OCT. 9 
THE BUBAL H 
67 f> 
despairingly turns &iB face toward the old 
homestead. He has lost all desire to remain 
in a locality which has brought to him only 
vexation and disappointment. What wonder, 
then, that the little farm is sold for less than 
the cost of the improvements, that the few 
articles of furniture are packed in a covered 
wagon, and the family turn their faces east¬ 
ward. “ Going back to see my wife’s people," 
is the reply of nine out of ten of the eastward- 
bound emigrants. They are sick, discouraged, 
yet hoping for bettor times that never come, 
and they wend their way back to their old native 
hills and valleys, perhaps to fare no better. 
But if poverty and disappointment ^bould still 
be theirs, yet it is with old friends and familiar 
scenes around them, and the graves of their 
loved ones near. 
The vast number of emigrant wagons that 
line the roads with their white covers, iB almost 
beyond belief. Some are well equipped for 
the trip, and “Go West" rejoicing. AlaB ! 
that so many should return, sorrowing! Near¬ 
ly all who travel westward through this sec¬ 
tion at present are bound for Southwestern 
Missouri. Last Spring the great movement 
was towards Kansas, and the greater part of 
them are going back now, and most especially 
those who went to Western Kansas. The great 
complaint seems to be “ want of water.” and 
the prevalence of hot, scorching winds which 
dry up all vegetation, and literally blow the 
wheat out of the ground. The first lime I was 
told this, I was extremely incredulous, and 1 
ventured to Inquire: “Might it uot be a ca¬ 
nard?” but it has been corroborated by hun¬ 
dreds of others. Though seemingly incredible, 
yet as they relate it, it is not impossible. What 
a Missourian would consider an extremely 
high wind, the Kansas citizeu can enjoy all 
the time, with an occasional gale throwu in by 
way of variety, and a cyclone or two, when 
the inhabitants need a new sensation. Their 
land is very sandy, and the continuous winds 
blow the sand away from the roots of the 
wheat plants, until they are entirely bare. It 
is the last straw that breaks the camel’s back, 
and so it continues to blow and blow and blow, 
until the poor wheat finally succumbs plant by 
plant, until the pluces that ouce knew them 
know them no more. 
We, too, have dry weather, hot suns, au 
occasional cyclone, the potato beetle, the 
chinch bug, snakes and the curculio; but we 
never have had the “ army worm," nor has 
our wheat ever been blown to " kingdom 
come,” roots, stalk and head. Our railroads 
have never been compelled, through fear of 
having their tracks demolished, to carry a 
starving population out of the State gratis. 
This has beeu done in Kansas. Eastern Kan¬ 
sas is doing better, though emigrants report 
drought there also. That that great State has 
great resources, and that it 1ms a prosperous 
future before it, 1 do not deny. But to succeed 
there, a man should have money enough to 
carry him through while he weathers the gale. 
Emigrants certainly make a great mistake in 
passing the fertile and beautiful prairies of 
Illinois and Iowa, and the well wooded and 
finely watered lands of Missouri, with its in¬ 
exhaustible mines of coal and a whole moun¬ 
tain of iron, its Normal schools, Us numerous 
railroads that cross the State in every direc¬ 
tion, in fact, a State that has within itself 
an independent support for all its inhabi¬ 
tants ; that only needs the skilled hand 
of the mechanic and artizan to bring forth and 
develop its vast wealth; emigrants, I repeat, 
make a mistake in passing by these for other 
and les6 desirable locations. But now the tide 
seems to have turned, and is tlowiug iu our 
favor. 
Crops in the river counties of Missouri have 
all turned out well, as far as I have reports, 
though iu this section corn will be light owiug 
It a very dry and hot July uud August. There 
vas rain as often as every two weeks, aud 
sometimes more frequently; but the hot sun 
blistered every green thing. The celebrated 
“ Oldest Inhabitant” never before experienced 
such a hot Summer. The ground was so hot 
that a person could not hold bis hands on it 
without experiencing a burning sensation. No 
wonder that the corn dried up aud turned 
yellow, aud the grass turned brown: but the 
first cool days aud refreshiug raius of Septem¬ 
ber changed all this, and the earth rejoices in 
a carpet of lovely green. Wheat is a good 
crop, aud onall sides you see thecarriers piling 
up the golden straw, aud hear the short, shrill 
toot-toot of the engine that occupies the place 
of the ten horses that of yore furnished the 
power that separated the wheat from the chaff. 
