799 
MOV 36 
THE RURAL MEW- YORKER. 
sylvania, he had a small patch of them. 
When discovered there were only a few stalks. 
He never let one go to to seed. He dug them, 
pulled them and burned them, yet they kept 
on growing and spreading until they covered 
a rod or more; but at last by not letting them 
go to seed he got rid of them in seven years. 
I have a patch of a rod or so and I expect to 
get rid of them by keeping them from going 
to seed. d. b. m. 
- *-■*■■* - 
RURAL BRIEFLETS. 
Our much esteemed contemporary, the 
Farm and Garden, quotes what we say of the 
Champion Quince. Then it tells what Mr. 
John T. Lovett and Mr. S. D. Willard say, 
concluding editorially that the experiment 
on the Rural premises is exceptional and the 
result of some local cause. Our friend, the 
Farm and Garden, must do us the justice to 
bear in mind that we give the results merely 
of what occurs under our own eyes. The 
Champion has fruited with us for two years. 
It has ripened this year, it is true, but frost 
held off later than ever before, so far as we 
know. The fruit, however, was small and in 
no way superior to the Apple or Roa’s Mam¬ 
moth. This may, indeed, be due to some lo¬ 
cal cause. Judging from our own test the 
Champion is superior to other kinds in one re¬ 
spect, viz , the bushes bear earlier. In other 
repects it is inferior. We shall be glad to find 
that this may not fairly be said in other parts 
of the country...... 
A few weeks ago we asked Sir J. B Lawes 
certain questions which he has answered as 
follows: “ With regard to potatoes, heavy 
vines do not necessarily prdfiuce the most po¬ 
tatoes. because the vines have taken up so 
much of the manures, and there is not time 
for the potatoes to exhaust the leaves. But 
the size of the vines, of the leaves of turnips, 
of straw, is the best measure of the goodness 
of the manures applied.”.... “ With regard to 
Triticum repens (Quack, Rye Grass, Quitch, 
Couch, &e. Eds.] I see no objection to it in 
a pasture, and I think a great deal of money 
has been spent in destroying it before land is 
aid down to pasture, which might have been 
expended more profitably elsewhere. Ceuch 
Grass is much better than many weeds which 
we find in pastures, but it can be driven out 
by a better class of grasses if we manure the 
land properly. Some of the highly sewaged 
meadows near Edinburgh, which let for $150 
per acre, consist of but little else but Couch 
Grass.”..... 
After what seems a sufficient trial, we have 
this Fall dag uo and thrown away the follow¬ 
ing grapa vines': Quas*aie (Ricketts), too ten¬ 
der; El Dorado (Ricketts), mildews and rots ; 
Highland (Ricketts), too late in five seasons 
out of six, and sour when it does ripen; New¬ 
burgh (Ricketts), too tender; Rogers’s No. 1, 
Goethe, too late—mildews badly, both leaves 
and fruit; Eumelan, grapes fall off. 
