26 
THE BUBAL NEW-YOBKEB, 
JAN 42 
mense stomach aud vigorous digestive appar¬ 
atus, he never could have lived and steadily 
gained two years after he had won his first 
sweepstakes. Yet as strong as those points 
are, they are overlooked in his portraits, 
which so misrepresent him as to cast doubt 
upon his correctly-reported high and healthy 
condition, his age, his steady gain, his size 
and weight. b. f. j. 
MEETING OF THE CONNECTICUT 
BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 
HIGHLY INTERESTING PROCEEDINGS AND A 
THOROUGHLY SUCCESSFUL MEETING. 
[Rural Special Report 1 
This was held at Waterbury, Dec. tilth to 
21st. The opening paper was on the Peach by 
the State Pomologist Augur, whose cheq¬ 
uered experience with ten orchards he had 
planted aud cared for, had taught him the 
folly of planting too many kinds: that there 
are more blanks than prizes in growing seed¬ 
lings: that peaches and blackberries are not 
congenial crops on the same ground: aud that 
late, succulent growth should be avoided His 
conclusions were, to secure if possible per¬ 
fectly healthy trees, and a suitable location: 
to apply fertilizer judiciously, using occa¬ 
sional applications of 2U bushels of lime per 
acre; to give good cultivation till Midsummer: 
to avoid over-cropping, and injury from the 
l>each-liorer. and to let the trees have the whole 
ground after coming into bearing. The 
•yellows.'' he thought, the groat scourge of the 
peach, and he had hopes that the application 
of high-grade muriate of potash, sulphate of 
ammonia, kiserite aud super-phosphate, as 
indicated by the experiments of Dr. Goess- 
mann, and Prof. Peuhallow, would mitigate, 
if not prevent, this malady. His choice of va¬ 
rieties included Mountain Rose. Ulduiixon 
Free, Stump the World. Crawford’s Early aud 
Late, the latter being the best of all. The 
very early varieties were too much inclined 
to rot to be profitable, and Sal way. Suiock 
and Steady were rather late, though if picked 
before frosted, aud {racked in close boxes in n 
moderate temperature they ripened very well. 
A southern exposure for the orchard was to 
be preferred. No fruit, responds so quickly to 
good or bail management as the peach. In 
the discussion following, a wash of lime, soap 
and carbolic acid, applied to the t.ruuk of the 
trees, was advised for the peach-borer, and 
careful scrubbing twice a year to dislodge any 
that, chanced to find a dislodgiuent. Sum¬ 
mer pruning should be done before the first of 
August; heading buck in Spring after the 
the 2<'th of March; and thinning to secure 
fine fruit. One speaker regarded 15 iuches 
of growth as the minimum to be desired. 
Use fertilizers of some bind if necessary 
to obtain it. With such treatment he had 
received an aggregate of $2,000 from an orch¬ 
ard of one and a-quarter acre set seven years 
ago. He had specimens, 140 of which made a 
bushel, bringing eight dollars per bushel. 
The next paper was a Hale aud hearty one 
on the importance of small fruits for the far¬ 
mer as a source of pleasure, health and econ¬ 
omy. A quarter of an acre was little enough 
for the farmer’s garden, 10 rods being in 
strawberries, eight in raspberries, five in 
blackberries, four in currants, one in goose¬ 
berries, aud 12 iu grapes. This area would 
give 10 quarts of fre-sh berries a day for nearly 
three months, besides a surplus for canning, 
aud the grapes would supply 10 to 15 pounds a 
day for at leart three months more. The 
ground should be subsoilcd, well pulverized 
and fertilized, commercial fertilizers having 
the preference, such as ground bone and wood 
ashes or muriate of potash, which seemed to 
give more fruit product, iu proportion to 
plant growth, than manure of a more nitro¬ 
genous nature. Spring planting anil narrow 
rows wen* advised for strawberries, and 
horse culture for all garden crops. The pis¬ 
tillate flowering strawberries were said to bo 
the most productive, and could be made more 
so if well supplied with pollen from “perfeel”- 
flowering kinds. The Crescent, fertilized by 
the Wilson, will be smaller but firmer than 
when fertilized by Pioneer or Chas. Downing, 
and when President Lincoln was used it pro¬ 
duced coxcotubed berries. The best flavored 
Crescents that went to Hartford market were 
fertilized by the Cnas. Downing. 
Fall [danting was preferred lor raspberries; 
if late, protection with coarse manure or a 
mound of earth, was desirable. Pinching off 
the young plants when eighteen inches high, 
made them stocky, rendering stakes unneces¬ 
sary". Blackberries required about the same 
treatment. Fall planting was preferred for 
currants and gooseberries. Mulching, manur¬ 
ing, and thinning out were desirable for 
t he beat results Grapes were sc easily grown 
they could be depended on for an annual 
crop after the third year, if clean culture aud 
close pruning were strictly attended to. A 
sprinkling <•! lime si the proper time was iv 
commended as a remedy for strawberry blight. 
