245 
3 
T 
E 
of Bromus have been highly commended from 
time to time by the press, and especially by 
some seedsmen. The seeds are large and easily 
collected; the grass is a rank grower. The 
quality of all with which the writer is ac¬ 
quainted (some dozen or more species) is quite 
inferior. The grasses are coarse and not very 
nutritious. The species nnder consideration is 
one of the best, and has often been freely dis¬ 
seminated. Our common cheat, or chess, was 
once advertised as Willard's bromus. In the 
report from which our cat is takeu, the grass 
is now highly spoken of as a winter grass for 
the Southern States. At that time of year any 
green pasture is desirable. For this purpose, 
one writer in Texas ‘‘ regards this grass as a 
wonderful and most important discovery.” In 
Georgia, where it has been tried, less is thought 
of it than when first introduced. 
Turnips Among Corn. 
It is a well-known fact that people are more 
willing to tell of successes than failures, and 
for that reason I would like to tell the readers 
of the Rural how I raised a good crop ot tur¬ 
nips without much expeuso. 
As our land Is mainly devoted to grazing or 
meadow, we do not expect to obtain a good 
coru crop without manuring in the hill. The 
kind comraouly used is bog-mauure and the 
rnauuer of raising turuips is to scatter the seed 
over the load while loading up, and that is all 
there is of sowing the seed. 
The next care they will need will be to thin 
them out when the corn is hoed. I sometimes 
leave as many us three, but commonly only 
one plant iu a hill. 
As the main part of the growth is in the fall 
after the corn is cut up, I think they arc a 
better uud more profitable crop to grow among 
corn than pumpkins. Iu harvesting, I usually 
drive through the field, pulling several rows at 
a time and throwing them, tops and all, into 
the wagon, haul them to the barn and unload 
ou the floor where the tops can be cut off at 
leisure and the roots taken to the cellar or pit. 
My crop, this year, was about 110 bushels per 
acre ; the coru crop 100 bushels of ears per 
acre, which was quite as good as my neighbors’, 
if not bettor. I have tried several varieties 
aud find Rennie's Prize, the best, as it grows to 
a good size, is smooth, a good keeper and ex¬ 
cellent for the table or stock—only it does not 
cook us readily as some other sorts, m. e m. 
foniologital, 
PEACHES AT THE NORTH. 
The idea has beeu.and stil li prevalent that 
there is no object for Northern farmers to try 
raising peaches. That the peach is our most 
delicious fruit all admit; that the trees are 
easily growu, all acknowledge; that the cli¬ 
mate south of 42J=> of latitude is not too se¬ 
vere usually, is also true. But still few have 
any confidence iu the practicability of raising 
this fruit. Occasionally au inquirer wakes up 
to a determination to try. How shall he do 
it ? There are obvious dilliculties; let us look 
at them. 
First, the Yellows—an insidious disease 
which has been the great drawback iu peach 
growing for at least 75years ; a disease conta¬ 
gious and hereditary. IIow shall we elude it ? 
I desire to say here, in passing, that there has 
been great negligence or criminality among 
propagators in the selection of seed for plant¬ 
ing. It is a well known fact that in the peach 
regions of our country great quantities of 
peaches, which lrom inferior size and prema¬ 
ture ripening, are unfit to ship to market, find 
their way to canning or drying establishments 
where they are used, and hundreds of barrels 
of pits are there accumulated aud held for sale 
at a very low rate. These have beeu used to a 
great extent in producing the youug trees 
which have occasioned bo much disappoint¬ 
ment to the peach growers of our section ; for 
be it remembered, a diseased pit can only pro¬ 
duce a diseased tree. Now what can be done 
about it? Make no purchases of trees unless 
you have a clear pedigree, so to speak, of the 
health aud purity of the seed. It is not enough 
that it comes from North Carolina, West Va., 
or Teuu., you should have convincing proofs 
that it has come from orchards of natural seed¬ 
lings, iu which no disease or premonitory symp¬ 
toms thereof have ever showed themselves. 
Having trees produced from such seed, raised 
ou new laud, budded from trees of uutainted 
health and set remote from any diseased 
trees, there Is every reason to expect success 
aud with good care aud cultivation there will 
be little occasion for failure. 
Second, another fruitful cause of failure, 
even with good trees, is the poach borer. 
The. trees should be carefully examined In 
Bpriug and iu September, and every borer re¬ 
moved. A free application of oyster-shell 
lime le excellent about the collar of the tree as 
a preventive. A wash of tobacco lye or a 
strong soapy application is excellent for the 
ame purpose. Vigilance aud promptness are 
all that are needed to circumvent this difficulty. 
We should cultivate the ground every year, at 
first planting some such crop as corn, pota¬ 
toes, onions, or some other root crop; or beans, 
peas, tomatoes, or even buckwheat, but we 
should not allow grass, rye, wheat, oats, or 
any other cereal. 
