■OCT. 23 
THE BUBAL JSEW-V©BKEB, 703 
but is at its best in August and September. 
Durmg the latter month, as the weather gets 
a little cool, it is no unusual thing for the 
flower to remain open two days, and some¬ 
times eveu more. It is a good plant to grow 
wherever a place can be found for it. It does 
well also in the greenhouse, and is much 
easier to grow than those that require a strong 
heat. 
The following extract from a letter from 
Mr. Downing will interest many : “ The Cuth- 
bert Raspberry appears at present the most 
profitable one for market. The Turner iB also 
good; but to eat and for family use I have seen 
nothing to exceed Brinckle's Orange. Pridc- 
of-lke-Hudi-on is a fine sort if well cared for, 
and so is the old Franconia.” I am somewhat 
inclined to go just one step further, and say 
that, to eat, I have never seen any raspberry 
to equal the Brlnckle. If it were only hardy 
and strong, we might be content to wait a long 
time for another. 
I have received for trial some plant labels 
made of very thin sheet-brass. They are cut into 
good shape, and pierced with an eyelet hole. I 
have not yet given them a sufficient trial, but a 
very hard pencil or a bodkin creases the name 
in a way that would seem to be durable. I shall 
refer to them again after further trial. Few 
things are more needed than a durable plant 
label that will carry an indelible name. 
IIoticola. 
[We beg to suggest that we don’t want any¬ 
thing better than the common zinc labels, 
using a lead pencil to write the name. This, 
as we can show at the Rural Grounds, will re¬ 
main perfectly distinct for—we know not how 
many years. Eds.] 
®{je iiitfgari). 
THE CENTENNIAL GRAPE. 
This grape is a seedling of the EumelaD, 
grafted upon an Iona root. It somewhat re¬ 
sembles the Delaware and the Catawba; but, 
being of a lighter color than either, it may be 
classed as a white grape with a pink cheek. 
It ripens about midway between these old fa¬ 
vorites; keeps, when packed for winter use, 
as well as the Catawba; the skin being tough 
it does not crack or burst like the Delaware 
while ripening, and it is free from a loose, 
daugling shoulder. For quality of fruit it is 
conceded by all who have seen it to be quite 
equal to those old sorts. For b<>th the table 
and for wine, it is superior to the Delaware in 
size of berry and cluster. It is also superior 
to the Catawba in earliness and quality, and 
superior to both of these old favorites in health 
of foliage or exemption from mildew. It 
will doubtless do well wherever the Eumelan 
now succeeds. Its reproductive organs are 
simply perfect; there are never any emascu¬ 
lated clusters and some of the fruit must be 
cut oft to prevent overbearing. It has not 
been unalyzed for grape sugar, out it is plain 
enough that it must rank near the Delaware, 
and it is as free from pulpiness. 
As to hurdiness, the vine 6eems much like 
its parent; the growth, however, is a little less 
rank and it ripens its wood earlier in the sea¬ 
son. It is therefore very hardy, and propa¬ 
gates splendidly from cuttings. Having tested 
its great fruiting capacity and other charac¬ 
teristics since 1875, the first season of its bear¬ 
ing, I can truly say I ant delighted with this 
grape. If it succeeds as well after testing in 
other localities as in this, it will probably 
prove to be our best native grape for the main 
crop upon our Atlantic seaboard. 
The botanical class to which it belongs— 
Yitis icstivalis—has long been looked upon as 
the one from which our finest grapes must 
originate. There is some evidence in the ap¬ 
pearance of the fruit, that it may be a hybrid 
with the Delaware. I used polleu for hybrid¬ 
izing from the Delaware and other vines up¬ 
on the cluster from which it was propagated. 
If upon closer observation this should be de¬ 
termined, then its botanical classification 
would be oue-fourtli Labruseaand three-fourths 
^stlvalis. Growing seedlings from it will 
I>robably decide the question It would not 
do to class it as a hybrid until I am sure of it. 
I trust you may soe iu these grapes some 
confirmation of my theory, that grafting is an 
important factor iu the process for breaking 
up prepotency and improving our native 
grapes; also that there is no necessity to en¬ 
danger the health of our vines by hybridizing 
with foreign kinds to obtaiu quality of fruit. 
Watertown, N. Y. Daniel S. Marvin. 
Remarks. The description of the Eumelan, 
it seems to us, applies quite well to the Cen¬ 
tennial, 60 far as quality is concerned. The 
berries, however, are more crowded upon the 
bunch and not so large. The skin is strong ; 
not one imperfection appearing iu the several 
bunches received. Mr. Marvin sends us also 
several others of his seedlings which are cer¬ 
tainly of excellent quality. 
