OCT. 9 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
are large like the Concord and the vine thrifty. 
When offered for sale, this grape, possessing, 
as it does, both size and quality, must com¬ 
mend itself to the public taste. 
In speaking of potatoes, I had almost for¬ 
gotten to mention the White Elephant, a plate 
of six of which was placed among the seedling 
display. I should havesaid/tcoplates, since two 
were required to hold them. These were the 
largest potatoes exhibited, each one equaling 
the size of the cut in your Fair Number. It 
happened (when their merits were being dis¬ 
cussed) that a lady was standing by who had 
eaten several of the White Elephants which 
had been sent to her by one of the editors of 
the Rural. She pronounced them, notwith¬ 
standing their size, of excellent quality. 
The lloricultural display was beautiful in 
detail and in arrangement, occupying the en¬ 
tire space allotted to it and, in fact, crowding 
other departments. It well deserves a special 
report to itself, which I am aware, at this time 
of fair reports from all parts of the country, 
your space would not permit. The pomologi- 
cal exhibit was also full and well worthy of 
extended remark. It was very evident here as 
elsewhere that fruit of all kinds had ripened 
considerably earlier than in average seasons. 
The Rural tent, which was pitched in the 
midale of the grounds, served not only as the 
headquarters of the Rubai, family, but as a 
convenient resting place for many personal 
friends and inquiring strangers. The vener¬ 
able proprietor of the Rural New-Yorker 
and his wife (the father and mother of its edi¬ 
tor) now between 70 and 80 years old, were 
“ keeping house,” and as hale and happy as 
their children and grand-children who flocked 
about them. Such references perhaps may not 
here be in place, but I may be pardoned for ex¬ 
pressing the hope that they may yet long live to 
enjoy the marked effect which their Experi¬ 
ment Farm, and the Rubai, New-Yobkek 
are exerting upon the agriculture of our 
country. Major. 
—- ♦ » » - 
NEW JERSEY STATE FAIR. 
(Rural Special Report.! 
This fair was held at Waveriy from Sept. 
20 to 27. The attendance was very large 
throughout, and the fair a complete success 
financially considered. With a few things 
corrected by the officers of this society, the 
New Jersey fair might rank among the fore¬ 
most of those of her sister States, and perhaps 
outstrip some of them in point of attendance. 
Officers of this associaton, as well as some oth¬ 
ers, will soon be taught that an agricultural 
State fair is a place for farmers to exhibit their 
products and to gain information from their 
neighbors’ exhibits, and not a place for all 
classes of fakirs, side-show-men and horse 
trotting, and the sooner this les&on is learned 
and appliea, the sooner will more of our intel¬ 
ligent and progressive farmers become inter¬ 
ested in these meetings and aid in their ad¬ 
vancement. 
The show of poultry was particularly notice¬ 
able and the exhibits fine iu every class, the 
breeds being Asiatics, Hamburgh, Spanish, 
American, Polish, French and Bantams. The 
attractions in this department were increased 
by the exhibition of an artificial hen engaged 
in hatching chicks by the dozen. The compe¬ 
tition on cattle was confined to the State of 
New Jersey alone; but the exhibits in Jerseys, 
Ayrshires, Devons, Short-horns, Herefords, 
Holsteins, as well as the show of natives and 
grades, were fine, and did credit to the ex¬ 
hibitors. 
There was also a very fine display of agricul¬ 
tural implements, and while the variety and 
number were not so large as at the New York 
and some other State Fairs, still the exhibits 
were good, and the exhibitors present found 
many purchasers for their machinery and im¬ 
plements. A Western Plow Co. more ambiti¬ 
ous than some of their Eastern competitors, 
believing that New Jersey farmers are in¬ 
terested in improvements made in plows as 
well as in other implements, exhibited, through 
their general agent, a full line of plows, from 
a single-horse to a three-horse plow, and dur¬ 
ing the Fair sold over a car-load to;New Jersey 
farmers. This fact not only shows that the 
plow was popular, but that the farmers of New 
Jersey are keeping up with this age of pro¬ 
gress. R. H. Allen «fc Co., of New York, had 
a full line of the agricultural implements and 
machinery of which they are the manufactur¬ 
ers and general agents, and this was an im¬ 
portant feature of the exhibition. 
