THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
OCT 25 
fyt ^Pcrultnj-Tjartr. 
BREEDS AND THEIR CHARACTERIS¬ 
TICS—BANTAMS. 
While the East has sent us our largest 
breeds of poultry, it has also sent us the small¬ 
est. It is comparatively only a few years ago 
that Bantams were almost unknown. The 
first mention I know of them was by Mow¬ 
bray, in 1824. He says: “ Bantam, a well 
known small breed, originally from India, 
valued chiefly for its grotesque figure and deli¬ 
cate flesh. There has been lately obtained a 
variety of Bantams, extremely small, nnd as 
smooth legged its a Game fowl,” 
From the word Bantam, which is the name 
of a part of the Island of Java, it would ap¬ 
pear that the first Bantams were of East 
Indian origin. The first breed was probably 
the feather-legged white. These had very 
heavily feathered legs and hocks like avul 
ture’s. Next was a colored breed very much 
like the other, except that the color was 
splashed black and white, and liiids of this 
sort were often called African Bantams—a 
misnomer. Then came black with smooth legs. 
Next we find it little smooth-legged bird 
mostly yellow, and called Nankeen Bantam. 
These few varieties were popular for several 
years; afterward came the Game Bantam. 
Sufficient material was now on hand from 
which a great advance could be made in breed¬ 
ing well defined and beautiful forms. All 
this was seen and advantage taken of the op 
portunity by Sir John Sebright, who, by care¬ 
ful selection, in a few years produced the 
wonderful little pets, Gold and Silver-Raced 
Bantams. Whcnlirst exhibited, they created 
a great sensation, and when Sir Johu ex¬ 
plained how be produced them, his storj was 
received with much doubt, and even denial by 
some fanciers and apart of the press, many 
believing they were imported from some re¬ 
mote part of the world by him, and that bo 
had never bred them from ordinary birds, as 
he claimed. Time and investigation, how 
ever, soon proved the truthfulness of his state¬ 
ment, und from that day a new era dawned 
on the poultry world; fanciers gained con¬ 
fidence from the example, und all t he Bantams 
as well us large fowls were Improved very 
rapidly. All the little Games, as well as the 
blacks and whites, were greatly reduced in 
size, with Clean, uniformly colored legs; while 
the old splashed, aud Nankeen Bantams soon 
disappeared, and to-day we find among the 
modern Bantams the sweetest little dainty 
morsels in the shape of fowls one could wish 
for. To these maybe added the funny little 
Pekin Bantam dwarfs, facsimiles of the state¬ 
ly Cochins, aud also the Japanese Bantams, 
perhaps the most singular looking of all the 
poultry world. Bantams are not of much use 
to a farmer; yet for children, or as an orna¬ 
ment, to a lawn, what can be more sprightly 
and beautiful than a Hock of Laced or Game 
Bantams or even any of the other varieties? 
HENRY HALES. 
Pomolflgical 
HIGH LAND OR LOW LAND FOR TREE 
FRUITS GENERALLY. WHICH? 
B. F. JOHNSON. 
(Ionsidemng that in almost the whole V alley 
of the Mississippi River above Cairo, from 
three-fourths to four-fifths of the apple or¬ 
chards have been stricken with disease of some 
kind, and are dead or fast going to decay, and 
considering, further.that a large portion of the 
healthy, vigorous and fruitful orchards and 
trees are situated on low lands, the matter is 
worthy of investigation whether the disease 
is not simply a manifestation of starvation 
due to an insufficient supply of moisture. 
The parents of most varieties of apples we 
cultivate are natives of comparatively cool, 
moist climates, having neither our summer 
heats at one end of the season nor mu’ intense 
Winter's cold at the other. Buteveu in these 
climates the apple has always done best where 
the frosts of the cold season are rarely severer 
than our average November, and the warmth 
of the Summer, that of our average May. 
