APRIL 3 
THE BUBAL HEW-VOBMER. 
they were not so productive as the Soule’s 
wheat had been. Some farmers continued to 
grow this variety until very recently, and if 
the Clawson had not superseded nearly ever] 
thiDg else the last two years, it would still be 
common. The midge does not injure wheat 
hereabouts of late yeai s, and as Soule’s wheat 
is vastly superior in quality to Clawson, it 
should be sown ou rich land. It is not so 
hardy as Clawson, and needs better soil and 
treatment. w. j. r. 
Monroe Co., N. Y. 
Broom Corn, 
W, 8. T., Upper lied Hook , M, Y., asks for 
information about the culture of broom corn, 
and the preparation for market. 
Ans. —Broom eorn is grown precisely as 
common corn, up to the time of the ripening 
of the seed. Just before this happens, the 
panicle, or head, with the seed stalks which 
form the brush, is cut off with about a foot or IS 
inches of the stem; the stalks are broken down 
in two rows and crossed lattice-fashion, form¬ 
ing a sort of table two feet from the ground. 
The brush is laid upon these tables as it is cut. 
When dry enough, it is moved to airy dry 
houses in which it is laid upon slatted shelves 
to dry thoroughly. When perfectly dry the 
brush is packed in bales of about 200 pounds 
each, the brush being packed in the center and 
the ends of the stalks outside, and is sent to 
market for sale. 
How to grow l'arsnips. 
W. T. M., Lemsioum , asks how to grow 
parsnips. 
Ans. —Procure good seeds. The land must 
be well drained, rich and deep. Sow as early 
in spring as the ground can be put iu perfect 
order. Sow thickly iu rows about 15 iuches 
apart. By “thickly” we mean at least four 
seeds to an inch. The seeds being slow to 
germinate, hoeing must commence as soon as 
the rows can be determined. Thin out to three 
or four iuches apart. Treated in this way 
parsnips never fail, except iu cases of great 
drought or when the land is infested with weed 
seeds. They maybe sown as late as June— 
but we advise early sowing. 
Miscellaneous. 
<5. B., Be Wittville, jV. I’., has a Honey-Locust 
hedge of 75 rods, two years old this spriug; a 
year ago it was trimmed down to within six 
or eight inches of the ground; and he inquires 
how close should it bo trimmed Ibis year, and 
when; 2, where can he get a good pair 
of pruning shears; which kind are the best, 
and what is their price. 
Ans. —1.—Cut it back to three feet now, 
2 . The illustrations will 6how the shears we 
LONG-HANDLED SHEARS.—FIG. 108. 
have fouud best iu practice. The small one 
costs from $1.50 to $2 according to size ; the 
large, about $3. If our friend once uses 
these shears, he will never again feel satis- 
e.MALL PRUNING SHEARS.—FIG. 109. 
fled to he without them. The long-handled 
shears will cut a branch two iuches in diame¬ 
ter as readily and with as little effort on the 
part of the prunor as is required to cut a half¬ 
inch twig with a jack- knife. Similar oucs can 
be had of R H. Allen, 189 Water St, N. Y., uud 
Peter Henderson A Co., 35CourtIandtSt,, N, Y. 
G. K. A'., Afton, N. l r ., asks, 1. how to rid 
cattle of lice; 2, where is a paper on live sto. k 
alone published, and its price; 8, where can ho 
get Guenou’s work ou the escutcheon ; •), where 
can he get u good book on diseases of cattle 
and its price. 
Ans —1. Within the past six months several 
remedies have appeared in the Rural. Wash¬ 
ing the iufc6ted parts of the animal with 
Btrong suds of carbolic soap is as good an ex¬ 
terminator as auy. Buy the carbolic crystals 
at the next drug Gore for about eight cents 
an ouuco; to a pouud of common bur 6oap, 
put in a pan with sonic water, aiul melted 
down, add one ounce of crystals, stirring well, 
and*from the mixture make suds. Two or 
three applications at least of auy remedy are 
needed, as the nits keep on hatching. More¬ 
over, the stable surroundings of the infested 
animals should be well washed with the car¬ 
bolic suds, as the pests often find a resting-place 
there and thence get ou clean animals. 2. The 
National Live Stock Journal, an excellent 
monthly, price $ 2.15 a year, postage paid; 
published at Chicago, Ill. 3, Guenon on 
Milch Cows, 75c. 4. Law’s’ Farmers’ Veterin¬ 
ary Adviser, $3 is the best work on diseases 
of stock generally; probably the best work on 
diseases of cattle alone, in tbe language, is 
Clatter’s Cattle Doctor, rewritten hy Armitage, 
price $6. Tbe three books, or either of them, 
can he had through the American News Co., 
of this city. 
