730 
6 
T 
« 
By April 16, it was found that several of them 
had the fever, and between that date and the 
30th, in spite of the most approved remedies, 
he lost six calves, when treatment was discon¬ 
tinued aB useless, except the use o' the syringe 
to keep the bowels open. Of the 25 calves, 23 
were sick, all at about the saute time, and 11 
died of the fever, among which were four of the 
five bulls. Four of the five heifers proved 
to be with calf; all had the fever; and three of 
them died ; with one exception all that passed 
bloody urine died. The calves received the 
best attention, were sheltered from suu aod 
“ northers," yet his loss was as heavy as that 
of those who turned their thoroughbreds, on 
their arrival, among Texan steers to shift for 
themselves. Iu 1868 Prof. Gumgee said of the 
Texas fever:— “ So far as treatment is con¬ 
cerned the whole history is a record of fail¬ 
ure,” and the saying is true yet. 
Inoculation for Pleuko-Pneumonia. —It 
has sometimes been said that inoculation 
should be practiced in this country as a pro¬ 
tection against fatal results from pleuro-pneu- 
monia among our herds. The number of ani¬ 
mals affected by this disease among us, how¬ 
ever, is so small that the best preventive is 
totally to stamp out the plague by slaughtering 
the diseased animals. As in the case of small 
pox, inoculation for pleuro pneumonia pro¬ 
duces a mild and manageable form of the mal¬ 
ady in the animal operated upon; but the 
disease can be spread from such subjects, and 
therefore, however advisable it may be where 
a large number of cattle are affected, as iu some 
districts iu Germany and ltussia, the practice 
is highly objectionable here. Even iu Europe 
there is a growing opposition to the practice. 
The veteriuary editor of the North British Agri¬ 
culturist. iu commenting upon its advantages 
and disadvantages, says :— 
“Even with such skillful and experienced 
operators as Mr. Rutherford aud Mr. Watson, 
and notwithstanding the use of properly se¬ 
lected virus, two or three per cent, of the cows 
operated upon lose their tails. A certain 
smaller proportion are affected with blood- 
poisoning, aud a few actually die. From 
causes not yet explained, some animals opera¬ 
ted on are not protected against the disease. 
Still auother objection has been urged to inoc¬ 
ulation. The artificially produced disorder 
may generate virus which, it is stated, may 
suffice to 6et up the unmodified disease iu ail 
its contagious activity. It is only amongst 
herds where the disease has already appeared, 
or amongst animals believed to have been ex¬ 
posed to contagion, that inoculation can be 
justified." Aud even in such cases it cannot be 
justified in Lhis country. 
Breeds of Cattle for tub Western 
Plains. —Theproblem which of our recoguized 
breeds of cattle are the best adapted both for 
making beef and improving the herds on our 
vast Western ranges, is in course of solution 
by actual experiment. A close and shrewd ob¬ 
server of the results already noticeable is Mr. 
J. W. Clarke, of Iowa, author of a receut work 
entitled “ Perplexing Cattle Problems.” In a 
chapter on the above subject he intimates his 
opinion that the Devon aud Hereford are belter 
adapted for the plains than the Short-horn, for 
the reasons briefly summarized here. Both 
these breeds are more active, muscular and 
capabie of more exertion thau the Short-born. 
In early Spriug, when stock are weakest, the 
tussocks of bunch-grass on the ranges are more 
or less widely scattered, so that when first 
turned out cattle have need of much walking 
and muscular exertion to pick up a living, and 
here the Devon and Hereford excel the Short¬ 
horn. Owing to the bleak character of tne 
country, theabsence.of timber, the frequency of 
keen, ofteu-ekanging winds, and the long dis¬ 
tances to water aud to the cori ale, muscular, 
vigorous, active aud enduring cattle are better 
adapted to it thau light-muscled, thiu-skinned 
auimals like the Shorthorn, which, although 
excellent fat-framers with abuudaut teed, 
seasonable shelter and little exertion, are not 
so well adapted to the hardships of the West¬ 
ern country as the more muscular and hardy 
breeds. 
