768 
THE RURAL WEW-Y0RK1R. 
NOV 14 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Tmltnn a. 
Danville, Hendricks Co., Oct. 22.—The 
weather here in Central Indiana has been un¬ 
usually fine for the time of year, affording 
ample opportunity for farmers to finish up 
their Pall work. There was just about rain 
enough to facilitate breaking ground for 
wheat, thus affording au opportunity to get 
in the largest crop ever sown here. The grow¬ 
ing wheat generally looks well. The corn 
crop is a good one. Of course, there are occa¬ 
sional poor crops, but as an offset to this 
there are a= frequently extra good yields. On 
the whole, the crop in this neighborhood is a 
fair average, Irish potatoes are especially 
fine, both in quality and quantity. The apple 
crop now being gathered is not more than one- 
tbird the average, and not of the best quality. 
Grass is good, and consequently stock is in 
good condition. A. F. 
Kansas. 
Palmer. Washington Co., Oct. 16.—First 
frost of the season last night. Wheat all 
sown and looking well, with plenty of rain to 
give it a good start. Thrashing about all done 
in this section. Wheat turning out from 12 
to 22 bushels per acre; rye from 20 to 30 
bushels; oats, 40 to 50 bushels. Corn, I am 
afraid, is greatly overestimated; drouth, last¬ 
ing 49 days in August and September, com¬ 
bined with hot winds, has cut the crop short 
from five to 15 bushels per acre, owing to time 
of planting. Early plantings fare best. Po¬ 
tatoes, a good crop. Nearly one-half of the 
corn blown down and in danger of spoiling if 
the present wet weather should continue, 
being rather soft and loose on the cob. .t.f.c. 
Maine. 
Paris, Oxford Co.—The corn and grain 
crops are good in this part of the county. 
Potatoes are not quite up to the average. Ap¬ 
ples light. a. j. a. 
Maryland. 
Reigle, Montgomery Co., Oct. 12.—Weath¬ 
er fine. We have had an abundance of rain 
this year, in consequence of which corn is 
good and is now all cut. Potatoes n very large 
yield in low lauds, but they show signs of rot. 
Almost all the wheat in, but there are still a 
good many acres to drill, aud from casual ob' 
servation I judge there will be an increased 
acreage. w. p. 
Missouri. 
Eldon, Miller Co., Oct. 18.—Farmers have 
finished sowing wheat, and are preparing to 
feed and fatten stock for early Winter market. 
Quite a number have already penned their 
stock pigs and are gathering corn, to push 
them along as rapidly as possible. We have 
a very fair corn crop, aud unless something 
happens to hogs, we will have considerable 
surplus fat stock for market. Farmers are 
anticipating an early and severe Winter, and 
are preparing as much as possible beforehand. 
They are easy about feed, for there is plenty 
of feed of all kinds. N. J. s. 
Montana. 
Bozeman, Gallatin Co., Oct., 5.—Harvest¬ 
ing is pretty nearly over now. Hay crop 
turned out very heavy. Oats light; wheat 
a fair crop. Potatoes about an average on 
well cultivated and irrigated fields. We have 
very stormy weather lately and a good deal 
of grain is spoiling in the field. All kinds of 
farm produce command good prices; oats 
from $1.50 to $1.75 per 100 pounds; potatoes 
$1.50 to $1.75 per 100 pounds; turnips $1.50 
per 100 pounds; beets $2.00 per 100 pounds; 
cabbage 4c. per pound. a. g. 
New York. 
Canaan, Col. Co., Oct. 28.—The Fall work 
is now being closed up with digging pota¬ 
toes and husking corn. Some who are pressed 
for time haul their corn to the barn floor aud 
husk at their leisure on ruiny days or in the 
Winter. Prices for farm produce are about 
as follows: Good Timothy hay in stack, $12 
per ton; rye straw, $9 at paper mills and $11 
at press; rye, 72 cents; pork, $10 per hundred 
pounds. w. p. d. 