F. K., South Galex, N. Y., asks, 1, what is the 
remedy for the small white worms that, pass 
frequently from a horse; 2, are any artificial 
fertilizers better for winter squashes than fine¬ 
ly rotted barnyard manure; 3. is there any 
danger of killing or injuring the vines by the 
application of the manure; and how should it 
be applied. 
Ans —Horses are liable to be affected with 
several kinds of worms; but from the descrip¬ 
tion these seem to be ascaridcs, commonly 
known as “thread worms"—while little worms 
about two inches long aud somewhat smaller 
in diameter than a crow quill. To remove 
them:—inject every morning for a week a pint 
of linseed oil, containing two drachms of spirit 
of turpentine. Inasmuch os some may be 
driven up tbe colon, it would be well to repeat 
the process after au interval of a week or ten 
days, by which time they will have re-eutered 
the rectum. The horse should also have a 
drachm of sulphate of iron (powdered) twice a 
day, for a week or so, with his grain. 2. Wcll- 
rotted barn-yard manure is as good as any¬ 
thing else, if not better. 3 No. Incorporate 
several shovelsful with each hill, and make 
the hill three to four feet wide. 
F. M. B., Bneklin, Mo., asks, 1, whether there 
is any paper devoted exclusively to the interest 
of sheep husbandry ; 2, would it be well to bow 
Bermuda grass in hollows to prevent washing; 
8, where can it be obtained and at what price; 
4, a description of the Star Flower. 
Anl, —1. We do not knpw of any. 2. Yes, 
Bermuda grass will answer the purpose ad¬ 
mirably. 3. Try P. J. Berekmans, Augusta, Ga. 
Do not know as to price. It is propagated by 
cuttings, and as the grass abounds in certain 
parts of the South, the price mn6t be incon¬ 
siderable. A small quantity would suffice, 
sinco when once “established,” you can raise 
it fast enough to supply your probable wants 
in two seasons or so. 4. Belongs to the Prim¬ 
rose family. Botanical name, Tricntalis Ameri¬ 
cana. Leaves long-lanceolate. Slender tlower 
stalks, bearing delicate, white, star-shaped 
flowers. 
F. MoM., Red Bank, N. J., asks what is the 
best remedy for the cut worm. 
Ans.— A number of remedies have been sug¬ 
gested, such as scattering lime, soot, etc. 
around the plants, but they are of little or no 
use. Hand-pickiug is the surest remedy aud 
may bo resorted to iu gardens aud ou small 
cultivated patches. The worms attack the 
plants iu May aud June, and feed at night 
while in the day time they hide in the surface 
60 i). They can readily be gathered, if sought 
early on dewy tnorniugs. Fall plowing is also 
a remedy, but it should be done late in the sea¬ 
son when those exposed are too benumbed to 
again crawl into the soil. 
W. II. Adarnsoille, asks, 1, whether oat 
fodder is as good as hay for horses, oxen, 
cows young stock and sheep ; 2, where can 
leached ashes be procured iu this city; 3, 
where can the Lyons heel stiffeners advertised 
in former Ruuals be obtained. 
Ans.— Oat fodder cut green and when 
the grain is in the soft, or milk, state, is equal 
to the best hay for any farm auimals. 2, 
Leached ashes can be procured of any of the 
dealers in fertilizers. They cost about 17 cents 
a bushel by the boat load. 3. The particular 
heel stiffener referred to or any other can be 
procured of any dealer in shoe findiugs. 
A. W. A., Afton, Iowa, wants to know, 1, if it 
is a good thing to mix broken bones with the 
earth in planting Grape-vines; 2, how deep 
ought the holes to be dug; 3, is Maude a good 
Grape and is it the same as Lady ? 
Ans.— 1. Yes, in small quantity. To be of 
much avail as a fertilizer, they should be pul¬ 
verized. 2. About a foot aud a half or two 
feet; grape roots seldom enter the subsoil, 3. 
We do not kuow of any Grape by the name ot 
“ Maude,” and it that uarne is applied to Lady 
it is a misnomer. 
J. McC., Rathbone, TFfs., asks how to treat his 
cherry trees which bloom every year, but do 
not bear fruit. 
Ans. —If the soil is good anu the trees of 
vigorous growth, root-pruning will induce 
fruitfulness. If the trees are about six years 
old, 6ink the spade its full length in a circle 
about two and a-half feet from the stem. If 
older or younger vary the distance accordingly. 
Summer pinching back may have the same 
effect. 
L. 8., Chases Mills, FT. Y. asks which would 
pay a farmer best—to collect wood ashes at 10 
cents per bushel from house to house, or pay 
$45 a ton for superphosphates at the depot. 
Ans.—T hat depend®. How close together 
are the houses and how much time aud labor of 
man and team are required to collect the ashes 
and put them on the farm ? time is money and 
so is labor. Again ashes are valuable for their 
potash mainly; and superphosphates for their 
phosphoric acid—which does the land need 
most, or the crops grown on it? 
