JUNE 42 
38© THE BUBAL NEW-YOBKEB. 
the 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
FUBLI8HED EVERY SATURDAY. 
CONDUCTED BY 
ELBERT S. CARMAN. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 34 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY, JUNE 12. 1880. 
A Request. —We would thank our far¬ 
mer readers if during the approaching 
harvest they would send us by mail any 
heads of wheat of new or little-known va¬ 
rieties which they may deem of special 
value. According to recent postal laws, 
the name of the variety and the name aud 
address of the sender may be written 
upon the envelope or box containing the 
article sent—a matter of importance to 
us, since we could not otherwise place 
them together, if many of our friends 
would comply with our request. Of 
course, we do not want out varieties, like 
Fultz, Clawson, Mediterranean, etc., 
etc., of which we have already presented 
engraviugs, while Jittl* that is not already 
well known can be said regarding them. 
We should also be pleased to receive any 
heads that are remarkable for'their size 
and weight. 
■-♦♦♦- 
Keeping ur with One’s Work. —We 
have never tried harder than during the 
present season to keep ahead of our 
work upon the farm, aud we have never 
been less successful. The mild winter 
was favorable for putting fill things in 
order, and for the accomplishment of 
much work that iu severer winters is 
necessarily left until early spring ; and 
we did not Dcglect the opportunities 
thus offered. Nevertheless, the drought 
through which wo have passed has thrown 
us so behind that the corn and potato 
fields—now that rain has come—are cry¬ 
ing out for cultivation. We are con¬ 
stantly advisingsystem, fore-handedness, 
promptness on the farm—and the advice 
is, no doubt, good—but really rain in 
excess, drought, frosts, insects, crippled 
horses, inability to procure extra labor 
when most needed, and other causes 
often make us feel like laughing to scorn 
our own advice. Still there is thiB con¬ 
solation that farmers who do all they can 
to keep up with or ahead of their work, 
are iu vastly better circumstances to bear 
with such drawbacks than those who are 
always behind. 
-- 
SHEEP HUSBANDRY INVESTIGATION. 
Among farm animals, in every country, 
the sheep has a prominent position. 
Meeting the vital human wants—food 
and clothing—“golden hoof” is also 
quite generally deemed essential to good 
husbandry to sustain the fertility of the 
soil. The present era is one of unusual 
interest in this branch of rural effort, 
from the recent revival of manufacturing, 
the variety of wool demanded, and the 
increasing home use aud foreign demand 
for line mutton. The business is iu a 
transition stat-e iu which place, soil, feed, 
skill, science and various circumstances 
aid in determining whether wool-grow¬ 
ing, lamb-raising, mutton-producing, or 
a combination of these specialties be pur¬ 
sued. 
General Walker, in his census work, 
has recognized this fact, and proposes a 
thorough investigation of the subject, 
which has been committed to Mr. J. R. 
Dodge, a recognized expert in this liue. 
The inquiry, in addition to the regular 
enumeration of sheep and fleeces, involves 
the distribution of breeds, the tendencies 
of breeding, the time and material of 
feeding and grazing seasons, the cost of 
keeping, the economics of lamb raising 
and mutton production, casualties aud 
their causes, diseases and their preven¬ 
tion. It is far more exhaustive than any 
statistical inquiry upon the subject here¬ 
tofore undertaken and demands the will¬ 
ing aud earnest co-operation of the most 
intelligent flock-masters in all parts of 
the country. Public spirit aud personal 
interest nnite in equal inducements to 
painstaking endeavor on the part of indi¬ 
viduals making these returns. The re¬ 
sult should be of incalculable advantago 
to the future of wool grow ing and meat 
making. It is beginning to be recognized 
that the entire business of stock growing 
is to bo based, in the future, on the 
strictest business methods and soundest 
scientiflc principles. 
-- 
HOW TO BEAUTIFY COUNTRY SCHOOL 
GROUNDS. 
Our school houses, taking them to¬ 
gether, are a disgrace to farmers and, in 
fact, to our civilization. The ornamenta¬ 
tion of country school grounds is a sub¬ 
ject which is being agitated by several of 
our horticultural societies. But the 
trouble seems to lie in the apathy of the 
farmers themselves, the very ones who 
are to be benefited through the refining 
influences that such ornamentation and 
the work attending it, secure to their 
sons and daughters. Is there no simple 
way of waking np the farmer to an ap¬ 
preciation of this ? The first steps in this 
direction need not involve any consider¬ 
able outlay of money, which, we take it, 
is the great Btumbling-block in the way 
of a beginning. When once fairly begun, 
we have a strong faith that the utility of 
the work would so commend itself even 
to those who, as Pres. Lyon expresses it, 
“begrudge a few feet of ground for an 
evergreen tree, because the same space 
might be profitably occupied by a potato 
hill,” that it would be vigorously con¬ 
tinued until the grounds about country 
schools were made, not only beautiful, 
but a means of imparting to the scholars 
lessons scarcely less valuable than those 
of arithmetic, writing, geography and 
grammar, to which country school in¬ 
structions are in the main confined. 