Mb. A. M. Forrester. exhibited the Belle 
City Feed Cutter, made by David Lawton, 
Racine, Wis. This machine is simple in con¬ 
struction and very strongly and durably built. 
It cuts four lengths of chaff, varying in length 
from one-third of an inch to two inches, 
and the change is made without taking off or 
putting on extra wheels. By a simple device 
the operator can stop and reverse the rollers, 
in case of accident, or when a piece of iron or 
wood gets into the machiue. Both first pre 
miums for hay and fodder cutters were award¬ 
ed to this machine at the Pennsylvania State 
if air, Sept. 1880; and also the first premium at 
he New Jersey State fair. o. b. b. 
riratiftt autr istful 
SIGNIFICANCE OF ACTIVE NITROGEN 
FOR GRAIN. 
PROFESSOR F. H. STOBEH. 
The importance of active nitrogenous man¬ 
ure for the cereals and the capacity of legumin¬ 
ous crops to thrive without nitrogenous fertiliz¬ 
ers, on fairly good land, are well illustrated by 
some field experiments of Professor Heiden, at 
Pommritz, in Saxony, In so far as the pres¬ 
ent statement is concerned, these experiments 
prove nothing new. The facts they illustrate 
have been known for many years. But there 
is never any harm in looking at such facts 
occasionally from new points of view, and the 
well-known accuracy of Professor Heiden as 
an investigator gives special value to his re¬ 
sults and insures for them a permanent place 
in agricultural literature. In these experi¬ 
ments crops were grown during nine consecu¬ 
tive years, both on land that received no 
manure and on land that was manured re¬ 
peatedly with sulphate of ammonia. The ex¬ 
periments were made on newly broken, heavy, 
strong soil which had resulted from the disin¬ 
tegration of granitic rock. Each of the plots 
measured one square Saxon rod (18.44 square 
metres). Upon the plot which was manured, 
1,001 grammes of sulphate of ammonia were 
distributed and worked in with the utmost 
care at the intervals recorded in the table. 
During the year 1868 the plots were spaded 
four times but nothing was sown upon them. 
The. subsequent cropping will appear from the 
table. The weights of the crops obtained are 
given in grammes, as stated by ProL sBor 
Heiden. Inasmuch as the figures have no 
value excepting as they serve to compare the 
results one with another, there is no incentive 
to change them to their equivalents in pounds 
and ounces. 
Crop 
Grown. 
-i cr 
• a 
Aiu'tn 
! Harvested, 
Manure used. 
£. 
CjS.* 
Oa ts. 
Oats. 
Oats. 
Vetches. 
Rye 
Clover. 
Rye. 
Peas. 
Rye. 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1878 
1878 
187-1 
1876; 
1876 j 
1877 
(No manure.. 
Sulphate of 
(piled in 1868. 
.No manure., 
Sulphate of 
/piled In 1868. 
. No manure . 
oSulphate of 
/plied In 1871. 
No manure.. 
.’Hulidiato uf 
/plied in 1872. 
(No manure.. 
.’Sulphate of 
(plied in 1878. 
.No manuro,. 
■'Sulphate of 
(plied in 1873. 
iNo manure.. 
Sulphate of 
/plied in 1873. 
lNo manure.. 
•;Sulphate of 
/plied in 1873. 
kNo manure.. 
.Sulphate of 
/plied in 1877. 
..•..| 820 2,090 
Ammonia ap- 
.! 3.090 5,885 
•.•,. 89 320 
Ammonia ap. 
