JULY 34 
THE RURAL 
^EW-YORKER 
494 
worm, and the plant having been largely in¬ 
vigorated by the application. This is a cheap 
and easy remedy, and I giye it second hand for 
what it is worth, as I have just tried it myself 
and also used the same dose on some cucum¬ 
ber vines that are struck with the blight, 
throwing the ashes to the roots of the vines 
now in full bearing. This was done about 
three days ago, and the blight has stopped. 
I shall give it a thorough trial, and will report 
again the results. a. c. 
Ohio, Camden, Preble Co., July 19.—We are 
having a line rain to day after a dry month 
which was fine for securing our harvest. 
Thrashing-machine men tell me that wheat 
averages about 15 bushels per acre. Hay 
is light. Oats were injured by rust and 
did not fill up well. Flax appears good; none 
thrashed yet; cannot say how it will yield. 
w. M. 
Ohio, Mulberry Corners, Geauga Co.—I re¬ 
ceived ten cuttings of Salix peutandra; set 
them March 24 in a rather damp location and 
a rich soil. To-day seven are over three feet 
high; two are 15 inches and one is dead. The 
nine look well; leaves, a rich dark green, and 
from four to five inches long, shining above, 
and edges serrate; very handsome. h b. 
Oregon, Tangent, Linn Co.—The prospect 
for the wueat crop is good, about an average 
for both Fall and Spring sowing. The varie¬ 
ties for Winter are Golden Chaff, Clawson 
and White Winter. ForSpriug Bowing we use 
Club, White Chili and Sonora. Not enough 
corn is grown to be of any consequence. Of 
potatoes and oats we have plenty for home use. 
Rye is not raised here. There is enough barley 
for local brewers. Sorghum is on trial. Fruit 
crops are about an average. Apples: Mon¬ 
mouth or Red Cheek Pippin. All plums dr 
well. Cherries and all of the small fruit 
thrive here. r. t. a. 
Oregon, Willsboro, Washington Co., July 
10.—Corn, rye, barley are raised hero only in 
small quantities. Wheat will be 35 per cent 
better than last year. Oats will be over an 
average. The acreage of wheat, oats and 
potatoes is 10 per cent, increase over last year, 
and the prospects for these crops and fruit 
are excellent. A fine rain is now falling. This 
is for Washington county. No sorghum. 
t. w. T. 
Pa., Hornbrook, Bradford Co., July 13th. 
—I have just finished the wheat harvest; 
crop good, but straw so short I could not bind 
it. Oats an average crop and about ready to 
harvest here on the river. I plauted one acre 
to Blount’s White Prolific corn; it is now six 
feet tall. Corn is looking well uDd bids fair 
for a good crop. About the same amount was 
planted as last year. Potatoes are looking 
fine, and promise a good crop. My Beauty of 
Hebron potatoes are very fine. I am digging 
them for market now. They are ten days 
earlier than the Early Rose, planted at the 
same time and treated in the same way. The 
cow-peas sent by the Rural are looking fine; 
they look more like beans than peas. Grass is 
a short crop, owing to the dry weather in the 
latter part of May and first part of June. Pas¬ 
turage is now good and cows are doing belter. 
Butter is profitable here; buyers are paying 
20c. at the present time for good fresh tub. 
Tne fruit crop is short, but uot a total failure. 
1 shall have apples, peaches, grapes, etc., for 
my own use. Strawberries are a short crop. 
The Wilson’s Albauy takes the lead here. The 
Black Caps are a good crop. Doolittle takes 
the lead. Su aw berries sold from 10 to 20e. per 
quart; Black Caps from eight to 12c. per 
quart, j. t. 
Penn., Mt. Jackson, Lawrence Co., July 13. 
—The weather has been wet lor three weeks. 
We have a good wheat crop. Oats also are 
fine. Of barley and rye not much is grown. 
No sorghum is raised here. We do not expect 
over one-third of a crop of fruit. Of apples 
the best varieties here are Peek’s Pleasant, 
Northern Spy, R. 1. Greening, English Rarnbo, 
Russet, Baldwin. K. j. pj 
Texas, Caldwell, Burleson Co., July 13th.— 
Wheat is always a small crop here. Only about 
oueiu teu sow auy; variety, the Nicaragua. 
