454 
THE RUSAL HEW-YORKER. 
JULY 8 
SCRAPS FOR THE RURAL 
T)n TVAnnuR oonni 1 ? *o think that wo Y eat 
pru folk® Ktro not OTV^'I'T^t =Vtad a . Jn mir nnnt 
of the s?tofo ft- fs r»^Vio’ - ov^r^ono. T think 
fn rnonv nlnnoQ the ch-'fio 15 co (ton^ that, thn 
bnnqo 1st nc or\t U nq < 1 * 1 ® cf^o nf *»n f^oVtortv fpf 
■}0 or 11 rC®l nnk.on ■* the* <y?-minfi Is Mvorod wf tfj 
grroon molU mnTrfnnr ft anything but hoalthv for 
th® ininfM and in manv®®®®® thononr® ortltr 
truos-no ovon'rrooo** \fr omorf AnoA 
jq t.ha* than® i ■> rnoro rf ino-or froni dinh'h®’'*<\ 
grid kindn®d di=®a«®° fn qu®h planaq thtn in 
others <xh®r® then® f« no in® filth and more ®nn 
and wind. Tknnwth® <=hado i<» very grflte- 
fullv eni'ived bv a 1 !; hu*. ctifi oivo th® morn- 
in? *nin a rhsnoe to visit th® kit.eheri and 
sleepingrooms with its h®a1th giving beams. 
Wtmt d ■'“« " Hortfoola” mean bv adv ; ®'ng 
us to set oherries and nlnni® fn our lawn«? Has 
he tried the r>lao and found wh®t, a nnfsanoe 
thov osn bo. end as misery loyoo oomnnnv, 
does ha wish 11 = to imltato what he has 
fonn 1 a nla/nt® ? Mv oToariones and that, of 
three neio-hhors fs yery rnueh against this 
mode of nlanting. T have anm“ three or four 
suuh tr’es in mv yard and would almost as 
soon hu"ehernlos as dig no the snrouts some 
three or four times in the R imotor or ha-no a 
veiw unsf<rt,*iy yard A neighbor said “Why, 
your eho-»do3 don’t snrout n°arly as badly as 
mine ” Rut only the day before a wheelbar¬ 
row loa d of sonoots hod heou dug and wheeled 
out, of mv yard, and it is a nory particular 
jnb *o di-r them without injuring; the tod. 
Winfl“ld. Tn. J. P. 
[Tt, fs oorta’nlv a bad a’an tonse the cherry 
as a lawn or ornamental tree. Eds ] 
T have reason to believe that Bermuda 
frrass is identical with Wire Grass, The 
Wire G-ass answers nearly every require¬ 
ment of Rermnda. end if it is really the same, 
it seems to he nerfectlv hordn h°re. Tt will 
prow on barrens wberp nothin? hut, pine 
thiotfeta w'11 san’n? nn, forms an almost im¬ 
penetrable sod. is a good renovator of worn- 
ont so'l* never seeds. maVos a emd pasture, 
and prows about a foot high, I do not know 
whether it, is a native pr^ss or not, but am 
inclined to think it has been in‘reduced here 
from other loealities. Tf the Rural would 
]ik° a hit of sod 1 will try to send it [Thanks 
for the off Ar. Tt is probably the true Bermu¬ 
da Grass. Eds ] 
I would ask Tharon Loomis what he would 
do to improve a farm so poor that it would 
grow no small grain, and on which clover 
would barely soront. There is much land of 
that sort that has nlenty of room for improve¬ 
ment Land in this section is thought to be 
tolerably good if it will grow clover. I sup¬ 
pose he will hardly believe me when I say 
that last Fall l saw in a corn field a small plot 
of corn that grew barely 16 inches high, 
including tassel, and some of the same variety 
I have elsewhere seen 16 feet high. The soil 
was sand, and has been in a good state of fer 
tility in times past. “ Dorset.” 
Dorchester Co , VTd. 
Having traveled over seven years as Gene¬ 
ral Ag-nt for different firms selling agricul 
tural implements, I would say to M. E. New 
Lisbon, 0., use the self-dumping rake by all 
means. The bent rake now made and su'd in 
the United States, according to my judgment, 
is whit, is known as the Tiger Rake, patented 
by J. E Wianfr, formerly of Friendship, A1 
leghanv C N Y and now manufactured by 
J ,hn Scodd ird & Co., of Dayton, O. 
