S22 
THE BUBAL NEW-YOBHEB, 
SEPT 20 
$5,000,000. But money is less plentiful now c 
than it few years ago, and there is less gold s 
from the mines, and the city has settled down p 
to the usual business and vocations of ordi- v 
nary life It. is built almost entirely of wood, c 
and the beautiful red w ood is used as are pine t 
and hemlock in the Hast, or the commonest s 
lumber, and painted white or gray, with utter j 
disregard to its beauty. One reason that 1 have 
beard given for wooden buildings is thut they t 
hear earthquake shocks better than do build¬ 
ings of stone or brick. And "shocks ' are i 
occasional here: but lightning is as rare in 1 
California as are earthquakes in Pennsyl f 
vania, and for such persons as dread a thunder¬ 
storm it Is a haven of security. 
As might be supposed, the art of building in i 
wood here has been brought to a high state of i 
perfection. The houses are very pretty, and 
the costly ones elegant, and the architecture 1 
is such that one forgets that, the material used 
is wood On account or the cool weather, 
which does not vary greatly throughout the 
year, the clothing of the people is warm, that 
of the women being chiefly of wool and silk. I 
A great deal of velvet and cloth is worn, 
ami more handsomely dressed women could 
not be found in any city in America. They 
do not dress "loud" or in u pronounced way: 
but in rich material, well cut and made, and 
of excellent style. Neither the men nor women 
are strikingly good-looking, but they l»ear an I 
air of health and pros]>erity very pleasant to 
boo. If there are any very poor people, they 
have the larultv of concealing their poverty. 
There is much in the city that recalls south¬ 
ern i uropean towns; which is in part due to 
the semi-tropical foliage, and in part to the 
very steep hills upon which the city is built. 
But the cabin cars that, run up and down 
these hills are purely Californian; and there 
is nothing here that is more remarkable and 
interesting than these magic working curs. I 
they move up a hill at. an incline of 45 degrees I 
with perfect ease, aud cotne down with per¬ 
fect compdaecney. There is an open and a 
closed ear in each truiu, so that passengers 
can exercise a choice of conveyance, and the 
fare is but live cents, which is the cheapest 
feature of Bun Francisco life, although liviug 
is not dear. Food is plentiful, fish and veni¬ 
son cheap, fruit not high, but meats dear, and 
house service about twice the cost of help in 
the East. Young Chinamen are very gener¬ 
ally employed, and I hear the best reports of 
them as servants. One good Chinese servant 
does the work of about, two Irish gfils. He 
is beautifully tidy in his personal uppearauce, 
noiseless und quick, and cams six dollars a 
week readily at general housework. Peaches 
cost a dollar a basket, W hen sold by retail, 
they are sold by the pound—three pounds for 
twenty-five cents, and there are usually eleven 
iu this weight. Blackberries and strawber¬ 
ries are twenty cents per pound; apricots and 
plmus sell for about the same as peaches. 
Strawberries areiu the market until Novem¬ 
ber, and are remarkably large and Arm. Ber¬ 
ries are exhibited in the markets in woodeu 
trays, and are scooped out like sugar, when I 
sold by the pound. Dry goods aud ready- 
made garments are slightly higher than in 
the East, but one can And everything needed 
as readily here as there. French, Spanish, 
Chinese and German are largely spoken, and 
the city is so thoroughly cosmopolitan that 
one would have to present a very odd appear¬ 
ance indeed to attract attention. I often find 
myself feeling that I am in a foreign city, 
particularly when l see to what au extent 
people eat in restaurants. 12)4 cents is gener¬ 
ally called a “bit,” and at first it puzzled me 
to be told that a thing cost two or six “ bits.” 
“Bit’’ is so much shorter to say. is the ex¬ 
cuse given for this curious vernacular. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Canada. 
Prince Edward Island. August 24.— To 
the intelligent onlooker, who has associated to 
any extent with the rural population of our 
island, many most extraordinary contrasts 
must be apparent, as. for instance, the extreme 
beauty of scenerv, yet utter want or its appre¬ 
ciation, as evidenced by the surroundings of 
the greater number of our farmers; the great 
fertility of the soil, under the most ordinary 
cultivation, and the immense and easily 
accessible supply of seu-weeo? mussels, swamp 
mud and natural manures, in contrast with the 
many uncultivated fields and the miserable 
crops obtained from many that are tilled; the 
great advantage offered by the soil, climate, 
and situation, with reference to markets, for 
the production of beef, pork, mutton and 
dairy products, compared with the very inferi¬ 
or c i a ss of stock which labors for a liviug on 
the pastures, aud the fact that iu some locali¬ 
ties (the one from which 1 write, for one) the 
production of butter, cheese, etc., is not suffi¬ 
cient for local consumption, aud the still more 
significant contrasts of large numbers of meu 
on good farms aide only to eke out a bare 
living, and some of them are obliged, practi¬ 
cally, to mortgage their crops to the country 
store in advance to obtain their summer sup¬ 
plies; while scattered among them are men 
who, with no apparent, advantage, are not 
only able to pay cash for all needed supplies, 
but flrd money to invest in that best and 
safest of all banking institutions, farm im¬ 
provements, and yet our rural population are 
intelligeut beyond the average, sober, indus¬ 
trious—and our island is dotted with school- 
houses. You w ill naturally exclaim, on read¬ 
ing this, “There is something rotten in the 
State of Denmark; these men do not under¬ 
stand their business,” and the pbilanthrophic j 
side of your nature will ask, “Can we not do 
something to help them ?” but how are you 
going to reueh men w ho. while they chew and 
smoke, in the form of tobacco, a cow every 
year for every two males iu the family, can¬ 
not afford $2 to subscribe for a farm Journal. 
