©EC. 25 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Ib tbe best method of saving manure from the 
cattle?" Mr. Green asked. “1 permit it to lie 
in the stable for a few days, the more objec¬ 
tionable part thrown back, so the cattle have 
a clean bed, permitting the litter to gather to 
considerable depth. By this method, the floors 
belug cemented, the liquid is absorbed. My 
ideal method, however, is to let the stock run 
loose in moderate-sized iuclosures, keep them 
well bedded with straw, and permit the ma¬ 
nure to remain for several weeks. The tread¬ 
ing of tbe stock is advantageous. More liquid 
iB saved by this method than by any other.” 
(Etofrpjjm. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
N. Y., North Lawrence, St. Lawrence Co., 
Dec. 2 —Last year and this, I received seeds 
from tbe Rural office, and now I am going to 
report to you how I have succeeded with them. 
Last year I had Blount’s corn which I planted 
in drills as I usually plantswoet com. Itgrew 
very tall and full of leaves from the ground up, 
but had not tasBeled when we had a severe 
frost early in August, which blanched the 
leaves; after awhile it grew again and bore 
some nubbins, which did uot have time to get 
half grown ; last year was an unusually cold 
season here for corn. I think the seaeons are 
too short here to grow Blount's corn. My 
Beauty of Hebron potato yielded seed enough 
last year to produce over a bushel of potatoes 
this year. The Gulden Ovoid Mangels did not 
grow very large, but I did uot &ow all my seed 
and intend to try them again. The little bag 
of Meld’s ennobled oats, produced five pounds 
besides what the sparrows destroyed. But few 
of the Telephone peas grew, I saved them all, 
and have seven ounces for seed. They are 
very nice, no weevil eaten ones among them. 
The cow peas produced a great amount of vine 
and ripened 6ome seed. I received two Cuih- 
bert raspberry plants late in the Fall of 1879, 
but they did not survive the winter. I am very 
glad to have a chance to get tbe Culhberl 
again. I will send stamp to Mr. Lovett at once, 
Anna H. N. 
III., Baileyville, Ogle Co., Dec. 8 —The 
year now closing has been one of general pros¬ 
perity to the people in this locality, though 
some have succeeded better than others. The 
weather has been capricious and noted for its 
mauy changes, ofteu causing our “ oldest in¬ 
habitants” to exclaim, *‘I never saw such 
weather before I” Crops have varied greatly, 
both in yield and quality, but there have been 
no entire fuilures, and there Is much to be 
thankful for. Mauy valuable lessons have 
been learned in the “ school of experience” 
during the past year which should be remem¬ 
bered and heeded. The light of the past 
brightens tbe present and illuminates the fu¬ 
ture ; beuce all can uow see more clearly their 
way in the march of improvement and pro¬ 
gress than those who lived in the past. Last 
winter was mild and wet, with but little snow, 
and there were fjequent spells of alternate 
freezing aud thawing, especially in March, 
which killed a large portion of the Winter 
wheat in Northern Illinois, Wisconsin and 
Iowa. Many fields were plowed up in tbe 
Spring and the ground seeded to other crops, 
but some escaped and produced from ten to 
thirty bushels per acre. Wheat that was 
drilled iu on rolling or well drained laud, aud 
where the 6eed bed was properly prepared, did 
better than what was sown broadcast—a lesson 
worth remembering. It has also been found 
that certain varieties of wheat are hardier 
than others, and the farmers this Fall have 
been careful to sow those varieties that appear 
to have become acclimated and have proved 
the more successful ihe past few years. North¬ 
ern Illinois is embraced In what is known as 
the ‘‘Spriug-wheat region,” and the produc¬ 
tion of Winter wheat has not been large; but 
notwithstanding all drawbacks, the aggregate 
amount produced the past season in this sec¬ 
tion was greater than that of Spring wheat. 
