JULY <5 
471 
in round numbers. I have not included 
a large area of volunteer small fruit of all 
kinds and garden vegetables; these all look 
well. w. T. 
Sublimity, Marion Co., June 18.— Fall 
wheat acreage five percent, over last year’s; 
looks better than last year at this time. Spring 
wheat about same acreage as last year; looks 
well. Oats five per cent, over last year’s area; 
look fine. Hay crop large; in good con¬ 
dition. Corn acreage small; looks well. Potato 
area 10 per cent, more than last year. They 
look well. Apples two-thirds of a crop. 
Pears three-quarters of a crop. w. 0. 
Texas. 
Georgetown, Williamson Co., June 18.— 
We are having very dry weather at present. 
Fall wheat is good; average yield about 18 
bushels per acre. Spring wheat sorry; will 
average only five bushels; rye, 10; oats, early 
sowing, 50; late sorry; barley, 12. Sowed In¬ 
dian corn, prospect good. Potatoes, apples 
and pears none. Peaches plenty. The Rural 
Heavy Dent Corn looks well. tv. c. w. 
Bonham, Fannin Co., June 24.—Wheat is 
being thrashed; the yield is better than usual, 
averaging 22^ bushels per acre. Oats a fair 
crop, iniUet good. Corn and cotton never 
better; acreage large. Fruit of all kinds very 
abundant. Wheat selling from 75 cents to 
$1.00; corn, 55 to 75 cents. Apples and 
peaches 25 to 75 cents per bushel. R. e. a. 
Virginia. 
Barbersvillk, Albermarle Co., June 22.— 
Wheat cutting commenced here this week. It 
seems to be a heavy crop—large heads and 
well filled. I have part Fultz and part Shu¬ 
maker, the first of the latter I ever raised. It 
was brought into this neighborhood last sea¬ 
son and did well, yielding more than Fultz. 
The grain, too, is larger, and it is classed in 
the market with the Lancaster. It has longer 
and larger heads than Fultz, but the straw is 
of ter; some of mine Is down. Three weeks ago 
a small bug or louse or fly made its appear¬ 
ance on the wheat head, and all sorts of ru¬ 
mors were afloat about it. Some went so far 
as to say they would not have one bushel of 
wheat; others that it would be shriveled up. I 
contended the insects would not hurt the 
crop, and, as far as my own goes, I think I 
was right. The fly appeared on the head of 
the Winter oats; also in clusters round the 
butt of the ear. The Spring-sowed oats are a 
complete failure here. We had no good rains 
from the first of June; there being so much 
wet before that, the ground got baked and 
hard, except in rich or moist spots, so that the 
oats dried up and the lice appeared thick on 
the leaves and stalks. Pastures, potatoes and 
gardens were all suffering until the advent of 
the rain now falling. Clover hay light; old 
Orchard Gross meadows very good; Timothy 
just heading out. This rain will help it. There 
is very little tobacco planted here now except 
on new land. I was over to Charlottesville 
last week and did not see a patch along the 
whole road. There iB a good deal of grape 
raising along the southwest mountains; it is 
increasing fast. The Monticello Wine Com¬ 
pany paid three cents per pound for ripe 
Concord grapes last Fall. There has been no 
failure of the crop in years. Cherries are get¬ 
ting ripe, and they will be plentiful near the 
mountains; back from it, scarce. The apple 
crop is not so good as was anticipated. 
Winesap will be most abundant; Pippins 
scarce. We thought this year we had got rid 
of the Colorado Beetle, as it did not make its 
appearance till late. It has not done much 
damage, but the blue Blister Bugs have come 
on to the late potatoes in vast numbers, and 
are stripping the leaves very fast. The corn 
crop is not quite so far ahead at this time as 
usual, but has got a good stand and a good 
color, and we have had a fine time for work¬ 
ing it and killing the weeds and grass. With 
this timely rain prospects are good. s. L. 