Tub Lady Washington Grape. —Your 
spirited and truthful illustration of this prom¬ 
ising grape reminds me that I have not re¬ 
ported its conduct in this part of Western New 
York, where we are not especially favored with 
those surround! Dg3 that conspire to make 
grape-growing eminently successful; where 
we hug the faithful old Concord, and caress 
novelties with a long pole, as though they 
were animals that might bite, I planted the 
Lady Washington one year ago last Spring. I 
cut away all the first season’s growth but two 
buds, for propagation. These buds have made 
canes this season, measuring over twelve feet 
each. I gave no Winter protection, and only 
fair attention, and it is perfectly healthy and 
hardy thus far. With the treatment given I 
did not expect auy fruit, yet two clusters ap¬ 
peared. I drew a heavy paper bag over each 
as soon as out of blossom, and did not remove 
them till the grapes were ripe. I exhibited 
one of the clusters at our Western New York 
fair recently—it was the only specimen shown. 
This is, indeed, a beautiful grape, early and 
good, yet not the best in quality. The cluster 
is compact, shouldered; berries irregular, 
often large. The reddish tinge apparent on 
some parts of the clusters adds much to their 
beauty. I am disposed to be hopeful on the 
subject of white grapes—yes, I may say that 
I am bordering on enthusiasm. Good white 
grapes that we can all grow and enjoy—why 
this has been our dream for years. 
Clifton, N. Y. Op as. A. Green. 
<$arm feoitomj). 
FEEDING THE CORN CROP. 
PROFESSOR E. W. STEWART. 
Indian corn is the great crop of the United 
States. In 1879 the product was a round fif¬ 
teen hundred millions of bushels, and its 
market value was estimated at .*600,000,000 - 
and we exported over 9.8.000,000 of bushels, 
amounting to 253,200,000. Mostot these 9S,000,- 
000 bushels was used to grow meat iu England 
aud on the Continent, Had it been fed for the 
production of meat in this country, the meat 
product would have sold for $15,000,000 more 
than the corn, and we should have saved the 
fertility carried off. But we may congratulate 
ourselves that only a little more than six per 
cent, of the whole crop was sold, leaving 
1,100,000,000 bushelB for home consumption. 
If we are to suppose it all used to fatten cattle, 
and that 50 bushels will fatten a steer, it would 
take 28,0.0,000 cattle to consume it all- But 
immense quantities of corn are used for human 
food; for making corn sugar, starch, and in 
other manufactures; for growing pork and 
mutton and for feeding poultry. It thus has a 
great bearing upon the welfare of the whole 
people. 
In all the older States much labor is bestow¬ 
ed upon this crop in husking, shelling, grind¬ 
ing, etc., for the use ot animals. In the great 
corn States of the West, cattle are tnrued into 
the fields and allowed to do this work for 
themselveB, wasting much corn, as Eastern 
farmers suppose; or it is shocked at maturity 
and afterwards carried to cattle in the fields. 
In both cases, the cattle are followed by hogs 
to pick up the waste corn. The most wasteful 
practice is turning cattle into the field—hog¬ 
ging down” as it is called, for then the fodder 
is of little value; but if the corn is put in 
shock when the stalks are green and succu¬ 
lent. the fodder will have a value in nutriment 
of 75 per cent, ot that of hay per weight when 
cured, and the grain will be equally valuable as 
when left till the stalks are nearly dry before 
cutting. This matter of shockiug the crop of 
corn at the proper time will be seen to be of 
great consequence when it is understood that 
the fodder is worth, at least, $5 per acre more 
than when left till the leaves are dry and 
bleached and the rind of the 6talk is more 
tough and woody. 
AN IMPROVED METHOD OF FEEDING. 
This article is written to call attention to an 
improved method of feeding the corn crop in 
all States whose corn is shocked and husked 
for cattle or sheep-feedlog. The labor of husk¬ 
ing, shelliug ami grinding may all be saved by 
the new method. Iu feeding corn from the 
shock to cattle a very large portion, of the 
corn passes them whole, because it is not rais¬ 
ed aud remasticatcd. When corn, shelled or 
in the ear, is fed alone to cattle i f is not raised 
and remasticated, for the kernels cannot be 
formed into a end, and thus itpasses on, and the 
broken corn is partly digested, but the whole 
corn is not acted upon by the gastric juice, 
and is expelled in its whole state. If this corn 
is mixed, when swallowed, with hay or other 
fibrouB food, it will be raised and crushed iu 
the remastication, so that the digesting fluid 
may act upon it. 