. 89 322 
v.i. 107 523 
Ammonia up- 
.I 5,287 9,185 
... 1,868 6,399 
Ammonia ap- 
. 2,233 7,214 
... 825 2,523 
Ammonia ap-i 
.I 4,298 13.522 
12,472 
Ammonia ap 
Ammonia ap- 
Ammonia ap. 
Ammonia ap- 
3.942 
1,595 3,730 
1.190 
4,220 
2,035 
970 
8,380 
2.643 
7,030 
6,700 
1,902 
10.568 
The importance of the nitrogenous manuring 
for the oats and the rye is most conspicuously set 
forth, as well as the comparative indifference 
of the leguminous crops, viz., the.vetches, the 
clover, and the peas. Oue interesting feature 
is the good work done in 1809 by the sulphate 
of ammonia which was applied in 1808; and 
another iB the absolute inefficiency of this old 
manuring in the year 1870, which appears, 
however, to have been an unfavorable season, 
anyway. In noting the better yield of clover 
from the uumanured land in 1874, and of peas 
in 1870, it is to be remembered that the soil of 
the unmanured plot had been leas strongly 
cropped in previous years than that which had 
been manured. It is the special merit of the 
active nitrogenous fertilizers ihat they enable 
grain to put to profit the natural strength of 
the soil more fully than would be done without 
their aid. 
Hisccllaiwous. 
STRENGTH OR FASHION IN WAGON 
WHEELS. 
A man brings his wheels to a smith and 
says: “ Now, I don’t want you to dish those 
wheels," “All right,” says the smith, and he 
sets the tire, and in a few weeks they need 
setting again, because they were not put on 
tight enough, so that the person who wants 
his wheels kept in the fashion has to pay for 
it. The same is the case with axles on light 
wagons. The wagon is brought to the wheel¬ 
wright, and the owner says ; “ The axles on 
this wagon are straight (or • bent down,’ as the 
case may be,) wouldn’t they be stronger if 
bent up?” In reality what he means is, 
“Wouldn’t they be more fashionable ?” but he 
doesn't like to say it out. The polite reply, ot 
course, is “ Yes," and the axle is weakened in 
accordance with the fashionable mode. When 
the front axle of a light wagon is bent up, 
and the shafts are attached near the wheels, 
when the horse starts, especially if he does so 
suddenly, it has a tendency to turn the axle 
over and break the reach; whereas, if the 
axle were straight, or bent down a little, it 
would not act so. Again, as soon as the axle 
begins to “give down,” if bent up, it gets 
longer and longer, and consequently tends to 
break the bed pieces. On the other hand, 
if originally straight or bent down, it tends 
to pull the frame together, especially if 
it touches the collar, as it should. Yet the 
majority of wagon makers seem to think the 
axle stronger if bent up wards, and, of course, 
most of the public follow the opinion of these; 
but who has ever seen a whittle-tree pulled 
against the crook ? w, V. 
--- 
VARIOUS NOTES. 
I Rise for Information. 
Will some oue please tell me the value of a 
$40 phosphate on a soil receiving sufficient 
water to dissolve its soluble parts ? Having 
that little matter settled, will the same or an¬ 
other pei son tell me the value of a $40 phos¬ 
phate on a soil which receives only halt 
enough water, and also upon one which re¬ 
ceives no water. I have a faint suspicion that 
there is a money value in water, and the re¬ 
plies to the above will help to determine it. I 
read that all a soil needs to make it produce a 
crop is manure ; I do not read anything upon 
the manner of applying it, or any suggestion 
that water per se is at all requisite, I read 
that old Ben Franklin, when he set sawdust 
pudding before his guest, was considerate 
enough to have it moist, and also provided 
water as a solvent, probably thinking that 
the joke would be loo dry. Is it not the driest 
of jokes to inform ub that we must apply A w 
PmNsoWqo, andueversay "water” once, unless 
the last term in the above formula indicates 
that two negatives make an affirmative ? 
It seems as if we must trust to luck for 
water, and as “no water, no crop,” so after 
all the chemicals, we depend upon luck for the 
croji. If that is the case, why go to the ex¬ 
pense and trouble of applying any fertilizer ? 
