798 
THE RUSAL NEW-YORKER. 
against them, but made some sugar and sold 
it at a good price. But the works were run at 
a loss, which loss was repeated, on account of 
the same causes, in 1883. This year the cane 
was excellent in growth and rich in sugar. 
The season was prolonged beyond all expecta¬ 
tion, and had the price of sugar been aB high 
as t wo years ago, the stockholder# would have 
felt justified in going on. As it its, the Cham¬ 
paign sorghum sugar enterprise has ended in 
financial disaster, the larger part of the cap¬ 
ital in vested having been sunk beyond recov¬ 
ery. The plant is likely to be sold and 
removed. A similar fate overtook a manufac¬ 
tory of sorghum sugar at Hoopeston Vermil¬ 
lion Co., Ill., a year ago, the investment, a con¬ 
siderable one, having proved a total loss. 
SAMPLES AND COMMENTS. 
J. Eaton, as we learn from Purdy’s Fruit 
Recorder, thinks that he keeps the curculio 
away from his plums by smoking the trees 
after the fruit sets, and continuing for two 
months every week, with sulphur. Some¬ 
times he puts a little coal-tar in the pan with 
the sulphur... 
In the same journal, credited to “Ex¬ 
change,” we find the item that a pile of ap¬ 
ples on a barn floor, covered with buckwheat 
chaff so deep as to prevent freezing, kept per¬ 
fectly until Spring .. 
Pres. T T. Lyon praises the Crimson 
Beauty Raspberry, in the Michigan Farmer, 
as vigorous and very prolific, while the fruit 
is rich and bright in color, of fine size and 
good flavor... 
Mr. Am,an claims, in the Canadian Horti¬ 
culturist, that apples grown in the central or 
northern part of Ontario arp superior in point 
of quality to any in the world. 
Hydrangea paniculata graudlflora suc¬ 
ceeds ndmirably in Canada. Our Canadian 
friends should bear in mind that it needs to 
be toot hi dry weather or it. will not bear large 
panicles; that small, t.wo-year-ol<i bushes bear 
the largest panicles; that it is easily propaga¬ 
ted from cuttings of the green or half-ripened 
wood; that it may lie trained into a showy 
standard; that the R, N.-Y. was chiefly in¬ 
strumental In popularizing this very burdy 
and showy, though not elegant., shrub. 
There is uo other farm journal in the States 
that has anything like the circulation in Can¬ 
ada that, the Rural New Yorker has, and 
we hope our friends will assist during the 
present subscription sou sou iu greatly extend¬ 
ing its circulation. . .. 
The N. E. Fanner states that the coops for 
broody hens at Houghton Farm are about 
two feet square with bottoms of slats, so small 
aud far apart that uo hen, however broody, 
will imagine she is sitting while roosting 
upon them. They ure raised about four 
inches aliove the ground. It seems to be a 
first-rate contrivance for breaking up sitters. 
Why do not some of our political agricul¬ 
turists, who are always looking to the Gov¬ 
ernment for help, memorialize Congress for 
an appropriation to carry on experiments to 
breed the stiugs off the liees, just as the horns 
are bred off of polled cattle and the tails off 
of some aristocratic swine? asks the Weekly 
Press..... 
The Connecticut Courau*. says that rye- 
meal, or the coarsest flour, quite fresh from 
the mill, is the best material to increase the 
flavor and change the rather dry grain of 
buckwheat cakes. 
The N. E. Homestead has it that one way 
to earn One’s board is to saw wood. 
(£Dcrijwl)£re. 
TRANSCONTINENTAL LETTERS. 
XVII. 
MARY WAGER-FISHER. 
A route considerably in vogue with tour¬ 
ists, between Portland and San Francisco, is 
called the overland route, and is made by rail 
from Portlaud south us far a* Ashland, a dis¬ 
tance of Jkl miles, nearly to the California 
State line, where a line of stages carries 
passengers 125 miles to Redding in California, 
where the journey again proceeds by rail. 
When the two railroads are joined, there will 
be direct aud unbroken railroad connection 
between Portland aud Sun Francisco. The 
railroad which runs south from Portland, is 
called the “Oregon and California R. R.” and 
its route is along the eastern side of the Willa¬ 
mette River, through the heart of the Willa¬ 
mette Valley for 120 miles or more, where t.he 
river diverges and is crossed, aud the road 
winds through hills and crosses a range of 
mountains called Calipooia and enters the 
Umpqua Valley, which is separated from the 
southern part of the Willamet te by these moun¬ 
tains. Then on the west side of the Willa 
mette River, at a place called Corvallis, an¬ 
other part of the “O. & C. R R.” connects 
Corvallis with Portland, a distance of nearly 
100 miles. 
