8U 
THE RURAL HEW-YORKER 
DE€ 6 
surprised when we declared that we preferred 
so to do. The landlady said that they had 
recently taken charge of the house, that it 
was not in good condition, and that it worried 
her to have people come who looked as if they 
were used to nice things; that she had been 
so busy, had two sick men in the hotel to wait 
upon; one had been Spending the Summer 
in the mountains for his health, but now' 
he was too ill to be out; be had red spots on 
his cheeks and she thought he had a fever. 
Meantime, she flew about on seemingly tire¬ 
less feet, and dressed the beds in clean linen, 
hung up a looking-glass as large aB her two 
hands, and when I timidly inquired if we 
could have a wusb basin and a pitcher of 
water she said she thought so, and procured 
them. Anaximander, w hen he had «d oppor¬ 
tunity, said I couldn’t put on any "airs,” for 
the charges were only one dollar a day! 
However, wo went out to a very good supper, 
which we ate (for the first time during our 
long journeying) with steel knives and forks 
and tin spoons. But they were clean, like the 
coarse table-cloth; and for “sauce” we had 
delicious, fresh, ripe blackberries, and it was 
the 34th of September! They are first in the 
markets early in June. We fell asleep to the 
music, of the landlord’s daughter playing on 
her organ, which stood in one corner of the 
sitting-room, nud from the number of organs 
I have seen on this Coast, I should judge t hat 
every other family had one. We slept as 
comfortably as if our room had been palatial, 
instead of a bare, unpaintid floor with a 
short strip of rag carpet before the beds, and 
other things in keeping; and early in the 
morning, when we had to leave too soon for 
breakfast, I found a glass of milk had been 
made hot for me to drink before going out in 
the chill, misty air. 1 was touched at the 
thoughtfulness of the act. and our expressions 
of appreciation of t he comfortableness of our 
entertainment caused the face of our host to 
relax somewhat from its unhappiness. 
NOTES FROM COLORADO. 
REV. L. J. TEMPL1N. 
The season just closing in Colorado, though 
varying somewhat from the typical season 
here, has been fuvorable and satisfactory. 
Usually our Springs and early Summers are 
dry; iu July and August there arc frequent 
showers and occasionally heavy rains; but the 
Fall is dry, being almost without rain. The 
past season our Spring was cool and unusual¬ 
ly moist; June was our rainy month, aud the 
late Bummer and Fall have been very dry. 
As nearly all the farming in this State is car¬ 
ried on by the aid of irrigation, it makes but 
lit,tie difference, so far as the crops are con¬ 
cerned, whether it rains or not; but to the far¬ 
mer and gardeuer a good raiu that thoroughly 
wets all his ground at the sumo time is a 
blessing, for which ho if, or should be, always 
thankful; for, notwithstanding the great 
advantages resulting from artificial irriga¬ 
tion, it must not be forgotten that there is 
considerable extra labor connected with irri¬ 
gation-farming. But, on the other hand, 
where the soil can be kept continually moist, 
crops do not require as frequent cultivation 
as where one is dependent culiroly on the 
rains for moisture. It is true, however, the 
labor of irrigating depends very much on the 
arrangements and preparations made for the 
distribution and control of the water. Of 
course, in this dry climate, without irriga¬ 
tion crops could not be raised with any degree 
of success; but with this aid to success, the 
denizen of the “Great American Desert” can 
read of the failure of crops from drought in 
the Eastern and Southern States, with a com- 
for table feeling that he is not dependent on 
the uncertainties of the weather for success in 
his business. 
Aud this leads me to remark that iu those 
same States that so frequently suffer a partial 
or totul failure of crops on account of dry 
weather, there are millions of acros of land 
that might, by a reasonable outlay, be placed 
under irrigating ditches that would make all 
the difference between these Bad failures aud 
abundant crops. Colorado fanners have over¬ 
done the business in wheat raising this year, 
aud the cry is coming up loud and strong that 
w heat does not bring more iu the market than 
it has cost to raise and thrash it. Freight 
rates are so very high on our Western roads, 
aud the Eastern maiket rates are su low, that 
there is no possibility of shipping with any 
profit. W hat to do with the wheat crop is still 
an unsolved problem with many. Some, 1 un¬ 
derstand, w'ill hold their grain over till Spring, 
in hopes of better prices, and some are feeding, 
—or, at least, talking of feeding—their surplus 
wheat to stock, claiming that, at present 
prices, wheat is the cheapest grain we have 
for stock feed. Indeed a considerable amount 
of it is used for this purpose every year, es¬ 
pecially for bog* and poultry. As wheat gen¬ 
erally succeeds better than corn in this State, 
there is generally but little difference in the 
price per 100 pounds. From reports from dif¬ 
ferent parts of the State, it appears that the 
acreage,devoted to this crop for the next year, 
will be greatly diminished from that of the 
past crop. Tills plan was pursued by the po¬ 
tato-raisers of the State the past year. Last 
year a large acreage nud bountiful yield re¬ 
duced the price ho that, we bought potatoes at 
this place, all last Winter and Spring, at 50 to 
75 cents per 100 pounds. Last Springs greats 
ly reduced acreage w as devoted to this crop, 
and this shortage, followed by a reduced yield 
per acre, has so influenced the market that at 
the present time potatoes are bringing f 1.50 
per 100 pounds. 