What wonder, then, where a fruit bearing 
tree has been transferred from so mild and 
equable a climate to another which is liable 
to the wet Springs of England, the summer 
heats of Africa, the autumn droughts of 
Egypt, and for the Winter to the intense cold 
and possible snow of Greenland, it fails to 
withstand all these adverse influences, unless 
their rigors are mitigated; and what would 
la' more likely to do this than a copious sup¬ 
ply of water? If iu the Spring the earth is 
saturated with rainfall, nothing is more to 
be feared for all crops than sudden drought, 
and, in like manner, nothing will more surely 
disarm the terrors of our summer suns of Africa 
and the droughts of Egypt than abundant 
moisture, and nothing better protects the 
roots of our tree vegetation from the severe 
frosts of W mt-er than a saturated soil and sub¬ 
soil. 
The apple, then, demands in our climate 
of intense extremes, a copious water supply 
for two reasons: 1, because when at home it 
ever does best in cool, moist situations, and 
when transferred to a climate of extremes of 
heats and cold, abundant moisture best miti¬ 
gates their injurious effects. 
If, then, the healthy, vigorous and fruitful 
orchardsof the Valley of the Mississippi above 
Cairo, are mostly confined to low, moist or 
overflowed lands, there are good and sufficient 
reasons for it. 
Champaign Co., Ill. 
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PACKING PEACHES. 
I suppose the peach is, incontestably, the 
most delicious fruit that the world produces. 
It ifl consequently unfortunate that it seldom 
reaches the consumer in perfection. This is 
owing to improperpacking. The peach, when 
ripe aud fit for eutiug, is exceedingly delicate, 
and the slightest, bruise is the commencement 
of decay. 1 would suggest, therefore, that 
producers should prepare, for next year’s 
market, crates such as are used for eggs, with 
pasteboard partitions, in which each peach 
wonld tie isolated; those at the bottom would 
not he bruised by weight on top, and they 
would lie protected from the jar consequent 
on transportation. an old subscriber. 
fciuntl (Topics. 
NOTES BY THE WAY. 
THE LINDENS, ETC. 
At this season of the year I notice the many 
European lindens, with leaves turned brown 
and mostly fallen off, and regret that a better 
variety had not been planted. The Polyphylla 
is as beautiful as the European early in Sum¬ 
mer, and now is dark green, every leaf being 
perfect, and they will remain so until killed 
by frost. A row of this variety on the grounds 
of Charles A. Dana, perfect in outline, full of 
bright,shining leaves, has giveu him more sab 
isfaetion than any ot her of his beautiful and 
extensive collection of trees. The Silver Linden 
also holds its leaves perfectly, and is a noble 
tree, but the Weeping Silver Linden is, in my 
opinion, the perfection of beauty, and the 
most graceful of our large ornamental trees. 
There are several newer varieties that claim 
our atteutiou, but I huvo not yet seen any 
large specimens of them. When the American 
Linden is properly grown and trimmed. It Is a 
noble tree, and a much faster grower than the 
others. 
SOME CHOICE TREES. 
The Tulip Tree, in a suitable situation, 
where it has plenty of room, is a nohle and 
very attractive tree, although the Rural has 
spoken against it when past its youth. All 
trees have their habits of growth, and if we 
understand their requirements and they are 
properly planted and trained, they can all be 
made beautiful and ornamental in their pro¬ 
per position. Among our newer varieties of 
trees and plunts I especially admire the Vari¬ 
egated or Golden leaved Privet, also the Due 
de Brabant Althea. But no althea gives me as 
much pleasure as the Count of Flanders. It 
is a great bloomer, has dark green leaves, and 
very double flowers of a rich brown, or a 
shade 1 cannot describe. The Pruuus Pis- 
sardii retains the rich, dark-red color of its 
loaves hotter, so far, than any dark-foliaged 
tree I have met—better than the maples, birch 
or beech. I have not noticed that the Teas 
Hybrid Catalpa is better than the Speciosa, 
which I commend aud desire to see tested 
here; for it is a very rapid, erect grower, and 
I have hopes that it will be au acqusitiou to 
our useful trees in the Eastern as well as in 
the Westorn States. 
APPLES FOR LONG ISLAND. 