I) e (flucrist. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to Insure attention 1 
FARM HELP FROM NEW YORK CITY. 
Several inquirers from different parts of 
this and neighboring States ask where can 
“help” be hired in New York to work on 
farms. 
Ans.— Attached to Castle Garden (where 
seven-tenths of all the immigrants that arrive 
in this country land) there is a Labor Bureau 
that provides employment in different parts 
of the country for those of the new-comers 
who apply for it. The Bureau charges no fee 
or commission of any sort to employer or 
employ6. It furnishes male and female 
“help,” and agricultural as well as other 
skilled and unskilled labor. Employers apply¬ 
ing at the office personally must either be 
known or produce satisfactory reference. 
Agents must be properly authorized by their 
principals. The office does not make contracts 
for immigrants with the employer; it does not 
fix the amount of wages, nor the time of 
service, nor prescribe any other condition of 
the contract; it leaves all these matters to 
be settled by the voluntary agreement of 
the parties immediately interested, and assists 
them only by giving all needful information 
and advice. Employers must in all cases pro¬ 
vide for the transportation of their employes 
to the respective places of destination. If 
means sufficient to pay traveling expenses are 
remitted to the office, with the request to send 
hired help to the applicant, the authorities 
will see that the employ 6 is properly started 
on his journey. In such applications em¬ 
ployers should state distinctly the description 
of labor required, the nationality preferred, 
and the rate of wages proposed. Remittances 
to the office should be made in National Cur¬ 
rency, Post Office Order, or checks on a New 
York City bank. To secure the arrival of 
employes, where it is possible the baggage 
will be checked through to destination, and 
the checks sent by mail or express to the em¬ 
ployer. When through checking of the 
baggage is not feasible, it will be forwarded 
by express. It is suggested to employers 
residing in the country, who desire immigrant 
help, that the expense and risk of transporta¬ 
tion to distant places may be greatly reduced 
by their clubbing together and appointing one 
of their number as employing and forwarding 
agent for all the members of the club. There 
are in the city a great many employment 
agencies which supply “help” for a commission 
charged often both to employer and employd, 
but occasionally only to one. The World 
newspaper also has an Employment Bureau 
and professes to investigate the testimonials 
of all “help” before getting them employment- 
We can furnish no more information on this 
topic; a letter to any of the bureaus or 
agencies will doubtless elecit further informa¬ 
tion. A stamp for an answer should, of course, 
be inclosed. 
QUACK GRASS AGAIN. 
C. P. H., Hinsdale, HI.. —Wasn’t the 
heavy corn crop raised on the Rural Farm 
grown on ground infested with Quack Grass? 
How can the pest be removed? 
Ans. —We do not regard Quack Grass as an 
evil at all. It annoys us greatly on some 
parts of our farm, but its merits outnumber 
its sins. Yes, the heavy corn crop was 
raised on a field infested with Quack, and the 
same may be said of most of this year’s corn. 
We exterminate it by cultivation. Any corn 
field that receives all the cultivation it should 
receive will be rid of Quack. That is the case 
in our light soil. While the weather is moist 
little headway is made. But during droughts, 
which at some period of our corn’s growth are 
sure to come, the Quack roots are killed. We 
use a shallow, horizontal-blade cultivator 
which cuts the roots two inches beneath the 
surface and throws the upper parts out of the 
soil subjected to the direct rays of the sun. 
Our animals like Quack as well as Timothy, 
though it should be cut while the grain heads 
are green. We know of an excellent New 
Jersey farmer who, knowing all about this 
insinuating grass, is yet establishing it upon 
his farm by cutting up and sowing the roots. 
On some farms, however, it becomes a real 
pest, and except for special purposes, we guard 
our readers against introducing it. 
AN EXCESS OF AT .KALI IN SOIL. 
F. W. W., Cheney, \V. T. —My land is a 
rich, black loam surrounding a number of 
small lakes. It was plowed the first time this 
Spring. I find that vegetables don’t grow 
well ou it. The plants come up, but after do¬ 
ing so they won’t grow an inch in a month. 