Nunda, N Y. J. B. 
Agricultural Department Seeds —Quite 
a large proportion of the seeds distrib¬ 
uted by the Department of Agriculture, says 
the American Rural IInm>, are of old va¬ 
rieties to he found in every seed store. Still, 
it has sent out many valu ible varieties to sec¬ 
tions where they could not have been ob¬ 
tained. Its methods of seed distribution 
should be reformed. Old, well-tried varieties 
should be discarded, and only such seeds sent 
out as are decide iiy new and cannot be read¬ 
ily obtained in the section* to which they are 
sent. _ 
Canning Sweet C urn —The N. Y, Times 
remtrks upon the fact that canning sweet 
corn is a very particular and diffi ;ult oper¬ 
ation, and for its success re fibres very careful 
mauipilation, Tae peremptory conditions 
are a degree of hett which will serve to thor¬ 
oughly cook the corn, to destroy all the germ a 
of fcrm®nt« which m»v he present in it or in 
the nnn«. and to expel avptv partible of efr 
from the can find 1*« contents. A plmnle 
hcilipp host is not sufficient for a 1 thin, unless 
it is k pt nn kt-n long tim", s»xeral hours. in 
f®ot. Th p- 010**1 od of props rat ion is ns follow®; 
Tho oars nro first pot into boiling wntor end 
hoilod for fit lofist fivo minutpa. This thor- 
onghlv sots nod solidiflos th® “ mi’k ” of tho 
com Th» corn is thon shavod from ffig noh 
ond tho nob is s-ranod to taJ r o f he o-orms of 
tho <rroin in which much of tbp cwnofnoss 
pvic+s Tbp corn is Ibon nilt into *h 1 pans 
n<* tho co—ore oro soldorpi* down; n small nin 
holo is mado in th“ oovpr for tho tomporarv 
nim-so of (Ro pooVno- Xbo pans nro than 
hoilod for tour or fivo Vionrsimt"! tho rpo'li®i f o 
nnrnosos of tho long boding are ptfoptod. In 
tho panninc faptorios tho pfin« firo boil'’'! in fi 
solution of pblorido of lim" whiph boils pt a 
mu oh hivbor to m nprfl tn r a tbnn water, and the 
poolrinw apd avnuldon of air are oomplctaiv 
affopfad fit tho highor davroo of h°at in SO 
minutAs. T'ia pans pro tfilrpn from tho hodor 
nnd win°d drv. nnd a dron of colder is rjniplrlv 
firod upon tho pin holp nnd o|o®as it. If all 
is done well, the corn will k°ep good for 
years. 
Evaporating Sweet Cohn is a much onsior 
propose than panning, ond will pr^hahlv 
suporsadA it. to a largo ontont. T* ic p°rformad 
in th“ so palled ovanoratinv maph'nos. soma 
of whioh nro m o do so small as to ho ponrpn- 
i^ntlv O'lpratod in a kt*cboo of mailorato sua. 
whi*A tho lqrg>or onos nppd on*v a shod over 
them. Tho porn is first hoilod and then ro- 
movod from th° poh or ahovo doooribod Tt is 
th°n n*aped upon th« wiro-nam^a travo a»>d 
PTnosod to th° piirrput-s of hoatpd air wh'oh 
pass throncrh tho maphinas and hv whiph tho 
moisture of th n corn is quipklv romoved As 
one trav i= flllad it is passed onward nnd 
another is filled, and so on until <bo first trav 
is broilgh* t.0 tho unoermoat Tiart o F tho 
mnehino. wb°n tho timo oecupiod in ihe nass- 
nve has boon suffioi-nt to drv <h a corn *hor. 
nughlv. Tt. is now unite hr{ttlo ond hnrd. h’lt 
in coolin v becomes soft,or ond opoarentlv moist, 
figfiln. aphouvh it is still qn'ta drv. Care is 
to bo tnVeu not to oanTli tlmporn or tni'irp i*s 
natur»l craomv color. Tho porn pan then be 
peeked in bnrralc. boxes or bags forsnlo. and 
genornliv rptpils at IS or 90 ponts fi nonnd and 
often nr rp, Fv’noroMuv porn nnd frilitc of 
various hinds will fnrrpsb nn aerrpsablo, Tfvbt- 
find profitable omnlnvmeot lq mnnga farmer's 
familv and the poccibilitv of doi'np this work 
mav vprv wall Toad to a mneh larger pro¬ 
duction. Tbe cohs and stalks will furnish a 
large quantity of fund for cows. 
