DECS 20 
846 
THE BUBAL I4EW-Y0BHEB 
ou8 Oregon prunes, finding them fairly good. 
Facilities for properly drying them have not 
yet become general, and to find a profitable 
market for all kinds of farm products, is. and 
must tje, for some time to come, a serious 
question for producers. Jiut so long as Oregon 
and Washington import butter from Califor¬ 
nia, lard and dried beef from Chicago, there 
is opportunity for that much improvement at 
least. There can be no reasonable doubt but 
that a farmer in the Willamette Valley would 
make money if he turned his attention toa va¬ 
riety of products—eggs, butter, pigs, stock,etc. 
Some of the farms on the west side of the 
river were rather better tilled than any we 
saw on the east, and we saw heaps of manure 
in a few fields, and apple trees planted along 
the roadside fences. The fruit raised in Ore 
gon is unquestionably very fine, and the fame 
of its cherries equals that of its plums, pears 
aud apples. The climate is mild, and a lady 
in Corvallis wondered how people in New 
York and Pennsylvania managed to keep 
warm during the long, cold Winters. 
As we neared Portland, the landscape, that 
had all the way been attractive, gradually in¬ 
creased in beauty until it became magnificent. 
The road winds its way over the hills back of 
the city, aud gradually descends; aud spread 
out below' are the river, the city, the moun¬ 
tains, with Mount Hood and Mount 8t Hel¬ 
ens—which is in Washington Territory—loom¬ 
ing grandly up, snow white giants—and over 
nil is a glow of sunset, peculiar to this coast, 
rich and vivid beyond description. And while 
I am ou the topic, 1 may as well say here as 
elsewhere, that for magnificent scenery, there 
is some to be had from the bight* of Port¬ 
land, unsurpassed, aud probably unequaled, 
in any Americau city. The city itself pleases 
me well, its location, gently rising from the 
Willamette for some distance, rapidly be¬ 
comes holder aud higher; its business blocks 
and residences are far superior to those in 
most cities of its size—a population of 40,000— 
and the claim is made that more wealth is 
centered here than in any other city of similar 
extent. Many people object to Portland as a 
place of residence on account of malaria, aDd 
bad water '.drawn from the Willamette River, 
upon w'bicb so many towns are built.) al¬ 
though some old residents say such ill reports 
are greatly exaggerated. But there is abun¬ 
dant room on the hills anil bights back of the 
city to live, aud to draw water from one’s own 
well, without fear of malaria. Business is 
dull all over this coast, at this time, and it is 
considered a good opportunity now to make 
investments. But although I am greatly 
charmed and fascinuted in some places, aud 
by some of the features of this coast, and 
would be glad to remain here, uud make it 
my home, I am unable to see how the average 
mau, who has his way to make in the world, 
and but little money, can do any better here 
than ho can in the East; or, in fact, as well, 
uud there are so many reasons for this, that 
my advice to uny man, womuit or family who 
arc comfortably “fixed,’’ and able to live com¬ 
fortably, where they are, would be to stay 
there. 
The couductors on the railroads in this 
country might with fitness be called “roll¬ 
ing stock,” for the majority of them have 
traveled, in their way, all over the United 
States, and have amussed a good deal of 
shrewd intelligence. We asked several con¬ 
ductors concerning immigration, and the in¬ 
variable reply was that as many parties re¬ 
turned East as come here, and they seemed to 
regard the majority of persons moving here 
with their families from such States as Penn¬ 
sylvania and Illinois, as little short of fools! 
One conductor on the O. & C. R. R., upon 
leurniug that we were from the East, inquired 
about the lira a i. New-Yorker. H«- said he 
was born aud brought up in Western New 
York,and his father took the Rurai. and all 
the old farmers thereabouts thought they 
could not “get ou” without it. He had heard 
that it was now published in New York and 
would like to kuow of its prosperity. He 
kuew this country thoroughly,and he regarded 
the Willamette Valley as the best part of it. 
During one of our sojourns in Portland, we 
had a new experience. A fine hotel on an op¬ 
posite corner from the one we were stopping 
at, was completely destroyed by fire in con¬ 
nection with other buildings. Tbe lire broke 
out about ten in the evening, and lasted the 
entire night, and the danger to the hotel we 
were in was so great, although declared te be 
fire-proof, that all the guests in bed, were 
aroused, dressed themselves, packed their lug¬ 
gage, and remained in x'eadiness to leave at a 
moment's notice. Two of the inmates who 
had not been alarmed by the porter, were 
awakened by the tumult to find themselves 
nearly suffocated by smoke. The event served 
to make us cautious in regard to hotels and 
methods of escape in case of tire,and to wish 
for the time being, that we were not “junk¬ 
eting” over the country, hut safely under our 
own “vine and fig tree.” 
