S3© 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
AUG 48 
peting in beauty with those found in earlier- 
settled districts. The log houses have given 
place to substantial frame or brick dwellings, 
aud the bums show by their size and arrange¬ 
ment that the people have not only acquired 
something in the way of grains and stock, but 
also that they know how to care for them. 
Everything shows thrift. Machinery they 
have learned to use to advantage, and know 
how to take care of it. One does not see these 
things "lying around loose,” but they are 
housed, and kept ship-shape. 1 noticed an¬ 
other cause of success— all hand» worked to- 
gvthcr. lu one place a woman could be seen 
bravely pitching wheat, in another instance, 
a 12-vear old boy drove the reaper and filled a 
man's place for his father. All seem to know 
how to work to the best advantage, and their 
combined efforts secure " Independence.” 
These people enjoy a liberty that our novelty¬ 
hunting city folks never realize, in the fore 
part of this week everything looked parched, 
but about the middle of it considerable rain 
fell and the prospect is good for ‘‘more to fol¬ 
low.” °- 
Missouri. 
Lonk Star, Barry Co., July 24.—Crops of 
all kinds look well here, except early potatoes, 
which suffered from drought in May and June; 
late ones promise a full crop. My Blush Po¬ 
tatoes are looking splendid; they are e. suc¬ 
cess, Corn is good except late planting. 
Wheat is turning out from 10 to 20 bushels per 
acre. Plenty of fruit except peaches, the buds 
of which were killed lost Winter. We have 
hud plenty of rain the last two weeks, n. u. H. 
New York. 
W right'sCorners, Niagara Co., Aug. 3.— 
It has rained most of the time for the past 
week, and much barley has been caught Out, 
and though turned t wo or three times, it is 
considerably stained, and of course reduced 
in value. The greatest objection to barley as 
a crop is its extreme liability to iujury. 1 
find Horsford’s Imperial more than a week 
later tbuu improved Munshury, which, if it 
yields us heavily,will bo a good feature,as it will 
put it a little more out. of the way of wheat har¬ 
vesting. The abundant rains have made clo¬ 
ver, potatoes and corn look splendid. Corrn 
though a little late, is uow growing very rap¬ 
idly. and a short spell of this damp, hot weather 
will make it. all right. Due of my neighbors 
lust Fall ou a turned down cloversod, with no 
manure but 100 pounds ol phosphate per acre, 
sowed half a dozen of the new kinds of wheat, 
all treated alike. Ho sowed 56 pounds of 
Cross-bred Deihl Mediterranean, and lias just 
thrashed over 40 bushels. Prom HO pounds of 
Landroth sown, he has thrashed less than 30 
bushels. The others were not worth mention¬ 
ing. The Landreth is badly shrunken; the 
Cross bred D.-M. is as plump, and “ handsome 
as a fiddle.” He is delighted with it, and will 
sow all he has, as ho says it is the coming 
wheat. The Welcome Oats ure now ripe, 
Triumph are more than a week away, aud 
Rural Champion two weeks, though I believe 
the latter, if they don’t rust, will yield much 
the best. h. m. j. 
Ohio. 
Bavakd, Columbiana Co., July 35,—Weare 
having a very dry time. Corn is suffering 
very much. Oats about half cut. Wheat all 
iu stacks and barns; some thrashed; yield 
good. Potatoes very poor. d. w, s, 
Brimfield, Portage Co., July 35.—In this 
immediate section farmers are feeling rather 
blue on account of the severe drought all 
Summer, for we have had uo rain to speak of 
since last February—only now' and then a 
light sprinkle—and iu consequence, our hay 
crop was next to nothing, and potatoes were 
the same. Oats can hardly be bound, and the 
yield must be very light, aud coin is not at all 
promising. Wheat, in mauy instances, was 
badly damaged by the May frost; my own, 
being quite forward, was damaged fully oue- 
half. Am well pleased with the Rural.* v.p.s. 
Frkdonia, Liekiug Co., July 3s.—The 
weather was dry all through July till the 
36th, when we had a splendid rain, reviving 
the com aud pastures which were badly 
burned out. The wheat and oat crops are, in 
general, first-class iu this locality. Apples 
poor; not half a crop. Early potatoes dou't 
yield more than half what they did last year. 
w. I). B. 
Kalida, Putnam Co., July 38.—It has beeu 
very dry here for the last 15 days; but we 
had a vei y nice rain at the close of the mouth. 
Almost all farmers have finished thrashing 
wheat. Oats arc nearly all cut., and will turn 
out an average crop. Apples u good crop. Of 
grapes a great many were killed by late frosts 
in the Spring. Peaches, pears, cherries aud 
plums will not be very plentiful, as this county 
is not. very well adapted to these kinds of 
fruit. A. s. 
Pennsylvania. 