The steam-thrashers hereabouts hurry the work 
so rapidlv that they fail to do it well. Com¬ 
plaints are numerous of wheat being wasted, 
and one farmer near here says hi6 wheat is 
badly cracked, averaging a peck of cracked 
wheat to every two bushels. “The more 
haste, the less speed,” and “Haste makes 
waste," are two maxims which it would be well 
for them to observe. 
The fruit crop is immense. Teaches are 
plentiful at 50 cents a bushel, though very fine 
named varieties being $1.50. The Heath is the 
most sought for, though there are a great 
many sold under that name that never had a 
right to claim the remotest kinship to theHeath. 
Grapes are abundant, though there are but few 
on the market, as they are manufactured into 
wine. The owners of vineyards, as a rule, do 
their own manufacturing, and consume a large 
share of their own product. Wine is plentiful 
at 75 cents a gallon. The population is largely 
German, and, of comae, wine, beer, Bologoa 
sausage, aud Limburger cheese find a quick 
sale. The county seat contains, or claims, 7.000 
inhabitants, and nearly all the stores, shops, 
Baloons, restaurants, drug-stores, etc., are 
kept open Sunday forenoons. A person can 
buy anything on Sunday, about as easily as on 
any other day. Nearly every Sunday since 
warm weather commenced, there has been an 
excursion from the county Beat to the chaly¬ 
beate springs, about twelve miles out of town. 
1 am told that dancing, billiards, croquet, 
borse-raciug aud kindred amusements are the 
order of the day. 
•farmers in this vicinity are just on the eve 
of wheat sowing, and the wise ones are post¬ 
poning it as long as possible to prevent the rav¬ 
ages of the Hessian fly, which is said to injure 
especially early-sown wheat. The ground is 
in Bplendid condition aud pulverizes well. The 
dry weather prevented most farmers from 
plowing the ground twice. 
Just now the “Young American” is reveling 
in the delicious flavor of paw.paws and per¬ 
simmons, aud his pockets vainly endeavor to 
rival his stomach in plethora, while mothers 
are anxiously replenishing their bottles of 
paregoric, and stores of hops, hoping thereby 
to alleviate the pains of insulted aud overbur¬ 
dened nature. 
The mocking birds and bobolinks are feast- 
iug on the luscious sweetness that awaits 
them, growing fat and clumsy, and forgetting 
their songs in their gormandizing, preparatory 
to their flight homeward. 
But what can be finer than this glorious 
September weather? The days are perfect. 
The nights over whose darkness the twinkling 
stars shed their radiance, are cool aud refresh¬ 
ing, soothing the weary toiler to quiet slum¬ 
ber. A few slight frosts have cleared the at¬ 
mosphere of all malaria, aud all nature rejoices 
in the pleasure of existence. 
Adair Co., Mo. Bessie Victor. 
RURAL 8PECIAL REP0RT8. 