The sorts recommended were the Crescent, 
Miner’s, Kentucky, Sharpless, Manchester, 
Mount Vernon, Piper, Mrs Garfield. Daniel 
Boone and James Vick Strawberries: the 
Souhegan, Gregg, Hansell, Cuthbert and 
Caroline Raspberries; the Early Harvest aud 
Snyder Blackberries; Fay’s Prolific, Victoria, 
White Grape and Lee’s Prolific (black) Cur¬ 
rants; Downing aud Smith's Gooseberries; 
Victor, Worden, Concord, Herbert, Brighton, 
Delaware, Jefferson, Vergenues, Lady and 
Pocklington Grapes. 
A discussion following was on pruning the 
grape, several not taking kiudly to the theory" 
of close pruning. One speaker had failed 
entirely with Wilder bythis method; another 
deprecated the system as bad for the plant, 
and instanced au Isabella vine on the side of 
his house, 10 years old, that was uot prunedat 
all, yet yielded fi to 10 bushels of fine fruit an¬ 
nually. The chief paper of the evening was 
by r J. M. Hubbard, of M iddletown, “ Concern¬ 
ing 1 hings that Seem Worthless," in which he 
took the ground that nothing was absolutely 
worthless; that the value of things depended 
on their remoteness or proximity to a market 
where they could be utilized. 
On the morning of the second day the con¬ 
vention listened to a paper by L. P. Chamber¬ 
lain on ‘ ‘ Farm Labor iu New Euglaud 1 '—a 
stirring and forcible address. Dr. Bowen, on 
“ The Health of the Farmer and his Family.’’ 
urged the use of trees for shade. They are 
cool and cozy, but they should uot bur the 
sunshine from our dwellings, or be so near as 
to render the air damp or moist Typhoid 
fever, in nine cases out of ten, could be traced 
to privies, bam yards, hen-yards or cess-pools. 
Purity about our dwellings was as necessary 
as morality. Our cellars were too often dark 
and damp. He advocated building them sep¬ 
arate from the house, to avoid the baneful ef¬ 
fects arising from them. The bed-room, the 
most Important in the house, should be light 
and airy. He imprecated the use of furnaces 
as none was yet so perfect as to give a healthy 
atmosphere. Au upper room warmed by a 
register was false economy. O’-er-work of 
fanners* wives was a prolific source of ill- 
health, and the better health of country chil¬ 
dren over those of the city was largely due to 
out-door life. The growth of plants in our 
dwellings was not, as a rule, detrimental to 
health Prof, Brewer discoursed ou “ The 
Educational Influence of the Farm,” and con¬ 
cluded that the hope of the nation and the fu¬ 
ture of our country lay in the future youth of 
the farm and their education. The influences 
surrounding the youth of country and city 
were contrasted, and street education la¬ 
mented. 
On the morning of the third day Mr. Chee- 
ver took “ Various Views of Farming,” and 
was not disposed to regard farming as low au 
occupation as it was sometimes thought to be. 
Skinning and skimming the soil is not farm¬ 
ing, and it is no wonder that those who prac¬ 
tice it go West. Many of the sad features of 
farming are due to those not adapted to the 
business. The shiftless farmer does not plant 
much, so as not to have much to care for. He 
doesnot plant fruit trees, because it takes them 
too long to come into bearing. He does not 
plant any small fruits, as ho has no time to 
care for them. He keeps no carriages, as he 
does not care to ride iu oue: aud as for ber¬ 
ries, his family can find all they want iu the 
woods—he likes stronger food. The book- 
farmer is generally a merchant who, having 
made his money elsewhere, goes on the farm 
to speud it. The fancy farmer lias made many 
mistakes, but they have been at his own ex¬ 
pense; while the practical parts of his opera¬ 
tions have been of benefit, to practical farm- 
on-. It, is to this class we are largely indebted 
for the farmers' club, the agricultural college, 
the experiment station, improved stock, im¬ 
plements and methods. Scientific farming is 
regarded with distrust by many; but there 
is nothing in science that, any practical farmer 
need be afraid of. Scientific farming is only 
another name for intelligent farming. Spe¬ 
cial farming was illustrated in the case of a 
man who planted more corn in order to glow 
more hogs, to get more money, to buy more 
land, to grow more hogs, to get more money, 
to buy more land, etc., ad libitum. It was a 
mistake to spread our labor and manure over 
too much land: better work what we do till 
up to its fullest capacity. A case in point: 
The capital, labor and manure usually spread 
over a 50-acre farm had been concentrated on 
25 acres, aud iu four years this had been made 
to support four times as much stock as the 
whole did previously, while the other 25 acres 
had been allowed to grow up to wood. Soiling 
had proved a potent, factor iu this result, two 
and three crops being grow u in a season, such 
as rye, barley and Hungarian Grass. Lucerne 
was a failure; it was u warui-cliiunte plant. 