-- 
Fertilizers for the Cotton States,— 
Planters cannot afford to part with the cotton 
seed grown upon their farms at any price un¬ 
less its equivalent in manurial value is re¬ 
turned to the soil in some form, writes Com¬ 
missioner Henderson of Georgia in bis recent 
report. The most simple way of doing this is 
by an exchange of the seed for an equivalent 
in value of the cotton-seed meal. He considers 
20 cents per bushel the least price at which 
the farmer can afford to sell cotton seed, for 
the reason that he cannot with less money re¬ 
place an amount of plant-food equivalent to 
that removed in the cotton seed, and when 
this is not done annually deterioration of soil 
is certain. The high value set upon cotton 
seed and cotton seed meal shows the fast in¬ 
creasing appreciation of both producers and 
manufacturers of this substance, only a few 
years ago considered as almost worthless re¬ 
fuse. To quote from tlu* report: “According 
to the method of calculating the commercial 
value of commercial fertilizers, a ton of cot¬ 
tonseed meal is worth $48.(53, but it contains 
an excess of ammonia which would make an 
application of the meal alone wasteful. By 
mixing the meal, however, with a high-grade 
superphosphate (uon-ammoniated) a very 
superior fertilizer is obtained. About the 
proper proportiooa would be one of cotton seed 
meal to two of the superphosphate The am¬ 
monia in the cotton-seed meal is potential, and 
becomes actual only as the particles of the 
meal decompose, and hence is better than that 
derived from animal sources, which Is more 
promptly rendered active by the rapid decom¬ 
position of the animal matter. The average 
analyses of six chemists show that whole 
cotton-seed contains of nitrogen 2.50 per cent; 
phosphoric acid, 1.75 per cent., and potash, 
1.15 per cent. According to the valuations 
applied to the constituents of the meal, the 
commercial value of the tou of seed is $15.36, 
There are 66 bushels in a ton of the seed, 
hence $15.36 par ton will be at tbe rate of 23 
cents per bushel. If the producers and the 
mill-men can agree upon prices, it is plainly 
to the advantage of both and of the whole 
country that the oil be not wasted, as it is 
when the whole seed is used as manure.” 
Common salt is one of the normal constitu¬ 
ents of the body, and one which, from its 
solubility, is being constantly passed out along 
with the secretions; hence there exists a neces¬ 
sity for supplying it to animals to maintain 
them in a healthy condition. The North 
British Agriculturist says that the quantity 
requisite for a horse varies with the character 
of the food, water, &c., but a teaspoonful 
daily, given along with the oats, chaff, or 
other food, will generally be found sufficient. 
A good plan is to placd a portion of rock-salt 
in the manger, where he can help himself. 
Blunder about Patenting Plants. —The 
patent law in America, says tbe London Mark 
Lane Express, seems to be even more elastic 
than it is generally known to be, as it allows 
of the patenting of plants. A California cor¬ 
respondent of the Baltimore Sun writes; “Per¬ 
haps the most favorite vine is the Niagara, a 
white grape, said to be seedless. Somebody 
has patented this grape vine aa an invention. 
The company that owns the patent makes 
$100 000 a year selling cuttings.” “Fancy in¬ 
venting a grape-vine or turnip" the Express 
goes on to say: “This is enough to make our 
nurserymen’s and seedmen’s months water. 
After all, however, it is clear that nothiug 
more than the name can be effectually pro¬ 
tected by patent; for, what is to prevent any 
one from gelling cuttings of the Niagara vine 
under a new name? Such an expedient is not 
i quite unknown in this country." In the above 
there are several mistakes. 1. The patent 
laws do not allow of patenting plants. 2, The 
Niagara is not seedless. 3. Nobody has 
patented it as an invention. 4. The com¬ 
pany never sold a cutting. 
• -*♦«- 
Northern Cattle in Texas. —The attempts 
of Texas stock-raisers to introduce Short horn 
and other Northern breeds of cattle into that 
State has been attended with great loss. Of 
imported cattle three years old and upwards 
from 50 to 70 per cent, die before they become 
acclimated, says the Texas Live Stock Jour¬ 
nal. Younger cattle do better, and of young 
calves the loss, with proper care, is not greater 
than 15 to 20 per cent. The change of food 
and climate brings on a feverish condition, 
possibly analogous to that experienced by 
human beings. Cattle, however, that get 
through the first year in Texas do well after¬ 
ward. So much of the beef consumed in the 
country is now grown in Texas that the qual¬ 
ity of it is become a matter of general concern. 
Prof. Morrow on Sulky Plows.—P rof. 
Morrow, of Illinois, tells the N. Y. Tribune 
that there are sulky plows and sulky plows, 
and he concludes it must have been an unfor¬ 
tunate choice which led Professor Shelton to 
report so unfavorably upon them. The Illi¬ 
nois Agricultural College has one stored away 
for which they would gladly take a small 
price. It also has one which is one of the mest 
satisfactory implements on the farm. It is a 
“ 16 inch ” plow, but is easily drawn by three 
horses, and good work has been done with it 
drawn by two moderate-sized horses. Where 
there is much vegetable growth on the surface 
to be turned under, the Professor likes the 
riding plow better than tbe walking plow, 
and in general he thinks it will do better work 
where there is anv thing to make the plowing 
difficult. Sulky plows are largely used about 
Champaign, and with general satisfaction. 
