4-34* 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
•JULY 5 
ing warm, growing weather. The frost of 
May 29 killed early potatoes and beaus. Corn 
was killed to the grouud, but is coming out all 
right. Apple crop injured badly. Rural 
seeds all c-ame up nicely. 1 like the Rural 
very much. y - ° M- 
MrbriiitUn. 
I'eru, NeinahuGo , June21.—W eare having 
very nice weather just now, thermometer rang¬ 
ing from 70 to 1*0. Crops are all looking very 
well, except Timothy, which is very short and 
heading very low. No cholera iu bogs so 
far; young pigs nearly all alive. J. h. r. 
Mew York. 
Hermitage, Wyoming Co , June 22. —It is 
getting very dry here. Grass and grain need 
rain badly. Old meadows will be light; some 
now seeding will he very good. Potatoes and 
corn are looking well. E - D - p * 
HOWELL’S, Orange Co , June 21.—We are 
in the midst of a very severe drought, which 
will make our hay and grain crops very light. 
Low laud meadows may he benefited If rain 
comes soon, but grass on the upland is now 
ready to cut. I don’t think wheat will be more 
than bulf a crop, and hay ahoutxmo-tblrd. It 
is too early to judge of oats, but we must ex¬ 
pect them to bu very light. H - B - 
Voak. Yates Co.. June 15.—Winter wheat is 
looking well and bids fair to he a good crop. 
Barley and oats are a little uneven on account 
of very wet weather, and theD sudden dry, cold 
winds. Corn is coming up unevenly, owing to 
poor seed and a sudden drought soon after 
and about the time of planting. The frosts of 
May 29 and 80 did some damage to clover, 
peaches anil grapes; other fruits were not 
hurt. Apples, pears, plums and ebonies all 
hang full. The clover-root borer has passed 
along, but the clover-leaf worm Is making 
sad havoc here now, making the leaves full 
of holes, aud iu some spots leuviug the stalks 
perfectly bare. w - A - 
Ohio. 
Cadiz, Harrison Co., June 11.—We are hav¬ 
ing dry weather now. Meadows aud oats 
w ill lie light. Com is short for the time of 
year, hut there is time yet to make a crop, if 
we have seasonable weather. W heat is a fair 
crop. Applw and peers plentiful, and we have 
fair crops of suiull fruits. No peaches. Work 
plenty aud wages good for farm hands. 
T. C. U. 
CONVEYING WATER FROM SPRINGS. 
EaSTWOOD, Brown Co., June 10. — The 
prospects for good crops of nearly everything 
we raise here, is very bright so far; late-sowu 
or poorly tilled fall wheat, is about the only 
exception, with perhaps here aud there a field 
of very late oats The season so far has been 
very favorable for work, and farmers gener¬ 
ally are well up to it. A good deal more 
si.ring wheat has been sown than for some 
years past, and It is looking fine. Fruit pro¬ 
mises to be abundant, especially apples; they 
have set. very full. Plums aud cherries have 
failed ou account of the block knot and 
ourulio; but other small fruits are well loaded. 
Bees have wintered well, and got well to 
work. Prices are fair for everything, and 
farmers are joyful. B - l. 
Mkchankisburo, Champaign Co., June 10. 
—The tomato plants from the Rural seeds 
are doing well; they have tomatoes on now 
larger than walnuts. The peasare now pretty 
well filled: I am saving all to plant another 
season. But very few of the flower seeds came 
up: the ground was too much baked when 
they ought to have been coming U P- The corn 
aud wheat I sent to a friend in another 
county. Jl s * 
Pennsylvania. 
Ariel, Wayne Co., June 28.—We are hav¬ 
ing a very damaging drought; no rain to speak 
of since the first. Gra>s drying up standing. 
Well cultivated crops, like corn aud |>otatoos, 
alone Hre thriving. Oats, barley, and eveu 
winter grain are turning yellow, and a very 
few days more of this kind of weather, with 
the thermometer at 90“ in the shade, will end 
the strife. There has been, WOW and then, a 
shower at distant poiuts, hut nothing to give 
general relief. Farmers are already showing 
much anxiety about hay aud feed. Many are 
putting in corn for fodder, but with little faith 
in having it sprout. Altogether, the look ahead 
is pretty dark. p - w - 
Tennessee. 
RiCBVlUJc, McMiun Co., June 7.—We have 
had a cool Spring. Wheat is looking very 
well; will commence cutting this week. Com 
looks only tolerably well. Clover about half 
a crop. Oats short. "f, c. D. 
Vermont- 
Troy, Orleans Co., June 13.— The hay crop 
of Northern Vermont promises to be big this 
year; we are having a cool, wet spell now, that 
will make a sure thiug of the crop. Most of 
the farmers finished spring work last week. 