Hosxnsack, Lehigh Co., July 38.*-We have 
had a good season so far. Wiuter w heat is of 
first quality aud quantity; rye not. as good as 
last year. Oats are a medium crop; not yet 
harvested, but standing thin and short in the 
straw. Home ripened very unevenly—not. a 
good sign. Corn promises to be a good crop. 
Crass was good, and of pasture we have 
plenty. Prices arc as follows: wheat. $1.06; 
rye, 65 cents; corn, 65 cents; oats, 40 cents; 
creamery butter. 35cents; eggs, 16cents; lard. 
13 cents; hams, 18 cents; shoulders, 10 ceuts. 
H. e. E. n. 
Wisconsin. 
Nkenaji, Winnebago Co.. July 30.—We are 
having a cool, dry Hummer: very little rain 
since Kpring. Crops are looking well, but all 
small grains will bo short if we don’t have 
rain soon. Hay is rather a light crop, but has 
been got. up in good order. Corn looking 
well. Potatoes suffering for rain. f. w. 
RURAL SEED REPORTS. 
Dakota. 
Leola, McPherson Co.—The R. N.-Y, Peas 
were ready for the table in 50 days from 
planting, although but little attention was 
paid to them. Horsford’s Market Garden are 
ripening now. They were planted at the 
middle of May. Yield large. o. J. R. 
Illinois. 
Bourbon, Douglas Co., July HO. —We are 
having the wettest harvest since 1875. Im- 
ineuse quantities of hay are already ruined, 
and wheat that was stacked in fair condition 
is smoking. It has raiued every day since 
July 38; on Sunday we had a rainfall of 1% 
inches. Almost all of the oat crop is to lx) 
cut yet, audit is badly lodged; the Welcome 
Oats, as liadly as any, if not worse. The heads 
are too large for so tender a straw. They are 
the finest grained oats 1 have ever seen. The 
Champion Oats are just beginning to turn 
white. My Rural Peas did not do well; grew 
about as tail as Ferry’s Extra Early— l i]4 feet 
—but were uot so productive. I have over 100 
Rural Tomato plants set out; some of them 
will ripen before the Cardinal, or Paragon 
either. H. A. o. 
FarMINGDAlk, Hangamon Co., July 28.— 
The Rural New-Yorker Pea planted oa April 
8, furnished peas on June 10. I should judge 
the Horsford Market Garden Pea to be what 
its name indicates. The Champion Oats are 
too late—too much straw and rust, and not 
very heavy-grained. The Union Corn looks 
well, but is probably uot as good for this soil 
as kinds we now have. I have a good many 
plants from the mixed tomato seed, and look 
for valuable varieties from some of them. 
H. 
Maryland. 
Westover, Somerset Co.—My Rural Toma¬ 
toes are doing finely aud far surpassing my 
expectations. The Rural N.-Y. and Horsford 
Peas did not do well with me—only about one- 
half of the seed came up. The Horsfords were 
about 15 days later than the R. N.-Y. s. c. s. 
Fredonia, Licking Co.—The Blush Potato is 
doing finely with me. From two small tubers 
last season I got a peck of nice potatoes, all 
of which I planted for this crop. The Garden 
Treasures are beautiful. I have six nice seed¬ 
ling grape-vines from the Niagara seed. 
W. D. B. 
Vermont. 
East Clarendon, Rutlacd Co., July 29.— 
Champion Oats sown by the side of the same 
number of my common oats look well, but I 
have not harvested them yet. The R. N.-Y. 
Peas bore well, but 1 have uot tested their 
quality, for 1 saved them for seed. 1 guess 
every tomato sued sprouted, but when about 
two inches high the vines tiegau to tip over 
just above the grouud. aud looked ns if the 
root did uot grow as fast as the top. We man¬ 
aged to save a few, which are doing well. 
The Garden Treasures look well, considering 
the late frosts, which took off some. e. b. 
iKvery query must be accompanied by tlieuame 
atul address of the writer to insure attention. Before 
asking a question, please see If It is not answered Iti 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions 
Ut one time.] 
SELECTING SEED CORN, ETC. 
/., (}., Napoleonville, La. —1. What is the 
best method of selecting and keeping seed 
coruf 2. Is there auy mode of learning the 
excellencies and defects of wind-mills, besides 
paying for one of each kiud aud trying them 
all? 3. Are they iu general use iu the North 
and West; aud what proportion of the time 
would they ruu? 4. i propose sovviug Texas 
Red Rust proof Oats, or rye and barley, this 
Fall for winter feed; would it be practical to 
sow clover with them, and. if so, what quan¬ 
tity of seed per acre should be used? 