The average yield of Winter wheat in this 
State, according to the estimate of our State 
Department of Agriculture, for this year. i6 18 
buBbtls, and of Spriug wheat 9£ bushels. The 
Spring wheat in this locality promised well 
for awhile, but was injured by chinch bugB 
and the hot, humid weather at ihe time it was 
maturing. Some fields were not worth har¬ 
vesting; others yielded from five to 15 bushels 
per acre. Rye was a fair average crop, but 
the acreage was not large. It generally does 
well here and might be raised to advantage and 
profit, if there were paper-willB, etc., for util¬ 
izing the straw. Barley and oats yielded well, 
but the quality was not good Corn that was 
planted early, on dry, rich land, was excellent 
both in yield and quality, but a large portion 
was not so good as last year. The average 
yield here is about 40 bushels per acre. Hay 
was a light crop and a considerable portion 
was spoiled by wet weather ; hence, good hay 
is scarce and dear this Winter. Potatoes rather 
scarce. Apples plenty. Garden vegetables 
were in no wise scarce, and the cellars are 
mostly well stored with fruit and vegetables. 
Live stock of all kinds has been generally 
healthy and iu good condition. About the 
Beoond week of November, the epizootic broke 
out among tbe horses, but did not prove as 
severe as in 1873, and is abating. Have heard 
of a few cases of so-called “hog-cholera" this 
Fall, but the disease was not generally preva¬ 
lent. 
Winter set in here abont the middle of No¬ 
vember, being a month earlier than usual, and 
the weather has been cold and blustering the 
meet of the time since, but very little snow has 
falleu here, and we fear tbe late dry, hard- 
freezing has been severe upon the Winter 
wheat, etc. The Fall was favorable for out¬ 
door work, and most of the farmers are pretty 
well prepared for Winter. There were some 
indications of a thaw last week. Cloudy and 
foggy on Saturday and rained a little at night, 
but the weather was only “ foolin’," for it soon 
turned cold and has heen of au arctic nature 
all this week. Had a light fall of froRty snow 
yesterday. Clear aud cold to-day. 
To the Rural New Yorker and its hosts of 
readers, your correspondent cordially wishes 
all A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 
w. B. D. 
III., Paris, Edgar Co., Dec. 5.—It is almost 
a year since I received the first number of the 
Rural and it has been of much benefit to me, 
though I am only a common farm hand. I 
think that if more of us would take some 
papers of the kind and read them and profit 
by their instructions we would be better able 
to fill the place that is allottid us in the agri¬ 
cultural world, and be of more profit to our 
employers aud ourselves. I intend to try ard 
get a few names for the Rural. The seeds 
that 1 received last Spring did not do as well 
as they should have done owing to dry season 
here, I received from the oats three pounds 
of seed and seven pounds nf straw, aud I think 
that is verv good when other oats were hardly 
worth cutting. The farmers are behind with 
their corn shucking on account of tbe cold 
and the buow which has covered the ground 
for the last month. I do not think there is 
more than half of it gathered yet. Tbe snow 
all left last night in a heavy rain and at the 
present time the wheat looks splendid and as 
green and fresh as though there had beeu no 
cold spell at all. I think the wheat looks bet¬ 
ter this Fall than it did a year ago. There has 
been about the same amount sown. The eoru 
crop is the best we have had for some years, 
and the price is good, 35 cents a bushel. I had 
from between nine and ten acres, 700 bushels. It 
was drilled iu the row eight inches, the rows 
were three feet and three Inches apart. I first 
harrowed the ground till I got it thoroughly 
pulverized and plowed it twice and I think it 
did well for the work done to it. b. b. r. 
Illinois, Highland, Madison Co., Dec. 7 — 
Slnoe the middle of November we have had very 
cold weather. On the first of December it was 
warm and staid so for a lew days but on the 
night of the 4ih it turned cold again, and now 
it is about 20 degrees below freezing. Many 
farmers have got to bush their corn, they 
conid not do it before on accouut ol the cold 
spelI. Corn will not yield as much as last 
year, and will be of lighter weight. In some 
sections there is none at all it having been all 
destroyed by chinch bugs, and drought. The 
price ranges from 30 to 35 cents per bushel. 
