@36 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
0€T 18 
it is the best we have had here for three years. 
Oats were a good crop, thrashing from 35 to 
50 bushels per acre. Potatoes will bc» fair 
average crop: but they were badly affected 
with a rot in some places. A pples are plentiful, 
and the cider mills are busy. The copious 
ruins of the last few days will enable the far¬ 
mers to go on with their Fall plowing, which 
was retarded very much by the drought. 
W. F. H. 
Michigan. 
Sherman, Waxford Co., Oct. 1.—Hay was 
a light crop. Wheat was thin on the ground, 
but it turned out well—from 18 to 39 bushel* 
per acre. One piece of Spring wheat yielded 
3b bushels per acre. My wheat went 30% 
bushels per acre,thrashers’ measure. Oats 40 
bushels; barley from 38 to 05 per acre. Buck¬ 
wheat is a splendid crop, and so are potatoes. 
I think that Beauty of Hebron, for early, and 
the White Elephant for later, are the two 
best kinds we have. The Blush grows large 
and yields well, but is too straggling In the 
hill. I planted eight pounds last Spring, and 
we have dug 4% bushels from them. The 
farmers all feel well over the good crops; but 
there is no sale for them, for cash; we have to 
do as we used to years ago, “trade and barter” 
where we can. Potatoes are selling, in limit¬ 
ed quantities, at 25c. in trade; wheat 75c. in 
trade; oats 25c. per bushel,in trade; hay 88.0 l 
per ton. I think the Rural the best farmers 
paper published, aud it is improving every 
year. God bless the Rural I J* n. c. 
New Jersey. 
Elmer, Salem Co., Sept. 30.— The apple 
crop is quite large. The best find a market 
in the large cities, but a great many are crush¬ 
ed at the cider mills for vinegar and distilling 
into Jcrsey lightning.” The cider mills and 
distilleries are now runuing to their fullest 
capacity. Of pears the crop has been very 
large, mostly of Bartlett'-, which brought the 
farmers from $2 to $8 per bushel. The Shel 
don, which is a better pear, brings less than 
the last of the Hart lefts, owing to its lack of 
beauty. Good pears were returning our 
farmers last week $fi.00 jier barrel. The 
peach crop was very good, as might have been 
expected, as the thermometer did not reach 
zero with us last Winter, and we had no late 
spring froBts to injure buds; still there is not 
much more thau enough raised to supply the 
home demand. For some unknown reason the 
circulio failed to destroy the crop of plums 
upon many trees, and our fanners profited by 
this omission. Grapes (Concords) are quite 
abundant, and sell, on the vines, at the vine¬ 
yards, for 3c. per pound, and, delivered at, the 
wine houses, for 2% cents. The rot thinned the 
branches considerably, but not too much in 
many cases for t he amount of fertilizer given. 
The corn crop will not be quite up to the 
standard; but it will be better thau many ex¬ 
pected. This has been u poor com year. The 
Spring was wet and cold, and a great many 
unable to get a good stand, the lains 
the last of July cauie in time to save it from 
drought, which had beguu to affect it very 
seriously. The dry, hot weather of Sept, 
has hurried the ripening of considerable late 
corn, which would have been caught by frost 
otherwise. Late potatoes will undoubtedly 
be somewhat short, on account of the continu¬ 
ed drought. The wheat crop will be put in a 
little later for the same reason, and there is 
danger that the farmer, in his baste to get it 
in, will not give the ground the same amouut 
of preparation he would, had ho boeu able to 
plow it a couple of weeks earlier, Of the hog 
cholera which the newspapers report as rag¬ 
ing ill Southern Jersey. I have made inquiries 
and learnt the following: there Ls some sick¬ 
ness among the hogs near Shiloh, Cumberland 
Co., 12 miles south of us. A man lias 
lost four hogs (all he had) at Malaga, Glouces¬ 
ter Co., seven miles east. Four farmers,three 
miles north of Elmer, have had some very 
fatal disease ainoug their hogs, which is evi¬ 
dently contagious, as one has lost all the large 
hogs he had, aud the farmers all live within a 
radius of about a mile. A butcher in Elmer 
has also lost one bog. This is all the sickness 
I can learn of in this locality. Dr. Smith, of 
Malaga, dissected one of those at that place 
and pronounced it a lung trouble, and not the 
cholera. R - W. R. 
IHlsnourl. 
Eldon, Miller Co., Sept. 24.—The acreage 
of wheat will be considerably decreased this 
year, as at present prices wheat does not pay. 
