MARCH 2& 
THE RIJRAI UPW.VADvei) 
I were a cheese maker, of telling the news¬ 
papers that all the cheese in my factory had 
turned out rotten, and unendurably offensive, 
and of giving that result any weight against 
the system of preserving milk by turning it 
into cheese. It is ouly folly to say now. in the 
face of the experience of even only a few 
years in which ensilage has been tried here, 
that it must go, or that there is any fear of its 
going; it has come to stay, and be useful to 
those who know how to make it so. 
Cornell University', Ithaca, N. Y. 
of catalogues) which bear panicles twice and 
thrice as large as the Common, of a reddish 
color, and the Giant Lilac with blue flowers 
borne ou very long, broad panicles. 
Mr. James Dougal, of Windsor, Ontario, 
Canada, has undertaken the improvement of 
this grand shrub, and has sent U6several speci¬ 
mens to show us how far he has succeeded. 
These were planted last Fall. Of one, named 
the Princess Alexandra, which bears a pure 
white flower in very large trusses, he sent a 
are never infested with insects. The newly 
formed leaves are of a beautiful golden green, 
that changes to very deep green as they grow 
older. In a single season the slender branches 
will extend sufficiently to cover several square 
feet with their attractive foliage. I wonder 
that I have not oftener met this interesting 
plant, I should expect that it would be a 
great, favorite with the amateur. It is said to 
have come originally from China, “elm.” 
mises to be, in earliness of maturity, size oi 
pods and seeds, and uniformity of ripening, ai 
improvement upon all kinds which we hav 
EXPERIENCE WITH CRUDE PETROLEUM. 
When I purchased this place, about six 
years ago, only the frout of the house was 
paiuted, the si es and rear being whitewashed. 
The whitewash I had scraped off, and what a 
job 1 I then purchased a barrel of light petro¬ 
leum, aud gave the weather-boards a coat of it. 
as much as they would readily' absorb. This 
filled the pores of the wood aud hardened the 
surface in a remarkable manner. When the 
painter had put on one coat of paint, he was 
much surprised andsaidthat had I not put on 
the petroleum he would have required at least 
15 gallons more of linseed oil for the first 
coat: aud, furthermore, the coat of petrole¬ 
um undone of paiut were as good as two coat 3 
of paint, if not better. A year or so after¬ 
wards, I had another coat of paint put on, 
aud 1 have as good a job as could be made by 
any three coats I know of, and better than 
some, for neither the first nor second ever 
“rubbed off” in the slightest degree. I do not 
consider petroleum a “paint,” but it serves the 
same purpose, as a preservative of wood by 
filling the pores and glazing the surface, so 
that any water which may fall upon it will 
stand upon the surface io globules until evapo¬ 
rated. There are two kinds of this oil. livht 
Weeping Napoleon Cherry. Fig. 98. 
seen. Remarkably uniform in size and habit; 
ripen very nearly all at once. Picked to-day, 
45 days from planting. One hundred pods 
weigh 19 ounces, containing 654 seeds, which 
weigh eight ounces.” 
By this it will be seen that we have tried the 
pea, and have a good opinion of it; but, as 
stated in the article ~ ~ 
above referred to. not 
being received until y l 
late.it was not planted > >• 
with the others, and TV ' 
consequently was not T ' 
grown under the same 
conditions;. 
The Rural looks 
for good results from + Jfe* 
the widely scattered 
tests which will be -i* 
given this pea, both 
from its own very sat- 
isfactory trial of it F - ^ 
aud from Mr. Cleve- ’ 
land’s character as a pea grower. He is the 
originator of the First and Best Pea now in 
such general use. And, growing nothing but 
peas and beans, and having the oldest establish¬ 
ment of the kind in America, his statements 
are certainly entitled to consideration. 
Tne Rural wishes to anticipate no virtues 
or faults which any article it presents to the 
public may possess, but desires evervthing to 
rest squarely on its merits. It simply says to 
its readers, “ Here are a few seeds which we 
believe may prove valuable; give them a fair 
trial, and send in your verdict.” 
FARM USES OF CRUDE PETROLEUM. 
Crude petroleum is a wonderful preserva¬ 
tive of wood, but it is iu no sense a paint, and 
should have uo pigment whatever mixed with 
it. it has none of the drying properties of 
linseed oil, and will never harden upon a 
surf ice. Ou the contrary, it will penetrate 
where watercanuot, filling the pores of wood 
and completely excluding wet. There is noth¬ 
ing equal to it as a first application to build¬ 
ings or fences, especially when rough and 
weather-beaten. I have so applied it, leaving 
it a few weeks to the action of the air and hot 
sun, then covering with lead and linseed oil. 