In conversation with you they will blame our 
long aud severe W inters and short, though 
wonderfully fruitful, Summers for all their 
trouble; and yet they will not utilize that, long 
W inter in converting their grain and roots into 
beef, mutton, pork, etc. Though the English 
murket always insures them certain sale for 
beef at from ft to cents live weight, und 
the local market is ulways open for pork at 
from 6 to cents, which, particularly con¬ 
sidering the manure made, etc., ought to be 
more remunerative than carting potatoes at 
111 cents, and oats at 32 cents, from one to ten 
miles to market when the roads are almost 
impassable, and when they ought to be doing 
their fall plowing. R- T. 
Connecticut. 
Sharon. Litchfield Co., Sept. 9. —Early in 
the season, we suffered very much from the 
late frosts und drought. Farmers generally 
planted corn the second time, and during the 
present warm spell it is ripening very fust aud 
promises a fair crop. Hay was hardly one- 
fourth the usual quantity. The shortage 
caused our farmers to put in an extra amount 
of sowed corn and Hungarian Grass. The co¬ 
pious rains have so improved the pasturage, 
that, we are a month later than usual in com¬ 
mencing to soil our cows. J. G. R. 
Dakota* ^ 
CavOUB, Beadle Co., Aug. 30 —Wheat, now y 
being thrashed, yields 20 to 33 bushels per j 
aere. Price, 57 cents for No. L Corn from <. 
our own seed is out cf the w ay of frost. Pride o 
of the North, White Dent, Learning, Clurage 'I 
and Iturul Union will take a month yet to 1 
ripen. Graiu und hay are being saved in t 
good condition. Block doing well. Potatoes I 
extra good on au acreage about -*0 per cent. 1 
greater than last year. We consider the ; 
Rural New-Yorker the standard of excel- , 
lenceamong agricultural papers. G. E. F. 
Mandan, Morton Co., August 23.—Almost 
ever}' man one meets feels so good that you 
would think he owned one-half of Dakota 
Territory; for crops never were better here. 
Early iu the Spring it was very dry, but when 
it got once started, we had as much rain as we 
wanted. 1 never saw a nicer season anywhere. 
We have not hud a bit of frost since the cold 
weather left in the Spring. Plenty of rain and ' 
warm weather, und crops of all Kinds are , 
splendid. Wheat, 20 to 80bushels (estimated); 1 
outs, 50 to 80; barley, 25 to 85 Corn is doing 
finely,as are also all kinds of garden truck. Po¬ 
tatoes are splendid, ami we have a very large 
crop of wild hay; no tame hav raised here yet 
to amouut to much. What there is, is doing 
well. Tile harvest is almost over: but the song 
of the self binder can still be heard iu some 
fields. We have had fine wcut.her since the har¬ 
vest commenced, and grain has been saved in 
good condition. There have been some hail¬ 
storms iu this region, aud though they touched 
only here and there a farm, yet where they 
did hit they hit hard, and a very few minutes 
of hail will make a crop look awfully sick. 
The country has settled up very fast iu the last 
throe years, aud if present prospects hold good, 
it. will get such a boom this Fall as it never 
had before. F * a - 
Illinois. 
Tii.den, Randolph Co , Sept. 2.—The w heat 
crop has been light. The ground has not had 
a good soaking siuee June 35. About half an 
inch of rain fell on July 14. aud that w r as the 
last till last week, so our corn crop is going 
to be light. Sorghum is also light. Oats 
were good. Fruits are a failure. J a. c. 
Indiana. 
Salem, Washington Co., Aug 19.—Harvest 
is all over, aud a great deal of ground has 
been broken for wheat.. Wheat has been 
about an average crop. On one field, which 
had received 200 pounds of bone meal per 
acre, we got only five bushels per acre, while 
last year the same ground yielded 23 bushels 
per acre, after it had received one barrel of 
.-.alt per acre as dressing. Oats are above an 
average. Corn, though it started late, has had 
a splendid season in this vicinity; while com¬ 
plaints of dry weather come from adjoining 
■ eouuties. Hay was an immense crop, and is 4 
selling at $6 per ton. Wheat is selling slowly 
at 70 cents; oats, 25 cents; corn, 65 cents. 