The new plan is to render It necessary for 
the cattle to eat the grain and corn fodder 
together, aud when thus mixed both are raised 
and remasticated together. This is accom¬ 
plished by simply cutting the unhusked corn¬ 
stalks—ears and all—into very short pieces by 
running them through a large cutter and re¬ 
ducing the whole to fine chaff. Snch a large 
cutter rnn by a sufficient power, will reduce 
into these thin shavings two tons per hour, 
costing less than simple husking. This 
breaks the rind of the stalk into fine 
shreds, shaving up the cobs, splitting most of 
the kernels, mixing the coarse and fine parts 
of the fodder together, rendering all soft and 
easily masticated—leaving no short edges to 
irritate the mouth as when cut one inch or 
more in length. 
The reader will see the great improvement 
of this plan when he considers that it costs less 
labor than husking, as an acre of corn can be 
thus prepared for feeding in one hour with the 
aid of two men. This method also saves all 
the food there is in the crop, carrying out the 
plan of nature to feed the graiu and stalk 
together—the bulky with the concentrated. 
This will also improve the health of the cattle 
as well as save a large percentage of food. 
This method also enables the feeder to com¬ 
pound the ration practically according to 
scientific principles. The entire coin crop— 
stalks and grain, in their best estate—is even 
too poor in albuminoids or flesh-forming sub¬ 
stances to make a well-balanced ration alone. 
But if two pounds of linseed meal or cotton¬ 
seed meal, be added for each steer per day, it 
will balance the constituents of the ration and 
fatten cattle more satisfactorily. Either of 
these oil-meals may usually be purchased at 
the mills for $20 per ton, so that this addition 
to the ration would cost only about two cents 
per day for each steer. 
This plan is adapted to feeding on a large or 
small scale; but the greater the number of 
cattle, the less labor proportionally. It is 
adapted to feeding in a warm stable or in the 
open air. In the former case, the whole ration 
may be steamed or slightly fermented, or fed 
dry; and in the latter case it must be fed dry 
in troughs, because if steamed or moistened 
and fermented, it would freeze in the troughs. 
This plan is not theoretical but practical, the 
writer having put it iu practice for several 
years. B. A. Avery, of Syracuse, N. Y., hav¬ 
ing fed 100 cows on this plau for six years, re¬ 
gards the corn crop, fed in this way, as valu¬ 
able as if husked, shelled and ground into 
meal. 
Jarra topics. 
WESTERN NOTES. 
B. F. JOHNSON. 
Barbed Wire Fencing. 
It having been assumed, because stock might 
injure themselves by accidentally or inten¬ 
tionally coming in contact with garbed wire 
fencing, that therefore the invention is a bar¬ 
barous one and that its employment should be 
regulated by law or frowned dowu by public 
opinion, I have made some inquiries as to the 
facts in the case and with the result below. 
The Illinois Central Railroad was the first 
company to make use of the barbed wire on 
an extensive scale, having begun putting it 
up three years ago. On the Chicago branch, 
extending 805 miles, between Chicago and 
Cairo, some 65 miles have been built, and 
a responsible officer of the company informed 
me he had heard of no complaints from farm¬ 
ers, aud he was in a position to know of them, 
if they were made. On the Springfield divis¬ 
ion. where this fence is now used nearly ex¬ 
clusively, theroad-tnaster informed mehe knew 
of but a single accident happening on account 
o: it, and that to a stray mule hastening home 
in the night, and not informed of the existence 
of the new-fashioned barrier. Horses which 
feed and wander about in the night, sometimes 
run on the fence unawares, and gel scratched, 
but never a second time. Mules are rarely 
hurt, aud cattle seldom or never. When an 
old board fence is torn away, or a rail fence re¬ 
moved, and the barbed wire is put up in its 
place, when it Is finished and the men leave, 
cattle approach iu a body ; examine the new 
contrivance closely ; smell of it; “study” a 
while over the matter; then apparently make 
up their mimls it won’t hurt them if they don’t 
trouble it, aud quietly return to their grazing. 
Of its effectiveness against breachy cattle, the 
road master relates an iustauee where, near 
Weedman Station in DeWitc County, a large 
lot of feeding steers were pasturing agaiust a 
half mile or more of common plank or board 
fence, which some of them broke through, and 
got upon the track nearly every day. The usu¬ 
al barbed wire fence wn6 put up, which the 
mischievous steers came up to and examined as 
soon as the men had left; took In the situation 
as above, shook their heads, tossed their horns, 
moved off iu a body and have never broken or 
attempted to break through since. 