One day when we were sauntering tn the 
suburbs of the city, we came upon a little 
place kept by a German who had a number of 
small, white, woolly dogs, which he had train 
id to do various things with amusing intelli¬ 
gence, and be asked us to sit while he made 
them display their accomplishments. As final 
proof of their value (he a^ked $10 each for 
them) he said they would cure rheumatism, 
and proceeded to tell us of a severe attack he 
had suffered in his shoulder, and which he had 
cured iu a short time by haviug oue of his 
dogs sleep lying against his shoulder. He en¬ 
tered into quite a disquisition as to the curative 
power of animal heat as applied to rheuma¬ 
tism, and seemed to ;think that the use to 
which dogB and even cats might be applied in 
relieving this painful rnuludy, was by uo 
means appreciated. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Missouri. 
Rocky Comfort, McDonald Co. Nov. 29.— 
Wheat and oats were good crops here. Pota¬ 
toes turned out a light crop. Fall-sown wheat 
looks well—areu about the same as last year. 
Hay a medium crop. s. e. m. 
Nebraska. 
Inland, Clay Co., Dec. 4.—Prices of grain 
are very discouraging; wheat, 40 cents; oats, 
15 cents; corn, 13 to 14 cents; potatoes, 30 
cents. Weather fine; no snow yet. c. a, h. 
Hastings, Adams Co., Dec. 3.— Away out 
in Central Nebraska, w r here not long ago the 
Great American Desert was located, farmers 
are now living and prospering. Farms are 
well improved; and there are fine buildings: 
fine groves of timber aud fruit trees are 
started, the latter beariug considerable fruit 
now. We have a fine stock of cattle, horses, 
hogs and sheep of all the best breeds. Corn 
this 5 'ear was very fine—40 to 75 bushels per 
acre; wheut, 15 to 38; oats, 3& to 60; pota¬ 
toes and all root crops were a success. There 
is not much numiug water; wells bored 85 to 
130 feet deep afford an abundant supply 
pumped by wind mills. These wells never fail 
in the driest time. 8o with a large cistern 
full for use when the wind does not blow, we 
are never in want of stock water of the purest 
and best kind. Many of our best stock raisers 
take the Rural New Yorker here. Hog 
diseases, for the first time, aro sweeping off 
many hogs. 1 thiuk farmers err in keeping 
hogs year after year in the same lot, feeding 
only dry, hard corn—no green feed. Some 
men never give their hogs salt. We burn 
cobs here, and I t ake tbe ash-pan with plenty 
of salt to the hogs every morning. This, to 
some extent, remedies the ill effects of the 
corn. Oue good farmer w as reported to have 
lost all his hogs w itil cholera. j. w. f. 
New York. 
Rusiiville, Yates Co., Dec. 4.—My report 
of this locality is not very encouraging, but 
we have no reason to complain when we hear 
of so many counties in this State that are 
worse off. Crops of all kinds were very fair, 
considering tbe drought that lasted nearly all 
Summer; but prices for all kiuds of cereals 
and vegetables are very low compared with 
those of former seasons. Fail wheat is looking 
well. Tne weather is tine for this time of the 
year, with no suow or rain. Some farmers 
are hauling water quite a distance for use, 
as wells hereabouts are nearly all dry. This 
is the smallest county in the State, but a very 
productive one. The apple crop w r as good, 
but brought hardly euough to pay for pick¬ 
ing, selling for a dollar per barrel. Business 
of all kinds is depressed and no prospect of 
its being any better. w. H. 
-m- 
RURAL SEED REPORTS. 
Iowa. 
Davenport, Scott Co., Dec. 3.—The Rural 
tomatoes were splendid—never saw finer. 
The peas did well. The flowers were nice. 
The Rural L'nion Corn did well, but 1 thiuk 
tbo grain is too hard. 1 saved seed of the 
Shoe-peg Corn sent last Summer,aud planted it 
this Spring, and it doesn’t look like the same 
corn; the cars are nearly twice as large aud 
nearly all a little mixed with yellow. The 
Blush potatoes have turned out well, beiug of 
large size; the eyes are a little deep aud the 
flesh not as white as that of some others, but 
the quality is excellent. Hurrah for the R. 
N.-Y.! J. E. 
Michigan. 
East Saginaw, Sagiuaw Co.—The frost, 
May 28, destroyed everything except the 
Rural Corn: that was fully four inches high 
and went down with the rest; but in spite of 
all the drawbacks, it matured a good half 
bushel of good ears, sound euough to plaut 
next year. 1 am pleased with it because it 
matures so early. The R. N.-Y. Peas matured 
with Ferry’s First and Best. The oats were 
green when the frost stopped them. The flow ¬ 
ers were very nice. a. m. f. 