After the plowed ground has dried for a week 
a blue and white gloss appears on it. How 
should I treat it? 
Ans. —It is quite possible that this land has 
too much alkali in it. From the description 
it is pretty certain that it is lake bottom from 
which the water has subsided into the small 
lakes mentioned, and such land in Wyoming 
Territory is usually highly alkaline. To 
remedy this defect it is a common practice to 
plow the land a few times and leave it ex¬ 
posed to the weather, by which the alkali 
(soda chiefly) is washed out. We can only 
recommend this course and taking a few 
crops of oats and a crop or two of turnips, by 
which the soda will be exhausted to some ex¬ 
tent. These crops will take up a great deal 
of soda without injury. 
CONSTITUTIONAL SPAVIN. 
J. W. M., Bunker Hill, III. —My young 
colt has an unnatural protuberance on its 
right hind leg. It is hard like bone, and on 
pressing it with the fingers it becomes ap¬ 
parent that it hurts the animal a little, though 
he is not lame. 
Ans.—T his is beyond doubt a constitutional 
spavin, a rare case, but one that sometimes 
happens. It comes from breeding from 
spavined mares or horses, and is more likely 
to happen in ♦he progeny of Norman mares 
than others, because of the natural softness 
and coarseness of the texture of the bones of 
this class of horses. It is not likely that treat¬ 
ment will do more than remove the spavin 
temporarily, if at all; if it is removed it will 
return, without any doubt, on the first provo¬ 
cation by hard work or unusual strain upon 
the joint when the colt becomes mature. 
The only method of treatment will be to ap¬ 
ply iodine ointment to the swelling, rubbing 
in a piece as large as a pea twice a day. 
Mlaoe 11 aneo us. 
F. D. S., Canterbury , Conn. —1, How late 
can Hungarian Grass and millet be sown to 
produce a good crop? 2, Can white field 
beans be advantageously planted between po¬ 
tato hills? 3, Isn’t a severe cold on the lungs> 
together with improper feeding and over- 
driving.a prominent cause of heaves in horses? 
Are boiled oil and,the roots of elecampane a 
good remedy for that ailment? 4, What is 
the cause and prevention of blast on the set 
fruit of the grape-vine? 
Ans. —1, In your climate we should choose 
June 1 if we wanted a heavy crop. Hun- 
gar ian Grass needs but from 60 to 70 days to 
grow in, so that it may be sown as late as the 
middle of July with you. But, speaking 
from our own observation, such late sown 
crops are liable to fail. We do not find it can 
endure the heat and drought that many say 
it can, 2, We see no possible advantage. 3, 
Yes;diseases of the lungs and violent exertion 
are very prominent causes of heaves. So is 
feeding on dusty hay and grain. Where no 
clover is fed, the disease is comparatively 
rare. Too rapid driving, especially after 
feeding, is also liable to produce heaves. We 
have seen reports of good effects from elecam¬ 
pane root; but have had no personal expe¬ 
rience with it. The most effectual treatment 
was mentioned in a late Rural. The disease 
at best can only be alleviated. 4, If the fruit 
is set, either mildew or some insect is the 
cause. The flowers of grapes often fail to 
set fruit ou account of imperfect sexual or¬ 
gans. 
H. D. E., Diane, W. T. —1, Will corn ear 
better if the suckers are cut off? Should they 
be cut or pulled off? 2, Why is it that tomato 
vines, etc. will bloom for weeks without set¬ 
ting fruit? 3, Will the grubs found in the 
heads of young strawberry plants injure the 
plants? 