The Irish Potato.—T h« effect of soil and 
climate upon plants is probably as well if not 
better illustrated in the growth and quality 
of the common potato than by any other 
plant in general cultivation, wri'es the Agri¬ 
cultural editor of the Sun. As is now well 
known, the so culled Irish potato is a native 
of nearly all the deep valleys and canyons of 
the eastern Rockv Mountains from Colorado 
southward into Mexico, nnd probably along 
the higher parts of th« Andes in South Amer¬ 
ica. In its native state the tubers are seldom 
larger than good sized acorns, but of various 
shapes and colors. As far as we h .va seen, 
the flowers are always white and the leaves 
very small, but enough like the cultivated 
plant to be readily recognized as potato 
leaves. The valleys or native habitats of the 
potato are elevated 5 OiK) to 8,000 feet above 
the sea, the climate is always cool, in some 
localities extremely cold, and often very d y 
—so dry, in fact, that the wilt plants fre¬ 
quently remain dormant for two or three 
years, and when the rains come at last th*>y 
push forth with renewed vigor. Strange as it 
may seem, the cultivated or improved sorts 
very frequently will not thrive in the same 
soil where the wild ones are most abundant, 
while two or three miles up the canyons or 
valleys, or at an elevation of 2 0JO or 3,000 
feet above the wi d plantations, the improved 
sorts grow to a large size, aud are of an ex¬ 
ceedingly' fine quality. It would seem from 
this that that the wild tubers had in time been 
washed down from a higher and more con¬ 
genial soil aud climate to one where they 
thrive but imperfectly. Whatever may be 
the cause, the fact is well-known to the 
ran> hrnen in the Rockies that it will not 
always answer to select soil till d with the 
plants of wild potatoes for a plantation of the 
cultivated sorts. 
We have hitherto overlooked a really val¬ 
uable suggestion of Pres. Chadbourne. It is 
that “each agricultural society should pick 
out the best youug farmer within its bouuds 
and give him an education at an agricultural 
college.”.There can be no doubt 
that pinching oflf the sb ots of melon, squash, 
pumpkin an i cucumber viaes renders the 
vines mure prolific—try it.It will soon 
be time to sow onion seeds for sets. . . . Mr. 
Purdy says that three t. three aud a-balf qts. 
of Gregg Raspberries, put through an evapo¬ 
rator, make a pound which sells for from 26 
to 36 cent®..The ndvaotfige of har¬ 
rowing is in keeping the entire s”rfice rf the 
♦ he field freshened by stirring, and in destroy¬ 
ing all the weeds. Pfivs W. A Armstrong. A 
farmer who has n 't tried harrowing corn will 
be sunwised to find so few soears pulled out 
offer t.hev ore well established. ...... Our 
friend CVil F D C mtis k°eos throe breeds of 
hmgs—white, black nnd red. He t°11s the 
N Y Tribune that the white hogs are more 
liable than the darker ones to bli-ter in the 
hot, sun, nnd more liahl®. nl-o, to be effected 
by skin di c ea«es than those darker colored. 
.Always pay your bills Young 
once sang: 
The man who hulMs nnd wonts wherewith to pay 
Frovld g a home from which to run nwav.—Herald. 
, . . . . . Prof. J. L. Bud 1. nccor ing to the 
Michigan Fern-mr soys that the .Tnneherrv, 
with which he has been exoorimentine on the 
Town College Farm, is frost proof, and add : 
“Thetimo is coming in the near future when 
pome of these dwarf .Tnnohprrios will lipcome 
popular for general planting in nil parts of the 
St°te.”.“ T’li mak 5 * a note of this.” 
n j tho sharper said when he got a firmer to 
write his name on a slip of popw.—flowa 
Register.Co’man’s Rur®l World 
reports recp'vinsr a specimen of Kentucky 
Blue Gra°s 78 im-hos in length. 
