422 
THE RURAL f3EW-¥©RKER. FEB. 24 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Illinois, Baileyville, Ogle Co., Feb. 4.—The 
mild, wet weather in January, followed by 
hard freezing the last few days of the month, 
while the ground was bare, injured the winter 
wheat in this section, but we cannot yet tell 
how badly it is damaged. The 2nd inst.— 
“ Ground-hog Day”—was fair and, according 
to the old saying, our G. H. came out of his 
sub-terruneau winter-quarters and seeing his 
shadow, retired again for six weeks more of 
winter; and, strange as it. may seem, there 
catno a heavy snow storm the next day. Clear 
and cold to-day, 3 deg. below zero this morn¬ 
ing. Business has been dull the pa6t month, 
but now 6eems to be reviving. w. r. j>. 
Kansas, I’arsouB, Labette Co , Jan. 31.— 
Weather is the topic of universal interest, and 
it is uot surprising it is so, when onr health 
and material interests are so much affected by 
it. Our fall and early winter were fine and 
dry, and plowing was prosecuted by those who 
don t have more work than they can do. We 
plowed last week and this, and are nearly 
thioujh. Yesterday we had two inches of 
rain, being the second rain since November, 
the lirst rain being nearly three inches. Saving 
in the spring, we are not apt to have showers. 
Our rains arc singularly regular. We hardly 
fail to get a rain within a period of a month, 
and there will bean aver.ge of two inches. 
The interval Is too long In July and August, as 
our winds, beat and the character of the soil 
evaporate the moisture rapidly. At the end of 
two weeks after a rain, in those months, crops 
begin to show a lack of moisture, or, I should 
say, a lack of food, which the moisture would 
render available in the soil. Our blue grass is 
ready to show its color full) as soon as the 
frosts cease. Wheat is looking well. Our far¬ 
mers have had a good time in hauling off and 
selling their corn which was more than an 
average crop. Prices have been “booming" 
for this region, all having gone to onr southern 
6ister, Texas. Prices have been us Ligh as 32 
ets. Wheat here is $1.10; flour. $4 per 100 
pounds; potatoes, $1: prairie hay, $4 per ton; 
eggs, 10 cts. per doz. Did you ever hear oi the 
Tcxodusters? You have heard of the “exo¬ 
dus,” of course. Now you derive from this 
the •' exoduster." Bo also you have heard of 
Texas; from this we derive Terndus, and 
thence we derive Texodnster. The Texodus 
commenced about the first of November, and 
has been pretty continuous ever since. Till 
that time there had been no unusual influx of 
negroes. In fact there had been no movement 
of them except the usual barbers, boot-blaeks, 
porters, etc. Parsons, being the first important 
poiut out of Texas, and the junction of several 
divergent railroads, it became the chief rendez¬ 
vous of the exodus. While we would rather 
not have this immigration, we must make the 
best disposition of the matter w-ecan. We had 
in 4 000 people, 200 negroes. Now, in 5 000 we 
have more than 1,000 nogroes. They are 
laborers, plantation handB, and Bmall farmers. 
They are intelligent, and well behaved for their 
class. The Board of Education has prepared 
a special room for the youth of ihe exodusters. 
s. B. 
Mass,, Wiuchendon, Worcester Co., Feb.3.— 
We had very mild weather here for the 
last mouth, but this month has commenced 
like winter. To day it snows and blows like 
a hurricane. Beef and pork are selling hero 
for $6 pei 100 pounds. Most of the people 
about here would like to see a couple of months 
of good sledding. j. s, 
Michigan, North Byron, Kent Co., Feb. 5th, 
1880.—We are having quite an open winter. 
No snow during January, buL an unusual fall 
of rain. Farmers were plowing their old 
meadows last week and the week before. But 
February has come to us with a clear, cold 
greeting, with about four inches of snow, 
which will make a good covering for our 
wheat, which at present is looking well. Prices 
are: wheat, $1.20; corn, 45c.; butter, 18c. to 
20c.; eggs, 14c. to 16c.; pork, $4.50 to $5 per 
100 pounds. w. k. b. 