More attention is being paid to grass, aud a 
larger acreage thau usual will be seeded down 
this Fall. Corn is ripe enough to cut up, and 
will make uearly an average crop. Hay was 
very good, and as pasturage was good all 
Summer, stock is in good condition. "Prices 
are good for stock of all kinds, although grain 
and feed are low. n. j. 8. 
New York. 
Cohocton, Steuben Co., Sept. 28.—Crops 
are now’ all harvested, excepting some buck¬ 
wheat. Wheat has been a good crop this 
season. I had about two acres of Michigan 
White spring wheat which yielded 46% 
bushels. Rye in some sections was good; in 
others, poor. Barley generally good, but 
owing to much wet weather during harvest¬ 
ing, it is nearly all stained. Oats yield well 
in quantity, but are rather )i;lit., as nearly all 
late oats got rusty before ripe. Potatoes are 
medium; only a few dug yet. Corn quite 
good—nothing ext ra. Apples less than half a 
crop, and of small fruits there are scarcely 
any, pears good. The markets are dull, 
except for fruit. Apples sell readily to 
grocers at from 25 cents for sweet, to <5 cents 
per bushel for sour; all fa’l apples; no mar¬ 
ket for winter varieties yet. lb F. S. 
Kktohum’s Corners, Saratoga Co., Oct. 2. 
—Hay is half a crop; oats, two thirds; rye, 
three-fourths; wheat, ditto; marketable pota¬ 
toes half; and apples, three-fourths of a crop. 
Drought caused the shortage in potatoes, and 
the grub worm has dainuged what there are. 
E. lb 8. 
Sherman, Chautauqua Co., Sept. 28.—The 
bustle and hurry of the farmer in harvesting 
and planting his crops are about over for this 
season. Crops, as a whole, have been quite 
good. Hav not as heavy as last year; but of 
finer quality. Oats are quite good; early sown 
outs yield 5U bushels per acre, while lute sown 
yield but from 25 to 80. Corn is a fair crop. 
Potatoes are excellent. What winter wheat 
there was yielded from 25 to 80 bushels per 
acre, which is far beyond the uverage for this 
section. Farmers are waking up to the fact 
that, with proper care and thoroughness in 
preparing the soil and putting in the right 
kind of seed, winter wheat can lie raised in 
this section. Our crop of buckwheat never 
vaa better. a. e. b. 
Ohio. 
Foster’s, Warren Co., Sept. 22.—We are 
simply burnt up in this section owing to the 
drought. Our corn and potatoes have noc 
been wet to the roots since July 4th. The 
early crop of potatoes was fair; the late crop, 
where they are hilled, will be very short. I 
followed the Rural’s advice and gave level 
culture, aud I have a fair crop, considering. 
Our corn has had no rain since it was six 
inches high, so that it has grown altogether 
in dry wouther; yet it has kept green, and is 
better than one would suppose it could possi¬ 
bly be, but it will not be over a haif crop the 
county over. The worm so frequently spoken 
of in the Rural, worked on the tap, or center 
root of the corn very badly, aud I think it has 
done more injury than the drought. The corn 
was uneven all Summer; there were small 
hills and, right hy them, largo thrifty ones, 
and ou examination, 1 find the tap root of the 
corn in tho small hills eaten off. The undis¬ 
turbed hills have good ears,and tho others very 
small ones, and some nouo at all. I have just, 
hung up my seed com for next year. Our fair 
is just over, aud was a grand success, with ex¬ 
ception of the fruit display. We have no 
fruit worth mentioning. Our directors al¬ 
lowed a side-show and several renders of 
cheap goods to enter our grounds for a cash 
pittance, very much to the disgust of all our 
better citizens, and for doing so they were 
severely rebuked. be largest Poland-China 
weighed 1,110 lbs. The Berkshires aud Chest- 
er-wbites were the only other breeds shown. 
Clydesdale horses and their grades made a 
splendid show. I most heartily indorse the 
high moral tone of the Rural aud of all of 
its tnaiu coutributors. Long life to such men 
as the Editors, Hoskins, Carpenter, Beal, 
Curtis. Lawes, Sheldon, Wiley, Sturtevant, 
“the Eye-opener,” and, last but not least, 
old Uncle Mark. D. R. 
Texas. 