1 do not think that the hard freeze at the end 
of May hurt anything of any account arouud 
here. D * A- B - 
J. A P., Springpari; Ky.— Distant 750 feet t< 
from my house, ou the side of u hill, is a spring I a 
with a fall of 57 feet. How can I lay a pipe 'I 
from the spring to the house, to furnish a sup- ( 
ply of water for drinking and other purposes? v 
2. Would a paper pipe answer the purpose! i 
AnB.—W ith a fall of 57 feet the pressure i 
would be fully 20 pounds per square inch, and s 
a good strong pipe would be required to sup- *• 
port this pressure. We know nothing of the t 
paper pipe, but would us a nothing but Iron ' 
gas-pipe. One three-fourths of an inch would 1 
do; but an inch pipe has more than double the * 
capacity, and is not hair so liable to become t 
obstructed, and does not cost more than one- 
third more, aud we think, in the cud, would < 
be found the cheapest. The water bring from < 
a spring, the pipv, If the water is kept con¬ 
stantly running, would never freeze if laid 
ou the surface; but in laying pipe, as in every 
thing else, “there is no danger in being safe,” i 
and we recommend digging the ditch deep i 
enough to have the pipe below frost. The i 
surface can be followed, no matter how low 
or how crooked the pipe may Is? laid, pro¬ 
vided iu no place does it go higher than the 
water-level of the spring. The cistern or re¬ 
servoir at the spring will not in the least, in- | 
crease the pressure, and thin should be well 
walled up so as to keep the water clean, and 
the pijie should enter below the lowest point 
the water will ever reach, and the end should 
be protested with a screen or strainer made of 
copper or brass, aud opening downward; there 
can bo an elbow ou the pipe iu the reservoir, I 
and this screen can be made funnel shaped, 
having the large end not less than one foot iu I 
diameter, covered with a diaphrum of copper 
punched full of boles, each one-fourth of an 
inch in diameter. This can lie soldered to a 
piece of pipe two or three inches long, that 
cau be screwed into the elbow; this need not 
be put iu, and the cud of the pipe can be kept 
plugged until the whole line is laid anil tested. 
The object of having the straiuiug surface al¬ 
ways downward, is that in this position it is I 
always clean. At the house end, matters cau 
be arranged with T-pieces or branches, so 
that, the water can lie drawn in as many places 
as desired, and each can he dosed with a fau¬ 
cet, as desired. The water will be much fresher 
and better if only a very small stream is 
allowed to ruu constantly, and with this pros- 
sure a splendid fountain could be bad. When 
the pipe is obtainod, wo would advise coating 
it on the outside with one or two coats (two are 
best.) of thick puiut. made of red lead aud oil, 
lotting it, get thoroughly dried before laying. 
To lay it, commence at the spring, putting iu I 
the first length with a bend, if necessary, and 
making the place where it- passes through the 
wall water-tight, l'ut the sockets or couplings 
ou the lower or forward end of each section 
before putting it in the trench, and then put¬ 
ting the backward end in the coupling of the 
pipe already laid, screw up firm aud tight, 
using a pair of gas tougs or a pipe-wrench. 
The threads of each pipe should be well coated 
with the same puiut used to paint the pipe, 
before they are screwed luto the couplings. 
After the whole line has been laid, the plug 
cau be removed from the upper end, and 
the pipe bo allowed to fill with water so as to 
test it. If all right, wo would then coat the 
whole pipe thickly with coal tar, having 
boiled it down quite thick, aud use an old 
broom to coat the pipe, and then fill the tiench. 
Of course, all this is some trouble: but re¬ 
member, the inside of the pipe filled with pure 
water at this pressure, will probably never 
rust out, aud with this careful protection ou 
the outside, the pipe is practically indestructi¬ 
ble, and once well laid, is better than a dozen 
“bungled.” vVo can hardly tell the cost. 
Ripe is worth in this city as fo'lows: Black or 
common tbreo-fourths-iueb, 4 '-y cents per foot; 
and one inch, six cents Galvauizod, both out¬ 
side and inside, three-fourtha-inch, ii.>» cents; 
one-inch, 8% cents per foot; at which prices 
we should prefer the galvanized, aud thus save 
all trouble of painting or coating. The 
branches or hydrants in no case need be over 
three-fourths of au inch, aud the faucets 
' would cost about $1.25 each. We have been 
‘ particular in answering this inquiry, because 
thousaudsof farmers all over the country have 
springs so situated that at little expense they 
might carry water to ull parts of their houses 
> and barns; aud did they once know the luxury 
8 of abundance of flowing water, would for all 
t tune thank us for calling their attention to 
f 
the matter. 