It has long been a matter of surprise to 
us that the study and cultivation of 
plants are not made a first consideration 
in country schools, since the pupils (or a 
majority of them) have to look to plaut- 
growiug as the basis of their future oc¬ 
cupation through life. Nor is it neces¬ 
sary that such studies should be more 
than elemeutary. Gray's first book iu 
botany (“How Plants Grow”) is a book 
that any pupil who is capable of learning 
elementary arithmetic, could easily un¬ 
derstand; and this studied in connection 
with a plot of ground for the cultivation 
of plauts from the seed, could hardly fail 
of giving that first insight into plant life, 
which in many cases—if not in all—would 
incite the apt Bcholar to diligent study in 
after years. 
Suppose that each school were to start 
with a bed ten feet square, and that each 
seasonable day an hour were devoted first 
to its preparation, then to planting the 
seeds, then to the care of the phuitB— 
then to the transplantation for the pur¬ 
pose of beautifying the school grounds. 
We are presuming now that only seeds 
of hardy perennial shrubs and trees or 
herbaceous plants were sown. For this 
purpose, is anything more needed than 
that the teacher should be instructed 
that that is a part of his duties? The 
seeds themselves would cost little—noth¬ 
ing. The RuKAii New-Yobker would be 
glad to distribute them without charge. 
In this way in three or four years the 
grounds of our naked-looking school- 
houses might be beautified with such 
handsome hardy plants as Weigelas, 
Deutzias, Berberries, Calliearpas, Caly- 
canthuses, Bush honeysuckles, Vibur¬ 
nums ; vines of various kinds, Yuccas, 
Phloxes, Irises. Cardinal llowers, Pop¬ 
pies ; magnolias, maples, catalpas and 
mauy others which are known to grow 
freely from seeds. The seeds of fruit trees 
might also be planted, which would soon 
give the stocks upon which any superior 
fruit of the neighborhood could be graft¬ 
ed, while the useful art of grafting or bud¬ 
ding might thus be taught. 
Is there auythiug very complex or vis¬ 
ionary about the above suggestions ? If 
so, tell ns what they are, friends, and 
suggest some more practical plan by 
which we may some day hope to enlighten 
our “town Superintendents aud district 
Boards,’' to the end that our farmers’ 
school-houses may be elevated at least to 
the aesthetic level of their barns. 
-- 
THE ARMY WORM. 
Its Appearance on I^ong Island (N. V.) 
In vast Numbers. 
Wheat, Itye ami Corn Fields Destroyed. 
The Entire Crops of the Island Threatened 
The following dispatch, under date of 
the 5th inst., 12 m, has been received 
from the Rural Farm : 
Five days ago we first noticed the 
Army-worm in our wheat. It has in¬ 
creased in numbers with marvelous ra¬ 
pidity. On the east side of the farm, one 
plot of wheat iH half destroyed, nothing 
but the stalks remaining. An adjoining 
piece of fodder corn is also attacked. 
They seem to show very little choice of 
food. In some parts of this fanq the 
grass and clover, and even all sorts of 
weeds, are alive with them. We have 
trodden upon a dozen at one stejj. In 
several respects they act like what is 
known as the cut-worm, burying beneath 
the surface soil, though only when the 
heat of the sun becomes intense, and 
cutting off and devouring all herbage 
before they take to the leaves of taller 
plants. They cannot endure heat. If, 
while feeding, the leaf and worm be 
carefully placed upon a post or other hot 
surface, it ceases eating and at once en¬ 
deavors to escape. It- drops to the 
ground if touched or disturbed. Hot 
weather would, therefore, be welcomed 
as offering some, and, indeed, so far as 
we can see, an only hope of arresting 
their havoc. Wo have instituted inqui¬ 
ries iu many parts of the Island. One re¬ 
port from Christian Hook says : “ Forty 
acres of rye devoured in 60 hours.” 
From the Oyster Bay region we learn 
that wheat, rye and corn are being de¬ 
stroyed rapidly. The farmers of the 
Island are in consternation and the out¬ 
look is sad imdeed. 