Here we come round to the starting point 
again. If water is so important, so absolutely, 
vitally necessary, why not at least hint in 
strong terms that to get back our $40 and our 
labor, and a little more as a profit, we must 
arrange some artificial mode of watering our 
chemicals, or we shall lose our labor and oar 
pains ? 
How many farmers buy manure, meet with 
a dry season, lose faith and fall back into the 
old dry rut ? Now the wav out of all this is, 
to irrigate, ou a small scale at first, and with 
the profits of the first year (which are as sure 
as taxes) enlarge, and ever after make money. 
Deist ruction or Jiuecia. 
The salt question is always on the carpet, 
and while it is very certain that salt is not 
a manme, it is equally certain that its applica¬ 
tion is a decided benefit. The retardation and 
often complete ruin of crops by insect depre¬ 
dations is well known, but is uot at all appre¬ 
ciated to its full extent. Salt can act in but 
three ways beneficially. It attracts moisture, 
and hence is useful in dry seasons: it drives 
away insects and, therefore, is useful in all 
seasons; and when thoroughly dissolved by 
heavy rains, it acts by assisting inert or insol¬ 
uble material to become fit for plant food. 
The first mode is a slight gain, not enough 
though to pay for the salt; the second is very 
valuable, paying for the salt and trouble of 
application from 10 to 100 times over, accord¬ 
ing to the prevalence and destructiveness ot the 
insects ; the third mode is of but little value be¬ 
cause insolubles are generally proof against its 
feeble action. If we sum up the gain from the 
three modes of action, we perceive such a 
very decided gain, that one fair trial is suf¬ 
ficient to convince the most skeptical. The 
only danger is in an excess, but as five bushels 
per acre will do no harm, the danger is not likely 
ever to be alarming, as few farmers can afford 
to waste salt anywhere. 
To Grow Morning Gtorlea. 
We have had the driest season this Summer 
ever known in Nebraska. It proves the axiom 
that “ an attempt upon the life of a plant, pre¬ 
maturely forces it into flower and fruit.” In 
the early Spring there was sufficient moisture 
to grow morning-glory vines quite well, but 
the intense drought since, acting as “an at¬ 
tempt on the life of the plauts,” has caused 
them to burst into an extraordinary abundance 
of blossoms, and of more brilliant colors than 
usual- The flowers are at the same time un¬ 
usually large. Anyone can apply this prin¬ 
ciple artificially. 
Another mode of producing the same result 
I have applied to Lima beans. When any vine 
is trained high on pole or string, it seldom 
flowers till it reaches the top and hangs down. 
This hanging down is an interruption of its 
natural mode of growth, i e. an attempt upon 
its life. I train Lima beans to poles only four 
feet high, which they top in a short time, and 
at once burst into fruit. All vines which from 
their tenderness are liable to be caught by 
early frosts in the Fall, should be trained low 
and they will produce earlier and heavier. 
Sour Soil or Sweet Soil I 
1 have growing a plant of rhubarb and a 
plant of Amber Sorghum close together. Both 
plants show their full characteristics—the rhu¬ 
barb is very sour, and the sorghum is very 
sweet. I queried some time ago of the writers 
to the Rural New-Yorker what sour soli was, 
as I had never seen any, bat received no re¬ 
ply. Now I ask: What sort of soil is that in 
which both soar and sweet grow to perfection ? 
That kind of soil out here which produces the 
common clover-leaf-d sorrel also grows sorg¬ 
hum, and produces catnip, horehound, sage, 
peppermint, and I can see no reason why, if 
protected by glass, with artificial heat, it would 
not grow oranges, lemons, and all tropical 
medicinal plants. Is not this “sour soil idea” 
only a relic of barbarism, or is it the relict her¬ 
self, the wife of the old agricultural barbarian 
himself? It i6 certainly an old woman’s 
notion, not worthy of enlightened farmers of 
the present day. 8. Ritfus Mason. 