When the trees begin to bear, cultivate shal¬ 
low, manuring sufficiently, but drop all other 
crops aud secure choice peacheB only. It is 
well not to disturb the ground after July, in 
order not to induce a late growth of wood, so 
as to secure well ripened wood aud mature 
buds for the next year. A growth of youug 
wood and a very rampant and succulent growth 
are two extremes to be carefully avoided, and 
the golden mean, between the extremes, is the 
sure ground of safety and profit. 
Manures suited for the Peach are;—well 
rotted stable manure in moderate quantises, 
boue dust or bone meal evenly dressed over 
the entire surface., aslves, or iu the absence of 
these, muriate of potash. A free application 
of oyster-shell lime upon the entire surface is 
a healthful dressing. Tobacco stems, too, are 
good; but all these should be used with care 
aud prudence. 
He who lacks all faith in Peaches should try 
the Troth s Early, Mountain Rose, Old Mixon, 
Stump the World, Barnard, Crawford’s Early 
and Late. The early Northern Peaches are 
in close competition with better varieties 
from the South. Troth's Early, though not 
equal to some later sorts, has been remark¬ 
ably healthy and productive with me. The 
Old Mixon I regard as a very hardy, healthy 
and productive variety. But the number of 
choice sorts is numerous and the above list 
can be increased at the taste and will of the 
planter 
Wheu au orchard has passed a series of pro¬ 
ductive years and finally declines, so as to 
ueed removal, do not cut down the trees; 
rather take your team and. with chains about 
the head of the tree, pull it out. It is 
easily aud quickly done, and then the field is 
tit for Pears, Apples, or any other trees, except 
Peaches, which should not again be planted 
within a period of 10 to 20 years. But the 
small expense ol even the best Peach trees, 
aud the slight labor of removinir them when 
past profitable bearing, are amply repp id even 
by three or four crops of fruit, if we can feel 
sure of so much. p. m. a. 
Mlddlefleld, Ct, 
■- — ■ 
CHINESE PEARS AND CROSSES. 
About forty-five or fifty years since I receiv¬ 
ed the “Sha lea,” or Chinese Sand Pear, from 
thelftte Wm. R. Priuee, of Flushing, L. I. The 
tree made a vigorous growth, and soon came 
into bearing, producing bushels of its beauti¬ 
ful large fruit. As this never became soft, we 
didn’t kuow what it was good for, as it was 
not salable in a raw state. I raised many 
seedlings from it. These grew up four to six 
feet the first season, and I thought I had some 
valuable stocks to work olher varieties on, but 
I soon found that though grafts of other Pears 
would not do any good on these stocks—they 
would barely live, but did not flourish—yet 
these Pears grew and thiove on other near 
stocks quite freely. 
Some of these seedlings I have fruited, and 
in the appearance ot trees and fruits, they are 
very similar to the original “ Sha lea,” but Ilia 
fruit becomes more soft, and the trees bear 
heavy crops annually. Neither blight nor 
insects have ever affected trees or fruits. 
Lately wo have fount! these Chinese pears 
excellent for canning, aud especially for pre¬ 
serving, and for these uses they are superior 
to all other pears. Being very Bweet, they re¬ 
quire less sugar than others. 
In a late Issue of the N. Y. Weekly Tribune, 
Mr. Charles Downing describes the Le Conte 
Pear, which is evidently a cross, as is the 
Kieffer Hybrid and several others. Mr. 
Prince also had another Chinese Pear, which 
he called the ‘‘Suet lea,” or Chinese 8now 
Pear, so that some of the crosses may be from 
this strain. A friend in Indiana informs me 
that he has now nine varieties, aud knows of 
several more. There is a great prospect that 
by crossing these Pears with some of our 6weet 
Pears, new varieties of great value may be 
produced. t. b. o . 
tlairij lusbanirg. 
STANDARD FOR DAIRY COWS. 
PROFESSOR I. P. ROBERTS. 
Will It Pay To Keep a Milk Record t 
I find the following in the N. Y. Tribune : 
— Professor I. P, Roberts, of Cornell University, 
according to Professor A mold, originated the excel¬ 
lent idea ot a standard for daiux cows dasro on 
actual performance, when at a meet I u a iu Utica 
three years ago ho remarked that “ A cow weighing l flu) 
pounds to lie called (rood, ought to give annually s.000 
pounds of milk." Mr. Solomon Itoxio, of White*town, 
was impriMsod with this view, and applied it practical 
ly to tne improvement of his own nerd; and subse- 
UUeutly Air. W. L. Rutherford took a step further by 
suggesting that the enterprise be given a scope includ¬ 
ing the whole country. Thus started and getting into 
iulut,tho idea found numerous supporters, and dually 
took form In the “ National Dairy Cattle Club ” But 
this new organization, Professor Arnold thinks, has 
aimed too low. • • • • 
The late discussions at public meetings bring 
this matter directly before the interested pub¬ 
lic, and I am glad of it, for 1 am tired of long 
pedigrees that are “ too thin ” to hold milk. I 
find, by reference to my notes, that, two years 
prior to the date given above, I suggested to 
my class in Agriculture the desirability of 
keeping a milk record with every cow. For 
several years I have beeu weeding out our 
dairy by simply weighing the milk for short 
periods. More than a year ago, I commenced 
to keep a systematic record with all cowb that 
from foimer tests were considered worthy of 
a place in the dairy. 