The growing wheat does not look as strong 
as last year as it has generally been sown late, 
and the weather has been rather unfavorable 
for it since then, and now 20 degrees below 
freezing withoutsnow to cover it docs not help 
it much. The price of wheat in thiB place is 
$1.00. Iloads are uow very rough and not 
much hauling is done except by the ice men 
who are filling their ice houses. This comity 
has the honor to be the banner county of this 
bauner wheat growing state. The acreage in 
winter wheat in 1880 was 141,576 and the yield 
reached the enormous aggregate of 3,539,400 
bushels ; which will make at least $2,960,000. 
0. L. K. 
III., Champagne. Champagne Co., Dec. 10,— 
We have three or four inches of dry snow, 
the fifth or sixth snowfall of the season. This 
Biiow came after a thaw, a rain and thunder 
storm, and gives ns the third cold spell of this 
winter. The mercury went down to 10 deg. 
below zero yesterday morning, and this, it 
stands near zero with a change to moderate 
weather and more snow, probable. There is a 
coal and a water famine prevailing here as 
elsewhere over the entire northwestern prairie 
country, intensified, however, outside of the 
coal measures. Corn is harvested and turns 
out half a crop, compared with lost year ; hogs 
and cattle have heen mostly disposed of ; the 
winter wheat crop is in a very good state of 
preservation; prices, with fluctuations from 
day to day, are on the rise and a very general 
state of health and prosperity prevails. If 
this season follows many examples set by 
others, we are pretty sure to have Borne very 
severe weather indeed, between this time and 
Christmas, or a while thereafter. b. v. i. 
III., Ludlow, Champagne Co., Dec. 8 — 
Our Winter, which began about the middle of 
November was interrupted for a few days by 
mild weather which took off the snow, but on 
the night of the fourth there were thunder and 
considerable rain , this was followed by an¬ 
other cold turn which has increased In severity 
till to day, which has been tbe coldest of the 
season, the mercury standing between six deg. 
and ten deg. all day. A couple of inches of 
snow fell last uigbt, which is some protection 
to wheat. There were 6ix to eight inches of 
frost in the ground before the thaw, and prob¬ 
ably there is about the same now. There Is 
some corn yet in the fields, though a great deal 
has been gathered during the last two weekB. 
Corn has been freely coming into market with 
the prices at 34 to 35 cents for 56 pounds shell¬ 
ed, 32 to 33 cents for 75 pounds in the ear. 
Beet, alive, $3 to $3 50 per cwt: Hogs $4 20 to 
$4.25 alive; oats, 28 cents; butter, 20 cents 
poultry and game plenty and a drug in the 
market. " o." 
Wis., Freedom, Outagamie Co., Dec 10.— 
Corn was our best crop in this part of the 8tate, 
and 1 think it was equally good in all parts 
of the Slate. One hundred bushels of ears 
to tbe acre are considered a good yield with us. 
All the corn raised here and more is fed at 
home and marketed in the shape of beef and 
pork. The wheat crop was very poor in this 
county as well as in all this part ot the State. 
Luckily, farming with U6 is not confined to 
wheat alone, aud most other crops were good. 
So we hear no eerxous complaints, as almost 
every farmer has something to sell for which 
he has ready sale and a cash market. Tbe 
lumbering aud mining country north of ns af¬ 
fords a good home market for evertbing in the 
line of meat. Good butter is worth 20 to 25 
cents, cheese 15 cents. We had good weather 
for doing up Fall work, all plowing is mostly 
done. Stock of all kinds go into Winter quar¬ 
ters in good shape. Winter has come upon 
ns earlier than usual and very cold but not 
snow enough for sleighing yet. The Mold’s 
oats grew rank but rusted badly. Black oats 
are not in favor with our farmers and they 
will uot sell. The Golden Mangels grew finely 
aud produced some pretty large roots, a fifteen 
pounder being thelargeBt, I cannot say il they 
are better than the Orange Globe, the kind 
mostly grown here. The Cuthbert raspberries 
failed fo grow. I think they were dry when re¬ 
ceived. j. R. 
