SOS 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
SEPT 13 
Michigan. 
Sturgis, St. Joseph Co., Aug. 11.—The 
season to July 1st was very favorable for the 
growth of all kinds of crop*; since that time 
we have had no raio, only a light shower now 
and then. A large area of potatoes has been 
planted; but the drought has hurt them very 
much; wo will not harvest over half a crop. 
For two weeks it has been quite cold for the 
time of year; corn is almost at a stand still 
iu growth, with the prospect of a poor crop, 
unless wo have a late Fall. Oats were u good 
stand of straw—not well filled; average yield 
25 bushels per acre in this township. Wheat 
is being thrashed; a few yields are reported 
at 25 and 80 bushels per acre. From those re¬ 
ports the knowing ones estimate the crop at 
‘JO bushels in this section. 1 am quite sure 
wheat will not average over 15 bushels For 
one large crop reported, there arc five or six 
small yields not reported. The second growth 
in clover meadows amounts to nothing: Tim¬ 
othy meadows and pastures are all dried up. 
No pasture for stock. It bus been so dry that 
fire would ruu before the wind over the clo¬ 
ver meadow x, stubble fields, and pastures. 
Steam engines passing ulong t he road would 
set the fences and old stumps on fire. Too dry 
to plow; a few are turning over the dust or 
lumps of clay. H. C. R. 
Minnesota. 
Leslie, Todd Co., August 34.—We are in 
the midst of harvest. Crops of all kind are 
good. It has been very wet for the last week, 
and it is raining hard to-day. Most of the 
small graius are iu the shock. They will 
sprout “some,” if it does not clear up soon. A 
hard hail storm a mile south of this place, on 
July 34,destroyed the crops entirely over a 
swath three miles wide. A good many hail¬ 
stones were larger than hen’s eggs, and they 
covered the ground two inches deep. Stock 
are looking well. A. L. 
Neb rusk a. 
Cambridge, Furnas Co., August 25.—This 
has been the best season over experienced in 
Nebraska for all kinds of crops. Prices, ex¬ 
cept for stock, are too low to pay. Wheat, 
45c.; corn, old, 25c.; and ull other farm pro¬ 
ducts proportionately low. The remedy must 
be for farmers to plant fewer acres, w. h. t. 
North Carolimi. 
High Point, Guilford Co.. August 2(5. —This 
part of North Caroliuu lias been blessed with 
fine rains during Spring and Summer, and 
crops are Hue. Wheat never was better. Corn 
is very promising. m. j. p. 
Oregon. 
Albany, Linn Co., Aug. 19.—Winter wheat 
iu Western Oregon is No. 1, yielding as high 
as 40 bushels t o the acre in many fields, Spriug 
wheat is a failure, not much of it being worth 
harvesting. Oats are first-rate. Potatoes are 
good. Corn is grown to eat only when green, 
as it will not keep through our damp, wet 
Winters. s. H. 
Foster, Umatilla Co., Aug. 19—Eastern 
Oregon aud Washington Territory have had 
more rain than for a number of years during 
the Summer months. Weather unusually 
cool. Wheat is far below the average, making 
times rather dull. B. B. R 
Wi lliamette Valley, August 30.—The 
fruit crop in the Williamette Valley is very 
good this year, as it has boon annually, with 
one exception—that of last year—from the 
settlement of the valley. While fruit here is 
as large and as richly colored as in California, 
it has the additional value of being of the 
highest quality. Taking the whole catalogue 
of fruits, except peaches aud lute grapes, there 
is none that does not grow to perfection, and 
all the varieties of grapes grown iu the Miss¬ 
issippi Valley, as well as the earlier varieties 
of exotic grapes, giving an extended list of 
table grapes, succeed, and, with judgment iu 
selecting, are profitably grown. J. J. Harden, 
one of the members of the Waldo Hills Fruit 
Growing aud Canning Association, iu Marion 
Co , having investigated the subject, says, 
that more varieties of plums grow to perfec 
tion in this valley than iu auv other country. 
Neither can there be found a more eougeuial 
climate for the growth of pears, cherries, and 
small fruits. The above association is com¬ 
posed of men of moderate means from all parts 
of the Eastern and Middle States, and each 
owns from 10 to NO acres of small aud stand¬ 
ard fruits, in a few years Oregon canned 
fruits will compete iu the market with those of 
California. “Subscriber.” 
Texas. 
Pallas, Pallas Co., Aug. 26.—We are bav¬ 
in,' a terrible drought here; no rain to do any 
good since June 10—only two light sprinkles 
for 11 weeks, aud a hot burning sun all the 
time, so one can easily guess how vegetation 
looks with us. The oat crop was the best for 
10 years. Wheat w as also good. Corn will 
be light, but sufficient for home use. Cotton, 
half a crop. Blackberries, a fine crop. Grapes, 
almost a failure. Teaches aud plums abun¬ 
dant. Apples and pears, not much planted; 
yet they are plentiful. Potatoes, abundant. 