There is a little experimenting with other 
bearded kiuds, with poor success, however. 
Yield about 10 bushels per acre. Crop good 
this year. Corn is simply maguifleeut lor 30 
miles around here—White Shoe-peg, Gourd- 
seed, Flint, in limited quantities, yellow, ditto. 
A greut deal is grown of a variety of Gourd- 
seed called Strawberry. The White Shoe-peg 
and Gourd seed are the favorites; all produce 
about equully well. Upland in this county will 
yield 25 bushels; creek and river bottoms, 75 
bushels on the average. Exceptional uplands 
will yield 40 bushels, and bottoms, 100. Two- 
fifLhs of the arable laud Iu the county are m 
corn. So far our eottou is doing better than it 
has before in this county In ten yours; j ust 
enough rain; just enough sun; just enough 
work, and the plant is perfectly healthy, A 
little over half of our cultivated land is In cot¬ 
ton. Improved Shupoeh takes the lead, occu¬ 
pying seven-eighths of the land devoted to 
cotton, Dixon occupies one-sixteenth; the bal¬ 
ance is taken up with experimental kinds just 
being introduced. Picking will commence 
about July 20th regularly. Cotton is now 
opening. Nearly everybody has laid by his 
cotton, Corn was laid by three weeks ago. 
The yield of cotton will depend on what may 
turn up in the next two months. The princi¬ 
pal foes of the crop are drought and worms. 
However, but little rain is needed from this on. 
Too much rain after this, starts top growth aud 
iuviles the worm. The pest is 40 miles below 
here now in small numbers. If no accident 
befalls the crop, experts say the county wiil 
average over three-quarters of a bale to the 
acre. Potatoes, Irish, ouly just a few are 
grown for the table use for three or four 
weeks—Early Rose and Goodrich; both are 
well liked and yield, I think, ai the rate of 
about 350 bushels per acre. (!) The crop was all 
made one month ago. We buy all our seed 
North. Sweet potatoes! Now the children 
are all attention. We could not do without 
them. They are food, medicine and sweet¬ 
meat ail in one. The beet is a small, deep- 
yellow yam weighing half a pound; next the 
Brazilian yam, one pound in weight; then the 
Cuba yam, the largest and coarsest of all, 
weighing three to six pounds—average yield 
175 bushels per aere. The Cuba yam is very 
early. Oats are perfectly at home in this part 
of Texas; perhaps about one-twentieth of the 
cultivated land in the county is in oats. The 
crop is increasing in importance each year. 
They are Sown almost entirely on upland. In 
this county they were injured a little by chinch 
bugs this year ; otherwise they are very good— 
average yield, over 60 bushels ; It has been in 
past years as high as 75 bushels; kiuds, ReU 
Rust-proof, almost entirely with a lew of the 
Little black which have partly failed iu some 
localities. Rye and barley are as well suited 
to this place us oats; but for some reason there 
are scarcely 50 acres of each iu the county. 
Tne prospects for fruit were never worse. Tne 
warm spells in Winter followed by sudden 
'‘northers,” seem to have weakened the vilall- 
ity of the trees, especially of pears. There is 
no Crop of these or of apples, cherries or 
quinces, aud only a very few peaches, necta- 
liues and cultivated plums. Wild plums are 
in abuudauee. All peuchos do well in a favor¬ 
able season, aud nearly all the fine kinds are 
planted iu this county and produce large, 
sweet, and juicy fruit. Figs also do well aud 
bid lair to produce a heavy crop. Some semi- 
tropical fruits are raised by a very few, but they 
are merely costly curiosities. Except figs and 
peaches, all other fruits, so far as I now re¬ 
member, are eostlj' experiments. i>. h. h. 
Texas, Areola, Fort Bend Co., July 17.— 
There are only three crops grown here for 
market and they are known here as C. C. C., 
Cotton, Corn and Cane. The corn crop is very 
fine and will yield fully 60 bushels per acre. 
