746 
OCT 24 
the kitchen stove-pipe. A part of the cellar 
should be partitioned off separate for the bees, 
so that they may remain in perfect darkness, 
and be undisturbed, 
During the '‘January thaw” it will, per¬ 
haps, be advisable to carry the bees out of 
doors and allow them to fly, when they should 
be returned to the cellar and left undisturbed 
until the Soft Maples are iu blossom. Some 
of our best apiarists, however, do not remove 
their bees from the cellar during the whole 
Winter. W. Z Hutchinson. 
Rogersville, Genesee Co., Mich. 
%QCUtU$,&C. 
THE GREAT ST. LOUIS FAIR. 
(Rural Special Report.) 
The twenty second St. Luffs Fair opened 
Monday, October 3, and closed on the 7th. 
This fair is held at the grounds of the associ¬ 
ation, which, in addition to the land laid 
out for the fair proper, include a very fine 
zoological garden. The grounds are spacious, 
well covered with large and commodious 
buildings for the different departments and 
also with private buildings put up by the 
laige manufacturers of, and dealers in, agri¬ 
cultural machinery. The display was a grand 
one. The exhibits were so numerous that the 
implement and machinery department was 
crowded away out iuto the different fields 
that had hitherto been reserved for the pub¬ 
lic. The attendance rivaled that at the Cen¬ 
tennial; on Wednesday there were over 70,000 
visitors, and ou Thursday the gate receipts 
alone were $49,000, sho wing an attendance of 
close on 150,000 people The weather was all 
that could be desired—fine and warm, mak¬ 
ing all visitors, exhibitors and directors hap¬ 
py. The Association that runs the fair is a 
private enterprise, and it is very liberal in 
the way of premiums. These amount alto¬ 
gether to $50,000. In the different cattle 
classes it offers $100 each for the best three- 
year-old bull, $135 for best herd; $20 for best 
boar; $30 for best ram, etc., etc. This liber¬ 
ality brings out a much finer display of live 
stock than could otherwise be brought to¬ 
gether. The premiums throughout ape on the 
same liberal scale. 
The cattle this year were not as numerous 
as last year, but the shortage in numbers was 
more than made up in quality. Herefords 
were out iu great force, there being over 80 
head, embracing the fine berds of C. K, Par. 
malee, Win, Constable, Fowler and Vannetta, 
C. M. Culbertson, Thos, Clark, Earle and 
Stewart, aud F. W. Smith. Of Short-horns 
the fine herds of L. Palmer, Sturgeon, Mo., 
and S. H. Potts & Sons, Jacksonville, III., in¬ 
cluding 25 head each, attracted a great deal 
of attention, as did also the herd of Pickerel, 
Thomas & Smith. Tne Devons—not as nu¬ 
merous or as fine as last year—were repre¬ 
sented by the herds of D. J. Whittemore, 
Wm. Younger, Mr. Irwin and Robert Hune. 
Orminston & Jardine, of Alleghany County, 
N. Y., showed their fine herd of Ayrshires, 
headed by bull Mara. This breed was also 
represented by the fine Illinois herds of John 
Stewart and A. J. Wilson and the Ohio herd 
of T. E. Wright. The Holsteins showed a de¬ 
cided increase, the fine herds of Mann & Co., 
Dr. W, A. Pratt, T. B. Wales, Jr , H. Lang- 
worthy and Stockwell & Lightner being in 
competition. Jerseys were not out in as strong 
force as usual. The herds for exhibition be 
longed to the following parties: T. T. Qurnei^ 
H. W. Douglass, S. M. Pointz, Garrison Bros., 
and Rev. R. B. Ball. Only one herd of Polled 
Angus put in an appearance, and that was the 
newly imported one of Gudgell <& Simpson, 
headed by the bull, Knight of St. Patrick. 
The sheep show was not as large as usual, 
but it more than made up in quality what it 
lacked in quantity. The long and middle- 
wools largely outnumbered the fine-wools. 