Oregon. 
Amity, Yam Hill Co., Oct. 12—Until lately 
weather was very dry, but now we are having 
a regular down-pour, which appears likely' to 
continue for a long time. Wheat brings only 
76c. per cental—not enough to pay the cost of 
raising it. Hereabouts farmers are holding it 
back, and rather than sell it at present prices, 
they intend to make pork of it. Meat is very 
high priced, and the best thing we can do is 
to sell our wheat in the shape of moat. Po¬ 
tatoes are from 75c. to $1 a bushel; eggs, 30c. 
a dozen; butter, 30c. a pound; chickens, $3 to 
$4 a dozen; geese, $12 a dozen; beef and fresh 
pork from 8c. to 12c. a pound—very high 
here, F. H. 
Pennsylvania. 
Bkndersville, Adams County, Oct. 19.— 
In an editorial in the Rural of Oct. 2lBt I 
noticed a statement that while the potato crop 
is immense, it is also comparatively free from 
rot. Here in Southern Pennsylvania, one of 
the best potato raising sections pf the State, 
the rot has been one of the worst known. 
Some fields were scarcely worth digging, and 
there is small prospect of keeping the potatoes 
after they are dug. The late varieties are 
most affected. w, s. m. 
RURAL SEED REPORTS. 
Illinois. 
Gilman. Iroquois Co., Oct 20 —Of the 
Rural Heavy Dent Corn I planted 167 grains, 
of which 102 germinated and grew to a bight 
of 10 to 11 feet and I have 146 large ears, 
betide a considerable number of nubbins. 1 
think it will yield a little over 100 bushels per 
acre, counting only for the hills that grew. 
The Lima Beans and Gem Squashes never 
came up, 1 suppose thev rotted in the ground. 
The celery came up well and did well until 
we got a dry T spell and all died but about 20 on 
the seed bed, and those I set in a shallow 
trench; but wet weather came on as soon as 
they were transplanted and « ashed the trench 
full of soil and smothered all but four plants. 
The hollyhock seed I gave to my daughters- 
in law and they neglected to plant them. Is 
it po-sible they will grow next Spring! R c. 
[A small per cent of hollyhock seed will grow 
when three years old. Eds]. 
Manchester, Boone Cm, Oct. 26.—The 
season was too c >ld and backward here to do 
justice to the Rural Corn. I have a very 
heavy growth of fodder and some quite sound 
corn, though many ears did not fill at all. I 
have one ear 15% inches, but it is not very 
perfect; there are others not so long but more 
perfect. B. F. L. 
Maine. 
Parts, Oxford Co.— The Rural Thorough¬ 
bred Flint Corn is a failure m this latitude. 
The wheats did not head out. The Gem 
Squashes did well. 1 have only three eatal; 
pas. The hollyhocks are fine. a. j. a. 
Michigan. 
Decatur, Van Buren Co., Oct. 27.—I have 
justdng 1Sbushels of small Elephants from five 
pounds 15 ounces of seed planted. I took one 
first and one second premium at the fair. The 
quality is equal to the quantity. Success to 
the Rural! g. b. t. 
Minnesota. 
Howard Lake, Wright Co., Oct. 18.—Of 
the Rural seeds I have some good things to 
tell. I hardly think one seed of celery, this 
year or last, failed to germinate and do well. 
The Golden Heartwell has the preference, my 
neighbors say, with whom I divide!. The 
Perfect Gem Squash is a perfect gem, but very 
late in maturing with us. The Rural Flint 
Corn was a sight to see when such long ears 
were growing. It was planted on May 5—148 
kernels. Came up nicely—at least a part of 
it looked well—but we had a freeze on the 20th 
and 21st. which cut every blade and turned it 
black. Iu two wetks nearly 100 sprouts were 
counted and but few stalks were injured in 
any way; they grew finely, with from 300 to 
500 suckers, many of which had good ears. 