I, . A. 2)., Belfast, N. Y., wants a recipe for 
grafting wax, and asks when cions should be 
cut. 
Ans. —Equal parts ot beeswax, turpentine 
and resin with a little tallow, melted together 
and applied while fluid, make a good grafting 
wax. Cions should be cut in tbe fall, winter 
or early spring before the buds begin to start 
II. B. P., Bowlings, N. Y., and several others, 
asks where that Rural mole trap is made tor 
sale. 
Ans —Nowhere, so far as we know. It isn’t 
patented, and any of our friends can have it 
made by the next blacksmith. The cut and 
brief description give ample instruction how 
to construct it. 
F. W. 8., Baden Pa., asks where can he 
get a rectangular churn, and whether Cornish 
and Curtis who advertise in the Rural, are 
quite reliable. 
Ans.—C ornish and Curtis are thoroughly re¬ 
liable; they will furnish the churn. 
J. A. P„ Guilford, Conn , asks, 1, where ar¬ 
tificial comb fouDduliun cau be had and the 
price; 2, what is the cause of yellows in the 
peach and how to preveut it. 
Ans.— 1. J. H. Nellis, Canajoharie, N. Y., 
furnishes apiarian supplies. 2. Nobody 
knows. 
W. P. B-, Thurman, O., asks, 1, if Man-root 
can be left in the ground during the winter ; 2, 
is Iris lsevigata perennial and will bloom the 
first season. 
Ans. —1. l r es. 2. Perennial; blooms second 
year. 
Mrs. Shaw, no address, sendB two plants for 
name. 
Ans.— One is Blood-root, (Sanguinaria Can¬ 
adensis), the other cannot be determ'ned from 
tbe specimen sent. 
8. C., Stone Station, HI., asks whether drains 
have been successfully made by using three 
Tamarack poles aud laying them together so 
that there would be a triangular space between 
them, instead of draiu tiles. 
Ans.—Y es. 
We have received several inquiries as to the 
treatment of the seeds of our Free Seed Distri¬ 
bution. Full Instructions on this point were 
given in our iseue of February 28, under the 
head of Notes from the Rural Grounds, and, as 
there intimated, we cannot, in justice to the 
bulk of our subscribers, take up their space in 
repeating the matter, and must therefore refer 
inquirers to this late number of the Rural. 
Communications rrokivbd for the week ending 
Saturday, March 2Tth. 
A. M.—C. D.—P. C. S.—R. H. K.-O. H. HM. S. 
P. K.—M. B. C.—C. G.—K. E. C.—J. G. L—‘ Read¬ 
er”— H. B—F. SV. S.—G. II. W.—W. H. B.—M. M. 
S—Wm. G—C. G. 8. E W.—J. E.—G. D. N.—A. 
D, P.—A. J. C.—F. G—F. D. C.—R. H. C,—A. B. 
A —M. B. EL—B. W.—L. A. R.—A. B. W.—L. S. H. 
-Mrs. M. E. B,—Mrs. 8. H. R,—Mrs. M. L. 8.—M 
L. S.—M. C.—M. S. 
Various. 
CATALOGUES, ETC., RECEIVED. 
Farming for Profit, by John E. Read. 
published by J. C. McCurdy & Co., Philadel¬ 
phia, Pa. This uew book on practical farming 
is written by a man whose experience as a 
farmer, and whoso prestige as a writer on 
agriculture, are in themselves a better recom¬ 
mendation than could be given it by any critic. 
It contaiua 800 pages and 140 engravings, is 
neatly printed and well bound. Within its 
covers is massed together more information 
on farm matters than can be found in any 
other one book. It abouuds iu practical com¬ 
mon sense from beginning to end, and treats 
with thorougnness every subject id connection 
with farm management and farm life. The 
author has divided the work into five main 
divisions. Part I. deals with Agriculture and 
Mechauics, under which headings the whole 
sphere of theoretical and practical agriculture 
is treated, such as plant life, 6oil analysis, fer¬ 
tilizers, tillage, farm aud fodder crops, drain¬ 
ing, seed, farm implements, etc., etc. Part II. 
treats of Live Stock, the breeding of cattle, 
horses, sheep, swine aud all other domestic 
animals, and their treatment aud care in health 
aud disease. Here is also treated the dairy 
interest, aud the most approved methods of 
making butter aud cheese. Part III. treats of 
Fruit Growiug aud Gardening, and Parts IV. 
and V. of Business Principles in Farming and 
Home Life. We are especially pleased to see 
the author give instructions for the training 
and care of fruit trees and the cultivation of 
the garden; for we are among those who be¬ 
lieve that fruits, vegetables and flowers may 
not only be made remunerative to the farmer, 
directly or indirectly, but W0 believe, too, that 
248 
they exert an educating influence upon the 
cultivator as nothing else can do, and lead him 
to a higher appreciation of nature, home and 
all that is good and pure, and hence to a happy 
life. The book is not sectional in its charac¬ 
ter, but treats of the cotton and sugar cane of 
the South as well as of the cereals of the North ; 
it is comprehensive, practical und fully up 
with the times. In short, it is a book that 
every farmer in the land may read with profit. 