THE CLOVER-LEAF BEETLE, ETC. 
i S. J., North Bergen , N. T.—l. Hoes the 
Acme Harrow act as a hanow, or only as a 
pulverizer? 2. Inclosed I send some woims 
that are eating our clover, also some eaten 
clover. Some fields that three weeks ago 
looked very fine, contain now only bare stalks; 
what are the pest?, and what can we do to rid 
our fields of them f 
Ans.— I. The Acuie acts as a harrow as well 
as pulverizer, and is good for all purposes ex¬ 
cept harrowing growiug crops—graiu. pota¬ 
toes, corn, etc. It would cut them off, but foi 
all other purposes it works very nicely. 2 
They are larva: of the Clover Leaf Beetle 
(Pbytonomus puuetatus. Fab.), the insect 
which is doing so much damage to the clover 
in Central Western New York. The beetle 
is about three-eigdths of au inch long. It lays 
smooth, greenish white eggs in clusters m 
the hollows of the leaf-stalks; the larva: eat 
the leaves iu irregular patches at first; but 
where abundant they eat the entire leaves, 
leaving nothing but bare stalks. The beetles 
and larvae are very shy, aud as one approach¬ 
es them they drop to the ground and hide. 
They also do tlieir euting in the night. 1} iug 
concealed under stones, dirt, or othei things 
during the day time. When full-grown, the 
larva: are from half to three-fourths of an 
inch long. Most of them assume a greenish 
tinge, with a whitish dorsal stripe, though 
some remain a pale yellowish white. 1 hey 
are about 40 days iu becoming full-grown, 
and then they spin an oval-shaped, pale yellow 
cocoon, attaehod to the clover stem* or leaf¬ 
stalks. As bad as are the ravages of the larva-, 
the damage done by the perfect beetle is much 
worse, as it eats voraciously, devouring flower 
heads, leaves, and stalks, and when the posts 
have done with a field it is a sorry spectacle 
indeed. A portion of these beetles hybernate 
iu out of-the-way places; much the larger 
part lay eggs in the Full, and a large propor¬ 
tion of the eggs hatch, aud the larva* hyber¬ 
nate inside the leaf stalks. 
Any treatment that, will destroy the stubble, 
and with it the hybernatiug larva:, is one of 
the most effectual means of destruction. 
Should they appear in great numbers in the 
larval state in a clover fitdd, it should at once 
be plowed, rolled, aud harrowed down close. 
Paris-green or other mineral poisons w ill uu 
doubtedly destroy these insects, but, this should 
not be applied and the clover afterwards used 
as food. We suggest the following method, 
which has never yet been tried: Where a field 
is badly infested, apply a solution of Paris 
green or London purple, and leave it long 
enough to kill all the lieetles as well as larva: 
iu the field, and then plow the clover down for 
green manure. This course has the great ad 
vantage of killing all, where plowing down 
liefore poisoning would allow a very large 
proportion of the beetles to escape to other 
fields. In England there are many Ichneumon 
flies that prey upon these insects, but none of 
them has as yet appeared on this side ol the 
Atlantic, but it is hoped they may do so soon. 
CONTROLLING HEX IN ANIMALS. 
W. n. L., ftidgetiiUe, Minn .—Is there any 
way of controlling the sex of young animals, 
and what is the general opinion on the sub¬ 
ject? 
Ans.— The old idea that the right ovary aud 
testicle ure concerned in the production of 
males,and the left in the production of females, 
is found to ho untenable, for when either the 
right or left organ has been removed from 
either sex, the maimed animal, as lias been fre¬ 
quently proved by experiment, produces males 
and females iu about the usual proportion. 