Mo., Springfield, Green Co., Feb. 8.—All 
through January the weather here was very 
warm, so that farmers kept on plowing all the 
time. Wheat looks well and more than Ihe 
usual acreage has been planted. I have about 
four acres in Raspberries, including all the 
kinds 1 could get; but after three years' ex¬ 
perience, 1 have come to the conclusion that 
for this seetiou the Thwack is best. j. b. l. 
N. Y., Elmira, Chemung Co., Feb. 2.—Thus 
far our winter has been remarkably mild and 
open. We have not had a week of steady 
freezing weather, or a day of good sleighing, 
and owing to a large amount of rain the roads 
for the most of the time have been bad and the 
wheeling heavy, especially on those very much 
traveled. This kind of weather, although un¬ 
favorable for teaming has been favorable ou 
some accounts. It has enabled farmers to 
plow and to do up a large amountof work that 
will relieve them when the more busy season 
of spring opens. It has also been very favor¬ 
able for a large number of farmers hereabouts 
who wore short of foddor and feed for etock. 
Owing to the severe drought last summer, onr 
farmers gathered a much lees quantity of hay 
than usual, and in consequence the price ad¬ 
vanced in Elmira to $15per ton lor hay of good 
quality; but the mild winter and (he economy 
with which farmers generally used their feed 
have made a much lighter demand (or it than 
usual, so that there is a considerable falling off 
in the price of hay. The prospects for the win¬ 
ter wheat crop in this locality are poor indeed. 
The dry weather last fall allowed it to make 
but feeble growth at best, and some late-sowed 
crops made no growth above ground at all. 
This fact in connection with our open winter, 
with much alternate freezing and thawing, 
will doubtless leave it in poor condition by 
spring. I think the yield per acre of winter 
wheat In this country will fall 50 per cent, be¬ 
low the average. As I have stated in previous 
communications, the farmers in the Chemung 
Valley are largely engaged in growing tobacco. 
It has been estimated that tho present crop 
will yield about 5,500 caseB or 2,200,000 pounds. 
Probably one-half of this has already been 
bought up, by New York dealers mostly. The 
prices paid have ranged from 11 to 15c. per 
pound for running lots. The weather has 
been very favorable for handling tobacco, and 
growers are busy assorting their crops and 
preparing them for market. There is a 
marked contrast in the present pi ices of farm 
produce here und those of a year ago. The 
prices of the principal products arc as follows: 
Wheut $1 35; corn 63c.; oats 35c. to40c.; bar¬ 
ley 60c. to 70c. per bushel; hay $10 to $13; 
straw $6 to $8 per ton. g. a g. <tr. 
Omo, Mt. Vernon, Jan. 28.—We arepassiug 
through one of the most delightful winters 
that ever was witnessed in this section. Every¬ 
thing looks well, especially the wheat; never 
was such a showing as now, and more acre¬ 
age by one-balf is under It. Ice has not formed 
this mou.h an inch thick. We can cut good 
spinach and rhubarb from the open ground. 
Our prices are a shade lower for staple 
goodsPotatoes 35 to 40c.; apples, New York 
State select, $1.25 per bushel. Last season you 
could leave off the $ mark and then have to 
crowd the bushel to get tho 25 cents’ worth. 
Wheat, $1.25 ; oats, 35; corn, 50 cents; cab¬ 
bage $4 per 100; onionB, $3,30 per bushel. 
Last season they were 80 cents and dull at that. 
Our ice-men’s lips ure beginning to quiver— 
they are beginning to think there's no show for 
them. Our prospects tor a fruit crop for next 
season aro good. I have a large peach orchard 
that is loaded with perfect buds. Is there any¬ 
thing anyone could suggest that will help to 
keep Hale’s Early from rotting so badly ? 
Would it not be a good Idea to mulch well 
with fodder to keep the ground cooler and 
then thin out freely when about half grown ? 
