31 xc 1) it cclai r Jt. 
A MOD EL BARN. 
This bam is on the farm of Alfred Tennant 
of Niagara County, about 4% miles west of 
Lockport, and I consider it one of the finest in 
Western New York. It is SO feet square and, 
as shown at Fig 49, it fronts the highway on 
the south side. The west side too can be seen. 
The posts are 25 feet high: the roof is half way 
between a quarter and a third pitch. The 
osts reaching to the corners of the cupola are 
“ ofoCKMAN” (p. 816) says what I have fre¬ 
quently said in print, but have looked in vain 
to the columns of nty 23 agricultural papers 
fora sign of agreement. “I give as great 
prominence to our native stock as the foun¬ 
dation for a course of i mprovementa as to the 
most popular thoroughbreds,” I consider the 
New Eogland cattle of 40 years ago to have 
been as distinctively a breed (though not an 
“improved” breed) as the cattle of any county 
of Great Britain, Now, in not a few places 
we have them iu a substantially improved 
form— and therefore I think it about time to 
stop proscribing what are falsely described as 
“ grade” bulls—no more “grades," in fact,than 
Colling’s Short horns, or the Ayrshire's, or im¬ 
proved polls, or even the modern Herefords. 
The Rural experiments (p. 846) and Col. 
Curtis (p. 847) do not bear identical witness to 
the value or 4 * hen manure” as a fertilizer. 
Isn’t it time to stop talking about the manures 
of auy particular animal as though it were 
always the same 1 Manures from hens fed on 
potatoes, and from hens fed on grain and 
meat-scraps, are as different as auy two fer¬ 
tilizers cun be. And the condition when ap¬ 
plied may vary the value almost as much. 
O don’t, Rural, dou’tl Haven’t we words 
enough in the English language now, without 
calling the women of the farm “farmerines” i 
Makes me think of the ’• gregarioes” in false 
hair,of which so much was said a few years ago. 
“Mrs. Thurston” is right (p. 856) in de¬ 
nouncing oat meal as unfit for the food of 
babies six month* old, given with other food. 
They may ‘thrive” on it, or appear to for a 
while; but it makes a heavy pull even on the 
digestive power of many adults. Wait for a 
full set of teeth and the ability to run about 
freely out of doors, before feeding oat-meal 
to the little ones. 
Rural, Dec. 22. Are the tomatoes “ri¬ 
pened” as advised by Gen. Noble worth hav¬ 
ing ? It seems to me that the fruit ripened 
in hot woathor and skillfully canned in glass, 
is infinitely better. [No doubt; the idea is to 
save the late oues.— Eds.] 
Referring to the “Treatment of Fruit 
Pits" (p, 8 i4), J. T. MJCotnber, of Grand bile, 
Vt., a man of experience, advises putting 
those with hard shells that have become dry 
into a vice and turning the handlfe very slowly 
till a slight cracking is heard. Then soak 
them a day or two iu water and plant. Hick¬ 
ory ami pecan nuts that were very dry, treat¬ 
ed in this way, grew perfectly. 
finely with me, though the clusters are a little 
thin from imperfect fertilization. It is about 
as early as Hartford, besides being good to 
eat, which the Hartford is not. 
RURAL, Jan. 6, Big ear of corn, that! and 
the Rural does a big thing, too, in stimula¬ 
ting those competitions among its patrons. 
Farmers need something like this to liven 
them up and make their work interesting to 
easiest of all 1 have tried is the Lemon-scented 
Verbena and the fig. You may keep them a 
lifetime just by digging them with a ball and 
wintering them in a cool cellar. And they 
grow ju9t as well. 
■ ■ - - 
To Keep Seed Beans.—I put them in 
a sieve and pour hot water over them; it kills 
the weevil without injuring the germ. If 
turpentine is poured on something that will 
Farm Barn, Elevation—Fig. 49. 
them. Besides, they learn by it that, as Sam 
Patch said, “ Some things can be done as well 
as others.” 
Straw iserkiks from seed! How many, 
many thousands of seedlings have been grown, 
and yet most of the popular sorts were chance 
plants, like the Manchester, Growing straw¬ 
berries for many years, and having lots of 
robins, l nnd chance seedlings, often, that 
seem to have (and do have) more merit than 
dozens that are heralded with big flourishes, 
only to disappear in a year or two. 