The cane is the fiuest that ever has been raised 
iu this country and will yield fully two hogs¬ 
heads of sugar per aere. The cotton crop is 
very fine and at present is fully two weeks iu 
advance of last year; but cotton is a crop that 
is good to-day and to morrow ruined. The 
acreage in these three crops is fully 10 per 
cent, over that of last year. The Cotton worm 
has made its appearance generally; but has 
done no damage yet. We are going to give 
the Loudon-purple a trial. Potatoes, sweet and 
Irish, arc only raised for home consumption. 
01 fruit there is uoue here to speak of. What 
peaches are here are only trash. v. w. p. 
Texas, Meguel, Frio Co., July 14.—This 
country is almost entirely devoted to stock— 
cattle, sheep and horses in the order named, 
all of which are doing well. Some corn and 
cotton have* been plauted, however, but they 
promise small returns iu this part of western 
Texas on account of the continued drought. 
T. J. E. 
Washington Ter., Alpowa, Columbia Co., 
July 11.—Wheat is the principal crop here, 
and the harvest will be late and light. Oats 
will be a medium yield and potatoes a full 
crop. Rye is uot cultivated, and corn only 
sparingly so. Barley does well aud yields 
abundantly. Chili Club is the principal va¬ 
riety of wheat. No sorghum is successfully 
grown hero. Apples, pears, plums, cherries, 
peaches, apricots, giapes and all the small 
fruits grow well and produce abundantly. 
There will be an abundance of fruit this year 
except peuehe6, n. a. w. 
Wash. T’y, Seattle, King Co., July 9.—I am 
just opeuiug up a farm teu miles from, town, 
working like a beaver, early aud late, very 
seldom go to town or have an opportunity to 
learn just how crops are doing. 1 hear, how¬ 
ever, that wheat, oats, potatoes and barley are 
doing well. Rye is not grown to auy extent 
heio. Sorghum is not raised and but very 
little corn. Fruits of all kinds are promising 
better than ever. The following varieties, as 
near as 1 can learn, are best here. Apples :— 
Red Astrachan, Early Harvest, Si miner Bell¬ 
flower, Graveusteiu, Twenty Ounce, Yellow 
Ne.vtowu Fippiu, SpiUouburgh, Swaar, Blue 
Pearmuin, Westfield Seek-no-Further. Piums: 
— Peach, Washington, Jefforsou, Prune 
d’Ageu. Cherries :—May Duke, Anne, Black 
Tartarian, Black Republican. Pears:—Early 
Madeleine Bartlett, Beurre d’Anjou, Clapp’s 
Favorite. Fall pears: Winter Nelis. Peaches 
will not amount to anything this year on ac¬ 
count of “ curled leaf.” e. l. l. 
Wis., East Troy, Walworth Co., July 12 — 
Winter wheat that was sown early is looking 
splendid ; it is thought by many that It will 
yield from 30 to 35 bushels. Five or six limes 
as much land was sown as usual. The variety 
mostly raised is White Russian. Not a9 much 
spring wheat as usual was 60 wn—Lost Nation. 
Corn is looking fine, principally Dent-. Potatoes 
are good. Oats are a good crop. Rye fair. 
Of barley uot much is grown here. Sorghum 
is uot much grown iu this vicinity. There is 
a prospect of a good crop of Apples—Red 
Astrachan, Fall Orange, Fameuse, Willow 
Twig, Talman’s Sweet. h. a. t. 
<J(r 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
The Striped Blister Beetle. 
J. R. A., Williamson, N. Y .; F. 0. Castle- 
Ion, N. Y., aud many others, too numerous to 
mention, Lave sent us specimens of a long, 
slim, striped insect till our sanctum is littered 
with small packages and striped bugs confront 
us whichever way we turn. All want to know 
the name of this numerous individual with the 
striped coat, aud all complain that he devours 
potato tops at a rate and with a relish that 
completely outdoes the Colorado beetle, while 
at the same time he does not despise inangel- 
wurzels and other vegetables that happen to 
be at hand. 