Cbcrijiulimv 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Arknnsafi, 
Poteatt. Scott Co., June 10. — At present 
the outlook for crops of all kinds is verv fl t- 
ter'ng. Owing to so much cool weather this 
Spring cotton has not been doing well until 
now; sm-e warm we-ithpr has set in it is 
thought it will make a good cron. Wheat 
harvest is over; the cron will average about 
ten hushels per acre Tho oat crop is better 
than for several voars, hut if the wet 
weather continues it is feared fi part, of the 
crop will he lost as it, is now nearly readv 
to bnrvpst. Fa''m c “r« nro now husv laving bv 
• heir porn I* i« beginning to tassel. Mv 
Rural corn i® in silk nnd looks p'omising. Tf 
the season oontinuAs favornh'e the corn cron 
will be one of the largest ever raised here as 
there is q larger acreage planted. There is an 
abundance of nil k'nds of fruit this year, the 
earlier varieties of negches and annles now 
being ripe also the blackberries and buckle 
berries. Prices are about as follows; corn, 
*1 Ofi per bushel and little to he had. Wheat, 
$1 GO tn *1.25: fl urn. *3.50 to *5.00 per cwt.; 
hacon. 12’^ t.o 15 cents; eggs, 10 cents; honey, 
extracted, 12}^ cents. 
California. 
Woodfords, Alpine Co., June 17.—My 
Fultzo Clawson w heat I planted on one- 
fortieth of an acre 33x33 in rows 12x14 inches. 
I received 990 grains, and the Flint corn I 
planted in rows 2x3 feet, just 170 grains or hills. 
I never saw wheat look stronger and better 
than the 17 grains of Surprise which you sent 
me. 1 have a wheat that I think will y ield 
lietter than any other here; it is a bearded, 
Gulden Lhiff and is called the A'pine Mam¬ 
moth. It is goo I for eithe'- Winter or Spring. 
I will send you some this Fall to try on the 
Rural Farm. (Thank you. Eds ) We had 
a very cold Spring and I think fruit is all 
killed. I am experimenting with nine kinds 
of potatoes this i-eason, and will inform you of 
my success or failure this Fall [We shall be 
glad to have you do so Eds.] w. l. 
Pope Valley, N >pa Co.—This valley is 
about fifty miles from the Pacific coast, and 
a thousand feet above the sea level, it is ten 
miles long and averages two miles in width. 
A range of hills through the center renders 
over a fourth of the laud untiliable. About 
2,300 acres were sown to wheat, 2tHJ to barley, 
lietween 300 and 400 to oats, and about 100 
acres to corn the present season. Tue princi¬ 
pal kinds of wheat are Ouili Club and Propus. 
Volunteer grain Hnd grain bowu late are 
cut for hay. No grass is cut of any amount. 
Alfslfa dues well on moist land, producing 
three or more crops a year. There are over 
a thousand tons of hay (made from wheat, 
oat® and barley) fur the present crop. The 
climate is too dry for potatoes to make a 
crop; but few are planted. The prospect for 
a fair yield of grain is good at p esent. 
Grain was injured by a heavy frost in May 
and afterwards by hot, d.y winds, but the 
weather this mouth has been very favora¬ 
ble. No rain has f <lleu since first of May, 
Must orchards in tins valley are young aud 
not extensive. Nearly all kinds of fruit do 
well. Grapes take the lead. The piesent 
fruit crop was mnch injured by frost. Tuere 
are about lull acres of vineyard ac present, 
and that amount will be mure than doubled 
next year. Sheep, hugs and cattle are 
raised in large numbers. The flue elimate, 
mineral springs aud proximity to San Fran¬ 
cisco (80 mile.-) make this valley celebrated 
as a Summer resort A. , M. 
Ilnhotn, 
Deadwood, Lawrence Co.. June 15—The 
wheat crop in this Bla-'k Hills countrj is the 
largest acreage since the settlement of the 
white people, and looks bet*er thin ever be¬ 
fore It is all Spring wheat: pirtie* tried 
Winter w T h«at list year, but failed The yield 
this year will average 20 bushels to the acre. 
We are having rain iu plenty and will not 
irrigate tins season W* will have oatsenough 
f >r home consumption. This will he the 
first year in which the barley crop will be less 
than the o it, but there will be eaough for the 
demand, Ityields 20 to 40 bushels to the acre. 