The first wire fuuce put up by the Illinois 
Central Railroad consisted of live strands, 
three barbed and two plain, viz. the second and 
the fourth. But this was found to be a mis¬ 
take, and five strands, all barbed, are now the 
rule. Other railroad lines are adopting it as 
fast as old fences decay, and soon the railroads 
will be fenced with nothing else. On the 
Hlinois Central Railroad which uses the best 
material, the cost has been reduced to below 
82<5»85c the rod, divided as follows : 
5 bnrbed wires—5 tbs.f>Sc 
l 7-foot white cedar tjoBt.11c 
Building-, staples, rails and braces.14c 
83c 
Of course, no account is made of freightage 
on material which, for a fence equally good, 
would make the cost to the farmer from two 
to five cents more, according to location. 
When tn Dig Fotutnea 
is a question brought quite prominently for¬ 
ward at this time. For this latitude, the ex¬ 
perience of twenty years in my case decides 
they should remain in the ground; for the 
early ones, until late in October, because they 
are safer there than anywhere else; ns for the 
late ones, they are seldom fully ripe before 
that time. When dug in September or early 
in October, we almost always have a warm, 
moist spell of weather, in which early potatoes 
stored in quantity will surely heat and sprout, 
and sometimes rot. If spread out, they shrink ; 
and if exposed to the light, they become green ; 
and if piled or buried, they heat. In the South 
potatoes must be dug soon after they mature, 
or the heat destroys them ; in the North I can 
conceive that they will rot if left in the ground 
—South they are apt to spoil out of it, demon¬ 
strating that there is nothing absolute in agri¬ 
culture, and that what may be good practice 
in one section may be bad in another. 
Onions on the Prairie. 
Those who imagine the prairies are restricted 
to a few special crops and know nothing of 
diversified farming beyond corn and grass, 
wheat and oats, sheep, horses, hogs aud cattle, 
will scarcely credit the statement that for the 
onion crop, a Timothy or Blue Grass sod, 
wbeu handled by those familiar with the 
fragrant esculent, produces yields of onions 
of superior excellence as to amount and 
quality. The land usually chosen is moist 
aud at the same time with good natural drain¬ 
age, conditions which insure a strong, deep 
soil, capable of producing 50 to 60 bushels of 
corn per acre. The sod is turned early in the 
Spring, or, better, late in the Fall, and the sur¬ 
face is lined by repeated goings over with a 
sharp-toothed harrow, a week or two before 
seeding. Sometime in March orearly In April, 
the seed is sown by a drill, at the rate of five 
pounds per acre, the rows beiug 16 inches 
apart, and, when weeded, the plants stand from 
three to four inches in the row. Sod is pre¬ 
ferred because it is free from weeds, and 
manure is not used because it fouls the 
land, and the cultivators generally have not 
come to understand the value of special 
fertilizers for onions. The stand generally, on 
which everything in an onion crop depends, 
was not very good this year ; but otherwise 
the season was favorable, the drought doing 
little or no damage. The yield is from 200 to 
300 bushels per acre, and the price realized 
$1 per bushel by the quantity. The onions of 
this year’s crop are smooth, round, solid and 
large, not over-grown, or inclined to draw up 
and become scullions. But it is estimated an 
acre of onions demands as much labor as 40 
acres of Indian corn. 
The Rural’s Estimate of Clawson Wheat 
is the general estimate of this country. It is 
the wheat for poor land and careless farming ; 
for much starch and more bran ; bnt not for 
rich soils and intensive agriculture. But, then, 
if Clawson should he grown for any consider¬ 
able number of years on the strong wheat soils 
of the Western winter-wheat belt, it would 
soon begin to, and ultimately change its char¬ 
acter. The outer pellicle would grow thinner, 
the amount of bran diminish, the starch 
change into gluten, the form of the grain 
lengthen, its consistence grow harder ; in fine, 
the Clawson would no longer be Clawson, but 
something improved and refined. Poor soils 
not only grow wheat in small quantity but 
poor in quality. Strong, rich soils produce, 
not the largest crops, but those of the best 
kind of graiu, while the very largest crops are 
generally produced when such wheats as the 
Fultz and the Clawsou, originating on worn 
soils, are transferred to strong and rich bnt 
not too rich lands. 
The Texas Cattle Fever 
is said to be prevailing to an alarming extent 
in some portions of Kansas. It has also broken 
out and carried off town cows aud sti aying cat¬ 
tle in Missouri and Illinois, which,feeding about 
the railroad stock pens, came in contact with 
the virus lodged where Texas cattle have beeu 
loaded and unloaded, aud fed aud watered. The 
cars, too, in which Texas cattle are conveyed, 
are said to be sources of infection. It is quite 
evident some geueral law governing the trans¬ 
portation of cattle should be enacted by Con¬ 
gress as soon as may be. 
Hereford Cattle. 
Mr. A. B. Allen is right when he speaks of 
a strong rivalry as likely to arise between the 
Herefords and the Short-horns for the stock¬ 
ing of the Western plains. It is possible a 
rivalry, too, may arise near home, when a 