[Every query must he accompanied by theuame 
and address of tbe writer to insure attention. Before 
asking a question, please see If it is not answered in 
onr advertising oolunms. Ask only a few questions 
at one time.) _ 
EFFECTS OF PLOWING LAND EARLY. 
A. W., Van Buren, Fa.—On the land aud 
wheat, what will be tbe effect of plowing laud 
in August and leaving it until the middle of 
September under a scorching sun? 2. What 
would be the effects of deep plowing ? 3. Wbut. 
influence would manuring bnvo upon it? 
A ns. —We plow land for two purposes—to 
kill tbe weeds aud prepare it for growing 
the crop. Of the elements needed for the 
production of a crop.oDly one—nitrogen—will 
in any appreciable quantity wash outer evap¬ 
orate from the soil. This element will always 
evaporate, w hen in the proper condition, when 
the soil is “raw' that is, not covered with 
some vegetation. For this reason land plow¬ 
ed in August will lose more or less nitrogen 
from its surface before the crops sown in 
September will be large enough to take up 
and save all that comes within their reach 
But we must fit the laud, and August is not 
too soon to plow' so as to be able to properly 
tread, roll and pack down the lower soil, and 
properly reduce or “fine” the surface soil, and 
what we plow down,should take with it more 
nitrogen by far than would escape before the 
plants are grown after seeding. 2. Much de¬ 
pends upon the character of tbe soil and the 
depth at which it has been previously plowed. 
To take a field that had never been plowed 
more than four or five iuches, and plow it 
nine inches deep would result, probably, and 
certainly if a stiff clay, iu a very small crop; 
aud if u quicksand, with a surface soil oniy, 
three or four inches deop, iu uo crop at all. 
3. If properly manured it would result in a 
very deep, rich and productive soli. The true 
theory and practice of plowing an ordinarily 
deep soil is to plow each time a little deeper— 
say H to inch than ever before, until the 
soil is from seven to nine inches deep. 
Different crops also require different depths 
of soil. We know' of some very productive 
soils that are not over five iuches deep,and are 
never plowed more than that depth. Iu fact, 
it matters not much how' shallow the soil 
is plowed—provided it be not less than three 
inches—if to that depth it is kept abundantly 
supplied w ith plant food. 
A CONCRETE WALL, ETC. 
G. F. F., Manitowaning, Ont. —1. Who 
makes machines for lifting and drawing large 
rocks? 2.1s there a machine forgathering small 
stones? 3. My bouse is of logs, lined with nar¬ 
row planed aud matched pine, would it be un¬ 
healthy or damp if 1 tear out the chinking and 
till in solidly withcement;or would it be best to 
leave the chinking and build up four or more 
inches of concrete outside? 4. How shall I 
mix the concrete? 
Ans. —1. Write to the St. Albans Foundry 
Co., St. Albans, Vt. for circular. 2. Yes; a 
good, quick boy or mau, with a flve-tined 
fork. This is a good one, and the only prac¬ 
ticable one we know of. 3. We should expect 
that filliug cement, us it would be damp, 
against the lumber, would make it warp and 
get out of shape. Wo should much prefer the 
outside shell. 4. Mix sharp, clean sand and 
quick-lime in the proportion of four of sand 
to one of lime; place boards or planks secure¬ 
ly iu front at the proper distance from the 
logs; they cun restagaiustscantlings or poles 
planted iu the ground and firmly braced, A 
trench should be first dug deep enough to be 
below frost, and four inches wider than the 
lining, and this should be filled a little above 
the surface tf the ground with stones; then 
place a row of boards or planks on edge aud fill 
in with the mortar made quite thin; then into 
this work all the small stones you can—the 
more the better—working them down as close¬ 
ly as possible. Go all around in this way and 
when it has firmly set or hardened, raise the 
boards and fill in another course. The con¬ 
crete will be as hard as stone and lust as well. 
RATION FOR BUTTER: ABOUT BEES, ETC. 
W. C. H , North Grafton, Mass.—l. What, 
and how much should be fed to a cow to pro¬ 
duce the largest yield aud best quality of but¬ 
ter? 2. What ought a young Ayrshire calf to 
be worth, and where cau one be bought? 3. 
What are the best kinds of bees worth per col¬ 
ony, and what is the best hive? 
Ans. —1. An excellent ration for a cow fed 
for butter is four pounds, or two quarts, at a 
meal, of a mixture of fine corn-meal, 300 
pounds; fine wheat bran, 200 pounds; aud 
new-process oil meal, 100 pounds: this 
may be given twice a day iu cut hay wetted 
(about half a bushel,) and at noon, dry. This 
is high feeding, but it pays with good cows. 