Irish potatoes are a gocsl crop, with some 
scab. I notice on examination small white 
worms from 1-16 to 8-16 of an inch in length 
on the scabby tutors The “old-fashioned” 
potato bug, black and white striped, is with as 
by the million, eating cabbages, tomatoes, 
beans—everything. My patch of mangels has 
nothing left, but roots aud leaf stems. The 
Colorado Beetle is nowhere. He doesn’t care 
for lime dusted on. How does he like Buhacb? 
What does it cost? [It does not answer. It 
stupefies them only. It costs about a dollar a 
pound —Eos. 1 No peaches here, nor much 
other fruit, except apples, but they are inferior 
—knotty, etc. I take six agricultural papers. 
The R. N.-Y. is the “bossest” of all The 
Farmers’ Club is worth more than the little $2. 
“Long may it wave!” E. G. h. 
RURAL SEED REPORTS. 
Indiana. 
Salem, Washington Co —My Rural Corn 
is looking fine. The Rural oats were excellent. 
The peas labored under hard times from some 
unknown cause. The Champion of England, 
Bliss’s Wonder, and others all failing with 
me. I saved enough Rural peas for a good 
trial next year. The Garden Treasures were 
nicely cared for, when along came a flood 
and washed over half of them away. Those 
that remained are very utee. E. G. H. 
Kentucky. 
Moscow, Hickman Co., Sept. 5.—The Ru¬ 
ral corn, oats, peas, tomatoes and Garden 
Treasures, are all a success with me. The 
wheat and rye being fall or winter varie¬ 
ties, I have not yet planted. a. m. f. 
New York. 
Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence Co., Aug. 29,— 
The Rural peas are the earliest I ever had. I 
think the Horsford Market a very nice thing. 
I have saved both for seed. G. c, 
Pennsyl van la. 
Gaines, Tioga Co.—The R. N.-Y. Peas were 
very early—about as early as Carter's First 
Crop, but they were better bearers. The 
Horsford, planted at the same time, are green 
yet: some of the pods are ripe and some are 
just ready to boil. The Black Champion 
Oats, 1 planted one foot apart iu the drill, and 
one foot apart in the row are thick enough. 
They are not ripe yet and are lodged badly. 
The Rural corn is about eight feet high, and 
there are from one to three ears to the stalk. 
It needs ten days of good weather to get 
ripe. H - 8 - C 
» I \ : L-i J 
i Every query roast be accompanied by tin; name 
and address of the writer to Insure attention. Before 
asking a question, please see If it is not answered Iu 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions, 
at one tlme.l _ 
CASTRATING a STAI.LION. 
H. M. S. Tillamook , Oregon .—My neigh¬ 
bor had a valuable four year-old stallion 
which he castrated when the sign was iu the 
breast; the next day it was in the heart, and 
in the afternoon after the operation the horse 
began to bleed, and bled about a gallon. The 
owner tilled the wound with pulverized alum. 
Sciapiugs of sole leather, white oak bark, rot¬ 
ten, wool and spider’s web, which he allowed 
to remain for four days. The horse died 
when the sign was in the bowels. Did the po¬ 
sition of the sign make any difference l Were 
the proper remedies used to stop the bleeding? 
Was it right to let the “remedies” remain in 
the wound so long! Could the horse’s life have 
been saved? What would have been the right 
treatment? 
Ans,—T he moon had no more to do with 
this affair than it has with a man’s bellyache 
when he eats too many sour apples. There 
was much letter reason for it, viz.: the 
operation was badly performed. I f the arte¬ 
ries had been divided by scrapiug, instead of 
cutting, no blood would have been lost, how¬ 
ever badly the moon might have behaved 
The rubbish put in the wound inflamed and 
poisoned it. The proper thing would have been 
to perform the operation iu a reasonable way 
that would have prevented the inflammation. 
The horse did not die from loss of blood but 
from the inflammatiou caused by the use of 
those irritating substances, aud their remain¬ 
ing so long iu the wound. In making this op¬ 
eration. the use of an ecruseur is almost posi¬ 
tively safe, because it prevents bleeding aud 
encourages healing. To separate the cord and 
arteries by scraping is equally safe when it is 
done properly; and some surgeons operate 
{ quite safely by twisting them. But the moou 
and its signs have not the slightest effect upon 
any of our work or operations, and the belief 
that they have Is a remnant of ancient pagan¬ 
ism and its superstitions, which a Christian 
man should be ashamed of. 
