used London-purple in water upon my currant 
and gooseberry bushes at blossoming time and 
have seen scarcely a worm since. Last year I 
applied hellebore, the best I could get, four 
t imes, and yet had my bushes badly stripped. 
very moderate it must be at the expense of 
vigor and growth afterwards. There is too 
much impatience in regard to the fruiting of 
trees anyway. There are. early fruiting kinds 
which may be planted, but the later fruiting 
sorts can only be injured iu attempts to force 
early bearing by mutilation. 
raise twice as many potatoes as we want our¬ 
selves, so if the price is high I have some to 
sell; if low, I feed them out. I plow iu all 
coarse manure or any other if on a hill-skle, 
but on my flat land I put it ou top taken di¬ 
rectly f rom the barn. 
I built the past Summer, a barn 30x04 
feet with a basement the whole length and 
width. There are two rows of stanchions for 
2<i cows and three box-stalls, and a grain bin 
for 400 bushels, that cau be filled from the barn 
floor by means of a spout I have a double 
barn floor. My grain is packed on one and 
when thrashed the straw goes from the carrier 
into a shed aud the grain to the bin below. 
My basement floor Is all cement covered with 
plank laid when the cement was lirst spread. 
The stable floor inclines towards the center 
where ihere is a gutter that conveys the liquid 
to a cistern outside, that will hold 35 barrels 
that l shall draw and spread on my glass land 
this Spring. The uext thing 1 shall build will 
be a hog house with a cement pit close by my 
horse lai n, aud all the horse manure will go in¬ 
to that and he made into the best of corn man¬ 
ure. I mixed all the cement and did ail the 
mason work about my barn-floor and cistern. 
Any one cau do the same if he only tries, instead 
of paying $9.50 per day for masons. I have a 
shop and tools for rejwiring farm implements, 
which furnishes work for stormy weather mid 
saves some heavy bills. I always think out 
my work ahead, so help uever is idle. I have 
found that to have most help pay well, the 
boss needs to be around, and not say '‘go,’’ 
but “ come.” I find it pays to encourage help 
by giving a few days in course of the season to 
go to the fair or village, etc-., for all work aud 
no play makes .Tack a dull boy. I menu to 
keep plenty of reading in the house for all. 
We now take four weeklies aud three monthly 
papers, and 1 know that 1 owe a gi >od deal of 
our prosperity to some of them, more especially 
to the Rural, from which 1 took my plan for 
the stable floors and also for our hennery, for 
we keep about thirty liens for which wo have 
a warm place, and they have always paid us 
the prize series writers, so many different 
ideas of making money that a young man 
commencing in life could hardly decide what 
to do to make farming pay best. What the 
new beginner wants is plain talk on what is 
the surest way from poverty to a comfortable 
home; what is the best way of treating poor 
land; what crops to raise, and what stock to 
keep that is likely to pay best with the least 
danger df loss. 
My fathe>- left me at eighteen yearn of age 
to shift for myself, so I hired to my brother, 
worked one Summer then thought I would go 
West. 1 went aud lugged grain till my back 
was nearly used up for life, I thought, and 
was glad enough hi get back on to the hills of 
York State again. Accordingly I hired a 
farm with my brother and commenced. Sbnio 
say, “ keep out of debt;” but l say uo rule 
bolds good for everybo ly hi go by, for I went 
into debt six hundred dollars for team, tools, 
etc., and the debt was paid iu less than two 
years. 1 neglected to say that I married 
previous to taking the farm, I being in my 
twentieth year, my wife iu her sixteenth. At 
the end of nine years we had $2,(MO and all 
the tools for running a farm besides hens, pigs 
aud four yearling heifers. We then thought 
we would go by ourselves, so we bought 144 
acres of laud with twelve cows on it and 
three acres set to hoj»s; after paying for the 
cows and all l had toward the land, it left a 
debt of $4,000. Then commenced the tug of 
war to get out of debt, aud I confess I should 
hardly have grit to try it over again under 
the same circumstances. Our farm was 
badly rundown, and would barely keep twelve 
cows aud a team: but we hau good health, 
plenty of grit and nothing was allowed to go 
to waste. 