The ration should not be given in full at first, 
but be gradually increased from one-half to 
begin with. 2. A good Ayrshire heifer calf 
may be bought for about $50, upwards; per¬ 
haps less Oue can be had from Ormiston & 
Jardine, Cuba; Geo. H Bell, Rome: H. W. 
Dewey, Sidney Center, N. Y.,or of J. O. Ma- 
gie & Sons, Elizabeth, N. J. 3. It is almost 
universally conceded that the Italians are the 
best bees in general use. Ten dollars a colony 
is not too much for them; but if black bees 
cau be secured for three, or even two. dollars 
a colony less (and they generally can) it is 
better to take them, ns they can be Italianized 
for less than the difference in cost, and in the 
operation, the novice will gain valuable expe¬ 
rience. Hives with movable flames, like the 
1 .angst roth, are best. If bees can be procured 
iu such hives as oue intends to use, they will 
be worth as much more than if in any other 
lii ve, as it will cost to make the hive and trans-* 
fer the bees, and this will certainly be as much 
as two or three dollars, Uuless the bees are in 
such hives, it would be best to buy them in box 
hives and trausfer them to the other kinds, 
as bees in box hives can be bought at reduced 
rates. 
OVERFEEDING A COW FOR MILK. 
S. F. M., Keene, N. //.—My four year old 
Jersey cow dropped a calf four weeks ago. 
She cleaned well and eats well, but she gives 
only six quarts of milk per day, though last 
year she gave seven quarts per day for eight 
months. She went dry four weeks. Her udder 
is fleshy, not caked; she does not milk dow n. 
Last year she ate heartily of shorts, now she 
will not touch them, while she prefers corn¬ 
stalks to good hay; what should be done for 
her? 
Ans.—I t is quite probable this cow was in¬ 
jured by feeding on shorts liberally last sea¬ 
son. This would have the effect to make the 
udder fleshy and obliterate the secretive 
glands. Her repugnance to shorts shows that 
she was overfed with them. Had the shorts 
been mixed with au equal quantity of bran, 
the effect might have been different. It would 
be well, now, to give a dose of oil—a pint of 
raw linseed or laid oil, r«|>eated the third day 
—to relieve the overtaxed digestive organs; 
then give daily a small feed of cut hay wetted 
and mixed with equal quantities of fine corn- 
meal and fine bran, to which a small handful 
of salt and as much powdered calisaya bark 
are added. A warm bran masb, or a few' sliced 
carrots, would help to restore the milk pro¬ 
duct. 
CONGESTION OF THE BRAIN IN I’IGS. 
J. MoG., Methuen, Maas.—Two of my seven, 
months-old pigs wore taken sick; they would 
not eat; they frothed a little at the mouth; 
but I could not open their mouths; they were 
just as if look jawed. They died withiu 24 to 
30 hours from the first attack. What was the 
matter? 
Ans.—T he matter was congestion of the 
brain, caused probably by indigestion aud 
constipation. Pigs need watching in this 
direction, and if the bowels are not acting 
freely, some linseed oil should bo given iu the 
food, or a mess of linseed cake meal gruel 
should be given with 10 grains of podophylliu, 
repeated the third day. But by care there 
will be no need of medicine: a change of food 
will set things right. A few meals of turnips, 
boiled and given nearly cold, will be excel¬ 
lent, and if given once a week during the 
Winter, would often save trouble with the pigs. 
PUSTULAR FRUITION IN A HORSE. 
J. S , Afhli'U, Utah.—From four to six boil¬ 
like eruptions appear and break near the eye 
of my horse, then dry up, but after a week or 
so, swell up aud break again. What should 
be the treatment? 
Ans.—T he horse is out of condition and 
needs medicine to purify the blood. No out¬ 
ward application will relieve any pustular 
eruption. One might as well try to smother 
a fire by piling on shavings and kerosene oil. 
The cause must be removed. Give a pint of 
linseed oil; then two drams of chlorate of pot¬ 
ash daily for two weeks. If the chlorate of 
potash cannot be procured easily, give one 
ounce of hyposulphite of soda daily; if this 
salt is not easily obtained, give four ounce 
doses of common Epsom or Glauber salts 
Wash tbe pustules with warm water; dry 
them aud paint them over with iodine oint¬ 
ment daily. 
THE GREGG RASPBERRY. 
A. S. F., Mitchell, hni .—Is the Gregg Rasp¬ 
berry subject to blight or not? A few in my 
garden did not do well the past season. They 
would grow thriftily, and I would pinch 
them back, and just as I “would get a nice 
fruiting bush, about two to three feet high, 
the leaves aud wood would all turn black and 
die. I haven’t a single fruiting cane now—all 
dead down to the roots. 
Ans.—Now that is just the way the Gregg 
behaves at the Rural Grounds. At first we 
thought it was uot hardy'. 