The most important forage crop in this 
Btate at the present time, is Alfalfa—Lucerne. 
Indeed, this bids fair to supersede all other 
crops for this purpose. Our climate appears 
to be perfectly adapted to its growth, and it 
succeeds well on nearly all of our soils. With 
judicious irrigation, three cuttings are had 
during the season, and these give from one- 
and-a-balf to three tons per acre at each 
cutting. There seems to be some difference of 
opinion among ranchmen as to its value for 
feed, some claiming that it Is superior to any 
other forage crop, ton for ton; while others 
place a lower value on it. But there is no 
question that* considering the ease with which 
it is raised and the amount of hay it yields, 
Alfalfa stands at the head of the list of forage 
crops lor Colorado. I am inclined to think 
that when the merits of this crop are better 
understood by the farmers of the country 
generally, it will find a place on thousands of 
farms where it is now entirely unknown. I 
believe it is no more difficult to start a field of 
Alfalfa than a field of Red Clover, aud when 
it is once there, it is there to stay. It should 
never be put on ground that is ever to be de¬ 
voted to any other crop, as, when once set, it 
is uext to impossible to eradicate it. A rather 
moist, (not wet) friable soil, with a some¬ 
what porous subsoil, is generally thought 
to be best adapted to it. In such a soil 
it sends its roots to a very great depth 
aud is thus enabled to endure drought better 
than any other crop that the country produ¬ 
ces. Borne have held the opinion that Alfalfa 
hay is not a very wholesome food for horses, 
but this opinion is rapidly disappearing under 
thelightof experience, asitis found that when 
it is judiciously fed, itis no more hurtful than 
hay made from other clovers and grasses. 
Thjs clover is also taking a prominent place 
in this Stale as a feed for hogs. When pas¬ 
tured on Alfalfa, or even when they are kept 
up in pens and the green Alfalfa is cut. and 
fed to them, they grow aud thrive finely 
without any other feed. Many are Baid to be 
wintered solely on the dry hay, keeping up in 
good stock condition. Borne go to the butcher 
directly from the clover field. I have had the 
privilege of eating some of this clover-made 
meat, but to my taste it did not have that 
rich, juicy texture that we admire in pork; it. 
tasted too much like an inferior grade of 
beef to be first class pork. If the hogs were 
finished off with one to two months of good 
corn feeding, 1 doubt not this Alfalfa pork 
would meet, all the requirements of a first- 
class meat. Anyw’ay. in this Btate wnere 
corn is so scarce uud high, and Alfalfu so 
easily' and cheaply raised, 1 believe this 
method of raising hogs is destined to have an 
extensive trial, and iu this there may be a 
good hint for places outside of Colorado. 
Fremont Co., Col. 
-- 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Michigan, 
Bear Lake, Manistee Co., Nov. 13.—We 
had a passably' good season for crops. Wheat 
was light, ow ing somewhat to the hard Win¬ 
ter. Oats averaged half a crop—about 30 
bushels to the acre—with very short straw, 
owing to the drought. But corn was good 
everywhere iu this vicinity. Potatoes were 
good where the “bugs” were not allowed to 
forage on the foliage. Some complained that 
the Paris-green and Loud on-purple were so 
badly adulterated thut they did not disturb 
the bugs in the least. 1 have never y<*J used 
auy poison for potato bugs. The “seed” is 
for the most part planted on new ground, and 
on ttds the bugs are not troublesome; those 
that appear are hand picked, and scalded to 
death. But iu spite of bugs, dry weather, 
and poor cultivation, potatoes are a drug iu 
our markets. Apples were a fair crop. Ben 
Davis is plentiful. Those who fought the 
cureulio iu season had plums in abundance. 