On the grounds of prepotency, too, there is 
no breed the bulls belonging to which impress 
their special characteristics more powerfully 
on their progeny than do the Uerefords aud 
Devons, both of which are older breeds thau 
the Short-horn. Theu again, the Herefords, 
with their thick skins and vigorous circula¬ 
tion, can endure exposure better without loss 
of flesh; while the Devous—the perfection of 
muscular fullness for beef—are well fitted to 
supply vital growth and euduring vigor in 
forming, by crossing on good native stock, a 
nucleus of a middle-sized, active breed spec¬ 
ially adapted to the conditions of the Western 
plains. Moreover, the cattle on the Weotern 
ranges are almost exclusively grass-fed. and 
the grass-fed Hereford supplies beef which 
is usually quoted higher thau that ot the 
Short-horu in the English markets, while 
Devon beef brings there top prices except 
in competition with the small supply iurn* 
ished by the Went Highlanders. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Arkansas, Little Rock, Pulaski Co.—The 
cotton crop is not so large as expected, owing 
to ball-worm and too much rain in September; 
but the crop is a good one nevertheless, and 
farmers are jubilant. Cotton is coming in 
very fast aud selling at good prices, 10 and 10J 
cents per pouud. I think the crop will exceed 
that of '70, more ground having been planted. 
Little Rock has a very large cotton-seed oil 
mill, and another one was built during the 
Summer across the river in Argenta. w. G. 
Arkansas, Greenwood, Sebastian Co., Oct. 
20.—We have had but little rain this Fall, and 
no signs of frost yet. The weather is just 
splendid for picking cotton. The crop this 
this season is hardly up to the usual average. 
Prices rule above 10 cents, therefore farmers 
are not discouraged. Other crops have turned 
out uuusually fair. We planted Beauty of 
Hebron Potatoes August 3d for a second crop, 
and in 60 days they had matured sufficiently 
for table use, and will yield a profitable crop. 
H. R. 
Ky., Forks of the Elkhorn, Franklin Co, 
Oct. 19.—We have had dry weather for the la6t 
six weeks. All small grain has been put in— 
quite a large acreage. Our crop of apples for 
the Winter will be slim—hardly any iu the 
county. I won the fitst premium at our 
county fair with beets grown from the Rural 
seed. a. n. b. 
Minn., Howard Lake, Wright Co., Oct. 23.— 
Wheat is now bringing 84 cents per bushel at 
this point, aDd one of the elevator men thinks 
both elevators have taken in about 60,060 bushels 
this Fall. It averages better than for years be¬ 
fore—much less of No. 2 aud scarcely any No. 
3. One man raised 79 bushels of oats per acre 
on a five-acre field- Wheat is said to average 
about 23 bushels to the acre, although some 
goes as high as SO bushels. Potatoes bring only 
a low price here, but they are being shipped 
South by the car load, and are good—price 15 
to 25 cents. »ery few States can grow such 
fiue, good-lasting, mealy potatoes as Minneso¬ 
ta. Butter is of all prices almost, the best 
bringing 25 cents per pouud. Hay abundant 
anu better thau usual. Our great snow storm 
of the 16.1i inst- astonished even old sttllera. 'Tie 
8aid the full was greuter by some inches lkan 
at any one lime last Winter. Nearly all gone 
now. s. A. M. 
Mo., Pleasant Mount. Miller Co.. Get. 20.— 
New wheat is coming up nicely. We have had 
just enough rain to make it sprout quickly after 
sowing. A few have not yet finished pulliDg 
it in, although it is getting quite late. Corn is 
being gathered, and a large quantity is being 
fed out to fattening hogs, which are up to the 
preseut time doing first-rate. There is a large 
number of hogs being fattened for market, 
prices tor which are now good, being about 
four dollars per 100 pounds for gross weight. 
We need more rain, especially for stock water. 
n. j. s. 