T. 8. Gold’s soiling crops were corn, Hun¬ 
garian or mlllt:-: OU good soil three tons per 
acre could be grown as easily as hay. Mr. 
Chamberlain thinks Hungarian better tlmu 
good hay or millet. He had grown nearly 
four tons of dried Hungarian Grass to the 
acre, and got two crops a year. Three-quar¬ 
ters of a bushel or 3fi pounds of seed per acre 
were required. Bone dust and muriate of 
potash were commended as fertilizers in pro¬ 
portion of ouo-half to one-third of the latter, 
aud six to eight ewt, per acre should be a[>- 
plied. Prof. Clark, of Mass. Agricultural Col¬ 
lege, stated that two cwt. of bone and one cwt. 
of muriate of potash aud five cwt. sulphate 
of magnesia, applied to a 12-acre peach or 
chard, gave superior-colored peaches, which, 
though uot so large as some, sold better ou 
account of their attractive appearance. 
“The conflict of Civilization with its own 
Waste,” by J B. Olcott, of the Hartford 
Couraut, was the subject of the next paper, 
and one which elicited the most intense inter¬ 
est and inquiry, The insidious but sure pois¬ 
ons from sewer gas, the pollution of streams 
and w ater supplies by sewage, are the most 
prolific sources of disease with which we now 
have to contend, and how to remedy the dif¬ 
ficulty is of the most vital importance to 
everyone. The nearest approach to a solution 
of the problem is thought to Vie seeu at the 
city of Pullman, near Chicago, where the 
sewage of the city is carried four miles away, 
and used, as all such material should be used, 
in restoring fertility to the soil, resulting in 
increased crops, and in this case a fair cash 
interest on the original cost. 
In response to a question. Secretary Gold 
gave the amouut of sorghum sirup per acre 
as ranging anywhere up to 300 gallons, on 
good soil. It was worth to the farmer what 
he would have to pay for a similar article. 
Beside the sirup, there were 25 to 30 bushels 
of seed per acre, which was as good as oats or 
com lor hogs or horses. 
The ensilage system did uot seem to have 
many friends present,—at least its opponents 
were uot inclined to discuss it,—aud a sample 
of ensilaged clover was so disagreeable it had 
to be removed from the Hall. The veteran 
agricultural editor. Wethercll, of the Boston 
Traveler, described a two-acre Conn of a gen¬ 
tleman near Boston, who, with the labor of one 
mau besides his own. had taken more prizes 
at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society's 
Exhibitions thau aDy other exhibitor. Ho 
kept a cow and pig to consume the refuse and 
convert it into manure, aud his receipts from 
the produce tnado it, pay, liesides having the 
advantages and enjoyments of country life. 
The concluding paper was a story entitled 
the “ Two Mrs Tuckers,” written expressly 
for the occasion by Mrs. Rose Terry 
Cooke, purporting to portray New England 
farm life of " ye olden time” in contrast with 
that of the present day. It was much enjoyed 
by the audience and furnished a fitting close 
to the interesting series. 
These annual gatherings and their migra¬ 
tory character are well worthy of imitation 
by other State Boards. 
The exhibit under the management of Po- 
mologist Augur comprised 154 plates of apples, 
seven of peal’s, 00 samples of corn, 75 of pota¬ 
toes. four of nuts, 20 of onions, eight of wheats, 
seven of oats, besides barley, buckwheat, 
beets, carrots, turnips, squashes, pumpkins, 
gourds, commei cial fertilizers, and miscella¬ 
neous articles. Among the latter was a little 
alarm gun designed to announce to owners of 
orchards, vineyards, melon-patches and hen¬ 
roosts the call of visitors at unseasonable 
hours, and I think I can conscientiously rec¬ 
ommend it for the purpose designed. “ w.' 
titnunj. 
MOHAMMED. 
We are apt to suppose that Mohammed was 
bom a prophet, as was John the Baptist, but 
this is not the fact, Not till he was forty 
years of age does he seem to have decided to 
expound a system of religion. 
He was the only child of one Ahdulluh, who 
died early" and left his widow and infant son 
with no other substance than live camels and 
one Ethiopian she-slave. The child fell to t he 
care first of his grandfather and theu of his 
uncle, neither one of whom suspected that the 
shrewd, quiet boy was destiued to leave a 
name which millions of people would rever¬ 
ence. 