One of our fruit growers used London-pur¬ 
ple on his fruit trees when the fruit was the 
size of peas, aud 1 never saw trees so heavily 
laden, with such beautiful fruit. There were 
no peaches to speak of; most of the trees were 
killed last Winter; only occasional ones that 
were well sheltered escaped; my own were 
among these, but the frost on the 29th of 
May “cooked” most of the fruit while in 
bloom, so we had only a plateful. Of berries 
there was no end. No one needs to go with¬ 
out sauce this year, if people had any ambi 
tion to gather the fruit in season. Potatoes 
are worth 20 cents per bushel; oats, 30 cents; 
butter, 30 cents per pound; eggs, 18 cents per 
dozen; fall apples, 25 cents per bushel. 
M. E. A. 
New York. 
Graton Citt, Tompkins Co., Nov. 17.—We 
have had a nice week to finish up onr work 
ready for Winter, and the farmers around 
here have “improved” it and have done con¬ 
siderable plowing for another year. Crops 
have been fulr the past season; the most that 
farmers have had to contend with is help, 
which ib quite scarce; consequently wages 
are rather high; a good hand will lay up 
more than the farmer in a year. Wheat is 
in excellent shape for Winter. We have had 
frequent rains, which have been just about 
right for the wheat, but the springs are quite 
low. o. A. B. 
RURAL SEED REPORTS. 
Canada. 
Millford, Manitoba, — The Rural corn 
did not ripen with me, although it grew 
to a good bight. I made some mistake with 
the tomatoes, as they did not come to any¬ 
thing. The Garden Treasures were just 
splendid. The neighbors asked me where l 
procured them, and I said, "Subscribe for the 
R. N.-Y. and you can have some of the same 
kind, and an agricultural journal worth all the 
flowers in the country.” 1 like the R. N.-Y. 
splendidly, and I would not do without it. for 
a great deal. Since I huve taken it 1 have 
dropped another paper. I wish you every 
success and a long life! w. o. w. 
UxBRtnuE, Ont.—The Black Champion Oats 
I sowed about May 10, in drills 16 inches apart 
and six inches between each gram, on a sandy 
loam, manured lightly with hen manure. 
They grew over five feet high aud filled the 
ground completely between the rows, the 
stools from each giain making from 25 to 65 
stalks, aud all headed well; but a heavy storm 
came on them just when ears were in the milk ; 
otherwise, 1 could have had over one bushel 
from the small packet. Of the two kinds of 
peas, the R. N.-Y. did well, for in spite of be¬ 
ing very “buggy,” they were very prolific. 
The Horsford M. G. is the best I ever saw 
as a garden pea. The Rural Corn did excel¬ 
lently ; it grew over 10 feet high and bore two 
ears to a stalk; I have 40 ears saved for seed, 
and there wore as many more that got dam¬ 
aged by the wot. The tomato seed I sowed 
about May 1, iu a hot bed; they grew well; I 
could hardly find room for all the plants, but 
I had the smoothest and the Quest lot of toma¬ 
toes I over had in my life. The Garden Treas¬ 
ures are a rare treat, we always get something 
new every year. My Blush Potato hus ex¬ 
ceeded anything iu this part of tho country. I 
planted the pieces on Muy 0, according to the 
Rural’s Instructions, with only one exception 
—1 left only one eye to a piece, instead of two. 
The plot was 30 feet squure, and there were 
three feet between the drills, tho pieces being 
one foot apart in the drills. On the last of 
August, I dug 16 bushels. I gave flat culture, 
manured with hen-dung plowed iu. The yield 
was at the rate of 640 bushels to the acre, and 
156,800 potatoes to the aero. Had they been 
planted on well rotted sod, the yield would 
have been nearly double. The soil was too 
close, and was sheltered. I have only one 
fault to find with them—the large ones are 
inclined to grow hollow; but 1 am well 
pleased with them for the table. e. p. 
Michigan. 
Bear Lake, Manistee Co.—The Shumaker 
Wheat gave a little lessthau one pint of seed, 
the Surprise and the Black-bearded Centen¬ 
nial were entirely winter-killed; from the 
Fultzo-Clawson l got a full quart of beautiful, 
plump grains, aud for the most part the heads 
were nice and long. These were all sowed in 
drills at the same date, September 12, 1888. 
on new ground, a sandy loam, protected on 
the west and north by the forest. It would 
seem from this that the Surprise and Black- 
bearded Ceutenuial were much more tender 
varieties than tho others. The Rural Union 
Coin, planted May 25, matured very early iu 
September. We have a bushel of ears, of 
which we feel quite proud, as this is the first 
of the corn from the R N.-Y. that has 
deigned to mature for us in this northern 
clime. The numerous varieties of tomatoes 
were very smooth, firm, aud of excellent 
flavor. A good muny were badly troubled 
with dry rot. From 35 plants—I did not 
sow all my seeds—we bad all the fruit we 
needed for table and canning purposes. The 
peas did well, and were all saved for seed the 
coming season. Of course, the wievil-eaten 
ones never germinated. The Garden Treas¬ 
ures gave us much pleasure, and reuewed our 
acquaintance with many old,forgotten friends, 
M. E. A. 
Missouri. 