The first money received was for maple 
sugar; for we have a good sap bush ou the 
place. 1 tapped the bush earlier than any of 
my neighbors, got in the village market first 
and received double price for two or three 
runs. I have followed up this idea, and have 
never failed to make it pay. While my 
neighbors are getting their sap tools ready i 
am boiling sup. 1 made the sap bush pay the 
interest on half of the debt against the farm, 
besides furnishing us with our own sweets. 
We have good fruit—apples, fiours and plums. 
We sold all that wore salable. As an old 
neighbor said, we bad good fruit, but it did us 
no good for we sold all the best. This neigh¬ 
bor has been sold out ou a mortgage since 
then, while we have lived just as well on 
second-quality fruit as he did ou the best he 
eoula raise. I kept a breeding sow aud al¬ 
ways had early Spring pigs to sell. The sow’s 
feed iu Winter betog principally apples that 
would uot sell, my pigs cost but little and al¬ 
ways sold high, because earlier than could be 
had elsewhere. If 1 get a sow that is a gout 
mother, 1 keep her two or three years and 
raise two litters of pigs a year. 1 have at the 
proseut time, March 6th, eight nice pigs iu a 
box-stall iu my bain, and they do not feel 
Prof. Wiggius’s storm that is now blowing a 
gale aud the mercury is near zero. When the 
women folks are well, I prefer to keep t he 
milk at home rather titan draw it to a factory. 
1 think there is more to be made, counting the 
hogs and calves l can keep on the sour uiilk; 
besides, 1 can keep up my dairy better by rais- 
iug my own cows. My rule is to feed my calves 
uutil the aftermath is well up, then let the 
calves go, and by that time milk falls off in 
quantity so that my hogs need it all. 
When 1 came ou to the farm the cows were, 
and always had been, fed out-of-doors, and 
drank at the brook, aud what manure was 
,dropped in the barn was thrown out aud 
leached by the barn before being spread on the. 
field. As soon as I could 1 brought a spring to 
the barnyard, also to the house, aud fed coarse 
fodder in the yard; all other feed has been fed 
iu the barn. The result is 1 get from two to 
three times as much manure. 1 hauled leaves 
ami sawdust to absorb the liquid manure, look¬ 
ing forward toa cement floor, pit, etc., when all 
the manure could lie saved. 1 found that all the 
ashes l could buy at tiftoeu cents i>or busl el, 
to put on land 1 wished to seed, paid me well. 
Thirty to forty bushels to the acre will double 
the crop of oats; besides, it will bring a good 
stand of grass aud last several years. I also 
bought lime and used it when I could not get 
ashes enough, oml found it gave me good re¬ 
turns. 1 am glad now to get ashes at twenty 
cents. 1 do not plow iu Clover as some sug¬ 
gest, but if i get a good crop feed it to my 
stock. They eat it well, if cut at the proper 
time, and the time 1 eousider liest is when 
the heads are ulxmt half turned. 
1 sell my butter every week and flud I do 
the best in the long run. If veal is high, as 
is the ease this Kpriug, 1 let, the calves take 
the milk from the cow, taking care to see that 
the cows are drawn clean twice a day. 1 have 
kept up my hop yard and 1 consider hops a 
paying crop run iu connection with a dairy, 
but would uot advise any one to depend ou 
them aloue. IjisL year’s crop at sixty Cents 
paid off the last of my debt. I always aim to 
You ask (p. 364) if any single strawberry 
plaut ever matured a crop of 233 bemies. It 
would be safe to say “No” to that question. I 
have a seedling strawberry (1 aui not going to 
“introduce” it) bearing this year for the first 
time, whit li beats your Jas. Viek or my Man¬ 
chester all out for (legitimate) blowing. A 
dozen trusses to a plaut are common, the 
stems high above the leaves, and really decor¬ 
ative in abundancu of bloom fruit; not yet 
ripe (June Id, lat. 45°). 
“You cannot have your cake and eat it too,” 
says H. Stewart (p. 374) apropos of Sec. 
