, Randolph Co., Sept. 13.— 
The Rural Thoroughbred Flint corn is doing 
well and I believe it will get ripe; it has from 
two to three ears on each stalk, stands from 
12 to 13 feet high and baa from 15 to 19 blades 
of fodder to the stalk; it is a very strong¬ 
growing fodder corn. H. c. 
<Tl)C (Oncost. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Kverv query must be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to Insure attention.] 
A MILK FARM NEAR CITY MARKET. 
W. J. R., Westfield, N. J. Can a 20-acre 
farm 16 miles from a city market be made 
profitable by producing milk for sale; if so, 
how can it be done? 
Ans. —There is no doubt aprofitable business 
might be done upon a 20-acre farm in produc¬ 
ing milk for a city market in such a location 
as yours where the milk can be delivered 
within an hour of its shipment. But the 
business would require skillful management 
for the reason that land in such a situation is 
so costly as to predude pasturing altogether. 
The coWs should be fed by soiling; that is, by 
growing crops to be cut and fed green, aided 
by purchased feed, as bran and meal. For 
instance, a 20-acre farm may be arranged as 
follows: Ten acres are plowed and sowed to 
rye at once. This will be ready for cutting 
in May. In April five acres are sown to oats, 
one acre being sown every week in succession; 
this will give a succession of fresh fodder for 
five weeks. The other five acres are sown 
with early sweet corn also in succession. As 
the rye is cut, acre by acre, the ground is 
plowed and planted to corn—the best is Ever¬ 
green sweet corn. As the oat ground is 
cleared, that is sown to Hungarian Gras9 for 
green feeding or hay. This will be equivalent 
to 35 acres of single crop, upon which 20 cows 
should be kept if the soil is good. Being so 
near a good market the sweet corn can be sold 
for as much as will purchase double the quan¬ 
tity of Held corn or other food, while the stalks 
will make the best of fodder, for green feeding 
or for curing for Winter use. The rye left 
unused as green feed should l>e cut when in 
blossom and cured as hay. This method has 
beeu followed with success under such circum¬ 
stances in many instances,and the soil rapidly 
improves under such high culture. With high 
feeding of this kind a good cow would give 
2,500 to 3 000 quarts of milk in the year; but 
it would be better to change the cows as they 
fail in milk and procure fresh ones. With 
milk at four cents a quart each cow should 
return about $150. a year. 
WORMS IN A HORSE, ETC. 
L. C, V. .4., Palo , Neb. —l, My 11-year-old 
mare has beeu troubled with white and dark 
worms from two to six inches long. I have 
given tobacco and copperas as remedies; the 
copperas starts the pests but does not get rid of 
them, and after a couple of doses the mare 
won’t touch anything containing copperas. 
What is the best treatment? 2, Should water¬ 
melons, muskmelons, pumpkins, squashes, etc. 
be planted apart to prevent “mixing.” 
Ans. —1, These worms are the Ascaris 
megalacephala, and have their abode in the 
small intestines which lie betweeu the stomach 
and the large intestines. They cannot there¬ 
fore be reached by injections, and any medi 
cine which has an injurious effect upon the 
nervous system of the animal should not be 
used. Tobacco is & strong nerve sedative and 
has a strongly depressing influence upon the 
nervous system, and as it is ehietly absorbed 
before it can reach the worms it is both in¬ 
effective and injurious as a vermifuge. Cop¬ 
peras cannot safely be given in doses large 
enough to expel worms, and that too is not to 
be used as a vermifuge. The safest remedies 
are oil of turpentine, dose two ounces, with a 
pint of linseed oil given every second day for 
six days; or powdered areea-nut, one ounce; 
or santonin (wormseed) one ounce; or assa 
foetida, one-half ounce; any one of these three 
to be repeated on the second day with 
a pint of linseed oil between the doses, for a 
week. 2, They should be planted separately. 
FENCE LAW IN NEW YORK. 
T. .7. II., Schenectady, N. Y. —What is the 
bearing of the law as to division fences in 
New York State upon the following case? 
My neighbor uses his land for pasturing, I 
use mine for cropping; now am I obliged to 
keep up one half of the line fence? My neigh¬ 
bor says I am not obliged to maintain my 
fence, and that it is my privilege to remove a 
part of it. leaving the space open to be fenced 
by him if be wants to let bis cattle run loose. 
1 think that I if did this, and his cattle got 
into my crops, I would have a slim chance of 
getting damages. How is it? 