Melons by the thousand. N. h. 
Wisconsin. 
West Point, Columbia Co., Aug. 23— All 
crops in this part of Wisconsin are, as a gene¬ 
ral thing, good—the best for years Corn very 
promising Wheat very good—nearly all har¬ 
vested. Oats wore lodged “some” by the heavy 
rains, but not so as to seriously affect the crops. 
Barley fair, though considerably stained by 
ruin, but it will make good feed; some that 
was cut early wax stacked before the rain, and 
will be bright and a fair crop, llay good— 
heavier iu places than last year. Apples, a 
light crop. Small fruits were plentiful and 
good,except the cultivated black (jerries, which 
blighted after the berries were formed, tne 
leaves dying and the canes drying up; wbotes- 
caped are Kittatinnies. just ripening. The Cuth- 
bert Raspberry is very fine, and I shall have 
sufficient young canes to plant out enough for 
family use. w. h. c. 
RURAL SEED REPORTS. 
Canada. 
Swindon, Muskoka, Ontario, Aug. 22.—The 
Rural peas are just wffiat are wanted in this 
northern climate. They are very produc¬ 
tive and very early. 1 asked a neighbor if he 
would take five dollars for ids Rural peas; 
ho suid he would not. In fact, he would not 
sell them. The Horxfonl’x Market Peas are 
very prolific, but not early. All the Rural 
seeds that have been planted have done well. 
w. j. N. 
Mannar h unett s. 
Charleston, Worcester Co., Aug. 24.— 1 The 
Black Champion Oats stand 4% feet high: 
they are badly rusted, with slim, scattering 
heads, not fully ripe yet. The R. N.-Y. Pea 
is very early—all saved for seed Horsford’s 
M. G. Pea is not so good as some other va¬ 
rieties we raise, either in quality or quantity. 
The Rural tomatoes were cut off by the 
frost on Muy 31st. The flowers w ere very fine, 
especially the phlox—and such a variety', 
Some of the seeds did not germinate, but 
enough did to make a fine collection. The 
R. U. Corn w T as overlooked until late, but it is 
going ahead now; stands about ten feet high; 
ears just formlug. h l c. 
Whkntiiam Norfolk Co., August 14.—The 
Rural seeds have done well so far. The Rural 
New-Yorker Peu proved to be the earliest by 
several days of six different kinds. It was 
ready for picking iu 40 days from the time it 
was planted. Crops are looking well. C. u. 
Michigan. 
Moiulky, Mecosta Co., Aug. 13,—The Rural 
Union Corn is immense; it stands 10 feet high, 
aud has from two to five cars set on eueb 
stalk. The White Elephant Potatoes are the 
best I have of four or five different sorts. 
The Chumpion Oats are late, and 1 sowed 
them too thick. The Garden Treasures are 
the admiration of every one who sees them. 
The Rural Peas were the earliest of eight 
varieties. My farm is what we call in this 
country pine stump land; soil a saudy loam, 
with a clay sub soil. I would not be without 
the Rural for anything. p. t. c. 
Minnesota, 
Leroy, Mower Co., August 24.—The Rural 
seeds have done very well. The Rural New- 
Yorker Peas ure the earliest and nicest I ever 
saw. The tomatoes are very nice. There are 
beautiful ttowora among the Gurden Treasures. 
The Black Champion Oats were very good. 
The Union Corn is iu the dough. I have not 
sown the wheat and rye yet. F. e. 
Nurlh Carolina. 
High Point, Guilford Co., August 26.—We 
planted no tomato seeds except those sent by 
the Rural, aud those w'e did not put under 
glass, yet have had plenty for table use since 
the first of July. The Garden Treasures are 
a treasure: there were about 30 varieties. One 
stalk of marigold had at oue time 42 blooms. 
One double /.imjia had 18 large blooms. Au 
aster had 15 blooms. The rest were also beau¬ 
tiful. M. j. p. 
Tennessee. 
Humboldt, Gibson Co., August 12. —The 
Rural New-Yorker Pea did extra well with 
me. It is the best and earliest pea yet intro¬ 
duced iu this section. We got several fine 
varieties of tomatoes from the Rural seeds. 
J. E. c. 
Texas. 
Dallas, Dallas Co., August 26.— The 
Rural seeds did well. The Black Champion 
Oats got from three to four feet high, and 
then the rust took them—no good heads. 
The Rural Union Corn is small by the side of 
the corn 1 have been growing for several 
years. 1 shall try it another year. The toma¬ 
toes did well; 1 got 150 plants, and some of 
them were very tlue. The Rural peas did 
well. Horsford’s was the eurlist pen 1 Imd. 