A ns. —1. Seed corn should be picked from 
the field before it is cut. Select from just such 
stalks as suit you, that contain two or more 
good ears, such as please you Snap them off 
and husk, leaving a few husks attached to 
each ear, and by these braid them together, 
one dozen in a string, and tie two of these 
strings together, aud hang them over a wire 
suspended in some dr' guide or loft, so that no 
vermin can get access to them. A good way 
to get seed corn is to pass through the best 
part of the field and cut the tassels from all 
stalks that do not suit, and afterward select 
as we have advised; but this should have been 
done when the crop was first tasseling aud be¬ 
fore the pollen was shed. 2. There are a great 
mauy good styles of wind-mills, and most peo¬ 
ple who have one think it the best. A good 
way is to send for various circulars, and after 
studying carefully, decide which meets your 
idea best. There is to be an exhaustive trial 
at Penna. State Fair, and much may be learn¬ 
ed from the report of the experiments, if care¬ 
fully and honestly made. We have had ono 
pumping all the water for 10 horses, 30 to 40 
cows, and 500 t,o 000 shoe]), und would uot do 
without it, if it cost $1,000. 8 In many 
places you can count 30 or more at one view; 
iu others, they are not so plentiful, though 
they are getting quite common. It is seldom 
that there are two days in succession when 
they will not run, and, what is strange, there 
are more still days in Winter than iu Hum¬ 
mer. There should be a tank, or trough, large 
enough to hold two days' supply of water, 
and then there never will be a scarcity. 
4. Red Clover would do well sowed with either 
of them, say 13 pounds per acre; also put in 
t wo pounds of White Clover or Alsike. They 
would all thrive, unless your long, dry Hum¬ 
mer would kill them, and we hardly think it 
would. 
"POTATOES MIXING IN THE HILL.” 
J. A. E., Gordonsvillc, Va .—There is great 
difference of opinion as to whether potatoes 
planted side by side will mix in the bills. I 
must say I believe they will do so, and if 
wroug, would like to be righted. Of course, 
1 know that the tubers lying side by side can¬ 
not affect each other; but I cannot see why 
the pollen of the blossom should not as soon 
affect the tuber as the setd-ball; both are 
seeds. If it doesn’t, why not? 
Ans.— We think the idea that tubers of po¬ 
tatoes are seed, is what misleads hundreds of 
people on this question, aud this seems to -be 
the misleading element with our friend. The 
tuber is uo more a seed than are the buds on 
the limbs of a currant bush or grape viue. If 
our friend will take a fine wire and twist it 
quite snugly about a potato stalk close to the 
ground, aud then watch it, he will, in a few 
days, see the buds in the axils of the leaves 
begin to enlarge, and soon each of them will 
form a perfect potato, only if exposed to 
much light they will be green. This shows 
that the tubers are buds, uot seeds. If he will 
keep the blossoms cut entirely off a potato, he 
will also see that it makes not the slightest 
difference with the formation of tubers, show¬ 
ing that the blossom or pollen has uo effect. 
On the contrary, if he should extract the sta¬ 
mens, or polleu bearing organs, from a blossom 
aud preveut auy foreign pollen from coming 
in contact with the pistils, he will get oo seed, 
showing the absolute necessity of polleu and 
the effect it has ou the formation of the seed. 
If he had two varietiesof grapes growing side 
by side, or if he used the pollen of the one to 
fertilize the blossoms of the other, he would 
not for an instant expect that to so affect the 
t he buds of thejvineso treated that, if planted, 
and plants were grown from them, the fruit 
would be affected. It would, however, be .just 
as consistent with reason aud as likely to occur 
as that potatoes should ‘‘mix" iu the hills. The 
changes iu tubers, if any ever occur, are mere¬ 
ly sports, or what botanists call bud varia¬ 
tions, aud nothing else. 
RAtSING ONIONS AND FLAX. 
H. L. ?>., Ipewich, D. T. —1, What is the 
best way to raise aud preserve onions? 2. 
Does flax impoverish the land badly? 3 
What is a fair crop per acre? 
Ans. —Make the land very rich with well- 
rotted manure. Have it flue and mellow' on 
the surface, but no matter how hard a few 
inches below. How the seed as early in Hpring 
as possible, in drills 14 inches apart. Weed as 
early as the w'eeds cau tie seen, and keep tho¬ 
roughly clean all Hummer, thinning the plants 
to an inch apart in the row. When npe pull 
aud store in a dry place until Winter. Hell the 
first good opportunity, though the onions can 
be stored iu a dry place, aud where the}’ will 
freeze aud keep steadily frozen till Hpriug. 
3. Yes, flax is considered a very exhaustive 
crop. In the Old Country where flax is raised 
exclusively for the fiber, it is thought that by 
returning to the soil the water in which the 
stalks are steeped, nine-tenths of the nutritious 
elements removed by the crop are restored. 