Nebraska, 8t. James, Cedar Co., Oct. 21.— 
The weather is very dry. Corn was damaged 
somewhat by drought—late corn only half a 
crop ; early corn, firsl-ralc. Wheat was splen¬ 
did iu quality of grain, but thiu on the ground 
—irom 10 to 15 bushels per acre. Potatoes, 
good ; oats, heavy ; barley, do. Improvements 
are being made—Lut slowly. A genuine bliz 
zard began here on October 15 aud lasted uutil 
the 17th. It is suowiug again to-day—very 
hard on stock, as the ground is not frozen aud 
the snow is very damp and wet. This is very 
unseasonable weather here, and iarmers are 
not prepared for it—sheds out of repair and 
corn not gathered. I. n. s. 
N. Y., Fluvanna, Chautauqua Co., Oet.,20.— 
Tne weather is delightful, the mercury rang¬ 
ing from 65 to 82 Wiuter wheat is lookiug 
exceedingly well. A larger breadth is sown 
thau usual. Potatoes are a short crop; worth 
40c. per bushel. Corn is giving a good yield 
of fiue quality. Hay sells reudiiy at $12 per 
ton. Butter fluctuates from 23 to 27 cents. 
It is a little, too dry for pastures. The fruit 
crop is abundaut aud therefore can be pro¬ 
cured at low figures. Poik is a quick sale at 
6ix aud a half cculs. Buckwheat is coming 
iu a little light. Poultry is plentiful at high 
figures. Chickens 8c. live; turkeys, 12 to 14e. 
dressed. h. a. w. 
Ohio, Camdeu, Preble Co., Oct. 18 — We have 
had a little rain, whiiffi has brightened up our 
wheat and will probably stop the fly which was 
working on that sowu early. Our corn is a fair 
crop aud the dry weather has been line for it 
to mature well. My marigolds turned out mag¬ 
nificent: yielded at the rate ot 1,250 bushels to 
the acre, 60 pounds to the bushel. I have 20 
pounds of cleaned cow-peas. They covered the 
grouud from eight to twelve feet. Thinner 
laud w. uld have yielded more peas and not so 
much vine, 1 think. Our county fair closed 
on the 1st iust. There was a fine display 
of horses, hogs aud sheep. The cattle show 
was not as large as usual, but the qual¬ 
ity of those exhibited wa? much bett'O 
on former years. The display of fruit, grain 
and vegetables was magnificent. The floral 
show, too, was very fine, and bo were those of 
poultry and machinery, w. m, 
Pa., Nittany. Center Co.,Oet. 22.-We are hav¬ 
ing beautiful Fall weather. Farmers are busy 
husking corn. Corn is a good crop throughout 
this county, among the mountains of the old 
Keystone State. Wheat, badly frozen; much of it 
shrunk in the grain and will b% of poorquulity. 
The hay crop was short, and hay will be scarce 
before Spring. It is now worth $15 to $20 per 
ton. Wheat in the ground is growing nicely. 
Some is turning yellow, however, being in¬ 
jured by something at the root. The season 
has been remarkably dry. We have not had 
enough rain all Summer to raise water in the 
streams. J. h. b 
Pa., New Alexandria, Westmoreland Co., 
Oct. 23. — With Golden Ovoid Mangels, 
Blount's Prolific Corn and Rural Branching 
Sorghum, we have from the Rural, in addi¬ 
tion to a first-class paper, advantages never 
before offered. J. w. p. 
Rhode Island. Providence, Oct. 18.—From 
the seed of the Ovoid Mangel received from 
the Rural in the Spring, I have just carried 
to the cellar one large cart load with side 
boards on—16 to 18 bushels. One of them 
weighed, unwashed. 18} pounds, (!) though it 
was closely trimmed. About half a dozen of 
the beets turned moldy in the field. e. f. 
Querist, 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and 
address of the writer to insure attention.] 
Honey Locust*. 
A Subscriber — address mislaid, says last 
Spring he planted some Honey Locust seed for 
the purpose of raising hedge plants. Oa ex¬ 
amining the plants this Fall ho finds very few 
which have any thorns, aud he ask-, 1, why 
so many plants are without thorns; will 
thev be likely to have thorns in a year or two; 
would it be well to leave the thornless plants 
in the nursery until they are a couple of years 
old on the chance that thorns might appear ; 
3, would grape cuttiugs be likely to grow after 
a considerable trip by mail. 