1 obtained some very nice flowers from the 
packet; some of them are yet blooming, hot 
aud dry as it is. N. H. 
[Every query must be accompanied by theuame 
aud address of the writer to Insure attention. Before 
asklDit a question, please see If tt Is not answered Id 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions, 
at one time.] _ 
PT.ANTING TREE “SEED,” ETC. 
W. 27, ]}., Gladstone, D. T.—l. When is the 
proper time to pick ash and Box-elder seeds, 
and shall I plant them in Fall or Spring? 2. 
When ix the proper time to plant hickory, 
beech, black-walnut, and butter-nuts? 3. If in 
Spring, how shall I preserve the nuts through 
the Winter? 4, Can you give me any infor¬ 
mation of use in planting tree claims, as to the 
kinds that may be planted ? 
Ans. L—The proper time to gather any seeds 
for planting is when fully rite; watch aud 
wait until there is evidence that they are in 
this condition, and then gather them. 2. The 
best of all times to plant all these seeds is in the 
Fall. The only objection is the danger of their 
being eaten by gophers, mice, rats, squirrels, 
etc. The ground should be prepared the same 
as for corn; in fact, it can be used the first 
two or three years for corn, letting the trees 
take the place of every t hird row. 3. To keep 
the seeds till Spring, where vermin are so bad 
that fall planting is not practicable, they 
should be placed in sand or loam, as soon as 
gathered. Put the loam in a box, which should 
have some holes bored in the top and bottom, 
and these holes should be protected with pieces 
of perforated tin or iron, so that vermin can 
not enter. The boxes should then be buried in 
the ground, in some place where their con¬ 
tents will keep damp, but not become water- 
soaked, and it will be all the better if iu some 
place where they will freeze solid. Iu Spring, 
plant as above directed. The ash, Box-elder 
and beech seed should uot be planted more 
than u half inch deep: the larger nuts may be 
planted an inch, and all should have thorough 
and clean culture. 4. The kinds of tiees that 
may be regarded as “timber trees” within the 
meaning of the law, are specified as follows: 
“Ash, alder, beech, birch, black walnut, bass¬ 
wood, Black- locust, cedar, chestnut, Cotton¬ 
wood, elm, fir, including spruce, hickory. 
Honey-locust, larch, maple, including Box- 
elder, oak, pine. Plane-tree, otherwise called 
Cotton-tree, button-wood, or sycamore. Ser¬ 
vice-tree, otherwise called Mountain a*h, 
White-walnut, otherwise called Huttei-uut, 
White-willow and White-wood, otherwise 
called Tulip-tree.” The above list was in¬ 
tended only as a general guide, and will uot 
be construed so os to exclude any trees falling 
within the description of trees recognized in 
the neighborhood as of value for timber, or 
for commercial purposes, or for fire-wcod or 
domestic use. Either of the following might, 
in some localities, be worthy of cultivation as 
timber trees, and several of them may be 
classed among the valuable kinds:—Ailanthus, 
Blue-beech, cherry, ©specially the Black Cher¬ 
ry, Gum trees, Hackberry, Iron-wood, Osage- 
orange, peach, pear, apple, plum, etc. The 
general permission to plant such trees us are 
of general use in any section, wasgrauted by 
u decision of February 10, 1882, as the omis 
sions in the list previously enumerated, had 
given rise to severe criticism. The late Dr, 
J. A. Warder, an eminent authority on the 
matter, several times forcibly called the at¬ 
tention of the Government to the subject 
through the columns of the Rural. 
LIGHTNING UqDS. 
S. E. T,, Beatrice, Neb .—Do lightning rods 
really protect? If so on what principle and 
which is the best make? 
Ans —Ligntning rods properly constructed 
and put up, do really protect on the principle 
of compliance with the laws of electricity, 
which are as follows:—Electricity in passing 
between the earth and clouds always follows 
the best available conductor. The metals are 
very much better conductors than air or vege¬ 
table matters. Iron is a very good conductor, 
nut only from oue fifth to one-seventh as 
good as cupper. Electricity passes to aud 
from sharp points very rapidly and silently 
aud without violent effects. A rod protects a 
circle about, the rod, whose diameter is foui 
times the bight of the point, above the highest 
object in that circle. The rod to be effective, 
therefore, should have ample conducting 
power, should lie terminated at the top in sev¬ 
eral sharp points, should be continuous from 
the top to a sufficient depth to reach ground 
permanently moist, the lower end being 
attached to some broad metallic plates, such 
as the sides or bottom of an old copper boiler. 