According to Professor Thu ry’s theory, atone 
time quite popular, but now considered 
groundless, sex depends upon the degree of 
maturity of the egg at the moment of lecundu- 
tiou: that which has not reached a certain 
degree of maturity producing the female, and 
that which has been fecundated when this 
point of maturity has passed, producing the 
male. If this theory were correct, the pro¬ 
duction of males would arise from the greater 
maturity and complete development of the 
germ, aud the production of female or male 
could be regulated by having copulation take 
place in the early stage of beat for the for¬ 
mer, and iu the late stage for the latter. It, 
is fouud, however, that w here the males con¬ 
stantly ruu with the breeding females, so that 
copulation takes place at, the beginning of the 
period of heat, the number of each sex among 
the offspring is nearly equal iu the average of 
a number of years. Some remarkable results, 
however, are claimed to have been brought 
about iu testing the truth of this theory. Ac¬ 
cording to the theory of Girou de Buzareiugues 
when young males are copulated with well-fed, 
strong, older females,there is a preponderance 
of female offspring; while in case of the copula¬ 
tion of mature, vigorous males with younger 
aud weaker females, the males among the off¬ 
spring predominate. A great number of 
experiments have been made witn different 
animals to test the truth of this theory, and 
the results have, in nearly all cases, couth med 
it. The theory is generally accepted at pres- 
e nt as having a good deal of truth iu it, and 
many breeders act in conformity with it. In 
iKso, Mr. D. D. Ftqnet, of Texas, published 
that, be had repeatedly controlled t he sexes of 
domestic animals by food alone. For instance, 
when In* wished to obtain a heifer calf, he fed 
the cow light, cooling food for some days 
before putting her to the bull, aud at the same 
time fed the latter with rich, heat-producing 
food; but when be wished to obtain a bull 
calf, he reversed the practice. Considerable 
attention was attracted at the time by his 
positive assertions, which were backed up by 
certificates from his neighbors, but since then 
we have seen nothing with regard to the sys¬ 
tem. Mr. Stayvesant, of Dutchess County, 
N. Y. t some years ago, maintained that he 
could also control the sex of animals. His 
plau to secure a heifer calf was simply this: 
If a cow had produced for her last calf a 
heifer, he did not allow her to be served the 
first time she came in season, but, let her run 
over until the second time, when she was 
served in the first of the beat, aud immediately 
shut up by herself until it passed over. If she 
did not catch that time, bo let her run over 
heat number three, aud had her served in heat 
number four, and so ou till she finally did 
catch. On the other hand, if the cow had 
produced a bull calf, he had her served the 
first time she came arouud after calving, aud 
shut ber up. as in theotber case. If she failed 
to catch, he let her run over the next season, - 
and had her served in season number three, 
aud so on until she did catch. This theory is 
founded on two assumptions; first, that the 
sex of the offspring depends entirely upon the 
female; and,second, t-hat every alternate egg 
is of the same sex, and experience is opposed 
to lKith these assumptions. There is uo doubt 
that some males aud females are constitution¬ 
ally disposed to produce either male or female 
offspring exclusively or in great preponder¬ 
ance. Some seasons aud some localities appear 
also to have considerable influence in control¬ 
ling sex. In spite of all theories aud all sorts 
of practices, however, it is found that the num¬ 
ber of males averages about tho same as that 
of females. “ Male and female created He 
them,” appears still to indicate a law of produc¬ 
tion, which man’s utmost skill aud ingenuity 
have hitherto been unable to alter appreciably. 
ERADICATING CANADA THISTLES. 
U. L. S., Venango, Pa .—What is the best 
way of getting rot of Canada Thistles? 
Ans. _In order to know the best way to 
grow, or exterminate, any plaut, it is well to 
know something of its structure and mauuei 
of growth. The Canada Thistle is au annual, 
iu precisely the same sense iu which a potato 
is au annual. It shoots upward from au eye, 
produces leaves, blossoms, aud bears low, if 
auy, seeds, aud dies. A11 tho feeding roots of 
the 'plaut proceed from the upright stalks. 
But from under grouud it sends off creeping 
root-stocks (rhizomas.) iu all directions; these 
are studded with eye?, aud during the latter 
part of Summer become filled with nutriment, 
the same us a potato tuber, and these are what 
survive the Winter, and spread the nuisance 
from every eye the succeeding Spring. Now, 
supposing we hud a plot of ground full of po¬ 
tatoes and we could not plow it, how would 
we get rid of them? It is clear to every oue 
that, if each time they sent above ground a 
crop of sprouts, we were to pull them off, the 
tubers would soon become exhausted and die. 
Precisely the same course will eradicate the 
thistles. But if we study the potato a little 
closer, we shall see that growth up to, or near 
I blossoming time, is made iu part at tho expense 
of nutriment contained in the tubers, uud if, 
instead of coutiuually pulling tbe shoots, we 
let them grow until about that time, aud then 
J pull them, we shall suve the labor of pulling 
several times. The same is the case with tho 
s Thistle. Very' much of its top growth, up to 
& the showing of the first blossom, is made at the 
expeuse of the nutriment in tbe root-stocks, so 
r that if just at that time we pull every stalk, 
and continue to do so from that time onward 
I during the season, not allowing them to per 
l feet a leaf, the root-stocks will become so ex- 
t bausted that noue will survive the Winter. 
The easiest wuy to kill them is to put the iu- 
fested plot in clover, and as soon as the first 
blossoms show, mow it; a little plaster now 
® applied will stimulate the clover into a rapid 
^ growth, ami when knee-high, say for this lati- 
‘ tude about July IS, plow the plot carefully so 
B ’ as not to leave a thistle showing; at once roll 
1 or harrow, or both, down smooth. From this 
time on watch the place carefully, as often as 
. once a week, aud when any thistles show, cul- 
:i tivate with a broad, sharp-toothed cultivator; 
' and a day later, go over it with a sharp hoe, 
and cut every escaped thistle under t e 
* ground. The thistles will be very few alter 
oi tbe plowing, and wifi grow rapidly less each 
nt, time; scarcely one will appear after the mid- 
ad die of September. In the Fall plow again; 
ed and a splendid fitting will have beeu given for 
is- ! any spring crop; not a thistle will ever again 