Dodge Co„ Neb. 
-- » » ♦- 
Grasshopper* and Bird Pests. ” 
A curious grasshopper visitation is to be 
noted as one of the peculiarities of the season. 
Aseetiou extending from thesouthern towns in 
this county through Cortland and into Broome, 
sixty miles in length and three to five wide, 
along the valley of the Tioaghnioga River, 
was invaded by swarms of this locust pest. 
They are reported to have done serious in¬ 
juries to all kinds of herbage and foliage. 
Another singular development has taken 
place in this locality during the past season. 
In addition to the Insects, larvai and other 
pests that we have to fight, in order to save 
things that we depend upon for consumption 
or pleasure, we have the fruit-destroying birds to 
contend with. The birds in this city and its sub¬ 
urbs have attacked the grape crop with the most 
destructive effects. Many grape growers have 
lost almost their entire crops, and where the 
pests did not take all the fruit, they spoilt the 
remainder by picking the berries open. The 
marauders are the English sparrow, the robin 
and the oriole. The sparrows came into my 
grounds by the hundreds. We killed scores of 
them, with a good many robins and orioles, 
and finally drove them off. The oriole does 
not appear in this section in very great num¬ 
bers, but he is the slyest thief of them all. The 
sparrow has become an unmitigated nuisance. 
I think some of them will get a dose next 
Winter, that will thin out the obnoxious 
swarms. 
Freaks of Lightning. 
1 notice several accounts of the oddities of 
the electric fluid in the Rural, but what oc¬ 
curred in this vicinity will be hardly matched. 
Early in August, a light shower passed over 
the city, nowise remarkable except for two 
tremendous peals of thunder. In one of 
them the lightning struck in the ground, 
in a low and level piece of meadow land be¬ 
longing to me. As it penetrated into the earth 
the bolt seemed to break up into numbers of 
sparks, as some six or eight hole6 were made 
in a space ot four to six feet square, the larg¬ 
est of which was three or four inches in diame¬ 
ter. I happened to be on the spot the next 
morning, and saw this for myself. People for 
fifty rods round were more or less affected by 
the shock. There were plenty of trees and 
buildings close by and a brick-yard within 
fifteen yards. “Onondaga.” 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
-- 
An Invitation. —Col. F. D. Curtis writes us 
that the public are cordially invited to a “ Pig 
Party " and farmers’ pic-nic at Kirby Home¬ 
stead, Charlton. Saratoga Co., N. Y., on 
Thursday, Oct. 7. No special invitation is 
needed. A lunch—and Mrs. Curtis is famous 
for her lunches—will be provided for those 
from a distance. Should it rain on Thursday, 
the party will meet next day. 
COUNTRY AND CITY LIFE. 
GEN. WM. H. NOBLE, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONN. 
The very name of Rural New-Yorker 
bridges between town and country. By a men¬ 
tal “ Rapid Transit,” it takes us out of the rush 
and heat of busy mails, to the cool, and quiet, 
and delights of country life. There is a good 
deal iu a name. To one wisely placed cling 
prestige and tender sentiment and heart mem¬ 
ories, as to a torn and tattered battle flag. 
Such a one speaks a history of honored tra¬ 
dition, or a glorious purpose. I doubt a good 
deal whether “a rose by any other name would 
smell as sweet." There is more than its per¬ 
fume floating on the air. It has stood for all 
that’s lovely, gentle and refined, from Eden 
down. “Rubai New-Yobkeb" emblems and 
speaks for a close alliance of the best estate 
and life of town and country. No city airs or 
apeinga are at home or wanted among the 
woods and fields or floods gladdened with 
fruit and flowers, and sheltering home trees 
swaying to the breeze, and golden harvests. Not 
polo games, or hops, the fox hunt or the race, 
nor the better life at spas cr by the ocean’s 
surge, promise the blood to cross with country 
life. 
The city’B need is rest, to think and gather 