The rod should extend above the highest 
point of the building, considerably more than 
4 the rule would iudicate, to provide for con¬ 
tingencies; say to a hight equal to one-third 
of the diameter of the circle which it is 
intended to protect. If the rod is to lie made 
of iron, procure enough iron rods not less than 
three fourths of an inch in diameter, and have 
the tops split into three or four points and the 
points made as sharp as possible. Have 
enough welded together to form the entire 
rod. Fasten it securely to the building, and 
the top, if necessary, to a standard erected for 
the purpose by driving over it iron staples 
such as can be bought at any hardware store, 
and after digging a hole to permanent moist¬ 
ure. surround the bottom with the copper 
before mentioned or some iron turnings, old 
plow points, stove plates or any old iron so as 
to get a good connection with the soil; then 
fill up the hole. Copper .strips two-and one- 
half iuches can be bought, at the copper 
works, and these can be used by nailing fast to 
the building. No insulators are required, and 
the rods should touch and connect with the 
eave troughs and all metallic parte of the roof. 
Most of the patent rods sold at high prices 
are a humbug, a delusion and a snare. 
NAVEL RUPTURE OF COLT: AILING PIGS FROM 
IMPROPERLY FED SOWS. 
S. E T ., Beatrice, Neb. —1. I have two 
young colts, both of which are ruptured at the 
navel; why has this occurred, and how should 
they be treated? 2. f have over 50 young 
pigs, all of which cough more or less. Some 
began when a day old, and died within three 
or four days. Older ones refuse to eat, cease 
coughing, get poor and die. The sows seem 
to be healthy, and are in good flesh. I feed 
soaked corn, mill feed, grass and weeds; what 
ails the pigs? 
Ans. —1. This trouble with colts is by 
no means uncommon. It consists in a 
failure of the membranes at the union 
with the umbilical cord, which is rup¬ 
tured at birth, to unite and close. This is 
a matter which should be watched closely, 
and as soon us the defect is discovered, a band 
should be put around the body, with a soft 
pad fitted over the part, to exert a slight 
pressure and support the intestines, until the 
opening closes. Perhaps this may be sufficient 
now. If not, the parts should be drawn to¬ 
gether with the skin of the belly, taking care 
that the bowel is not gathered in, and a pair 
of clamps should be applied to hold the mem¬ 
brane united. The edges will Boon grow to¬ 
gether, when the clamps will fall off. Clamps 
are two small pieces of hard wood, six inches 
long, and half an inch thick; the edges are 
slightly rounded. The skin and membranes 
aredrawn Op and inclosed between the clamps, 
which are fastened firmly at the ends with 
waxed cord. To avoid danger of inclosing 
the bowel, the Animal is laid upon its back 
while the operation Is performed. The 
clamps are left on until they fall off. 2. The 
young pigs were evidently born sick, aud the 
cause is no doubt due to the sows getting too 
much corn and mill feed. At this season, 
brood sows are better without grain for some 
time before the pigs ure Dorn. Good grass is 
quffe sufficient for them. The best pig3 come 
from rather thin sows, and much of the 
troubles at pigging time—as fever, loss of pigs, 
sickness of the pigs, the eating of the pigs by 
the sows, etc , etc.—are due to the over-feed- 
iug of the sows previously. Those pigs should 
be given pacha doss of oil, either castor oil or 
twice as much linseed oil. Care should be 
taken to know what kinds of weeds are given. 
As a rule, weeds are dangerous food, being 
indigestible, if not otherwise injurious. 
TEACHING STOCK TO EAT ROOTS: PROPAGA¬ 
TION OF CAP RASPBERRIES 
Subscriber.— 1. How can 1 teach cows and 
horses to eat swedes, carrots and mangels? 
Their feed is bran, or chopped feed, or oats. 
2. I planted Doolittle and Tyler Raspberries 
last Spring, and have pinched the tips back 
when one-and-a-half to two feet high; they 
are now all branched out, until it seems they 
waut to cover all the ground, and they are 
sprawling low, while the reds are more up¬ 
right; what shall I do with them? 
Ans. —1. We have never had auy trouble to 
teach cow s or horses to eat any kind of roots. 
In fact, they will, during Summer, if they 
get au opportunity, eat them while growing. 
A good way is to cut a few clean roots of any 
sort you wish them to leuru to eat, aud after 
sprinkling a little salt on them, give them one 
piece at a time, nutil they get the taste. Also 
put one or two whole roots, well cleaned, into 
their mangers, w hen there is no hay, straw, 
or other feed theie, changing them for fresh 
ones each day. It will uot lie long till they 
acquire the taste. 2. Both these are Cap 
varieties of raspberries, aud propagate by tak¬ 
ing root at the tip of the shoots. Your treat¬ 
ment has been all right, aud they are now 
getting ready to projmgate. When the ends 
of the canes become a little swollen aDd of a 
reddish color, cover them up with a little soil, 
and they will take root aud form splendid 
plants for use next Spriug. Before the buds 