The route we traveled was from Portland 
to Rose burg, a distance of about 200 miles; 
then we retraced our way over the same route 
as far as Albany, where wo took a stage for nine 
miles crossing the Willamette to C'orvalliB, 
aud resuming to Portland along the west, side 
of the river. We made the entire journey by 
daylight, and the time-card of the railroad 
was such that we were enabled to travel in 
first-class and very handsome coaches. 
Portland lies near the northern end of the 
Willamette Valley, which is tributary to it, 
and is one of the leading sources of the wealth 
and development of this city. The valley lies 
between the Cascade and Coast Range Moun¬ 
tains, aud in general appearance bears a dose 
resemblance to the Santa Clara and Napa 
Valleys of California, and the products of 
Southern Oregon are, of course, about the 
same as those of Northern California. It is 
an exceedingly beautiful valley, and Vicing 
level, the traveler by rail obtains an almost 
unobstructed view of it. It is very fertile 
and easily cultivated, but its cultivation is 
much inferior to that of the Santa Clara 
Valley in California, or of the Cumberland 
Valley of Pennsylvania, or the best farming 
country in ICansus. The farmiug is undeni¬ 
ably shiftless—fences, farm houses, farm 
buildings, and everything pertaining thereto, 
looking unkempt and dilapidated. With 
about two or three exceptions only, 1 did not 
see a pretty farm bouse or nicely kept luwn 
iu the entire length of the valley, which is by 
no means a criticism upou the many which 
may have existed, but which 1 did not see. 
The closely planted trees iu the apple or¬ 
chards were as full of fruit as they could pos¬ 
sibly bo. The trees bad small, dead limbs 
sticking out. iu every direction like porcupine 
quills, aud all appearances indicated that 
since they had been planted neither they nor 
the soil had received any cultivation or care 
whatever. 
We talked to various persons concerning the 
slack farming and slovenly look of the farm 
buildiugs, and the general response was, that 
the early settlers in the valley—the pioneers — 
were, in large part, Missourians, and that the 
average Missouri fanner didn’t think it worth 
while to waste money or “taste” to inuke 
things about, home look nice; that the farms 
were altogether too large—a farm of one or 
two thousand acres being nothing uncommon 
—that, the look of untbrift was the outcome of 
iudolr-nce and the lack af ambition, aud that 
the best possible thing that could happen to 
the valley,would be the immigration of enough 
first-class Eastern farmers who would content 
themselves with small farms and till them 
well. Indeed, we heard of some such a mini 
ber from New- Jersey—who were succeeding 
finely, and setting their neighbors a com¬ 
mendable example. A few miles from Port¬ 
land, near Milw-aukee, the first station we 
stopped at, I think, we were told of a man 
who has 40 acres in fruit—prunes, plums, 
apples and pours—and that he would clear 
from this orchard, the present year, $15,000. 
Wheat is the staple product of the valley, 
but the ve.ry low price of it this year will un¬ 
doubtedly direct more attention to fruit, 
other cereals aud stock raising. The soil is 
from two to tw-enty feet deep, having an aver¬ 
age depth of five to ten feet probably, aud 
manuring the land is almost, if not quite, un¬ 
heard of. The wheat straw is burned to get 
rid of it; and if the straw-pile is not burn¬ 
ed, the farmer plows around it and 
it remains undisturbed until next thrash¬ 
ing tima The valley in some places 
is sixty miles wide, so that the area 
of farming land is great, to say nothing 
of the foot-hillB—liases of the mountains— 
which produce good grazing for sheep and 
cattle, and are claimed by many to be the 
best locations for orchards, the fruit grown 
on the foot-bills being better flavored. In 
the southern part of Oregon grapes and 
peaches do well, but not in the northern part, 
because of the lack of sufficient hot weather, 
which also militates against the successful 
cultivation of corn. There is a great deal of 
rain in the Winter, and the Summers are dry. 
1 made various inquiries as to the existence 
of malaria iu the valley, aud learned that 
there is very little. The average price of 
good land ranges from $10 to $30 per acre, 
We saw- wheat and oats being harvested and 
thrashed, being sown and just coming up. 
heard one man say that wheat was sown 
every month in the year! We were told of 
ground near Salem on which wheat had been 
raised for 75 years, and the yield the present 
year was 54 bushels to the acre; but I thought 
the uurnber of years might be reduced some¬ 
what with accuracy. Squashes grew very 
large, one man claiming that he raised one 
that weighed 175 pounds, which is credible 
| enough, seeing that Bayard Taylor wrote 
from California in 1859 of apples weighing 
three pounds apiece, pears four pounds, beets 
50 pounds and pumpkins 260 pounds; but 
what is gained in size is usually lost in 
quality. 