The swine show was large and fine, the 
black breeds predominating. A prominent 
exhibitor in this department said that it sur¬ 
passed the swiue show at the exhibition of 
the Royal Agricultural Society of England. 
The show of poultry was very fine, the 
Plymouth Rocks, which are comparatively 
new here, attracting the most attention in 
this department. 
Fruit aud Vegetable Halls were not as well 
filled as usual. Although there was a fine dis¬ 
play of large apples, there were but few varie 
ties and nothing new. No pears or plums to 
speak of, and a very few grapes. Among the 
latter were the new Prentiss and several of 
the Elvira Seedlings, but the fruit and bunches 
of all were much smaller than at any fair I 
have attended this year. The vegetable show 
was good. I missed the usual excellent ex- ’ 
hibit of Professor Tracy of the State Univer¬ 
sity Farm. The Professor was here, but he 
stated that his college had decided not to 
make any more displays in this way. The 
Plant Seed Co. made a fine display of 62 varie¬ 
ties of potatoes, including Brownell’s Tele 
phone, new, which appears to do well in 
this locality so far as I have heard. 
Floral Hall was very handsomely filled with 
foliage plants, the tasteful arrangement of 
which reflected great credit on the exhibitors, 
but there were no cut flowers. 
The strongest point of this exhibition is the 
implement and machinery display, and this 
year it was far ahead of any previous effort. 
The grounds which are allotted to this depart¬ 
ment have hitherto always been amply large 
enough to secure a fine position for all ex¬ 
hibitors; but this year the exhibits have been 
crowded all over the inside of the track, cover¬ 
ing a space nearly double that of any previous 
year. At this fair the leading manufacturers 
and dealers erect large aud handsome build¬ 
ings which are filled with not only their own 
goods but also with those of other manufac¬ 
turers and dealers. Many of these structures 
will be torn down to make room for still larger 
and more commodious buildingB for next fair. 
The main hall will be removed and a fine 
brick building will be erected in its place. 
This year, however, the display in this depart¬ 
ment was grand. Mowers, reapers, self-bind¬ 
ers, plows, drills, planters, etc., of all kinds 
and descriptions filled all the buildings to re¬ 
pletion and covered the grounds. I do not 
know any implement used in agriculture that 
was not represented. Dealers from all sections 
of the Southwest and West were here look¬ 
ing for new goods. 
In all this large show there must be s*me 
novelties. One was a new binder of Walter 
A. Wood, that changes the packer to the in¬ 
side of the elevator and by a simple device 
throws the bimdle over into a carrier that will 
hold bundles enough to make a shock; when 
filled a pressure on a lever drops the bundles 
all together on the ground. Another novelty 
was the gleaner and binder of the Norristown 
Gleaner Co,, which follows any self-delivery 
reaper, picks up the gavel and binds it. A 
number of attempts have been made to put a 
machine like this on the market, but this is the 
only one that has ever done a day’s work. 
Another new thing shown on the track was 
the Penn Revolving Harrow which attracted 
a great deal of attention. 
Preston’s binder truck exhibited by Ewald 
Over for the first time, designed to convey a 
self-binder from place to place, merits notice. 
A new sulky plow, with the plow in front 
of the wheels, making a center-draft excited 
much curiosity. Many other new devices 
and improvements were shown. A great 
number were greatly dissappointed in the 
trial of traction engines that had been so 
largely advertised. It was generally supposed 
that this trial was to be made a thorough test 
not only of the engine but of its power of 
traction, To thegreat surpriseof those like J. I. 
Case, Hoovens Geiser, Frick and others, when 
the rules for governing the trial were published, 
it was learned that the award was to be made 
on display aud that no practical test would 
be made. An award for general display, as 
made to the dealers for the largest and best 
display or for the best new binder, etc,, is a 
very good thing, but it should not be worth 
much in a case like this. 
