588 
THE RURAL WEW-YOBKEB. 
SEPT 8 
to produce; and though comparisons may be 
odious, they are sometimes instructive. The 
international Dairy Shows in Dublin hare 
been a great success, specially as factors in 
promoting the spirit of emulation of which I 
have spoken, and they are to 1)6 continued 
annually, so long as the need for them exists. 
To the Munster Dairy (School at Cork, great 
credit is due for the excellent quality of the 
dairy tuition which it imparts to farmers’ sons 
and daughters who become students therein. 
The syllabus of the institution includes, among 
other topics:- 1, Elementary instruction in 
the nature of food, and the Jeeding of milch 
cows: and in the nature of milk and its pro¬ 
ducts. 2. Practical demonstration* in the 
most approved modes of handling milk, and 
of making hotter, etc. Already a goodly 
number of young men and women have passed 
through the School, whose sessions are alter 
nnto for males and females, and these are now 
spreading sound practice in the neighborhood 
of their own homes. A peculiarly interesting 
and pleasing fea (ire in the leading shows in 
Ireland, is the butter making contest*. At the 
Kilkenny Show of the Royal Irisn Agricultu¬ 
ral Society in the first week of July, no fewer 
than 18 dairymaids, all of them (save one) ex- 
students of the Munster Dairy School, entered 
themselves to compete for prizes. Happening 
to be one of the two judges of butter and but¬ 
ter making at that Show, l bail the opportu¬ 
nity of seeing, and w as greatly Interested in, 
the trials of skill which t hese comely Irish girls 
exhibited. Just now, i haveonly to boar testi¬ 
mony to the perfect nut ore of the traiuing they 
have received; later on I may, perhaps, give a 
more or less full description Of the contests, 
and an analysis of the results. 
Surrey, England. 
"A TILT IN SUPPORT OF HOLSTEINS.” 
Mr. Miller (page 478 of the Rural) seems 
to misunderstand what I said (page 405) 
about Polled Galloway, Angus, and Norfolk 
cattle, as failing in the dairy. I know this is 
the case with the two former; but I specially 
exempted the latter from the charges, for I 
said ’‘cows of this breed, 1 ’ meaning the Red 
Polled Norfolk, ‘'as well as their congeners, 
the Suffolk#, have ever excelled in the dairy.” 
Mr. Miller asks for the facts as to this. Any 
one who has read the English agricultural pa 
pets lor many years past, will have seen 
accouula given from time to time in them of 
the good dairy qualities of the Red Polled 
cattle. This has tieon so well known that I 
have never thought it worth while to preserve 
the references, and can only at present give a 
fresh one from a recent number of the London 
Live Stock Journal. Wild Rose, a Red Polled 
covy, 1<> years old, is reported as giving at the 
rate of 33 quarts of milk per dav. nearly 
three months after calving, and making an 
average of lit pounds of butter per week for 
14 weeks In succession A daughter, five 
years old, Wild Rose of Kilburn, gave 24 
quarts per day, and made 14 pounds of butter 
per week. 
The English Agricultural Gazette of June 
23 (page 880) gives a photograph of the above 
cow . Wild Rose. The Red Polled are scarcely 
two thirds t he size of the llolsteiu. some not 
being more than half the size; but in propor¬ 
tion to their respective sizes. Wild Rose shows 
as large an udder as the best of the 11 jlstoius, 
os well as squarely set teats, a full wedged 
form, and fine points. 
The celebrated writer on agriculture, the 
Rev. Arthur Young, who published his 
“Tour of Suffolk,” 8vo , 1797, thus speifks of 
a herd of Red Polled cows there: “They milk 
very well; 12 were in August fatting two 
largo calves, supplying the family with milk 
and cream, and giving 60 pounds of butter 
per week,” Can Mr. Miller inform me if the 
llols!eins, or indeed any Dutch cows, were su¬ 
perior to these for but ter some fit) years ago ? 
1 might, cite other authorities from the 
above time down, who have spoken highly of 
the dairy qualities of the Red Polled cows; 
but it seems to me unnecessary. A few have 
boon imported into our ow n country during 
thtypast 10 years, nud I presume their owners 
will ultimately give some account in the pa¬ 
pers of what they can do in the dairy. In vol. 
1, of their Hard Rook, published in England iu 
1874. their Inrije udders, large milk veins, and 
other superior dairy points, are particularly 
described. 
As to the Holstein, Mercedes, she was a 
much larger cow tuan the Jersey..Mary Ann of 
St.Lamberts, and, consequently, was probably 
a greater consumer of food; she ought, there¬ 
fore. in common fairness, to have made a 
larger quantity of butter in a given space of 
time. Yet did she not die soon after her trial 
in consequence of being highly forced in her 
feed for such a production? But the Jersey 
cow has lived on. producing heavily for 
months since her trial, and it is reported that 
she was never or iu finer condition. 