Peter Henderson’s German gardener, 
“ not polished enough” to lecture agricultural 
college boys! They must be far more refined 
than the average student of Harvard and 
Yale, ns I have met them in the Boston and 
New Haven horse-cars, if an honest Dutch 
kraut grower could not teach them both man¬ 
ners and horticulture. The meanest thing 
about our agricultural colleges is that they 
absorb it, and this is put among the beans, it 
will answer the same purpose. j. c. a. 
Qliborxatilmut. 
FORESTRY.—No. 32. 
DR. JOHN A. WARDER. 
Tree Planting at Cape Cod—Mr. Ken- 
ricke’s Experience. 
(Continued.) 
The principal seed plantings I have made 
are of the varieties qf the pine. They have 
grown so thickly that it has not been easy to 
measure them. Rome of the Scotch Pines 
planted from the seed, in 1861, are about SO 
feet high and 24 inches in eirenmference three 
feet from the ground. But I am not yet cer¬ 
tain that this kind is going to continue to do 
well. It has not been proved long enough. 
tfo'lL. 
Locust, Wild cherry, Hickory, fellow and 
Black Birch, and also Hop Hornbeam as a 
substitute in some uses for box wood. To 
these may be added the hemlock, in view of 
the immense consumption of the hark in tan¬ 
ning, and the catalpa, which has excellent 
qualities, such as rapidity of growth, great 
durability, ease of working, a small propor¬ 
tion of sap wood, which is an important item, 
taking a good finish, and when growing it is 
free from borers and other insects. It is a 
Western tree and probably requires a good 
soil, but I have seen good specimens in this 
State, Any trees will thrive beat on good 
soil and in sheltered places, while some will 
grow, such as the hard pines and White Birch, 
on land which is poor and bleak. For the sea¬ 
shore, near the water and exposed places, I 
think the na*ive pitch and coarser rigid pines 
and Savin, or Red Cedar, make the best barrier 
against the sea winds, and the deciduous trees 
will do better under their lee. On the borders 
of salt marshes the willow thrives and is a val¬ 
uable tree. We have a much greater variety 
of indigenous trees than they have in Europe, 
and it is not needful to look abroad for desi¬ 
rable varieties. I should recommend the 
planting of each variety by itself, as they will 
start together and grow more evenly. For 
picturesque effect, it will do to plant or mix 
together different kinds of trees, but not for 
profit and the most economical results, and 
too close planting ibouid be avoided, unless 
in very exposed situations. I would urge all 
who plant to keep full records, ns a stock far¬ 
mer does of the pedigree and breeding of his 
horses and cattle, for it will prove a conve¬ 
nience to others as well as himself. It must 
be good for both soul and body to interest 
one's-self and to vary one’s life with watch¬ 
ing the development of nature and trees, add¬ 
ing to the beautiful things of the world and 
giving delight to the eye. At the same time 
that inestimable benefits accrue to the Com¬ 
monwealth, the greatest possible satislaction 
and the least di«appointme nts fall to one’s self. 
Mr. Fay’s experiments and the experience 
derived from them are possessed of great 
value to his neighbors on the Cape. The 
growth of his Larch trees on this exposed 
coast where the outer trees of a clump lean 
decidedly from the water is still very en¬ 
couraging. Those planted at Lynn by his 
brother, have also made a remai knble growth, 
and have produced viable seeds, which self- 
sown are producing young trees aruoDg and 
near those planted, the exposed situation 
seemmgan equivalent for the mountain eleva¬ 
tion we had supposed to be necessary for per¬ 
fecting their seeds. 
Tne Waite Pine, Mr. Fay says, will not do 
well where exposed directly to the sea breezes, 
as the salt injuriously affects the foliage. The 
Red Pine is looked upon as very promising 
and is desirable every where, its lumber is a 
fair substitute for the Southern Yellow Pine. 
The Scotcli Pine is a great favorite and has 
escaped from the pest of the native Pitch Pine. 
The excellent suggestions made by Mr. Fay 
in a brief paper upon a method of planting in 
blocks with open spaces between them as a 
means of preventing the disastrous forest fires, 
at the Montreal Congress, will Le remembered 
by those w ho had the good fortune to be pres¬ 
ent upon that occasion. 
To his courtesy the writer is indebted for 
the facts he has allowed to be thus presented 
in these columns; with his wonted inedesty he 
wrote as follows: “You are quite welcome to 
make use of anything 1 have dene in the way 
of forestry, if you tcill not rate it too highly. 