M. W. 
Pa., Winterburn, Clearfield Co. Feb.6.—Win¬ 
ter very open, so far no snow or cold weather 
of any account, which is very acceptable to the 
farmers in this community as it will save fod¬ 
der, which is very scarce—hardly any to be 
bought at any price. Other products are 
reasonably plentiful at fair prices. Lumbering 
forms one of the chief pursuits here; so far the 
winter is very discouraging to many engaged 
in this industry, as they depend on snow to 
haul their logs and timber to the streams. 
n. r. s. 
Tenn., Waverly, Humboldt Co , Feb. 5. —This 
has been the warmest winter to the 1st of Feb. 
that we have known for many years. Now 
winter seems to have set In, snow fell here on 
the 2d., 14 incbeB deep. s. b. s. 
Va , Frederieksbnrgh, Spottsylvanla Co., 
Feb. 3.—We have had a very mild winter so 
far; no ice harvest yet, and a very poor pros¬ 
pect for any. There was just, a fair average 
of ground sown in wheat last tall, which at 
this tune is looking very well Indeed—rather 
betler than it generally does at this time of the 
year. The prices of grain and farm products 
have bad a fall here as well us elsewhere. 
Choice red wheal is now worth $1.47 per 
bushel; new corn, from 55@57 ets,; rye, 80(a)85 
ets.; oat6. 40(&42 ets.; apples, $1 per bushel. 
Wheat has yet a downward tendency. The 
farmers through ibis section make as much 
money from dressed hogshead hoop poles as 
from any thing elBe ; In fact it is the main 
business from early fa to late spring, f. m. 
Vekmonc, Newport, Orleans Co., Feb. 0.—I 
see you call Honey Locust “iron-clad." It 
will not stand a single winter hero without 
being cut down to the snow line. The only 
hardy deciduous hedge plant w'e have is Buck¬ 
thorn. Have hud a very open winter. No 
snow on the ground # to-day, and a warm south 
wind with bright suu. Plowing has continued 
at intervals all winter, and wiuter rye has been 
sown this mouth—an almost unprecedented 
event in Vermont. Expect to “catch it” la¬ 
ter on, t. h. n 
Querist, 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
liaising Enrly Potatoes in Boxes. 
W. S. T., Cornwall, On/., asks if potatoes 
can be started in boxes in the house so aB to 
have early potatoes, if so, please describe the 
best plan. • 
Ans. —Yes, potatoes can be grown in boxes 
for early use. Procure boxes three feet long-, 
one foot wide and ten inches deep ; bore half- 
a-dozen holes in the bottom of each to give 
outlet to the surplus water. Put in about 
six inches of rich garden loam, and plant in 
each box five potatoes of some early variety. 
The boxes should then be put, iu a warm place 
and the soil kept moist. As soon as tho sprouts 
appear above grouud, they should have as 
much light aud air as possible and still be kept 
warm. A hot-bed, with a gentle under heat, 
will then be the. host place to set the boxes, as 
the sashes can be removed on mild days. A 
greenhouse will do very well, but the plants 
can hardly get there all the fresh air they need. 
When the tops are abont six Inches high, put 
in two more inches of soil, and, two weeks 
later, entirely fill the boxes. By this manage¬ 
ment new potatoes can be had in Ihe beginning 
of May. Of course, one who has not the U6C 
of a hot-bed or a greenhouse, cau place the 
boxes under the wiudows in a warm, sunny 
room, and on mild days place them under a 
wall on the sunny 6ide of a building ; but this 
would entail more labor, aud the results would 
not be quite so satisfactory. 
About Cow-|)cm. 
P. C. <8., Hurlocks, Ind., asks whether it 
would be well to sow Cow-peas about March 
20, and turn them under to fertilize forsweet po¬ 
tatoes, say about May 20, or about two months 
after sowing them; 3, about how high would 
they grow in that length of time ; 3, how much 
seed for an acre; 4, he sends specimens of 
what is there called Black-eyed peas and 
inquires whether they are like Cow-peas. 