What follows from Mr. Miller needs no re¬ 
ply; his last jiaragrapb does not strike me as 
over-diguified or at all to the purpose. I do 
not write for the sake of argument, but sim¬ 
ply endeavor to give correct information. 
C. 
ITS GROWTH AND THE MANUFACTURE OF 
SUGAR AND SIRUP.—THE WHOLE STORY. 
VII. 
PROF. H W. WILEY. 
USE OF SULPHUR IN THE MANUFACTURE OF 
SIRUP. 
When sulphur is burned in the air, each 
atom of it combines with two atomsof oxygen, 
anil forms what is knowm to chemists as sul¬ 
phurous dioxide, or acid, commonly called 
“sulphur fumes.” 
PROPERTIES. 
Sulphurous dioxide is a colorless gas, more 
than twice us heavy as air. Its odor is fami¬ 
liar in the fumes of a burning sulphur match. 
The gas is very soluble in water, one volume 
of the latter, at the average temperature of 
the air. taking up about. 40 volumes of the gas. 
One gallon of water at 60 degrees, F., when 
saturated, will contain a little more than 10 
ounces of the gas. In aqueous solution, sul 
plmrons acid (it becomes an acid by solution) 
eusilv undergoes oxidation, and an equivalent 
amount of sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol) is 
formed. Its bleaching power is due to the 
nascent hydrogen, which is set free by the 
process, which attacks and destroys the color¬ 
ing matter. It is therefore advisable, when 
sulphuric acid is used in cane or beet juices, 
to use lime or some base which will form an 
insoluble compound, in order to form a pre¬ 
cipitate with the sulphuric acid which is pro¬ 
duced. 
Sulphurous dioxide is easily condensed by 
pressure or by a freezing mixture (ice and 
common salt) to a colorless liquid which is 
about one half heavier than w-ater. This 
liquid boils ut a temperature of -8 degrees, 
C. The bleaching power of this gas can be 
shown by the following experiment: Place 
some colored flowers in a glass bottle and then 
burn some sulphur in the bottle. For this 
purpose, melt a little sulphur and dip a pine 
stick into ft until quite o quantity of the sul¬ 
phur solidifies on it ignite this, and when it 
is well on fire, hold it in the bottle. Cover the 
bottle w ith a piece of glass and allow it to stand 
for some time. It will be found that much of 
the coloring matter of the flowers has disap¬ 
peared. 
Ow ing to this property of discharging vege¬ 
table colors, the use of sulphur fumes in sirup- 
making tends to produce a light-colored pro¬ 
duct, which is usually more highly prized than 
a darker article. The property which this gas 
has of preventing fermentation ami decay, is 
even more valuable than its bleaching power. 
The juice of sorghum when expressed, rapidly 
undergoes fermentation. This fermentation 
couverts the sucrose into glucose, und the glu¬ 
cose into alcohol aud carbonic dioxide. When 
the process goes still further, the alcohol is 
changed into acetic acid (vinegar.) It is there¬ 
fore highly important to the sirup maker that 
some method should be employed by which 
this destructive change can he prevented 
Sulphur gas affords the best and cheapest 
means to this end. A sorghum juice which 
contains ouly a small quantity of sulphurous 
acid, is in no hurry to ferment. If it contains 
still larger portions, it can be kept for days, 
aud even weeks, without change. The sorghum 
worker can feel sure that his cane juice, when 
treated with sulphur, will not spoil if, by any 
accident, hts work should be delayed for a 
few hours. 
In addition to these two important func¬ 
tions, sulphurous dioxide helps greatly in the 
process of defecation. The impurities iu the 
juice separate more readily and are more 
easily removed in its presence. In the subse 
queue boiling, the gas is mostly expelled; a 
little of it, as already intimated, is converted 
into sulphuric acid. The important question 
now arises, is the use of this gas injurious to 
health? The answer to thisis in the negative 
If proper means are used to remove the sul¬ 
phuric acid which is formed. I caunot see how 
the use of this gas iu the manufacture of sirup 
could possibly make the product unwhole¬ 
some. On the other hand, its careless use 
might easily produce a sirup whieh would be 
unfit for the table. 
MANUFACTURE OF SULPHUROUS DIOXIDE. 
(1.) The simplest method of making the gas 
for use in a small way, is by burning sulphur. 
This should be done in brick furnaces, since 
red hot iron is easily attacked by sulphur. 
(2.) Ry heating copper turnings or charcoal 
with strong sulphuric acid. For chemical 
purposes, the gas is geuerally prepared with 
copper, but for commercial and manufactur¬ 
ing purposes, charcoal is to be preferred. 