Some others liked the looks of the corn, prob¬ 
ably, as but 100 good ears were saved. One 
of them measured 15% inches; others very 
long, but uone of the longest were well filled 
out. Sickness and moving away hindered me 
from having it shelled or weighed. A boy of 
nine years did nearly all of the cultivating and 
gathering in. s a. m. 
Little Falls, Morrison Co., Oct. 15.—I 
planted 115 kernels of the Rural Dent Corn; 
100 came up and grew finely; some stalks were 
10 to 12 feet high. The w Ik- at came up well, 
but never headed out. P. A. s. 
Montana. 
Bozeman, Gallatin Co., Oct. 5.—My White 
Elephants yielded wouderfully and are aston¬ 
ishing my neighbors and myself, one single 
potato weighing three pounds and a good 
many weighing from one to two poundseach. 
From 26 pounds of seed I liar vested 14% sacks 
(about 29 bushels) and no doubt the yield 
would have been larger, if the frost had not 
cut the vines down twice during the grow¬ 
ing season. The R.ural Winter Wheats are 
growing nicely so far, also the Flint corn. 
The latter has a few mature ears and I fear 
the season is too short here for field corn to 
mature. Minnesota sweet corn is the most 
commonly planted and does well on selected 
spots. A. G. 
New York. 
Standfordville, Duchess Co., Oct. 19.— 
Have cut but not husked my Rural Flint. 
Planted 158 grains,one grain in a hill; 127 grew. 
It suckered and eared heavily ; will, I think, 
average three ears to a bill. I picked one ear 
that measured 15% inches plump. Don’t 
think I shall find any that are longer, but 
may when I hu3k it. Fear it will be too late 
1 for this latitude. Hoped to get a slice of 
those prizes but have become nearly discour¬ 
aged there are so many big reports coming in. 
The squash was utterly destroyed by the 
bugs, Three of the hollyhock seeds grew. 
Have sown the Rural wheats; the Fultzo- 
Claw9on on about 12 feet square. Can I com¬ 
pete for prizes for wheat sown in this way? 
[Of course. Eds']. s. k w. 
North Carolina. 
Cleaveland Mills, Cleaveland Co , Oct., 
21—On May 14 I planted 169 grains of Rural 
Dent corn on old, worn-out land; 112 germin¬ 
ated and 100 stalks matured. A storm blew 
it down on Sept. 10 damaging it somewhat. 
I used one bushel of stable manure in the 
drill, and plowed it four times with a cotton 
plow, and laid it by July 8. Stalks 11 or 12 
feet high I gathered, on Oct. 14th, 142 ears; 
weight in the ear, 107 pounds. The Flint 
did not do so well. The other seeds did toler¬ 
ably well. y. y. n. 
Ohio. 
Hinckley, Medina Co., Oct. 27.—We have 
gathered from our Rural Thoroughbred Flint 
Corn two ears, one measuring 15% inches and 
containing 560 kernels, the other im asuring 
18% inches, but not perfectly filled at either 
end. B. B. w. 
Mt. Eaton, Wayne Co., Oct. 28 —I have 
some pretty long ears of the Rural Thorough¬ 
bred Flint, but it will not be cured out enough 
to husk for some time. 1 cut it up close to tbe 
ground on Oct. 21. Our first frost was on 
the20th. The Gem Squashes the tare ripe make 
first-rate custard pies, either with or without 
eggs. a. L. G. 
Pennsylvania. 
Litchfield, Bradford County, Oct. 21.—I 
planted my Surprise Wheat on Feb. 16, on 
not very well-prepared ground, the kernels 
being one foot apart in the rows. In the 
Spring I put on it some barnyard manure, 
and later some plaster. It grew very nicely 
and formed large beads, but some insect got 
to work in the first heads. I began to think I 
should lose my seed, so I sowed some air- 
slaked lime on it. Nothing more disturbed it. 