Ans. — Professor Beal tried an experi¬ 
ment and, as we remember, reported that 
suckered corn produced no more than that 
upon which the suckers were permitted to re¬ 
main. Something may depend upon the 
variety and the season or, indeed, the soil. A 
number of experiments should be conducted 
to settle this question. They should be cut off 
if interfered with at all. Pulling them off 
often disturbs the main stalk. 2, The flowers 
of tomatoes often fail to set in the early part 
of the season owing to cold weather—or cold 
nights which injure the pistils. As to squashes 
and melons, the flowers are of two kinds. 
As we remember the males bloom first, the 
females are dependent upon insects and wind 
for fertilization. Some cultivators are at the 
pains to carry the anthers (when the pollen is 
shedding) and rub them upon the stigmas of 
females. 3. Yes, the grub (larva of the May 
Beetle) kills millions of plants. It is with us 
the great drawback to strawberry cultivation. 
There is no positive remedy for them yet dis¬ 
covered. 
E. O., Danville, Fo.—1. What is the proper 
treatment for cough in a cow? Last year I 
lost a valuable beast that coughed all the Sum¬ 
mer long, and now auother is similarly affect¬ 
ed. 2. Why do tomatoes rot before ripening? 
Ans. —1. Coughing, besides being an indica¬ 
tion that the animal has caught cold, is also 
among the symptoms of more than one severe 
disease, and before prescribing for it in a case 
threatening a fatal result an account of the 
symptoms fuller than that given above should 
be supplied. A simple cough remedy is one 
ounce of powdei ed liquorice, one teaspoonful 
of balsam of Toln, one quart of lioiling water, 
to be given at a dose. 3. We cannot say what 
made your tomatoes rot, but we have found 
the tomato worm (Sphinx quinquemaculatus), 
to be the cause of rot in tomatoes at the Rural 
Grounds. Have you examined the vines for 
worms? Tomato rot is also considered by 
some to be of fungoid origin. The dis¬ 
ease in this case seems to be in the un¬ 
der part of the epidermis of the tomato, 
where the white threads of the fungus may be 
seen among the cells of the skin. The appear¬ 
ance of this skin is much like that of the pota¬ 
to when affected by the rot. 
C. T. L., Skalkaho, M. T.— Early last Spring 
an Essex sow of mine aborted nine days before 
her time, from some unknown cause, and all 
her ten pigs died. The dam was so weakened 
that she didn’t try to get up for two days. 
Since then the scurf has all peeled off and she 
has been quite lame in all her feet, owing ap¬ 
parently to a hard, bony swelling of the four I 
hock joints. Just before her abortion I gave 
to her and my other 80 hogs a bushel of | 
chicory roots every two or three days, to 
save them, having no other use for them 
What should be done for this lame sow? 
Ans. —The chicory roots doubtless killed 
the pigs and left the sow with her blood 
poisoned, and body full of fever. Give her 
half a pound of Epsom salts dissolved in milk 
and follow this dose with four ounces daily. 
If this loosens the bowels too much reduce 
the daily dose. First wash the animal in 
strong soap-suds and rub the insides of the 
legs vigorously with a rough cloth to open the 
pores, and then apply spirits of turpentine to 
the swollen parts every day for a few days. 
Put the animal on the ground and feed her 
green grass if she is not able to help herself. 
Feed oats or barley meal, no corn. 
J. C. R. f Haggerty's Cross Roads, Pa.— On 
March 11 shut up 36 hens and two cockerels in 
a pen. Shortly afterwards one of the hens 
began to stagger, and soon the feathers came 
off her head and she grew worse. Another 
has just been affected in the same way. What 
is the cause of the ailment and what is the 
remedy ? 
Ans. —Unless these fowls bad about a quar¬ 
ter of an acre of yard, they were confined too 
closely and would suffer in health. The stag¬ 
gering is no particular symptom by which any 
special disease could be indicated, as it may 
accompany several distinct disorders. It may 
be that the fowls are suffering from some dis¬ 
order of the liver, or that these two had been 
hurt by some of the others or by the cockerels. 