(3.) By treating a sulphite or bisulphite 
(lime, soda, etc.) with an acid, e. y. sulphuric 
or hydrochloric acid. 
Jtftim Copies. 
WILD OATS. 
When I wrote what I did last Fall, about 
the wild oats that seemed to be determined to 
take possession of this part of the country, I 
hoped to hear from others on the subject, and 
find out what, if anything, could be done to 
“keep clear” of them or to get rid of them 
after they once take possession. 
A neighbor who raised wheat and wild oats 
in about equal proportions on bis land last 
year, is summer-fallowing some of it this sea¬ 
son, but is not doing the work thoroughly, and 
some are going to seed, so that it is impossible 
to tell, from his experiment, what might be 
accomplished by such management. It is gene¬ 
rally believed that summer-fallowing will do 
no good, for the reason that the oate that are 
plowed under will remain there till they are 
dug up again, when they will have a chance 
to grow. On page 515 of the Rural, Dr. T. 
H. H., of Newport, Vt., speaks of Caoarta 
Thistles and Witch Grass dying out of them¬ 
selves, and I cannot help but wonder if wild 
oats will not do the same. 
On a sandy prairie a few miles from here 
there is a piece of laud on which a few mul¬ 
leins got started one Rummer, and soon the 
whole piece was completely covered with mul¬ 
leins, and nothing else grew there; but they 
disappeared as suddenly as they came, and not 
a sign of a mullein can now be found there. 
The laud was not cultivated, and never had 
been plowed. About the same time the mul¬ 
leins got started in my pasture uud threatened 
to take entire possession. I fought them save 
ral years, aud there are a few in the pasture 
yet. I thought, alter seeing the way those 
vacated the piece on the prairie, that if we 
had let them have their own w ay, there would 
be none left. 
If any one who has kept his land clear of 
wild oats when his neighbor had them, will 
give his experience in the Rural, he will con¬ 
fer a favor on quite a number in this vicinity. 
Winona Co , Minn. J. M. drew. 
SELECTING SEED CORN. 
Some farmers save only corn with red cobs 
for seed, and 1 am one of them (l speak of 
yellow corn). 1 have discovered that the vel¬ 
vety border on the outer edge of each layer 
of husk denotes t.he color of the cob. Thus 
one may know if a cob is red or white without 
husking it. This border is, perhaps, one-six¬ 
teenth of an inch wide; if it is a pure white, 
the cob will be white; if there is the least ten- 
deucy to red, the cob will be red. 
Takanah, Neb. T. h. g. 
tielt) Crops. 
SWEET CORN (Zea saccharata). 
ITS HISTORY AND VARIETAL DIFFERENCES 
ILLUSTRATED —No. Vll. 
E. LEWIS STURTEVANT, M D. 
varieties (continued). 
25. Mammoth, Fig. 343 (syu. Marblehead 
Mammoth). Introduced before 1881, and said 
to have originated from a large ear acciden¬ 
tally observed in a seed store. Far* eight to 
10 inches long, and from 1»X to two inches in 
diameter, slightly tapering; 18 to 16-rowed; 
ear-stalk rather large. Kernels blunt 
wedge-shaped, rather squarish; summit more 
or less rounded, often nearly flat, rather loose¬ 
ly in contact, rounding over the butt and tip, 
but scarcely filling at the latter, crimped, aud 
oi a whitish-amber color. Plant large, with 
abuudaut. foliage, prolific. The looseness of 
the kernels and their datness carry this va¬ 
riety very nearly into Class C, from which it 
is separated by the non-wrinkling of the ker¬ 
nels, and the large ear-stalk. Average weight 
of 100 kernels, 413 grains; the extremes m 11 
samples, 835 and 486 grains. (Described ears, 
from seven different seedsmen in 11 coliee- 
tions.aud Station crop.) 
RED COB AND WHITISH-AMBER KERNELS. 
8, «. Red C’ob. Fig. 84fi. Introduced prior 
to 1863. Ears about to ~\A mebes long, 
and 1 % inch or more in diameter ; slightly 
tapering, round mg at butt and tip, 12-rowed, 
ear-stalks large, cob pale red. Kernels 
blunt wedge-shaped, with more or less rounded, 
or nearly flat summit, crimped, w'hitish-amber 
color. Weight of 100 kernels, 891 grains. (De¬ 
scribed ears, from one seedsmen), 
RED COB AND REDDISH KERNELS. 
9. Orange Early, Fig. 350 (syD. Early 
Orange, Brighton Orange, Orange or Golden. 