Ga., Washington, Wilkes Co., Sept. 20.— 
Cotton is being picked, ginned and marketed 
very quickly hereabouts. In a late article in 
the Rural it waB said that hitherto cotton 
Beed had to be plauted by band, as the adherent 
lint prevented its uniform deposition. Thou¬ 
sands of cotton plaute-s, however, are now used 
in the South. In this section three patented 
planters are successfully used in planting the 
crop. j. c. l, 
Iowa, McGregor, Co., Clayton, Sept. 23.— 
Wheat at thrashing time is turning out a very 
poor yield per acre—from three to ten bushels 
generally. A couple of days ago I got from the 
mill 133 pounds of flour from four bushels of 
wheat, or 44J pounds per bushel. A good 
deal of sorghum has been raised in this town 
Bhip and two or three mills are working it op 
into molasses aud sirup; they are not yet pre¬ 
pared to make sugar; but they make a fine 
golden sirup. The owuer of one of the mills 
tells me he is making 100 gallons every 34 
hours. All the mills are running night and 
day, each having two sets of hands. The juice 
runs from thepreBS first into a large pan where 
it is heated to the boiling point; then let off by 
means of a cock into two settling pans where 
it stands to settle a while. Next it passes into 
the main boiling pan where it boils, being con¬ 
stantly skimmed until it becomes thick enough 
for the finishing pan. There it is again con¬ 
stantly skinnned until it is considered thick 
enough, when it is lot off iuto the cooling pan 
where it stands uutil it is cool enough to be 
put up in kegs or barrels. J. R. J. 
Kansas, Harlan, Smith Co., Sept. 14.—Away 
out on these Western prairies we are tryiug 
to build up a home. The past year has been 
discouraging, on account of the severe drought; 
but we are still hopeful, for we have had rains 
again, and we cannot think the Lord took 
pains to make this country so fertile and beau¬ 
tiful, without intending it to be settled up. The 
wild plants of this country are, most of them, 
very different from those that grow in the East. 
Mauy of them are of exquisite beauty, and a 
few are adapted to, and are well worthy of 
general cultivation. The Sensitive Rose is a 
lavorite with evetyone here. It is a perenni¬ 
al trailing plant with delicate, pinnate leaves. 
The leaflets shrink from the touch as if en¬ 
dowed with sensation. They also fold up at 
night, as if for sleep, The flowers are numer¬ 
ous, are delightfully fragrant, and resemble 
silk tassels of pink and gold. There are iwo 
kinds of cactus—curious and unique in form, 
bearing strange and beautiful blossoms. 
L. U. II. 
Kansas, Council Grove, Morris Co., 8ept. 
30.—It is very dry here. This is thought to 
have been the driest year since that yeav when 
the grasshoppers devastated Kansas. ThiB is 
a nice section, and, in spite of everything, I 
think a fair crop of corn will be raised here. 
J. H. 
Ohio, University Farm, Columbus, Franklin 
Co.—We have had almost a perfect season for 
corn, which is now being harvested. Wheat 
was a fai r crop, over a large acreage. Less 
will be sown and more of that after corn, this 
Fall, consequently next year’s crop will prob¬ 
ably be smaller. Potatoes are a good yield ; 
but we do not raise enough for the home mar¬ 
ket. Fruit of all kinds is and has been very 
abundant. Our demand for northern apples 
will be very light this winter. Business brisk, 
manufacturers far behind orders, and every¬ 
body happy—except professional croakers. 
c. e. T. 
Ohio, Little Hocking, Washington Co., Sep¬ 
tember 18.—Wheat in this region was only 
fair; corn is good; early potatoes are a par¬ 
tial failure, late ones promise well. Very few 
oats were raised, aud but little sorghum. Fruit 
is so plentiful that it is a drug iu the market; 
thousands of bushels are being dried in patent 
evaporators—price twenty cents per bushel 
delivered. Farmers in the Ohio Valley are 
largely engaged iu raising potatoes, mauy of 
them plauliug 100 acres, aud as a natural con¬ 
sequence we are all striving to get the best, so 
send aloug your White Elephant. a. l. c. 
Oregon, Cauby, Clackamas Co., Sept. 12. - 
Grains of all kinds are good here. Wheat was 
a good yield but brings a low price. Oats and 
Dailey are fair. The weather for harvesting 
crops has been uunsuull y good; but advices from 
Great Britain indicate that low prices will rule 
for this season at least. Fruits of all kinds are 
scarce aud high, dried apples selling at 12J cts, 
per pound, plums as high as 30 cts. The apple 
crop is a failure in this part of the State. Po¬ 
tatoes are scarce and high, selling readily at 
60 cts. per bush. Onions, one and one-half 
cents per pouud. What Oregon wants is a Eu¬ 
ropean immigration In place of the hordes of 
Chinese coolies that swarm to these shores. 