We do not know the price, but we refer all in. 
quirers to the publishers. 
Report of Michigan State Pomological 
Society. We are indebted tn Secretary Chas. 
W. Garfield, of Grand-Rapids, Mich, for a copy 
of his Report for the year 1879. The Reports of 
this very efficient, hard-working Society are 
always interesting aud instructive; they are per¬ 
meated by the stimulating and healthful vigor 
that characterizes the Society, but the present 
Report surpasses,if possible,all preceding ones 
in excellence. It is an octavo volume of nearly 
500 pages neatly printed and well bound. A 
portrait of T. T. Lyon, the honored president 
of the Society, forms the frontispiece, and in 
the middle of the work is a portrait of the 
veteran pomologist, Charles Downing, the 
same as that published iu the Rural of Aug. 
16, 1879. Besides the list of officers and mem¬ 
bers, accounts, etc., of the Society, the Report 
contains a number of valuable essajB on po¬ 
mology and horticulture, that were read at the 
meetings of the Society. The Secretary's port¬ 
folio is interesting, as usual, aud we consider 
the catalogue of fruits of special value. In it 
are briefly described 250 varieties of apples, 
over 60 varieties of grapes, and as many 
each of peaches, pears, strawberries, with other 
fruits in proportion. We do not know if the 
Reports of the Society can be bought, but will 
say that the cheapest way to obtain them is to 
join the Society. A fee of $1 entitles one to 
one year’s membership, and a copy of the Re¬ 
port postpaid. 
Ellwanger and Barry, Rochester, N. Y. 
We are now iu receipt of No. 2, which is a 
descriptive catalogue (120 p.) of ornamental 
trees, shrubs, hardy perennial plants, etc. of 
the Mount Hope Nurseries. Our readers will 
remember the sketch we gave in the Rural 
for Sept. 21, 1878, of Viburnum plicatum, the 
Japan Snowball, since which we have endeav¬ 
ored by frequent references to make the value 
of this beautiful shrub apparent While it will 
thrive in almost any Boil or situation it is 
one of the hardiest. It may not be wise for 
a journal that tries never to mislead, to be too 
enthusiastic over anything whatever. But we 
are not alono in placing this shrub as one of 
the most valuable in cultivation. The cata¬ 
logue of which we are speaking gives a colored 
pla’e of Viburnum plicatum from which the 
reader may gain a tolerably correct idea of its 
flower and foliage. 
Wheeler a^d Melick Co., Proprietors of 
the N. Y. Agricultural works, Albany, N. Y. 
This catalogue or circular is so illustrated that 
with the accurate descriptions given all are 
enabled to gain correct impressions of the 
construction of each machine and the manner 
in which connections are made. It will be 
sent free to all applicants. The catalogue is 
an interesting study for all who are alive to 
the value of the latest improvements in Agri¬ 
cultural machinery. 
Sketches of the Physical Geography of Ne¬ 
braska by Samuel Aughey. f’h. D L. L. D., 
professor of Nat. Sciences in the University 
of Nebraska. Thi6 work ot 326 pages gives a 
full account of the physical features of that 
fine State, and is a valuable book of reference 
to all thinking of emigrating to the West. The 
work cau be had through Prof. Aughey at the 
University, Lincoln, Neb. 
Forest. Forge and Farm. This is the first 
number of a handsome illustrated trade 
monthly, published by E. Remington & Sons, 
IJion, N. Y. It will, ot course, pay special 
attention to fire-arms and the other lines of 
goods made by the firm, but promises al 60 to 
embrace a large enough number of subjects to 
become a good family paper. Price 50cts. per 
annum. 
Bannockburn Farm, Geo. S. Wales, Roch¬ 
ester, N. Y- We have from this establishment 
a full, plain and practical treatise upon the 
Strawberry. Also a circular of the best of the 
Raspberries, Currants, Grape vines, seed pota¬ 
toes, Ac., &c-, both of which Mr. Wales in¬ 
vites our readers to send for. 
Our Patent System ; a lecture by Prof. R. C. 
Carpenter of tbe Agricultural College, Lan¬ 
sing, Mich., explaining the workings of our 
present patent laws, especially in connection 
with matters related to the farm. 
Annual Report of the Eutomological So¬ 
ciety of the Province of Ontario, for the year 
1879. A pamphlet of 89 pages with many il¬ 
lustrations, a work of much interest to entth 
mologUts. 