West Hartford, Ralls Co.— The Rural 
seeds were a success here: the tomatoes were 
very fine; the peas very good; but the oats 
did not do well. The corn is a valuable acqui¬ 
sition, owing to our late Springs and its early 
maturity. The Garden Treasures were just 
beautiful; they more than paid us for the 
labor spent on them. We have been taking 
the Rural a year and like it very much in¬ 
deed. We are going to try to extend its cir¬ 
culation here; for we think every farmer 
ought to have it. E. p. 
[Many thanks.—E ds.] 
New York. 
Flank Road, Onondaga Co.—My Garden 
Treasures gave me a great many flowers that 
I did not know, and they were beautiful. My 
sunflower bore about 100blo-soms at a time; 
it was 15 feet high and blossomed until after 
the middle of Oct. Our tomatoes were splen 
did; we sowed them iu a hotbed. We had 
fruit in abundance for ourselves and our 
neighbors; they yielded better than any we 
ever had before. Our peas were nice; we 
saved all for seed. T. w. E. 
Cuba, Alleghany Co.—The Rural rye was 
sown on February 28th. It grew well and 
yielded 3}^ pounds after the mice and chip¬ 
munks had taken a large share of it. With 
the exception of some ergot, it is very nice. 
Of the R. U. Corn I had nearly two bushels of 
good ears; it was planted in June and cut in 
October. The Rural peas are more than a 
week earlier than American Wonder. Hore- 
ford’s Market Garden are more prolific, there 
being two pods on nearly every stem. I had 
a fine row of flowers from the Garden Treas¬ 
ures. I have one Niagara grape seedling 
which has made more growth than all the 
others, and promises to be extra hardy; it 
was not injured by the hard freeze on May 
29th, or the early frosts this Fall; the others 
were The Blush potatoes were larger this 
year thau last. The Elephants are best of all. 
I take nine agricultural papers; the Rural 
is better than all the others. E. w. m. 
West Onkonta, Otsego Co.—I planted the 
R. N.-Y. Pea at the same time as Burpee’s 
Extra Early and Bliss’s American Wonder, 
audit was ripe about one week earlier thau 
either. All ripened about the same time, 
which I think is very nice for mai ket garden¬ 
ing. Hereford's Market Garden comes later; 
but I think it is a treasure ou account of its 
great yield. From 21 plants I got about one 
quart of as fine peas as i ever saw; the vines 
were a sight to behold Tho tomatoes were 
splendid; I took first premium on them at the 
County Fair. The corn grew from nine to 12 
feet, with very large stalks; some ears got 
ripe enough for seed; but the variety is too 
late for our section. The oats rusted very 
badly; no good. The Garden Treasures were 
splendid. Wife is taking great pains in sav¬ 
ing seed aud protecting those that live through 
the Winter. The seedling grapes wintered 
well, and 16 are doing finely. c. o. 
PennurRania. 
Scranton, Lackawanna Co., Fa.—I planted 
side by side on May 2nd the Rural peas, 
American Wonder and McLean’s Gem. Won¬ 
der showed up on the 11th; the rest ou the 
12th. All grew neck and neck till after blos¬ 
soming, when R. N.-Y. took the lead and kept 
it, being fit for table June 33rd. The Wonder 
seemed the more prolific and gave, with me, 
a second crop nearly equal to the first. The 
Gem didn’t turn out to be of “first water.” 
H. M. G. pleased me much, aud if the quality 
turns out equal to that of the Champion of 
England, I shall use no more tall brush. It 
was the most productive of any l had, and 
Yorkshire Hero was the least: the pods of the 
latter seldom had over two or three peas, aud 
often but one. m. r. c. 
iKver.v ijuerymnst be accompanied by the 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 time.] 
THE BASKET WILLOW INDUSTRY. 
A Subscriber, address mislaid, asks bow 
basket willows are raised, and the price per 
ton, etc. 
ANSWERED BY L. L. THURWACHTER, SYRA¬ 
CUSE, N. Y. 
I commenced buying willow clothes and 
market baskets more than 20 years ago. At 
that time, there were not many made; no one 
made a business of rai»iug willows around 
here ; the basket-makers, mostly Germans, 
cut the willows along fences and creeks, car¬ 
rying them home od their backs and making 
them into baskets. The demand grew rapidly 
for our baskets, orders coming from all over 