The Pacific Slope will be the tail of the Union 
kite until the Burlingame Treaty is abrogated. 
J. 8. 
Texas, College Station, Brazos Co., Sept. 23. 
—Corn and cotton are the main crops in this 
section of the country. The former will yield 
only a medium crop, mainly for lack of culti¬ 
vation. In passing through the country, near¬ 
ly every corn field one sees is covered knee- 
deep with a dense growth of grass aud weeds. 
The cotton has suffered severely by the rava¬ 
ges of the cotton worm, hut, in spite of this, 
the crop will be good. Picking is now going 
on, and laborers are scarce. Planters pay 75c. 
per 100 pounds, and a good picker can pick 300 
pounds a day. At thl6 seasou the whole colored 
population, men, women aud children, resort 
to the cotton fields, and those who do not 
divide their earnings with the bar keepers, or 
m other ways spend their money foolishly, 
can earn almost enough to keep them till next 
cotton-picking season. Generally the laud is 
rich. In the bottom lands of the Brazos River 
cotton grows as tall as a man on horseback. 
Late equinoctial rains have retarded picking 
and damaged the crop to some extent. Apples 
will uot succeed here, but giapes, peaches and 
pears grow and fruit luxuriantly. c. c. o. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and 
address of the writer to insure attention.] 
The European I'abbnge Worm. 
W. S., Syracuse, N. Y., asks what sort of a 
worm is the Europeau Cabbage Worm; is it 
the worm that bores through the head of the 
cabbage and caulifiower and which has caused 
so much loss thereabouts the past season. 
An3.— The European Cabbage Worm—Pieris 
rapse—was first introduced from Europe into 
Canada in 1857, siuccjwhich time it has spread 
widely over the Eastern, Middle, and some of 
Southern and Western States. The cater¬ 
pillar or worm is of a pale-greeu color, finely 
dotted with black, with a yellowish stripe 
lengthwise aloug the back, aud with a yellow 
stripe formed of small yellow spotB along each 
side. When full-grown it is from three-quar¬ 
ters of an inch to an inch long. The worms 
may be found from April to October, of all 
ages, feeding on leaves of cabbages, mignon¬ 
ette, stock, nasturtiums and other members 
of the cabbage or mustard family. They are 
supposed to hifcre four or five generations in 
the course of a year, the last generation pass¬ 
ing the Winter in the condition of crysilids. 
In the butterfly form, this pest Is of a white 
color with a black dash at the top of the fore¬ 
wings and a black 6pot on the front edge of 
the hind-wings above, with two black spots on 
the underside of the fore-w iogs. Besides these 
spots, the male has one iu the middle of the 
fore-wings above, aud the female has two. The 
Spring butterflies are much whiter than those 
produced later in the season, and sometimes 
lack some of the black spots. Occasionally 
light yellow males are found, but hardly ever 
yellow females. From the above description 
of this pest, our friend can easily decide 
whether the insect that has troubled him is the 
European Cabbage Worm. 
Cleansing Amber-Cane Juice. 
A. A. H,, Carry, Pa., asks bow to cleanse 
the Juice of Amber-Cane so as to make a good 
sirup. 
Ans. —As the juice comes from the crusher 
strain it to remove the coarser matter. Have 
a pan made with galvanized iron bottom and 
wooden sides to hold 100 gallons, placed on an 
arch ; heat the juice to 180 deg. Fah.. and add 
five pints of cream of lime, stirring it in thor¬ 
oughly, and remove the fire—do not let it boll. 
Remove the scum from the top, and when it 
settles or coagulates, draw it off with a swing 
pipe or siphon. The sediment can be strained 
through a coarse bag. When this clear liquor 
cools to, say. 110 deg. Fah.. some preparation 
should be added to neutralize the lime. F. L. 