Ans. —There is a thornless variety of the 
Honey Locust, seeds of which probably you 
had sown. Probably they will never have 
thorns. In any case, no harm would be effect¬ 
ed by leaving them iu the nursery for two 
years before removing them to the hedge row. 
2. Yes. It cut after the fall of the leaf and 
the wood is well ripened, they may be preserv¬ 
ed in sand until next Summer. 
The Voorhi* Watermelon. 
W. H. B. Afton, la., says:“ Of two packets of 
seed seut out through the Rural Free Seed Dis¬ 
tribution there was but one vine that produced 
what was thought to be the Voorhis raelou. 
The rest ot the vines produced small, round 
dark-green melons, and occasionally one which 
was marked alternately with light and dark- 
green stripes. The seeds of the supposed-to- 
be Voorhis melon were saved and planted last 
Spring and the product was quite a variety of 
melons, bnt they were all worthless. Will 
some one please explain the cause of such va¬ 
riation among melons ? 
Ans. —The Voorhis is a dark-green melon, 
never very large, but exceedingly sweet in fa¬ 
vorable seasons. In this climate it is impos¬ 
sible to produce fine watermelons without rich 
soil and good cultivation, no matter how good 
the variety. 
Miscellaneous. 
U. K., Chebanse, El., asks in how many 
years black Damson plum pits become bearing 
trees, if put in now, and whether the seedlings 
would require grafting. 2, Ho has some Con¬ 
cord grapes, seven years old, that, owing to 
lire severe drougth probably, have made very 
little wood growth this season, and he inquires 
whether they should be cut back this year. 
3, He set out a Delaware andMarthagrape last 
Spring, which have made a growth of five and 
four feet respectively, and he asks whether it 
would be right to let them bear a bunch each 
next year. 
Ans.—1, Yes: probably they would need 
grafting. Seedlings may bear in a few years 
—they may not in many. 3, Tne Concord, 
whether the season be wet or dry, is always a 
vigorous grower. No doubt the roots are in¬ 
jured from some cause. Cut it back severely 
aud dress the surface of the ground liberally 
with stable manure, wood-ashes aud bone. 
Fork this in lo the depth of five or six inches. 
The grape-vine bears fruit only upon canes of 
the previous year’s growth. In cutting back 
severely, therefore, you need not look for fruit 
next sea-on. 3, Ordinarily, yes. But we 
doubt if they will bear having made but a poor 
grow ih. 
A. VF., Everett, Pa. , asks, 1, our opinion of 
the Albany Corn and Seed Planter, and what 
drill do we use in planting corn ; 2. would we 
vary our Free Seed Distribution so as to 
him have a package of our Blount Corn with 
the White Elephant instead of other seeds, with 
which he may not be able to succeed. 
Ans.— 1. The Albany Corn and Seed Planter 
has an excellent reputation. We have not 
tried it. In our planting we used the Tfoosier 
Corn Drill (see premium list) which was sent 
to us for trial. 2. We have saved only a small 
quantity of Blount’s Com for seed—and this 
with a view of improving it. The ears have 
been selected not from those stalks which bore 
the greatest number of eai’B uecessarily, but 
from the most prolific stalks bearing such ears 
as are freest from the characteristic imperfec¬ 
tions of this variety. We would be greatly 
pleased to vary our Distributions to suit indi¬ 
vidual friends—but really it is impracticable. 
O. N. G.. Poughkeepsie, N. Y., among seve¬ 
ral queries, asks if we have any set days at the 
Rural Farm and how should visitors get there 
from New York. He wants to see our crop of 
Blount’s Corn. 
Ans. —We are now fast closing our work at 
the Rural Farm (Oct. 25). Nearly all the work 
that needs our personal attention is completed 
and the farm will soon be left in the hands of 
the farm manager and his family. Before this 
reaches the eye of our friend, Blount’s corn will, 
for the most part at least, have been husked. 