Potatoes look well and will be a big crop. No 
rye sown yet. We are trviug to raise fruity 
hut we have not succeeded. Abundance of 
wild fruit some years. We are 190 miks from 
a railroad, and export no produce. The gen¬ 
eral area of tilled land is about 35,000 acres. 
We rai-e no tame grasses except a little millet, 
and it does well. H. c. 
Georgia. 
La Grange, Troup Co , June 19 —The 
cold spell we bad from the 12th to the 23d of 
May suspended the ravage of the rust on both 
wheat and oats, an 1 they turned out b tter 
than th y promised before that chilly snap. 
Rust is greatly subject to climatic influ¬ 
ences; warm, damp weather promotes it ( 
while cool weather suspends its ravages, and 
if the cold lasts long enough will destroy it. 
and the oroo if not destroyed will revive and 
make a light crop of grain Rust proof oats 
here escaped the rust, Tho seasons continue 
good and cotton and corn crops are promising 
at this time. c. w. M. 
Iowa. 
Viola, Linn Ci., June 19.—Our sea¬ 
son is extremely backward. Even if the sea¬ 
son shiuld be good hereafter, wo cannot have 
over half a crop of corn. Th * acreage is about 
th« same as heretofore. Oat acreage the same, 
and the crop looks well. Grass is heavy in the 
bottoms but short. Potatoes have been 
largely pi toted and look well; bugs rather 
scarce, but enough to keep us iu remem¬ 
brance of them. There is nothiug that will 
destroy them but the thumb and finger, aud 
no oth°r remedv is so safe I ought to know 
a® I have have had 90 vears’ experience with 
the pests. Everything that ever was thought 
of has been tried here without sue-ess. Ap¬ 
ples w r ill be a fair croo. Plums scarce Cher¬ 
ries scarce. Strawberries scarce and high- 
30 cents per box. Wneat and rye are rot 
sown here. D. c. w, 
Knnan*. 
Columbia, Jun° 17.—We are in the midst 
of the heaviest wheat harvest ever known in 
this section of Kansas. Acreage 25 per cent, 
larger than ever before and yield 25 per cent, 
greater per acre. Tne prospects for oats the 
best ever known; harvest will commence in 
two weeks. Average for county 50 bushels 
per acre. Large acreage of flax. Average 
yield 15 bushels per acre. Abundance of 
fruits of all kinds and of best quality. Pota¬ 
toes and rye of beet quality aud large yield. 
Corn backward but of healthy appearance— 
growing rapidly. We have had a remarkable 
Spring for agricultural purposes; seasonable 
rains and coul weather have been favorable 
for all crops except corn, and now that warm 
early Summer weather has commenced this 
product is growing uicely. The general 
summary of crop prospects in Southeastern 
Kansas is, “they will be immense.” w.h.t. 
Nebraska, 
Palo, York Co., June 16.—The recent 
warm weather has improved the prospects 
fur corn very materially. The cold weather, 
frosts and heavy rain and snowstorms during 
May and the early parts of June almost killed 
the piospects for corn which is our principal 
crop. Corn planted duriug April is no farther 
ahead to-day than that planted the Jast of 
May and the first of June. The prospects at 
the p esent writing for all kinds of grain are 
flattering; but it is too early to make any 
estimate about wh«at; for however well it 
may look now it may yet prove a failure. 
Wheat seldom proves a paying crop here, and 
our farmers are beginning to abandon it as 
the principal crop. li irley is not rai-ed to 
any extent; fur it, too, seldom pays. Of course, 
there are exceptional seasons when wheat 
and barley pay largely, but take it one year 
with another, they are losing crops. Corn 
and oats have never failed to give a pay ing 
return, except when grass hoppers took them. 
The acreage for these cereals increases every 
year, while the w heat acreage decreases, ex¬ 
cept on neyv breaking which must necessarily 
be sown to w heat. Rye is looking splendid, 
but the acreage is very small—hardly woith 
mentioning Potatoes are not planted to any 
extent—many of the farm rs iu this vicinity 
do not raise enough for tbeir own use. They 
do not seem to know how to raise them The 
great trouble with them is, they plant them 
too thick, and then worry them to death 
while growing. Tho wild prairie grass is 