ABSORPTION OF AFTKRBtRTn BY A COW, ETC 
.S'. O. S., Russell, Towa.—l. My heifer calved 
in March, and failed to clean well, aud up to 
the present time she has not done well. She 
seems stiff iu the hind parts and the muscles 
along the neck; the back and hind legs seem 
drawn. What is wrong? and give treatment. 
2. The stalks of my rhubarb are spindling. It 
was planted two years ago, and is well ma¬ 
nured. but still it does not thrive; how should 
it be treated? 
A ns.— 1. The heifer is suffering from ab¬ 
sorption of the decomposed membranes. Give 
her a pint of linseed oil, and repeat the second 
day afterwards. Then give an ounce of hypo¬ 
sulphite of soda daily for two or three weeks. 
In that time she will probably have recovered. 
When a cow fails to clean after calving, the 
retained membranes are partly absorbed into 
the blood, and have to be got rid of through 
the kidneys; this throws extra work upon 
these organs aud causes trouble w T ith them. 
If the stiffness in the back remains, apply tur¬ 
pentine over the loins, rubbing in well a table 
spoonful daily for a few days all along the 
spine, but mostly over the kidneys. 2. After 
having been transplanted, the 1 . ubarh does 
not make a full growth until the second year: 
if well manured and cultivated uext year, it 
will make a vigorous growth, no doubt. 
COW-POX in cows. 
S. 11. W., La Prairie, //(.—What ails my 
cow? A week ago I noticed small lumps on 
her teats. These broke; water ran from them, 
and a sore was formed, which will not heal. 
Those that did not break have formed scabs, 
under which there is “matter.” The teats and 
all the lower parts of the udder are covered 
with the sores—and they arc spreading to the 
tail, back, sides and nose; otherwise, she is in 
good health. My daughter has been milking 
her, aud the same kind of sores are appearing 
on her hands. 
Ans.—T his d sense is cow-pox, or variola, 
and it is the same with which persons are vac¬ 
cinated, as a preventive of smallpox. The 
word vaccinate comes from the Latin racci- 
nU8 —belonging to a cow. If the scabs are not 
broken, they usually heal in about three 
weekB. This is au exceptionally severe case, 
and is due to the breaking of the pustules. 
Give the cow one ounce of hyposulphite of 
soda every day for two weeks. Have your 
doctor prescribe for your daughter, who must 
be careful not to take cold or break the pus¬ 
tules. The disease la contagious, and will 
probably go through all the other cows. 
PRICER OF FERTILIZERS. 
T. B. B., Easton. Mil — 1. What is the cost 
of a ton of fertilizer, an analysis of which 
yields 2% per cent, of ammonia; 9 percent, 
of phosphoric acid; 18 per cent, of bone phos¬ 
phate, and 2X percent, of potash? 2. What 
is the wholesale price of B C. rock! 
Ans.—T he figures given iu the latest bulle¬ 
tin of the N. J. Experiment station are as 
follows; Nitrogen from ammonia salts, 22 
cents a pound; phosphoric acid, soluble, 10 
cents; insoluble as bone phosphate, 434 cents: 
potash os muriate, 4% cents; and as high 
grade sulphate, 7}i cents per pound. A ton of 
1 fertilizer as above would therefore be valued 
as follows: 
• Ammon In per cent. te 1b. $11.JJ) 
. Phosphoric acid 9 do. do. l»; do. «•«' 
! Bone phosphate W do. do. 8 0 do. 16.| 
PotAsb 2W» do. do. 50 do. c»oi 
214 per cent. 
9 do. do. 
13 do. do. 
2)4 do. do. 
South Carolina phosphate rock unground 
varies so much in value that no definite reply 
can be given to your query. 
AIR SACS IN TURKEYS. 
H. C. G, Chestertown, N. Y .—One of my 
young turkeys is troubled with wind puffs 
under its wing near its crop: the skin rises 
iu puffs an inch or more high with a base 
two or three inches square. When the swell¬ 
ings are pricked through the two skins, they 
collapse. How should the birds be treated ? 
Ans.— All birds have a secondary breathing 
apparatus, which is very curious. It is dis¬ 
tributed along the backbone and the thorax. 
The thoracic air sacs extend around the 
shoulder or wing joints, and the air puffs re¬ 
ferred to are caused by the escape of air 
through the muscular tissue, from this thoracic 
air sac. There is nothing serious in this 
trouble, and it cannot be cured by pricking 
the skin, uulessthe skin is pressed down by a 
bandage so us to close the orifice, and cause it 
to be filled up. Treatment would probably 
make it worse, as the defect will not hurt the 
birds iu any way. 
FOUNDER IN HORSES’ FEET. 
K. C. T., Kranzburg, D. T .—My mare is 
lame in her fore-feet: when standing or 
walking they are spread wide apart. There is 
a ridge on top of the hoof in front, and a hoi- 