His uncle taught him the trade of a mer¬ 
chant, taking him to Syria when he was thir¬ 
teen years old, aud recommending him to a 
noble and rich widow, whom he served so ac¬ 
ceptably thut she made him her husband, and 
thereby raised him to au equality with the 
richest ill Mecca 
Being now able to live at ease, he formed 
the project of reviving what lie considered 
the ancient and true faith believed by Adam, 
Noah and Abraham. The principal article of 
this faith n u - that there is one God only. He 
considered that this original belief was eor 
rupted by" Christians, because they admit¬ 
ted three persons into the Godhead. He 
esteemed Jesus Christ a prophet, like Mo¬ 
ses, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Mohammed, but 
claimed Mohammed as the most distinguished, 
and the seal, no other prophet to be expected 
after him. He was in the habit of retiring 
for a month each year to a cave near Mecca, 
where he meditated upon this subject.. Dur¬ 
ing one of these seasons he announced to 
Khadijah, his wife, that the augeJ Gabriel 
had just appeared to him, and told him that 
he was appointed the apostle of God. 8he ac¬ 
cepted the news with great delight, and at 
once set about assisting him iu his mission, 
winning her cousin, a man of some knowl¬ 
edge, to a belief in it, Mohammed proceeded 
with great discretion, making proselytes pri¬ 
vately for three years before hazarding the 
affair in public. Having at the end of that 
time six chief companions and a few other 
followers, he ventured to expose the matter 
by preaching abroad. As might be expected 
he encountered opposition, for the Arabians 
were not prepared to abandon their idols. 
For twelve years he suffered persecution 
without offering resistance, when, consider¬ 
ing himself to have a sufficient following to 
defend himself, he gave out that God had 
given him permission to use force, and being 
encouraged by success, soon claimed to have 
leave to uttack his enemies, destroy idolatry", 
and set up the true faith. 
It was iu the twelfth year of his mission 
that he professed to have made his night 
journey from Mecca to Jerusalem aud thence 
to Heaven. Had it not been for Abu Beer, 
this claim would probably have ruined Mo¬ 
hammed's whole design, for his people were 
very incredulous in regard to it; but Abu 
Beer came to his rescue by affirming that if 
Mohammed said he went to Heaven, he be¬ 
lieved he did, which not ouly restored the 
faith of his followers, but greatly increased 
their reverence for him. About this time he 
was obliged to leave Mecca to escape death 
by persecution. He made his headquarters 
at Medina and built a temple there. From 
Medina he sent out some 27 expeditions 
against his enemies; the most famous battle 
being that of Bedr. It is said that be was 
held in such great veneration by bis people 
that whenever he made au ablution before 
prayersthev ran to catch the water he had 
used and gathered every hair thartie let fall. 
He was finally able to proceed against Mecca 
with ten thousand men. He entered the city 
and destroyed the idols. The following year 
he died, but all Arabia, excepting ouly one 
province, bad embraced Mohammedanism, 
and bis disciples were in a condition to extend 
their conquests over a great part of the 
world. 
It is interesting to analyze the character of 
a man who has made such an impression upon 
the vital interests of mankind. Mohammed 
had most excellent natural abilities. His 
shrewd sagacity, perhaps more than anything 
else, raised him to the great eminence he at¬ 
tained. His pleasiug person, agreeable ad¬ 
dress, and good judgment, however, assisted. 
He was just, liberal, witty, abstinent, conde¬ 
scending toward inferiors, a man of few 
words aud much knowledge of men. 
Like all Arabs he was very fond of women, 
but the Koran allows but four wives, and re¬ 
commends. when more convenient, the keep 
ing of only one. 
He was so illiterate as to be unable even to 
read and write; the Koran being written by 
scribes, much of it from memory after the 
death of tne Prophet, but this luck of knowl¬ 
edge so far from detracting from his glory, 
added to it, for it was claimed that such an 
elegant composition as the Koran could not 
possibly have emanated from an uneducated 
mind except he had been inspired. How¬ 
ever, much of the subject matter of tbih book 
is evidently copied from the writings of the 
Jews and of the Persian Magi. 
Doubtless Mohammed possessed a remark¬ 
able ambition to be famous, aud this with 
his use of the sword for conquest accounts for 
the spread of the doctrine among one hundred 
and sixty" millions of people. 
ZEWA CLAVBOURNE. 
Not long ago an officer in the army who, 
having lost his upper teeth, wore a false set, 
was engaged in serious Conversation with 
some Indians. His plate troubling him, he 
took it out and wiped it with his handker¬ 
chief. The Indians watched the process with 
unfeigned astonishment. When the captain, 
putting the plate in his mouth, went ou with 
the conversation, they sprang to their feet 
and left the room and post iu all baste, and 
with every symptom of extreme terror. 
Oun tine pastern iu there colors u ill be sent 
to all who apply. Van not you find a place in 
your earriaye-house or barn fur the Rural 
poster Alt may apply for our new Premium 
List also. 