The general feeling among exhibitors this 
year is very good. Farmers are feeling first- 
rate over good crops and fair prices, and 
exhibitors are getting higher and better pay 
for their goods. The general tendency of all 
things in the machinery line is to higher prices. 
The Victor double huller clover machine, 
made by the Newark Machine Co., of Newark, 
Ohio, carried off the first premium at this 
fair. A great deal more interest than usual 
was shown in this test by many on account of 
the challenge issued by the Newark Machine 
Co., at the Tri-State Fair at Toledo, Ohio, 
last month. This challenge called for a public 
trial of clover hulling machines on these fair 
grounds. As there were a number of huliers 
on the grounds, everybody expected to see 
the challenge accepted, but in this they were 
dissappointed. The representatives of the 
other machines failed to accept the challenge. 
The Victor in full operation made a splendid 
showing here as at Toledo aud Jackson, and a 
large number of machines were sold on the 
grounds. Mr. Appleman may well feel proud 
of his first-premium award. 
J. E. Porter of Ottawa, Ill., carried off for 
the fourth co isecutive year, the first premium 
for his hay carrier. Mr. Porter has lately in¬ 
vented a new and useful attachment which 
should be used with all hay carriers. 
One of the finest displays made on the fair 
grounds was that of the Whitman Agricultural 
Company of St. Louis in their own building, 
They carried off the first premium for the finest 
exhibit of agricultural machinery made iu 
Missouri, Their display included a full line 
of Whitman’s “St. Louis,” new ** Derby,” 
new “ Crescent,” new “ Eclipse,” new “ Me* 
troplis," “Mound City,” “Peerless” and 
double cylinder corn-shellers, embracing all 
the different styles for hand, horse or steam 
power; also the celebrated Monarch and 
Young Am erica corn-and-cob mills, the only 
mills of this class with cast cast-steel grinders 
that will stand the test of years and are fully 
warranted; also Whitman’s Americas cider- 
mills which are made in three sizes; Whit¬ 
man’s St. Louis feed-cutters in all sizes for en¬ 
silage, etc., with patent breakage attachment 
by which if any iron or other hard substance is 
introduced the knives stop at once while the 
machine is running at the highest rate of speed. 
The Surprise feed-mills for horse or steam 
power were also shown, as were Whitman’s 
slide and table wood sawing machines; Whit¬ 
man’s horae powers, railroad trucks and bar- 
rows, warehouse trucks, etc., etc. The Messrs 
Whitman alBO showed, in full operation, 
Seeley ’b patent perpetual hay and cotton press, 
patented and owned by I). W. Seeley of Al¬ 
bany, N Y. They have just contracted to 
manufacture and control this machine for the 
entire territory west of the Ohio. Mr. Seeley 
was here and showed up the press to a very 
appreciative audience. Its simplicity of con¬ 
struction aud the ease with which it did its 
work struck a visitor at once. It bales uncut 
and cut hay, cut corn-stalks, and straw or 
anything in this line in bales of auy length. 
The pressing is perpetual; the bales square 
and compact; the work quickly done, and the 
compression at the rate of ten or more tons 
to the car. as necessity may call for. Mr. 
Seely came out here with the prestige of three 
consecutive first premiums at the New York 
State fair; viz; at Albany in 1880; Elmira in 
1881, and Utica in 1882. He has worked hard 
to make a success of this press and now this 
success is assured. W. H. K, 
St. Louis Fair Notes. 
The sad news of the death of R. C. Baker, 
of the firm of J. I. Case T. M. Co., was re¬ 
ceived during tha fair. A meeting was held 
at the Rural Tent. It was called to order 
by W. H Kane, of the Rural New-Yorkeb« 
and Mr. J. Birge, of Semple, Birge & Co., 
was appointed chairman. Mr. Birge, who 
was an old classmate of the deceased, delivered 
a very eloquent address, after which H. C. 