I have about 150 varieties of apples in my 
orchard at present, the number being so large 
owing to my desire to test new fruits with a 
hope of fludiug a better kind than those 1 
already had. There are a great number of no 
special value, aud some are worthless. Some 
varieties only succeed in the soil and climate 
where they originated; such are the Northern 
Spy, Vandevere, Swaar, Jonathan, and Spitz 
enburgh; good, but not at home with me. I 
have selected as the best for my soil and cli¬ 
mate, the Baldwlu, Rhode Island Greening, 
Uoxbury Russet, Peck’s Pleasant, and the 
Hubbardston Nonsuch, which would be the 
l>est if a longer keeper, aud they did not fall 
to early. .Streaked Pippin and Titus Pippin 
both originated near here, and are good and 
very thrifty trees, aud excellent bearers of 
large, fine apples for market and family use. 
For late keepers the Long Island Russet—im¬ 
properly called English Russet—and Ben 
Davis are great bearers. The fruit hangs 
well on the trees, and is very showy and sal¬ 
able, but of very poor, weak flavor. Harvest 
Bough, Porter, Gravenstein, Maiden’s Blush, 
Duchess of Oldenburgh, and Twenty Ounce 
are good early sorts. 
SMALL FRUITS. 
I have had better success with Downer’s late 
cherry than with auy others. The birds sel¬ 
dom rob them, for they have had their fea*t 
on the early varieties. Heine Hortense is also 
a very good and thrifty late variety. The 
Sharpie** and Cumberland Triumph Straw¬ 
berries for family use are good enough for me. 
Of raspberries the Schaffer’s Colossal took me 
by surprise; I could scarcely realize that plants 
could bear so many large and quite good ber¬ 
ries. Sonhegan, Tyler and Doolittle ripened 
together. 1 rather prefer the Tyler. The 
New Rochelle fails, tint the Caroline is an 
early and continuous bearer, but it has no 
resemblance to the Brinekle’s Orange, even 
if the nursery catalogues do say so. It is a 
good family berry, pleasaut but. not high- 
flavored. Cuthbcrt require* a deep and rich 
soil, and then if the suckers are kept cut, it is 
unexcelled for flavor or quality. Farmers 
often do not give that attention to raspberries 
they require. Isaac hick. 
Long Island, N. Y. 
ROOTS WITHOUT HAND AND-KNEE LABOR. 
Messrs. Allen and HosKiNstell (Rural, p. 
684) how to grow mangels and beets without 
breaking our backs. This common sense 
ought to have taught us at least fifty years 
ago. Northern farmers are generally sup¬ 
posed to In- far in advance of those of the 
South ; but if I had seen a darkey “chopping 
cotton,” when younger, it would have saved 
many a weary baok-aehe. With a long- 
handled hoe, leaving one row between himself 
and his work, he walks leisurely along, with 
a pull and a push motion, gets over from half 
to a whole acre per day, and we manage our 
root crop in the same way, working of course 
between the rows with a horse, throwing soil 
to or from the row as It seems to be needed. 
Vance Co., N. C. m b prince. 
farm Cjcohouh}. 
A GOOD DRINKING TROUGH FOR 
STOCK. 
It is difficult, if not impossible, to make a 
large water trough that will give satisfaction, 
by simply spiking planks together. The swell¬ 
ing and shrinking of the wood caused by dif¬ 
ferent degrees of dryness, and the expansion 
by frost, will soon draw out the spikes enough 
to open the joints and cause the trough to 
leak. A broad trough is preferable to a nar¬ 
row oue, because it gives the ice less oportu- 
nity toclose it up in Winter. The layer of ice 
will have to freeze much thicker, iu order to 
sustain itself across a wide trough, than a nar¬ 
row one, and us the stock are continually 
drinking out the water, the ice, by settling in 
the center, will keep the trough open, except 
iu the severest weather. 
I constructed two troughs after the plan 
shown iu Figure 410, this page, aud have had 
Section of Water Trough. Fig. 410. 
very little trouble, either from leakage or 
freezing. I used no spikes, the trough beiug 
held together entirely by wedges, as 
indicated. The planks are held together by 
three frames, made of oak timber, oue being 
placed at each end, and the third in the cen¬ 
ter. The lower horizontal piece should lie 
stout—at least four by five inches—to prevent 
it from springing downward in the middle. 