When I shelled it out I had a full pint. Some 
of it was shruuken, owing to the drouth. I 
planted my Rural Flint Corn on May 29. It 
was not very warm weather then. It came 
up and grew slowly, but when it got warm 
weather it grew very fast and suckered very 
much. From the latter part of July until 
about August 20 we had a severe drouth. I 
thought my corn was about gone up, but 
when the rain came the corn grew and eared. 
Some ears were higher than my head; some 
was hard wheu it was cut and put in shock 
My other seeds grew very well. I had splen¬ 
did Rural pinks last Summer. M. j. m. 
Texas. 
Temple, Bell Co., Oct. 33 —I planted all 
three kinds of the Rural wheat on February 
27, one grain in a bill, one foot apart; all 
came up and looked the finest wheat I ever saw. 
If it had been planted in the Fall it would have 
covered the ground, but the rust took it, so it 
did not head at all. On March 3 I planted the 
celery; it came up, but soon died. On March 
17 I planted 151 grains of the Rural Corn; 87 
grew and made 93 ears—some good, some 
sorry. I gathered it too soon, as the weevil 
was taking it. 1 like it; it ripens eight or ten 
days sooner Mian my corn. On April 4 I 
planted Rural Sqnash—11 seeds, twoiu each 
hill. All came up and did well for a while; 
then tbe vorms got on the vines. I cut the 
pest-infested vines out, but that stunted the 
plants somewhat, but they made long vines, 
and I got some squashes that were the best I 
have ever eaten. I have saved plenty for seed. 
The grub-worm killed all the hollyhocks, c. 
Wisconsin. 
Princeton, Green Lake Co.—Tbe Rural 
Heavy Dent Corn I planted on May 10, four 
feet‘by two, one kernel in a place. Only 77 
grains germinated. It stands from 10 to 14 
feet high, with from one to four ears on a 
stalk, nearly all ripe. I gatherei 12 ears on 
Oc.t. 14 weighing 17 pounds six ounces; one 
measuring 14 inches in length and weighing 
80% ounces; average length of the 12, 11% 
inches, all nearly perfect. From the holly¬ 
hock seed I have five nice plants. Six Perfect 
Gem Squash seeds grew. I have 50 ripe squashes 
averaging four inches in diameter, j. m. s. 
[Many are disappointed when they find the 
Gem Squash so small. This was plainly stated 
in the description. Quality, productiveness 
and keeping property are its best points. Eds.] 
<l\)c (Querist. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query muBt be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to Insure attention.] 
BOILED OR DRY CORN FOB FATTENING HOGS: 
CLAY MANURE CELLAR. 
G. S. O., Foustel, Mo. —1, What is known 
as to the benefit, it any, of boiling whole 
com for fattening hogs? I bad supposed that 
it was well settled that cooking the corn was 
an advantage; but tbe report of the experi¬ 
ments at tbe Maine Agricultural College 
some two years ago seemed to upset this con¬ 
clusion. Years ago I fed cooked corn to hogs; 
they ate it greedily, but they fattened very 
slowly. This I attributed to the fact that 
though they ate a large bulk, they did not 
consume as much as they would have done, 
had it been in a dry state. 2, In case of a ma¬ 
nure cellar in clay that will hold water, may 
not the manure lose a great deal of its fertil¬ 
izing value owing to the absorptive power of 
the clay? There is in this section an expensive 
tract of land underlaid with clay that holds 
water like a jug. Throughout this area water 
from the rains is collected in wells or cisterns 
where it is kept clear, cold and sweet for an 
indefinite time. Stock water collected in 
ponds keeps fresh through the longest drouths, 
unless tbe stock are allowed to defile it. The 
surface water is purified by the clay, and the 
coating taken occasionally from the bottom 
of Buch ponds make3 excellent manure. As 
clay is such a powerful absorber of foul 
matters may not a water-tight manure cellar 
in clay absorb much of the fertility from the 
manure? 