This is probably too high an estimate, as the 
amount of plaot-food iu the seed must be 
more than one-tenth of the total taken from 
the soil by the crop. The pure fiber yields no 
ashes, so that it takes nothing from the soil. 
The exhaustion is caused chiefly by the woody 
matter of the stalks, and the formation of the 
seeds. If the meal made iu expressing the oil 
was all retained and fed on the farm, and all the 
ashes of the stalks were applied to the soil, or 
the stalks were applied and turned under, flax 
growing would impoverish the soil very little; 
but when linseed-eftko is exported, it does re¬ 
move a great a mouut of nitrogen: but West¬ 
ern land is very freely supplied with this as 
a rule. 3. Ten to 12 bushels: 15 is a large 
crop. 
HOG QUERIES, ETC. 
F. W. C., Springfield, Mass. —1. What is a 
good plan of a piggery large enough for 50 pigs ? 
2. Would it be safe to have so many in one 
building? 3. Would it pay to food half city 
swill, costing 75 cents per barrel; and half 
wheat middlings, costing $1.35 per cwt. ? 4. 
Is swill from distillery a good feed, und would 
it pay to buy it at 35 cents per barrel and haul 
it five miles? 5. i have a muck meadow uot 
very wet; is it good for horse-radish? 
ANS —1. The piggery should be made not 
-less than 34 feet wide, and 50 feet loug for 50 
full grown hogs, with an alley four feet wide 
in thecenter, running lengthwise. Itshould bo 
divided into five pens on either side. 2. Yes; 
if kept clean and well ventilated. 3. Accord¬ 
ing to Prof. Hanborn’s experiments, as re¬ 
porter! in the Rural of August 2, it requires 
six pounds of shipstuff—which is middlings, 
wo suppose—to make one pound of pork, to 
say nothing about, the value of the manure 
made; this would make your pork cost 8.1 
'cents per pound; lmt if the manure was care 
fully saved and properly applied, that made 
from 100 pounds of middlings would probably 
be worth not less than 50 cents, which would 
reduce the cost to 5 1 cents per pound. As to 
the city swill, that is such an uncertain quan¬ 
tity, we give it up. Try carefully and report 
facts. 4. We think not; it makes very poor, 
nasty pork any way. 5 Yes; if not too wet, 
a capital place. 
PRUNING. 
.7. 77. S., IJranl/ord, Can.— L When should 
trees of the different fruits, planted in the 
Spring of 1883, be pruned, aud how much 
should they bo cut back? 2. What portion of 
new growth should bo removed? 
Ans. —1. Those arc the priuciples of plant 
growth to he always remembered, and to be 
considered when we wish to prune: Pruning 
when trees are dormant or leafless tends to 
produce wood growth, and not fruit-bud de¬ 
velopment. Pruning whoa in leaf, checks 
wood growth and induces fruit production, 
and severe pruning during active growth is 
very hard upon the tree. Remembering these 
infallible rules aud acting according to them, 
we can shape aud control a tree as we like. 
All trees should ordinarily be pruned during 
the period while they are leafless, and it does 
not make much difference when. Sometimes, 
however, it is very necessary to head hack a 
branch in full growth, as when any branch is 
overgrowing the rest of the tree. 2. Peach 
trees should be cut back sufficiently to keep 
them vigorous, and should also be so thin¬ 
ned, when cutb ack, that they will make not 
less than one foot of growth each year. Other 
trees require but little cutting back, aud only 
enough pruning to maintain a well shaped 
top. Too much pruning is often done. 
FEED FOR BUTTER, BTC. 
A H., Ray rifle, Md, —1. What is the best 
food for butter-making Hummer and Winter? 
2. Does the Encyclopedia Britauniea, ninth 
edition, contain more matter thau the Library 
of Universal Knowledge; and if so, how much 
more? 
Ans. —1 In Summer the best butter food 
for a cow is good, fresh pasture, with a daily 
feed of corn-meal, oil-meal aud bran, one part 
each, mixed together, and moderately wetted 
about six hours before feeding time. Iu Wiu¬ 
ter, plenty of good, bright clover hay twice 
daily; plenty of bright straw once a day, aud 
two feeds a day of the same mixture, and one 
feed each day of silage, mangels, sugar beets, 
or carrots. At all times feed enough to keep 
the cow in good condition, and give all the 
pure, warmish water she wishes, at all times. 
2. The Encyclopedia Brituuulca treats pithily 
ou more subjects; but the "Library” dwells at 
greater length ou the subjects it handles. The 
ninth edition of the former is not yet com¬ 
pleted, the XV. volume, which treats of sub¬ 
jects between Loo aud Memphis, having been 
the last published; we cannot, therefore, com¬ 
pare the two works with regard to bulk. 
SALT AND PLASTER AS FERTILIZERS. 
G. W. E., Goochland, Va. —What will be 
the effect of land plaster and salt used as a 