Ans.— Thi6 insect, which just now is causing 
so much anxiety, is the Striped Blister beetle, 
or the Lytta vittata of entomologists. It ap¬ 
pears to be very destructive in many parts of 
the country, especially in New York, and if is 
also troublesome at the Rural Farm. It is a 
Southern species, and it is seldom that it ap¬ 
pears in great numbers 60 far north as is the 
case this year. The beetle is shown in figure 
245. It belongs to the family Meloidte, many 
members of which are de¬ 
structive to vegetation. The 
female lays her eggs in the 
ground in July: these soon 
hatch and the young larva? are 
said to feed upon the eggs of 
grasshoppers. There is but 
one brood a year. The beetles 
seem to have a preference for 
fig. 246 . potatoes and tomatoes, but 
they also feed on mangels, beets, carrots 
and many other vegetables. Paris-green 
would kill them, but they are more sensi¬ 
tive than the Colorado beetle, and will sub¬ 
mit to a less powerful remedy. A good dust¬ 
ing of plaster or ashes is sufficient to keep 
them off. It has also been recommended 10 
scatter straw between the rows of potatoes and 
put fire to it. The quick burning of the sti aw 
will not injure the potatoes while the beetles 
will fly up, get caught in the flames and 
perish. 
Buckwheat Culture. 
J. W. S., Owensboro, Ky., asks all about 
buckwheat culture ; the kind of land suitable 
for it, how much to sow per acre, aud the prob¬ 
able average yield. 
Ans. —Buckwheat completes its growth rap¬ 
idly, and when grown for the seed it is time 
enough to sow it iu July in the North aud iu 
July and August in the South. In your lati¬ 
tude it should be sown at once. It is peculiar 
in the fact that it w ill thrive on any kind of 
soil, though, of course, it docs better on a rich 
soil than upon a poor soli. It is generally 
sown broadcast, about one bushel of 6oed per 
aere. The yield varies very much, about 30 or 
35 bushels per aere are cousidered a fair crop. 
The seed ripeus very uueveuly, and if it is not 
cut it will coutiuue to blossom until killed by 
frost; the crop should, therefore, be harvested 
as soon as the first seed is ripe, otherwise it 
will fall off aud be wasted. It is tied and 
shocked like otner grain, and thrashed when 
dry. Buckwheat has the reputation of being 
able to subdue the hardesl and toughest kind 
of soil, overrun with weeds and u~fit lor cul¬ 
tivation. On this account it is oiten raised 
for a year or two on wild laud before It is at¬ 
tempted to grow any thing else upon it. But this 
redeeming quality is offset by its very exhaus¬ 
tive properties. It exhausts the soil greatly, 
aud crops that are to follow it should, there¬ 
fore, be liberally mauured. 
smut iu Wheat. 
W. F. N., Burbank, 0 , asks what is the 
cause of smut in wheat, and whether it can be 
prevented. 
Ans.—S mut Is a fungus scientifically known 
usUredo caries, which attacks the grains of 
wheat, and causes them to enlarge abnormally 
and form blackened fungoid masses. The pre¬ 
ventive consists iu killing the spores in the 
seed wheat, which is done by steeping it in a 
strong brine, or iu a solution of sulphate of 
copper (blue vitriol). This is best done as fol¬ 
lows : Dissolve a pound of this material in a 
couple of gallons of hot water, pour the solu¬ 
tion into a tub and add three or four more 
gallons of water. Then place a basket in the 
liquid and turn the wheat slowly into it. Chaff, 
chess and light imperfect grains of wheat will 
float on the top and should be skimmed off. 
Let it soak for twenty minutes or half au hour, 
then lift the basket and spread the seed on the 
floor. Here Biftsome lime or plaster over the 
seed to dry it and then sow it at once. This 
process kills the spores, and the crop will, in 
most instances, be entirely free from smut, it 
has often been proved by direct experiment 
that if there Is smut in the seed wheat, it re¬ 
produces Itself in abundance in the crop. 
The Onion Fly. 
J. C. R., Belmont, ftova Scotia, says that a 
small maggot or worm eats the tops of onions 
there, close to the bulbs, and asks for a 
remedy. 
Ans. —This destroyer is the maggot or larva 
of the onion fly, Anthomyia Ceparum. The fly 
deposits the eggs upon the leaves of the onion 
while the plants are still young ; the eggs soou 
hatch and the maggots crawl down between 
the leaves where they at once commence to 
absorb the juices, and after a short lime the 
plant turns yellow and ceases to grow. Many 
remedies have been tried, but none so far have 
proven of any value. Plants oucoAllected are 
doomed to destruction. Tne best Ihiug is to 
reduce the number of insects by pulling up and 
burniug the sick plants. We have received 
many complaints of the onion fly this season. 