We cannot tell the cause of it with any cer¬ 
tainty, and of course in that case cannot indi¬ 
cate any probable remedy. Fowls that are 
shut up require to he kept very clean, and to 
be provided with a variety of food and abund¬ 
ance of pure water, gravel and lime. If they 
are not thus well provided they will soon be¬ 
come sick and diseased, and generally the 
liver is the first organ that suffers. 
W. P. D., Mossing ford, Va., sends plants 
for name. 
Ans. —That marked A is Trifolium arvense, 
Rabbit-foot or Stone Clover. It is entitled to 
the farmer’s notice only on account of its 
worthlessness. Its presence is a pretty sure 
sign of thin soil and poor agriculture. When 
both are improved it is readily superseded by 
more valuable plants. B is the Low Hop 
Clover Trifolium procumbens—and is of little 
use. Both are importations from Europe, 
which are steadily extending inward from the 
Atlantic seaports. 
D. S., Uncasville, Conn. —1, Are ashes good 
for potatoes? 2, My potato patch has been 
attacked by the Colorado pests which came 
from the east, though for years no potatoes 
have been planted within a quarter of a mile 
in that direction, what is likely to be the cause 
of their coming from the east? They were 
much more numerous on that side than at the 
west. 
Ans. —1. In most soils nothing is better than 
wood ashes for potatoes. 2. The difference 
in numbers of the beetle on the east and west 
sides was doubtless merely accidental. 
W. A. H. r Galway, N. Y. —1, What will be 
the basis on which the Rural Premiums will 
be awarded? 3, Will the flint corn compete 
with the dent? 
Ans. —1. When all of our reports are received, 
we shall then settle upon the basis of the 
premium awards. Perhaps that is the best 
way. Meantime let all competitors do their 
best whether they have raised 10 or 125 
plants. 3. No, the yields of the two kinds 
will be considered separately. 
.4. A., Livermore, la. —What is the best 
potato digger and where can it be obtained? 
Ans.—T here is no potato digger that we 
have tried that we care to recommend. 
J. K. P., Mattewan, N. F., sends a 
couple of specimen plants for name. 
Ans. —Staphylia trifolia, American Blad¬ 
der-nut and Deutzia scabra. 
C. L. H., Mendon, Mich., sends a plant 
for name. 
Ans.—I t is Polemonium reptans—Greek 
Valerian. 
Our correspondent from Crisman, Ind., who 
inquires as to tile draining will be answered by 
a series of articles soon. 
W. .4. Pearson. —In your report state how 
many kernels of the Rural corn you planted, 
and how many germinated and lived; how you 
planted; how you cultivated; what manure you 
used; finally, the shelled corn; the corn to be 
shelledabout November 1. We hope that all, re¬ 
gardless of the stand or prospects, will give 
good attention to the corn plots from begin¬ 
ning to end. It is not well to give up the 
prize contest because at a given time the pros¬ 
pect seems discouraging. 
Communications Received fob the Week Ending 
Saturday, July 8,1882. 
E. Me5I.-0. W.—Phyllis.—S. W. 13.—J. W. A.-W. E. 
J.— R. E. A —W. C. \V.—J, T. J.—0. G.—51. P. C —J. 
G. W.-W. A. H.-H. T. V.—H. A.-J. E. C.—W. C. B., 
jr.-F. D. S.—C. T. L.—51. SI.—W. W. P.—A. C. B.—J. F. 
H —C P.—G. A. C-—I- P. S.-H. S. E. G. W. J.—A. S. 
T. T.— B. F. C.—C. I. C.- 51. W.—C. S -A. A. W—A. A. 
B.-F. 0. C.—E. W. M.-E. B.-0. T.—R. 0.—E. B.-L S. 
J. T.—H. C. C.—F. 0.—L P. R.—J. H,—F. K. M.—M. W. 
F.—C- D.—51. S. 51.—G. W. W.-N. R.; thanks.-H. F. S 
P. a-P. C.-W. J. M.-A. 0.—A. W.-A. M.-51.P. 