The upper piece may be two by five, and the 
upright pieces two by four inches. A pin 
through each end of the upright pieces, at the 
proper place, keeps the horizontal ones in 
place, and wedges driven iu at the outer ends 
of the mortices hold the planks firmly. The 
joints are all tongued, and grooved, and 
smeared with white lead, before putting the 
trough together. If this trough is well made 
of seasoned pine plank, it will swell so much 
on beiug filled with water as to make leakage 
impossible. “elm.” 
♦ - 
A CONVENIENT PIG-TROUGH. 
I have used for 10 years or more a trough 
built after the plan shown in Fig. 409, and 
have found it quite satisfactory. The pigs 
are readily shut away from the trough while 
cleaning it out and putting in the feed. In 
the right hand of the cut the door is omitteii 
A Convenient Pig Trough. Fig. 409. 
to show more clearly the arrangement. The 
handle at a Is of three quarters round 
iron, the shorter welded to the louger at the 
center, as shown. It is attached by means of 
a pair of heavy staples, placed so that the 
handle may slide up and down a little, and 
thus act as a catch. By slipping it into the 
staple at fr, it holds the door at the outer edge 
of the trough; and when the door is let down 
it slides into another staple placed in the fide 
of the trough, as at e. Heavy, hard wood 
pins, inserted into the edge of the trough at 
the bottom and into the railiug at the top, 
serve to keep the larger hogs from getting in¬ 
to the trough. “E.” 
- ♦ ♦♦- 
BATTERING RAM AND GIN. 
We show, ut Fig. 411, the manner of work, 
ing a battering ram and also a gin, to be used 
in raising buildings. The former consists of 
a log suspended by a rope from the top of the 
building, by which wedges can he driven, as 
shown on the right iu the illustration. On the 
Battering-ram and Gin. Fig. 411. 
left is the gin; the handle is of wood, with a 
piece of flat iron fixed to one end, two inches 
wide, % of an inch thick and about five inches 
long, with two notches on opposite sides three 
inches apart, aud an iron hook between them, 
in the middle of the iron. This works between 
two tough boards 1% inch thick, five feet long 
and six inches wide, and having two rows of 
inch holes arranged alternately, and three 
inches apart. In these, two iron pins are 
used—taken out and put in alternate holes, 
as the handle is moved up and down—each 
movement raising the building l)£-incb, and 
into it the grappling book is fastened by a log 
chain. 
farm (Topics. 
WHEAT AND CHESS. 
I find the following in the Rural of Oc¬ 
tober 4: "We do not, think the question 
whether wheat turns to chess will ever be 
ended in our farm journals, until this trans¬ 
formation actually occurs—which never will.’! 
I do not wish to dispute with those who de¬ 
cide matters on scientific principles, but will 
state a fact aud ask for an explanation of it, 
In October, 1883, I prepared some ground 
that had been reclaimed from an overflowed 
marsh by dyking, and sowed two or three 
varieties of winter wheat, that I received in 
the “Rural Free Seed Distribution.” The 
land was marked in squares, aud oue kernel 
of wheat was planted in each corner. Previ¬ 
ous to being sowed to the wheat, the grouud 
had produced a crop of eoru aud oue of par¬ 
snips; before that it had always been covered 
with water and marsh grass. The wheat 
barely eawe up in the Fall. The season of 
1883 was vtry wet. so that the surface of the 
ground was covered with water much of the 
time. The wheat iu the squares grew, how¬ 
ever, and nothing like it grew on other por¬ 
tions of the field. At harvest time there were 
a few sickly heads of wheat and all the rest 
was chess. Now, where did that chess come 
from? Why did it grow exactly where the 
wheat was put, and no where else? a. m. 
Bay City, Mich. 
L We had rather suppose the almost irnpos 
sible circumstance that a flock of birds depos¬ 
ited the seed of chess upon that particular 
plot of ground, than that the wheat turned to 
chess.—E ds.] 
WHEAT AND CHESS. 
Last Summer I was visiting at the home of 
a friend when he was stacking his winter 
wheat, and taking a head of it, I rubbed it out 
in my hand to see the quality, and to my sur¬ 
prise found three kernels of what looked like 