Marshall, Harrison Co., Sept. 28.—I have 
lived in Ohio, Missouri, Kansas. Utah, Cali¬ 
fornia, Kentucky, Teunessee aud Louisana, 
and like this portion of Texas for climate 
better thau any other place. I have lived 
here 10 years. All kinds of frnit can be 
raised iu perfection, which can be raised in 
New York, excepting, perhaps, currants, and 
our figs are just splendid. 1 ofteu wish that 
about a dozen smart young married men 
would come to this county; buy up a good 
tract of deserted cotton land, and go to farm¬ 
ing in true Northern style. One great, draw¬ 
back to such a scheme is the fact that the 
county has a large majority of colored people, 
which makes it unpleasant to live among 
them on account of their ignorance, and ac¬ 
cording to the statements of nearly all the 
white planters, or farmers, their almost uni¬ 
versal disposition to make free with the prop¬ 
erty of other people, especially hogs and 
chickens. However, I conclude that the nat¬ 
ural disposition of the white people to dislike 
the “nigger,” causes them to magnify the 
faults of the colored race. I believe a num¬ 
ber of such meu as I mention settling in a 
body so as to enjoy the benefits of a school for 
the children and of neighborhood meetings, 
would soon have a model community, and 
teach these Southern farmers some things 
which they don’t know, and will not learn in 
any other way for a long time to come. Of 
course, there are exceptions to this general 
state of things, and here and there a farmer 
is breaking away from the old ways and ex¬ 
perimenting, generally with satisfactory re¬ 
sults. __ *-• 
RURAL SEED REPORTS. 
Illlnotft. 
Hardin, Calhoun Co., Sept. 22.—The Rural 
and Horsford Peas did well. The tomatoes 
grew finely: some were the best I have ever 
seen. The Garden Treasures were nice; some 
of them we had never seen before. The Cham¬ 
pion Oats fell and did not fill well. They are 
toe late here. 1 never saw oats tiller so—10 to 
12 stalks from one grain. The Union Corn 
did well; I have GO good cars saved. Shall 
plant all next Spring. It was planted the 1st 
of June, and was ripe the 1st of Sept. I shall 
sow the Diehl Mediterranean iu drills, as yon 
recommend. T - ®* 
Pleasant Vallev, Jo Daviess Co.—The 
hens totally destroyed the Rural Peas before 
they were noticed. The Rural Corn has done 
very well, though not as early as 1 expected. 
It is ten days later than Sibley’s Pride of the 
North. From 72 kernel* I gathered 68 ears, 
averaging a foot in length. I was much 
pleased with the tomato seeds, which pro¬ 
duced some frnit as fine as 1 ever saw. 1 he 
Garden Treasures wore also splendid; some of 
the aster* especially so. The distribution of 
choice seeds among subscribers is worth more 
than is charged for the paper and all. w. 8. 
Michigan. 
Nii.es, Berrien Co., Oct.4. --The R.N.-Y. Peas 
were the earliest, and very nice, so we saved 
them for seed. Our tomatoes were perfectly 
splendid. The Rural Union Corn, was mixed 
and almost, too fliuty for this section. Of tho 
Black Champion Oats, I have two small bun¬ 
dles; they did not ripen evenly, and were 
rusty. The Diehl -Mediterranean Wheat was 
sowed about the middle of September, so 
time will tell what It will do. The Garden 
Treasures I have not sown, because 1 did not 
have a place for them. From the Niagara 
Grape seeds about a dozen vines came up, but 
only two are left, aud they don’t amount to 
very much, K - R * 
Sherman, Wexford Co.—The Rural Union 
Corn I planted May 15, on good ground- 
clover sod. There were 42 kernels. I put two 
in each hill, 3% feet each way, and cultivated 
it four times, hoed once. It grow about 10 
feet high, with nice, large ears well filled out. 
I topped the corn September 20, aud it is now 
all sound aud good, aud I am pleased with it. 
The Rural Peas all did well, but the R N.- \ . 
Pea was the earliest ; some were fit to eat, on 
June 2; they were the earliest we have ever 
raised here. The Garden Treasures are su¬ 
perior to anything we have ever raised—the 
flowers are just lovely. j. n. c. 
New York. 
WATTSBUBG, Erie Co.—The Rural Corn is a 
failure for us. The farmers get discouraged 
trying so many different sorts, only to find 
them failures. None of tho Rural oats or corn, 
so far as I know, have proved a success here; 
but I think the Diohl-Mediterraueau Wheat 
will be a success. The White Elephant Potato 
does well here, and the Rural Blush yields 
well, but is not very salable. w. T. M. 
Cohocton, Steuben Co.— My Rural rye 
and wheat I planted this month. Of the 
Rural tomato seed 1 planted 51 for myself, 
and gave away as man y. I set out mine in due 
time, in good ground, then I watered them 
with liquid manure from the barn-yard, after 
a shower, ami during a dry spell. I have 51 
strong and thrifty vines; some bang very full, 
others have a few, but none has got ripe. 
Some rot as soon as they begin to color. My 
Rural Peas were all destroyed before they 
were ripe. The Rural Union Corn was 
planted two weeks before the other varieties. 