As to wood, there is a great deal of Scrub 
Oak in the valley, and all forest trees are 
over-grown, more or less with a dry-JoobiDg 
moss, or lichen. In some places the timber is 
better in quality and of greater variety, 
but there is a little good wood in the valley, 
Elder, which is but a Bhrub in Pennsylvania, 
grows here into a tree a foot in diameter, 
covered with berries; it was very ornamen¬ 
tal and it must be even more so, when in 
blossom. Alder also grows to a goodly sized 
under-brush; and brakes 'large ferns) which 
greatly abound on this coast.grow up quickly 
and form one of the annoyances of farming. 
In some places I saw more thistles growing 
and distributing their seeds, than I ever before 
saw anywhere; even the woods were full of 
them, and they stood In solid phalanxes along 
fences and roadsides, enough to seed the whole 
United States. They were of the variety 
called. I believe ‘’bull” thistle. 
When we left Portland for the valley it 
was at four o’clock in the afternoon, and we 
journeyed that day as far as Salem, which is 
the capital of the State. The apple orchards, 
shining with their red and yellow fruitage, 
were charming despite their neglected appear¬ 
ance. A very pretty, wild and picturesque 
town, with the autumnal foliage reflected in 
the river, with waterfall and locks for boat*, 
was called by the pretentious name of Oregon 
City, It should be borne in mind that 
Western terminology inclines to the grand¬ 
iose, and that what in the East is a mere 
country village, is here called a “city,” while 
a creek is usually called a river. The Willam¬ 
ette, however, is a river in the Eastern sense, 
and navigable by small steamers, for, proba¬ 
bly, 70 or 80 miles. The population of Oregon 
“City” is rated at 2,000, It was dark when we 
reached Salem, and we rode in a ’bus, the 
distance from the R. R. station to the hotel, 
which bears the musical Indian name Che- 
mek e-te. We found it large and pretentious, 
like the valley farms, and no better kept. The 
table linen was distressingly soiled, and I won¬ 
dered at the taste which prefers a dirty table¬ 
cloth, to a clean, uncovered board. 
sively here last Spring; several small mills in 
the county have manufactured the cane into 
sirup, making a good article which sells read¬ 
ily in our local market at 40 cents per gallon 
wholesale; and 50 cents retail. The yield 
runs from 100 to 200 gallons per acre. From 
100 square rods of cane I got 130 gallons of 
nice sirup; a neighbor got 110 gallons from 
half an acre. The price paid for manufacturing 
is 20 cents per gallon, or one-half the simp. 
The simp ranks in quality with good New 
Orleans molasses. E. N. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
SEED REPORTS. 
Illinois. 
Pennsylvania. 
Utah, Indiana County, Nov. 10.—When I 
last wrote to the Rural we were in the midst 
of a terrible drought, and the prospects for 
summer crops were very unfavorable; but in 
a few days afterward we had copious show¬ 
ers, by which all crops were very much bene¬ 
fited except oats, w-hich were too far on, and 
were scarcely half a crop. I .ate potatoes and 
fall garden vegetables turned out quite well. 
Although the season in this vicinity was not 
considered a good one for corn, yet I raised 50 
bushels of ears per acre more than I was ever 
able to raise before, which 1 attribute princi¬ 
pally to the Rural's methods of cultivation. 
I had 150 bushels of ears per acre, which is 
considered an extra good yield for our light 
soil, while my neighbor ou an adjoining farm, 
whose field was in as favorable a condition as 
mine in the Spring for a crop, had but 400 
bushels from 10 acres, or 40 bushels of ears per 
acre. He cultivated his only twice, throwing 
the soil up iu ridges to the rows the last time, 
while I cultivated most of mine five times “by 
level culture.” Aud yet with the difference 
in the yield of our crops, and all the persua¬ 
sion I could make use of besides, I could not 
induce this neighbor to subscribe for the 
Rural. “It is too dear.” said he, and yet be 
claims to be a “progressive farmer.” Fall 
wheat has not looked better at this season of 
the year for a long time in this vicinity. 
J. L. M. 
Wisconsin. 
Freedom, Outagamie Co., Nov. 3.—“The 
Summer is past aud the harvest is ended.” 
Farmers are rejoicing in full crops. • Spring 
wheat has yielded from 20 to 30 bushels to the 
acre: oats 40 to 60: barley 25 to 30. Corn a 
full crop, sound and good. Potatoes very 
plentiful, rotting somewhah Garden vege¬ 
tables good. Buckw heat an extra crop. The 
hay crop was good and was secured in good 
order. Berries were plentiful and fine; ap¬ 
ples do. The Wealthy Apple is taking the 
lead among late fall apples. The hardiness of 
the tree and the quality, size aud beauty of 
the fruit make it a favorite where known. 