LATEST. 
Monday, Juno 7th., 10 a. m. 
Yesterday was favorable to the depre¬ 
dations of the Army-worm, being still 
aud overcast in the morning and cool iu 
the afternoon. Their destructive work 
of the day is very apparent. We have 
found hundreds under old, half-decayed 
rails. The largest are fully two inches 
in length. Some farmers are plowing 
trenches about the infested fields. It 
may be worthy of note that tho west half 
of the farm is free of them. Finding that 
the Army-worm is relished by poultry, 
we have confined our Hock in an acre 
field of young corn aud wheat, depriving 
them of their usual food. The sparrows 
are feasting upon the worms. They seem 
to be traveling North. They have also 
made their appearance in portions of 
Monmonth Co., N. J., iu vast numbers. 
They eat the leaves and beards of the 
wheat aud then go in qnest of other fields 
to conquer. Clover has there suffered 
comparatively little. After about a week’s 
destructive work they seem to disappear 
as mysteriously as they came. 
(Note.— Below we present our readers 
with life-sizeengravings of this destructive 
pest. At, a, is seen a very good illustra¬ 
tion of the worm or larva, though when 
well- fed it is considerably larger ; b, is 
the motli or fully-grown insect which 
lays the eggs from which the larva is 
hatched, and, e, is the same insect in the 
pupa state. This insect is known to en¬ 
tomologists under the name of Leueania 
unipuneta, and the larva is commonly 
ealledtlie Army-worm. This pest appears 
especially after hot, dry springs, as has 
fig. 207. 
been the case the present season. The 
worms then spring into existence sud¬ 
denly, as if by magic, and advance to then- 
work of destruction in countless multi¬ 
tudes. The moth is of a yellowish-drab 
color, with a small white dot near the 
center of each of its forewings, and a 
dusky oblique stripe at their tips. On the 
under-side the wings are paler and more 
glossy than above. It is a night- 
flyer, and deposits its eggs at night on 
blades of grass, iu April and early May. 
The eggs soon hatch and the worms be¬ 
gin their havoc. Tho larva, as stated 
above, sometimes grows to a length of 
two inches, though it iH generally smaller. 
It is of a dull gray color, with three yel¬ 
low lines on each side, the lowest one 
being the broadest and brightest. When 
full-grown they enter tho earth and 
assume the pupa state, in which condi¬ 
tion they are supposed to pass the win¬ 
ter.] 
-♦♦♦- 
BREVITIES. 
Breeding draft horses pays large profits to 
Western farmers aud they are at present the 
most profitable 6toek ol auy kind that cun be 
raised. 
Our South Carolina friend, Mr. S. Ott, 
writes us under date of May 24. “ The Rural 
Dourais doing finely aud getting its fifth and 
sixth leaves. 
Sift coal ashes through a Hour sieve. There 
is nothing better with which to mix London 
Purple, Paris-green, hellebore, etc., for the de¬ 
struction of potato beetles and other insect6. 
The Crystal Citt Strawberry, produced 
the first ripe fruit of the season, on June 1, at 
Clifton. Monroe Co., N. Y. as we learn from 
Mr. C. A. Green. The soil is clavey and sev¬ 
eral days later than the surrounding sands. 
It should be borne in mind that the next an¬ 
nual meeting of the American Association of 
Nurserymen and florists will be held in Chicago, 
commencing June Pith and continuing three 
days. For particulars address T. 8. Hubbard, 
Fredonia. N. Y. or D. W. Scott, Secretary, 
Galena, Ill. 
The American Drier Co. (Cbambersburg, 
Pa,) write ns under date June 1st. “ Our ad¬ 
vertisement with you is paying us well-veri/ 
well indeed, and among the best people. We 
ship three machines to-day, that we trace to 
our advertisement with you.” The italics are 
those of the -writer. 
“ Mrs. Strang" is the name of the first Golden 
Tricolor Pelargonium (Geranium) that hears 
double flowers. Mr. B. S. Williams, of Lon¬ 
don, informs us that they arc of a scarlet 
color, very double, while tho leaves are richly 
colored. We did not suppose that it was 
among the possibilities to combine the two. 
Mr. E. Williams, who is always ready to 
fiud out the truth of tilings by his own tests, 
writes us as follows: “Of 800 bug-eaten peas. 
80 germinated and appeared above ground. 
iSeventeen are now visible with little vitality. 
How different the case would have been had 
the seasou been less dry, deponent >aith not. 