Chamberlain’s statement that iu feeding con¬ 
centrated food to stock the food value is takeu 
and the fertilizing value left. Mr. S. says this 
disturbs his peace of mind, but it need not if 
he remembers that under certain circum¬ 
stances the animal may and does add from the 
waste of its liodv as much as it takes away to 
repair that waste, in this case the whole fer¬ 
tilizing power of the food will be recovered in 
the excretions. It the animal is losing weight 
it may even be that the manure has more fer- 
The late Jersey sales (p. 343) illustrate the 
power of humbug over the inexperienced 
buyer. There is no greater absurdity than 
the notion that Jerseys retrograde in this 
country, as greenhorns are made to believe. 
The truth is that under proper care the Jerseys 
greatly improve, in New England at least, and 
1 believe elsewhere. Now, you bright young 
farmers with small means, remember this 
fact, and pay nothing extra for recent impor¬ 
tations, or their progeny, under a false notion 
of superiority. 
C4en. Clay's- articles on sheep are very 
sound, and worthy of the close attention of 
sheep breeders everywhere. I believe that 
the stock-breeding branch of agriculture is as 
well understood (may bo better) in Kentucky 
as anywhere else in America, and Gen Clay is 
facile princeps, both as a breeder and as a 
clear, instructive writer. He shows this by 
not omitting details, which is one of the worst 
defects of otherwise capable writers. What 
is so eery plain and easy to them, they forget 
may be just what a student needs to make 
things clear to him. 
That “Strange Work with a Pillow” (p. 345) 
is uot so very strange or unusual, and Prof. 
Riley's explanation is no doubt the true one. 
I have seen a good many cases like it, and 
probably most old and much used pillows will 
show more or less of this “plnshiug” on the 
inside of the ticking. 
MASON'S ORANGE 
The fruit of this apple, Fig. 372, is large; 
form roundish-oblate, slightly conic, some 
ribbed; color deep yellow, often with a faint 
blush; dots small, scattered, dark; stem long, 
slender; cavity, wide, deep, russeted, some¬ 
times extending; calyx small, closed or half 
open; segments short, erect: basin narrow, 
rather shallow, ribbed; core rather large, 
roundish, turbinate, slightly open; carpels 
large, hollow; seeds medium, angular,pointed, 
dark-brown; flesh yellow, very tender, juici, 
sprightly, aromatic, mild, subaeid; quality 
very good to best; seasou October to April. 
It originated with John L. Mason, New Lan¬ 
caster, Miami County, Kansas, from the seed 
of the Yellow Bellflower. In growth it is 
much like its parent, but more thorny and like 
a seedling. \ ery productive, aud an annual 
bearer. It bore first in 1374 and has every 
year since equal to auy of the fifty varieties he 
has, if not superior. This is one of the best 
and most promising seedling apples 1 have seen. 
Leavenworth, Kan. J. stayman. 
It is pleasant to know that so many of the 
Rural constituency are succeeding with the 
Niagara grajie seeds. I was rather afraid 
they would not, ns these sect Is require patience 
Selection of Apples for a Cold Climate 
I have given a good deal of attention to a 
selection of fruits for cold climates, and beg 
leave to advise '‘S. M.’ of Kelly Brook, Ocouto 
Co., Wis., whose query appears in the Rural 
for June 23. 
y. M. is iu a cold region, where few experi¬ 
ments have yet been tried, and he should run 
no risks that can lie avoided. Therefore let 
him plant out in the beginning only or mainly 
iron-clad trees, and then if he wishes to intro¬ 
duce other kinds he can top-graft the selected 
sorts upon the iron-clads to any extent he 
chooses. For 50 early apple trees, plant 30 
Duchess of Oldenburgh, 10 Coles Quince, 10 
Tetofsky, and afterwards top-graft part of 
the Duchess with Red Asfcrachau, Reach of 
Montreal aud Yellow Transparent. If he can 
find anybody offering Yellow Transparent 
trees for sale (some one that can be trusted), 
plant those instead of Duchess. For 250 W fit¬ 
ter apples, plant 2(H) Wealthy, 20 Plumb’s 
Cider. 10 Golden Russet, 20 tewaukee. uud 
graft part of the Wealthy over to Jonathan, 
Northern Spy, Grimes’s Golden, i'lumb's 
Ciller, Fameuse. Mackintosh, Willow Lwig, 
Bailey Sweet. Tahuan Sw eet, Scott s W inter. 