Missouri, Greene Co., Nov. 16 —Ordinarily, 
In Southwest Missouri, our Autumn season is 
most delightful aud very long, with scarcely 
any real Winter earlier than the 15th to the 20th 
of December, Now, November 16th, we have 
six inches of snow with the mercury 10 deg. 
below zero, colder than at any time last Win¬ 
ter. This is 30 dave, at best earlier than our 
usual Winters. Some farmers and others are 
surprised and not ready—not so with Nature, 
this time a prophet, foretelling us of this early 
approach of Winter by an early and thorough 
preparation of all things under her control. 
All fruits, vegetables and grain ripened about 
30 days earlier this year, iu this locality, than 
usual. The young wood in vineyard, orchard, 
ana forest was fully ripe. Oar budding, iu 
nurseries, was cut short. The happy singing 
birds, refusing leafless trees, left us early for 
their Winter home in the “ Sunny South.’’ 
From Instinct, animals left their Summer 
range for Winter quarters before the hasty 
season came. Were all these “Signs of the 
time coming" wbl ;h we Bhould have discerned 
and been ready for? Though Winter has 
come early and may be long, theie is au ample 
supply of food for "Man and beast." Never, 
perhaps, has there been such abundance of all 
the products ot the soil, hero, in any one year 
before. For this evidence of the care of Him 
who feedeth even the “Young ravens when 
they cry,” we trust we, as His people, are not 
quite ungrateful. On later examination I find 
fruit budB killed on the peach, pear and cherry. 
Much loss has fallen to gardeners, unharvested 
vegetables being frozen and lost. Fruit 
growers and shippers, manyol them, have lost 
heavily of apples; one farmer lost 400 barrels. 
Many farmers lost theirs from bad storage. 
“Jot.” 
Iowa, 03kaloosa, Mahaska Co., Dec. 4.— 
I was iu hopes that some one from Mahaska 
County, better able to wield the pen than I am, 
would have contributed a mite to your valu¬ 
able paper, one of the best papers in the Union, 
both a news and an agricultural paper in one. 
Every farmer should have it. Every depart¬ 
ment in this part of the country is prospering, 
and will be likely to continue if otir present 
finances hold on, thanks to our Secretary. We 
have had remarkably cold, dry weather for the 
last month. Stock water is getting scarce, and 
it is feared that wheat has suffered. No enow 
in these parts. Hay is scarce and worth fifteen 
dollars per ton ; potatoes are scarce at 40 cents; 
apples plenty at 25 to 30 cents; corn, 30 cents, 
and oats, 25 centB. There is some dairying 
done ou a small scale, but no extensive dairies 
in this part of the county. Cheese is worth 
lrom 14 to 16; butter, 20 to 25 cents, a. b. 
Utah, Glenwood, Sevier Co., December 1.— 
The Rural comes regularly to hand, and is 
cut open and each member of the family that 
is old enough to re id has a portion, one the 
story, another the correspondence from the 
cousins, and another, your humble servant, 
the chapters on fertilizers, &c., till it is pretty 
thoroughly read ; then it goes to the neighbors 
that have any interest in such things, The 
first six weeks of Autumn were very pleasant 
and a great deal of plowing was done ready 
for Spring sowing, most farmers believing 
that they realize from five to ten bnsheis of 
wheat per acre more when Fall plowed. The 
land is usually well irrigated first so as to 
soften the UDder crust. The frost works up 
the soil better when il is wet, and the stubble 
rots quicker. 
Wheat was about an average crop, and 
brings now 75 cents to $1. Oats and barley 
1 $ cent per pound. Corn was of a fair growth 
but a severe frost on the 19 h of August killed 
it outright. So with all tender vegetables. 
Our Dixie neighbors bring into our valley a 
good deal of dried apples, peaches, grapes, 
itec., and “Dixie wine,” which compares very 
favorably with California wine of 20 years ago. 