I do not want to seem to have dene mi re 
than I have done, ;which really is but little) 
* * * My love of trees and nature has 
taken me into a work for which my locality 
is little fitted. * * * I quite envy those 
who have extended areas of good lard to be 
reclaimed by tree growing, as well as to help 
repair the great destruction and consumption 
now going on in our forests. * * * If a 
single tree were planted annually on some 
vacant space by each inhabitant, there would 
be 50,000,000 a year added to our supply 
of trees. 
It is not so important what kind of a tree 
so it is some kind, preferring always the 
natives. Where Black Walnut thrives natur¬ 
ally plant more, where Wild Cherry, or 
Catalpa, or Chestnut or Ash do well, plant 
more of these.” 
Glad that Mr Paddock (p. 807) calls atten¬ 
tion to the improvement of many wild flow¬ 
ers by cultivation. Lobelia cardinalis is even 
more improved than syphilitica, and Erigeron 
Canadense quite as much as Aster Novae-An- 
glire, There are lots of them that pay, and 
some time 1 will tell how to transplant the 
“M iy flower”or Trailing Arbutus,successfully. 
Harrowing potatoes just as they come up, 
as advised by Mr. Greiaer (p. 863), to kill 
weeds, I h ive practiced nearly 20 years, and 
can praise it quite as highly as he does. A 
common harrow does little harm, but the 
smoothing harrow is best. 
I am glad you propose to push the Lady 
Elgiu Crab into more notice. Adi Bailey’s 
Crimson,Gideon’s No. 4, and Meader’s Winter, 
and you have the four best crabs out of 150, 
at least, that I have tried during the past 16 
years. 
Surprised to see so many of your seed cor¬ 
respondents praise the Little Gem Squash, 
which is a perfect failure here—too far north 
for it, I suppose. But the most valuable of 
newly-introduced squashes—absolutely the 
best of all in quality, and a long keeper—is 
Low’s E-aex Hybrid, according to my expe¬ 
rience. 
Rural, Dec. 80.—What a nice collection of 
hens and roosters! (p, 879). The Plymouth 
Rock is the best farmers’ fowl, better than 
Light Brahma in the snowy country. I win¬ 
ter some under an open shed (after trying close 
hen houses) nnd Spring pullets are now (Jan. 
5) laying quite freely. They are the very 
hardiest of all fowls—the Plymouth Rocks. 
(That many do not speak well of Plymouth 
Rocks is because the different strains vary 
greatly.—E ds.] 
• The value of the Wealthy Apple depends 
upon the latitude “ G. W.” (p.880) says 
Wealthy rotted before Nov. 1, while he 
kept the Rnow (Fameuse) until Christmas. 
Christmas is the end of the Famous© here 
(lat. 45 deg.. N E. Vt.) but the Wealthy keeps 
perfectly until April. It is a fine dessert ap¬ 
ple (*ery good , says Downing), but not very 
useful for pies, lacking tartness. 
1 AM pleased to see Mrs. Jack praising the 
* good black” Kumelan Grape. It acceeds 
yet It may do well If it disappoints me. The 
White Pine it is safe to recommend. I cannot 
help thinking that the results I have obtained 
are very encouraging. My land is not good, 
made up of drift nnd boulders, and the soil is 
a sandy loam, and it is high and exposed to 
heavy gales from across salt water, iu every 
direction but the east. If trees will do well 
there, they must do well anywhere. And 
though my experience has been much in for¬ 
eign pine and other foreign trees, I am satis¬ 
fied that one cannot go amiss in planting our 
native trees from the seed iu masses not too 
closely, whether W hite and Red Pines, Black 
Spruce, Chestnut, Oak,* Ash, Rock Maple, 
Sc «. I * 4o/e *Ar 
Main Floor—Fig. 50. 
try to fashion themselves on the literary ones, 
with their freshmen, sophomores, juniors and 
seniors, their high toned sports, their kid- 
gloved professors and their D.D.’s in the pres¬ 
idential chair. “Oh, git eout!'' as the above- 
quoted Sam would say. 
“ Grape vines which overbear never re¬ 
vive (p. 8). Would that all who plant vines 
might realize this truth, and not be so shy iu 
acting on it at the right time. 
Cellar wintering is a success with many 
hard wooded plants, as Leon says (p. 8), and 
his directions and cautions are sound. The 
JJf* 
A loot- 
□ Potf 
rryt 