Simplicity and strength are desirable in them, 
as in all classes of farm machinery. The un¬ 
necessarily high cost of repairs for most classes 
of farm machinery is properly to be com¬ 
plained of. 
Dr. Sturtevant says that in growing mel¬ 
ons, it seems well to add a handful of sulphate 
of potash, or several handfuls of wood ashes, 
to each hill. The effect seems to improve greatly 
the quality of the fruit grown, and if his ex¬ 
perience is sufficient to generalize from, he 
would say that the addition of potash in ex¬ 
cess to the soil upon which the melon is grown 
will add an excellent quality to the feuit. 
Keeping Squash. —An Illinois gardener, 
says the Farmers’ Review, under its head of 
“ Stolen Thunder,” has kept squash in prime 
condition from the time of gathering until 
a year from the following January. He 
keeps them in a dry, well-ventilated house, 
at a uniform temperature of 48 degrees. He 
places them on shelves two deep, is careful iu 
handling them, examines them occasionally 
after they have been kept for some time, and 
if an occasional one shows signs of decay, at 
once removes it. In this w ay he is able to 
take advantage of the market. West or East, 
and gets wonderfully remunerative prices. He 
has sold a car-load in Chicago as high as $30 
per ton His average for the 1880 crop, from 
40 acres, was about $20 per ton. His land is 
ordinary dark prairie soil. He manures in 
the hill, and gets large crops. Now the trouble 
with this is: How is the farmer to keep the 
uniform temperature of 48 degrees ! 
The Further Germination of Sprouted 
Grain. —Erhardt allowed rye seeds to ger¬ 
minate for periods of time varying from 18 
to 103 hours, and at the end of each period 
the seeds were dried. They were afterward 
placed under conditions which would enable 
them to grow again, when it was found that 
of those which had germinated for 18 hours 
96 per cent, were still alive, while of these 
whose first period of growth extended over 
103 hours, only 54 per cent, resumed their 
growth. It appears that the longest period 
during which a seed may germinate with 
any probability of its remaining alive after 
drying is about 190 hours. It was previously 
known that the seeds of cereals which had 
commenced to germinate might have the 
process stopped, and yet would again resume 
their growth, but the length of time during 
which the first growth might be extended had 
not before been submitted to quantitative es¬ 
timation. 
Influence of the Weight of Seed on 
the Yield of the Crop.— In studying this 
subject, Messrs. Birner and Troschke divided 
various samples of oat-6eed into three quali- ' 
ties, which they distinguish as heavy, medium 
and light, and in every case it was found that 
the best crop was obtained from the sample in 
which the individual seeds were heaviest. 
Similar experiments with beans gave corres¬ 
ponding results. This investigation is one 
which deserves to be widely confirmed, and, 
as it is of an extremelv simple character, it 
commends itself at once to the attention of 
all cultivators. The above is the gist of an 
article in the Mark Lane Express. 
— «♦«- 
Watermelon Sugar. —Mr. W. W. Seay, 
of Rome, Georgia, according to the Journal 
of Chemistry, is experimenting with water¬ 
melons for the purpose of extracting sugar. 
His experiments so far, in a small way, in¬ 
duce him to believe that a fair lot of melons 
contain an average of seven per cent, of sac¬ 
charine matter, or pure sugar. He estimates 
that on one acre of good land, suited to their 
growth, 34,300 pounds of melons would grow, 
and these would produce, at seven per cent, 
of saccharine matter, 2,415 pounds of sugar, 
worth, at 10 cents, $241.50. This sounds 
very well, but the results of a few practical 
experiments would he more satisfactory. 