Stewart of Murraysvllle, Pa., puts up a powder 
which is probably as good as anything that 
could be got at once. There is, however, an 
aluminous jelly being used quite extensively at 
present. This is made from porous alum and 
sal. soda. A quantity of the alum is placed in 
a tub of water and a similar quantity of the 
soda in another tub of water—six pounds of 
each. After they are dissolved, enough of the 
soda water is added to the alum water until 
effervescence ceases, then a jelly forms in the 
bottom. The water is dipped off and the jelly 
used to destroy the excess of lime. After this, 
boil down as fast as possible to a sirup. 
(tat-rlex about Peach Tree*. 
Q-. U. BozzardsciUe, Pa., says he has a peach 
orchard of 700 trees planted three years ago 
last Spring, 21 feet apart, and he asks, 1, would 
it be advisable to plant as many more trees 
next Spring on the same ground between those 
now growing; 2, would the borer be likely to 
be more troublesome on these trees than on 
those planted at a distance from a peach or¬ 
chard; 3. which are the better—peach trees 
brought from a warmer or a colder climate. 
Ans. —Peach trees are usually planted about 
20 feet apart. They are then allowed to grow 
as they will. If cut back every year or so—as 
it is well to do—perhaps 15 feet would be a 
sufficient distance. The plum stock dwarfs 
the Deach somewhat so that thus worked and 
cut back the trees might he set as close as every 
10 feet. In your case we should uot recom¬ 
mend that you set trees between those already 
growing. 3 Not necessarily. The trunks 
should be washed in Spring and Midsummer 
with lime, potash, <fcc. 8. If there be any 
choice, we should prefer the colder climate. 
Other queries will be answered in due time. 
MltH-ellaneouM. 
T. H. B., Windsor, Ohio , asks, 1, what is 
the value of road dustas a fertilizer; 3, is bone 
that has been softened by remaining in wood 
ashes as good a fertilizer as ground bone. 
Ans. —1. This question can hardly be an¬ 
swered definitely; for the value of the road 
dust will depend upon the nature of the soil, 
the amount of travel over the road and of for¬ 
eign fertilizing material consequently mingled 
withthedust. 3. Yes. 
A. N. L., East Orringlon, Me., sends for 
name a plant which is besoming a serious 
pest in meadows thereabouts. Its root re¬ 
sembles a parsnip both in appearance and 
odor, but it is only about six inches long, and 
scarcely three-quarters of au iuch in diameter. 
Ans. —Daucus Carota, Wild Carrot. This is 
becoming more and more a vile pest. It is a 
biennial plant and might- be exterminated by 
persistent mowing. 
L. B. 3., Marian, Kan., asks why shouldn’t 
Rural subscribers exchange seeds and plants 
through means of our columns. 
Ans.— For the first year after the pap*r came 
under the present management there was a 
special Exchange Department for this very 
purpose; but it was abused in so many ways, 
that it was thought advisable to discontinue it. 
W., Morehead, Kansas, asks whether we 
could sell a bushel of Blount’s White Prolific 
Corn. 
Ans. —No. We sell absolutely nothing but 
the Rural. The sale of this corn has been 
advertised in our columns by several seeds¬ 
men, and doubtless will be again before seed¬ 
ing time. 
P. I). G., Lancaster, Ky., asks where seed 
of the old Mediterranean bearded wheat can 
be obtained. 
Ans. —From B. K. Bli68 & Co., 34 Barclay 
Street. 
COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED FOR THE WEEK END¬ 
ING Saturday, Oct. 3. 
J, s.—P. T. J.—T. H. B.—W. M.—L. B.—A. B. A. 
-J. H. S.—E. P.-M. J. R.—J. C. H.-M. & Y. T.— 
M. A. W.—J. V.—H. M. T.—R. R.—H. S. B.—J. D. 
G.—H, B.-J. H. M.-P. B. M.-A. F. R.—M. B. P. 
—J. A. L.—M. M. W.-W. A. S. H. B.-J. M. B.— 
D. R. B.-G. H.—W. E. T.-J. R. 
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It la Impossible to remain long sick or out ot 
health where Hop Bitters are used. 