Introduced in 1883, and said to be a hybrid 
between the Narragansett and Moore’s Early 
Concord, and improved by selection for five 
years. Ears six to seven inches long, and 
about \ % inch in diameter, slightly tapering; 
12-rowed, with large ear-stalks; cobred; ker¬ 
nels bluut wedge shaped, with more or less 
rounded summit, and a tendency to a shallow, 
angular furrow between therows.rouuded well 
over butt and tip, and white while in edible 
condition: when ripe, of a reddish flesh color, 
with a scarcely discernible orange tint, Plant 
of medium size, vigorous growth and prolific, 
bearing its ears low down. Average weight 
of 100 kernels, 401 grains; the extremes in 
four samples, 374 and 422 grains. (Described 
ears, from two seedsmen, iu three collections, 
aud Station crop.) 
In Section B probably belongs: 
Russell’s Early Prolific. Introduced 
prior to 1874. Ferry says it comes into use a 
few days after Crosby’s Early; Hands, that it 
is early, of good size, remarkably sweet, rich 
and finely-flavored, and he figures a 12-rowed 
ear, tapering, with large ear stalk. I have 
seen no samples. 
section c. 
Twelve to 18-rowed; cob more or less strong¬ 
ly tapering; ear-stalk small, or at least not 
large: kernels shriveled and wrinkled, or 
crimped and crinkled, deep, with straight 
sides and usually flattened summit: never in 
contact, rounding strongly over the butt. Ears 
remain long iu edible condition. Reason late. 
WHITE COB, AND WHITISH-AMBER KERNELS. 
19. Potter’s Excelsior, Fig. 351 Dyn. Ex¬ 
celsior). Introduced about 1878, and a variety 
quite variable in size of ear and in the regu¬ 
larity of the rows, which are often nearly ob¬ 
literated. It is so sugary that the seed is pre¬ 
served with difficulty. As grown by Mr. Pot¬ 
ter in Rhode Island, the good and the poor 
ears are indiscriminately used for seed, as the 
originator claims that only by this melhod can 
its good qualities bo preserved in their inten¬ 
sity. As grown by seedsmen, the tendency is 
towards lessened quality, but improved ap¬ 
pearance. It was obtained through selection, 
probably aided by unrecorded hybridizations. 
Ears from five to sovcu inches long, and 1% 
inch in diameter, tapering, often ovoid in sec¬ 
tion; frequently the car is bent or twisted 
through the uneven shrinkage of the tender 
and small cob; 12-rowed, or varying from 
eight to 16 in samples; ear stalk moderately 
large to small. Kernel rather large, with 
straight sides and more or less rounded or even 
flattened top, with the corners truncated suffi¬ 
ciently in many cases to form an augular fur¬ 
row between the rows; crimped aud wrinkled; 
in loose contact, running well over the butt, 
aud usually filling out at the tip. the color 
tawny white Plant of medium size, vigorous, 
very prolific, and beeps long iu edible condi¬ 
tion. Average weight of 100 kernels, 820 
grains; the extremes iu five samples, 283 and 
407 grains. (Described ears, from three differ¬ 
ent seedsmen, iu five collections, and Station 
crop.) 
HOW WE RAISED OUR CORN. 
PROF. I. P. ROBERTS. 
There is no time like the present month to 
study corn culture. One should go through 
the fields often during August and Septem¬ 
ber, noting the poor place# and the causes of 
them, studying with equal care the best corn 
in the field, counting the number of stalks ami 
the number of ears iu 100 continuous hills. 
This year the corn is very spotted or uneven, 
and furnishes a good opportunity for studying 
the needs and habits of the corn plaut. 
Details are worth but little, unless they 
serve to illustrate some principle of more or 
less general application. Those given below 
are meant to serve such a purpose. The coni 
cares not whether the ground be pulverized 
with a disk or an Acme harrow, a cast roller 
ora wooden one, but it does demand well pre¬ 
pared soil. Betweeu October and February 
about six large loads of manure per acre were 
spread on a clover aud Timothy sod of one 
year’s standing. During the first days of May 
the field (15 acres) was plowed not more than 
six inches in depth A c uninon iron harrow 
was used first, then the roller, tbeu the Acme, 
until the ground was in flue condition. A 
three-runnered 6led marker checked it off 
three feet aud four inches both ways. On the 
17th of May the corn was planted by hand, 
three or four grains per hill. Six days later, 
before it was up, it was cultivated with atwo- 
horse Western corn cultivator. 
Ten days afterwards it was cultivated, aud 
in a week again with the same implement. 
The season being cold, the roots would natur¬ 
ally incliueto keep quite near the surface, so 
a one-borse cultivator was substituted for the 
two-horse, because it would give shallower 
culture. The corn was cultivated, once in a 