Robinson, and such others as he may choose. 
Wealthy itself is excellent for early Winter, 
and S. M. will wuut to raise that sort largely. 
It is very hardy, and S. M. is probably aware 
that any tender sort is made much more hardy 
by being top-grafted ou a har dy stock. 
Rroekuort. Me. C. G, A. 
■Fig. 372.—From Nature. 
and some knowledge in their treatment. There 
must certainly come something good as a re¬ 
sult of this distribution. [We were fearful 
too But it seems that seeds of Niagara ger¬ 
minate more freely tliau seeds of many other 
kinds. Eds.] 
Mason’s Orange ArPLE. 
well. Twenty hens well cared for will bring 
as much as a good cow. I f not well eared for, 
better give them away. I am satisfied that 
for a poor man to make a success of fanning 
he must not be lazy or afraid of dirt. He 
must be economical as also must bo liis better 
half, lie must drive the old wagon's harness 
and use all the old things that can be got 
along with till he Ls able to buy new things 
and uot bo burdened with debt. When I look 
at mv comfortable buildings and growing 
crops, or hear the music from the piano iu the 
house played by my twelve-year-old girl, I 
look back to the time when we moved in this 
tow ii, our buildings all going to rack, our girl 
the laughing-stock for the school, because she 
wore boots. I say when I think of all these 
things. L do uot regret having lived within 
our means, aud now there is no mortgage to 
t hreaten us and no one can say “ Pay me t hat 
thou ow est.” 
Monroe Co., N. Y. 
Rural June 9.—“Was the pedigree colored 
too?” Probably, but after all, with u thoroughly 
inbred race like the Jerseys, how much does 
pedigree amount to anyway, as regards cows? 
If she is plainly a full-blood, aud every way a 
good cow, it is safe to buy her without a 
pedigree—and a good deal cheaper. 1 his ad¬ 
vice is uot for chaps getting up a “fancy 
herd,” of coui-se. 
Secretary Chamberlain’s articles on tile 
drainage are as good as can be. It is likely 
that the use of tiles on our heavy lands will 
now increase quite rapidly. More capital is 
going into farming than ever before, and it 
has been the lack or capital that, has hiudored 
the practice of underdroinage in this country 
as much as anything. Bo these articles are 
not only good, but timely. 
Pomologist Augur’s small fruit notes (p. 
35s\ arc valuable. His method of setting 
strawberry plants two feet by ton inches, and 
keeping off all ruliners, is all he recommends 
for small plantations, but is it over practiced 
by extensive growers, and will it pay ou a 
large scale? I myself believe that the straw¬ 
berry will pay for more work aud care than 
are given to it, but how much is the question. 
Mr. Knox of Pittsburg used to make garden 
culture on the large scale pay, 1 believe, but 
has he had any followers? 
Referring to the remarks about insecti¬ 
cides on p. S62, 1 want to say that, disgusted 
with the adulteration of hellebore, I this year 
NOTES ON BACK NUMBERS 
T. U. HOSKINS, M. D. 
Rural Juno 2.—Ashes are an excellent fer¬ 
tilizer for apple anil jietir trees on all light or 
lightish soils, and a moderate dressing of salt 
is at least uot harmful to them. Therefore 1 
am inclined to accept the recommendation of 
kaiuit ip. 311) by Mr. Leighton, for this pur¬ 
pose. It is certainly worth trying. 
A pot of paint i rally costs but a few cents, 
aud may be made to save uiauy dollars’ 
worth ol' trees. W lieu wouuds aud the stumps 
of limbs which have been out off are covered 
with paint, the wood will be preserved until it 
heals over; whereas, when not painted, it is lia¬ 
ble to rot aud weaken the tree, causing prema¬ 
ture decay and death I think too much of 
trees to neglect them, aud lose the care and 
waiting of yearn on account of the w ork of a 
few moments. c - 
The only objection to the very late Spring 
pruning or Summer pruning, advocated by 
Mr. Beusel (p. 341), is the shock given to the 
tree by the removal of large branches after 
leafing. This may lie so great as to practically 
ruin the tree. Moderate pruning in leaf is 
favorable to the production of fruit, but unless 