Ans. —1, There would not be enough vines in 
so short a period of growth to enrich the 
ground profitably. 2, Probably one foot in 
your climate—but the different kinds vary in 
euilincss aud bight. 3. We should sow one 
bushel to the acre in drills four feet apart. 4. 
“Black-eye'' is one kind of Cow pea which is 
a generic name comprising many varieties and 
perhaps several species. 
Mowing Blue Grass. 
U. H. M., Troy, Mo., asks how many pounds 
of blue grass it takes to sow an acre, and 
whether it is best to sow it by itself or with 
oats. 
Ans.—B lue grass should not be sown alone, 
as it grows very slowly and will be three years 
before it makes much show. Twenty pounds 
per acre or bushel may be sown with 
timothy, orchard grass aud clover; (6 lbs., 20 
D*s. and 8 Iris., respectively) and when these 
begin to fail, the blue grass will appear and 
occupy the ground. It is obvious that a grass 
of this lciud should not be sown alone, but if 
mixed with the above varieties, they would bo 
well sown without any crop as early in spring 
as possible. 
Peaches In Succession. 
J. T., Olive BriOye, N. Y„ asks for a list of 
early, medium and late peaches. 
Ans. —As the three best varieties for a suc¬ 
cession of fruit for your seetiou, we would 
name Mountain Rose for early ; Oldmixou Free 
for medium, and Crawford's Late for late. 
Alexander’s Early, Hale’s Early, aud others of 
the same class are earlier thau Mouutaiu Rose; 
but are not reliable in your section owiug to 
the rotting badly of the fruit ou the tree aud 
60 soon as gathered. The best very late sorts 
are Beers’6 Smock and Salway. Tfiese’are so 
late, however, that they fail occasionally to 
mature their fruit so far north. 
‘‘Towing” Sheep Skin*. 
L. II., Steubenville, O., asks how to “taw” 
sheep skins, as mentioned in a late Rural. 
Ans. —Tawing is doue by scrapiug the flesh 
side of the pelt clean from all flesh or fat, then 
sprinkling it with a mixture of finely powder¬ 
ed alum and salt in equal parts. Twoskius 
are then laid with the flesh sides together, or 
a siuglc one doubled lengthwise, aud rolled up 
for a week or ten days; then opened, scraped 
and washed, and rubbed dry with apiece of 
chalk, aud worked and pulled until the skin 
is soft. 
j>liMcellaneoua. 
L., Springle, Suffolk Co., N. Y„ asks what 
manures wo used to produce the yield of oats 
described under Notes from the Rural Farm; 
the previous treatment of land etc. 
Ans.—T he crop taken off in 1878 was corn. 
Mapes’s “ Coru Manure” was used in hill only. 
Previously lor five years, the field (nearly 
five acres) was in grass. Last year it was 
sowed to oats aud an “oat fertilizer" pur¬ 
chased of H. J. Baker and Brother (210 Pearl St. 
New York), was bowu at tho rate of 400 pounds 
to the acie. The season was favorable to the 
crop and the yield was nearly 70 bushels to 
the acre. The oat fertilizers, Mr. Baker in¬ 
forms us, is known as “ Forrester'B Oat Man¬ 
ure.” The soil of the above field is a sandy 
(somewhat gravelly) loam. Wo credit the 
fertilzer withthelarge results obtained, though 
having made no comparative tests, we cannot 
state to what extent the large yield was due 
toils use. Mr. Baker, upon application, will 
furnish descriptive price lists and any desired 
information. We trust that onr farmer read¬ 
ers will accept the Rural's advice so often 
given, viz., to try different kinds of concen¬ 
trated manures ou small plots, with adjoining 
plots cultivated to the same crop without 
manure, so that the effect of tho fertil¬ 
izers may be shown. Wo should state that 
wo deemed the above field not well adapted to 
oats or, indeed, to any other crop, having re¬ 
ceived no manure for ten years, except ss 
noted above. 