The Long Island R. R. (taking boat atthe foot of 
Pine Street, James Slip or 34ih Street) goes di¬ 
rect to Pearsall’s Coiners or Hewlett’s Station, 
either of which is within a mile aud a half of 
the farm. The other questions will be answer¬ 
ed later. 
E B. K., no address, asks, 1. how to plant 
Horse Cheetunts; 2, how should Water Chest¬ 
nuts be treated to make them sprout; 3, why 
do potatoes grow snagged, the seed having 
been smooth; 4. which will bear the sooner, 
grape-vines started from cuttings or from 
seed. 
1. Place the seed in sand in a box as soon as 
ripe removing the outer burr and bury the 
box. Plant in the Spring, 2. We donotknow 
what Water Chestnuts are. 3 Drought, too 
deep plaining, second growth, the unequal 
pressure of the soil, stones, etc. 4 From cut¬ 
tings. Seeds huxy fruit the third year—they 
may not in ten. Cuttings should fruit the 
third year usually. 
A. J. B , Clarks field, O., being very well 
pleased with the results f i om the sc <1s sent 
out by the Rural last season, asks here he 
could get a larger quantity to plant next 
Spring. 
Ans.—I n due time we shall notice the Spring 
catalogues of seedsmen. Wherever, as here¬ 
tofore, we find seeds which the Rural has 
introduced or disseminated, therein offered, 
mention is made of the fact a3 an answer to 
many inquiries we are all the time receiving 
similar to the above. 
JL G. K., Colly er. Kan., referring to a late 
article in the Rural ou nut-beariug trees, asks 
where can he get fresh seed of theEoglish 
walnut—the Report of the Department of Ag¬ 
riculture for 78 says this variety will thrive in 
that section. 
Ans. —We find them announced iu the cata¬ 
logue of James M. l’horburn & Co., 17 John 
Street, N. Y.—40 cents per pound. 
J. H,, Hartford Co., Conn., asks. 1, where 
can he get Chester County Mammoth Corn; 2, 
what other large varieties of corn are there. 
Ans. —1. All the promiueut seed-men will 
sell it for auoiber year. 2. Compton's Yellow 
F.int; White Horse Tooth (Southern White); 
King Philip (eight-rowed); Dutton Yellow 
Flint, 10-rowed. 
J. W. K., Kero Alexandria, Pa , asks where 
can be get seed of the Golden Ovoid Mangel to 
plant a half acre next Spring. 
ans. —The Ovoid Margels will no doubt be 
offered by seedsmen generally another season. 
We shall call special attention to such items in 
the Spring eaialogues sent to us for notice. 
J). J. A., Moore's Store, Va., asks whether 
Lost Nation Wheat is a oeurded or a smooth 
sort; is it white or red; does it jield well and 
where could he get a small quantity for seed. 
Ans. —Smooth, while. Ye?, it jields well in 
the Eastern States and Canada as a Spriug sort. 
Ask Dr. Hoskins, Newport, Vt. 
N. A. C, Oshkosh, Win., asks whether the 
Clematis Jackmanii and the Dutchman’s Pipe 
are hardy. 
Ans.— Yes; both are hardy. 
--■ 
Communications received for the week end¬ 
ing Saturday, Oct. 30. 
W. H. H.-S. W. J.—8. B.—J. W. L.-J. H. B.— 
M. C. D—A. S. S.-E. A. B.—H. W. R.—A. L. J.— 
L. S. H.—C. D,, thanks.—U. C. C. 51.—R. G., 
thanks.—L. E. J.—A. B. A.—“Maggie.”—H. E. D. 
E. R. D —W. T-—S. A. M.—A. G.-W. J. C.-Wm, 
B. —A. S.—Estelle.- J. E. P. —J. T.—A. B. A — 
S. C. G.-A. W. II.—T. H. M.-C. R. NV.-M. R.- 
L. K. G.—11.—51. R. O.—T. S—W. 51.— Lottie.- 
A. R.—S. H.—W. L. N.—T. H. O.—Wlllte.—8. H. R. 
-♦ ♦ ♦- 
I Hop Bitters la a preventive and cure lor Ague 
■ a Is your own 1'ault, ix you have It-. 