The others are ripe, but the Rural dent is 
not quite ripe yet. It grows very rank, but 
I think it is too late for this latitude. Will try 
it again next year. The Black Champion 
Oats are harvested; they grow very strong 
and tiller well. I counted 31 stalks from one 
seed. They are also quite heavy, but a little 
late for late sowing in this section What 
we need is rust-proof oats; these we can raise 
profitably. H - v - s. 
Pennsylvania. 
Stevensville, Bradford Co.—The Rural 
tomatoes were fine, and the R, N.-Y. Pea was 
splendid; it ripened in 07 davs. Rural Union 
Corn is too late for us; stalks over nine feet 
high; but frost nearly killed it; there will be 
hardly any fit for seed. L. a. p. 
Texas. 
Cove, Coryell Co., Texas, Sept. 17.—The 
Rural UnioD Corn has done as well as any 
Northern seed I ever planted. It beats Sib¬ 
ley’s Pride of the North badly, but was not so 
good as some I have been raising for several 
years. I intend to plant it again. I have 
tried often, but never have been able to 
raise a good crop of corn from seed grown in 
the North; but all will do better after having 
been grown here a year or so. We had some 
tomatoes as fine as I ever saw. The R. N.-Y. 
Pea was very early and yielded a fine crop. 
Oats not worth saving. G. J. B. 
Wixcomin. 
Token Creek, Dane Co., Wis.—Earliness 
was the chief merit of the N.-Y. Peas with me. 
The H. M. G. did extremely well; one pea 
with two branches had 53 pods. The tip end 
pods had two peas each, and the number 
ranged from that up to seven. The R. U. 
Corn, planted May 15, grew eight or nine feet 
high; but did not ear very well. The Cham¬ 
pion Oats tillered well, but were late and 
rusted badly. The tomatoes are splendid—the 
best I ever saw. The Garden Treasures look 
beautiful at this time. G. m, 
Stevensville, Outagamie Co., Sept. 22.— 
The Rural tomatoes are fine. The peas we 
thought no better than a kind we have grown 
for two years past. The Champion Oats 
stooled too late; rusted and matured unevenly 
_“no good.” The flower seeds were satisfac¬ 
tory, considering the care bestowed on them. 
B. M. G. 
d L y B 
(Every query must be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to Insure attention. Before 
asking a question, please see if It is not answered In 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions 
atone time.] _ 
BARN FLOOR— CATTLE FASTENING. 
S. H. It, Viroqua , Wis.—1. Can I make a 
good barn cellar floor suitable for cattle to 
stand upon with Band rock (that is easily 
broken), fine sand and Akron cement; if so, 
how can it bo doue? 2. Will the Rural, 
please, give an illustration of Henry Stewart’s 
cattle fastening? 
ANS. 1. Such a mixture will make the very 
best of floors. Proceed as follows: Get for 
each barrel of cement, three barrels of sand 
and five of broken stone. Provide a large 
mixing board; on one side put the stone in a 
heap and wet it thoroughly, and keep it wet 
as it may dry, by throwing a pailful of water 
over it. Turn out on tho mixing board a 
barrel of the cement, and three barrels of the 
sand, and mix them together very evenly, 
dry; grade the floor, aud when all is ready, 
wet up a part of the mixed sand and cement 
and mix it well; then throw in the wet stone 
aud shovel it over until every stone is covered 
with the mortar. Lay it on the floor and 
spread it three inches thick. One man should 
be mixing while the other is laying. When a 
piece is laid, another man should ram it solid 
and hard with a broad rammer, so that it is 
thoroughly packed. This will bring up to the 
surface some of the moist cement, which may 
be smoothed off with a plauk rubber. So 
proceed until the whole floor is laid. Let it 
dry fur a few days, then spread sand on it, 
and it is ready for use. To make a perfect 
floor, such a one as this should be saturated 
with hot gas tar aud covered with sand, to 
be swept off when the tar is quite hard. No 
vermin will hurt a floor like this, and it is 
quite water-proof. A gutter should be made 
at the lowest part, the floor sloping to it. 2. 
The chain shown (Fig. 398) slides up and down 
on the staples. A, and a snap hook, B, on a 
leather collar, C, fastens into the ring in the 
chain. 
COST OF ANALYSES OF SOILS, ETC. 
E, H. S., Ketchum's Carriers, N. Y .—Sends 
specimens of marl and muck to be analyzed 
by the Rural which is to report upon their 
character. 
Ans.—T he cost of analyzing a specimen of 
soil of any sort, would be $4 for each “deter¬ 
mination,” and five “determinations” would 
be needed to ascertain the constituents: total 
cost 330 for an analysis of the muck, and 330 