----— 
Tea Plants for Hedges,— Except, per¬ 
haps, the favorite euonymus, there Ls not a 
more ornamental ever rreen shrub than the 
tea plant, say* H. W. Ravenel, in tbe Charles 
ton News. Low, bushy and well branched, 
with dark evergreen, glossy leaves, and in 
Autumn decked with large, pure white flow¬ 
ers, it seems well adapted for ornamental 
hedges in that latitude The young plants 
come up readily from the seeds, as we in¬ 
formed our readers threo years ago, an 5 even 
if no use is to be be made of the leaves, they 
would he worth plantiag for ornamental pur¬ 
poses. The tea plant belongs to the same nat¬ 
ural order with our native Stuartia—our 
Gordonia (the Loblolly Bay),and tbe beautiful 
exotic Camellia Jaoonica—all with large, 
showy flowers. It seems to flourish best in a 
deep, rich soil, not too dry. A mulching of 
leaves would assist very much in promoting 
the growth in a dry season, though there is a 
hedge in Aiken. 8. C., which has passed 
through a remarkably dry season now loaded 
with flowers in bloom, and ripe seed pods. It 
blooms in October and the young fruit ma¬ 
tures in twelve months, or the following Octo¬ 
ber. This plant could be used for the double 
purpose of the useful and the ornamental. 
The plucking of leaves would stand In the 
place of pruning, and symmetry and form 
could b3 preserved in taking off the young 
shoots. A good plan for starting such a 
hedge would be to open a ditch about three 
feet wide and eight to ten inches deep. In 
the bottom of the ditch dig in a good quantity 
of rich compost, then cover over and plant 
either seeds or young plants, taking care to 
leave a depression in the middle to catch rain 
water and retain moisture. 
■ ■ 
A queen bee lays in the bight of the season 
from 2,000 to 3,000 eggs in 24 hours. The man 
who will discover how 15 graft a queen bee 
on a hen will make money enough to buy out 
the whole continent in six months. 
-- 
Bee Account —Mr. G. M Doolittle gives 
in the American Bee Journal his account with 
his bees for a period of 10 years. Ha says that 
a report of a very prosperous year is often 
misleading, but one extending through a pe¬ 
riod of 10 years should approximate very 
nearly to what might be expected for the 
same length of time to come. His average 
yield for each colony in the Spring of 1S73 
was 80 pounds; 1874, about 100 pounds; 1875, 
a little over 106 pounds; 1S76, 50 pounds; 1S77, 
a fraction of a pound less than 167 pounds; 
1878, 71 pounds; 1S79. 58 pounds; 18S0, a little 
less than 62 pounds; 1881, nearly 135 pounds; 
and in 1SS2, the present year, it was 51 
pounds; making an average yield each year, 
for the past 10 years, of SS pounds per colony, 
five sixths of which has been comb honey. 
The average price at which it has been sold is 
about 20 cents for comb honey, the highest 
price, cents, being obtained in 1874, and 
the lowest, 10% cents, in 1S7S. Thus the 88 
pounds, at 20 cents a pound, give $17.60 av¬ 
erage cash yield for each colony. Hence, if a 
man is capable of keeping 50 colonies, the in¬ 
come would be $8S0 a year: if 100, lc would 
be $1,760. After an experience of 14 years in 
the bee business he can see no reason why it 
does not compare favorably with any other 
pursuit in life, as far as dollars and cents are 
concerned,aml when one looks at it as a fascin¬ 
ating and health-giving pursuit, it places most 
other avocations in the shade. 
-» ♦ » — — 
Consumption of Breadstuffs in Europe 
—Ac a recent meeting of the National Agri 
cultural Society in Paris. M. Rural, in an 
elaborate paper on the production and con¬ 
sumption of wheat in France, showed that the 
consumption per capita in the last decade was 
nearly double that of several decades previous. 
Thus, in the period from 1820 to 1829, the con¬ 
sumption of wheat for all purposes in France, 
The Buckeye Power Converter and Corn Grinder.—[S ee Page 798.]—Fig. 440. 