In the following table is given the record of 
four cows that Lave completed the year, ana 
also the record—so far as made—of two young 
half-blood Holstein heifers. The record is 
given in the exact form in which it is kept in 
the dairy ledger, except that numbers are used 
instead of names to designate e&ch cow. I 
hope it will give some useful hints as to form, 
to the thousands who, I trust, will from this on 
keep a record with all their cows, except those 
already condemned. 
$ 
9 
2 § 55 8 
ou 
Q 
2 3 £ g 
Due to calve. 
S * s B 
jQ. rj % n ^ 
Ee4 S 
S3 S & S 
t- to t— 
3 
O 
R 
'll 
•P if H ra 
8 § o6 * 
© 
© 
2 S* ©* *3 Sr 
to 9 to o 
*-« to cc to 
> 
o 
S! * * ^ 
§ § 3 § i§ 
-ti 
© 
O 
« $ S § 1 § 
-A3 
© 
CO 
s 5 a S 3 $ 
« © to OT t—4 
3 
< 
<7J t"- C* O 
3 £ S S 3 
>-* 
£ 
io to —< 04 
t- m 3 -r ~-i -n* 
to ao c- to 
o 
a 
cs 
^ * 
g i m as 
o 00 o oo to 
>» 
Si 
s 
* * 
to qi ov 
S S 2 3 s 
11 
< i 
1 g | 1 ! 
14 
a 
a 
04 Ol »Q WH o. 
3 8 3 S 3 
— 
& 
© 
i s i 
d 
d 
►“3 
Estimated 
yield. 
3 ft S *° 3 
Milk record 
began. 
3 2 2 2 2 S3 
rD ,D J2 b % Z, 
© © © © 
fe Ph S E CO 
Blood of calf. 
a a w w a « 
a? £ s: 3s; ^ 
Sex. 
1 o o o o © y 
Marking of 
calf. 
> > > P3 t- 
*j n ei « ft 
Date of calv¬ 
ing. 
5 8 8 5 00 2 
§5 a u a E ij 
•-» Q >-s S 3 id 
to 04 00 o o oo- 
fills 3 
Age. 
£ 
t» t"» CC Cl 
a* 
•—4 
Breed. 
i 1g i b3 . 
o : £ 00 " 1 
u 00 2 R . —jf 
Name or No. 
03 CO -V O C£3 
6 - « - 
«. 
In the column marked “ estimated yield” ia 
recorded the amount of milk given—based ou 
the subsequent yield—from the time of calving 
(less five days) to the time of removing the 
calf. All of the cows have been used for about 
one-half of the year for experimental purposes. 
Their rations were thus of necessity quite 
varied, sometimes hay alone, and at one time, 
hay with one-half bushel of meal per cow, per 
day. Cow No. 4 was gradually fed apples till 
she refused them, after eating 56 pounds per 
day for ten days; at which time she had per¬ 
ceptibly fallen off in her milk, but 6lie recov¬ 
ered rapidly and gave her normal qnantity at 
the end of one week- Subsequently cut food 
dampened raised her yield to nearly that of 
August. The milk of the dairy is sold at an 
average price of two and one-fourth cents per 
pound. The cost of delivering is one-foarth 
of a cent per pound. 
No. 1 cost $45; No. 2, $35; No. 8, $45; No. 4, 
$30. No. 2 would usually be considered a good 
COW. I bought her for such, but No. 3 not 
only gave as much, but an excess to the amount 
of $48 53. This Is more by $3.53 than the first 
cost of the cow. 
Will It Pay To Keep a Milk Record t 
1 propose now to analyze the milk of each 
cow so far as to determine the amount of solids. 
Since the little seed—(sentence) '* A cow weigh¬ 
ing 1,000 pounds to be called good, ought to 
give annually 8.000 pounds of milk," is, under 
the fostering care of such men as Hoxie, 
Rutherford and others, about to produce such 
au abundant harvest, let me drop another 
one, trusting it will fall in as good ground:— 
“A man to be called a good dairyman should 
never—except for a short time in extreme cold 
weather—allow his milch cows to be in a tem¬ 
perature below freezing. Below is given the 
average daily temperature taken at 5:30 a. m. 
and 5:30 p. m., beginning Sunday Jan. 25th. 
Out-of-doors. In the Covr Barn 
Sunday, 34 degress. IS degrees, 
Monday, 33 . 56 
Tuesday, 39 " . 54 
Wednesday, 36 “ . 57 “ 
Thursday, 35 “ . 53 “ 
Friday. as “ Very windy. 48 •» 
Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y 
SCHRADER’S GRASS—BROMUS UNIOLOIDES.—FIG. 103. 