Our esteemed contributor, Mr. W. I. Cham¬ 
berlain, bus been elected 8eeretary to the 
Ohio State Board of Agiicniture. The ap¬ 
pointment is all the more honorable in that 
the office came to him unsolicited, and we 
have no doubt but his manner of perform¬ 
ing its duties will justify the choice of the 
Board. 
We shall shortly begin a series of articles, 
aboutoue column in length, each week, on ‘‘The 
Dairy Cow,” how to breed, feed and take care of 
her, by that experienced dairyman Dr. Henry 
Stewart. We have uo doubt that, ihey will 
include a good deal of matter useful to our 
readers, especially to those who keep hut one 
cow. The articles will be illustrated. 
We are sorry to learn that the herd of cattle 
of our distinguished cor respondent, Dr. J. B. 
Lawes of ltothamsted, England, has suffered 
both from pleuro pneumonia uud anthrax. 
“ The chief pathological interest in this out¬ 
break," says Prof. J. Wortley Axe, “is the 
existence ol authrax and pleuro-imeumonia in 
the same herd, and even in the same animal at 
one and the same time." 
Dr. Lyon Playfair, the eminent Biitis-h 
chemist, iudorscs Mr. James Caird, the emi¬ 
nent British agricultural authority, in his 
opinion that British farmers, in view of Amer¬ 
ican competition, must to a great extent 
abandon the production of wheatand cheese in 
favor of more perishable products—just what 
the Rural New-Yorker said months ago, 
when It declared that ttie British farmer, must, 
ere long, become, a milkman, poultryman, or 
“ truck ” gardener. 
Jn open winters and in spring and autumn, 
in freezing and thawing weather, roads in the 
clay soils of the West often become next to 
impassible, and for weeks and sometimes for 
mouths, farmers cannot draw their produce to 
market, and thus often enffer heavy loss by 
keeping it on hand. The cheapest roads in 
the end are the macadamized. It lias been 
remarked by wise men: “Let the country 
make good roads and the roads will make the 
country"—and there is much of truth iu the 
adage. 
One of Lire most grievous charges iu the 
mouths of many against the Commissioner of 
Agriculture has been the smallness of his sal¬ 
ary. It is said that uo man of transcendent 
ability would work for $8,000 per annum; 
Gen. Le Due did work for $8,000 per annum, 
therefore- etc. We are glad to see that the 
Senate last week, in making appropriations 
for the Agricultural Department, lightened the 
load of opprobrium under which the Commis¬ 
sioner lias been suffering on account of the 
meagreueesof his stipend, by adding $1,000 to it. 
Last Thursday, June 8, ihe United States 
Senate passed by a laige majority, the clause 
iu tho Agricultural Appropriation Bill, ap¬ 
pointing a Commission of nine to investigate 
all Questions relating to agriculture, etc., so 
far as they relate to the enactment of a judi¬ 
cious tariff. In the discussion concerning 
the matter, Senator Eaton, of Connecticut, as 
one of the sticklers for the uiauutacturlng in¬ 
terests, said that were it not for the present 
tariff on wool, Connecticut could make woolen 
goods more cheaply than they are made iu 
England. Thereupon Senator Coke, of Texas, 
replied that if Mr. Eatou would join him in 
striking off the import duties on Itou and 
steel, he, as one ol the representatives of 
the Loud Star Suite and her wool, would 
vote to strike off tho duties on foreign wool. 
That assertion exemplifies the principle which 
tile farmers of tho country must maintain in 
this matter. They are heavy losers by the 
extra prices they have to pay for nearly all 
home-made goods, on uecotuit of the shutting 
out of foreigu competition in our markets by 
a protective and often a prohibitory tariff. 
Among the few products ol their own, the pro¬ 
duction of which is fostered by the tariff, wool 
holds probably the moBt prominent place. If 
this stimulus to the piodnctton of wool among 
us Is weakened by the lowering of the import 
duties on foreign rivals, then must the agri¬ 
cultural classes insist that, as a part of the 
benefit they derive from the tariff has bceu 
taken from them, a part of the disadvantages 
they suffer from it shall also Im removed. If 
the protectionists of our manufactures are 
anxious to make thousands ol agricultural 
voters converts to Free Trade, let them go 
ahead In their efforts to injure tho sheep hus¬ 
bandry of the country by cutting down the 
taxes on foreign wools in the Interests of their 
pet manufacturers. Hitherto Um growers aud 
manufacturers of woo) have acted generally 
in unisou, and it wiJI not be to the ultimate 
benefit of tflo latter to aid iu injuring the 
former, by supporting auy modification of the 
present tariff on wool. 