Staver, W. H. Kane and E. W. Douglass 
were appointed a committee, of three on reso¬ 
lutions of condolence, which were afterwards 
drafted and forwarded to the family of the 
deceased. 
The sugar exhibit at this fair is rapidly in¬ 
creasing, and the Association iB offering large 
premiums for sirup and sugar made on the 
grounds. J. A. Field carried off the first 
premium on sirup. Mr. I. A. Hedges thinks 
the “ Citizens” by another year will bring out 
a large exhibit and strong competition. 
The great objections to the St. Louis Fair 
grounds are the distance of the grounds from 
the heart of the city—four miles—the bad 
roads and the very great lack of transporta¬ 
tion. Generally on Thursday nights the re¬ 
turn home is a “ go as-you-please” match. 
Boomer showed them how to make genuine 
cider, and tickled the palates of many a one 
who never before knew what “ cider” was. 
Thos. B. Wales, of Iowa, carried off the 
Holstein Herd Premium with a remarkably 
fine herd, beaded by Jaap, 452. H. H. B. 
J. H. Potts & Sons, with their fine herd of 
Short-horns, hardly left a premium for any 
of their Short-horn competitors. 
Messrs. L. M. Rumsey and W. W. With, 
nell, Superintendents of the Agricultural De¬ 
partment, were very pleasantly surprised by 
the exhibitors in their part of the grounds on 
Saturday by the presentation of handsome 
and suitable gifts. Mr. S. A. Haines, of New 
York, made the presentation speech. K. 
iilisalLratous. 
A Good Word For the Wealthy Apple. 
I want to say a good word for the Wealthy 
apple tree. I have planted it quite freely for 
the last four years; every tree has lived and 
grown. It makes a very handsome, thrifty, 
healthy-looking tree, with clean bark and 
stem, and is perfectly hardy with me so far. 
I know but little of the quality of the fruit. 
Outagamie Co., Wis. Edwin Nye. 
[It is tender, sub-acid—very good.—E ds.] 
--- 
CATALOGUES, ETC., 
Bradley & Co. Illustrated circular of the 
Bradley Road Cart manufactured under the 
Frazier patents. A great deal is claimed for 
these vehicles, and, though we have never 
tried them, it would seem justly. Ladies and 
children are safe from the danger of capsizing 
when riding in phaetons of this kind. There 
is much in the circular that we commeud to 
the attention of all our readers who are in 
need of anything of this kind. 
T. C. Robinson, Owen Sound, Ont. A cat¬ 
alogue of small fruits with a colored plate of 
the Manchester Strawberry and excellent 
engravings of many of the novelties in rasp¬ 
berries, etc. We are glad to see our Canada 
friends are alive to the latest and most pro¬ 
mising of the small fruits. 
On the Amount and Composition of the 
Rain and Drainage -waters collected at Roth- 
amsted, St. Albans, England. By J. B. Lawes, 
L. L. D., F. R. S., F. C. S;J. H. Gilbert, 
Ph. D., F. R. S., F. C. S; and R. Waringtou, 
F. C. S. With Appendix Tables: 160 pages. 
R. G. Chase & Co., Geneva, New York, 
catalogue of fruits of all kinds—from apples 
and pears to grapes and currants; also ever¬ 
green and deciduous trees, shrubs, roses, &c. 
Colored plates of the Kieffer Pear and Pock- 
lingtou Grape. 
Ellwangeu & Barry., Rochester, N. Y. 
Catalogue (No. G) of select Fruit and orna¬ 
mental trees, grape vines, small fruits, shrubs 
roses, etc. Free. 
Thorburn & Titus, 158 Chambers street, 
New York.—A neat, plain catalogue of bulbs 
for planting now, with instructive details. 
Jno. 8. Collins, Moorestown, N. J., 
wholesale Price-list of small fruits, plants, 
trees, etc. 
Hovey& Co., 16 South Market Sfc., Boston, 
Mass. Illustrated Guide and Bulb Catalogue. 