A ns. —1, Hogs do best, and make the best 
and hardest fat upon dry whole com. This 
has been tested and proved so often that it 
may be taken to be a well settled fact. An 
experiment made last Winter at the Iowa 
Agricultural College seems to add some val¬ 
uable evidence upon this question. Twenty 
hogs were fed 12 days upon whole dry corn 
with the following results: 
No of 
Average 
weight when 
Gain In | 
Pounds of 
<»orn oon~ 
Gain for 
50 lb 
Pen. 
put up. 
12 'lays | 
sumecl. 
corn. 
1 . 
210.7 m 
82*1 It> 
333lb 
13 12Tb 
a. 
20'.0 !b 
?o*fn> 
3431b 
12 .31 lb 
3. 
22 n.fi n> 
320n. 
12.31 Tb 
4. 
202.8 ll, 
72 IT, 
8211b 
la.sotb 
fi. 
224 H th 
031-t.1T. 
343>-;ib 
10.35 lb 
In comparing these results with others 
made with soaked"and cooked food, the con¬ 
clusion was “ dry corn is the best 
producer,” In Canada where hogs are fat¬ 
tened on peas, the farmers always feed them 
dry. The reason is a good one—a hog’s 
stomach will hold a certain quantity an8 no 
more, and a hog will eat until be can hold no 
more. In eating dry corn more saliva is 
secreted and swallowed than with boiled 
corn, and the saliva is a very rapid digestive 
agent, so that the corn is beginning to digest 
even while it is being eaten. Boiled corn will 
absorb 25 to 40 per cent of water, and thus 
the food is not only increased in bulk so that 
tbe stomach cannot hold so much nutriment, 
but tbe water weakens the digestive process, 
and the bogs cannot digest it so fast, nor so 
much of it, as of firy corn, and consequently 
Jess fat is made of corn when boiled than of 
dry corn, even if the same quantity of it could 
be eaten; but this is not possible. 2, Clay is 
one of the most effective purifiers of water, 
and a small quantity of it stirred in foul 
water will quickly cause the matter to set¬ 
tle and leave tbe water clear and sweet; but 
it must be clay and not loam to do this. 
But the case of a manure cellar is different 
from that of a pond of water, in which the 
clay can be readily taken up by the water. 
A tight, water-proof clay floor for a manure 
cellar is quite as good as a cemented floor, 
and as it will be closely covered with the ma¬ 
nure, and no air can get to it, the action that 
is exerted by the clay in a pond does not occur 
and the manure is not affected. In the case 
of the pond auy matter in the water is depos¬ 
ited by the effect of tbe clay, and forms a mud 
at the bottom. If the pond was not cleared 
out sometimes this effect would cease, and 
the mud taken out contains all the valuable 
fertilzing matter from the cleared water. So 
in the cellar, if any effect should be pro¬ 
duced—which is very small anyhow—what 
would ba absorbed by the clay would remain 
iu it, and, of course, in taking out the 
manure the soaked clay would be taken out 
with it. 
SPREADING MANURE. 
W. L. H., Overton, Pa .—Whieh is the bet¬ 
ter plan—to dump barnyard manure in 
small heaps and plow it under immediately 
after spreading, or to spread it broadcast 
from the cart and plow it under when con¬ 
venient ? How about spreading manure in 
Winter? 
Ans.—M anure from yard or stable rarely 
contains such an amount of volatile fertil¬ 
izing matter (carbonate of amraonia) as 
should deter anybody from spreading it 
broadcast on the surface when most conveni¬ 
ent. According to Professor S. W. Johnson 
10,000 pounds of “ fresh horse manure ’’ 
analyzed at tbe Conn. Exp. Station, contained 
only 22 pounds of nitrogen iu the form of 
ammonia salts that could be evaporated by 
prolonged boiling with water; while "fresh 
cow manure” and "old yard manure” con¬ 
tained respectively but six pounds and one 
pound in 10,000 pounds. Unless manure is 
very rich, like that from grain-fed animals, 