Ans. —The Revised Statutes, as amended by 
chapter 635, laws of 1871, provide that “if 
any person who shall have made his proportion 
of a division fence shall be disposed to remove 
his fence aod suffer bis lands to lie open, he 
may do so, provided such lands are not cleared 
at.d improved, at any time between the first 
day of November in any one year and the 
first day of April following, but at no other 
time, giving the ten day’s notice to the owner 
or occupant of the adjoining land of bis inten¬ 
tion to apply to the fence viewers of the town 
for permission to remove his fence.” The 
above sufficiently answers the questions pro¬ 
posed . 
THE LARGEST APPLES. 
W. S., Pickering, Mo. —Which is the largest 
and which the second largest apple, and where 
can the varieties be had? 
Answer by Chari.es Downing. 
The largest apple is Gloria Mundi or Mon¬ 
strous Pippin; but it is of little value on 
account of its dropping so much before it is 
ripe enough to gather, and also of its poor 
quality. The second largest is Twenty 
Ounce and both can be had at many of the 
nurseries. If the object is merely to get a 
large apple, the Tompkins County King is 
often very large and of good quality. 
Mi«C9flaneous. 
K. E. J3., Canterbury, Conn., asks: 1, if all 
of the three wheats sent out in last seed dis¬ 
tribution were Winter wheats; 2, what is 
the relative value of woolen waste from 
woolen mills and chemical fertilizers ; 3, what 
should such waste cost to be used as fertilizer 
and wbat chemicals would be needed in ad¬ 
dition to make a complete fertilizer. 
Ans. —1. Yes. 2. Prof. Goessmati on page 342 
of 2l)fch Annual Report of Secretary of Board of 
Agriculture (Mass) says: Wool waste (satura¬ 
ted with oil) contains moisture 105° C 8.43 
percent., nitrogen 6.25 per cent, value equal 
to $16 to $18 per ton. 6.25 per cent, nitrogen 
equals 7.59 per cent, of ammonia. 3. Prof. 
Goessman’s valuation would make the am¬ 
monia worth 11X cents per pound. This is 
full value. Soluble ammonia, as in sulphate 
of ammonia, is valued at 24 cents per pound. 
To make a complete fertilizer there should be 
added to the wool waste dissolved bone-black, 
muriate of potash and some form of soluble 
ammonia. 
J. M. L., George,ville, Ind. —1, Would it be 
right to have the Rural corn planted to the 
outer edge of tho plot 33 feet square? To me 
it seems that way of planting increases the 
plot one fifth. 2, How should lime be used to 
remove the “fodder" taste from sorghum 
molasses? 
Ans.-1, That is true. But the distance apart, 
which Is unusually great, more than makes 
up for this. Several questions as to the 
settlement of premiums arise which we must 
try to settle equitably, 2, Put the molasses 
into a pan and add water until it stands at 12 
degrees P.aume, then bring it to 160 degrees 
Fah., and add sufficient milk of lime to destroy 
any foreign taste. Allow it to cool and 
settle one hour, then draw off and cook down 
to a thick sirup. Too much lime will make 
the sirup dark-colored. 
J. A. P., Poi'tsmouth, Va .—What is the best 
way to treat asparagus set out last Spring? 
Ans.—T he best way is to hoe out the weedst 
destroy the berry-bearing plants and spread 
a thin coat of old manure over the plot, unless 
the soil is already fairly rich. If it inclines to 
clay, a good plau Is to incorporate a layer of 
sand with the surface by raking it in. Many 
would advise you to sow salt also. But we 
know of no comparative tests having been 
made that show salt is a benefit to asparagus ( 
though it is plain 9alt in moderate quantity 
does no harm. The top-dressing should he 
applied with you in mid-winter. 
G. W., New Yovk City .—Wishing to start 
pigeon keeping, I would like to know whether 
two pairs of pigeons brought from the country, 
if well fed, would return to my cote at night, 
or whether they would be more likely to join 
a flock of nine pairs belonging to a man who 
lives half a “block” away. 
Ans —First familiarize |hem with their 
present home by confinement or, it may be 
clipping the wings. Feed well, etc. You 
may then let them fly with the certainty of 
their returning. We speak from experience. 
J. C., Homer, N. Y., sends for name speci¬ 
mens of a plant that grows in his pasture, 
where it “runs out” other grasses, but cattle 
will not eat it. 
Ans.—I t is Toad-flex—Linaria vulgaris. 
This is a great pest with us. But it never 
troubles us much in fields which are subjected 
to our usual course, viz , corn, oats, wheat, 
grass. Less vigorous treatment of the kind 
lately offered by Mr. Woodward for extermi¬ 
nating Canada Thistle would easily subdue 
it. 