Urape-Kot. 
I). S., Tipton, Montana, asks for some rem¬ 
edy or preventive of grape rot. 
Ans. —Neither cause nor remedy for this 
disease has so far been discovered. Like the 
pear olightand yellows it has baffled all efforts 
to discover the cause. Those who have given 
the subject much thought aud investigation 
conclude that it is not a disease inhei ent in the 
vine, nor is it due to peculiarities of soil and 
cultivation, but ratber to atmospheric condi¬ 
tions over which the cultivator cau have no 
control. Old, strong growing vines are most 
liable to be attacked, and the rot seems gen¬ 
erally to start in a season of wet and sultry 
weather, and is most destructive in places 
where this state of the atmosphere occurs fre¬ 
quently. This is all that at present is known 
about the causes of gtape rot. There is no 
known remedy. 
Miscellaneous. 
& A. X., asks. 1, do bots ever kill horses by 
eating through the coating of the stomach; 
2. why are not bicycles more generally used 
for traveling; 3. will pa?onies blossom next 
year if transplanted now. 
Ans. —It is the nearly unanimous opinion of 
veterinarians that bots are comparatively 
harmless, except when they accumulate in 
great numbers. A few cases have been noted, 
however, when owing to a morbid condition of 
the stomach to which they have been attached, 
the bots were so incommoded that in order 
to escape they perforated the walls of the 
stomich, allowing the fluids to escape into the 
abdomen, when death was sure to follow. But 
even in the few cases where a post-mortem ex¬ 
amination showed them in this position, some 
veterinarians deny that the fatal injury to the 
stomach was wrought by them, inaiutainiug 
that it was due to other causes. 2 Cost of 
bicycle, difficulty of learning to ride, and bad 
roads are doubtless among the chief causes, 
8. Yes. ‘ 
M. E. S-, Fulton, N. T\, says:—Please tell 
me the name of the contents of a box sent with 
this." 
Ans.— A little box containing a single head 
of wheat has been received, bearing no deci¬ 
pherable marks of any kind by wnich we could 
identify it as coming from M. E. S. The vari¬ 
ety is English Square Head. 
J. B. II., Johnson's Junction, Ky., sends a 
flower for name. 
Ans. —This seems to be Aselepias tuberosa, 
familiarly called Pleurisy Root and Butterfly 
Weed. It is a showy, beautiful flower, is cul¬ 
tivated for ornament in many parts of the 
woild, aud would be heie if it were not a 
“weed.” • 
A. C., Chenoa, III., sends a specimeu of 
grass which has sprung up thereabouts for the 
last couple of years ; stock don't like it, and 
it is considered a pest, and the name of it is 
wanted. 
Ans.— It is Squirrel-tail grass —Hordeum 
jubatum. 
--- ♦ » 
COJtMUNICATlONS RECEIVED FOR THE WEEK KND1NU 
Saturday, July 24th. 
O. C. A.—A. E. G.—H. A. R.—Fire-fly—O. C.— 
J. H—H. W. H.—W. J. B.-J. W. B.-S. W. J.— 
“Ivy.”—11. L. W.-s. K. M.-F. H. 8.-A. W. 0. - 
“Clinton,” box net yet (Will) received—U G —VY. 
B.-E. S. S.—W. J. C-L H. U.—A. L.—J. M., 
thanks.—D. H. H —“Ermeugarde.”—W, M.—T. 
W. T.-N. A. W.—G. W. 8.—E. W. B.-J. B. W.— 
A. C.-R. L. S.—T. 1. E.-M. L. S.-Al. B. H.- Mrs. 
J. E. McN.—Miss L. D.—August.— A. B. A.—T. M, 
- R. J. Il.-N. O,—T. H. H.—It. P.—G. P.—N, C.— 
E. W.-U. A. T.—8. O.-J. M. M.-B. F. J.—C. R. 
D.—A. W.-N. R. 