A. C., Liberty Falls, If. Y . asks 1, if there 
is anything known that will prevent peas 
getting weevil eaten. 
Ans. —No adequate remedy is known. Since 
the insects are confined in barrels or hags with 
the peas until spring, they may be killed by im¬ 
mersing the bags, peas, bugs aud all, in warm 
water for a few hours before plauting; thus 
by exterminating the old insects there would 
be no progeny. This, of course, would still be 
a useless task, unless everybody in a whole 
district would take the same precaution. 
R. B. M., Mountain Vieio, Out., asks 1, which 
I is the best way to build stone under-drains—to 
lay the stones or tumble them in ? 2. Do 
we take Canadian postage stamps for frac¬ 
tions of a dollar when subscribers cannot pro¬ 
cure American ones ? 
Ans. —1. Lay the stones in the bottom of the 
drain, aud take care to arrange them so as to 
leave an open water course; for the upper por¬ 
tion they can be tumbled in. 2. Wo prefer 
uot to take Canadian stamps. 
II. B., Greenville, S. O., asks, 1, where we 
think he can get the most reliable improved 
seed corn ; 2, where can he get fine pure seed 
of the pcauut that has three or four peas in a 
shell and the price. 
Ans.— 1. 8end forcatalogues recently noticed 
and make selections therefrom. 2 Visit the 
markets and select peannls that bavethreo and 
four seeds. For price see market reports. 
M. Y. } Cincinnati., O., asks tor the exact pro¬ 
portions of the mixture for preventing mice 
from injuring fruit trees, as given in Rural of 
Dee. 20. 
Ans.— First put enough quick lime in a pall 
to make a pailful of ordinary whitewash. 
Then add a gill each of sulphur, hellebore, 
whale-oil or soft-soap, aud enough of lamp¬ 
black and redminerul paint to give the desired 
coloring in imitation of the color of the bark 
of tho trees to he washed. Fill the pail three- 
quarters full of boiling water. Stir frequently 
while using. 
L, R. T., Oharleton, Saratoga Co. N. Y., asks 
where can he get Cow-peas. 
Ans. —See advertising columns. 
B. B., Portageville, Wyoming Co., N.Y., asks 
how to tan coon ekin6. leaving the fur on. 
Who can tell him ? 
U. E. P-, Loganville Pa., asks many ques¬ 
tions respecting the culture of Roses, all of 
which are fully answered in the Rose Guide 
published by the Diugee aud Conard Co., of 
West Grove, Chester Co., Pa., uoticcd under 
Catalogues etc.. Ree’d. 
(/. E. P., Toledo, O., asks for information 
about the Dnchesso de Bordeaux pear tor 
market. 
Ans. —It has not been extensively planted. 
It is a winter pear, sweet and of fair quality. 
Tree a vigorous grower. 
J. C., Monmouth Co., N- J., asjc? when to 
sow green peas to insure the earliest crop. 
Ans. —The latter part of this mouth, if the 
grouud can be w'orked. The wrinkled sorts 
are more tender thau the smooth early sorts. 
17. F. S., Shelburne, Vt, asks if Benson, 
Maule Si Co. of 223 Church St., Phila., are a 
responsible linn to deal with. 
Ans. —They are considered responsible and 
reliable parties. 
F. U. 8., Baden, Pa., asks if Cricket on tho 
Hearth is published now, aud if so, where. 
Ans. —The above paper is published at 245 
Broadway. 
O. A'., Greensboro, N. C., asks where can 
Egyptian, or Rice Corn and Doura be obtained. 
Ans. —See our advertising columns for sev¬ 
eral weeks past- 
To inquirers. —We aro constantly in re¬ 
ceipt of inquiries about the prices of seeds* 
tools, etc., and where they cu:i be had. etc., 
etc , all of which are auswered either in our 
advertising columns, under Catalogues Re¬ 
ceived, or in our market reports. Wo have a 
large number of queries of tills kind now ou 
hand, and for usmswers we hereby refer our 
friends to the above store-houBes of valuah.e 
informatioo. 