RURAL BRIEFLETS. 
We are sorry indeed to learn that the storm 
of late September deluged Houghton Farm, 
injuring it to the extent cf thousands of dollars. 
Major Alvord, the general superintendent 
writes us: “We shall not be whole again in a 
year—even if we employ a special reconstruc¬ 
tion force—and the progress of the farm will 
depend on that. For a week, with extra 
help, we have done nothing but make repairs 
to roads and bridges—laying all farming work 
aside when Autumn work was pressing—aud 
have only succeeded iu getting a roa . to our 
depot and opening the way between stables 
and pastures. Our best experimental corn 
plots—three acres in 15 plots—were flooded 
and permanently injured; the crops upon them 
entirely destroyed. As this field stands 8 to 
10 inches above the highest previous freshet 
marks, you may understand what occurred.’ 
Mr. H. W. Ravenel, the distinguished 
North Carolina botanist, writes us that he has 
been on the hunt for many years for the seeds 
of sweet potatoes, but has never fouadany. 
The vines flower freely every year, but the 
capsules do not mature seeds. 
We learn that John B. Moore & Son con¬ 
signed to their commission merchants several 
tons of Moore’s Early Grape, which were sold 
at from 12 to 13 cents per pound wholesale. 
This because of their earliness. 
The following, from Mr. Green’s Fruit- 
Grower, pleases us very much indeed: “The re¬ 
cent Fair No. of the Rural N-Y , excels all 
other excellent issues. The artist, on the front 
cover wafts a figure over the globe scattering 
seeds, which we recognize at a glance as those 
of the Niagara Grape. But why should the 
figure sow them over the North Pole? We 
cannot explain, unless the design is to use the 
pole for the vines to twine on. But, seriously, 
we shall not be surprised if good results come 
from these grape seedlings. This is certainly 
a commendable enterprise.” 
Mr. C. A. Green is quite a young man, but 
he has written some of the most forcible, preg¬ 
nant little art cles we have ever read. There 
is a sharp point or good, strong sense in 
everything that he writes. The modest quar¬ 
terly Fruit-Grower with which he sets out on 
an editorial career will, we venture to pre¬ 
dict, be looked back upon some day as 
merely a stepping stone to a bright, influen¬ 
tial horticultural future.. . 
Mr. E. Engle writes us as follows: “As 
to the cultivation of com, I think one of the 
chief benefits of stirring the soil is that it 
causes the soil to absorb the heat of the sun 
and corn needs plenty of heat to make it 
grow—this idea I formed by going barefooted 
while cultivating com. An hour or bo after 
the soil is stirred it is too hot for bare feet. 
Not so where it is not stirred—try it next sea 
son, if you don’t believe it.” 
It must not be forgotten that a loose soil 
admits more air, which, when hot, holds much 
vapor which is therein condense i. This upon 
the hard sojl iB confined to the surface, and 
is soon dissipated by the sun’s rays..... 
Not long ago Mr. E. D. Sturtevant brougut 
to the Rural office some flowers of the beuuti 
ful hybrid water-lily, Nympbiea Devoniensis. 
One of them measured fully 10 inches in di 
ameter, the petals being a singular shade of 
red which we best describe by calling it a car¬ 
mine pink. The upper half of the petaloid 
stamens is an orauge red, the lower half a 
light orauge or buff. The leaf of this lily 
measured 30 inches in diameter. The parents 
of this Nympheea are said to have been N. 
rubra, a native of India, and N. dentata, a 
native of Sierra Leon. Mr. Sturtevant showed 
us a single specimen of the latter. The 
color is white, and the flowers measured 9K 
inches in diameter, the petals being four inches 
long by 1]^ broad. The singularly beautiful 
flowers of the hybrid N. Devoniensis are 
far from perishable. One of these which 
we carried home retained its form aud 
color for a week, opening aud closing during 