Prices of all kinds of produce are low; still 
with our large crops and home market we 
get more money than last year with short 
crops and high prices. The season throughout 
has been favorable to the farmer. We have 
had a fair share of rain and sunshine and 
neither drought nor flood has visited us. The 
frost held off this Fall until about Oct. 20, 
when we had the first freeze of the season. 
Sorghum sugar cane was planted quite exten- 
Rock Falls, Whiteside Co., Nov. 8.— Al¬ 
though there are over 100 acres of tomatoes 
raised in this county for canning, I took the 
premium for the best half bushel at our county 
fair. They were selected from the product of 
the Rural seeds. I could, through the season, 
occasionally find one that would weigh a 
pound, but have never in my gardening found 
five smooth tomatoes that would weigh five 
pounds. Hasanyoue? The best tomato with 
us for canning is the Mayflower; the second 
best, the Paragon; but after a year or two 
they are alike. The Cardinal was the greatest 
humbug, and ought to be the last in that line. 
The 03 kernels of Rural Union Corn gave me 
a full half bushel of ears inside of 90 days. I 
shall plant it. all next season. E. w. 
Anna, Union Co,, Nov. 10th, 1884.—Both 
the Rural peas were planted March 29. The 
Market Garden variety failed to come up. 
Cleveland’s Rurul New-Yorker produced 
about 10 plants, of which the rabbits or some¬ 
thing else took all but four. These yielded a 
few pods which I tried to save for seed; but 
they were all plucked before quite ripe by 
rabbits or hens. The oats, drilled by hand 
in seven rows 10 feet long, March 29, made 
abundant long straw: but all but a few straws 
fell before the winds. I have saved about a 
dozen light heads for trial another year; very 
late ripening—fully three weeks after our com¬ 
mon oats. They tillered wonderfully. I 
planted them too thick, and the soil was evi¬ 
dently too rich, tending to rauk straw. The 
corn was overlooked at planting time. Am 
trying to save it for 1885. The wheat and rye 
were received too late for the 1884 crop. They 
were planted by hand about 15th October. As 
yet only a few plants appear. Ground needs 
rain. The tomatoes were the best, ever grown 
here. There were some Acme among them, 
inclined to rot; but the other unnamed variety 
matured early, ripened well, and continued 
bearing until frost struck it about 25th Oct. 
I regard the fruit as a valuable acquisition 
and am under great obligation to the R. N.-Y. 
for the seed. The flower seeds are reported 
by the ladies of the house to huve given grat¬ 
ifying results. J. m. f. 
New York. 
Albion, Orleans Co.—From my White Ele¬ 
phant Potato I raised 33j^ pounds the first 
year; the next I got at the rate of 240 bushels 
per acre; the next 150 bushels per acre, and 
this year from five-eighths of an acre I dug 170 
bushels, there being only two bushels of small 
ones, and they were the finest I ever raised. 
Last year I tried 18 varieties, and the W. E. 
came out ahead. I have received a premium 
on them twice at the Orleans County Agricul- 
t ural Fair. I say they ore No. 1. From the 
Blush 1 raised 33 pounds last year, and this 
year I have 22’-^ bushels from the 33 pounds, 
which were planted on eight rods of rich, 
sandy loam. This is at the rate of 450 bushels 
per acre. The soil was rich; no extra fertil¬ 
izer was used; but the cultivation was level. I 
shall try the method again. The Rural peas 
are splendid; the oats late: the tomatoes fine. 
The R U. Corn grew very rank; some stalks 
were 12 feet iu bight; it eared better than I 
expected. Success to the Rural New-York¬ 
er, which is the best agricultural paper in the 
world; it deserves all and more praise than it 
receives! J. A. b. 
Wisconsin. 
Freedom, Outagamie Co.—Of all the Rural 
seeds which I have planted, the tomatoes have 
been the most satisfactory. We had 50 plants 
from half the seeds, and from these we got 
all the nice, ripe, solid tomatoes that we could 
use, aud plenty to sell. The Beauty of He¬ 
bron is very good, ranking better than the 
Early Rose. The White Elephant is worth¬ 
less as an eating potato. The Blush is a good 
grower, and of very good quality as a late 
potato; but its purplish color, iuside, injures 
the looks of it when cooked. The largest 
tubers this year are hollowed am} black in¬ 
side. 1 had single potatoes which weighed 
over a pound and a half. The Black Cham¬ 
pion Oats are worthless. The Rural Dent 
Corn is late; but it ripened up in good shape 
this year. The peas ripened, aud were saved 
for seed; I think they will rank with the best, 
The flower seeds gave the children much sat¬ 
isfaction. j. K. 