The wood-work of my farming tools is kept 
full of it. Applied hot to wagon felloes from 
time to time, the tires will never loosen. For 
years 1 have used it iu a multitude of ways, 
aud a barrel of light crude petroleum 1 should 
not like to be without. Almost auy city has a 
refinery where it may be procured, and it 
costs me, per 50-gallou barrel, freight and 
ail, about 85 . But if you get any, get under¬ 
standing with it, and don’t try to make a paiut 
of it. Don’t grease your harness with it, aud 
don’t use it to kindle V'our fires. w. j. f. 
Castile, N. Y. 
CREEPING FIG. From Nature. Fig. 100, 
CLEVELAND'S RURAL NEW-YORKER 
PE \. 
at Fig. 97. We need not, at this time, giv 
the names or descriptions of the others, since 
they are already in the hands of certain 
American nurserymen, who will announce 
them for sale in due time. 
Fig. 98 shows an engraving from a 
photograph, sent to us by Mr. Dougal, 
of a Weeping Napoleon Cherry. It was 
was raised from a seed of the Napoleon 
When budded low it trail¬ 
ed along the grountl, and 
could not be made to form 
a tree. When budded high 
on the Mazzard it makes a 4 
handsome weeping tree, as -- 
shown by the two engrav- Cf 
ings, at figures 98 aud 99, < 
of different sizes. The fruit *$Sp< r 
is large, black, of good qua- 
lity of the Biggareau class; 
tree very productive, and 
ou the lawn, will combine , 
both the useful aud orna- 
mental—a thing too rarely ' v 
considered in the planting 
of the home grounds. v 
The Rural of February 16th gives an illus 
tration of Cleveland’s Rural New-Yorker Pea, 
and says: “ It is a uew claimant for the honor 
of being really the first aud best. But we 
cannot corroborate the claim, since the seeds 
were received too late to be sown with the 
others, etc , etc. 
miscellaneous 
NOTES ON MARCH 8th NUMBER, 
a good hand planter. 
In the Rural of March 1, page 184. a corres¬ 
pondent asked if there is any hand planter 
that will plant corn in hill or drill. The an¬ 
swer given is, “There is a hand planter in the 
market, but it operates no quicker than one 
cau drop by hand and cover with the foot.” 
Now 1 have one, the “Missouri Hand Planter,” 
that will do faster work than that, aud do it 
well too. The first day I used it, I planted 
nearly seven acres in the hill, rows three-and- 
three-quarters feet apart. That was iu ’71, and 
the planter is good yet; cost three dollars. 
Brandon, Wia. wm. G. m. 
[We have beard the Automatic Hand Corn 
and Bean Planter, manufactured by the 
Wiard Plow Co., Batavia, N. Y., well spoken 
of.— Eds.] 
politic. A pig that cannot root is hardly ever 
perfectly healthy. It is deprived of the most 
necessary part of its diet. Amd if pigs are 
given a variety of food they will not turn a 
forty-acre pasture upside down. They will 
root somewhat, but net enough to occasion any 
material damage. It is ouly pigs that get 
corn and water and these alone, which root so 
energetically and persistently. The rooting 
propensity is not in the breed; that is the 
sheerest nonsense. 1 have had experience 
with all the principal breeds, and have never 
made a pig wear a ring, because I never had 
occasion to. 
*** 
In the “Querist” I see something about the 
Learning Corn. Like the Rural. I think it a 
good variety. But within the last few weeks 
I have received quite a number of letters from 
farmers in the Northwest, who complain that 
it did not mature last year, formed uo grains 
and wms fit ouly for fodder. As they got their 
seed from reliable parties, they certainly got 
pure seed. Would it. not be well for N orthern 
farmers to “go slow” on this excellent variety 
of coru? 
*** 
I threw down my old pen and yelled, Glory! 
when I read what the Rural said in the "Eye- 
Opener” about the Farm. Field aud Fireside’s 
little lottery scheme. This is simply a dis¬ 
honest way to buy foolish people to take an 
alleged paper. Subseribersdo not pay for the 
paper.—they do not care for that—but for the 
lottery ticket. I had heard so much about the 
“great success of F., F. and F.,” and the 
THE CREEPING FIG 
•- r-v 
jrtm. 
NEW PLANTS, 
Really there is no Spring-flowering hardy 
shrub to the blooming of which we look for¬ 
ward with more delight, than the lilac. Those 
who are familiar only with the old kiuds, the 
Common and Persian, that in most country 
places exist in odd corners where they are left 
to grow without pruning, cultivation or care, 
would be surprised to see the splendid trusses 
borne by some of the rarer varieties, such as 
the Rouen Lilac (Syringa rothomagensis rubra 