But why will people convert their grapes into 
wine when the juice might be made into deli¬ 
cious jelly. 
Fruit-tree labels seem to draw a good deal 
of attention now-a-dayB. The best arrange¬ 
ments lever found for distinguishing the kinds 
of fruit trees was to cut tbe initials into the 
bark of the tree with a sharp knife, as R. A. 
for Red Astrachan ; R. I. for Rhode Island 
greenings, &c.; it takes but an instant and 
can never be lost or misarranged. The best 
apple for drying I have found to he the Por¬ 
ter, giving about eight pounds of dried fruit 
to the bushel of 44 pounds ; Red Astrachan the 
poorest, only giving between three and four 
pounds. 
Of Smut in Corn : I manured a narrow strip 
of my garden with smutty chaff, and it was a 
“caution” how the smut appeared in the corn 
—planted on it—scarcely an car missed ; some 
balls were as large as one's head. The tassels 
were covered with smut, and it broke out in 
knots and 6trcaks all over the stalks. The 
corn adjoining was uninjired and showed no 
signs of this fungus. Does not this point to 
some unaccountable freaks in smut m wheat? 
It seems to me that the centrifugal plan of 
Beparatiug the cream from the milk is wrong 
in principle; we flod water in rapid motion 
carries sand, gravel, pieces of wood and even 
rocks and holds them there; but when it comes 
to rest, these articles drop to the bottom or 
float on top; why not the milk in motion hold 
the globules of cream in solution notwithstand¬ 
ing the centrifugal force that tends to sepa¬ 
rate them. It seems to me that subjecting 
the milk to a pressure of several atmospheres 
would compress the substance of the milk to 
a emaller compass and cefuse the globules of 
cream to me to the surface rather than suffer 
the pressure of the surrounding medium. The 
smaller globules, which vary in buoyancy in 
proportion to the cube of their diameters, 1 
presume would have a greater tendency to 
rise in a dense medium. 
I do not think that salt has any value 
as a fertilizer unless it is on land con¬ 
taining lime, which, we are aware, sepa¬ 
rates the elements of the salt, and forms 
nitrate of soda, taking the nitrogen from the 
atmosphere or other sources. I assure you 
I have plenty of salt in the soil of my home¬ 
stead hut 1 find no fertility in the soil till the 
salt has been dissolved out by constant water¬ 
ing and draining. In the north ol this Terri¬ 
tory, where there are mountains of limestone 
and the 6oil is full of such deposits or iu the 
form of lime cement, the soil is very rich and 
good for cereals aud vegetables, and the salt 
is replaced by soda; but in this county, 300 
miles south we have mountains of salt, gypsum, 
burnt granite, sugar stone etc , on the 
east side of the valley, and red and gray sand 
stone on the west. The land on the westslde is 
much richer than on the other. Wherever the 
Boil is red, it is good for grain. w m. c. 
Florida, Rock Ledge Home, Indian River, 
Nov. 25.—Being a subscriber to the World, has 
placed in my handB the liberal joint offer made 
for the two papers. My attention is particular, 
ly attracted by tho free offering of valuable 
seeds and plants. I happen to occupy a posi¬ 
tion which makes mo particularly desirous to 
possess all of the different growth to be had 
for testing their value in this new aud unde¬ 
veloped country. We have certaiuly the most 
delightful, genial, and healthful country known 
to man. Travelers say our climate Is much 
dryer aud more equable than that of Italy, and 
consequently more healthy. We have a deep, 
sandy loam, iu mauy instances, of a dark, 
snuff color, rich in decomposed vegctalle 
mould, and underlaid with decomposing shell, 
and coquina, with a dense growth of Live-Oak, 
hickory, hackherry, mulberry, marlhush, 
grapevines; and m special localities, the more 
tropical Indian rubber, gum-olimbo, break-ax- 
torchwood, wait-a-bit, iron-wood, palms, etc. 
The idea of extended areas of lands, hundreds 