J. V. S., Paola., Kane., asks what rules are 
to govern the prize corn contest; how the com 
is to be gathered; wbat kind of a statement is 
to be made. 
Ans. —Directions were given in Rural of 
August 5, page 520. Give size of plot, kind of 
soil, manure u c ed, what was grown on the 
land last year, number of seed planted, how 
many grew, hight of stalks, time of ripening 
number and weight of ears, weight of shelled 
com. The ears to be weighed Nov. 1st and 
the shelled com on or before Nov. 3. Reports 
must reach this office on or before Nov. 15. 
M. W., Gales Ferry, Conn —Is it true that 
branching eockseomb and poke-weed belong 
to the same species of plants and that they will 
“run into” each other? 
Ans. —Poke belongs to the order Phytolac- 
cacese—or Poke-weed. Cockscomb (Celosia) 
belongs to Amaranthacece. They are very 
distinct and cannot of course, “run into” each 
other. 
P. T., Roselle, la. —Is there a German 
edition of the Rural? If so I can secure a 
considerable number of subscribers. 
Ans. — No; but reading the Rural would 
be an excellent way by which your German 
friends might leara good, sound “American" 
language as well as American agriculture and 
all other branches of progressive fawning. 
J. K. P., Mattawan, N. F, sends flowers fof. 
name. •* ' 
Ans. —The yellow is a Golder Rod : -Solidago. 
The one that spreads with leaves in a whorl 
is the Carpet Weed—Mollugo verticillata. The 
one with the black fruit we do not know. 
Some day send a flower. Other answers will 
follow later. 
M. E. P., Jersey, Ohio. —Where can I get 
the Russian Mulberry, and is it as good for 
silk-worms as the Japan Mulberry? 
Ans.— Of A. M. Purdy, Palmyra, N. Y. We 
do not know whether the leaves are as good 
for silk-worms as those of the Japan Mulberry 
or not. They are said to be equally as good 
by those who have tested them. 
II. S. B., East Schodack, N. Y. —Which is 
the best book treating of the diseases of horses 
and cattle? 
Ans.— Law’s Farmers Veterinary Adviser 
price $3., to be had of Professor James Law 
Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., or through 
the nearest book-store. 
W. L. P., Port Leyden, N. Y. —What is the 
name of inclosed plants? 
Ans. —The one with yellow flowers Golden 
Rod—Solidngo. The other is Pepper Grass— 
Lepidium. Cannot give species with seeds 
alone. Other questions will be answered 
later. 
77. P„ Macedonia, Iowa. —Have subscribers 
who are competing for the corn premiums to 
notify the Rural of their intention? 
Ajjs.—T hey have merely to send in their 
reports before November 15. 
F. E. G., Vernon , Mich., asks the name of a 
grass which grows in bis meadows. 
ans. —It is the Creeping Wheat or Quitch 
Twich or Couch Grass—Triticum repens. 
C. B., Jamestown, N. Y., sends specimens of 
plums for name. 
Ans. —We regret that the plums were en¬ 
tirely decayed when they reached us. 
G. W. J. would like some information in 
regard to cheap lands on Long Island, N. Y. 
He has been informed that about 106 miles 
from New York City, land suitable for dwell¬ 
ing or factory purposes can be obtained at 
trifling cost. He would also like to know 
whether land can be bought within few hours’ 
ride of N. Y. City for $5 or $10 an acre. Can 
any of the Rural readers enlighten hint 
through this journal? 
Communications Received for the week Ending 
Saturday, Sept. 30, IS®. 
Mrs. H. R.—G. N. B. It Is now too late to bud 
peaches—W. S. M. L. U. N., thanks—Miss Anne S., 
thanks. Would not you favor us with a root this 
Fall for our experiment grounds?—E, W. O., G. W. 
T„ grapes received —thanks—W. R. S., thanks—J. H. 
fi.-F. W. C. J- C. B.-M. W. F.-S. S. T.-F. D U. 
G. IteherHng, thanks. Your request Is harder to 
comply with than you suppose—R. I. J. Mrs. W. S. 
T., thanks—/. E, J.—J. II. Jr.-G. A. G. Jr.-S. ]). p — 
C. P. B.-G. H. S,—J. H. & S.—W. E. J.-F. M. S.-E. 
N., overlooked—‘ Clem Autdon” For Prize essays— 
“Profitable Farming for a Poor Man”—S. C.—X. A. W 
-H. S.-C. L. B.-C. E. P.-R. S. C.-J. H.-G. R. D. 
